COMMENT: Facing a vicious circle of conflicting demands and priorities, the California Public Employees Retirement System is turning to debt – a risky scheme to borrow billions of dollars in hopes of juicing its investment returns.
The California Public Employees Retirement System, the nation’s largest pension trust, benefited greatly from the runup in stocks and other investments during the last few years, topping $400 billion early this year.
CalPERS needed it because it was still reeling from a $100 billion decline in its investment portfolio during the previous decade’s Great Recession and was tapping state and local governments for ever-increasing, mandatory “contributions” to keep pensions flowing and reduce its immense “unfunded liability.” But it faced a backlash from local officials who said vital services were being cut to make their CalPERS payments.
Just when CalPERS appeared to be climbing out of its hole, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted early this year, sending the economy into a tailspin. Virtually overnight, the fund saw its value take a $69 billion hit as the stock market — CalPERS’ biggest investment sector — tanked. Stocks have since recovered, but CalPERS is still down about $13 billion from its high early this year.
Further investment erosions would, almost automatically, trigger even greater CalPERS demands for contributions from government employers, but the recession is also eating into their tax revenues, creating substantial budget deficits.
It underscores CalPERS’ vulnerability to capital market gyrations. Investments more immune to fluctuations would be safer but they offer very low returns and CalPERS could not safely meet its lofty earnings goal — an average of 7% a year.
It’s a vicious circle of conflicting demands and priorities, driven by an official policy of providing generous, inflation-adjusted pensions for government workers, bolstered by the political clout of public employee unions.
CalPERS desperately needs an escape route and has chosen the perilous path of debt.
It plans to borrow billions of dollars — as much as $80 billion — to fatten its investment portfolio in fingers-crossed hopes that earnings gains will outstrip borrowing costs. It mirrors the recent and risky practice of local governments borrowing heavily to pay their pension bills via “pension obligation bonds.”
“More assets refers to a plan to use leverage, or borrowing, to increase the base of the assets generating returns in the portfolio,” the system’s chief investment officer, Ben Meng, wrote in the Wall Street Journal recently. “Leverage allows CalPERS to take advantage of low-interest rates by borrowing and using those funds to acquire assets with potentially higher returns.”
What could possibly go wrong?
The new scheme is an implicit admission that CalPERS can’t meet its 7% mark without increasing its exposure to the vagaries of the market. “There are only a few asset classes with a long-term expected return clearing the 7% hurdle,” Meng wrote.
Perhaps, then, the real problem is the 7% goal, much higher than those of private industry pension plans.
CalPERS and other public systems use higher earnings projections because they need them to pay for the expensive pensions that politicians have awarded. Inferentially, if they fall short of the mark, they can tap employers — i.e. taxpayers — to close the gap. However, that option is pretty much maxed out, which may explain why the very risky borrow-and-invest approach is being adopted.
This is serious stuff, so risky that the Legislature should dump its informal hands-off policy toward CalPERS and order up a comprehensive and independent examination of the system’s assets, liabilities, and long-term prospects of meeting its pension obligations.
SB
REPLY: We are looking at state and local pension funds collapsing. There is not much they can do. This is the collapse of socialism of which I am referring to. This is why the 2020 election will be so critical. The left is determined to overthrow Trump because they are looking to raise taxes dramatically. The World Economic Forum is already suggesting a 400% increase in taxation in Europe. These people are insane. We have states raising property taxes between 30-40% because the lockdowns have deprived them of revenues that are pushing pension funds over the edge. They are brain dead, for so many people live hand-to-mouth and cannot afford such drastic increases in taxation. The Democrats are really hoping to draft Hillary for they believe that is their best shot to beat Trump. This is the entire objective for career politicians who have no real business to return to and they will always exempt trusts and themselves. Trump would never agree to the agenda and this is the battle to the death here in 2020.
COMMENT: Dear Mr. Armstrong,
Thank you!!! for opening our eyes to the scary new world in which we live in. Are there more Socialist/Marxist to other political groups?
Our neighbor is a professor at a major university in South Florida with a Doctorate in Nursing. She recently shared with us her strong ideologies and political views which caught us a little off guard. We started off talking about COVID 19. She definitely refuted anything we had to say regarding the virus and any information we provided (which of course we learned from your blog and the many videos from Drs working on the frontline). She said, that we should be following the WHO, the NIH, and not so much the CDC. We are sad because she conveyed to us, “ let’s leave the leadership of the future to the youth, of course, this is where she has direct influence. Well, here are some of her responses to our questions. She is 100% on board with disbanding the police. And in mentioning the economy, She feels just leave it to artificial intelligence/robotics. We suddenly had a flashback of the robots you showed in an earlier video on your blog and their capabilities, and how they could be used to police our country. We then said, What about jobs? She blatantly expressed that she was for a guaranteed basic income for all. She said, Europe is more socialistic than the United States, as though that was the way it should be. She came out and literally said, she was a “Marxist”. We were shocked. We were always democrats as many of our friends are still. Thanks to you and your blog that we stumbled upon one day. She ended by stating there are “more of her than us”. We are assuming that she means Marxist/Socialist.
We are no longer leaning left or consider ourselves Democrats. Most of our friends consider us “trump lovers” and they will not accept any of our thoughts or reasoning. And when they reveal their point of view, it’s always an example of one person and how they were so unjustly treated. Never do they provide the big picture. We forwarded Michael Moore’s new movie to one of our friends and their email response was “what happened to Michael Moore….he use to make great movies.
Keep up the good work. There are many people who are listening.
Cheers,
Mj
REPLY: The greatest mistake these people make is they have no respect for human nature. Some people are thieves while others are honest. Some women have no problem selling their bodies to the highest bidder and others will not wear even a two-piece bathing suit. One thing is certain: not everyone will be willing to stay home and just watch TV and never work. They assume if they hand out guaranteed basic income that everyone will be happy. They are judging everyone by themselves. We are all NOT the same. Some people hate work and others are addicted to it. I could never sit home, not work, and just watch TV.
I am probably more Libertarian. I respect that there are many versions of human nature. The object is FREEDOM, and I strongly disagree with those who always want to seize politics to FORCE their view upon the rest of society, as Bill Gates and his crew are doing right now. Trump gave the WHO 30 days to explain their false forecasts or he would cut off all funding. They REFUSE to reply. Just ask a simple question — why did they refuse to respond if they are so perfect?
COMMENT: Dear Mr. Armstrong,
Thank you!!! for opening our eyes to the scary new world in which we live in. Are there more Socialist/Marxist to other political groups?
Our neighbor is a professor at a major university in South Florida with a Doctorate in Nursing. She recently shared with us her strong ideologies and political views which caught us a little off guard. We started off talking about COVID 19. She definitely refuted anything we had to say regarding the virus and any information we provided (which of course we learned from your blog and the many videos from Drs working on the frontline). She said, that we should be following the WHO, the NIH, and not so much the CDC. We are sad because she conveyed to us, “ let’s leave the leadership of the future to the youth, of course, this is where she has direct influence. Well, here are some of her responses to our questions. She is 100% on board with disbanding the police. And in mentioning the economy, She feels just leave it to artificial intelligence/robotics. We suddenly had a flashback of the robots you showed in an earlier video on your blog and their capabilities, and how they could be used to police our country. We then said, What about jobs? She blatantly expressed that she was for a guaranteed basic income for all. She said, Europe is more socialistic than the United States, as though that was the way it should be. She came out and literally said, she was a “Marxist”. We were shocked. We were always democrats as many of our friends are still. Thanks to you and your blog that we stumbled upon one day. She ended by stating there are “more of her than us”. We are assuming that she means Marxist/Socialist.
We are no longer leaning left or consider ourselves Democrats. Most of our friends consider us “trump lovers” and they will not accept any of our thoughts or reasoning. And when they reveal their point of view, it’s always an example of one person and how they were so unjustly treated. Never do they provide the big picture. We forwarded Michael Moore’s new movie to one of our friends and their email response was “what happened to Michael Moore….he use to make great movies.
Keep up the good work. There are many people who are listening.
Cheers,
Mj
REPLY: The greatest mistake these people make is they have no respect for human nature. Some people are thieves while others are honest. Some women have no problem selling their bodies to the highest bidder and others will not wear even a two-piece bathing suit. One thing is certain: not everyone will be willing to stay home and just watch TV and never work. They assume if they hand out guaranteed basic income that everyone will be happy. They are judging everyone by themselves. We are all NOT the same. Some people hate work and others are addicted to it. I could never sit home, not work, and just watch TV.
I am probably more Libertarian. I respect that there are many versions of human nature. The object is FREEDOM, and I strongly disagree with those who always want to seize politics to FORCE their view upon the rest of society, as Bill Gates and his crew are doing right now. Trump gave the WHO 30 days to explain their false forecasts or he would cut off all funding. They REFUSE to reply. Just ask a simple question — why did they refuse to respond if they are so perfect?
Hillary Clinton and friends are still plotting to have her drafted at the Convention now scheduled for August 17-20. The rumors remain that Joe Biden is “seriously senile” or has dementia. It’s not really “sleepy Joe” as Trump politely calls him, they keep him off the road because they are scared to death what he will say next. He just said 130 million Americans died from COVID. He is losing it – plain and simple.
The interesting thing is the computer is already targeting the week of the Democratic Convention – August 17th. It seems strange that the computer is targeting that week if this is a shoo-in for Biden. The Republican Convention is the next week – August 24th. That will be no surprise as to who is the candidate. This is interesting, to say the least. The Democrats can manipulate the polls, but they know Biden would make a fool of himself in any debate and the people will see he is not all there nor is he fit to be president. This is a socialist agenda and to win, they know they need Hillary.
Under normal conditions one might expect to identify this moment as the official moment the rubicon of DNC insanity has been crossed. However, it’s 2020;… therefore as soon as you think the boundaries of DNC stupidity have been reached, the DNC will bring out their stupid boundary stretchers.
In a tweet earlier tonight the DNC takes the official position that celebrating the fourth of July is the equivalent of celebrating white supremacy: [Archived]
Anyone who identifies as a party Democrat will now have to rebuke the fourth of July to retain their party position. Additionally, any democrat caught celebrating the Fourth of July holiday will now be joining a celebration of white supremacy.
Coming soon to a home near you. A Missouri mob of looters/protestors was very lucky not to be legally shot as a well-armed couple defend their home from the mob that broke through their perimeter gate. Video shows the armed couple facing down the mob.
The important aspect is here the mob was not on a public street; the mob represented a clear threat; and Missouri has strong Castle Doctrine laws that do not require a duty of the homeowner to retreat from the threat. This mob was very fortunate the couple were well disciplined in their use of firearms.
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Once the mob broke through the gate, they were effectively in the justifiable kill zone.
Missouri’s law is more extensive than those of other states because it allows you to use deadly force to attack an intruder to protect any private property that you own, in addition to yourself or another individual. This means that if someone illegally enters your front porch or backyard, you can use deadly force against them without retreating first. (link)
Video uploaded to Twitter shows the St. Louis mob unlawfully entering the private property of the homeowners. Both the gate and the driveway are clearly identified as private property. This is not public property.
This is also a powder-keg issue and if local and state officials do not take action it is only a matter of time before these types of events lead to shooting. This is also why the DOJ needs to step-in quickly and begin making arrests of the anarchists and provocateurs who are violating laws and threatening ordinary citizens.
The Democrats are perfectly comfortable stoking the national anxiety and putting a few of their easily led sheep into the kill zone to accomplish their political objectives.
American voters, if the Democrats get their way and are able to use the Coronavirus and street mobs to impose their MAIL-IN-VOTE, it is you who will end up in prison—the soul-killing Democrat-manufactured prison called Marxism
The fear mongering of democrats.com laid bare: “In the midst of a deadly pandemic, no one should be forced to risk their life to exercise their Constitutional right to vote.”
The question should be how does votedem.org know that “the deadly pandemic” will still be among us on Nov. 3, 2020?
Could it be that devious Democrats intend to steal the election through pandemic fear mongering as a means to get the MAIL-IN VOTE, spearheaded by Michelle Obama’s ”non-partisan” ‘When We All Vote’ the law of the land?
“Click here to see if you (sic) eligible to vote by mail in November.” (votedem.org, June 27, 2020)
According to votedem.org, “Trump is exploiting this global health emergency for partisan gain, making up stories about voter fraud and attacking the best, safest option for voters to engage during this challenging time—vote-by-mail.
“If your state does not yet allow you to vote by mail, you can sign up to receive election reminders and updates. Our partners at Vote.org will let you know if the rules change in your state.”
This is what the same votedem.com, then called democrats.com was up to back in 2018 Midterm elections:
‘Warning to those who haven’t yet voted: You’ve been Democrat Harvested’, (Canada Free Press, Nov. 3, 2018)
“Warning to all Republican voters: Devious Democrats—who have harvested your emails—are now sending out 11th-hour pleas for you to vote Democrat in Tuesday elections.
“Warning to all of those who haven’t yet voted: You have been unknowingly HARVESTED by the Dirty Democrats, with a message that includes asking you to spy on your friends!
“This is not a joke, not Fake News, but the blatant truth.
“On the last weekend before Election Day, this is what democrats.com Blue Wave Voters are boldly telling you to do:
“Download the VoteWithMe app to see which of your friends are registered in crucial swing districts, and urge them to vote for Democrats.app (Sic) to see which of your friends are registered in crucial swing districts, and urge them to vote for Democrats.”
“Isn’t this like doing what they do, harvesting data through an app with a suggestion for you to spy on your friends?
“These Dems also seem to have an Election Day in with Lyft, Uber and Lime to get you to the polls:
“Do you need a ride to the polls on Tuesday, or know someone who does?
Lyft is offering 50% off on Election Day. Enter your zip code for the promo code.
Uber is offering $10 off a single ride to the polls on Election Day on the most affordable Uber option available in your city. Look for the Election Day code in your app on Election Day.
Lime is offering free rides in 100 cities on bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters. Download the app and use code LIME2VOTE18.”
Canada Free Press (CFP’s) first tipoff came from a reader who wrote to ask: “How did I get this? First one ever! “
“It’s because you’re being tracked, hunted and harvested by Democrats”, CFP IT guy Brian Thompson wrote back.
“Our IT guy discovered that democrat.com added the reader to their list on Oct. 28, 2018, and since this reader does not have any social media accounts, advised him he could have been harvested in any number of ways, including by his having visited or surfed an Internet website, or even from having received a forwarded email from a contact or friend.
“The fact is that democrats.com harvested his email address and threw him onto their ‘Get Out and Vote Democrat’ list.
“And if you think that’s bad, just wait until you download their app.
“The Dems are in a ‘Grab the Vote Panic Mode’ because they’ve noticed polls are showing key races for Governors, Senators and Representatives are in “dead heats”.
They are using the “dead heats” (like everything else) to blame President Donald Trump by outright accusing him of “unleashing racist hatred in a desperate and despicable campaign to save Republicans”.
“You can’t make this stuff up, unless that is, you’re a Democrat in an election panic.”
We all saw what happened in 2018 Midterms which saw Republicans losing control of the House to Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats.
With Coronavirus, street mobs looting and burning down small businesses, many of them owned by minorities, theirs to exploit, the Democrats are out for control of the Senate and White House this November when they replace President Donald Trump with Joe Biden.
Devious, hell-bent-for-leather Democrats intend to keep people hiding from the pandemic in their homes, wearing masks when out on the streets—but most of all VOTING BY MAIL!
American Cultural Revolution that has shaken our culture, our economy will destroy our political system as well. Upcoming election is not only important, it means everything
In the span of just over one month, a plethora of changes have occurred in the United States and throughout the world, all to appease the politically correct guardians who now monitor every aspect of our society. After the brutal killing of African American George Floyd by a vicious white Minneapolis police officer, the entire world has changed. Even though the main officer involved was immediately fired, then charged with crimes and imprisoned, calls have arisen that police departments are racist.
Mobs of criminals have destroyed statues, monuments dedicated to Christopher Columbus, Founding Fathers, Union and Confederate Generals, Former Presidents, Religious leaders
Nationally, in 2019, according to a Washington Post analysis, police killed 40 unarmed people, 15 of them were black and 25 were white. While this statistic is a higher percentage than the 13% of the national population that African Americans comprise, it does not reflect a war on African American citizens.
Compared to the number killed by police, many more African Americans are killed by individuals of their own race. According to Barry Latzer of the National Review, “In 2018, where the homicide victim was black, the suspected killer also was 88 percent of the time. And this is not an exceptional situation. From 1976 to 2005, 94 percent of black victims were killed by other African Americans.”
Despite the true statistics, the narrative is being promoted by activists, politicians, corporate leaders, and the media that black Americans are being targeted and killed by police officers in great numbers throughout the country. In fact, it is being stated that African Americans should be fearful of police, even though in many urban areas, a significant majority of police officers are black.
The truth does not matter to the radical left. While there have been some peaceful protests, there have been way too many criminals who have used the occasion to engage in rioting and looting. Across the nation, numerous businesses, many owned by African Americans, have been targeted by these destructive hooligans.
Mobs of criminals have also destroyed statues and monuments dedicated to Christopher Columbus, our Founding Fathers, both Union and Confederate generals, former Presidents, and religious leaders.
American cultural revolution
Even churches have not escaped the wrath of the mob. Shaun King, one of the leaders of Black Lives Matters, declared that statues of “white Jesus” must be destroyed. He tweeted, “Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy. Always have been.”
It should surprise no one during this American cultural revolution that old movies such as Gone with the Wind would be targeted for removal, popular shows praising police officers would be canceled, and even the Splash Mountain ride at Disney World would undergo changes demanded by outraged activists.
The music world has also been impacted. The country group Lady Antebellum has changed their name to Lady A. Now, the Dixie Chicks have changed their name to just the Chicks.
In this new era, the world “Dixie” is no longer allowed. On Friday, New Orleans Saints and Dixie Beer owner Gayle Benson announced that her product would undergo a name change. Dixie Beer was established in 1907 and returned to New Orleans with much fanfare in 2017, but the celebration lasted only three years.
According to Benson, “Our nation and community are currently engaged in critical conversations about racism and systemic social issues that have caused immeasurable pain and oppression of our black and brown communities…We look forward to listening, learning and making sure that our brewery fulfills its promise of uniting, inspiring and leading all in our community.”
Benson will choose a new name based on community input, even though many outraged Dixie Beer drinkers are now vowing to never buy her product again. Yet, it is not only Dixie Beer that is changing. There are many other products that are undergoing mob enforced transformations as well.
We can say goodbye to Eskimo Pies, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s, and Mrs. Butterworth. The packaging and imaging for products such as Land O’ Lakes butter and Cream of Wheat
Thus, we can say goodbye to Eskimo Pies, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s, and Mrs. Butterworth. The packaging and imaging for products such as Land O’ Lakes butter and Cream of Wheat will also undergo massive changes.
All of this is being done to improve sensitivity considering the George Floyd incident. The reality is that these actions are nothing but preposterous window dressing to make liberals look like they care. This virtue signaling is part of the new corporate America that will support Black Lives Matter, even though their leaders admit to “Marxist training,” and demand that if they don’t get what they want they “will burn down this system and replace it.”
Obviously, they want to replace our constitutional republic with Marxism, a system that has killed tens of millions of people around the globe. In fact, the leader of an anti-monument group in New Orleans is an avowed Marxist who has targeted dozens of street names and monuments for destruction throughout the city.
Sadly, our country is in the process of giving these radicals complete control of our corporations, our culture and soon our political and economic systems. If Joe Biden is elected President, we can expect him to allow the extreme left to control his administration and move toward the absolute devastation of our capitalist economy.
This November, the American way of life is at stake, including our economic survival. If Americans allow it, the revolution that has shaken our culture and our economy will destroy our political system as well. Thus, this upcoming election is not only important, it means everything.
Vice President Mike Pence appears on Face The Nation with John Dickerson to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 mitigation efforts while reopening the economy. Dickerson describes COVID-19 as an omnipotent virus traveling the U.S. while monitoring people, independent of human interaction, awaiting the opportunity to strike…
…”the virus can go wherever it wants.”…
This silly framework helps maintain fear. You see, in the Dickerson virus narrative you have no control; you have no freewill; the government must defend you from yourself.
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[Transcript] – JOHN DICKERSON: Mr. Vice President, some of the states that are having the biggest spites- spikes are the big ones — Texas, California, Arizona. Are you concerned?
VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, we’re monitoring very closely new cases in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. In fact, I’ll be traveling with members of our team to several of those states over the next several days to make sure and get a ground report. But what the American people should know is that because of the leadership that President Trump has provided, because of the extraordinary innovation that we have brought to this task, we are- we’re in a much better place to respond to these outbreaks than we were four months ago. I mean, today we are now testing 500,000 Americans a day. We’re able to do a great deal more surveillance and community testing than ever before. We’ve also expanded our- our health care capacity across the country, literally seeing delivered billions in personal protective equipment, ventilators. And most importantly in this moment is we’ve seen the development and distribution of therapeutics that have literally been saving lives around the country. And we believe by the end of this year, it’s likely we’ll have a vaccine.
JOHN DICKERSON: So you say that the country is in a better place in this moment.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: It is.
JOHN DICKERSON: But- but the experts say we shouldn’t be in this moment we’re in. And I’ll read you a few. Dr. Anthony Fauci says there is a disturbing surge of infections. The governor of Texas, Governor Abbott, says there is a massive outbreak. In the Wall Street Journal 10 days ago, you said 20,000 cases was a good number relative to where they’ve been. This week, there’ve been 40,000 cases. Your level of concern — I understand you’re saying what’s been done — seems insufficient to the alarm from governors and experts.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: No, we’re- let me be very clear that we are focused, our entire team is focused on working with governors to make sure that we meet this moment and support the efforts at state level to- to provide–
JOHN DICKERSON: But why did we get here at all?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –the kind of steps that will- will mitigate these new cases. But there’s another way, John, that this is different from early on. And that is that one of the things that we’ve heard in Texas and Florida in particular is that nearly half of those who are testing positive are Americans under the age of 35. That’s contributing to the fact that- that those that are requiring to be hospitalized, who are testing positive for coronavirus is significantly lower than it was two months ago. And so we really believe that- that what- what is happening here is a combination of increased testing — we’re able to test a great deal more Americans than we were able to several months ago — but it also may be indication that as we’re opening our economy up, that- that younger Americans have- have been congregating in ways that may have disregarded the guidance that we gave on the federal level for all the phases of reopening. And I think that’s why you see several governors taking action–to- to- to- to- to essentially try and- and- and prevent further increases in those new cases.
JOHN DICKERSON: The spike states are also states that are reopening early, and the administration is focused a lot on the economy, trying to get it reopened.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Right.
JOHN DICKERSON: The- The states that are reopening are having some of the biggest problems. Did the reopening happen too early?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, all 50 states are opening up again to one degree or another. And I know there’s a temptation to associate the new cases in the Sunbelt with reopening, but it’s important to remember that- that states like Florida and like Texas actually began to open up in- in early May. For the better part of six weeks, John, we did not see any significant movement. In my conversations with governors in Florida and in Texas and in Arizona in particular, we’re monitoring very closely their hospitalization rate. And we continue to be very confident that they have the supplies and the support and the capacity to give people the render- the level of care that any of us would want a family member to have.
JOHN DICKERSON: You’re talking about being able to monitor the situation. The argument is that the situation shouldn’t be existing in the first place. Europe waited longer to reopen and they have seen less trouble in reopening. In Florida since Memorial Day, which was a new stage of reopening, cases are up 165 percent. There are almost 10,000 cases in a single day in Florida. Something happened. And it’s not just a question of monitoring. The- the experts are saying these states walked into a problem with their eyes wide open because they opened too early. And that’s a mistake, which seems to repeat the original mistake, which was to downplay and not take seriously the nature of the threat.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, I- I beg to differ about the reopening and I beg to differ about downplaying. On- on the second point, I mean, President Trump suspended all travel from China before the first case of community transition- transmission occurred in the United States.
JOHN DICKERSON: There were nine cases when he did that.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: We stood up- well, no, not- not- there were- there were cases in the United States of people who had returned to this country but the first case of community transmission would occur weeks later. And he stood up the White House Coronavirus Task Force and everything I’ve described about- about an unprecedented scaling of testing, the development of billions of- of medical supplies, ventilators, the development of therapeutic medicines like Remdesivir and others that are being developed, the launch in record time of a vaccine development. But as we’ve arrived at this moment, it’s clear across the Sunbelt that there’s something happening, particularly among younger Americans. And that’s why we fully support Governor Abbott’s decision to close bars and limit restaurants. We fully support–
JOHN DICKERSON: But bars should never have been open–
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –steps taken in Florida and elsewhere. And we’ll continue to support those efforts.
JOHN DICKERSON: Why not ask people to wear masks?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, we believe people should wear masks wherever–
JOHN DICKERSON: Why doesn’t the president say that?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: — social distancing is not possible, wherever it’s indicated by either state or local authorities. And, you know, the- the president has worn a mask. I wore a mask on several occasions this week.
JOHN DICKERSON: Governor Abbott in Texas has said the precondition for opening the economy is wearing a mask. Wear the mask, he said, we’ll keep the economy open. You and the president care a lot about keeping the economy open. The message on masks has been muddled. Why doesn’t the president, who has some suasion in the country, come forward and say everybody should wear a mask, which is what all the governors are saying? Why has he been kind of muddling that message?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, first, we- we believe that every state has a unique situation. And I want to be clear, while- while we’re monitoring about 16 states that are seeing outbreaks, it represents about 4 percent of all the counties in this country, 34 states are not seeing a rise in positivity and they have different measures, different requirements and different guidance in place. I mean one of the- one of the- one of the elements of the genius of America is the principle of federalism, of state and local control. We’ve made it clear that we want to defer to governors. We want to defer to local officials,–
JOHN DICKERSON: But Mr. Vice President–
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –and people should listen to them.
JOHN DICKERSON: The virus doesn’t know federalism. A virus that hits in Texas is in New York tomorrow. This is a problem that requires a coordinated national result, which is what these outbreaks are showing. And so to say, states should deal with them individually seems to miss the big fact, which is the virus can go wherever it wants.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: John, if we’d have taken that approach, we’d have never had the success that we had in the greater New York City area. We’d have never had the success in Michigan or New Orleans, because from early on, we worked closely in partnership with governors to make sure that they had what they needed when they needed it, tailored to the unique circumstances in their states. And- and when you look at the extraordinary progress that we made in New York and in Connecticut and in New Jersey and New Orleans and in Michigan and in — early on in states like Washington State where we- we flattened the curve, we slowed the spread, and we did it at a time early in this pandemic where we were just scaling testing up.
JOHN DICKERSON: You mentioned testing. To get the economy open again, testing has to happen. The president said if we didn’t do testing, we’d have no cases. That’s wrong and misleading. Given how important testing is, why is the president saying things that are wrong and misleading about testing?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, I think it’s inarguable that the historic increase in testing that we’ve accomplished in this country has played a role in the new cases, particularly among younger Americans. John, I want to remind your viewers that two months ago, in most states in this country, we were not testing people that had no symptoms or were below a certain age.
JOHN DICKERSON: But Mr.- but Mr. Vice President–
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: We were focusing on seniors.
JOHN DICKERSON: I understand.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: We were focusing on those with symptoms. But now, because of the public-private partnership that President Trump initiated, we’re literally able to test anyone in the country that would–
JOHN DICKERSON: But–
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –want a test–
JOHN DICKERSON: I understand.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –to come forward. We scaled it with great American innovation–
JOHN DICKERSON: But Mr. Vice President, 125,000 Americans have died. We’re six months into this. Testing is crucial to get the economy opening- opened and because of public health.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Right.
JOHN DICKERSON: And the president of the United States, with the biggest megaphone on the planet, is saying something about testing that is wrong and misleading. Is that the standard we want for the president of the United States?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: John, the president was observing the fact that rising cases, which is — which the media has focused exclusively on — has been–
JOHN DICKERSON: Why is that vital to getting this problem solved?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –has been in part a result of increased testing. What- what the media doesn’t focus on at all is because of the sacrifices the American people made in those 45 days to slow the spread and the good commonsense measures they continue to do, we’ve continued to see fatalities decline. I grieve for every American family that lost a loved one, for the more than 125,000 Americans that we’ve lost in this. We’re going to continue to take steps to protect the most vulnerable,–
JOHN DICKERSON: But–
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –and testing will be a critical part of that going forward.
JOHN DICKERSON: But, Mr. Vice– it’s- testing is critical to protect and to open the economy. In a public health crisis, information and confidence in that information is crucial,–
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Right.
JOHN DICKERSON: –as you know so well. So why does the person with the best megaphone say things to undermine confidence in testing? It seems totally at odds with what you’re spending all your day doing. This isn’t a triviality. This is an important, crucial thing about testing.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, John, I just- I just disagree that the president’s undermining confidence in testing, he observed–
JOHN DICKERSON: Repeatedly.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –that- that the volume of new cases is in part a result of all of- of the rapid scaling of testing that we’ve done around the country.
SECTION 2
JOHN DICKERSON: What do you hear the protesters saying when they protest?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, it’s- it’s been a focus of ours since the tragic killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. There’s no excuse for what happened to George Floyd. But there’s also no excuse for the rioting and looting and violence that ensued. Look, the president engaged law enforcement leaders. We’ve sat down with leaders in the African American community. I’ve- I’ve met with leaders in the African American community and- and law enforcement in cities around this country. And what I hear is while- while the radical left says we need to defund the police, what the American people want is for us to fund the police with additional training and support and also improve the lives of the people in our African American community, which I’m proud to say, under President Trump’s leadership, we were doing over the last three years. We don’t- we don’t need to choose between supporting law enforcement and supporting our African American neighbors.
JOHN DICKERSON: One–
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: We can do both. And that’s how we bring our country together.
JOHN DICKERSON: One thing protesters would like to hear is leaders say black lives matter. You won’t say that. Why?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: All my life, I’ve been inspired by the example of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When I was in Congress, I traveled to his home church in Montgomery with Congressman John Lewis. I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. I cherish the progress that we have made toward a more perfect union for African Americans throughout our history. And I’ve- I’ve aspired throughout my career to be a part of that ongoing work. It’s really a heart issue for me. And as a pro-life American, I also believe that all life matters, born and unborn. But what- what I see in the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement is a political agenda of the radical left that would defund the police, that would–
JOHN DICKERSON: Leave that out of it. Just the phrase.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: –tear down monuments, that would- that would press a radical left agenda that, and- and- and support calls for the kind of violence that has beset the very communities that they say that they’re advocating for.
JOHN DICKERSON: But the- but the- sir,–
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: We- I’ve- I’ve literally met- I’ve literally met with African American leaders around this country and in the national capital area who’ve- who made it clear to us they- they want law and order. They- they want peace in our streets.
JOHN DICKERSON: So you won’t say black lives matter?
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: John, I really believe that all lives matter.
JOHN DICKERSON: OK.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: And that’s where the heart of the American people lies. And we’re going to continue to stand strong. We’re going to continue to stand strong with Americans that- that want to see us come together as a nation. And we’re going to carry that message all the way to November and for four more years.
JOHN DICKERSON: All right. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
If you stay within the circles the virus cannot attack you, but if you step outside the zone of your confinement… well, it’s not going to end well. That is the sales pitch by the Ministry of COVID compliance. Think about it.
♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot easily achieve ‘mail-in’ voting; which they desperately need in key battleground states in order to control the outcome.
♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot shut down rallies and political campaigning efforts of President Trump; which they desperate need to do in key battleground states.
♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot block the campaign contrast between an energetic President Trump and a physically tenuous, mentally compromised, challenger.
♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats do not have an excuse for cancelling the DNC convention in Milwaukee; thereby blocking Team Bernie Sanders from visible opposition while protecting candidate gibberish from himself.
♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats do not have a mechanism to keep voters isolated from each-other; limiting communication and national debate adverse to their interests. COVID-19 panic pushes the national conversation into the digital space where Big Tech controls every element of the conversation.
♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot keep their Blue state economies easily shut-down and continue to block U.S. economic growth. All thriving economies are against the political interests of Democrats.
♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot easily keep club candidate Joe Biden sealed in the basement; where the electorate is not exposed to visible signs of his dementia.
♦Without COVID-19 panic it becomes more difficult for Big Tech to censor voices that would outline the fraud and scheme. With COVID-19 panic they have a better method and an excuse.
♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot advance, influence, or organize their preferred presidential debate format, a ‘virtual presidential debate’ series.
[Comrade Gretchen Whitmer knows this plan, hence she cancelled the Michigan venue]
All of these, and more, strategic outcomes are based on the manufactured weaponization of the COVID-19 virus to achieve a larger political objective. There is ZERO benefit to anyone other than Democrats for the overwhelming hype surrounding COVID-19.
It is not coincidental that all corporate media are all-in to facilitate the demanded fear that Democrats need in order to achieve their objectives. Thus there is an alignment of all big government institutions and multinationals to support the same.
Note to self…. There is something worse than dying, it’s called not living.
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
Centinel2012 