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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION

50 STATES AND DC, CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT

Job Openings Surge by 10 Percent to 6.6 Million, Topping Expectations By Tom Ozimek

https://www.theepochtimes.com/job-openings-surge-by-10-percent-to-6-6-million-topping-expectations_3493679.html

Job openings in the United States, which are a measure of labor demand, rose by 10 percent to 6.6 million in July, while the number of people quitting their jobs rose by 2.1 percent between June and July, suggesting an uptick in confidence in being able to find work.

The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released Wednesday, showed that the number of job vacancies jumped by 617,000 to 6.6 million on the last day of July, above the 6 million that economists surveyed by FactSet predicted.

Manufacturing saw a 17.9 percent surge in job openings. Industries that saw the largest increases in vacancies were retail trade (172,000), health care and social assistance (146,000), and construction (90,000). The U.S. housing market, in particular, has shown remarkable resilience amid the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus outbreak, with an August report from the U.S. Census Bureau (pdf) showing building permits, a predictor of future activity, rising by 18.8 percent from June to July. Housing starts, meanwhile, surged by 22.6 percent between June and July. In another sign that the economic recovery may be picking up speed, U.S. home sales rose at a record rate for a second straight month in July.

Wednesday’s JOLTS report showed that vacancies were highest in trade, transportation, and utilities (1.292 million), followed by education and health services (1.262 million), and business and professional services (1.2 million), with all three categories seeing growth from the month before.

NYC to Allow Indoor Dining at 25 Percent Capacity, Marking COVID Recovery Milestone By Brittany Bernstein

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/nyc-to-allow-indoor-dining-at-25-percent-capacity-marking-covid-recovery-milestone/

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he would allow New York City restaurants to reopen for indoor dining at 25 percent capacity beginning September 30.

The announcement comes more than two months after Cuomo and mayor Bill de Blasio put the brakes on a plan to reopen indoor dining at restaurants in light of continued concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

Now that “compliance is better” — New York’s infection rate has stayed below 1 percent for several weeks — “we can now take the next step,” the governor said.  

While the city’s restaurants have suffered economically since the outset of the pandemic, many have tried to get by on outdoor dining and takeout services this summer but have worried what colder weather would hold in store. 

Aside from reduced capacity, restaurants and patrons will face other restrictions including the requirement to wear face coverings when not seated.

‘Transforming’ the U.S. – Into What? by Judith Bergman

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16429/transforming-the-us

Local businesses have been moving out. Greg Goodman, co-president of Portland’s Downtown Development Group recently wrote in a letter to Mayor Ted Wheeler and the city council that the number of businesses moving out of the city “is like nothing I have seen in 42 years of doing business in downtown”. Goodman said that the businesses leaving included Daimler Chrysler, Air B&B, Banana Republic and Microsoft, and argued that their departure “does have most everything to do with the lawlessness you are endorsing downtown.”

“I would encourage each of you to walk around downtown Portland in the morning. You aren’t sweeping the streets, needles are all over the place, garbage cans are broken and left open, glass from car windows that have been broken out is all over the streets, parks are strewn with litter… You are willfully neglecting your duties as elected officials to keep our city safe and clean.” — Greg Goodman, in a letter to Portland’s Mayor Ted Wheeler and the city council.

One influential national politician, however, promised with a smile that the “protests” are “not going to stop… They’re not going to stop before election day in November and they’re not going to stop after election day…. They’re not going to let up and they should not…”

America could indeed be “transformed,” but if safe and successful cities keep being transformed into places of crime-ridden lawlessness, is that what Americans want?

At least 13 US cities “have cut funding from police department budgets or decreased officer numbers with several more in the process,” according to a recent report by Forbes. Austin, Texas, one of the recent additions to the list of cities defunding police, cut $150 million, nearly a third of its police budget.

How to Steal an Election by Chris Farrell

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16474/how-to-steal-an-election

In one of the greatest public disinformation campaigns in American history, the “Transition Integrity Project” (TIP) released a 22-page report in August 2020 “war gaming” (their term) four election crisis scenarios…. The outcome of each TIP scenario results in street violence and political impasse.

The political power resourced and generated from a document like the TIP report… introduces the threat of terror and street violence (to the general population) as a “normal” or “expected” outcome.

Here is what you will see, hear and read in the next few weeks: “Yes, expect violence in the aftermath of the election, because now that is the new ‘normal.’ Trump made us do it….”

Who is paying the bills for TIP and its affiliates?… No one does this for free, and someone (or some entity) is paying the bill. Who?

What evidence is there of awareness and preparedness on the political Right to confront and counter the TIP (and other Leftists) and their plans to disrupt the election? Not much. Time is short. The Left’s threat of violence and subversion of the election is real. How we respond is critical.

How does one ensure their political allies are ideologically synchronized, and know exactly how to disrupt a presidential election? What about the “journalists” in the news media and the babblers on social media — how does one get them onboard with the planned nationwide revolutionary disruption? Easy! Publish a report titled: “Preventing a Disrupted Presidential Election.”

In one of the greatest public disinformation campaigns in American history — the Left and their NeverTrumper allies (under the nom de guerre: “Transition Integrity Project”) released a 22-page report in August 2020 “war gaming” (their term) four election crisis scenarios: 1. A decisive Trump win; 2. A decisive Biden win; 3. A narrow Biden win; and, 4. A period of extended uncertainty after the election. The outcome of each TIP scenario results in street violence and political impasse.

Rochester Proves ‘Black Lives’ Don’t Matter to BLM By Nicholas L. Waddy

https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/08/rochester-proves-black-lives-dont-matter-to-blm/

Over the July 4 weekend, 13 people were shot in this city of just 200,000 people. But has BLM organized marches on the homes of notorious domestic abusers or drug dens? Of course not.

For almost a week, Black Lives Matter and like-minded activists have been marching in the streets of Rochester, New York, protesting the death of Daniel Prude at the hands of police. BLM zealots even harassed diners and overturned tables at two restaurants located next to the apartment building in which I live, creating a social media firestorm. Events in Rochester have even attracted the notice of none other than President Donald Trump.

We Rochesterians are not used to playing a starring role in the national news cycle. Well, now we are, like it or not.

The curious thing? Daniel Prude died months ago, and under circumstances that hardly suggest racial animus played a role in his demise. He was a mentally deranged man on drugs—someone the police had to restrain as best they could. And restrain him they did, based on well-established policies and procedures. Unfortunately, based on a variety of circumstances—some of them completely outside the control of the police officers who detained him—Prude later died. This makes Tuesday’s announcement by the police chief that he and his entire command staff would resign at once baffling and unfortunate. The move only reinforces the (false) perception that the police were culpable in Prude’s death.

The facts be damned, however—the media and the anti-police outrage industry can turn almost any questionable incident caught on camera into an instant scandal. In fact, as we see in this case, a police “killing” need not even be recent to excite “anti-racist” fervor. Nor must it be demonstrably racist, as events this summer have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Why San Francisco Is In Trouble – 19,000 Highly Compensated City Employees Earned $150,000+ In Pay & Perks Adam Andrzejewski

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2020/09/01/why-san-francisco-is-in

San Fran wants a big coronavirus bailout from the American taxpayer. So, our auditors dug into how they spent their budget in 2019. 

You are not going to believe the pay in city agencies!

Here are just a few samples of our findings:

Mayor London Breed made $452,421 in pay and perks in 2019 — topping every other mayor across the country. 
Police officers are called “peace officers” and earned up to $574,595 in pay and perks last year!
Two fire chiefs worked five and seven months each and made $386,727 and $442,722 respectively.
Self-declared “Mr. Clean,” the Public Works Director made $380,000 in total comp before he was arrested by the FBI. 

San Francisco is a mess. Literally. Our auditors found that complaints of human waste in the public way spiked to an all-time high (31,000) last year!

Read our piece at Forbes where you’ll find more jaw-dropping compensation.

Why is San Francisco oversight important? The city is home to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Galvin Newsom, and vice-presidential candidate U.S. Senator Kamala Harris!

President Trump Makes One Sorry Fascist By Jack Cashill

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/09/president_trump_makes_one_sorry_fascist.html

On every fascist metric, Obama beats Trump by a giant goose step.

“Of course we’ll have fascism,” legendary Huey Long was reported to have said. “We’ll have it under the guise of anti-fascism.” Today, of course, we see the confirmation of Long’s prediction on America’s streets in the self-parodying Antifa movement.

At the executive level, for all the mindless chatter about President Trump as Hitler or worse, it is not he who deserves the label “fascist.” By American standards, that honor goes to President Obama and his fierce little toady, Joe Biden. To gauge the fascistic impulses of Trump and Obama respectively, Merriam-Webster offers a useful measuring stick, a definition of “fascism” untainted by the politics of the moment:

A political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

On every fascist metric, Obama beats Trump by a giant goose step. One could argue that Trump “exalts nation” more than Obama, and that is true, but not “above the individual.” For Obama, like all socialists, national socialists included, the individual was expected to subordinate his interests to those of the state.

The Trump Boom 2.0: Jobs for American Strivers The United States will continue to pursue economic nationalism in a second Trump term. By Steve Cortes

https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/07/the-trump-boom-2-0-jobs-for-american-strivers/

This Labor Day, as we celebrate the dignity of work across our land, we can justly take solace that our economy recovers quickly from the ravages of the China virus, and the economic data points increasingly reveal a country roaring back to life, especially in job creation. We know much work still lies ahead. 

We also realize that we cannot reverse time and undo the incredible damage wrought upon the world by the Chinese Communist Party. The duplicity and malfeasance of China’s rulers quite literally infected the world and crashed the global economy, inflicting an artificial halt upon an American economic boom that flourished in our nation, with particular benefits to working-class labor, the American strivers. 

But we can decide, from here, how we approach this great national economic revival and we can—and will—determine that the path forward for jobs must include re-electing President Trump. We will rehire the man responsible for the conditions that led to the first Trump Boom, fully aware that the Trump Boom 2.0 already commences, and can accelerate in a second term. 

On Friday, the Labor Department issued another blockbuster payrolls report. As our country renews our economic vigor, historic records for job gains have been set in each of the last four months, with over 10 million total jobs created. In addition, the breakout report for August detailed a staggering drop in the jobless rate, falling almost two percentage points in a single month to 8.4 percent. In addition, these 1.4 million new hires in August represent quality jobs, as the pace of wage gains vaulted higher to 4.7 percent, year over year. 

The Marxist Virus is Still Lethal Is the ground being laid for the final demolition of the Constitutional order? Bruce Thornton

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/09/marxist-virus-still-lethal-bruce-thornton/

At the start of the fifth month of urban rioting, it’s obvious that the deaths of black men resisting arrest are not causing the disorder, any more than imaginary “systemic racism.” But these excuses are mere pretexts. What we are really witnessing is the manifestation of a Marxist ideology and methodology over 150 years old. This intellectual virus has waxed and waned over that time, but has survived for one reason: The liberal democracies have adopted policies that accept and legitimize the technocratic, redistributionist, centralized Leviathan state.

Such endorsement of basically collectivist economic and social policies has created in the body politic the potential space in which Marxism can slumber until it erupts into an epidemic.

Many of us are puzzled by the endorsement of socialism on the part of the richest, freest, best- nourished people who ever existed. We point out socialism’s failures, from the failed revolutions of 1848 to the outbreak of World War I, when socialist political parties across Europe voted to finance a war in which millions of men fought, suffered, and died for the flags of their countries–– nations that Marxist doctrine claimed were transitory, parochial epiphenomena destined to disappear when communism triumphed and the red “heaven on earth” joined mankind in one global, collectivist identity.

But Marxist theory had been proven false decades before the Great War. As the great historian of the Soviet Union Robert Conquest pointed out, by the late 19th century “the Marxist predictions of a capitalist failure to expand production, of a fall in the rate of profit, a decrease in wages, of increasing proletarian impoverishment and the resulting approach of revolutionary crisis in the industrial countries had all proved false.” The proletariat didn’t get poorer, it became middle class consumers.

Atlantic Editor Admits Key Detail of Anti-Trump Hit Piece May Be Untrue By Matt Margolis

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2020/09/07/atlantic-editor-admits-key-detail-of-anti-trump-hit-piece-may-be-untrue-n903238

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, admitted that a key detail of his article about Trump could be wrong during an interview with CNN on Sunday.

“When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed the rain for the last-minute decision, saying ‘the helicopter couldn’t fly’ and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true,” Goldberg wrote in his piece published last week. According to Goldberg, President Trump was overheard saying he wanted to cancel the trip to the cemetery because “it’s filled with losers.”

At least fifteen Trump administration officials who were with Trump on that trip have now disputed the Atlantic report, including former national security adviser John Bolton.

FOIA documents have also definitively proved that Trump’s visit to the cemetery was canceled due to weather. When Goldberg was asked about evidence that the cancelation was due to inclement weather, he admitted that it was likely true.

“I’m sure all of those things are true,” he told CNN.This admission by Goldberg completely undermines his entire story. Goldberg claimed the trip wasn’t canceled because of weather. Evidence proves this claim is false. Goldberg now admits that weather causing the cancellation is true. Why should we believe anything else in the story when the foundation of it is admitted to be incorrect?