Author Archives: Daveda

About Daveda

I write for http://DefiantAmerica.com, http://aleadernotapolitician.com/ https://magamedia.org/ and http://FreeAmericaNetwork.com & Graphic Artist & Video producer. I adore journalism. Politics seems to be my preferred genre although I do not hesitate to write anything that strikes me as interesting. Researching and finding 'Breaking News' makes my blood rush. I've written seventeen books. and over that including books in conglomeration with others. Doing graphic art design has always been fun for me. Sometimes I incorporate this talent into my articles or when a special 'feature picture' is required. You can find me tweeting on: https://twitter.com/DavedaGruber You can always find my articles on the sites I write for.

Bernie’s Flame Burnt Out

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by Daveda Gruber:

The self-proclaimed Socialist Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, D-VT., has suspended his campaign.

It appears that former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumed nomination.

In his second straight presidential bid Sanders issued a brief statement to his campaign during an all-staff conference call on Wednesday morning.

The senator from Vermont was trailing Biden in delegates after major primary defeats but was hanging in the race to promote his progressive policy positions.

Sanders gave a virtual news briefing around the noon hour and praised Biden as the presumed nominee. He called President Trump the most dangerous president in history as he praised his supporters and encouraged them to keep up the fight for his policies and the movement that he represents.

Biden was already moving ahead and was planning to consider running mates. I would guess that Biden will go ahead and pick a running mate.

Voters in Wisconsin went to the polls Tuesday, but results are not expected until Monday, April 13.

Biden is expected to win that primary and that may have helped to encourage Sanders to drop out or suspend his campaign.

While Biden may be pleased that Sanders’ has suspended his campaign, I really don’t believe that Sanders progressive supporters are going to support Biden or any other candidate, for that matter.

Republicans Angry Over Pelosi Oversight Committee

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

It appears that Republicans are, once again, not happy with Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi and her move to create a new House committee in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

As I explained yesterday, there is already oversight measures built into the stimulus bill that was passed last week.

Pelosi insisted that the committee was unbiased but Republicans are not buying what she’s selling.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has expressed his opinion on the bill in detail.

While on “Fox & Friends” Friday, McCarthy said, “This isn’t about oversight, it sounds like pure politics. Let’s take care of the crisis at hand right now. We have five different oversights already looking at this and this is what she comes up with?”

McCarthy also stated, “That’s why in the CARES act we implemented three new oversight entities within there that [Pelosi] has an appointment to, but we already have the Oversight Committee only to focus on this, and we also have…every single committee has an oversight subcommittee.”

He went on to say, “It seems to me that this is just politics as usual instead of focusing on the crisis we need to be today, focusing on the American public and getting the resources to them.”

McCarthy brought to light that the $2 trillion CARES Act that passed Congress last week already has oversight in it.

Measures consist of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, made up of inspectors general to locate and investigate waste and abuse of spending under the bill, and in response to the crisis. It also sets up a Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery to conduct oversight over stimulus spending by the Treasury.

On top of all that, is a Congressional Oversight Commission set to oversee spending by the Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve that is required to send reports to Congress every 30 days.

On Thursday Pelosi announced that she is creating a House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis. She also stated that the committee will appoint both Democrats and Republicans and that it would have subpoena power to seek information from the Trump administration.

She went on to say that Democrats would hope that there would be cooperation because this was not a kind of an investigation of the administration but that it was about the whole response.

On Thursday President Trump said, “I want to remind everyone here in our nation’s capital, especially in Congress, that this is not the time for politics, endless partisan investigations. Here we go again. They’ve already done extraordinary damage to our country in recent years.”

Trump also said, “It’s witch hunt after witch hunt after witch hunt. And in the end it’s people doing the witch hunt who are losing  ̶̶ ̶  and they’ve been losing by a lot. And it’s not any time for witch hunts.”

The President also sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. I do love a well written letter!

You can see it here in this tweet by a friend of mine:

I guess Trump is getting upset with the wasteful spending and the actions of the Democrats. I know I’m upset with all the nonsense that is actually going on.

Do the job that you were paid to do Democrats!

Pelosi Creating New Oversight Committee

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by Daveda Gruber:

On Thursday the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, announced that she is creating a new House committee to oversee the coronavirus response.

The committee will have subpoena power to seek out information from the Trump administration, Pelosi said on Thursday during a teleconference call with reporters.

The Democratic Speaker from California said, “”It would have subpoena power that’s for sure. It’s no use having a committee unless you have subpoena power. And we would hope that there would be cooperation because this is not a kind of an investigation of the administration it’s about the whole [response].”

James Clyburn, the Democratic Representative from South Carolina will chair the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Pelosi said that the committee will be bipartisan and have both Democrats and GOP members appointed to it.

In 1941 a committee chaired by former Senator Harry Truman was set up to investigate waste, fraud and abuse in defense spending in the early days of World War II and Pelosi compared her new committee to that one.

In reference to large stimulus bill that was just recently passed Pelosi said, “With over $2 trillion in emergency relief, we need to ensure those dollars are spent carefully and effectively.”

She went on to say, “The committee will be empowered to examine all aspects of the federal response to the coronavirus, and to assure that the taxpayer dollars are being wisely and efficiently spent to save lives, deliver relief and benefit our economy.”

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA., spoke to reporters on a separate call and appeared to have concerns about

McCarthy hasn’t said who would lead his side or who would participate but he did say that he was concerned about the choice of Clyburn because Clyburn had called the COVID-19 crisis an opportunity  to restructure things to fit the Democratic vision.

McCarthy said, “The other concern that I have from this standpoint is inside the bill that we passed, we did put in oversight and it seems really redundant.”

If McCarty says that oversight is already taken care of, then this new committee could be a wasteful expenditure.

Unfortunately, the Democrats certainly know how to add expenses to everything that they do. They certainly added expenses (pork) to the stimulus bill and I did explain those expenses in detail in my article on 03.30.2020.

This new Pelosi invented committee is not the same as the one proposed by Representative Adam Schiff, D-CA., and others, which would be more like the 9/11-style after-action committee.
In any case, any committees that are created will ultimately cost us, the taxpayers, more money.

Michigan Governor Flips on Coronavirus Drug

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by Daveda Gruber:

Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who was against certain drugs that President Trump had mentioned were having success on treating coronavirus patients has flipped her opinion.

The Democratic Michigan Governor’s administration, through the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), had sent a letter threatening administrative action against doctors who prescribed two experimental drugs that could potentially help coronavirus patients.

This week Michigan requested hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine from the Strategic National Stockpile for doctors to use to help treat patients with COVID-19.

The reversal comes after the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for the anti-malarial drugs over the weekend.

Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada and his administration had also restricted the prescribing of hydroxychloroquine after a man died and his wife was hospitalized after using fish tank cleaner that had a similar name.

Sisolack made statements that there was no conclusive evidence among COVID-19 experts or Nevada’s own medical health advisory team that the drugs provide treatment for patients with the coronavirusat this time.

Michigan has now requested a supply of the medications for physicians to use in treating patients of COIVD-19. The Department of Health and Human Services received and accepted donations of the medications to the national stockpile to be used for coronavirus treatment.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement, “President Trump is taking every possible step to protect Americans from the coronavirus and provide them with hope. Scientists in America and around the world have identified multiple potential therapeutics for COVID-19, including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.”

The U.S. reported, as of Thursday morning, that there were more than 216,700 positive cases of COVID-19 and more than 5,130 people have died from the coronavirus.

On a personal note, anyone who consumes fish tank cleaner that says “not for human consumption” is not very smart.

All drugs taken should be prescribed by a physician and taken only as prescribed even though I did write about the cure in another article.

The treatment through the drugs that I mentioned in one of my previous articles, are being administered on hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Do not self-administer any drug. Let doctors decide if you require them and if you should be hospitalized and monitored.

Do Lawmakers Want Another COVID-19 Bill?

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by Daveda Gruber:

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are already considering another stimulus package for the COVID-19 outbreak.

The largest piece of legislation in U.S. history for $2.2 trillion was passed last week. That legislation Which is set in place to provide economic relief has $350 billion in funding for small businesses.

Businesses with fewer than 500 employees are eligible for up to $10 million in loans. The loans can be used for payroll,  insurance premiums, mortgages, rent or utilities.

On Monday Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would be willing to ask Congress for more money to help during the coronavirus outbreak.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats had indicated that there could be a fourth coronavirus response bill.

Mnuchin told Fox Business, “This is a very popular program with Republicans and Democrats, and the president likes it a lot. If we run out of money, and this is a huge success, we will absolutely go back to Congress and ask for more money.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told The Hill, “I think the odds are we’ll need more legislation. First, we don’t know the extent of the crisis in terms of the magnitude, so that could rise. But there are going to be problems that we don’t realize now that we’re going to have to grapple with. So I think the odds are high there will be a COVID-4.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told CNN that Democrats “had bigger direct payments in our bill, and we think we’ll get more direct payments in another bill.”

Pelosi added that she planned to push for pension protections which did not make it into phase three of the stimulus package. Last week Pelosi said that pension protections were supported by President Trump, but that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would save it for another piece of legislation.

In a fourth stimulus package, Democrats are allegedly seeking additional funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is also known as food stamps. Also being reported, is including emissions restrictions on airlines. That inclusion was blocked last week.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has stressed that phase three of coronavirus legislation that was approved last week, was critical, but he wasn’t certain that another bill would be necessary.

McCartthy was on Fox News and said, “I’m not sure we need a fourth package. And before we go to start drafting a fourth package, I’d like these three packages just put out…to take care and get this economy moving.”

Last week New York Govenor Andrew Cuomo said, “The congressional action in my opinion simply failed to address the governmental need. I’m disappointed, I said I was disappointed. I find it irresponsible, I find it reckless.”

He also said that the money New York does receive from the stimulus package was “earmarked only for COVID virus expenses, which means it does absolutely nothing for us in terms of lost revenue.”

The 880-page coronavirus stimulus package helps many people but the amount of money that have nothing to do with the COVID-19 outbreak is very high.

Here is a list of the money and where it goes:

The entire bill can be seen here:

https://www.scribd.com/document/453273118/Cares-Act-Final-Text

If there is more money given in a fourth bill, more pork will be added. We are in big debt now. I agree that the third bill was needed but there’s also a lot of pork in it. To get money from Democratic lawmakers is tricky. They always want something that has nothing to do with the issues at hand.

Is There a Cure for Coronavirus?

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by Daveda Gruber:

In this time that we live in, the big company owner’s names are often disregarded in the shuffle.

Warren Buffett is one of these names that is involved with ownership of large companies through his insurance conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway.

He purchased DirecTV (NYSE:DTV), IBM (nyse:IBM), and CVS (NYSE:CVS).

I won’t go into details of how many share each one owns of DirecTV or IBM but let’s see about CVS.

Soros owns 231,735 shares of CVS, valued as $8 million as of Sep. 30, 2011, which accounts for 0.13% of his equity portfolio. He has traded the stock for at least five years and in the third quarter sold 277,100 shares. Buffett bought 5,661,000 shares of CVS in the third quarter, valued as $190 million as of Sept. 30, 2011, which accounts for 0.32% of his equity portfolio.

Why is this important to understand? Let me explain. CVS is a pharmaceutical company. Soros also owns WuXi Tech Inc. Biological Laboratories, which has fifteen locations, one of which is in Wuhan, China.

Berkshire Hathaway appeared to be giving Teva and its newly appointed CEO Kare Schultz a strong vote of confidence when it reported in December 2017 that it had amassed a 1.86% stake in the company, or about 18.6 million shares.

Soros Fund Management exited Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. earlier this year, but re-entered the stock in the second quarter, according to recently filed 13Fs.

Teva was reportedly pursuing a $40 billion buyout of generic drug rival Mylan earlier this year to help offset any revenue losses from the drug Copaxone which is a prescription medicine that is used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), to include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease, in adults. and keep the company’s earnings per share headed in the right direction.

Pfizer bought Mylan in an all-stock deal and combining the $10 billion generic pharmaceutical company with its own off-patent branded and generic business.

One company leads to another. They buy and sell to each other. They seem to know what medication will be needed and when.

Why do some very wealthy people know when to buy stocks and when to sell? They are actual owners of the companies that sell the goods when they are needed the most.

What is needed now during this coronavirus crisis? The drugs that can cure it are desperately needed.

Hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets are manufactured by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) are approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of malaria, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition, TEVA announced the immediate donation of more than 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets through wholesalers to hospitals across the U.S. to meet the urgent demand for the medicine as an investigational target to treat COVID-19. The company is also looking at additional ways to address the global need.

The drug Hydroxychloroquine  (hye drox ee KLOR oh kwin) is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. It is also used to treat malaria. CVS Pharmacy sells the drug.

More available is the antibiotic, Azithromycin. It is used to treat many different types of infections caused by bacteria, such as respiratory infections, skin infections, ear infections, eye infections, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Hydroxycholorquine (Plaquenil; name brand) 200 mg – 60 tablets in combination with Azithromycin 250 mg – 6 tablets is supposedly the cure for those inflicted with the coronavirus.

It is said to cure patients in six days or less.

Health officials have been quick to warn that enthusiasm for the drugs have increased. Hoarding has already begun.

Big clinical studies of the drugs against COVID-19 are beginning to take place. Do they already know the answer?

There are different views on hydroxychloroquine sulfate and its ability to help people with the COVID-19 but then all people are not in a rush to get it out to general public unless they own the companies that will make the drug to cure the disease and are prepared to sell it in mass quantities.

Follow the money trail. It always leads to the source

NYPD Police Infected with Coronavirus

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

The number of New York Police Department officers who have tested positive for the coronavirus has risen.

On Thursday it was reported that twenty NYPD officers had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus but that number has jumped to thirty-five as of Friday.

None of the thirty-five officers have been hospitalized as of yet but there is one who was hospitalized in serious condition with pneumonia but his test has not confirmed that he is positive for the virus.

The number of officers who have called in sick has been on the rise.

The First Precinct has been the hardest hit with thirty-one officers who have called in sick, so far. That is a whooping seventeen percent of the precinct’s staffing.

NYPD has a Movie and Television Unit and they were called in to fill in depleted ranks at that Precinct.

The union representing NYPD officers filed a complaint last week that claimed the NYPD has failed to provide sufficient protective equipment to use in the cleaning and sanitizing supplies.

It was reported that officers can get masks and hand sanitizer if they feel it is required.

With the outbreak of the virus, the NYPD has increased cleaning of its facilities. This has affected work schedules.

Officers are screened and monitored daily by department doctors before returning to work.

The NYPD sick desk is handling the calls from officers who feel they are sick with the virus. A panel, including doctors, makes a case-by-case determination as to whether someone should be quarantined. They do not have to be symptomatic to be quarantined.

The crime rate in New York City has fallen over the last few weeks because of closures in the city but calls with people asking for ambulances, or asking for a response to their home because they are sick has increased.

In the mean time the number of officers infected continues to grow.

Coronavirus Affecting Many Lives

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

Living in a small city has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on what people living there expect in day to day living. I never anticipated the coronavirus would affect anything that happens here where I live.

In my lifetime I’ve lived in big cities for the bulk of that time but this has changed for me fifteen years ago, in 2005, when I moved to a relatively small city.

Last week I received an alert on my phone. We get these alerts when a meeting, party or something happens that affects us who live here. I’m in  a gated community that has a Board of Directors, which I was a director of, off and on in the past. I was always available to help my community. I am still an Internet correspondent who posts updates and holiday greetings along with a gentleman who has good computer skills.

The alert caught me off guard, as I was not expecting it. After all, I live in a small city with a population of 15,635 as of 2017.

As I listened, I heard the alert was in connection to the coronavirus, which has affected the United States and worldwide countries. I was told by the automated phone alert that the clubhouse, where meetings have taken place, was being disinfected due to state concerns. Alerts, came through my phone, of where I can have food delivered from along with common sense about washing hands and staying away from crowds. A meeting that was scheduled was cancelled.

Monday, March 16th, my dog groomer called me to cancel my Teacup Poodle’s grooming appointment for March 25th because the state of Pennsylvania has cancelled all non essential businesses to close.

That was the end of my keeping “business as usual.” My groomer is under sixty and her husband is too. They are the only two people at the grooming facility. Still, the business is shutting down due to suggested state requirement.

My dog is thirteen years old but dogs cannot transmit the virus. Cats can transmit the disease, as I have researched, but normally do not require grooming. Where is the big risk? I guess that people bringing their dogs for grooming could be sick or contagious? That’s a difficult question because people can be carriers of COVID-19 and not know it.

It is not my intention to alarm others but I have to admit that my everyday life has been impacted.

Okay, it’s difficult to make me get overly concerned by this panic that has ensued in this country and has instilled fear in many citizens but I am beginning to take a good look at what is going on and why.

Who benefits from the coronavirus and who doesn’t?

As a rule, following the money trail has never steered me wrong. But now the money trail leads me to political advantage.

If there were a change of administration in the U.S., China would most likely benefit. China has had to start paying their fair share to the U.S. under President Trump and the Trump administration. It is costing China money which they never had to pay under former administrations.

People not having contact with each other brings on the reality that sporting events, concerts and any gatherings must be stopped for an undetermined length of time. That would also make Trump rallies, which bring like-minded people together and brings unity  and support for Trump, impossible to have and, in effect, grow.

At the same time, it cancels campaigning through gatherings of people impossible for Democratic candidates. Indications show who the DNC wants to run against Trump and that is former Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden is not a good debater or public speaker, to say the least. We’ve all seen the gaffs and false information that come each and every time that the man opens his mouth. Biden has also resumed sniffing small children and hair, something that he had been instructed not to do. Democrats benefit from Biden not left to be with the public.

I don’t claim to be an authority on this pandemic but common sense seems to help me put two plus two together. The answer remains consistent. The money trail leads to China. It is the country where COVID-19 originated.

It’s pretty clear to me that some in government, especially those on the left, have been creating a state of panic. The mainstream media has been behind those spreading fear and they’ve contributed to alarming the general population.

Stay safe, wash your hands and stay home if you are elderly. Practice common sense. Our lives have been impacted in some way shape and form. I know that my life has been affected, has your life been impacted?

I’d love to hear your stories. Please leave a comment or follow me on Twitter and explain your situation.

 

Will there be a Durham Report?

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by Daveda Gruber:

The end of U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation will not be coming in March as sources were alleging. In fact, there won’t be a report at all.

Now it is being reported that the investigation into the origins of the Russia probe by the U.S. attorney for Connecticut will not be finished until the end of the summer.

The delay is alleged to be at least partly because of coronavirus pandemic that is affecting America and the rest of the world.

During a House Rules Committee meeting that was focused on reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act last week, Representative Jim Jordan, who is a Republican from Ohio, was reported to have conveyed the same timeline.

The Washington Examiner reported that in reference to Durham’s investigation that Jordan explained, “His investigation is due to be completed sometime this summer.”

In 2008, Durham was appointed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations. On November 8, 2010, Durham closed the investigation without recommending any criminal charges be filed.

Last year Attorney General William Barr appointed Durham to review the events leading up to the 2016 presidential election and through President Trump’s January 20, 2017 inauguration.

It has been reported that Durham has since expanded his investigation to cover a post-election timeline spanning the spring of 2017. That is when Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel.

Representative Doug Collins, the Republican from Georgia, served as the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. He left the role after announcing a Senate campaign. It was reported to have said that Durham’s probe will likely lead to criminal charges.

It was reported by FOX News that Collins said, “This is not going to be a Mueller report; there won’t be a report.”

Collins  went on to say “When he’s ready to charge people, he’ll charge people. And that’s when we’ll know.”

It has also been reported that Collins explained that Barr had expanded Durham’s reach into the intelligence community.

He added that he has “grand juries” and “everything else” at his disposal.

CIA officials and other officials in the intelligence community were investigated by Durham and former CIA Director John Brennan has made it clear that Durham plans to interview him and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Those interviews have not taken place according to alleged reports.

It is alleged that a handful of House Democrats are asking that Durham step aside according to Congressman Andy Biggs the Republican from Arizona who is on the House Judiciary Committee.

Nothing in life is guaranteed but I was looking forward to a report by Durham. Now it appears that no report is coming and that government officials will know what Durham finds when indictments begin and the investigation is officially declared over.

So, toilet paper isn’t the only paper I may or may not have in the summer. I won’t have a report to read and I was looking forward to that.

More and more conspiracy theories are creeping into my head and building  up because Durham’s investigation has been slowed down by the coronavirus.

Does this little bit of information get you thinking? It should if you are inquisitive like I am. It will be a long summer.

 

Which Countries Closed Non-Essential Businesses?

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

Non-essential business places, such as: restaurants, stores, movie theaters and cafes will shut down in France.

The businesses will closed starting on Sunday due to the coronavirus infection that has affected the country.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has said that public services such as: banks, grocery stores and pharmacies will be allowed to remain open to the public.

Also, falling in the same direction is Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli government has shut down restaurants, cafes and movie theaters to begin on Sunday as well.

More than 150,000 people world-wide have been infected by the coronavirus. Over 5,700 people have died from the virus.

Most people experience mild of moderate symptoms but the disease is highly contagious. Although most people recover from the disease, it is more likely to cause death to the elderly and people with underlying condition or a poor immune system.

Will more people die? Probably yes, but people die every year from a regular flu.

Still, it can be better to be safe than sorry. If you fit into the danger zone by your age or other reasons, stay away from crowds and wash your hands often.