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Half of Republicans Don’t Believe Their Vote Will Be Counted Accurately in Future Elections

Last month, Rebecca reported on how Virginia gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe (D) and Glenn Youngkin (R) have previously spoken on the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. While McAuliffe “chided” Youngkin for making pledges throughout his campaign to protect election integrity, which supposedly “[feeds] conspiracy theories advanced by former President Donald Trump,” Youngkin has affirmed that he thinks Biden and Harris were legitimately elected in 2020. However, a new poll released just before Election Day shows that many Republicans have doubts about their votes being counted fairly the next time they head to the polls.

An NBC News poll published on Monday found that 50 percent of Republicans surveyed believe their vote would not be counted accurately the next time they cast a ballot. Less than half of Republican respondents, 41 percent, said they thought their vote would be counted accurately, compared to 84 percent last year.

Among all registered voters surveyed, 66 percent said they believe their vote would be counted accurately in next year’s 2022 midterm elections. In October 2020, this number was at 85 percent. Democrats, specifically, remained the same – 89 percent of respondents believed their votes would be counted accurately. Last year, only 11 percent of all respondents said they doubted their vote would be counted accurately in the future. This year, 29 percent of respondents share this belief.

The survey asked respondents their thoughts on the 2020 election, specifically, the legitimacy of President Biden’s presidency. A mere 22 percent of Republican adults believe that Biden was elected legitimately, while 71 percent of Independents and 93 percent of Democrats felt the same. Overall, 58 percent of adults think Biden was legitimately elected, while 38 percent do not. A small portion, four percent of respondents, were unsure.

“In comparison, after the contested 2000 presidential election in Florida was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court in a decision that determined the winner, the public’s trust in the legitimacy of the presidential election dipped to a similar point,” the write-up notes.

“From January 2001, when he was inaugurated, to that November, the portion of adults who said President George W. Bush’s election was legitimate went from 55 percent to 58 percent, with the portion who felt it was not legitimate dropping, from 39 percent to 35 percent,” the write-up continues. “Over that time, the vast majority of Republicans (almost 90 percent) said that Bush’s election was legitimate, but the portion of Democrats who said the same grew from 20 percent to 32 percent by November.

“The poll, which was conducted from Oct. 23 to Oct. 26 among 1,000 American adults, has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points. 

Trump ally Roger Stone teases run for Florida governor if DeSantis doesn’t call for election audit

The Florida GOP governor says automatic post-election audit show of 2020 “passed with flying colors”

Former President Trump adviser Roger Stone says he’s considering a bid for Florida governor if GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t conduct an audit of the state’s 2020 election results.

Stone tweeted that he would challenge DeSantis next year as a Libertarian candidate.

“If Florida governor Ron DeSantis does not order an audit of the 2020 election to expose the fact that there are over 1 million phantom voters on the Florida voter rolls in the Sunshine state I may be forced to seek the Libertarian party nomination for governor Florida in 2022,” he posted.

In a separate Twitter post, Stone reiterated the unsubstantiated claim that last election’s election in Florida was riddled with fake voters, according to Newsweek.

“I heard governor Ron DeSantis say that Florida had the most honest election in our history in 2020 yet I know for certain there are 1 million phantom voters in the Florida voter rolls. These ‘voters’ simply do not exist,” he said.

DeSantis has been steadfast that Florida is not planning to conduct an audit, despite growing calls from fellow Republicans to do so and GOP legislators in such states as Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin either considering one or amid conducting one.

Trump won Florida with 51.2% of the vote, but some Republicans still insist the results should be reviewed.

“It’s not about margin of victory,” says Florida GOP state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who sponsored a bill calling for the audit. “The fact is that people want total verification of the election results. They want an independent review of the votes.”

DeSantis said several weeks ago that an automatic audit already occurred after initial voting.

“What we do in Florida is, there’s a pre- and post-election audit that happens automatically,” DeSantis said, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “So, that has happened. It passed with flying colors in terms of how that’s going.”

He also argued that Florida has already made efforts to improve voting integrity including stricter voter ID for mail-in ballots. However, the law is being challenged in court on the argument it restricts minority voting. 

Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, a Republican appointed by DeSantis, also said this month that there was no need to do an audit in the state, Newsweek also reports

Over 20 Fauci-Funded Researchers Have Served At the Chinese Communist-Run Wuhan Lab.

Nearly 1000 U.S. funded grants from Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins have landed in the laps of collaborators of the Chinese Communist Party’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Over 20 American scientists who have received taxpayer funds from 637 grants by Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have also served as visiting lecturers and researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, The National Pulse can exclusively reveal.

The unearthed affiliation between the nearly two-dozen Fauci-funded researchers at the controversial lab – believed to be at the heart of COVID-19’s origins – follows the National Institutes of Health (NIH) admitting that Fauci’s agency funded “gain-of-function” research at the institute in partnership with the American non-profit group EcoHealth Alliance.

In addition to EcoHealth Alliance researchers such as Peter Daszak working with the lab on “killer” viruses, several American professors and researchers who’ve received grants worth millions from Fauci have also collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Unearthed annual reports from 20112012, and 2013 reveal a section titled “Visiting Scientists and Scientific Lectures,” which lists the names of various non-Chinese researchers who’ve taught at or worked with the Chinese Communist Party-run lab. The Wuhan Institute of Virology’s Chinese language website also reveals the identities of several researchers from additional years.

Among the 21 researchers is Stuart Le Grice, who works at the NIH’S National Cancer Institute (NCI) and has received 16 grants from Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who lectured on “Extending Small Molecule Therapeutics to Cellular and Viral RNAs” in 2018. “At the meeting, Professor Stuart Le Grice first briefly introduced the important impact and application prospects of small molecule drugs that bind to cell or viral RNA in the development of new therapeutic strategies,” explains the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s summary.

Another Wuhan Institute of Virology Visiting Lecturer, Professor Anne Simon, addressed the lab on the “Non-Template Functions of an RNA Virus Genome,” according to an unearthed annual report from 2012. Several visiting scientists have also taught the lab about vaccine development: Tian Wang, who has received 25 NIAID grants, lectured on “Flavivirus: Disease Mechanism and Vaccine Development” and Michael McVoy, who has received 26 NIAID grants, lectured on “Cell Culture Models of Cytomegalovirus Infection: Pitfalls and Epiphanies for Vaccine Development.” 

In some cases, Chinese Communist Party officials were in attendance at the Fauci-funded researchers’ lectures, as revealed on the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s website.

Galveston National Laboratory Director James Leduc, who “discussed the prevention and control of new infectious diseases” and “research and cooperation in the field of biosafety management” at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2014, had a “cordial talk” with the lab’s Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary:

Researcher Yuan Zhiming, Dean of the Wuhan Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, on behalf of the leaders of the Institute welcomed Professor James Leduc’s visit and had a cordial talk with him.

“Through this exchange, the two parties hope to jointly build a good contract platform, establish an efficient cooperation mechanism, further strengthen communication and exchanges, integrate resources, expand channels, and carry out extensive development in the field of new infectious disease prevention and biosafety management and training. Cooperation and exchanges will make positive contributions to the global fight against emerging infectious diseases,” notes the lab.

In addition to Fauci-funded researchers affiliating with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, six additional researchers counting funding from separate National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies have also taught at the lab.

Former National Cancer Institute Senior Investigator Dimiter Dimitrov and current NIH Senior Investigator Zheng Zhiming are among the NIH scientists who’ve shared their taxpayer-funded expertise with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

NIH RESEARCHER ZHENG ZHIMING AT WUHAN LAB IN 2016.
2012 ANNUAL REPORT
2013 ANNUAL REPORT.
2011 ANNUAL REPORT.

DeSantis Slams Biden Over Proposed $450,000 Payments To Illegal Immigrants: ‘Slap In The Face To Hardworking Americans’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed President Biden over a proposal to pay $450,000 each to illegal immigrants who were separated from their families at the border during the Trump administration.

The Wall Street Journal last week reported that the White House “is in talks to offer immigrant families that were separated during the Trump administration around $450,000 a person in compensation.”

They note the numbers may change but “could amount to close to $1 million a family.”

DeSantis addressed the report, defending Americans and legal immigrants in the process.

DeSantis Slams Biden For Considering Payments To Illegal Immigrants

The potential payout is in response to lawsuits filed by parents and children who claim the United States government under Trump subjected them to “lasting psychological trauma.”

DeSantis though, says it is an insult to the average working American and slammed Biden for even considering the move at a press conference Monday.

“I mean, you think about it, Americans are getting more in their gas bills, they’re getting more in their grocery bills,” the Republican governor pointed out.

“You’ve had all kinds of really bad policies throughout our country that has limited freedom,” DeSantis added. “And you’re going to turn around for that, and you’re going to do $475,000 for an individual that came illegally to this country?”

“If that is done, that is going to be a slap in the face to every hard-working American who works hard and plays by the rules and it will especially be a slap in the face to people that have immigrated legally to this country,” DeSantis continued.

He vowed that the Sunshine State would fight the proposed payment in whatever manner they could because it “should not be allowed to stand.”

DeSantis – ‘A Slap In The Face’

Commentators have also compared the proposal to how it compares to the treatment of Gold Star families.

If a United States service member is killed in action, their next of kin will likely receive a single, tax-free death gratuity payment of $100,000.

In addition, they could receive a maximum insurance payment of $400,000 through the Servicemember Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program.

Forty-five House Republicans have signed a letter demanding answers on the reported payments.

“Promising tens of thousands of dollars to those who unlawfully entered the United States would not only reward criminal behavior, but it would surely send a message to the world that our borders are open and our rule of law will not be enforced,” the letter warned.

Juan Williams claims defending parents’ rights is racist dog whistle: ‘Code for white race politics’

Fox News political analyst Juan Williams claimed in a new essay that defending parents’ rights is meant to sow racial division while masquerading “as a defense of little children.”

What did Williams say?

Parents’ rights have become a prominent issue in recent months as parents nationwide dispute a number of issues impacting schools, including COVID-related restrictions, radical LGBT policies, and certain teachings on race.

But according to Williams, defending parents’ rights — which became a prominent issue in the Virginia gubernatorial race — is a racist dog whistle, or as the headline of his recent essay at The Hill claims, “code for white race politics.”

“It is a campaign to stop classroom discussion of Black Lives Matter protests or slavery because it could upset some children, especially white children who might feel guilt,” Williams wrote.

By making parents’ rights a prominent issues, Williams charged that “Trump-imitating Republican” have struck “political gold.”

Without evidence, Williams directly connected concerns over parents’ rights to defending Confederate monuments, the 2017 Charlottesville riots, the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and segregation.

“There is a long history behind the latest racist political appeals. It is not long ago that racist southern politicians rallied against integration with an argument for ‘states’ rights,’ a call to be free of federal laws seeking to end segregation,” Williams wrote. “Now the message is that white parents are being ignored when they complain that their children are uncomfortable learning about racism.”

Williams even expressed support for the letter the National School Boards Association sent President Joe Biden, demanding federal intervention over angry parents confronting school boards. The NSBA has since apologized for the letter.

Anything else?

Williams’ essay reads like Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s talking points.

In the closing weeks of the Virginia gubernatorial race, McAuliffe’s two biggest attacks on his Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, focused on Youngkin’s position on parents’ rights and former President Donald Trump. Although Trump has not played a role in the election, McAuliffe has continually tried to tie Youngkin to Trump.

In the end, Williams claimed the fight to defend parents’ rights has nothing to do with parents’ rights, but everything to do with “stirring up racial division.”

New study shows trust in media is in “free fall”

Unsurprising.

If you’re tired of censorship, cancel culture, and the erosion of civil liberties subscribe to Reclaim The Net.

While the corporate media in the US continue to relentlessly beat the drum of “combating misinformation” and representing the only “authoritative and trustworthy sources” – their audiences effectively disagree and a new report describes the trust in media as being in “free fall.”

According to the IBD/TIPP pollster, their alternative media counterparts are not doing much, if at all better in the trust department, which dovetails neatly with a recent Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism paper that said the US was the lowest ranked country when it comes to the number of those who trust most news most of the time – only 29%.

For comparison, the Reuters study that polled respondents in 46 countries revealed that this figure was 65% in Finland, 54% in Brazil. Ahead of the US were Turkey, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, France, Peru…

Now the I&I/TIPP poll had two questions for its survey’s participants: how much they trust traditional, i.e., established media like the New York Times, CBS, NPR, the Washington Post, etc., and how much they trust alternative media – in which group I&I/TIPP included the Washington Times, the New York Post, NewsMax and the Daily Caller, among others.

It would seem that “established” here means “liberal,” while “alternative” is a code for “conservative.”

With this context in place, the results show that “established” media chosen by the pollster enjoyed “a lot of trust” from only 14% of respondents (“11% in the “alternative” media category), while 24% show “no trust at all” towards the former, and 27% towards the latter.

The index I&I/TIPP has devised to present these results reveals that trust in “traditional” media was down 16% during the past eight months, while the number is 18% for “alternative” media during the same period of time.

Along party lines, the poll reveals that Democrats are far more likely to trust “traditional” media, as the trust index has declined among them by “only” 12% compared to Republicans (28%) and Independents (8%). On the “alternative” media side of things, these numbers are as follows: Democrats (18% decline in trust levels), Republicans (24%) and Independents (7%).

Some of the advice offered by the pollster on how to regain trust includes being professional, reporting the news instead of forging narratives, and letting go of personal political biases while reporting the news.

GOP Senator Demands To Know Biden’s Carbon Footprint For Trip To Climate Summit

“If [Biden’s staff] cannot go to work here in the U.S., they should not be permitted to attend extravagant conferences across the globe.”

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso has called for detailed information on the carbon footprint of Joe Biden’s trip to the COP climate Summit in Scotland, labelling it “bloated” and “counterproductive”.

Barrasso wrote to several Biden officials Monday, requesting information on how many staff are attending the conference and what that translates to in terms of carbon emissions.

“In addition to the staggering cost of the conference, I am concerned that what appears to be a bloated US delegation will prove counterproductive to the COP’s mission,” the Senator from Wyoming wrote.

He continued, ”These commitments strike a tone of insincerity as a majority of COP26 delegates will have contributed a significant amount of carbon emissions to attend COP26.”

Barrasso described it as “perplexing” that the summit wasn’t held virtually, given that everyone else in the world has had to conduct remote meetings during the pandemic.

“Executive branch departments and agencies are unnecessarily choosing to contribute directly to carbon emissions and risk exposure to COVID-19,” the Senator noted.

Barrasso also urged that “If [Biden’s staff] cannot go to work here in the U.S., they should not be permitted to attend extravagant conferences across the globe.”

As we noted yesterday, some FOUR HUNDRED private jets have landed ahead of the COP 26 summit.

Biden first traveled to Rome with his entourage which includes an 85 vehicle motorcade, before heading to Scotland.

Meanwhile…

What’s All The Buzz About Quercetin?

Quercetin has been in the news lately, particularly as one of many potential therapeutics that might have some benefit in the prevention or treatment of COVID infection. Is there anything to this?

Big media and the medical establishment are quick to pounce on any “unapproved” potential therapeutics that haven’t gone through large prospective randomized clinical trials and don’t have the seal of FDA approval. Even FDA approval is not enough if the medications are being used off-label, as in the case of hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin.  Decades ago, both were deemed safe and effective by the FDA and approved for human use, although not for COVID or similar viral infections as COVID didn’t even exist when the FDA approved these medications.

Today there is a peculiar hostility toward these medications, both of which are on the list of the World Health Organization’s essential medicines. A Fox News host told viewers that hydroxychloroquine “will kill you” and the FDA told its Twitter followers that ivermectin is for horses and cows and to stop using it. This must have been shocking news to millions around the world who take these medications, some for many years, in the U.S. prescribed by a physician, and elsewhere in the world readily available over the counter.

I am not advocating for or against these drugs, instead referring interested readers to other sources of information on the science and potential benefits of these medications in our fight against COVID. Quercetin appears to be the third in this line of potential therapeutics, not yet being called horse paste but, if history is a guide, it may soon be maligned as dog and cat medicine, something that can also be said for many drugs taken by humans but also used in animals.

What is quercetin? It’s described as “a pigment” which may lead CNN or Fox News to equate its use to drinking paint. Technically it is a flavonoid, “a group of plant metabolites thought to provide health benefits through cell signaling pathways and antioxidant effects. These molecules are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables.”

These compounds have several health benefits including reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and degenerative brain disorders through anti-inflammatory effects as a free radical scavenger. While present in fruits, vegetables, and green tea, it is also available as a non-prescription supplement in capsule or powder form.

Quercetin, like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, is a zinc ionophore, facilitating the entry of zinc into cells where it interferes with viral replication, potentially suppressing COVID infection.

Could quercetin be of benefit against COVID, or for that matter, the common cold or the flu? As are always told to “follow the science”, what does science say?

A 2012 paper published in Antiviral Research found that quercetin inhibits rhinovirus (common cold) replication both in vitro and in vivo, meaning in the laboratory and in humans. Another 2016 paper in Virusesnoted that quercetin inhibited influenza A (seasonal flu) virus entry into cells. Is quercetin a cure or panacea? Certainly not as we have no cure for these viral infections. But following the science leads to the conclusion that it helps. But what about for COVID?

Following the science, rather than the FDA Twitter feed, suggests that quercetin may be of benefit in COVID. A 2021 paper in the International Journal of General Medicine, a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial of 152 early-stage COVID patients, the type of study always demanded by Dr. Anthony Fauci and the medical smart set, concluded, “Quercetin is a safe agent and in combination with standard care, when used in the early stage of viral infection, could aid in improving the early symptoms and help in preventing the severity of COVID-19 disease.”

The same group published in the same journal, also in 2021, a smaller similarly designed clinical study concluding, “Quercetin statistically shortens the timing of molecular test conversion from positive to negative, reducing at the same time symptoms severity and negative predictors of COVID-19.”

I must add the standard and necessary disclaimer that I am not anti-vaccine, having been personally vaccinated in 2020. Nor am I offering medical advice. Any medical treatment, including over-the-counter supplements, should be used only after due diligence and/or in consultation with one’s own physician. Sorry, but this is a necessary paragraph.

Four scientific papers, yet crickets from the media. The last two studies show quercetin reduced “symptom severity,” meaning the difference between a cold one can recover from at home versus a trip to the hospital or worse, that one might not recover from. Isn’t this what vaccines do?

The CDC tells us that the COVID vaccines “help keep you from getting seriously ill.” This is what the quercetin studies found as well. One approach is mandated, a vaccine, a medical intervention, with loss of job, travel, and freedom if you refuse. The other approach, a supplement taken once or twice a day, something readily available at any grocery or health food store, one of myriad supplements on the shelf, is ignored.

What can’t be ignored is that after a year and a half, COVID is still with us. In my home state of Colorado, 78 percent of adults and 63 percent of the 12-and-over population currently have had at least one vaccine dose. Yet at the same time the Denver Post ran this headline, words I haven’t seen since the spring of 2020, “Colorado could stop elective surgeries, activate crisis standards next week if COVID numbers don’t improve.”

It’s clear that COVID is not over, and in some locations is far from it. There will be variants and surges. Meanwhile, the world is upside down from long lockdowns, business closures, masks, quarantines, testing, vaccinations, and finger-wagging from the media who always promise that if we do what they say all will be good. Yet it is not.

We are long past all-hands-on-deck time. Anything we can throw at the COVID beast that might have some benefit, including quercetin and other previously mentioned therapeutics, should be heralded, not maligned, or ignored. Instead, we are on a one-speed bike, pedaling into a strong headwind, guided by the corporate media, big pharma, and a politically motivated medical establishment, making only slow progress, seemingly oblivious to the costs in human suffering. 

Which leads me to ask, has this been only about the virus or something else?

White House eases vaccine mandate enforcement amid fears of dropped contracts

The White House is giving federal contractors more flexibility in how they enforce the vaccine mandate amid fears that the edict could cause companies to drop contracts. 

In updated guidance released on Monday morning, the Biden administration said it will be up to the contractors how they wish to deal with workers who refuse to comply with the president’s order to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8.

“A covered contractor should determine the appropriate means of enforcement with respect to its employee at a covered contractor workplace who refuses to be vaccinated and has not been provided, or does not have a pending request for, an accommodation,” the guidance reads. “This may include the covered contractor using its usual processes for enforcement of workplace policies, such as those addressed in the contractor’s employee handbook or collective bargaining agreements.” 

President Joe Biden had previously signed executive orders that mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for all federal employees and for companies that have federal contracts with the government.

He additionally dictated that businesses with more than 100 employees also have to implement vaccine requirements, although for those companies, proof of regular negative COVID-19 tests can be used in lieu of a worker getting inoculated. 

The guidance notes that one model on which contractors can base their noncompliance policies is that of the federal government. 

“Guidance for Federal agencies is to utilize an enforcement policy that encourages compliance, including through a limited period of counseling and education, followed by additional disciplinary measures if necessary,” the guidance said, adding that removal of an employee only happens after continued noncompliance. 

Additionally, federal contractors will not be forced to provide proof of their companies’ vaccination rates by the Dec. 8 deadline, a senior administration official told CNBC, although continued noncompliance with the mandate could result in businesses losing federal contracts. 

News of the increased flexibility comes after some companies and business groups have objected to the notion that all federal contractors must have their employees vaccinated without the testing exemption. 

Eric Hoplin, president and CEO of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, recently warned that if the contractor rules are implemented, thousands of workers will be laid off and the supply chain problems will grow much worse. 

“NAW urges that the Executive Order’s implementation be revised to avoid this calamity and provide alternatives to promote safety, including testing, and consider a short-term delay to provide time to carry out these changes and to avoid further supply chain disruptions in the coming months,” he wrote. 

Some suggestions that have been floated include delaying the contractor mandate, providing a testing exemption, or scrapping the edict entirely. The concerns about the contractor mandate come as the United States inches closer to a busy holiday season that is already expected to be hampered by supply chain delays. The White House’s Dec. 8 deadline would coincide with one of the busiest shopping times of the year, and the loss of unvaccinated workers could exacerbate the situation. 

Some corporations are also weighing whether to cut off their federal contracts entirely for fear of losing workers. American Trucking Associations Executive Vice President for Advocacy Bill Sullivan told Politico that if trucking businesses start dropping contracts, it could have a visible effect on the armed forces.

“I am confident but with heavy heart recognize a vaccine mandate will mean less capacity for the government as a customer of freight,” he said. “It has the potential to seriously impact military readiness.” 

The delta variant of COVID-19, which caused hospitalizations and deaths to climb starting in early July, peaked last month and has been on the decline. Nearly 60% of the country is now fully vaccinated, including 68% of those over age 12.