thestream--2020-11-09--The Presidential Election, Corruption, and Deception

We are living in an unprecedented season in American history , one of massive consequence for the nation as a whole and for conservative Christians in particular .
( All the more does this hold true for charismatic Christians , as I ’ ll explain shortly . )
Please allow me to lay out the stark , contrasting possibilities .
I ’ ve written about this briefly in the last few days , but I ’ ll expand on things more fully here .
On the natural , non-spiritual side , either Donald Trump has pulled off the political feat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions of Americans to reject the results of a fairly contested election .
Or Trump is the victim of the most massive electoral fraud in our history , the exposing of which will shake our nation to its foundations .
On the spiritual side , either a multitude of prophetic voices have been jointly misled , prophesying in total unison that Trump will serve a second term .
Or the words of these prophetic voices will prove true , shocking the nation with the reality of God .
Are these not very high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton could speak of “ fake news , ” referring to “ the epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year.
” But it was Trump who made the term uniquely his , beginning in January , 2017 , when he said to CNN ’ s Jim Acosta , “ you ’ re fake news.
” He also tweeted on January 10 , 2017 , “ FAKE NEWS – A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT !
” Since then , there has been a steady stream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fueling the fires of tens of millions of Trump supporters .
The media can not be trusted .
The media is totally biased .
The media has only one goal : remove Donald Trump .
Earlier this year , two mainstream media newsroom employees , one working for an NBC affiliate and one for a CBS affiliate , shared the identical story with me .
Their bosses made clear their intent to get rid of Trump , even if it meant posting false stories .
That would confirm the suspicions of the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the undeniable , anti-conservative bias of the Internet giants , and the table has been set for questioning the outcome of the election.. Back in August , the president said , “ The only way we ’ re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.
” In October he said , “ The only way we can lose in my opinion is massive fraud.
” And now , after Biden has been declared the winner by the media , when Trump tweets , “ I WON THIS ELECTION @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the response is overwhelming .
The tweet received more than one million likes within the first 12 hours .
Even based on a simple , rational analysis , the apparent Biden victory has many people scratching their heads .
Has Trump , then , succeeded in convincing many millions of people that he was robbed when , in fact , he was not ?
This would be terribly dangerous , as masses of people will believe whatever their beloved leader tells them .
The other possibility is just as severe , namely , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systemic , corruption on an unprecedented scale .
A coordinated effort requiring elaborate planning , also made possible by the pandemic which opened the doors for many millions of mail-in ballots .
The stealing of the most important presidential election in our lifetimes , right under our noses .
The good news is that if a massive fraud has been perpetrated and if such a grand theft took place on this kind of scale , it will be uncovered .
Something of this magnitude simply can not be hidden , and every effort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What of the Prophetic Voices ?
On the spiritual side , I have not heard of a single , respected prophetic leader ( meaning , with the charismatic church ) who prophesied a Biden victory .
Not one .
To the contrary , every single one of them prophesied a second term for Trump .
Some said they have known for over a year that the election would be contested and ultimately decided by the courts .
( I can verify they are not just saying this now . )
One wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bestselling book published last month , describing the scene we are currently witnessing , including disputed ballots and court cases .
Interestingly , some of these leaders are quite apolitical .
Some do not even like Trump .
Yet they all prophesied the same thing .
It is true that some of them made clear that Trump would serve a second term only if the church really prayed .
But I have never seen so much prayer for an election , continuing to this moment , as we are seeing today .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibility that Trump could lose now and then win in 2024 .
Even in the Bible , prophets got their timing wrong ( see 1 Peter 1:10-12 ) .
But such reasoning , at this point , seems to be grasping at straws .
Back in September , a longtime , close colleague reached out to me , sensing that Biden would win , a major reason being that God was correcting the church for looking to Trump in an idolatrous way .
This past week , a solid pastor wrote to me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pray , I keep having it impressed on me .
I don ’ t often invoke the prophetic , but I believe I have heard from heaven .
Trump is done .
After all the court fights , he will no longer be president .
God has allowed his removal because of the idolatry of the church .
God used Trump for four years , but like Gideon ’ s ephod , an idol was made of the tool [ see Judges 8:27 ] .
God will not share His glory , nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are we to make of this ?
On the one hand , I absolutely share this concern that the church has become too politicized and that we have been guilty of putting our trust in Trump in a wrongful way .
On the other hand , I know quite a few of the prophetic leaders who prophesied Trump ’ s second term .
They are not corrupt preachers .
They are not mercenaries .
They are God-fearing , Jesus-centered , men and women of God .
Some of them have excellent track records @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of them is convinced that God showed them He wants Trump to have another four years .
As a very spiritual friend asked me on Saturday , “ Who are the witches doing incantations against ?
” The stakes , indeed , are very high indeed .
One prophetic leader has just announced that we will see many things exposed in the next 70 days , with some blue states flipping to red in the total vote count .
Others have pointed to 2 Chronicles 20:20 ( in this year 2020 , no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They are encouraging everyone not to lose heart but rather to continue to believe the prophetic word .
They are still convinced that God will bring it to pass .
They still stay Trump will serve four more years .
My counsel is for every believer to pray fervently for God ’ s perfect will to come to pass and for every work of darkness to be fully exposed .
After all , Jesus , not Satan , is Lord .
And God , not the corrupt world , is King .
With @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of prayer for this election , I feel confident that Almighty God will bring about what is best for the nation in the long-term .
Then , once the dust settles , we will take some time to look back and sort everything out .
What is muddled and disputed right now should be very clear soon enough .
Dr. Michael Brown ( www.askdrbrown.org ) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program .
His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads : Will We Pass the Trump Test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter or YouTube .

We are living in an unprecedented season in American history, one of massive consequence for the nation as a whole and for conservative Christians in particular. (All the more does this hold true for charismatic Christians, as I’ll explain shortly.) Please allow me to lay out the stark, contrasting possibilities.
I’ve written about this briefly in the last few days, but I’ll expand on things more fully here.
On the natural, non-spiritual side, either Donald Trump has pulled off the political feat of a lifetime, convincing tens of millions of Americans to reject the results of a fairly contested election. Or Trump is the victim of the most massive electoral fraud in our history, the exposing of which will shake our nation to its foundations.
With the massive, worldwide, ongoing outpouring of prayer for this election, I feel confident that Almighty God will bring about what is best for the nation in the long-term.
On the spiritual side, either a multitude of prophetic voices have been jointly misled, prophesying in total unison that Trump will serve a second term. Or the words of these prophetic voices will prove true, shocking the nation with the reality of God.
Are these not very high stakes?
The Birth of Fake News
Already in 2016, Hillary Clinton could speak of “fake news,” referring to “the epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year.”
But it was Trump who made the term uniquely his, beginning in January, 2017, when he said to CNN’s Jim Acosta, “you’re fake news.” He also tweeted on January 10, 2017, “FAKE NEWS – A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!”
Since then, there has been a steady stream of truly fake, anti-Trump news, fueling the fires of tens of millions of Trump supporters. The media cannot be trusted. The media is totally biased. The media has only one goal: remove Donald Trump.
Earlier this year, two mainstream media newsroom employees, one working for an NBC affiliate and one for a CBS affiliate, shared the identical story with me. Their bosses made clear their intent to get rid of Trump, even if it meant posting false stories. That would confirm the suspicions of the most ardent Trump supporter.
Added to this is the undeniable, anti-conservative bias of the Internet giants, and the table has been set for questioning the outcome of the election..
Unprecedented Corruption
Back in August, the president said, “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.” In October he said, “The only way we can lose in my opinion is massive fraud.”
And now, after Biden has been declared the winner by the media, when Trump tweets, “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!”, the response is overwhelming. The tweet received more than one million likes within the first 12 hours.
Even based on a simple, rational analysis, the apparent Biden victory has many people scratching their heads.
Has Trump, then, succeeded in convincing many millions of people that he was robbed when, in fact, he was not? This would be terribly dangerous, as masses of people will believe whatever their beloved leader tells them.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The other possibility is just as severe, namely, the existence of massive, widespread, systemic, corruption on an unprecedented scale. A coordinated effort requiring elaborate planning, also made possible by the pandemic which opened the doors for many millions of mail-in ballots. The stealing of the most important presidential election in our lifetimes, right under our noses.
Talk about high stakes!
The good news is that if a massive fraud has been perpetrated and if such a grand theft took place on this kind of scale, it will be uncovered. Something of this magnitude simply cannot be hidden, and every effort will surely be made to uncover it.
What of the Prophetic Voices?
On the spiritual side, I have not heard of a single, respected prophetic leader (meaning, with the charismatic church) who prophesied a Biden victory. Not one. To the contrary, every single one of them prophesied a second term for Trump.
Some said they have known for over a year that the election would be contested and ultimately decided by the courts. (I can verify they are not just saying this now.) One wrote about this very scenario in detail in a bestselling book published last month, describing the scene we are currently witnessing, including disputed ballots and court cases.
Interestingly, some of these leaders are quite apolitical. Some do not even like Trump. Yet they all prophesied the same thing.
It is true that some of them made clear that Trump would serve a second term only if the church really prayed. But I have never seen so much prayer for an election, continuing to this moment, as we are seeing today.
There is, of course, the possibility that Trump could lose now and then win in 2024. Even in the Bible, prophets got their timing wrong (see 1 Peter 1:10-12).
But such reasoning, at this point, seems to be grasping at straws.
Trump Idolatry?
Back in September, a longtime, close colleague reached out to me, sensing that Biden would win, a major reason being that God was correcting the church for looking to Trump in an idolatrous way.
This past week, a solid pastor wrote to me, saying this: “When I pray, I keep having it impressed on me. I don’t often invoke the prophetic, but I believe I have heard from heaven. Trump is done. After all the court fights, he will no longer be president. God has allowed his removal because of the idolatry of the church. God used Trump for four years, but like Gideon’s ephod, an idol was made of the tool [see Judges 8:27]. God will not share His glory, nor the affection of His bride.”
What are we to make of this?
On the one hand, I absolutely share this concern that the church has become too politicized and that we have been guilty of putting our trust in Trump in a wrongful way.
On the other hand, I know quite a few of the prophetic leaders who prophesied Trump’s second term.
They are not corrupt preachers. They are not mercenaries. They are God-fearing, Jesus-centered, men and women of God. Some of them have excellent track records spanning many years. And every one of them is convinced that God showed them He wants Trump to have another four years.
Very High Stakes
As a very spiritual friend asked me on Saturday, “Who are the witches doing incantations against?”
The stakes, indeed, are very high indeed.
One prophetic leader has just announced that we will see many things exposed in the next 70 days, with some blue states flipping to red in the total vote count.
Others have pointed to 2 Chronicles 20:20 (in this year 2020, no less). The text says,
“Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”
They are encouraging everyone not to lose heart but rather to continue to believe the prophetic word. They are still convinced that God will bring it to pass. They still stay Trump will serve four more years.
Continue Praying
My counsel is for every believer to pray fervently for God’s perfect will to come to pass and for every work of darkness to be fully exposed.
After all, Jesus, not Satan, is Lord. And God, not the corrupt world, is King.
With the massive, worldwide, ongoing outpouring of prayer for this election, I feel confident that Almighty God will bring about what is best for the nation in the long-term.
Then, once the dust settles, we will take some time to look back and sort everything out. What is muddled and disputed right now should be very clear soon enough.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test? Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.


thestream--2020-11-08--YouTube, Vimeo Remove Conservative Entrepreneur’s COVID-19 Video

The online video platforms YouTube and Vimeo have censored a video of The Bill Walton Show about the danger of COVID-19 shutdowns for violating standards enforced by each company .
YouTube removed the 47-minute video of the program in which Walton interviews Jay Richards , one of three authors of the book The Price of Panic : How the Tyranny of Experts Turned a Pandemic into a Catastrophe .
YouTube banned the video Oct. 18 , saying it “ violated their community standards and their COVID-19 medical misinformation policy , ” Walton , host of The Bill Walton Show and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told The Daily Signal in a phone interview Friday .
Walton , a successful business leader , investor , and entrepreneur , has produced 96 episodes of the show .
From its inception in 2017 , he said , YouTube never before had removed his content .
The episode in question , “ ‘ Paying the Price of Panic ’ with Dr. Jay Richards , ” argues that “ the harm caused by the lockdown vastly exceeds the benefits of protecting people from COVID-19 , ” Walton said .
“ That is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ careful , ” Walton said .
“ But I am saying you can carefully protect the vulnerable while at the same time opening up the country.
” Richards , an assistant research professor in the School of Business and Economics at The Catholic University of America , wrote The Price of Panic with William Briggs , a mathematician and scientist who was a professor of statistics at Cornell University Medical School , and Douglas Axe , a professor of molecular biology at Biola University .
The true danger of state and local governments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the loss of political and religious freedom , ” Richards said on Walton ’ s show .
“ When governments use emergencies historically in order to extend their power over more and more of society , it ’ s very rare in which they actually retreat from that power , ” Richards , also a senior fellow at the think tank Discovery Institute , said .
Upon the video ’ s removal , Maureen O ’ Donnell , digital producer for The Bill Walton Show , emailed YouTube on Oct. 20 to explain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s “ COVID-19 Medical Misinformation Policy ” and thought the Walton program complied with it : I have read the COVID-19 Medical Misinformation Policy and believe that our video does not violate any of the categories .
The video you took down was a promotion of a book that is being published by a reputable publisher written by [ three ] prominent scholars .
If you would please give me specifics as to which one of the categories that was violated , it would be helpful and give me better clarification .
YouTube @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s email by Monday , but on Oct. 21 posted “ appeal rejected ” on the show ’ s YouTube channel without further explanation .
Looking for another way to share the content with his audience , Walton ’ s team uploaded the discussion Oct. 19 to Vimeo , a multimedia platform .
Less than 48 hours later , Vimeo emailed Walton that it had removed the video .
“ You can not upload videos that depict or encourage self-harm , falsely claim that mass tragedies are hoaxes , or perpetuate false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Vimeo wrote Oct. 21 to Walton .
“ Our show had none of that , ” Walton said after reading Vimeo ’ s email aloud to The Daily Signal .
The Daily Signal emailed YouTube and Vimeo on Saturday to ask why they had removed the video of Walton ’ s show .
That evening , Vimeo replied that it would respond “ as soon as possible , ” but provided no explanation by publication time .
Google , which owns YouTube , responded Sunday and asked for a link to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Press the full transcript and audio file of the interview , but did not receive a response from it or YouTube before publication .
The Daily Signal and its parent organization , The Heritage Foundation , both have encountered their own problems with YouTube in publishing online content of importance to conservatives .
In recent weeks , YouTube placed a “ context ” disclaimer beneath Heritage and Daily Signal videos about election integrity .
These information panels , as YouTube refers to them , include a link to the Bipartisan Policy Center , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on mail-in voting .
YouTube also has removed two other videos on the subject of transgender ideology .
In 2019 , The Daily Signal ’ s video featuring Dr. Michelle Cretella , a pediatrician and executive director of the American College of Pediatricians , was removed for “ violating YouTube ’ s policy on hate speech.
” Earlier this year , YouTube took similar action , removing a video of a Heritage Foundation event featuring Walt Heyer , who spoke at the Summit on Protecting Children from Sexualization .
Heyer , a Daily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transition to a woman , is an outspoken critic of allowing underage Americans to undergo drugs and surgery to change their biological sex .
Social media companies such as Facebook , Twitter , and YouTube do not operate under the guidelines of publishing organizations , but Walton lamented that the lines are being blurred .
“ Congress carved out Section 230 to … allow [ social media companies ] to put content up there that was other people ’ s content .
And as long as they did not act in an editorial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a publisher , then they could not be sued , ” Walton said .
Platforms such as YouTube appear to be acting as publishers , he said , despite Congress stating under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 that “ no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.
” Americans should “ be concerned that only one side of a very complex public policy issue is allowed to be heard , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news producer for The Daily Signal .
She is the co-host of The Daily Signal Podcast and Problematic Women .
Send an email to Virginia .

The online video platforms YouTube and Vimeo have censored a video of The Bill Walton Show about the danger of COVID-19 shutdowns for violating standards enforced by each company.
YouTube removed the 47-minute video of the program in which Walton interviews Jay Richards, one of three authors of the book The Price of Panic: How the Tyranny of Experts Turned a Pandemic into a Catastrophe.
YouTube banned the video Oct. 18, saying it “violated their community standards and their COVID-19 medical misinformation policy,” Walton, host of The Bill Walton Show and a trustee of The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in a phone interview Friday.
Walton, a successful business leader, investor, and entrepreneur, has produced 96 episodes of the show. From its inception in 2017, he said, YouTube never before had removed his content.
The episode in question, “‘Paying the Price of Panic’ with Dr. Jay Richards,” argues that “the harm caused by the lockdown vastly exceeds the benefits of protecting people from COVID-19,” Walton said.
“That is not to say that we should not be careful,” Walton said. “But I am saying you can carefully protect the vulnerable while at the same time opening up the country.”
Richards, an assistant research professor in the School of Business and Economics at The Catholic University of America, wrote The Price of Panic with William Briggs, a mathematician and scientist who was a professor of statistics at Cornell University Medical School, and Douglas Axe, a professor of molecular biology at Biola University.
The true danger of state and local governments’ response to COVID-19 “ultimately is the loss of political and religious freedom,” Richards said on Walton’s show.
“When governments use emergencies historically in order to extend their power over more and more of society, it’s very rare in which they actually retreat from that power,” Richards, also a senior fellow at the think tank Discovery Institute, said.
Upon the video’s removal, Maureen O’Donnell, digital producer for The Bill Walton Show, emailed YouTube on Oct. 20 to explain that she had read the platform’s “COVID-19 Medical Misinformation Policy” and thought the Walton program complied with it:
I have read the COVID-19 Medical Misinformation Policy and believe that our video does not violate any of the categories. The video you took down was a promotion of a book that is being published by a reputable publisher written by [three] prominent scholars. If you would please give me specifics as to which one of the categories that was violated, it would be helpful and give me better clarification.
YouTube had not responded to O’Donnell’s email by Monday, but on Oct. 21 posted “appeal rejected” on the show’s YouTube channel without further explanation.
Looking for another way to share the content with his audience, Walton’s team uploaded the discussion Oct. 19 to Vimeo, a multimedia platform. Less than 48 hours later, Vimeo emailed Walton that it had removed the video.
“You cannot upload videos that depict or encourage self-harm, falsely claim that mass tragedies are hoaxes, or perpetuate false or misleading claims about vaccine safety,” Vimeo wrote Oct. 21 to Walton.
“Our show had none of that,” Walton said after reading Vimeo’s email aloud to The Daily Signal.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The Daily Signal emailed YouTube and Vimeo on Saturday to ask why they had removed the video of Walton’s show. That evening, Vimeo replied that it would respond “as soon as possible,” but provided no explanation by publication time.
Google, which owns YouTube, responded Sunday and asked for a link to the video. The Daily Signal sent Google Press the full transcript and audio file of the interview, but did not receive a response from it or YouTube before publication.
The Daily Signal and its parent organization, The Heritage Foundation, both have encountered their own problems with YouTube in publishing online content of importance to conservatives.
In recent weeks, YouTube placed a “context” disclaimer beneath Heritage and Daily Signal videos about election integrity. These information panels, as YouTube refers to them, include a link to the Bipartisan Policy Center, an organization that provides a subjective viewpoint on mail-in voting.
YouTube also has removed two other videos on the subject of transgender ideology. In 2019, The Daily Signal’s video featuring Dr. Michelle Cretella, a pediatrician and executive director of the American College of Pediatricians, was removed for “violating YouTube’s policy on hate speech.”
Earlier this year, YouTube took similar action, removing a video of a Heritage Foundation event featuring Walt Heyer, who spoke at the Summit on Protecting Children from Sexualization. Heyer, a Daily Signal contributor who years ago sought to transition to a woman, is an outspoken critic of allowing underage Americans to undergo drugs and surgery to change their biological sex.
Social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube do not operate under the guidelines of publishing organizations, but Walton lamented that the lines are being blurred.
“Congress carved out Section 230 to … allow [social media companies] to put content up there that was other people’s content. And as long as they did not act in an editorial way, didn’t act as a publisher, then they could not be sued,” Walton said.
Platforms such as YouTube appear to be acting as publishers, he said, despite Congress stating under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 that “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”
Americans should “be concerned that only one side of a very complex public policy issue is allowed to be heard,” Walton said.
Virginia Allen is a news producer for The Daily Signal. She is the co-host of The Daily Signal Podcast and Problematic Women. Send an email to Virginia.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Signal


thestream--2020-11-08--James Randi Didn’t Believe in God, But He Did Believe in Letting the Weak Die

The Wizard of Oz is more believable than Christianity , he said , and more fun too .
The magician James Randi rejected any belief in the supernatural and enjoyed exposing the frauds .
He has died , at the age of 92 .
There were many frauds to expose .
He performed a public service .
The once famous “ psychic ” and tv celebrity Uri Geller , for one .
He claimed to bend spoons with his mind .
It was a trick , and Randi showed how he did it .
Geller sued him and lost .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christianity , and for silly reasons .
Worse , his skepticism led him to an inhumane , even inhuman , idea of others .
Randi declared in a kind of manifesto that “ I know and accept the real world.
” Real means without God .
His idea of the “ real world ” led him to one of the grosser forms of social darwinism .
He thought , in the famous words of the villain Scrooge , “ If they would rather die , they had better do it , and decrease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idea of humanity in his view of drug users , in a post on his website in 2009 .
Drugs should be legalized , because “ drug prohibition is causing far more harm than good.
” He could be right about that , but he couldn ’ t stop there .
We shouldn ’ t worry about the victims .
“ Those individuals who were stupid enough to rush into the arms of the mythical houris and/or Adonis ’ s they would expect to greet them , ” he says , “ would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whatever chemical or biological fate would overcome them.
” It gets worse .
“ The principle of Survival of the Fittest would draconically prove itself for a couple of years , after which Natural Selection would weed out those for whom there is no hope except through our forbearance , and I ’ m very , very , weary of supporting these losers with my tax dollars.
” After claiming that Prohibition didn ’ t work , he continues : “ Any weeping and wailing over the Poor Little Kids who would perish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poison , is summoning up crocodile tears , in my opinion .
They would — and presently do — mature into grown-up idiots , and Darwin would be appalled that his lessons were ignored.
” Really , Let Them Die He made the same point in his comments in a book called Heretics : Adventures With the Enemies of Science .
The journalist Will Storr asked him about the words I ’ ve just quoted .
“ I ’ m a believer in Social Darwinism , ” Randi said .
He didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way , he said , but adults , sure .
“ In general , I think that Darwinism , survival of the fittest , should be allowed to act itself out .
As long as it doesn ’ t interfere with me and other sensible , rational people who could be affected by it .
Innocent people , in other words.
” As with the first quote , it gets worse .
“ These are stupid people .
And if they can ’ t survive , they don ’ t have the IQ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power to be able to survive , it ’ s unfortunate ; I would hate to see it happen , but at the same time , it would clear the air .
We would be free of a lot of the plagues that we presently suffer from.
” Judging from his comments on legalizing drugs , I don ’ t think Randi would really hate to see it happen .
His kind of darwinism gives him cover to sound more humane than he is .
Unfortunate , he says , with a shrug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it would save the rest of us from a lot of problems .
The world improves when such people die off .
Randi declared that he knew and accepted “ the real world.
” His social darwinist idea of the real world leaves him indifferent to people who suffer .
At least indifferent .
Maybe even a little pleased , because their suffering makes his life better .
This seems to me , based on normal human morality — the nearly universal morality C. S. Lewis called “ the Tao ” — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the real world .
It tells us we don ’ t need to care about others , when caring gives us no evolutionary advantage .
G.K. Chesterton saw the cold-bloodedness of social darwinism over 100 years ago .
“ Darwinism can be used to back up two mad moralities , ” he said in his 1908 book Orthodoxy .
( I ’ ve slightly trimmed the quote here . )
“ The kinship and competition of all living creatures can be used as a reason for being insanely cruel or insanely sentimental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one may be a reason for being tender to a tiger .
Or it may be a reason for being cruel as the tiger.
” Or as indifferent as the tiger .
The tiger needs to eat .
He feels no concern for the feelings of the animals he eats .
Why should he ?
He ’ s a tiger and the animal in front of him is dinner .
A tiger who could speak his thoughts might tell you that survival of the fittest should be allowed to act itself out .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ He does not need to care for the unfit .
Maybe it ’ s unfortunate that the unfit get eaten , but it happens .
And eating the unfit makes the world a little better .
The Christian would add that given the Fall of Man , we tend the choose the insanely cruel alternative .
You can “ train the tiger to imitate you , ” Chesterton said , speaking of the insanely sentimental alternative .
But it ’ s simpler “ to imitate the tiger.
” It ’ s easier to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get more for ourselves that way .
That ’ s what James Randi ’ s skepticism led him to .
Stupid people should die .
Be a tiger , he says in effect .
Don ’ t be human .
Randi reportedly denied saying the words Storr quoted .
But the denial appears nowhere else I can find , including Randi ’ s own website .
I don ’ t believe him , partly because the quote he kept on his own website is thoroughly social darwinist .
Others have raised questions about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ skeptics has said she heard the recording and it is accurate .
That a social darwinist would lie about being a social darwinist should not surprise anyone .
Lying ’ s only a survival strategy .
The fittest say what they need to say to get ahead .
David Mills is a senior editor of The Stream .
After teaching writing in a seminary , he has been editor of Touchstone and the executive editor of First Things .
He edits the site Hour of Our Death and writes the monthly “ Last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Review .
He is finishing a book on death and dying to be published by Sophia Institute Press .
The picture of James Randi is used under a Creative Commons 4.0 license .

The Wizard of Oz is more believable than Christianity, he said, and more fun too. The magician James Randi rejected any belief in the supernatural and enjoyed exposing the frauds. He has died, at the age of 92.
There were many frauds to expose. He performed a public service. The once famous “psychic” and tv celebrity Uri Geller, for one. He claimed to bend spoons with his mind. It was a trick, and Randi showed how he did it. Geller sued him and lost.
Alas, among the frauds Randi included Christianity, and for silly reasons. Worse, his skepticism led him to an inhumane, even inhuman, idea of others.
Let Them Die
Randi declared in a kind of manifesto that “I know and accept the real world.” Real means without God. His idea of the “real world” led him to one of the grosser forms of social darwinism. He thought, in the famous words of the villain Scrooge, “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
He expressed this idea of humanity in his view of drug users, in a post on his website in 2009. Drugs should be legalized, because “drug prohibition is causing far more harm than good.” He could be right about that, but he couldn’t stop there. We shouldn’t worry about the victims. “Those individuals who were stupid enough to rush into the arms of the mythical houris and/or Adonis’s they would expect to greet them,” he says, “would simply do so and die — by whatever chemical or biological fate would overcome them.”
It gets worse. “The principle of Survival of the Fittest would draconically prove itself for a couple of years, after which Natural Selection would weed out those for whom there is no hope except through our forbearance, and I’m very, very, weary of supporting these losers with my tax dollars.”
After claiming that Prohibition didn’t work, he continues: “Any weeping and wailing over the Poor Little Kids who would perish by immediately gobbling down pills and injecting poison, is summoning up crocodile tears, in my opinion. They would — and presently do — mature into grown-up idiots, and Darwin would be appalled that his lessons were ignored.”
Really, Let Them Die
He made the same point in his comments in a book called Heretics: Adventures With the Enemies of Science. The journalist Will Storr asked him about the words I’ve just quoted.
“I’m a believer in Social Darwinism,” Randi said. He didn’t want a child to die that way, he said, but adults, sure. “In general, I think that Darwinism, survival of the fittest, should be allowed to act itself out. As long as it doesn’t interfere with me and other sensible, rational people who could be affected by it. Innocent people, in other words.”
As with the first quote, it gets worse. “These are stupid people. And if they can’t survive, they don’t have the IQ, don’t have the thinking power to be able to survive, it’s unfortunate; I would hate to see it happen, but at the same time, it would clear the air. We would be free of a lot of the plagues that we presently suffer from.”
Judging from his comments on legalizing drugs, I don’t think Randi would really hate to see it happen. His kind of darwinism gives him cover to sound more humane than he is. Unfortunate, he says, with a shrug, but inevitable. And, look, it would save the rest of us from a lot of problems. The world improves when such people die off.
Randi’s Cruel “Real World”
Randi declared that he knew and accepted “the real world.” His social darwinist idea of the real world leaves him indifferent to people who suffer. At least indifferent. Maybe even a little pleased, because their suffering makes his life better. This seems to me, based on normal human morality — the nearly universal morality C. S. Lewis called “the Tao” — to be an argument against his idea of the real world.
It tells us we don’t need to care about others, when caring gives us no evolutionary advantage. G.K. Chesterton saw the cold-bloodedness of social darwinism over 100 years ago. “Darwinism can be used to back up two mad moralities,” he said in his 1908 book Orthodoxy. (I’ve slightly trimmed the quote here.) “The kinship and competition of all living creatures can be used as a reason for being insanely cruel or insanely sentimental. That you and a tiger are one may be a reason for being tender to a tiger. Or it may be a reason for being cruel as the tiger.”
Or as indifferent as the tiger. The tiger needs to eat. He feels no concern for the feelings of the animals he eats. Why should he? He’s a tiger and the animal in front of him is dinner. A tiger who could speak his thoughts might tell you that survival of the fittest should be allowed to act itself out. He is one of the fit. He does not need to care for the unfit. Maybe it’s unfortunate that the unfit get eaten, but it happens. And eating the unfit makes the world a little better.
The Christian would add that given the Fall of Man, we tend the choose the insanely cruel alternative. You can “train the tiger to imitate you,” Chesterton said, speaking of the insanely sentimental alternative. But it’s simpler “to imitate the tiger.” It’s easier to imitate than to train. And we get more for ourselves that way.
That’s what James Randi’s skepticism led him to. Stupid people should die. Be a tiger, he says in effect. Don’t be human.
Randi reportedly denied saying the words Storr quoted. But the denial appears nowhere else I can find, including Randi’s own website. I don’t believe him, partly because the quote he kept on his own website is thoroughly social darwinist. Others have raised questions about his honesty. One of his fellow skeptics has said she heard the recording and it is accurate. That a social darwinist would lie about being a social darwinist should not surprise anyone. Lying’s only a survival strategy. The fittest say what they need to say to get ahead.
David Mills is a senior editor of The Stream. After teaching writing in a seminary, he has been editor of Touchstone and the executive editor of First Things. He edits the site Hour of Our Death and writes the monthly “Last Things” column for the New Oxford Review. He is finishing a book on death and dying to be published by Sophia Institute Press.
The picture of James Randi is used under a Creative Commons 4.0 license.


A Time to Heal?

Joe Biden spoke of it during his victory-claiming , Saturday night speech .
Time Magazine has now made it their new front cover .
It is , we are being told , “ time to heal.
” But will it be that easy ?
And can a party with strong , radical elements lead the way in healing ?
Of course , we still do not know the final outcome of the elections .
There are many court cases to hear and many challenges to review .
And Christians around the country continue to pray fervently for God ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it does turn out that Joe Biden is our next president , with Kamala Harris as vice president , can he ( or she ) lead the way in healing a very broken , fragmented , angry nation ?
He said Saturday night , “ Let ’ s give each other a chance put away the harsh rhetoric.
” Yes , he urged , “ Stop treating our opponents as our enemies .
They are not our enemies .
They ’ re Americans.
” I truly appreciate those words .
I applaud those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is just as much hatred on the left as there is on the right ( and probably in the middle too ) .
We don ’ t simply differ with each other these days .
We despise each other .
We loathe each other .
We demonize each other .
There Will Be No Healing Would that it were as easy as saying , “ Let ’ s stop being enemies.
” Would that we could simply come together over shared , common values .
Would that we could simply love our neighbors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be so .
But as long as there are strong beliefs that the election has been stolen , there will be no healing in sight .
Conversely , should the courts overturn the current vote , there will be no healing .
And when crowds dance in jubilation at the defeat of Trump , there will be no healing .
And when BLM and Antifa remain as radicalized as ever , there will be no healing .
And if Biden becomes our next president and seeks to enact many of his promised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him to do , there will be no healing .
And if Biden and Harris continue to advocate for the legal of slaughtering the unborn — as he is promising to do among his first acts , there will be no healing .
And if Biden is serious about making transgender rights the civil rights issue of the day , there will be no healing .
( Note his specific mention of “ Gay , straight , transgender ” in his speech . )
Even with something as simple as a national mask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ divide .
The Fate of the Nation I personally believe that 8 years of the Obama administration brought great disunity , rather than healing , to the nation .
The next four years of the Trump administration exponentially deepened those divisions and poured salt into the wounds .
And now , with the most divisive , volatile elections since the Civil War , our divisions and suspicions are even deeper .
On the left , people like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are attacking their fellow Democrats for not being radical enough .
Towards the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criticizing people like AOC for their radical positions .
And the further you go to the right , the more the left is perceived as the number one , existential threat to the future of the nation .
That ’ s why both Republicans and Democrats claimed that this election was about “ the future of America ” or “ the future of our democracy.
” Everyone recognized what was at stake .
And should Donald Trump somehow emerge victorious to serve a second term , I see no hope of healing coming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that would be even more miraculous than his reelection .
Christians Must Lead the Way in Healing What , then , can be done ?
To be sure , we should pray that the duly elected , next president will be a unifier rather than a divider .
He can set an example of civility while maintaining his convictions .
He can be a man of courage without savaging his opponents .
That would help in part .
But the onus of bringing healing must fall on those who claim to know the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ values .
Those who truly believe that we are called to stand out from the rest of the world , marked by our conduct and our character .
We can stand firm and immovable without being nasty and petty .
We can vote our convictions without engaging in partisan political mud-slinging .
And , with God ’ s help , we can even love our enemies .
We can actually bless those who curse us .
It is a beautifully freeing and transforming experience .
At the very least , we can practice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fellow-believers , even in the midst of our inevitable differences and conflicts .
As Paul exhorted the Colossians , “ Therefore , as God ’ s chosen people , holy and dearly loved , clothe yourselves with compassion , kindness , humility , gentleness and patience .
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone .
Forgive as the Lord forgave you .
And over all these virtues put on love , which binds them all together in perfect unity ” ( Colossians 3:12-14 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian , this is a command , not a suggestion .
And while the healing of a hurting , angry , divided nation is a seemingly impossible task , we can seek to bring healing one life at a time .
We can reach out with grace to an offended loved one .
We can send a kind-hearted ( not compromised ) note to an angered friend on social media .
We can forgive from the heart .
We can humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness where we have sinned against others .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ no debt remain outstanding , except the continuing debt to love one another , for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law .
The commandments , ‘ You shall not commit adultery , ’ ‘ You shall not murder , ’ ‘ You shall not steal , ’ ‘ You shall not covet , ’ and whatever other command there may be , are summed up in this one command : ‘ Love your neighbor as yourself.
’ Love does no harm to a neighbor .
Therefore love is the fulfillment of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Again , I appreciate any effort by a political leader to sound a conciliatory note and to reach out across the aisle .
I simply realize that with the nature of the divisions that are tearing us apart , true healing will have to come from another source .
May each of us lead the way , not moving an iota from our deeply held convictions and not ceasing to fight for what is right .
But walking in love and living as decent human beings .
Can I count you in ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program .
His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads : Will We Pass the Trump Test ?
Connect with him on Facebook , Twitter or YouTube .

Joe Biden spoke of it during his victory-claiming, Saturday night speech. Time Magazine has now made it their new front cover. It is, we are being told, “time to heal.” But will it be that easy? And can a party with strong, radical elements lead the way in healing?
Of course, we still do not know the final outcome of the elections. There are many court cases to hear and many challenges to review. And Christians around the country continue to pray fervently for God’s will to be done.
But if it does turn out that Joe Biden is our next president, with Kamala Harris as vice president, can he (or she) lead the way in healing a very broken, fragmented, angry nation?
He said Saturday night, “Let’s give each other a chance put away the harsh rhetoric.” Yes, he urged, “Stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They’re Americans.”
I truly appreciate those words. I applaud those sentiments. And I believe that there is just as much hatred on the left as there is on the right (and probably in the middle too).
We don’t simply differ with each other these days. We despise each other. We loathe each other. We demonize each other.
There Will Be No Healing
Would that it were as easy as saying, “Let’s stop being enemies.” Would that we could simply come together over shared, common values. Would that we could simply love our neighbors as ourselves. I pray that it would be so.
But as long as there are strong beliefs that the election has been stolen, there will be no healing in sight.
Conversely, should the courts overturn the current vote, there will be no healing.
And when crowds dance in jubilation at the defeat of Trump, there will be no healing.
And when BLM and Antifa remain as radicalized as ever, there will be no healing.
The onus of bringing healing must fall on those who claim to know the Lord.
And if Biden becomes our next president and seeks to enact many of his promised policies, as his constituents would expect him to do, there will be no healing.
And if Biden and Harris continue to advocate for the legal slaughtering of the unborn — as he is promising to do among his first acts, there will be no healing.
And if Biden is serious about making transgender rights the civil rights issue of the day, there will be no healing. (Note his specific mention of “Gay, straight, transgender” in his speech.)
Even with something as simple as a national mask mandate, it would only deepen the divide.
The Fate of the Nation
I personally believe that 8 years of the Obama administration brought great disunity, rather than healing, to the nation.
The next four years of the Trump administration exponentially deepened those divisions and poured salt into the wounds.
And now, with the most divisive, volatile elections since the Civil War, our divisions and suspicions are even deeper.
On the left, people like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are attacking their fellow Democrats for not being radical enough. Towards the middle-left, the “moderates” are criticizing people like AOC for their radical positions. And the further you go to the right, the more the left is perceived as the number one, existential threat to the future of the nation.
That’s why both Republicans and Democrats claimed that this election was about “the future of America” or “the future of our democracy.” Everyone recognized what was at stake.
And should Donald Trump somehow emerge victorious to serve a second term, I see no hope of healing coming from him either, barring a change that would be even more miraculous than his reelection.
Christians Must Lead the Way in Healing
What, then, can be done?
To be sure, we should pray that the duly elected, next president will be a unifier rather than a divider. He can set an example of civility while maintaining his convictions. He can be a man of courage without savaging his opponents. That would help in part.
But the onus of bringing healing must fall on those who claim to know the Lord. Those who believe in His values. Those who truly believe that we are called to stand out from the rest of the world, marked by our conduct and our character.
We can stand firm and immovable without being nasty and petty. We can vote our convictions without engaging in partisan political mud-slinging. And, with God’s help, we can even love our enemies. We can actually bless those who curse us. It is a beautifully freeing and transforming experience.
At the very least, we can practice such conduct among ourselves, among our fellow-believers, even in the midst of our inevitable differences and conflicts.
As Paul exhorted the Colossians, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14).
If you’re a Christian, this is a command, not a suggestion.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
And while the healing of a hurting, angry, divided nation is a seemingly impossible task, we can seek to bring healing one life at a time.
We can reach out with grace to an offended loved one. We can send a kind-hearted (not compromised) note to an angered friend on social media. We can forgive from the heart. We can humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness where we have sinned against others.
To quote Paul again, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8-10).
Again, I appreciate any effort by a political leader to sound a conciliatory note and to reach out across the aisle. I simply realize that with the nature of the divisions that are tearing us apart, true healing will have to come from another source.
May each of us lead the way, not moving an iota from our deeply held convictions and not ceasing to fight for what is right. But walking in love and living as decent human beings.
Can I count you in?
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test? Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.


thestream--2020-11-09--Governor Wolf and His Legion of Darkness Must be Stopped in Pennsylvania

What is happening in Pennsylvania is a dark moment for America .
Under the leadership of Governor Wolf and his liberal regime , the Pennsylvania elections system has become completely compromised .
It has become clear the leadership in this state is anti-democratic , does not value our Constitution , and is engaged in an outright attack on the legal votes that have been cast by the good , hardworking people of the Commonwealth .
As the former Secretary of State of Ohio , I have overseen multiple elections in a state that for years has been dedicated to transparent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , fairness , and security that breeds confidence in our results .
The actions taken this cycle by the Pennsylvania executive government are abnormal , unethical , and downright corrupt .
It could not be clearer that the Democrat-run Pennsylvania executive government only wants votes counted that support their agenda and their candidates .
The actions Governor Wolf ’ s administration has taken to slant the vote for their candidates is the most egregious abuse of power I have ever witnessed in my decades of working on elections .
It is unconstitutional , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accountable .
In mid-September , Pennsylvania ’ s state Supreme Court upended the carefully crafted work of Pennsylvania ’ s legislature by mandating that mail-in ballots received after Election Day be counted .
Taking it a step further , the court also ruled that such ballots do not even need a postmark , the key accountability measure to ensure Election Day does not turn into never-ending Election Days .
As if that wasn ’ t enough , Wolf operative PA Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar , who is charged with overseeing the elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 28 directing counties to canvass these late ballots as soon as possible instead of segregating these ballots as previously directed and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court .
Boockvar also provided eleventh-hour direction for Pennsylvania counties to provide information to voters whose ballots were incorrectly completed .
While it is important problematic ballots are resolved , Boockvar gave no clear guidance on how to resolve them .
This left county boards of elections confused and inconsistent in resolving these issues , furthering the sea of chaos across Pennsylvania ’ s ballot counting system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Secretary Boockvar are complicit in a nationwide plot that intentionally and irresponsibly opened the door to the election chaos we are seeing today .
In John 3:19 it says , “ Light has come into the world , but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil , ” and Pennsylvania Democrats ’ desire to conduct this election in the dark is not going unnoticed .
What I am seeing here truly saddens me for the future of our democracy .
Thankfully , President Trump and Republicans across America are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this election to be stolen by the partisan hacks who have shown themselves to be enemies of a free and fair election process .
The people of Pennsylvania deserve to have every legal vote counted .
In my days as Secretary of State in Ohio , this would never have been a question .
The actions taken by Pennsylvania officials exemplify their clear bias against Republicans up and down the ballot .
Transparency is crucial in this process and its integrity must be upheld if Americans are to have faith in the results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of State , is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Trump-Pence 2020 Campaign .

What is happening in Pennsylvania is a dark moment for America. Under the leadership of Governor Wolf and his liberal regime, the Pennsylvania elections system has become completely compromised. It has become clear the leadership in this state is anti-democratic, does not value our Constitution, and is engaged in an outright attack on the legal votes that have been cast by the good, hardworking people of the Commonwealth.
As the former Secretary of State of Ohio, I have overseen multiple elections in a state that for years has been dedicated to transparent election administration and ensuring there is bipartisanship, fairness, and security that breeds confidence in our results. The actions taken this cycle by the Pennsylvania executive government are abnormal, unethical, and downright corrupt.
Abuse of Power
It could not be clearer that the Democrat-run Pennsylvania executive government only wants votes counted that support their agenda and their candidates.
The actions Governor Wolf’s administration has taken to slant the vote for their candidates is the most egregious abuse of power I have ever witnessed in my decades of working on elections. It is unconstitutional, un-American, and they must be held accountable.
In mid-September, Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court upended the carefully crafted work of Pennsylvania’s legislature by mandating that mail-in ballots received after Election Day be counted. Taking it a step further, the court also ruled that such ballots do not even need a postmark, the key accountability measure to ensure Election Day does not turn into never-ending Election Days.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
As if that wasn’t enough, Wolf operative PA Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, who is charged with overseeing the elections process, issued unilateral guidance on October 28 directing counties to canvass these late ballots as soon as possible instead of segregating these ballots as previously directed and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Boockvar also provided eleventh-hour direction for Pennsylvania counties to provide information to voters whose ballots were incorrectly completed. While it is important problematic ballots are resolved, Boockvar gave no clear guidance on how to resolve them. This left county boards of elections confused and inconsistent in resolving these issues, furthering the sea of chaos across Pennsylvania’s ballot counting system.
Pennsylvania’s highest court and Secretary Boockvar are complicit in a nationwide plot that intentionally and irresponsibly opened the door to the election chaos we are seeing today.
Fighting Back
In John 3:19 it says, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil,” and Pennsylvania Democrats’ desire to conduct this election in the dark is not going unnoticed. What I am seeing here truly saddens me for the future of our democracy.
Thankfully, President Trump and Republicans across America are fighting back, and will not allow this election to be stolen by the partisan hacks who have shown themselves to be enemies of a free and fair election process. The people of Pennsylvania deserve to have every legal vote counted. In my days as Secretary of State in Ohio, this would never have been a question.
The actions taken by Pennsylvania officials exemplify their clear bias against Republicans up and down the ballot. Transparency is crucial in this process and its integrity must be upheld if Americans are to have faith in the results.
Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State, is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Trump-Pence 2020 Campaign.


thestream--2020-11-09--COVID-19 Response Exposes Racism in China, Amid Harmony Claims

The coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic has exposed two longstanding ugly problems : underlying racist views of Africans living in China and the burden debt to China lays on several African countries .
The key flashpoints creating tension between China and Africa are 1 ) Mistreatment of citizens of African countries living in China , particularly in Guangzhou , capital of Guangdong province and 2 ) Beijing ’ s position on granting debt relief to countries in Africa so they can direct resources to dealing with the coronavirus .
According to a Politico article from April 2020 , In one incident , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Representatives , Femi Gbajabiamila , posted a video of himself summoning Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian to his office where he expressed his displeasure about a Nigerian man being evicted from his home .
While nobody expects China to lose its place as Africa ’ s biggest bilateral lender and trade partner , analysts and African diplomats say there is a distinct possibility of lasting damage .
Reluctance from China to endorse a G-20 decision to suspend Africa ’ s debt payments until the end of the year has exacerbated the sense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first part of a two-part series , we ’ ll look at the events in Guangzhou , capital of China ’ s southernmost province , last spring that led to a global public outcry .
In Part 2 , we ’ ll look at the lopsided economic relationship between China and several African countries .
All Africans in Guangzhou Were Presumed to Be Infected In April , the Chinese government and the heads of several African nations engaged in a highly public conflict after videos and images on social and traditional media showed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Guangzhou .
The BBC interviewed a student at Guangdong University who was suddenly evicted : Ade* was given until midnight to vacate his apartment .
Five months earlier , the Nigerian student had moved to Guangzhou , southern China , to study computing at Guangdong university .
He had just paid his university fees for the new semester when his landlord informed him that he needed to leave .
He scrambled to pack his belongings .
The police were waiting for him and his roommates outside .
When he attempted to drop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s warehouse , he was prevented from entering .
He spent several nights sleeping on the streets .
“ Look how they are treating us , how they forced us out of our houses and forced us to self-quarantine , ” he told the BBC from a hotel in the city .
“ They told me that the [ test ] result is out and I am negative .
Still they don ’ t want me to go out.
” His story is not unique to the city .
One community leader said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been forced to quarantine and take multiple COVID-19 tests .
Africans post their negative test results on their encrypted social media group in Guangzhou .
They are then told they still have to quarantine “ because of the rising number of cases in Africa ” even though they have not traveled to Africa .
Many African residents of Guangzhou feel they are being targeted so that authorities can blame new cases of the virus on the African population .
According to a VOA article , We as Africans wake every morning , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ door , they say you have to undergo this test .
So it was a confusing situation because some of us were thinking that ‘ Oh , now they want to put the virus in us , not just checking us , ” Ndayigengesere told VOA ’ s Central Africa service .
The fear is compounded by a lack of explanation from authorities .
“ The fact that there was no information given or a notice before what was happening .
It was very confusing , ” Ndayigengesere said .
Guangzhou has the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China .
In 2009 , more than 20,000 lived there but by 2019 , that number had declined to 13,500 .
By April 2020 , the number had shrunk to only 4,500 registered Africans .
Underlying the tension between locals and African nationals in China is the large number of people , predominantly from western African countries , who have overstayed their visas or “ lost their passports.
” They then live as untraceable immigrants in China .
They pose a problem for the Chinese government ’ s surveillance strategies to control and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brookings Institute report , eighteen positive COVID-19 cases in Guangzhou were traced to Africans who traveled on Etihad ’ s Air flight ET 606 from Addis to Guangzhou prior to the suspension of that route on March 31 .
Additionally , twelve cases of COVID-19 in Guangzhou were traced back to Africa and five Nigerians who ate at a local restaurant tested positive .
Though the Chinese government says that it does not discriminate among foreigners , Africans report that whites and non-Africans are not treated the same way as they are .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ evicted from their homes , they were then required to pay for their lodging in hotel under mandatory quarantine and for medical treatment related to COVID-19 , which might including the multiple tests that they were required to take .
Other foreigners would also have had to pay but not all foreigners were required to quarantine in hotels .
African Leaders Break Their Usual Silence on Relations With China Racial tensions between Chinese and African residents are hardly new but African leaders and Chinese ambassadors have not typically aired confrontations over such matters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China ’ s economic loans and infrastructure projects .
However , the situation in Guangzhou brought the tension into the open .
According to The Diplomat , African leaders , celebrities , and citizens publicly condemned China ’ s treatment of Africans in Guangzhou ( April 2020 ) .
The United States has also condemned the actions against Africans as racist , pointing out that black Americans were also targeted , possibly because the public order in Guangzhou was to refuse business to anyone “ who looks African.
” Meanwhile , Kenyan MP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his Facebook page that Chinese nationals in Kenya should go back to their own country .
He asked why the Chinese government is blaming Africans for a virus “ you manufactured in a Wuhan laboratory.
” As of this writing , the global consensus is that the virus did originate in Wuhan in southeastern China .
The French National Center for Scientific Research says the virus may have come from a laboratory mishap .
Beyond that , however , we know little of its origins .
Accusing Chinese nationals in Kenya of malign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widespread blanket suspicion of Africans ( and people who look like Africans ) in China .
According to Brookings , the result has been a “ series of formal and official diplomatic protests from the African Union and African countries toward China.
” Some , like The Diplomat ’ s Eleanor Albert , wonder if the unprecedented public display has irrevocably damaged China-Africa relations : In Part 2 , we ’ ll look at how the pandemic has intensified tensions between African nations that have accrued substantial debt from China for high-tech development @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on debt relief .
For further reading on China , Africa and high tech , see , “ China ’ s AI Iackage for Africa Includes Mass Surveillance Technology .
Africa Sees Development Aid ; China Sees an Expanding African Database ” and “ The Age of the Wolf Warrior : China ’ s Post-Pandemic Strategy .
The younger diplomats take their cue from a Chinese Rambo-style movie and the rewritten history they learned at school.
” Heather Zeiger is a freelance science writer in Dallas , Texas .
She has advanced degrees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the intersection of science , technology and society .
She also serves as a research analyst with The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity .
Heather writes for bioethics.com , Salvo Magazine , and her work has appeared in Relevant , MercatorNet , Quartz , and The New Atlantis .
For more breaking news about the interface of natural & artificial intelligence , visit MindMatters.AI .
Copyright 2020 Mind Matters .

The coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic has exposed two longstanding ugly problems: underlying racist views of Africans living in China and the burden debt to China lays on several African countries.
The key flashpoints creating tension between China and Africa are 1) Mistreatment of citizens of African countries living in China, particularly in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province and 2) Beijing’s position on granting debt relief to countries in Africa so they can direct resources to dealing with the coronavirus. According to a Politico article from April 2020,
In one incident, Nigeria’s speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, posted a video of himself summoning Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian to his office where he expressed his displeasure about a Nigerian man being evicted from his home. While nobody expects China to lose its place as Africa’s biggest bilateral lender and trade partner, analysts and African diplomats say there is a distinct possibility of lasting damage. Reluctance from China to endorse a G-20 decision to suspend Africa’s debt payments until the end of the year has exacerbated the sense of frustration, they said.
In this first part of a two-part series, we’ll look at the events in Guangzhou, capital of China’s southernmost province, last spring that led to a global public outcry. In Part 2, we’ll look at the lopsided economic relationship between China and several African countries.
All Africans in Guangzhou Were Presumed to Be Infected
In April, the Chinese government and the heads of several African nations engaged in a highly public conflict after videos and images on social and traditional media showed Africans being mistreated due to coronavirus fears in Guangzhou.
The BBC interviewed a student at Guangdong University who was suddenly evicted:
Ade* was given until midnight to vacate his apartment. Five months earlier, the Nigerian student had moved to Guangzhou, southern China, to study computing at Guangdong university. He had just paid his university fees for the new semester when his landlord informed him that he needed to leave. He scrambled to pack his belongings. The police were waiting for him and his roommates outside. When he attempted to drop off his bags at a friend’s warehouse, he was prevented from entering. He spent several nights sleeping on the streets. “Look how they are treating us, how they forced us out of our houses and forced us to self-quarantine,” he told the BBC from a hotel in the city. “They told me that the [test] result is out and I am negative. Still they don’t want me to go out.”
His story is not unique to the city. One community leader said the majority of Africans living in China have been forced to quarantine and take multiple COVID-19 tests. Africans post their negative test results on their encrypted social media group in Guangzhou. They are then told they still have to quarantine “because of the rising number of cases in Africa” even though they have not traveled to Africa.
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Many African residents of Guangzhou feel they are being targeted so that authorities can blame new cases of the virus on the African population. According to a VOA article,
We as Africans wake every morning, and there are people standing at your door, they say you have to undergo this test. So it was a confusing situation because some of us were thinking that ‘Oh, now they want to put the virus in us, not just checking us,” Ndayigengesere told VOA’s Central Africa service. The fear is compounded by a lack of explanation from authorities. “The fact that there was no information given or a notice before what was happening. It was very confusing,” Ndayigengesere said.
Guangzhou has the largest number of African nationals living in China. In 2009, more than 20,000 lived there but by 2019, that number had declined to 13,500. By April 2020, the number had shrunk to only 4,500 registered Africans.
Underlying the tension between locals and African nationals in China is the large number of people, predominantly from western African countries, who have overstayed their visas or “lost their passports.” They then live as untraceable immigrants in China. They pose a problem for the Chinese government’s surveillance strategies to control and curb the pandemic.
Racial tensions between Chinese and African residents are hardly new but African leaders and Chinese ambassadors have not typically aired confrontations over such matters.
According to a Brookings Institute report, eighteen positive COVID-19 cases in Guangzhou were traced to Africans who traveled on Etihad’s Air flight ET 606 from Addis to Guangzhou prior to the suspension of that route on March 31. Additionally, twelve cases of COVID-19 in Guangzhou were traced back to Africa and five Nigerians who ate at a local restaurant tested positive.
Notably, local authorities have identified Africa as the source of the largest number of imported COVID-19 cases—among all foreign cases identified in Guangzhou, 76 percent have been from African countries, including 36 percent from Nigeria alone. More specifically, by April 11, the city of Guangzhou had identified a total of 119 imported cases of COVID-19, 25 of whom are foreign nationals—including nine Nigerians, three Angolans, two Nigeriens, two from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and one each from France, Brazil, the U.K., Australia, Syria, Russia, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Madagascar.
Though the Chinese government says that it does not discriminate among foreigners, Africans report that whites and non-Africans are not treated the same way as they are. For example, when African nationals were evicted from their homes, they were then required to pay for their lodging in hotel under mandatory quarantine and for medical treatment related to COVID-19, which might including the multiple tests that they were required to take. Other foreigners would also have had to pay but not all foreigners were required to quarantine in hotels.
African Leaders Break Their Usual Silence on Relations With China
Racial tensions between Chinese and African residents are hardly new but African leaders and Chinese ambassadors have not typically aired confrontations over such matters. Many African countries have benefited from China’s economic loans and infrastructure projects. However, the situation in Guangzhou brought the tension into the open.
According to The Diplomat, African leaders, celebrities, and citizens publicly condemned China’s treatment of Africans in Guangzhou (April 2020). The United States has also condemned the actions against Africans as racist, pointing out that black Americans were also targeted, possibly because the public order in Guangzhou was to refuse business to anyone “who looks African.”
Meanwhile, Kenyan MP Moses Kuria (pictured) said on his Facebook page that Chinese nationals in Kenya should go back to their own country. He asked why the Chinese government is blaming Africans for a virus “you manufactured in a Wuhan laboratory.”
As of this writing, the global consensus is that the virus did originate in Wuhan in southeastern China. The French National Center for Scientific Research says the virus may have come from a laboratory mishap. Beyond that, however, we know little of its origins. Accusing Chinese nationals in Kenya of malign intentions seems to be a response to widespread blanket suspicion of Africans (and people who look like Africans) in China.
According to Brookings, the result has been a “series of formal and official diplomatic protests from the African Union and African countries toward China.” Some, like The Diplomat’s Eleanor Albert, wonder if the unprecedented public display has irrevocably damaged China-Africa relations:
This wave of discrimination not only exposed how swiftly local policies can frustrate and stymie broader Chinese foreign policy objectives, but also shed light on the disparate experiences of foreigners living in China — notably between those from the wealthier West and those from developing countries.
In Part 2, we’ll look at how the pandemic has intensified tensions between African nations that have accrued substantial debt from China for high-tech development and the Chinese government’s decisions on debt relief.
For further reading on China, Africa and high tech, see, “China’s AI Iackage for Africa Includes Mass Surveillance Technology. Africa Sees Development Aid; China Sees an Expanding African Database” and “The Age of the Wolf Warrior: China’s Post-Pandemic Strategy. The younger diplomats take their cue from a Chinese Rambo-style movie and the rewritten history they learned at school.”
Heather Zeiger is a freelance science writer in Dallas, Texas. She has advanced degrees in chemistry and bioethics and writes on the intersection of science, technology and society. She also serves as a research analyst with The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity. Heather writes for bioethics.com, Salvo Magazine, and her work has appeared in Relevant, MercatorNet, Quartz, and The New Atlantis.
For more breaking news about the interface of natural & artificial intelligence, visit MindMatters.AI. Copyright 2020 Mind Matters.


thestream--2020-11-09--Abortion is Essential Health Care — And Other Falsehoods

When it comes to abortion , it ’ s time for adults to stop sleeping and start thinking .
According to U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden , “ Abortion is an essential health care service.
” Yes , treatments for ectopic pregnancies occur , but they ’ re not abortions .
Yes , treatments for heart disease or cancer can involve pre-term deliveries that might result in the death of a child , but they ’ re not abortions .
Also in 2019 , Omar L. Hamada , M.D.
, Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ C. Everett Koop in 1980 ( when he was Surgeon General of the U.S. ) stated this : Also , consider that Dr. R. J. Hefferman of Tufts University stated this in 1951 : Smell the coffee , folks .
Abortion is not health care .
According to Terry O ’ Neill , 2009-2017 President of Pro-Choice NOW ( National Organization for Women ) , “ Abortion care , no less than contraception , is an essential measure to prevent the heartbreak of infant mortality.
” O ’ Neill favors abortion so we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situations in which infants die natural deaths shortly after they ’ re born .
Notice the moral principle lurking behind O ’ Neill ’ s view : If someone is going to die of natural causes early in life , I should be free to kill him/her sooner to prevent my heartbreak .
So why stop with the heartbreak of infant mortality ?
Perhaps we could prevent our heartbreak over the natural deaths of old people by killing them earlier .
And perhaps we could prevent our heartbreak over the natural deaths of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
O ’ Neill ’ s view turns “ care ” into killing — and is an atrocious moral falsehood .
Women have the right to control their own bodies , so abortion is a woman ’ s right .
This is a popular argument — even Canada ’ s Prime Minister makes it ( implicitly ) when he justifies abortion by saying women have “ the right to control their own bodies.
” The assumed premise is that a fetus is part of the mother ’ s body .
But this premise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is CONNECTED to the mother .
But it is not a proper PART of the mother — like a piano is connected via straps to a mover ’ s truck but isn ’ t a part of the truck .
To think the fetus is part of the mother leads logically to absurd results : e.g.
, a woman has eight arms and three penises if pregnant with male triplets .
( We ’ re not talking intersex here , we ’ re talking about a woman . )
Sure , every woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ body .
But there are two bodies involved in an abortion .
It ’ s one thing to control one ’ s own body — it ’ s quite another to kill the body of another !
Wake up , adults .
Your dogmatic slumbers are killing little children — lots of them .
Wake up , for goodness ’ sake .
Hendrik van der Breggen , PhD , is a retired philosophy professor who lives in Steinbach , Manitoba , Canada .

When it comes to abortion, it’s time for adults to stop sleeping and start thinking.
Essential Health Care?
According to U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, “Abortion is an essential health care service.”
No, it’s not.
Dr. Kendra Kolb, a neonatologist, stated this in 2019:
There is no medical reason why the life of the child must be directly and intentionally ended with an abortion procedure.
Yes, treatments for ectopic pregnancies occur, but they’re not abortions. Yes, treatments for heart disease or cancer can involve pre-term deliveries that might result in the death of a child, but they’re not abortions.
Also in 2019, Omar L. Hamada, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, stated this:
There is absolutely no medically justifiable reason for abortion (“the intentional and elective targeted killing of an infant at any stage of pregnancy for matters of maternal choice or convenience”) to save the life of the mother. Period. End of story.
Also, Dr. C. Everett Koop in 1980 (when he was Surgeon General of the U.S.) stated this:
In my 36 years in pediatric surgery I have never known of one instance where the child had to be aborted to save the mother’s life.
Also, consider that Dr. R. J. Hefferman of Tufts University stated this in 1951:
Anyone who performs a therapeutic abortion (for physical disease) is either ignorant of modern methods of treating the complications of pregnancy, or is unwilling to take time to use them.
Smell the coffee, folks. Abortion is not health care.
“Care” Turned Into Killing
According to Terry O’Neill, 2009-2017 President of Pro-Choice NOW (National Organization for Women), “Abortion care, no less than contraception, is an essential measure to prevent the heartbreak of infant mortality.”
O’Neill favors abortion so we can avoid feeling sad in the tragic situations in which infants die natural deaths shortly after they’re born.
My response: Huh? Really?
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Notice the moral principle lurking behind O’Neill’s view: If someone is going to die of natural causes early in life, I should be free to kill him/her sooner to prevent my heartbreak.
So why stop with the heartbreak of infant mortality? Perhaps we could prevent our heartbreak over the natural deaths of old people by killing them earlier. And perhaps we could prevent our heartbreak over the natural deaths of the homeless by killing them, too.
O’Neill’s view turns “care” into killing — and is an atrocious moral falsehood.
A moral nightmare.
A Woman’s Right
Women have the right to control their own bodies, so abortion is a woman’s right.
This is a popular argument — even Canada’s Prime Minister makes it (implicitly) when he justifies abortion by saying women have “the right to control their own bodies.”
But it’s a fallacious argument.
The assumed premise is that a fetus is part of the mother’s body. But this premise is false.
Yes, a fetus is CONNECTED to the mother. But it is not a proper PART of the mother — like a piano is connected via straps to a mover’s truck but isn’t a part of the truck.
To think the fetus is part of the mother leads logically to absurd results: e.g., a woman has eight arms and three penises if pregnant with male triplets. (We’re not talking intersex here, we’re talking about a woman.)
Sure, every woman has the right to control her own body. But there are two bodies involved in an abortion.
It’s one thing to control one’s own body — it’s quite another to kill the body of another!
Wake up, adults. Your dogmatic slumbers are killing little children — lots of them. Wake up, for goodness’ sake.
Hendrik van der Breggen, PhD, is a retired philosophy professor who lives in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada.


thestream--2020-11-09--Military Photo of the Day: November 9, 2020

A military working dog handler and a military working dog named Sam train on a window obstacle at Dover Air @ @ @ @ @ October 8 , 2020 .

A military working dog handler and a military working dog named Sam train on a window obstacle at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on October 8, 2020.
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thestream--2020-11-10--There are Serious Voting Anomalies in Pennsylvania

There ’ s a lot of chatter online about statistical oddities in several states , and I ’ ve been asked to analyze the votes in Pennsylvania .
That work is ongoing , and at the moment , I ’ m working with limited data .
Still , I think there are clear signs that something untoward happened in the Keystone State .
Here are a couple of telling examples .
I ’ ve gotten official county-level timed voting data that started at 11:00 on November 4 , the day after the election , to 11:29 on November 7 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are all late vote counts .
They start , county by county , where the vote left off on election night .
This is a picture of the running totals by the time the votes were added , summed across all counties , during those time periods .
They do not start at 0 , but where things were after election night .
The early gains for Biden are mainly from Philadelphia , Allegheny , Montgomery , Chester and Berks counties .
A simple plot ( click to see : it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ additions for both candidates , when new vote totals ( greater than 0 ) were added by county ( and not all counties added votes after election day ) .
All goes well for Trump until election night , November 4 , at 9:15 pm , when he loses just under 10,000 votes .
Curiously , this loss is from three different counties simultaneously : -1,063 in Allegheny ; -2,972 in Bucks ; -7,135 in Chester .
Biden never lost any votes ( at least , not in this late voting ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at that moment .
Rather , that ’ s when they were recorded in the official data .
Biden ’ s next curiosity was the big increase of 27,396 votes on Nov. 6 at 8:53:00 over one consecutive reporting period .
This bump is just like the blue-red F-memes you have seen : this only seems more spread out because of the finer time scale used .
These two curiosities account for a 37,263 vote swing for Biden .
Biden ’ s total , as of the end of this data , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden therefore “ won , ” in this dataset anyway , by 34,202 votes .
So , three separate counties removed about 10,000 votes from Trump on Wednesday evening .
And then late Friday , about 27,000 votes were added for Biden .
This happened after it was clear that this is what Biden would need to push ahead .
This needs to be answered .
Now let ’ s look at some other data that shows how hard it can be to spot anomalies .
Remember , we ’ re looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occurred after election day through Saturday night .
Now we know huge additions were made to Biden on Wednesday morning .
These additions , we ’ re told , contain a lot of COVID-19 fear inspired mail-in ballots .
But I don ’ t have the breakdown of which are mail-in and which “ native ” or other votes .
Again , throughout the days after the election , votes were added to both candidate totals at various times .
You ’ d expect that sometimes the additions would favor Trump , sometimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be 50-50 , of course , but would reflect the true underlying vote .
Here ’ s a picture showing the indexed , low to high , vote additions for each time they happened : there were over 200 of these additions .
For instance , at one point ( the right-most line ) about 45,000 votes were added for Biden ; and at the same time about 16,500 for Trump .
Those cases where Biden got more votes than Trump are blue .
When Trump got more the lines are red .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote additions sometimes , but every single one of the competitions was trivial .
They were on the order of 1 vote for Trump , 0 for Biden , or 20 for Trump and 7 for Biden .
On the other hand , Biden votes additions were almost always large compared to Trump ’ s .
( But , note : There aren ’ t any large times where only Biden gained votes .
It ’ s not that obvious . )
Still , the huge early additions to Biden are curious .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ occurred , for six counties which for other reasons appear suspicious .
Chester and Cumberland had predominately registered Republicans , and yet Biden supposedly beat Obama ( in either term ) in vote totals by 20-40 % !
The county names appear at the peak of the differences .
For example , late on November 4th , Biden received about 40,000 more votes than Trump in Philadelphia county .
Each line shows the Biden-Trump vote additions for a different county .
The county names appear at the peak of the differences .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the one that pushed Biden ahead , which I mentioned above .
You can see in these large counties only one time where more Trump than Biden votes were added , and it ’ s a trivial amount .
This suggests , as you might expect in a machine town saturated in a history of vote tampering , that investigators should concentrate their efforts on the mail-in ballots in Philly .
To really discover something about the mail-in ballots , though , investigators will need to examine each one , and compare them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the distribution of patterns .
For instance , a large number of supposed mail-ins are only marked for president and none of the other races would be almost definitive proof of cheating , especially considering real people who mailed ballots in had all the time in the world to consider their choices .
Now you know why it was important to keep these late-added ballots separate from the regular ones .
Unless , of course , you are committing voter fraud , and want to cover your tracks .
William Briggs is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ W. Richards , of The Price of Panic : How the Tyranny of Experts Turned a Pandemic into a Catastrophe .

Important update November 11, 8:45 PM: The missing votes (discussed in the first case below) appear to have been a data input error. The totals at the end of the early data I was given were correct. It was only the one time point that was in error. The time step where Trump goes down was due to missing data at that time: the old file I was given at the time stamp has data missing for the totals. The totals before and after are the same in the corrected data. Meaning the first curiosity has been solved: simple data error entry, which only affected the one time point. Here is the PA web site for data. Here is the corrected version of the data I was given (Excel file). For more on this update, see here.
There’s a lot of chatter online about statistical oddities in several states, and I’ve been asked to analyze the votes in Pennsylvania. That work is ongoing, and at the moment, I’m working with limited data. Still, I think there are clear signs that something untoward happened in the Keystone State. Here are a couple of telling examples.
I’ve gotten official county-level timed voting data that started at 11:00 on November 4, the day after the election, to 11:29 on November 7, which is Saturday. So, these are all late vote counts. They start, county by county, where the vote left off on election night.
This is a picture of the running totals by the time the votes were added, summed across all counties, during those time periods. They do not start at 0, but where things were after election night.
The early gains for Biden are mainly from Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, Chester and Berks counties. A simple plot (click to see: it’s large) shows the size of vote additions for both candidates, when new vote totals (greater than 0) were added by county (and not all counties added votes after election day).
All goes well for Trump until election night, November 4, at 9:15 pm, when he loses just under 10,000 votes. Curiously, this loss is from three different counties simultaneously: -1,063 in Allegheny; -2,972 in Bucks; -7,135 in Chester. Biden never lost any votes (at least, not in this late voting).
This does not mean the decreases happened at that moment. Rather, that’s when they were recorded in the official data.
Biden’s next curiosity was the big increase of 27,396 votes on Nov. 6 at 8:53:00 over one consecutive reporting period. This bump is just like the blue-red F-memes you have seen: this only seems more spread out because of the finer time scale used.
So, three separate counties removed about 10,000 votes from Trump on Wednesday evening. And then late Friday, about 27,000 votes were added for Biden. This happened after it was clear that this is what Biden would need to push ahead.
These two curiosities account for a 37,263 vote swing for Biden. Biden’s total, as of the end of this data, was 3,344,528, and Trump’s 3,310,326. Biden therefore “won,” in this dataset anyway, by 34,202 votes.
So, three separate counties removed about 10,000 votes from Trump on Wednesday evening. And then late Friday, about 27,000 votes were added for Biden.
This happened after it was clear that this is what Biden would need to push ahead. This needs to be answered.
Votes Added and Deleted
Now let’s look at some other data that shows how hard it can be to spot anomalies. Remember, we’re looking only at county-level voting data additions that occurred after election day through Saturday night.
Now we know huge additions were made to Biden on Wednesday morning. These additions, we’re told, contain a lot of COVID-19 fear inspired mail-in ballots. But I don’t have the breakdown of which are mail-in and which are “native” or other votes.
Again, throughout the days after the election, votes were added to both candidate totals at various times. You’d expect that sometimes the additions would favor Trump, sometimes Biden. The split wouldn’t be 50-50, of course, but would reflect the true underlying vote.
Here’s a picture showing the indexed, low to high, vote additions for each time they happened: there were over 200 of these additions. For instance, at one point (the right-most line) about 45,000 votes were added for Biden; and at the same time about 16,500 for Trump. Those cases where Biden got more votes than Trump are blue. When Trump got more the lines are red.
Trump did come out ahead in the vote additions sometimes, but every single one of the competitions was trivial. They were on the order of 1 vote for Trump, 0 for Biden, or 20 for Trump and 7 for Biden. On the other hand, Biden votes additions were almost always large compared to Trump’s. (But, note: There aren’t any large times where only Biden gained votes. It’s not that obvious.)
Still, the huge early additions to Biden are curious.
Here are the Biden-Trump additions as they occurred, for six counties which for other reasons appear suspicious. Chester and Cumberland had predominately registered Republicans, and yet Biden supposedly beat Obama (in either term) in vote totals by 20-40%! The county names appear at the peak of the differences. For example, late on November 4th, Biden received about 40,000 more votes than Trump in Philadelphia county.
Each line shows the Biden-Trump vote additions for a different county. The county names appear at the peak of the differences.
That peak for Philly on the 6th is the one that pushed Biden ahead, which I mentioned above. You can see in these large counties only one time where more Trump than Biden votes were added, and it’s a trivial amount.
This suggests, as you might expect in a machine town saturated in a history of vote tampering, that investigators should concentrate their efforts on the mail-in ballots in Philly.
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To really discover something about the mail-in ballots, though, investigators will need to examine each one, and compare them to in-person ballots. They should compare the distribution of patterns. For instance, a large number of supposed mail-ins are only marked for president and none of the other races would be almost definitive proof of cheating, especially considering real people who mailed ballots in had all the time in the world to consider their choices.
Now you know why it was important to keep these late-added ballots separate from the regular ones. Unless, of course, you are committing voter fraud, and want to cover your tracks.
William Briggs is the co-author, with Douglas Axe and Jay W. Richards, of The Price of Panic: How the Tyranny of Experts Turned a Pandemic into a Catastrophe.


thestream--2020-11-09--Military Photo of the Day: Operations in Iceland

U.S. Air Force F-15C/D Eagles conduct operations in support of NATO air policing at Keflavik Air Base in Iceland on @ @ @ @ @ Thank you to these fighter pilots and crewmembers for serving our country overseas .

U.S. Air Force F-15C/D Eagles conduct operations in support of NATO air policing at Keflavik Air Base in Iceland on October 26, 2020.
Thank you to these fighter pilots and crewmembers for serving our country overseas.
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