The media is attempting to initiate panic about the Coronavirus in 2020 the same way the media attempted to manufacture panic about an upcoming U.S. recession in 2019.
First things first.  Earlier today Vice-President Pence announced Dr. Debbie Birx will serve as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator. [CDC COVID-19 Resource HERE]
Dr./Ambassador Birx is about as bureaucratically deep state as you can get.
Coming from the State Department Dr. Birx has led the U.S. effort to eradicate HIV/AIDS effort and has a strong pedigree as a 30-year global health official, scientist and physician:

[…] Ambassador Birx is a scientist, physician, and mom, with three decades of public health expertise, including virulent diseases, their vaccines, and interagency coordination. She has been utilizing the best science to change the course of the HIV pandemic and bring the pandemic under control, community by community and country by country.
Her focus over three decades has been on HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health. She has developed and patented vaccines, including leading one of the most influential HIV vaccine trials in history. Three different Administrations across both political parties have relied on her knowledge and judgement. (link)

Additionally Vice President Pence added Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury; Dr. Jerome Adams, Surgeon General of the United States; and Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council to the Coronavirus Task Force.
(more…)

The media is attempting to initiate panic about the Coronavirus in 2020 the same way the media attempted to manufacture panic about an upcoming U.S. recession in 2019.
On February 26th President Trump and the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) taskforce held a press briefing in the Brady Room of the White House.  Transcript Below:

THE PRESIDENT – I have just received another briefing from a great group of talented people on the virus that is going around to various parts of the world. We have, through some very good early decisions — decisions that were actually ridiculed at the beginning — we closed up our borders to flights coming in from certain areas, areas that were hit by the coronavirus and hit pretty hard. And we did it very early. A lot of people thought we shouldn’t have done it that early, and we did, and it turned out to be a very good thing.
And the number one priority from our standpoint is the health and safety of the American people. And that’s the way I viewed it when I made that decision. Because of all we’ve done, the risk to the American people remains very low. We have the greatest experts in the world — really, in the world, right here — people that are called upon by other countries when things like this happen.
(more…)

Well, it might not exactly be the best endorsement for the American political aspirations of Bernie Sanders but the official communist propaganda outlet in Cuba, Granma, is heaping high praise upon Bernie “Fidel” Sanders for his support for the communist regime.

Miami Herald – Granma, the Communist Party newspaper, prominently displayed a report about Sanders and his praise of “some of the social programs implemented by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro.”
“U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, today one of the strongest candidates for the nomination of the Democratic Party to the November presidential elections, recognized Cuba’s role in sending doctors worldwide,” Granma said. (more)

[You can read the communist praise here] Meanwhile, in directly related news, Bernie Sanders has plummeted to third place in the latest poll of Florida Democrats.  Early voting is underway and election day is March 17th.
(more…)

In November of 2019 buried deep in the congressional budget Continuing Resolution (CR) was a short-term extension to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act.  As a result of the FISA CR inclusion the terminal deadline was pushed to March 15, 2020.
AG Bill Barr is requesting a clean FISA renewal with no reforms or revisions. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham support the AG request.  The American people want it scrapped, or, at a minimum strongly revised. Congress is trying to hide the FISA renewal within the Coronavirus appropriations bill.

According to media reporting, Rand Paul said he talked to President Trump yesterday, and President Trump does not support a “clean renewal” of the FISA authorities that were used against him and his campaign:

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump told Sen. Rand Paul that he does not support a clean extension of expiring surveillance authorities, throwing the future of the program into doubt ahead of a fast-approaching March 15 deadline to re-up key features of the Patriot Act.
The Kentucky Republican told reporters that Trump made the comments to him on Wednesday, just a day after Attorney General William Barr told GOP senators that Congress should extend the expiring provisions regarding roving wire taps, lone wolf actors and the most controversial provision: call data collection.

(more…)

It’s a great time to be watching Democrat politics and the unending efforts of the national media to protect them from themselves.
The leading candidate for the Democrat party is an avowed socialist, Fidel Sanders.
Meanwhile, the strongest fall-back candidate for the party that rails against the rich; the only candidate likely to save them from Fidel; is a former republican billionaire, mini-mike Bloomberg.  The former New York City mayor Bloomberg made himself famous by railing against guns, soda, Slurpees, salt, and hot-dogs at baseball games.  You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said she would be comfortable with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as the Democratic presidential nominee in November.
The congresswoman was asked the question as she was leaving a closed-door meeting in the House basement Wednesday morning.  She replied with one word: “Yes.” (link)

A member of the Coronavirus taskforce, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, appears on CNBC to discuss the latest information about the Trump administration response effort.
You can visit the COVID-19 Information Page HERE

.
CTH disagrees with Dr. Fauci on one point. Fauci doesn’t think additional countries will be added to the U.S. travel entry restrictions… CTH sees a strong possibility more countries will be added or restricted; possibly announced later today.
ps. Press briefing moved to 6:30pm.
(more…)

A big victory for the Trump administration as a federal appeals court rules today the Department of Justice (DOJ) can withhold funding from sanctuary cities and states refusing to cooperate with administration’s immigration enforcement.

A group of seven states including New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington, Massachusetts and Virginia, along with New York City, sued the DOJ in 2017 after then-AG Jeff Sessions announced the DOJ would start withholding funding from local governments that refused to share information about undocumented immigrants or provide jail access to federal authorities investigating inmates’ immigration status.
Today a three-judge panel on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned a prior district court ruling saying the DOJ lacked the authority to impose immigration-related conditions on funding. [Ruling Here]
The Trump administration can now withhold funds from any city and state that declares themselves a ‘sanctuary‘ from immigration enforcement.
(more…)

This is likely the most insufferably short-sighted political position in decades.  Faced with years of evidence showing worsening abuses by government officials using the FISA court, U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr says a clean reauthorization bill is the best option because his DOJ and FBI will not abuse it.
Note the import of AG Barr’s position.  He is not saying the system *cannot* be abused; and he is not saying that reform isn’t needed to prevent systemic abuse; only that he can give assurances under his tenure FISA data collection and exploitation will *not* be abused.   What happens when an administration changes?…. ::::crickets chirping::::

In November of 2019 buried deep in the congressional budget Continuing Resolution (CR) was a short-term extension to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act.  As a result of the FISA CR inclusion the terminal deadline was pushed to March 15, 2020:

WASHINGTON – Attorney General William Barr told Senate Republicans on Tuesday that the Trump administration could support a clean extension of contentious surveillance laws set to expire next month. And Barr said he could make changes on his own to satisfy President Donald Trump and his allies who have railed against the use of the law to monitor his 2016 campaign, according to senators at a party briefing.

(more…)

Amid a sudden MSM firestorm, seemingly created to weaponize talking points around the Coronavirus for political damage, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Resources Alex Azar appears with Lou Dobbs to outline national preparation and prevention efforts.
On January 31st President Trump initiated a national health emergency, instituted a proactive travel ban and assembled a Coronavirus taskforce.  One key point highlighted by Secretary Azar is the number of U.S. originating cases at 14 has not changed in the two weeks since initially diagnosed.  No cause for alarm.

.

(more…)

Tonight at 8:00pm ET the fifth Democrat presidential debate will take place in Charleston, South Carolina. The debate is sponsored by CBS and will broadcast on CBS networks.
The debate will include: former Vice President Joe Biden; former New York Mayor Mini-Mike Bloomberg; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Amy Klobuchar and billionaire Tom Steyer.
There will be no opening or closing statements, but all candidates will get a closing question. Candidates will have one minute and 15 seconds to answer direct questions and 45 seconds for rebuttals.
CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell and CBS pundit Gayle King will moderate the debate; with additional questioning by “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan, chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett and “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker.

(more…)