Rapid Round Up

• China suffers worst economic drop since the 70s. Their economy shrank 6.8% for the first quarter of this year compared to the same time last year.
• A NJ electrical contractor had access to a storage area containing N95 masks destined for medical care workers.  The contractor decided to steal 1,600 of them but didn’t make it far.
• The U.S. State Dept. sent a formal request to China to expedite inspections of outgoing PPE shipments.  The State Dept. said, “The U.S. Government has raised these concerns with (China). We have requested that China revise its new requirements to allow the expeditious export of vital PPE to the United States.”
• FEMA shipped 19.1 million tablets of hydroxychloroquine from its strategic stockpile to cities across the nation who are prescribing the drug to patients battling COVID-19.
• Israel is on the verge of ending its lockdown but what comes next is unheard of and that’s the potential of a 4th election in a year as there hasn’t been an agreement for a long-term majority to govern the nation.
• U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman announced today that the U.S. was giving $5m to Palenstinian hospitals to help combat COVID-19 after years of witholding aid.
• Russia conducted a military space test on April 15th by launching a missle designed to take out satellites orbiting in space.  This type of tech will destabilize political agreements around the world and will usher in a new cold war.
• Michigan residents have now taken to the courts to overturn many of Governor’s Whitmere’s executive orders.  The governor is facing a recall petition; public rebellion by sheriffs and a growing backlash by members of her own party.

Sheriff’s Open Rebellion of MI Governor Whitmer

Sheriffs of Mason, Benzie, Manistee, and LeeLanau counties of Michigan penned an open letter of defiance to Governor Whitmer’s executive orders that are some of the most horrendous lock down orders in the nation.  The letter states in part, “While we understand her desire to protect the public, we question some restrictions that she has imposed as overstepping her executive authority. She has created a vague framework of emergency laws that only confuse Michigan citizens…As a result, we will not have strict enforcement of these orders.  We will deal with every case as an individual situation and apply common sense in assessing the apparent violation…We believe that we are the last line of defense in protecting [our citizens’] civil liberties.”

NJ Shocked!

New Jersey officials were in absolute shock when a request for 25 body bags came in.  Andover Subacute and Rehab Center is at the center of a firestorm after learning that they created a makeshift morgue with 68 dead bodies before informing anyone of their need for help.  Forty staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 with two nurses lost.  The governor has asked for an investigation into the staff’s actions.

The world has turned upside down.  Old folks are sneaking out of the house, and their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors!

Sixty-five percent of physicians across the United States said they would prescribe the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent COVID-19 in a family member, according to a new survey released today by Jackson & Coker, one of the country’s largest physician staffing firms.

Only 11 percent said they would not use the drug at all.

Meanwhile, 30 percent of the surveyed doctors said they would prescribe the medications to a family member prior to the onset of symptoms if they had been exposed to the novel coronavirus, a highly contagious virus that causes a pneumonia-like infection of the lungs.

“Working in healthcare, we’ve learned the best way to get a candid perspective on treatment options from a physician is to ask: ‘Would you give this to your family?'” said Tim Fischer, President of Jackson & Coker. “Families across the U.S. – and the world really – want to know what they can do to protect and save their loved ones.”

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. —Proverbs 4:23

Trump COVID-19 Timeline

Trump and RNC raised $212m in the first quarter of 2020.  $63m came in March alone.  This is $270m more than Obama raised at the same time in his presidency.  Trump’s campaign has $240m cash on hand.

• TX, NY, CA, FL, GA round out the top five producing states for Trump’s re-election bid.  $50m in donations have come from individuals in these states.
• Dr. Fauci came to the podium today to set the record straight about the media’s attempt to portray that Trump didn’t take his recommendations.  Fauci said, “The first and only time that I went in and said we should do mitigation strongly, the response was yes, we’ll do it.”   
• CDC reported that 9,282 health care workers in the U.S. have contracted the coronavirus with 27 deaths.
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen is under serious fire after 270,000 signatures were collected in a matter of days in an effort to recall her.  Gretchen has imposed some of the most bizarre and un-American restrictions in the nation.  State rep. Matt Maddock said, “Governor Whitmer wants 70 more days of unilateral control over us with no legislative representation.”  Justin Amash, U.S. Rep said, “Sensible instructions to practice social distancing, wear masks, and stay at home already do most of the work to reduce the virus’s spread. By pushing too far, the governor undermines her own authority and increases the likelihood people will not follow reasonable guidelines.”
• Seven Republican Senators send letter to WHO demanding answers about the organization’s ability to respond to pandemics and its relationship with China.
• 25,000 retired soldiers answer the call to return to service to help with the pandemic response.  The military is hoping to match the skills of retired soldiers to the needs of communities across the nation.

French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, will donate 100 million doses of HCQ to nearly 50 countries.  Executives at Sanofi stated they will continue to donate the drug should the clinical trials prove successful around the world.

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!

Democrats, who just last week denied aid to American business owners are now making a new demand.  They want debit cards pre-loaded with $2,000 in US funds and reloaded monthly with $1,000 until the crisis ends.  Sounds good until you understand the underlying objective.  These cards are to be given to illegal aliens who have lived in the country for 90-days or more.  California is already pushing forward a bill that will give cash to illegal aliens who don’t qualify for federal assistance.  Programs like these will increase illegal border crossings and continue to put young children in violent situations.  California and New York both ended their pandemic stockpiles of ventilators over the last ten years due to a lack of funding and yet during the same time they continually funded illegal border crossing incentives.  Rep. Pelosi is standing firm on denying aid to America until these type of demands are met.

2018 FBI Violent Crime Stats

• 1,206,836 violent incidents in 2018
• Aggravated assault accounted for 66.9% of all violent crimes
• Robbery 23.4%
• Rape 8.4%
• Murder 1.3%
• Rape was the only violent crime type to increase in 2018
• 61.3% involved non-firearm related weapons
• 24.2% involved any type of firearm
• .00008% or less than one-ten-thousandth of a percent involved any type of AR-15 rifle.

• Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Greg Fisher specifically threatened to fine anyone who showed up to the On Fire Christian Center’s Easter service. The church took creativity to a new level by holding a stay-in-your-car parking lot church service where no one was allowed to get out of their vehicle. Federal Judge Justin Walker issued a restraining order on the mayor’s threat since the law was not applied equally. The judge correctly stated that if a person can eat in a car at a restaurant or sit in the parking lot of a grocer or at a liquor store, then the mayor can’t restrict people from sitting in cars at a church service. Read McConnell’s letter to the mayor.

• Governor Andrew Cuomo released over 1,100 prisoners from jail in his highly questionable effort to slow the spread of the virus among prisoners. Not many would be surprised to learn then that one of the prisoners, Vargas, went out and beat an elderly man at 8 in the morning for $80. Vargas is now back in jail with a $50,000 bond and the elderly man is currently at home healing.

• The Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously against public school districts who were attempting to use local laws to override state enacted charter school provisions. Lower appellate courts ruled against the school districts as well stating that local school boards did not have constitutional authority to deny the state from enacting legislation covering educational institutions in Florida.

• Truckers who carry America’s cargo are expressing irritation at the lack of proper facilities due to lockdowns taking place all over the nation. Lack of showers, restrooms and fresh coffee is starting to take its toll on the drivers.

• 70,000 truckers could be out of a job thanks to California’s new law that bans the new gig economy. The California legislature, who take their cues from the unions, passed a law that limits the amount of contract work any person can provide to a company before the company must hire them as an employee. Hundreds of workers lost contract work the day the law took effect. However, a federal court placed a temporary injunction against the law as it relates to some 70,000 truckers who cross state lines due to federal laws conflicting with the newly passed legislation. Should the courts rule against the truckers then California would see a rapid increase in the cost of goods sold, such as Starbuck’s Coffee. You pay for what you vote for.

• New Jersey is touting new grants and loans for minorities. However, they are now including homosexuality and transgenderism as a minority which means the state is discriminating against heterosexuals. OPINION – Since homosexuality and transgenderism is a choice, then the state is essentially denying due process and equality in their attempt to force the beliefs of a few in power on the rest of society. This is why we have our Constitution to protect us from such tyrannical rule.  Imagine if Alabama were to create a grant that only Christians could access, would that be equality?  No it wouldn’t be, nor is New Jerseys’ grant program that denies heterosexuals the right to apply.

Chinese authorities are cracking down on the publication of any COVID-19 research as international scrutiny regarding the origin of the virus intensifies .  The communist government will now require it’s medical research institutes to submit all publications for official review prior to public release.  The minster of Education and Science laid out new policies that state in part that, “academic papers about tracing the origin of the virus must be strictly and tightly managed.”

Say It Ain’t So!  Biden Leads Trump In Poll.  But Wait, There’s More To The Story…

The Washington Times reported on a poll conducted by Monmouth University which purported to show Trump lagging behind Biden among voters.  But here’s the rest of the story that questions the validity of the poll and the lack of journalistic curiosity by the Washington Times.  The poll indicated that Joe Biden is ahead of Trump by a margin of 48% to 44%.  However, when one drills down into the polling data we discover that the devil truly is in the details.  There were 743 registered voters polled in unknown locations throughout the country.  182 of those polled were Republicans compared to 278 independents and 277 Democrats.  “What?” you say.  Yes, they polled 12.9% more Democrats than Republicans.  But that isn’t the full story.  343 of those surveyed came from counties where Clinton won by 10+ points compared to 258 where Trump won by the same margin.  This matters because independents tend to vote with a county’s general political ideology.   So if you poll 12.9% more Democrats than Republicans and you survey independents more heavily in counties that voted for Clinton than did Trump you should get a double-digit lead over Trump which is the real story of this poll.  Even when a poll is conducted to give the Democrat candidate a 15-point advantage, Biden is only up by 4.  This means that Trump is most likely leading nationally by a comfortable 55-45 margin.  Washington Times should have reported that among a heavy base of Democrat voters Biden is leading as that would have been a more accurate title.

IPSOS Poll Tilted To Promote Dem Talking Points

“55% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the nation” say those surveyed by the latest IPSOS poll for Thomson Reuters.  However, like most other polls Americans rarely see behind the scenes so we wanted to open the curtain up for you.  1,116 “adults” were surveyed with only 959 of them currently registered to vote.  480 were Democrats and 376 were Republicans.  Yep, IPSOS surveyed 11% more Democrats than Republicans and called it a day.

“Is it right for Democrats to demand that you give up your individual pursuits of economic liberty until you first pay for your neighbors?  That’s socialism in a nutshell”  — Brian Ward

Is War With Iran Coming Soon?

One wouldn’t even know the world is still spinning given all the news surrounding the Coronavirus.  On Wednesday President Trump took time to tell Iran not to escalate or engage in military conflicts with the United States or that his actions would be decisive.  President Trump said that Iran was possibly planning a “sneak attack on U.S. troops and/or assets in Iraq.”  Newsweek is reporting that U.S. Central Command chief General Kenneth McKenzie argued that the COVID-19 crisis likely makes Iran “more dangerous in terms of decision-making rather than less dangerous.”  Read the full report HERE.

Dominos will donate 10 million slices of pizza in the coming weeks.

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert is donating $500k to help people struggling with the virus.

Samaritan’s Purse is donating front line workers in the hardest hit regions of NY.

The long awaited Keystone pipeline started construction at the Montana Candian border.  The pipeline will run for 1,200 miles and carry over 800,000 barrels of oil to the Gulf of Mexico for refinement.  Though there are court battles still taking place, TC Energy received the necessary permits to begin construction.  The timing couldn’t be better for American oil workers who will number in the tens of thousands required to finish the job.

Trump Signs Executive Order Allowing Mining of Off-world Resources

On April 6th, President Trump signed an executive order to “Encourage International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources.”

“As America prepares to return humans to the moon and journey on to Mars, this executive order establishes U.S. policy toward the recovery and use of space resources, such as water and certain minerals, in order to encourage the commercial development of space” — Scott Pace, deputy assistant to the president and executive secretary of the U.S. National Space Council

What happens when 400,000 people download an app that will link their computers together in an effort to solve the world’s scariest virus?  You become one in a million and part of  Folding@home’s  effort to find a cure for COVID-19.  By combining the computing power of hundreds of thousands of users’ computers, Folding Home is able to run tens of millions of simulations on how drugs will interact with the Cornoavirus in an effort to find a quick cure.

“Politicians are telling the children of America while they are still in their mother’s womb, that their lives have no value whatsoever.  Then these politicians act shocked when those same children grow up not valuing life and become mass school murderers.  If we don’t value the lives of our children when they are young they will not value ours when we are old.”  — Brian Ward

Rasmussen Poll finds that Democrats still lack faith in any of their candidates.

1,000 likely voters were surveyed, which found that 46% of likely Dem voters believed that Biden was the best candidate, but 45% chose Cuomo, who isn’t even in the  race.  However, 9% said they weren’t sure who would make the best candidate against Trump.