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The Wall Street Journal this morning includes an article by T.J. Rodgers, the retired founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductors, with the provocative title, “Do Lockdowns Save Lives? In Most Places, the Data Say No.” Rodgers mentions in the first paragraph that much of the statistical work behind his article was done by our own Joe Malchow, who is Power Line’s Wizard of Oz behind the curtain who keeps up the tech side of the site. I’ve been wanting an excuse to do a podcast with Joe for the longest time, and so here it is. In addition to going...

30 million Americans are out of work and living hand to mouth, while the Ice Cream Queen continues to collect her $220,000 plus annual salary for holding up relief bills to stuff them full of graft for her favorite pets. How about she and her colleagues emulate President Trump and donate their paychecks to the People for the duration of this shutdown farce? Put their money where their mouths are. Not holding my breath.

Coronavirus shutdown orders will be extended for much of New York beyond the current mid-May directive, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. “May 15 is when the PAUSE regulations expire statewide,” said Cuomo in an Albany press briefing, referring to his orders prohibiting non-essential business and gatherings. “I will extend them

Macbeth was a king of the Scots whose rule was marked by efficient government and the promotion of Christianity, but who is best known as the murderer and usurper in William Shakespeare's tragedy. Shakespeare's Macbeth bears little resemblance to the real 11th century Scottish king. Mac Bethad mac Findláich, known in English as Macbeth, was born in around 1005. His father was Finlay, Mormaer of Moray, and his mother may have been Donada, second daughter of Malcolm II. A 'mormaer' was literally a high steward of one of the ancient Celtic provinces of Scotland, but in Latin documents the word...

It’s a decision the governor said will endanger Illinoisans — and open the door for others to file suit. Pritzker was made aware of the Clay County Circuit Court ruling Monday afternoon during his live COVID-19 briefing. “Rep. Darren Bailey’s decision to take to the courts to try and dismantle public health directives designed to keep people safe is an insult to all Illinoisans that have been lost during this COVID-19 crisis, and it’s a danger to millions of people who may get ill because of his recklessness,” Pritzker said. “At best, no one is better off because of this...

Apparently the Los Angeles Lakers fancied themselves as a small business in need of a government bailout during the coronavirus pandemic. Now the NBA franchise is returning the taxpayer money it received, ESPN reported Monday. The L.A. Lakers — one of the nation's most recognizable and profitable sports franchises — felt they needed millions of dollars from the federal government to help them make it through these tough economic times. And the federal government agreed — granting the Lakers a $4.6 million PPP loan. The franchise is worth $4.4 billion.

Citing “hundreds of millions of dollars” in losses, Penn State University will cut program budgets, furlough 2,000 employees at half pay, and president Eric Barron will return 10% of his monthly salary amid what he called “unprecedented” times. Further furloughs and layoffs are possibilities in the new fiscal year, he said, as Penn State faces $160 million in lost tuition revenue from likely enrollment declines, on top of more than $100 million in room and board refunds and other costs since March associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Neither Mr. Barron’s video remarks nor a university statement specified the number of...

Dallas Police data shows officers were busy issuing citations over the weekend.

... "At this point, it's hard to pretend like Stelter is a journalist. The same guy who put Michael Avenatti on air... who treated every allegation against Justice Kavanaugh as the gospel truth and who is happy to peddle tinfoil-hat conspiracy theories about President Trump, can't find his way to even mention serious and contemporaneously corroborated claims of sexual assault against the presumptive Democratic nominee for president," conservative strategist Chris Barron told Fox News. Avenatti, an attorney, represented adult-film star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against Trump; he later was convicted in a separate case linked to extortion attempts.

Hasbro has announced a new version of Monopoly will be released where all rent will be suspended until further notice. In addition, the board game will now give players $1200 for passing the Go space. All railroads will be closed, though essential services such as the utilities and the income taxes will still be open. "These new rules will stimulate Monopoly's economy," said a Hasbro spokesperson. "Why just give out $200 when we can increase that number to $1200 and make everybody a winner?"

Lucinda Martha Ruh (born 13 July 1979) is a three time Swiss National Champion figure skater, reknowned for her outstanding spinning ability. In April 2003, Ruh set a Guinness world record for the most continuous spins (115) on one foot. She was the fastest spinner on ice ever, clocking at six rotations a second. She has also created over twenty different new spin positions now required performed at competitions. From 2000 to 2006, she toured with Stars On Ice, Champions on Ice, and numerous other world wide tours. Lucinda Ruh - 1999 World Championships - Gliere Harp Concerto

Rafael’s housing situation is an exercise in tolerance and creative space management. He lives with four other people in an overstuffed apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, that measures less than 500 square feet. He shares a bedroom with his mother. Two men sublet a second, smaller bedroom that Rafael created by subdividing the living room with drywall. His brother sleeps in the kitchen on a mat that he rolls up every morning and wedges in the corner, opening a path to the front door.

Students of nepotism will have no problem guessing who Bill de Blasio picked to head the Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity. That’s right — his wife: "On Sunday, de Blasio put first lady Chirlane McCray in charge of a special coronavirus task force dedicated to racial inclusion and equity. De Blasio said the program would assist New York City to become a “better and more just society than the one we left behind.”" “More just” means more biased in favor of politically preferred identity groups. To confirm this, de Blasio quacks that the task force will focus on...

More than 27,000 New Yorkers have died since the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak in March — 20,900 more than would be expected over this period and thousands more than have been captured by official coronavirus death statistics. As of Sunday, the city had attributed 16,673 deaths to coronavirus, either because people had tested positive for the virus, or because the circumstances of their death meant that city health officials believed the virus to be the most likely cause of death. But there remains a large gap between this number and the total deaths above typical levels in the...

Gets POW! Right in the Kisser!

President Donald Trump reassured Catholic Church leaders Saturday that he will remain committed to protecting human life in his second term. The president spoke about a number of issues that are important to American Catholics during a conference call with church leaders. Abortion and religious freedom were among them, The Tablet reports. Trump repeatedly emphasized his commitment to pro-life matters and warned of the possibilities if a Democrat wins the White House, according to the report. “[Democrats] want abortion, and they want it now and they want it to go up to the end of the ninth month and beyond,”...

An “Islamic medicine specialist” from Iran urged Iranians to drink camel urine, claiming it can cure several diseases including coronavirus, according to a video posted on Instagram which has since gone viral. Drinking camel urine can cure lung diseases, asthma, and coronavirus, “Islamic medicine specialist” Mehdi Sabili said in a video shared on his Instagram page.

On Meet the Press yesterday, Dr. Deborah Birx sensibly stood up for an approach that takes account of differences from state to state and county to county, “Each state is different. And the reason we made the guidelines [for re-opening] and gating criteria very specific was also — and I’m sure a lot of people have missed the asterisk that said to look not only statewide, but also county by county.” She added that she’s been struck by “how different the outbreaks are from the metro regions, to the rural regions, to the county regions.” but not all of New...

2 minutes for hilarious punchline

Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi formally endorsed Joe Biden for president Monday, claiming the former pro-abortion vice president will fight “for our children’s future.” Both Pelosi and Biden are radical pro-abortion politicians who support abortions up to birth and want to force taxpayers to pay for them. Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee after all of his major competitors dropped out of the race. According to Variety, Pelosi released a 3-minute video explaining her endorsement and urging voters to give Democrats a sweeping victory in November. “Elections are about the future. Now more than ever we need a forward-looking, battle-tested leader...