Has Jowls had a come to Jesus moment or just gone mad?????
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) walks to his end-of-the-year news conference on Dec. 16, 2021. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Image without a caption By Aaron Blake Senior reporter December 17, 2021 at 11:06 a.m. EST
It’s difficult to dismiss even one Mitch McConnell comment as anything other than part of a concerted and deliberate political strategy. It’s virtually impossible to dismiss two. All of which makes twin comments this week by McConnell (R-Ky.) legitimizing the House’s Jan. 6 committee quite interesting.
2021 Election: Complete coverage and analysis
As the committee continues to uncover significant new information — including about the desperate and anti-democratic efforts to overturn the 2020 election that preceded Jan. 6 and about how much allies who went on to downplay Trump’s role initially said something quite different privately — Republicans and their allies have been put on the defensive. And they’ve become defensive. They’ve accused the committee of being partisan and of overstepping. But McConnell has struck a very different tone this week — in ways that he must know legitimize the committee’s mandate and its work.
On Tuesday, CNN’s Manu Raju asked McConnell about the revelation that Trump allies — including Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News hosts who went on almost immediately to downplay Trump’s role — had pleaded with Meadows during the riot to get Trump to stop it. The text messages showed those people recognized Trump was the catalyst for the events, despite their later comments. McConnell raised some eyebrows when he responded: “I do think we’re all watching, as you are, what is unfolding on the House side, and it will be interesting to reveal all of the participants who were involved.”
The Deep State is already waging its battle to keep Trump from the 2024 election. It failed in two miserably constructed impeachment efforts, and it is failing at the January 6 insurrection effort it orchestrated. And in heroic fashion, Trump has been uniquely challenged, trained, and has enjoyed success in the crucible of New York real estate development to contest the next election. Obstacles to the construction of Trump Tower were but a warm-up for the 2024 general election. I eagerly anticipate a fair fight.
Work remains to be ready for the general election, but one of the main obstacles appears to be handled. The loss of Twitter and Facebook has been obviated by Trump's construction of his own social media platforms, executively captained by Devin Nunes. And in typical fashion, Trump has identified those squishy Republicans who need primarying in retaliation for their voting to impeach Trump.
Trump made presidential politics entertaining when first he ran. He was officially declared finished by the left multiple times during the primary, the general, and his four-year presidency. He wasn't listening. Sarah Palin was character assassinated by the left in 2008, but she was nice and played by the accepted rules for Republicans: hold the high ground of civility. Trump chose bombast and caustic, sarcastic responses via Twitter and social media, and he has succeeded where McCain and Mitt were steamrolled by the mainstream media. They hated him for not succumbing like the losers Trump has identified them as.
Dems in general and Obama in particular prompted Trump to run, and they've created the Trump persona that will not be crushed by the left. It is their comportment that made the Trump we know and love. He's one of us, and we're one with him. Many of us cannot wait for the 2022 midterms, where RINOs will be shown the door, and for 2024, where we will watch the election with eager anticipation, vigilance, and the voting scrutiny we are guaranteed by our Constitution.
Are the Dems in full panic yet? They're just getting warmed up. Stay tuned for more entertainment!
Our political divide is no longer between Democrats and Republicans
By Jimmy H..... Jr.
We are all aware of the deadly and avoidable crime wave plaguing cities that Marxists run. I am sure the people that live in these communities have been complaining. After all, how could they not? We have had two years of a rolling criminal snowball that has grown to ginormous proportions.
I noticed the uptick in the crime in New York in January 2020 when the “Bail Reform” law went into effect. Slowly on the local news, you heard about someone coming up the steps from the subway and getting cold-cocked in the face, elderly people getting thrown down and beaten, and other violent street crimes.
It grew from there and, after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, the kerosene was thrown on the previously slow-burning fuse. The Marxists tried telling us the crime wave was due to the pandemic but I knew—and believe others did too—that it started weeks before the first case of COVID was reported in the United States.
Like a cancer, the effects of these policies took a while to spread and then accelerated quickly. The same pattern was repeated across America as other cities implemented “Bail Reform” and defunded their police departments. All the while, George Soros and other Marxist billionaires hell-bent on destroying this country helped install District Attorneys who refuse to prosecute criminals and judges who put repeat violent offenders back on the streets. Add in governors emptying prisons in the name of Covid and—voila!—instant anarchy.
After Joe DeSantis is sworn in on January 20th in 2025.
Meet the next governor of the great state of Florida:
A Florida man who was kicked off of a United Airlines flight for wearing a woman’s thong as a facemask reportedly said he did so in protest of the airline’s mask mandate and also compared himself to Rosa Parks.
Adam Jenne of Cape Coral argues that he was in compliance with the mask mandate, as the red women’s panties covered both his nose and mouth, but staff on his Dec. 15 flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Washington, D.C. apparently didn’t agree.
In a video recorded by a passenger, a flight attendant tells Jenne he needs to leave the airplane. When Jenne asks why the attendant tells him it’s because he is “not in mask compliance”. Jenne is wearing the underwear on his face during the entire interaction and leaves the plane without an altercation after being asked.
Urban Meyer tried hard but ultimately he’s all Ohio.
Wonder whether his first interview will be with Tucker or if he’ll have to start at whatever Peter Thiel-funded MAGA social media operation Greenwald is cashing his checks from this week.
STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE SCIENTISTS THE BIDEN PEOPLE LISTEN TO-- SO UNLIKE THE CROOKED LIES THE TRUMPSTERS FOLLOW.
Most Vaccines Won’t Prevent Infection From Omicron December 19, 2021 at 7:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
“A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant,” the New York Times reports.
“All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.
I COUNT MYSELF FORUNATE THAT I HAVE HAD TWO MODERNA SHOTS AND A BOOSTER.
“The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured in China and Russia — do little to nothing to stop the spread of Omicron, early research shows. And because most countries have built their inoculation programs around these vaccines, the gap could have a profound impact on the course of the pandemic.”
Biden Eyes Stark Shift in Messaging on Pandemic December 19, 2021 at 7:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments
CNN: “Biden and his team have all but ruled out new lockdowns, and behind the scenes, administration officials have been debating how to shift public attention from the total number of cases — which appear likely to surge, even if many are mild — toward the number of severe infections that are overloading health systems and causing interruptions to normal life.”
“Some of Biden’s advisers are encouraging the administration to begin discussing publicly how to live alongside a virus that shows no signs of disappearing, a potentially stark shift in messaging for a White House that once touted ‘freedom from the virus.’
“Steering public attention away from the total number of infections and toward serious cases only — as some Biden advisers have encouraged — could prove a challenge after nearly two years of intense focus on the pandemic’s every up and down. It is a part of a growing conundrum that Biden faces as the Covid-19 pandemic refuses to abate.”
WILL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE THE GOOD SENSE TO APPRECIATE HONEST STRAIGHT TALK RATHER THAN PROPAGANDISTIC TRUMP STYLE LIES?
CDC "Cumulative data over time show persisting disparities in cases for Hispanic people and deaths for Black people. As of October 5, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)"
Despite all the belching and farting by those on the right, American life hasn't changed all that much during a vast majority of the past two years. Except for a brief lockdown in March-April-May 2020, we've been living our lives like the pandemic never existed. We talk about it incessantly, but we do virtually nothing to inhibit its abilities.
Even now, with 1500 people a day dying from COVID, go into your local grocery store. I did, last night, and maybe 30% of the people were actually wearing masks. Only a fraction of America is taking this pandemic seriously.
The end result is that the virus keeps killing people, because just enough people believe it's a hoax.
Despite all the belching and farting by those on the right, American life hasn't changed all that much during a vast majority of the past two years. Except for a brief lockdown in March-April-May 2020, we've been living our lives like the pandemic never existed. We talk about it incessantly, but we do virtually nothing to inhibit its abilities.
Even now, with 1500 people a day dying from COVID, go into your local grocery store. I did, last night, and maybe 30% of the people were actually wearing masks. Only a fraction of America is taking this pandemic seriously.
The end result is that the virus keeps killing people, because just enough people believe it's a hoax.
American conservatives who listened to Trump and the Republican leadership and are therefore resistant to vaccinations and boosters and mask wearing are dying at a higher rate than those who have listened to the Democrats.
That absurd NY Times scare piece this morning ("Omicron Threatens Red America") Alex Berenson Dec 17
Several of you have written me about it, since it was written by David Leonhardt, whom as I mention in PANDEMIA I know.
I emailed David about it this morning.
—
DL:
That piece was... well, problematic.
As I'm guessing you know, the Trump county data [NOTE: these are figures David has repeatedly published showing more Covid deaths in counties that voted for Trump, which also tend to have lower vaccination rates] is completely confounded by age - Trump voters are older - and obesity - the Southern states that have the most Trump voters are more obese (and in the Southern counties that went hard for Trump, the DEMOCRATIC voters are more obese too, as they are likely African-Americans, and African-Americans unfortunately have notably higher rates of severe obesity).
Meanwhile, in South Africa, which is all of 26% vaccinated, not only has there been no surge in Covid deaths, they are the lowest they've been in 18 months. And we are now more than three weeks into Omicron in SA - if a surge was coming, it would have started by now. Not to mention the fact that the SA doctors say the Omicron cases are far less severe. Not "30 percent less" (talk about a made-up number that is intended to sound scientific), but far less.
Not to mention the fact that the UK as of now has reported 1 (1!) Omicron death, and it was "with" the virus. Have any other Omicron deaths been reported anywhere? I haven't seen any.
Not to mention the fact that the Danish data and tons of anecdotal evidence (all those vaccinated and boosted outbreaks) suggests the vaccines have essentially NO protective effect against Omicron.
Meanwhile, non-Covid all-cause mortality continues to increase all over Western Europe (and probably in the United States too, though our data are too lousy to tell for a month-plus). That's the most basic marker of population health, and no one has offered any coherent explanation why this is happening NOW when it wasn't nine months ago.
I will gladly debate/discuss in an open forum anytime.
So far I haven’t heard back from David. I‘ll let you know if I do.
THE PIECE: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/briefing/omicron-spread-red-america.html
Are covid vaccines reducing hospitalizations and deaths? (spoiler: it does not look like it) a tale of two new englands and a hypothesis on the variance
many have claimed that covid vaccines, while clearly not suppressing cases, are lowering covid deaths and hospitalizations in the highly vaccinated states in the US.
but is it true?
spoiler alert: it does not appear so.
comparing states is tricky without age, risk, and seasonal adjustments.
but we can get around this by using each state as its own control/comparator group and comparing this high covid season currently underway with last year.
conveniently, the top 5 states by vaccination rate are all in new england and thus in the same seasonal pattern.
this eliminates a lot of potential confounds and leaves us with one major variable:
this year is vaxxed, last year was not.
when we do this, new england clearly bifurcates into two groups:
the north (maine, new hampshire, vermont) who are all far above peak 2020 numbers for cases and hospitalizations (though not yet deaths). compared to this date last year, they are WAY up.
seasonal peak would be expected to be the second week of january, so it looks likely to get worse before it gets better.
the south (massachusetts, connecticut, rhode island) are still well below 2020 peak numbers on hospitalization and deaths (though nearing them on cases). compared to this date last year, most are down significantly.
seasonal peak is roughly the same as the north and rates are rising. whether this is a delayed season from a warm autumn or an actual drop in the size of the covid wave remains an open question and a case can be made for each.
that said, the case that looks more or less impossible to make from this data is that vaccines are making any discernable difference. (and we can verify this with second source data.)
let’s look:
first off, vaccination rates are nearly perfectly identical. NH is slightly lower on 12+ but all are 92-95% in the critical 65+ demographic that accounts for most deaths and hospitalizations.
for a natural, society scale experiment you’re not going to get much better than this for uniformity. continues: https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/are-covid-vaccines-reducing-hospitalizations?r=6a3x3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
re 7:52 So what? We have long known that although Omicron spreads speedily, it has a far less rate of fatality in South Africa and elsewhere than other strands of the virus.
In America, it is the unvaccinated and unboosted conservative resisters of common sense who are still getting the prevalent Delta variant and dying, while the Omicron variant threatens to fill up even more of our hospitals and exhaust even more of our health workers.
Eli Klein https://twitter.com/TheEliKlein/status/1471904174279434247 This article is nuts. These numbers are nuts. The massive increase of deaths is nuts. The collateral damage from unnecessary Covid restrictions is nuts. It’s sickening what’s been done.
Remove Fauci. Let’s move on & try to recover from the carnage his policy advice has caused.
Ed O'Keefe https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1472052099663990788 In yet another interview, this time with @Noahbierman, @VP Harris says the Biden administration did not anticipate the #Omicron variant
Stephen L. Miller Omicron... Taliban.. inflation.. whichever.
Michael P Senger https://twitter.com/MichaelPSenger/status/1471886335405268998 So to clarify, the NFL, NBA, and NHL—professional sports leagues with some of the healthiest people in the world—are each seeing massive COVID outbreaks despite vaccination rates over 95%, but somehow increasing vaccination is supposed to end COVID?
now the Biden administration is going with not testing if you are asymptomatic.
Guess it's his don't ask. don't tell
Guess how that will skew the vaccinated/unvaccinated numbers...
Jerry Christmas 🎄🎅🏽 https://twitter.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1472207894326165513 · Dec 17 NEW: Sullivan claimed today the Biden Admin “safely & effectively drew down our diplomatic presence” in Afghanistan — a claim that’s too cute by half, as his hourlong remarks totally ignored the 13 U.S. service members killed in an ISIS-K suicide bombing. https://washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/top-biden-adviser-claims-us-safely-ended-diplomatic-presence-in-afghanistan-ignores-13-service-members-killed Imagine having the gall to describe a Talib takeover, a chaotic evac where Afghans fall to their deaths off planes, a suicide bombing killing 13 Americans & 200 Afghans, & a U.S. drone strike killing 10 Afghan civilians as “safely & effectively drew down our diplomatic presence.”
_________________________
FANTASTIC NEWS (well the evacuation part):
Volunteer group evacuates 39 Americans and permanent residents from Afghanistan
Hundreds of Americans, at least, are believed to remain in Afghanistan
Almost 40 American citizens and lawful permanent residents left behind from President Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan were evacuated Friday by a volunteer civilian group..
Thirty-nine American citizens and lawful residents were evacuated from the war-torn country Friday and arrived at New York City's JFK airport on Saturday morning thanks to the volunteer group Project Dynamo, according to the New York Post.
Project Dynamo receives funding from Save Our Allies, which is affiliated with The Independence Fund. continues https://www.foxnews.com/politics/volunteer-group-evacuates-39-americans-permanent-residents-afghanistan
Manchin Tanks Biden’s Social Spending Bill December 19, 2021 at 9:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he won’t support his party’s “Build Back Better” plan, a decision that could doom President Biden’s top domestic-policy priority, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Manchin: “I can’t move forward. I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation, I just can’t. I tried everything humanly possible,”
Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com https://twitter.com/JordanSchachtel/status/1472257673311801350
Fauci has never participated in a public debate about COVID-19. Neither has Francis Collins. Nor has Deborah Birx. Same with Rochelle Walensky. And the list goes on. The weight of their premises has never been challenged in a non-scripted environment. This speaks volumes.
But scientists who question them are banned by big tech
After months of haggling and negotiating over President Joe Biden’s key domestic policy plan, the Build Back Better Act, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) appeared to pull the plug Sunday morning during an appearance on Fox News.
“If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it. And I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” he told host Bret Baier on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is a no.”
He informed the President before he appeared on Fox news.
What Manchin wanted, rejected and got in Biden's $2T bill Associated Press FARNOUSH AMIRI AND LISA MASCARO December 18, 2021, 9:21 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — During a private meeting in July, Sen. Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sat down to negotiate what exactly it would take for Democrats to unlock Manchin's vote to start the process of considering President Joe Biden’s massive social and environmental bill.
What emerged was a one-page document, unformatted, where the West Virginia Democrat laid out his views. Both signed it, with reservations.
Nearly five months later, much of what Manchin wanted has been delivered. But fellow Democrats appear nowhere close to gaining the conservative senator's support for their far-reaching domestic package. Having passed the House, the bill is now stalled in the Senate.
Here's a look at what Manchin wanted then and where the legislation stands now.
TOPLINE DOLLARS
Manchin wrote in the document that he wanted a $1. 5 trillion topline — far less than the $3.5 trillion Biden proposed.
Biden halved the amount to $1.75 trillion when it became clear Manchin could accept that. The bill now tallies roughly $2 trillion.
STRATEGIC PAUSE
Manchin wanted to begin debate on the legislation no earlier than Oct. 1.
In a subsequent opinion piece he suggested a “strategic pause.”
That date has passed.
TAXES
Manchin insisted the corporate tax rate, which Biden proposed raising to 28%, not inch past 25%. In fact, it ended up not being raised at all, thanks to opposition from another hold-out Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Manchin also proposed a 15% corporate minimum rate, as is now included in the bill.
He wanted any excess revenue to go toward paying down debt, but that idea was never embraced by Democrats.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The coal-state senator insisted on a “fuel neutral” energy policy — essentially one that does not favor wind, solar and other renewable energy sources over fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas.
Manchin insisted plans for a clean energy standard run through the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs.
After Manchin objected, the White House scrapped plans for a nationwide clean energy standard that environmental advocates viewed as the most significant tool for curbing climate change.
The new incentives for renewable energy sources did not come with rollbacks on coal, oil or natural gas.
Just this week, Manchin, as chair of the energy panel, removed a Democratic proposal to permanently ban offshore drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Environmentalists strongly opposed his move, and several Democrats said they would fight to restore the drilling ban, which gained new momentum following a catastrophic oil spill off California’s coast this fall.
Despite criticism by Manchin, Democrats remain on track to impose a fee on excess methane emissions from oil and gas wells.
Much of Manchin's public opposition to the size and scope of the package centers on its investment in landmark social programs — child tax credits, a new federal paid family leave program and lower-cost child care.
His reasoning? Well, Manchin has reiterated one phrase over these negotiations: “I don’t believe that we should turn our society into an entitlement society.”
The senator has been adamant about “no additional handouts,” as he wrote in his memo. He wants many of the social services programs “means tested” to apply only to those at lower-income thresholds.
As a result, the new paid family and medical leave program that Democrats overwhelmingly want could be gutted completely, dashing their hopes of taking the U.S. off the list of remaining countries without any form of national paid leave.
The most recent debate centers around extending the child tax credit, passed earlier this year as part of pandemic relief legislation. The program, a keystone of Democratic efforts to reduce child poverty, has been sending up to $300 per child directly into the bank accounts of families each month. The expansion, studies say, is expected to cut child poverty by 40% — with 9 of 10 American children benefiting.
Without action by Congress, the program will expire and this month’s checks will be the last ones.
Manchin now says he wants the child tax credit program extended for the full 10-year budget window, rather than just one year — a nonstarter since the price tag would consume most of Biden's bill, crowding out other key initiatives on health care, child care, education and more.
“We’re not going to move all of the programs to 10 years. That’s not going to happen,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told The Associated Press on Friday.
Jayapal said Manchin agreed to a framework for the bill in October, which spelled out the plan’s priorities and costs but didn’t limit the duration of any of them. Manchin, she predicted, will “hold to his commitment."
John - Reliably Reliable Sources - Cardillo https://twitter.com/johncardillo/status/1472573459985223691 Every American should demand Fauci be subject to public debate with doctors who disagree with him.
He’s not the only doctor in America and he’s a pretty bad one at that.
Him being impervious to scrutiny is proving to be deadly.
After months of haggling and negotiating over President Joe Biden’s key domestic policy plan, the Build Back Better Act, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) appeared to pull the plug Sunday morning during an appearance on Fox News.
“If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it. And I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” he told host Bret Baier on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is a no.”
He informed the President before he appeared on Fox news.
This story will replace the DOA story because.
“A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant,” the New York Times reports.
“All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.”
Wrap speed created Pfizer and Moderna shots that may stall the Omicron variant, because on next Tuesday the President will speak on his plans to save America live from the Omicron variant that is going to cause Christmas day shutdowns instead of cheering for Rudolph The Rainbow Flag.
Time for some Republicas to desert the DO NOTHING EXCEPT FOR BILLIONAIRES PARTY.
Republicans, pederast?
I commend you for staying true to this obvious LIE.
The billionaires have flocked to the democrats, and had done that some time ago. Every prominent billionaire is aligned with the left. That's a demonstrable FACT.
You parrot this bullshit like the alky parrots the lie that the racists of the south miraculously "flipped" to the GOP.
Gates, Bezos, Jobs, Buffet, et. al., billionaires all and leftists ALL.
Wrap speed created Pfizer and Moderna shots that may stall the Omicron variant, because on next Tuesday the President will speak on his plans to save America live from the Omicron variant that is going to cause Christmas day shutdowns instead of cheering for Rudolph The Rainbow Flag.
Manchin gives thumbs down to Biden's $1.75 trillion investment bill Reuters December 19, 2021, 10:18 AM By Jan Wolfe and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is key to President Joe Biden's hopes of passing a $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill, said on Sunday he would not support the package.
"I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation," Manchin said during an interview with the "Fox News Sunday" program. "I just can't. I have tried everything humanly possible."
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Manchin has been a key holdout on the White House's "Build Back Better" plan, which aims to bolster the social safety net and fight climate change and is the cornerstone of Biden's legislative agenda.
The West Virginia senator's support is crucial in a chamber where the Democrats have the slimmest margin of control and Republicans are united in their opposition to the bill.
Biden said last week after talking with Manchin that the senator had reiterated "his support for Build Back Better funding at the level of the framework plan I announced in September." The Democratic president had vowed to press in the coming weeks to finalize a deal.
Though talks with Manchin had been going poorly, Biden’s aides expressed confidence in recent days that they would eventually secure a deal.
Many Democrats feel passage of the bill is essential to the party's chances of maintaining control of Congress in next year's elections.
The package would raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations to pay for a host of programs to thwart climate change, boost healthcare subsidies and provide free childcare.
Biden has argued that lowering such costs is critical at a time of rising inflation and as the economy recovers from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans say the proposed legislation would fuel inflation and hurt the economy. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Paul Simao)
OF COURSE they did. Just as Johnson predicted they would with the passage of the Civil Rights Bill.
Another demonstrable LIE.
Democrats, led by Klan Grand Kleagle Byrd, filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964. LBJ required GOP support to pass it. So only an idiot would claim that democrats would flip to the party responsible for passing the bill that they so vociferously opposed.
And Grand Kleagle Byrd remained a democrat until his death.
Christina Pushaw https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1472239392337055752 The numbers for November are in: Florida, less than 7% of the total population of the USA, accounted for almost 25% of new jobs nationwide.
Leadership matters! Clapping hands sign🏝Crocodile thank you @GovRonDeSantis
Imagine how much worse Biden and America would be doing without Republican governors
We'd all be like California, Illinois and New York
I don't remember saying anything about F Daddy's 9:37.
as for POS pastors
POLITICS Trump Secretly Mocks His Christian Supporters
Former aides say that in private, the president has spoken with cynicism and contempt about believers. By McKay Coppins
One day in 2015, Donald Trump beckoned Michael Cohen, his longtime confidant and personal attorney, into his office. Trump was brandishing a printout of an article about an Atlanta-based megachurch pastor trying to raise $60 million from his flock to buy a private jet. Trump knew the preacher personally—Creflo Dollar had been among a group of evangelical figures who visited him in 2011 while he was first exploring a presidential bid. During the meeting, Trump had reverently bowed his head in prayer while the pastors laid hands on him. Now he was gleefully reciting the impious details of Dollar’s quest for a Gulfstream G650. Trump seemed delighted by the “scam,” Cohen recalled to me, and eager to highlight that the pastor was “full of shit.”
“They’re all hustlers,” Trump said.
The president’s alliance with religious conservatives has long been premised on the contention that he takes them seriously, while Democrats hold them in disdain. In speeches and interviews, Trump routinely lavishes praise on conservative Christians, casting himself as their champion. “My administration will never stop fighting for Americans of faith,” he declared at a rally for evangelicals earlier this year. It’s a message his campaign will seek to amplify in the coming weeks as Republicans work to confirm Amy Coney Barrett—a devout, conservative Catholic—to the Supreme Court.
But in private, many of Trump’s comments about religion are marked by cynicism and contempt, according to people who have worked for him. Former aides told me they’ve heard Trump ridicule conservative religious leaders, dismiss various faith groups with cartoonish stereotypes, and deride certain rites and doctrines held sacred by many of the Americans who constitute his base.
Reached for comment, a White House spokesman said that “people of faith know that President Trump is a champion for religious liberty and the sanctity of life, and he has taken strong actions to support them and protect their freedom to worship. The president is also well known for joking and his terrific sense of humor, which he shares with people of all faiths.”
From the outset of his brief political career, Trump has viewed right-wing evangelical leaders as a kind of special-interest group to be schmoozed, conned, or bought off, former aides told me. Though he faced Republican primary opponents in 2016 with deeper religious roots—Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee—Trump was confident that his wealth and celebrity would attract high-profile Christian surrogates to vouch for him.
“His view was ‘I’ve been talking to these people for years; I’ve let them stay at my hotels—they’re gonna endorse me. I played the game,’” said a former campaign adviser to Trump, who, like others quoted in this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
Imagine how much worse Biden and America would be doing without Republican governors
And this is exactly why democrats are desperate to pass H.R.1. As long as there are places to escape the ruins of leftism, democrats can never truly gain nationwide power. They must socialize an equal distribution of misery to give a sane person no place to escape from leftist idiocy.
The hottest real estate market in the country right now? Boise ID.
It helped that Trump seemed to feel a kinship with prosperity preachers—often evincing a game-recognizes-game appreciation for their hustle. The former campaign adviser recalled showing his boss a YouTube video of the Israeli televangelist Benny Hinn performing “faith healings,” while Trump laughed at the spectacle and muttered, “Man, that’s some racket.” On another occasion, the adviser told me, Trump expressed awe at Joel Osteen’s media empire—particularly the viewership of his televised sermons.
In Cohen’s recent memoir, Disloyal, he recounts Trump returning from his 2011 meeting with the pastors who laid hands on him and sneering, “Can you believe that bullshit?” But if Trump found their rituals ridiculous, he followed their moneymaking ventures closely. “He was completely familiar with the business dealings of the leadership in many prosperity-gospel churches,” the adviser told me.
The conservative Christian elites Trump surrounds himself with have always been more clear-eyed about his lack of religiosity than they’ve publicly let on. In a September 2016 meeting with about a dozen influential figures on the religious right—including the talk-radio host Eric Metaxas, the Dallas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress, and the theologian Wayne Grudem—the then-candidate was blunt about his relationship to Christianity. In a recording of the meeting obtained by The Atlantic, the candidate can be heard shrugging off his scriptural ignorance (“I don’t know the Bible as well as some of the other people”) and joking about his inexperience with prayer (“The first time I met [Mike Pence], he said, ‘Will you bow your head and pray?’ and I said, ‘Excuse me?’ I’m not used to it.”) At one point in the meeting, Trump interrupted a discussion about religious freedom to complain about Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska and brag about the taunting nickname he’d devised for him. “I call him Little Ben Sasse,” Trump said. “I have to do it, I’m sorry. That’s when my religion always deserts me.”
And yet, by the end of the meeting—much of which was spent discussing the urgency of preventing trans women from using women’s restrooms—the candidate had the group eating out of his hand. “I’m not voting for Trump to be the teacher of my third grader’s Sunday-school class. That’s not what he’s running for,” Jeffress said in the meeting, adding, “I believe it is imperative … that we do everything we can to turn people out.”
The Faustian nature of the religious right’s bargain with Trump has not always been quite so apparent to rank-and-file believers. According to the Pew Research Center, white evangelicals are more than twice as likely as the average American to say that the president is a religious man. Some conservative pastors have described him as a “baby Christian,” and insist that he’s accepted Jesus Christ as his savior.
To those who have known and worked with Trump closely, the notion that he might have a secret spiritual side is laughable. “I always assumed he was an atheist,” Barbara Res, a former executive at the Trump Organization, told me. “He’s not a religious guy,” A. J. Delgado, who worked on his 2016 campaign, told me. “Whenever I see a picture of him standing in a group of pastors, all of their hands on him, I see a thought bubble [with] the words ‘What suckers,’” Mary Trump, the president’s niece, told me.
Some analyses of Trumpism and Republican populism have claimed to detect a strain of anti-corporate sentiment. It is true that today’s right-wingers are willing to criticize big tech companies for supposedly treating them unfairly. But most of the time the GOP continues to serve the interests of big business.
That was clear during an important hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on antitrust, commercial and administrative law. Subcommittee chair David Cicilline (D-R.I.), vice-chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), other Democratic members and the witnesses all raised serious questions about the current regulatory system, focusing on issues such as disclosure and social equity.
The Republicans, on the other hand, did their best to change the subject or spoke in favor of less rather than more oversight. Ranking member Ken Buck (R-Colo.) used his opening remarks to attack executive overreach and praise the Trump administration’s wholesale attack on regulation.
Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) spent his time attacking what he claimed was a plan by the Justice Department to treat parents critical of school boards as domestic terrorists. One of the witnesses, NAACP climate justice director Jacqueline Patterson, was asked by Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) whether she was a revolutionary. She was also chastised for a facetious tweet about vaccines. The comments of GOP members on regulation were mainly limited to attacks on so-callled woke bureaucrats.
Despite these antics, there was a serious exchange between the Democrats and the witnesses on the failures of the current regulatory system. These issues are also addressed in the Stop Corporate Capture Act introduced by Jayapal.
The legislation would create more transparency in rulemaking, reduce corporate influence over the process and create a framework for considering social equity. It would fine companies that lie about the impact of public interest rules. It would also create a public Advocate to provide for more robust public participation.
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It turns the usual discussion on its head. Rejecting the idea of executive overreach, the bill correctly diagnoses the problem as a situation of what one might call regulatory anemia. Agencies are not aggressive enough in tackling serious problems relating to the environment, the workplace and the marketplace. The parties meant to be targeted instead are playing an outsized role in creating the rules. Hence the reference in the bill’s title to regulatory capture.
Jayapal’s proposal is what one might call a populist approach to reforming the regulatory system—one that is not likely to receive support from corporate lobbyists. When they are not simply kicking up dust, Republicans, by contrast, are doing the bidding of big business by continuing the Trump Administration’s drumbeat against regulation.
Quote of the Day December 19, 2021 at 10:48 am EST By Taegan Goddard 43 Comments
“My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face. I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight.” — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), in a statement saying he won’t support President Biden’s Build Back Better Act.
Progressives Are Furious with Joe Manchin December 19, 2021 at 10:50 am EST By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments
Punchbowl News: “They agreed to pass the infrastructure bill with promises that Biden would be able to bring Manchin along. As of now, he’s not been able to get Manchin on board. There had already been growing frustration among the progressives in the party. Manchin’s statement that he is done with BBB will infuriate them even further. The problem for progressives is they don’t have a lot of leverage here – especially because they agreed to pass infrastructure already.”
Reuters: Bernie Sanders says there should be vote on Build Back Better despite Manchin rejection.
Agencies are not aggressive enough in tackling serious problems relating to the environment, the workplace and the marketplace.
Yeah, let's have agencies full of nameless, faceless bureaucrats get even MORE aggressive so we can pile drive our economy even DEEPER into the fucking ground.
Sounds like you've got yourself a real winner there, alky.
The sum total of your knowledge of the economy and free markets revolves around your monthly juice box budget.
Ross Barkan https://twitter.com/RossBarkan/status/1472225892722171907
What's remarkable about the turn of Asian voters to the Republican Party is how little Democratic elites and NGOs want to talk about it. The shift is stunning. https://twitter.com/RossBarkan/status/1472225892722171907
Kinda sad that James is so unable to formulate an argument of his own. He can only wait for someone else to make one so he can copy paste it, pretending that he's making a point.
A true conservative Republican says that Trump would hurt the Republicans in the next election season. He is less popular than Sleepy Joe Biden. By Matthew Continetti
Mr. Continetti is the author of the forthcoming book “The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism.”
Former Senator David Perdue knows how to crash a party. When he announced that he would seek the 2022 Republican nomination for governor in Georgia, challenging the incumbent, Brian Kemp, he did more than enter a primary race. He illustrated the dangers facing the G.O.P. in the coming year.
Georgia Republicans are divided over former President Donald Trump and torn between mainstream credibility and the conspiratorial fringe. Mr. Perdue — an ally of Mr. Trump — has made these divisions worse. The beneficiary? The Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Republicans worry about internal strife and outlandish messages that turn off swing voters because everything else is going their way. The party did well in last month’s elections. President Biden’s low approval ratings endanger Democrats in Congress, where Republicans must net only five seats in the House and one in the Senate to seize control.
Republican strength at the state level gives the party an advantage in drawing new maps of congressional districts, which will amplify their slim lead in the FiveThirtyEight estimate of the congressional generic ballot.
Yet history shows how expectations can be thwarted. Republicans have experienced hopeful times before — only to have the moment pass. They believed that disapproval of President Bill Clinton’s conduct would expand their majorities in 1998. They ended up losing five House seats. They believed that Mr. Trump would rally the base to support two incumbent senators during runoffs in Georgia last January. They lost both seats and control of the Senate.
------
Plus the fact that the BBB bill is not a factor anymore.
And he bipartisanship infrastructure plan is very popular and again it will create hundreds of thousands of union jobs.
“All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.
Which is to say that we actually have no scientific data to make that claim as an actual statement of any sort of fact.
But, of course, if the "appearance" turns out right... then the worst of Covid is behind us and there is no need to worry anymore! Almost nobody should be dying anymore in the next few weeks.
Half of the recent rise in grocery prices is from meat products — beef, pork, and poultry. Just four large conglomerates control most meat processing. They’re raising their prices — and coordinating their price increases — even as they’re scoring record profits. Here again, they’re using “inflation” as an excuse.
You see the same pattern all over the American economy.
Since the 1980s, two-thirds of all American industries have become more concentrated. Monsanto now sets the prices for most of the nation’s seed corn. Wall Street has consolidated into five giant banks. Airlines have merged from 12 carriers in 1980 to four today, which now control 80 percent of domestic seating capacity. The merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas has left the US with just one large producer of civilian aircraft — Boeing. Three giant cable companies dominate broadband: Comcast, AT&T and Verizon. A handful of drug companies control the pharmaceutical industry: Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.
All this concentration gives corporations the power to raise prices, because it makes it easy for them to coordinate price increases with the handful of other companies in their same industry — without risking the possibility of losing customers, who have no other choice.
In sum, inflation isn’t driving these price increases. Corporate power is driving them.
Fed chair Powell worries about the specter of “wage-price” inflation – in which wage hikes force corporations to raise their prices, which in turn eat up the wage increases and hence cause workers to demand higher wages.
But corporations aren’t being forced to raise their prices. They’re enjoying record profits. They can easily absorb any wage increases without their raising prices. The sole reason they’re raising prices – and eating away whatever wage increases they’ve provided their workers – is they face little or no competition.
So what’s the appropriate government response? Not slowing down the economy. This will only hurt millions of workers, who are just beginning to get the raises they deserve. The problem at the heart of the economy is amenable to only one thing: the aggressive use of antitrust laws to bust up monopolies.
This will take time — perhaps years. In the meantime, Biden and the Democrats could do something with a more immediate effect: Enact a windfall profits tax applicable to any large corporation that raises its prices during the same quarter its profits have risen.
You knew enough about biology and the history of infectious diseases, they may assume something might happen.
I was thinking about how we became the dominant species of our planet was that mother nature sent a massive chunk into the gulf of Mexico, and it eliminated dinosaurs.
I just would if mother nature is real, this pandemic might kill every human being!
95 comments:
Has Jowls had a come to Jesus moment or just gone mad?????
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) walks to his end-of-the-year news conference on Dec. 16, 2021. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Image without a caption
By Aaron Blake
Senior reporter
December 17, 2021 at 11:06 a.m. EST
It’s difficult to dismiss even one Mitch McConnell comment as anything other than part of a concerted and deliberate political strategy. It’s virtually impossible to dismiss two.
All of which makes twin comments this week by McConnell (R-Ky.) legitimizing the House’s Jan. 6 committee quite interesting.
2021 Election: Complete coverage and analysis
As the committee continues to uncover significant new information — including about the desperate and anti-democratic efforts to overturn the 2020 election that preceded Jan. 6 and about how much allies who went on to downplay Trump’s role initially said something quite different privately — Republicans and their allies have been put on the defensive. And they’ve become defensive. They’ve accused the committee of being partisan and of overstepping.
But McConnell has struck a very different tone this week — in ways that he must know legitimize the committee’s mandate and its work.
On Tuesday, CNN’s Manu Raju asked McConnell about the revelation that Trump allies — including Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News hosts who went on almost immediately to downplay Trump’s role — had pleaded with Meadows during the riot to get Trump to stop it. The text messages showed those people recognized Trump was the catalyst for the events, despite their later comments.
McConnell raised some eyebrows when he responded: “I do think we’re all watching, as you are, what is unfolding on the House side, and it will be interesting to reveal all of the participants who were involved.”
The Deep State is already waging its battle to keep Trump from the 2024 election. It failed in two miserably constructed impeachment efforts, and it is failing at the January 6 insurrection effort it orchestrated. And in heroic fashion, Trump has been uniquely challenged, trained, and has enjoyed success in the crucible of New York real estate development to contest the next election. Obstacles to the construction of Trump Tower were but a warm-up for the 2024 general election. I eagerly anticipate a fair fight.
Work remains to be ready for the general election, but one of the main obstacles appears to be handled. The loss of Twitter and Facebook has been obviated by Trump's construction of his own social media platforms, executively captained by Devin Nunes. And in typical fashion, Trump has identified those squishy Republicans who need primarying in retaliation for their voting to impeach Trump.
Trump made presidential politics entertaining when first he ran. He was officially declared finished by the left multiple times during the primary, the general, and his four-year presidency. He wasn't listening. Sarah Palin was character assassinated by the left in 2008, but she was nice and played by the accepted rules for Republicans: hold the high ground of civility. Trump chose bombast and caustic, sarcastic responses via Twitter and social media, and he has succeeded where McCain and Mitt were steamrolled by the mainstream media. They hated him for not succumbing like the losers Trump has identified them as.
Dems in general and Obama in particular prompted Trump to run, and they've created the Trump persona that will not be crushed by the left. It is their comportment that made the Trump we know and love. He's one of us, and we're one with him. Many of us cannot wait for the 2022 midterms, where RINOs will be shown the door, and for 2024, where we will watch the election with eager anticipation, vigilance, and the voting scrutiny we are guaranteed by our Constitution.
Are the Dems in full panic yet? They're just getting warmed up. Stay tuned for more entertainment!
Praise The Lord
Trump will rise again.
Our political divide is no longer between Democrats and Republicans
By Jimmy H..... Jr.
We are all aware of the deadly and avoidable crime wave plaguing cities that Marxists run. I am sure the people that live in these communities have been complaining. After all, how could they not? We have had two years of a rolling criminal snowball that has grown to ginormous proportions.
I noticed the uptick in the crime in New York in January 2020 when the “Bail Reform” law went into effect. Slowly on the local news, you heard about someone coming up the steps from the subway and getting cold-cocked in the face, elderly people getting thrown down and beaten, and other violent street crimes.
It grew from there and, after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, the kerosene was thrown on the previously slow-burning fuse. The Marxists tried telling us the crime wave was due to the pandemic but I knew—and believe others did too—that it started weeks before the first case of COVID was reported in the United States.
Like a cancer, the effects of these policies took a while to spread and then accelerated quickly. The same pattern was repeated across America as other cities implemented “Bail Reform” and defunded their police departments. All the while, George Soros and other Marxist billionaires hell-bent on destroying this country helped install District Attorneys who refuse to prosecute criminals and judges who put repeat violent offenders back on the streets. Add in governors emptying prisons in the name of Covid and—voila!—instant anarchy.
After Joe DeSantis is sworn in on January 20th in 2025.
Meet the next governor of the great state of Florida:
A Florida man who was kicked off of a United Airlines flight for wearing a woman’s thong as a facemask reportedly said he did so in protest of the airline’s mask mandate and also compared himself to Rosa Parks.
Adam Jenne of Cape Coral argues that he was in compliance with the mask mandate, as the red women’s panties covered both his nose and mouth, but staff on his Dec. 15 flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Washington, D.C. apparently didn’t agree.
In a video recorded by a passenger, a flight attendant tells Jenne he needs to leave the airplane. When Jenne asks why the attendant tells him it’s because he is “not in mask compliance”. Jenne is wearing the underwear on his face during the entire interaction and leaves the plane without an altercation after being asked.
Urban Meyer tried hard but ultimately he’s all Ohio.
Wonder whether his first interview will be with Tucker or if he’ll have to start at whatever Peter Thiel-funded MAGA social media operation Greenwald is cashing his checks from this week.
STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE SCIENTISTS THE BIDEN PEOPLE LISTEN TO--
SO UNLIKE THE CROOKED LIES THE TRUMPSTERS FOLLOW.
Most Vaccines Won’t Prevent Infection From Omicron
December 19, 2021 at 7:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
“A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant,” the New York Times reports.
“All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.
I COUNT MYSELF FORUNATE THAT I HAVE HAD TWO MODERNA SHOTS AND A BOOSTER.
“The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured in China and Russia — do little to nothing to stop the spread of Omicron, early research shows. And because most countries have built their inoculation programs around these vaccines, the gap could have a profound impact on the course of the pandemic.”
Biden Eyes Stark Shift in Messaging on Pandemic
December 19, 2021 at 7:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments
CNN:
“Biden and his team have all but ruled out new lockdowns, and behind the scenes, administration officials have been debating how to shift public attention from the total number of cases — which appear likely to surge, even if many are mild — toward the number of severe infections that are overloading health systems and causing interruptions to normal life.”
“Some of Biden’s advisers are encouraging the administration to begin discussing publicly how to live alongside a virus that shows no signs of disappearing, a potentially stark shift in messaging for a White House that once touted ‘freedom from the virus.’
“Steering public attention away from the total number of infections and toward serious cases only — as some Biden advisers have encouraged — could prove a challenge after nearly two years of intense focus on the pandemic’s every up and down. It is a part of a growing conundrum that Biden faces as the Covid-19 pandemic refuses to abate.”
WILL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE THE GOOD SENSE TO APPRECIATE HONEST STRAIGHT TALK RATHER THAN PROPAGANDISTIC TRUMP STYLE LIES?
Good morning James the beggar.
The Key voting Blocks of Socialist Democrats.
CDC
"Cumulative data over time show persisting disparities in cases for Hispanic people and deaths for Black people. As of October 5, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)"
Americans dying at a higher rate under Biden , now get more good news.
"The Winter of Death" Biden
Despite all the belching and farting by those on the right, American life hasn't changed all that much during a vast majority of the past two years. Except for a brief lockdown in March-April-May 2020, we've been living our lives like the pandemic never existed. We talk about it incessantly, but we do virtually nothing to inhibit its abilities.
Even now, with 1500 people a day dying from COVID, go into your local grocery store. I did, last night, and maybe 30% of the people were actually wearing masks. Only a fraction of America is taking this pandemic seriously.
The end result is that the virus keeps killing people, because just enough people believe it's a hoax.
Despite all the belching and farting by those on the right, American life hasn't changed all that much during a vast majority of the past two years. Except for a brief lockdown in March-April-May 2020, we've been living our lives like the pandemic never existed. We talk about it incessantly, but we do virtually nothing to inhibit its abilities.
Even now, with 1500 people a day dying from COVID, go into your local grocery store. I did, last night, and maybe 30% of the people were actually wearing masks. Only a fraction of America is taking this pandemic seriously.
The end result is that the virus keeps killing people, because just enough people believe it's a hoax.
American conservatives who listened to Trump and the Republican leadership and are therefore resistant to vaccinations and boosters and mask wearing are dying at a higher rate than those who have listened to the Democrats.
County by county statistics prove it.
has rrb secretly been vaccinated and received a booster?
That absurd NY Times scare piece this morning ("Omicron Threatens Red America")
Alex Berenson Dec 17
Several of you have written me about it, since it was written by David Leonhardt, whom as I mention in PANDEMIA I know.
I emailed David about it this morning.
—
DL:
That piece was... well, problematic.
As I'm guessing you know, the Trump county data [NOTE: these are figures David has repeatedly published showing more Covid deaths in counties that voted for Trump, which also tend to have lower vaccination rates] is completely confounded by age - Trump voters are older - and obesity - the Southern states that have the most Trump voters are more obese (and in the Southern counties that went hard for Trump, the DEMOCRATIC voters are more obese too, as they are likely African-Americans, and African-Americans unfortunately have notably higher rates of severe obesity).
Meanwhile, in South Africa, which is all of 26% vaccinated, not only has there been no surge in Covid deaths, they are the lowest they've been in 18 months. And we are now more than three weeks into Omicron in SA - if a surge was coming, it would have started by now. Not to mention the fact that the SA doctors say the Omicron cases are far less severe. Not "30 percent less" (talk about a made-up number that is intended to sound scientific), but far less.
Not to mention the fact that the UK as of now has reported 1 (1!) Omicron death, and it was "with" the virus. Have any other Omicron deaths been reported anywhere? I haven't seen any.
Not to mention the fact that the Danish data and tons of anecdotal evidence (all those vaccinated and boosted outbreaks) suggests the vaccines have essentially NO protective effect against Omicron.
Meanwhile, non-Covid all-cause mortality continues to increase all over Western Europe (and probably in the United States too, though our data are too lousy to tell for a month-plus). That's the most basic marker of population health, and no one has offered any coherent explanation why this is happening NOW when it wasn't nine months ago.
I will gladly debate/discuss in an open forum anytime.
So far I haven’t heard back from David. I‘ll let you know if I do.
THE PIECE: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/briefing/omicron-spread-red-america.html
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/that-absurd-ny-times-scare-piece/comments
* he still hasn't responded
kind of like FGauci still hasn't done any of his "gold stamdard" studies on anything... and it's been nearly 2 years
* Fauci
Are covid vaccines reducing hospitalizations and deaths? (spoiler: it does not look like it)
a tale of two new englands and a hypothesis on the variance
many have claimed that covid vaccines, while clearly not suppressing cases, are lowering covid deaths and hospitalizations in the highly vaccinated states in the US.
but is it true?
spoiler alert: it does not appear so.
comparing states is tricky without age, risk, and seasonal adjustments.
but we can get around this by using each state as its own control/comparator group and comparing this high covid season currently underway with last year.
conveniently, the top 5 states by vaccination rate are all in new england and thus in the same seasonal pattern.
this eliminates a lot of potential confounds and leaves us with one major variable:
this year is vaxxed, last year was not.
when we do this, new england clearly bifurcates into two groups:
the north (maine, new hampshire, vermont) who are all far above peak 2020 numbers for cases and hospitalizations (though not yet deaths). compared to this date last year, they are WAY up.
seasonal peak would be expected to be the second week of january, so it looks likely to get worse before it gets better.
the south (massachusetts, connecticut, rhode island) are still well below 2020 peak numbers on hospitalization and deaths (though nearing them on cases). compared to this date last year, most are down significantly.
seasonal peak is roughly the same as the north and rates are rising. whether this is a delayed season from a warm autumn or an actual drop in the size of the covid wave remains an open question and a case can be made for each.
that said, the case that looks more or less impossible to make from this data is that vaccines are making any discernable difference. (and we can verify this with second source data.)
let’s look:
first off, vaccination rates are nearly perfectly identical. NH is slightly lower on 12+ but all are 92-95% in the critical 65+ demographic that accounts for most deaths and hospitalizations.
for a natural, society scale experiment you’re not going to get much better than this for uniformity.
continues:
https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/are-covid-vaccines-reducing-hospitalizations?r=6a3x3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
re 7:52
So what? We have long known that although Omicron spreads speedily, it has a far less rate of fatality in South Africa and elsewhere than other strands of the virus.
In America, it is the unvaccinated and unboosted conservative resisters of common sense who are still getting the prevalent Delta variant and dying, while the Omicron variant threatens to fill up even more of our hospitals and exhaust even more of our health workers.
Maybe the messaging should call put obesity more than it does. It sermd to be a legitimate factor in severity.
Biggest resisting demographic is blacks. Not conservatives.
LOL Comparing counties is not tricky.
More adults between 18 and 45 died of fentanyl overdoses in 2020 than COVID-19, motor vehicle accidents, cancer and suicide
https://fox10phoenix.com/news/fentanyl-overdoses-become-no-1-cause-of-death-among-us-adults-ages-18-45-a-national-emergency
Eli Klein
https://twitter.com/TheEliKlein/status/1471904174279434247
This article is nuts. These numbers are nuts. The massive increase of deaths is nuts. The collateral damage from unnecessary Covid restrictions is nuts. It’s sickening what’s been done.
Remove Fauci. Let’s move on & try to recover from the carnage his policy advice has caused.
Fauci - Dr Death
history will not be kind
Ed O'Keefe
https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1472052099663990788
In yet another interview, this time with @Noahbierman, @VP Harris says the Biden administration did not anticipate the #Omicron variant
Stephen L. Miller
Omicron... Taliban.. inflation.. whichever.
A totally corrupt and inept administration
Hunter may be the most competent Biden !
and the most ethical
Allen Shrugged
https://twitter.com/AllenShrugged/status/1472229122034315265
Anyone who thinks that a "model" is "data" is an empirical illiterate.
Models are used to simulate real "data."
Models got us into this disastrous Covid situation.
Data will get us out so long as credible scientists are doing the analysis.
Not political hacks like Fauci
who as his emails show is busily suppressing dissenting scientists
because he says he is science
File this under:
OH HOW TERRIBLE!
VP Harris says the Biden administration did not anticipate the Omicron variant
Straight talk.
Nobody, much less Trump, anticipated either the Delta or the Omicron variant.
But only Trump said it would all be down to near zero within a few days.
TbI
Neither is identifying demographics
Michael P Senger
https://twitter.com/MichaelPSenger/status/1471886335405268998
So to clarify, the NFL, NBA, and NHL—professional sports leagues with some of the healthiest people in the world—are each seeing massive COVID outbreaks despite vaccination rates over 95%, but somehow increasing vaccination is supposed to end COVID?
now the Biden administration is going with not testing if you are asymptomatic.
Guess it's his don't ask. don't tell
Guess how that will skew the vaccinated/unvaccinated numbers...
"science"
Neither is identifying demographics
But down to near zero covers all demographics.
Decent, honest teller of truth said...
File this under:
OH HOW TERRIBLE!
VP Harris says the Biden administration did not anticipate the Omicron variant
Straight talk.
Nobody, much less Trump, anticipated either the Delta or the Omicron variant.
The Delta variant emerged while Trump was still in office
BEFORE Biden/Harris
It shouldn't be hard to anticipate something that already exists
Unless you are totally incompetent
Thanks for making that crystal clear for you and the Biden administration
ROFLMFAO!!!
the waterboy sure sucks at logic
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!
Justice Thomas Fan Account
FULL QUOTE:
https://mobile.twitter.com/JusticeThomas/status/1465704730710056966
"The Constitution itself... is the ultimate stare decisis."
now that is the truth
Jerry Christmas 🎄🎅🏽
https://twitter.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1472207894326165513
· Dec 17
NEW: Sullivan claimed today the Biden Admin “safely & effectively drew down our diplomatic presence” in Afghanistan — a claim that’s too cute by half, as his hourlong remarks totally ignored the 13 U.S. service members killed in an ISIS-K suicide bombing.
https://washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/top-biden-adviser-claims-us-safely-ended-diplomatic-presence-in-afghanistan-ignores-13-service-members-killed
Imagine having the gall to describe a Talib takeover, a chaotic evac where Afghans fall to their deaths off planes, a suicide bombing killing 13 Americans & 200 Afghans, & a U.S. drone strike killing 10 Afghan civilians as “safely & effectively drew down our diplomatic presence.”
_________________________
FANTASTIC NEWS (well the evacuation part):
Volunteer group evacuates 39 Americans and permanent residents from Afghanistan
Hundreds of Americans, at least, are believed to remain in Afghanistan
Almost 40 American citizens and lawful permanent residents left behind from President Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan were evacuated Friday by a volunteer civilian group..
Thirty-nine American citizens and lawful residents were evacuated from the war-torn country Friday and arrived at New York City's JFK airport on Saturday morning thanks to the volunteer group Project Dynamo, according to the New York Post.
Project Dynamo receives funding from Save Our Allies, which is affiliated with The Independence Fund.
continues
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/volunteer-group-evacuates-39-americans-permanent-residents-afghanistan
How many Americans has Biden still left behind?
and they have the gall to say this was a success
Worse president EVER, and its not even close
* thank God for volunteer organizations doing the work Biden should have done
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!
Dems panicking. They have no one to run for prez in 2024.
BWAAAAAAHHAAAAAA
Manchin Tanks Biden’s Social Spending Bill
December 19, 2021 at 9:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he won’t support his party’s “Build Back Better” plan, a decision that could doom President Biden’s top domestic-policy priority,
the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Manchin:
“I can’t move forward. I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation, I just can’t. I tried everything humanly possible,”
He added: “I can’t get there… This is a no.”
In yet another interview, this time with @Noahbierman, @VP Harris says the Biden administration did not anticipate the #Omicron variant
This "administration" isn't smart enough to anticipate the sun coming up in the morning.
Decent, honest teller of truth said...
Manchin Tanks Biden’s Social Spending Bill
December 19, 2021 at 9:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
Manchin Tanks Biden’s Social Spending Bill
December 19, 2021 at 9:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard 39 Comments
damn the waterboy is salivating for every Goddard post
Gets there the second he blogs
those knee pads must need replacing this Christmas
ROFLMFAO !!!
Anonymous Myballs said...
Dems panicking. They have no one to run for prez in 2024.
Note that 100% of their effort is being put into disqualifying Trump from running vs. trying to produce a qualified candidate of their own.
They're fucked. And they know it.
Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com
https://twitter.com/JordanSchachtel/status/1472257673311801350
Fauci has never participated in a public debate about COVID-19. Neither has Francis Collins. Nor has Deborah Birx. Same with Rochelle Walensky. And the list goes on. The weight of their premises has never been challenged in a non-scripted environment. This speaks volumes.
But scientists who question them are banned by big tech
and defunded by the government
1984
* closest Fauci ever got was his questioning by Senator Paul
and Fauci lied
D0A
After months of haggling and negotiating over President Joe Biden’s key domestic policy plan, the Build Back Better Act, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) appeared to pull the plug Sunday morning during an appearance on Fox News.
“If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it. And I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” he told host Bret Baier on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is a no.”
He informed the President before he appeared on Fox news.
* "he is science"
Manchin knows fiscal irresponsibility ehen he sees it.
Manchin Tanks Biden’s Social Spending Bill
December 19, 2021 at 9:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard 114 Comments
still no further Goddard updates
The POS "pastor" must be going crazy
ROFLMFAO !!!
* refresh, refresh, refresh...
What Manchin wanted, rejected and got in Biden's $2T bill
Associated Press
FARNOUSH AMIRI AND LISA MASCARO
December 18, 2021, 9:21 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — During a private meeting in July, Sen. Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sat down to negotiate what exactly it would take for Democrats to unlock Manchin's vote to start the process of considering President Joe Biden’s massive social and environmental bill.
What emerged was a one-page document, unformatted, where the West Virginia Democrat laid out his views. Both signed it, with reservations.
Nearly five months later, much of what Manchin wanted has been delivered. But fellow Democrats appear nowhere close to gaining the conservative senator's support for their far-reaching domestic package. Having passed the House, the bill is now stalled in the Senate.
Here's a look at what Manchin wanted then and where the legislation stands now.
TOPLINE DOLLARS
Manchin wrote in the document that he wanted a $1. 5 trillion topline — far less than the $3.5 trillion Biden proposed.
Biden halved the amount to $1.75 trillion when it became clear Manchin could accept that. The bill now tallies roughly $2 trillion.
STRATEGIC PAUSE
Manchin wanted to begin debate on the legislation no earlier than Oct. 1.
In a subsequent opinion piece he suggested a “strategic pause.”
That date has passed.
TAXES
Manchin insisted the corporate tax rate, which Biden proposed raising to 28%, not inch past 25%. In fact, it ended up not being raised at all, thanks to opposition from another hold-out Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Manchin also proposed a 15% corporate minimum rate, as is now included in the bill.
He wanted any excess revenue to go toward paying down debt, but that idea was never embraced by Democrats.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The coal-state senator insisted on a “fuel neutral” energy policy — essentially one that does not favor wind, solar and other renewable energy sources over fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas.
Manchin insisted plans for a clean energy standard run through the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs.
After Manchin objected, the White House scrapped plans for a nationwide clean energy standard that environmental advocates viewed as the most significant tool for curbing climate change.
The new incentives for renewable energy sources did not come with rollbacks on coal, oil or natural gas.
Just this week, Manchin, as chair of the energy panel, removed a Democratic proposal to permanently ban offshore drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Environmentalists strongly opposed his move, and several Democrats said they would fight to restore the drilling ban, which gained new momentum following a catastrophic oil spill off California’s coast this fall.
Despite criticism by Manchin, Democrats remain on track to impose a fee on excess methane emissions from oil and gas wells.
SOCIAL POLICY
Much of Manchin's public opposition to the size and scope of the package centers on its investment in landmark social programs — child tax credits, a new federal paid family leave program and lower-cost child care.
His reasoning? Well, Manchin has reiterated one phrase over these negotiations: “I don’t believe that we should turn our society into an entitlement society.”
The senator has been adamant about “no additional handouts,” as he wrote in his memo. He wants many of the social services programs “means tested” to apply only to those at lower-income thresholds.
As a result, the new paid family and medical leave program that Democrats overwhelmingly want could be gutted completely, dashing their hopes of taking the U.S. off the list of remaining countries without any form of national paid leave.
The most recent debate centers around extending the child tax credit, passed earlier this year as part of pandemic relief legislation. The program, a keystone of Democratic efforts to reduce child poverty, has been sending up to $300 per child directly into the bank accounts of families each month. The expansion, studies say, is expected to cut child poverty by 40% — with 9 of 10 American children benefiting.
Without action by Congress, the program will expire and this month’s checks will be the last ones.
Manchin now says he wants the child tax credit program extended for the full 10-year budget window, rather than just one year — a nonstarter since the price tag would consume most of Biden's bill, crowding out other key initiatives on health care, child care, education and more.
“We’re not going to move all of the programs to 10 years. That’s not going to happen,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told The Associated Press on Friday.
Jayapal said Manchin agreed to a framework for the bill in October, which spelled out the plan’s priorities and costs but didn’t limit the duration of any of them. Manchin, she predicted, will “hold to his commitment."
Myballs said...
Manchin knows fiscal irresponsibility ehen he sees it.
and he knows his constituency
as apparently so does Sinema
thank God
hopefully a few more brave Democrats will rise
Time for some Republicas to desert the DO NOTHING EXCEPT FOR BILLIONAIRES PARTY.
thebradfordfile
https://twitter.com/thebradfordfile/status/1472264875116269579
The same government firing border patrol agents for not getting the vaccine is letting illegal immigrants into the country with covid.
Build Back Better - Biden style
Jewish Deplorable
VIDEO:
https://twitter.com/TrumpJew2/status/1472578489190649857
Fauci is asked if we will ever be able to fly again without masks
Fauci: “I don’t think so”
John - Reliably Reliable Sources - Cardillo
https://twitter.com/johncardillo/status/1472573459985223691
Every American should demand Fauci be subject to public debate with doctors who disagree with him.
He’s not the only doctor in America and he’s a pretty bad one at that.
Him being impervious to scrutiny is proving to be deadly.
then put him on trial
Joe Biden
@JoeBiden
United States government official
We’re going to get this virus under control and get your life back on track.
5:10 PM · Sep 16, 2020
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1306384874643894272
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
D0A
After months of haggling and negotiating over President Joe Biden’s key domestic policy plan, the Build Back Better Act, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) appeared to pull the plug Sunday morning during an appearance on Fox News.
“If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it. And I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” he told host Bret Baier on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is a no.”
He informed the President before he appeared on Fox news.
This story will replace the DOA story because.
“A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant,” the New York Times reports.
“All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.”
Wrap speed created Pfizer and Moderna shots that may stall the Omicron variant, because on next Tuesday the President will speak on his plans to save America live from the Omicron variant that is going to cause Christmas day shutdowns instead of cheering for Rudolph The Rainbow Flag.
Time for some Republicas to desert the DO NOTHING EXCEPT FOR BILLIONAIRES PARTY.
Republicans, pederast?
I commend you for staying true to this obvious LIE.
The billionaires have flocked to the democrats, and had done that some time ago. Every prominent billionaire is aligned with the left. That's a demonstrable FACT.
You parrot this bullshit like the alky parrots the lie that the racists of the south miraculously "flipped" to the GOP.
Gates, Bezos, Jobs, Buffet, et. al., billionaires all and leftists ALL.
Gates, Bezos, Jobs, Buffet, et. al., billionaires all and leftists ALL.
You left a bunch off but another common thread is they control a lot of the media and all have greatly benefited by Covid and Chinese slave labor
coincidence ?
...the racists of the south miraculously "flipped" to the GOP.
OF COURSE they did. Just as Johnson predicted they would with the passage of the Civil Rights Bill.
It's dems who want the SALT tax deduction reinstated to help their millionaire and billionaire financial backers.
"The nation’s wealthiest are more likely to be Republican than the average American--"
--Forbes
OF COURSE.
Wrap speed created Pfizer and Moderna shots that may stall the Omicron variant, because on next Tuesday the President will speak on his plans to save America live from the Omicron variant that is going to cause Christmas day shutdowns instead of cheering for Rudolph The Rainbow Flag.
I come here for the salad
All those coastal elites are democrats.
Oops.
Myballs said...
It's dems who want the SALT tax deduction reinstated to help their millionaire and billionaire financial backers.
Yep, and the POS "pastor" was lying about that too just the other day
The dem party has gpne so radical left thst the gop has become the party of the working class and family class.
Manchin gives thumbs down to Biden's $1.75 trillion investment bill
Reuters
December 19, 2021, 10:18 AM
By Jan Wolfe and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is key to President Joe Biden's hopes of passing a $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill, said on Sunday he would not support the package.
"I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation," Manchin said during an interview with the "Fox News Sunday" program. "I just can't. I have tried everything humanly possible."
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Manchin has been a key holdout on the White House's "Build Back Better" plan, which aims to bolster the social safety net and fight climate change and is the cornerstone of Biden's legislative agenda.
The West Virginia senator's support is crucial in a chamber where the Democrats have the slimmest margin of control and Republicans are united in their opposition to the bill.
Biden said last week after talking with Manchin that the senator had reiterated "his support for Build Back Better funding at the level of the framework plan I announced in September." The Democratic president had vowed to press in the coming weeks to finalize a deal.
Though talks with Manchin had been going poorly, Biden’s aides expressed confidence in recent days that they would eventually secure a deal.
Many Democrats feel passage of the bill is essential to the party's chances of maintaining control of Congress in next year's elections.
The package would raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations to pay for a host of programs to thwart climate change, boost healthcare subsidies and provide free childcare.
Biden has argued that lowering such costs is critical at a time of rising inflation and as the economy recovers from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans say the proposed legislation would fuel inflation and hurt the economy. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Paul Simao)
OF COURSE they did. Just as Johnson predicted they would with the passage of the Civil Rights Bill.
Another demonstrable LIE.
Democrats, led by Klan Grand Kleagle Byrd, filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964. LBJ required GOP support to pass it. So only an idiot would claim that democrats would flip to the party responsible for passing the bill that they so vociferously opposed.
And Grand Kleagle Byrd remained a democrat until his death.
Manchin knows that when you have out of control inflation, the last thing the economy needs is more multi trillion dollar supplemental spending bills.
Buried DEEP in the Forbes op/ed that the pederast plagiarized:
The vast majority of the nation’s 600-plus billionaires declined to fill out the survey at all.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2020/10/20/even-americas-billionaires-are-tilting-toward-biden-in-the-2020-presidential-race/?sh=71c13bee2bb7
Kind of hard to tag these billionaires as GOP when they refuse to play along with your shallow class warfare game.
Nice try though, pederast.
Your "congregants" must have IQ's that hover right around room temperature, so easily deceived are they by such a prolific LIAR.
Christina Pushaw
https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1472239392337055752
The numbers for November are in: Florida, less than 7% of the total population of the USA, accounted for almost 25% of new jobs nationwide.
Leadership matters! Clapping hands sign🏝Crocodile thank you
@GovRonDeSantis
Imagine how much worse Biden and America would be doing without Republican governors
We'd all be like California, Illinois and New York
fucking failures
I don't remember saying anything about F Daddy's 9:37.
as for POS pastors
POLITICS
Trump Secretly Mocks His Christian Supporters
Former aides say that in private, the president has spoken with cynicism and contempt about believers.
By McKay Coppins
One day in 2015, Donald Trump beckoned Michael Cohen, his longtime confidant and personal attorney, into his office. Trump was brandishing a printout of an article about an Atlanta-based megachurch pastor trying to raise $60 million from his flock to buy a private jet. Trump knew the preacher personally—Creflo Dollar had been among a group of evangelical figures who visited him in 2011 while he was first exploring a presidential bid. During the meeting, Trump had reverently bowed his head in prayer while the pastors laid hands on him. Now he was gleefully reciting the impious details of Dollar’s quest for a Gulfstream G650.
Trump seemed delighted by the “scam,” Cohen recalled to me, and eager to highlight that the pastor was “full of shit.”
“They’re all hustlers,” Trump said.
The president’s alliance with religious conservatives has long been premised on the contention that he takes them seriously, while Democrats hold them in disdain. In speeches and interviews, Trump routinely lavishes praise on conservative Christians, casting himself as their champion. “My administration will never stop fighting for Americans of faith,” he declared at a rally for evangelicals earlier this year. It’s a message his campaign will seek to amplify in the coming weeks as Republicans work to confirm Amy Coney Barrett—a devout, conservative Catholic—to the Supreme Court.
But in private, many of Trump’s comments about religion are marked by cynicism and contempt, according to people who have worked for him. Former aides told me they’ve heard Trump ridicule conservative religious leaders, dismiss various faith groups with cartoonish stereotypes, and deride certain rites and doctrines held sacred by many of the Americans who constitute his base.
Reached for comment, a White House spokesman said that “people of faith know that President Trump is a champion for religious liberty and the sanctity of life, and he has taken strong actions to support them and protect their freedom to worship. The president is also well known for joking and his terrific sense of humor, which he shares with people of all faiths.”
From the outset of his brief political career, Trump has viewed right-wing evangelical leaders as a kind of special-interest group to be schmoozed, conned, or bought off, former aides told me. Though he faced Republican primary opponents in 2016 with deeper religious roots—Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee—Trump was confident that his wealth and celebrity would attract high-profile Christian surrogates to vouch for him.
“His view was ‘I’ve been talking to these people for years; I’ve let them stay at my hotels—they’re gonna endorse me. I played the game,’” said a former campaign adviser to Trump, who, like others quoted in this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
Imagine how much worse Biden and America would be doing without Republican governors
And this is exactly why democrats are desperate to pass H.R.1. As long as there are places to escape the ruins of leftism, democrats can never truly gain nationwide power. They must socialize an equal distribution of misery to give a sane person no place to escape from leftist idiocy.
The hottest real estate market in the country right now? Boise ID.
Why? Californians are flocking there in droves.
It helped that Trump seemed to feel a kinship with prosperity preachers—often evincing a game-recognizes-game appreciation for their hustle. The former campaign adviser recalled showing his boss a YouTube video of the Israeli televangelist Benny Hinn performing “faith healings,” while Trump laughed at the spectacle and muttered, “Man, that’s some racket.” On another occasion, the adviser told me, Trump expressed awe at Joel Osteen’s media empire—particularly the viewership of his televised sermons.
In Cohen’s recent memoir, Disloyal, he recounts Trump returning from his 2011 meeting with the pastors who laid hands on him and sneering, “Can you believe that bullshit?” But if Trump found their rituals ridiculous, he followed their moneymaking ventures closely. “He was completely familiar with the business dealings of the leadership in many prosperity-gospel churches,” the adviser told me.
The conservative Christian elites Trump surrounds himself with have always been more clear-eyed about his lack of religiosity than they’ve publicly let on. In a September 2016 meeting with about a dozen influential figures on the religious right—including the talk-radio host Eric Metaxas, the Dallas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress, and the theologian Wayne Grudem—the then-candidate was blunt about his relationship to Christianity. In a recording of the meeting obtained by The Atlantic, the candidate can be heard shrugging off his scriptural ignorance (“I don’t know the Bible as well as some of the other people”) and joking about his inexperience with prayer (“The first time I met [Mike Pence], he said, ‘Will you bow your head and pray?’ and I said, ‘Excuse me?’ I’m not used to it.”) At one point in the meeting, Trump interrupted a discussion about religious freedom to complain about Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska and brag about the taunting nickname he’d devised for him. “I call him Little Ben Sasse,” Trump said. “I have to do it, I’m sorry. That’s when my religion always deserts me.”
And yet, by the end of the meeting—much of which was spent discussing the urgency of preventing trans women from using women’s restrooms—the candidate had the group eating out of his hand. “I’m not voting for Trump to be the teacher of my third grader’s Sunday-school class. That’s not what he’s running for,” Jeffress said in the meeting, adding, “I believe it is imperative … that we do everything we can to turn people out.”
The Faustian nature of the religious right’s bargain with Trump has not always been quite so apparent to rank-and-file believers.
According to the Pew Research Center, white evangelicals are more than twice as likely as the average American to say that the president is a religious man. Some conservative pastors have described him as a “baby Christian,” and insist that he’s accepted Jesus Christ as his savior.
To those who have known and worked with Trump closely, the notion that he might have a secret spiritual side is laughable. “I always assumed he was an atheist,” Barbara Res, a former executive at the Trump Organization, told me. “He’s not a religious guy,” A. J. Delgado, who worked on his 2016 campaign, told me. “Whenever I see a picture of him standing in a group of pastors, all of their hands on him, I see a thought bubble [with] the words ‘What suckers,’” Mary Trump, the president’s niece, told me.
Part two.
Some analyses of Trumpism and Republican populism have claimed to detect a strain of anti-corporate sentiment. It is true that today’s right-wingers are willing to criticize big tech companies for supposedly treating them unfairly. But most of the time the GOP continues to serve the interests of big business.
That was clear during an important hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on antitrust, commercial and administrative law. Subcommittee chair David Cicilline (D-R.I.), vice-chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), other Democratic members and the witnesses all raised serious questions about the current regulatory system, focusing on issues such as disclosure and social equity.
The Republicans, on the other hand, did their best to change the subject or spoke in favor of less rather than more oversight. Ranking member Ken Buck (R-Colo.) used his opening remarks to attack executive overreach and praise the Trump administration’s wholesale attack on regulation.
Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) spent his time attacking what he claimed was a plan by the Justice Department to treat parents critical of school boards as domestic terrorists. One of the witnesses, NAACP climate justice director Jacqueline Patterson, was asked by Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) whether she was a revolutionary. She was also chastised for a facetious tweet about vaccines. The comments of GOP members on regulation were mainly limited to attacks on so-callled woke bureaucrats.
Despite these antics, there was a serious exchange between the Democrats and the witnesses on the failures of the current regulatory system. These issues are also addressed in the Stop Corporate Capture Act introduced by Jayapal.
The legislation would create more transparency in rulemaking, reduce corporate influence over the process and create a framework for considering social equity. It would fine companies that lie about the impact of public interest rules. It would also create a public Advocate to provide for more robust public participation.
Join Alternet All-Access. Go AD-Free.
It turns the usual discussion on its head. Rejecting the idea of executive overreach, the bill correctly diagnoses the problem as a situation of what one might call regulatory anemia. Agencies are not aggressive enough in tackling serious problems relating to the environment, the workplace and the marketplace. The parties meant to be targeted instead are playing an outsized role in creating the rules. Hence the reference in the bill’s title to regulatory capture.
Jayapal’s proposal is what one might call a populist approach to reforming the regulatory system—one that is not likely to receive support from corporate lobbyists. When they are not simply kicking up dust, Republicans, by contrast, are doing the bidding of big business by continuing the Trump Administration’s drumbeat against regulation.
Quote of the Day
December 19, 2021 at 10:48 am EST By Taegan Goddard 43 Comments
“My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face. I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight.”
— Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), in a statement saying he won’t support President Biden’s Build Back Better Act.
Progressives Are Furious with Joe Manchin
December 19, 2021 at 10:50 am EST By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments
Punchbowl News:
“They agreed to pass the infrastructure bill with promises that Biden would be able to bring Manchin along. As of now, he’s not been able to get Manchin on board. There had already been growing frustration among the progressives in the party. Manchin’s statement that he is done with BBB will infuriate them even further. The problem for progressives is they don’t have a lot of leverage here – especially because they agreed to pass infrastructure already.”
Reuters:
Bernie Sanders says there should be vote on Build Back Better despite Manchin rejection.
Kinzinger Says ‘It’s Possible’ GOP Colleagues Behind Riot
December 19, 2021 at 10:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told ABC News ‘it’s possible” some of his GOP colleagues in Congress are responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Said Kinzinger: “I will tell you, yes, there are more texts out there we haven’t released.”
Shorter version of most of the pederast's comments:
BUT TRUMP!!!11!
Trump Secretly Mocks His Christian Supporters
Former aides say that in private, the president has spoken with cynicism and contempt about believers.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-secretly-mocks-his-christian-supporters/616522/
The pathological liar and POS "pastor left off the link
and that it was from 2020 by anonymous sources in private
from the BILLIONAIRE widow of Steve Jobs's owned Atlantic "magazine"
AND not only leave off the link, he felt it necessary to post the entire old article
POS capitalized in POS "pastor" Boswell
ROFLMFAO at the piece of shit
How "Christian" of him
I think alky and the POS "pastor" feel the need to post entire articles when they are totally getting thrashed
and then leave off the link
they must be very frazzled
are medications part of Biden's supply chain issues too ?
Agencies are not aggressive enough in tackling serious problems relating to the environment, the workplace and the marketplace.
Yeah, let's have agencies full of nameless, faceless bureaucrats get even MORE aggressive so we can pile drive our economy even DEEPER into the fucking ground.
Sounds like you've got yourself a real winner there, alky.
The sum total of your knowledge of the economy and free markets revolves around your monthly juice box budget.
The pathological liar and POS "pastor left off the link
Of course he did.
Btw, the owner of the Atlantic is a billionaire - Laurene Powell Jobs.
And she is so obviously NOT a republican.
Ross Barkan
https://twitter.com/RossBarkan/status/1472225892722171907
What's remarkable about the turn of Asian voters to the Republican Party is how little Democratic elites and NGOs want to talk about it. The shift is stunning.
https://twitter.com/RossBarkan/status/1472225892722171907
WELCOME !!!
oops
https://rossbarkan.substack.com/p/pretending-problems-dont-exist-wont
BWAAAAAAAAAA!!!
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told ABC News ‘it’s possible” some of his GOP colleagues in Congress are responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Said Kinzinger: “I will tell you, yes, there are more texts out there we haven’t released.”
Jim Jordan might be in danger.
VIDEO OF WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE LIBS HERE
https://twitter.com/jakepaul/status/1472454565937262592
Down goes _______________
fill in the current lib
or Goddard
Jim Jordan might be in danger.
You really got him this time alky.
LOL.
Watching you assholes fall on your faces never gets old.
Kinda sad that James is so unable to formulate an argument of his own. He can only wait for someone else to make one so he can copy paste it, pretending that he's making a point.
Said Kinzinger: “I will tell you, yes, there are more texts out there we haven’t released.”
Jim Jordan might be in danger.
treating it like a big mystery, like he wouldn't have said what the text said if it actually was damning
are you this stupid or just in rapid decline ?
and btw the waterboy already posted this.
He apparently hits refresh way more than you
ROFLMFAO !!!
A true conservative Republican says that Trump would hurt the Republicans in the next election season. He is less popular than Sleepy Joe Biden.
By Matthew Continetti
Mr. Continetti is the author of the forthcoming book “The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism.”
Former Senator David Perdue knows how to crash a party. When he announced that he would seek the 2022 Republican nomination for governor in Georgia, challenging the incumbent, Brian Kemp, he did more than enter a primary race. He illustrated the dangers facing the G.O.P. in the coming year.
Georgia Republicans are divided over former President Donald Trump and torn between mainstream credibility and the conspiratorial fringe. Mr. Perdue — an ally of Mr. Trump — has made these divisions worse. The beneficiary? The Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Republicans worry about internal strife and outlandish messages that turn off swing voters because everything else is going their way. The party did well in last month’s elections. President Biden’s low approval ratings endanger Democrats in Congress, where Republicans must net only five seats in the House and one in the Senate to seize control.
Republican strength at the state level gives the party an advantage in drawing new maps of congressional districts, which will amplify their slim lead in the FiveThirtyEight estimate of the congressional generic ballot.
Yet history shows how expectations can be thwarted. Republicans have experienced hopeful times before — only to have the moment pass. They believed that disapproval of President Bill Clinton’s conduct would expand their majorities in 1998. They ended up losing five House seats. They believed that Mr. Trump would rally the base to support two incumbent senators during runoffs in Georgia last January. They lost both seats and control of the Senate.
------
Plus the fact that the BBB bill is not a factor anymore.
And he bipartisanship infrastructure plan is very popular and again it will create hundreds of thousands of union jobs.
The link will follow
“All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.
Which is to say that we actually have no scientific data to make that claim as an actual statement of any sort of fact.
But, of course, if the "appearance" turns out right... then the worst of Covid is behind us and there is no need to worry anymore! Almost nobody should be dying anymore in the next few weeks.
Half of the recent rise in grocery prices is from meat products — beef, pork, and poultry. Just four large conglomerates control most meat processing. They’re raising their prices — and coordinating their price increases — even as they’re scoring record profits. Here again, they’re using “inflation” as an excuse.
You see the same pattern all over the American economy.
Since the 1980s, two-thirds of all American industries have become more concentrated. Monsanto now sets the prices for most of the nation’s seed corn. Wall Street has consolidated into five giant banks. Airlines have merged from 12 carriers in 1980 to four today, which now control 80 percent of domestic seating capacity. The merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas has left the US with just one large producer of civilian aircraft — Boeing. Three giant cable companies dominate broadband: Comcast, AT&T and Verizon. A handful of drug companies control the pharmaceutical industry: Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.
All this concentration gives corporations the power to raise prices, because it makes it easy for them to coordinate price increases with the handful of other companies in their same industry — without risking the possibility of losing customers, who have no other choice.
In sum, inflation isn’t driving these price increases. Corporate power is driving them.
Fed chair Powell worries about the specter of “wage-price” inflation – in which wage hikes force corporations to raise their prices, which in turn eat up the wage increases and hence cause workers to demand higher wages.
But corporations aren’t being forced to raise their prices. They’re enjoying record profits. They can easily absorb any wage increases without their raising prices. The sole reason they’re raising prices – and eating away whatever wage increases they’ve provided their workers – is they face little or no competition.
So what’s the appropriate government response? Not slowing down the economy. This will only hurt millions of workers, who are just beginning to get the raises they deserve. The problem at the heart of the economy is amenable to only one thing: the aggressive use of antitrust laws to bust up monopolies.
This will take time — perhaps years. In the meantime, Biden and the Democrats could do something with a more immediate effect: Enact a windfall profits tax applicable to any large corporation that raises its prices during the same quarter its profits have risen.
You knew enough about biology and the history of infectious diseases, they may assume something might happen.
I was thinking about how we became the dominant species of our planet was that mother nature sent a massive chunk into the gulf of Mexico, and it eliminated dinosaurs.
I just would if mother nature is real, this pandemic might kill every human being!
It's not going away anymore.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/18/opinion/trump-republicans-2022-midterms.html
In sum, inflation isn’t driving these price increases. Corporate power is driving them.
Reduced to peddling this obvious LIE is where democrats are finding themselves these days.
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