The Failed Experiment of Social Distancing

The history of science, sadly, is littered with bad experiments gone horribly wrong. The Great Social Distancing Experiment of 2020, when it is over, will very likely be toward the top of that list.

American Greatness  "After a two-month trial, researchers are collecting early outcomes of the Great American Social Distancing Experiment of 2020.
"The results, to say the least, ain’t pretty—and the “experts” who initiated this experiment on 330 million well-meaning but unwitting test subjects are starting to admit failure.
" 'Wait. An experiment?” you may ask. But we have been assured by the credentialed class that keeping a distance of six feet between healthy people for weeks on end was the only tried-and-true way to prevent the deadly spread of the novel coronavirus. No way would the government shutter public schools and colleges for five months, bankrupt small businesses, send tens of millions to the unemployment line, jeopardize the nation’s food supply chain, prevent children from comforting dying parents and grandparents, and subject their fellow countrymen to soul-crushing house arrest for the first time in U.S. history if the so-called “social distancing” guidance hadn’t been carefully vetted over time, you might insist.
"Certainly every variable and every side effect of social distancing has been factored into this economy-crashing “mitigation” strategy, right?
"Unfortunately, and maddeningly, the answer is no.
"Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration and a lead booster of social distancing, admitted Sunday that the draconian measures aren’t working as the experts promised.
“ 'The concerning thing here is that we’re looking at the prospect that this may be a persistent spread,” Gottlieb said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” further noting 20,000 to 30,000 new reported cases per day despite intense lockdown orders in most states." . . .
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When will the Democrats pull the plug on ‘Plugs’ Biden?

There are contributing factors, his flacking for China as his son reaped ten-figure backing from the Communists, and his sexual harassment issues most prominently (for now). But the wiser and wilier among the DNC’s power elite know that they will not be able to hide Biden’s mental infirmity all the way to November third.  So, they are considering how and when best to be rid of Joe.

Thomas Lifson  "If we presume that Joe Biden’s pace of mental decline doe not reverse direction, the Democrats will be stuck with an embarrassment leading them into disaster in November.  Unless there is vote fraud on a massive scale, Americans will not hand the fate of the Republic to Grandpa Simpson, also known as “Plugs” Biden after undergoing expensive hair transplant surgery in 2008 to avoid going bald." . . .
. . . "Should this path be followed, Sanders supporters are on the record that they will burn down Milwaukee if the Bolshevik is not fairly treated. But the entire reason Biden garnered the support he did was that he was supposedly “safe” compared to an open socialist. They fear a Sanders-led ticket would bring total disaster." . . . 

. . . Such a switch could be made any time between the convention nomination and Election Day. Because we technically vote for Electoral College members rather than presidential candidates, it may be, as Vox proposes, that Electors could simply transfer their vote from the old Democratic nominee to the new one regardless of what was printed on the ballot. But the legal situation is uncertain and varies from state to state. "For instance," notes FiveThirtyEight, "Michigan's law requires an Elector to vote for the ticket named on the ballot whereas Florida's rules say that an Elector is to 'vote for the candidates of the party that he or she was nominated to represent.'" That means a sooner swap, allowing more states to print the new name on the ballot, would be better. Yet court battles would be inevitable with the ever-litigious Trump involved.

"At this point, outsiders have no way of knowing the real extent of Biden’s infirmity, nor do we know the true views of the party insiders and their funders about his prospects for avoiding embarrassment and defeat. But if I were a betting man, I’d wager that someone else will be on top of the ticket November third."

Botox, hair plugs, and veneers: Biden could escape the cosmetic surgery scrutiny Hillary Clinton endured
"Cosmetic doctors are certain that former Vice President Joe Biden’s full head of hair, smooth forehead, and Cheshire Cat grin are the result of plastic surgery and other procedures."
. . . "Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel, chief of the Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Boston University Medical Center, said in 2013 that John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee, had been "a little over-injected" with Botox and "looks Frankenstein-ian."

"The key to effective cosmetic surgery is subtlety, Alster said. “If they look like they’ve had cosmetic work, it works against them.' ". . . Joe's teeth had their own web site:  Joebidensteeth.com

Are these signs of mental infirmity in Biden back in 2012?

Daily Beast  "So just how many times did Joe Biden deploy his withering/excessive smile of contempt in Thursday night's debate? We've counted them up -- non-teeth-baring smirks excluded -- and present them here."

I feel if one fails to revere the Bible's words, they don't merely believe nothing; they believe everything.

Man of the Book; Second, every man needs the Bible — not just handy tips. 
From Desiring God: John Piper
"In the age of the Internet, we are swamped with opinions and pronouncements and the latest whatever. But a Christian minister must set himself to be, as John Wesley put it, “a man of one Book.”

"I hope you will live all your life as a reader. I hope you will read widely – novels, biographies, poetry, and more. But far more, I hope you will master the Bible. You will find more of Christ there. As Jim Elliot said, the Bible is “Christ in print.” So, I am thinking now of more than your preaching from the Bible. I am proposing to you a lifetime of daily immersion in the Bible.

"For starters, read the Bible through, from cover to cover, annually, for twenty years straight. You will change. You will see the flow of the whole biblical drama, and you will start seeing the whole of reality with new eyes.

"I also suggest you choose one Old Testament book and one New Testament book and drill down deep. Make those two books your special projects for the rest of your life. For me, it’s Isaiah and Romans. They are addictive. I have read them many times in English, I have read them in the original text, I have gathered commentaries and articles about them. And I am so glad I jumped in at the deep end. Both Isaiah and Romans function in the Bible like theological intersections, where the traffic of biblical thought flows in and flows out. These two books broaden my understanding of everything in the Bible. But you choose your two, and get after it!

"Finally, if you can, read through the entire Hebrew Bible and the entire Greek New Testament. If you do not read Hebrew and Greek, don’t worry about it. The English Standard Version is, for all practical purposes, the original text put plainly before you. But if you have studied the languages, do not lose them!

"What percentage of Christians in the last 2000 years have been given the privilege of reading biblical Hebrew and biblical Greek? After Jerome died in A.D. 420, for the next thousand years you could almost count on one hand the number of Christians in the West who knew Hebrew and Greek. But today, you are among the privileged few? You should get down on your knees and thank God! And then read, read, read your Hebrew Bible and your Greek New Testament.

"I cannot imagine a pastor coming to the end of his days with regrets that he knew the Bible too well. And I have never heard a church member complain that their pastor knows the Bible too well. But I did hear a minister in the Church of Scotland tell me that a group of Muslim clerics, visiting the ministers there years ago, came away saying, “Your holy men do not know their holy book.” That does not have to be you, dear brother. Make your plan. Work your plan. And by God’s grace, you will reap endless rewards."

Leader McCarthy Releases Plan to Allow the House to Return to Work

Townhall  "While Speaker Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues insist that the House will not return to work this week, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy outlined a plan to get the lower chamber back in session safely. Reps. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) joined the top Republican in co-authoring the detailed plan.

“In the interim, a bipartisan taskforce has been convened — on which we are all serving — to further explore ways in which Congress can operate during this challenging time. While differences remain, it has become clear through our initial meetings that all members of our taskforce share several fundamental beliefs….As we enter this indeterminate period between outright mitigation and a return to normalcy, everyone recognizes that our typical ways of doing business will need to adjust. Simply put, Congress will look and feel different...However, we believe there is a pathway forward that enables the House to fully perform its key functions without compromising our shared values or sacrificing bedrock norms,” the GOP congressmen wrote.

"The plan includes modifying the House's current procedural practices, a phased return of committees, a responsible use of technology and an implementation of mitigation practices to lower COVID-19 risks for House members." . . .

Gretchen rats out Michigan’s worst

Richard Jack Rail  "Caution: This piece drips with satire and sarcasm. If that’s not your thing, read no further.

"Headline: Michigan's Whitmer says armed protesters displayed 'worst racism and awful parts' of US history. (FoxNewspolitics, 3 May 20)

"Whoaaaa! Good thing Gretchen told us. We’d never have suspected that Michiganders would protest the lockdown by lynching black people, burning their churches, terrorizing them with burning crosses and raping their wives and daughters.

"Or that they’d scalp Native Americans and give them blankets infected with smallpox germs.

"Or that they’d round up Japanese Americans and put them behind barbed wired fences. Or line up any handy Vietnamese women and children and mow them down with machine gun fire. 

"Those are about the most awful parts of US history any of us can imagine, and it’s good that Michigan has Gretchen Whitmer in charge so she can keep us informed of all these atrocities being carried out in this day and age in what we once thought a civilized member of the 48 contiguous states. We were naively thinking such things were in the distant American past, long before Brown v. Board of Education or the Freedom Marches of the Fifties and Sixties.

"Seriously, it just never would have occurred to any of us that anyone living in Michigan would be capable of such racism or of acting out these worst parts of American history. Do you have secret societies up there, Gretch? Paramilitary outfits that practice shooting and like to do things outdoors and stay in shape and work on self-defense and other similar barbaric customs? Deplorable NRA types who cling to their guns and bibles, insisting irrationally on 2A rights and dragging their knuckles on the ground? As AOC might say, “Wow, this is, like, some heavy stuff.' ”

Whatever happened to dedicated, professional journalists?

Is there a Tim Russert out there anywhere?
News Thud

"New White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany shut down the media’s rude questions with a great performance at her first briefing today.

"She also took a few shots at Joe Biden and embarrassed the Dems over their treatment of Brett Kavanaugh.

" 'But it was how she shut down one rude reporter, AP reporter Jill Colvin, who actually asked if she would “pledge to never to lie to us from the podium.”

“ 'We are pleased that Joe Biden listened to President Trump’s advice and went on the record about the Tara Reade allegations 16 hours after the president said to do so,” she said.

“ 'How General Flynn was treated by the FBI should scare every American.”

“ 'Do you not consider it a miscarriage of justice when you have the FBI writing ‘we want to get someone to lie?’ I’ve seen a whole lot of scant information about Michael Flynn when there was a whole lot of speculation about Russia Russia Russia”

"She also announced the Trump administration will distribute $12B in provider relief fund payments to 395 hospitals hardest hit by the #Coronavirus

“ 'Not a single American died from lack of a ventilator,” she said about the Trump admin’s response to the crisis.

“ 'I think it was a grave miscarriage of justice what happened with Justice Brett Kavanaugh,” she said before adding the dagger:

"“That was an embarrassment for the Democratic Party.” . . .

Same AP Reporter Asks Trump’s Doctor What His Life Expectancy Is  . . . "If you’re the Associated Press, is that the kind of reporter you want covering the White House? One who either thinks she’s making a joke about the President dying, or is actually hoping to find out that he is dying?

The AP wants to know when Trump will die. Sick https://t.co/lRjJ4lnLCV

— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January 16, 2018

"In fact, the Secret Service and Administration officials may want to look into whether or not Colvin should have her credentials revoked for this stunt.

"Colvin also asked the White House official if he had found evidence of bone spurs, a clear shot at Trump’s medical reason for getting one of five military deferments during the Vietnam War." . . .

She would fit in well at CNN. I contacted Colvin with this: 

Shame on you for your self-serving question to Kayleigh McEnany. Were you angling for a guest spot on “The View” or some late-night talk show? I cannot imagine when or if ever we will be able to trust our “free press” again when we consider so very many of you to be as corrupt as those on CNN and MSNBC.

Funeral Directors Blow the Whistle on Deaths Falsely Attributed to Coronavirus

PJ Media

“ 'Basically, every death certificate that comes across our desk now has COVID on it,” said a funeral director in Williston Park, N.Y., on a recorded phone call with Project Veritas in a newly-released video. James O’Keefe has been asking for people inside the medical system to blow the whistle if they see corruption or inconsistencies in reports about the Chinese WuFlu known as COVID-19. In conversations with several funeral directors across New York City, O’Keefe uncovered a shocking narrative where, without fail, every director he spoke to expressed his or her concern that coronavirus deaths are being inflated and every death in NYC is being recorded as a COVID death with or without testing to confirm.
“They are putting COVID on a lot of death certificates because people who are going to their hospital with any kind of respiratory distress, respiratory problems, pneumonia, the flu — the flu-like symptoms lead into the COVID-19,” said Joseph Antioco of Schafer Funeral Home. “To me, all you’re doing is padding the statistics. You’re putting people on that have COVID-19 even if they didn’t have it. You’re making the death rate for New York City a lot higher than it should be.”
"One funeral director talked about a family who is related to an unnamed Supreme Court Justice who insisted on a private autopsy that discovered their relative did not have COVID-19. “I had one that was autopsied because the sister was famous, and apparently, and I don’t know who the Supreme Court Justice is, but the Supreme Court Justice was related to this family, and she says I know my sister didn’t die of COVID-19,” said Josephine Dimiceli of Dimiceli & Sons Funeral Home. “She said she had Alzheimer’s and they didn’t suction her. You have to suction because they forget how to swallow. And right away they put down COVID-19 on her death certificate, and the Supreme Court justice, whoever it is, contacted the hospital. They did an independent autopsy; bingo. No COVID-19.” . . .

Not the Bee, but the WASP

Woman dies from shark attack; TV networks claim she’s ‘latest coronavirus victim’

. . . “The moment we saw that attack, we knew it had to be COVID,” an unidentified producer at MSNBC said. “I mean, what else could it have been? No doubt the woman was exposed to coronavirus at some point, so yeah, it had to be COVID.”“Not only that,” added another producer from CNN, “but she was obviously violating quarantine orders so, you know, what can I say?”“No one finds this disease more tragic than we in the media do,” the first producer, who asked to be identified as an uncaring Trump administration official, continued. “So if we have an opportunity to scare people to death so they’ll comply with their government masters, we’re going to do it.”“Our headline will be, ‘Coronvirus finds another way to kill,'” the CNN producer added. “It’ll sell. And people will believe it.”

Obama reacts to Grope and Change

Don Surber  "This is also a non-denial denial."

"David Axelrod wrote in CNN, "Obama team fully vetted Biden in 2008 and found no hint of former aide's allegation."

"That's Obama's story, and he is sticking to it because this story supports Biden while also providing CYA to Obama.

"Make no mistake: Axelrod speaks for Obama. We all know Axelrod would not be vouching for Biden without Obama's blessing. This is political theater.

"This is also a non-denial denial.

"Obama's spokesman began his piece, "When it became clear that Barack Obama would be the nominee of the Democratic Party in the spring of 2008, he commissioned a team of lawyers to begin an in-depth vetting process of potential candidates for vice president."

And Axelrod said, "The comprehensive vet certainly would have turned up any formal complaints filed against Biden during his 36-year career in the Senate. It did not. The team would have investigated any salacious rumors of the sort that travel far and wide in Washington. There were none.

" 'While I was not on the vetting team, as senior strategist to the campaign, I was briefed on their work and potential problems.

" 'Through that entire process, the name Tara Reade never came up. No formal complaint. No informal chatter. Certainly, no intimation of sexual harassment or assault from her or anyone else. The team of investigators, expert in their work, would not have missed it."

"Of course it never came up. Reade did not go public with this allegation until a dozen years after the 2008 campaign." . . .

On Biden's prospects

Biden insiders slam Stacey Abrams’ veep pitch: ‘No one takes Stacey seriously’

. . . "In an interview with Elle Magazine a week earlier, Abrams gushed that she “would be an excellent running mate” and lauded her “25 years in independent study of foreign policy.”
"But she has no previous national experience, and is mostly remembered for narrowly losing a race for governor of Georgia in 2018.
“ 'No one takes Stacey seriously. And her public campaigning for the job seems more like a hostage negotiation than an actual attempt to get the job,” a Biden insider told The Post. “Biden is an old school guy and will always be. Picking Stacey would be like picking [Sarah] Palin. He doesn’t need to throw a Hail Mary. He wants a good governing partner.”
"Internally, her star has fallen with the onset of the coronavirus as concerns grow about her preparedness.
“ 'Stacey isn’t ready on day one. Even she knows that and it’s why she’s engaging in this dance. She might get perfunctorily better, but she’s not a serious pick for him. And her campaign is viewed as much as promotion for her book as it is for being chosen as Biden’s VP,” the insider continued, referring to Abrams’ forthcoming book “Our Time Is Now.' ”

Gillibrand, who has spent years focusing on military issues as a senior member of the Armed Services committee, is looking to become a #MeToo reformer in the Department of Defense.“She wants to completely restructure the DoD, the military org chart, and overhaul the way complaints against those in power are handled, particularly as it relates to sexual assaults,” a Capitol Hill insider with knowledge of Gillibrand’s thinking told The Post.

 The smoke-filled room that could oust Joe Biden
. . . "Biden's agreement is a long shot. {Thomas] Eagleton  continued his Senate career after leaving the 1972 ticket over pressure about his mental health, but he was a much younger man. At Biden's age, stepping aside would end his political career for good. Relinquishing the nomination would therefore suggest he expects an embarrassing loss and ruined legacy if he stays." . . .
. . . "The likeliest outcome remains the most straightforward: That Biden will be the Democratic nominee and will face Trump in November. But if Democratic leaders did want to change horses midstream, late August or September could well be when they make their move."

It’s fun watching Democrats struggle with the Biden conundrum  . . . "The Democrats are being poked hard in their collective butt by that famous horned dilemma: Do they defend Biden and hope this all goes away, or do they use Reade’s accusation to push out a candidate who’s long past his sell-by date?" . . .

"I'll be there for you, Joe"

The New York Times exonerates Biden from a sexual assault accusation
. . . "Lastly, it breathed new life into the stories of his insisting on swimming nude* in front of female Secret Service agents.  In addition to that reporting, television network and cable news outlets ran regular panel discussions focusing on believing all women and Biden's history of sexual harassment and inappropriate comments." . . .
*More on Biden skinny-dipping here, here, here, "Nudists like what they see"

Joe has friends standing by him, but one has left the building: His Biden defense didn't go so well for this guy.  

"It's so nice to have you by my side, Nancy"

Time’s Up CEO Praises Biden After Declining to Aid Accuser Tara Reade

Via Weasel Zippers

Washington Free Beacon  "An organization created to help victims of sexual assault—but declined to aid Biden accuser Tara Reade earlier this year—is now praising her alleged assailant.
"Time's Up was created to support victims of sexual assault but declined to assist former Biden staffer Tara Reade, who accused the presumptive Democratic nominee of forcibly penetrating her in 1993. The organization's CEO, Tina Tchen, who worked alongside Biden as a top official in the Obama White House, lauded Biden for his "transparency" in a Friday interview with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle.
" 'Biden has called for full transparency, he's called for records to come out—that's what needs to happen every time these issues come up, and I would suggest that it needs to happen with other candidates who are running for president," Tchen said shortly after Biden broke his silence on the network.
"During his MSNBC appearance Friday morning, Biden repeatedly rejected calls to release documents from his Senate career, which are currently sealed at the University of Delaware and may include records related to Reade. Biden said the archive does not contain "personnel records by definition" but added that he would not release the documents because they could include policy positions that would become "fodder in a campaign at this time." He also refused to conduct a more specific search of the documents for any mention of Reade's name, saying, 
"There is nothing.… I don't understand the point you are trying to make."
"Formed during the #MeToo movement to help victims of sexual assault with legal fees and public relations, the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund declined to assist Reade in her case against Biden, claiming his presidential candidacy would threaten its nonprofit status. Tchen previously served as chief of staff to Michelle Obama—Biden said he would pick the former first lady as his running mate "in a heartbeat" on Monday." . . . 

Hat tip to Still Out of Service 

Almost Inslee's Secretary of State, now flag-stomping Megan Rapinoe wants to be Biden's VP

Democrats today.

Rapinoe Campaigns for New Gig: Bringing Dems Together ― As Biden's Running Mate! . . . "Joe's wife Jill has already shown support for the wild child Rapinoe, by dying her hair purple to match the U.S. national soccer team player's signature look at the World Cup last year. Mrs. Biden said she would “love” seeing Rapinoe on the ticket with her husband. The former vice-president laughed at the suggestion and said his granddaughter Maisy, who was a high school soccer player, would also support Rapinoe serving as his running mate in November's election.

"Can you imagine a VP Mike Pence vs. Rapinoe debate? A decent, sensible leader paired against a firebrand athlete whose language would be frequently bleeped by network broadcasts! Must-see TV!

"Just think of the national anthem getting played at the DNC convention: Biden running mate Rapinoe, with her history of protests, proudly serving as the party's designated kneeler, disrespecting America's heritage and the veterans who sacrificed for liberty. Armour would love it. Biased media types would eat it up." . . .

"To set the record straight, Rapinoe actually said she would not go to the f***ing Trump White House.

"Biden warned that "Vice president Rapinoe" would have to take a pay cut. One of the leaders of the U.S. women's soccer team's legal fight for equal pay with men, Rapinoe confirmed: 

“You know I’m not into that.” . . .

Can you all see me out there?   

TELLMENOW: tells it as they see it:  American Soccer Star Ignores National Anthem for Sickening Reason

. . . The Daily Caller reported that Rapinoe had previously said that she would ignore the national anthem as a “f*** you” to President Donald Trump, adding that she would “never put my hand over my heart” or sing the national anthem again.
“I’ll probably never put my hand over my heart,” Rapinoe said last month. “I’ll probably never sing the national anthem again.”
“Because I’m as talented as I am, I get to be here, you don’t get to tell me if I can be here or not,” she added. “So it’s kind of a good ‘f-you’ to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don’t look exactly like him. Which, God help us if we all looked like him. Scary. Really scary. Ahh, disturbing.”

Time’s Up CEO Praises Biden After Declining to Aid Accuser Tara Reade

Formed during the #MeToo movement to help victims of sexual assault with legal fees and public relations, the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund declined to assist Reade in her case against Biden, claiming his presidential candidacy would threaten its nonprofit status

Ian Macfarlane

Washington Free Beacon  "An organization created to help victims of sexual assault—but declined to aid Biden accuser Tara Reade earlier this year—is now praising her alleged assailant.
"Time's Up was created to support victims of sexual assault but declined to assist former Biden staffer Tara Reade, who accused the presumptive Democratic nominee of forcibly penetrating her in 1993. The organization's CEO, Tina Tchen, who worked alongside Biden as a top official in the Obama White House, lauded Biden for his "transparency" in a Friday interview with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle.
" 'Biden has called for full transparency, he's called for records to come out—that's what needs to happen every time these issues come up, and I would suggest that it needs to happen with other candidates who are running for president," Tchen said shortly after Biden broke his silence on the network.
"During his MSNBC appearance Friday morning, Biden repeatedly rejected calls to release documents from his Senate career, which are currently sealed at the University of Delaware and may include records related to Reade. Biden said the archive does not contain "personnel records by definition" but added that he would not release the documents because they could include policy positions that would become "fodder in a campaign at this time." He also refused to conduct a more specific search of the documents for any mention of Reade's name, saying, "There is nothing.… I don't understand the point you are trying to make." . . .
. . . 

"A National Archives spokesman disputed Biden's assertion, telling the Washington Free Beacon that it does not handle such records. "Any records of Senate personnel complaints from 1993 would have remained under the control of the Senate. Accordingly, inquiries related to these records should be directed to the Senate," the spokesman said."  . . .