Headlines

Judge’s faith becomes early flashpoint in Supreme Court fight

Weekly jobless claims rise unexpectedly, total 870,000

Rioters set fire to police HQ in St. Louis

Twitter: ‘Louisville will burn’ doesn’t violate our rules ... Masters of the Universe bow to the mob

2 retired 4-star officers who served under Trump endorse Biden

Protests erupt around the nation after Breonna Taylor grand jury decision

Kevin McCarthy threatens motion to remove Pelosi as speaker if she pushes for impeachment again

Leftists boo Trump paying respects to RBG

Battleground polls show Trump up in Texas, Biden ahead in Iowa

Retailers have started paying rent again but are still fighting with their landlords

Florida AG refers Bloomberg to FBI for criminal investigation

Khan’s London: 11 police injured in acid attacks

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Headlines

Ginsberg’s death gives GOP an edge in 2020 legal fights

Trump to pick nominee to fill Ginsberg Supreme Court seat this week and the candidate will be a woman

Because the first one went so well, Pelosi floats Impeachment 2.0

Iran vows revenge for Solemani killing

Pelosi: No one has ‘any interest’ in government shutdown

Trump agrees to TikTok deal with Oracle and Walmart, allowing app’s U.S. operations to continue

Judge halts Trump’s ban on downloads of China’s WeChat

Sweden spared surge in virus cases

Former British cyber chief warns of Chinese data grab

Biden maintains 8 point national lead over Trump after tumultuous month of news

Dems threaten to pack the Supreme Court if GOP votes on RBG replacement

Moroccans make up nearly 25% of all juvenile inmates in Spain


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Headlines

Trump’s bluster and millions haven’t stopped universal mail-in voting plans

‘Pandemic fatigue’ leads to resurgence of coronavirus in Europe where France and Spain hit records

White House to announce $11.6 billion in disaster relief for Puerto Rico

POTUS to stop downloads of TIKTOK by Sunday

Outgoing China ambassador: Trump ‘believed the Chinese’ early in pandemic

The next wave of the global recovery could send commodity prices soaring

Pennsylvania Supreme Court sides with Dems — allows mailed ballots to be counted 3 days after Election Day

Rasmussen: Trump highest approval rating since impeachment launch

Poll: Biden up 9 points in Arizona, tied with Trump in North Carolina

Coronavirus live updates: U.S., Canada and Mexico extend border closures through October

Most voters now believe there is a ‘war on police’ — back ‘blue lives matter’ laws

Trump ‘putting a lot of pressure’ on CDC and FDA, I’d trust Fauci on vaccine


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Headlines

De Blasio delays in-person schooling a second time

Trump expected to rule on TIKTOK deal in 24-36 hours, Oracle to take 20% stake

Lindsey Graham says Mueller won’t agree to testify

FoxNews cuts off Newt Gingrich after he points out Soros role in electing prosecutors

Barr calls coronavirus lockdowns the ‘greatest intrusion into civil liberties’ since slavery

Jobless claims were lower than expected but employment growth is still sluggish

CNN sued for defamation over impeachment coverage

Twitter suspends Kanye West

Internal memo reassured Trudeau that virus’s economic hit would be ‘manageable’

Coronavirus live updates: BlackRock may never be 100% back in office, airline CEOs seek more federal aid

Minneapolis City Council that defunded police shocked by crime surge

Tory MP refuses to take ‘Unconscious Bias Training’

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Trump’s Boneheaded Moves?

A DEN comment on a previous blog post (Why?) outlined what is alleged to be President Trump’s boneheaded moves (surprisingly, DEN didn’t call him a RACIST!)  I reproduce them below with my rebuttals in bold type. Doing this under the comments section would have been impractical.

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-Unilaterally abandoned a treaty with Iran that they were complying with.
Again it is NOT a treaty and, even in 2017, Iran was NOT complying ... see:  Center for Security Policy and, more recently, Iran is 3.5 months from A-bomb

-Started a trade war with China and others which has cost jobs, ruined farms and raised prices for Americans.
In February, a year after tariffs were installed and before Covid, unemployment rate was 3.5%, the lowest in history, see: CNBC Report ... and inflation is still a tiny 1% compared to the Fed’s target of 2%  ... see: Inflation Rate Calculator.

- destroyed our prestige and trust with other nations that were allies, made a laughing stock out of America, but mainly himself. No one except Putin wants to deal with him.
Panhandlers (like much of the EU) always love a sucker  ... and they don’t like to be called freeloaders ... but the head of NATO praises Trump ... see: USA Today article ... and he is a hero in much of the Middle East, Japan, the Ukraine, South America, the U.K. and now, Serbia and Kosovo. The only reason Putin sucks up to Trump, despite all the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, is because he is rightfully scared of China. Trump is putting a stop to our being the world’s police force. Is this not a good thing?

- Gave a phony tax cut that mainly benefited large corps and rich people. 
First, they were real, not phony ... and, specifically, the corporate cuts did boost the economy. If they benefitted the wealthy it was only away from high-tax states like California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, etc, ... see: Washington Times article. Why are so many plutocrats moving out of these states? (Even after Gov. Cuomo offers to cook them dinner?)

- Has fired anyone who disagrees with him, gutting the competence of government leaders.
Trump has lived through a lot of Deep State leaks and subterfuge. He obviously tolerated a lot of disagreement but when subordinates actively worked against his policies (and they were rife) then they are shown the door. If anything, he has been too slow in this housecleaning.

- Put up a phony wall that can be breached with a power saw.
Sour grapes. Cutting through the wall with a saw takes a lot more time than stepping over a line. And there are sensors in the wall that alert authorities to any breach so that they can counterdict. There have now been build 216 miles of real (not phony) wall ... see: FoxNews Story ... with 700 more to go.

- Failed to take the pandemic seriously, proffered snake oil solutions. Never assumed responsibility for anything.
 Were you watching any of the Covid press conferences? It WAS the Trump administration, namely Fauci et al, who screwed the pooch by being on both sides of every issue. Trump is a natural optimist ... not a scientist and he made the mistake of putting too much faith in these incompetent bureaucrats ... and often had to cover for them. The CDC and NIH performed badly before and during this pandemic ... but Trump marshaled private industry and the drug companies only like a real businessman could. If you believe Biden could have done any better, you are a DNC ventriloquist’s dummy.

- Pulled troops out of Syria and betrayed Kurdish allies.
Did pulling out 50 US military advisors in northern Syria allow Turkey to destroy the Kurds there? Absolutely not! Biden is not raising this issue because it doesn’t exist. You need to read and study more. See: NY Post article.

- ignored Putin's bounty on US servicemen.
More silly fake news like The Atlantic canard ... designed to peel away military votes. Why on earth would he do this? Because Russia loaned his company money back in 1992? 

- encouraged supporters to vote twice, hired a guy with no experience to reduce USPS capabilities.
Not true. He said if North Carolina voters voted well in advance by mail, they should check to see if the their votes had been tallied. He didn’t single out Republicans. And the new head of the USPS is a logistics expert (see: Wikipedia Entry) ... and the post office is primarily a logistics business ... which badly needs to innovate.

- Solicited foreign influence. Bribed the Ukranian leader to dig dirt on Biden (this was proven but would not vote to impeach) Has undermined confidence in elections.
If anyone bribed the Ukrainian leadership, it was Biden. The Democrat impeachment case against Trump didn’t even charge that he had colluded ... don’t you remember? If Trump was charged with colluding and proven guilty, would any discussions between foreign leaders ever be possible in the future?

- refuses to show his taxes which would reveal chummy relations with Russians
You are guessing again. If there is anything illegal in Trump’s tax returns, it is for the tax courts and maybe the NY DA and grand jury to decide ... not the corrupt American media.

- could not find a replacement for ACA but would have dumped millions of people off health care just to spite Obama.
So far Trump has only eliminated the unfair individual mandate and penalty in Obamacare ... a very popular move. His other reforms were scuttled by a spiteful John McCain. Can you honestly say that your health care has gotten better or cheaper after ACA was passed? I certainly can’t.

Headlines

Pompeo blasts Beijing’s national security bill as ‘death knell’ for Hong Kong ‘s autonomy

Trump administration warms up to sending out more virus relief money

Little sense of shared grief as fatalities near 100,000 ...

Biden: ‘No one should be going to jail for drug crime, period‘

Biden: ‘If you have a problem figuring out if you are for me or Trump, then you ain’t black’

Coronavirus updates: Midwest virus spreads, Biden says he would make vaccine free for everyone

Hydroxychloroquine shows no benefit, raises death risk ...

Wallace: No record of  ‘serious fraud’ from mail-in voting

Issa sues California over November mail-ballot election

Dr. Anthony Fauci says staying closed for too long could cause ‘irreparable damage’

67,000 released so far under coronavirus jailbreak ...

McConnell: After impeachment, Pelosi not in position to lecture us

The Debate

One would think, watching the Democrat debate last night, that our world revolves around free stuff for everyone, climate change, sexism and racism. Non-issues: world trade inequities, our growing national debt, coronavirus, Chinese hegemony, North Korean nukes, immigration reform, economic growth, national defense, impeachment and patriotism.

I’m not sure if this was because of the candidates’ myopia or cable new’s desire to stir things up.

Afterthought: Bloomberg has said he would back whomever wins the Democrat nomination ... now, except possibly Liz Warren...

Mr. Vindman

Rat with clusters ...

Headlines

Feds seek delay in Michael Flynn case

Coronavirus updates: China pledges $10 billion to fight outbreak, UK confirms fourth case

NYPD: Officer shot, wounded in ‘assassination attempt’ ...

Tesla remotely removes features from used cars without warning

British 5G concerns a ‘witch hunt,’ Chinese ambassador says

Global death toll for new coronavirus soars past 800 to overtake SARS

Taliban claims multiple US soldiers killed in Afghan gun fight ... 2 dead

Buttigieg criticizes electoral college after losing Iowa popular vote

With an avalanche of cash Steyer surges in South Carolina

Tesla seems expensive at these prices even when valuing it like a high-growth tech stock

Republicans raise $100 million during impeachment!

Nancy Pelosi mourns Trump’s ‘shameful’ Alexander Vindman firing

Headlines

Biden campaign agonizes over Iowa shellacking

Coronavirus update: Mnuchin says coronavirus won’t hurt trade deal, Yum’s warning

Pete gaining quickly in NH ...

Elizabeth Warren: ‘Decent and honorable’ Romney ‘did the right thing’

Cuomo adviser accuses Trump admin of ‘retaliation’ over ‘sanctuary’ law

Amazon says it will create 15,000 jobs in Bellevue, Washington, and build it’s biggest tower ever

President rips impeachment foes at prayer breakfast ...  59.99% chance for re-election ...

Gaetz to file ethics charges against Pelosi ...

China announces tariff cuts as part of phase 1 deal despite coronavirus outbreak

Bernie Sanders raised a staggering $25 million in January to fund Super Tuesday push

Gallup: Record 90% Americans satisfied with life ...

Pope Francis calls for global wealth redistribution

News Flash!

Adam Schiff, with Nancy Pelosi’s blessing, has initiated another Trump impeachment inquiry in the House Intelligence Committee ... this time for gloating at yesterday’s prayer breakfast and press conference. It is also rumored that Trump’s failure to shake Pelosi’s hand at his State of the Union address will be a separate count. Schiff, in his announcement said that Trump’s actions were a ‘Constitutional crisis’ and ‘no one is above the law.’

Schiff’s list of expected witnesses in these new hearings includes Michael Avenatti, Vladimir Putin, Carol Blasey Ford, Baron Trump, Mitt Romney and Joy Bahar. The stated schedule for these hearings has an expected end-date this coming October.

Headlines

Police shoot man in suspected ‘terrorist-related’ incident in London

‘I will pay more’: Bloomberg unveils $5 trillion tax plan targeting the wealthy and corporations

Super Bowl of insults ... He’s short, He’s fat ... Has Trump met his match?

Shock: CNN, Des Moines Register bury Iowa poll

Schiff: Senators who fail to convict Trump will not be ‘off the hook’

US split on Trump’s removal from office, while top Dems’ lead in 2020 race: NBC/WSJ poll

The NFL ass-time show ...

Molten: Impeachment proves Nancy Pelosi is an idiot

Ernst: Trump learned his lesson on foreign interference

Voters largely favor capitalism over socialism amid Sanders’ rise in 2020 primary

Beyonce, Jay-Z DO NOT stand for [Super Bowl] half-time show ...

Trump: Bloomberg wants box to stand in for debate ...

Petty Is

Even that secret never-Trumper, Chris Wallace from FoxNews, has said that it would be petty for the Democrats to hold a Trump “not guilty” vote until after his State of the Union address this coming Tuesday, 2/4/2020. Of course, this would not be any different from how they have conducted this impeachment process up until now: “The case is overwhelming, but we need new evidence.”

The vote is now scheduled for Wednesday. Petty is that petty does.

Headlines

Did Warren get her campaign wrong in Iowa?

Delta, American will suspend China flights as coronavirus outbreak spreads

Poll: Amy pops to third in Iowa

Rand Paul reveals impeachment question censored by John Roberts

Stacey Abrams says she will be president by 2040

Amazon joins trillion dollar club again after knockout earnings report

Starr: Beware the revenge impeachment ...

Brexit day: Sadiq Khan ‘heartbroken’ that Britain is finally leaving the EU

Pompeo, in Ukraine, denies charges central to Trump’s impeachment trial

Consumer sentiment ticks up as unemployment remains around 50-year lows

Dershowitz quits trial ...

Mike Pompeo: Communist China is ‘central threat of our time’

Hot Air

If the climate Chicken Littles are right and burning fossil fuels to warm our homes and produce electricity is also warming our atmosphere, then I have a solution. I suggest that we somehow capture all the hot air coming out of the Libs in their attempt to remove President Trump from office ... and use it to replace that produced by burning hydrocarbons.

Powerline Pic

Headlines

Trump pushes forward conservative transformation of Medicaid

Trump impeachment trial: Senators ask final questions before critical witness vote

Republicans could move to quick acquittal vote ... claim momentum ...

Graham there are ‘53 Republican votes to call Hunter Biden’

Wilbur Ross says coronavirus could bring jobs back to the U.S. from China

GM resurrecting Hummer as ab all-electric ‘super truck’ with 1,000 horsepower

Mexican economy suffers first contraction in decade ...

Impeachment poll: 47% for removal, 48% against

U.S. economy grew at moderate 2.1% rate in fourth quarter

Economic growth looks even weaker this quarter virus now a wild card

Fed pumps another $82 billion ...

Netanyahu in Moscow to discuss Mideast peace plan

Mixed Motives

Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz has quit President Trump’s defense team in a huff ... I think because he felt that they didn’t come to his rescue when he got attacked for his extra-refined legal argument against impeachment. Basically, Dershowitz felt, if the president was doing something in the public interest ... even though in the back of his mind he might feel that this would help him get re-elected, that this was not impeachable. In other words, even if the president had mixed motives, this was OK.

Of course, the Democrat House managers jumped on this subtle distinction by saying, if the president felt that his re-election was in the public interest, that this was OK too ... crowing that Dershowitz felt that the president could do anything to get re-elected. (This, unfortunately for Dershowitz, did fit the perception of many that this fits Trump’s personality.) Then the spittle-flecked media attacked him like the pack of wild viewer-rating-dogs that they are.

Dershowitz’s law school peer, Elizabeth Warren, even said she couldn’t follow his logic. (Of course she could, but this was easy punishment for jumping ship in the name of scholarship.) And, his new friends, Trump’s defense team, chose not to walk this no-win plank with him ... so, now he left his new buddies in a huff.

He, of course, was logically right in his legal arguments. But, for once in his illustrious career, Dershowitz has found that being right does not necessarily prevail.

Headlines

Senators pelt Trump’s lawyers and impeachment managers with questions

Coronavirus live updates: Outbreak is ‘grave concern’ as infections spread beyond China

Bernie internals: Set for big Iowa win ...

WH tells Bolton not to publish book until classified info removed ...

Pomp, tears and bagpipes as European Parliament ratifies Brexit treary

Fed holds rates steady, affirms commitment to higher inflation

Anything Trump does to get re-elected is UNIMPEACHABLE, says Dershowitz ...

Actress tells jury: Weinstein teased film roles in exchange for threesome

New poll: Biden and Sanders running neck-and-neck in Iowa

‘In truth, I never lied’ — ex-Trump aide Flynn claims innocence as he seeks to undo guilty plea

Bust: Congressional Budget Office projects trillion-dollar deficits indefinitely ...

Poll: Michael Bloomberg leaps to second place in Florida

Lawyers

After listening to too many hours of the convoluted legal back and forth in the Trump impeachment trial, it seems clear to me that most law schools have neglected to require a course entitled “Occam’s Razor.” (It often appears that lawyers, particularly those who are politicians, think their job is to complicate things.) I suppose that the reason for such an educational oversight might well be that it would short circuit the legal profession’s reason for being.