RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2020/05/22/the-cdc-just-gave-us-the-biggest-reason-to-end-the-coronavirus-lockdowns-n417178

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nows estimates that 35 percent of coronavirus infections are asymptomatic.

But that’s not even the most important part of their latest estimates. It’s the CDC’s new “best estimate” for the case fatality rate amongst symptomatic patients.

But, before I got to that, I should note that back in March, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated a 3.4 percent fatality rate and Dr. Anthony Fauci estimated that the fatality rate of the coronavirus was about 2 percent.

President Trump was skeptical of both those numbers, particularly the WHO’s estimate: “Well, I think the 3.4 percent is really a false number,” Trump told Sean Hannity. “Now, and this is just my hunch, and — but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this. Because a lot of people will have this and it’s very mild. They’ll get better very rapidly. They don’t even see a doctor. They don’t even call a doctor. I think that that number is very high. I think the number, personally, I would say the number is way under 1 percent.”

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/05/chinas-pandemic-power-couple-lloyd-billingsley/

Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the White House coronavirus task force came out against opening up the American economy and sending the kids back to school in September. That touched off pushback from Sen. Rand Paul, a medical doctor, and President Trump, who for the first time publicly disagreed with Fauci. The president and his supporters, particularly those still unemployed due to Fauci’s lockdown policies, might check out Dr. Tony’s take on World Health Organization director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

“Tedros is a really outstanding person,” Fauci said in late March. “I’ve known him from the time that he was the minister of Health of Ethiopia.” Trouble was, the worshipful Dr. Fauci provided no detail on Tedros’ fascinating back story.

Tedros has long been affiliated with the Marxist Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), responsible for atrocities against the Amhara ethnic group in northwest Ethiopia. Tedros earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1986, but never completed medical studies to become a physician. During his tenure as Ethiopia’s health minister from 2005-2012, Tedros purposely covered up cholera outbreaks in 2006, 2009, and 2011.

The next year, as Ethiopia’s minister of foreign affairs, Tedros strengthened his country’s ties to Communist China, which has loaned more than $13 billion to Ethiopia. In December 2014, Tedros and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi co-authored an op-ed hailing the close bonds between the two countries.

https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2020-5-20-obamagate-co-ordinating-the-cover-story

When a collection of bad guys pulls off a big heist, or a murder, or another important crime, one of the critical problems they face is co-ordinating the cover story. The cops may arrest one or more of them, and then question each suspect separately. Any cover stories must be completely consistent if they are to succeed. Inconsistencies in the cover story, even slight ones, will prompt focused questioning that could cause the whole house of cards to collapse.

But co-ordinating cover stories is not so easy. You might remember the case of Paul Manafort, recently under investigation for alleged crimes including lobbying of the U.S. Congress without proper registration. On that subject, Manafort’s story was that his lobbying efforts did not relate to the U.S. Congress, but only to Europe; thus, no registration necessary. As the government questioned other witnesses, Manafort attempted to reach out to them to be sure that they were on board with the line that “we were only lobbying Europe.” Unfortunately, the FBI was snooping on everything Manafort did. From the New York Times, June 4, 2018:

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

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.

 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.

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.

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.

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.