The New York Times’ Brazenly False ‘Fact Check’ About Trump’s Impeachment Trial James D. Agresti

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/02/18/the-new-york-times-brazenly-false-fact-check-about-trumps-impeachment-trial/

The New York Times has published a “fact check“ by Linda Qui declaring that Donald Trump’s lawyers “made a number of inaccurate or misleading claims” during the Senate impeachment trial. In reality, much of the article consists of flagrant falsehoods propagated by Qui and the Times.

‘Inciting Violence‘

With regard to Trump’s speech on the day of the Capitol Hill riot, Trump attorney Michael van der Veen said: “Far from promoting insurrection against the United States, the president’s remarks explicitly encouraged those in attendance to exercise their rights peacefully and patriotically.”

That statement is demonstrably true, as the transcript of the speech shows that Trump asked his supporters to go “to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” Qui, however, alleges that his attorney’s statement “is exaggerated” because Trump “used the phrase ‘peacefully and patriotically’ once in his speech, compared with 20 uses of the word ‘fight’.”

Rush Limbaugh: Death Of A Giant

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/02/17/rush-limbaugh-death-of-a-giant/

Though widely anticipated, the death of Rush Limbaugh after a long battle with cancer is a major blow to conservatives. His witty, often acerbic commentary had been a daily anchor to reality for many Americans, tired of the mainstream media’s lies, bias and prevarications. But with his death, Limbaugh leaves a hole in the conservative movement that is impossible to fill.

The center-right media firmament has many bright stars. Unfortunately, none shine as brightly as Rush did. As the numerous accounts of his death and life point out, he was the most listened to radio show host in history.

He was a master of the medium, and used his three-hour daily radio platform both wisely and well. With 20 million listeners at his peak, Limbaugh singlehandedly turned more liberals and moderates into conservatives than perhaps anyone outside of Ronald Reagan. He was a cultural phenomenon.

That gave him unprecedented political clout for a radio personality. Frankly, we’re not sure who picks up the torch from here. Dennis Prager? Ben Shapiro? Mark Levin? Laura Ingraham? Dan Bongino? Sean Hannity? Andrew Klavan? John Batchelor? Michael Knowles? There are many possible candidates, each excellent and brilliant in his or her own way.

But none is likely to ever match Limbaugh’s raw muscle, reach and influence.

National Review’s description of Limbaugh’s media legacy is on target: “His lashing critiques of the Left, comic riffs, and combative ebullience spawned many imitators, but none of them came close to being his equal.”

False Hero of the Pandemic The disastrous results of Andrew Cuomo’s nursing-home policy are finally revealed. Joel Zinberg M.D.

https://www.city-journal.org/cuomo-under-fire-for-hiding-nursing-home-deaths

Something is rotten in the state of New York. And, as in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it starts at the top. For the past year, New York governor Andrew Cuomo, with the aid of a credulous and adoring media, has touted his performance in combating Covid-19 and chided other states for their comparative deficiencies. He was rewarded with a lucrative book contract and an Emmy for providing “reliable information” in his news conferences. The cover has finally been blown on a prolonged and concerted effort by Cuomo and his associates to hide his policy mistakes.

Between March 25 and May 10, 2020, an advisory from Cuomo’s Department of Health (DOH) compelled nursing homes to readmit hospitalized Covid-19 patients without checking if they still had active infection. Health experts cautioned that the policy could lead to additional deaths by introducing infected people into closed facilities where those most vulnerable to the disease—the elderly and infirm—live. Cuomo’s responses ranged from the devil—aka the Trump administration—made me do it; to we didn’t force anything—facilities had discretion to turn down admissions; to “nothing to see here”—the policy didn’t increase the number of deaths; to “who cares” where they died.

Cuomo repeatedly and falsely claimed that the policy was directed by federal guidance.

Emmanuel Macron and the Woke The French president challenges American campus and media leftism.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/emmanuel-macron-and-the-woke-11613604823?mod=opinion_lead_pos3

Classical Western values such as free speech and tolerance need all the defenders they can find these days, so kudos to French President Emmanuel Macron for volunteering for the mission. It’s hardly an easy task, but it’s an important one. Mr. Macron is right to conclude it’s vital to France’s future—and we’d add, to America’s.

Mr. Macron and ministers in his government in recent months have been fighting illiberal and divisive philosophies they say emanate from American universities. Mr. Macron in October decried the influence of “certain social-science theories entirely imported from the United States.”

He means in particular the habit of viewing most matters in racial terms—a core tenet of “wokeness”—and his government wants educational institutions to eschew it. Minister for Higher Education Frédérique Vidal this week promised an investigation into academics “looking at everything through the prism of wanting to fracture and divide.”

This is part of a broader drive to reassert French values after many years of Islamist terror attacks. Mr. Macron also is pushing for a new crackdown on religious extremism, and his law to that end passed through one chamber of the National Assembly this week.

Mr. Macron’s political and philosophical insight is to tie together the fight against violent extremism from outside France and the defense of democratic values within. His October speech detailing his new plan for combating Islamism included a warning that a focus on “post-colonial or anti-colonial” discourse constitutes a form of “self-hatred” of France that allows Islamism to flourish. Officials such as Ms. Vidal also warn against “Islamo-leftism.”

Texas Spins Into the Wind An electricity grid that relies on renewables also needs nuclear or coal power.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-spins-into-the-wind-11613605698?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

While millions of Texans remain without power for a third day, the wind industry and its advocates are spinning a fable that gas, coal and nuclear plants—not their frozen turbines—are to blame. PolitiFact proclaims “Natural gas, not wind turbines, main driver of Texas power shortage.” Climate-change conformity is hard for the media to resist, but we don’t mind. So here are the facts to cut through the spin.

Texas energy regulators were already warning of rolling blackouts late last week as temperatures in western Texas plunged into the 20s, causing wind turbines to freeze. Natural gas and coal-fired plants ramped up to cover the wind power shortfall as demand for electricity increased with falling temperatures.

Some readers have questioned our reporting Wednesday (“The Political Making of a Texas Power Outage”) that wind’s share of electricity generation in Texas plunged to 8% from 42%. How can that be, they wonder, when the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot) has reported that it counts on wind to meet only 10% of its winter capacity.

Ercot’s disclosure is slippery. Start with the term “capacity,” which means potential maximum output. This is different than actual power generation.

Yes, Joe Biden really does want to end the oil and gas industry in America By John Royall (10/26/20)

https://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/10/26/yes-joe-biden-really-does-want-to-end-the-oil-and-gas-industry-in-america

The Biden Plan

Among other items, Biden’s energy plan calls for the elimination of carbon from power generation by 2035.  The genesis of the Biden Plan, which can be found on the Democratic Party Platform website, is the Biden-Sanders Manifesto of July 20, 2020, which was submitted to the Democrat National Committee by co-Chairs John Kerry and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  The plan calls for:

Installation of 500 million solar panels, including eight million solar roofs and community solar energy systems;
Installation of 60,000 wind turbines;
500,000 charging stations along American roads
Converting the fleet of 500,000 school buses to zero-emission alternatives within five years;
Transition of the 3 million vehicles in the federal, state, and local fleets to zero-emission vehicles.
Dictate net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for all new buildings by 2030, on the pathway to creating a 100 percent clean building sector by converting four million buildings.
Additional regulations for the oil and gas industry to achieve what is vaguely defined as “environmental justice.”

Joebiden.com, the official campaign website, under “The Biden Plan for a Clean Energy Future,” offers more general and aspirational policies, but in line with the Green New Deal.   Through elimination of natural gas for power, government investment in electric vehicles to push out hydrocarbon fuels, and regulation of fossil fuels, the Biden plan will effectively eliminate natural gas and oil from American energy.

CNN And NBC Both Paid $35,000 To Left-Wing Activist For Footage Of Fatal Capitol Shooting Chuck Ross

https://dailycaller.com/2021/02/16/cnn-nbc-john-sullivan-footage-capitol-riot-shooting/

A left-wing activist facing criminal charges for his involvement in the Capitol riots received $35,000 from both CNN and NBC for footage he recorded of a Trump supporter being fatally shot inside the Capitol building, according to records he filed in federal court on Tuesday.

Lawyers for John Sullivan, a 26-year-old Utah native, disclosed the payments as part of the activist’s argument that he was acting as a journalist in the Capitol rather than a rioter.

“Defendant is legitimately self-employed as a documentarian and it is oppressive to require that he not be allowed to continue his primary area of employment for an extended period of time,” Steven R. Kiersh, the Sullivan lawyer, wrote in a court filing in which he argued for Sullivan to be allowed to continue using Facebook and Twitter.

Sullivan, who founded the social justice group Insurgence USA, was charged on Jan. 13 with illegally entering the Capitol, civil disorder, and violent or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

The Freedom To Think . . . Like Us Greg Crosby

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/crosby021521.php3

What happens when the “last best hope on earth” is gone? 

Where do people go after the United States of America becomes just another totalitarian government with limited personal freedoms? 

Freedom of speech, once the cornerstone of our nation, is on its way out thanks to politically correct policies and radical leftist agendas which have shut down true free speech and independent thought. 

The emergence of internet social media sites as the primary means of communication has sped up the process. It’s called “cancel culture.” Go contrary to popular leftist dogma and you will be shunned, shamed, and possibly lose your job. People might find out where you live and target you and your family. On FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and other social media sites you have the freedom to express your ideas, as long as they conform to the leftist ideology of the web masters.

Did you vote for President Trump? If so, you are labeled racist, crazy, and a danger to society. You do not deserve to be employed, your views shouldn’t be heard, and you must be shut off from participating in normal society. Actually, you should be imprisoned. 

Since the presidential election President Trump has completely disappeared from the American scene. He has been vanquished from social media sites, for all intents and purposes he has lost his ability to freely communicate publicly. He has been banned from Twitter, once his best way of communication to the public. Television networks and other news media only cover him to ridicule him, they will not allow him to speak his mind. Businesses who once worked so well with him have cut him off. The left will not rest until they have completely and forevermore destroyed the man. 

Infamous Wuhan Lab Authorized To Receive US Taxpayer Funding, NIH Confirms By Evita Duffy

https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/17/infamous-wuhan-lab-authorized-to-receive-us-t

The National Institutes of Health confirmed Tuesday that the Wuhan Institute of Virology is authorized to receive U.S. taxpayer funding for animal research through January 2024, according to the Daily Caller.

The research lab in Wuhan is suspected to have caused the COVID-19 pandemic through an accidental lab leak and has already received $600,000 in U.S. taxpayer funds between 2014 and 2019 to study bat-based coronaviruses through EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization.

EcoHealth Alliance’s research of bat-based coronaviruses in China was funded by a $3.7 million grant in 2014 from a branch of the NIH, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, according to the Wall Street Journal. In April, the grant was terminated by the NIH amid criticism over EcoHealth Alliance’s relationship with the Wuhan research lab. The NIH said in a letter that the nonprofit’s work in China did not align with “program goals and agency priorities.”

The NIH told EcoHealth Alliance in July it would restore the grant if the organization met certain conditions, one of which was to arrange for an independent team to investigate the Wuhan Institute of Virology to determine if it had possession of the COVID-19 virus prior to the first known cases in December 2019, as suspected by the U.S. State Department.

The president of EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak, told NPR the NIH’s conditions were “preposterous.”

“I’m not trained as a private detective,” Daszak said. “It’s not really my job to do that.”

Daszak was the only U.S. member in the World Health Organization delegation who, in January and February, investigated the origins of COVID-19 in China. The WHO delegation has yet to release a report on its findings. Daszak, however, told the White House it should blindly accept the delegation’s conclusion and said it’s highly unlikely the virus could have leaked from the Wuhan lab.

Why You Should Be Skeptical Of The New ‘Tough On China’ Joe Biden By Ben Weingarten

https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/17/why-you-should-be-skeptical-of-the-new-tough-on-china-joe-biden/

The Biden administration is stocking up with the same Democrat establishment cast that supported the project of China’s rise to global dominance.

The Biden administration and its corporate media cheerleaders are at pains to tell you that career-long China kowtower Joe Biden is “tough on China.” But toughness can only be proven by action. Contra the official narrative, however, President Biden’s initial policies and those tasked with implementing and building upon them do not indicate strength. Rather, to America’s detriment, they signal a reversion to the status quo ante of weakness.

The media has trumpeted Biden administration rhetoric on three key China-related issues: the administration’s affirmation — with caveats — of the Trump administration’s designation of the Chinese Communist Party’s atrocities in Xinjiang as constituting “genocide”; its pledge of a “rock-solid commitment” to Taiwan; and its promise to maintain a “free and open” Indo-Pacific — again, with caveats.

The media also celebrated the Biden administration’s most authoritative statements on U.S.-China policy yet, from a readout of the president’s first call with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, and related statements by officials on the administration’s China strategy. Headlines about the call claimed Biden “confronted” Xi with “concerns” about contentious issues such as human rights, trade, and Taiwan. Chinese state media, of course, saw it quite differently — as an amiable and welcome reversal of Trump’s tough on China stance.

American corporate media also reported that Biden staffers embraced the idea America is in an “intense strategic competition with China,” and would be maintaining some of the Trump administration’s policies — a tacit admission of Trump’s relative toughness.