September 30, 2020

DNI John Ratcliffe releases a bombshell about the Russia hoax

By Andrea Widburg

If I were a betting woman, I'd say that, over the next month, we're going to see a steady drip, followed by an onrushing stream, of information about the corrupt origins and practices behind the Russia hoax.  (I'll explain why I think this at the end of this post.)  The big news is that, on Tuesday, Lindsey Graham released a letter from John Ratcliffe, the director of National Intelligence.  In it, Ratcliffe wrote that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were both involved in originating the Russia hoax and that former CIA director John Brennan pushed the investigation.

Ratcliffe's letter to Graham contained three specific pieces of new information:

Here's what Ratcliffe revealed: in July 2016, American intelligence learned that Russia claimed to have learned that the Hillary Clinton campaign planned to undermine Trump.  According to Russia, the Clinton group was going to say Trump had ties both to Putin and to the alleged Russian hacking of the Democrat National Committee email account.  (There's still no proof, beyond Clinton camp claims, that Russia was behind the hacking.)

Armed with this information, former CIA director John Brennan went to the White House to brief President Obama and senior national security officials.  According to Brennan's handwritten notes, this briefing included telling them about the "alleged approval by Hillary Clinton on July 26, 2016 of a proposal from one of her former policy advisors to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services."

A little over a month after these revelations, national security officials sent a referral to Trump-haters Comey and Strzok regarding "U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's approval of a plan concerning U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private mail service."

I understand the quoted language, above, to mean that national security officials were telling Comey and Strzok to investigate Hillary Clinton's campaign — as in, please find out whether Clinton actually approved a plan to accuse Trump of colluding with the Russians as a way to distract from her crimes.

But that's not how the FBI interpreted it.  Instead, with substantial assists from the White House and the CIA, the FBI and the DOJ launched a full investigation into Donald Trump, the victim of Hillary's corrupt plan.

So let me sum up what happened: the CIA learned through intercepts that Russia believed that Hillary planned to raise false claims against Trump, accusing him of dirty dealings with the Russians.  Brennan took this information to Obama and other national security people.  A month later, a letter went to the FBI telling them that they needed to look into Hillary's alleged dirty dealings.

So what did Comey and Strzok do?  They went after Trump.  No one looked into whether Hillary was the victim of Russian disinformation, whether she was actively colluding with Russia, or whether she and her campaign were just evil and dishonest liars.

Once Comey and Strzok started their investigation, Obama and Brennan went along with it, supporting it before, during, and after the election.  Moreover, the FBI and the Eric Holder–Loretta Lynch holdovers in the DOJ have both been working overtime to whitewash what happened.  The whole thing is dirty and threatens the foundations of our country.

And here's why I think we're going to see more revelations now.  The Trump Department of Justice has known about this for a long time but hasn't brought indictments because the administration is playing a long game.  The D.C. federal judicial system is controlled by the Democrats, from the courtroom to the jurors.  Even if the DOJ had indicted anybody, it was reasonable to believe that he'd walk, which would be a loss for the Trump administration.

This is why Trump and Mitch McConnell have been working to change the federal Judiciary from district courts up to the Supreme Court.  The only way to get a fair trial is with judges who believe in the Constitution and the laws flowing from it.  One of the things a fair judicial system will do is allow the administration to remove the trials from D.C. to a more neutral location.

Until then, Trump is using the month before the election, a time when people are finally paying attention, to put the facts before the American public.  We've finally entered the final phases of the power struggle in D.C., and Trump is playing to win.  There was, therefore, a tone of real menace during Tuesday night's debate, when Obama said loudly and clearly that he had absolute evidence of a coup against him.

(Reminder: Lindsey Graham is working on the side of the angels on this one.  Democrats from all over America are pouring money into his undistinguished, hard-left opponent's account.  Please give Graham a hand.)

The Pandemic On Biden’s Watch Killed 13 Times As Many Children As COVID

I & I Editorial Board

September 30, 2020

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Pixabay

Imagine the reaction of the public to a new virus outbreak that targeted children, sending 10 times as many to hospitals, and killing 13 times as many as COVID-19.

Would you call the government’s handling of this pandemic a success?

That is what happened in 2009 when the H1N1 – aka, the swine flu – pandemic swept across the land. While the total number of deaths from the swine flu was much lower than COVID-19, its impact on children and younger adults was far more severe.

Consider these numbers:

According to the Centers for Disease Control’s latest numbers, out of the more than 200,000 people who died with COVID-19, only 92 were under age 18.

But 1,282 children died from the H1N1 pandemic of 2009-2010, when Barack Obama was in the White House and Joe Biden was vice president.

The number of children hospitalized from COVID has been around 8,000. The number hospitalized because of H1N1 – 86,813.

The swine flu was particularly worrisome because, unlike COVID and the seasonal flu – this one targeted the young more than the elderly.

In fact, fully 10% of the deaths from H1N1 were age 17 or younger, while just 13% were over age 65.

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See also: The Coronavirus Crisis: Where Do We Stand Today?

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With COVID, almost 80% of the deaths have been among those over 65 – with those over 85 accounting for 32% of deaths.

Those under 18 account for a mere 0.06% of COVID deaths.

The fact that the swine flu was unusual in this way didn’t escape experts at the time.

“This is really, really different from what we see with seasonal influenza,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases in the fall of 2009. “With seasonal flu, about 60% of hospital cases occur in people 65 and over, and here we’re only seeing about 7% of hospitalizations in that age group, illustrating that this virus is disproportionately affecting the young.”

Despite these scary statistics, the message back in 2009 was “be calm.” Even as the virus spread like wildfire in the fall of 2009 and vaccine development hit various snags, schools remained open. The press was busy explaining why the incidents of swine flu were likely exaggerated.

In fact, when Biden suggested in April 2009 that people not fly because of swine flu, he was mercilessly bashed by the press for inducing panic, and the White House quickly issued a “clarification.” Biden dutifully complied with the official Obama administration messaging after that.

COVID has also proved deadly to the youth, not because of the disease, but because of the draconian lockdowns and school closings that Biden and his fellow Democrats urged, and want to extend. 

“There has been another cost that we’ve seen, particularly in high schools,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said. “We’re seeing, sadly, far greater suicides now than we are deaths from COVID.”

There are other reasons not to praise the Obama-Biden handling of H1N1 – which Biden himself has provided.

The former vice president, for example, recently declared it an abomination that “The United States just passed 5 million reported infections of COVID-19. It’s a number that boggles the mind and breaks the heart. … It shouldn’t have gotten this bad.” (The current case number is more than 7 million.)

But according to the CDC, more than 60 million people contracted H1N1.

Ron Klain, who was Biden’s chief of staff during that outbreak, told Politico that “It is purely a fortuity that (H1N1) isn’t one of the great mass casualty events in American history. It had nothing to do with us doing anything right. It just had to do with luck.”

Klain went on to say that “If anyone thinks that this can’t happen again, they don’t have to go back to 1918, they just have to go back to 2009, 2010 and imagine a virus with a different lethality, and you can just do the math on that.”

Let’s do the math. If H1N1 had a similar case fatality rate as COVID-19, the death toll would have been 1.8 million. The fact that only 12,000 died had nothing to do with Biden’s or Obama’s efforts, but the fact that, as Klain says, we got lucky.

Likewise, the fact that 200,000 have died with COVID isn’t because the Trump administration fell down on the job, it’s because the disease is so harmful to the elderly and health compromised.

Biden won’t tell you that. His handmaidens in the press won’t tell you that. Which is why it’s been up to “alternative” news outlets to get the facts out.

The true cost of relaxed policing

Queens mom killed by stray bullet while inside her bedroom: cops

By Tina Moore and Lia Eustachewich

September 30, 2020 | 7:43am | Updated 

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91-16 34th Ave. in Flushing, QueensGoogle Maps

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A Queens mom was killed by a stray bullet that came through her bedroom window early Wednesday, police said.

Bertha Arriaga, 43, was in her room in the family’s Flushing apartment on 34th Avenue when she was hit in the head around 12:45 a.m., according to cops.

Arriaga’s 14-year-old son heard what happened and rushed into the room to find his mother with a bullet hole in her head, the report said. Her husband was also home at the time but wasn’t in the same room.

Police responded to a 911 call to the home and pronounced Arriaga dead at the scene.

Officials said other 911 calls came in around the same time reporting shots fired, and that it appears Arriaga was hit by a stray bullet.

There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.

Thugs get a free pass...nothing good follows when the law is applied unequally

Breaking: St. Louis officials will not prosecute nine BLM protesters charged with trespassing in McCloskey incident ​

The McCloskeys were each charged with a felony for brandishing a weapon

Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images 

 CARLOS GARCIA

St. Louis law enforcement officials said that they would not prosecute the nine Black Lives Matter protesters arrested and charged with trespassing during the racially charged incident at the McCloskeys' home.

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Mark and Patricia McCloskey made national headlines on June 28 after they pointed their guns at protesters who trespassed through a private neighborhood on their way to protest at the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. 

City Counselor Michael Garvin said in a statement released on Tuesday that "prosecution is not warranted" against the nine protesters.

He said that trustees of Portland Place, the private neighborhood that protesters trespassed through, refused to seek charges against the nine. Previously, two dozen neighbors of the McCloskeys signed a letter condemning their actions and issuing a statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. 

An attorney for two protesters charged said that the actions of law enforcement only benefitted the McCloskeys, not the taxpayer. 

"This did not benefit the taxpayers. The only (people) that I can see that this would have benefitted was the McCloskeys," Javad Khazaeli said. 

In July, Mark and Patricia McCloskey were each charged with a felony count of unlawful use of a weapon/flourishing over the incident. 

"It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in a nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis," said St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner at the time. 

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, said in July that he would likely pardon the couple if they were convicted, and depending on the evidence brought to trial. 

The McCloskeys gave an opening night speech during the Republican National Convention in August. 

Here's a local news report about the development:

Locking down has costs: "An official from the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services blamed a pandemic shutdown for part of the reason why the threat to the child was left unchecked".

Georgia parents charged with murder after their 12-year-old girl dies as an indirect result of a severe lice infestation

Family services blamed the coronavirus school shutdown in part for her death

Image Source: YouTube screenshot 

 CARLOS GARCIA

The parents of a 12-year-old girl who died indirectly from a severe lice infestation have been charged with second-degree murder.

Police said that Mary Katherine "Katie" Horton called police when her daughter Kaitlyn Yozviak was unresponsive on Aug. 27. Horton was arrested within 24 hours after police saw the state of their home. 

WMAZ-TV reported that police said the child was in "excessive physical pain due to medical negligence" before she died.

Joey Yozviak, the father of the girl, was arrested five days after Horton's arrest, and they were both charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children. 

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Ryan Hilton testified in court that the child had the worst lice infestation their office had ever seen. Hilton said that he believed the numerous bites from the lice lowered the iron levels in the child's blood and led to severe anemia. She died from cardiac arrest. 

WMAZ documented the previous troubles the parents had with family services, even before their girl had been born. In one incident, their two boys were relocated to a relative's home "due to the unsanitary living conditions."

The couple also reportedly wanted to give up the girl for adoption and later changed their minds.

WMAZ documents that the local family services agency received a report in 2018 that the mother might be having mental issues and that the children might be living in an unhealthy home. 

"The home was described as being bug infested, excessive cats, and hazardous conditions (holes everywhere, dip in the floor, and cold during winter)," read the report. 

An official from the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services blamed a pandemic shutdown for part of the reason why the threat to the child was left unchecked. 

"Had it not been for the fact that this child was, I think, out of school, and then the school shut down because of the pandemic, we probably would have received a call from the school at some point, or somebody would have seen this child in the neighborhood," said DFACS Director Tom Rawlings. 

"They would have called us and we wouldn't be in this situation," he added. 

Many in the community were outraged that local officials didn't do enough, in their estimation, to have saved Kaitlyn before she died. 

Here's the local WMAZ report about the case:

Kindergarten teacher? Scare the crap out of children for sure

Man covered in tattoos with eyes surgically turned black upset he can't teach kindergartners any more

It's 'quite sad'

Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images

 PHIL SHIVER

A schoolteacher in France was upset after he was told he could not teach kindergarten any more because children under six years of age "could be frightened by his appearance."

POLL: Who will win tonight's debate?

Sylvain Helaine, 35, reportedly known in the tattoo world as "Freaky Hoodie," has had his body, face, and tongue completely covered in tattoos and even had his eyes surgically turned black. 

Yet he told Reuters the school's decision to remove him from his previous post was "quite sad." Most of his students are "cool" with his appearance and are able to see past it, he argued.

"All of my students and their parents were always cool with me because basically they knew me," said Helaine, who has spent an estimated 460 hours under the tattooists' needles. "It's only when people see me from far away that they can assume the worst."

Helaine was reportedly teaching kindergarten at the Docteur Morere Elementary School in the Paris suburb of Palaiseau when the parents of a three-year-old child complained to school authorities that their son had nightmares after seeing him. The child was not a student of Helaine's.

According to the Reuters report, a couple of months later, the school informed Helaine that he would no longer be able to teach kindergartners due to his appearance. A spokesman for the local education authority expressed that children under six years of age "could be frightened by his appearance."

"I think the decision they took was quite sad," he said.

Nevertheless, Helaine is determined to continue teaching, and an agreement made with the school allowed him to stay on as a teacher for children over six years old.

"I'm a primary school teacher ... I love my job," he told Reuters.

He has no plans to stop tattooing himself, either. Helaine said he started getting tattoos when he was 27 after he went through what he called an "existential crisis." And since then, it has become his "passion."

Now he hopes that his students will be inspired because of him to be more accepting of those who are different.

"Maybe when they are adults they will be less racist and less homophobic and more open-minded," he said.

Next major doc declass by WH said to show Russia was actually trying to hurt Trump, not collude with him

The White House is set to declassify a major trove of documents that include evidence showing Russian President Vladimir Putin was actually working against then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, not ‘colluding’ with him as Democrats have long charged, a report said Tuesday.

The declassification and its potential to flip the narrative — set for this week according to multiple sources who spoke to Just The News — would come four years after the Obama-era FBI launched a counterintelligence probe over claims that people within the Trump campaign were working with Moscow to manipulate the outcome in the GOP contender’s favor.

In fact, “the new evidence will raise the specter that…Putin was actually trying to hurt President Trump, not help his election in 2016, as the Obama administration claimed,” Just The News’ John Solomon reported.

The new information is said to go hand in hand with evidence disclosed last week indicating that former British spy Christopher Steele’s primary sub-source for his anti-Trump dossier — which was financed in large part by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee — was known to be linked to Russian intelligence, which, again, raises the specter Moscow was working against the GOP nominee.

There has yet to be any hard evidence proving Trump campaign ‘collusion’ with Russia during the 2016 election. Special counsel Robert Mueller, in fact, noted specifically that his team found no such evidence following an 18-month investigation in which a number of Trump associates were indicted on unrelated charges.

The new revelations have been coming steadily for the past few months.

In July, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsay Graham flatly declared that some FBI officials “lied their a** off” to Congress regarding the alleged reliability of the Steele dossier, which the bureau used to justify four surveillance warrants against Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

“Here is what I think I’m going to be able to show to the public. Not only did the FBI lie to the court about the reliability about the Steele dossier, they also lied to the Congress. That’s a separate crime,” he told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.

And last week, Graham released a piece of newly-declassified evidence: That the FBI opened a counterintelligence probe of Steele’s primary dossier sub-source in 2010, believing then he was a Russian intelligence asset.

“This is the most stunning and damning revelation the committee has uncovered,” Graham said in a statement accompanying the release.

Then on Sunday, the Judiciary Committee head, in another appearance on Bartiromo’s “Sunday Morning Futures” program, teased the new revelations said to be coming later this week.

“Everything Russia-Trump was looked at. You had $25 million, 60 agents. You had subpoenas, you had people’s lives turned upside down,” Graham said. “The question is, ‘Did they look at Russia coming after Trump?’”

In a reference to last week’s disclosure, Graham noted further: “We’ve got a Russian spy on the payroll of the Democratic Party putting together a document that details the FBI was not reliable.”

The specter that Russia was actually working against Trump and possibly in favor of his rival, Clinton, was raised last month when Just The News revealed details about a secret report from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence indicating the FBI and CIA had reasons to suspect Moscow was in the tank for the former Obama-era secretary of state and first lady.

The report said a U.S. Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) provided to the incoming Trump administration ignored credible evidence that Moscow was on board for Clinton.

“When I was briefed on the House Intelligence Committee report on the January 2017 ICA, I was told that [then-CIA Director] John Brennan politicized this assessment by excluding credible intelligence that the Russians wanted Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 election and ordered weak intelligence included that Russia wanted Trump to win,” said former CIA and National Security Council official Fred Fleitz in August.

Brennan is now a paid NBC News and MSNBC senior national security and intelligence analyst.

“I also was told that Brennan took both actions over the objections of CIA analysts. I am concerned about what happened to these analysts and worry that they may have been subjected to retaliation by CIA management,” Fleitz continued, Just The News reported. “These analysts are true whistleblowers, and they should come to the congressional intelligence committees to tell their stories and set the record straight on the ICA.”

One official who is familiar with the document told the outlet intelligence community insiders “cherry-picked pebbles of evidence” to make it seem as though Russia was helping the Trump campaign instead of Clinton.

A number of Russia experts, including a former CIA station chief in Moscow, have said Putin’s true intent was not to help any one candidate but to sow discord in the U.S., Just the News reported.