CNN: Wuhan Virus is HUMANS’ Fault for Destroying Bat Habitats

Contributing Writer
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‘When a bat is stressed, by being hunted or having its habitat damaged by deforestation, its immune system is challenged and finds it harder to cope …’

CNN Blames Coronavirus on Humans for Destroying Bat Habitats
Bats / IMAGE: rosierewi via Youtube

(Michael Barnes, Liberty Headlines) A new CNN report says humans, not bats, are to blame for the coronavirus pandemic that’s infecting hundreds of thousands of people around the world and devastating the American economy.

Why? Because humans have destroyed bat habitats.

“When a bat is stressed, by being hunted or having its habitat damaged by deforestation, its immune system is challenged and finds it harder to cope with pathogens it otherwise took in its stride,” the cable news network said Friday, adding that the coronavirus requires “a complete rethink of how we treat the planet.”

It’s been widely speculated that patrons of an unsanitary, outdoor “wet market” in Wuhan, China, first contracted the disease from eating horseshoe bats, among other live animals like rats, dogs and pangolins.

While scientists remain unsure of the exact origins of the Wuhan coronavirus, similar viruses to the current super-virus, known as COVID-19, have been found in Chinese horseshoe bats.

But rather than attribute blame to bats—or the Chinese Communist Party for failing to contain the disease and then lying about it until it was too late—a pair of CNN reporters interviewed several scientists who conveniently echoed CNN’s political bias concerning environmentalism and climate change.

“Human activities are causing this,” asserted Andrew Cunningham, professor of wildlife epidemiology at the Zoological Society of London.

Kate Jones, chair of ecology and biodiversity at University College London, agreed with Cunningham. She claimed that the “zoonotic spillover” of the disease from bats to people is because people are “destroying their habitats into landscapes that are more human-dominated.”

The solution, they say, is two-fold: stop blaming bats and look to bats for how they deal with viruses; essentially making the disease-carrying animals both the victim and the hero of the Wuhan coronavirus.

“The ultimate lesson is that damage to the planet can also damage people more quickly and severely than the generational, gradual shifts of climate change,” CNN concluded.

Ann Arbor Clerk Dispels AOC's Myth that Voter Suppression Cost Bernie Michigan

Joshua Paladino
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‘I think one thing that isn’t being talked about is the rampant voter suppression in this country…’

Top Environmentalist Groups Aren’t Backing Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Green New Deal’
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/IMAGE: screenshot via Twitter

(Joshua Paladino, Liberty Headlines) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez, D-N.Y., spread false excuses to explain the devastating collapse of Sen. Bernie Sanders‘s campaign, MLive reported.
After the March 10 little-Super Tuesday primary contests, which included Michigan, Ocasio–Cortez spoke in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier about the reasons for Bernie’s loss.
“I think one thing that isn’t being talked about is the rampant voter suppression in this country,” she said. “Right there in Ann Arbor where we had that rally, those kids were waiting three hours in line to vote in Michigan.”
When Baier asked if voters who were planning to vote in Ann Arbor were unable to vote, she said, “Absolutely.”
Ann Arbor City Clerk Jackie Beaudry said Ocasio–Cortez’s claims were misleading.
She said campus polling places had short wait times to vote, if any at all.
She acknowledged, however, that University of Michigan students who waited to register to vote until the day before or the day of the election had to wait 2-3 hours at city hall.
Citizens and students who had prepared to vote ahead of time were not subject to long waits.
“We understand long waits are not acceptable, whether at the polls or for voter registration,” Beaudry said, “and we are making plans for improvements for November, including the opening of a satellite office to assist with voter registration, in addition to encouraging students to register in advance of Election Day, as many did.”
In Ann Arbor’s defense, Michigan had recently passed a law to allow same-day voter registration, which appears to be rife with suspicious activity and outright fraud. This was the city’s first attempt at implementing the law that, by its very nature, places immense burden on densely populated areas where progressive candidates thrive.
“Unfortunately, the current laws in Michigan do not allow us to implement Election Day registration at polling places, so everyone who wanted to register on Election Day, and the 14 days leading up to Election Day, was required to come to one place, city hall,” Beaudry said.

Fauci Refutes Dems’ Claims of Trump Rift: ‘He Has Always Listened to What I’ve Said’

Contributing Author
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‘Every time I’ve asked him to do something—cut out China travel, or go to the mitigation guidelines—he’s ultimately listened to what I’ve said…’

Dr. Fauci Pushes Back on Democrats' Accusations Against Trump: 'He Has Always Listened to What I've Said'
Anthony Fauci / IMAGE: Face the Nation via Youtube

(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the senior health officials on President Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force, pushed back on Democratic accusations that Trump has ignored his advice about the pandemic.

“He has a very unique style,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Atlantic. “But the thing that encourages me is that every time I’ve asked him to do something—cut out China travel, or go to the mitigation guidelines—he’s ultimately listened to what I’ve said.”

Democrats harped on a difference of opinion between the two during one of last week’s daily press briefings, in which Fauci cautioned media not to get ahead of themselves regarding chloroquine, an untested possible treatment that, anecdotally, has seen positive results thus far.

Trump interjected that there was no reason not to be hopeful about it.

“I feel good about it,” he said. “That’s all it is, just a feeling. I’m a smart guy… and we’re gonna see, we’re gonna see soon enough.”

When asked why Trump offered medical advice counter to Fauci’s during the press briefing, Fauci told Science magazine that the president “goes his own way” sometimes. But Trump listens “even though we disagree on some things,” Fauci added. “On substantive issues, he does listen to what I say.”

Democrats have repeatedly accused Trump of ignoring the opinions of health experts and scientists. Presidential candidate Joe Biden declared the U.S. needs “leadership that listens to science,” implying that Trump does not.

Many in the media have, predictably, run with the partisan narrative—trying in the process, to hyper-analyze Fauci’s body language in order to drive a wedge between Trump and his top coronavirus adviser.

The Associated Press dedicated an entire article to claims that Fauci and Trump were at odds, but Fauci told CBS News that this was a false report.

Trump noted that the two have different priorities that, ultimately, must balance each other out. While Fauci’s emphasis is on a thorough scientific process, the president has been eager to fast-track solutions, using his recent national-emergency declaration to circumvent usual regulations and expedite the search for an effective vaccine.

“I feel, as the expression goes, what do we have to lose,” Trump said during Friday’s press briefing.

“Tony would like, he would like samples done in a certain way,” Trump continued. “I understand that, too. Many doctors agree with that. We don’t have much time. We have a lot of very sick people right now.”

As the journalists present sought to split hairs over the official task-force position on the effectiveness of chloroquine reminded the American public that the drug’s effectiveness has not yet been tested.

While he hesitated to paint a prematurely optimistic picture, Fauci said in principle he agrees that the drug could work.

“I don’t disagree in the substance,” he explained. “It is expressed in a way that I would not express it, because it could lead to some misunderstanding about what the facts are about a given subject.”

On most policies, however, Fauci told the Atlantic that Trump is more than willing to heed Fauci’s advice.

“When I’ve said, ‘I really think we should do this,’ he’s never said no and overruled my recommendation,” Fauci said. “When it comes to the core of what gets done, thankfully, he has listened to me.”

Liberty Headlines’ Ben Sellers contributed to this report.

Reps. Buck, Biggs Warn Against Vast Gov’t Intrusions Due to Coronavirus Fear

Contributing Writer
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‘If cable news told data-driven stories of the pandemic, do you think we’d still be rushing to crowded grocery stores, fighting each other over toilet paper?’

CO Rep. Tells Gun-Confiscating Biden-Beto Duo to 'Come and Take It'
Ken Buck / IMAGE: @RepKenBuck via Twitter

(Michael Barnes, Liberty Headlines) At the height of the Great Depression, then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said, “The only we have to fear is fear itself.”

Now, Republican Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado and Andy Biggs of Arizona are echoing Roosevelt by warning against a fear-driven coronavirus overreaction—but it might be too late.

In a Washington Examiner op-ed, Buck and Biggs acknowledged that the Wuhan coronavirus is a serious disease and that Americans are making great sacrifices to keep it from spreading.

“But we also need to combat fear,” they said.

The congressmen blame the news media for stoking hysteria and inducing panic throughout the country: “If cable news told data-driven stories of the pandemic, do you think we’d still be rushing to crowded grocery stores, fighting each other over toilet paper?”

Buck and Biggs assert that government officials at all levels are responding with authoritarian limitations on basic constitutional rights.

Curfews, mass closures of “nonessential” businesses, halted political gatherings and suspended religious services are all either imposed by the government or strongly recommended.

“Now, government officials are issuing guidelines against congregating in groups larger than 10 people,” they warned.

Buck and Biggs said that the actual threat of the disease pales in comparison to the number of jobs lost, hundreds of billions—or trillions—spent, and the gigantic intrusions the government has taken into people’s private lives.

They cite the Diamond Princess cruise ship as an unintentional, yet instructive experiment. Everyone on board was tested for the coronavirus and 697 people, or 17 percent, tested positive. Of those, seven people died.

“What makes the Diamond Princess situation so important is that it indicates that in a closed environment, among thousands of people, approximately 1 percent of those who caught the virus succumbed to it. That is a rate consistent with recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flu reports,” they wrote.

What’s more, the average age of all passengers was 58 years old, and 33 percent were 70 or older.

“We need to focus our resources on the most vulnerable, which means prioritizing elderly and sick populations,” Buck and Biggs concluded.

Economically, that means not bailing out big banks over mom-and-pop businesses or writing $1,000 taxpayer-funded checks over incentivizing people to go back to work, they said.

“We can’t let fear cripple our economy and push our nation over the brink.”

Sen. Tom Cotton Files Bill to Move Drug Manufacturing Out of China

Contributing Writer
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‘The Chinese Communist Party deserves every bit of the blame it’s getting for its malicious response to the outbreak…’

(Michael Barnes, Liberty Headlines) Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wants American pharmaceuticals made in America, and he’s introduced legislation to make it happen.

Like manufacturing, pharmaceutical supply-chains have relocated to China over recent decades, and amid the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, the lack of American-made prescription drugs has turned into a national-security nightmare.

“We cannot trust China to continue to manufacture our pharmaceuticals, things like antibiotics, penicillin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, to say nothing of dozens of other basic pharmaceutical ingredients,” said Cotton in an interview with Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum on Thursday.

“That’s why I would say the military, Health and Human Services—meaning Medicare and Medicaid and the VA—can no longer buy drugs that are sourced from China, and I would give incentives for companies to bring manufacturing of basic pharmaceuticals back to the United States,” added Cotton.

Last week, Chinese state-run media reported that the Chinese Communist Party could impose pharmaceutical export controls over vital drugs and plunge the U.S. into “the mighty sea of coronavirus.”

Cotton, a decorated Afghan War veteran, has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government since it first became known that the CCP failed to contain the coronavirus and then hid the fact from the outside world until it was too late.

“In early December, they knew there was some kind of outbreak happening with the novel coronavirus in Wuhan,” Cotton said.

“If they had acted quickly, rather than lying to their own people, suppressing the whistleblowers and lying to the world, then not only China, but U.S. and other scientists and researchers and epidemiologists and other experts from around the world could have helped them contain this in Wuhan or in Hubei province,” he continued. “But look what we have now: a pandemic and a severe global recession.”

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., has embraced Cotton’s “Protecting our Pharmaceutical Supply Chain from China Act” from within the House of Representatives. Gallagher said China’s “outrageous threats” to withhold lifesaving drugs should “should open our eyes to our dangerous over-reliance on China.”

Cotton also took to Twitter this week to say that the Chinese government will be held accountable.

O’REILLY: ‘Garbage’ Impeachment to Blame for Delayed Virus Response

Ben Sellers
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‘No one paid attention to the virus because of impeachment…’

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) Although he is no longer leading the cable-news airwaves, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly re-entered the “no spin zone” with an outraged condemnation of the political distractions that allowed the coronavirus to spread.

In an appearance Thursday on fellow conservative Todd Starnes’s podcast, O’Reilly literally trashed the “garbage” impeachment proceedings that distracted much of the nation’s attention during the months of January and February, in what should have been critical moments for preparing a coordinated pandemic response.

“That impeachment thing was the biggest bunch of garbage I have ever seen in my life,” O’Reilly said. “And it will go down in history as contributing to this horrible pandemic here… no one paid attention to the virus because of impeachment.”

Although allegations of sexual harassment in 2017 forced him out of his 16-year run of prime-time dominance, O’Reilly has maintained a presence in the commentary sphere at his own website, where he continues to podcast and tweet his unique takes on the issues of the day.

O’Reilly had made similar links between the impeachment and the initial response failures of the pandemic in premium-member content on the site.

O’Reilly also called out left-wing media who continued to be distracted by menial partisan efforts to attack and undermine President Donald Trump, even as he seeks to unify the country around a cohesive plan to fight the pandemic.

O’Reilly called out ABC News’s Cecilia Vega, one of several reporters on Wednesday who harped on Trump’s use of the term “Chinese virus” during a daily press briefing and claiming, without evidence, that a staff member had used the term “kung-flu.”

Trump also has pushed back at the petty politicization of the virus in some media. On Friday, he called out a fearmongering NBC reporter for trying to criticize his optimistic tone about a prospective cure.

“What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?” asked NBC’s Peter Alexander.

“I’d say that you’re a terrible reporter. That’s what I’d say,” Trump replied.

Trump Shuts Down Fearmongering Journo: ‘You’re a Terrible Reporter’

Ben Sellers
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‘I’m not being overly optimistic or pessimistic. I sure as hell think we oughta give it a try…’

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) President Donald Trump on Friday shut down an NBC reporter for sensationalist fearmongering while trying to convey a message of optimism about a potential treatment for the coronavirus.

“What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?” asked NBC’s Peter Alexander.

“I’d say that you’re a terrible reporter. That’s what I’d say,” Trump replied.

Trump elaborated by criticizing Alexander and his parent companies, NBC and Comcast (“I don’t call it Comcast, I call it Con-cast,” he said) for continuing to put sensationalism above social responsibility.

“I think it’s a very nasty question, and I think it’s a very bad signal that you’re putting out to the American people,” he said. “The American people are looking for answers, and they are looking for hope.”

The exchange with Alexander came as Trump was responding to a prior question about hydroxychloroquine, a drug being tested by the Food and Drug Administration that “anecdotally” has yielded some positive results.

Trump said he felt optimistic about its chances of success. “I feel good about it,” he said. “That’s all it is, just a feeling. I’m a smart guy… and we’re gonna see, we’re gonna see soon enough.”

He noted that the drug had been on the market already for 20 years and was prescribed for malaria.

“It’s not a drug that you have a huge amount of danger with,” he said. “It’s not a drug that may have an unbelievable effect, like kill you … I’m not being overly optimistic or pessimistic. I sure as hell think we oughta give it a try.”

Trump Shuts Down Fearmongering NBC Journo while Addressing Possible Coronavirus Cure
Peter Alexander / IMAGE: C-SPAN via Youtube

Alexander incredulously continued to push his defeatist line of interrogation, insisting that millions of people were terrified about the potential virus fallout.

But Trump was having none of it.

“Let me just tell you something: That’s really bad reporting, and you oughta get back to reporting instead of sensationalism,” he said before moving to another question.

After facing attacks for his initial virus response as he sought to tamp down an economy-wrecking panic, Trump’s regular press briefings and efforts to unify the country in both the health crisis and economic stimulus have since garnered strong bipartisan praise.

The Hill reported that a majority of the public now viewed his handling of the crisis favorably.

Even frequent Trump critics like Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Govs. Andrew Cuomo, D-NY, and Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., have seemed to give him high marks for his somber but hopeful messaging.

Even so, some in the media have been unable to transcend their comfort-zones of kneejerk Trump-bashing during the crisis.

Several reporters during Wednesday’s press briefing accused Trump of racism for labeling the pandemic the “Chinese virus” and claimed, without evidence, that Asians were being persecuted as a result.

Lindsey Graham Fights Direct Cash Payments: ‘Throwing Money at the Problem’

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‘What I want is income, not one check…’

Graham Tells Republicans: 'We're Not Gonna Let You Down' on Dem. Accountability
Lindsey Graham / Fox News via Youtube

(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and other top Republicans are reportedly pushing President Donald Trump to reject direct monetary payments to Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

The proposal was included in the Senate GOP’s $1 trillion stimulus package. In a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, Graham reportedly fought the proposal, arguing “it won’t help the economy just throwing money at a problem.”

The Senate’s proposal now includes certain stipulations. The cash payments will reportedly be based on 2018 tax returns, and Americans making $75,000 or less will be eligible for $1,200 payments, with that number decreasing as the salary increases. Americans making more than $95,000 would not be eligible at all.

Regular payments for those who need it in the form of unemployment insurance would be far more useful than one-time payments to every American, Graham explained to his colleagues in a closed-door meeting, according to The Hill.

“I’d rather take that $250 billion and put it in a system that will give people sustainable income,” Graham said.

“Direct payments make sense when the economy is beginning to restart, [but it] makes no sense now because it’s just money,” he continued. “What I want is income, not one check. I want you to get a check you can count on every week, not one week. Here’s what I’m focused on: You have unemployment insurance that is totally inadequate, let’s beef it up.”

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, agreed with Graham’s assessment. He said a “blanket cash check to everybody” doesn’t make sense.

“I personally think that if we’re going to help people, we ought to direct the cash payments maybe as a supplement to unemployment not to the people that are still working every day, just a blanket cash check to everybody in America that making up to $75,000″ Shelby told reporters after the meeting.

“I don’t know the logic to that,” he said.

Rep. Collins Rips 2020 Rival Sen. Loeffler for Dumping Stock After Virus Briefing

Contributing Writer
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‘Loeffler is profiting off their pain? I’m sickened just thinking about it…’

Collins Derides House Dems' 'Railroad Job' at Judiciary Impeachment Hearing
Doug Collins / IMAGE: CSPAN via Youtube

(Michael Barnes, Liberty Headlines) Rep. Doug Collins took Sen. Kelly Loeffler to taks on Twitter Friday morning, for dumping millions of dollars in stock after an early Wuhan virus briefing in January.

Since then, the stock market has tanked and the economy has ground to a near-standstill.

But unlike the bulk of everyday Americans, Loeffler’s investments were spared — leading Collins to accuse her of “profiting off their pain.”

“People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their retirements, and even their lives and Kelly Loeffler is profiting off their pain? I’m sickened just thinking about it,” Collins tweeted.

Both Collins and Loeffler are Georgia Republicans, and both are vying for the U.S. Senate seat in November that Loeffler currently holds, thanks to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

Last year, GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson resigned due to health problems, and Kemp chose Loeffler over Collins to fill the vacancy.

Collins, an Iraq War veteran and ardent supporter of President Trump, was upset that he was overlooked.

Now, he’s calling Loeffler out for her apparent insider stock trading.

According to the Daily Beast, Loeffler began her sell-off on Jan. 24, the same day a Trump administration emergency response team, which included Dr. Anthony Fauci, briefed senators on the budding pandemic.

Since the briefing, Loeffler has made 29 market transactions and sold anywhere from $1,275,000 and $3,100,000 in stocks.

“The first stocks she sold were worth between $50,000 and $100,000 from the company Resideo, which has now lost more than 50% of its value. Before that transaction, Loeffler had not reported a single stock transaction since her Jan. 6 appointment to the Senate,” reported the Washington Examiner.

Loeffler fired back on Twitter just before midnight on Thursday: “I want to set the record straight: This is a ridiculous & baseless attack. I don’t make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband’s knowledge or involvement.”

Collins rose to national prominence during congressional impeachment proceedings last year. He is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and was one of eight GOP congressman selected to defend the president in the Senate impeachment trial.

Loeffler is the former CEO of Bakkt, a subsidiary of commodity and financial service provider Intercontinental Exchange.

China's Claims of No New Cases Almost Certainly a LIE

Joshua Paladino
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‘A new makeshift hospital will be in operation soon…’

(Joshua Paladino, Liberty Headlines) Many Americans were suspicious of China‘s claim that there were not any new coronavirus cases on March 19, and new evidence from Chinese observers shows that authorities are likely falsifying the numbers.
A video posted on YouTube yesterday shows more than 30 people waiting to get into the Wuhan Union Hospital, the Epoch Times reported.
“Look, Look! People are lining up in front of the fever clinic at Wuhan Union Hospital,” the man who recorded the video said.

Wuhan Union Hospital is only one of 46 hospitals in the city that is designated to treat coronavirus patients.
A man named Mr. Wu, who lives in Huanggang, a city to the south east of Wuhan, said hospitals in Wuhan and Huanggang would not admit him for examination of a potentially life-threatening illness.
“I called doctors from Wuhan. They said it’s very possible that my father has a kidney tumor, but they couldn’t accept him. … Their hospitals are full of [virus] patients,” Wu’s daughter said to the Epoch Times.
Strangely, even though China shut down 14 newly built hospitals in Wuhan, the city then began a new project inside a stadium.
A construction worker recorded this video yesterday.

“After another night, our mission is almost complete,” the man said. “A new makeshift hospital will be in operation soon.”
These structures are called relay stations, and they’re being used to quarantine patients with the coronavirus, according to Li.
“After the 14 makeshift hospitals were closed [on March 10], they set up 300 relay stations. I believe they are like a new type of makeshift facility,” she said.
Just three days ago, Zhang who lives in Wuhan, said the government would have allowed residents to resume life as usual if the virus had abated.
“If the outbreak isn’t critical, it [the government] would allow us to return to work. Now all roads are still blocked, and businesses have not resumed production in Wuhan,” Zhang said to the Epoch Times.

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