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ELECTIONS

Joe Biden’s China Dilemma: “Save the Planet” or Protect Taiwan? By Rupert Darwall

https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2020/09/24/joe_bidens_china_dilemma_save_the_planet_or_protect_taiwan_578415.html

Is climate change an existential threat, one that overrides all other challenges? Or does an expansionist China pose a grave and growing danger to the strategic interests of the U.S.? Two questions with only one “Yes.” President Trump makes no secret of his views on China. He was one of the first public figures to realize China as an economic threat. He denounces the decision to admit China to the World Trade Organization (WTO), seeing it as a disaster for America, and especially for American workers. And it is not hard to guess where Trump resides on the continuum from climate-change-as-hoax to climate-change-as-existential threat.

By contrast, Joe Biden supported China’s accession to the WTO and has placed all his chips on the opposite end of the climate spectrum from Trump. Campaigning for the Democratic nomination, Biden tweeted his belief that climate change poses an existential threat. Since then, he has committed to implementing the most draconian greenhouse-emissions cuts ever proposed by a serious candidate for the presidency.

Global warming is, well, global. There is no point in cutting America’s carbon dioxide emissions unless the rest of the world follows suit. During his first year in the White House, Barack Obama attempted to get China to sign a treaty that included emissions targets. It ended in the fiasco of the Copenhagen climate conference in December 2009. The lesson Obama took away from Copenhagen was that Beijing held the keys to a new global climate compact. To justify the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan to sharply cut power generation emissions, there had to be a realistic prospect of a new UN climate treaty—and that meant being friendly to Beijing.

Stacks of Absentee Ballots Found in a Ditch in Wisconsin By Eric Lendrum

https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/24/stacks-of-absentee-ballots-found-in-a-ditch-in-wisconsin/

An investigation is underway after three trays of mail, including stacks of discarded absentee ballots, were found in a ditch in Greenville, Wisconsin, according to the Washington Examiner.

The United States Postal Service confirmed that it would be investigating the matter after the ballots were discovered by the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office, in a ditch near the Appleton International Airport. A spokesman from the sheriff’s office confirmed that the recovered mail had been “going to the post office” when it was abandoned.

The incident is just the latest of many examples of the high propensity for voter fraud and voter suppression as a result of “vote-by-mail” schemes. Most in the Democratic Party, using the now-subsiding coronavirus pandemic as an excuse, have rallied for vote-by-mail to be implemented, and for the ballot-counting deadline to be expanded to allow for more time to count “late” mail-in ballots.

As such, Democratic officials and far-left judges have been extending the deadlines to count votes in only the most crucial of battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. President Donald Trump and others have repeatedly warned about the dangers of increased voting by mail, while the mainstream media has largely dismissed these concerns

Twenty-two Reasons Why American Jews Should Vote for President Trump By Janet Levy

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

Yair Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister’s son has called Trump “a rock star” in Israel and the “best friend that Israel and the Jewish people have ever had in the White House.” Curiously, at the same time, many American Jews have an unfavorable view of Trump’s policies and have been critical of his dealings with the Jewish State.

In reality, President Trump has taken several steps that are beneficial to Jews and the Jewish State in his first term.  A look at some of them should give American Jews sufficient reasons to reassess their opinion of the president and even motivate them to vote for his reelection in November. 

Trump denounced anti-Semitism in two State of the Union addresses. In his first address to Congress in February of 2017, he condemned threats against Jewish people and the vandalism of Jewish sites and communities. In a second address given after he withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, Trump declared that anti-Semitism must be confronted “anywhere and everywhere it occurs.” He added, “We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants death to America and threatens genocide against the Jewish people.” 
On December 6, 2017, President Trump fulfilled his campaign promise and moved the American Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital. Seventy years from the day that President Truman recognized Israel as a sovereign nation, the U.S. became the first nation to open its new embassy to the holy city. Two days later, in solidarity with the U.S. decision, Guatemala moved its embassy to Jerusalem. Recently, Honduras announced it will follow suit by year’s end.  Meanwhile, Hungary became the first European nation to have a branch of its embassy in Jerusalem while Moldova and Romania disclosed that the matter is under serious consideration.
As part of his “Deal of the Century,” President Trump declared support for Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria and affirmed that any sanctions by the international community for doing so will be opposed by the United States.
He recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a major strategic asset that protects Israel from aggression from the northeast. He signed the historic document with Netanyahu at his side right before Israeli elections.
Trump increased U.S. military aid to Israel and offered a mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and Israel to further the alliance between the two countries.
Under Trump, the United states stopped funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a UN relief agency for Arab-Palestinians marred by corruption, and abuse of power. The agency has been known to work with Hamas against Israel, even enabling the building of terror tunnels under its buildings.

A Peaceful Transfer of Power Depends on a Peaceful Political System Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/09/peaceful-transfer-power-depends-peaceful-political-daniel-greenfield/

“Peaceful transfer of power” is the new Democrat media meme as of yesterday.

A peaceful transfer of power is of course important. But it’s a part of a peaceful political system. In the last five years, Democrat activists have violently threatened and harassed sitting members of the Senate, made violent threats to sitting members of the House, denied the legitimacy of the 2016 election, eavesdropped on Republican opponents using the NSA, have once again touched off and supported riots that are burning down parts of the country, and that’s hardly a full accounting.

Democrat elected officials and campaign officials have repeatedly threatened or talked about burning things down if they don’t get their way.

Even the term “peaceful transfer of power” is a farce after Democrat media has repeatedly spun violent riots as mostly peaceful protests.

On top of all that, the Democrats demanding a peaceful transfer of power refuse to commit to a normative election on the same terms as usual, and instead want to drag it on indefinitely until their operatives and activists harvest enough ballots to claim victory, while using social media to suppress any dissenting views.

None of this is peaceful. 

Remember When Hillary Said ‘Joe Biden Should Not Concede Under Any Circumstances’? By Matt Margolis

https://pjmedia.com/election/matt-margolis/2020/09/24/remember-when-hillary-said-joe-biden-should-not-concede-under-any-circumstances-n964501

Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton accused President Trump of being a dictator on Thursday after headlines alleged that he “refused” to commit to the peaceful transfer of power in the event that he loses the election.

“Trump’s refusal to commit to the peaceful transfer of power is the behavior of a desperate would-be dictator who’d cling to office even if it meant destroying our democracy,” she tweeted. “It’s pathetic. But because he is the president, we should take his threat seriously.”

Of course, as PJM’s Rick Moran noted, Trump never actually made the comment as the media has portrayed. “The media just wants to hear Trump repeat one more time that he won’t commit to ‘accepting’ the results of the election if it was fraudulent.” This sentiment isn’t much different than what Hillary Clinton herself said a month ago. Though what Hillary said might actually be worse because she said Joe Biden should not to concede the election “under any circumstances.”

“We have to have poll workers and I urge people who are able to be a poll worker. We have to have our own teams of people to counter the force of intimidation that the Republicans and Trump are going to put outside polling places, this is a big organizational challenge,” she said.

“But at least we know more about what they’re going to do. And Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances.”

Military Ballots Found in the Trash in Pennsylvania—All Were Trump Votes By Matt Margolis

https://pjmedia.com/election/matt-margolis/2020/09/24/military-ballots-found-in-the-trash-in-pennsylvania-all-were-trump-votes-n964614

Mail-in ballots from the military serving overseas were found in the trash in Pennsylvania. The ballots were discovered during an investigation into election issues in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. They were all votes for President Trump.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Pennsylvania released a statement on the situation on Thursday:

On Monday, September 21, 2020, at the request of Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis, the Office of the United States Attorney along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Scranton Resident Office, began an inquiry into reports of potential issues with a small number of mail-in ballots at the Luzerne County Board of Elections.

Since Monday, FBI personnel working together with the Pennsylvania State Police have conducted numerous interviews and recovered and reviewed certain physical evidence. Election officials in Luzerne County have been cooperative. At this point we can confirm that a small number of military ballots were discarded. Investigators have recovered nine ballots at this time. Some of those ballots can be attributed to specific voters and some cannot. All nine ballots were cast for presidential candidate Donald Trump.

While nine ballots have been recovered, it is not clear how many were actually discarded.

This announcement comes on the heels of a report that three trays of mail, including absentee ballots, were discovered in a ditch in Wisconsin.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany addressed both these stories on Thursday.

Will Media Ever Ask About Biden’s Corrupt Deals As Vice President?

https://issuesinsights.com/2020/09/25/will-media-ever-ask-about-bidens-corrupt-deals-as-vice-president/

Joe Biden continues to duck appearances where he might have to make unscripted comments or answer even softball questions. But a new congressional report,  “Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns,” may change that in the upcoming debates: It asks, did Vice President Biden use his global political influence to help his son Hunter bag lucrative deals in Ukraine and China? Americans deserve an answer.

The GOP-led investigation charged that the Bidens’ efforts to cash in on Joe Biden’s clout became so flagrant that U.S. officials became alarmed at what they saw. It was “an ethical conflict of interest and flagged concerns about possible criminal activity ranging from bribery to sex trafficking,” according to investigative reporter John Solomon of the Just the News website.

Reporting over the years (mainly by conservative or nonpartisan web-based outlets) on Biden’s questionable and possibly illegal moves while in office to help Hunter line his pockets has solid evidence backing it up. The report, put together by the Senate Homeland and Government Affairs and Senate Finance committees, raises serious issues about the Bidens’ behavior. To wit:

Quid pro quo? Hunter Biden was appointed to the board of Ukrainian energy exploration and production company Burisma in May 2014 and stepped down in April 2019, having been paid an estimated $50,000 a month for his services. Hunter Biden had virtually no expertise in the energy field and appears to have been given the post solely for his political connections.

Biden Report Shows Impeachment Was Election Interference by Julie Kelly

https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/23/biden-report-shows-impeachment-was-election-interference/

What if all the damning information in Ron Johnson’s report was revealed in September 2019 and not in September 2020?

With the release Wednesday of Senator Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) long-awaited investigation into the Biden family’s corrupt, possibly criminal, ties to Ukraine and other countries, one thing is clear: Had the information in the report been made public a year ago, it’s nearly impossible to believe Joe Biden would still be the Democratic nominee for president.

The fall of 2019 seems like a lifetime ago, but it’s worth revisiting to give context to this bombshell report. 

As the Democratic race for president took shape last year, the media started asking uncomfortable questions. “Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize His Father’s Campaign?” read the headline of a nearly 11,000-word exposé in the July 2019 issue of The New Yorker. 

Other news organizations followed suit. Senate Republicans finally were zoning in on the shady business dealings of their former colleague’s son. 

As damaging, potential campaign-ending coverage continued for months, Team Biden threatened social media platforms and journalists for spreading “disinformation” about Hunter Biden.

In October 2019, Biden, in a clip recirculated this week, lashed out at reporters for asking about Hunter Biden’s multimillion dollar overseas contracts. Even his Democratic opponents were piling on. Things were going downhill for the one candidate most establishment Democrats thought had the best chance to beat Donald Trump in 2020.

In Florida’s Election: It May be ‘Legal,’ but is It Right? by Chris Farrell

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16541/florida-election-felons

Those are 32,000 votes deemed pro-Biden in a state where 537 votes decided the presidential election in 2000. Florida, a critical swing state, has 29 electoral college votes that could determine the presidency.

One is left to wonder about what appears to be a slick, well-financed, lawyered-up, manipulation of the electoral process. It appears to have less to do with a legitimate, grassroots campaign to rehabilitate persons who have paid their legal dues for past misconduct than it does as a cynical, orchestrated, vote buying and manipulation process.

Last week, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Florida’s law requiring convicted felons in Florida to pay court-ordered fines, fees and restitution before having their voting rights reinstated. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who raised more than $16 million for this purpose, has, together with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, “paid off monetary obligations for 32,000 felons in Florida” so that they can vote.

Those are 32,000 votes deemed pro-Biden in a state where 537 votes decided the presidential election in 2000. Florida, a critical swing state, has 29 electoral college votes that could determine the presidency.

The organization Bloomberg is working with in this reinstatement effort is the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC). The FRRC has received an unspecified amount of funding from the Open Society Foundations (OSF). There isn’t a specific grant listed in the OSF’s 2018 Internal Revenue Service filing, but it identified FRRC as a grantee in an April 2019 Facebook post.

Hunter Biden’s Business A Senate report reveals Joe’s passivity amid his son’s influence-peddling.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hunter-bidens-business-11600901745?mod=opinion_lead_pos3

Joe Biden is running against Donald Trump’s character and supposed corruption, so a Senate report documenting the Biden family’s ethical swampiness certainly counts as news.

Senate committee Chairmen Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley on Wednesday released the findings of their year-long investigation into the problems that the business dealings of Hunter Biden, Joe’s son, presented to the Obama-Biden administration. The report makes clear Hunter was profiting off his father’s position—in Ukraine, and notably in China. Foreigners knew they were buying influence by association.

The Ukrainian gas company Burisma hired Hunter to “consult” on corporate governance in May 2014, only weeks after Vice President Biden took the U.S. lead in helping Ukraine fight corruption. Burisma was a top investigation target, and U.K. officials had seized the London bank accounts of Burisma’s owner. Hunter had no experience in Ukraine or natural gas. The report cites emails showing Hunter and his business associate, Devon Archer, requesting meetings with State Department officials after their Burisma appointments. A U.S. lobbying firm working for Burisma invoked Hunter’s name as it sought a State Department meeting.

Former State official George Kent wrote to superiors in 2016 that Hunter’s Burisma position made it “very awkward for all U.S. officials pushing an anti-corruption agenda in Ukraine.” He testified that officials had to worry about “opponents” saying “What about Hunter Biden?” State Department email chains show U.S. officials mulling how to handle the Hunter problem.