Month: April 2020

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been doing a round of interviews from her San Francisco, California, home over the past 24 hours, celebrating Democrats’ “victory” over Senate Republicans, blocking an emergency extention to the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses suffering under coronavirus lockdowns — a program that is slated to run out of money as early as Friday.

In an appearance on MSNBC, Pelosi actually congratulated her Senate colleagues for standing firm against the emergency aid bill.

WATCH:

Nancy Pelosi: “I congratulate the Senate Democrats” for objecting to $250 billion in small business reliefhttps://t.co/IdRmdfgYwx pic.twitter.com/KDT9tZZ8b3

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 15, 2020

Pelosi is referring specifically to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) plea to pump an additional $250 billion into the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a fund that is supplying low-interest and forgivable loans to businesses with fewer than 500 employees, many of whom are suffering under coronavirus-related lockdowns in effect across the country.

“The SBA says it will forgive the loans if all of a businesses workers stay employed for eight weeks and the money is used for rent, mortgage interest, utilities and payroll,” according to the program’s guidelines.

Just yesterday, Business Journals reported that two-thirds of the $350 billion “has already been allocated” and the fund will likely be depleted “within days.” One financial expert even predicted, Wednesday, that the much-needed money could be gone as early as Friday.

“The Paycheck Protection Program, which is run by the U.S. Small Business Administration, as of Monday morning had approved 880,000 applications for a total of $217 billion, according to SBA figures,” Fortune magazine reports. “That equals roughly 62% of allocated dollars, up from 48% allocated on Friday. Applications for the program are continuing to flood in, with an additional 219,000 submitted since Friday.’

Pelosi and her colleagues in the Senate, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have refused to allow McConnell to pass the additional funding by unanimous consent — an easy way to quickly approve legislation without having to convene the entire Senate.

They want billions in additional aid to hospitals, healthcare facilities, cities, and states handling the novel coronavirus, and guarantees that minority and female candidates will receive preferential treatment for small business loans — a bureaucratic hurdle that could add time and red tape to the already extensive PPP application process.

This is all in addition to a nearly $1 trillion fourth coronavirus relief bill that Pelosi is reportedly drafting in her self-isolation, and on top of billions in aid to healthcare facilities and local governments included in the Senate-drafted third coronavirus relief bill, the CARES act, which passed just weeks ago.

American businesses are in desperate need. As the Daily Wire reported earlier on Wednesday, retail sales dropped a shocking 9% last month. The Wall Street Journal adds that swaths of the economy ground to a halt in March: ‘Sales at clothing stores dropped by more than 50%, while spending on motor vehicles, furniture, electronics, and sporting goods fell by double digits.” The Associated Press reports that 30% of restaurants — most of whom fall within the PPP’s definition of a “small business” are expected to go under.

The decline is “unprecedented” the WSJ reports and April’s numbers are expected to be even worse.

via The Daily Wire

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Actor-comedian Ricky Gervais has had enough of wealthy celebrities who live lavishly complaining about their luxurious lockdowns while others are struggling financially, and while health providers are risking their lives working around the clock in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Ricky Gervais said in an interview with Britain’s The Sun that pampered elites who whine about being stuck at home have nothing to complain about compared to healthcare professionals.

“These people are doing 14-hour shifts and not complaining. Wearing masks, and being left with sores, after risking their own health and their families’ health selflessly. But then I see someone complaining about being in a mansion with a swimming pool. And, you know, honestly, I just don’t want to hear it,” the comedian told the newspaper.

Gervais added: “I didn’t go out much anyway, and there’s always too much booze in the house. It’s always been the 6pm watershed for as long as I remember. Obviously, I am looking at the watch.”

While Gervais didn’t call out any celebrities by name, The Sun noted that pop star Sam Smith recently broke down in tears on Instagram in his multi-million dollar home, complaining about being in isolation.

Gervais has increasingly targeted wealthy celebrities for their hypocritical public statements and spoiled behavior. At this year’s Golden Globes ceremony, the comedian blasted virtue-signaling stars who use awards shows to make political speeches. “You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school  than Greta Thunberg,” he told the A-list crowd in January.

The British comedian has joined a growing number of entertainment figures to call for an end to China’s wet markets, which are widely believed to have been a breeding ground for the coronavirus. Gervais told the Mirror that “for the sake of people and animals, wildlife trade and consumption has to end, now.”

Other celebrities to call for a crack down on wet markets include rock legend Paul McCartney and HBO host Bill Maher.

Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com

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An inmate freed from a Florida prison on March 19 due to the Chinese coronavirus crisis allegedly committed murder the following day.

Joseph Edwards Williams, 26-years-old, was arrested Monday for an incident that occurred the day after he was released from the Hillsborough County Jail in Tampa, Florida. He is facing second-degree murder charges, WFLA reported.

Williams was released from the county jail along with about 163 other inmates whom officials deemed “non-violent” in an effort to prevent coronavirus outbreaks in the prison.

According to law enforcement, Williams was involved with a March 20 shooting homicide. The shooting occurred just a day after Williams was released from prison. In a statement to the media, Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said Williams “took advantage” of the jailbreak policy.

“There is no question Joseph Williams took advantage of this health emergency to commit crimes while he was out of jail awaiting resolution of a low-level, non-violent offense,” Chronister said. “As a result, I call on the State Attorney to prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”

Williams was previously arrested and serving time for possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia. Now, Williams is being held on a more than $250,000 bond.

The alleged murder comes as thousands of inmates across the country have been released from state and federal prisons in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. This month, Attorney General William Barr issued a memo allowing three federal prisons to release inmates considered “vulnerable” to home confinement.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.

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The Justice Department declined to prosecute a senior FBI intel analyst who was fired for knowingly possessing child pornography.

The identity of the fired FBI official was not released.

The senior analyst admitted to FBI investigators that he had viewed and downloaded child pornography many years ago.

Forensic examination of the SIA’s personal and FBI issued devices “identified pornographic images, however, none of the images were determined to be evidence of child pornography,” the OIG said in a report.

The FBI “summarily dismissed” the senior intel analyst who “knowingly possessed child pornography” in the past, “in violation of federal law and FBI policy.”

“Prosecution of the SIA was declined” the OIG concluded.

The same DOJ that prosecutes Trump officials for non-crimes, refuses to prosecute an FBI official who actually violated the law.

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A husband and wife from Victoria, Australia, were reportedly been fined over $3,000 Australian dollars ($1,925 USD) for “non-essential travel” after posting vacation photos to Facebook. The pictures are from a vacation taken last June.

The Daily Mail reports that a couple from Victoria, Australia, have allegedly been fined more than $3000 Australian dollars ($1,925 USD) after posting holiday photos from over a year ago to Facebook. The couple, Jazz Mott and her husband Gary, reportedly shared photos of their trip to Lakes Entrance, a two-hour drive from their home at Traralgon in the east of the state.

Just days after the posts were made, police arrived at the home of the couple and issued them with the fines. Jazz Mott told the Daily Mail, “I was actually stunned when she handed me the fine, the photos were from our trip to the Lakes Entrance in June last year.”

After speaking to her husband, Mott realized that the fines must be related to the Facebook post featuring the holiday photos which she alleges were discovered on a hard drive that she’d lost track of when the couple moved. “I got a phone call from a Senior Sergeant at Traralgon police and he told me the fines had been revoked,” Mott said. “Then he basically told me not to post any more photos while the lockdown is in place.”

A Victoria Police spokesperson told 7News that officers are not monitoring social media accounts to identify breaches of travel restrictions but are investigating “the circumstances surrounding individual potential breaches reported by the public.” Over the Easter weekend, Victoria Police reportedly handed out over 400 fines to people in breach of travel restriction rules.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com

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Media outlets have racheted up the hysterical pro-abortion rhetoric in response to some states deeming abortion clinics as “non-essential” facilities during the coronavirus pandemic. Outlets like The New York Times and USA Today are writing headlines about abortion-seeking women becoming “overwhelmed and frustrated” or making “frantic” calls to abortion providers.
 

via NewsBusters – Exposing Liberal Media Bias

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Bill Barr

Last week the Justice Department warned US Attorney General Bill Barr was monitoring government regulation of religious services.

Parishioners who attended a drive-in service at Temple Baptist Church in Mississippi were fined $500 each by police for violating ‘social distancing’ orders.

20 police cars swarmed King James Bible Baptist Church in Mississippi and pastor Charles Hamilton Jr., was told by a cop that his rights were suspended.

US Attorney General Bill Barr on Tuesday issued a statement on the Mississippi church case.

Barr said the government “may not impose special restrictions on religious activity that do not also apply to similar non-religious activity.”

“But even in times of emergency, when reasonable and temporary restrictions are placed on rights, the First Amendment and federal statutory law prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers. Thus, government may not impose special restrictions on religious activity that do not also apply to similar nonreligious activity. For example, if a government allows movie theaters, restaurants, concert halls, and other comparable places of assembly to remain open and unrestricted, it may not order houses of worship to close, limit their congregation size, or otherwise impede religious gatherings. Religious institutions must not be singled out for special burdens,” Barr said.

Barr called out the government officials in Mississippi who singled out churchgoers while permitting citizens to attend nearby drive-in restaurants.

“Today, the Department filed a Statement of Interest in support of a church in Mississippi that allegedly sought to hold parking lot worship services, in which congregants listened to their pastor preach over their car radios, while sitting in their cars in the church parking lot with their windows rolled up.  The City of Greenville fined congregants $500 per person for attending these parking lot services – while permitting citizens to attend nearby drive-in restaurants, even with their windows open. The City appears to have thereby singled churches out as the only essential service (as designated by the state of Mississippi) that may not operate despite following all CDC and state recommendations regarding social distancing,” Barr said.

AG Barr said the DOJ will continue to ensure religious freedoms remains protected.

“The United States Department of Justice will continue to ensure that religious freedom remains protected if any state or local government, in their response to COVID-19, singles out, targets, or discriminates against any house of worship for special restrictions,” Barr concluded.

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A coalition of left-leaning states and interest groups asked the Supreme Court to pause a Trump administration rule that denies green cards to immigrants who use government benefit programs, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

New York attorney general Letitia James is leading the coalition, warning the justices that the government’s public charge rule poses a continuing threat to health and safety because it deters migrants from seeking economic assistance or enrolling in Medicaid.

"The rule makes it more likely that immigrants will suffer serious illness if infected and spread the virus inadvertently to others—risks that are heightened because immigrants make up a large proportion of the essential workers who continue to interact with the public," the motion reads. "The rule also deters access to public benefits, including nutrition benefits, that are critical for both immigrants and the country as a whole to weather the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19."

President Donald Trump has enacted some of the far-reaching border control policies he has long advocated for in response to the coronavirus. The administration has banned nonessential travel at the southern border and sped removal time for immigrants caught entering the United States illegally, including asylum-seekers. The public charge rule is one of the few examples of an immigration policy the government has relaxed. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued guidance in March advising that publicly funded testing, treatment, and preventative care related to coronavirus would not count against green card applicants. The plaintiffs in the public charge challenge say that guidance does not provide clear direction for immigrants and should be made binding by court order.

The Supreme Court allowed the rule to take effect while legal challenges continue on a five-to-four vote in January. The plaintiffs asked the justices Monday night to revisit that decision, arguing that the virus has shifted the legal balance in favor of the immigrants.

The motion underscores that the justices "may lift or modify a previously granted stay when new circumstances arise."

The plaintiffs also presented the Court with an alternative: It could clarify that its January ruling does not prohibit a lower court judge from taking a fresh look at the case and putting a short-term hold on the rule.

Doctors, local officials, and staff at nonprofits submitted declarations supporting Monday night’s motion. In one such statement, Malou Chávez of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Seattle said her organization has seen an uptick in inquiries related to accessing benefits. Despite USCIS’s March advisory, she said clients remain wary of applying for government aid. Other doctors and local officials submitted similar statements to the Court.

"Community members who may be in need of medical care are reluctant to seek care because their fear of a future case denial based on a public charge determination overcomes any current need," Chávez’s statement reads.

The USCIS alert also says that migrants who apply for economic support can submit evidence for the agency to consider.

"If the alien is prevented from working or attending school and must rely on public benefits for the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and recovery phase, the alien can provide an explanation and relevant supporting documentation," the alert reads.

A federal immigration law has long directed that immigrants should not receive green cards if they are "likely at any time to become a public charge." Historically, a "public charge" has been defined as a person dependent on a cash-assistance program. The administration changed that policy in 2019 and expanded the definition to include other forms of non-cash benefits such as food stamps.

In announcing the change, then-USCIS acting director Ken Cuccinelli said the policy promotes the "virtues of perseverance, hard work, and self-sufficiency."

At an earlier phase of the case, the government said it must be allowed to enforce the rule while legal challenges unfold. Otherwise, it will be forced to issue green cards to immigrants it would otherwise disqualify. It is difficult to revoke green cards once issued.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on Monday’s request.

Connecticut, Vermont, New York City, and immigrant rights groups are formally supporting the motion.

The Supreme Court had not asked the Trump administration to respond to the request by press time. The case is No. 19A785 Department of Homeland Security v. New York.

DHS v. New York motion to l… by Washington Free Beacon on Scribd

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A Letter To The Inhabitants Of The Future Dystopia Whose Birth Pangs We’re Experiencing

Tyler Durden

Tue, 04/14/2020 – 16:20

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As the coronavirus rampages its way across the United States and Europe, shutting down the world economy as a result, all eyes have turned toward the Scandinavian country of Sweden to see if its relaxed approach toward the pandemic has yielded any positive dividends.

Though Sweden has quarantined its nursing homes, banned gatherings of over 50 people, and moved higher-education online, the country has also allowed lower education, gyms, bars, and restaurants to stay operational.  Writing for Ireland’s RTE, Juliette Gash noted that policy in Sweden has largely been an emphasis on personal responsibility, with authorities encouraging people to work from home if possible. In many ways, Sweden’s current measures may foretell the United States’ when it cautiously reopens the economy.

The question remains: Is Sweden’s approach actually working? That depends on who you ask and who’s defining the data. Here’s how RTE broke it down:

As of today, over 1,000 Swedes have died from Covid-19, an increase of 114 deaths on the previous day’s figure and around 11,440 have been infected, out of a population of 10 million.

Compare that with Ireland, where 406 people have died and over 11, 000 people have been confirmed infected, but the Irish population is less than half Sweden’s.

As is often the case, Sweden is being compared to its nearest neighbours; figures in other Nordic countries are considerably lower, they’ve also imposed much stricter rules on public gatherings.

Denmark (population 5.6 million) has seen 300 deaths and 6,500 cases, Norway (5.3 million) has seen a death toll of 140 with 6,600 cases, while Finland (5.5 million) has been relatively unscathed with 64 deaths and just 3,000 cases.

Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, told reporters that the country’s higher death toll likely stems from a variety of factors that people should consider, most especially, the contagion’s spread in nursing homes, which have been under quarantine.

“Partly that we are on different places on the exposition curve, partly that we in Sweden, unfortunately, have had a large spread of contagion in elderly homes, something you have not seen in the other Nordic countries,” said Tegnell. “And this we, of course, continue to analyse, why Swedish elderly homes have been exposed so much compared to other countries. But if we compare Sweden with Belgium, the US and a number of other countries our death rates are rather low.”

Tegnell had previously said that neighboring countries strict lockdown measures were strictly political decisions, not scientific ones. As reported by Forbes, 22 scientists in Sweden penned an op-ed for Dagens Nyheter, sharply criticizing the government for not implementing stricter lockdown measures, arguing that the “personal responsibility” approach has failed to make people take the virus seriously.

“The researchers say the agency has claimed on four different occasions that the spread of infection has levelled out, despite evidence to the contrary,” Forbes said of the op-ed. “The researchers now want rapid change. They suggest that schools and restaurants should be closed as in Finland. In addition, healthcare professionals working with the elderly must use proper infection control equipment and a mass testing of health personnel must be carried out.”

The feasibility of Sweden’s approach will depend on whether or not the death toll and case numbers spike to such a degree that the country resembles Italy.

via The Daily Wire

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