- Catapulting Russian-Meddling Propaganda
Catapulting Russian-Meddling Propaganda
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 23:20Authored by Ray McGovern via ConsortiumNews.com,
The New York Times is leading the full-court press to improve on what it regards as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s weak-kneed effort to blame the Russians for giving us Donald Trump…
The fresh orgy of anti-Russian invective in the lickspittle media (LSM) has the feel of fin de siècle. The last four reality-impaired years do seem as though they add up to a century. And no definitive fin is in sight, as long as most people don’t know what’s going on.
The LSM should be confronted: “At long last have you left no sense of decency?” But who would hear the question — much less any answer? The corporate media have a lock on what Americans are permitted or not permitted to hear. Checking the truth, once routine in journalism, is a thing of the past.
Thus the reckless abandon with which The New York Times is leading the current full-court press to improve on what it regards as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s weak-kneed effort to blame the Russians for giving us Donald Trump. The press is on, and there are no referees to call the fouls.
The recent release of a 1,000-page, sans bombshells and already out-of-date report by the Senate Intelligence Committee has provided the occasion to “catapult the propaganda,” as President George W. Bush once put it.
As the the Times‘s Mark Mazzetti put it in his article Wednesday:
“Releasing the report less than 100 days before Election Day, Republican-majority senators hoped it would refocus attention on the interference by Russia and other hostile foreign powers in the American political process, which has continued unabated.”
Mazzetti is telling his readers, soto voce: regarding that interference four years ago, and the “continued-unabated” part, you just have to trust us and our intelligence community sources who would never lie to you. And if, nevertheless, you persist in asking for actual evidence, you are clearly in Putin’s pocket.
Incidentally, Mueller’s report apparently was insufficient, only two years in the making, and just 448 pages. The Senate committee’s magnum opus took three years, is almost 1,000 pages — and fortified. So there.
Iron Pills
Recall how disappointed the LSM and the rest of the Establishment were with Mueller’s anemic findings in spring 2019. His report claimed that the Russian government “interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion” via a social media campaign run by the Internet Research Agency (IRA) and by “hacking” Democratic emails. But the evidence behind those charges could not bear close scrutiny.
You would hardly know it from the LSM, but the accusation against the IRA was thrown out of court when the U.S. government admitted it could not prove that the IRA was working for the Russian government. Mueller’s ipse dixit did not suffice, as we explained a year ago in “Sic Transit Gloria Mueller.”
The Best Defense …
… is a good offense, and the Senate Intelligence Committee’s release of its study — call it “Mueller (Enhanced)” — and the propaganda fanfare — come at a key point in the Russiagate/Spygate imbroglio. It also came, curiously, as the Democratic Convention was beginning, as if the Republican-controlled Senate was sending Trump a message.
Durham
One chief worry, of course, derives from the uncertainty as to whether John Durham, the US Attorney investigating those FBI and other officials who launched the Trump-Russia investigation will let some heavy shoes drop before the election. Barr has said he expects “developments in Durham’s investigation hopefully before the end of the summer.”
FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith already has decided to plead guilty to the felony of falsifying evidence used to support a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to surveillance to spy on Trump associate Carter Page. It is abundantly clear that Clinesmith was just a small cog in the deep-state machine in action against candidate and then President Trump. And those running the machine are well known. The president has named names, and Barr has made no bones about his disdain for what he calls spying on the president.
The cognoscenti and the big fish themselves may be guessing that Trump/Barr/Durham will not throw out heavier lines for former FBI Director James Comey, his deputy Andrew McCabe, CIA Director John Brennan, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, for example. But how can they be sure? What has become clear is that the certainty they all shared that Hillary Clinton would be the next president prompted them not only to take serious liberties with the Constitution and the law, but also to do so without taking rudimentary steps to hide their tracks.
The incriminating evidence is there. And as Trump becomes more and more vulnerable and defensive about his ineptness — particularly with regard to Covid-19 — he may summon the courage to order Barr and Durham to hook the big fish, not just minnows like Clinesmith. The neuralgic reality is that no one knows at this point how far Trump will go. To say that this kind of uncertainty is unsettling to all concerned is to say the obvious.
So, the stakes are high — for the Democrats, as well — and, not least, the LSM. In these circumstances it would seem imperative not just to circle the wagons but to mount the best offense/defense possible, despite the fact that virtually all the ammunition (as in the Senate report) is familiar and stale (“enhanced” or not).
Black eyes might well be in store for the very top former law enforcement and intelligence officials, the Democrats, and the LSM — and in the key pre-election period. So, the calculation: launch “Mueller Report (Enhanced)” and catapult the truth now with propaganda, before it is too late.
No Evidence of Hacking
The “hacking of the DNC” charge suffered a fatal blow three months ago when it became known that Shawn Henry, president of the DNC-hired cyber-security firm CrowdStrike, admitted under oath that his firm had no evidence that the DNC emails were hacked — by Russia or anyone else.
(YouTube)
Henry gave his testimony on Dec. 5, 2017, but House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff was able to keep it hidden until May 7, 2020.
Here’s a brief taste of how Henry’s testimony went: Asked by Schiff for “the date on which the Russians exfiltrated the data”, Henry replied, “We just don’t have the evidence that says it actually left.”
You did not know that? You may be forgiven — up until now — if your information diet is limited to the LSM and you believe The New York Times still publishes “all the news that’s fit to print.” I am taking bets on how much longer the NYT will be able to keep Henry’s testimony hidden; Schiff’s record of 29 months will be hard to beat.
Putting Lipstick on the Pig of Russian ‘Tampering’
Worse still for the LSM and other Russiagate diehards, Mueller’s findings last year enabled Trump to shout “No Collusion” with Russia. What seems clear at this point is that a key objective of the current catapulting of the truth is to apply lipstick to Mueller’s findings.
After all, he was supposed to find treacherous plotting between the Trump campaign and the Russians and failed miserably. Most LSM-suffused Americans remain blissfully unaware of this, and the likes of Pulitzer Prize winner Mazzetti have been commissioned to keep it that way.
In Wednesday’s article, for example, Mazzetti puts it somewhat plaintively:
“Like the special counsel … the Senate report did not conclude that the Trump campaign engaged in a coordinated conspiracy with the Russian government — a fact that the Republicans seized on to argue that there was ‘no collusion’.”
How could they!
Mazzetti is playing with words. “Collusion,” however one defines it, is not a crime; conspiracy is.
‘Breathtaking’ Contacts: Mueller (Enhanced)
Mark Mazzetti (YouTube)
Mazzetti emphasizes that the Senate report “showed extensive evidence of contacts between Trump campaign advisers and people tied to the Kremlin,” and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the intelligence committee’s vice chairman, said the committee report details “a breathtaking level of contacts between Trump officials and Russian government operatives that is a very real counterintelligence threat to our elections.”
None of that takes us much beyond the Mueller report and other things generally well known — even in the LSM. Nor does the drivel about people like Paul Manafort “sharing polling data with Russians” who might be intelligence officers. That data was “mostly public” the Times itself reported, and the paper had to correct a story that the data was intended for Russian oligarchs, when it was meant for Ukrainian oligarchs instead. That Manafort was working to turn Ukraine towards the West and not Russia is rarely mentioned.
Recent revelations regarding the false data given the FISA court by an FBI lawyer to “justify” eavesdropping on Trump associate Carter Page show the Senate report to be not up to date and misguided in endorsing the FBI’s decision to investigate Page. The committee may wish to revisit that endorsement — at least.
On the Steele Dossier, the committee also missed a ruling by a British judge against Christopher Steele, labeling his dossier an attempt to help Hillary Clinton get elected. Consortium News explained back in October 2017 that both CrowdStrike and Steele were paid for by the Democratic Party and Clinton campaign to push Russiagate.
Also missed by the intelligence committee was a document released by the Senate Judiciary Committee last month that revealed that Steele’s “Primary Subsource and his friends peddled warmed-over rumors and laughable gossip that Steele dressed up as formal intelligence memos.”
Smearing WikiLeaks
The Intelligence Committee report also repeats thoroughly debunked myths about WikiLeaks and, like Mueller, the committee made no effort to interview Julian Assange before launching its smears. Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi, who partnered with WikiLeaks in the publication of the Podesta emails, described the report’s treatment of WikiLeaks in this Twitter thread:
2. the description of #WikiLeaks‘ publishing activities by this #SenateIntelligenceCommittee‘s Report appears a true #EdgarHoover‘s disinformation campaign to make a legitimate media org completely radioactive
3. Clearly, to describe #WikiLeaks and its publishing activities the #SenateIntelligenceCommittee’s Report completely rely on #US intelligence community+ #MikePompeo’s characterisation of #WikiLeaks. There is not even any pretense of an independent approach
4. there are also unsubstantiated claims like:
– “[WikiLeaks’] disclosures have jeopardized the safety of individual Americans and foreign allies” (p.200)
– “WikiLeaks has passed information to U.S. adversaries” (p.201)5. it’s completely false that “#WikiLeaks does not seem to weigh whether its disclosures add any public interest value” (p.200) and any longtime media partner like me could provide you dozens of examples on how wrong this characterisation [is].
Titillating
Mazzetti did add some spice to the version of his article that dominated the two top right columns of Wednesday’s Times with the blaring headline: “Senate Panel Ties Russian Officials to Trump’s Aides: G.O.P.-Led Committee Echoes Mueller’s Findings on Election Tampering.”
Those who make it to the end of Mazzetti’s piece will learn that the Senate committee report “did not establish” that the Russian government obtained any compromising material on Mr. Trump or that they tried to use such materials [that they didn’t have] as leverage against him.” However, Mazzetti adds,
“According to the report, Mr. Trump met a former Miss Moscow at a party during one trip in 1996. After the party, a Trump associate told others he had seen Mr. Trump with the woman on multiple occasions and that they ‘might have had a brief romantic relationship.’
“The report also raised the possibility that, during that trip, Mr. Trump spent the night with two young women who joined him the next morning at a business meeting with the mayor of Moscow.”
This is journalism?
Another Pulitzer in Store?
The Times appends a note reminding us that Mazzetti was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for reporting on Donald Trump’s advisers and their connections to Russia.
And that’s not the half of it. In September 2018, Mazzetti and his NYT colleague Scott Shane wrote a 10,000-word feature, “The Plot to Subvert an Election,” trying to convince readers that the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) had successfully swayed U.S. opinion during the 2016 election with 80,000 Facebook posts that they said had reached 126 million Americans.
That turned out to be a grotesquely deceptive claim. Mazzetti and Shane failed to mention the fact that those 80,000 IRA posts (from early 2015 through 2017, meaning about half came after the election), had been engulfed in a vast ocean of more than 33 trillion Facebook posts in people’s news feeds – 413 million times more than the IRA posts. Not to mention the lack of evidence that the IRA was the Russian government, as Mueller claimed.
In exposing that chicanery, prize-winning investigative reporter Gareth Porter commented:
“The descent of The New York Times into this unprecedented level of propagandizing for the narrative of Russia’s threat to U.S. democracy is dramatic evidence of a broader problem of abuses by corporate media … Greater awareness of the dishonesty at the heart of the Times’ coverage of that issue is a key to leveraging media reform and political change.”
Nothingburgers With Russian Dressing: the Backstory
The late Robert Parry.
“It’s too much; it’s just too much, too much”, a sedated, semi-conscious Robert Parry kept telling me from his hospital bed in late January 2018 a couple of days before he died. Bob was founder of Consortium News.
It was already clear what Bob meant; he had taken care to see to that. On Dec. 31, 2017 the reason for saying that came in what he titled “An Apology & Explanation” for “spotty production in recent days.” A stroke on Christmas Eve had left Bob with impaired vision, but he was able to summon enough strength to write an Apologia — his vision for honest journalism and his dismay at what had happened to his profession before he died on Jan. 27, 2018. The dichotomy was “just too much”.
Parry rued the role that journalism was playing in the “unrelenting ugliness that has become Official Washington. … Facts and logic no longer mattered. It was a case of using whatever you had to diminish and destroy your opponent … this loss of objective standards reached deeply into the most prestigious halls of American media.”
What bothered Bob most was the needless, dishonest tweaking of the Russian bear. “The U.S. media’s approach to Russia,” he wrote, “is now virtually 100 percent propaganda. Does any sentient human being read The New York Times’ or The Washington Post’s coverage of Russia and think that he or she is getting a neutral or unbiased treatment of the facts? … Western journalists now apparently see it as their patriotic duty to hide facts that otherwise would undermine the demonizing of Putin and Russia.”
Parry, who was no conservative, continued:
“Liberals are embracing every negative claim about Russia just because elements of the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency produced a report last Jan. 6 that blamed Russia for ‘hacking’ Democratic emails and releasing them to WikiLeaks.”
Bob noted that the ‘hand-picked’ authors “evinced no evidence and even admitted that they weren’t asserting any of this as fact.”
It was just too much.
Robert Parry’s Last Article
Peter Strzok during congressional hearing in July 2018. (Wikimedia Commons)
Bob posted his last substantive article on Dec. 13, 2017, the day after text exchanges between senior FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page were made public. (Typically, readers of The New York Times the following day would altogether miss the importance of the text-exchanges.)
Bob Parry rarely felt any need for a “sanity check.” Dec. 12, 2017 was an exception. He called me about the Strzok-Page texts; we agreed they were explosive. FBI Agent Peter Strzok was on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s staff investigating alleged Russian interference, until Mueller removed him.
Strzok reportedly was a “hand-picked” FBI agent taking part in the Jan 2017 evidence-impoverished, rump, misnomered “intelligence community” assessment that blamed Russia for hacking and other election meddling. And he had helped lead the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s misuse of her computer servers. Page was Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s right-hand lawyer.
His Dec. 13, 2017 piece would be his fourth related article in less than two weeks; it turned out to be his last substantive article. All three of the earlier ones are worth a re-read as examples of fearless, unbiased, perceptive journalism. Here are the links.
Bob began his article on the Strzok-Page bombshell:
“The disclosure of fiercely anti-Trump text messages between two romantically involved senior FBI officials who played key roles in the early Russia-gate inquiry has turned the supposed Russian-election-meddling “scandal” into its own scandal, by providing evidence that some government investigators saw it as their duty to block or destroy Donald Trump’s presidency.?
“As much as the U.S. mainstream media has mocked the idea that an American ‘deep state’ exists and that it has maneuvered to remove Trump from office, the text messages between senior FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok and senior FBI lawyer Lisa Page reveal how two high-ranking members of the government’s intelligence/legal bureaucracy saw their role as protecting the United States from an election that might elevate to the presidency someone as unfit as Trump.”
Not a fragment of Bob’s or other Consortium News analysis made any impact on what Bob used to call the Establishment media. As a matter of fact, eight months later during a talk in Seattle that I titled “Russia-gate: Can You Handle the Truth?”, only three out of a very progressive audience of some 150 had ever heard of Strzok and Page.
And so it goes.
Lest I am accused of being “in Putin’s pocket,” let me add the explanatory note that we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity included in our most explosive Memorandum for President Trump, on “Russian hacking.”
Full Disclosure: Over recent decades the ethos of our intelligence profession has eroded in the public mind to the point that agenda-free analysis is deemed well nigh impossible. Thus, we add this disclaimer, which applies to everything we in VIPS say and do: We have no political agenda; our sole purpose is to spread truth around and, when necessary, hold to account our former intelligence colleagues.
We speak and write without fear or favor. Consequently, any resemblance between what we say and what presidents, politicians and pundits say is purely coincidental. The fact we find it is necessary to include that reminder speaks volumes about these highly politicized times.
- China Warns 'Necessary Countermeasures' Coming For Any Asian Country Willing To Host US Missiles
China Warns 'Necessary Countermeasures' Coming For Any Asian Country Willing To Host US Missiles
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 22:55It was a year ago that the Pentagon first announced it would move forward with plans to deploy intermediate range ballistic missiles to Asia “within months” — an ambitious timeline which of course never materialized, nevertheless a prospect that’s remained on the table ever since, driving tensions higher as part of what Beijing has slammed repeatedly as Washington’s “Cold War mentality”.
In a new statement China’s Foreign Ministry has vowed it will take “countermeasures” should any US ally in the region agree to host American missiles.
Via Reuters “The US attempt to deploy land-based, medium-range missiles is consistent with its increasing military presence in the Asia Pacific and so-called ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’ over the past years, is a typical demonstration of its Cold War mentality,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday.
“If the US side goes ahead with its plans (for deploying intermediate range missiles in the Asia-Pacific Region – TASS), China will take the necessary countermeasures to protect its interests in the field of security,” the statement continued.
“China is calling upon the Asia-Pacific countries to realize the real purpose of US actions and their grave effects and to avoid pulling chestnuts out of the fire for others,” Zhao added.
Further calling it a “blatant provocation” the statement underscored that it’s part of a broader pattern of Washington’s erosion of global and regional stability through its “words and deeds”.
Beijing slammed any potential future missile host nation in Asia as revealing some countries act as mere pawns of the US. “We also call on countries in the Asia Pacific region to be soberly aware of the true intention behind and severe consequences of the US move, and refrain from acting as a pawn for the US,” Zhao said.
At least initially, it would likely only be Guam that would see any early missile deployment.
The lengthy and fierce comments came in response US Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea indicating in a recent interview with Japanese media that the US will discuss the prospect of hosting missiles with some countries in the region.
- Ron Paul: The Untold Story Of The Man Who Inspired A New Generation Of Liberty Lovers
Ron Paul: The Untold Story Of The Man Who Inspired A New Generation Of Liberty Lovers
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 22:30Authored by Sam Jacobs via Ammo.com,
If you’re under the age of 40 and you’re reading this, chances are very good that your interest in the liberty movement was sparked by three-time presidential candidate and veteran Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Paul inspired an entire generation of Libertarians, Constitutionalists and limited-government Conservatives with his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
It might surprise you to learn that Paul is not originally from Texas, but Pittsburgh, where he was born to a dairy farmer and his wife. He graduated from Gettysburg State College in 1957, with a degree in biology. He earned his medical degree from Duke’s School of Medicine in 1961. From 1963 to 1965, he was a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force, before moving over to the Air National Guard from 1965 to 1968. Upon discharge, he relocated to Texas to start a private practice in obstetrics and gynecology.
While he had been reading Austrian economics and Libertarian political philosophy for years beforehand, he finally decided to run for Congress when President Richard Nixon took the nation off of the gold standard in 1971. He lost his first attempt at public office in 1974, but won a special election in 1976, losing the regular election later that year by a mere 300 votes. He defeated his opponent in 1978, serving until 1985, then again from 1997 to 2013.
The Beginning of Ron Paul’s Political Career
While in Congress, Paul spoke in favor of a return to the gold standard with Senator Jesse Helms, as well as against a reinstatement of the draft favored by President Jimmy Carter and the majority of Republicans in Congress.
He retired from Congress in 1984 to run for Senate, losing the Republican primary to Phil Gramm.
After his time in Congress, he focused on the private promotion of liberty, publishing the Ron Paul Survival Newsletter and the Ron Paul Freedom Report with Lew Rockwell, who had previously been his congressional chief of staff. He also sold precious metals under the auspices of Ron Paul Coins.
In 1988, he made his first run for the presidency as a Libertarian, defeating Native American activist Russell Means (who had previously seconded Larry Flynt in his bid for the Libertarian Party line) and coming in third nationwide. He considered running again in 1992, but instead decided to back Pat Buchanan’s campaign against President George H.W. Bush.
Coming Back to Congress
Paul returned to Congress after a 1996 election with a huge assist from friends Nolan Ryan, Steve Forbes, and Pat Buchanan.
However, it was his 2008 presidential campaign that began to change the world of liberty. There is arguably no one more responsible for the spread of the liberty movement than Ron Paul, whose 2008 campaign electrified young people who would likely have largely been Democrats previously. The average Ron Paul supporter in 2008 was not the country club Republican or movement Libertarian one might have pegged, but more likely to be a tech-savvy college kid than anything else.
Thus, throughout the 2008 primary season, the acolytes of Ron Paul dominated political debate on the Internet and social media, the latter of which was still in its infancy at this point. Ron Paul’s campaign was the most searched for and his YouTube channel had even more followers than Barack Obama’s.
None of this translated into a terribly successful campaign. His highwater mark was a 25 percent second-place showing in Montana. He chose not to enter the general election as a third-party candidate, but did not endorse the eventual nominee, John McCain. Paul often claimed that he did not run as a third-party candidate because he had signed a binding agreement preventing him from doing so. He chose instead to endorse the four major third-party candidates: Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney, Libertarian Bob Barr (this despite his previous role in Ruby Ridge), the Constitution Party’s Chuck Baldwin, and independent Ralph Nader.
In 2012, Ron Paul was still considered an outsider, but had considerably raised his national profile since 2008. He remained hot on the heels of front-runner Mitt Romney throughout the entire Republican primary, but once again came up short of the nomination. Much like in 2008, he refused to endorse Mitt Romney and even refused to give a speech at the convention because it would have to be vetted by Romney’s team.
Ron Paul’s Criticisms of the Republican Party
While Paul was a life-long Republican, he was often highly critical of the party and its leadership. Indeed, he was one of the only Republicans to vote against Ronald Reagan’s 1981 spending bill, despite being one of the first elected officials to endorse Reagan in both 1976 and 1980. He even had some extremely harsh words to say about Reagan while running for president in 1988. He called the Reagan administration “a dramatic failure,” continuing by saying that “Reagan’s record is disgraceful. He starts wars, breaks the law, supplies terrorists with guns made at taxpayers’ expense and lies about it to the American people.”
Since retiring from elected office and the presidential race, Ron Paul has become a fierce critic of the NSA and surveillance, as well as a supporter of Edward Snowden, whom he considers to be a great hero and champion of freedoms for Americans. He also founded the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity underneath the broader umbrella of his Foundation for Rational Economics and Education. He offers the Ron Paul Curriculum (developed by Gary North) free for homeschooled children from K-5 and paid for 6-12.
The Ron Paul Liberty Report has received more than 17 million views as of April 2019.
In 2016, Ron Paul became the oldest person to ever receive an electoral vote when a faithless elector in Texas voted for him.
Veterans of the Ron Paul rEVOLution are active in the liberty movement today. And how great is it that a man who has never smoked a cigarette in his life inspired a generation of pot-smoking techies to join the fight for liberty?
You can bet your last Ron Paul Dollar (remember those?) that Dr. Paul will be speaking hard truths, bucking the system and standing his ground until the day he dies. Libertarians will likely never find a champion quite like him.
- Trump Jabs FDA For Rejecting HCQ, Claims 'Deep State, Or Whoever' Delaying Vaccine Trials
Trump Jabs FDA For Rejecting HCQ, Claims 'Deep State, Or Whoever' Delaying Vaccine Trials
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 22:05President Trump took a swipe at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a pair of Saturday tweets, accusing the “deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA” of delaying human vaccine trials by “making it very difficult for drug companies to get people” (test subjects) so that trial results aren’t known until after the 2020 election.
“Must focus on speed, and saving lives!” Trump concluded, tagging FDA Commissioner Stephen Hawn, who he appointed to the role.
The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives! @SteveFDA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2020
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Trump also slammed the FDA, rubbing the agency’s nose in their June decision to revoke its emergency authorization of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for the treatment of COVID-19.
“Many doctors and studies disagree with this!” tweeted Trump – resurrecting a June 15th ‘Twitter moment’ noting the revocation.
Many doctors and studies disagree with this! https://t.co/fpLVJZMvHS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2020
Hydroxychloroquine – used by many countries as both a front-line early treatment and a prophylactic against COVID-19 – saw sharp pushback from public health officials and Democrats after President Trump recommended it, almost as if the need to prove him wrong and push new treatments was more important than exploring whether HCQ was indeed effective if used early, particularly in conjunction with zinc and the antibiotic azithromycin.
Indeed, the first wave of studies on HCQ focused on mid-to-late stage COVID-19 infections, and found marginal improvement – or in one study, harm, from the use of the popular antimalarial drug. Since then, studies have emerged that HCQ is extremely effective when used early –
In July, the state of Ohio withdrew their ban on the use of HCQ to treat COVID-19.
he anti-HCQ push has infected Silicon Valley as well – as tech giants have been labeling pro-hydroxychloroquine content as ‘misinformation’ – most recently banishing a press conference by a group of doctors touting the drug from just about every platform.
To that end, Yale epidemiologist Dr. Harvey Risch has accused Dr. Anthony Fouci of waging a “misinformation campaign” against the drug – appearing on “Good Morning America” in late July where he further downplayed the drug – claiming that “the overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in [treating] coronavirus disease.”
Wrong.
Several new studies have shown efficacy if used early, while countries that have deployed HCQ in just that manner have significantly fewer deaths per million residents (via c19study.com, which tracks HCQ studies).
HCQ’s efficacy was known by mid-July, when the FDA removed its authorization:
It’s not perfect as HCQ was also used in Belgium and Spain and later in Italy, but the idea is that Western Europe as a whole never embraced the ‘treat early and often’ strategy. Mostly they tried it with sick patients, didn’t work..moved on
They mainly followed the WHO position
— Gummi Bear (@gummibear737) July 16, 2020
Meanwhile, over 700 physicians from all 50 states have called on President Trump to issue another Emergency Use Authorization on HCQ.
The physician signatories specialize in the following kinds of medicine:
Emergency: 47
Surgery: 74
Anesthesiology: 48
Cardiology: 20
Dentistry: 3
General/Family/Internal: 371
Neurology: 12
Pediatrician: 28
Psychiatry: 44
Radiology: 24
Women’s health: 30
Alternative: 20— Jenny Beth Martin (@jennybethm) August 22, 2020
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Dr. Fauci’s NIH is suppressing #Hydroxycholoroquine. @RealDonaldTrump should ask Dr. Fauci about NIH’s refusal to conduct or support real research on HCQ despite the likely efficacy of this safe drug as a #coronavirus treatment and preventative.
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) August 22, 2020
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- America's Most And Least Affordable Places To Buy A Home
America's Most And Least Affordable Places To Buy A Home
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 21:40The Coronavirus pandemic has upended the real estate market so far in unexpected and varied ways. Record low mortgage interest rates combined with people spending most of their time at home has caused a boom in home buying many housing markets despite widespread unemployment.
Not only that, but people are moving and considering new locations. Office closures mean that many people are working from home and some employers have suggested this may be a permanent trend. All these trends are conspiring together to cause people to consider moving to new places across America.
Along with Priceonomics customer RefiGuide.org, we decided to perform an analysis for people looking to buy a home based on affordability. If you are tired of living in a place where homeownership is out of reach because of high prices compared to incomes, where else should you consider living?
We found that the most affordable housing markets in America were uniformly located in the South and Midwest. The most affordable place we looked at in America was Youngstown, Ohio where the median household income in one year is more than the typical purchase price of a home. On the other hand, almost all the least affordable places to buy a home were in California. Of all the markets we examined, Newport Beach was the least affordable market in the country.
***
Before diving into the results, it’s worth spending a moment on the methodology and data. In this analysis, we are primarily interested in affordability of housing in an area. To do so, we compared two metrics – income and the cost of a house. How far will the prevailing median household income go toward the purchase price of a home in the city. All income data is derived from the US Census 2018 data and housing data from Zillow’s June 30, 2020 market estimates. We looked at the 609 largest “places” (a designation in the US Census for cities and towns) in America.
Below are the top 50 most affordable places in America. To calculate the affordability we took median annual income as percentage of home prices in the area.
Chart via RefiGuide.org
The most affordable place in America is Youngstown, Ohio, followed by Jackson, Mississippi. In both places, the median household income is higher than the purchase price of a house! Every single city on the most affordable list is located in the South or Midwest. Of the 609 places in America, only 50 places have an affordability score over 36%. The vast majority of places in America are much less affordable.
Next, let’s look at the least affordable housing markets in America. The following chart shows the places where the local income does not go particularly far toward a home purchase:
Chart via RefiGuide.org
The least affordable place in America is Newport Beach, California, followed by Santa Monica, California. In these places, the typical annual income covers just 5.3% of a home’s purchase price. In fact 24 out of the top 25 places on the least affordability list are located in California. A few cities in New York, Colorado, Hawaii and Florida also make the list that’s generally dominated by California.
From the two above charts, it seems clear that there is a geographic pattern in affordability. Next, let’s look at the average affordability of all the places in a given state taken together.
Chart via RefiGuide.org
The most affordable state in America for homebuyers is Mississippi, followed by Ohio and Oklahoma. Each of the top 12 most affordable states are in the South and Midwest. The least affordable states are Hawaii, Washington DC, and California. The least affordable places are all in the West and East of the country.
Lastly, let’s look at the 50 largest housing markets according to Zillow. These places tend to have the most job opportunities and largest economies, which can be a major factor in the long term affordability of a city, even in the area of remote work.
Chart via RefiGuide.org
Of the largest 50 housing markets in America, Detroit, Michigan is the most affordable where a household’s salary covers 83.4% of the home’s purchase price. Each of the top 5 cities are in the South or Midwest. San Francisco is the least affordable major city in the country, followed by Los Angeles and Oakland. The top 6 of the top 10 cities are in California with New York, Honolulu, Boston and Miami also making the least affordable major cities list.
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Housing affordability has long been a hot button issue in America. Over the last decade housing prices have increased at a tremendous rate and made homeownership beyond the reach of many Americans.
A couple of different forces are affecting the housing market as a result of the pandemic. On one hand many people are laid off, meaning many people in the economy are housing insecure. On the other hand, many Americans are using the pandemic to reassess where they want to live. To assist those that are considering a move, below is a data sheet for the housing prices, median income, and affordability rate of over 600 places in America.
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Note: If you’re a company that wants to work with Priceonomics to turn your data into great stories, learn more about the Priceonomics Data Studio.
- A.I. Fighter Jet Destroys Top Air Force Pilot In Simulated Dogfight
A.I. Fighter Jet Destroys Top Air Force Pilot In Simulated Dogfight
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 21:15DARPAtv live-streamed AlphaDogfight Trials Competition on Thursday (Aug. 20), which featured an AI-controlled virtual fighter jet beating a human pilot in a series of simulated dogfights.
The AI-system, developed by Heron Systems, a Maryland-based defense contractor, beat one of the Air Force’s top General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots, reported Breaking Defense.
Fully-autonomous fighter jets are years away, but the Air Force and DARPA appear to be honing in on the possibilities of integrating artificial intelligence systems into combat flying machines. The live event was streamed on several platforms, including YouTube and Zoom, which shows AI systems have the ability in 2020 to operate an aircraft with skill and in a one-on-one combat scenario, out-gunning a human pilot, even though it was in a simulation.
One of the hosts during the simulated dogfight noted the AI system has “superhuman” shooting capabilities that produced an edge over the human pilot.
Video: AlphaDogfight Trials Final Event
Timothy Grayson, director of the Strategic Technology Office at DARPA, described the simulation as successful and said it’s a victory for humans and machines to team up for combat:
“I think what we’re seeing today is the beginning of something I’m going to call human-machine symbiosis… Let’s think about the human sitting in the cockpit, being flown by one of these AI algorithms as truly being one weapon system, where the human is focusing on what the human does best [like higher order strategic thinking] and the AI is doing what the AI does best,” Grayson said.
While fully autonomous fighter jets conducting dogfights are years outs, if not at the end of the decade, what’s more, plausible, in the next five years, is AI integrating into the flight systems of fighter jets, especially stealth ones, to assist pilots during complex combat situations.
- 'Footloose' Comes To Life In New York: Governor Cuomo Bans Dancing
'Footloose' Comes To Life In New York: Governor Cuomo Bans Dancing
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 20:50Authored by Megan Fox via PJMedia.com,
Governor Cuomo has become Reverend Shaw Moore from the movie Footloose after issuing a new set of commands for New Yorkers that includes a ban on dancing.
This is not a joke. Syracuse.com reported the story.
There is no dancing allowed in New York’s bars and restaurants, even at a wedding reception, according to the New York State Liquor Authority.
To control the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s liquor authority has also specifically banned darts, pool, cornhole, karaoke and exotic dancing.
Bar owners are already struggling to stay open after being shut down for months. The new rules are causing a lot of anxiety as business owners are being threatened with their licensing if they don’t comply.
The intent is to reduce the number of people congregating in bars. If you go to a bar, you must sit at a table or move along, according to the liquor authority’s guidelines.
“I don’t let people dance,” said Dan Palladino, who owns Heritage Hill Brewhouse in Pompey. “I think it’s kind of sad, but I don’t want to risk my license.”
I’ve already been to an illegal wedding where there was a lot of dancing— and they’re becoming more popular. People having weddings in New York have to hide the location until the last minute and keep all signs of partying out of sight. It’s kind of exciting in a speakeasy sort of way but also extremely stupid. You cannot keep people from living their lives. And if you try to outlaw fun, they’re just going to break those laws and do it anyway.
Not only has dancing been outlawed, but pool, darts, cornhole, and karaoke are also off-limits. How much longer do the dictators in charge really think they can keep this up? I never thought I’d see the day when Democrats became pulpit-pounding puritans keeping the kids from dancing, but here we are.
And is it necessary? It sure doesn’t seem so with coronavirus deaths plummeting all over the country. But what do we know? We just pay the bills here. Let’s all leave the hard stuff to the crooked politicians, who have been wrong about everything, to figure out. I heard someone on the radio today ask, “how much more will we take?” and the answer is “a whole lot more.” New Yorkers may be rebelling privately, but publicly they’re all on board 100% — “for our safety” — and making sure everyone knows it.
I went to Mass for the first time and people really didn’t sing! I couldn’t believe it. There is nothing that New Yorkers won’t do when told to do it. If we were told that crawling on the sidewalk would protect us from coronavirus I would expect to see a majority of people around here wearing kneepads and inching along to the grocery store.
I don’t expect that this new string of asinine directives will motivate anyone to vote against Governor Cuomo. Democrats in New York seem to hate Democrat policies yet continue to vote them into office, no matter what they do.
Does anyone know when we’ll be allowed to dance again? #Coronavirus #nodancing #manchester #manchesterlockdown #Footloose pic.twitter.com/HPpTafmDf4
— Melissa Manchester (@MelissaBingham) August 10, 2020
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What we need here in New York is the spirit of Ren McCormack to take the mic.
- Michigan College Unleashes "Mandatory" App To Track Students At All Times
Michigan College Unleashes "Mandatory" App To Track Students At All Times
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 20:25Colleges that are reopening campuses this fall understand outbreaks of COVID-19 are certainly possible on school grounds and in the surrounding communities. To safeguard students against the virus, Albion College, located in Albion, Michigan, is requesting all students to download a smartphone app that tracks their location to create a “COVID-bubble.”
According to The Washington Free Beacon, Albion College’s COVID-bubble will require students to stay within a 4.5-mile perimeter of the school. If students violate bubble rules, such as stepping outside the bubble, the app will automatically notify school officials who could slap the violater with a “temporary suspension.”
The move to track students comes as college, health experts, and government officials have been in several months of disputes about reopening for the fall semester. Many schools are opting for remote courses to mitigate the spread of the virus, though such actions will be disastrous on enrollment and school budgets.
Readers may recall a higher education bust is underway, one where the virus pandemic accelerated the trend (see: Higher Education Bust – Vermont College Goes On Auction Block With $3 Million Bid).
So far, not everyone is thrilled about Albion’s reopening plan to maximize a contact tracing app. Students and parents had this to say:
A father of an Albion student said that he is upset that he must choose between keeping his daughter home from school or signing off on a university-sanctioned “invasion of privacy.”
“The school wants my daughter to sign a form consenting to specimen collection and lab testing,” he told the Washington Free Beacon on condition of anonymity. “I have a ton of concern with that…. Why is the state of Michigan’s contact tracing not enough?”
Though students are required to remain on campus, professors and administrators are not. When asked about this potential loophole in its “COVID-bubble,” the school declined to comment.
Rising senior Andrew Arszulowicz said that he is upset with both the mandatory use of the app and the manner in which students are being treated. “I feel like I am being treated like a five-year-old that cannot be trusted to follow rules,” Arszulowicz told the Free Beacon. “If the school believes masks work … why are we not allowed to leave if they work? It does not make sense to me.” -The Washington Free Beacon
Albion’s courses will only be offered in-person, and students who reject downloading the tracing app will be deferred to the spring semester.
Does this sound Orwellian to you?
- Was John Brennan Just Put In A Completely Legitimate Perjury Trap?
Was John Brennan Just Put In A Completely Legitimate Perjury Trap?
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 20:00Authored by attorney Shipwreckedcrew via RedState (emphasis ours),
John Brennan’s long-time advisor Nick Shapiro put out a statement yesterday at the conclusion of Brennan’s eight-hour interview with John Durham and his investigators.
It might all be true. All I have are opinions on the text and circumstances.
Former CIA Director John Brennan is sworn-in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 23, 2017, prior to testifying before the House Intelligence Committee Russia Investigation Task Force. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) But I also know that the CIA is an institution designed to engage in manipulation using lies and deception — in a good way. It’s how they accomplish their mission in defense of the country.
John Brennan is an embodiment of the CIA — it’s all he’s ever known. Its ethos oozes from his pores.
John Brennan wanted to send a message to the world yesterday after he finished his interview with John Durham. Oddly, he chose to do it through Nick Shapiro, and not himself. Nothing about Brennan or his history suggests Shapiro’s message needs be credited with being truthful.
There are several reasons to read this message with a “jaundiced eye” and to recognize the ulterior motives for it.
First, it’s not Brennan’s statement. Shapiro issued the statement to Obama Administration scribe Natasha Bertrand at Politico — guaranteed to dutifully publish anything requested of her by a former Obama era intelligence official now living in fear. Shapiro then posted a string of eight Tweets on Twitter with the same text.
Both are devoid of any words actually spoken by Brennan — there are no quotations — nor is there any support offered for Shapiro’s claims by anyone actually in the room, such as Brennan’s attorneys.
Since when has Brennan been shy about saying anything on Twitter? Why would Brennan go “third person” and have his thoughts about the interview expressed only in the words of someone else? The most obvious reason is the statements are not going to be exactly accurate. Running them through a third person builds in a level of “deniability” on Brennan’s part. Shapiro wasn’t in the room for the interview. Shapiro is only putting out for public consumption what was told to him, and by phrasing it in the “third person” the way he has, it’s not a statement “by John Brennan” nor is it endorsed by Brennan’s counsel in the room. It is put out by a guy who has historically been in the role of misleading and misdirecting the press and the public on John Brennan’s behalf. Yesterday’s mission was no different.
Second, conducting the interview at the CIA facility is an interesting decision. Why not question him at DOJ or FBI HQ? The CIA is not a law enforcement agency. John Brennan no longer works for the CIA. Any CIA records that may have been needed over the course of the interview could have been made available in a secured facility at both those locations.
But that “records” excuse may have been the very justification given for the selection of the CIA HQ as the location for the interview.
DOJ and the FBI HQ are in Washington DC. CIA Headquarters is in Langley, Virginia.
If you are geographically challenged, you can read the distinction as “United States District Court for the District of Columbia” v. “United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.” If John Brennan offered any false answers to the investigators during the interview, the venue for that “false statement” crime is in the EDVA, not in DC federal court.
Third, Shapiro’s statement claims that Brennan was told by Durham that he is neither a “target” nor “subject,” and that he is only a witness to events under review. Maybe that’s true, but it does not sound true to me. And the statement does not say that comment was made to Brennan yesterday before the interview took place.
I can say that I had several occasions during my career as a prosecutor where criminal defense lawyers asked me similar questions about their client in response to an interview request. I can’t say that I always refused to answer, but as a general matter my response was something that I learned when I was starting out from more experienced federal prosecutors —
“Counsel, this interview today is voluntary. Your client is free to leave right now, and answer none of the questions we have. He’s free to stop answering questions at any time while the interview is underway. He’s free to ask to take a break, step outside the room with you, and then return to answer the question or not answer the question. What does he want to do?”
John Brennan could have been questioned before a grand jury, without the presence of his attorney in the room. That would be true IF, as suggested by Shapiro’s statement, Brennan was only a “witness”.
To explain that, let’s take a moment to address the whole “Target” v. “Subject” v. “Witness” construct the press is so happy to report about.
Labeling an individual a “target” has a clear meaning in federal criminal prosecutions. It refers to someone about whom the prosecutor believes there is already sufficient admissible evidence to seek an indictment from a grand jury, and obtain a conviction at trial. The investigation is ongoing, but the grand jury already has identified a “target” for eventual prosecution.
Anyone who is “not a target” is — “not a target”. There is no other “classification” of individuals with meaning. Many people in the business toss around the term “subject”, but that is a “made-up” classification that does not exist. I have received “Subject” letters from prosecutors on behalf of clients, but those all involve a request to interview my client.
A “Target” letter is different. When you receive a “Target” letter it advises you that a federal grand jury has already received evidence upon which criminal charges may be issued in the future. It advises the “Target” that they should seek counsel, and if they cannot afford counsel they should contact the Federal Defender’s Office in their district for legal representation. Once they have secured counsel, their lawyer should contact the prosecutor to discuss the matter.
The purpose behind a “subject” letter is merely to instill fear in the recipient and to “encourage” them to talk about others before others talk about them — as information from others might push them closer to the “target” category. Unwitting lawyers think there is meaning behind the “subject” designation but there is not. Fear is a great motivator. “Doing unto others before they do unto you” is sort of a universal maxim among the idiot criminal class.
So if you are not a “target” — meaning there isn’t sufficient evidence at this time to charge you with a crime — then by default you are a “witness.”
But “witnesses” can, and often do talk themselves into being “targets” during such interviews. That was the purpose of the interview, Mr. Brennan, not because you have some wonderful insights to provide Mr. Durham and his investigators to make their job easier.
One important distinction between “target” and “witness” that is not well understood, but might be in play here, is that it is against DOJ policy to issue a grand jury subpoena to someone who is already a “target”.
A grand jury subpoena is a court order, under threat of contempt, to appear and answer questions under oath without the presence of counsel. If a person is already a “Target”, the subpoena intrudes upon their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and to be represented by counsel while undergoing “custodial” interrogation — they are under subpoena after all. Witnesses before the grand jury are allowed to assert their Fifth Amendment right, but it forces them to assert that right before the grand jurors considering charges against them. The government is not allowed to call a criminal defendant to take the stand in his trial and force him to assert his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in front of the jury. It is deemed prejudicial, and suggest to the jury that the defendant has something to hide. The same principle applies to calling a “Target” in front of a grand jury and forcing them to assert their right to remain silent in front of the grand jurors without counsel present.
So, if John Brennan isn’t at least a potential “target,” why was he not called to explain historical events to the grand jury?
Finally, John Brennan has many times expressed the belief that any investigation initiated by the Trump Administration into the actions of Obama Administration officials to examine their conduct as it pertains to the investigation of the 2016 campaign, and the aftermath of Trump’s election victory, is illegitimate. John Brennan has all but declared Trump’s election to be illegitimate — heck, he might have said so outright.
So, it is not surprising at all that Shapiro — not Brennan — would claim:
Brennan questioned why the analytical tradecraft and findings of the ICA are being scrutinized by the Department of Justice, especially since they have been validated by the Mueller Report as well as the bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Intelligence review.
The idea that Brennan “questioned” Durham on this topic does not confirm that Durham had any response to offer to Brennan’s question. I suspect Durham did not react favorably — if it happened at all — to Brennan’s suggestion that Durham’s work was illegitimate or superfluous because of what others might have done, or not done as the case may be.
But John Brennan cannot help himself in this regard. The CIA is rarely put in a position of having to explain or defend its conduct — purposely and by design. But when John Brennan has been in that position in the past, he’s been quite comfortable with lying in his responses. More of the same here.
John Durham and his team did not come to the decision to interview Brennan over the course of eight hours for the purpose of “filling in the blanks” on “events that are under review.”
The purpose of the interview was to get Brennan to confirm or deny information that others have provided up to this point about Brennan, and what he instructed others to do.
John Brennan was placed into a perjury trap yesterday because he’s shown himself willing to perjure himself in the past in order to evade scrutiny.
Yesterday, the ability to avoid the trap was completely within his control — all he had to do was tell the truth. For the most part, Durham’s investigators knew the truth.
John Brennan doesn’t come from a world of objective “truths” and “lies”. For Brennan, the “truth” is always malleable to fit his needs at any given moment.
That’s CIA tradecraft. He sees himself as a master of such “dark arts” based on his decades in DC. Others have long viewed him as a clown.
That’s why, as a prosecutor, you save a liar like John Brennan for last. He can’t help you because you can’t rely on what he tells you.
So your interview is not done for the purpose of helping your case.
And you do it in Virginia and not DC because of what you plan to do next.
- Tesla Shorts Have Lost More Than $25 Billion This Year Alone
Tesla Shorts Have Lost More Than $25 Billion This Year Alone
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 19:35Short sellers betting against Tesla have lost a collective $25 billion so far this year, according to data from S3 partners and Business Insider.
Those short Tesla are down $25.4 billion mark to market on Tesla in 2020 so far as Tesla stock has rallied nearly 400% on the year. The company now has a fully diluted market cap approaching $400 billion.
Short sellers are down about $7 billion in August alone and added over $1 billion to their loss tally last Thursday as the stock eclipsed the $2,000 mark for the first time. On Friday, they lost another $619 million as mindless retail buyers drove the stock higher ahead of its upcoming 5 for 1 split.
Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3, said: “Tesla continued steady short covering for over a year as shorts continue to get squeezed.”
But Tesla remains the biggest short in the U.S. market, with $21.31 billion in short interest and 10.65 million shares still shorted. This is about 7.18% of the company’s float, according to S3 data. In July, it became the first company to have $20 billion in short interest bet against it.
So are short sellers just gluttons for pain at this point? Or are they simply convinced they are riding out what could be the largest stock bubble in the history of human kind?
Even acknowledging the castrated response that regulators have taken toward Tesla thus far, the overwhelming amount of evidence stacked against the company – from faking an $80 billion buyout, to pumping non-existent solar roof tiles, to the Solar City bailout, to lax warranty accounting, to retaliating against whistleblowers, to claiming millions of Robotaxis are coming, to the lack of a General Counsel, to the CEO indemnifying his own board, to charging thousands for a full self driving product that doesn’t exist, to beta testing autonomous driving on unaware participants and to selling ZEV credits to turn a profit – still has us wondering if shorts will eventually have their day.
Or, is Elon truly bulletproof?
- House Passes $25 Billion Post Office Bailout As Trump Rages On Twitter
House Passes $25 Billion Post Office Bailout As Trump Rages On Twitter
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 19:31Despite the fact that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has delayed his most controversial cost-saving measures until after the November vote, and endured a shellacking at the hands of Senate Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee, House Speaker and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi forged ahead with the help of 26 defecting Republicans to pass a bill calling for $25 billion in financial assistance for the Post Office.
As more states announced plans to hold their elections largely by mail in November (a system that some used for the primaries) the Postal Service announced earlier this month that too much voting by mail could delay the arrival of some votes. Pelosi called a special session of the House during recess and on a Saturday to lend this piece of political theater even more impact.
The vote is the culmination of a Democratic crusade about late mail – literally, a few people complained about their mail being late, a few others posted some context-free photos of mail sorting machines being destroyed, and – boom – Democrats suddenly had an army of twitter trolls shrieking about veterans dying because their medication came a day late. One Connecticut family even complained that USPS had lost the cremated remains of a loved one and veteran (they were found 12 days later thanks to one dedicated worker who supposedly delivered the remains personally). They blamed DeJoy personally for the mistake, and ever since, the state’s AG William Tong has seized every opportunity to draw attention to “out of service” mail sorting machines.
DeJoy is due for round two before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, which should be even more brutal than Friday’s pile-on (at least, for DeJoy’s sake, the Senate is controlled by Republicans).
But in the latest transparent bit of political theater organized by “political mastermind” Nancy Pelosi – and surely this is right up there with her wardrobe choices during the unveiling of the Dems’ police reform bill – is the victorious vote on Saturday, which has almost no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate.
As we mentioned above, 26 Republicans defected to help Democrats pass the bill 257 votes to 150. In addition to the money, the bill called for reversing certain operational changes imposed under DeJoy. Six states are also suing USPS and DeJoy personally (along with the chairman of the USPS board) claiming these changes infringe on states ability to hold free and fair elections.
House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, who introduced the bill, has said the postal service should not “become an instrument of partisan politics.”
On Twitter, Trump raged about the vote.
….that they are trying to pull off in violation of everything that our Country stands for. Vote NO to the Pelosi/ Schumer money wasting HOAX which is taking place now. Then fight the $51 million unasked for Ballots. Only ABSENTEE BALLOTS are acceptable!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2020
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Now, get ready for some strongly worded statements from Pelosi when Mitch McConnell inevitably refuses to call it for a vote. The Senate has introduced its own, scaled down, plan to help USPS as part of a proposed COVID relief bill that thanks to Democrats, likely will never become a reality.
- Virginia Plans Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations For All Residents
Virginia Plans Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations For All Residents
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 19:13As Friday’s hospitalization numbers across the Sun Belt appear to confirm CDC head Dr. Robert Redfield’s assertion that the American COVID-19 outbreak has peaked and is starting to fade, the State of Virginia is setting a new precedent by seriously discussing forcing Virginians to be vaccinated with whatever rushed-to-marked candidate the FDA approves first.
During an interview that aired on Friday, the state’s health commissioner said he planned to invoke state law to make vaccinations mandatory – once a western product is available, presumably.
Norman Oliver
Here’s more from ABC News 8:
State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver told 8News on Friday that he plans to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for Virginians once one is made available to the public.
Virginia state law gives the Commissioner of Health the authority to mandate immediate immunizations during a public health crisis if a vaccine is available. Health officials say an immunization could be released as early as 2021.
Dr. Oliver says that, as long as he is still the Health Commissioner, he intends to mandate the coronavirus vaccine.
“It is killing people now, we don’t have a treatment for it and if we develop a vaccine that can prevent it from spreading in the community we will save hundreds and hundreds of lives,” Oliver said.
Pro-medical-choice activists in the state argue that the issue is a matter of medical choice, and that the hasty “expedited” approval process being implemented by the FDA is grounds for concern. State health authorities insist, meanwhile, that they would never mandate a vaccine that hadn’t already proven to be safe.
Virginia Freedom Keepers Director of Communications Kathleen Medaries, a mother of three from Chesterfield, says this is a matter of medical choice.This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. It’s not a pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine issue,” Medaries said. “For me, it’s an issue of being able to assess each vaccine for myself and my family one at a time.”
[…]
“He shouldn’t be the one person to make a decision for all of Virginians,””Medaries responded.
The state’s top medical official is opposed to a bill that has been put forth in the state assembly that would create more exemptions to the mandatory vaccination power, allowing exemptions on religious and other grounds.
Oliver believes that COVID-19 is a public health emergency that should take precedent over everything else, and that vaccine-assisted herd immunity is the state’s best and only real defense.
The decision comes after Massachusetts said it would make the flu vaccine mandatory this year as part of a campaign to protect the state’s medical system. We suspect Virginia and Massachusetts won’t be the only states to discuss mandatory COVID and/or flu vaccination in the coming weeks, as the school year begins.
- Is The Stock Market Now Too Big To Fail?
Is The Stock Market Now Too Big To Fail?
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 19:10Authored by Sven Henrich via NorthmanTrader.com,
Reality Check
This week the headlines declared the bear market over as the S&P 500 joined the Nasdaq to make new all time highs. A new bull market has begun so the celebratory narratives. It is true these indices have made new all time highs, but the actual market hasn’t. Not even close. These indices have made new all time highs as 6-7 stocks are experiencing the largest and most aggressive market cap expansion in human history distorting everything.
Yet perception is reality and the bullish narratives keep mounting as key tech stocks and their oversized weight are contributing to the main indices relentlessly drifting higher so let me at least provide some perspective as to what’s going on with the larger market.
Firstly note we continue to be in uncharted waters here in terms of the concentration of individual stocks vs GDP as well as the Fed’s balance sheet:
The market cap of just 7 stocks now equals 39% of US GDP.
The balance sheet of the US Fed now equals 36% of US GDP.— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) August 21, 2020
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The first top 5 stocks now represent 25% of the S&P 500, a concentration in weighting we’ve not seen since 2000. The market cap expansions we see on a daily basis in some of these stocks, such as $AAPL and $TSLA for example, put even the year 2000 bubble to shame.
Just on Friday $AAPL added over $100B in market cap out of thin air on no fundamentally driven news. The stock now having added over $1.1 trillion in market cap since the March lows.None of this has even a historic approximate reference point and so one must recognize that this market phase is a unique one on its own.
And of course $TSLA is the other popular post child of this era:
1 year ago in August 2019 $TSLA was trading as low as $211, now it’s trading north of $2,000.
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) August 20, 2020
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None of these companies have produced results that justify these historic market cap expansions in such a short period of time, but they provide cover for the illusion that the bear market is over and that a new bull market has begun. There is little doubt these stocks are in a bull market. I call it a historic bubble, but don’t let anyone tell you the “market” is in a bull market.
It’s not and the value line geometric index shows you this clearly:
While the index made new highs the $XVG produced lower highs versus June and remains far below the 2020 highs or the 2018 highs for that matter.
Even in the almighty Nasdaq the internal picture is atrociously crumbling before our very eyes, be it on new high/vs new lows:
Or be it on the cumulative advance/decline:
Indeed we can observe that the relentless crawl to new highs on the index shows a correction underneath with $NYMO hitting below -50 while $SPX closed the week on a new high with equal weight deteriorating and volume entirely collapsing:
Banks dropped over 10% from the August peak and remain below the December 2018 lows and far below the June highs:
No, it’s all tech, and select tech at that as investors are relentlessly piling into $QQQ, an ETF that has a 56% market cap weighting exposed to just 10 stocks:
No, the “market” is weak underneath and is more reflective of the reality that 7 stocks and relentless artificial liquidity are masking:
This economy is far from recovered, yet markets are now trading at an all-time high of 179% market cap to GDP and the potential fuel of shorts has all but disappeared:
The most valued market in history, everybody long and the shorts are gone.
Have a good weekend!https://t.co/2SriTc7ckf pic.twitter.com/i1BPyoYseM— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) August 21, 2020
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Next week Jay Powell, who is personally killing it in this market, will speak at Jackson Hole. If there is any conscious recognition on his part as to the historic distortions created by his unprecedented liquidity injections shall remain unknown to all of us. If he has any sense of the enormity of the distortions created he’ll aim to softly try to ease participants off of the dangerous chase into tech stocks for fear that a bursting bubble will cause more damage down the road. But that would require him to not only have cognition of the distortions created, but also take some pain in his personal ETF portfolio. The obvious conflict of interest appears to be a taboo in the financial media for some reason.
Why not ask him: “Mr Powell, how much money have you personally made this year as a result of the liquidity injections you have implemented? In light of these amounts, while over 28M Americans are still claiming unemployment benefits, how can you claim the Fed does not contribute to wealth inequality?” Let him go on record:
Imagine being in charge of deciding unlimited QE while holding this long index portfolio and then saying the Fed does not increase wealth inequality. pic.twitter.com/m73AsAeZwb
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) June 12, 2020
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I’m sure these 28M Americans would love to know how the Fed is helping them by buying bonds in a $2.1 trillion market cap company.
Bottomline: The larger market is struggling, correcting even as the rotation trade once again was left in the dust of another vertical chase into key tech stocks which are now historically overvalued, technically extremely stretched and at ever higher risk of a violent technical reversion. Month end is again approaching and perhaps the rotation trade may once again be a vehicle of choice as these February gaps remain (see also $DJIA and $VIX).
I’ll leave you with a replay of an 30 min interview I recorded this Thursday evening with the folks over at PeakProsperity with my latest views on the current situation:
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- New York Landlords Beg Businesses: "Return To Work And Save The City's Economy!"
New York Landlords Beg Businesses: "Return To Work And Save The City's Economy!"
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 18:45New York property owners are begging the city’s largest businesses to return to work.
Names like Goldman Sachs and BlackRock have been on the speed dials of New York landlords, who are reportedly reaching out to the businesses begging them to get back to work and, in turn, save the city’s economy. The landlords have formed a “loose coalition” according to a new report by Bloomberg.
The group includes RXR Realty’s Scott Rechler, Rudin Management’s William Rudin and Marc Holliday of SL Green Realty. These landlords, facing a catastrophic collapse in the price of commercial real estate, argue that it’s safe to return to work and that most NYC businesses simply can’t survive a shutdown much longer. Some are even calling it the “patriotic” thing to do.
So far, the reception hasn’t been overwhelming. And with every day that passes, it becomes a tougher sell. As businesses close up, there becomes less reason to return to work. As a result, landlords could see a major demand drought and prices could crater.
Jeff Blau, the head of Related Cos., said: “I’ve been really pushing the CEOs to bring people back into the office. I’ve been using a little bit of guilt trip and a little bit of coaxing.”
He continued: “I am watching the city decay as nobody is here. Now is not the time to abandon the city and expect it to be in the same way you wanted it when you get back in a year from now.”
The landlords are also reaching out to corporations like law firms and tech companies to assure them that their buildings are safe. They are promising to make whatever concessions renters want in terms of safety and are also petitioning the governor’s office to start a “Get Back To Business” campaign.
But employers have to weigh the risks of sending employees back to work – at the same time that they just figured out the advantages of having their employees work from home. Many businesses have considered keeping the “work from home” model regardless of how the virus pans out.
Landlords argue that every commercial real estate spot also supports adjacent small businesses. Real estate companies are leading by example, recalling half of their workers and expecting the rest to return to work by next July.
“The CEOs of several companies I’ve talked to have mentioned that it’s a patriotic duty to have their people come back to the office,” Rudin commented.
Blau continued: “This place is a pain in the ass. It’s crowded and it’s not the easiest place to live. But you make that trade because it’s got so many great things. We want to make sure that it stays that way and people continue to make that trade and have those things to come back to.”
Rechler concluded: “We’re creating our own fate by not bringing people back and restarting the largest economic engine in the country. It’s as much of a civic obligation as anything else.”
- South Korea Indefinitely Closes All Nightlife As Global COVID-19 Cases Top 23 Million: Live Updates
South Korea Indefinitely Closes All Nightlife As Global COVID-19 Cases Top 23 Million: Live Updates
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 18:31Summary:
- China approves vaccine for emergency use
- South Korea closes all bars, nightclubs, entertainment venues countrywide
- JHU Global case total tops 23 million
- Trump accuses FDA director of being part of ‘deep state’
- Infections in UK, Rome climb
- Johns Hopkins reports more than 800k deaths
- Argentina joins growing list of countries testing one of China’s vaccines
- Philippines sees 4k+ new cases for 5th day
- India, Russia see outbreaks move closer to milestones
* * *
Update (1830ET): While rolling out trials in the UAE, Argentina, Morocco and elsewhere, China regulators announced Saturday that one of the vaccines currently undergoing testing has been approved for emergency use.
China has officially launched emergency use of #COVID19 #vaccines, which were going through clinical trials, on July 22: National Health Commission official pic.twitter.com/0ImxkDmV4q
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 22, 2020
The vaccine candidate by Sinopharm has been used on more than 20,000 people in the UAE who have taken it as part of Phase 3 clinical trials, which have proven it to be safe. Efficacy is currently under observation, according to Sinopharm’s chairman on Saturday.
As the resurgence of new cases bedevils Western Europe, here’s the breakdown of outbreaks by region.
* * *
Update (1330ET): South Korea said Saturday it would close all entertainment venues such as nightclubs, karaoke bars and internet cafes, and ban spectators from sporting events once again as COVID-19 cases across the country continue to climb.
Beaches across the country will also be closed, and indoor gatherings will be limited to 50 people or under (and outdoor gatherings to 100 or under).
Public health officials detected 332 new cases Friday, Park said Saturday. Imported cases counted for 17 of the total infections. More than 75% of new local cases were found in the Seoul metropolitan area. No deaths were recorded on Friday, Park said Saturday. Seoul has been struggling under these restrictions since Aug. 16, and the new measures simply broaden them to the rest of South Korea.
However, provinces with lower case counts will be allowed to treat these new rules as simply recommendations rather than a mandate. SK has for months been credited with one of the world’s best systems for suppressing the virus.
* * *
Update (1215ET): New cases reported in Europe and the US Saturday morning have helped push the global count north of 23 million, according to numbers from JHU.
The UK reported 1,288 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday up from 1,033 a day earlier, along with 18 deaths, up from two a day earlier.
The new cases were recorded as the UK scrambles to ramp up testing amid hysteria about a possible resurgence as the UK’s cripple economy and traumatized masses are just finally starting to heal.
As travelers continue to create problems across Europe, leading to dozens of new restrictions and bans as European states seek to stop outbreaks from spreading between countries, officials in the Rome region recorded 215 new cases in 24 hours, mainly because of people returning from vacation. It was the largest jump in the Italian capital since the depths of the lockdown in March.
For the capital area, the figure is a record number and is more than the 208 people infected in a one-day period on March 28, when Rome had come to a virtual standstill to stop the coronavirus spreading.
“Sixty-one percent [of the cases] are linked to people returning from vacation,” said Roman health official Alessio D’Amato, with almost half the new cases returning from Sardinia.
On the political front, President Trump took aim Saturday at FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, whom he nominated to replace Dr. Scott Gottlieb when Gottlieb decided to spend more time with his family in CT. Trump accused Dr. Hahn of being part of the “deep state” and demanded that he speed up testing for the virus.
The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives! @SteveFDA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2020
The swipe was enough to get “deep state” trending on Twitter Saturday morning.
* * *
The global coronavirus outbreak reached another grim milestone on Saturday morning: The Johns Hopkins tally of COVID-19 related deaths (which excludes “probable” or “suspected” deaths) has surpassed 800,000.
While the US outbreak is showing more signs of slowing following what appears to have been a ‘peak’ last month, the US still has the most deaths of any country with more than 175,000.
It has counted more than 32,000 of those in New York, nearly 16,000 in New Jersey and almost 12,000 in California.
Globally, Brazil is No. 2 behind the US with more than 113,000 deaths tied to COVID-19 as of Saturday, though Brazil’s outbreak has lately burned more brightly than the outbreak in the US.
Mexico (with 60,000), India (55,000) and the UK (41,500) have also reported a lot of deaths.
Moving on, most of the big news early Saturday is coming out of the emerging world.
Despite its record-setting lockdown, Argentina’s outbreak has continued to worsen and over the last couple of weeks has gotten to the point where hospitals are being overrun as Argentines rally in the streets to demand the end of the Peronista government’s lockdown. Argentina, like the Philippines, Brazil, India and dozens of other desperate nations anxious to bring about an end to the crisis, has turned to China, which has promises to share hundreds of millions of courses with the developing world as it works to cement its status as a super power that feels “responsible” for the virus it “unwittingly” unleashed.
Argentina has joined Peru, Morocco and the UAE in approving a ‘Phase 3’ clinical trial for the China National Biotec Group’s vaccine candidate. More nations are signing on to host trials as the race to produce a vaccine enters its later stages, and the dwindling outbreak in China has created a shortage of potential test subjects.
Meanwhile, the Philippines, still the biggest outbreak in Southeast Asia, reported 4,933 new cases, the fifth straight day reporting a number north of 4,000. It also reported 26 COVID-19 deaths. In a bulletin, the health ministry said total confirmed cases have increased to 187,249, while deaths reached 2,966.
Just as its outbreak was appearing to quiet down, India on Saturday reported a record daily jump of coronavirus infections, bringing the total near 3 million and piling pressure on authorities to curb huge gatherings as a major religious festival began. The 69,878 new infections, the fourth straight day above 60,000, take India’s total number of cases to 2.98 million, on the edge of 3 million and behind only the US and Brazil. India reported another 945 COVID-19 deaths bringing the total to 55,794.
Russia reported 4,921 new cases on Saturday, pushing its confirmed national tally up to 951,897 as it edges inexorably closer to becoming the fourth country to pass 1 million confirmed cases. Officials reported another 121 deaths, bringing the total to 16,310 (though many critics believe this figure is well below the accurate tally).
Finally, Joe Biden on Friday declared that he would “shut down the united states” if a set of doctors told him it would be a good idea.
- 'These' Are The Real Huge Jobs Numbers, And They Will Make Your Blood Run Cold
'These' Are The Real Huge Jobs Numbers, And They Will Make Your Blood Run Cold
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 18:20Authored by Jeffrey Snider via Alhambra Investments,
There is simply no way to spin these figures as anything good. Not just the usual ones were talk about here, but more so some new data that you probably haven’t seen before.
Beginning with the regular, it doesn’t matter that the level of initial jobless claims has declined substantially over the past few weeks. The fact of the matter is after 22 weeks of dislocation, at least eleven of them under reopening, these continue to rip along at around 1 million per week.
One million.
We’d never seen so much as 700k before (though the labor market is getting into the top range of 1981-82 adjusting for population, as if that’s some good thing). Forget about the first half of the contraction (which the shutdown caused) and just focus on this second set of weeks since early May. There’s no way to describe them, more than double anything we’ve ever seen before.
Not shutdown but the visible display of economic damage.
The rebound isn’t being very bouncy, for one thing, no matter how many gigantic gobs of purported “stimulus” has been thrown at the economy. It ain’t stimulating. The number of jobs still being lost this late into it is unthinkable; historic.
I wrote a couple days ago about another key factor which appears to be what the productivity estimates have revealed; the terrifying possibility that though there’s been more job losses than at any time in history there may not yet have been enough of the longer-run variety to balance business perceptions of far lower post-GFC potential.
Before even getting to July, this divergence between hours and headline payrolls had already suggested that companies may have been holding on to more workers than the decline in output would’ve demanded. In other words, the level of output and actual work performed had declined more than the reduction in headcounts, by a lot more, leaving us to suspect businesses were holding back a sort of reserve of their own workers (who were still on the books but idle nonetheless) having them at-the-ready for when reopening got started.
Those are both (unemployment and productivity) relatively familiar numbers. Now along comes the IRS, of all places, to put even more disturbing emphasis on this idea. The government’s tax collector is preparing itself for severe, and permanent, shrinking in the labor market.
Yesterday, the agency released its estimates for Publication 6961 (h/t Bloomberg). And the update to that release will make your blood run cold (while oddly explaining the NASDAQ).
Before getting to the latest publication, let’s start by going back to happier days or what had seemed like reasonably less awful days during 2017. Globally synchronized growth was the mandate as well as widely accepted as some meaningful acceleration in US and global growth.
Recovery at last.
Under 6961, the IRS estimates how many pieces of tax filings it will have to collect, sort, and manage. Perhaps the most important of all of them are the nation’s W-2’s, the way in which all workers report their incomes to verify withholding and calculate tax liabilities before the federal Leviathan.
A job means a W-2, but many workers hold more than one job at a time or during the year they may change jobs. So, it’s not an exact one-for-one, but when we’re dealing with big things it needn’t be perfectly precise. Even when we look at how 2017’s globally synchronized growth actually turned out in terms of managing all those paper and e-filed submissions:
The first year listed in each update series is the actual number of W-2’s (not including W-2 G’s) that were collected. As you can see already, the labor market disappointed right from the start; the IRS had expected to process closer to 275mm W-2s during 2017 but ended up with less than 260mm. Reflation #3, as it turned out, as bonds had warned the whole time, not Recovery #1.
Following that less robust labor market than expected, the IRS in 2018 and 2019 adjusted itself to lower levels – particularly after the big slowdown in employment that happened in 2018 when Euro$ #4 converted globally synchronized growth into the pre-COVID globally synchronized downturn.
Which brings us to the 2020 update to Publication 6961 released yesterday…and holy sh$%. Sorry, but an expletive is demanded in this situation:
The taxman thinks there may have been an uptick in W-2’s earlier this year associated with last year’s filing (I think they’ll found out that didn’t happen). But then, for next year, in 2021 as 2020’s W-2’s come rolling in, the agency anticipates receiving 37 million fewer of them than what it had been thinking this time last year.
Thirty-seven million.
Even more frightening, the IRS doesn’t believe the labor market is going to recover before 2028. And that is the biggest downside of all. Time is the greatest enemy.
That doesn’t mean 37 million jobs have been eliminated. Some of the gap is gig workers (a very small part) while much of it is probably going to be a whole lot less turnover; workers changing jobs and getting a W-2 for each during a year. If workers change fewer jobs because they’re uncertain or scared, as so often happens during the worst economic circumstances, then that would account for fewer total W-2’s being issued and turned in.
But at the baseline of these estimates, it has to be this or worse:
The “V” is not a V; the rebound is not a recovery. The IRS could be wrong, of course, but when it has been, like so many other official predictions, in which direction is it typically wrong? Using mainstream models, as they’ve done here, when are the models ever overly pessimistic about longer run situations?
More importantly, these numbers are all consistent with each other; horrible. Combined with real unemployment filings and productivity estimates, each coming at the same piece, the labor market, of what looks to be the stark reality of our economic situation.
These right here are the huge jobs numbers, not what got posted by the BLS several Fridays ago. How can the most gigantic of payroll positives in history possibly be disappointing to the point of being irrelevant? Quite easily, it may turn out.
- For $655,000, You Can Now Buy An 'Electrolls-Royce' Phantom
For $655,000, You Can Now Buy An 'Electrolls-Royce' Phantom
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 17:55An emerging trend in the classic car space is electric vehicle conversion, otherwise known as EV conversions, which is swapping out a car’s combustion engine and connected components with an electric motor and batteries to create an all-electric vehicle.
In the last five years or so, EV conversion kits have allowed folks to transform the 1980s Porsche 911s to 1970s Volkswagen Super Beetles to many other vehicles into all-electric cars.
However, wealthy folks don’t have the time to purchase EV conversion kits and tinker with motors and wires – they rather buy a complete package, and that’s where Lunaz Design comes in.
Lunaz, based in Silverstone, England, is the world’s leading restoration and electrification company, focusing on EV conversions of some of the most iconic post-World World II automobiles from Western nations.
Lunaz has re-engineered, or let’s say electrified the Rolls-Royce Phantom V, Jaguar XK120, Royce-Royce Cloud, and Bentley S2 Flying Spur.
“Lunaz is basing their re-engineered Rollers on the 1961 Phantom V, which is certainly an iconic-looking Rolls design. Lunaz is only planning on building 30, and says the conversions will utilize its proprietary powertrain,” said Jalopnik.
The electric Phantom will use a 120 kWh battery, larger than the Tesla Model S’ 100 kWh battery option, allowing the range of the vehicle to reach around 300 miles.
Jalopnik said ‘Electrolls-Royce’ Phantoms have a list price of about $655,000, but EV conversions for a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud are much cheaper, around $458,000.
- Not Again!? Joe Biden Accused Of Plagiarizing Canadian Politician In DNC Speech
Not Again!? Joe Biden Accused Of Plagiarizing Canadian Politician In DNC Speech
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 17:30Authored by Matt Margolis via PJMedia.com,
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and when it comes to Joe Biden, it appears that really is true.
Joe Biden has been dogged by plagiarism accusations for years, and his Thursday night speech formally accepting the Democratic nomination for president will not go down in history as a speech he wasn’t accused of plagiarizing.
According to Alexander Panetta, the Washington correspondent for CBC News, “a number of Canadians” found part of Biden’s speech to be very “similar” to Canadian politician Jack Layton’s farewell letter before his death.
Here is what Jack Layton wrote:
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
Here are the similar parting words from Joe Biden’s speech:
Let us begin, you and I together, one nation under god, united in our love for America, united in our love for each other, for love is more powerful than hate. Hope is more powerful than fear, and light is more powerful than dark. This is our moment. This is our mission.
There are undeniable similarities here, though nothing that can be said to be lifted verbatim. I’d actually be inclined to dismiss Panetta’s accusation, if not for one detail. Joe Biden delivered his speech on August 20, 2020. Layton’s letter was written exactly nine years earlier, on August 20, 2011.
A number of Canadians are struck by the similar parting words of Biden’s speech to the final words of Jack Layton’s farewell letter before his death. pic.twitter.com/pvd80XtoHF
— Alexander Panetta (@Alex_Panetta) August 21, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Joe Biden was accused of plagiarizing a law review article in a paper he wrote during his first year at law school, and his 1988 presidential campaign was thwarted after being accused of plagiarizing a speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.
While addressing the Welsh Assembly, Kinnock asked,
“Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Why is Glenys the first woman in her family in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Was it because all our predecessors were thick?”
A few months after Kinnock’s speech, Biden gave a speech with nearly identical phrasing.
“Why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? Why is it that my wife who is sitting out there in the audience is the first in her family to ever go to college? Is it because our fathers and mothers were not bright? Is it because I’m the first Biden in a thousand generations to get a college and a graduate degree that I was smarter than the rest?”
During the 1987 California Democratic Convention, Biden also lifted a phrase verbatim from John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address.
Earlier this year, Joe Biden’s campaign also copied Bernie Sanders’ platform last month.
On multiple occasions, Joe Biden plagiarized Trump’s coronavirus response plan by pitching ideas on what to do about the pandemic as his own, even though they’d already been done.
In March, Joe Biden said “no efforts should be spared” to get private labs and universities working to rapidly expand testing for coronavirus. Trump had already done this weeks earlier when he ordered the FDA to allow hundreds of private labs and academic hospitals to rapidly begin testing for coronavirus.
Joe Biden also called for relief for small businesses suffering from the economic impact of the coronavirus a day after Trump literally called for $50 billion in liquidity to small business owners. The former vice president also said insurance companies should waive copays for coronavirus testing, which is a good idea. And guess what? Trump had already done that, too, as well as getting commitments from providers to expand their coverage include treatment for the coronavirus in their plans. Biden also called for the acceleration of the development of a coronavirus vaccine. The Trump administration had already fast-tracked the development of a vaccine back in January… you know, when Democrats were distracted by their bogus impeachment of Trump.
Biden also called for Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to increase the production of medical equipment and other necessities after Trump had already done so.
It might be a stretch to say Biden is guilty of plagiarizing here. There’s nothing particularly shocking about two separate lists of cliché platitudes being similar. If anyone other than Biden had delivered those lines they’d likely be dismissed as just coincidental similarity. But with Biden, and his record of plagiarism, one can’t help but wonder.
* * *
Matt Margolis is the author of the new book Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
- Slammed NYC Movers Turning Away Business As Residents Flee City
Slammed NYC Movers Turning Away Business As Residents Flee City
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/22/2020 – 17:05Between an economy-wrecking pandemic and a blistering crime wave driven by race riots and a disbanded anti-crime unit, New York City residents are switching to Pace Picante and fleeing the metropolis in droves.
That, of course, is nothing new if you’re been following along. But if you need yet another data point, NYC moving companies are so busy they’re having to turn down business, according to DNYUZ.
While the moving industry is fractured among numerous small business owners, and official statistics are tough to come by, one thing is clear: From professionals who are downsizing following a job loss, to students moving back in with their parents, to families fleeing the city for the suburbs, New Yorkers are changing their addresses in droves.
According to FlatRate Moving, the number of moves it has done has increased more than 46 percent between March 15 and August 15, compared with the same period last year. The number of those moving outside of New York City is up 50 percent — including a nearly 232 percent increase to Dutchess County and 116 percent increase to Ulster County in the Hudson Valley. –DNYUZ
“It felt like move-out day on a college campus,” said former NYC resident, Bobby DelGreco, who moved out of his apartment of nine years in Stuyvesant Town, located in East Manhattan. DelGreco is now living in a long-term Airbnb in Los Angeles, so we assume he’ll be moving again shortly.
“All the doors were propped open, and there were moving trucks and furniture everywhere,” he added.
Matt Jahn, owner of Brooklyn-based Metropolis Moving, told DNYUZ that he’s been flooded with so many customers that he’s had to reject new business. “We are turning people away because we just don’t have the capacity,” he said, adding “Normally, in a given summer, we spend a bunch on advertising. But we cut it this year because we couldn’t afford it. And we have still had amazing demand.”
Moving trucks everywhere in our #Manhattan neighborhoods. Let’s work together to bring our borough back. Stay tuned. #NYC #2021 pic.twitter.com/kREnR1eFap
— Elizabeth Caputo (@elizabethcaputo) June 26, 2020
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That said, things were looking dicey in March, as the COVID-19 lockdown meant a sharp dropoff in business for moving companies. “Right in the beginning, we weren’t sure if we were allowed to work, and a lot of businesses were in limbo,” according to Daniel Norber, owner of West Village-based Imperial Movers. “Everyone was wondering if they should close shop.”
Then, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that moving companies were considered an essential service, and the phones began to blow up.
“Within 30 minutes of the announcement I got a flood of calls,” said Jahn of Metropolis Moving, who added that things haven’t slowed down since.
“The first day we could move, we left,” said Jaime Welsh-Rajchel. In mid-March, Dr. Welsh-Rajchel, a dentist, and her young son, Henry, took refuge from the city with family in Pennsylvania, while her husband, Todd Rajchel, a dental anesthesiologist at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick, stayed behind to spend the height of the pandemic intubating Covid patients.
Dr. Rajchel has since accepted a position at the School of Dentistry at Creighton University in Omaha, and his wife, Dr. Welsh-Rajchel, returned to Brooklyn just long enough to help move their items. “Todd was saying we need a five-year period to decompress from this experience before we can come back to New York for a visit,” she said. –DNYUZ
Compounding issues for moving companies is a industrywide labor shortage while movers get sick.
“Everyone wanted to flee New York because it was the epicenter, but at the same time, our movers started getting sick,” said Norber of Imperial Movers, who added that the company lost a dozen workers who were either too ill or too afraid to show up. He has been using company vans to pick up movers instead of letting them take public transportation. Norber says he’s operating at around 40% capacity.
“We didn’t know what the summer would bring, so we didn’t ramp up hiring as quickly,” said FlatRate Moving CEO David L. Giampietro, who added that after it became obvious demnad was spiking, “all the moving companies were competing for workers.”
Read the rest of the report here.
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