"On Jan. 31, the day the president issued a China travel ban, Mr. Biden decried Mr. Trump’s “hysterical xenophobia and fear-mongering.” The Biden campaign now says he wasn’t referring to the ban, but it sounds like he was. Campaigning the next day, Mr. Biden seemed to attack the ban again, saying, “Disease has no borders.”
It wasn’t only Mr. Biden; it was also the people around him. Ron Klain, a longtime top adviser and former Biden chief of staff, opposed a travel ban on Jan. 28, a few days before it was announced, calling it “premature.” Other Biden advisers were also dismissive. On Jan. 30, Biden confidant and coronavirus adviser Zeke Emanuel told CNBC viewers to “take a very big breath, slow down, and stop panicking and being hysterical.” The virus will “go down as spring comes up.”
Throughout February, Mr. Biden’s lieutenants kept minimizing the threat. In a Feb. 6 op-ed, Biden coronavirus adviser Irwin Redlener wrote that a global pandemic was “not very likely” and predicted the chances of “getting a severe, potentially lethal form of the Wuhan virus is negligible.” On Feb. 11 Mr. Klain again played down the likelihood that Covid would become “a serious epidemic.” “The evidence suggests it’s probably not that,” he said. Two days later, Mr. Klain tweeted, “We don’t have a COVID-19 epidemic in the US but we are starting to see a fear epidemic.”
Suggesting in a Feb. 20 interview that there’d been “an overreaction,” Dr. Emanuel again suggested “warm weather is going to come and, just like with the flu, the coronavirus is going to go down.” Then on Feb. 24 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged tourists in San Francisco to “come to Chinatown.” Mr. Klain echoed her three days later, saying people should not be dissuaded by “needless fears about coronavirus.” He added that everyone “should tonight go down to Chinatown in their city and buy dinner or go shopping.”
On Feb. 29, with news of the first U.S. coronavirus death, Dr. Emanuel told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “running out and getting a mask is not going to help.” Then on March 12, coronavirus adviser Lisa Monaco and Mr. Biden double-teamed Mr. Trump’s Europe travel ban: She went on CNN and played down its importance while he tweeted, “A wall will not stop the coronavirus.” Mr. Biden also kept holding large rallies until March 9 and talked up in-person voting as late as April 2.
As the pandemic came on, there was no mention of masks, social distancing or lockdowns from Mr. Biden—and until mid-March, no calls for more protective gear, faster vaccine development or using the Defense Production Act." Carl Rove
————
The Dems are not interested in truth, only in winning. The pols like Pelosi, Biden and Harris want power above all else and the Marxists want revolution. Nothing else matters to any of them pl
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lefts-covid-memory-hole-11598483473?mod=hp_opin_pos_1
Something else that’s worth cranking into that timeline is that the House impeached President Trump on January 16 and the Senate acquitted him two weeks later–on February 5. That was the focus of Congressional Democrats’ attention until mid-February.
Carl Rove missed one. Speaker Pelosi, on Jan 27th, stated she would bring the “No Ban Act” to the floor for a vote. It has 209 Co-sponsors – all Democrats.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2214/cosponsors?searchResultViewType=expanded
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/27/21086802/house-pelosi-no-travel-ban-act-trump
Well, I’m a democratic socialist. I don’t want Biden to win, because he stands for nothing other than the acquisition of power. I do believe in democracy so if others do not share my socialists beliefs I have no interest in forcing them down peoples throats. I don’t think Trump is a good leader but he was elected. I don’t respect those who claim to respect democracy but undermine the winner of an election. To my mind it is hypocritical.
Yes I do think there needs to be radical change, but I am happy to make that case and wait for my fellow citizens to agree. Im not sure all socialists agree with me.
Harry, What are the key elements of your radical change to “socialism”. Can you give US examples of parts of our government that would qualify as “socialist type” program that are in place now?
The VA, the DMV, our public schools …. something that has a monopoly and only government operations are allowed?
Why does socialism demand membership in private third party unions? How do they continue to play a role when the “government” now runs everything.
We toss the word “socialism” around as we we all knew what it means, how it would get implemented and what would be the anticipated outcomes. Details, please. We may be only a few elections away from this “radical change” looking at its acceptance among our younger demographics.
Private property ownership; private enterprise, how do they fit in? Some public services become exclusively government services or merely government options, while private delivery still continues? What the heck is “socialism” everyone seems to be talking about.
Quite honestly, when I hear the word I think – gimme your stuff — this is all I can hear. Change my mind.
Basically the repubs under trump are being slowly starved of oxygen.A setup to fail no matter which way they burn.Another synagogue burnt down in Delaware.Why not churches or mosques.I wonder who is behind this.
Deap has a point. How many who are advocating socialism want to eliminate public sector unions? The logical answer would be 100% but the actual answer is probably close to zero,
1. I don’t believe that capitalism rewards people in proportion to their contribution to society. So its up to society to mitigate that. The old and infirm currently have some protection in the form of social security and social health care. But the social safety net should be wider, particularly with respect to the mentally ill.
2. Anti trust. Large companies dominate increasingly dominate our economy. They extract monopoly profits, and skew the competitive landscape in their favor by lobbying central government. If you want to run a capitalist or mixed economy you must keep the economy competitive and the playing field level.
3. Taxation should be progressive. If Mitt Romney pays 14% tax while i pay 38% there is something wrong with the system. The wealthy are able to access tax breaks the poor cannot. More generally, the US economy is designed make the poor the victims of the rich. Capital gains should not be taxed at a different privileged rate.
4. There is too much corruption at every level of government in the US.
5. Education should not be locally funded. Educational opportunities should not be as dependent on the income of your parents
6. No Americans should die because they have impaired access to healthcare. In this respect the Army is a socialist institution. Access to healthcare should be universal.
Harry,
“Yes I do think there needs to be radical change”
I agree. As a man who spent a lifetime being a Democrat and having run for office on the Democratic ticket in Michigan I found, much to my surprise, that the professional politicians in the state and nationwide had become completely co-opted by a lust for power and, as is readily becoming apparent to all, Marxist ideology. They all need to be removed from office at the ballot box this November. Then we can work to radically change the entrenched educational bureaucracy that has created an enslaved urban minority that can not earn enough at any occupation to raise their own families while enriching a elilte union leadership and thier political party patrons.
America needs a well educated citizenry who are capable of being self-sufficient and able to earn a living in this capitalist society, which has created the greatest economic opportunity known to mankind. As we see from decades long “progress” in the inner cities and nationally with the issuance of more than a million H1B visas the educational institutions have failed in that obligation. As we see from millions of legal and non-legal immigrants into the US the Marxists of the left have promoted the fraudulent idea of systemic race-based racism as cover for thier ongong efforts to destroy a society they can not improve upon, nor take control of with honest debate. They are joined in this destruction of self-sufficiency and equal opportunity by an elite class of internationalists and corporate leaders in search of ever lower labor costs and increasing concentration of wealth. Just look at what their prefered candidate of 2016 accomplished for Haiti with the Clinton Foundation and a decade’s worth of help from the UN.
mcohen
was it in Wilmington?
mcohen,
Unlike these churches:
May: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12119884/churches-burned-black-lives-matter-protests/
Commendations by Shaun King saying that was fine by him.
July: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/three-churches-burned-just-24-hours-wouldnt-know-watch-national-news/ with additional bad news coverage: https://www.foxnews.com/us/church-fire-florida-california-statue-burned-police-investigation
August: https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/08/03/two-fires-lit-at-massachusetts-church-called-appalling-act-of-arson/
I wonder why none of this shows up in your awareness. That was all of 2 minutes of looking on the internet.
Harry,
On point #4, I’ll agree. I suggest reading Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. That’ll help with the rest.
Harry – Are you a DSA member?
I was for Bernie both times he ran. But in 2020 he and most of his supporters knew that he was NOT running for President, but only to move the DNC away from the neo-liberal ideas of Bill Clinton’s DLC. He succeeded! Biden has agreed with Sanders to form task forces that include Bernie appointees on health care, the economy, and education.
But the biggest change is that Biden is now preparing to upend decades of dogma on globalization. That was one of the same issues that Trump borrowed from Bernie but so far has not acted on. If Biden does get elected let’s hope that the neo-libs do not get to him like the neo-cons got to Trump.
Las night was a good visual…when I saw the 1500 chairs I was reminded of the 1500 Americans who died that day from C-19. I think I am part of the well-educated citizenry—I can count.
Thanks for trying Harry to explain “socialism”. Sorry, but no sale. Not one compelling argument or explanation. The needle did not move past “gimme your stuff” definition for me.
I far prefer land of opportunity; not the land of socialism. Not sure where our roads diverged so substantially. Founders knew government should be limited, and given enough power, power corrupts.
Today we have given far too much power to “the government” which in fact are unelected mass government employment agencies with far too much power and control over all our lives, with no checks and balances; no responsiveness to the electoral process. “Socialism” does not change that; only makes it far, far worse.
I sense you overlook how much activity in the US is voluntary – don’t like a corporation – don’t buy their products; don’t like your employee-employer relationship -start your own country. Your brand of “socialism” reeks with victimization. And that is why I can’t buy it- it is a mental prison; not a viable alternative.
Plus I still don’t understand why every “socialism” scheme the radical Left presents today, and every single Democrat candidate, demands mandatory membership in due-paying private third party employee organization known as an employee union – as a universal government mandate forced on every single employee. Talk about wealth confiscation – for what purpose?
Might want to dig a little deeper into that “socialist” corruption.
Fred, I too was a local elected official. Non-partisan because it was an educational institution, and I was long a Democrat because they always supported “education” right?
Seeing how this public agency operated from the inside for 20 years is when the scales fell off my own eyes. The teachers unions – aka the Democrat Party – is the most thoroughly corrupt organization we have in our state.
I viscerally recoil now seeing how every “radical” Democrat platform now demands forced union membership as a primary tenant of its implementation. Knowing full well, they will probably not get most if any of their major elements passed, but sitting there by stealth, like a Trojan Horse, is the mandatory union membership clause that will ride in hidden by the furor of their most publicized demands.
Being on the inside of a public institution sharpens one awareness of the duplicitous campaigns the unions wage against the voter. You quickly learn their buzz words, their disguised “support” organizations, their tactics and their appeal to the emotional jugular in unsuspecting voters who still believe Democrats support education.
In California, I got to watch Kamala Harris up close and see her as one of the most corrupt politicians in the state – the handmaiden for the state employee unions, first last and always abusing powers as AG to carry out their demands.
As voters, we have to duty to reject these insider politicians.
Fred.
I am disgusted by the fraud which is American identity politics. It reminds me very clearly of British Imperial divide and rule. The Democratic Party seems to be 100% committed to identity politics. The people promoting identity politics on the left are not Marxists. Marxism requires far more effort and reading. They are opportunists, who seek to profit from their brothers pain. This kind of opportunist has been a consistent feature of American politics for many years. Al Sharpton is an excellent example of the type.
I am a socialist, but I can see merit in capitalism where it is run honestly and fairly with a view to benefiting all people. What exists in America today is not capitalism.
Harry,
I’m old school, born in the 30s depression. IMO, labels like socialism, Marxist, capitalism, radical left, racist, are bereft of meaning since they no longer have a specific commonly understood definition. It is whatever anyone wants it to be. I consider myself a “classical liberal” in the Lockean sense and a “constitutional originalist” as my ideal are the philosophies that underpinned the thinking of Jefferson and Madison. But what does “liberal” mean today to any group. This malleability of labels is not conducive to debate on core issues as labels have just become epithets.
For example, you bring a hugely important point which is market concentration and monopolies. You label a competitive marketplace socialism. I completely agree with you on the need for competition but I would label it the core of capitalism. Without a competitive market economy which must be enforced by a third party, like a referee in a sports game, it would always tend towards concentration. What we have witnessed over the past half century is a massive concentration in market power across practically every market sector. This rise in market concentration have been supported by the “socialist left” and the “capitalist right” and is the very antithesis of a free, open, entrepreneurial and competitive economy. This rise in market concentration has been due to the symbiotic relationship between big government and big business. The complete corruption of politics with big money concentrating more power and using that power to control all levers of power in a reinforcing cycle. The financialization of the economy and the concomitant destruction of large segments of the real economy with our industrial base offshored are all a direct result of this concentration in market power. It is not that earlier generations did not recognize this natural tendency to concentration and oligarchy. They did and laws exist on the books. But a combination of the use of sophistry among segments of the corrupted judiciary and the revolving door where the fox is in the henhouse have gutted the enforcement of anti-trust. This has resulted in the slow evisceration of the working and middle class and the most unprecedented wealth inequality in American history.
Labels have purposefully obfuscated the real issues. Both the left and right, the Democrats and Republicans and all the media propaganda are designed to divide and distract from the real looting. The greatest transfer of wealth from the American working and middle class to the Party of Davos.
Laura Wilson,
“Last night was a good visual…when I saw the 1500 chairs I was reminded of the 1500 Americans who died that day from C-19. I think I am part of the well-educated citizenry—I can count.”
This is such a tired talking point. How many COVID victims are represented in your mind by the hundreds or thousands of anarchists and rioters in the streets? I can see and count too. So can pretty much every other American who is not blinded by leftist ideology. Not much distance between people in those crowds. Americans see this hypocrisy plain as day. That line just ain’t gonna stick anymore, but keep going for it. It’s all you’ve got at this point.
Wise words spoken Oct 10th, 1952 by Pres. Truman for all those who quiver in their shoes whenever the Trumpster or FOX claims that Biden will turn the US into a socialist hell hole:
Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.
Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called farm price supports.
Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
SRW
Ah, another fellow traveler heard from!
74 People Facing Federal Charges for Crimes Committed During Portland Demonstrations
Charges include assaulting federal officers, arson, failing to obey lawful orders, and damaging federal property
https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/74-people-facing-federal-charges-crimes-committed-during-portland-demonstrations
And in Wisconsin:
FBI Milwaukee Statement on Individuals Inciting Violence During First Amendment-Protected Peaceful Demonstrations
https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/milwaukee/news/press-releases/fbi-milwaukee-statement-on-individuals-inciting-violence-during-first-amendment-protected-peaceful-demonstrations
Turco
https://www.haaretz.com/amp/jewish/.premium-fire-at-university-of-delaware-chabad-ruled-arson-1.9109240
Fred.
Now that I look it is right across the board.Strange isn’t it.Whole thing is spinning out of control
mcohen
Let me know who the perps turn out to be.
Marxist-Democrat foot-soldiers also vandalized a Synagogue in Kenosha Wisconsin. In addition Portland Fire & Rescue responded to two fires that happened in the West Side Chabad Jewish Community Center five days apart in Southwest Portland.
Now to the 64 dollar question: While they may have an insurance, they lost the place to daven on High Holidays. Where are they going to worship now?
Deap,
I came in second, though, to paraphrase Heinlein, “With just a touch more self confidence and a liberal helping of ignorance I could have been a famous politician.” As to the teachers unions, it is not quite analagous to ‘regulatory capture’, where the school boards are taken over by unions, but close. I think you will find that those dedicated to the teaching as an institution have taken them over, and that those dedicated to teaching are gravitating to charter schools where they can do just that.
Laura Wilson,
How about that ten day motorcycle rally at Sturgis? CNN said there were 70 cases out of more than 500,000 people who attended – that’s an infection rate of 0.00014. How much risk is that?
Colonel,
I’m at a loss for words. Namely, ‘why’ is Israeli Unit 8200 being allowed access to U.S. Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals?
A group behind the curtains founded by a former Unit 8200 Commander Ohad Zaidenberg have been granted access to some of the most critical private and public networks with the help of a US federal agency now run by a former Microsoft executive. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)director, Christopher Krebs – who was previously the Director of Cybersecurity for Microsoft.
https://unlimitedhangout.com/2020/08/investigative-reports/meet-the-idf-linked-cybersecurity-group-protecting-us-hospitals-pro-bono/
SRW,
Or, socialism is the name that claims in theory to help all the people, yet in practice royally screws almost all the people and only enriches and benefits a select ultra-minority of the most well-connected people.
Can you or any other leftist please point me to a socialist policy that ever achieved its stated or desired aim without causing unintended and deleterious effects to society at large, often and usually including the very groups it was designed to benefit?
Farm price supports?? Yes, indeed, they resulted in the US government destroying massive amounts surplus grain supplies during the Great Depression, at a time when millions of Americans were struggling to feed themselves and their families. Labor wage floors during that time served to keep millions of workers unemployed when they could have probably been hired for a going free market rate and had at least some income. The only real minimum wage is $0.
Social security is a system that has been expanded and thoroughly abused beyond its original intent to the point that it is now nothing more than the largest Ponzi scheme in history. I and every member of my generation will never see a dime of what we pay into it. Anyone claiming this as a success is simply ignorant of both history and the current status quo.
I think Deap has done more than enough to expose the fraudulent nature of labor unions, and more specifically public unions, to save me the effort of rehashing their stain on society.
As we have seen, public utilities are so very well run that there have been no issues whatsoever with those over the past 50 years. And before you mention PG&E California as publicly traded, investor owned company, remember they are under some of the most onerous and heavy-handed regulations you could imagine from the state government, to the point that it has been virtually impossible for them to conduct business as a normal publicly traded company would in an incentive-driven environment. Forget about maintaining your current, antiquated grid. You need to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into R&D and conversion to inefficient renewable energy, or else!
And with the federal government (i.e. American taxpayers) on the hook for guaranteeing bank deposits, why would any bank be incentivized to practice prudent lending and keep a healthy balance sheet founded on mitigated risk? Roll the dice, the gubmint gots your back!
Man, oh man. The list can go on for days…
j
panama.where the ships laden with green gold stop for a minyan.
Deap,
I wasnt defining socialism. I was noting some problems i have with the current status quo in the US. You do not need me to define socialism for you.
I think i have studied too much economics already. More will not help me. Instead in reply to your other points i would just quote Cormac McCarthy’s Churgurh. “If the rule that you followed brought you to this place, of what use was the rule?”
How many countries have declining life expectancy?
In many ways my politics obscures the real issue. Im a socialist but i have no interest in telling you what to do. Rather I have a question – how would an American patriot reform the country to make Americans better off?
I think universal healthcare would be the one single reform i would propose. If i might make two, the second would be antitrust reform.
What would you change?
To be filed under Trust But Verify: Article purports CDC adjusts “covid deaths” to fewer than 10,000. The others listed as “covid deaths” did have significant co-morbidities or extremely advanced age, mainly in senior care facilities:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/08/shock-report-week-cdc-quietly-updated-covid-19-numbers-9210-americans-died-covid-19-alone-rest-serious-illnesses/
Smelled a rat as soon as I learned the guy pushing the Imperial College of Medicine model was shacking up with a director from AVAAZ. Now they tell us?
Trust, but verify. Perhaps this is why the CDC also “quietly” changed testing protocols for symptomatic patients only – to make percentage the positives look higher and/or stop wasting money on a “pandemic” that had already run its course and played its worst hand with the co-morbid very early in the game.
Nice timing, Joe and Kamala – Day One they both promised would mandate masks nationwide. Story not yet over.
Deap
9,210? Sounds like a giant left wing conspiracy. Should I do a post on this?