Experts On Senator Ron Paul’s Debate With Dr. Anthony Fauci Over Wuhan Study

At a July 20, 2021 hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on the nation’s COVID-19 response, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul has claimed falsely and ignorantly, that the National Institutes of Health funded research through the Wuhan Institute of Virology that added “gain of function” to the virus(es) being studied.

THAT IS A FALSE STATEMENT.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was correct, honest, and forthright in his testimony before the Senate Committee when when he said to Senator Paul that, “Senator Paul, I have never lied before the Congress and I do not retract that statement. Senator Paul, you do not know what you’re talking about, quite frankly, and I want to say that officially. You do not know what you’re talking about.”

Below is the pertinent excerpt of the article that PROVES Dr. Fauci’s statement.

---

George Mason University’s Dr. Gregory Koblentz, PhD, an expert in biodefense and dual use research, pointed out that WIV1 wasn’t an animal virus enhanced to infect humans through gain-of-function research, because it was already shown to pose a danger to humans.

“Sen. Paul is wrong when he says

Georgia’s U.S. Senate Candidates Debate

The Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series featuring U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff (D), Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock (D), and Kelly Loeffler (R) is now over.

The Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series hosted debates between the candidates for both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats.

While Jon Ossoff and Senator David Perdue were also invited to participate, David Perdue declined participation.

Poor Jon… he had the stage all to himself. Thus, the Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff having the floor all to himself, proceeded to pummel his opponent in absentia and “debated” an empty podium, because the cowardly incumbent Banana Republican Senator David Perdue skipped out. An yet, it’s an entirely apropos picture of the coronavirus-stock-trading fraudulent Senator.

Not smart, David. Not smart at all. In fact, it’s pretty damn stupid. You lost by not showing up. In sports terms, that’s called a “forfeit,” or if you prefer pecuniary terms, a “loss given default.” Which is also probably how it’ll all go down for you, anyway. But for Jon, it’s a Credit Default Swap, and he’s the one profiting from your loss/forfeit/default.

After Ossoff’s solo performance, or soliloquy (take your pick), which was broadcast live on Georgia Public Broadcasting, and available online, on Sunday, December 6 from 7 – 8PM EST, the appointed (not anointed) Banana Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler and Reverend Raphael Warnock also participated in a debate in the same venue.

Billionairess Banana Republican Kelly Loeffler stood at the podium with her standard smirky pseudo-smile and stared straight ahead throughout the event, rarely ever making eye contact with anyone present – either the moderator, her opponent Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, or the two panelists.

But in all fairness, she did turn her head a few times – but very few.

Reverend Dr. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Atlanta’s Ebeneezer Baptist Church, formerly pastored by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and where in significant part America’s Civil Rights Movement was cultivated, was calm, cool, collected, and willingly corrected for the record the deliberate misrepresentations, twists, and outright lies that Kelly Loeffler spouted. He was certainly more animated, though not exaggerated. Loeffler, however, was more robotic, automaton-like.

Warnock pointed out that, aside from campaigning, Loeffler had not visited any of Georgia’s rural areas, or small towns during the brief 10-month period of her appointment to office by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. He contrasted himself with her lackadaisical and purposeful ignorance of her constituency by

Your Crazy Uncle… is Trump

“You’re the President — you’re not like someone’s crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever!”

–– Savannah Guthrie, NBC News’ TODAY co-anchor and Chief Legal Correspondent to U.S. President Donald Trump, Thursday night, October 15, 2020, at a town hall styled outdoor debate at Perez Art Museum, Miami, Florida

US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during an NBC News town hall event moderated by Savannah Guthrie at the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida on October 15, 2020.

In addition to getting losing ratings when compared to Biden’s Philadelphia town hall event, Trumpanzee acted like the ass he’s always been – even while in office. A leopard can’t change its spots, nor a zebra its stripes. And Trump can’t be anything other than an asshole – the Asshole in Chief, specifically.

CBS News wrote a succinctly wonderful news story about the event, which in pertinent part reads:

South Carolina Senate Contestants Graham/Harrison Debate

In a debate that was genuinely enjoyable to watch, incumbent Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, faced Democratic contender Jaime Harrison in an hour-long face-off in Chappelle Auditorium on the campus of Allen University in Columbia, which partnered with WIS-TV channel 10, also in Columbia, and The State newspaper, to host the event.

In stark contrast to the first Presidential Debate with incumbent Republican President Donald Trump, and the Democratic contender, former Delaware Senator, then Vice President Joe Biden, in which the nation’s Chief Executive behaved like a belligerently bellicose bombastic baseborn buffoon – an ignominious first in the history of Presidential debates – this debate was a civil, even genteel by comparison, walk in the park.

While not without its moments of differences, even

Trump FailBlog: Notes on the First 2020 Presidential Debacle… er “Debate”

The Current White House Occupant managed to shoot himself and the GOP in the foot again last night (Tuesday, 29 September 2020) with his unmitigated bullying and verbal abuse at the first Trump-Biden Presidential Debate. No doubt, GOP candidates in so-called “down ballot” races will appreciate his effort for making the party look so appealng. </sarcasm>

True to form, and likely knowing that he couldn’t succeed against Biden – an expert debater with 36 years of Senate experience – Trump took a “burn it down/scorched earth” approach and succeeded in destroying the debate, format and forum, by repeatedly interrupting his opponent, the Democratic candidate Joe Biden, and the Moderator, in order to prevent his opponent from cogently responding.

Trump even verbally attacked Moderator Chris Wallace, Fox News Anchor, several times. In the history of American Presidential debates, that has never happened. At one point, Wallace found it necessary to sternly ask Trump to allow his opponent, the Democratic Party’s Presidential Nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, to answer the question, and Trump rudely interrupted him. The exchange was:

WALLACE: “Mr. President, I’m the moderator of this debate and I’d like you to let me ask my questions.”

TRUMP: “I guess I’m debating you, not him. I’m not surprised.”

To characterize the GOP candidate as undisciplined, unbridled, unhinged, out-of-control, and even rude throughout the 90 minute episode, would be diplomatically generous on all counts. Interestingly enough, his performance was oddly reminiscent of Russian tactics during World War II in which the Russians and their army retreated as the German Nazis advanced toward Moscow – colloquially termed as a “scorched earth” policy – in August/September/October 1941. Knowing that the Nazis were approaching, the peasants and others decided to evacuate their towns and cities, burning everything that could possibly be useful to the enemy as they departed. Moreover, it was Hitler’s ill-fated decision to invade Russia, in conjunction with the Russian tactic, that marked a turning point in World War II for the Nazis, which depleted their strength, and resolve. And ironically, Trump’s scorched earth approach to the debate may similarly prove to be the turning point of his candidacy, and presidency, marking the beginning of his end.

Republican strategist Alex Conant confirmed Trump’s failed “burn it down” approach by acknowledging that Trump undoubtedly knows that he’s behind in numerous national polls, and among voting groups whose support it critical to his success, especially in

Trump-Biden Debate Number 1 Is Over

It’s OVER!

Thank goodness!

---

“The angriest Presidential debate in American history.”

“A relentless attack on Joe Biden…”

“In the end, Biden ignored the rules as well.”

“What we got was a dogfight.”

“Mr Trump was far less honest than Mr. Biden.”

–– characterizations by the BBC on the First Trump v Biden Presidential Debate

---

Despite the absence of fawning sycophants to which

Democratic Debate 11 Goes Out With A Whimper

If, like me, you were hoping for more with the 11th Democratic debate which was to feature a 1 on 1 with Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, you were abysmally disappointed.

This Sunday’s 11th Democratic Candidate Debate featured only Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in a 1 on 1, after every other candidate dropped out, and was nothing more than an opportunity for each candidate to rehash what they’d already said seemingly countless times earlier – on the stump, and on “debate” stages.

Previously scheduled to be held at Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W Washington Street in Phoenix, AZ 85003, the debate was relocated and held at CNN’s Washington D.C. studios, before moderators only, with no live audience members, in order to limit possible exposure to COVID-19 coronavirus, which is now sweeping the country and world. Only 3 Moderators – Dana Bash, and Jake Tapper of CNN, and Ilia Calderon from Univision, who replaced Jorge Ramos, who had self-quarantined following possible COVID-19 exposure – were present.

The debate started out slowly, and even though there were only 2 candidates, the “rules” were just as before, that each candidate was allotted 90 seconds to respond to a question. I had hoped that there would be more interaction between the 2 candidates, and was only briefly satisfied with by their more free-wheeling interactions which Jake Tapper allowed, while

Who’s Zoomin’ Who? Corporate/BIG MONEY Democrats Try To Abort Bernie’s Campaign.

Tom Perez, Democratic Party Chairman

It has occurred to me that Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez and other Corporate/BIG MONEY Democrats such as Hillary Clinton, et al, are most likely the ones behind the anti-Bernie movement within the party -AND- were most likely the ones who changed debate participation rules mid-stream to anoint multi-billionaire Bloomberg to counter Bernie+Liz… a process through which omitted Tom Steyer, also a billionaire – albeit one with a conscience.

James Carville (RIGHT) with Bill Clinton in 1999 at the White House.

They (the C/BM Dems, and their corporate media masters/handlers, including Pete Buttigieg and Bill Clinton strategist James Carville) attempt to portray themselves as “centrists” or “moderates” and Bernie as “radical,” or “communist” (like Bloomberg did), ostensibly to court voters, especially including (they claim) fence-sitting Republicans, and undecided Democrats. But it’s “an inconvenient truth” that the very words they use also happens to be the Republican party line and anti-Democrat talking point.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) at his “Conversation with Cory” campaign event at the Nevada Partners Event Center February 24, 2019 in North Las Vegas.

Julian Castro speaks to media members in Miami, FL, June 27, 2019.

Naturally, Julian Castro, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Andrew Yang, and others, have loudly and justifiably complained about Tom’s hypocritically unilateral decision to

Biden whistles past Obama graveyard in New Hampshire Debate.

Yesterday evening’s Democratic Debate in New Hampshire, was the 8th of 12 in an ongoing series winnowing the party’s 2020 field of nominee candidates. The Friday night event which lasted from 8 – 11PM EST was held at St. Anselm College in Manchester, and was sponsored by ABC, WMUR, and Apple News.

Moderators George Stephanopoulos and David Muir of ABC, Linsey Davis, Adam Sexton, Monica Hernandez

Candidates former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, billionaire businessman/entrepreneur Tom Steyer, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and businessman Andrew Yang rounded out the field.

https://twitter.com/538PollBot/status/1225977849829580801
“58% of Americans are dissatisfied with the size and influence of corporations in 2020 while 41% are satisfied, according to Gallup polling.”

Of course, most people are whistling past their own graveyards, whatever they may be – particularly since most Americans are only one paycheck, one illness, one job loss away from utter devastation and homelessness.

Candidate Biden was consistent throughout the debate, and never ceased to mention that he was with the former POTUS Obama. Clearly, he’s riding Barack’s coattails. Or, at least he’s trying to.

But, let’s look to history to see if we can discern anything of bearing for today.

From an earlier entry titled

CNN Called Out For Discrimination & Unethical Journalistic Practices

Abby Phillip, CNN

To anyone watching, it was as plain as the nose on your face.

I’m neither a CNN fan, nor a CNN hater.

But this is blatant, and inexcusable.

It demonstrates an utter lack, and wholesale abandonment of professional journalistic integrity.

It wasn’t merely the Democrats or Progressives who noticed, either.

In fact, voices from the Conservative Right Wing were the loudest to decry the moderator Abby Phillip’s action.

I mean to refer to the 7th Democratic Debate held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa this past Tuesday evening, 14 January 2020.

For some, it was analogously like the 7th Level of Hell in Dante’s Inferno, which was also full of violence toward individuals, and the Earth.

Though there were no fisticuffs, no bomb threats, no armed shooters, and no physical violence of any kind, there was another killing – two, in fact.

One, was CNN, which along with Moderator Abby Phillip, burned her journalism career, and the last shred of respectability or integrity CNN had remaining.

The other was Bernie Sanders.

It was obvious from the get-go.

Corporate interests in America do NOT want to see him win the Democratic Nomination for President.

It’s.

Just.

That.

Simple.

The Federalist, one such website, Tweeted this about Abby Philip’s demonstration of lack of character, and her ethically unacceptable behavior:

Brianne Pfannenstiel, Chief Politics Reporter, The Des Moines Register, Iowa

“During the seventh round of Democrat debates Tuesday, CNN moderator Abby Phillip asked a shameful question that accused Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., of saying a woman could not win the 2020 election.”

They neither wasted any time writing about the unprofessional attack and exchange.

The Chicago Tribune’s John Kass, another conservative columnist, also laid into CNN and Abby Phillip over her unethical journalistic behavior.

His remarks from his column, in part, are found below.

Even Rolling Stone magazine’s Matt Taibbi found Abby Phillip’s disrespectful treatment of Bernie Sanders to be not merely a cheap shot, but a calculated and active interference to sway viewers’ opinion.

CNN’s Debate Performance Was Villainous and Shameful

The 24-hour network combines a naked political hit with a cynical ploy for ratings.

“This time, the whole network tossed the mud. Over a 24-hour period before, during, and after the debate, CNN bid farewell to what remained of its reputation as a nonpolitical actor via a remarkable stretch of factually dubious reporting, bent commentary, and heavy-handed messaging.

“The cycle began with a “bombshell” exposé by CNN reporter MJ Lee. Released on the eve of the debate, Lee reported Warren’s claim that Sanders told her a woman couldn’t win in a December 2018 meeting.

[These banal meanderings] “continued during the debate, with the chryon featuring questions like, “How will [Sanders] avoid bankrupting the country?” Or: “Does Sanders owe voters an explanation of how much his health plan will cost them and the country?””

CNN’s Chief Political Correspondent, Dana Bash, carried the ball over the line for the anti-Bernie Corporate Democrats – who were all assembled at CNN, including former DNC chair and commentator Terry McAuliffe, Clinton communications person Jess McIntosh, and former senior adviser to Barack Obama David Axelrod – and immediately after the debate concluded she said, “Do [voters] want a Bernie Sanders anti-interventionist, or do they want somebody who has experience and who has — as I’m sure you will hear behind us — voted for things like the Iraq war and maybe has made other decisions that he doesn’t regret and has been a leader on national security, but also has some that he does?”

Then McIntosh said this: “I think what Bernie forgot was that this isn’t a he said/she said story. This is a reported-out story that CNN was part of breaking. So, to have him just flat-out say no, I think wasn’t — wasn’t nearly enough to address that for the women watching.”

The Washington Examiner, another Right-leaning publication, also chimed in later that evening with a story headlined, “CNN debate moderator assumes Bernie Sanders is lying about women.”

In her story for the Examiner, Breaking News Reporter Madison Dibble wrote in part that, “A moderator from the CNN/Des Moines Register debate sided with Elizabeth Warren in the he-said-she-said dispute over whether Bernie Sanders said a woman couldn’t be president.

“Abby Phillip, a CNN reporter, phrased her questions in defense of Warren, who claimed that Sanders told her he didn’t think a woman could be president during a meeting in 2018. The Vermont senator has denied that he ever said such a thing, but Phillip worded the questions as though there were evidence backing up Warren’s claim.”

Even POTUS Trump sees it.

They are rigging the election again against Bernie Sanders, just like last time, only even more obviously. They are bringing him out of so important Iowa in order that, as a Senator, he sit through the Impeachment Hoax Trial. Crazy Nancy thereby gives the strong edge to Sleepy…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020

POS45’s follow-up Tweet read, “….Joe Biden, and Bernie is shut out again. Very unfair, but that’s the way the Democrats play the game. Anyway, it’s a lot of fun to watch!”

Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile, who helped Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, was later discovered to have been pilfering debate questions ahead of time, and sharing them with Hillary, with the intent to defeat Bernie. Like Roger Stone, she remains unrepentant for her misdeeds. CNN also fired her for that activity. But CNN wasn’t the only one.

Fox News also showed Brazile the door with the left foot of fellowship.

Vice-President of Fox Ethics, Satya Martin, described Brazile’s firing:

“Donna Brazile is the worst reporter or commentator or whatever she is that I’ve ever known.
Her only goal, it seems, is to be contrary.
She literally claims opposite supposed ‘facts’ to everything that we report in the news. And her opinions are over the top in their opposition.
She’s like a child who just screams in tantrums against us for attention.

“She was fired from CNN for fabricating stories so she was already known as a purveyor of fake news.
The brass had their reasons for taking a chance on her.
I’m sure they wanted to attract a liberal audience just to show that we mean it when we say we’re fair and balanced.
But there’s fair and balanced and then there’s off her rocker crazy train journalism.
That’s Brazile.
Nuts.”

Donna Brazile is totally not sorry for leaking CNN debate questions to Hillary Clinton

It wasn’t long after she was fired by CNN that Donna Brazile quickly wrote a tell-all which fingered Hillary as the brainchild behind an unethically-appearing fundraising bargain with the Democratic National Committee, in which the DNC was rigged in Clinton’s favor because her campaign was largely financing the party early on in the presidential election. And Donna Brazile, who knew about it from the get-go said the agreement “was not illegal, but it sure looked unethical.”

Of course,
as Bernie has long said,
it’s all about the Benjamins,
and a
Corporate System
legally rigged
AGAINST
the
Average American.

Even John Kass sees it.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/john-kass/ct-bernie-sanders-cnn-kass-20200116-avuaiaxbfvdkbb2w6y4yoiafuq-story.html

“What CNN did to Bernie Sanders in the Iowa Democratic presidential debate — stabbing him with the gender card on behalf of a weakened Elizabeth Warren — was cheap and unfair.

“And it was shameful.

“I’m probably the last guy to defend Sanders. He is a man of the far left and I most certainly am not.

“But even a conservative like me can see that Sanders was cheated out of the Democratic presidential nomination the last time, with the Democratic National Committee rigging the whole thing for Hillary Clinton. And now it’s happening again.

“No wonder the Sanders supporters are angry.

“What happened on CNN in Iowa was bad for journalism. But it sure was good for Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden.

“Sanders, the authentic candidate on the left in this cycle, as he was in the last, was surging in the Iowa polls. Warren, also on the left, was fading, desperate and in full panic. She began waving her gender card on that dangerous Intersectionality Highway where Democrats, addicted to identity politics, often crack up.

…

“And Joe? With Bernie on Trump jury duty in Washington, Biden is left to wander around Iowa with (former) Mayor Pete — who also was not challenged by CNN — and that radical billionaire environmentalist who made his gold in fossil fuels.

“No wonder Sanders’ supporters are upset. They’ve seen this before. They watched the same game play out three years ago, when the Democratic nomination was almost his, and establishment media handmaidens of the Democratic National Committee protected Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump.

“A Sanders vs. Trump campaign in 2016 would have been a clash of populist titans. Sanders could have won. We might see this matchup in 2020. Establishment Democrats are panicked, and conventional wisdom suggests Trump would smash him, but I’m not so sure.

“The electorate has been primed by relentless media attacks on Trump, who attacks them back. Americans are unsettled and worried about their future in a world undergoing economic upheaval. Bernie could win.

“The Democratic base is energized for 2020. Sanders, who suffered a heart attack weeks ago, looks positively vital when compared to Biden. Conventional wisdom also once said Republican Jeb Bush couldn’t be beat. How did that turn out?

“Joe is the new Jeb.

“I suppose it would be much easier to focus instead on Trump impeachment theater in Washington. But the script has been written, the Senate won’t convict Trump. It’s all posture and gesture and fundraising.

“I disagree with Sanders’ policies, but at least he’s honest about what he wants to do. Establishment Democrats see Sanders’ base as full of energy and know they must stop him in Iowa and New Hampshire.

“They feed Warren so Sanders doesn’t defeat Biden. And they’ll use friendly media to shape a stiletto and slip it between Bernie’s ribs.

“Sanders’ voters have seen this one before.”

And that is precisely what Bernie has been saying all along.

 

Sparks And Laughs Fly At Democrats’ December Debate

MA Senator Elizabeth Warren – D

The Democrats’ 6th debate Thursday, 19 December 2019 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA proved to be their best yet.

With just days before the Christmas holidays, Democrats continued their appeals to voters by touting their prospective policies, doubling down on defeating the President, and realigning core American values which have sorely suffered under the incumbent Trump.

Despite the fact that the Democratic field had been winnowed considerably from the initial 20 candidates spread over 2 nights of debate, the 7 remaining on the island were up for the match, with plenty of interaction between front-runners Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and Bernie Sanders.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders -I

Candidates Tom Steyer, Andrew Yang, and Amy Klobuchar certainly had their moments, and for the most part, Steyer and Yang steered clear of any attacks directed at other candidates, while Klobuchar proved herself up to the task and took a mediator’s role to redirect candidate’s passions away from each others’ prospective policy ideas and campaign practices, and toward the Democratic party’s goal – make Donald Trump a one-term President.

All the candidates expressed a disheartening sense that there was not more ethnic, racial, and sexual diversity among them, with only 2 women, and candidate Andrew Yang being the only non-Anglo candidate on stage.

Debate participation rules established by the party included escalating demonstrations of public support as evidenced by by public polling and campaign finance contributions. Neither California Senator Kamala Harris nor New Jersey Senator Cory Booker appeared on stage, though Booker remained in the race, while Harris had announced the end of her bid in November.

Former Vice President Joe Biden – D

Much like a football game, most of the lively exchanges occurred in the last quarter of the debate, with candidates Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Steyer in that order, weighing in on disagreements over campaign finance reform. Candidate Yang remained completely silent on that subject, and no moderator invited his remarks.

Bernie and Biden had their moments, as one might expect, though it was congenial, rather than adversarial.

Toward the conclusion of the debate, candidate Biden had been asked by Moderator Alberta about

Gabbard Attacks Buttigieg at 5th Democratic Debate in Atlanta

Last night, at the 5th Democratic Debate held at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, Hawaiian Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard (2) – whose polling numbers are consistently “tanked,” and has announced that she will not seek reelection to the House – attacked South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, mischaracterizing his remarks made in response to a question at an earlier forum in which 5 of the “Democratic presidential candidates addressed issues impacting the nation’s Latino population at a forum held at Cal State Los Angeles on Sunday.”

The question asked him at that LA forum was, “Mr. Mayor, after a number of Americans were murdered in northern Mexico, President Trump suggested sending U.S. troops to help Mexico deal with the cartels. With your military experience, is there a way to deal with the cartels that doesn’t violate Mexico’s sovereignty?”

The YouTube video link below shows the question and his answer, uninterrupted, and in context.

At last night’s debate in Atlanta, in response to a question asked by a moderator, Representative Gabbard said that,

2020 Democratic Trends… and Pocahantas

U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren

Who’ll get the nod?

My money is on Warren.

Why?

She identifies a problem, lays out a case, and states a solution. She’s a mom, teacher, an attorney, a law professor, and now, a politician – a small-town Oklahoma girl who made good, despite the odds against her.

She gets it.

Despite the Current White House Occupant’s attempt to slap a derisive nickname on Senator Elizabeth Warren (ironically defaming Native Americans in the process), Senator Warren has done exceedingly well.
For those unaware of American history, Pocahontas was a Algonkian indigenous American, and daughter of Chief Powhatan, a princess who fostered peace among the Jamestown, Virginia English colonists/settlers.

She may be most renown for saving Captain John Smith’s life after he was captured by her father’s men.

Later, she converted to Christianity, was baptized as Rebecca, and accepted a marriage proposal by prominent settler and tobacco farmer John Rolfe, and was wed April 5, 1614.

“The Baptism of Pocahantas,” by John Gadsby Chapman, Artist; Oil on canvas 12′ x 18′, 1839; placed 1840 Rotunda U.S. Capitol

So the history is a dignified, and marvelous story, despite the Idiot-Ignoramus in Chief’s attempt to use a good name to defame her. It only shows what kind of miserably pitiful character he is.

But, more to the point.

The Marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe

If you’ve ever read a prospectus for any financial or investment vehicle – either stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. – you’ve probably read the following disclaimer:
“Past performance is

Warren Shines At Third Debate

Warren Acts Like Frontrunner Though Polling 2nd or 3rd

At last night’s Democratic candidate debate at HBCU Texas Southern University in Houston – the 3rd in a field winnowed nearly in half – Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren continued to demonstrate how and why she will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for President.

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz is also clearly indicating that Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren will likely become the Democratic Party’s Presidential Nominee.

“If Republicans abandon the Second Amendment and demoralize millions of Americans who care deeply about Second Amendment rights, that could go a long way to electing a President Elizabeth Warren.”
– Ted Cruz, at a Christian Science Monitor-sponsored breakfast

“We’re going to see record-shattering Democratic turnout. The only element missing to ensure Democratic victory is demoralizing conservatives so they stay home. I hope we don’t do that.”
– Ted Cruz, in response to

Reading Democratic Tea Leaves

The Democratic candidates’ field is as great for the upcoming 2020 General Election as the Republicans’ 2016 was – and, that may, or may not be a good sign.

The 2016 GOP clown car was populated by, among others, Donald Trump, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Aside from them, there were 10 others who withdrew before the primaries, so say it was a crowded field, was a gross understatement.

Now, it’s the Democrats’ turn.

The 20-candidate field has not yet been winnowed, per se – at least not by prospective primary voters.

Among them, is one of the last candidates to join that field was former Vice President Joe Biden, who had the advantage of name recognition among all voters, and potential voters.

Because of his name recognition advantage, Biden’s “popularity” within the massive field has led the next closest competitors – which are Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren – sometimes by double digits.

A notable game-changing exception was made following the first Democratic debate at The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, with NBC Moderators Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow and José Diaz-Balart on Night 2 (June 27) when California Senator Kamala Harris took former Vice President Joe Biden to task for his opposition as then-Senator from Delaware to busing to remedy and resolve the problem of segregation in California pubic schools.

Up until that time, Harris was polling 7.0%, while Biden was at 32.0%. After that night, support for Harris doubled to 15.2%, while Biden experienced a corresponding 6-point drop to 26.0%.

Since that high, Harris has continued to fall, and as of August 7 was polling at 8.3%.

Up until then, Sanders, the next-closest competitor, had fluctuated from 16.5% to 24.0% (his highest), to 14.0% (his lowest), and as of August 7, was polling at 15.8%.

Biden’s polling has been as high as

Second Democratic Debate, Night 2 Analysis

2nd Democratic Debate, Night 2 – Detroit, MI

Analysis

As was earlier mentioned on The Week website, CNN wasted viewers’ time by taking very nearly 30 minutes before the first question was asked, which was in stark contrast to NBC News’ first question within 60 seconds. And then, after an elaborate opening, they went directly to a commercial break, which was followed by candidates’ opening remarks.

CNN pitted the candidates against each other by baiting. The lead question was directed at Senator Harris which attacked Biden and her M4A (Medicare for All) plan.

The candidates’ positions, for the greatest part, were quite similar, and CNN’s efforts were to attack the presumptive leader, which in that night was Biden.

There were 117 so-called “questions” (opportunities for verbal exchange) lobbed by CNN at the 10 candidates, the first 10 of those 117 are:

1.) Senator Harris, this week you released a new health care plan which would preserve private insurance and take 10 years to phase in. Vice President Biden’s campaign calls your plan, quote, “a have-it-every-which-way approach” and says it’s just part of a confusing pattern of equivocating about your health care stance. What do you say to that?

2.) Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator Harris. Vice President Biden, your response.

3.) Your response, Senator Harris?

4.) Senator Harris, thank you. Vice President Biden, your response?

5.) Thank you, Senator Harris. Mayor de Blasio, let’s bring you in here. What’s your response?

6.) Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Vice President Biden, you just heard Mayor de Blasio. He said in the past that Democrats who wanted to keep the private insurance industry are defending a health care system that is not working. What’s your response?

7.) Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Senator Gillibrand, you support Medicare for All. How do you feel about Senator Harris continuing to call her health proposal Medicare for All, when it includes a far more significant role for private insurance than the bill you co-sponsored?

8.) Thank you, Senator Gillibrand. Senator Harris, your response?

9.) Thank you, Senator Harris. Vice President Biden, your response?

10.) Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thank you. Senator Booker, let me bring you in here. You say you support Medicare for All. You also say you are not going to pull private health insurance from more than 150 million Americans in exchange for a government plan, but that’s what Medicare for All would do. How do you square that?

Within those opening questions/exchanges, former Vice President Biden was mentioned by CNN 12 times, either by surname, by title, or combination of the two. The runner-up was

The GOP Hopes That You Keep Sleeping

America has become like the proverbial frog in a pot of water, which has slowly, but steadily, increased in temperature to the point that it is boiled alive without realizing it.

As the story goes, if the frog were dumped into boiling water, it would immediately jump out.

But, since the water’s temperature was initially comfortable, even pleasant, and only slowly increased, the frog gradually became acclimated to it, and therefore was, in effect, desensitized to the inevitable, impending danger, and died slowly.

For the past nearly 50 years or so, and more specifically, within the last 38, America has swooned under the siren song led by the GOP, which in part started off with the not-so-oblique condemnation that, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” (As Brian Gurney, a private citizen from California, noted: “You can’t govern if you don’t believe in government.” But set up a straw man, and beat it to a pulp – demonize the Constitutional effigy.) And to sweeten the deal, and help matters along, a little bit of “They’re individuals and families whose taxes support the government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet, but deep. Their values sustain our national life,” was thrown in for good measure (“a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” you know).

In order to facilitate that destruction, first was an appetizer of dessert – across-the-board personal income tax rates were cut 23%, which made the majority of working-class Americans and families very happy.

But then, calling them “job creators,” (veritable sacred cows which should be left alone to wander about in traffic and poop anywhere they desire) another round of personal income tax cuts came around, this time for the elites, and personal income tax rates upon the very wealthiest Americans was dramatically slashed to less than half the former rate – from 70% to 28%.

And then, there came cries and demands for liberty, and freedom from the tyranny of genuine governmental slavery in the form of, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” And truly, who could disagree? But that was quickly transformed into efforts to squelch personal liberty as healthcare decision-making in the most intimate of, and deeply personal matters involving reproduction, by providing opportunity for nosy neighbors (government) to tell others how they ought to run their lives according to the dictates of others’ religious convictions, all under the auspices of government.

Dissatisfied with that aspect of control, they sought to again meddle into the private lives of others – despite the fact that their private liberties were not encroached upon – and the sanction of committed legal relationships in the civil sector were forbidden to select individuals… just like it once was with ethnic minorities. And when in indignation they invited the SCOTUS to step in and rule (hopefully to their advantage, though contrary to their own religious writings), which ruled against their religiously-motivated (no religious test), publicly-sanctioned governmental discrimination (equal protection under law), they loudly cried ‘FOUL!’

And then, when more of their hand-picked, fair-haired children ruled against them, that rights were not absolute (D.C. v Heller), that not just anyone had a right to own, possess, or brandish any firearm, anywhere, at any time, they couldn’t stand it any more, and falsely accused the SCOTUS of partiality and of siding with their opponents whom they continuously maligned, despite the fact that they were ruled against by one of their own most staunch hard-liners.

Feeling emboldened, their most powerful, yet little-known instigator went public and said in part that,

Joe’s Gotta’ Go… Home – to Bake Cookies in Scranton

Bye bye, Biden!

Former Vice President Joe Biden, a 36-year career politician as United States Senator from Delaware, has historically been instrumental in establishing many laws which now trouble our nation, which have also proven costly economically, injudicious, racially divisive, and degrading to the moral social fabric of our nation – the family.

Senator Joe Biden (DE) as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when he helped write the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act, which created the “Gun Show Loophole.”

Unbeknown (or, more accurately, forgotten) to many, he also helped create the so-called “Gun Show Loophole” – a specially-carved-out niche in Federal firearms legislation (the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act, FOPA) that allowed firearm and ammunition sales via the Internet, and forbade background investigations for firearm purchases at gun shows, which in turn not only popularized the modern gun show, but significantly contributed to mass shootings.

Perhaps he should be called “Gun Show Joe.”

–//–

Cory Booker, United States Senator from New Jersey

Senators Kamala Harris (CA) and Cory Booker (NJ) have signaled the beginning of the end for the Biden campaign by first acknowledging Biden’s historical opposition to busing, and now with Booker’s July 23rd Tweet acknowledging Biden’s support for mass incarceration, which has disproportionately harmed Blacks and Hispanics, both racial/ethnic minority communities, and exacted enormous taxpayer borne tolls – “It’s not enough to tell us what you’re going to do for our communities, show us what you’ve done for the last 40 years. You created this system. We’ll dismantle it.”

Senator Kamala Harris fired the first proverbial shot across the bow of the SS Biden by mentioning that Biden, as Senator from Delaware, opposed school integration by busing.

Now, Senator Booker has proverbially lobbed a grenade – if not fired a mortar round – into the Biden camp.

Biden’s aspirations will be proverbially shot down in this Tuesday and Wednesday night’s debate, July 30, and 31 in Detroit, and the aircraft of his once-flying-high candidacy to be the Democratic party’s 2020 Presidential nominee – and by extension, as President – will go down in flames. One only wonders at what point he’ll parachute from the burning craft, in order to save his own life – which in allegorical and metaphorical context, is his reputation.

Kamala Harris, United States Senator from California

Simply put, Joe’s gotta’ go.

Go home to bake cookies in Scranton, where he belongs — NOT in the White House.

His very own track record will be his political demise.

—//—

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/29/745715773/biden-promises-no-more-mr-nice-guy-in-second-democratic-debate

Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris Ready For Showdown On Race In Debate

“He described Biden as an “architect of mass incarceration,” when speaking with reporters last week at the annual NAACP convention in Detroit.

“Booker was referring to Biden’s role as a champion of the controversial 1994 crime bill, which critics and some experts say led to a disproportionate number of African American men being imprisoned.

“”I’m disappointed that it’s taken Joe Biden years until he was actually running for president to actually say that he made a mistake, that there were things in that bill that were extraordinarily bad. For him not to have a more comprehensive, bold plan to deal with this is unacceptable to me, especially because he is partially responsible for the crisis that we have now.“”

2019 Democratic Debate: Night 1

The clear leaders for the first night were Massachusetts United States Senator Elizabeth Warren, and New Jersey United States Senator Cory Booker.

Here’s some analysis.

Historically, Senators have been better poised to win the White House than Representatives, with 16 having become POTUS, while 18 Governors have become POTUS.

The United States Senate website writes this about Senators:
“To date, 16 senators have also served as president of the United States. Three Senators, Warren G. Harding, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama moved directly from the U.S. Senate to the White House.”

That’s 16/45, or 35.5%, of all POTUSes who were ever a Senator. And 3/16, or 18.75%, were elected as POTUS directly from the Senate.

The House of Representatives website states this about Representatives who later became POTUS:
“Since 1789, 19 Members of the House have served as President of the United States. Four Members — John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, and Gerald Ford — were never elected to the Presidency, having succeeded a President who died or resigned. Only Gerald Ford was never successfully elected as either President or Vice President, though he served in both positions.”

For the House, that’s 19/45, or 42.2% who later became POTUS. However, only 1 – James Garfield – ever went directly from the House to the White House, and that’s 1/45, or 2.2%.

Since 1901, the

Late Term #Abortion #Politics On #DebateNight

A few thoughts on a Presidential Debate topic by Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News, with candidates Hillary Clinton (D) and Donald Trump (R) from the third, and final debate held last night at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Wednesday, 19 October 2016:

1.) Tweet from Dr. Jen Gunter, MD: “There is no such thing as a ninth month abortion – I’m a doctor who trained in late term abortions”
https://twitter.com/DrJenGunter/status/788912646330257408

2.) A portion of her blog entry (linked herein) on the topic from the Debate states: “Trump’s statement, as incorrect as it may be, supports the fallacy of the due-date abortion. It is a common anti-choice narrative that

The GIANT SUCKING SOUND South of the Border. -or- Ross Perot was right.

Ross Perot was right.

Scene: 1992 Presidential Debate: Former Arkansas Governor William Jefferson Clinton – D, President George H. W. Bush – R, and Ross Perot – I.

White Male Audience Member: Yes, I’d like to direct my question to Mr. Perot. What will you do, as President, to open foreign markets to fair competiton from American business, and to stop unfair competition here at home from foreign countries, so that we can bring jobs back to the United States?

Ross Perot: That’s right at the top of my agenda.

We’ve shipped millions of jobs overseas, and uh… we have a strained situation because we have a process in Washington, where after you’ve served for a while, you cash in, become a foreign lobbyist, make $30,000 a month, then take a leave, work on presidential campaigns, make sure you got good contacts, and then go back out.

And if you just want to get down to brass tacks, the first thing you ought to do is get all these folks who got these one-way trade agreements that we’ve negotiated over the years, and say ‘fellas, we’ll take the same deal we gave you.’ And they’ll gridlock right at that point, because,

North Carolina Republicans Seek to Outlaw Scientific Research

Seriously.

They are.

It’s kinda’ like the gun saying, albeit with a peppermint twist:

“When ‘they’ outlaw science, only outlaws will be scientists.”

The whole scientific process means that folks get up and argue about it, and demonstrate their findings, and argue their conclusions, and implications for the same.

This is a prime example of Republican idiocy.

Utter stupidity brought to you by TEApublican TEAvangelical radicals.

Yes, radicals.

What’re these people?

Stupid?

Wait… that was a rhetorical question.

—

In North Carolina, a fight over sea levels and science

After a state report predicts higher ocean levels, based in part on global-warming data, new legislation seeks to all but outlaw such projections. The bill has drawn ridicule, as well as scrutiny of the state’s new political climate.

By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times

5:00 AM PDT, June 24, 2012

RALEIGH, N.C. — When scientists at a state commission predicted that North Carolina’s sea levels could rise 39 inches by 2100, coastal business and development leaders weren’t alarmed at the prospect of flooding. They were outraged by the report itself.

They complained to state legislators, saying the projection could trigger regulations costing coastal businesses and homeowners millions of dollars.

Waves lap against Johnnie Mercer’s Pier at Wrightsville Beach in Wilmington, N.C. (Paul Stephen / The Star-News / May 29, 2012)

The result is House Bill 819, a measure that would require sea level forecasts to be based on past patterns and would all but outlaw projections based on climate change data.

The bill, now under discussion by a legislative conference committee, has been ridiculed nationwide. It was mocked by comedian Stephen Colbert and savaged in a Scientific American blog post titled “N.C. Considers Making Sea Rise Illegal.”

It has also focused attention on the political shift in North Carolina, where Republicans in 2010 won control of the state Legislature for the first time in a century.

Donald Trump to moderate GOP debate – *LOL*

Truth is stranger than fiction.

Yes… the latest news in the grand fiasco party is that

Tell me more about this One whom does not exist.

I have an atheist friend, for whom I have warm affection. We share several common interests, among them, Amateur Radio and some political ideals. Having visited with him and his wife on occasion, I can attest that they are genuinely nice folk.

He is my friend. And friends do things together. On occasion, we have dined, shared entertainment, and attended club meetings together.

Quite recently, I sent an email message to him that expressed my utter dismay at recent news of Wall Street’s record profits in the midst of our nation’s most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression.

In my original comment I did not mention God, though I did cite one scripture – 1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.”

I thought his reply most interesting.

“God is not just.”

As I understand it, atheism is the denial of the existence of God. It does not mean that God does NOT exist, it simply means that their faith is in the negative, rather than the affirmative.

Philosophically and logically, however, one cannot prove the negative. Thus, it is impossible to prove that God does not exist.

And yet, it is equally impossible to describe something that does not exist. It is impossible to speak about something of which one knows nothing, or indeed, claims cannot be known.

Therefore, to make such a statement as “God is not just,” presupposes the existence of God.

As well, it points – at least in my estimation – to a more fundamental question which I perceive to be at the heart of his fundamental objection to God’s existence, and therefore denial – which is ‘why is there injustice in the world?’