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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 14, 2020 17:48:43 GMT -6
Spiking the numbers: www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/nyregion/new-york-coronavirus-deaths.html?smid=tw-shareNew York City, already a world epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, sharply increased its death toll by more than 3,700 victims on Tuesday, after officials said they were now including people who had never tested positive for the virus but were presumed to have died of it.
The new figures, released by the city’s Health Department, drove up the number of people killed in New York City to more than 10,000, and appeared to increase the overall United States death count by 17 percent to more than 26,000.
But for weeks, the Health Department also had been recording additional deaths tied to the virus, according to two people briefed on the matter. Those cases involved people who were presumed to have been infected because of their symptoms and medical history.
They were not included in the counts given publicly by Mayor Bill de Blasio because no tests had confirmed that the victims had the disease, Covid-19.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 14, 2020 19:56:07 GMT -6
www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2020/04/14/mia-farrow-attacks-trump-defunding-the-who-will-cost-lives-we-should-give-more/Actress Mia Farrow had a social media meltdown after President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will be halting U.S. funding to the World Health Organization. The president argued that the United Nations agency has put political correctness and deference to China ahead of life-saving measures when it came to the coronavirus. Mia Farrow called President Trump’s decision an “outrage,” “tragic,” “vindictive,” and “deplorable” in a tweet storm she unleashed during the commander in chief’s daily coronavirus press briefing at the White House. “We should give more to the WHO. My God. This vindictive little man knows how to deflect from his own failures,” she said. “Defunding the World Health Organization is a vindictive, terrible thing to do. This will cost lives.” The WHO has repeatedly parroted Chinese talking points about the coronavirus, downplaying the seriousness of the virus and providing cover for Beijing’s attempts to bury the true extent of the pandemic during its early weeks. On Tuesday, President Trump noted that American taxpayers give the WHO between $400 million and $500 million a year, while China contributes roughly $40 million by comparison. He also noted that the WHO opposed his administration’s decision to ban air travel from China in January. The WHO has also backed China’s claim that there is “no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission” of the coronavirus. Farrow lashed out at President Trump in a series of angry tweets on Tuesday, including one where she appeared to claim that the president has “dementia.” In another tweet, Farrow said, “I need a Xanax. Mia Farrow has had professional ties with the United Nations, serving as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Last week, the Hannah and Her Sisters actress tweeted that the WHO is “essential” and deserves “wholehearted” financial support from the United States.
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Post by redrex on Apr 14, 2020 20:01:26 GMT -6
Who cares about Mia ?
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 14, 2020 22:22:21 GMT -6
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) trashed President Trump Tuesday in a Dear Colleague letter to House Democrats (labeled a press release), falsely accusing Trump of calling the COVID-19 Chinese coronavirus pandemic a hoax and of ‘causing unnecessary deaths and disaster’ with his handling of the crisis. www.speaker.gov/newsroom/41420-0APRIL 14, 2020 PRESS RELEASE Dear Democratic Colleague,
This Easter Weekend provided me with a time for deeper prayer and reflection. This is an unbearably sad time with all Americans sharing the same devastating experience: we are grieving for those who have died from the coronavirus, we are fearful for our health and especially the health of our loved ones and we are heartbroken for our children who are unable to be in school and with their friends.
As Americans, we are suffering from pressures of economic hardship. All of us want to resume the precious and beautiful lives that America’s unique freedoms provide. We will overcome this moment, but success requires one fundamental from which all actions will follow: we need the truth. To succeed in this crisis, we must insist on the truth, and we must act upon it!
In order to move forward, we must first understand the truth of what has put us in this position:
The truth is that Donald Trump dismantled the infrastructure handed to him which was meant to plan for and overcome a pandemic, resulting in unnecessary deaths and economic disaster.
The truth is that in January Donald Trump was warned about this pandemic, ignored those warnings, took insufficient action and caused unnecessary death and disaster.
The truth is that Donald Trump told his most loyal followers that the pandemic was a hoax and that it would magically disappear, thus endangering lives and paving the way for economic disaster.
The truth is that we did not have proper testing available in March despite Trump repeatedly claiming that we did; and even now, we do not have adequate tests, masks, PPE, and necessary equipment, which creates unnecessary death and suffering.
The truth is because of an incompetent reaction to this health crisis, the strong economy handed to Donald Trump is now a disaster, causing the suffering of countless Americans and endangering lives.
The truth is a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility. A weak person blames others.
The truth is, from this moment on, Americans must ignore lies and start to listen to scientists and other respected professionals in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
Here’s more that is true: the American people want us to work together. In March, Congress passed three bipartisan bills to address this crisis. The first bill passed the House on March 4 and focused on testing, testing, testing.
The truth is, one month later, we do not have appropriate testing. The President continues to obfuscate, saying we have more testing than any other country in the world. The truth is that only 1 percent of Americans have been tested. The failure to test is central to the spread of the virus and its impact on those most vulnerable in our society. The failure to test is dangerous and deadly, and without testing, we cannot resume our lives.
The President has said that we are engaged in a war. Leaders understand that in war, force protection of our troops is the top priority. In this war, force protection means for health care, police, fire, EMS, food and other essential workers to have the protective equipment that they need to save lives without risking their own.
The truth is that we do not have the necessary hospital equipment. Without ventilators and other equipment, our health care workers cannot save the lives of those they serve.
Once we all share the truth of what took place and what is currently happening, including in our minority communities, we can work together to solve these problems.
There are important decisions ahead. We can go forward confident that America, its competent and honest leaders and its people are fully capable of making the right choices and decisions to restore the American greatness that has been squandered.
But if we are not working from the truth, more lives will be lost, economic hardship and suffering will be extended unnecessarily and our children will not be safe, happy and learning. Our future will be healthy and prosperous if we no longer tolerate lies and deceit.
We must recognize the truth, we must speak the truth, we must insist on the truth and we must and will act upon it.
Respectfully and sadly,
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 14, 2020 22:26:45 GMT -6
A Florida inmate released on March 19 to ‘slow the spread of the Coronavirus’ was arrested on a murder charge just one day after he got out of jail. State officials are releasing hundreds of inmates into society over Coronavirus fears while they threaten and arrest law-abiding citizens for violating ‘social distancing’ orders. What could possibly go wrong? Tampa deputies say 26-year-old Joseph Edwards Williams committed second-degree murder just one day after he was released from jail. www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/hillsborough-county-inmate-released-amid-coronavirus-concerns-back-in-jail-on-murder-charge/An inmate who was released from the Hillsborough County Jail in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus is back behind bars and accused of committing second-degree murder the day after he got out of jail, deputies say. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office confirms 26-year-old Joseph Edwards Williams was arrested on a warrant Monday night in Gibsonton. They say he is connected to a March 20 shooting homicide in the Progress Village area. Deputies responded at 10:40 that night to several 911 calls about gunshots fired near 81st Street South and Ash Avenue. A man was pronounced dead at the scene. Online jail records show Williams had been released from custody at 8:02 a.m. on Thursday, March 19 per an administrative order aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the county jails. The sheriff’s office says he was one of more than 100 inmates released from custody until trial. “There is no question Joseph Williams took advantage of this health emergency to commit crimes while he was out of jail awaiting resolution of a low-level, non-violent offense,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “As a result, I call on the State Attorney to prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.” “Judges, prosecutors, and Sheriffs around the country are facing difficult decisions during this health crisis with respect to balancing public health and public safety. Sheriffs in Florida and throughout our country have released non-violent, low-level offenders to protect our deputies and the jail population from an outbreak. Our commitment as an agency is to keep this community safe and enforce the law.” “Every murder, every violent crime, especially those involving a gun, is a sickening example of the worst in our community, especially at a time when our community is working relentlessly to fight against the spread of this deadly COVID-19.”
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 14, 2020 22:29:23 GMT -6
dailycaller.com/2020/04/14/cnn-john-king-world-health-organization-funding-trump-china/CNN anchor John King noted Tuesday evening that the World Health Organization dropped the ball in its early response to the coronavirus pandemic, echoing criticisms from President Donald Trump. Trump on Tuesday announced that he would be pausing the United States’ funding of the WHO, pending an investigation into its handling of the coronavirus. Trump ripped the WHO for the way it aided Chinese authorities’ coverup of the virus outbreak. King, while criticizing Trump on CNN, conceded that the president’s description of the WHO’s failures was accurate. “I’m not going to defend the WHO. CNN called the coronavirus a pandemic before the World Health Organization,” King said. (RELATED: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Won Election With China’s Help. Now He’s Running Interference For China On Coronavirus) “It was flat footed. It did overly trust China, the president is right about that,” the CNN anchor said, before proceeding to criticize the president for downplaying the virus in its early stages. The WHO has faced a mounting backlash for running interference for Chinese authorities’ cover-up of the COVID-19 outbreak. WHO officials have consistently echoed Chinese propaganda in talking about the virus. WHO scientist Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove said Monday that she suspected human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus “right from the start,” beginning on Dec. 31, 2019. But WHO officials echoed Chinese authorities and denied any suggestion of human-to-human transmission for weeks after Dec. 31. Chinese doctors, meanwhile, were reported to have known for weeks prior that the virus could be transmitted between humans
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 14, 2020 22:30:54 GMT -6
dailycaller.com/2020/04/14/hunter-biden-chinese-board-bhr-skaneateles/Hunter Biden Still Listed As Board Member Of Chinese Company He Pledged To Resign From In October, Business Records Show Hunter Biden’s pledge in October to resign from the board of a Chinese private equity firm received widespread media coverage. Former Vice President Joe Biden lauded his son’s announcement to relinquish his board position with BHR Partners as a sign of his integrity. Hunter Biden’s lawyer, George Mesires, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in November that Hunter Biden had followed through on his pledge to resign from the firm, but he not provide any evidence of his departure at the time. Chinese business records accessed Tuesday show that Hunter Biden is still listed as a member of BHR’s board of directors — six months after he pledged to relinquish the position. Hunter Biden received wall-to-wall media coverage and praise from his father, former Vice President Joe Biden, in October when he announced he would resign from the board of a Chinese private equity firm by the end of the month. But six months after Hunter Biden pledged to relinquish his position with BHR Partners, no evidence has surfaced to prove he actually followed through on his promise. Hunter Biden’s lawyer, George Mesires, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in early November that his client had resigned from BHR’s board, but he did not provide any evidence of his departure from the Chinese private equity firm at the time. Chinese business records the DCNF accessed Tuesday still name Hunter Biden as a director of BHR. He also retains a 10% equity stake in BHR through his company, Skaneateles LLC, business records for the Chinese private equity firm show. BHR manages the equivalent of $2.1 billion in assets, according to its website. Hunter Biden has served as an unpaid member of BHR’s board since its founding in 2013, and in October 2017 he obtained his equity stake in the firm with a $420,000 investment, according to Mesires. Hunter Biden had arranged for then-Vice President Joe Biden to shake hands with the CEO of BHR in December 2013, a meeting that caused some White House advisors to worry whether the younger Biden was exposing his father to criticism, The New Yorker reported. In a statement issued Oct. 13 by his lawyer, Hunter Biden pledged to resign his position on BHR’s board “on or by October 31.” The statement did not say whether Hunter Biden intended to relinquish his ownership stake in the Chinese private equity firm. Hunter Biden’s pledge received widespread media coverage in The Washington Post, The New York Times and elsewhere. Joe Biden, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, lauded his son’s announcement at the time. “The statement my son put out today, which I saw when he put it out — I was told it was going to be put out, I did not consult with him about what’s being put out — in fact represents the kind of man of integrity he is,” Joe Biden said in October. The former vice president pledged in December that none of his family members, including Hunter Biden, would engage in foreign business activities were he to become the next president. As of Tuesday, BHR’s file on China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (NECIPS) still lists Hunter Biden as being a director of BHR. Qixinbao, an independent service that provides registration information on Chinese corporations, also listed Hunter Biden as a member of the BHR board on Tuesday. Hunter Biden listed as a member of the BHR Partners board of directors on Monday, 4/13. (Qixinbao / Screenshot) Hunter Biden listed as a member of the BHR Partners board of directors on April 14, 2020. (Qixinbao / Screenshot) BHR has not responded to numerous inquiries seeking clarification on why Chinese business records continue to list Hunter Biden as a member of its board. Hunter Biden’s continued presence on BHR’s business file does not appear to be due to a processing delay in the NECIPS. The Chinese business records site shows a change for BHR was submitted as recently as March 24 to reflect the resignation of Hunter Biden’s business partner, Eric Schwerin, as the firm’s supervisor. Schwerin’s relationship with Hunter Biden dates back to at least 2008 when the pair served as lobbyists for Oldaker, Biden & Belair. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden attend an NCAA basketball game between Georgetown University and Duke University in Washington, U.S., Jan. 30, 2010. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden attend an NCAA basketball game in Washington, U.S., Jan. 30, 2010 (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) Hunter Biden’s company, Skaneateles, also retains its 10% equity stake in BHR, according to the Chinese business records. Hunter Biden is the sole listed beneficial owner of Skaneateles, Washington, D.C. business records show. (RELATED: ‘Fun Times In Beijing’: Hunter Biden Received $700,000 From Company That Held Stake In Chinese Investment Firm) Skaneateles’s listed address is also the listed address for the $3.8 million designer home in Los Angeles that Hunter Biden is reportedly renting out for $12,000 a month, according to Skaneateles’s business records in Washington, D.C. Mesires, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, did not tell the DCNF why Chinese business records still list Hunter Biden as being a member of BHR’s board and did not provide any documents relating to his pledged departure from the Chinese firm. The Biden campaign did not return a request for comment.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 14, 2020 22:38:27 GMT -6
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 1:30:50 GMT -6
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Post by kcrufnek on Apr 15, 2020 7:27:19 GMT -6
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 14:39:15 GMT -6
dailycaller.com/2020/04/15/pelosi-trump-defunding-world-health-organization-is-illegal/Pelosi Says Trump’s Decision To Cut Off Funding For WHO Is ‘Illegal’ — Vows It Will Be ‘Swiftly Challenged’ Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi criticized President Donald Trump for placing a hold on funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), saying that the decision will be overruled. “This is another case, as I have said, of the President’s ineffective response, that ‘a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility. A weak person blames others.’ This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged,” Pelosi said Wednesday in a statement. Trump officially cut off America’s funding for the WHO on Tuesday, saying the group had contributed to China’s misinformation on the coronavirus. (RELATED: President Trump Cuts Off Funding For World Health Organization Over COVID-19 Handling) Many Republicans have continued to say the WHO has been covering up the virus and caused deaths that could have been prevented. Republicans in Congress have also been continuing to push for information from the WHO. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter Thursday to the WHO, asking them to detail their relationship with China in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. Ranking Member Jim Jordan said in a statement that “The World Health Organization should be ashamed that they relied on Chinese propaganda when deciding how to combat the coronavirus crisis. President Trump is right to question the WHO’s role in global health going forward.”
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 17:02:14 GMT -6
Last week the controversial CDC Dirctor Robert Redfield told liberal reporters he would not treat coronavirus patients with the life-saving drug hydroxychloroquine. On Wednesday Dr. Redfield refused to condemn the WHO and promised to continue to work with the international group. Business Insider reported: www.businessinsider.com/cdc-says-will-keep-working-who-despite-trump-halting-funds-2020-4Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on Wednesday said his agency will continue to work with the World Health Organization (WHO) despite President Donald Trump’s plans to cut funding. Redfield told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that the CDC and WHO have a “long history of working together,” and that would continue moving forward. “I’d like to do the postmortem on this outbreak once we get through it together,” the CDC chief added.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 17:13:15 GMT -6
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) showed off her expensive kitchen appliances and massive gourmet ice cream collection during an appearance on a late night show as Americans stand in line at food banks. Pelosi slammed President Trump over his Coronavirus response on Monday’s episode of “The Late Show” with James Corden before showing off her 15 flavor ice cream collection. Pelosi, who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, held Americans hostage by delaying the first Coronavirus stimulus package. Millions of Americans are now unemployed and standing in line at food banks because Pelosi wasted time trying to ram illegal ballot harvesting, federal funding for abortion and climate change related provisions in the Coronavirus bill. Now Pelosi is shoving it in our faces by showing off her gourmet ice cream collection. Just one pint of Jeni’s gourmet ice cream costs $12.00. www.premiergourmet.com/jeni-s-brambleberry-crisp-ice-cream-853169002909.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4dr0BRCxARIsAKUNjWRKrRhE9Ck0NSqJAFc_7tezzTcCinmi8enSzVZqnK95H-sJEZ1PdjIaAtDLEALw_wcBWATCH: Thousands of families are now relying on food banks to get by. People in San Diego, San Antonio and Philadelphia (just to name a few places) were seen lining up for miles at a food bank. But Americans should be comforted knowing Pelosi’s freezer is stocked up with gourmet ice cream and gelato.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 17:14:43 GMT -6
dailycaller.com/2020/04/15/democrats-border-wall-coronavirus/Democrats Are Asking The Trump Administration To Stop Border Wall Construction Nearly 100 Democrats in Congress are urging the Trump administration to halt construction on the U.S.-Mexico border wall during the coronavirus pandemic. Ninety-one Democrats in the House and Senate signed onto a letter addressed to key members of the Trump administration, requesting that “all border wall construction halt immediately.” Not only has border construction continued amid the coronavirus outbreak, but the White House has moved to expedite its progress — to the chagrin of its critics. News of the letter was first reported by Axios. “Money should be invested in healthcare, small businesses, and fighting the spread of COVID-19, not used to build an ineffective and wasteful border wall that does not solve our immigration crisis or protect our homeland,” the lawmakers wrote. “We should be using all resources and funding to combat this virus and protect Americans.” WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) arrives to hear President Donald Trump deliver the State of the Union address in the House chamber on February 4, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump is delivering his third State of the Union address on the night before the U.S. Senate is set to vote in his impeachment trial. (Photo by Leah Millis-Pool/Getty Images) U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) arrives to hear President Donald Trump deliver the State of the Union address in the House chamber on February 4, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leah Millis-Pool/Getty Images) Sixty-six Democrats in the House and 25 Democrats in the Senate are in support of the push — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Judiciary Chair Jerrod Nadler, and several members who represent border districts. The letter was addressed to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, and Attorney General William Barr. The Trump administration, undeterred by the crisis, has continued with its most lauded campaign promise of 2016: the construction of a massive border wall between the United States and Mexico. The White House promised to construct around 400 miles of border wall before the end of 2020. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott announced April 6 that 151 miles of border wall had been completed since the dawn of the Trump administration. Scott revealed in an updated post Monday that the total amount of completed border wall has risen to 158 miles. Despite claims made by Democrats, Wolf has pointed to numerous instances where illegal immigrant crossings have gone down after the erection of a wall system. (RELATED: ‘Walls Work’: DHS Celebrates 100 Miles Of New Border Wall) Notably, on the same day that the letter was dated and released, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an environmental waiver allowing for the “expeditious construction” of roughly 15 miles of border wall in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas. Democrats — who have long opposed the concept of a border wall — are pointing to the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to pause construction. “At this juncture, the priority of the United States must be to stop the spread of COVID-19. The continuation of wall construction compromises those efforts,” the Democrats said.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 17:23:15 GMT -6
www.dailywire.com/news/democratic-group-received-100000-from-tech-firm-with-links-to-chinese-communist-governmentDemocratic Group Received $100,000 From Tech Firm With Links To Chinese Communist GovernmentProminent Democratic oppositon research and activism firm, American Bridge, received an “anonymous” donation of $100,000 worth of stock in the Chinese search engine company, Baidu, which has direct links to the Chinese Communist government, according to the Washington Free Beacon. American Bridge calls itself a “progressive research and communications committed to holding Republicans accountable for their words and actions and helping you ascertain when Republican candidates are pretending to be something they’re not,” but it operates largely as a campaign arm, providing Democratic candidates with opposition research meant to destroy Republican opponents. Its leader and founder, David Brock, is a well-known progressive activist and it has connections to everything from Democratic super PACs to the leftist media “watchdog,” Media Matters for America. Baidu “is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence,” per Wikipedia, but its influence on Chinese life goes far beyond simply providing a Google-like search engine for China’s walled-off internet. Wired reported last year that Baidu operates as a de facto internet censor for the Chinese government, blocking information critical of China’s leadership, past and present. The Free Beacon reports that “American Bridge reported the receipt of the 450 [Baidu] shares in late 2018, a gift that was disclosed in its latest tax filings…The gift was valued at $101,037, according to the organization’s Form 990. It is unclear whether the group sold the stock or opted to retain it in the hope share prices would rise.” The concern, of course, goes beyond just Baidu’s role within and relationship to the Chinese government — and, of course, beyond the mere connection to China. Essentially, as the Free Beacon notes, a firm in active opposition to the current administration is profiting from a connection to what is, at the moment, a country out of favor with the United States (to put it mildly). “The party calls, you act, or you risk disappearing,” an expert from American Enterprise Institute told the outlet. “Further, Baidu is under a greater degree of party control than the average Chinese private firm because Baidu’s business is basically dissemination of information.” “Moreover, holding Baidu stock automatically involves a bit of rooting for China,” the expert added. “Baidu is a prominent firm that attracts more interest when China is seen to be thriving. A strong American economy is generally considered good for Google. Same thing.” US officials have also warned about Americans holding Baidu stock, given that it acts as an arm of the state in China. American Bridge has grand plans to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. It raised $23 million for the upcoming presidential campaign and has already commissioned nearly $7 million of that for ads in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, the Free Beacon says. China, meanwhile, is facing virulent criticism from western nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom, for its failure to warn of the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. In cooperation with the World Health Organization, it seems, China endeavored to hide the true extent of its national pandemic, even going so far as to insist to world nations that the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, could not be transmitted between humans.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 17:29:13 GMT -6
www.breitbart.com/health/2020/04/15/michigan-residents-sue-democrat-gov-gretchen-whitmer-over-coronavirus-executive-order/Attorney David Helm is representing four Michigan residents in federal court who are suing Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her executive order, arguing that it violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. These residents are arguing that her order to make businesses shut down and ban travel to private homes and freely associate with one another violates the Constitution. “It’s taking a sledgehammer to an ant,” Helm told WJBK. “We believe it is over-broad and over-reaching. There is a way to do it appropriately without infringing on Constitutional rights like the governor has.” “We are not arguing for political dissidence or any sort of protest. What we are saying, is that people have the right to associate with their friends and family. And that is being unjustly infringed,” he added. The governor’s press secretary told WJBK that the office is not commenting on pending litigation. Whitmer doubled-down on her stay-at-home order, saying that it was the only way to contain the spread of the virus. There is a lawsuit also being filed at the state level. Whitmer has faced a lot of pushback among conservatives after her executive order passed. Grassroots conservatives started a petition on Change.org to recall Gov. Whitmer, which so far has more than 247,000 signatures, while more than 343,000 Michigan residents joined a Facebook group called “Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine.” Multiple protests against the governor are scheduled, including one where protesters plan to descend upon the state capitol in Lansing and create a traffic jam with their cars. More than 4,800 people are expected to attend that event, called “Operation Gridlock.”
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 17:33:53 GMT -6
thefederalist.com/2020/04/15/sen-chris-murphy-china-and-the-world-health-organization-did-nothing-wrong/Sen. Chris Murphy: China And The World Health Organization Did Nothing Wrong APRIL 15, 2020 By Tristan Justice Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy exonerated China of any wrongdoing over the global pandemic stemming from the novel Wuhan coronavirus on Tuesday. “The reason that we’re in the crisis that we are today is not because of anything that China did, is not because of anything the WHO [World Health Organization] did,” said Murphy during a prime-time interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. The Connecticut senator’s defense of China comes on the same day President Donald Trump announced from the White House Rose Garden that the United States would halt funding for the WHO and would review its “role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.” According to Forbes, the United States is the primary source of WHO funding with nearly $58 million given to the WHO this year. China so far, is the second highest contributor to the organization having given nearly $29 million. In 2018 and 2019, the United States contributed $893 million to the WHO whereas China gave less than $80 million, according to NPR. The World Bank and the Bill Gates Foundation contributed more to the organization than the Chinese government. “American taxpayers provided between $400 million and $500 million per year to the WHO. In contrast, China contributes roughly $40 million a year, or even less,” Trump said. The global public health institution has come under increasing fire in recent weeks as new revelations begin to unmask the extent to which China has mislead the world over the virus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Since the start of the outbreak, the communist regime has suppressed whistleblowers sounding the alarm over China’s actions and lied about every aspect of the virus, including its origin, the number of reported cases, and the nature of the disease itself. The WHO meanwhile, has remained complicit in China’s behavior, skirting questions related to Taiwan, parroting false science on how the virus spreads and applauding China’s apparent progress on the virus despite U.S. officials reporting Chinese progress to be fake. “Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China’s lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death,” Trump said, announcing his decision to cut off U.S. funding. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have also pressed the WHO for answers in its role perpetuating Chinese propaganda. “Thoughout the crisis, the WHO has shied away from placing any blame on the Chinese government, which is in essence the Communist Party of China,” House Republicans wrote in a letter to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last week. “You, as leader of the WHO, even went so far as to praise the Chinese government’s ‘transparency’ during the crisis, when, in fact, the regime has consistently lied to the world by underreporting their actual infection and death statistics.”
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 17:36:35 GMT -6
www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/04/we-never-needed-to-flatten-the-curve.phpWE NEVER NEEDED TO FLATTEN THE CURVE The purported rationale for the shutdowns that have crushed our economy and devastated the lives of tens of millions of Americans is the need to “flatten the curve.” We have all seen diagrams like this one many times: The theory behind curve-flattening is not that the virus will mysteriously disappear while we are all hunkered down, and we will emerge when it is safe to come out. That won’t happen. The point of curve-flattening is to prolong the epidemic, making it last longer than it otherwise would, as you can see in the curve-flattening diagrams. That way, more or less the same number will get sick and the same percentage will die, with one exception: our hospitals will not be overwhelmed by a crush of COVID-19 cases, and so ICU rooms and so on will be available for those who need them. That was the point of the shutdowns–to flatten the curve by stretching out the epidemic. We know now, however, that the COVID-19 virus was grossly overestimated, at least with respect to the demand its victims would place on hospitals. Weirdly, it is not easy to find a definitive figure for the number of hospitalizations to date. The Centers for Disease Control estimates, if you do the arithmetic, that as of April 4 around 41,250 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19, which seems too low. The COVID Tracking Project pegs it at 62,673 as of April 13. Does that sound like a lot of hospitalizations? As usual, the numbers need a context. During last year’s flu season, according to the CDC, 490,561 people in the U.S. were hospitalized due to the seasonal flu virus. The prior year, it was 810,000 flu hospitalizations. This explains why, as we noted here, America’s hospitals have not been overwhelmed by the number of Wuhan flu sufferers, not even in New York City. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations falls well within the natural variability in flu hospitalizations that we always see from year to year. Once again, government officials are making decisions with catastrophic effects on many millions of lives, on the basis of models that have proved to be wrong. The shutdowns should end tomorrow.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 18:11:33 GMT -6
foxrochester.com/news/coronavirus/california-to-give-cash-payments-to-illegal-immigrants-hurt-by-virusCalifornia will give cash payments to immigrants living in the country illegally, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, using a mix of taxpayer money and charitable contributions to give 150,000 adults $500 each during the coronavirus outbreak. Taxpayers are kicking in $75 million for the money, while a group of charities has committed to raise another $50 million for a total of $125 million. A group of charities has already donated $5.5 million for the fund, including the Emerson Collective, Blue Shield of California Foundation, the California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and an anonymous donor.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 19:02:30 GMT -6
Gretchen Whitmer said her tyrannical orders are okay because…it’s snowing.
“We just got snow, I’ve got snow on the ground right here Michigan, in Lansing. We’re expecting up to 30 inches in the upper peninsula,” Whitmer said. “The fact that we’re cracking down on people traveling between homes or planting or landscaping or golfing — really for a couple more weeks isn’t going to meaningfully impact people’s ability to do it because the snow will do that in and of itself.”
We missed the part of the Constitution that said “weather permitting.”
WATCH:
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 19:25:54 GMT -6
www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/15/governor-gretchen-whitmer-michigan-protesters-endangering-peoples-lives/Governor Gretchen Whitmer: Michigan Protesters ‘Endangering People’s Lives Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer lashed out at the freedom protesters who surrounded the capitol on Wednesday, telling reporters they were “endangering people’s lives.” Breitbart News reported live from the scene, which featured hundreds of people on the capitol lawn and thousands more in their cars, honking horns, blasting patriotic music, and waving American flags. Whitmer, whom Joe Biden has said is on his short list for the vice presidential nomination, denounced the protesters, who were calling on her to rescind the onerous restrictions she had placed on the state’s citizens and let them go back to work. “We know that this demonstration is going to come at a cost to people’s health,” Whitmer told reporters. “We know that when people gather that way without masks, they were within close proximity, they were touching one another, that that’s how COVID-19 spreads,” she said. She went on to blame the protesters for further restrictions she may impose in the future. “So the sad irony here is that the protest is that they don’t like being in this stay home order,” she said, “and they may have just created the need to lengthen it.” She said she wouldn’t predict that “a certain percentage” of protesters would fall ill, “but I know that, just by congregating, they’ve made that a real possibility, that they’ve endangered other people’s lives.” Breitbart News observed many protesters wearing masks and maintaining social distances, but witnessed no handshakes or other forms of physical contact. A spokeswoman for the Michigan Conservative Coalition said she was overwhelmed by the response. Breitbart News learned a formal recall effort is in the works.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 19:27:06 GMT -6
www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/15/four-michigan-sheriffs-we-will-not-enforce-governor-gretchen-whitmers-edicts/Four Michigan county sheriffs said in a letter on Wednesday that they will not strictly enforce Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) aggressive stay-at-home orders, emphasizing their oath to “uphold and defend the Michigan Constitution, as well as the U.S. Constitution, and to ensure that your God-given rights are not violated.” Sheriffs of Michigan’s 101st House District, covering the counties of Manistee, Benzie, Leelanau, and Mason, spoke out against Whitmer’s stringent orders, forbidding residents’ “nonessential” visits to neighbors, friends, or relatives. The order also restricts retailers from selling items deemed “nonessential.” Those include gardening items, furniture, child car seats, and certain home improvement goods. While the Michigan sheriffs stated that they understand Whitmer’s desire to protect the public, they “question some restrictions that she has imposed as overstepping her executive authority.” “She has created a vague framework of emergency laws that only confuse Michigan citizens,” they wrote, noting that they will not have “strict enforcement of these orders.” Rather, they will “deal with every case as an individual situation and apply common sense in assessing the apparent violation.” “Each of us took an oath to uphold and defend the Michigan Constitution, as well as the US Constitution, and to ensure that your God given rights are not violated,” the sheriffs wrote. “We believe that we are the last line of defense in protecting your civil liberties.” They also emphasized the need to focus on the reopening of their counties and getting people back to work while continuing to practice common safety suggestions, like social distancing. “We also need to be aware that this virus is deadly and that we need to continue to practice social distancing, washing of hands, wearing of masks as well as other medically recommended measures,” they wrote. “Allowing those without paychecks back to work is imperative to the economic success and well-being of our community. We can do this in stages, especially those that work outside,” they continued. The letter, signed by Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole, Manistee County Sheriff Ken Falk, Benzie County Sheriff Ted Schendel, and Leelanau County Sheriff Mike Borkovich, concluded: Together, as a community, we will overcome this pandemic, and as Americans, we will persevere and come out even stronger than before. As sheriffs of your community we want you to know we have your back and will continue to serve the people who have entrusted us with your protection. Mason County Sheriff, Benzie County Sheriff, Manistee County Sheriff, and Leelanau County Sheriff say they will next strictly enforce @govwhitmer's Executive Orders pic.twitter.com/CewjVToFDD — Nick Ponton (@nick_ponton) April 15, 2020 Mason County Sheriff, Benzie County Sheriff, Manistee County Sheriff, and Leelanau County Sheriff say they will next strictly enforce @govwhitmer's Executive Orders pic.twitter.com/CewjVToFDD — Nick Ponton (@nick_ponton) April 15, 2020 The letter coincides with Wednesday’s mass protest in Lansing, Michigan, that drew frustrated residents who oppose Whitmer’s aggressive actions. In turn, Whitmer said she was “disappointed” by the demonstration in the state’s capital and suggested that protesters “endangered other people’s lives.”
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 20:08:13 GMT -6
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi deleted a video of herself walking around in Chinatown on February 24 downplaying the Coronavirus.
Pelosi walked around Chinatown in San Francisco on February 24 after Coronavirus cases had already been confirmed in the US, prompting Trump to restrict flights from China.
President Trump blasted Pelosi for walking around Chinatown encouraging people to shop and eat there a month after he restricted incoming flights from China.
Pelosi freaked and deleted the video of her saying, “We do want to say to people, come to Chinatown. Here we are…and come join us,” Pelosi said. Fears of the Coronavirus are “unwarranted in light of the precautions that are being taken here in the United States.”
But the internet is forever.
WATCH:
Trump’s campaign blasted “Nervous Nancy” – She doesn’t want Americans to see what she said then!
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 20:41:39 GMT -6
dailycaller.com/2020/04/15/phil-murphy-bill-of-rights-new-jersey-social-distancing-religious-gatherings/‘I Wasn’t Thinking Of The Bill Of Rights’: New Jersey Gov Responds To Tucker’s Question About Social Distancing OrderDemocratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he “wasn’t thinking of the Bill of Rights” when he imposed social distancing orders in his state that included a ban on religious gatherings. During a wide-ranging interview on Wednesday night’s edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson asked Murphy about New Jersey synagogue congregants who were “arrested and charged for being in a synagogue together.”
“Now, the Bill of Rights, as you well know, protects Americans’ right, enshrines their right to practice their religion as they see fit and to congregate together, to assemble peacefully,” Carlson said. “By what authority did you nullify the Bill of Rights in issuing this order? How do you have the power to do that?”
“That’s above my pay grade, Tucker,” Murphy responded. “I wasn’t thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this. We went to all — first of all, we looked at the data and the science …”
“I can tell,” Carlson said.
After Murphy made a point about science showing that social distancing works, Carlson brought things back to his original question: “How do you have the authority to order something that is so clearly contravenes the Bill of Rights of the United States, the U.S. Constitution. Where do you get the authority to do that?”
“Well, here is the thing,” Murphy responded. “We know we need to stay away from each other, number one. Number two, we do have broad authority within the state. And number three, we would never do that without coordinating, discussing, and hashing it out with the leaders, the variety of the leaders of the faiths in New Jersey.”
“No, I’m sure you talk to every rabbi and priest, but there is a deeper question here,” the Fox News host said. “I’m just going to ask you one last time because it’s important. I’m sure you’ve thought about this. You can’t just as the governor of a state, tell people who they can talk to when and where because the Constitution of the United States, upon which all of this is based, prohibits you from doing that. So you clearly decided that you could do it. Did you consult an attorney about this, because this is a legal question as well as a medical one, isn’t it?”
Answering in the affirmative, Murphy related a conversation he had with a New Jersey Catholic cardinal who agreed with his position. (RELATED: ‘No Penalty For Petty Authoritarianism’: Tucker Carlson Blasts ‘Mediocre Politician’ Gretchen Whitmer’s ‘Power’ Grabs)
“We have to find a different way to worship. I think that’s the point,” said the New Jersey governor.
“Government’s not allowed to tell people how to worship,” said Carlson.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 20:43:02 GMT -6
www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/15/chamber-of-commerce-slams-trump-for-stopping-u-s-taxpayer-funding-of-world-health-organization/The United States Chamber of Commerce is siding with the World Health Organization (WHO), slamming President Trump’s decision to halt American taxpayer-funding of the global bureaucratic group due to their pro-China stances in the midst of the Chinese coronavirus crisis. On Tuesday, Trump announced that he would be halting all American taxpayer funding of WHO for helping China mismanage and cover up the spread of the coronavirus in late January and early February. Since 2010, American taxpayers have gifted WHO with $3.5 billion in funds to operate as a largely unaccountable global body. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Myron Brilliant sided with WHO bureaucrats in a statement, citing that WHO needs American taxpayer money to fight the coronavirus in developing foreign countries: The Chamber supports a reformed but functional World Health Organization, and U.S. leadership and involvement are essential to ensuring its transparency and accountability going forward. However, cutting the WHO’s funding during the COVID-19 pandemic is not in U.S. interests given the organization’s critical role assisting other countries — particularly in the developing world — in their response. [Emphasis added] The Chamber of Commerce has been a longtime opponent of Trump’s seeking to hold China accountable on trade, continuing their support for free trade at all costs. Throughout 2018 and 2019, Chamber of Commerce executives campaigned against the administration’s popular tariffs on Chinese imports. Most prominently, the Chamber of Commerce was influential — along with GOP establishment lawmakers — in helping to tank a plan that would have allowed Trump to readily impose reciprocal tariffs on foreign countries to level the trade playing field. The plan, specifically, was geared towards stopping China’s economic rise.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 20:44:22 GMT -6
www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/15/jimmy-carter-distressed-over-trump-halting-who-funding/Former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday that he is “distressed” over President Donald Trump’s decision to halt U.S. funding for the World Health Organization, arguing that the United Nations-backed group is the only international organization “capable” of helping combat the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. “I am distressed by the decision to withhold critically needed U.S. funding for the World Health Organization, especially during an international pandemic,” Carter said in a statement. “WHO is the only international organization capable of leading the effort to control the virus.” On Tuesday, President Trump announced he had halted funding for the W.H.O. as part of his administration’s plan to review the organization’s response to the pandemic. President Trump accused W.H.O. of “mismanaging and covering up the spread” of the coronavirus in his Rose Garden speech and vowed to hold the group accountable. “As the organization’s leading sponsor, the United States has a duty to insist on full accountability,” President Trump stated. “America and the world have chosen to rely on the W.H.O. for accurate, timely and independent information to make important public health recommendations and decisions,” the president added. “If we cannot trust that this is what we will receive from the WHO, our country will be forced to find other ways to work with other nations to achieve public health goals.” “We spend $500 million a year,” he added, noting that China only contributes up to $40 million annually. As Breitbart News reported: “The W.H.O. claimed in January that ‘preliminary investigations’ by China found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus in Wuhan. Further, the organization called on countries to keep borders open despite labeling the massive outbreak a global emergency.” Addressing President Trump’s decision Wednesday, W.H.O Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization regrets the move and said the body will partner with others to fill gaps in funding to “ensure our work continues uninterrupted.” “Our commitment to public health, science, and to serving all the people of the world without fear or favor remains absolute,” he added. “No doubt areas for improvement will be identified, and there will be lessons for all of us to learn. But for now, our focus…is on stoping this virus and saving lives.” Shortly after Adhanom’s remarks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) pledged to challenge President Trump’s freeze on W.H.O.’s funding, calling the halt “dangerous,” and “illegal.” “This is another case, as I have said, of the president’s ineffective response, that ‘a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility. A weak person blames others,’” said the speaker. “This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged.” “We can only be successful in defeating this global pandemic through a coordinated international response with respect for science and data,” the lawmaker added. “But sadly, as he has since Day One, the president is ignoring global health experts, disregarding science, and undermining the heroes fighting on the frontline, at great risk to the lives and livelihoods of Americans and people around the world.”
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 23:33:10 GMT -6
It’s amazing how much the left has revealed itself during this crisis. Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC recently wondered aloud on the air if Joe Biden should set up a shadow government to hold TV pressers like Trump is doing with the real government. How do you think she would have reacted if someone suggested this about a Republican candidate when Obama was president? The Washington Times reports: www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/apr/15/joe-biden-should-consider-shadow-government-to-com/Biden should consider ‘shadow government’ to combat Trump, MSNBC’s Ruhle says
MSNBC‘S Stephanie Ruhle said Wednesday that Joseph R. Biden may want to consider forming a “shadow government” if he wants to defeat President Trump’s reelection bid.
The “MSNBC Live” anchor told former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina that Mr. Biden needs to think “bigger” when it comes to “counter-programming” the Trump administration’s ability to speak directly to the American people via coronavirus press briefings.
Mr. Messina suggested getting former President Obama and high-profile Democrats should paint a stark “contrast” between the two men moments before Ms. Ruhle mulled various “shadow” options — including a “shadow SWAT team.”
“Do they need to do it in a bigger way?” Ms. Ruhle asked Wednesday. “What did you just call it? The president’s daily clown show? That’s his press briefing. Should Joe Biden be counter-programming that? Should he be creating his own shadow government, shadow cabinet, shadow SWAT team and getting up there at a podium every night saying, ‘here’s the crisis we’re in, here’s what we need to do to address this’?”
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 23:36:13 GMT -6
www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-senator-murphy-were-not-in-crisis-because-of-anything-that-china-didDemocrat Senator Murphy: We’re Not In Crisis ‘Because Of Anything That China Did’ Democratic Senator Chris Murphy (CT) told CNN’s Anderson Cooper this week that the United States was not in crisis “because of anything that China did.” “We knew it was a matter of time before it arrived here, and it was shocking how cavalier the administration was. This was at a time when the president really, you know, viewed this as a hoax,” Murphy falsely claimed. “He said so on TV, and the reason that we’re in the crisis that we are today is not because of anything that China did.” Murphy’s remarks are categorically false. China repeatedly lied about the outbreak, tried to cover it up, and delayed alerting the world to the danger of the coronavirus. WATCH: FULL SEGMENT: TRANSCRIPT: CNN HOST ANDERSON COOPER: Joining us now to talk about missed opportunities, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, of Connecticut. Senator Murphy, I want to read you a tweet that you tweeted out February 5th about the White House’s response at that time. You said, “Just left the Administration briefing on Coronavirus. Bottom-line, they aren’t taking this seriously enough. Notably, no request for any emergency funding which is a big mistake. Local health systems need supplies, training, screening, staff et cetera. And they need it now.” What did you see in the medium, what was the problem? SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Well, that was an extraordinary montage that you just played and that attitude was reflected in the meeting, inside that meeting in early February, where the President’s top Coronavirus experts. It was led by then-Chief of Staff Mulvaney and Secretary of HHS Alex Azar and they were just incredibly confident that they had beaten Coronavirus. At that time, they were only a few cases here, they were reflecting what the President said in those clips because they thought that the travel bans have kept it out of the United States. We told them that they needed money and they needed money fast in order to buy supplies, in order to hire more staff and they told us that they didn’t need any funding, that they had everything that they needed. And I walked out of that closed-door briefing just with chills running down my spine because many of us on both sides of the aisle knew what this virus had done in China. We knew it was a matter of time before it arrived here and it was shocking how cavalier the Administration was. This was at a time when the President really, you know, viewed this as a hoax. He said so on TV and the reason that we’re in the crisis that we are today, is not because of anything that China did. It’s not because of anything that the WHO did. It’s because of what this president did. He didn’t take this virus seriously. We weren’t going to be able to keep every case out of United States, but we didn’t need tens of thousands this of people dying. COOPER: It’s clear that the WHO has said very positive things about China and kind of downplayed, you know, their lack of transparency. Even the Chinese death tolls, you know, right now just seems ludicrously low, the official death toll in China. I’m wondering what you make of the president now focusing on WHO, though he previously had praised them for — China for transparency and the WHO’s work. MURPHY: Well, pulling money out of the WHO has nothing to do with keeping America safe. It’s all about the president’s attempt to try to find scapegoats. Let’s be clear. Early on in this crisis, there was no bigger cheerleader for China and their response to coronavirus than president Donald J. Trump. It was President Trump who on 12 different occasions praised President Xi’s efforts to control coronavirus, specifically praised China’s transparency, which we now know was a complete joke. And so the president is engaging in, you know, sort of middle school grade deflection trying to blame the WHO for something that he was responsible for. And the fact of the matter is, while the WHO is imperfect, in the early days of the virus, they invested in testing. They created by the end of February 1.4 million tests in collaboration with a German manufacturer. And so had we been working with the WHO early on, we might be in a very different position here, being able to test twice as many, three times as many people as we have. We’ll be weaker as a nation if we pull out of the WHO because there’s no way to stand up an effective anti-pandemic program without them. This is just about the president’s attempts to try to blame others for problems that he created. COOPER: Yeah. I know earlier you had said that there’s very coordinated effort amongst the White House and their allies to try to find scapegoats for the fatal mistakes that the president made in the early stage of the virus. You believe that the president made mistakes that ended up costing lives? MURPHY: Absolutely. Absolutely. The fact that we didn’t start buying up medical supplies, masks, gowns, face shields early on, when we were begging for that funding in early February. The fact that the president didn’t put in place an effective plan to develop new tests. The fact that he didn’t work with governors and mayors to push social distancing measures earlier has cost lives. Listen, let’s be honest. There is effectively no response to coronavirus from the administration. All the president does is hold press conferences. Everything that has been done to effectively control this virus has been done by governors. My governor has had to find almost every single face shield and every mask that has been dispensed to hospital. It’s been my governor that has had to decide when to close schools and businesses. It’s my governor who is organizing a process of identify, trace and quarantine. The president talks in these press conferences, but all of the response has been left to governors. And so if the president had had a more effective national plan from the beginning, we would be in a very different position than we are today. COOPER: Do you watch the coronavirus briefings? Because I’ve just been struck how they have now devolved to it the president essentially hijacking them to, you know, talk as long as he wants, an hour, more than an hour sometimes before any scientists really – you know, we get an update from the scientists about what’s actually going on. MURPHY: Yeah. I mean, my sense right now is that the president does the press conferences and other people are trying to manage the virus. We did a call last week with the vice president and a team of experts, and, you know, there were really good people on that call, but it’s hard when the president is this disengaged, when he is so focused on trying to save himself politically and not terribly interested in learning the details of how you fight a vicious virus like this. I tune into, you know, bits and pieces of these press conferences because a lot of my constituents are watching them and I want to be kept up to date, but they are just for show. They are just to keep the president occupied on a daily basis. It’s others in the administration that’s doing the work, but they don’t really have clear guidance from the commander in chief. COOPER: Senator Chris Murphy, I appreciate your time. Thank you. MURPHY: Thanks.
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 15, 2020 23:37:23 GMT -6
www.dailywire.com/news/this-did-not-have-to-happen-mcconnell-mccarthy-blast-democrats-for-blocking-funds-for-small-businesses‘This Did Not Have To Happen’: McConnell, McCarthy Blast Democrats For Blocking Funds For Small Businesses Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) slammed Democrats and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in a statement on Wednesday for refusing to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program of the CARES Act, which will result in harm to Americans. “The Small Business Administration and the Department of the Treasury report that the Paycheck Protection Program will exhaust its funding in a matter of hours,” the two said in a statement. “It will have to stop accepting applications for job-saving loans. Democrats have spent days blocking emergency funding for Americans’ paychecks and now the bipartisan program has run dry.” The Wall Street Journal reported: The Paycheck Protection Program was on track to exhaust most of its initial allocation of $350 billion in the early morning hours Thursday, with the Small Business Administration saying it had approved more than 1.5 million loans valued at more than $324 billion as of late Wednesday and loans were continuing to be processed. … Both Democrats and Republicans want to add $250 billion to the small-business aid program, but have been sparring for days over whether to add restrictions to the funds. Democrats want to expand access to the loans as well as include more money for hospitals, food assistance and state and local governments. Republicans, meanwhile, said they want to keep the bill focused on increasing small-business aid and defer other funding debates until the next, broader legislation is crafted. “This did not have to happen. Republicans have been sounding the alarm for more than a week,” the statement continued. “Last Thursday, Senate Republicans tried to pass a narrow and clean bill that would have simply put more money into this critical program without changing any of the underlying policies that passed the Senate and the House unanimously. Democrats blocked it. Even as the program is saving millions of American jobs, Speaker Pelosi has said she sees ‘no data as to why we need’ to keep funding it.” The news comes as large swaths of the American economy has been effectively closed for last few weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China. The U.S., which has led the world in widespread testing, has nearly 630,000 confirmed cases and over 25,000 reported deaths from the virus. The hardest hit states in the U.S. are New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, and California. The New York City area has been by far the hardest hit area in the country, accounting for nearly 1/3 of all the coronavirus cases in the U.S. and accounting for nearly half the deaths in the U.S. “It has been stunning to watch our Democratic colleagues treat emergency funding for Americans’ paychecks like a Republican priority which they need to be goaded into supporting,” the statement continued. “Funding a bipartisan program should not be a partisan issue. The notion that crucial help for working people is not appealing enough to Democrats without other additions sends a strange message about their priorities.” The statement concluded, “The cost of continued Democratic obstruction will be pink slips and shuttered businesses. We hope Democrats see reason soon and finally heed Republicans’ repeated calls for a funding bill that can quickly earn unanimous consent from all 100 senators and become law.”
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Post by soonernvolved on Apr 16, 2020 0:50:32 GMT -6
www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/15/cnn-report-criticized-for-repeating-chinese-propaganda-on-coronavirus/CNN Report Criticized for Repeating Chinese Propaganda on Coronavirus A CNN report received widespread criticism after it repeated Chinese propaganda and cited a Chinese state media outlet as its source. The CNN report’s lead paragraph originally said on Tuesday: A Chinese naval flotilla headed into the Pacific over the weekend, evidence that the People’s Liberation Army Navy has done a much better job controlling coronavirus than the US Navy, according to a story posted on the PLA’s English-language website. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) tweeted: “Is @cnn actually publishing this #China Communist Party propaganda as news?” One Asia expert, Isaac Stone Fish, tweeted : “I’m horrified that CNN published this. Its literally a Chinese propaganda story.” Guy Benson, political editor of Townhall, asked: “How does this seriously get published as news?” The Trump campaign’s account asked: “Does CNN stand for China News Network?” The CNN report changed its lead paragraph to: The coronavirus outbreak, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year, has spread to more than 180 countries and sickened close to 2 million people, including more than 80,000 in China. Yet according to the Chinese government, not a single serving member of the country’s military has been infected. The update was accompanied with an Editor’s Note that read: “This story has been updated to include Pentagon reaction and recent developments in the Western Pacific.” Chinese state media outlets have highlighted claims from “experts” that the deployment of the Chinese carrier Liaoning and an accompanying strike group shows that it is more capable than the U.S. Navy, which has sidelined a carrier due to a coronavirus outbreak. The report comes after the U.S. Navy sidelined the USS Theodore Roosevelt after an outbreak of coronavirus, and China sent a carrier strike group through the Miyako and Taiwan Straits. Pentagon officials have not addressed the Chinese claims that its Navy is better at handling the coronavirus, but have said they are aware of China’s efforts to spread disinformation, such as that U.S. soldiers brought the coronavirus to China. “We were very clear that this was unhelpful, this is moving the coronavirus issue out of an area of cooperation between the two militaries and into an area of confrontation,” said Chad Sbragia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China in a recent call with reporters.
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