This is Who the Hell They Are Mark Landsbaum
Don Lemon wants to know who average Americans think they are. More
And:
This from a very dear friend and fellow memo reader who pointed out I recently posted fake news and I thank him profusely for keeping me on track. I buy the message but the attribution was probably wrong:
"Dick- I did a little research on the “George Roof” article. The picture accompanying the article is of CMS Kayleth Wright, the current Chief Master Sergeant of the USAF. Didn’t join the USAF til 1993, far too young to have been in Vietnam!! There has never been a CMS of the USAF by the name of George Roof. B--
And: I share her rationale but for somewhat different reasons:
Rebecca Gordon, The Nation
Finally:
Trump instructs Navy to 'destroy' Iranian gunboats harassing US ships
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Howdy Doody Time In D.C? Congress has invented the "free lunch."
If Trump is the president he claims he is he will instruct the Treasury to cancel about $2 trillion of our government bonds that China holds and tell them that's the cost of their incompetence.
Cary Huang, SCMP
If Trump is the president he claims he is he will instruct the Treasury to cancel about $2 trillion of our government bonds that China holds and tell them that's the cost of their incompetence.
The Shutdown Bill Grows
Congress rolls out $484 billion more for small business and hospitals.
The price of shutting down the American economy keeps going up. The latest invoice for future taxpayers is the $484 billion deal between the White House and Congressional Democrats on Tuesday to replenish a small-business relief fund. Republicans conceded to demands for $160 billion for Democratic priorities, and everyone in Washington is well pleased.
The Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money last week, as struggling businesses tapped the initial $350 billion Congress approved last month. The GOP wanted $250 billion without muss or fuss. But Tuesday’s agreement will infuse the PPP with another $310 billion, plus $60 billion in loans and grants for a separate Small Business Administration disaster-relief program.
The Members are congratulating themselves for setting $60 billion exclusively for lending by “community banks” and smaller financial institutions with assets of less than $50 billion. This is supposed to address the complaint that big banks in the first round of financing moved to help their customers before mom-and-pop businesses. Congress had set up the first-come-first-serve system, which had the virtue of not playing political favorites. Now Congress is dictating that community-bank customers will get dedicated funds.
Congress failed in this deal to fix PPP provisions that are also barriers for many businesses. That includes Treasury rules that restrict businesses from using their loans to pay suppliers, contractors, creditors or insurers, as well as a requirement that businesses spend 75% of their loan on payroll to qualify for forgiveness. This rules out countless businesses that spend less on payroll. Congress wants Treasury to fix it, but leaving it to the bureaucracy is buck-passing.
Republicans also caved to Nancy Pelosi’s and Chuck Schumer’s demands for $100 billion more in health-care money—including $75 billion for hospitals. Rank-and-file Democrats were under mounting pressure from constituents to justify their refusal to move on PPP funding, and some had already broken with leadership. Washington has only begun to distribute the $100 billion Congress has already approved for hospitals.
Democrats have figured out that President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin don’t want a spending fight. They want deals. Less forgivable is that Republicans failed even to insist on liability protection for health-care providers in return for the money.
The GOP did at least hold out against Democratic demands for hundreds of billions more for state and local governments. But Mr. Schumer is already clamoring for another bill that will match “in size and ambition” the $2.2 trillion rescue package from last month. Democrats in particular want a bailout for the blue-state public-union governance model, and Mr. Trump is open to it.
The PPP money is needed to prevent countless bankruptcies and layoffs, but even this won’t be enough if the shutdown drags on. Democrats seem to enjoy spending trillions of dollars, but Republicans should stop and consider what’s really needed before they sign on for more.
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China expands in the midst of a crisis they began. They have a big appetite and plan to devour the world as Western Democracies shake in their boots and lodge pitiful complaints.
China has an important advantage over America. They have a government focused on ruling the world and doing so by an aggressive program of acquiring raw materials that are crucial in the development of future technology.
They have a military force dedicated to supporting their commercial "grab."
America's government , on the other hand, relies on corporations in the public market to compete and unless there is a profit to be made there is no incentive.
I am not advocating Communism but instead of The Department of Energy we need a Department of Raw Materials that is dedicated towards meeting China. Trump established a fifth Military Space Corps but if they have to travel in Russian and Chinese space craft I doubt they will get very far.
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CHINA
Playing Deaf
China on Tuesday defended its naming of 80 islands and other geographical features in the disputed South China Sea, a move likely to anger its neighbors who also have laid claim to the territory, Agence France-Presse reported.
Over the weekend, Vietnam criticized China after Beijing claimed to have established two administrative districts on the Paracel and Spratly islands.
Vietnam said the move “seriously violated” its territorial sovereignty but Chinese officials countered that the islands are its “innate territories.”
The Chinese government has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty in the sea by building up a heavy military presence and constructing artificial islands.
Analysts said that China’s actions constitute a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which it has ratified.
Earlier this month, Vietnam lodged an official complaint with China and the United Nations, saying that Beijing illegally sank a fishing boat near the Paracel Islands, killing eight.
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When this virus episode has passed I fear America will never be the same because what steps have been taken to get us beyond the crisis will have left an indelible mark.
Decisions made during a crisis are often extreme but allowed under the premise they are critical to success and then vestiges remain after the crisis has been resolved. Letting criminals out of jail, restricting traditional police functions, spending with abandon, harsher attitudes toward citizen rights manifesting themselves in shrinking entitlements pertaining to 1st and 2d Amendments while expanding outright give away entitlements based on extended welfare theories and so the list goes.
The weaker we become fiscally the more it will impact our ability to meet various challenges emanating from adversaries. As the downward spiral takes hold the ability to reverse dies a natural death. because no politician wins re-election by offering pain.
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Professor Walter Williams discusses Covid - 19:
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