Author Archives: granny g

When Charity Funds Go Missing

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Dolly Parton is known for starting a literacy program for children. She began her Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails high-quality, free books to more than 3 million children around the world each month, in 1995. 

On Saturday, Breitbart reported: 

California’s top librarian is accused of failing to produce $650,000 in missing funds linked to a literacy program started by country music star Dolly Parton in east Tennessee in 1995.

State legislators recently pelted Greg Lucas, the leader of the California State Library, with questions about the funds during a budget hearing on education, the New York Post reported on Friday.

…During the hearing, state Sen. Shannon Grove (R) told Lucas he did not have documentation to show where the money went.

She then asked point blank, “Where’s the money?”

Lucas was appointed to lead the state library in 2014 by former Gov. Jerry Brown, ABC 10 reported.

The article concludes:

Legislation for a statewide version of the program through the state library was signed into law in 2022 with the approval of over $68 million in state funding for the books. The Post noted that “Lawmakers allowed up to 10% — about $6.8 million — for administrative costs and set a goal of enrolling roughly 65% of eligible California children within five years.”

However, when the program stalled for a couple of years the state library entered a $19.2 million contract in late 2024 with Strong Reader Partnership, a nonprofit group that was closed down in September. It received over $4.8 million from the state with $4 million shifted to a money market account.

The nonprofit said it spent about $1.2 million but bank statements reportedly showed over $500,000 in expenses. Now, lawmakers claim nearly $650,000 is missing and Lucas has said he will get answers for officials.

In regard to the lack of documentation, Grove told Lucas in a budget meeting, “You don’t have receipts requested six times. You don’t have bank statements requested six times from this committee. … That makes no sense, and that reeks of horrific no transparency and potential fraud.”

This could simply be a case of missing receipts, but unfortunately, California does not have a great record in preventing fraud in government programs.

Voting With Your Feet

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On Saturday, The New York Post posted an article about Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick. He has announced that he is leaving California for Texas.

Our Founding Fathers envisioned a nation where each state would be an individual laboratory to find the best ways to do things–provide services, create budgets, levy taxes, etc. The idea was that the unsuccessful states would learn from the successful states. Unfortunately, some of our less successful states seem to have a very slow learning curve and rather than learn from what is successful are doubling down on what doesn’t work. California, a beautiful state with beautiful beaches, and beautiful weather is one example of that slow learning curve. The state’s tax plans are driving successful people out of the state.

The article reports:

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick says he has traded California for Texas, joining a growing list of billionaires abandoning the state as lefty lawmakers push for a one-off tax on their wealth.

Appearing on TPBN to discuss his robotics startup Atoms, Kalanick told hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays he relocated to Austin at the end of 2025.

“Just to be clear, on December 18, I moved to Texas. I don’t know what’s so specific about December 18, but let’s just say it’s prior to January,” said Kalanick, pointedly.

That means the 49-year-old’s estimated $3.6 billion fortune will not be subjected to the tax should it be introduced.

Kalanick joked he felt a twinge of FOMO when he hears about other wealthy Americans relocating to Florida.

“Why so much Florida action?! Like, come on homies,” he said.

Those ”homies” would be billionaire tech figures to leave California for Florida., including Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, PayPal and Palantir investor Peter Thiel, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg.

The article notes:

While California still boasts the largest billionaire population in the United States, an increasing number have relocated to places such as Reno, Austin and Miami.

As long as people are free to move around the country, they will gravitate to the states with lower taxes and a lower cost of living. Businesses and corporations will also move to states with a better business climate. Note that Cape Cod Potato Chips are being moved out of Massachusetts.

Saving America: Citizenship

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Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D. 

This year, the 250th anniversary of the founding of this great country, is not only an opportunity to celebrate what we have achieved, but a reminder of our obligation to future generations of Americans to examine where we are headed in this complex and changing world and what we must do to ensure America’s survival as conceived by the Founding Fathers. We owe this to all those who have sacrificed and worked to build, protect, and defend our country since its founding and especially to all those who fought and died on the battlefield. If history shows us anything, it demonstrates that successful countries cease to exist when they fail to maintain the principles and values that allowed them to succeed in the first place. We cannot allow Complacency and failure to recognize and resist the threats the world presents to destroy America as we have known it.

As I have noted in previous articles and which should be patently clear by now, uncontrolled immigration both legal and illegal presents the greatest threat. As President Lincoln correctly stated; “If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide”; and “ America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” I believe that the issue of who is granted citizenship and the privileges given exclusively to citizens are of the utmost importance to the survival of our country as we have known it for 250 years.

When this country was being founded, we were in need of immigrants to expand and develop the massive land that we had acquired. That is no longer the case. The most important thing now is to maintain the culture and traditions that allowed our country to excel and to provide the greatest standard of living ever known. This was not accomplished by accident, but rather by following principles and values reflective of the Judeo/Christian culture of western civilization. The vast majority of immigrants believed in these values–such as compliance with the law, hard work and independence, reliance on family not government handouts, and most of all freedom of action as long as the rights of others was not trampled upon.

As we have seen in the United Kingdom, the massive immigration from countries all over the world has led to the demise of their culture. The most common name of newborn male children in the UK is Muhammad. We are experiencing a similar and accelerating tribalization in our country by Muslims. This can be seen in various places like Minneapolis and now New York City, where over 38% of residents are foreign born and the announcement of the Muslim call to prayer is broadcast over loud speakers several times a day. This not the American I grew up in. This is not assimilation into our culture; quite the opposite, it is colonization.

Alright, so what do we do about it? First, end birthright citizenship, which should be restricted only to the children of citizens. Second, make the rules for becoming a naturalized citizen stricter. There are now over 26 million naturalized citizens in the U.S., and that number is increasing by over 800,000 per year. We must ensure that naturalized citizens are truly aligned with traditional American values. For example, they should be required to foreswear allegiance to things such as Sharia Law whose principles conflict with ours. Third, only citizens should be counted when forming congressional districts–not the overall census that now includes noncitizens. Fourth, only citizens should be allowed to vote in any election, federal or local. Fifth, only citizens should be eligible for any welfare program. Sixth, only native born citizens shall be eligible to hold public office. Seventh, service in the U.S. military should not automatically qualify a person for naturalized  citizenship.

Now, to some people these measures may seem extreme; however, the crisis facing America requires strong measures if we are to preserve our country.

Walking His Own Path

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On Sunday, The Daily Signal posted an article about a recent statement by Senator John Fetterman. If someone had told me when Senator Fetterman was elected that he would be the only reasonable Democrat in the Senate, I would have thought they were crazy, but here we are.

The article reports:

Democrat Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman criticized his party Saturday over the ongoing partial government shutdown and its impacts on federal employees and operations.

Multiple agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), are being subjected to “emergency measures” due to the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to a release by DHS.

Fetterman said he spoke with TSA agents during his frequent travels about the effects of the shutdown.

“I am the only Democrat that has refused to vote in shutting down DHS, literally the only one,” Fetterman said during Saturday’s episode of “The Big Weekend Show.” “And now all agree that this would not have any impact on ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. They already have their funding, and it doesn’t push or force ICE to do any of those kinds of reforms that people think are necessary now, too.”

“Why would you want to punish all of these workers that are under DHS? The only thing that it can do is just make us less safe, and that also makes people have to go without getting paid,” Fetterman continued. “I’m at the airport virtually every week of the year, and I ask all those TSA agents, and I said, ‘Hey, do you like not to get paid for your work?’ I haven’t met one saying, ‘No, it’s no problem.’”

This shutdown makes no sense unless the Democrats believe that illegal votes combined with their extreme left wing are the only way they can win the midterms. Aside from the inconvenience to Americans who travel, there is a serious risk to shutting down the Department of Homeland Security during a war. I don’t believe the majority of Americans support this shutdown.

Unless the number of illegal voters in the midterm elections is enough to swing the election, the shutdown makes no sense.

Why Canada?

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On Sunday, The Conservative Treehouse posted a very short, but interesting article. The article includes a video of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stating that he has blocked ten thousand IRGC members from entering Canada. Why would IRGC members think it was okay to relocate to Canada as their power is being destroyed?

The statement comes at 1:00 minute of the video.

This is a very interesting statement since 700+ members of the IRGC have already fled to Canada (article here). I might take that as a clue that the current Iranian government is not doing well.

Will This Impact The Midterm Elections?

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The government has been partially shut down for about a month now. The place that shutdown has been very obvious and very detrimental to traveling Americans is at airport security lines. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is currently working without pay as is the Department of Homeland Security which oversees the TSA. It’s not a good idea to have an unfunded Department of Homeland Security during a war with a country that has a reputation for terrorism.

On Sunday, Red State reported:

The partial Shutdown of the government has now been going on for almost a month as Democrats refuse to budge on their demands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms. Although ICE is fully funded due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, other departments like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are not, leaving the nation at risk of attack and creating travel nightmares at the airports.

On Sunday, Airlines for America posted the following on X:

I realize the fine print is hard to read, but basically the letter representing the largest U.S. passenger and cargo carriers stresses the importance of paying federal aviation workers, including TSA officers, U.S. Customs clearance officers and air traffic controllers, during government shutdowns.

The article notes:

Although the Democrats are trying to paint the partial shutdown as a cause of Republican intransigence, the fault lies squarely at their feet. With their not ready for prime time demands, they’re acting like they won the House, the Senate, and the Oval Office in 2024 — but they lost all three.

As former President Barack Obama snottily told GOP lawmakers in 2009, soon after taking office, “elections have consequences.” Instead of remembering that maxim, the Dems are acting like children who didn’t get their way and took the ball home. It would just be political theater, but in this case, it’s directly endangering Americans, as we’ve experienced multiple terror attacks since U.S. operations against Iran commenced.

To kneecap the Department of Homeland Security at this time over disputes about one specific department is a dereliction of duty.

The CEOs continued, saying that this kind of gamesmanship should never occur again when it comes to air travel…

The article concludes:

The GOP should remind voters of the Democrats’ shenanigans every single day until November 3.

I agree.

This Is Going To Get Interesting

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On Saturday, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about the American attack on Kharg Island, a small coral island in Iran in the northern Persian Gulf.

The article reports:

Kharg Island is a small coral island in Iran in the northern Persian Gulf. It is 34 miles (55 km) northwest of the port of Bushehr and vital to Iran’s oil industry.

The oil processing facilities at Kharg Island are a foundational component of Iran’s economy. Roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude is processed at Kharg Island, and any disruption to its oil processing could cripple Iran’s economy.

All military targets on the Island were destroyed in the attack, but the oil infrastructure on the Island was left intact.

The article includes President Trump’s statement:

“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island. Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island. However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.”

“During my First Term, and currently, I rebuilt our Military into the Most Lethal, Powerful, and Effective Force, by far, anywhere in the World. Iran has NO ability to defend anything that we want to attack — There is nothing they can do about it! Iran will NEVER have a nuclear weapon, nor will it have the ability to threaten the United States of America, the Middle East or, for that matter, the World! Iran’s Military, and all others involved with this Terrorist Regime, would be wise to lay down their arms, and save what’s left of their country, which isn’t much! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Also on Saturday, John Hinderaker reported at Power Line Blog that the Strait of Hormuz is now open.

The statement from Iran says:

It is only closed to the tankers and ships belong[ing] to our enemies, to those who are attacking us and their allies. Others are free to pass,” Araghchi (Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi) told MS NOW.

I don’t think that is going to be acceptable.

Stating The Obvious

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On Friday, The Daily Signal posted an article about the results of the War on Poverty. The results have not been what the stated goals were, although they may reflect a different agenda than the one stated.

The article reports:

America’s “War on Poverty,” launched by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, has expanded into a vast array of federal social welfare programs that today exceed $1 trillion per year.

Upon signing the Economic Opportunity Act, Johnson stated: “This is not in any sense a cynical proposal to exploit the poor with a promise of a handout,” but rather a means to “help our people find their footing for a long climb toward a better way of life.”

While poverty has declined significantly over the past half-century, however, recent reports indicate that these programs simultaneously reduced the share of private income for America’s poorest, locking them into long-term dependency and limiting their ability to move up into the middle class.

A recent study by economists Kevin Corinth and Richard Burkhauser, which analyzed poverty rates before and after America embarked on the War on Poverty, concluded that, while poverty decreased substantially since 1964, this was achieved largely by welfare supplanting “market” income such as wages, investments, and profits. In addition, before the 1960s, market income had succeeded in reducing poverty at similar rates to what the War on Poverty achieved.

“Our new research shows that the United States made strong progress in reducing poverty during the quarter century before the War on Poverty began, and that this progress was entirely accounted for by increases in market income, not government transfers,” Corinth told The Daily Signal. “In other words, there was a lot of benefit and not much cost during this earlier period.”

Before the War on Poverty, poverty reduction was achieved across racial groups. Economist Thomas Sowell wrote in 2004 that the poverty rate among black families fell from 87% in 1940 to 47% in 1960, without government assistance.

The article notes:

A January report by the Congressional Budget Office found that, for the poorest 20% of Americans, government payments increased from 26% of total income in 1979 to 42% in 2022. And as welfare programs expanded, market income for America’s poorest declined as a share of total income. Whereas in 1979, welfare payments were only about half the amount of private income sources for the lowest quintile, the two income sources were roughly equal by 2022.

According to a February report in The Daily Economy by analyst Tyler Turman, based on this Congressional Budget Office data, “despite historically unprecedented economic gains for low-income Americans, more of them are dependent on government assistance than at any point in the country’s history.”

The article concludes with a statement that probably describes the actual goal of the War on Poverty:

If the goal of the War on Poverty was to boost Americans’ self-sufficiency, it appears to have fallen short. What it has achieved, rather, is a costly expansion of government, long-term dependency for the poor, and a perennial voting bloc for politicians who feed the addiction.

Environmentally Friendly?

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On Saturday, WattsUpWithThat posted an article about wind turbines. It seems that they are not as environmentally friendly as we have been told.

The article reports:

Just this week, David posted a report to CFACT.org on a hearing in the House of Representatives on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which was designed to protect and preserve our birds.

An important topic was the accidental killing of birds, which David explains is called “incidental taking” by the bureaucrats. As David wryly observes, “It is not incidental to the bird, just to the operation of the facility.”

Are you surprised that the hearing somehow managed to skip, bypass, or outright ignore the massive “incidental taking” of birds and bats by wind turbines?

Not only do wind turbines strike eagles, hawks, birds, and bats out of the sky, once you erect them, many species abandon the area, never to return.

Abundant, affordable electricity is essential to human well-being in a modern society. Wind and solar increase costs, weaken the grid, require 24/7 backup from reliable sources, and impose a far dirtier environmental footprint than their advocates would have you know.

Intermittent wind and solar should not get a pass on environmental rules that are zealously enforced against efficient energy sources.

In the past I have posted articles (here, here, and here) about the fact that wind turbine blades are not biodegradable and are filling up landfills around America. All that was accomplished by the push toward green energy was to boost the economy of China. At some point green energy might make sense, but we need to do a lot of engineering first.

Rats Deserting A Sinking Ship

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On March 14th, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about the number of Iranian Revolutionary Guard members who have fled to Canada.

The article reports:

This is quite a remarkable development.  Someone in the Toronto airport captured video of Iranian Cleric Hojjatoleslam Morteza Tayebi arriving in Canada yesterday [Video Here].  As the story is told, apparently 700+ members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who carry out regime terrorism, reside or have dual citizenship in Canada. [HERE]

“The individual observed in the Pearson Toronto Airport videos, carrying a suitcase while dressed in clerical attire, is Hojatoleslam Morteza Taieb.  According to some reports, he holds residency or citizenship in Canada and travels between Iran and this country.” {Source}

Canadian Member of Parliament Melissa Lantsman has been trying to draw attention to the issue for several years, claiming the IRGC is carrying out domestic terrorism in Canada while supporting the activity of the Iranian government.

Melissa Lantsman, “the government knows there are IRGC agents here in Canada. They know these terrorists perpetuate violence, terrify our citizens, and do the work of the mullahs in our own streets. But the government lets them stay in Canada.  Why?

Great question. Additionally, if Iranian Mullahs and Clerics are part of a fanatical war against the U.S. then wouldn’t their ability to seek safe harbor in Canada represent a threat to the United States?

That said, the IRGC members living in Canada in combination with dual citizenship for Mullahs and Clerics certainly explains the soft response from Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Keep in mind that America’s border with Canada is not as secure as our southern border. We have IRGC members in Canada who would love to create chaos in America at a time when America’s Department of Homeland Security is not being funded by the Democrats in the Senate.

The Impact Of Tariffs

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On Thursday, Yahoo Finance posted an article about the trade deficit.

The article reports:

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in January as exports surged to a record high and imports fell, a trend that if sustained, could see trade contributing to economic growth ‌in the first quarter.

The trade gap contracted 25.3% to $54.5 billion, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and ‌Census Bureau said on Thursday. Data for December was revised to show the deficit widening to $72.9 billion instead of $70.3 billion as previously estimated. Economists polled ​by Reuters forecast the trade deficit shrinking to $66.6 billion in January.

…Exports jumped 5.5% to an all-time high of $302.1 billion in January. The increase was the largest since October ​2021. Goods ​exports soared 8.1% to $195.5 billion. They were boosted by a $9.4 billion ​increase in exports of industrial supplies and materials, ‌mostly nonmonetary gold and other precious metals.

Capital goods exports increased $5.4 billion to a record high, boosted by computers, civilian aircraft as well as computer accessories. Exports of other goods rose $2.9 billion, also to an all-time high. But consumer goods exports decreased $2.8 billion to the lowest level since October 2022, pulled down by a $2.1 billion decline in pharmaceutical preparations.

Imports fell 0.7% to $356.6 billion in January. Goods imports slipped 1.0% to $277.3 billion. They were dragged down by a $3.3 billion decrease in consumer goods, mostly ‌pharmaceutical preparations. Imports of automotive vehicles, parts and engines fell $2.8 billion ​amid decreases in trucks, buses and special-purpose vehicles, as well as passenger ​cars.

The article concludes:

The ​goods trade deficit narrowed 17.6% to $81.8 billion in January. Exports of services increased $1.2 billion to a record high $106.7 billion, reflecting rises in other business services, financial services and charges for the use of intellectual property. Exports of ​travel services fell $0.3 billion, likely reflecting ‌a reduction in tourism.

Imports of services increased $0.2 billion to an all-time high of $79.3 billion amid gains in other ​business services and insurance services.

Trade made a negligible contribution to the economy’s 1.4% annualized growth pace in ​the October-December quarter.

Tariffs work. Until 1913, our government was totally funded by tariffs. Admittedly, the current government is doing a lot of things that are not in the Constitution, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to go back to a system where all Americans got to keep what they earned?

What Could Possibly Be The Motive?

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On Thursday, Just the News posted an article about the attack on a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

The article reports:

One person was injured Thursday after a man drove his car into a synagogue in Michigan, and the suspect was found dead in his vehicle, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

Officials identified the suspected driver as 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon who came to the United States in 2011 on an immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. 

No children or staff were injured in the incident at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, but one of the security guards was taken to the hospital after being hit by the vehicle, Bouchard said, CNN reported. The guard is expected to recover.

Officials said 30 other law enforcement officers have been treated for smoke inhalation after the vehicle caught fire following the crash. 

No motive for the incident has been reported so far, though the FBI has described the crash as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”

Bouchard said that the suspect drove through the doors of the building and down the hall, and that officials believe there was only one person in the car. He also noted that security saw and engaged the suspect in gunfire.

If the FBI describes the crash as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” how much more of a motive do you need?

The article concludes:

Michigan State Police’s Second District said troopers are increasing patrols at other places of worship in the district.

According to its website, Temple Israel is the largest Reform synagogue in the U.S.

West Bloomfield High School, West Bloomfield Middle School, Doherty Elementary School, and Bloomfield Hills Schools are currently in secure mode, CBS News reported.

The Jewish Federation of Detroit urged all Jewish organizations to go into “lockout protocol.” 

Some news sources are bold enough to call this an act of domestic terrorism. That is accurate. We will never solve the problem if we fail to identify it.

Now Is Not The Time To Leave DHS Unfunded

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On March 13th, The Daily Caller posted an article about one Democrat Senator who is now willing to vote with the Republicans to end the partial government shutdown. It only took a terrorist attack in her home state for her to change her mind.

The article reports:

Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin changed her tune on funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Friday after a Lebanese national attacked a Metro Detroit synagogue.

DHS identified the deceased suspect who attacked the Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, as Ayman Mohamed Ghazali, a Lebanese native who became a U.S. citizen in 2016. Slotkin, who voted in favor of continuing the partial shutdown of DHS on Thursday, said during a press conference that DHS needs to be funded because it is an “essential” agency.

The article concludes:

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only member of his party to support the full-year appropriations bill for DHS.

Ghazali allegedly rammed his vehicle into the synagogue in West Bloomfield while several explosives were in the trunk. He then engaged in gunfire with the building’s security team, which caused him to die at the scene, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said Thursday. The vehicle caught fire after “something ignited” inside.

The partial shutdown has caused lengthy lines at airports during the spring break travel season, which prompted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to call on Democrats to end the shutdown. The partial shutdown marks the third time TSA employees have worked without pay in nearly six months.

We have had a number of violent ‘incidents’ in the past few weeks. I don’t know whether any of them would have been stopped by having a funded Department of Homeland Security, but I think it is necessary to admit that right now is a really good time to stop playing games and fund that department.

Why Should Anyone Vote For A Republican?

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On Wednesday, The Washington Examiner posted the following headline:

GOP failure to pass SAVE Act shows why Trump was elected

I totally agree. We elected Republicans to the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate, and we still can’t get a Republican agenda passed in Washington. We need new Republicans. We identified the fraud, but the bloated budget is still with us. The House passed a law to increase election integrity, but the law can’t even get a hearing in the Senate despite having 80 percent plus approval from both parties. If if does come to the floor, there is no guarantee it will pass.

The article notes:

Trump captured, and still dominates, the hearts and minds of the party faithful because establishment Republicans refused to lead. For decades, the base elected politicians who promised to do one thing, then got to Washington and did something else — or nothing at all. These faithless politicians are still with us and still blocking the progress America needs, guaranteeing that Trump-style disruption is both here to stay and destined to intensify.

In late February, a small group of Republican senators majorly delayed, and may have even killed, one of the Right’s top priorities — the SAVE Act. The bill would require that voters show valid identification before casting a ballot in federal elections. It would also require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Gallup polling shows that more than 4 out of 5 Americans support these reforms. Even people who dispute Trump’s assertions of widespread fraud still support these measures to protect the integrity of the ballot box. This is basic, even obvious, stuff.

But four Senate Republicans said no — not only to the president, but to their own voters as well as the vast majority of the nation. Using a procedural tactic, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and John Curtis (R-UT) refused to allow an open debate on the Senate floor about the SAVE Act. Tillis is a co-sponsor of the SAVE Act, but now that it’s in the news and Trump is demanding action, the senator won’t even let his colleagues discuss it on the record. That’s right: The 53-member GOP Senate majority can’t bring its own bill up for a vote. It’s not clear when, or if, that will ever happen.

The article concludes:

Obviously, there are complicated realities to passing legislation, the filibuster chief among them. But somehow, Democrats don’t have as many problems passing their priorities: Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, and former President Joe Biden’s multiple spending blowouts. They at least know how to bring big bills up for a vote. The GOP, even mostly transformed by Trump, still struggles to get that far.

The president isn’t the one standing in the way. It’s the lesser Republicans who never get tired of doing nothing, the wrong thing, or both. So long as they block even basic and wildly popular reforms such as voter identification, the base will demand the intensification of the MAGA revolution. Like so many other Republicans over the past decade, the current naysaying senators think they’re standing up to Trump. In fact, they’re empowering him and ensuring that voters elect more leaders like him.

What is the point of electing Republicans if they can’t do what they were elected to do?

How Is The Economy Doing?

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Obviously, the increase in gasoline prices because of the war in Iran is going to impact inflation, but that should be a temporary increase. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is doing a good job of keeping inflation under control.

On Wednesday, CNBC reported:

  • The consumer price index rose 2.4% in February from a year earlier, unchanged from January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • That’s still slightly above policymakers’ long-term inflation target, economists said.
  • War in Iran complicates the picture. The conflict has caused oil prices to soar since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, raising prices for gasoline and other types of fuel.

The article at CNBC includes the following charts:

The article concludes:

Overall the CPI inflation also looks better on paper than in reality due to a quirk in the data from the government shutdown in the fall.

The record-long shutdown, which ran from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, prevented federal statisticians from collecting typical inflation data in October. Without that data, the BLS assumed that no price increases had taken place during the month for most categories of goods and services.

Taking that measurement quirk into account, the CPI inflation is likely around 2.7%, about 0.3 percentage point higher than reported Wednesday, said Zandi of Moody’s.

The Long Road To War

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On March 10th, Victor David Hanson posted an article at American Greatness detailing how we got involved in a war with Iran.

The article reports:

Until last year, for some 46 years, Iran enjoyed a North Korea-like reputation in the heart of the Middle East: always unpredictable, reckless, dangerous, inevitably to be nuclear, self-destructive, and nihilistic.

All that said, was it really ever all that formidable?

The mullahs came into power after the removal of the Shah and, subsequently, the interim secular socialists. They did so by taking American hostages, murdering opponents, executing former supporters, and transforming the most secular and modern of the Middle East Muslim nations into the most medieval that routinely hung homosexuals, adulterers, and almost anyone who questioned the authority of the ayatollahs. In other words, these were gruesome people, but they didn’t necessarily have a competent military.

The theocracy’s only constant with the prior monarchical Iran was that it inherited near limitless oil and natural gas reserves, sophisticated arms, and the Shah’s modernized cities. It controlled the key strategic chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz and enjoyed a geostrategically critical location between Asia and the Middle East. It fueled Iran’s historical chauvinism and pique that the millennia-long historical preeminence of Middle Eastern Persia was not fully appreciated by its Arab neighbors. So there were lots of natural advantages—and all for the most part squandered.

The article concludes with what the author suspects is the strategy of the people who currently control Iran:

The remnants of the theocracy intend to ride out the bombings and, at some point in extremis, expect an armistice from “negotiations.” Their ultimate strategy is to wait out the tenures of both Trump and Netanyahu and hope for another sympathetic president like Obama, or a non compos mentis Biden, or someone ideologically akin to Mamdani or AOC.

When Trump and Netanyahu are out of office, they dream of using their oil to rearm and resume their role as Chinese and Russian proxies, eventually getting the bomb, and the second time around, perhaps using it.

Theocratic Iran, in its fantasies, still believes that if it ever destroyed Israel with a bomb or two, the world, especially given the recrudescence of Western antisemitism, would be appalled—for a day or two.

Then it would resume business with it. And with a dozen or so deterrent nuclear-tipped missiles, the Iranian ritual boilerplate of crazed pronouncements would follow of supposedly welcoming a nuclear pathway to an eternal virginal Paradise.

And thus, we would go full circle back again to a “crazy” Iran, its murderous clients, and its unhinged—but effective—threats.

Please follow the link to read the entire article. The war started 47 years ago. We need to finish it.

Following The Money

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On Monday, The Daily Signal posted an article about about a policy change in the Department of Education.

The article reports:

The Department of Education will soon require universities to publicly disclose the counterparties of foreign funding, a senior Education Department official told The Daily Signal.

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act requires higher education institutions to report gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more to the Department of Education, to make them available for public inspection.

Universities currently report counterparties, their gifters or contractors, to the agency. However, the identities of foreign counterparties are not made public, which the senior department official said violates the law. The totals received from counterparties of concern are listed in the Section 117 Foreign Gift & Contract Reporting portal, but the gifters’ identities are not named.

…The Education Department is following the rulemaking process, providing notice to universities and allowing for public comment on the new requirement. The department plans to make the counterparty information available for public inspection by early to mid-summer.

“That’s the part the universities do not want to see happen,” the official said. “They’ve spent years trying to make it not happen.”

Previous administrations allowed universities to mark certain funding sources on their records as exempt from disclosure in public records requests.

“The department, for years, has actually provided a way for universities to not disclose this information to the public,” the official said. “We’re done with that business. We’re not doing that. The law says we have to make available these records for public inspection. We’re going to do it.”

Harvard University receives the most from counterparties of concern—$634 million—according to the agency’s portal. Almost all of the gifts and contracts came from counterparties in China.

It would be naive to believe that the money given by foreign sources does not influence what is being taught. With this information now available to the public, parents will have another criteria to evaluate when choosing a school for their child.

Superman In Real Life

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This is the picture (source here) of 46-year-old commander of Patrol Borough Manhattan North, Chief Aaron Edwards, chasing down the wannabe ISIS bombers who attempted to murder and mangle cops and others outside Gracie Mansion this past weekend. Obviously, he was not really wearing a Superman cape, but he definitely deserves one.

Thank you, sir.

I Wish That This Were Fake News

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On March 11th, The National Pulse posted an article about some changes Great Britain is making to its banknotes.

The article reports:

The Bank of England has announced a controversial plan to remove historic Britons, including wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and author Jane Austen, from banknotes. Instead, the new series will feature animals native to the United Kingdom.

Victoria Cleland, the chief cashier at the Bank of England, claimed that while the main goal is to improve counterfeit resilience. “Nature is a great choice from a banknote authentication perspective,” she said, although it is unclear why a banknote featuring a picture of a badger should be harder to counterfeit than a banknote featuring a picture of Churchill.

This change marks the end of more than 50 years of showcasing historic Britons on currency. Robert Jenrick, Shadow Chancellor for Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, criticized the decision, saying, “It says it all that Rachel Reeves is replacing Winston Churchill on our banknotes with a squirrel,” in reference to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Treasury Secretary).

Notably, Starmer removed around five portraits of Churchill from the parliamentary estate after entering office, including a picture of the wartime leader standing next to the Cenotaph, Britain’s main national war memorial, in 1945.

The current leadership of Britain has forgotten the role that Winston Churchill played in allowing them to become leaders of a free country rather than become a part of the German Empire.

It is possible that Winston Churchill will be replaced by a picture of a squirrel. We have reached peak insanity.

Completing The Picture On Energy Independence

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On Tuesday, NewsMax reported:

President Donald Trump announced plans Tuesday for what he described as the first new oil refinery built in the United States in five decades, a project expected to be constructed in Brownsville, Texas.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the project represents a major investment tied to his administration’s wide-ranging energy policy.

“America is returning to REAL ENERGY DOMINANCE!” Trump wrote. “Today I am proud to announce that America First Refining is opening the FIRST new U.S. Oil Refinery in 50 YEARS in Brownsville, Texas.”

Trump described the project as a historic investment tied to international energy partnerships.

“THIS IS A HISTORIC $300 BILLION DOLLAR DEAL — THE BIGGEST IN U.S. HISTORY, A MASSIVE WIN for American Workers, Energy, and the GREAT People of South Texas!” he said.

Trump also thanked international partners involved in the project.

“Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment,” he wrote.

Trump said the investment reflects policy changes tied to his administration’s economic agenda.

This is long overdue. As the article stated, it has been 50 years since America built an oil refinery. Like it or not, the world and its economy are based on fossil fuel. The only thing that green energy accomplished was to strengthen the Chinese economy. The current green energy technology is not advanced enough right now to replace fossil fuels.

The article concludes:

The project aligns with Trump’s executive order outlining his administration’s policy to expand domestic energy production and reduce regulatory barriers.

In the order, Trump said the United States possesses abundant natural resources capable of supporting economic growth but argued that federal regulations have limited energy development.

The order states that expanding domestic energy production would help lower energy costs, strengthen national security, and increase job creation.

It also directs federal policy toward encouraging energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters while positioning the United States as a leading global energy producer and processor of critical minerals.

This is another decision that helps all Americans economically.

Limiting The Flow Of Drugs Into America

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On Monday, Fox News reported that the Coast Guard cutter Munro has returned to their home in California.

The article reports:

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter and its crew returned to their home in California following a 119-day mission in which they seized more than 22,000 pounds of cocaine, the largest maritime drug seizure in 18 years, in the Atlantic in support of the Trump administration’s effort to target drug traffickers. 

The cutter Munro left its port in Alameda on Nov. 3, 2025 for training and participation in Resolute Hunter exercise offshore of San Diego, before sailing into the Pacific Ocean to conduct counternarcotics patrols in support of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Operation Pacific Viper.

However, the ship was diverted to the Atlantic Ocean in support of Operation Southern Spear, a Trump administration effort to target and disrupt transnational criminal networks, the War Department said Monday. 

The article lists some of the things the Coast Guard Cutter accomplished:

After transiting the Panama Canal, the Munro patrolled the Carribean Sea, where it followed the U.S.-sanctioned Motor Tanker Bella 1, across the Atlantic Ocean for 18 days and 4,900 miles. 

The vessel was determined to be without nationality and subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The crew of the Munro boarded the Bella to seize control of the 333-meter crude oil carrier.

In the Pacific, the Munro detected a vessel transiting along a known smuggling route.

With the help of its two cutter pursuit boats and other assets, the Munro tracked and interdicted the vessel using warning shots and disabling fire from a helicopter.

Six suspected drug smugglers were detained and 22,052 pounds of cocaine were seized, a milestone not seen in nearly two decades. 

A local law enforcement person recently told me that the price of street drugs has increased exponentially because of the secure border and the intercepting of boats smuggling drugs. We can only imagine how many lives have been saved by the actions of the Trump administration against the cartels and smugglers.

Ignoring The People You Are Supposed To Represent

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On Monday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about the seeming reluctance of Senate Majority Leader John Thune to work to pass the SAVE America Act.

The article reports:

In yet another blatant betrayal of President Donald Trump and the America First agenda, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has once again shown his true RINO colors by flatly refusing to make any changes to Senate rules that would allow the critical SAVE America Act to pass.

This comes as Trump ramps up pressure on the GOP establishment to secure our elections before the midterms, but Thune is more interested in protecting the swamp than fighting for the American people.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Thune said on Monday when pressed by ABC News about altering the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to advance legislation.

This stonewalling directly undermines Trump’s urgent call to pass the SAVE America Act, which would crack down on voter fraud and ensure only American citizens vote in our elections.

Americans overwhelmingly support the provisions of the Act, yet Congress does not seem to be able to bring about legislation that reflects the views of the voters.

The article concludes:

This isn’t Thune’s first rodeo in backstabbing Trump. Senate Majority Leader John Thune unveiled a procedural scheme to block President Donald Trump from making any critical appointments during the August recess, effectively aiding the Democrats’ obstructionist agenda.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president can make “recess appointments,” temporary appointments to federal positions, if the Senate is in recess and not conducting business. These appointments don’t require immediate Senate confirmation and can last until the end of the next session of Congress.

But there’s a loophole: if the Senate holds pro forma sessions, very short, symbolic meetings where no actual business is conducted, then technically, the Senate is still in session. That means the president cannot legally make recess appointments during that time.

We need to remember that John Thune was Mitch McConnell’s protege. His actions are not surprising.

A Year Of Economic Changes

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On Monday, Just the News posted an article about The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom.

The article reports:

The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom showed the U.S. reversing a five-year decline and having its biggest annual increase in 25 years.

The score increased by 2.6 points from last year, to 72.8. And the U.S. ranked 22nd among the more than 176 countries that had completed scores in the index, FOX Business reported. 

The increase was the largest since 2001, and is the second-largest jump the U.S. has had in the index’s 32-year history.

The index assesses 12 economic freedoms that fall into four categories: rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and open markets.

“The U.S.’s score improvements in monetary freedom, government spending, fiscal health, and investment freedom have outpaced the relatively lower score in trade freedom, reflecting the net positive impact of major regulatory and tax reforms on economic growth, investment, and business confidence,” Heritage’s Anthony Kim, the editor of the Index of Economic Freedom told FOX Business.

Note that this reverses a five-year decline. Elections matter.

The article concludes:

Kim said that the “impact of restrictive tariffs on the global economy has been far more muted than feared, in light of increased investment in such critical sectors as energy and AI (among many others),” adding that the lack of tariff retaliation by countries other than China, Canada, and the European Union mitigated the potential impact of a trade war.

The countries with the highest overall scores in the index were Singapore at 84.4, Switzerland at 83.7%, Ireland at 83.3, Australia at 80.1, and Taiwan at 79.8.

The countries that scored the lowest as the most repressed in the world were North Korea at 3.1, Cuba at 25.2, Venezuela at 27.3, Sudan at 32.5, and Zimbabwe at 35.2.

Our Founding Fathers funded the government with tariffs. It wasn’t until 1913 that the Wilson administration convinced Americans that we needed both the Federal Reserve and the income tax. They  were wrong on both counts.