Category: Opinion

During the vice-presidential debate, Mike Pence called out Joe Biden for plagiarism scandals from the former vice president’s past when arguing that the Democratic nominee’s coronavirus plan looked very similar to President Trump’s.

“When you read the Biden plan it reads a lot like what Trump and I have been doing every step of the way,” Pence said to his debate opponent, Senator Kamala Harris, noting the use of advanced testing and building up personal protective equipment. “It looks a little bit like plagiarism, something Joe Biden knows a little bit about.”

While running for president in 1987, Biden held an event at the Iowa State Fair and used entire portions of a speech from a British politician as his own.

The New York Times reported on the fiasco saying Biden “lifted Mr. Kinnock’s closing speech with phrases, gestures, and lyrical Welsh syntax intact for his own closing speech at a debate at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 23 – without crediting Mr. Kinnock.”

Biden mimicked Kinnock’s actions during the opening part of the address when he said he was the first “in a thousand generations” from his family to go to college, then gestured to his wife and said the same about her. Biden later admitted he had family members who did attend college before him.

Biden’s staffers remained defensive about the allegations of plagiarism but the damage was done and the candidate dropped out of the race by the end of that month.

Later the same year, Biden admitted to plagiarizing a law review journal for a paper while attending Syracuse University.

A law school faculty report confirmed that Biden had “used five pages from a published law review article without quotation or attribution” for his fifteen-page paper.

Biden claimed to have made a mistake in the citation process and asked school administrators not to expel him. He wrote at the time, “My intent was not to deceive anyone. For if it were, I would not have been so blatant.”

In an effort to assert his sincerity, Biden released a 65-page file about his time at Syracuse. However, that might have been a mistake because it contained records of poor grades, mixed evaluations from instructors, and details of the plagiarism.

Instead of addressing some of the real issues we’re facing in our country, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris thought it would be a good idea to attack President Trump over the misinformation that he only paid $750 in federal taxes the year he was elected into the White House.

“We now know because of great investigative journalism that Donald Trump paid $750 in taxes,” Harris said. “When I first heard about it, I literally said, ‘You mean $750,000?’ Nope $750.”

Harris is referring to the recent report by The New York Times claiming they had secret information on the president’s 2016 and 2017 taxes. The Times also reported that Trump paid no federal income taxes for ten of the fifteen years prior to becoming president.

“We now know Donald Trump owes, and is in debt for $400 million, and just so that everyone is clear, when we say in debt – it means you owe money to somebody,” Harris argued.

“And it’d be really good to know who the president of the United States, the commander-in-chief owes money to,” she added, “because the American people have a right to know what is influencing the president’s decisions and is he making those decisions on the best interests of the American people….or self-interest?”

President Trump brushed off the report calling it “fake news” and said his tax returns would be available as soon as the IRS completes their audit.

Vice President Pence did not shy away from the accusations and said, “The American people have a president who’s a businessman, a job creator, he’s paid tens of millions of dollars in taxes – payroll taxes, property taxes, he’s created tens of thousands of American jobs.”

“The president said those public reports were not accurate,” he continued, “and the president also released literally stacks of financial disclosures, the American people can view.”

The president did not directly respond to Harris’s accusations but did give praise to his vice president in a tweet.

“Mike Pence is doing GREAT! She is a gaffe machine,” Trump wrote.

Another violent protest broke out in downtown Los Angeles in front of police headquarters. The only problem is authorities don’t know why. It seems that rioters can attack anywhere, without warning and for no reason at all these days.

Out of the dozens of protesters that had gathered in front of the Las Angeles Police Department, at least one was arrested.

The LAPD issued a tactical alert in response to the protest and reports say the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department sent Mobile Field Forces to the area to assist the LAPD in restoring order.

The angry mob gathered in front of the LAPD headquarters near Main and First streets Monday night. Officers moved into position as protesters, some carrying umbrellas as weapons, tore through the barriers surrounding the building.

Videos posted to social media show several of the protesters smashing the windows of a nearby building. A possibly homemade smoke bomb or device was apparently also set off during the riot.

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One protester was clearly captured on video standing in from of a police patrol vehicle in the middle of Spring Street where he can be heard shouting “kill me” and “do it, I f*cking dare you.”

The group of protesters would later move south through the downtown area, away from the police headquarters, where one individual was arrested.

It’s unknown who organized the protest and for what reason. Earlier that night, other demonstrators had gathered in Glendale, California, about eight miles north of downtown Los Angeles, in support of Armenia amid the Azerbaijan conflict.

A few days earlier, protesters blocked off a California freeway in efforts of bringing attention to the conflict between the neighboring nations.

There were no injuries reported.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appeared at a town hall hosted by NBC Monday night in a last-ditch effort to appeal to Florida’s moderate Democrats.

At the event, Biden claimed that he is far from being a socialist and reminded the audience that he defeated one in the primaries.

“I look like a socialist?” Biden said. “I’m the guy that ran against the socialist, remember? I got in trouble through the whole campaign, 20-some candidates — ‘Joe Biden was too centrist, too moderate, too straightforward.’ That was Joe Biden.”

He did not mention Bernie Sanders, the only democrat socialist to run in the primaries, by name.

Sanders’ supporters are fiercely loyal and are a critical component to Biden’s potential victory in November. Democratic leadership has been sensitive to any sign of a political fault between the far left and moderates of the party.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caused an uproar on her Twitter when in August she nominated Sanders for president at the Democratic National Convention, which the media speculated to be a slight toward Biden but was simply misinterpreted as it was just a “procedural requirement of the convention.”

It is widely believed by President Trump and many of his supporters that Biden will act as a puppet for the left-wing extremists if elected.

Biden also discussed his plan for a “national mask mandate” at the town hall.

The former vice president said he doesn’t believe a president has the power to impose a national mandate nationwide, but as president, he said he would require masks to be worn on federal property, this executive action would reach all the way across the country.

Biden claims he would use his authority as president to urge all governors, mayors, and country executives to use their positions of power to require their citizens to wear masks.

He added, “I’m no more a socialist or communist than Donald Trump is—well, I won’t say it. They need not worry. Look at the record. There’s not one syllable I have ever said that could lead you to believe I was a socialist or communist.”

While the president was hospitalized for COVID-19 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sent out a tweet saying he “will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president.” But since Trump walked out the front doors of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center the gloves have come off.

Biden tweeted a photo showing President Trump removing his face mask upon his return to the White House late Monday evening alongside a video of himself putting on a mask, like some kind of mask-wearing crime fighter.

The caption read, “Wear a mask.”

Wear a mask. pic.twitter.com/TSuLuzAXEB

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 6, 2020

This appears to be Biden’s attempt to capitalize on the media’s criticism of Trump after he received his coronavirus diagnosis. Anti-Trumpers say the president has been reckless since his diagnosis. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even called out the president’s behavior calling it a “brazen invitation” to the diagnosis.

White House officials assure that Trump has followed every guideline put in place by his medical staff. Trump’s personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley said the president met or exceeded standards for discharge from the hospital. However, he added that even though the president was doing better he would not be “out of the woods” for another week.

Biden proclaimed mask-wearing to be a form of patriotism last weekend and criticized the Trump administration for not doing more to enforce the practice during the pandemic.

President Trump addressed his supporters in a tweet upon returning to the White House after his hospital stay saying we should not be afraid of the virus.

“Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge,” he wrote. “You’re going to beat it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines,”

Biden did say he was glad to see the president had recovered well, “but there’s a lot to be concerned about — 210,000 people have died. I hope no one walks away with the message that it’s not a problem.”

Lately, many popular food brands have changed their names or logos in response to criticism concerning racial stereotypes and cultural insensitivity following the death of George Floyd. There was Land-O-Lakes butter that removed the image of a Native American woman. Then Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s, and Mrs. Butterworth’s products were suddenly not the same we grew up with. And it didn’t stop there.

After more than a century, one of Dreyer’s most popular ice cream bars, Eskimo Pie, has changed to Edy’s Pie. The brand made the change official by announcing it on Monday.

The company made plans to rename the “derogatory” product name back in June as stated by Elizabell Marques, head of marketing for its parent Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, the U.S. subsidiary for Froneri.

“We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory,” she said. “This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people’s values.”

Dreyer’s had since halted production of the ice cream bars while coming up with a new idea for branding and packaging. After months of consideration, the brand decided to name the ice cream bar after one of the company’s founders, Joseph Edy.

According to the company, the newly named chocolate-coated ice bream bar will be available early next year.

“We anticipate Edy’s Pie ice cream bars to be on shelf in early 2021,’ said Marquez. “Our mission at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream is to bring joy to everyday life with ice cream and we look forward to our Edy’s Pie ice cream bars continuing to do just that.”

With the November election quickly approaching, supporters of President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden both held rallies throughout the swing state of Florida on Saturday.

Many of these supporters gathered in north-central Florida to attend events for their preferred candidate.

One Trump supporter told WCJB in Gainsville, “For one thing, I want other supporters to know that there’s a lot of us out here, that we’re all in this together. Also, to anyone who is on the other side or maybe on the fence know to do their research.”

Supporters of the commander-in-chief reportedly drove around the county with a parade of over 30 cars in what is being called a Trump Train.

Meanwhile, supporters of the former vice president Joe Biden gathered in Ocala for an event hosted by “Vote Common Good.”

The executive director of “Vote Common Good,” Doug Pagitt, said, “We’re not trying to convince Republicans not to be Republicans we do want them not to vote for this Republican in this next election. We’re calling them to something deeper in their life, and that is what do they hold most sincerely.”

One protestor did show up at a Biden event to peacefully voice his support for Trump.

“Our President has done a stellar job. While he may have yes made some people mad, the only thing he has done is held politicians red and blue accountable,” Trump supporter Brady Adkins told WCJB. “All he is asking them to do is do their job, and it is upsetting career politicians that have had 30 and 40 years to make a difference and haven’t done it. Plain and simple.”

However, since then Trump has made “unbelievable improvement” and Meadows said the president no longer has a fever his oxygen saturation levels were improving.

“I’m very, very optimistic based on the current results,” he said but added that the president’s doctor said, “He’s not out of the woods for the next 48 hours or so.”

“In typical style, this president was up and walking around,” said Meadows. “He’s been an outstanding patient with one exception — he continues to work and continues to believe that he’s got to get a number of things done for the American people.”

Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden is taking his entire campaign I pledge to restore “ normalcy” if you were to come out on top in the November election in spite of other Democrats who pledge to implement some radical changes, should they be voted into the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Biden has repeatedly contested against Republican efforts to tie him the party’s more progressive wing.  De declared, “ I am the Democratic party right now,” during Tuesday night’s presidential debate. However other Democratic leaders are in support of policies with the potential to reshape the country. This includes eliminating the filibuster, granting statehood to Puerto Rico in Washington DC, and expanding the Supreme Court.

During an interview with MSNBC Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “As far as the filibuster, I’m not busting my chops to become majority leader to do very little or nothing. We are going to get a whole lot done.”

He added, “Everything, everything is on the table.”

The question of eliminating the filibuster has created internal conflict within the Democratic Party. Senator Jon Tester for instance suggested last week that he would be open to eliminating the 60-vote threshold in the Senate which is in stark contrast to the position he held just last year.

“I didn’t come here to not do anything. I came here to get things accomplished. I think the filibuster’s very important, and I think it makes for better legislation, and I still believe that,” Tester said to National Review. “I still support the filibuster, but, like I said, we’ll see what happens with the other side. Who knows what’s going to happen?”

But several Senators such as Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., still reject the idea of filibuster reform.

“I think the filibuster serves a purpose,” Feinstein said last week. “It is not often used, it’s often less used now than when I first came, and I think it’s part of the Senate that differentiates itself.” 

The moderator for the second presidential debate has been announced and the Trump campaign is furious. 

C-SPAN anchor and host of “ Washington Journal” Steve Scully will be moderating the next presidential debate on October 15th. Trump and his campaign are calling him out for his ties to former Vice President Joe Biden.

Scully was an intern for Biden after he arrived in Washington, D.C. as a student. He would later work as a staff assistant for the late Senator Ted Kennedy. 

An old tweet from his social media resurfaced on Thursday. It contains a photo of him and Biden with the caption “Gotta love the @VP at the Biden Beach Bash ‘16.”

In response, Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller tweeted, “Don’t forget to change before the debate, fellas!”

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Scully’s past connections with Biden provoked criticism from Republicans and caused concern about potential bias at the debate. 

“How is this even possible?” asked the vice president of the conservative Media Research Center, Dan Gainor. “When they picked the moderator did they try to ensure that it would be biased to benefit Biden? This is the equivalent of giving the Democrats home-field advantage.”

About a month ago Scully did an interview in which he promised to be fair “ across the board.” He noted that his training as a backup moderator in 2016 helped to prepare him for his role in this election.

Scully’s debate will be held at the Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, and will be conducted in a townhall format.

“The town hall meeting is unique because it’s really more of a facilitator role, but to listen carefully, to follow up, to make sure that the president, that Joe Biden … follow the rules, that they don’t filibuster,” said Scully “And my hope really is that we’re going to ask very direct questions, and we’re going to push for very direct answers, and to make sure it’s fair across the board.”

Scully graduated from American University and in 1985 received his master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. According to his bio, Scully began managing election coverage with C-SPAN in 1992.