LET'S FIGHT BACK
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
“Instead Of Asking A Nasty, Snarky Question Like That, You Should Ask A Real Question” –
Trump Unloads On #FakeNews Hack Jim Acosta After Gotcha Question (Video)
(Gateway Pundit) – Jim Acosta wanted his name in the news again today.
The CNN hack wasted the American public’s time by asking a horrid, gotcha question at the White House presser today.
On Monday the president was accompanied by Great American industry leaders who praised the administration and vowed to begin manufacturing gowns and medical supplies for our nation’s care givers. It was another wonderful display of American patriotism.
But Jim Acosta had to make it about himself and asked a sick gotcha question about the president’s comments from weeks ago.
Truly Disgusting.
President Trump unloaded on the CNN hack reporter.
President Trump: “It’s why people just don’t want to listen to CNN anymore.. Instead of asking a nasty, snarky question like that, you should ask a real question and other than that, I’m going to go to somebody else.”
President Trump to @Acosta:
“It's why people just don't want to listen to CNN anymore.. Instead of asking a nasty, snarky question like that, you should ask a real question and other than that, I'm going to go to somebody else.”
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thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/instead-of-asking-a-nasty-snarky-question-like-that-you-should-ask-a-real-question-trump-unloads-on-jim-fakenews-hack-acosta-after-gotcha-question-video/
Leaked Audio:
Kennedy Center President Deployed Lobbyist To Secure $25 Million In Coronavirus Stimulus, But Not A Cent For Workers
(Gateway Pundit) – The Gateway Pundit has received audio of a video conference call between Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, members of their human resources department, and 200 of their employees.
The audio was first obtained by Jack Posobiec of One America News.
As the Gateway Pundit previously reported, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts infamously received a controversial $25 million from Democrats in the coronavirus relief package — and just hours later they told their performers and employees that they will not be getting paychecks.
During the leaked conference call, which took place on March 26, Rutter repeatedly makes excuses for why they are laying off their employees despite knowing that they will be receiving $25 million in the stimulus package. She says that the Kennedy Center has been barely keeping their heads afloat for years and that being closed, without the money from the government, would have meant they would run out of cash on May 15.
Rutter also discussed how they deployed a lobbyist to get them the money from the stimulus package, seemingly with no intention of using it to protect the jobs of their staff.
“We are really grateful for this $25 million, but I will tell you that it does not keep us whole,” Rutter says in the beginning of the call. “In fact, the language that Tracy [Henke] worked so closely with all the appropriators on was clear that we needed this just to be able to reopen.”
Above: Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter
She continued on to say that “this does not keep us whole along the way. Fortunately, Tracy has really great relationships on the Hill. We have fantastic support from board leadership and all of those relationships and savvy, I will say, is what brought us that $25 million.”
Henke is the center’s Vice President of Government Relations, as of November 2019. She has previously worked in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, and the private sector.
Rutter went on to address the fact that there are many people who are very unhappy about the amount of money going to the center, when it should be going to places like hospitals.
“Some of you are probably aware of the fact that we are now, uh, the target for a lot of unhappy people who believe that we are taking the money away from sick people. In the case of a stimulus bill, it is to try to continue to do business, and to stimulate the economy in the future,” Rutter said. “In this case, this funding is pretty prescriptive in that it says ‘you need to do this for operational expenses so that you can open up again after this, uh, uh, closure — this period of time, this closure.’”
“What’s different from previous funding from the federal government is that it will allow us to pay for things that the federal appropriation generally doesn’t — so in this case it will be able to be used for operational expenses, like what it takes for us as a uh, a staff, to be able to uh, uh, make sure that the building is open and ready for programming and activity, after, when we can reopen,” Rutter continued.
Rutter did not specify what they are normally not allowed to use federal funds for, but will be able to use it for this time around.
Our source said that the stimulus is going to the nonprofit portion of the center, and that they already receive federal government appropriations for the building and its maintenance — including the staff that maintains it.
During the call, Rutter repeatedly apologizes for seeming inarticulate as she clearly attempts to carefully craft what she is saying and the words she chooses.
“I’m sorry that I seem very stumbly and less articulate today, but this is a really really challenging time. I know it’s hard for you, I pray that you all are healthy and safe and I’m grateful for your commitment and I’m grateful for the work that you are doing from home,” she said.
Rutter repeatedly says that the “$25 million does not allow us to maintain our current structure.” Their current payroll, she explains, is approximately $5 million per month, including taxes.
“The baseline cash flow says that if we had not received any cash, and everything stayed exactly as it is today, no changes, we would draw fully on the line of credit, we would be out of cash, on May 15. Couldn’t do anything further. So, with no changes, assuming we could even open on May 15, we would have no cash to do the work moving forward,” she said. “We extended that cash flow all the way through September 30, and um, we would be in arrears to the tune of $32 million. So, again, with the $25 million, and doing nothing, we still would be out $32 million. That’s actually sort of why we were asking, initially, for $35 million from the federal government.”
Rutter said that the center is “right in the vortex of, uh, um, uh, the negative cash flow situation,” but that they have received a spike in transactions, including ticket sales, donations and gift certificate purchases, that come out to around $2.5 million. However, this is still not enough money to continue to pay their employees. She said some of this is money that “is for our programming and some of that is for rental programming where we have been accepting the cash and doing the transactions for those ticket sales,” so they will not actually get to keep that portion of it.
Approximately 17 minutes into the call, Rutter is asked by an employee what the stimulus covers and what it does not. She says there’s very specific language written into the bill.
“It is relatively broad, but as we were working with the appropriations staff, and the senators, and congressional leadership — this was all about being able to reopen. So, we have to be able to have the capacity to open and stay open. It’s not like we can spend the money right now to keep everybody whole and then find ourselves without cash.”
“If we are able to reopen on May 11, we believe our losses, on that kind of income statement, are already 21 million. If we have to stay closed until the end of June that pops up to 30, and if we have to stay closed all the way until September, it’s around a $55 million loss to our institution. So, it’s not just cash that we’re having to address, it’s how we do our business moving forward. So, the stimulus is cash that will help us along the way.”
Multiple employees also asked how they should respond to questions and negative comments on social media. She referred them to the website to find the language that they used.
When asked if employees could donate a portion of their paychecks back to the center to prevent layoffs and furloughs, Rutter said she considered this, but that she couldn’t get to the number they needed. She said that people will take home more money by taking advantage of the unemployment benefits in the stimulus package.
“The more we are learning about the unemployment benefits, it is clear that in some cases it is really going to be more valuable for individuals to be furloughed so that they can collect unemployment instead of contributing back,” Rutter said.
Another employee asked, “so do I understand this correctly, the Kennedy Center got money from the stimulus bill, but it’s not enough to prevent us from having to do furloughs and layoffs?”
Rutter replied, “yes, that is correct. That is why I wanted to start with the cash flow that said, absent that money, coming in we would be out of cash and unable to move forward as of mid-May. That’s why I laid out the specifics of what it is we spend our money on, if we paid nothing else, during that period of time. So, the $25 million will be used to ensure that we can get through this period and open up, and then stay open, and we will have to make some decisions along the way, certainly.”
When asked about the organization’s endowment, Rutter said that they only had less than $100 million, but should have $400 million. “if we did, we would be in a much better place,” she said. “If we had a larger endowment, we could be doing more with those funds today.”
She said that even a big donor couldn’t necessarily save them, because it is an ongoing issue with their budgeting. They recently completed a $250 million renovation and received $41 million from taxpayers in 2019 alone.
The source who leaked the audio said that they are not a disgruntled employee who is doing this to retaliate for a potential layoff or furlough.
“I am not a disgruntled employee who is upset about layoffs/furloughs,” the source said. “American business and nonprofits are facing tough and uncertain times. I recognize that this is pork. Congress passed an amazing package to assist Americans out of work, and we all need to work to have our own reserves, just like business and non-profits. I am an American who believes that nonprofits need to be sustaining, an American who finds it unconscionable that a nonprofit would state that they need the money for their 6 million/mo operations — which is largely staff — to Congress, the press, and others, and then turn around and start to layoff and furlough all non-essential employees.”
The day after this phone call, President Trump signed the $2 trillion CARES Act, which was meant to support businesses continuing to pay their employees. The bill specifically says the money was meant to “cover operating expenses required to ensure the continuity of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and its affiliates, including for employee compensation and benefits, grants, contracts, payments for rent or utilities, fees for artists or performers.”
In an email to employees that evening, the Kennedy Center told them to assume their last paycheck will be April 3.
“Everyone should proceed as if their last paycheck will be April 3,” an email to employees after the bill passed read. “We understand this will come [as a] shock to all of you, as it did to us.”
thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/leaked-audio-kennedy-center-president-deployed-lobbyist-to-secure-25-million-in-coronavirus-stimulus-but-not-a-cent-for-workers/
‘Reconsider’
Texas Tech Prof. Would ‘Reconsider’ Atheism If Donald Trump Dies Of Chinese Virus
(Breitbart) – Texas Tech University Professor Richard Wigmans told his colleagues in an email last week that he might “reconsider” his atheism if President Donald Trump died after contracting the Wuhan coronavirus.
According to a report by Campus Reform, Texas Tech Professor Richard Wigmans has come under fire this week for an email he sent to faculty members in which he suggested that he would reconsider his lack of faith in God if President Trump contracted the Wuhan coronavirus and died.
Wigmans, who focuses his researches particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, is referred to on his faculty profile as “the world’s foremost expert on calorimetry” for particle physics experiments. Calorimetry refers to the measurement of the amount of heat that is released or absorbed during a chemical reaction.
“I am personally an atheist, but if #45 would die as a result of this virus, I might reconsider,” Wigmans wrote in the email.
In a short comment to Campus Reform, Wigmans claimed that his email is being misinterpreted. “This is a statement about myself, not about someone else…I have distributed some emails to my colleagues in which I provide a scientist’s perspective on the available COVID-19 data, and use the observed trends to make some predictions.”
When asked directly if he hoped that President Trump would die from the virus, Wigmans blurred the line further. “I have not expressed such a wish,” he said.
Skyler Wachsmann, chairman of Young Conservatives of Texas at Texas Tech, condemned Wigmans for his distasteful remark. “Implying that the President would enjoy for supporters of political opponents and for the elderly to suffer from this virus is disgusting, as is his comment expressing hope that President Trump would die from the Coronavirus,” Wachsmann said.
Featured image credit: Texas Tech University
breitbart.com/tech/2020/03/30/texas-tech-prof-would-reconsider-atheism-if-donald-trump-dies-of-chinese-virus/
Tampa Bay Pastor Arrested For Violating Social Distancing Orders Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
(Gateway Pundit) – A Tampa Bay pastor was arrested for “repeatedly” violating socials distancing orders following two church services at his church this past weekend.
The Sheriff said his office received a tip that this pastor was packing in crowds at his church despite the social distancing orders.
“The sheriff’s office has advised church leaders of the danger they are putting themselves and their congregation in by not maintaining appropriate social distancing at a time when COVID-19 cases are unfortunately still on the rise in Hillsborough County,” deputies said.
WFLA reported:
A Tampa Bay area pastor has been arrested following two large services at his church over the weekend.Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister says he has made the decision Sunday night to seek an arrest warrant against the pastor of River at Tampa Bay Church for violating social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.The sheriff confirmed in a tweet Monday afternoon that Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne had been arrested.According to Sheriff Chronister, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with leaders at the church since last Friday. The sheriff says his office received a tip that the church pastor was refusing to stop holding large services and was instead encouraging his congregation to meet in person at the church.Chronister added that the church has the capability to stream the services online and on TV to people at home but instead encouraged people to attend the church services. He says the church even provided bus transportation to two large services on Sunday.
The media was all over this church and reported seeing a full parking lot amid social distancing orders.
Despite the CDC social distancing guidelines of no more than ten people in a room/six feet apart and @HillsboroughFL “Safer at Home” order there are dozens of cars pulling into the parking lot tonight at The River Church.
See Justin Schecker's other Tweets
“His reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk and thousands of residents who may interact with them this week in danger,” the sheriff said.
The pastor was charged with two second-degree misdemeanors of unlawful assembly and violation of public health emergency rules.
Churches across the country are streaming services online in response to the social distancing orders, however prolonged orders to shut down places of worship are raising questions about 1st Amendment rights.
thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/tampa-bay-pastor-arrested-for-violating-social-distancing-orders-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/
Suspected SARS Virus And Flu Samples Found In Chinese Scientists’ Luggage Arriving In The U.S
One incident occurred as recently as September 2019
(Infowars) – A report by the FBI details incidents from 2018 and 2019 where Chinese scientists were caught bringing undeclared and unofficially labeled viruses and flu strains into the U.S.
In September 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at Detroit Metro Airport stopped a Chinese biologist with three vials labeled “Antibodies” in his luggage.
The biologist told the agents that he was tasked with delivering the vials to a researcher at a U.S. institute, but examining the vials, customs agents came to a shocking realization.
“Inspection of the writing on the vials and the stated recipient led inspection personnel to believe the materials contained within the vials may be viable Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) materials,” says the unclassified FBI report.
The report by the Chemical and Biological Intelligence Unit of the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD) does not reveal the name of the Chinese scientist carrying the deadly samples, or the intended recipient in the U.S., but concludes that the incident is part of a disturbing pattern.
In September 2019, just months before coronavirus was identified in Wuhan, China, another Chinese scientist was intercepted by customs agents carrying eight vials of a “clear liquid” that agents later determined to be a strain of H1N1 influenza.
And in May 2018, a Chinese scientist was found carrying “non-infectious E. coli bacteria-derived plasmids.”
The report summarizes the incidents as clear “biosecurity risks.”
“The Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate assesses foreign scientific researchers who transport undeclared and undocumented biological materials into the United States in their personal carry-on and/or checked luggage almost certainly present a US biosecurity risk,” reads the report. “The WMDD makes this assessment with high confidence based on liaison reporting with direct access.”
Authorities released the three scientists after confiscating their materials.
infowars.com/biosecurity-risk-fbi-report-describes-chinese-scientists-who-smuggled-sars-mers-h1n1-viruses-in-luggage/
‘Samaritan’s Purse’
Franklin Graham’s ‘Samaritan’s Purse’ Builds Field Hospital In Central Park
(Breitbart) – Franklin Graham, the late son of televangelist Billy Graham, is using his charity Samaritan’s Purse to build a field hospital in New York City’s Central Park.
Samaritan’s Purse brought in four trailers worth of gear, including beds, tents, personal protective equipment (PPE), and ten respirators for the most seriously ill patients, the New York Post reported.
Dr. Elliott Tenpenny, who has experience treating Ebola patients in West Africa, refugees in Iraq, and earthquake victims in Ecuador, will be leading a team of 70 health care workers from across the country who will be staffing this field hospital.
“This is honestly the most improbable place we’ve ever been,” he told the Post. “I never would have guessed we’d come to New York City with something like this. But New York never thought it would be dealing with a pandemic, either.”
By 8 a.m., 20 volunteers from New York helped 50 Samaritan’s Purse employees set up the first of 14 tents. The tents will host 68 patients, including ten in makeshift intensive care units with ventilators available for every patient.
Construction is expected to take 48 hours, and the hospital is expected to be completed by Tuesday.
The field hospital will not take walk-in patients but will take overflow patients from the Mount Sinai hospital network, including its nearby hospital on Fifth Avenue.
Our Emergency Field Hospital in New York City is now under construction in Central Park. Soon our medical team will begin treating #coronavirus patients. sampur.se/2wKafTq
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Samaritan’s Purse is not the only outside aid group that is coming in to aid New Yorkers in their time of need.
The Navy’s USNS Comfort, which has space for 1,000 hospital beds and a dozen operating rooms, docked in a Manhattan pier at 11 a.m. after leaving Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday is prepared to serve an onslaught of coronavirus patients.
New York state has 59,513 diagnosed cases of the virus, with 1,218 of them being fatal as of Monday afternoon. In New York City alone, there are 33,678 cases and 678 fatalities from the virus.
Featured image credit: Samaritan’s Purse/Twitter
breitbart.com/health/2020/03/30/franklin-grahams-samaritans-purse-builds-field-hospital-in-central-park/
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