Thursday Morning Breakfast For The Brain

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Coddling Criminals Is a New Front in the War on the Middle Class

Via American Greatness

The willful distortion of incidents involving police and black Americans serves an extremist agenda.

The middle class is the traditional bedrock of American society. They are the rule followers, the volunteers, the middle managers, and small business owners. Being rule-oriented, they support the police and stability, as they have a stake in maintaining the status quo. Their values are defined by their economic and social position: self-sufficient, conscientious, and, lately, anxious.

The middle class is under pressure from numerous directions. Wages have been flat for 50 years, while prices have gone up, particularly for the traditional perquisites of middle-class existence: homes, healthcare, and education. Globalization and mass immigration increase the labor pool against which Americans must compete. Inflation and debt eat away at the ability of families to accrue wealth. And diversity and crime have made it so many families need to spend a small fortune (and a lot of time commuting) to recreate the lifestyle they enjoyed growing up.

Lately, riots and racial tension create additional anxieties for the middle class. The nihilism of these displays is alien to the middle class’s quest for security.

The Media Machine Foments Racial Tension
Last summer’s riots did not happen in a vacuum. While a few years ago media infrastructure was geared around salacious “true crime” stories like the JonBenét Ramsey and Casey Anthony episodes, today there is a whole media apparatus deployed to amplify every negative police interaction involving white cops and black people.

These stories supposedly show the racist underbelly of America. As I have written before, the Left’s entire worldview is built upon a narrative of the illegitimacy of American society, because of its supposed corruption by systemic racism. Since this jaundiced view of American life is false, the demand for such stories exceeds the supply. Thus, a seemingly no-brainer incident like a gun-toting 13-year-old gang member being shot while resisting arrest becomes a maudlin story of a promising young man gunned down in cold blood. Similarly, last week, a police officer using deadly force to stop a young lady trying to stab another teen to death has become a cause célèbre.

Who would side with gang members and homicidal maniacs? The answer is the mainstream voices of the Democratic Party.

Former President Obama’s top advisor, Valerie Jarrett, had this to say about the Columbus, Ohio shooting:

A black teenage girl named Ma’Khia Bryant was killed because a police officer immediately decided to shoot her multiple times in order to break up a knife fight. Demand accountability. Fight for justice. #BlackLivesMatter

Activist Bree Newsome downplayed the seriousness of the knife attack: “Teenagers have been having fights including fights involving knives for eons. We do not need police to address these situations by showing up to the scene & using a weapon against one of the teenagers. Y’all need help. I mean that sincerely.”

Knives, of course, are extremely deadly, and about four times as many people die in knife attacks than from rifles of all kinds, including AR-15s, every year.

If the Trayvon Martin and George Floyd stories plausibly supported a narrative of excessive violence, it’s now clear that even the most self-evidently legal use of force by citizens or the police involving minorities will reap the same whirlwind.

The willful distortion of these incidents serves an extremist agenda.

Read the entire article HERE.

As Long As ‘The New Normal’ Is Marked By Lockdowns, Lies, And Loneliness, It’s No Normal At All

Via The Federalist

The lockdowns have been so devastatingly costly that no one who endorsed them will ever concede because they have nothing to gain and everything to lose.

It’s 10:00 on a Friday night. I’m vaccinated, I’m single, and I’m sitting alone. It’s cold outside, there are three inches of snow on the ground, and everybody else seems to have gotten used to staying in. By now it’s normal.

At this time 13 months ago, I was having friends over in D.C., preparing together for a night out. Drinks were being shared, gossip was being spilled, and new music was being introduced as we took turns on the speaker. We’d make it to our destination by midnight and make 22-year-old decisions we’d say we regretted in the morning — but didn’t really. I’d do anything to have that life back now.

I can’t say I’ve materially suffered during this pandemic. I never got sick with COVID-19, never lost a loved one to it, never lost my income. I moved across the country to Denver, the city of my choice, kept myself in shape, and took refuge in the landscape, meeting people along the way in a place where I knew no one. I savored the space the pandemic forced me to take from the wild nights out of my early 20s, cognizant that with the arrival of a vaccine they’d soon be back.

Little did I understand, however, that two weeks to slow the spread wouldn’t just morph into wait until there’s a vaccine. Now we appear to be in an endless lockdown where a population that doesn’t even take care of itself now demands life with absolutely zero risk at the expense of everyone else.

Thirteen months later and I’m finding it harder and harder not to blame Anthony Fauci and his allies in the political establishment for all the nights I never went out, the singles I never met, the dates I never went on, and the memories I never made. The drive-in raves are lame, distanced bars feel pointless, and most places are closed by an early hour anyway. These are all by the orders of Fauci, whose word carries the most weight in the country on coronavirus, like it or not, while he intimidates contrarian experts from speaking out by controlling their research funding. But Fauci’s not lonely, he’s not single, and at 80 years old, he’s likely not eager to go out.

There’s no evidence to prove the lockdowns prevent massive spread of the coronavirus. To the contrary, there’s plenty of research from elite academics finding otherwise, but to follow actual science would reject left-wing “science,” the only acceptable standard, which also characteristically carves out exceptions for those who say “Black Lives Matter.”

No one needs to read a plethora of academic research on the lockdowns anyway to see their ineffectiveness. Just glance at the states with the highest death rates and see their leaders. The deadliest states are run primarily by lockdown Democrats heeding Fauci’s every command. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island top the list.

There won’t be a serious cost-benefit analysis of the lockdowns, however. They’ve become so politicized that the party and career bureaucrats that embraced them will never admit they were wrong. The lockdowns have been so devastatingly costly that no one who endorsed them will ever concede because they have nothing to gain and everything to lose. Fauci has bet his legacy of failing upward on their supposed effectiveness, Democrats have used them to expand their central-state planning, and corporations have reaped in unimaginable profits while small businesses continue to go under left and right.

The American people, meanwhile, have either been so convinced of COVID’s severity, even post-vaccination, that they demand their neighbors abide by Fauci’s rules, or they’ve become too powerless to do anything about them. How does one refuse to live by Fauci’s orders to wear a mask while vaccinated when they can’t go anywhere without one? How does one refuse to live by Fauci’s orders of not going to crowded places where there are no crowded places?

The crisis that was supposed to end with an optional vaccine has no end and no optional vaccine. When public health officials say we have a choice to get vaccinated, they’re lying. Americans are being told lockdown restrictions will remain in place until the nation reaches herd immunity, while Fauci demands restrictions remain in place for even those who have been vaccinated. Fauci says it’s because vaccinated individuals may still spread the virus, contrary to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s own research. Face masks have now become markers of a political stripe, of which a vaccinated Fauci wears two.

Fauci also says it’s because of potential viral variants that vaccinated people still refrain from a return to normal. Our leaders are now designing policy based on what might happen, not based on what is happening. Viruses mutate all the time. Fauci has no regard for liberty, however, offering Americans no option to choose whether to accept the vaccine. He made that clear last week.

Read the entire article HERE.

‘Mom And Pop’ Landlords Dying On The Vine As Un-Evictable Tenants Enjoy Pandemic Protections

Via Zero Hedge

As millions of renters across America continue to benefit from sweeping protections against eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic, their landlords haven’t been so fortunate.

According to Bloomberg, nearly $47 billion in rent relief from the Biden Administration has been slow to materialize, forcing “mom-and-pop” landlords into financial hardship – or forced to sell to wealthy investors. Bloomberg, perhaps to invoke sympathy for the landlord class, focused on the impact felt by minority landlords.

Like their tenants, these landlords are more likely to be nonwhite or to be immigrants using real estate for their economic foothold. Now, mortgage, maintenance and tax bills are piling up, putting landlords in danger of losing their buildings or being forced to sell to wealthier investors hunting for distressed deals.

…

The tens of billions of dollars that Congress allocated for rent relief — starting in December and then with a second allotment in March — was supposed to help by covering back rent and unpaid utility bills. But the rollout has been moving at the speed of bureaucracy, which varies from state to state. –Bloomberg

In one example, airport janitor Joaquin Villanueva has had to take out a home-equity loan to make ends meet while maintaining a three-unit rental house in East Boston. One of his tenants is eight months behind on rent, while another – an unemployed restaurant dish washer, owes him $5,000.

“I don’t want to lose my house so I’m doing whatever I have to do,” said Villanueva – an El Salvadorian immigrant who works at Logan International Airport, adding “I’m not rich like a Donald Trump.”

Another distressed landlord, Jamaican-America Lincoln Eccles, owns a 14-unit building in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. Eccles says investors have been flooding him with unsolicited phone calls, texts and emails. He says that selling would bring much-needed relief, as he’s now a year behind on taxes and gas bills. Eccles says he’d rather keep the building acquired by his immigrant father in order to pass it down to his first son, born this month.

Unfortunately for Eccles, “One tenant owes more than $40,000 in back rent, five units are empty and Eccles can’t afford to replace or even fix a boiler that broke down again in March. The rent relief program will help only so much. He’s unlikely to get government grants to cover losses from a tenant who left in November owing $96,000.”

According to RealtyTrac Executive VP Rick Sharga, “The fact that we’re over a year into the pandemic really puts a lot of these landlords at risk.”

That said, not much is known about how many landlords themselves are in desperate situations, Bloomberg notes, however “it doesn’t take much to fall behind if income stops coming from one tenant in a small building. With each passing month, the problems get bigger and harder to solve.”

So what now?

It’s going to be an ordeal either way. In order to remedy shortfalls in rent, both renters and landlords will need to cooperate for the landlord’s benefit – with local governments often requiring long, detailed applications signed by both parties in order to prevent fraud.

Meanwhile, many landlords don’t qualify for federal COVID-19 mortgage forbearance because less than a third have mortgages backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or another federal agency, while local governments can’t afford to let landlords pause property tax payments – particularly in cities which have suffered economic devastation due to the pandemic.

“The long-term concern here, over the course of a few years, is that a growing share of mom and pop landlords will be forced to sell and rents will go up,” said Rutgers assistant professor of sociology who researches housing inequality. “There’s a lot of private equity interest and a real possibility of growing consolidation.”

Read the entire article HERE.

MIT Study Suggests Six Foot Social Distancing, Limited Occupancy Rules Are Completely Pointless

Via True Pundit

A new study conducted by MIT scientists and released this week reveals that the six foot social distancing and limited occupancy guidelines made law in most of the civilized world have done little to slow the spread of COVID-19, and suggests the only way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is to limit exposure to highly populated areas and areas where people are physically exerting themselves, such as gyms, or areas where people are singing or speaking, such as churches.

The study reveals that the social distancing guidelines employed throughout much of the world for over a year have done nothing to limit the spread of COVID-19, suggesting that the adaption of the guidelines did not stop the spread of the of the China-originated virus, and it can only be slowed with the employment of severe lockdowns. Paradoxically, states and cities that have engaged in severe lockdowns have seen the largest spikes of COVID-19.

“We argue there really isn’t much of a benefit to the 6-foot rule, especially when people are wearing masks,” MIT professor Martin Z. Bazant said, as reported by NBC.

“It really has no physical basis because the air a person is breathing while wearing a mask tends to rise and comes down elsewhere in the room so you’re more exposed to the average background than you are to a person at a distance.”

In other words, widespread mask wearing may simply change the physical vectors of transmission within a given room rather than stop it, effectively making six foot distancing rules pointless.

In their study, Bazant and the other researchers declare, “Adherence to the Six-Foot Rule would limit large-drop transmission, and adherence to our guideline, , would limit long-range airborne transmission.”

In the guideline, the researchers write, “To minimize risk of infection, one should avoid spending extended periods in highly populated areas. One is safer in rooms with large volume and high ventilation rates. One is at greater risk in rooms where people are exerting themselves in such a way as to increase their respiration rate and pathogen output, for example, by exercising, singing, or shouting.”

Read the entire article HERE.

In Hard-Hitting Press Conference, Press Demands To Know Biden’s Favorite Disney Princess

Via The Babylon Bee

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a brutal press conference this morning, courageous journalists asked hard-hitting questions of the incoming administration. In one particularly tense exchange, Press Secretary Jen Psaki was forced to reveal President Biden’s favorite Disney Princess.

“Please, Miss Press Secretary, Please! Please!” asked CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins. “We need to know President Biden’s favorite Disney princess! Is it Belle? Or maybe Jasmine?” she said while waving her hand and jumping up and down.

“Wow, what a fantastic question,” responded Psaki. “I haven’t asked the President that, so I will have to get back to you. Whoever it is, I’m sure his favorite is an empowered woman of color.”

Undeterred, the press pool continued to follow up on the question, demanding a clearer answer.

“OK, fine,” responded a slightly frustrated Psaki, “It’s Moana. His favorite is Moana.”

“NO IT’S NOT!!” came a muffled voice from behind the curtain that sounded a lot like Joe Biden. “My favorite is that one with all the hair! Rappatootie! Rattatatpunzle! Refunzle! Whatever her name is! Hey! Let go of me! Where are you taking me?”

There was the sound of a scuffle from behind the curtain and the voice faded away.

As the press conference resumed, journalists continued to grill the Press Secretary, asking further questions like:

• “Does President Biden prefer puppy kisses or kitty cuddles?”
• “Team Edward or Team Jacob?”
• “So… does President Biden like being President?”
• “Who is his favorite ninja turtle?”
• “Gryffindor or Hufflepuff?”
• “Can I go to the bathroom please? I’m sorry, MAY I go to the bathroom?”

Journalists everywhere have praised Biden’s new press conferences as “A welcome return to civility and truth.”

The New York Times also praised the press conference and ran a 12-page in-depth report on why Biden’s choice of Moana as the best Disney princess is brilliant.

Check out all of the Bee’s takes on a world gone mad HERE.

Be sure to stop by at Def-Con News to get our morning started off right.