newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Microsoft rejected, Oracle wins bid for TikTok’s US operations

Microsoft ’ s bid to purchase TikTok ’ s US operations was rejected , the company announced Sunday , with Oracle reportedly winning the bid to help run the popular social media app in the states .
The deal between Tiktok ’ s Beijing-based owner ByteDance and Oracle is not believed to be structured as an outright sale , a source told The Wall Street Journal .
Instead , the software giant is set to be the app ’ s “ trusted tech partner , ” in the US , the report said .
ByteDance had been in negotiations with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump issued an executive order banning TikTok if a deal was not reached mid-September .
A separate order Trump issued Aug. 14 gave ByteDance 90 days to divest the app ’ s US operations , suggesting that it had until Nov. 12 to find an American buyer .
Microsoft earlier Sunday announced in a statement they were out of contention .
“ ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok ’ s US operations to Microsoft , ” the company said .
“ We are confident our proposal would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while protecting national security interests.
” Trump and other US officials have expressed concern that TikTok would sell user data to their government , but the Chinese-based company has insisted that ’ s not the case .

Microsoft’s bid to purchase TikTok’s US operations was rejected, the company announced Sunday, with Oracle reportedly winning the bid to help run the popular social media app in the states.
The deal between Tiktok’s Beijing-based owner ByteDance and Oracle is not believed to be structured as an outright sale, a source told The Wall Street Journal.
Instead, the software giant is set to be the app’s “trusted tech partner,” in the US, the report said.
ByteDance had been in negotiations with Microsoft and Oracle since August when President Trump issued an executive order banning TikTok if a deal was not reached mid-September.
A separate order Trump issued Aug. 14 gave ByteDance 90 days to divest the app’s US operations, suggesting that it had until Nov. 12 to find an American buyer.
Microsoft earlier Sunday announced in a statement they were out of contention.
“ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft,” the company said.
“We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests.”
Trump and other US officials have expressed concern that TikTok would sell user data to their government, but the Chinese-based company has insisted that’s not the case.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Jets don’t come out for national anthem in surreal scene

Standing on the field at Bills Stadium , minutes before kickoff between the Jets and Bills Sunday , Nashville recording artist Caitlin Koch , an Orchard Park native , sung the national anthem with both sidelines as empty as the stadium seats .
The Jets and Bills remained in the locker room as a show of unity against the rash of racial injustice that ’ s been so rampant in the country .
“ We had a couple meetings leading up to the game to put the options out there , ’ ’ Jets coach Adam Gase said after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision was made as a group that we were going to be together on this and stay in the locker room.
’ ’ According to Jets quarterback Sam Darnold , one of the team captains , the players came to the decision on Thursday .
“ For us , it was just about making a statement and that was our thought process , ’ ’ Darnold said .
“ We didn ’ t talk to Buffalo about it at all .
It was just a coincidence that both teams did that.
’ ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taped to the back of their helmets .
Marcus Maye honored Breonna Taylor , who was shot and killed by a police officer in March in Louisville .
Cornerback Pierre Desir honored Michael Brown , who was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson , Mo .
in 2014 .
“ It was something that we came up with as a team , ’ ’ receiver Jamison Crowder said .
“ I don ’ t know if it ’ ll be something that we do every week , but with what ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs to be some change and we ’ re just trying to use our platform so that our voices can be heard.
’ ’ Maye said what the team decides to do for the anthem for the rest of the season will be a fluid situation .
“ It ’ ll be a conversation we have every week , ’ ’ he said .

It was a surreal scene.
Standing on the field at Bills Stadium, minutes before kickoff between the Jets and Bills Sunday, Nashville recording artist Caitlin Koch, an Orchard Park native, sung the national anthem with both sidelines as empty as the stadium seats.
The Jets and Bills remained in the locker room as a show of unity against the rash of racial injustice that’s been so rampant in the country.
“We had a couple meetings leading up to the game to put the options out there,’’ Jets coach Adam Gase said after the Jets’ 27-17 loss. “The decision was made as a group that we were going to be together on this and stay in the locker room.’’
According to Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, one of the team captains, the players came to the decision on Thursday.
“For us, it was just about making a statement and that was our thought process,’’ Darnold said. “We didn’t talk to Buffalo about it at all. It was just a coincidence that both teams did that.’’
Several players wore the names of victims taped to the back of their helmets.
Marcus Maye honored Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by a police officer in March in Louisville. Cornerback Pierre Desir honored Michael Brown, who was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. in 2014.
“It was something that we came up with as a team,’’ receiver Jamison Crowder said. “I don’t know if it’ll be something that we do every week, but with what’s going on in the world there needs to be some change and we’re just trying to use our platform so that our voices can be heard.’’
Maye said what the team decides to do for the anthem for the rest of the season will be a fluid situation.
“It’ll be a conversation we have every week,’’ he said.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--If Biden can’t answer questions without a script, how can he run the country?

Wow : Joe Biden ’ s staff won ’ t even let him do a “ spontaneous ” Q & A session without a script .
Is he really that far gone ?
Obsessive scripting is the only explanation for what happened at last week ’ s Biden question-and-answer session with AFL-CIO union members , when the candidate responded to a young barista ’ s query with the non sequitur , “ Move it up here ” — then paused .
Anyone who ’ s been following Biden ’ s travails recognizes those words as a cue to his aides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s done time and again in recent weeks .
( Why an experienced politician with a top-notch staff keeps having this trouble is also worrisome . )
Anyway , after the pause , Joe launched into his “ off the cuff ” response — which was utter boilerplate : “ You know , there used to be a basic bargain in this country , that workers shared in the wealth they helped create.
” It ’ s beyond appalling that Biden would need reminding of that trope .
His aides won ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room .
After the AFL-CIO footage made the rounds , Fox News ’ Bret Baier put the obvious question to TJ Ducklo , the campaign ’ s national press secretary : “ Has Joe Biden ever used a teleprompter during local interviews or to answer Q & As with supporters ?
” Ducklo ducked the question — repeatedly , before finally saying , “ I am not going to allow the Trump campaign to funnel their questions through Fox News and get me to respond to that.
” Time and again , teleprompter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is just reading his lines in what his campaign pretends are real conversations with supporters , like Pennsylvania Gov .
Tom Wolf .
He ’ s not even answering reporters ’ questions off the cuff : “ Look , Venezuela topline message is .
.
.
” he told an NBC Miami reporter — obviously just reading the talking points he was handed in advance .
He ’ s also given multiple interviews with his eyes down , clearly relying on prepared notes in his lap .
This simply is not the Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put his foot in his mouth but never needed a script to say what he thinks .
If he can no longer answer even softball questions without the aid of his overseers , who will really be calling the shots if he wins the White House ?

Wow: Joe Biden’s staff won’t even let him do a “spontaneous” Q&A session without a script. Is he really that far gone?
Obsessive scripting is the only explanation for what happened at last week’s Biden question-and-answer session with AFL-CIO union members, when the candidate responded to a young barista’s query with the non sequitur, “Move it up here” — then paused.
Anyone who’s been following Biden’s travails recognizes those words as a cue to his aides to jog the teleprompter, as he’s done time and again in recent weeks. (Why an experienced politician with a top-notch staff keeps having this trouble is also worrisome.)
Anyway, after the pause, Joe launched into his “off the cuff” response — which was utter boilerplate: “You know, there used to be a basic bargain in this country, that workers shared in the wealth they helped create.” It’s beyond appalling that Biden would need reminding of that trope.
His aides won’t even discuss the elephant in the room.
After the AFL-CIO footage made the rounds, Fox News’ Bret Baier put the obvious question to TJ Ducklo, the campaign’s national press secretary: “Has Joe Biden ever used a teleprompter during local interviews or to answer Q&As with supporters?”
Ducklo ducked the question — repeatedly, before finally saying, “I am not going to allow the Trump campaign to funnel their questions through Fox News and get me to respond to that.”
There’s your answer.
Time and again, teleprompter troubles have exposed the fact that Biden is just reading his lines in what his campaign pretends are real conversations with supporters, like Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.
He’s not even answering reporters’ questions off the cuff: “Look, Venezuela topline message is . . .” he told an NBC Miami reporter — obviously just reading the talking points he was handed in advance. He’s also given multiple interviews with his eyes down, clearly relying on prepared notes in his lap.
This simply is not the Joe Biden of decades past, who might put his foot in his mouth but never needed a script to say what he thinks. If he can no longer answer even softball questions without the aid of his overseers, who will really be calling the shots if he wins the White House?


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Josh Kushner-linked startup axed staff three days before snagging PPP loan

A software startup backed by venture capitalist Josh Kushner axed about a third of its staff just three days before snagging coronavirus relief funds meant to help the firm preserve jobs , The Post has learned .
San Francisco-based Welkin Health laid off 10 of its roughly 30 employees on April 24 as the COVID-19 crisis sapped sales , according to three sources with knowledge of the matter .
Three days later , the health-care software provider was approved for at least $ 1 million from the Paycheck Protection Program , according to federal data — a forgivable loan meant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or rehire laid-off workers .
The April layoffs left Welkin with just about 20 employees , sources said — despite the company indicating to the Small Business Administration that it had 30 staffers , the data show .
The cuts that Welkin made before learning whether it had access to the job-saving cash go against the spirit of the $ 659 billion program created to protect workers during a historic economic crisis , says government watchdog Liz Hempowicz .
“ The point wasn ’ t so that businesses could continue to exist on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Hempowicz , director of public policy at the nonpartisan Project On Government Oversight , told The Post .
“ It was so that people remained employed during this time of great economic instability .
“ The practical effect here is that there ’ s less money in this program to go to those small businesses that do have those employees still working there , ” she said .
Welkin has raised some $ 29 million from deep-pocketed investors in recent years , including from Thrive Capital — a venture fund run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Karlie Kloss and younger brother of White House adviser Jared Kushner .
As The Post has previously reported , Thrive urged portfolio companies , including Welkin , to stay away from the PPP program meant for “ for the smallest , most vulnerable businesses in our communities.
” “ These loans are less obviously for the startup with a host of institutional investors and several years of cash in the bank , looking to extend runway , ” Thrive wrote in an April 7 e-mail to startups that sought the fund ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Welkin defied Thrive ’ s advice , and blamed the April layoffs on the pandemic drying up its sales pipeline , sources said .
Now , sources say the layoffs could force the Silicon Valley company to pay back some of the loan instead of having it forgiven .
Companies that receive PPP money are supposed to spend 60 percent of it on payroll costs in order for the feds to convert the loan into a grant .
It could be tough for Welkin to clear that bar , said Hempowicz , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay people who ’ ve been axed .
And while PPP recipients have until Dec. 31 to rehire or replace laid-off workers and qualify for full loan forgiveness , Welkin doesn ’ t appear to have made any headway .
Several staffers have resigned since the layoffs , leaving the company with about 15 current employees , sources said .
Welkin ’ s Web site had only one job listing as of Friday .
In response to The Post ’ s reporting , Welkin CEO Michelle Pampin said the company moved forward with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to confirm our eligibility , as well as our review of the intent of the program in supporting small businesses.
” Pampin also said many data points and statements The Post presented were “ inaccurate ” but did not elaborate .
Welkin also axed roughly a dozen people a month prior to the COVID layoffs , on March 6 , after losing its largest customer in February to a competitor , according to two sources .
At the time of the March cuts , Welkin VP of Finance Joe Oest told remaining staffers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months of runway ” and that no more layoffs were forthcoming , the sources said .

A software startup backed by venture capitalist Josh Kushner axed about a third of its staff just three days before snagging coronavirus relief funds meant to help the firm preserve jobs, The Post has learned.
San Francisco-based Welkin Health laid off 10 of its roughly 30 employees on April 24 as the COVID-19 crisis sapped sales, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
Three days later, the health-care software provider was approved for at least $1 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, according to federal data — a forgivable loan meant to help small businesses keep people employed or rehire laid-off workers.
The April layoffs left Welkin with just about 20 employees, sources said — despite the company indicating to the Small Business Administration that it had 30 staffers, the data show.
The cuts that Welkin made before learning whether it had access to the job-saving cash go against the spirit of the $659 billion program created to protect workers during a historic economic crisis, says government watchdog Liz Hempowicz.
“The point wasn’t so that businesses could continue to exist on paper, or in a bank account,” Hempowicz, director of public policy at the nonpartisan Project On Government Oversight, told The Post. “It was so that people remained employed during this time of great economic instability.
“The practical effect here is that there’s less money in this program to go to those small businesses that do have those employees still working there,” she said.
Welkin has raised some $29 million from deep-pocketed investors in recent years, including from Thrive Capital — a venture fund run by Kushner, the husband of supermodel Karlie Kloss and younger brother of White House adviser Jared Kushner.
As The Post has previously reported, Thrive urged portfolio companies, including Welkin, to stay away from the PPP program meant for “for the smallest, most vulnerable businesses in our communities.”
“These loans are less obviously for the startup with a host of institutional investors and several years of cash in the bank, looking to extend runway,” Thrive wrote in an April 7 e-mail to startups that sought the fund’s advice on the PPP funds.
But Welkin defied Thrive’s advice, and blamed the April layoffs on the pandemic drying up its sales pipeline, sources said.
Now, sources say the layoffs could force the Silicon Valley company to pay back some of the loan instead of having it forgiven.
Companies that receive PPP money are supposed to spend 60 percent of it on payroll costs in order for the feds to convert the loan into a grant.
It could be tough for Welkin to clear that bar, said Hempowicz, because it’s “impossible” to pay people who’ve been axed.
And while PPP recipients have until Dec. 31 to rehire or replace laid-off workers and qualify for full loan forgiveness, Welkin doesn’t appear to have made any headway.
Several staffers have resigned since the layoffs, leaving the company with about 15 current employees, sources said. Welkin’s Web site had only one job listing as of Friday.
In response to The Post’s reporting, Welkin CEO Michelle Pampin said the company moved forward with the loan “after careful legal review to confirm our eligibility, as well as our review of the intent of the program in supporting small businesses.”
Pampin also said many data points and statements The Post presented were “inaccurate” but did not elaborate.
Welkin also axed roughly a dozen people a month prior to the COVID layoffs, on March 6, after losing its largest customer in February to a competitor, according to two sources.
At the time of the March cuts, Welkin VP of Finance Joe Oest told remaining staffers that the company had about “18 months of runway” and that no more layoffs were forthcoming, the sources said.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Dominic Thiem rallies to beat Alexander Zverev for US Open title

Seven masks , two U.S. Open titles , three Grand Slam titles ...

It was the weekend of comebacks at the U.S. Open in Flushing — a fitting tribute to a city that has made one helluva COVID comeback.
The Twilight Zone version of the fan-less Open concluded Sunday in an epic four-hour match and a first-ever fifth-set tiebreaker of a men’s final.
Austrian Dominic Thiem rallied from two sets down and an early break in the third to post a five-set 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory over German Alexander Zverev at empty Arthur Ashe Stadium.
When it was over, Thiem and Zverev, two German-speaking tour buddies, broke the fortnight’s social protocols, slapping hands and embracing instead of tapping rackets as had been the coronavirus custom. Who could blame them.
“We are really good friends,’’ Thiem said. “We have a long-term friendship. We were both tested negative maybe 14 times. We didn’t put anyone in danger. We wanted to share the moment… We just wanted to share the moment. We didn’t put anybody in danger.”
It was the first time in 70 years a five-setter in a men’s Open final was won by a player who had been two sets down.
It’s been known for a week there would be a first-time men’s Grand Slam champion after Novak Djokovic’s disqualification. That turned out to be Thiem, the second seed who came in with a 7-2 record against his big-serving friend but admitted he was pressing early.
“I had a great career so far, way better career than I could ever dreamt of, but until today there was still a big part, a big goal missing,’’ Thiem said.
It finally ended with Zverev pulling a backhand wide as the cramping Austrian fell in joy onto his back.
“I was so tight at the beginning,’’ said Thiem, who had been in three prior Grand Slam finals. “I wanted this title so much, and of course there was also in my head that if I lose this one, it’s 0-4 [in Grand Slam finals]. We both didn’t face one of the Big 3. That was in the back of the head for both of us. That’s why we were on nerves.”
The classic men’s final came one day after the women’s final featured Naomi Osaka rallying from a horrifying first set to win her second women’s crown.
The fifth-set tiebreak matched the five-set win by Thiem over Zverev in the Australian Open semifinals. Thiem also rallied from 5-3 down in the fifth set with Zverev serving for the match and 2-0 in the fifth-set tiebreaker. Thiem said he cramped up late but his mind outperformed his body.
Zverev, after playing in his first Grand Slam final, choked up several times while receiving the runner-up trophy, having to pause for more than 10 seconds to gather himself when he referred to his parents as “important people missing in the crowd today.’’
For two sets, Thiem pounded his famous forehand deep and he looked oddly detached in his fourth Grand Slam final before settling in. Zverev started to show nerves late in the second set, blowing a 5-1 lead, but he held on to take a two-sets-to-none lead.
The momentum had shifted by then. Thiem reverted to his rock-solid baseline form to become the first Austrian to win a Grand Slam since Tomas Muster won the 1995 French Open.
The comeback capped a successfully healthy if controversial Open. While the world’s best player, Djokovic, was disqualified, it was not because of COVID-19 but for accidentally flicking a tennis ball that struck a female line judge in the neck.
No players tested positive for the coronavirus once the first ball was struck two weeks ago. The Flushing tennis center has come a long way since its turn as a harbor for COVID-19 patients in April— as did New York City, once the world’s hot spot.
“At the end we reflect back and say it’s safe, it’s been good for tennis, and it’s been financially good for the players and the tennis ecosystem,’’ USTA CEO Michael Dowse said.
The fifth set was a classic roller coaster. Thiem was up a break but double-faulted to let Zverev get the marathon back on serve with the German ultimately getting ahead 5-3. One more comeback remained for Thiem.
“When he served for the match, I was struggling physically, but I also thought that he is not the freshest anymore,’’ Thiem said. “The belief was stronger than the body.’’


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Some tough questions for Biden, instead of the softballs the press has been pitching

Joe Biden finally held what was billed as a news conference .
The result was a truly embarrassing display of hackery from the media .
A reporter asked the ex-veep about anonymously sourced claims that President Trump had belittled veterans : “ When you hear these remarks .
.
.
what does it tell you about Trump ’ s soul and the life he leads ?
” Another query : “ We .
.
.
know that Russia has been trying to sow doubt about the system .
Are you concerned at all that this messaging may be working , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting by mail because they ’ re concerned that it may be rigged ?
” Still another : “ You said today is the angriest you ’ ve been as a presidential candidate , but you said you ’ re trying to restrain yourself .
Aren ’ t there a lot of people out there who are supporting you or inclined to not vote for the president , who would say , ‘ Why isn ’ t Joe Biden angrier about all of this ?
’ ” And so on .
The questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s presidency — a legitimate topic for the candidate to bring up , but not one that allegedly independent media should be prompting him on .
Surely , there are important queries .
Here are a few : • After 45 years , you recently dropped your support for the Hyde Amendment , which bars taxpayer funding of abortions .
Does your position on life comport with the Democratic Party establishment , which backs abortion on-demand funded by the state until the ninth month of pregnancy ?
If not , can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your administration would support ?
• You recently talked about how your Catholic faith had inspired your run for the presidency .
You ’ ve also recently promised to reinstate Obama-era policies rolling back conscience protections for religious groups .
Will a Biden administration renew efforts to sue charitable orders like the Little Sisters of the Poor to force them to pay for birth control in violation of their Catholic beliefs ?
• During the campaign , you publicly supported the # DefundPolice movement — using the definition laid out by advocates of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no longer back redirecting funds from police departments .
What changed your mind ?
• During the Democratic primaries , you supported a carbon tax and renewable mandates .
Even the liberal Tax Policy Center says you will raise taxes on the middle class and small businesses .
So how can you claim that you won ’ t raise taxes on anyone making less than $ 400,000 when the burden for those programs and hikes are borne by everyone ?
• You have embraced Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ’ s Green New Deal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as a framework for your energy policy .
On numerous occasions , you ’ ve stated support for a fracking ban .
You ’ ve since walked back that claim .
What changed your mind , and how will you achieve your promised goal of “ a 100 percent clean-energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050 ” without restricting affordable fossil fuels ?
• You have promised to return to the Obama administration ’ s directives on Title IX , which have denied due process to college students accused of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their accusers , presenting exculpatory evidence and calling witnesses .
Why don ’ t college students deserve the same presumption of innocence that you enjoyed after Tara Reade accused you of assault ?
• You ’ ve said you aren ’ t a fan of charter schools because they  “ siphon off money for our public schools.
” Do you plan to impose federal power on localities to stop them offering more choices to parents and kids ?
• You have changed your position on the 1994 crime bill you authored , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marriage Act , the Iraq War , spending freezes for Social Security , NAFTA , busing and so on .
Can you name any major bill you supported as a senator that you still support today ?
• A majority of Democratic Party voters believe that Russia altered votes to tip the 2016 election for Trump .
Are you concerned that this popular conspiracy theory delegitimizes the presidential election ?
• We have now seen more than one report that Democratic Party leaders and allied organizations may challenge the results of the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Do you support this effort , or will you accept the constitutionally prescribed election results ?
Those are just some of the topics that come to mind .
Biden has been getting away with flat-out lying about a lot of these issues for months .
After an eight-year vacation during President Barack Obama ’ s tenure , we ’ ve seen lots of aggressive questioning of the president over the past four years .
Nothing wrong with that .
It would be nice , however , to see even a scintilla of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Joe Biden finally held what was billed as a news conference. The result was a truly embarrassing display of hackery from the media.
A reporter asked the ex-veep about anonymously sourced claims that President Trump had belittled veterans: “When you hear these remarks . . . what does it tell you about Trump’s soul and the life he leads?”
Another query: “We . . . know that Russia has been trying to sow doubt about the system. Are you concerned at all that this messaging may be working, that your supporters may give up on voting by mail because they’re concerned that it may be rigged?”
Still another: “You said today is the angriest you’ve been as a presidential candidate, but you said you’re trying to restrain yourself. Aren’t there a lot of people out there who are supporting you or inclined to not vote for the president, who would say, ‘Why isn’t Joe Biden angrier about all of this?’ ”
And so on.
The questions largely gauged Biden’s disappointment regarding Trump’s presidency — a legitimate topic for the candidate to bring up, but not one that allegedly independent media should be prompting him on. Surely, there are important queries. Here are a few:
After 45 years, you recently dropped your support for the Hyde Amendment, which bars taxpayer funding of abortions. Does your position on life comport with the Democratic Party establishment, which backs abortion on-demand funded by the state until the ninth month of pregnancy? If not, can you point to a single restriction that your administration would support?
You recently talked about how your Catholic faith had inspired your run for the presidency. You’ve also recently promised to reinstate Obama-era policies rolling back conscience protections for religious groups. Will a Biden administration renew efforts to sue charitable orders like the Little Sisters of the Poor to force them to pay for birth control in violation of their Catholic beliefs?
During the campaign, you publicly supported the #DefundPolice movement — using the definition laid out by advocates of that cause. Now you say you no longer back redirecting funds from police departments. What changed your mind?
During the Democratic primaries, you supported a carbon tax and renewable mandates. Even the liberal Tax Policy Center says you will raise taxes on the middle class and small businesses. So how can you claim that you won’t raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 when the burden for those programs and hikes are borne by everyone?
You have embraced Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, which proposes banning cars and air travel, as a framework for your energy policy. On numerous occasions, you’ve stated support for a fracking ban. You’ve since walked back that claim. What changed your mind, and how will you achieve your promised goal of “a 100 percent clean-energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050” without restricting affordable fossil fuels?
You have promised to return to the Obama administration’s directives on Title IX, which have denied due process to college students accused of sexual misconduct, preventing them from questioning their accusers, presenting exculpatory evidence and calling witnesses. Why don’t college students deserve the same presumption of innocence that you enjoyed after Tara Reade accused you of assault?
You’ve said you aren’t a fan of charter schools because they “siphon off money for our public schools.” Do you plan to impose federal power on localities to stop them offering more choices to parents and kids?
You have changed your position on the 1994 crime bill you authored, as well as on the Defense of Marriage Act, the Iraq War, spending freezes for Social Security, NAFTA, busing and so on. Can you name any major bill you supported as a senator that you still support today?
A majority of Democratic Party voters believe that Russia altered votes to tip the 2016 election for Trump. Are you concerned that this popular conspiracy theory delegitimizes the presidential election?
We have now seen more than one report that Democratic Party leaders and allied organizations may challenge the results of the election if you lose the Electoral College. Do you support this effort, or will you accept the constitutionally prescribed election results?
Those are just some of the topics that come to mind. Biden has been getting away with flat-out lying about a lot of these issues for months. After an eight-year vacation during President Barack Obama’s tenure, we’ve seen lots of aggressive questioning of the president over the past four years. Nothing wrong with that. It would be nice, however, to see even a scintilla of that investigative zeal in the Biden coverage.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Columbus statue swiped from apartment building in name of cancel culture: Devine

John Cartafalsa , 91 , was relieved to get home to the Upper West Side after spending five months of the pandemic stranded in Florida .
But as he entered his apartment lobby , his eyes were drawn to a disturbing sight .
Tucked at the feet of a neighbor waiting for the elevator was Cartafalsa ’ s precious Christopher Columbus statue , a gift from a Sicilian-born relative to honor his law school graduation in 1957 .
For thirty years the 15-inch bronze has held pride of place in an alcove in the lobby of Cartafalsa ’ s Riverside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unmolested , until 5.55 pm June 29 when , in a stroke of fateful timing , Cartafalsa came across his 13th floor neighbor , Mount Sinai doctor Sean Morrison , trying to swipe it .
“ That ’ s mine !
” said a distressed Cartafalsa , shuffling forward on his walker .
What was said next is in dispute , but the conversation ended when another neighbor told Cartafalsa she would restore his statue to its niche .
However , Morrison didn ’ t let go of his obsession .
At 7.23 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the palliative care specialist , hospital ID slung around his neck , walking through the lobby , into the alcove , where he tucks the statue under his arm , and walks briskly out onto the street .
George Floyd ’ s death in May at the hands of Minneapolis police , he later claimed , provoked his hostility to Columbus , the 15th century Italian explorer credited with discovering America .
Cartafalsa was devastated when he discovered the family heirloom missing two days later .
He called police and soon the story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is in hospital with gall bladder problems , unable to speak .
But his son , attorney John Cartafalsa Jnr , 62 , says he was told by the co-op board the statue was “ destroyed ” .
“ This guy ’ s attitude is despicable , ” he says .
“ Morrison claims he told my father the statue was objectionable , but my father had no discussion with him at all other than to tell him the statue was his and not to take it… “ In my father ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has a lot of family and emotional meaning.
” It took six weeks , and only after detectives retrieved the CCTV footage from the building lobby , for Morrison to acknowledge what he had done , in a letter dated August 8 , on the letterhead of Mount Sinai ’ s Icahn School of Medicine .
“ I am writing to apologize for the removal of your statue from our building lobby and for not discussing this with you more thoroughly than at our brief conversation when you returned from Florida .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a particularly difficult day as we watched 10 patients die of COVID that afternoon on our palliative care unit and in the setting of George Floyd ’ s murder my emotions overcame my logical thought.
” The letter did not placate Cartafalsa .
Nor did it dissuade the NYPD from charging Morrison last Thursday with petit larceny .
He is due in court December 8 .
The theft “ has troubled my father greatly ” , says Cartafalsa Jnr .
Morrison never explained what Christopher Columbus had to do with George Floyd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is radical Antifa nonsense which has driven the senseless destruction which blighted summer .
When a privileged 55-year-old pillar of the medical establishment , who lives in a $ 4million double apartment with Hudson River views , indulges in the puerile politics of student anarchists , our society is in deep trouble .
Morrison ’ s attitude is all the more disturbing when you consider that he is a luminary of the palliative care industry , the Ellen and Howard Katz Chair of Mount Sinai ’ s Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Diane Meier , 68 , also a Mount Sinai specialist , each have received grants from billionaire George Soros ’ Open Society Institute , which stands accused by pro-life group LifeTree , of promoting palliative care as “ euthanasia by stealth ” , by providing “ comfort ” instead of treatment to very ill or elderly patients .
Morrison has authored a paper citing “ strong fiscal incentives ” for hospitals to expand palliative care , as a solution to the burden of an ageing population .
In an April webinar , Morrison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ palliative-care specialists to be inserted onto the frontlines of ICUs , at a time when family and priests were barred entry .
The final twist to the story is that Cartafalsa Snr is hospitalized at Mount Sinai , the employer of his tormenter .
“ My dad is very much aware he is at the end of his life , ” says Cartafalsa Jr. “ You can ’ t not know this when you are 91 in the ICU and the priest has given you the last rites ” .
He doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Someone needs to question if this guy is in the right mind to be treating patients.
” Perhaps Morrison ’ s actions are out of character .
Perhaps he suffered an emotional breakdown in June .
But at the very least he needs counselling .
You also have to question the motives of a palliative care specialist who showed no respect for the dignity or wishes of his elderly neighbor .
Morrison saw Cartafalsa ’ s distress , yet the next morning he allegedly stole his pride and joy .
That takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical authorities should examine .
Ignore the sophistry of movie critics trying to excuse Netflix ’ s descent into pedophile titillation .
“ Cuties , ” a French film about prematurely sexualized 11-year-old girls , is not a condemnation of the exploitation of children by social media , as its defenders pretend .
It actually is the exploitation , blatantly , unashamedly , shockingly .
Cuties features lingering , prurient closeups of the 11-year-olds ’ crotches , buttocks and budding breasts , as they twerk and gyrate suggestively in skin-tight , barely-there costumes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is an understatement .
No back story turns kiddie porn into respectable entertainment .
Apart from voyeuristic closeups of pubescent bodies and sexually suggestive dancing – complete with fingers in mouths and orgiastic crotch grabbing – there also is a scene in which a girl presses a used condom to her lips and blows into it .
Another scene has a girl trying to photograph an unsuspecting boy ’ s penis as he urinates in the school bathroom .
At one point the 11-year-old lead character attempts to undress and offer sex to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give back her cell phone , which she later uses to photograph her vagina and post the X-rated image online .
In another scene , the girls falsely accuse two security guards of groping them .
Then they dance suggestively for the men , one of whom stares lasciviously at a twerking butt .
The movie dwells provocatively on the Muslim religion of the Senegalese lead character , Netflix thus offering corrosive proof of the debauchery of the West .
Who at Netflix greenlighted this production ?
Who chose the most sexually suggestive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it didn ’ t fairly represent the movie ?
Shame on Netflix and its male-dominated board .
Shame on the Obamas and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for not leveraging their lucrative contracts with Netflix to protest this child exploitation masquerading as art .
We have taboos about sexualizing children for a reason , but perverts , the porn industry , academics and the media keep defining down community standards to erode the special protections once afforded childhood .
Now they ’ ve circled the wagons around Netflix , mocking critics as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t be fooled .
You either deplore Cuties or you are complicit in normalizing pedophilia .

John Cartafalsa, 91, was relieved to get home to the Upper West Side after spending five months of the pandemic stranded in Florida.
But as he entered his apartment lobby, his eyes were drawn to a disturbing sight. Tucked at the feet of a neighbor waiting for the elevator was Cartafalsa’s precious Christopher Columbus statue, a gift from a Sicilian-born relative to honor his law school graduation in 1957.
For 30 years the 15-inch bronze has held pride of place in an alcove in the lobby of Cartafalsa’s Riverside Drive co-op.
There it remained, unmolested, until 5:55 pm June 29 when, in a stroke of fateful timing, Cartafalsa came across his 13th floor neighbor, Mount Sinai doctor Sean Morrison, trying to swipe it.
“That’s mine!” said a distressed Cartafalsa, shuffling forward on his walker. What was said next is in dispute, but the conversation ended when another neighbor told Cartafalsa she would restore his statue to its niche.
However, Morrison didn’t let go of his obsession.
At 7:23 the next morning, CCTV footage shows the palliative care specialist, hospital ID slung around his neck, walking through the lobby, into the alcove, where he tucks the statue under his arm, and walks briskly out onto the street.
George Floyd’s death in May at the hands of Minneapolis police, he later claimed, provoked his hostility to Columbus, the 15th century Italian explorer credited with discovering America.
Cartafalsa was devastated when he discovered the family heirloom missing two days later. He called police and soon the story spread through the building.
Cartafalsa now is in hospital with gall bladder problems, unable to speak.
But his son, attorney John Cartafalsa Jr., 62, says he was told by the co-op board the statue was “destroyed.”
“This guy’s attitude is despicable,” he says. “Morrison claims he told my father the statue was objectionable, but my father had no discussion with him at all other than to tell him the statue was his and not to take it.
“In my father’s eyes the statue is priceless. It has a lot of family and emotional meaning.”
It took six weeks, and only after detectives retrieved the CCTV footage from the building lobby, for Morrison to acknowledge what he had done, in a letter dated Aug. 8, on the letterhead of Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine.
“I am writing to apologize for the removal of your statue from our building lobby and for not discussing this with you more thoroughly than at our brief conversation when you returned from Florida.
“While not an excuse, I had had a particularly difficult day as we watched 10 patients die of COVID that afternoon on our palliative care unit and in the setting of George Floyd’s murder my emotions overcame my logical thought.”
The letter did not placate Cartafalsa. Nor did it dissuade the NYPD from charging Morrison last Thursday with petit larceny. He is due in court Dec. 8.
The theft “has troubled my father greatly,” says Cartafalsa Jr.
Morrison never explained what Christopher Columbus had to do with George Floyd. But destroying statues of historical figures is radical Antifa nonsense which has driven the senseless destruction which blighted summer.
When a privileged 55-year-old pillar of the medical establishment, who lives in a $4 million duplex with Hudson River views, indulges in the puerile politics of student anarchists, our society is in deep trouble.
Morrison’s attitude is all the more disturbing when you consider that he is a luminary of the palliative care industry, the Ellen and Howard Katz Chair of Mount Sinai’s Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine.
He and his wife, Dr Diane Meier, 68, also a Mount Sinai specialist, each have received grants from billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Institute, which stands accused by pro-life group LifeTree, of promoting palliative care as “euthanasia by stealth,” by providing “comfort” instead of treatment to very ill or elderly patients.
Morrison has authored a paper citing “strong fiscal incentives” for hospitals to expand palliative care, as a solution to the burden of an aging population.
In an April webinar, Morrison and Meier explained how the pandemic let palliative-care specialists to be inserted onto the frontlines of ICUs, at a time when family and priests were barred entry.
The final twist to the story is that Cartafalsa Sr. is hospitalized at Mount Sinai, the employer of his tormenter.
“My dad is very much aware he is at the end of his life,” says Cartafalsa Jr.
“You can’t not know this when you are 91 in the ICU and the priest has given you the last rites.”
He doesn’t want Morrison near his father.
“Someone needs to question if this guy is in the right mind to be treating patients.”
Perhaps Morrison’s actions are out of character. Perhaps he suffered an emotional breakdown in June. But at the very least he needs counseling.
You also have to question the motives of a palliative care specialist who showed no respect for the dignity or wishes of his elderly neighbor. Morrison saw Cartafalsa’s distress, yet the next morning he allegedly stole his pride and joy.
That takes a weird callousness toward the elderly which medical authorities should examine.
Netflix’s pedophilia shame
Ignore the sophistry of movie critics trying to excuse Netflix’s descent into pedophile titillation.
“Cuties,” a French film about prematurely sexualized 11-year-old girls, is not a condemnation of the exploitation of children by social media, as its defenders pretend.
It actually is the exploitation, blatantly, unashamedly, shockingly.
Cuties features lingering, prurient closeups of the 11-year-olds’ crotches, buttocks and budding breasts, as they twerk and gyrate suggestively in skin-tight, barely-there costumes.
To say the scenes are disturbing is an understatement. No back story turns kiddie porn into respectable entertainment.
Apart from voyeuristic closeups of pubescent bodies and sexually suggestive dancing – complete with fingers in mouths and orgiastic crotch grabbing – there also is a scene in which a girl presses a used condom to her lips and blows into it.
Another scene has a girl trying to photograph an unsuspecting boy’s penis as he urinates in the school bathroom. At one point the 11-year-old lead character attempts to undress and offer sex to an adult relative to convince him to give back her cell phone, which she later uses to photograph her vagina and post the X-rated image online.
In another scene, the girls falsely accuse two security guards of groping them. Then they dance suggestively for the men, one of whom stares lasciviously at a twerking butt.
The movie dwells provocatively on the Muslim religion of the Senegalese lead character, Netflix thus offering corrosive proof of the debauchery of the West.
Who at Netflix greenlighted this production? Who chose the most sexually suggestive poster to promote it and then lied that it didn’t fairly represent the movie?
Shame on Netflix and its male-dominated board. Shame on the Obamas and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for not leveraging their lucrative contracts with Netflix to protest this child exploitation masquerading as art.
We have taboos about sexualizing children for a reason, but perverts, the porn industry, academics and the media keep defining down community standards to erode the special protections once afforded childhood.
Now they’ve circled the wagons around Netflix, mocking critics as hysterical prudes and conservative philistines.
Don’t be fooled. You either deplore Cuties or you are complicit in normalizing pedophilia.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Tom Brady’s Buccaneers debut did not go that well

No Tom Brady , no problem .
The New England Patriots began ...

Tom Brady has pulled off a few historic comebacks over two decades with the New England Patriots, but the six-time Super Bowl champion could not complete another in his ballyhooed debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady’s pick-six to former Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins early in the second half put the Bucs in a 17-point hole, and he couldn’t dig them all the way out of it in a 34-23 road loss to the New Orleans Saints.
“Certainly poor execution, it’s what it comes down to. Obviously they made more plays than we did,” said Brady, who signed a two-year, $50 million contract in March. “I made some just bad, terrible turnovers. It’s hard to win when you turn the ball over like that. I obviously have to do a lot better job… Just bad throws. Can’t do it.”
The 43-year-old Brady scored on a two-yard plunge on his first offensive drive of the season and finished with 239 passing yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions in his first game for Tampa following 20 seasons alongside Bill Belichick in New England.
In a showdown between the NFL’s top two all-time leaders in passing yardage and passing touchdowns, Drew Brees also surpassed Brett Favre’s record for career pass attempts with 10,191.
Brady was intercepted by safety Marcus Williams on a mistimed pass intended for hobbled star receiver Mike Evans, who was active despite being questionable due to a hamstring injury. Evans had only one reception in the game, a two-yard TD catch with 2:41 remaining.
Jenkins jumped a sideline route and gave the Saints a 24-7 lead with a 36-yard interception return before two minutes had elapsed in the third quarter, but Brady’s nine-yard touchdown toss to tight end O.J. Howard and a 38-yard Ryan Succop field goal drew the Bucs within seven by the end of the quarter.
But Brees (18-for-30, 160 yards) found Emmanuel Sanders for a five-yard scoring strike in the fourth and Wil Lutz added a late field goal for the Saints.
“I’ve lost plenty of games in my career. I know I don’t like it, but it happens,” Brady said. “We just gotta do a better job.”
Newton, Mass.
Brady’s departure began a new era and a new-look offense for the Patriots, marking the first time a former NFL MVP quarterback has replaced another former league MVP under center.
Free-agent signing Cam Newton got New England off and running with 75 rushing yards and two touchdown runs — and Bill Belichick’s defense intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick three times — in a 21-11 win over the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough, Mass.
“It was relatively picking up right where I remember the game to be,” said Newton, who missed much of last season with a foot injury. “I think it was just a feeling-through process with [offensive coordinator] Josh [McDaniels] and coach [Belichick] … to understand what they have.”
Newton, the 2015 MVP with the Carolina Panthers, also threw just four incomplete passes (15-for-19) with no interceptions, and Sony Michel added a late rushing TD for the Pats, who are seeking their 12th consecutive AFC East title.
“Cam’s been great for us. He’s a very unselfish player and a great teammate. He’s earned everybody’s respect, really, daily,” Belichick said. “That’s all you can ask for anyone and he’s continually done that. Puts himself last and puts the team first. He played well today and led the team.”
Change of Scenery, Parts III & IV
Brady and Newton weren’t the only star QBs in new locales, but Teddy Bridgewater and Philip Rivers lost their debuts in Carolina and Indianapolis, respectively.
Bridgewater, signed to a three-year deal worth $63 million to replace Newton with the Panthers, threw for 270 yards without an interception in a 34-30 home loss to the relocated Las Vegas Raiders.
Rivers, on a one-year deal worth $25 million with the Colts after 16 seasons with the San Diego/LA Chargers, was 36-for-46 for 369 yards but was intercepted twice in Indy’s 27-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
WFT Gets a ‘W’
The uncreatively renamed Washington Football Team pulled off the surprise win of Week 1 for new coach Ron Rivera, coming back from a 17-point second-quarter hole on the road to shock the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-17, in an NFC East matchup.
One year after blowing a 17-0 lead in the opener against Philly, Washington’s defense led the way in its comeback victory, intercepting Carson Wentz twice and sacking him eight times, including two by Ryan Kerrigan and 1.5 by No. 2-overall draft pick Chase Young.
Second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins threw a six-yard TD pass to tight end Logan Thomas just before halftime and running back Peyton Barber scored on two short rushing plunges after intermission for Washington.
With Rivera, who is undergoing cancer treatment, receiving an IV injection at halftime, Haskins even gave a rousing speech with Washington still trailing 17-7.
“Apparently Dwayne stepped up, and it was a pretty raucous one from what I heard,” Rivera said of Haskins’ speech.
“When playing quarterback, I’ve learned over the years that there’s opportunities in a game or in the locker room to fire guys up,” Haskins said. “I thought we were kind of in a lull. … [I was] trying to find a way to motivate the guys and we found a way to come back in the second half.”
The Hurt Locker
Colts running back Marlon Mack suffered what appeared to be a serious Achilles injury and was sent for an MRI. Jets running back Le’Veon Bell (hamstring), Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker (hamstring), Raiders tackles Trent Brown (calf) and Sam Young (groin), Browns tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (leg), Ravens tackle Ronnie Staley (ankle), Packers guards Lucas Patrick (shoulder) and Lane Taylor (knee) and defensive tackle Kenny Clark (groin), Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson (ankle), Lions defensive backs Desmond Trufant (hamstring) and Justin Coleman (hamstring), Eagles defensive ends Vinny Curry (hamstring) and Brandon Graham (head), Washington linebacker Cole Holcomb and Chargers linebacker Drue Tranquill (ankle) all left their games with injuries and did not return.
Bad Beats
Oh, the Detroit Lions. Rare for a game to qualify on both wagering sides, but here we are. Laying three points, the Lions were up 23-13 on the Bears with under three minutes to play when Mitch Trubisky’s short TD pass moved the game into a push scenario.
An ill-timed interception by Matthew Stafford while trying to run out the clock and another Trubisky scoring toss to Anthony Miller gave the Bears 27-23 with 1:58 to go. Detroit running back D’Andre Swift then dropped a sure go-ahead touchdown in the end zone with six seconds remaining.
No. 1-overall pick Joe Burrow also had the Cincinnati Bengals (three-point underdogs) lined up for a game-tying field goal in the closing seconds but kicker Randy Bullock missed a game-tying 31-yard field goal with three seconds remaining for a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Post Patterns
Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson was back in 2019 form, with a 20-for-25 day for 275 yards and three touchdown passes and 45 more yards on the ground as the Baltimore Ravens obliterated the Cleveland Browns, 38-6. Former Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. caught just three passes for 22 yards on 10 targets from Baker Mayfield (21-for-39, 189 yards). … Russell Wilson also was close to perfect, completing 31 of 35 attempts for 322 yards and four TDs without a pick in the Seattle Seahawks’ 38-25 road win over the Atlanta Falcons. Wilson joined Steve Young as the only quarterbacks in league history with at least 30,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards. … Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen caught one of Wilson’s TD throws in his first game for the Seahawks. … Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan’s two sacks moved him past Dexter Manley for the franchise record with 92. … Jacksonville quarterback Gardner Minshew threw just one incompletion (19-for-20) with three TD passes, including a go-ahead score to Keelan Cole with 5:56 remaining in the Jaguars’ 27-20 win over Indianapolis. … Running back Nyheim Hines scored two touchdowns in Mack’s absence for the Colts. … Raiders running back Josh Jacobs scored three touchdowns on the ground in relocated Las Vegas’ 34-30 win over Carolina. … Longtime Cowboys tight end Jason Witten had just one reception for two yards in his Raiders debut. … The Chargers went with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback over rookie Justin Herbert and he threw for 208 yards in their 16-13 win over Cincy. … Former Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins had 14 catches for 151 yards in his Arizona debut and quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 230 yards and ran for 100, including a 22-yard scoring scamper, in the Cardinals’ 24-20 win over Jimmy Garoppolo (259 yards, two TDs) and the San Francisco 49ers.
Three Stars
1. Russell Wilson, Seahawks QB
Wilson completed 31 of 35 passes for 322 yards, with four TDs and no INTs, and outdueled Matt Ryan (450 yards) in a 38-25 win over Atlanta.
2. Davante Adams, Packers WR
Adams hauled in 14 receptions for 156 yards and two of Aaron Rodgers’ four touchdown tosses in a 43-34 win over Minnesota.
3. Josh Jacobs, Raiders RB
The second-year running back rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns and caught four passes for 46 yards in Las Vegas’ 34-30 win over Carolina.
He Said What?
“I’m not used to it.’’
— Former Jets safety Jamal Adams (12 tackles, one sack) on his new team, the Seahawks, putting up 38 points in a 38-25 win over Atlanta.
Fantasy Insanity
The Madman didn’t draft rookie Colts RB Jonathan Taylor often because we thought Marlon Mack would not be easily or quickly usurped. Early Sunday, it appeared that we were right. Then Mack suffered what reports said initially is feared to be an Achilles’ tendon injury. But if you’re looking to acquire Taylor, his trade value just skyrocketed. Instead, look for Nyheim Hines. His role as primarily a passing-down option likely will expand. And he showed he can capitalize, with 73 yards from scrimmage (eight receptions) and two touchdowns against the Jaguars.
The Falcons were playing from behind all afternoon against the Seahawks — hence, huge receiving numbers across the board. This won’t happen every week, so don’t blow your free-agent auction budget on Russell Gage, and don’t overpay for Calvin Ridley in trade.
Jamison Crowder had a big game — seven receptions for 115 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown, on 13 targets. He went 14-for-99 on 17 targets in last year’s opener, also against the same Bills. He had double-digit targets in just two other games and no double-digit reception outings the rest of last season.
— Drew Loftis


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Embattled Assemblywoman puts campaign HQ in building where rival works

The battle for this New York State Assembly seat is getting up-close and personal .
Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright just opened her campaign headquarters on the ground floor of a massive Upper East Side residential building — where her Republican opponent , Louis Puliafito , is the doorman .
“ It ’ s so petty , ” Puliafito told The Post on Sunday , outside the 38-story luxury Kingsley building on First Avenue and 70th Street .
“ With all the storefronts vacant , why choose this one ?
” The 62-year-old Republican said he was stunned when he showed up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign occupying ground floor space .
On the storefront window is a big poster of Seawright with Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and state Sen. Liz Krueger , both Democrats who also represent the UES .
“ It ’ s funny .
She ’ s trying to win over the support I got there at the Kingsley .
She wants to be in my face every day , ” Puliafito said in amazement .
“ It ’ s petty and vindictive , ” he added .
“ It just shows that you know she ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The three-term Democratic incumbent is fighting for her political life after she got knocked off the Democratic and Working Families Party ballot lines over paperwork snafus .
Seawright is running on her own ballot line — the Rise and Unite Party .
But she wants voters in the heavily-Democratic 76th assembly district covering the UES and Roosevelt Island that she ’ s the Democrat incumbent — even though she ’ s running on her own independent line .
That includes making a pitch to tenants in the Kingsley who know Puliafito .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our Assembly district , including at the front door of my Trump-supporting Republican opponent .
Trump and his supporters can run but they can not hide , ” Seawright said in a statement .
“ Our campaign Storefront will beat our opponent ’ s Trump-front on Election Day , ” she said .
Puliafito has repeatedly refused to say whether he supports Trump ’ s re-election , saying he ’ s sticking to local issue pertinent to the campaign .
He is a union man and a proud member of SEIU Local 32 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buildings .
But Local 32BJ in February endorsed Seawright over one of their own .
Spotted at the dueling location , Seawright waved off putting her campaign HQ in the same building where Puliafito works .
“ Well as you know my legislative district is 62nd Street to East 93rd Street East of Third Avenue and all of Roosevelt Island , and we ’ re just so excited to be out meeting voters and passing out absentee applications and answering questions , ” she said .
Still , Seawright ’ s bid for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of another candidate running on her left flank — Patrick Bobilin , a Black Lives Matter protester who was arrested for criminal mischief .
He is running under the Blue Wave banner .
A state Supreme Court judge in Manhattan last week rejected a bid by Seawright ’ s team to knock Bobilin off the ballot after claiming he did not meet the five-year residency requirement to run .
Her backers are appealing the ruling .
“ I feel vindicated .
It ’ s a win for working people who want to run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his court victory .
He called Seawright ’ s move to get him off the ballot “ hypocritical ” after she complained of being tossed off ballot lines herself .
Bobilin could play spoiler by siphoning some votes from Seawright and increasing the odds of a Puliafito victory .
A Republicans hasn ’ t been elected on the UES in two decades .

The battle for this New York State Assembly seat is getting up-close and personal.
Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright just opened her campaign headquarters on the ground floor of a massive Upper East Side residential building — where her Republican opponent, Louis Puliafito, is the doorman.
“It’s so petty,” Puliafito told The Post on Sunday, outside the 38-story luxury Kingsley building on First Avenue and 70th Street.
“With all the storefronts vacant, why choose this one?”
The 62-year-old Republican said he was stunned when he showed up for work and saw Seawright’s campaign occupying ground floor space.
On the storefront window is a big poster of Seawright with Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and state Sen. Liz Krueger, both Democrats who also represent the UES.
“It’s funny. She’s trying to win over the support I got there at the Kingsley. She wants to be in my face every day,” Puliafito said in amazement.
“It’s petty and vindictive,” he added. “It just shows that you know she’s really showing her true colors.”
The three-term Democratic incumbent is fighting for her political life after she got knocked off the Democratic and Working Families Party ballot lines over paperwork snafus.
Seawright is running on her own ballot line — the Rise and Unite Party.
But she wants voters in the heavily-Democratic 76th assembly district covering the UES and Roosevelt Island that she’s the Democrat incumbent — even though she’s running on her own independent line.
That includes making a pitch to tenants in the Kingsley who know Puliafito.
“We are campaigning in every corner of our Assembly district, including at the front door of my Trump-supporting Republican opponent. Trump and his supporters can run but they cannot hide,” Seawright said in a statement.
“Our campaign Storefront will beat our opponent’s Trump-front on Election Day,” she said.
Puliafito has repeatedly refused to say whether he supports Trump’s re-election, saying he’s sticking to local issue pertinent to the campaign.
He is a union man and a proud member of SEIU Local 32 B, which represents workers in residential buildings.
But Local 32BJ in February endorsed Seawright over one of their own.
Spotted at the dueling location, Seawright waved off putting her campaign HQ in the same building where Puliafito works.
“Well as you know my legislative district is 62nd Street to East 93rd Street East of Third Avenue and all of Roosevelt Island, and we’re just so excited to be out meeting voters and passing out absentee applications and answering questions,” she said.
Still, Seawright’s bid for re-election is further complicated by the presence of another candidate running on her left flank — Patrick Bobilin, a Black Lives Matter protester who was arrested for criminal mischief. He is running under the Blue Wave banner.
A state Supreme Court judge in Manhattan last week rejected a bid by Seawright’s team to knock Bobilin off the ballot after claiming he did not meet the five-year residency requirement to run. Her backers are appealing the ruling.
“I feel vindicated. It’s a win for working people who want to run for office,” Bobilin said of his court victory.
He called Seawright’s move to get him off the ballot “hypocritical” after she complained of being tossed off ballot lines herself.
Bobilin could play spoiler by siphoning some votes from Seawright and increasing the odds of a Puliafito victory. A Republicans hasn’t been elected on the UES in two decades.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Trump moves forward with executive action to lower drugs costs

President Trump on Sunday announced his intention to move forward with an executive order he signed in July that intends @ @ @ @ @ prescription drugs .
Trump said that the order seeks to have the government purchase drugs @ @ @ @ @ to countries designated as “ favored nations ” because they have a competitive disadvantage on @ @ @ @ @ My Most Favored Nation order will ensure that our Country gets the same low price @ @ @ @ @ countries , ” Trump wrote .
“ The days of global freeriding at America ’ @ @ @ @ @ prices are coming down FAST !
Also just ended all rebates to middlemen , further @ @ @ @ @ seeks to have Medicaid drug prices “ drawn from the lowest price among members of @ @ @ @ @ and Development that have a similar per-capita gross domestic product , ” according to Politico @ @ @ @ @ in July was one of four aimed at lowering the price of drugs for seniors @ @ @ @

President Trump on Sunday announced his intention to move forward with an executive order he signed in July that intends to lower the price of prescription drugs.
Trump said that the order seeks to have the government purchase drugs at the same prices given to countries designated as “favored nations” because they have a competitive disadvantage on a specific product.
“My Most Favored Nation order will ensure that our Country gets the same low price Big Pharma gives to other countries,” Trump wrote.
“The days of global freeriding at America’s expense are over and prices are coming down FAST! Also just ended all rebates to middlemen, further reducing prices.”
The action seeks to have Medicaid drug prices “drawn from the lowest price among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that have a similar per-capita gross domestic product,” according to Politico.
The executive order signed in July was one of four aimed at lowering the price of drugs for seniors before Election Day.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Adam Gase ‘mad at himself’ over Le’Veon Bell hamstring injury

It was only a few weeks ago when Le ’ Veon Bell took to Twitter to rail against Adam Gase removing him from practice .
“ Ain ’ t nothing wrong with my hamstrings , ” Bell tweeted .
Something wrong with them now .
And this time , Gase took himself to task for keeping Bell and his fragile hamstrings on the field .
“ I ’ m mad at myself that I let him go back in there in the second half , ” Gase said after the Jets ’ 27-17 loss to the Bills in the season @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 30-yard pass in stride from Sam Darnold at the start of a drive late in the second quarter .
It was on an incomplete pass from the Buffalo 23 on which Bills linebacker A.J .
Klein was flagged for holding when Bell went sprawling and Gase sensed trouble .
“ I thought it was gon na be a touchdown , then he got grabbed and then just kinda the way he just kinda planted and torqued , it looked really bad , ” Gase said .
“ And I saw him grab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come out .
“ And then when we came in at halftime , I let him go back in there .
I was worried about it .
I eventually was just like , ‘ I can ’ t put you in there .
We can ’ t take a chance of you getting more hurt than what you already are.
’ ” Bell caught a two-yard pass and rushed for five yards in the first series of the third quarter before Gase finally decided to pull him in favor of Frank Gore .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ injury is unknown .
Bell did not make his way to a Zoom calls with the media .
He finished with six carries for 14 yards and two receptions for 32 yards .
Bell , 28 , was brimming with confidence after reporting to camp at a chiseled 210 pounds .
Said he was in the best shape of his life .
Sunday he didn ’ t look like anyone ’ s bell cow .

It was only a few weeks ago when Le’Veon Bell took to Twitter to rail against Adam Gase removing him from practice.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with my hamstrings,” Bell tweeted.
Something wrong with them now.
And this time, Gase took himself to task for keeping Bell and his fragile hamstrings on the field.
“I’m mad at myself that I let him go back in there in the second half,” Gase said after the Jets’ 27-17 loss to the Bills in the season opener on Sunday.
Bell had caught a 30-yard pass in stride from Sam Darnold at the start of a drive late in the second quarter. It was on an incomplete pass from the Buffalo 23 on which Bills linebacker A.J. Klein was flagged for holding when Bell went sprawling and Gase sensed trouble.
“I thought it was gonna be a touchdown, then he got grabbed and then just kinda the way he just kinda planted and torqued, it looked really bad,” Gase said. “And I saw him grab his hamstring. He wouldn’t come out.
“And then when we came in at halftime, I let him go back in there. I was worried about it. I eventually was just like, ‘I can’t put you in there. We can’t take a chance of you getting more hurt than what you already are.’ ”
Bell caught a two-yard pass and rushed for five yards in the first series of the third quarter before Gase finally decided to pull him in favor of Frank Gore.
The severity of Bell’s hamstring injury is unknown.
Bell did not make his way to a Zoom calls with the media. He finished with six carries for 14 yards and two receptions for 32 yards.
Bell, 28, was brimming with confidence after reporting to camp at a chiseled 210 pounds. Said he was in the best shape of his life. Sunday he didn’t look like anyone’s bell cow.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--I was pro-lockdown for NYC — but now there’s no excuse for continuing it

What are we doing ?
Living in New York City continues to feel like we ’ re in the Upside Down .
Our COVID-19 positive rates are astonishingly low .
Yet attractions , businesses and schools remain shuttered .
If we knew in March that the lockdown would mean months before businesses got to reopen and longer than that until schools opened for in-person learning , would we have gone along ?
I wouldn ’ t have .
In March , I was at the forefront of calls to close schools .
We needed to flatten the curves .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overwhelmed .
Those were worthwhile goals .
What are the goals now ?
It ’ s insane to keep children locked down without a goal .
And the insanity doesn ’ t end there .
Last week , Gov .
Cuomo announced that finally restaurants in Gotham could reopen for indoor dining — but at an absurd 25 percent capacity .
A friend with a 19-seat Brooklyn joint pointed out she could host 4.75 people .
The rest of the state has been open for indoor dining throughout the summer at 50 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experience any spikes in cases .
Why is Cuomo punishing Big Apple restaurateurs and workers ?
The irrationality is the most infuriating part .
A few days ago , an announcement was made that public high schools in New York are canceling their football , volleyball and cheerleading fall seasons .
But tennis , soccer and field hockey are somehow allowed .
Huh ?
That ’ s so arbitrary .
I tried to not be overly bitter last week , as photos of my friends ’ kids returning to real schools filled my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going back to school in far-off places .
Plenty were returning to full-time , in-person schooling at public schools in nearby Long Island and private ones in Manhattan .
My own kids won ’ t go back to any schooling until later this week , when city public schools will finally start — remotely .
Do private-school and suburban parents want teachers and kids to die ?
No .
All have weighed the risks and benefits , taken the necessary precautions and decided that it ’ s unhealthier to remove kids from live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools are supposed to be returning to part-time in-person learning on Sept. 21 .
But few parents believe it will actually happen , mostly due to the total incompetence of everyone in charge of the reopening , the mixed messages from the top — and the cravenness of teachers unions .
During routine COVID-19 testing last week , two asymptomatic teachers tested positive in Brooklyn .
The schools where they teach will now be delayed in opening .
Did no one who makes policy foresee that we would have positive cases going forward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down schools every time there is a positive case ?
And are we doing that until COVID-19 disappears ?
We didn ’ t sign up to stay home indefinitely .
I ’ m not an epidemiologist and I will largely follow what actual medical professionals direct us to do .
But few epidemiologists are urging a continued lockdown to defeat COVID-19 .
Writing in The New York Times in April , Gabriel Leung , an infectious-disease epidemiologist and dean of medicine at the University of Hong Kong , wrote that lockdowns can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ damage to economies and compromising peoples ’ goodwill and emotional well-being.
” But more important , Leung noted , “ containment has failed everywhere.
” As we ’ ve seen spikes in countries like Australia and South Korea , previously considered “ model ” countries that handled the virus very well , that ’ s more important to remember than ever .
We can ’ t defeat COVID-19 by continually shutting down .
I ’ ve taken COVID-19 seriously , both in this column and in my own family .
But the strategy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anymore .
We need a longer-term direction for our city and state , and that direction should be based on science .
Real science — not “ science ” wielded as a rhetorical cudgel by Cuomo and de Blasio .
We can ’ t continue in this fearfulness with a vague plan to wait out the virus while society collapses around us .
Our elected officials need to offer rational guidance , or New Yorkers need to fight them .
We ’ ve been complacent for long enough .

What are we doing?
Living in New York City continues to feel like we’re in the Upside Down. Our COVID-19 positive rates are astonishingly low. Yet attractions, businesses and schools remain shuttered. If we knew in March that the lockdown would mean months before businesses got to reopen and longer than that until schools opened for in-person learning, would we have gone along?
I wouldn’t have. In March, I was at the forefront of calls to close schools. We needed to flatten the curves. We needed to stop the hospitals from getting overwhelmed. Those were worthwhile goals. What are the goals now? It’s insane to keep children locked down without a goal.
And the insanity doesn’t end there. Last week, Gov. Cuomo announced that finally restaurants in Gotham could reopen for indoor dining — but at an absurd 25 percent capacity. A friend with a 19-seat Brooklyn joint pointed out she could host 4.75 people.
The rest of the state has been open for indoor dining throughout the summer at 50 percent capacity, yet we didn’t experience any spikes in cases. Why is Cuomo punishing Big Apple restaurateurs and workers?
The irrationality is the most infuriating part. A few days ago, an announcement was made that public high schools in New York are canceling their football, volleyball and cheerleading fall seasons. But tennis, soccer and field hockey are somehow allowed. Huh? That’s so arbitrary.
I tried to not be overly bitter last week, as photos of my friends’ kids returning to real schools filled my Facebook feed.
They weren’t going back to school in far-off places. Plenty were returning to full-time, in-person schooling at public schools in nearby Long Island and private ones in Manhattan. My own kids won’t go back to any schooling until later this week, when city public schools will finally start — remotely.
Do private-school and suburban parents want teachers and kids to die? No. All have weighed the risks and benefits, taken the necessary precautions and decided that it’s unhealthier to remove kids from live education long term.
New York City schools are supposed to be returning to part-time in-person learning on Sept. 21. But few parents believe it will actually happen, mostly due to the total incompetence of everyone in charge of the reopening, the mixed messages from the top — and the cravenness of teachers unions.
During routine COVID-19 testing last week, two asymptomatic teachers tested positive in Brooklyn. The schools where they teach will now be delayed in opening. Did no one who makes policy foresee that we would have positive cases going forward? Is the plan simply to shut down schools every time there is a positive case? And are we doing that until COVID-19 disappears?
We didn’t sign up to stay home indefinitely.
I’m not an epidemiologist and I will largely follow what actual medical professionals direct us to do. But few epidemiologists are urging a continued lockdown to defeat COVID-19.
Writing in The New York Times in April, Gabriel Leung, an infectious-disease epidemiologist and dean of medicine at the University of Hong Kong, wrote that lockdowns can’t last forever “without causing enormous damage to economies and compromising peoples’ goodwill and emotional well-being.”
But more important, Leung noted, “containment has failed everywhere.” As we’ve seen spikes in countries like Australia and South Korea, previously considered “model” countries that handled the virus very well, that’s more important to remember than ever. We can’t defeat COVID-19 by continually shutting down.
I’ve taken COVID-19 seriously, both in this column and in my own family. But the strategy for New York simply makes no sense anymore. We need a longer-term direction for our city and state, and that direction should be based on science. Real science — not “science” wielded as a rhetorical cudgel by Cuomo and de Blasio.
We can’t continue in this fearfulness with a vague plan to wait out the virus while society collapses around us. Our elected officials need to offer rational guidance, or New Yorkers need to fight them. We’ve been complacent for long enough.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--New York City needs more neighborhoods in revolt against City Hall

City Hall plans to pull the homeless from a hotly ...

A strange thing happened last week: In response to a community concern (amplified by Post reporting), Mayor de Blasio . . . acted. No, he didn’t solve the problem, but he didn’t ignore it, either. It’s a glimmer of hope for New York: grassroots groups can get results.
In July, the Upper West Side got a shock. With no warning, the city dumped 283 men in the Hotel Lucerne on Amsterdam. These men aren’t just down on their luck: They suffer from mental illnesses and addictions. With street traffic already down significantly, the warehousing of vulnerable men with no daytime supervision became a tipping point. Pedestrians had to fear random attack. Kids saw addicts shooting up. Witnesses filmed paid sex acts in the streets — incidents that, considering the incapacitated condition of the so-called sex workers, appear to be assault.
Some people have already left: Residential garbage collection in the area was down 4.1 percent in August, relative to last year, when people staying home should produce more trash.
But most people have stayed — and resolved to act. A new group, Upper West Siders for Safe Streets, launched a Facebook page and soon amassed 15,100 followers.
Separately, Megan Martin, a doctor and neighborhood veteran, worked with neighbors to organize West Side Community Organization, or Westsideco. Westsideco raised more than $100,000 from 1,000 donors. “Some people gave $10,” Martin says. The group built a Web site and hired a lawyer and a p.r. firm.
“I would never consider myself an activist,” says Martin. “I’ve always led a New York anonymous life.” Part of what motivated her is seeing the poor treatment of the mentally ill. “Having people overdosing on the median, the needles on the street,” and getting inadequate information from the neighborhood’s elected officials, “all this disturbed me.”
After weeks of media attention, the mayor termed conditions “unacceptable,” closing the shelter. Happy ending? Not exactly. The city has moved the Lucerne’s residents to another hotel, in Midtown . . . and, to do that, the disabled residents of that hotel were displaced until a local outcry forced a halt.
Using sick, poor people as warm bodies to bail out the downmarket hotel industry is hardly progressive. “Our organization is certainly not about shuffling” people around, says Martin.
Still, Westsideco and Upper West Siders for Safe Streets have proved something: People do have some say over where they live. The media helped, too. A Post series brought massive attention to the crisis.
It’s easy to make fun of the West Side as NIMBYs, ignoring that the area, with 103 people per acre, is 2 ¹/₂ times as dense as the average Big Apple neighborhood.
It’s easy, too, to dismiss the West Side as a “gated community.” Except that if West Siders wanted to live in a gated community, they wouldn’t bother with this. They would just . . . move to a gated community.
And sure, while the Upper West Side is whiter than most neighborhoods, it is one-third minority. A white supremacist would hardly choose to call it home.
Rather than dismiss people who fight to keep overdoses and prostitution off streets, when they could flee to a “private community” in Florida, why not emulate them?
What will scare the pols — and potential pols — isn’t the Upper West Side’s money. It is the votes: 15,100 people, organized into a bloc, can swing a citywide election.
The Upper West Side is liberal: It voted against Mayor Rudy Giuliani in both his successful elections. But the area isn’t insane. Voters won’t repeatedly elect pols who systemically ignore their concerns.
In poorer neighborhoods, the pols make a cynical bet: that the people of East New York and the South Bronx are too busy struggling for survival to make a concentrated push to prevent far more serious crime, such as the surge in shootings.
But poorer neighborhoods are already proving the cynical pols wrong: The same week de Blasio acted on the Upper West Side, he said he would move homeless residents from a Long Island City hotel, too — because the residents of the nearby Queensbridge Houses public housing complex had organized to complain.
If New York is to overcome its COVID-19 malaise, it has to replicate local activism, not dismiss it — and actually help mentally ill homeless people and addicts, not just move them from hotel to hotel.
Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor of City Journal.
Twitter: @NicoleGelinas


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Bribing Harvard to hire a terror apologist — with your tax dollars

Countries send billions to the Palestinian Authority .
.
.
which then donates millions to Harvard University .
The school then hires a failed , dishonest Palestinian diplomat to teach .
.
.
diplomacy .
It ’ s true : Harvard just hired Saeb Erekat , the Palestinian Liberation Organization ’ s chief negotiator , as a “ senior leader in diplomacy ” — after it got nearly $ 2 million in donations from the Palestinian Authority , which rakes in billions in foreign aid , including from America , for itself .
It ’ d be nuts to hire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s been involved in Palestinian-Israeli peace talks for nearly 40 years , and a deal remains nowhere in sight .
That might be because he , along with other Palestinian leaders , has vowed never to “ recognize Israel as a Jewish state , ” as he said in 2014 .
In 2000 , Erekat and Yasser Arafat turned down a ludicrously generous Israeli offer and launched the Second Intifada , in which Palestinian terrorists murdered and maimed thousands .
He and Mahmoud Abbas nixed another deal in 2008 .
Critics cite numerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israel , such as that its army killed 500 innocent Palestinians in a raid on Jenin in 2002 .
In 2015 , he justified random stabbing attacks by Palestinians as “ self-defense.
” But from 2017 to 2019 , the Palestinian Authority “ donated ” nearly $ 2 million to Harvard .
Why would a cash-strapped regime do that ?
Erekat ’ s new gig is a clue : to buy influence at the prestigious school .
Meanwhile , Palestinian cries of poverty have prompted billions in foreign aid , including $ 5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 .
In other words , until President Trump cut the cash flow , Palestinians , in effect , were using US funds to gain leverage at the Ivy League school .
( Oh , and to pay off terrorists or their families . )
The arrangement seems to have turned out nicely for Harvard and the Palestinians .
For students and taxpayers , not so much .

Countries send billions to the Palestinian Authority . . . which then donates millions to Harvard University. The school then hires a failed, dishonest Palestinian diplomat to teach . . . diplomacy.
It’s true: Harvard just hired Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s chief negotiator, as a “senior leader in diplomacy” — after it got nearly $2 million in donations from the Palestinian Authority, which rakes in billions in foreign aid, including from America, for itself.
It’d be nuts to hire Erekat for his statecraft: He’s been involved in Palestinian-Israeli peace talks for nearly 40 years, and a deal remains nowhere in sight. That might be because he, along with other Palestinian leaders, has vowed never to “recognize Israel as a Jewish state,” as he said in 2014.
In 2000, Erekat and Yasser Arafat turned down a ludicrously generous Israeli offer and launched the Second Intifada, in which Palestinian terrorists murdered and maimed thousands. He and Mahmoud Abbas nixed another deal in 2008.
Critics cite numerous lies he’s told to tar Israel, such as that its army killed 500 innocent Palestinians in a raid on Jenin in 2002. In 2015, he justified random stabbing attacks by Palestinians as “self-defense.”
But from 2017 to 2019, the Palestinian Authority “donated” nearly $2 million to Harvard. Why would a cash-strapped regime do that? Erekat’s new gig is a clue: to buy influence at the prestigious school.
Meanwhile, Palestinian cries of poverty have prompted billions in foreign aid, including $5 billion from Washington alone from 1994 to 2018. In other words, until President Trump cut the cash flow, Palestinians, in effect, were using US funds to gain leverage at the Ivy League school. (Oh, and to pay off terrorists or their families.)
The arrangement seems to have turned out nicely for Harvard and the Palestinians. For students and taxpayers, not so much.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Suspect busted in Queens after ‘shots fired’ call to police

One suspect is in custody after police responded to a report of a man with a gun in College Point @ @ @ @ @ Queens cops responded to 125th Street shortly before 5 p.m. for an alleged domestic incident @ @ @ @ @ as they pulled up to the scene , sources said .
The suspect then walked @ @ @ @ @ was taken into custody , they said .

A man was arrested Sunday after allegedly firing at police officers from a house in Queens, cops said.
Cops were responding to an address on 125th Street shortly before 5 p.m. for an alleged domestic incident — when the suspect began shooting at them from the second-story, sources said.
The officers took cover but the gunman continued to fire his rifle from the first floor, according to the sources.
Rodolfo Montiero, 25, was taken into custody after he surrendered, cops said.
Charges against Montiero were pending.


newyorkpost--2020-09-13--Sam Darnold looks lost in alarming Jets performance

Grading the Jets after their 27-17 loss to the Bills on ...

When Bills 27, Jets 17 was mercifully over, Sam Darnold did what franchise quarterbacks old and young are supposed to do, even on a day when everyone around him, starting right from the start with Adam Gase, was seeing ghosts.
But still, it was 21-3 at the half and Darnold’s lack of poise and accuracy, and poor decision-making had you wondering whether this was really his second year in Gase’s offense, had you wondering whether he will be able to rise above the rubble around him on the field and on the sideline anytime soon in the Bad News Jets.
“I put that on my shoulders, I missed way too many throws today,” Darnold said. “I just flat-out missed guys, and that’s on me. And so, I gotta be better, and we gotta execute better, it’s as simple as that.”
There were simply too many occasions when Darnold (21-for-35, 215 yards, one touchdown, one interception) looked more like a rookie out of USC than a third-year quarterback ready to Take Flight, as the Jets like to say. Take Fright instead.
He was badly outplayed by his Quarterback Class of 2018 buddy Josh Allen (career-best 312 passing yards, two touchdowns, 57 rushing yards, one touchdown), and perhaps a Darnold family member would feel compelled to point out that he didn’t get the chance to play against Gag Green.
The worst of it came when Darnold, off his back foot, threw across his body for Jamison Crowder and was intercepted by Matt Milano.
“I just tried to fit a ball in there that I shouldn’t have,” Darnold said.
It made him 3-for-10 for 22 yards and a QB rating of 0.0.
“Anytime you’re moving to the left and you throw to the middle of the field, that’s not ideal,” Gase said. “You do not want to do that.”
Darnold had nearly been picked off earlier by Tre’Davious White. His desperation flick pass scrambling to his left to Chris Herndon for nine yards had made him 2-for-8.
Then there was an inexcusable delay-of-game penalty following a TV timeout.
“I put that on my shoulders,” Darnold said. “We didn’t break the huddle fast enough and we weren’t ready, and that’s on me.”
It was Amateur Hour.
“We had a really bad miscommunication in the huddle,” Gase said. “We screwed up the formation — everything gotta messed up. … We can’t have that happen.”
Then there was Darnold (and Gase, of course) trying a screen from his 18 for Jamison Crowder with 18 seconds and no timeouts left in the first half instead of taking a shot for the end zone. Darnold was forced to clock it with three seconds left. The field goal made it 21-3.
“It was kinda my thought process in the moment,” Darnold said.
Thought wrong, apparently.
“I called something that really wasn’t thinking the ball was gonna go there,” Gase said. “It’s hard to control all aspects of it.”
Appreciate the honesty, Coach, but that’s your job!
And yet somehow the game was still there to be won in the fourth quarter, after a blown successful Tyler Bass field goal, after Darnold-to-Crowder for a 69-yard catch and run that made it 21-10.
It was Bills 24, Jets 10, 10:38 remaining, Darnold’s chance to overcome a defense that not only missed Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, not to mention the New York Sack Exchange, and the nine boneheaded penalties for 95 yards.
Except Herndon fumbled away a screen pass, over and out.
“We were not good in the passing game today,” Gase said.
Ya think?
The level of ineptitude was so glaring that Gase should feel fortunate that his team had a mere 18:44 time of possession.
“It was about as bad of a start offensively as we could have had,” Gase said.
Remember: Gase was hired to lift this quarterback. Perhaps we should have anticipated some of the bumbling ineptitude with an overhauled offensive line and a paucity of weapons and a running game that ground out 52 yards and saw Le’Veon Bell (6-14 rushing, 2-32 receiving) leave after intermission with a hamstring problem.
But general manager Joe Douglas did promise Darnold’s parents that he would protect their boy, and he did draft mountainous LT Mekhi Becton for starters … but the operation we witnessed on Sunday had Jets fans fearing that the kid needs to be protected from Gase as much as anybody.
“We were just off with some of the details of what we were calling and what we were doing to where we didn’t do a couple of things that will look really poorly for him,” Gase said, “and then he missed some throws that normally we’ve seen him make and he made later in the game. … I gotta go back and look at this.”
He won’t like what he sees. Of himself, and most alarming and worrisome, of his franchise quarterback.