Free Republic

Boebert now 794 ahead.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a grave prognosis to parliament on Tuesday, telling members that "60 to 70%" of the German population will contract the coronavirus at some point, according to Bild. The German tabloid reported that upon dropping the statistic in the parliamentary meeting, the room fell silent. Germany has seen more than 1,400 positive test results for COVID-19 so far, with two confirmed deaths. Merkel went on to tell lawmakers that additional cancellations of events and large gatherings could come depending on the severity of the outbreak. Postponing parliamentary proceedings is also a possibility, Merkel said.

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore leads the field of potential Republicans vying for the chance to challenge Sen. Doug Jones (D), a year and a half after Moore lost what was supposed to be an easy election in a deep-red state. A new poll shows Moore leading a still-evolving field of Alabama Republicans competing for the nomination. He is the top choice of 27 percent of Alabama Republican voters, according to the Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy Inc. survey. The state’s three Republican members of Congress finish well behind Moore: Rep. Mo Brooks would take 18 percent, Rep....

Over at NRO’s news section, Jack Crowe notes letters to the Judiciary Committee that even more compellingly establish that Kavanaugh told the truth about “Devil’s Triangle.” Two men who went to college with one of Kavanaugh’s high-school classmates (and knew Kavanaugh socially as well in the ’80s and ’90s) say this classmate taught them a drinking game with that name. That classmate and three others write separately that they made up the game during their time at Georgetown Prep: “Devil’s Triangle” was a drinking game we came up with in high school. It was a variation on the game “Quarters.”...

North Korea for the first time this week revealed plans for using its nuclear arms for space-based electronics-disrupting EMP attacks, in addition to direct warhead ground blasts. The official communist party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, published a report Monday on "the EMP might of nuclear weapons," outlining an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack produced by detonating a nuclear warhead in space. "In general, the strong electromagnetic pulse generated from nuclear bomb explosions between 30 kilometers and 100 kilometers [18.6 miles and 62 miles] above the ground can severely impair electronic devices, electric machines, and electromagnetic grids, or destroy electric cables and safety...

Reince Priebus will be chief of staff, source who spoke to Trump tells me. Announcement could come in the next half hour

https://twitter.com/mmurraypolitics/status/786657791264092160

The University of Utah Seismograph Stations reports that a light earthquake occurred at 06:34 AM on March 30, 2014 (MDT). The epicenter of the magnitude 4.8 shock was located 4 miles north-northeast of Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. This earthquake is part of a series of earthquakes that began in this area on Thursday, March 27. As of 8:15 am today, this series has included at least 25 earthquakes in addition to the main shock, with the largest of magnitude 3.1. The magnitude 4.8 main shock was reported felt in Yellowstone National Park and in the towns...

The supervolcano that lies beneath Yellowstone National Park in the US is far larger than was previously thought, scientists report. A study shows that the magma chamber is about 2.5 times bigger than earlier estimates suggested. A team found the cavern stretches for more than 90km (55 miles) and contains 200-600 cubic km of molten rock. The findings are being presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco. Prof Bob Smith, from the University of Utah, said: “We’ve been working there for a long time, and we’ve always thought it would be bigger... but this finding is...

Mitt Romney is the choice of nearly one in four of those who agree with the tenets of the tea party, according to a new Pew poll, a surprising result that suggests the former Massachusetts governor’s support heading into 2012 may be broader than previously assumed. Among tea party supporters, Romney took 24 percent to 19 percent for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, 15 percent for former House speaker Newt Gingrich and 13 percent for Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, long considered the tea party’s 2012 candidate-in-waiting, took just 12 percent — another piece of evidence...

[not allowed to post from Phelps' website, but I think anyone can find it easily]

A new Gang of Four centrist senators on Thursday expressed confidence that Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) healthcare proposal could garner bipartisan support. The long-awaited Baucus plan faced scrutiny from Republican and Democratic senators after the sixth-term Democrat released it yesterday. Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), issued a joint statement saying that the Baucus bill was "an important and critical step forward with this legislation." "We will continue to work together in the full Senate on bipartisan health care reform that reduces costs, improves care, and expands access," the...

Kent Conrad is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and one of the chamber's loudest, and most powerful, deficit hawks. On Tuesday, for instance, he directed the Congressional Budget Office to score the impact of health-care reform over a 20-year time frame, rather than the traditional 10 years. This is a tougher fiscal test than any bill has had to pass in memory. You could see this as a good thing. Reformers sometimes argue that health-care reform's true impact on the cost curve will be seen over the long term. If CBO's scores reflected that, Conrad's demand could be a...

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) is the chief proponent of a public option "trigger," but she said Monday that she does not expect one in the Finance Committee bill. In fact, the trigger has barely come up in the Gang of Six talks. "It probably will be a straight co-op at this point," Snowe said. "We did not discuss the trigger to be part of the co-op, at least in the framework we have before us." She said she wasn't abandoning the idea, which Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) panned on the Sunday talk shows. "It may be something down the road,"...

WASHINGTON — Democratic congressional leaders predicted passage of health care legislation within a few months despite undimmed Republican opposition, claiming momentum Thursday from President Barack Obama's speech and renewed commitment from lawmakers fresh from a month of meetings with constituents. Increasingly, events in the Senate Finance Committee appeared pivotal, precursor to likely votes in both the House and the Senate by early October. "I'm confident the president will sign a bill this year," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. While effusively praising Obama's speech from the night before, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada signaled separately...

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) says that Democratic leaders should not count on him to be the 60th vote for passing healthcare reform this year. Nelson, who has bucked his party more than any Senate Democrat on procedural votes in 2009, is a pivotal figure on healthcare. With 59 Democrats in the upper chamber and centrist Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) in negotiations with Democratic leaders, the prospect of compiling 60 votes to overcome procedural obstacles appears within reach. But Nelson isn’t promising anything. He told The Hill, “I’m not going to commit anything at this point in time on procedural votes,...

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) both cast doubt Tuesday on their support for a public-option component to the Democratic healthcare reform effort, suggesting the Obama administration is still struggling to win over key Senate centrists. However, Collins and Lieberman both told The Hill they are more supportive of a “trigger” concept floated by Collins’ Senate colleague, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe, which calls for a public option to be implemented if insurance companies fail to fix the current system’s cost inefficiencies. Reform supporters and critics alike are watching Collins, who cast a key vote this winter for President...

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has circulated his own health reform plan, apparently tired of waiting for the rest of the "Group of Six" to come around. Baucus's plan would cost between $850 billion and $950 billion over ten years, and would help pay for itself by imposing a new fee on insurance companies, the NY Times reports. The plan does not include a public option, or even a "trigger" to implement a public option under certain conditions. While that omission is likely to anger liberals, the new health insurance company tax is likely to alienate Republicans. For example, take a...

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), still facing the prospect of a tough re-election in 2010, has reversed her position on the public insurance option, saying Tuesday she will oppose the measure as a part of health care reform after previously expressing support for the policy, the Arkansas News reported. Lincoln’s vote on a health care reform bill could be key as the Senate Democratic leadership looks to build a coalition of 60 Senators to pass legislation without using reconciliation. Reconciliation is a budgetary tool that would allow Democrats to clear a bill with just 51 votes. “For some in my caucus,...