POLITICS

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Re: POLITICS

Post by thelivyjr »

THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR JULY 28, 2021 AT 5:52 PM

Paul Plante says:

And before we go further, to more than amply demonstrate the total bull**** nature of this hand-picked Pelosi-ite COMMITTEE OF INQUISTION, all we need do is go back to the article in The Guardian entitled “Capitol attack committee chair vows to investigate Trump: ‘Nothing is off limits’” by Hugo Lowell in Washington on 21 July 2021, where we have this following bit of absurdity from Democrat Bennie Thompson, the GRAND INQUISITOR, as follows:

Thompson indicated that Trump and the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, are among the top witnesses for his investigation, in large part because McCarthy was on the phone with the former president as the riot unfolded.

McCarthy called Trump in a panic as rioters breached the Capitol and begged him to call off his supporters, only for Trump to chastise the top Republican in the House for not doing more to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“There will not be a reluctance on the part of the committee to pursue it,” Thompson said of McCarthy’s call.

“The committee will want to know if there is a record of what was said.”

end quotes

So, people, is everyone following this logic we are being given to follow by Democrat Bennie Thompson?

According to Bennie’s theory of reality that we are all supposed to blindly buy into, as if everyone in this nation was a moronic idiot, just because those who follow Bennie Thompson are, on 6 January 2021, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy is alleged by Bennie to have called Trump in a panic as rioters breached the Capitol, begging him to call off his supporters, only for Trump to chastise the top Republican in the House for not doing more to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

But seriously, people, what kind of a mindless moron does one have to be to think or believe that somehow, Trump, from wherever he was hiding, was able to do a thing about ANYBODY on the Capitol grounds on 6 January, especially after the Capitol was breached.

Look at the videos of the actual assault on the Capitol on 6 January 2021, and ask yourself how Trump could have done anything to stop what you are seeing in the videos, which raises the question of why on earth would House minority leader Kevin McCarthy call Trump after the Capitol was breached to call off the mob who breached it?

And when you watch the videos, ask yourself why it is that Democrat Bennie Thompson wants YOU to believe Trump was controlling the actions of what you see in the videos:

Feds Release More Capitol Riot Video Of Attack On Police Jun 19, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo3kKywkZjw

Capitol riot video appears to show attack on slain officer Mar 25, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK2FVIubRlA

See stunning video of rioters inside Capitol Jan 6, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9WPuA6EUaw

US Capitol Attack: Pro-Trump Mob Storms US Capitol, Clashes With Police Jan 6, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEGCFhkP3KQ

And then we have my all-time favorite right here:

Climbing Wall FAIL at DC Protests Footage: Trump supporter falls scaling Capitol Building Jan 8, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_uKKY-_VpY

So, people, given that this is just a smattering of all the videos out there of actual footage from 6 January 2021, how can we possibly believe the Wall Street Journal article entitled “Capitol Police Officer Describes Fighting ‘Hand to Hand, Inch by Inch’ in Jan. 6 Testimony” by Alexa Corse on 28 July 2021, where we were fed the following, to wit:

Capitol Police officer Aquilino Gonell said that he and fellow officers were beaten repeatedly and that he thought he would die.

“We fought hand to hand, inch by inch,” he testified.

Mr. Gonell said that he is troubled by any effort to play down the severity of the attack.

“There is a continuous and shocking attempt to ignore or try to destroy the truth of what truly happened that day, and to whitewash the facts,” he said.

end quotes

“Whitewash” the facts, people?

Where “whitewash” in the political sense means “deliberately attempt to conceal unpleasant or incriminating facts about someone or something,” with all those videos out there, what exactly is it that is being “whitewashed?”

And how?

How do you “whitewash” something that was on TV and now is all over the internet in countless videos?

So why are we being fed that “whitewash” horse**** by Bennie Thompson and the Wall Street Journal?

Because it suits their purposes?

And what am I thinking, of course it does, but stay tuned, for more of this made-for-TV drama is yet to come.

http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/r ... ent-391588
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Re: POLITICS

Post by thelivyjr »

CNBC

"Fed holds rates near zero, says economy has gotten better even with pandemic worries"


Jeff Cox @JEFF.COX.7528 @JEFFCOXCNBCCOM

PUBLISHED WED, JUL 28 2021

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its benchmark interest rate near zero and said the economy continues to progress despite concerns over the pandemic spread.

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee concluded its two-day meeting by keeping interest rates in a target range between zero and 0.25%.

Along with that, the committee said in a unanimously approved statement that the economy continues to “strengthen.”

Despite the optimism about the economy, Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed is nowhere near considering a rate hike.

“Our approach here has been to be as transparent as we can."

"We have not reached substantial further progress yet,” he said.

“We see ourselves having some ground to cover to get there.”

“Substantial further progress” on inflation and employment is the benchmark the Fed has set before it will tighten policy, which would mean slowing and ultimately stopping monthly bond purchases and ultimately raising interest rates.


The statement noted only that “progress” has been made, and the FOMC will continue to watch conditions to see how close they get to the Fed’s goals.

The notation that “progress” has been made towards the Fed’s goals on employment and inflation was nevertheless seen as a nod that changes to policy, particularly regarding the monthly bond purchases, could be on the way.

“The Fed has started the tapering clock,” said PNC chief economist Gus Faucher.

Markets had been watching for the Fed’s views on the spread in the Covid-19 delta variant, but Powell and his fellow officials were relatively sanguine at least in terms of the threat the virus poses to the economy.

Stocks shaved some losses during Powell’s remarks, with the Dow negative but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in the green.

Powell noted the rising threat that the pandemic is posing but said he does not see it having a major economic impact.

“What we’ve seen is with successive waves of Covid over the past year and some months now, there has tended to be less in the way of economic implications from each wave,” Powell said at his post-meeting news conference.

“We will see if that is the case from the delta variety.”

“We’ve kind of learned to live with it,” he said later.

In a separate move, the Fed said it would establish two standing repo facilities, one for domestic markets and the other for foreign and international authorities.

The facilities allow institutions to exchange high-quality collateral, primarily Treasurys in the case of the domestic offering, for reserves.

With the Fed likely on hold relative to interest rates at least until late-2022, investors have been looking for clues as to when the monthly bond purchases might start to be pulled back.

The central bank currently is buying at least $120 billion a month in bonds, with at least $80 billion going to Treasurys and another $40 billion floor on mortgage-backed securities.

Critics say the Fed’s mortgage purchases are helping stoke another housing bubble, with prices at record levels even though sales have tailed off amid tightening supply.

Some Fed officials have said they would be willing to entertain cutting back on mortgages first.

Powell, though, has said several times that the mortgage purchases are having only a minimal effect on housing.

He said Wednesday that he does not expect the Fed to begin reducing its mortgage purcahses ahead of the Treasurys tapering.

On the broader economy, the Fed has kept its foot to the accelerator despite some of the fastest post-World War II growth the U.S. has ever seen.

Second-quarter GDP numbers are out Thursday, with the Dow Jones estimate at 8.4% annualized growth for the April-to-June period.

That would be the fastest pace since early 1983, not counting last year’s outsized Q3 growth as the economy reopened from the pandemic shutdown.

The Fed has faced growing inflation fears, with consumer prices running at their highest since just before the financial crisis of 2008.

However, officials insist the current surge is temporary and will abate once supply chain bottlenecks ease, demand returns to normal levels, and certain items, particularly used car prices, also get back to baseline.

Heading into this week’s meeting, markets were pricing in zero chance of any rate increases this year.

However, the likelihood of a 2022 hike rose from 54.4% before the meeting to 62% afterward, with futures fully pricing in the first hike by March 2023, according to CME’s FedWatch tool and Reuters.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/28/fed-dec ... -2021.html
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Re: POLITICS

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REUTERS

"UPDATE 1-Powell says Fed likely to taper asset purchases 'at the same time'"


By Reuters Staff

JULY 28, 2021

WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will likely reduce its monthly purchases of mortgage-backed securities and Treasuries simultaneously when it is time to pare back its support for the U.S. economy, though policymakers are debating whether to wind down the buying of MBS at a faster pace, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.

Some U.S. central bank policymakers have said they want to end their monthly $40 billion of MBS purchases faster than the $80 billion in Treasuries because of the hot U.S. housing market.

“There really is little support for the idea of tapering MBS earlier than Treasuries."

"I think we will taper them at the same time,” Powell said in a news conference after a two-day policy meeting that marked the Fed’s first “deep dive” into when and how it could start reducing its asset purchases.


“The idea of reducing MBS purchases at a somewhat faster pace than Treasuries does have some attraction for some people - others not so much,” he added.

“I think it’s something that we’ll be continuing to discuss.”

A Fed decision to cut its purchases of both Treasuries and MBS simultaneously would show that the central bank is probably following the same playbook it used when it began tapering its asset purchases in 2014, said Tom Garretson, senior portfolio strategist at RBC Wealth Management.

“To change the approach from the last cycle would muddy the messaging and there’s no benefit to it,” Garretson said.

“The market expectation was that they would go at the same time.”


(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir with David Randall in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Paul Simao)

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed ... SL1N2P434T
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Re: POLITICS

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REUTERS

"Fed says economic recovery remains on track despite COVID-19 surge"


Howard Schneider Lindsay Dunsmuir Ann Saphir

July 28, 2021

Summary

* Fed leaves interest rates, bond-buying program unchanged

* Powell says job gains needed before cutting bond-buying

* Central bank's policy statement was unanimous


WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. economic recovery is still on track despite a rise in coronavirus infections, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in a new policy statement that remained upbeat and flagged ongoing talks around the eventual withdrawal of monetary policy support.

In a news conference following the release of the statement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. job market still had "some ground to cover" before it would be time to pull back from the economic support the U.S. central bank put in place in the spring of 2020 to battle the coronavirus pandemic's economic shocks.

"I would want to see some strong job numbers" in the coming months before reducing the $120 billion in monthly bond purchases the Fed continues to make, he told reporters.

But Powell also downplayed, at least for now, the risk that the renewed spread of the coronavirus through its more infectious Delta variant will put the recovery at risk or throw the Fed off track as it plans an exit from crisis-era policies.

"It will have significant health consequences" in the areas of the country where outbreaks are intensifying, Powell said.

Yet in the prior waves of coronavirus infections "there has tended to be less in the way of economic implications ..."

"It is not an unreasonable expectation" that would remain the case this time, he added.

"It seems like we have learned to handle this," with progressively less economic disruption, Powell said, even as he acknowledged a fresh outbreak might to some degree slow the return of workers to the labor market or disrupt planned school reopenings in the fall.

The Fed's policy statement, issued after the end of a two-day policy meeting, reflected that confidence as the central bank continues debating how to wind down its bond purchases.

There appeared to be progress in that discussion, though no clear timetable for reducing the bond purchases.

Powell said there was "very little support" for cutting the $40 billion in monthly purchases of mortgage-backed securities "earlier" than the $80 billion in Treasuries, and that once the process begins "we will taper them at the same time."

Overall, however, the Fed seemed unfazed by spread of the Delta variant, even though new daily coronavirus infections have roughly quadrupled since the Fed's June 15-16 policy meeting.

"With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen," the central bank said in its statement.

Though vaccinations have slowed - and Powell plugged inoculation as the best chance to get the economy durably back to normal - the Fed said it still expected vaccinations to "reduce the effect of the public health crisis on the economy."

That should translate into strong job growth, Powell said, and eventually allow the Fed to move away from its crisis-era programs.

In December, the Fed said it would not change its asset-buying program until there had been "substantial further progress" in repairing a labor market that was then 10 million jobs short of where it was before the pandemic.

That number is now below 7 million, and the Fed for the first time acknowledged the economy had taken a step towards its benchmark for trimming the purchases.

"The economy has made progress, and the (Federal Open Market) Committee will continue to assess progress in coming meetings," the Fed said in language pointing towards a possible reduction in bond purchases later this year or early in 2022.


The Fed also said that higher inflation remained the result of "transitory factors," and was not an imminent risk to the economy or the Fed's policy plans.

'MORE UPBEAT'

Along with leaving its bond-buying program unchanged, the central bank on Wednesday kept its overnight benchmark interest rate near zero.

Karim Basta, chief economist at III Capital Management, said the "incrementally more upbeat" policy statement opened the door to a September bond taper announcement if job growth comes in strong and the coronavirus caseload does not dent spending.

Acknowledging some progress towards their goals "seems designed to give them the option to announce" as soon as September their plans for winding down the bond purchases, he wrote.

The S&P 500 index, which was modestly lower before the release of the policy statement, ended the session flat.

Yields on U.S. Treasuries fell in choppy trading, while the dollar was slightly weaker against a basket of currencies.

Reporting by Howard Schneider and Jonnell Marte Editing by Paul Simao

https://www.reuters.com/business/financ ... 021-07-28/
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Re: POLITICS

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REUTERS

"U.S. goods trade deficit widens on imports; inventories increase"


Lucia Mutikani

July 28, 2021

Summary

* Goods trade deficit increases 3.5% in June

* Wholesale inventories rise 0.8%; retail stocks up 0.3%


WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit in goods increased in June as imports continued to rise amid strong economic activity, suggesting trade likely remained a drag on growth in the second quarter.

The U.S. economy has rebounded more quickly from the pandemic compared to its global rivals, thanks to massive fiscal stimulus, low interest rates and vaccinations against COVID-19.

But bottlenecks in the supply chain have hampered manufacturers' ability to boost production, drawing in more imports.

"The widening in the advance nominal goods deficit in June is further evidence that net exports will be a drag on second- quarter GDP," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

The goods trade deficit increased 3.5% to $91.2 billion last month, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

Imports of goods advanced 1.5% to $236.7 billion.

There were increases in imports of food, industrial supplies and capital goods.


But imports of motor vehicles and consumer goods fell.

While that could hint at a possible moderation in consumer spending in the months ahead, the drop could reflect a global shortage of semiconductors, which has weighed on the production of motor vehicles and some household appliances.

Spending during the pandemic shifted to goods from services, with Americans cooped up at home.

With nearly half of the United States population fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, demand for services is picking up.

That has raised optimism among some economists that fewer goods will be imported in the coming months and allow the trade gap to shrink.

But the Delta variant of the virus is driving a resurgence in new infections across the country, which could limit demand for services.

"We expect the overall trade deficit to narrow in the coming months as consumers rotate their spending towards services and greater vaccine diffusion abroad encourages stronger export growth," said Mahir Rasheed, a U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York.

"However, risks from sticky supply chain disruptions and the rapid spread of the Delta variant could slow trade flows."

Stocks on Wall Street were mixed.

The dollar rose against a basket of currencies.

U.S. Treasury prices were lower.

EXPORTS RISE

Goods exports rose 0.3% to $145.5 billion, amid a sharp decline in food shipments.

Capital goods exports also slipped.

But the nation exported more motor vehicles and consumer goods.

The report was published ahead of Thursday's advance second-quarter gross domestic product data.

Trade has been a drag on GDP growth for three straight quarters.

According to a Reuters survey of economists, the economy likely grew at a robust 8.5% annualized rate last quarter, an acceleration from the first quarter's 6.4% pace.

The anticipated growth pace in the second quarter would be the fastest since 1983 and could mark a peak in the current cycle.

Some of the imports last month were used to replenish inventories at wholesalers and retailers, which could soften the drag on GDP growth from trade.

The Commerce Department reported wholesale inventories increased 0.8% last month after rising 1.3% in May.

Stocks at retailers gained 0.3% after dropping 0.8% in May.

Motor vehicle inventories slipped 0.3% after declining 5.5% in May.

Auto production has been undercut by the global chip shortage.

Retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the calculation of GDP, climbed 0.6% after advancing 0.9% in May.

Business inventories were drawn down in the first quarter.

"Overall, it looks like real inventories fell sharply in the second quarter on net, but the weakness was most severe early in the quarter," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Dan Burns and Andrea Ricci

https://www.reuters.com/business/us-goo ... 021-07-28/
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Re: POLITICS

Post by thelivyjr »

THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR JULY 29, 2021 AT 9:57 AM

Paul Plante says:

And while we have a break in the action here, and while we are on the subject of conflicts of interest being a pre-requisite for someone to be considered for Nancy Pelosi’s KANGAROO COURT, let us go back to the CNBC article entitled “Pelosi names 8 members of Jan. 6 committee, including Republican Liz Cheney, to probe pro-Trump riot” by Jacob Pramuk on 1 July 2021, where we had on the ROSTER of the Nancy Pelosi’s A-TEAM, the team of politically-reliable sluggers and power hitters that can finally get it done for Nancy this time after numerous spectacular failures in the past, the A-TEAM that Nancy Pelosi has put on the field here, so to speak, for THE BIG GAME, team member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

And where have we heard that name before, people?

How about Zoe Lofgren being the Chairperson of the Committee on House Administration?

And what does that have to do with her having a serious conflict of interest that borders on a COVER-UP or WHITEWASH, because according to the Capitol Police website https://www.uscp.gov/the-department/oversight the United States Capitol Police (USCP) is overseen by the Capitol Police Board and has Congressional oversight by appropriations and authorizing committees from the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, which oversight affords the Department the support and opportunity to continually ensure that the USCP meets the safety and security needs of the Congress, the staff, and the many visitors who come to the United States Capitol each day.

And as we all clearly know, and as was reinforced in an extensive and well-researched 95-page report by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration entitled “EXAMINING THE U.S. CAPITOL ATTACK: A REVIEW OF THE SECURITY, PLANNING, AND RESPONSE FAILURES ON JANUARY 6,” on January 6, 2021, the USCP failed to meet the safety and security needs of the Congress, the staff, and the many visitors who come to the United States Capitol each day, to wit:

IX. CONCLUSION

January 6, 2021 marked not only an attack on the Capitol Building—it marked an attack on democracy.

The entities responsible for securing and protecting the Capitol Complex and
everyone onsite that day were not prepared for a large-scale attack, despite being aware of the potential for violence targeting the Capitol.

The Committees’ investigation to-date makes clear that reforms to USCP and the Capitol Police Board are necessary to ensure events like January 6 are never repeated.

The failures leading up to and on January 6 were not limited to legislative branch entities.

As has been made clear in the Committees’ two public hearings on the subject, failures extended to a number of executive branch agencies.

A key contributing factor to the tragic events of January 6 was the failure of the Intelligence Community to properly analyze, assess, and disseminate information to law enforcement regarding the potential for violence and the known threats to the Capitol and the Members present that day.

Further scrutiny of these failures and the preparations and response of federal agencies will continue.

end quotes

As to a WHITEWASH (deliberately attempt to conceal unpleasant or incriminating facts about someone or something) involving Zoe, the Chair of the Committee on House Administration, we have this from her committee’s website, to wit:

Capitol Security

The security of the Capitol Complex has become an even higher priority since the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001.

The House Administration Committee, which oversees security on the House side of the Capitol Complex, works closely with the Capitol Police to ensure that every effort is made to keep the Capitol Complex extremely secure while maintaining accessibility for the millions of constituents who visit every year.

end quotes

Except they quite obviously did not!

So why?

What role did Zoe have to play in those failures?

And why is she getting to “investigate” something she quite likely had a role in causing to happen?

She should be called as a witness and grilled about those failures, not be given a chance by Nancy Pelosi to cover over her role in causing those failures, which brings us to the question of with that 95-page report in the record, why exactly do we need this Pelosi-ite KANGAROO COURT?

What exactly is its true purpose, given these words from the Executive Summary:

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report addresses the security, planning, and response failures of the entities directly responsible for Capitol security—USCP and the Capitol Police Board, which is comprised of the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms and the Architect of the Capitol as voting members, and the USCP Chief as a non-voting member—along with critical breakdowns involving several federal agencies, particularly the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), and Department of Defense (“DOD”).

The Committees also made a series of recommendations for the Capitol Police Board, USCP, federal intelligence agencies, DOD, and other Capital region law enforcement agencies to address the intelligence and security failures.

The Committees’ investigation uncovered a number of intelligence and security failures leading up to and on January 6 that allowed for the breach of the Capitol.

These breakdowns ranged from federal intelligence agencies failing to warn of a potential for violence to a lack of planning and preparation by USCP and law enforcement leadership.

end quotes

And there we see another conflict of interest involving Bennie Thompson himself, as Chair of the Homeland Security Committee for Nancy Pelosi, as the Senate Report makes it incandescently clear that the agency he has oversight of was responsible for “critical breakdowns” in the security, planning, and response failures of the entities directly responsible for Capitol security, to wit:

The federal Intelligence Community—led by FBI and DHS—did not issue a threat assessment warning of potential violence targeting the Capitol on January 6.

Law enforcement entities, including USCP, largely rely on FBI and DHS to assess and communicate homeland security threats.

Throughout 2020, the FBI and DHS disseminated written documents detailing the potential for increased violent extremist activity at lawful protests and targeting of law enforcement and government facilities and personnel.

Despite online calls for violence at the Capitol, neither the FBI nor DHS issued a threat assessment or intelligence bulletin warning law enforcement entities in the National Capital Region of the potential for violence.

FBI and DHS officials stressed the difficulty in discerning constitutionally protected free speech versus actionable, credible threats of violence.

In testimony before the Committees, officials from both FBI and DHS acknowledged that the Intelligence Community needs to improve its handling and dissemination of threat information from social media and online message boards.

end quotes

So, people, what role did Bennie Thompson play with regard to those failures?

And the answer is we will likely never know, because this hand-picked “committee” of Democrat Nancy Pelosi’s is poised to shove all of those unanswered questions under the rug.

http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/r ... ent-392033
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Re: POLITICS

Post by thelivyjr »

THE HILL

"Democrats need a coherent response to attacks on critical race theory"


Albert Hunt, opinion contributor 

28 JULY 2021

Republicans have their 2022 version of "defund the police" - attacking the critical race theory.

It's largely specious, and is pandering to racial resentments, but Democrats better figure out how to respond.


Last year after police violence, left-wing Democrats talked about defunding the police.

The vast majority of Democratic candidates, starting with Joe Biden, wanted to reform - not defund - police; however, caught in a squeeze, some down-ballot Democrats evaded the issue, and it hurt them.

Republicans apparently believe that "critical race theory" is an even more lethal weapon this year.

Dozens of state legislatures are considering a ban on teaching the concept - some of racism in America in general.

The issue is featured scores of times daily by Fox News.

Although there are variations, the critical race theory argues that racism is systemically embedded in American history, our legal system and politics.

Its most radical opponents charge that it calls for shaming whites and reverse discrimination, but one of the central figures in developing the theory says it's about learning the stain of slavery and recognizing its legacy of discrimination thereafter.


Republicans see it as wedge, focusing on the most radical interpretation to put Democrats on the defensive: If Democrats don't oppose bans on critical race theory, it could alienate Black supporters; if they do, it could offend moderate white voters.

The reality is that racism is a systemic shame and that there remains discrimination.

But America has made enormous progress in the past half century, and no child should be made to feel guilty because of the color of his or her skin.

That may not be easy to put on a bumper sticker.

The main right-wing push to ban this from being taught in elementary and secondary public schools is bogus.

According to a survey from the Association of American Educators, only 4 percent of public school and public charter school respondents report it being taught - and the overwhelming majority oppose any such mandate.

Politicians cultivating this as a campaign weapon have "painted it in the most lurid way," notes Randall Kennedy, a Harvard Law School professor and expert on issues of race and the legal system.

He told me, "You need to put critical race theory in quotation marks as it's used in different ways by different people."

In a broad sense, he says, some elements are "dislikeable," but enumerating a deeper and uglier history of racism is important.

Anything political that critics don't like, they call "critical race theory."

Kennedy says, "It really is a stalking horse for race."

The best case may be the effort to ban critical race teaching in North Carolina by state senate president Phil Berger, a ruthlessly smart right-wing leader.

Berger defines teaching about critical race in the most radical way.

He says it teaches the "only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination" and making whites to feel guilty.

He criticized the Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) school system for telling students "it is no longer enough to be passively 'not racist.'

"We are called on to be antiracist."

Incredibly Berger wraps his push to stop critical race theory in the mantle of civil rights, citing the 1964 civil rights act and misconstruing Barack Obama's speech to the 2004 Democratic convention.

This is the same Berger under whose leadership the Republican legislature passed a racially discriminatory redistricting measure and a voter ID law that - according to the federal courts - was intended "to target African Americans with almost surgical precision."

What Berger really is up to, North Carolina civil rights leader the Rev. William Barber told me, is "nothing more than Jesse Helms race baiting and lying."

Helms was a longtime segregationist U.S. Senator.

In reality, few Blacks espouse the critical race theory as defined by Berger - and the Charlotte school system has it right: We should be actively antiracist.

Most telling, Berger - parading as a champion of free speech - said: "We don't burn books with radical ideas."

"We read them, discuss them and either accept or reject the ideas they present."

He then proposes to ban the teaching of certain concepts.

That's part of a national pattern - one that Democrats, so far, have not countered.

The right wing has vociferously campaigned against "cancel culture," in which leftists, mainly at elite universities, oppose what they deem unacceptable speech or actions.

In the critical race debate, the cancel culturists are the conservatives.

Al Hunt is the former executive editor of Bloomberg News. He previously served as reporter, bureau chief and Washington editor for the Wall Street Journal. For almost a quarter century he wrote a column on politics for The Wall Street Journal, then The International New York Times and Bloomberg View. He hosts Politics War Room with James Carville. Follow him on Twitter @AlHuntDC.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... d=msedgntp
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Re: POLITICS

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POLITICO

"‘A very dangerous precedent’: Democrats take aim at Biden’s Somalia airstrikes"


By Andrew Desiderio and Lara Seligman  

28 JULY 2021

Top Democratic lawmakers took aim this week at the Biden administration’s recent airstrikes in Somalia, disputing the legal rationale for the operations and arguing that it undercuts the president’s stated desire to replace outdated war authorizations.

“I think President [Joe] Biden should submit a new authorization for the use of military force and should recognize that the 2001 AUMF should be terminated,” Sen. Ben Cardin said.

The Pentagon justified the strikes, which targeted al Qaeda affiliates in the war-torn country, by invoking the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force against the terrorist groups that attacked the U.S. on 9/11.

Democrats, who have long maintained that the 2001 authorization is irrelevant 20 years after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, said the Biden administration did not have the authority to strike in Somalia.

“What the Biden team is doing is consistent with what we’ve seen now in three prior administrations, but it’s, to me, inconsistent with the intent of Congress,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.


“I think President [Joe] Biden should submit a new authorization for the use of military force and should recognize that the 2001 AUMF should be terminated,” Cardin added.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who has been working with the White House on a replacement for the 2001 AUMF that better aligns with the current terror threats, called on the Biden administration to brief Congress “expeditiously” on its “counterterrorism goals and the current threats.”

“I have received no information suggesting that these strikes are necessary to protect any U.S. personnel and would need to understand, if this is so, why they are occurring,” Kaine added.

Biden has backed efforts to repeal some war authorizations, such as the 2002 AUMF for Iraq, and replace others, like the 2001 measure.

Yet like his predecessors he has cited a range of legal justifications, including outdated war authorizations, following military action.

That includes twice invoking his Article II constitutional “self-defense” authority when he ordered airstrikes against Iran-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria that attacked American troops.

“If you’re taking strikes in Somalia, come to Congress and get an authorization for it."

"If you want to be involved in hostilities in Somalia for the next five years, come and explain why that’s necessary and come and get an explicit authorization,” added Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), another top Foreign Relations Committee member.

“This idea that that’s too much trouble, that that’s too much to ask, is a very dangerous precedent for Congress to set.”


The criticism comes days after the Pentagon struck al-Shabab in Somalia on Friday, marking the second such operation in less than a week and the Biden administration’s second in the country since taking office.

In both cases, Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command — not Biden — authorized the strike.

The mission was conducted to support an American-trained Somali force known as the Danab after they came under fire from al-Shabab militants in the Galmudug area of Somalia, defense officials said.

Murphy said the strike approval process raised questions about the chain of command.

“Any time you’re taking strikes in countries that have no clear authorization for hostilities passed by Congress, the chief executive needs to be involved.”

The U.S. resumed operations in the country after a six-month hiatus despite new limits the Biden administration placed on drone strikes outside active combat zones.

While the Trump administration gave regional commanders broad authority to green-light such operations, proposals for airstrikes are now generally routed through the White House.

Prior to last week’s actions, the U.S. had not conducted a strike in Somalia since Jan. 19, the day before Biden took office.


Biden’s invocation of the 2001 AUMF comes as his administration is conferring with lawmakers about a replacement for that authorization — one that includes specific geographic designations, mandates a cut-off date, and names specific terrorist groups covered under the AUMF.

“It illustrates that we need to come up with some sort of mechanism where we can approve geographies,” Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who has long advocated for war powers reforms, said of the Somalia strikes.

“We don’t want to hamstring the president’s Article II powers — which we don’t have the power to do anyway.”

Cardin said citing the 2001 AUMF “makes it more difficult” to get a new authorization through Congress, adding: “It undercuts our ability to see an urgency for action.”

The Foreign Relations Committee has asked the Biden administration for more information about the airstrikes.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who chairs the panel, said his main focus was on repealing the AUMFs that no longer have functional value.

But the committee is scheduled to hold a hearing next week with top State Department officials on AUMFs more broadly, allowing senators to question administration officials directly about the invocation of the 2001 AUMF as well as Biden’s Article II powers.

After that hearing, the committee will vote on a bipartisan measure to repeal the 2002 and 1991 AUMFs, both of which authorized military force in Iraq for different conflicts.

But the 2001 AUMF is still on lawmakers’ minds as a future target.

“It’s just more evidence of how badly the 2001 AUMF is in need of reform,” Murphy added.

“I think the administration is struggling a little bit to find the legal authorization for these strikes.”

Pentagon spokesperson Cindi King declined to give additional details about the dual attacks, including why the Biden administration had conducted two in a row after a six-month hiatus, citing operational security.


But a defense official said the end of Somalia’s rainy season has allowed operations to resume on both sides and anticipated a resumption of active fighting.

The defense official defended the airstrike, drawing a distinction between “deliberate” strikes against a particular threat developed in advance by military planners, and close-air-support or self-defense operations based on an imminent threat."

"In the latter cases, commanders must be able to authorize a strike quickly in life-threatening situations."

"All strikes go through rigorous approval processes including assessments of civilian casualties and collateral damage, the official said.

Republicans defended and applauded the administration’s airstrikes, as they have often done since Biden became president.

On the issue of war powers, GOP lawmakers have generally backed expanded presidential authority to conduct military operations.

“I don’t think the president needs a law passed by Congress in order to target terrorists who are posing a threat to the United States, no matter where they are in the world,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“Especially if it’s a one-off, targeted engagement, not a full-scale military situation.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... d=msedgntp
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Re: POLITICS

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CNBC

"U.S. GDP rose 6.5% last quarter, well below expectations"


Jeff Cox @JEFF.COX.7528 @JEFFCOXCNBCCOM

PUBLISHED THU, JUL 29 2021

KEY POINTS

* GDP rose at a 6.5% annualized pace in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s first estimate Thursday.

* That was well below the Dow Jones estimate of 8.4%.

* Initial claims for unemployment insurance also missed expectations, with the 400,000 total above the 380,000 expectation.


The U.S. economy rose at a disappointing rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in a sign that the U.S. has escaped the shackles of the Covid-19 pandemic but still has more work to do.

Gross domestic product, a measure of all goods and services produced during the April-to-June period, accelerated 6.5% on an annualized basis.

That was slightly better than the 6.3% gain in the first quarter, which was revised down narrowly.

While that would have been strong prior to the pandemic, the gain was considerably less than the 8.4% Dow Jones estimate.

Gross private domestic investment fell 3.5% as declines in private inventory and residential investment held back gains.

Rising imports and a 5% decline in the rate of federal government spending, despite the ballooning budget deficit, also were factors, the Bureau of Economic Analysis report said.

The overall increase came thanks to increasing personal expenditures, which rose 11.8% as consumers accounted for 69% of all activity.

Nonresidential fixed investment, exports and state and local government spending also helped boost output.

The personal savings rate dropped sharply, tumbling to $1.97 trillion from $4.1 trillion in the previous period.

The headline gain was a yardstick for how far the economy has come from the shutdowns imposed during the early days of the pandemic, when governments across the country halted large swaths of economic activity to combat Covid.

At its nadir, the economy collapsed 31.4% in the second quarter of 2020; it bounced back 33.4% in the subsequent three-month period and has continued to push toward normal since.

In the years prior to the pandemic, the Q2 gain would have been the strongest since the third quarter of 2003.

Though output has remained below its pre-pandemic level, the National Bureau of Economic Research pronounced the recession that began in February 2020 to have ended just two months later, the shortest on record.

However, the second quarter is likely to be the high point of the pandemic recovery.

“The good news is that the economy has now surpassed its pre-pandemic level,” wrote Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

“But with the impact from the fiscal stimulus waning, surging prices weakening purchasing power, the delta variant running amok in the south and the saving rate lower than we thought, we expect GDP growth to slow to 3.5% annualized in the second half of this year.”


Still, areas of the economy remain underwater as the labor market in particular has struggled to get back to normal.

In a separate report Thursday, the Labor Department said 400,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended July 24.

That level is nearly double the pre-pandemic norm and was above the 380,000 Dow Jones estimate.


However, it was a decrease from the previous week’s 424,000.

Continuing claims edged higher to 3.27 million, according to data that runs a week behind the headline number.

The total of those receiving benefits rose by nearly 600,000 to 13.16 million, according to data through July 10.


https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/q2-gdp- ... imate.html
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Re: POLITICS

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THE DAILY CALLER

"Biden’s Defense Budget Adds Bureaucrats And Cuts Troops"


Varun Hukeri

29 JULY 2021

President Joe Biden’s proposed defense budget for fiscal year 2022 calls for an increase in the Department of Defense’s (DoD) civilian workforce while reducing the number of active-duty personnel.

In spite of global threats such as China and Russia, the president’s proposed budget would shrink every military branch except the nascent Space Force.


The budget proposes reducing the number of active-duty personnel by nearly 7,000 service members but increasing the Pentagon’s civilian population by around 9,000 employees.

A Congressional Research Service report published in June noted the DoD employed more than one million civilians, contractors and uniformed personnel in administrative positions compared to 1.3 million service members on active duty.

Some argue that increasing the civilian workforce compared to active military personnel would provide cost savings and strengthen the military’s overall capabilities.

A Government Accountability Office report concluded that civilians cost the government around $15,000 less per year than an active service member of a similar rank.

In an overview of the president’s proposed budget published, the DOD argued the “use of civilians allows the Department to focus its soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and guardians on the tasks and functions that truly military essential.”

But an internal report published by the Defense Business Board in 2015 exposed around $125 billion in administrative waste, according to The Washington Post.

The report identified “a clear path” to make up the cost by streamlining the DOD’s civilian workforce, though the proposals were never adopted.


One proposal was to reallocate the $125 billion in cost savings over five years toward troops and weapons.

The savings could have covered the operating expenses for 50 Army brigades or covered a large portion of the cost to rebuild the nation’s nuclear arsenal, according to The Post.

The DOD had two active-duty service members for every one civilian employee in 2011, but that number decreased over the following decade, according to budget data for the fiscal year 2021.

The president’s proposed budget for the fiscal year 2022 would leave the military with 1.7 active-duty service members for each civilian employee.

The DoD in comparison maintained around 2.2 active-duty service members for every one civilian employee at the height of the Iraq War, and a considerable 4.6 active-duty service members for every one civilian employee at the end of World War II.

The U.S. is not involved in combat operations as extensive as World War II, or even the Iraq War, but military leadership has maintained the nation is currently engaged in great power competition with Russia in Europe and China in the Indo-Pacific.

An American Enterprise Institute report published in February further argued that increasing the number of service members while reducing the civilian workforce would streamline military operations and allow time for training, maintenance and deployment.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... hp&pc=U531
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