From the right: Obama’s ‘Neck-Deep’ in Scandal
US media routinely claim President Barack Obama’s administration saw no serious scandals. Hah! scoffs the Issues & Insights editorial board: Just-released documents show that he himself “was neck-deep in the silent coup attempt by top US officials at the FBI, Justice Department and CIA.” Ex- Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates reportedly told special counsel Robert Mueller’s team in 2017 that she learned of the FBI’s Michael Flynn probe from Obama himself. “The truth: Obama trampled the rule of law for eight years,” weaponizing the National Security Agency, CIA, FBI, Justice Department and even the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court system “to spy on Trump.” This is a “massive scandal,” contrary to media assertions. Obama “undermined the rule of law.” That’s a “crime” — and “the biggest scandal of all.”
Pandemic watch: Keep Those Masks On
Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Beijing and Hong Kong have “weathered the coronavirus far better than other countries” — and, say Boston University prof Laurence Kotlikoff and financial expert John Talbott at The Hill, the reason is obvious: “People wear masks.” When COVID-19 first hit, “close to 100 percent of people in these five places immediately began to wear facemasks,” quickly limiting the virus’ spread. And the same is true in other countries: After the Czech Republic made public masking mandatory, its coronavirus caseload “dropped from 400 to 18 per day.” If the United States doesn’t similarly enforce nationwide mask-wearing soon, “we are likely to see a reignition” of COVID-19.
Lockdown journal: Portnoy’s Complaint
On Wednesday, satirical sports blogger Dave Portnoy delivered two profanity-filled rants about the coronavirus lockdown, which included calling Dr. Anthony Fauci “one of the great criminals of our civilization,” marvels RealClearPolitics’ Ian Schwartz. In videos, Portnoy, who founded the blog Barstool Sports, snarks: “When did ‘flatten the curve’ [turn into] ‘we have to find a cure or everyone’s going to die’?” Rather than prolong the lockdowns, we have to “give people a choice.” Portnoy, for his part, would rather “take his chances” or even “die of” the coronavirus than have to “start over” with his business. If we’re “staying inside until there is a cure” and willing to “decimate the entire economy,” we’re “just done as humans.”
Election beat: A Red Wave in — California?
California GOP officials are optimistic about picking up seats in their famously Democratic state after Republican Mike Garcia’s resounding victory in the special election to replace ex-Rep. Katie Hill, reports The Washington Examiner’s Kerry Picket. Garcia’s win proves the media’s predictions of a “blue wave” wrong and could pave the way for Republicans in the nearby 21st and 39th Congressional Districts, where GOP candidates are “competitive” in fund-raising and polling. Republicans are “no longer bogged down by a lurking ‘blue wave’ or a Michael Bloomberg super PAC infusing millions of dollars into freshmen Democratic challengers’ campaign chests.” They’ve built up their get-out-the-vote program and, perhaps key, they see “more opportunities with President Trump at the top of the ticket.”
Foreign desk: How Hong Kong Beat COVID-19
Despite being linked via a high-speed-rail train and direct flights to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, “there is no unchecked, devastating COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong,” Zeynep Tufekci points out in The Atlantic. “The city beat back the original wave, and also beat back a second resurgence due to imported cases.” Yet unlike in Taiwan or South Korea, “this success can’t be attributed to an executive that acted early and with good governance backed by the people.” Rather, Hong Kong’s “secret sauce” was the people themselves. “The organizational capacity and the civic infrastructure built by the protest movement played a central role in Hong Kong’s grassroots response.” Thanks to a year of discord with the city government, the people learned to act “swiftly, collectively and efficiently, in effect saving themselves.”
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
