This will be a blog worth following for a while. Michael Yon know insurgency.
Regards — Cliff
Here is the lede plus two:
As we’ve documented extensively here at RedState, liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is prone to pushing far-out conspiracy theories about Republicans, theories that were no doubt pulled from the murky pits of the leftist fever swamps he visits on those rare occasions he feels the need to venture out of the NYC bubble in which he currently resides.It is a case supporting The Atlantic Magazine assertion that we should abolish the Nobel Prize. In fairness, Dr Krugman has his in Econ, which puts that version in question also.For example, he has, without evidence, floated an absurd theory about how President Trump may have “gotten to the BLS” on reporting good job numbers during the pandemic. He’s also spun some fact-free tales about a supposed correlation between the Trump administration’s touting of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the Wuhan virus and past “right-wing medical quackery.”
Consumed with Trump Derangment Syndrome, his favorite conspiracy theory of all seems to be the one where he envisions Trump “stealing” the election. He’s written numerous Twitter threads detailing how he thinks things will play out, and a few columns about it, too.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
Source is The New York Times, 28 September 2020.
It is all behind a paywall. How many paywalls can a middle class person afford? I have to prioritize, Lowell, Boston, WSJ. The Old Gray Lady is not one of them. That said, one of my Brothers sends me select article, to needle me.
How did their Lordships at The Times obtain this data? Are public officials vulnerable to having their private data released by Civil Servants who lack integrity? Is this the flip side of the actions of Ms Lois Lerner?
The good news out of this is that apparently there is no evidence of President Trump being linked to Russians in nefarious ways.
I guess there are no concerns about how former Vice President Biden made his millions on the salary of an elected official. Speaking fees?
Regards — Cliff
From The Boston Globe, by Reporter Akilah Johnson, 11 December 2017.
Here are the two key paragraphs:
The cities were selected because their diversity allowed researchers to disaggregate data among subgroups within broader racial categories. In Boston, the report said researchers focused on “multigenerational African Americans (referred here as US blacks), Caribbean blacks (including Haitians), Cape Verdeans (both black and white), Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans.” A total of 403 people were surveyed.These numbers suggest strongly that some groups have failed ot achieve the American Dream. The why needs to be explored, but the existence of "Red Lining" for decades, is surely one of the factors. Real estate is how many Americans build up their family wealth. That option was closed to many, including many Blacks. That needs to be fixed. Reversed would be a good word. While the idea of "Reparations" (for Slavery) does nothing for me, the idea of correcting bad economic conditions has an appeal. We need to be helping individuals who have been trapped in poverty due to past discriminatory practices. Not to make them rich, but to put them on the launching pad to success.The household median net worth was $247,500 for whites; $8 for US blacks (the lowest of all five cities); $12,000 for Caribbean blacks; $3,020 for Puerto Ricans; and $0 for Dominicans (that’s not a typo either.) The sample size for Cape Verdeans was too small to calculate net worth, the report said.
First we need the statistics, so we understand the dimensions of the problem. Then we need Federal Assistance to help those who had been squeezed out to get in, a sort of new GI Bill.
Regards — Cliff
Here is the lede plus two:
A letter released Friday by Black Pentecostal and charismatic Christian leaders has decried criticisms of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s charismatic Catholicism, ahead of her possible appointment to the Supreme Court.Do the Democrats not understand the United States, or do they just see it through the eyes of Black Lives Matter and the Fascist ANTIFA?“Today we stand with, and speak in defense of, Judge Amy Coney Barrett,” the Sept. 25 letter said.
“As black Christians we will not stand by in silence as our sister in the faith is persecuted for the ‘political crime’ of her beliefs,” said the letter, which was signed by numerous clergy members, scholars, and religious leaders.
On the othger hand, this might just be the genius of Donald J Trump.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
From Fox News, by Reporter Brooke Singman, 25 September 2020.
Here is the lede plus three:
An FBI official who served on Robert Mueller’s team said he believed the special counsel’s prosecution of former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn was part of an attitude to “get Trump,” and that he did not wish to pursue a Trump-Russia collusion investigation as it was “not there" and considered it to be a "dead end."In another thread someone wrote:FBI agent William J. Barnett made the comments during an interview on Sept. 17 at the Justice Department, before Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeffrey Jensen, who was tapped by Attorney General Bill Barr to review the case against Flynn. Jensen has joined U.S. Attorney John Durham’s team in his review of the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. Those comments have surfaced in new government documents.
Fox News reviewed Barnett’s FBI 302, which was filed by the U.S. government early Friday as part of the Flynn case.
Barnett, during his interview, detailed his work at the FBI, and his assignment to the bureau’s original cases against Flynn and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Barnett said the Flynn investigation was assigned the code name “Crossfire Razor,” which was part of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation — the bureau’s code name for the original Trump-Russia probe.
Oh, quit going on about acceptance of the 2016 result. Every has yielded to the result; the Dems just don’t like it. What do you care? He’s been doing everything a president is constitutionally able to do and more.Here is my response:
I think it is the time lapse problem here. If everyone had agreed after the Inauguration it would have been OK with me. But, things continued after the Inauguration. DOJ Career people seemed to just carry on. Jim Comey was unable to walk away. I wonder about the role of Sally Yates, or DNC Apparatchiks. There were FBI guys who took out extra liability insurance.
Lawyer and Author Sidney Powell just got a “302” that indicates that even after the election they kept after the “Trump Team” in a less than professional way. FBI Agent William Barnett talked of “Lack of integrity on the part of the Bob Mueller Team.” Where is Inspector Lewis Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr) when you need him?
So, yes, I would like it to all go away. I especially don’t want to see it reach into the Oval Office. That would blight the process for a long time. But, the story keeps dripping out, drop by drop. And, because the Judiciary wouldn’t let LTG Michael Flynn walk away they just keep it going.
In early this year we had an Impeachment on flimsy grounds, so Ms Pelosi hadn’t yet given up in the first part of this year. Then Judge Emett Sullivan, a hero to me for his handling of the Ted Stevens case, stopped DOJ from dropping chargers against LTG Flynn. I was very disappointed.
Now we are in the political silly season again and we are back to Trump being illegitimate. Sure, he is President and gets to sign legislation and appoint Ambassadors, but the Dems have become cranky again. Everything is off the table. (Or is it Nothing is off the table?) Please tell me Rep Gerry Nadler is not running again.
But, in closing, one wonders, in the back of the mind, if Judge Emmet Sullivan has keep the Michael Flynn thing going because he wants to smoke out these sub-rosa activities that tainted the “peaceful transfer of power”. Maybe he is a hero this time also.
Hat tip to News Reader Elizabeth MacDowell.
Regards — Cliff
From The Old Gray Lady, by Columnist Thomas B. Edsall, 23 Sepotember 2020.
Here is the lede plus five:
There are at least five reasons Joe Biden’s consistent lead over Donald Trump does not guarantee him a lock on the White House.Since we are all free to identify as we please, I identify with the "déclassé base". The Dems have been putting us down since before the "Bitter Clingers" comment.First, there are indications that Trump’s base of support — whites without college degrees — is more energized and committed to voting this year than key Democratic constituencies. And there is also evidence that polling does not reflect this.
Second, Latinos, who are key to the outcome in several crucial states — Arizona and Florida, for example — have shown less support for Biden than for past Democratic nominees. Many Hispanic voters seem resistant to any campaign that defines them broadly as “people of color.”
Third, absentee voting is expected to be higher among Democrats than Republicans, subjecting their ballots to a greater risk of rejection, a fate more common to mailed-in votes than to in-person voting.
Fourth, the generic Democratic-Republican vote (“Would you be more willing to vote for a Republican or Democratic candidate for Congress?”) through early July favored Democrats by more than 10 points, but has since narrowed to 6 points.
Fifth, the debates will test Biden’s ability to withstand three 90-minute battles against an opponent known for brutal personal attacks.
If Michael Moore is worried the puppet masters apparatchiks at DNC Hq should be worried.
As for Blacks and Latinos, if you and your mates are doing OK now, or recently, then Donald Trump's "What do you have to lose?" makes some sense. And, I suspect, Blacks and Hispanics are not a single package, but rather two cultural groups, competing for attention and power. Are they additive, or are they competitors for a somewhat restricted set of rewards from Congress?
There is the fact that DJT wields the Saul Alinsky "Rules" better than the Democrats. Look at the SCOTUS vacancy. The President had the perfect reaction to RBG's passing. Then, no nominee named until after internment. And potential nominees who will put Senator Harris in an awkward corner, during Committee Hearings.
If COVID-19 is the key, then New York and New Jersey and Connecticut will be in the Trump Camp. Those states, allowed to do it their way, have done it poorly.
Then, there is the media. They discredit themselves daily. I understand The Old Gray Lady is now backing away from their claims re the 1619 Project.
The Columnist seemed to downplay education as an issue, but I think Winnie the Flu has made it an important issue, especially as kids go back to school, or not.
And, finally, there is "Finally, there are many Americans who do not believe that Donald Trump, or the modern Republican Party, will allow a fair election.". With Democratic Party states allowing "Mail In" ballots, and extra days to count and ballot harvesting, you think Republicans are sanguine? No, we are not. After one election a poll worker told us my Absentee Ballot was allowed, my Wife's not. Mailed the same day, at the same Post Office. In our Commonwealth the SecState distinguishes between Absentee and Mail In. You need a Philadelphia Lawyer to get an Absentee ballot. Mail In? No sweat. I will skip over write in campaigns.
Aside from that, no strong opinions.
Regards — Cliff
