Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
February 17, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Kamala 'Mamala' Takes Customary Role Of President by Calling Heads of State . . . Vice President Kamala Harris has recently called multiple heads of state, a task that is normally done by the president. Harris spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, the White House said. Harris “expressed her commitment to strengthening bilateral ties between the United States and France and to revitalizing the transatlantic
alliance,” a readout said. She and Macron “agreed on the need for close bilateral and multilateral cooperation to address COVID-19, climate change, and support democracy at home and around the world." “They also discussed numerous regional challenges, including those in the Middle East and Africa, and the need to confront them together,” according to the readout. There was no mention of President Joe Biden. Epoch Times
Here she comes. How long do you think Uncle Joe will last?
Pentagon, FEMA to set up vaccine sites in Texas, New York . . . Up to 3,700 active-duty troops are on standby to administer COVID-19 vaccines at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sites, with an eye on locations in Texas, New York and the Virgin Islands. Several hundred service members have already been sent to FEMA sites in Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif., with more sites to be set up in Texas and New York in roughly a week,
followed by the Virgin Islands in early March, U.S. Northern Command head Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck told reporters on Tuesday. Up to 3,700 troops “are allocated to prepare to deploy,” VanHerck said. “They haven’t been given a tasking to deploy at this time.” The Hill
Seattle woman, 90, walks 6 miles for vaccine . . . A rare winter storm that dumped a foot of snow on Seattle couldn’t keep a 90-year-old woman from her first appointment for the coronavirus vaccine. Fran Goldman walked six miles round trip to get her shot. “I have been calling to get an appointment anywhere, every morning, every afternoon and often I’ve been online at night,” Goldman said. She finally secured a slot for Sunday
morning, but Friday and Saturday a strong winter storm moved through the region, turning the city’s normally rainy streets into a winter scene of snowdrifts. Goldman dressed in layered a fleece zip-up, a down coat, rain jacket, and snow boots ventured onto the snowy streets. “It was not easy going, it was challenging,” she told the newspaper. But Goldman made it to her appointment, just 5 minutes late. Associated Press
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Trump returns fire against McConnell . . . Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has gone to war against Donald Trump for the future of the Republican Party. And now he has a war on his hands. Trump calls McConnell “A dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack,” who lacks political insight, wisdom, skill, and personality and whom the Democrats and Chuck Schumer "play like a fiddle." Trump says contrasts his America First
Agenda with McConnell’s Beltway First agenda and Biden’s America Last. Read the full statement by Trump in White House Dossier
State parties seek to punish anti-Trump Republicans . . . State parties are taking steps to punish the Republicans who voted to convict former President Trump, underscoring the deep divisions in the GOP over whether to move on from a tumultuous era. Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) both have been censured by their state parties for voting to convict Trump of inciting a mob to attack the Capitol — a break from the
majority of their caucus who voted to acquit. State parties in Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Maine plan to discuss punitive measures against Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who also voted to convict. State parties already censured Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Tom Rice (R-S.C.) for their votes to impeach Trump. The former president’s allies in the House tried to strip Cheney of her leadership post and have already begun campaigning against her. The Hill
The Post-Trump GOP: Florida’s DeSantis offers one possibility for the party’s future . . . Republicans in search of a promising politician capable of assembling a post-Trump coalition need look no further than Florida governor Ron DeSantis. A pugnacious populist by disposition, DeSantis has demonstrated that he has real governing chops. His handling of the coronavirus pandemic under the glare of a relentlessly hostile media is a case
study in the benefits of competent conservative governance—and one that is likely to serve as the basis for his reelection bid next year. Washington Free Beacon
Richard Burr's retirement, impeachment vote fuels talk of Lara Trump Senate run . . . Sen. Richard Burr’s retirement — and the North Carolina Republican’s vote to convict former President Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol rampage — is helping to generate all sorts of buzz about Lara Trump’s political future. Mrs. Trump, the wife of the former president’s son Eric, is a native of North Carolina and has often been mentioned as one of
the more likely members of the Trump family to step out of the shadow of her father-in-law and into the political spotlight. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sent the speculation into overdrive over the weekend after he endorsed her bid, although she has not announced any candidacy. Washington
Times
Anti-Trump Lincoln Project gave millions in internal contracts to group insiders . . . Anti-Trump group gave tens of millions to firms run by group insiders, highlighting DC habit of self-dealing. Just over $20,800,000. That's how much, it sent to a communications firm owned by the treasurer of the Lincoln Project itself, according to federal election expenditure records. That sum represents just shy of
25% of the entirety of the super PAC's receipts, which have totaled around $90 million since its inception in late 2019. The group, formed by veteran Republican operatives in a bid to prevent the reelection of President Donald Trump, sought to leverage its funds to run anti-Trump attack ads and sway enough voters to hand the election to Joe Biden. Just the News
CNN, NBC Paid $35,000 To Left-Wing Activist For Footage Of Fatal Capitol Shooting . . . A left-wing activist facing criminal charges for his involvement in the Capitol riots received $35,000 from both CNN and NBC for footage he recorded of a Trump supporter being fatally shot inside the Capitol building, according to records he filed in federal court on Tuesday. Lawyers for John Sullivan, a 26-year-old Utah native, disclosed the
payments as part of the activist’s argument that he was acting as a journalist in the Capitol rather than a rioter. Daily Caller
Michigan Removes 177,000 Voters From Voter Rolls After Legal Challenge . . . The Michigan secretary of state removed 177,000 inactive voters from the state's voter rolls after settling a legal challenge. The state removed the names from the voter rolls in late January because the voters no longer live in the state or did not respond to the state's inquiries about their addresses, according to a Tuesday district court announcement. The
state performed the post-election audit during a legal battle with the Honest Elections Project, an election watchdog. Washington Free Beacon
Biden's CNN 'softball' town hall . . . CNN didn't exactly challenge President Biden during Tuesday night's town hall in Milwaukee, avoiding uncomfortable subjects for the administration or other Democrats, such as questions about Cuomo nursing home scandal, TJ Ducklo fiasco. While much of the program was focused on Biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic going forward, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper grilled the president on whether he
agreed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, that Senate Republicans who voted to acquit former President Trump in his impeachment trial were "cowards" and whether he would allow his Department of Justice to investigate his predecessor. Fox News
Biden talks full school reopening by end of first 100 days, summer school option . . . President Biden on Tuesday said his White House press secretary Jen Psaki was wrong when she said his school reopening plan would only see half of the children back in classrooms for as little as one day per week. Biden addressed the political furor sparked by those remarks at a live CNN town hall in Milwaukee, Wis. where he said he wanted full school
reopening by the end of his first 100 days in office, predicting there would even be districts where they might institute a full summer school semester. New York Post
Ex-con, former gangster hired as top Dem adviser . . . Things looked great for Dyjuan Tatro the day after Valentine’s Day when the ex-con celebrated his new gig with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “How it started v. How it’s going,” he tweeted, juxtaposing his DCCC job announcement with an earlier news report about his New York state prison debate team beating one from Harvard. Since then, Mr. Tatro‘s tail of
redemption hit the skids as other, more incendiary anti-police tweets surfaced. Mr. Tatro, who was hired as a senior adviser for diversity and inclusion at the House Democrat’s campaign arm, cheered on looting during last year’s racial justice protests and also labeled U.S. Capitol Police “white supremacists.” Washington Times
Diversity at all cost!
President Biden: 'No one should go to jail for the use of a drug' . . . President Biden said he doesn’t think that anyone should be incarcerated for drug offenses. Biden had his first town hall event Tuesday since he was sworn into office. One of the attendees, who noted the liberal flank that supports “defunding” police departments, asked him about how he plans to continue to ensure police are given the resources they need while still
initiating meaningful reform. “By No. 1, not defunding the police,” Biden said, adding that “more money” should actually be infused into police departments “so we have legitimate community policing.”
The president also said he wants to see the United States, in reference to drug laws, “in a situation where we change the legislation. No one should go to jail for a drug offense.” Washington Times
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US ship sails in South China Sea by China-claimed islands . . . A U.S. Navy warship sailed by islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Wednesday in a freedom of navigation operation, marking the latest move by Washington to challenge Beijing’s territorial claims in the contested waters. The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said destroyer USS Russell “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the Spratly Islands, consistent
with international law.” China claims sovereignty over the entire archipelago, but Brunei, Malaysia, The Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have lodged competing claims for some or all of the islands. Reuters
Satellite images show China emptying military camps at border flashpoint with India . . . China has dismantled dozens of structures and moved vehicles to empty out entire camps along a disputed Himalayan border, where Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a face-off since last summer, satellite images released on Wednesday show. The nuclear-armed neighbours last week announced a plan to pull back troops, tanks and other equipment
from the banks of Pangong Tso, a glacial lake in the Ladakh region, that became a flashpoint in the prolonged border dispute. Reuters
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Pope starts Lent as Ash Wednesday rites scaled back for COVID . . . Pope Francis led the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics into Lent on Ash Wednesday, as they scaled back a centuries-old ritual to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. Francis, who normally marks the start of the penitential season with an outdoor procession between two ancient churches in Rome, instead said a Mass for about 120 people in St. Peter’s
Basilica. During Lent, which ends with Easter, Christians are called on to fast, practice more good deeds, give alms, be close to the needy and suffering, and give up something, such as sweets. Reuters
Myanmar protesters mass again . . . Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Myanmar on Wednesday, rejecting the army’s assertion that the public supported its overthrow of elected leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and vowing they would not be cowed in their bid to end military rule. Opponents of the Feb. 1 military coup are deeply sceptical of junta assurances, given at a news conference on Tuesday, that
there would be a fair election and it would hand over power, even as police filed an additional charge against Suu Kyi. Reuters
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Florida’s Palm Beach ‘bustling,’ while NYC is ‘ghost town’ amid COVID pandemic . . . Palm Beach, Florida is coming to life, while New York City becomes a “ghost town” amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a billionaire supermarket owner, Gristedes Foods President John Catsimatidis. "You cannot believe how busy, how bustling Palm Beach is," Catsimatidis told FOX Business' "Mornings with Maria.” There were "restaurants opening
up all over the place" and they were “all busy.” Meanwhile, the billionaire supermarket owner pointed out that New York City offered a stark contrast. "Driving to the airport on Friday, driving through New York City, it was dead, it was a ghost town," he said. Fox Business
My mother-in-law, a New Yorker - albeit sadly, not a billionaire - said the same thing.
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Dems' bill creating a publicly accessible gun registry called 'very dangerous' . . . Retired police officers are rallying against a Democratic bill to create a publicly accessible gun registry, saying it puts their lives in danger by advertising how many firearms are in their homes and where they are stored. The legislation, H.R. 127, would create a mandatory registry that lists the names of gun owners, the number
of firearms they possess and where they keep the guns. It would require gun owners to buy firearms insurance and ban certain types of ammunition. All gun owners will be required to participate in the registry. Washington Examiner
"the names of gun owners, the number of firearms they possess and where they keep the guns" - imagine what kinds of things can be done with this info by the feds, activists and criminals.
Canada Weighs Buybacks of AR-15 Style Rifles . . . Canada is introducing new gun-control legislation that would make it possible for individual cities to ban handguns at a local level and says it will create a buyback program for military-style semiautomatic weapons that were banned from use by the country’s Liberal government last year. The planned legislation will also create new offenses for altering a magazine to allow more
shots to be fired without reloading, and develop a system that would allow concerned friends or family members to apply to a court and request the immediate, temporary removal of an individual’s firearms. Wall Street Journal
NY Prep School Principal Sent Parents An Actual Whiteness Meter, Including ‘White Traitor’ Category . . . A prep school principal in New York sent white parents of students in grades 6-12 a graphic calling on them to become “white traitors” and ultimately “white abolitionists,” according to tweets from critical-race-theory skeptic Christopher Rufo. The correspondence sent to white parents at East Side Community School is a “tool
for action,” helping white people to gauge their status in “white identity” beginning at “white supremacist” and ultimately reaching “white abolition,” where one strives to “change institutions, dismantle whiteness, and not allow whiteness to reassert itself,” according to Rufo’s tweet. Daily Caller
Frozen windmills, rolling blackouts in Texas spark fears about green-energy future . . . The Arctic blast that left millions of Texans in the cold as wind turbines froze also sent shivers down the spines of those convinced that the rolling blackouts offer a chilling glimpse of the future under President Biden’s green-energy agenda. Despite its status as a major oil-and-gas producer, Texas relied on wind for 23% of its electricity in
2020, but about half of that capacity went offline Monday after freak winter storms, record snow and frigid cold iced the West Texas turbines. The deep freeze also interrupted the flow of natural gas, which provides nearly half the state’s electricity, but the specter of Texans huddling in their non-electric cars and burning charcoal for heat placed in sharp relief the Biden administration’s push for a fossil-free future. Washington Times
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Ex-lawyer whose pants caught on fire at trial busted on cocaine charge . . . A former Florida lawyer who made headlines when his pants caught on fire during an arson trial in 2017 was recently charged with cocaine possession, authorities said. Stephen Gutierrez, 32, was arrested on Monday night after being pulled over for driving with a broken headlight. During the traffic stop, a Miami-Dade police officer noticed a bulge in
Gutierrez’s pocket, which he thought was a knife.
It turned out to be a cylinder container with a bag of white powder inside, according to an arrest report. Gutierrez’s arrest came after his license to practice law was revoked in October. The ex-attorney gained nationwide notoriety four years ago when he represented a man accused of torching his own car for the insurance money. During the March 2017 trial, Gutierrez was arguing that the blaze may have been caused by spontaneous combustion — when his own pants erupted in
flames. Gutierrez went running out of the courtroom, with smoke pouring out of his right pocket. He returned to court unharmed and blamed the battery of his e-cigarette for igniting his pocket. Prosecutors concluded the fire was a stunt “meant to illustrate the feasibility of his spontaneous combustion theory of defense.” New York
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Rebekah
Rebekah Koffler
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