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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION

50 STATES AND DC, CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT

Hydroxychloroquine Naysayers have Financial Ties to Remdesivir Developer

This is an excellent exposé from former CBS investigative journalist, Sharyl Attkisson, who discusses the prophylactic and treatment efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as well as Gilead Science’s newly developed drug, Remdesivir, with several physicians.

It turns out that many of those disparaging the use of hydroxychloroquine, a very inexpensive drug that has been used for many decades, have ties to Gilead Science. Janet Levy Ross

Watch the video below for more information.

https://youtu.be/zB-_SV-y11Y

D.C. Circuit Orders Judge Sullivan to Respond to Flynn Mandamus Petition By Andrew C. McCarthy

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/michael-flynn-case-dc-circuit-orders-judge-sullivan-to-respond-to-mandamus-petition/

Is Judge Emmet Sullivan’s collusion cameo nearing its end?

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, on its own motion, ordered Judge Sullivan to respond within ten days to the petition for a writ of mandamus filed by Michael Flynn. Earlier this week, Flynn’s counsel, Sidney Powell, filed the petition for that extraordinary writ, asking the appellate court to instruct Sullivan to grant the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case against Flynn.

That was after Judge Sullivan not only declined to grant the prosecution’s motion, but (a) invited non-parties to intervene in the case by filing amicus briefs (transparently, to make arguments that he somehow has authority to deny DOJ’s motion); and (b) appointed one amicus, former federal judge John Gleeson, as a quasi-prosecutor to make arguments that prosecutors are declining to make in favor of entering a judgment of conviction and sentencing Flynn.

As I noted yesterday, Sullivan’s encouragement of amicus briefs, which are not authorized in criminal cases, flies in the face of Sullivan’s own very firm orders previously declining to permit amicus briefs in Flynn’s case — some two dozen times by Ms. Powell’s count.

The appointment of Gleeson is equally astonishing and offensive to the principle of courts as impartial arbiters. Gleeson — who worked at the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York with Loretta Lynch (later President Obama’s attorney general) and Andrew Weissmann (chief prosecutor on the Mueller probe that brought the Flynn case — and now a Biden for President fundraiser) — has co-written a Washington Post op-ed portraying the Justice Department’s dismissal motion as an abuse of power.

Rice Preferences…by Gerald A. Honigman

 Breaking news about the horrendous travesty of justice that General Michael Flynn, a much decorated career army officer and President Trump’s former National Security Advisor, was subjected to at the hands and machinations of the previous Obama Administration–whose real target was/is President Trump himself–got me thinking about another Rice.

The first is preferred by Republicans–that would be the Condoleezza variety…the one which/who shares many of her fellow Republican petro-business-related buddies’ interests in the Middle East. Think the likes of James (“F-the Jews, they don’t vote for us anyway”) Baker III, the Bush family, John Sununu, and numerous others who made mucho dinero off of assorted autocratic Arab oil potentates’ black gold.

Let’s turn the clock back to learn more about this bright, attractive, but somewhat troublesome variety–at least for those folks hoping that Israel would get a fair shake in Washington.

Recall that this special Rice species had an oil tanker in the Chevron fleet named after her for associations with the company–one of the Seven Sisters closely associated with Arab oil https://www.energytoday.net/conventional-energy/the-seven-sisters-the-great-oil-companies-and-the-world-they-shaped/.

Now, while others can also claim such connections, please understand the implications for people in high government positions.

Sullivan on Sullivan By Andrew C. McCarthy

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/michael-flynn-case-judge-sullivan-rules-amicus-briefs/

General Flynn’s counsel, Sidney Powell, has filed petition for a writ of mandamus in the D.C. Circuit, seeking to have the appeals court instruct District judge Emmet Sullivan end his tantrum over the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case. Judge Sullivan’s antics include inviting a torrent of amicus briefs to help him figure out a way to deny the motion, which he must know he has no authority to do under the circumstances.

There are many things about the submission that are worth discussing, but I just want to highlight my favorite part: Ms. Powell quotes in full Judge Sullivan’s own order, dated December 20, 2017, explaining why it would be improper for a judge to allow third parties to file amicus briefs in Flynn’s criminal case — something he reportedly refused to permit some two dozen times before the dizzying U-turn he took a few days ago (my italics):

MINUTE ORDER. This Court has received several motions to intervene/file an amicus brief along with letters in support from a private individual who is neither a party to this case nor counsel of record for any party. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure do not provide for intervention by third parties in criminal cases. The Court recognizes that the movant sincerely believes that he has information to share that bears on this case, and that, understandably, he wishes to be heard. Options exist for a private citizen to express his views about matters of public interest, but the Court’s docket is not an available option. The docket is the record of official proceedings related to criminal charges brought by the United States against an individual who has pled guilty to a criminal offense. For the benefit of the parties in this case and the public, the docket must be maintained in an orderly fashion and in accordance with court rules. The movant states that he disagrees with the similar Minute Order issued by Judge Berman Jackson in Criminal Case Number 17-201, but the contrary legal authority on which he relies is neither persuasive nor applicable. Therefore, the Clerk is directed not to docket additional filings submitted by the would-be intervenor. If the individual seeks relief from this Court’s rulings, he must appeal the rulings to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 12/20/2017. (lcegs3) (Entered: 12/20/2017).

As Flynn’s mandamus petition explains, the court rules to which Sullivan refers (i.e., the rules of the court on which he sits as a judge) expressly authorize amicus brief in civil cases, but do not authorize them in criminal cases. Those are rules Sullivan used to apply . . . until he decided to stop being Flynn’s judge and start being Flynn’s prosecutor.

Across the Wide, Growing American Divide By Victor Davis Hanson

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/05/coronavirus-crisis-growing-american-divide-red-states-blue-states/

Perhaps in this time of plague, Americans can at least agree that the romance of Arcadia is suddenly preferable to the allure of big-city lights.

Red- and blue-state America was already divided before the coronavirus epidemic hit. Globalization had enriched the East Coast and West Coast corridors but hollowed out much in between.

The traditional values of small towns and rural counties were increasingly at odds with postmodern lifestyles in the cities.

There were, of course, traditionalists in blue states. And lots of progressives live in red states. But people increasingly self-segregate to where they feel at home and where politics, jobs, and culture reflect their tastes.

The ensuing left/right, liberal/conservative, Democrat/Republican divide not only intensified in the 21st century, it also took on a dangerous geographical separatism.

The coasts vs. the interior reflects two Americas — often in a manner similar to the old Mason–Dixon line that geographically split the U.S. for roughly a century.

Hydroxychloroquine: What Does Trump Have to Lose? Are critics afraid HCQ will kill the president, or that taking it will kill their narrative that it’s ‘dangerous’? By Ruth Papazian

https://amgreatness.com/2020/05/20/hydroxychloroquine-what-does-trump-have-to-lose/

Fielding questions from reporters on Monday after a roundtable with restaurant executives and industry leaders, President Trump casually announced that for the past week-and-a-half, he had been taking one hydroxychloroquine tablet daily, along with a zinc supplement (HCQ+Zn). Given the media reaction, you’d have thought the president admitted to . . . oh, I don’t know, something really out there, like he’s eaten dog meat.

Asked about Department of Health and Human Services whistleblower Rick Bright’s criticism of the administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the president said:

He’s the one that signed the [emergency use authorization] application. . . . Now, if he doesn’t believe in it, why would he sign it? . . . You’d be surprised at how many people are taking [hydroxychloroquine], especially the frontline workers—before you catch it. The frontline workers—many, many are taking it. I happen to be taking it. I happen to be taking it. . . . Right on “The View” now. Yeah. A couple of weeks ago, I started taking it.

Then, President Trump dropped this bombshell when asked if the president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, recommended that he take HCQ+Zn:

A White House doctor—didn’t recommend—no, I asked him, “What do you think?” He said, “Well, if you’d like it.” I said, “Yeah, I’d like it. I’d like to take it.” . . . I was just waiting to see your eyes light up when I said this, but—you know, when I announced this. But, yeah, I have taken it for about a week and a half now, and I’m still here. I’m still here.

Pressed repeatedly by reporters on whether he was taking HCQ+Zn because he tested positive for COVID-19 or was experiencing symptoms, the president clarified:

Zero symptoms. . . . [E]very couple of days, they want to test me, you know, for obvious reasons. I mean, I am the president, alright? . . . So every couple of days, I get tested, and I’ve been—I’ve shown always negative. . . . Totally negative. No symptoms. No nothing. . . . I take it because I think—I hear very good things. Again, you have to go to frontline workers. Many frontline workers take it and they seem to be doing very well.

Senate Dems Push WHO Chinese Propaganda Resolution Condemning “Wuhan Virus” as Racist Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/05/senate-dems-push-who-chinese-propaganda-resolution-daniel-greenfield/

First the Dems insisted that “Chinese Virus” was racist. That argument was wrong, but at least comprehensible. Now they’re going on to insist that the term, “Wuhan Virus” is racist. And leading the charge is Senator Kamala Harris.

 Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) introduced a bill last week that would malign people as racists for using the term “Chinese Virus,” connecting it to hate crimes.

Senate Resolution 580 condemns “all forms of Anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19,” citing “Chinese Virus,” “Wuhan Virus,” and “Kung Flu” as inaccurate rhetoric perpetuating anti-Asian stigma. The bill calls on public officials to denounce such rhetoric in any form.

The resolution specifically claims that, “the use of anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric related to COVID–19, such as the ‘‘Chinese Virus’’,‘‘Wuhan Virus’’, and ‘‘Kung-flu’’, have perpetuated anti-Asian stigma;”

Then it notes that, “in 2015, the WHO issued guidance calling on media outlets, scientists, and national authorities to avoid naming infectious diseases for locations to avoid stigmatizing groups of people;”

I wonder why an organization that is essentially China’s hand puppet would have issued such guidance.

Harris, Warren, and the rest of the Dem gang are essentially pushing a resolution that is a set of Communist Chinese talking points meant to censor discussion about the origins of the pandemic.

Strategic Revelations from Susan Rice Her boss sent women to perform his dirty work. Lloyd Billingsley

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/05/strategic-revelations-susan-rice-lloyd-billingsley/

In her now fully declassified January 20, 2017 email to herself, former national security advisor Susan Rice three times claimed everything about incoming Gen. Michael Flynn was done “by the book.” In the January 5, 2017 meeting, Rice wrote, “President Obama asked if Comey was saying that the NSC should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn. Comey replied ‘potentially.’ He added that he has no indication that Flynn has passed classified information to Kislyak, but he noted that ‘the level of communication is unusual.”

On March 22, 2017, Judy Woodruff of PBS asked Susan Rice about President Trump’s claim that that the Obama administration had surveilled his campaign in 2016.  “Nothing of the sort occurred,” said Rice.

On April 4, 2017, Woodruff confronted Rice with revelations from House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes. As the California Republican charged, during the final days of the Obama administration, the president-elect and the people around him may have been caught up in surveillance of foreign individuals and their identities may have been disclosed.  Woodruff wondered, “Do you know anything about this?”

“I know nothing about this,” answered Rice, who knew everything about it, and this was not her first duty on the falsehood front. Back in 2014, Rice said deserter Bowe Bergdahl had served the United States with “honor and distinction.” That whopper came two years after Rice’s major starring role.

·A HERO’S LIFE AND DEATH-RON SHURER 1978-2020

https://patriotpost.us/alexander/70801-what-hero-really-means-2020-05-20

EXCERPT:

What ‘Hero’ Really Means “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Mark Alexander

In my capacity as a board member of the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, I’ve been privileged to meet many members of our nation’s most exclusive fraternity — those military personnel whose courage under the most extreme of circumstances has earned them our nation’s highest military award for valor.

Not one of those Medal of Honor recipients would describe their actions as “heroic,” but simply being in a place and time that required something extraordinary of them. To a man, they are then quick to say that most others would have done the same if they’d been in the recipient’s boots.

This week, falling as it does between Armed Forces Day and the upcoming observance of Memorial Day, allow me to express my frame of reference for the meaning of “hero” by telling you about one American.

Last Thursday, I received word from a mutual friend that Staff Sgt. Ronald J. Shurer II had died after a three-year battle with cancer.

In 2008, at the age of 29, Ron was a Senior Medical Sergeant in Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3336, Special Operations Task Force-33, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom during the battle of Shok Valley, Afghanistan. He was an ordinary man who faced extraordinary circumstances and summoned the courage to repeatedly run through enemy fire to provide medical care to his brothers in arms. Despite being wounded himself, he tended to four critically wounded soldiers and 10 injured commandos, then helped evacuate many wounded through fields of fire to waiting medevac helicopters.

Here Are Five People Who Say Hydroxychloroquine Saved Their Lives Katie Pavlich

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2020/05/20/five-people-who-say-hydroxychloroquine-saved-their-life-n2569069

When President Trump announced Monday afternoon that he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine for weeks as a way to help prevent Wuhan coronavirus, nearly everyone in the media turned themselves into a doctor to condemn the move. They claimed it was far too dangerous and that it doesn’t work. 

While lengthy scientific studies about the use of the drug to prevent the disease are still being conducted, it is true that a number of frontline healthcare workers have been taking a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin  as they work to take care of infected patients. Further, we know the drug has been prescribed successfully to a number of Wuhan coronavirus patients who credit it with saving their lives.