News of the Week for Mar. 1^st, 2020

• Election 2020
• Gun Rights
• Hide the Decline
• Obamacare
• War & Terror
• National News
• Economy & Taxes
• International News
• Opinion

 

Election 2020

 

Bernie Sanders, 60 Minutes style
Those of us of a certain age recognize Bernie Sanders as a throwback to a type with which we became painfully familiar. He is an old-fashioned Communist or Communist fellow traveler or Communist dupe. It was hard to tell them apart, but they had this in common, among other things: in the Cold War, they fought on the other side.

‘Bernie Sanders is your enemy’: Venezuala socialism victims sound the alarm
As Sanders surges in the polls and is now the clear Democratic frontrunner, many on the left are sounding the alarm.

Sweden’s Social Democrats Find Bernie Sanders Too Far Left
“It was a mixture of very young people and old Marxists, who think they were right all along. There were no ordinary people there, simply.:

Bernie’s Problem Isn’t His Three Houses, It’s His Two Standards
MBD is partially right; Sanders’ behavior is more accurately “wealth for me, but not for thee.”

Nicaragua’s murderous socialist dictator endorses Bernie Sanders
Socialist Bernie Sanders has gained a new endorsement for his presidential run. His old friend Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s murderous socialist dictator who Bernie has enthusiastically supported and advised, has officially expressed his support for a Sanders presidency.

What If the Establishment Democrats Played Hardball?
After Nevada, Bernie Sanders appears likely become the Democratic nominee, and that those who see him as an extraordinarily risky nominee will not be able to unite behind an alternative. The Establishment Democrats appear set to suffer a defeat on par with the GOP Establishment’s inability to derail Donald Trump in the 2016 primary.

Bernie Sanders Is a Moral Monster
Bernie Sanders complains that some criticism of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is “unfair.” The Castro government lined up political dissidents and shot them. It tortured them. It weaponized the medical profession to torture and deform its critics. Its campaign of murder was extraordinary, its systematic suppression complete. Senator Sanders is utterly dedicated to the role of useful idiot, an unquestioning conveyer of Castro propaganda.

Private Bloomberg Poll Shows a Sanders Nomination Would be a Kiss of Death for Vulnerable House Dems
A poll paid for by Michael Bloomberg is making the rounds on Capitol Hill — much to the delight of Republicans and chagrin of Democrats.

Cuban Americans Share Some Personal Knowledge Of Castro’s Cuba With Bernie Sanders
Since Bernie Sanders decided to look at the bright side of the Cuban revolution a few Cuban Americans have come forward to offer their personal perspectives as people who actually lived under Castro’s regime. Shockingly, their memories of Cuban communism are not, primarily, positive tales of expanded literacy. Miami Herald columnist Fabiola Santiago described her family’s experience after Castro took over

Florida Democrats sue to keep Bernie off ballot
Two Florida Democrats have filed a lawsuit to keep Sen. Bernie Sanders off the state’s presidential-primary ballot because he’s not a member of the party.

To Beat Trump, Democrats May Need to Break Out of the “Whole Foods” Bubble
Election results in places near Whole Foods, Lululemon, Urban Outfitters and Apple

The Village People to Fans Enraged at Trump Using Their Music: ‘Everyone is Entitled to Do the YMCA Dance’
Every now and then we see a “Musician Condemns Republican for Using Music at Rally” story. It’s the same thing every time: Some GOP politician will use a popular song to entertain a crowd, legally and above board, and the musician who originally performed the song will panic that anybody might think they like the Republicans. The musician blasts out an angry tweet and/or press release, all the “news” outlets cover it without noting that the Republican used the song legally, and the musician signals his or her virtue to avoid getting #cancelled. Almost always, the musician hasn’t had a hit in years and should be glad for the publicity. It’s all very boring by this point.

Democratic Socialism In Bernie’s Own Words
Part III in a series asking just what Bernie the Red means when he says he wants to bring “Democratic Socialism” to America? In this part, Bernie the Red tells us what he wants us in his own words.

Marquette Poll of Wisconsin: Trump 46 Percent, Sanders 48 Percent
Last week, a poll conducted by Quinnipiac showed President Trump opening up a lead in the potentially decisive 2020 battleground state of Wisconsin: Trump led Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders by 7 points each in their respective head-to-head matchups. But a new poll released today by Marquette Law School shows Trump trailing Sanders by two points (46 percent to 48 percent) and tied with Biden (46 percent to 46 percent).

So You Want to Be Like Denmark?
Democratic party presidential hopefuls, such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, argue that they can create an American welfare state without raising taxes on the middle class. Bernie, in fact, likes to point to Denmark as his model, even though the country runs on a market economy.

Hoo Boy: NRSC Ad Blasts Doug Collins As … Anti-Trump?
I’m not a fan of his but this needs to be called out. Mannnnnnnnnn, is it cynical. It’s like attacking Matt Gaetz for being “anti-Trump,” except that that argument might actually be more persuasive than the one here.

Bernie’s Wealthy Bros
At Front Page, Daniel Greenfield analyzes the source, by zip code, of donations to the Bernie Sanders campaign

Joe Biden Sweeps South Carolina In His First 2020 Primary Win
Following his notable underperformances in the early primary and caucus states, Joe Biden swept the South Carolina Democratic primary Saturday. With 100 percent of the votes counted, the former vice president finished in first place with 48.4 percent of the vote, a comfortable lead over the rest of the field and a much-needed win leading up to Super Tuesday, when 14 states and one territory will cast their primary votes.

Billionaire Tom Steyer Drops Out Of Presidential Race
Tom Steyer announced he is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race Saturday night after South Carolina primary results indicated the billionaire would be leaving the state with zero delegates.

Pete Buttigieg dropping out of presidential race
Trump: “Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go to Sleepy Joe Biden. Great timing. This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play – NO NOMINATION, AGAIN!”

Warren Goes #StopBernie – Lashes Out After SC, Vows Convention Fight
Bernie supporters turn fury on Warren in response, call her fraud, backstabber, snake

Why Biden’s South Carolina Victory Increases the Odds of a Brokered Convention
If you thought that Biden’s stunning victory in South Carolina on Saturday has thrust him into frontrunner status again, and will propel him to the nomination, you were wrong.

Biden Campaign Attempts “Center Lane” Vote Consolidation After SC
Former Vice President Joe Biden campaign is attempting to consolidate the so-called “center lane” vote following his win in South Carolina.

The Time-Warp Socialist
Bernie Sanderss vision has been refuted by reality—and history.

 

Gun Rights

 

11-year-old girl brings AR-15 to Idaho hearing on gun legislation
An 11-year-old girl toting a loaded AR-15 assault weapon appeared Monday at a legislative hearing with her grandfather, who is supporting a proposal that would allow visitors to Idaho who can legally possess firearms to carry a concealed handgun within city limits.

Pete Buttigieg Brings 9-Year-Old Boy on Stage to Announce He’s Gay
In what must be one of the most troubling political rallies hosted by Mayor Pete up to this point, the former South Bend mayor turned Democrat presidential candidate invited a 9-year-old boy to come on stage to announce to the entire world that he’s gay.

 

Hide the Decline

Environment &
“Green Energy”

 

Climate My Ass: The Green War on Freedom
Writer and columnist James Delingpole and director Martin Durkin are teaming up to make a new documentary, Climate My Ass: The Green War on Freedom, and they’re currently in the fundraising stage. Per the film’s Indiegogo site: “The climate bandwagon has rolled on quite long enough. The ‘scientists’ and ‘science’ behind this nonsense have been exposed time and time again, but like some zombie ‘global warming’ refuses to lie down and die. What keeps it going is the political-bureaucratic, publicly funded monster, called the ‘Climate Consensus’. This is the monster which we aim to slay once and for all.” Donations to help produce Climate My Ass may be made here.

Canadian Protesters Set Fires On Tracks To Extend Rail Blockade
Last Friday, Prime Minister Trudeau abruptly reversed himself and demanded that the blockades of rail lines, which have sprung up in various places this month, be cleared. Monday, police in Ontario cleared out one of the larger protest camps, arresting 10 people and clearing the way for trains to resume service. But the protesters weren’t done. Later that night they began throwing burning tires onto the tracks

 

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

 

Chinese Military Turns to U.S. University to Conduct Covert Research
Case of Chinese researcher at Boston University renews fears Beijing is targeting American academia

Training Doctors How to Assist Suicides
In California, a death doctor named Lonnie Shavelson is trying to start an assisted suicide specialty.

How Congress Can (And Can’t) Lower Drug Prices
President Trump’s February 4 State of the Union address to Congress provided more hope than ever before that the American people will finally get relief from high prescription drug prices. The president promised to sign any bill advancing this mission that arrives on his desk. Given that both Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader McConnell have pledged to take on the high cost of drugs, Trump’s bill-signing promise is an encouraging sign change could come soon.

Cuban infant mortality and longevity: health care or repression?
Cuban healthcare statistics are flawed. The health achievements are in part the result of repressive methods. The health achievements are in part the result of policies that are unrelated to health care provision.

 

War & Terror

 

China’s Relationship to Its History Is the Key to Understanding Its Behavior Today
The collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the decades of pain and humiliation that followed for the Middle Kingdom continue to shape Xi Jinping’s governance.

The possibilities of a US-Indo alliance are YUGE
It is in Trump and Modi’s shared interest to break some China

Chinese Destroyer Lases U.S. Navy P-8A Plane Operating Near Guam
A Chinese destroyer lased a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft that was operating over international waters about 380 miles west of Guam, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

Go Time: US Signs Peace Treaty With The Taliban
So it looks like we’re actually going to do this thing… maybe. After months of negotiations that proceeded in fits and starts, we’ve signed a peace deal with the Taliban aimed at getting us out of that country sometime next year. But there are some caveats included in the agreement that could see the whole thing blow up in our faces before we ever make it out.

Chinese Military Turns to U.S. University to Conduct Covert Research
Case of Chinese researcher at Boston University renews fears Beijing is targeting American academia

 

National

 

Transgender Kids? Father Shows Son Identifying as an “Egg Omelette”
Ex-NBA star claimed son told him he was transgender aged 3.

Hypocrite: AOC Says Charter Schools for Mine But Not for Thine
New York City’s Democratic Socialist Party wants to eliminate charter schools, but that didn’t stop party member Congresscritter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from boasting about getting her goddaughter into one. The New York Post’s Jon Levine uncovered a 2017 Facebook video of the then-larval congresswoman boasting, “My goddaughter, I got her into a charter school like maybe a block or two down,” while walking along Hunts Point Avenue in the Bronx.

Harvey Weinstein Guilty In Rape Trial; Appeal Assured
Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape and criminal sexual acts, bringing his seven-week New York trial with a conviction in the central criminal case of the #MeToo movement.

Judge Wishes She Could Rule Elephant a “Person”
Having failed to have a court declare chimpanzees to be persons entitled to habeas corpus protection, the Nonhuman Rights Project next tried the same thing with an elephant named Happy, that — not who — is held in her own pen at the Bronx Zoo due to behavioral conflicts with other elephants.

Lesbian Activist: I’m Coming Out — Of The “Insane Progressive Left”
Meet Arielle Scarcella, a blue-checked Twitter and YouTube activist for lesbian issues, which normally would put her square in the middle of the modern progressive Left. Or at least that might have been true a few years ago, but Scarcella declared this weekend that she’s had enough of the insanity on her side of the political spectrum. “The LGBT community has become a safe haven for the mentally unstable,” Scarcella declares in a short manifesto that fair-use excerpts quite can’t capture

Supreme Court Strikes Down Orwellian Government Attempt to Redefine the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a horrifying Orwellian court ruling that told the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico that it could not define itself as an organization. Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court had ruled that individual Catholic churches and schools do not exist as independent legal entities, holding them jointly liable for claims against the “Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church in Puerto Rico.”

Unconstitutional pro-union gag law challenged
California law prohibits public officials from making statements that might “deter or discourage” public employees or applicants from membership in a public employee union. The law was passed in 2017 in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s ruling that compulsory public employee union dues are unconstitutional.

Cambridge-based Moderna sends possible coronavirus vaccine for testing
Vaccine mRNA-1273 sample shipped to National Institutes of Health

Key California reservoir to be drained due to earthquake risk
In a dramatic decision that could significantly impact Silicon Valley’s water supply, federal dam regulators have ordered Anderson Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Santa Clara County, to be completely drained starting Oct. 1.

Sasse Debunks Democratic and Media Lies about His Born-Alive Bill
On the Senate floor this afternoon, Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) set the record straight about his legislation, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which the Senate will vote on later today.

“Gender neutral” plan for toys would get rid of boys’ and girls’ aisles in California stores
California department stores that sell children’s products such as toys and clothes would be prohibited from segregating them by gender, under a bill now being considered by lawmakers.

Idaho students demand Starbucks offer ‘free’ vegan milk that ‘doesn’t support animal abuse’
Students from the University of Idaho staged a sit-in at a local Starbucks over the coffee chain’s upcharge for vegan milk.

California health officials confirm 33 cases of novel coronavirus
California health officials confirmed that 33 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, adding the risk to the public remains low.

Federal Government Can’t Fix Public Schools, Betsy DeVos Says
“I want to tell everyone today you are either for children or against children when it comes to educational freedom and choice in education.”

Mike Pompeo Mocks Predecessor John Kerry About Being Secretary of State, “I’m Not in It for the Fancy Dinners”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to the attendees of CPAC Friday afternoon. He reported that he had just come from the Oval Office with President Trump.

UCLA BANS all single-use plastics
UCLA has announced a policy development that would completely ban single-use plastics, and replace them with compostables and other alternatives.

Following College Fix report, Wyoming legislature bans abortion coverage in university health plan
“Our state should not be subsidizing abortion”

Renowned Mathematician And Physicist Freeman Dyson Has Died At Age 96
Freeman Dyson, renowned scientist and scholar, has died at 96, according to his daughter Mia.

Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Rails-to-trails, unfair competition, and nonactionable puffery.

Mandatory Gender-Neutral Toy and Children’s Clothing Sections Proposed in New Bill
AB 2826 would force large stores with 500 or more employees to separate sections based on gender

 

Economy & Taxes

 

California Considers Basic Guaranteed Income For All Bill
Here they go again. California lawmakers are preparing to consider a new bill that would provide a monthly cash payment to the vast majority of people over the age of 18, regardless of their wealth, employment status or anything else. This “universal basic income” concept is very popular among the socialists, but it’s been problematic in the few places where it’s been attempted on smaller scales. Now some people want to apply it to almost all of the nearly 40 million people in our nation’s most populous state. What could possibly go wrong?

(What’s Left of) Our Economy: What Washington Doesn’t Know About U.S. China Drug Dependence Can Literally Kill Us
It’s bad enough, as widely reported, that as the coronavirus has begun spreading rapidly beyond China, the United States finds itself reliant on the People’s Republic for a wide variety of medicines and, just as important, for the chemical building blocks of those medicines. It’s at least as bad, and much less widely reported, that the U.S. government still doesn’t know the exact extent of this dependence, and still uses an inspection system for checking the safety of these Chinese inputs that looks as leaky as the proverbial sieve.

 

International

 

Venezuela’s Socialists Embrace Business, Making Partner of a “Parasite”
Decades of socialist-style control devastated the economy. Now, capitalism is back, helping keep the country afloat — and Nicolás Maduro in power. One deal was the cornerstone of that transformation.

Car Rams Into Crowd in Germany, Injuries Reported
Earlier this month, at least nine people were killed and several others injured in shooting attacks on shisha bars in the western German town of Hanau.

The China Apocalypse
Last night, I received an update from the American doctor who has been writing in about the coronavirus situation. His wife is from China, and is plugged in to Chinese media and social media. What he wrote last night is extremely frightening. I post it here with the obvious caveat that I can’t confirm any of this, and that you should take it as a comment, not as gospel truth. I know who this doctor is, and have been corresponding with him. I brought another physician, in another part of the country, into our conversation, and this second physician tells me he definitely believes the Doctor is onto something.

“The City Has Been Annihilated”: South Korea’s Coronavirus Epicenter Is a Virtual Ghost Town
The country’s cases rise 25-fold in five days, as Seoul declares a “red alert,” allowing it to block domestic travel among other measures

Nicaragua’s last newspaper dared to criticize the government. Then it lost its ink and paper
The board of directors of Nicaragua’s oldest newspaper sat down in January to discuss the future. It looked bleak.

S.Africa ‘Sterilised Pregnant HIV Patients Without Consent’
A South African inquiry into the forced sterilisation of dozens of HIV-positive pregnant women said Monday that their rights had been breached, and called for government action.

The House of Lords Debates “Gender Neutral” Toilets
The British House of Lords held a debate this week on “Changing and Toilet Facilities in Public Buildings.” Should they be gender-neutral?

All schools in Japan told to close until April over virus outbreak
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday asked all elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide to close from Monday through the students’ spring break, which typically ends in early April.

Oxford may drop epics from classics curriculum
Classics faculty at Oxford University have proposed that two ancient epics from its introductory class be dropped in order to “reduce attainment gaps.”

Jimmy Lai’s Warning About China
Surely China’s Communist Party henchmen have enough on their hands, as they hustle to disappear outspoken bloggers, kick out Wall Street Journal reporters, and repurpose parts of the CCP’s vast machinery of surveillance and coercion to police President Xi Jinping’s “People’s War” on the deadly new coronavirus — which achieved ruinous breakout in Wuhan early last month, while China’s authorities were busy detaining and silencing the honest local doctors who tried to sound a warning. But when it comes to ramping up repression, there’s always time for more. On Friday, China’s satrap administration in Hong Kong arrested one of the city’s longtime leading advocates of democracy, 71-year-old newspaper owner Jimmy Lai.

Coronavirus Is a Bigger Risk to the Rest of the World Now Than It Is to China
New cases of coronavirus in China were running at 5,000 a day only a couple of weeks ago. The count of new cases is down to fewer than 100 a day, if you believe China’s numbers. I don’t, but the World Health Organization’s declaration this week that the epidemic had peaked in China probably is accurate.

Jewish Professional Wrestler Wins WWE Title…In Saudia Arabia
World Wrestling Entertainment held their latest show in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, their fifth under a ten year deal with the Kingdom. It was your typical WWE show featuring pyro, championship matches, tag team wrestling, and a match for a Saudi-specific prize.

 

Opinion

 

If I Were A Kid Today, Doctors Would Be Pushing Me To Be Trans Instead Of Gay
When I watch the advocacy surrounding transgender transition in children, all I can see is an organized effort to “correct” something that should never have been viewed as wrong in the first place.

American Business Must Rethink Its Relation to Politics
American business needs to get off the path to slow-motion suicide, and to defend the free-enterprise system. Disabusing a few misguided companies of their “woke capitalist” fantasies won’t be enough. For decades, even staid and conventional businesses have accommodated leftist pressure groups who would gladly do them in. What’s needed is a return to the strategy of the 1970s and 1980s, when American business actively pushed back against ’60s radicalism and helped to usher in the era of Ronald Reagan.

What ‘English America’ did right
Why is the movement of population in the Americas almost wholly one-way? I pondered the question this week as I traveled from Florida to Guatemala and back. No Mexican politician has ever had to suggest building a wall to keep the gringos out. Around 160,000 Mexicans settle legally in the United States each year (it is, by definition, impossible to count the illegal ones), yet hardly any Americans make the reverse journey. Why?

Why Chinese Communism Could Be the Final Casualty of the Coronavirus
Handling a medical crisis of this nature will never be easy, but the authoritarian and deceptive response of the Chinese government to the COVID-19 virus threatens the Chinese Communist Party’s hold on power.

AI Deception: When Your Artificial Intelligence Learns to Lie
We need to understand the kinds of deception an AI agent may learn on its own before we can start proposing technological defenses

Too Often Black History Month Sidelines African-American Triumphs For Politics
It’s time to restore real black history: recognition of achievement and overcoming obstacles as citizens integral to this great nation.

Bernie Sanders, the Most Useful Idiot
Bernie Sanders is, to put it gently, either terminally obtuse, mentally unbalanced, or dangerously dishonest.

They’re Still Not Getting It
Not that I expect the White House to read me, but I hope someone talks some sense into Trump’s ear. The Washington Post report that the Trump administration is talking about a “targeted tax cut” as a response to this week’s news means they are still treating coronavirus primarily as a problem for financial markets and Trump’s reelection. Treating it that way is more likely to make it into a market and reelection disaster, not to mention a public-health crisis.

“Majoritarian Domination”
David Brooks’s account of Senator Bernie Sanders and his campaign cuts deep, because it is true, and obviously true.

It’s Not Coronavirus We Should Worry About, It’s What Might Come After It
The coronavirus crisis is testing political systems all over the world. In China it is challenging Xi Jin Ping because he “owns” the system, Melinda Liu writes in Foreign Policy. “The party has something to do with everything in China, especially under Xi Jinping—and suddenly, for Xi, that has become a double-edged sword. As president, party head, and top military commander, Xi has consolidated his authority, centralized decision-making, abolished presidential term limits, and promoted his loyalists. People expect Xi, China’s ‘chairman of everything,’ to fix everything when it goes wrong.”

The end of boys and girls, &c.
On today’s “re-gendering”; Bernie and Cuba; Albania’s “Crow”; and more

How Disease X, the epidemic-in-waiting, erupted in China
Health experts warned it would be ‘threatening to the world and socially disrupting’. Then the new coronavirus arrived

BIRTH OF A VIRUS
As I watched my neighbor put her dog’s poop in a single-use plastic baggy, I thought about split pants in China.