These Are Joe Biden’s Potential Cabinet Appointments

Sherrod Brown, the progressive senator from Ohio, says he’s talking with the Biden campaign about “where he needs to look and who he needs to look at” as he begins to form a potential administration. . .

Biden’s White House and his Cabinet would likely lean on his connections from the Obama administration, including institutionalists who are palatable to centrist Democrats. But in the same way Biden shifted left on policy in recent months in response to the pandemic, he is also taking advice from the progressive wing of the party.

Interviews with more than a dozen Democrats familiar with his transition process describe an effort by his campaign to assemble a center-left amalgamation of personnel designed to prioritize speed over ideology in responding to the coronavirus and the resulting economic ruin. Think Susan Rice, but also Elizabeth Warren. Pete Buttigieg, but also Karen Bass. . .

Among those advising Biden on the transition are centrist-minded establishment figures such as Tony Blinken, the former deputy national security adviser in the Obama-Biden White House, and Lawrence Summers, the ex-Treasury secretary and bane of progressives who said last week that he will not go into the administration. Ricchetti, Biden’s former chief of staff, is a former lobbyist. (Read more from “These Are Joe Biden’s Potential Cabinet Appointments” HERE)

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Seattle Mayor Blocks Police Defunding

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Friday vetoed a City Council budget plan to slash funding to the police department and eliminate the city’s homeless outreach team, among other programs.

The nine-member council approved the rebalanced budget that would have reduced police funding by 14% for the remainder of 2020. The move also would have resulted in the loss of 100 police officers through layoffs and attrition.

The cuts would have totaled around $23 million of the remaining $127 million in the budget, KOMO News reported.

“This veto was because the bills, as passed, did not have the type of collaboration that I think we will have going forward, and that I’m hopeful we will have going forward,” Durkan said during a news conference. “There’s some flaws in each of these (bills) that I hope the council can correct, or with discussions, we can find a path forward together.

“I continue to have concerns about council decisions to make cuts before they have a plan,” she added. “I do not believe the 2020 budget in its current form moves us closer to those shared goals. I truly believe we can, and must, find common ground for the vision of SPD.” (Read more from “Seattle Mayor Blocks Police Defunding” HERE)

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Two of Largest Fires in California’s History Are Currently Burning Thousands of Acres

Two of the top 10 largest wildfires in California’s history are currently raging across the state.

The SCU Lighting Complex burned 229,968 acres as of 5 p.m. PT, making it the seventh largest fire in California history. The LNU Lightning Complex had destroyed 219,067 acres as of 5:49 p.m. PT, making it the 10th largest.

More than 560 fires have torched 771,000 acres so far. Many of them are small, but more than two dozen are major. Nearly 12,000 firefighters are working to keep the wildfires under control. . .

The wildfires took at least six lives and forced tens of thousands from their homes. State fire officials said four civilians have died, as well as a Pacific Gas & Electric worker and a helicopter pilot.

Crews from neighboring states, including Oregon, Idaho and Arizona, arrived to help control the spread, according to Daniel Berlant, assistant deputy director for Cal Fire. (Read more from “Two of Largest Fires in California’s History Are Currently Burning Thousands of Acres” HERE)

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Biden Would Re-Lock Down U.S. If Elected President

Former Vice President Joe Biden said in an exclusive interview with ABC “World News Tonight” Anchor David Muir on Friday that as president, he would shut the country down to stop the spread of COVID-19 if the move was recommended to him by scientists.

“I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists,” Biden told Muir Friday, alongside his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., during their first joint interview since officially becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential and vice presidential nominees.

Biden also criticized what he argued is the “fundamental flaw” of the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, that the nation cannot begin to recover economically until the virus and public health emergency is under control. (Read more from “Biden Would Re-Lock Down U.S. If Elected President” HERE)

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AUDIO: Looks Like the Goodyear Policy Is Even More Discriminatory Than Originally Reported; Goodyear Stock Price Nosedives After Company Endorses ‘Black Lives Matter,’ Bans Employees From Saying ‘Blue Lives Matter’

By Townhall. . .[N]ewly uncovered audio from the Goodyear meeting reveals the Goodyear policy is even more racist and discriminatory than originally believed.

After public uproar, Goodyear defended its policy in a statement, saying employees are only allowed to advocate for causes within “the scope of racial justice and equity issues.” But new audio proves that statement isn’t true.

“Some people may wish to express their views on social justice or inequity or equity issues, such as Black Lives Matter or LGBTQ pride on their face coverings, shirts, or wristbands,” an unidentified speaker can be heard elaborating on the company’s policy. “That will be deemed approved because it applies with a zero-tolerance stance.”

But the speaker goes on to say that if any Goodyear associate wears “all blue [or] white lives matter shirts or face coverings, that will be not appropriate.” Those in attendance couldn’t help but laugh at the company’s blatantly racist and discriminatory policy.

(Read more from “AUDIO: Looks Like the Goodyear Policy Is Even More Discriminatory Than Originally Reported” HERE)

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Goodyear Stock Price Nosedives After Company Endorses ‘Black Lives Matter,’ Bans Employees From Saying ‘Blue Lives Matter’

By The Federalist. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s stock prices plummeted more than 4 percent Wednesday after President Donald Trump called for a boycott of the company for a reported “zero tolerance” policy on “Make America Great Again” hats and “Blue Lives Matter” messages. . .

While the company’s stock market performance suffered immediately after President Trump’s call to action, Goodyear has significantly underperformed in the last two years with stock prices falling over 60 percent despite a 43 percent increase in the NASDAQ overall.

According to the company, the declines showcased in the most recent quarterly report were “driven by lower industry volume and reduced sales from other tire-related businesses,” but some point out that the company’s financial downfall began long before COVID-19, causing some speculation about the company’s leadership and executives. (Read more from “Goodyear Stock Price Nosedives After Company Endorses ‘Black Lives Matter,’ Bans Employees From Saying ‘Blue Lives Matter’” HERE)

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Researcher: The Odds of Catching COVID-19 on a Flight Are Extremely Low

The odds of catching COVID-19 on a short commercial flight, even if it’s full, are extremely low, according to an analysis by a statistician at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

CNN reported on the findings of Arnold Barnett, professor of statistics at MIT, who calculated the odds and determined that although flyers will want to take precautions such as wearing a mask, transmission of the virus on airplanes is very rare. From CNN:

According to his findings, based on short haul flights in the US on aircraft configured with three seats on either side of the aisle, such as the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737—and assuming everyone is wearing a mask—the risk of catching the virus on a full flight is just 1 in 4,300. Those odds fall to 1 in 7,700 if the middle seat is vacant.

“Most things are more dangerous now than they were before Covid, and aviation is no exception to that,” he tells CNN Travel.

“But three things have to go wrong for you to get infected (on a flight). There has to be a Covid-19 patient on board and they have to be contagious,” he says. “If there is such a person on your flight, assuming they are wearing a mask, it has to fail to prevent the transmission.

(Read more from “Researcher: The Odds of Catching COVID-19 on a Flight Are Extremely Low” HERE)

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Teen Accused of Killing Man in Horrific Knockout Gets Anger Management and Zero Prison Time

John Weed was enjoying the Frederick County, Maryland, Fair last September when a group of teens surrounded him and beat him to death. One of the two brothers involved who later spat on Weed’s lifeless body has now been sentenced by the judge. Did he get the death penalty, which is what Weed suffered in front of his own family in broad daylight at a rural county fair? Nope, he was told to report to anger management class. Welcome to justice in America?

It’s a trend all over the country where groups of predominantly black teens, often numbering 20 or more, surround a victim – black or white – and beat the individual, sometimes to death, in the ultimate act of group cowardice. There is simply no deterrent against these attacks. These kids usually have long rap sheets and never get prison time. Now, we see that is the case even after they kill.

At the time of the killing last year, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, who was at the fair when the attack occurred, lamented on my podcast that he feared these kids would get off with little prison time. Thanks to a broken juvenile system and liberal judges in Maryland, the two primary perpetrators were only charged as juveniles.

According to the Frederick New Post, the judge ordered the older of the two, 16, last Wednesday, to report to a juvenile facility for anger management classes. The paper reports that one of its reporters was asked to leave the courtroom by Judge Julie Stevenson Solt because “much about the case that would be discussed, especially regarding the teen’s past and other details, would be too sensitive to be shared in open court.”

Thus, as we all suspected, this juvenile involved in the killing had a rap sheet. But fear not, Judge Solt scheduled a disposition hearing for sometime in the fall “to determine whether the teen has complied with the terms of his probation.”

The prosecutor ultimately agreed to a plea deal that only charged the 16-year-old for spitting on the lifeless body, not for second-degree murder.

Sheriff Jenkins was indignant in his statement to Conservative Review:

“There was no justice here for John Weed or his family. There should have been severe punishment for the two young men, which was warranted by the malicious nature of the act, not ‘rehabilitation.’ I have been convinced since the evening it occurred (I was there just seconds later) that it was an unprovoked violent attack on someone they viewed as unsuspecting and an easy target while walking with his family. Although the crime did not meet the statutory requirements of being a hate crime, I continue to believe it was. My view is based on the fact that they spit on and taunted a man who was clearly down and unconscious, in fact dying on the asphalt. There is no worse form of humiliation or desecration to a person. There was no regret or remorse for that attack.”

Why is there no effort on the part of Republicans to demand national anti-knockout legislation as well as stronger deterrent against juvenile criminals?

Often, these people serve little or no time, even though these attacks can lead to serious injury or death. Furthermore, the cowardly perpetrators will often have only one person initiate the attack, but that attacker is surrounded by 5-15 friends who ensure that the victim has no way of defending himself. Those who play this support role never face any consequences whatsoever.

It’s time for lawmakers in the various states to begin pushing for anti-knockout legislation. It’s time to deter predatory pack attacks and take them as seriously as the evil they bring on our neighborhoods. Conservatives should push legislation in state legislatures to create mandatory minimum sentences for predatory attacks and mandate that juveniles engaged in these attacks be charged as adults. Furthermore, there needs to be some punishment for those who join in the packs that engage in violence. It’s time to take the game out of the knockout game.

Then there is the juvenile issue. How eerie it is to look back at the observation from President Reagan’s Task Force on Victims of Crime from nearly four decades ago when the culture of violence wasn’t nearly as bad as it is today: “Juveniles too often are not held accountable for their conduct, and the system perpetuates this lack of accountability,” wrote the members of the commission in their recommendations for action.

The Reagan commission argued that “a study should be commissioned at the federal level to evaluate the juvenile justice system from the perspective of the victim.” The commission observed that the juvenile system was created for those who commit low-level crimes, not those who end the lives of others. “Armed robbery, rape, and murder cannot be laid at the door of mere immaturity or youthful exuberance,” noted the commission. “The victims of these crimes are no less traumatized because the offender was under age.”

The commission recommended trying those who commit “adult crimes” as adults.

“It is unacceptable for a juvenile who commits murder to serve only a year in custody. Imposing such a sentence implies to both the killer and the victim’s family that expiation for the life taken can be accomplished in 12 months.”

Tell that to the family of John Weed. His attackers will not get even a year in prison.

With crime and violence surging across the country, it is increasingly being committed by younger people. Yet both parties are paralyzed by a system of racial obsession rather than blind justice, so they refuse to implement stronger deterrent. Imagine if the roles in the Frederick case were reversed. How much time do you think the offenders would serve in such a case? How much media coverage would there be? Well, I think we know the answer to the latter question based on the dichotomy in coverage between George Floyd and the case of Cannon Hinnant, the 5-year-old white boy who was allegedly gunned down in cold blood last week by a career criminal who happened to be black.

This travesty of justice comes on the heels of a sickening video from Portland, Oregon, showing a mob of BLM/Antifa rioters surrounding a motorist and dragging him out of his car while beating him unconscious. These motorist attacks are occurring across the country with impunity as our deterrent level has dropped to that of a third-world criminal justice system.

Then there is Damire Palmer, the 18-year-old caught on camera beating a white Macy’s employee in Michigan in June. It appears he will now avoid jail time and will have his felony record expunged after he finishes probation.

Why can’t we all agree as a society that all violent crime needs to be strongly deterred and severely punished – and that punishment meted out equally regardless of the identities of the offenders and victims?

Finally, if randomly beating people to death and receiving no punishment creates a lack of deterrent, what about self-defense from the standpoint of potential victims? If the government won’t deter and punish crime, can citizens at least exercise their God-given natural right to self-defense? Well, Maryland has that figured out too. Most people are barred from carrying a concealed firearm of any caliber under any circumstance, especially at a place like a county fair. So, if you are walking or driving with your family in a blue state or city, you just better pray that you are not preyed upon by a mob of juvenile criminals.

Unfortunately, with the current trajectory in the country, most people are more likely to die at the hands of the mob than from coronavirus. And there is no vaccine for this ailment – at least not one that our governing elites are willing to administer. (For more from the author of “Teen Accused of Killing Man in Horrific Knockout Gets Anger Management and Zero Prison Time” please click HERE)

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Police Report: Man Tries to Sell 4-Year-Old for $2,500 at Gas Station

Kentucky State Police have charged a 29-year-old man with promoting child trafficking, accusing him of trying to sell a 4-year-old boy for $2,500 at a gas station.

Harry Day was arrested Sunday after police responded to reports of a man trying to sell an African American child at a Speedy Mart in Corbin, Ky.

A 911 caller described Day’s car and license plate, and police said they found the White Nissan parked along Spider Creek Road.

State troopers found the boy at his mother’s house along with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. She was identified as Gertrude Henson, 26. . .

Day was charged with promoting human trafficking and driving under the influence. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trafficking charge at his arraignment Monday and was sentenced to one year in jail, according to Kentucky-based WYMT. (Read more from “Police Report: Man Tries to Sell 4-Year-Old for $2,500 at Gas Station” HERE)

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Hunter Biden Makes Rare Appearance to Support Dad at DNC

After having kept largely out of the spotlight during his father’s campaign, Hunter Biden delivered a rare address with his sister, Ashley, as a curtain-opener to Joe Biden accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination. . .

They also told of what kind of president their father would be: “He’ll be there when you need him,” said Hunter, and: “He’ll tell you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it,” Ashley continued.

Hunter said his father would be the strongest shoulder you’d ever lean on and would make your grandchildren feel like what they have to say matters. . .

Hunter Biden has been a favorite target of the president and his re-election campaign due to his past dealings in Ukraine and China. His personal life has also been a distraction for the Biden campaign, which has led to headlines over his reported history with drugs and a child support case resulting from an affair.

President Trump and his supporters have often repeated the slogan: “Where’s Hunter?” highlighting the son of the Democratic nominee’s notable absence throughout the President Trump’s impeachment hearings and his father’s campaign. (Read more from “Hunter Biden Makes Rare Appearance to Support Dad at DNC” HERE)

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Trump Sues Iowa Counties Over Absentee Ballot Request Forms

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and Republican Party groups are suing a third Iowa county, seeking to invalidate thousands of absentee ballot request forms that have been returned by voters.

The lawsuit against Woodbury County’s top elections official, made public Monday, expands the GOP’s efforts to make it harder for voters and local officials to handle absentee ballot requests during the pandemic.

The Trump campaign and GOP groups filed identical lawsuits last week against elections officials in Linn and Johnson counties.

At issue are absentee ballot request forms that the three counties have mailed to most registered voters pre-filled with information, including names, dates of birth and a voting pin number that few people know.

Voters just have to review, sign and return the forms to get ballots mailed to them beginning Oct. 5. More than 70,000 people have requested ballots in the three counties. (Read more from “Trump Sues Iowa Counties Over Absentee Ballot Request Forms” HERE)

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