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RFK Jr. Could Make Announcement On Run As Independent On Oct. 9

RFK Jr. Could Make Announcement On Run As Independent On Oct. 9

Authored by Jeff Louderbeck via The Epoch Times,

Speculation that Robert…

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RFK Jr. Could Make Announcement On Run As Independent On Oct. 9

Authored by Jeff Louderbeck via The Epoch Times,

Speculation that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will soon declare his run as an independent escalated further on Sept. 29 when he released a video announcing an event in Philadelphia on Oct. 9 when he will share “our path to the White House.”

“I'm going to be in Philadelphia on October 9, to make a major announcement at the very birthplace of our nation. I'm not going to tell you right now, exactly what that announcement will be. I can say, though, that if you've been waiting to come to one of my public events, this will be the one to come to,” Mr. Kennedy said in the video that appears on his campaign website.

“I'll be speaking about a sea change in American politics and what your part and my party is in that change,” he added.

“A lot of Americans who had previously given up any hope and real change come through the American electoral process have begun to find new hope in my candidacy.”

Later in the video, Mr. Kennedy noted, “Our government may be broken, but our people are kind, brave, and caring that goodness is stronger than the divisions that are keeping us all apart. I see it every day on the campaign trail, and the more I see it, the more I trust it. And the more I trust that, the more the path to victory becomes visible.”

Mr. Kennedy’s campaign is planning attack ads against the Democratic National Committee to “pave the way” for what will be an announcement on Oct. 9 that he will run as an independent, Mediaite reported on Sept. 29, citing a text from a campaign insider.

Anthony Lyons is co-chairman of the American Values 2024 PAC, which is working to get Mr. Kennedy elected president. He told The Epoch Times on Sept. 29 that a poll they commissioned with Zogby International will be released on Oct. 2 and shows that if Mr. Kennedy runs as an independent or third-party candidate in a race against President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, he will start at 19 percent compared to “37 percent to 38 percent” for President Biden and President Trump.

The results indicate that Mr. Kennedy is “pulling equally from Biden and Trump,” Mr. Lyons told The Epoch Times.

“Critics of independents and third-party candidates always claim that they split the vote and serve as a spoiler, but what we are seeing is that people are disillusioned with both major parties and they are tired of partisan politics,” Mr. Lyons said.

“People are tired of being told what to do, what to think, and who to vote for by the Democrat and Republican parties, and they are open to an alternative candidate.”

For months after announcing his candidacy in April to challenge President Biden for the 2024 Democrat nomination, Mr. Kennedy told media outlets and supporters, “I’m a Democrat” when asked if he would consider running as an independent or third-party candidate.

During an interview with The Epoch Times in Columbia, South Carolina, in August, he reiterated that stance when asked if he would serve as President Trump’s running mate or run as an independent or a third-party candidate.

“I’m a Democrat. The Democrat party has lost its way, and I want to return it to its traditional ideals,” Mr. Kennedy said.

"I'm hoping to run in the Democratic Party. If it's possible to have a fair election in the Democratic Party, I will run in the Democratic Party, and I haven't made any kind of plans other than that," he said.

Yet Mr. Kennedy has faced what he deems as multiple roadblocks to “fair primary elections” from the DNC. Earlier this year, the organization voted to give President Biden its full support. At the same meeting, the DNC voted to replace New Hampshire with South Carolina as the first-in-the-nation primary state. The organization has warned that New Hampshire will face potential penalties if that state’s Democrat primary does not comply with new primary calendar plans.

At a town hall in New Hampshire earlier in September, Mr. Kennedy told supporters that he would have to make a decision before Oct. 15 to run as an independent and that it would require around $15 million in funds to get on the ballot in all 50 states.

Under the proposed plan, New Hampshire must hold its primary on the same day as Nevada on Feb. 6 or face possible sanctions.

South Carolina will conduct its primary on Feb. 3.

Georgia and Michigan would follow, according to the new schedule.

Iowa, which holds caucuses, was removed from the list of early-voting states.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to supporters at the opening of his New Jersey office in Elizabeth on Sept. 28. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times)

Keeping Options Open

In 2020, President Biden lost in Iowa and New Hampshire to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders before winning South Carolina.

“They’re trying to make sure that I can’t participate at all in the political process, and so I’m going to keep all my options open,” Mr. Kennedy said earlier this month at a town hall in South Carolina.

“It’s pretty clear that the DNC does not want a primary. Essentially, they are fixing the process so that it makes it almost impossible to have democracy function,” he added.

"They’re effectively disenfranchising the Democratic voters from having any choice in who becomes president, the Democrat nominee.”

If New Hampshire is found non-compliant, the state could lose half of its delegates to the August 2024 Democratic National Convention, where the party’s 2024 presidential candidate will be nominated.

An unsanctioned primary would likely keep President Biden off the ballot.

Mr. Kennedy continued to tell attendees at town halls in Texas last week and New Jersey on Sept. 28 that he is “keeping his options open.”

Supporters who attended Mr. Kennedy’s opening of his New Jersey office in Elizabeth on Sept. 28 told The Epoch Times they will continue to back him if he decides to run as an independent or third-party candidate.

Philip Nicosia is a 28-year-old plumber who drove two hours from Pennsylvania to attend the event. He said he was a registered Republican who previously voted for President Trump and changed his affiliation to the Democrat party so he could vote for Mr. Kennedy in the primary.

"I was an independent, and then I changed to Republican to vote for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. I am voting this time for Kennedy because I believe he will do what he says he will do and not be divisive. Trump is exhausting," Mr. Nicosia said.

Philip Nicosia, a former President Donald Trump voter, said he supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the 2024 election. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times)

Mr. Nicosia admits that he worries that Mr. Kennedy’s candidacy as a third candidate could draw voters away from President Trump and lead to another term for President Biden.

“We need anybody but Joe Biden, but I'm still gonna vote on principle,” Mr. Nicosia told The Epoch Times.

“I am voting for who I believe in, and that is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”

Lauren Hanley is an attorney who lives in New York City. She is also a registered Republican who voted for President Trump and has shifted her support to Mr. Kennedy.

“There are people who back him because of his stance against (COVID) vaccine mandates, and there are people who support him because he stands up against corporate corruption. I think that, in this election, people are going to vote for the candidate who most resonates with them because they are tired of the fighting and the divisiveness,” Ms. Hanley told The Epoch Times at the Elizabeth, New Jersey event.

'Surge of People Power'

In his video he released on Sept. 29, Mr. Kennedy said that he can win against the Washington establishment by rewriting “the assumptions” and changing “the habits” of American politics.

“We're going to tap into a mighty surge of people power and reclaim an honest peaceful, just, and prosperous America,” he continued before inviting potential voters to join him in Philadelphia on Oct. 9.

Mr. Kennedy has drawn interest from conservatives, moderates, independents, and liberals for his vow to “heal the divide” and unify the country” by fighting corporate corruption, ending the Ukraine war, addressing the border crisis, and protecting Second Amendment rights, among other focuses.

He has also said that he will offer 3 percent mortgages for Americans funded by tax-free bonds, ban pharmaceutical advertising on television, and “work on changing the tax code to make it more difficult for large corporations to buy single-family homes.”

At every town hall and campaign stop, Mr. Kennedy rails against BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard, which he notes owns more than 80 percent of the companies on the S&P 500.

If Mr. Kennedy chooses to run as an independent, Mr. Lyons noted that the candidate will have almost 13 months to “amplify his message.”

“Bobby Kennedy has been censored more than any other political candidate. I think a big percentage of the American public still doesn’t know about him and what his platform is. A big reason for that is the DNC ... a result of the DNC censoring him and vilifying him with untruthful attacks,” Mr. Lyons told The Epoch Times.

“They are terrified of what would happen if there was a fair primary process and real debates between Bobby Kennedy and Joe Biden,” Mr. Lyons added.

“Bobby Kennedy believes in free speech, ending the Ukraine war, and a strong border, so he is a classic Democrat like his father (Robert F. Kennedy) and uncle (President John F. Kennedy). That is the opposite of what the DNC represents. This is not his father’s Democrat party."

Tyler Durden Sun, 10/01/2023 - 10:30

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United Airlines adds new flights to faraway destinations

The airline said that it has been working hard to "find hidden gem destinations."

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Since countries started opening up after the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, airlines have been seeing demand soar not just for major global cities and popular routes but also for farther-away destinations.

Numerous reports, including a recent TripAdvisor survey of trending destinations, showed that there has been a rise in U.S. traveler interest in Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam as well as growing tourism traction in off-the-beaten-path European countries such as Slovenia, Estonia and Montenegro.

Related: 'No more flying for you': Travel agency sounds alarm over risk of 'carbon passports'

As a result, airlines have been looking at their networks to include more faraway destinations as well as smaller cities that are growing increasingly popular with tourists and may not be served by their competitors.

The Philippines has been popular among tourists in recent years.

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United brings back more routes, says it is committed to 'finding hidden gems'

This week, United Airlines  (UAL)  announced that it will be launching a new route from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Morocco's Marrakesh. While it is only the country's fourth-largest city, Marrakesh is a particularly popular place for tourists to seek out the sights and experiences that many associate with the country — colorful souks, gardens with ornate architecture and mosques from the Moorish period.

More Travel:

"We have consistently been ahead of the curve in finding hidden gem destinations for our customers to explore and remain committed to providing the most unique slate of travel options for their adventures abroad," United's SVP of Global Network Planning Patrick Quayle, said in a press statement.

The new route will launch on Oct. 24 and take place three times a week on a Boeing 767-300ER  (BA)  plane that is equipped with 46 Polaris business class and 22 Premium Plus seats. The plane choice was a way to reach a luxury customer customer looking to start their holiday in Marrakesh in the plane.

Along with the new Morocco route, United is also launching a flight between Houston (IAH) and Colombia's Medellín on Oct. 27 as well as a route between Tokyo and Cebu in the Philippines on July 31 — the latter is known as a "fifth freedom" flight in which the airline flies to the larger hub from the mainland U.S. and then goes on to smaller Asian city popular with tourists after some travelers get off (and others get on) in Tokyo.

United's network expansion includes new 'fifth freedom' flight

In the fall of 2023, United became the first U.S. airline to fly to the Philippines with a new Manila-San Francisco flight. It has expanded its service to Asia from different U.S. cities earlier last year. Cebu has been on its radar amid growing tourist interest in the region known for marine parks, rainforests and Spanish-style architecture.

With the summer coming up, United also announced that it plans to run its current flights to Hong Kong, Seoul, and Portugal's Porto more frequently at different points of the week and reach four weekly flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai by August 29.

"This is your normal, exciting network planning team back in action," Quayle told travel website The Points Guy of the airline's plans for the new routes.

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Walmart launches clever answer to Target’s new membership program

The retail superstore is adding a new feature to its Walmart+ plan — and customers will be happy.

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It's just been a few days since Target  (TGT)  launched its new Target Circle 360 paid membership plan. 

The plan offers free and fast shipping on many products to customers, initially for $49 a year and then $99 after the initial promotional signup period. It promises to be a success, since many Target customers are loyal to the brand and will go out of their way to shop at one instead of at its two larger peers, Walmart and Amazon.

Related: Walmart makes a major price cut that will delight customers

And stop us if this sounds familiar: Target will rely on its more than 2,000 stores to act as fulfillment hubs. 

This model is a proven winner; Walmart also uses its more than 4,600 stores as fulfillment and shipping locations to get orders to customers as soon as possible.

Sometimes, this means shipping goods from the nearest warehouse. But if a desired product is in-store and closer to a customer, it reduces miles on the road and delivery time. It's a kind of logistical magic that makes any efficiency lover's (or retail nerd's) heart go pitter patter. 

Walmart rolls out answer to Target's new membership tier

Walmart has certainly had more time than Target to develop and work out the kinks in Walmart+. It first launched the paid membership in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, when many shoppers sheltered at home but still required many staples they might ordinarily pick up at a Walmart, like cleaning supplies, personal-care products, pantry goods and, of course, toilet paper. 

It also undercut Amazon  (AMZN)  Prime, which costs customers $139 a year for free and fast shipping (plus several other benefits including access to its streaming service, Amazon Prime Video). 

Walmart+ costs $98 a year, which also gets you free and speedy delivery, plus access to a Paramount+ streaming subscription, fuel savings, and more. 

An employee at a Merida, Mexico, Walmart. (Photo by Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images

If that's not enough to tempt you, however, Walmart+ just added a new benefit to its membership program, ostensibly to compete directly with something Target now has: ultrafast delivery. 

Target Circle 360 particularly attracts customers with free same-day delivery for select orders over $35 and as little as one-hour delivery on select items. Target executes this through its Shipt subsidiary.

We've seen this lightning-fast delivery speed only in snippets from Amazon, the king of delivery efficiency. Who better to take on Target, though, than Walmart, which is using a similar store-as-fulfillment-center model? 

"Walmart is stepping up to save our customers even more time with our latest delivery offering: Express On-Demand Early Morning Delivery," Walmart said in a statement, just a day after Target Circle 360 launched. "Starting at 6 a.m., earlier than ever before, customers can enjoy the convenience of On-Demand delivery."

Walmart  (WMT)  clearly sees consumers' desire for near-instant delivery, which obviously saves time and trips to the store. Rather than waiting a day for your order to show up, it might be on your doorstep when you wake up. 

Consumers also tend to spend more money when they shop online, and they remain stickier as paying annual members. So, to a growing number of retail giants, almost instant gratification like this seems like something worth striving for.

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

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President Biden Delivers The “Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President”

President Biden Delivers The "Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President"

Having successfully raged, ranted, lied, and yelled through…

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President Biden Delivers The "Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President"

Having successfully raged, ranted, lied, and yelled through the State of The Union, President Biden can go back to his crypt now.

Whatever 'they' gave Biden, every American man, woman, and the other should be allowed to take it - though it seems the cocktail brings out 'dark Brandon'?

Tl;dw: Biden's Speech tonight ...

  • Fund Ukraine.

  • Trump is threat to democracy and America itself.

  • Abortion is good.

  • American Economy is stronger than ever.

  • Inflation wasn't Biden's fault.

  • Illegals are Americans too.

  • Republicans are responsible for the border crisis.

  • Trump is bad.

  • Biden stands with trans-children.

  • J6 was the worst insurrection since the Civil War.

(h/t @TCDMS99)

Tucker Carlson's response sums it all up perfectly:

"that was possibly the darkest, most un-American speech given by an American president. It wasn't a speech, it was a rant..."

Carlson continued: "The true measure of a nation's greatness lies within its capacity to control borders, yet Bid refuses to do it."

"In a fair election, Joe Biden cannot win"

And concluded:

“There was not a meaningful word for the entire duration about the things that actually matter to people who live here.”

Victor Davis Hanson added some excellent color, but this was probably the best line on Biden:

"he doesn't care... he lives in an alternative reality."

*  *  *

Watch SOTU Live here...

*   *   *

Mises' Connor O'Keeffe, warns: "Be on the Lookout for These Lies in Biden's State of the Union Address." 

On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden is set to give his third State of the Union address. The political press has been buzzing with speculation over what the president will say. That speculation, however, is focused more on how Biden will perform, and which issues he will prioritize. Much of the speech is expected to be familiar.

The story Biden will tell about what he has done as president and where the country finds itself as a result will be the same dishonest story he's been telling since at least the summer.

He'll cite government statistics to say the economy is growing, unemployment is low, and inflation is down.

Something that has been frustrating Biden, his team, and his allies in the media is that the American people do not feel as economically well off as the official data says they are. Despite what the White House and establishment-friendly journalists say, the problem lies with the data, not the American people's ability to perceive their own well-being.

As I wrote back in January, the reason for the discrepancy is the lack of distinction made between private economic activity and government spending in the most frequently cited economic indicators. There is an important difference between the two:

  • Government, unlike any other entity in the economy, can simply take money and resources from others to spend on things and hire people. Whether or not the spending brings people value is irrelevant

  • It's the private sector that's responsible for producing goods and services that actually meet people's needs and wants. So, the private components of the economy have the most significant effect on people's economic well-being.

Recently, government spending and hiring has accounted for a larger than normal share of both economic activity and employment. This means the government is propping up these traditional measures, making the economy appear better than it actually is. Also, many of the jobs Biden and his allies take credit for creating will quickly go away once it becomes clear that consumers don't actually want whatever the government encouraged these companies to produce.

On top of all that, the administration is dealing with the consequences of their chosen inflation rhetoric.

Since its peak in the summer of 2022, the president's team has talked about inflation "coming back down," which can easily give the impression that it's prices that will eventually come back down.

But that's not what that phrase means. It would be more honest to say that price increases are slowing down.

Americans are finally waking up to the fact that the cost of living will not return to prepandemic levels, and they're not happy about it.

The president has made some clumsy attempts at damage control, such as a Super Bowl Sunday video attacking food companies for "shrinkflation"—selling smaller portions at the same price instead of simply raising prices.

In his speech Thursday, Biden is expected to play up his desire to crack down on the "corporate greed" he's blaming for high prices.

In the name of "bringing down costs for Americans," the administration wants to implement targeted price ceilings - something anyone who has taken even a single economics class could tell you does more harm than good. Biden would never place the blame for the dramatic price increases we've experienced during his term where it actually belongs—on all the government spending that he and President Donald Trump oversaw during the pandemic, funded by the creation of $6 trillion out of thin air - because that kind of spending is precisely what he hopes to kick back up in a second term.

If reelected, the president wants to "revive" parts of his so-called Build Back Better agenda, which he tried and failed to pass in his first year. That would bring a significant expansion of domestic spending. And Biden remains committed to the idea that Americans must be forced to continue funding the war in Ukraine. That's another topic Biden is expected to highlight in the State of the Union, likely accompanied by the lie that Ukraine spending is good for the American economy. It isn't.

It's not possible to predict all the ways President Biden will exaggerate, mislead, and outright lie in his speech on Thursday. But we can be sure of two things. The "state of the Union" is not as strong as Biden will say it is. And his policy ambitions risk making it much worse.

*  *  *

The American people will be tuning in on their smartphones, laptops, and televisions on Thursday evening to see if 'sloppy joe' 81-year-old President Joe Biden can coherently put together more than two sentences (even with a teleprompter) as he gives his third State of the Union in front of a divided Congress. 

President Biden will speak on various topics to convince voters why he shouldn't be sent to a retirement home.

According to CNN sources, here are some of the topics Biden will discuss tonight:

  • Economic issues: Biden and his team have been drafting a speech heavy on economic populism, aides said, with calls for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy – an attempt to draw a sharp contrast with Republicans and their likely presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

  • Health care expenses: Biden will also push for lowering health care costs and discuss his efforts to go after drug manufacturers to lower the cost of prescription medications — all issues his advisers believe can help buoy what have been sagging economic approval ratings.

  • Israel's war with Hamas: Also looming large over Biden's primetime address is the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has consumed much of the president's time and attention over the past few months. The president's top national security advisers have been working around the clock to try to finalize a ceasefire-hostages release deal by Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that begins next week.

  • An argument for reelection: Aides view Thursday's speech as a critical opportunity for the president to tout his accomplishments in office and lay out his plans for another four years in the nation's top job. Even though viewership has declined over the years, the yearly speech reliably draws tens of millions of households.

Sources provided more color on Biden's SOTU address: 

The speech is expected to be heavy on economic populism. The president will talk about raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. He'll highlight efforts to cut costs for the American people, including pushing Congress to help make prescription drugs more affordable.

Biden will talk about the need to preserve democracy and freedom, a cornerstone of his re-election bid. That includes protecting and bolstering reproductive rights, an issue Democrats believe will energize voters in November. Biden is also expected to promote his unity agenda, a key feature of each of his addresses to Congress while in office.

Biden is also expected to give remarks on border security while the invasion of illegals has become one of the most heated topics among American voters. A majority of voters are frustrated with radical progressives in the White House facilitating the illegal migrant invasion. 

It is probable that the president will attribute the failure of the Senate border bill to the Republicans, a claim many voters view as unfounded. This is because the White House has the option to issue an executive order to restore border security, yet opts not to do so

Maybe this is why? 

While Biden addresses the nation, the Biden administration will be armed with a social media team to pump propaganda to at least 100 million Americans. 

"The White House hosted about 70 creators, digital publishers, and influencers across three separate events" on Wednesday and Thursday, a White House official told CNN. 

Not a very capable social media team... 

The administration's move to ramp up social media operations comes as users on X are mostly free from government censorship with Elon Musk at the helm. This infuriates Democrats, who can no longer censor their political enemies on X. 

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers tell Axios that the president's SOTU performance will be critical as he tries to dispel voter concerns about his elderly age. The address reached as many as 27 million people in 2023. 

"We are all nervous," said one House Democrat, citing concerns about the president's "ability to speak without blowing things."

The SOTU address comes as Biden's polling data is in the dumps

BetOnline has created several money-making opportunities for gamblers tonight, such as betting on what word Biden mentions the most. 

As well as...

We will update you when Tucker Carlson's live feed of SOTU is published. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/08/2024 - 07:44

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