Using Our Own Laws Against Us

On Thursday, The New York Post posted an article about Venezuelan national Leonel Moreno, who appears to live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.

The article reports:

A migrant TikToker with a 500,000-strong online following is offering his comrades tips on how to “invade” unoccupied homes and invoke squatter’s rights in the United States.

Venezuelan national Leonel Moreno, who appears to live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, said in a recent video that under US law, “if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.”

He appeared to be referring to adverse possession laws, commonly known as squatter’s rights, which allow unlawful property occupants rights over the property they occupy without the owner’s consent, in certain circumstances.

Moreno claimed in the viral TikTok clip, which has drawn more than 3.9 million views, that he has “African friends” who have “already taken about seven homes.”

The firebrand influencer, who lives with his partner and their baby daughter, argued that the only way for his fellow migrants to escape living on the streets and not become a “public burden” is to “invade” unoccupied homes.

Many TikTok commenters were outraged by Moreno’s message encouraging squatting, which has emerged as a major problem in recent years across the US, and especially in Democrat-led cities including New York City, Atlanta and Los Angeles. 

“This guy needs to be charged with whatever crime,” one angry critic wrote.

Recently I posted an article about what is happening in New York where squatters have taken over a number of homes.

It’s time for our lawmakers to either fix the laws that are allowing this or be voted out of office so that we can find new lawmakers.

As The Israeli War Continues

As the war in Gaza continues, we need to remember what started the war and what was celebrated in Gaza when the war began. On Friday, The American Thinker posted an article that provides some perspective.

The article reports:

Among the heart-breaking scenes from the Middle-East are video reports showing civilian casualties of the current war.  In the West, we cringe at those images, especially the ones showing small children — dead, grievously wounded, or orphaned.

In Gaza, there seems to be little reciprocity of sympathy.  Newsmax reports that more than seventy percent of Gazans approve of the October 7 attack on Israel, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed, many by unspeakable torture.  More than eighty percent deny that the atrocities were committed, even after watching the videos sadistically, and boastfully, recorded by the terrorists themselves.  This reminds us of the self-contradiction that might be stated as “We did not commit the crimes, and we are glad that we did.”

This is a case of not cognitive dissonance, but rather moral depravity.  It is lethal hypocrisy.  In seeking to justify acts of evil, the evildoers soon discover that neither have they justification for them, nor do they need it.

Antisemites declare that every Jew should be killed.  The rest of us do not have that same genocidal fervor toward Palestinians.  While antisemites insist that there are no innocent Jews, sane people recognize that some Palestinians are indeed innocent of terrorism.  I recall a news item from years ago in which a Palestinian immigrant to the U.S. explained his reason for leaving his homeland: the people there are crazy, he said, and worse, they demand that all Palestinians join with them in their insanity.  We do not want that for our children.  We want them to live.

It should also be noted that the money given to create a self-sustaining economy in Gaza was instead spent on tunnels and weapons. Somehow the focus in Gaza has always been on killing Jews–even the kindergarten classes are involved (article here). As long as Arab children in Gaza are taught that martyrdom and killing Jews are a goal, there is no point in even considering a two-state solution. Gaza must be tightly controlled until that point (if it ever comes) when generational hatred is no longer the dominant way of thinking.

One Of The Biggest Obstacles To Peace In The Middle East

On Thursday, Breitbart posted an article about a recent statement by Imam Abdou Zindani in a sermon at the Islamic Center of Warren, Michigan, in January.

The article reports:

Muslims will yet “slaughter” the Jews “like sheep” when the opportunity arises, according to a Michigan Islamic cleric who appealed to Allah, seeking to become “soldiers” for Islam in any form desired, including death.

In a sermon at the Islamic Center of Warren, Michigan, in January, Imam Abdou Zindani warned of the fate of Jews everywhere, pointing to a Palestinian businessman who told a Jewish New Yorker what Muslims have in store for the Jews. 

This statement is in keeping with statements in the Hadith, one of the guiding documents in Islam.

The article continues:

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, Jewish man,” he said. “One day will come, and we will slaughter you like a sheep and the stone and the tree will work… undercover for us, [saying:] ‘Hey Muslim, come, there is somebody hiding here, get up and kill him.’”

The Sheikh was apparently referencing a grisly passage in the Islamic text, known as the Hadith, that reads as follows: “Judgement Day will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews. The Jews will hide behind the stones and the trees, and the stones and the trees will say, oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew hiding behind me — come and kill him.” The same excerpt is cited in the Hamas terror group’s charter.

He later made an emotional appeal to Allah, begging that Muslims be made his “soldiers.” 

“Every way you want us to be — with the tank, with the eye, with the money, with the hand, make us soldiers for Islam,” he said. “Make us die the way you want us to die.”

The clip, which was originally streamed live on the mosque’s YouTube channel, has gone viral in recent days, with many expressing outrage over the radical rhetoric being espoused on American soil.

“They are here. Islamists are in the US. They are preaching Islamic supremacy, terrorism and the destruction of our culture,” warned one X user. “Is the FBI on the job? Do you care about uncontrolled, illegal immigration? How long will people wait?” 

“It’s getting late,” he added.

I don’t think a peace treaty is worth anything when one of the parties has this theology as the basis of their culture.

.

Protecting The Lie

On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about the arrest of Michigan attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila in Washington, D.C.

The article reports:

Michigan attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Monday following a court hearing after she gave the alleged “evidence of numerous crimes” to law enforcement containing internal emails from Dominion Voting Systems, AP reported.

Lambert attended a court hearing in Washington, D.C., for a defamation case involving Patrick Byrne, whom she represents. Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock, is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems over his claims of election fraud.

Lambert’s arrest occurred after it was revealed that she had leaked confidential documents from to Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, who has been actively investigating claims of voter fraud from the 2020 election, according to CNN.

The Gateway Pundit reported earlier that Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf has made a bold move by sending a letter to U.S. Representative Jim Jordan, urging a congressional investigation into what he alleges is evidence of “foreign interference” in the 2020 election.

Gee. When does the person who leaked the Supreme Court abortion decision get discovered and arrested?

The article notes:

According to former Michigan candidate for Attorney General and constitutional attorney Matt DePerno, Lambert “was arrested on an open bench warrant for failing to appear at a show cause hearing because she refused to get fingerprinted.”

The U.S. Marshals Service later confirmed Lambert’s arrest, linking it to her failure to appear in court for her separate Michigan criminal case, according to CNN.

During the hearing, Lambert admitted to passing materials to Sheriff Leaf, asserting that she was reporting a crime to law enforcement. She has been vocal about her claims, suggesting that foreign nationals interfered with the election.

Dominion’s legal team has suggested that Lambert’s actions might constitute a criminal offense and has requested her removal from the case. A future hearing is set to determine whether Lambert violated a court order by leaking the documents. Additionally, the court has summoned Byrne to appear and respond to questions about the incident.

I wonder if she had leaded something claiming Donald Trump did something awful would she have been arrested?

What The Government Can Do (And Shouldn’t Be Able To Do)

Below is an excerpt from a Substack article by Robert DuChemin Sr.:

This week’s unanimous Supreme Court opinion concerned the FBI’s abuse of its power.  FBI v. Fikre was a case filed by Mr. Yonas Fikre, a U.S. Citizen and conservative businessman, after the FBI placed him on its “No-fly list.”  In what became a regular practice during the Obama administration, the FBI waited until Fikre flew out of the USA on a business trip to place him on the list.  In doing so it effectively prevented him from returning home.

From their very first meeting at the U.S. Embassy, the FBI admitted that they were not really concerned about Mr. Fikre but wanted him to spy for them on other members of the Portland Oregon mosque he attended. They offered to remove him from the list only if he became an FBI informant.  Wow! They denied an innocent citizen his freedom to try to get him to do something he did not want to do.

From 2009 until 2015, Fikre fought the FBI’s unfounded complaint to no avail.  Stuck in Sweden, he then filed a lawsuit for declaratory relief and to have the court prohibit the FBI from continuing to undermine his freedom without due process of law.  In 2016, facing a loss in court and an incoming Trump Administration, the FBI dropped its unfounded restriction and then moved to dismiss Fikre’s case.

Although there was no longer a “controversy” the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Fikre that the FBI needed to be stopped from doing this again to him and to other people it did not like.  After all, the FBI denied him the right to return home for seven years.

All nine Supremes agreed that the FBI’s ability to continue this immoral practice (which they are doing again in the Harris-Biden Administration) kept alive the controversy.  In short, the FBI could not avoid being spanked by backing down after seven years of destroying someone’s life.

What the court did not address and voters should address is why in the hell are our elected “representatives” not putting a stop to the FBI’s continued abuse of its power.

It is time to elect people who will put an end to this sort of abuse of power.

 

Our Future With Extreme Environmentalists

On Monday, Just the News posted an article about energy prices in California. Obviously inflation combined with the curtailment of American energy production has caused energy prices to increase everywhere, but in California they have increased at double the rate of the rest of the country.

The article reports:

California’s energy costs are double the national average and increasing at double the national rate as the state pushes for reducing emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The state’s energy regulator says energy costs are rapidly approaching the tipping point at which filling up a Tesla with electrons will cost more than filling up a Camry with gasoline.

With the state reducing emissions by an average of 1.5% per year since 2010, this rate would leave the state not reaching its emissions goal until 2047.

California energy costs 2.3 times the national average, with energy costs in the state increasing 10.9% over the past four years compared to 5.1% nationwide, according to an analysis by Radiant Energy Group of U.S. Energy Information Administration data. In some markets, consumers face even higher increases — in San Jose, average monthly energy bills rose from $121 in 2021 to $203 by the end of 2023, with increases from $152 to $220 and $113 to $138 in Los Angeles and San Diego across the same time frames.

The California legislature is dealing with this increase by instituting what can only be called a Marxist solution–equal outcome–not equal burden.

The article reports:

Due to the extremely high cost of California energy, the legislature ordered the California Public Utilities Commission to restructure energy bill surcharges for non-consumption costs to be based on household income. Under this plan, monthly fees to cover utilities’ normal costs outside of electricity consumption — such as power line maintenance and wildfire protection — would be charged to homes based on their household income. Both Republican and Democratic state legislators have come out with plans to repeal this order, suggesting the income-graduated fixed charge may be shut down before it takes effect on July 1.

I think we can safely say that the free market is dead in California.

Protecting Property Rights

If  you are a homeowner, you have a deed which says you own your home. If you are a renter, you have a least that lists the conditions of your rental agreement. These are legal documents designed to protect people who are paying for a place to live. Unfortunately, not all states are protecting private property rights.

On Tuesday, The New York Post posted an article about a recent incident between a homeowner and a squatter living in that home.

The article reports:

A New York City property owner recently ended up in handcuffs following a fiery standoff with a bunch of squatters she has been trying to boot from her family’s home, tense footage of the ordeal shows.

Adele Andaloro, 47, was recently nabbed after she changed the locks on the $1 million home in Flushing, Queens, that she says she inherited from her parents when they died, ABC’s Eyewitness News reported.

“It’s enraging,” the homeowner said of the squatter saga. “It’s not fair that I, as the homeowner, have to be going through this.”

Andaloro claims the ordeal erupted when she started the process of trying to sell the home last month but realized squatters had moved in — and brazenly replaced the entire front door and locks.

Fed up, she recently went to her family’s home on 160th Street — with the local TV outlet in tow — and called a locksmith to change the locks for her.

A heated, caught-on-camera spat with the alleged squatters quickly unfolded and ended with some of the so-called tenants — and Andaloro — being led away in cuffs.

In New York City, a person can claim “squatter’s rights” after just 30 days of living at a property.

Under the law, it is illegal for the homeowner to change the locks, turn off the utilities, or remove the belongings of the “tenants” from the property.

“By the time someone does their investigation, their work, and their job, it will be over 30 days and this man will still be in my home,” Andaloro said.

“I’m really fearful that these people are going to get away with stealing my home,” she added.

During the recent encounter at her home, Andaloro — who was armed with the deeds — was filmed entering the property after one of the apparent tenants left the front door open.

The article concludes:

The ordeal is just the latest involving squatters in the Big Apple in recent weeks after a couple’s plan to move into a $2 million home in Douglaston, Queens, with their disabled son was derailed by a squatter who claimed to have an agreement with the previous owner.

Separately, a squatter was also found to have turned a Rockaways home into a stomach-turning house of horrors by keeping more than a dozen emaciated cats and dogs trapped inside the property.

Whatever happened to the rule of law?

 

Unfolding Before Our Eyes

On Monday, The Daily Caller posted an article about the use of the legal system against President Trump.

The article reports:

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Monday that the “improvisational” nature of the cases against former President Donald Trump caused damage to the image of the legal system and proved Trump was “right” about being targeted by a “weaponized” justice system.

Trump’s attorneys said Monday the former president was having difficulty posting a $454 million bond to cover the judgment in a civil fraud case issued by New York Judge Arthur Engoron in February. Turley said that the cases brought by Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, special counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis proved Trump’s allegations that he was being targeted correct. 

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to deny that we have a legal system now that is being heavily distorted by politics and you cannot look at all of these cases and see blind justice, you see the opposite,” Turley told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, a former Trump administration official. “You see a justice that is being weaponized, and in many ways the Democrats fulfill the narrative of President Trump. He is now right. No matter what they thought about it at the beginning, they proved him to be right with this pile-on from Florida to Georgia, to Washington, D.C., to New York and most of the public gets it.”

The article concludes:

“I mean we have to wait to see if New York still has a judge or two that’s willing to say enough,” Turley continued. “When you are forcing someone to come up with half a billion dollars just to get an appeal? Someone has to say enough. This is not what New York is supposed to be.”

If we want to see our justice system restored back to equal justice under the law, we are going to have to elect people who are willing to follow the law. Please keep that in mind when you vote in primary elections and in November.

 

What Election Interference?

On Monday, Newsbusters posted an article about Google and election interference.

The article reports:

Google has been getting away with election interference for at least 16 years, and it is showing no signs of stopping.

MRC Free Speech America researchers compiled 41 times Google was caught interfering in U.S. elections, beginning in 2008, intensifying in 2016 and continuing into 2024. MRC researchers found carefully crafted studies and numerous reports (from 2008 through February 2024) that have consistently demonstrated the tech behemoth’s election meddling. 

This is a partial list:

In 2008, Google endorsed the radical, young Sen. Obama and censored support for Sen. Clinton.

Google allowed users to smear then-leading GOP candidate for president Rick Santorum.

In 2016, Google employed both its algorithm and its “partners” in futile attempts to push Clinton over the finish line.

Researchers uncovered clear evidence of election interference in 2018.

In 2020, Google picked its favored and disfavored candidates and continued its biased censorship spree.

In 2022, Google placed its thumb on the scale by censoring candidates in key races, and it continued censoring media

The article also comments on the current election cycle:

  • The 2024 election cycle is upon us, and Google has already begun interfering. MRC Free Speech America found that Google buried the campaign websites for every significant opponent of incumbent President Joe Biden (RFK, Jr. plus 15 Republican candidates). When searching for “Republican presidential campaign websites,” Google returned Democrat Mariane Williamson, but not former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and others.) Additionally, Google’s artificial intelligence Gemini (formerly Bard) has refused to answer prompts questioning two of Biden’s biggest weaknesses: the president’s mental health and the ongoing border crisis. The chatbot instead suggested the queries were election-related, which they are. “Elections are a complex topic with fast-changing information,” Gemini claimed in response. “To make sure you have the latest and most accurate information, try Google Search.”

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. Be aware that search engines can be very biased.

 

A Very Skewed View Of The First Amendment

The Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution to provide additional protection from the government to American citizens. The American Declaration of Independence declared,  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The U.S. Constitution was written to protect these rights–not the rights of the government. Unfortunately, many Americans have forgotten that–including one Supreme Court Justice.

On Monday, PJ Media reported on the arguments regarding the First Amendment Case currently before the Supreme Court:

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, whom Joe Biden nominated to the high court, had a particularly disturbing position on the issue:

“So my biggest concern is that your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the government in significant ways in the most important time periods,” she told Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga. “I mean, what would — what would you have the government do? I’ve heard you say a couple of times that the government can post its own speech, but in my hypothetical, you know, ‘Kids, this is not safe, don’t do it,’ is not going to get it done.”

“And so I guess, some might say that the government actually has a duty to take steps to protect the citizens of this country,” Jackson continued. “And you seem to be suggesting that that duty cannot manifest itself in the government encouraging or even pressuring platforms to take down harmful information.”

Jackson said she was “really worried about that” scenario because “you’ve got the First Amendment operating in an environment of threatening circumstances from the government’s perspective, and you’re saying that the government can’t interact with the source of those problems.”

First of all, the First Amendment does hamstring the government because it limits the government from “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” among other things. That’s a feature, not a bug of the First Amendment. 

The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to hamstring the government and empower the people. It is disturbing that a Supreme Court Justice does not know this.

 

Does Anyone Know Where Our Money Is Going?

On Monday, American Greatness posted an article titled:

GAO: ‘Unclear’ if Pentagon Tracking Reports of Misused Aid in Ukraine

I don’t know about you, but that headline does not give me the warm fuzzies.

The article reports:

While the Pentagon has assured Congress that no U.S. military equipment sent to Ukraine has been diverted, stolen, or otherwise misappropriated, a new report from the Government Accountability Office could not determine if the Department of Defense was tracking allegations of misuse two years into the conflict.

“If you never look, you will never find it,” a source familiar with how the report was compiled said of the worst-case possibility that aid was being misappropriated.

The report comes as President Biden struggles to keep the supply lines open to Ukraine. Although a majority of Congress supports sending further aid to help hold back the Russian onslaught, and the Senate passed a bipartisan aid package late last month, House Republicans have yet to approve the latest round of now-stalled military assistance.

The United States remains the leading supplier of munitions and other aid to Ukraine, providing more than $42 billion in assistance since Russia’s invasion. Much of it has come through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to transfer equipment from American stores directly to allies. The annual amount was limited by law to $100 million a year until Congress lifted the cap to $14.5 billion.

The sheer tonnage of supplies and the speed of its shipment, according to the GAO report, has left the Pentagon without “quality data” to assess its delivery. Ensuring munitions and materiel arrive in the right hands has led to unprecedented challenges on top of the existing chaos of war. Most officials were evacuated from Ukraine long ago, for instance, and those who remain are restricted from leaving Kyiv to ensure delivery of shipments before it is used or destroyed on the battlefield.

The article concludes:

The GAO included in their report eight separate recommended reforms, which the DoD consented to partly or entirely. In a letter from Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense, that was included in the report, the DoD declined a recommendation to require which allegations of misuse should be recorded and tracked. According to Cooper, the DoD already has sufficient regulations in place.

This will do little to pacify Republicans eager to rein in the war funding.

“The Biden administration has spent two years deceiving the American people, claiming they’ve closely tracked the military material we’ve sent to Ukraine. The GAO’s report not only proves them wrong, it references allegations that U.S. military equipment ended up in the hands of Russian military forces,” Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican and former U.S. Marine, told RCP.

“This is a major problem. I plan to immediately introduce legislation to hold the Biden administration accountable for these errors,” Vance added.

We need a few people in Congress with the backbone to put an end to this ridiculousness–either account for the spending or stop the spending.

Let’s Hold The Media Accountable For Their Malfeasance

On Monday, Townhall posted an article about a claim made about Republican Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno during the closing days of the primary election.

The article reports:

Republican Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno was slapped with nasty tricks during the primary’s closing days. Ohioans go to the polls on March 19 to decide whether Moreno, endorsed by Trump, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and JD Vance, will prevail over Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose or State Sen. Matt Dolan. The race has tightened to the point where even Democrats are starting to meddle. Yet, one attack was particularly slimy: Moreno signed up on Adult Friend Finder in 2008, seeking the company of young men. 

There are some that believe that if that were the case he would fit in perfectly with the Washington establishment.

The article continues:

It’s not true. The founder of Adult Friend Finder said when he analyzed the data, even though Moreno’s email address was used, it seemed to be an activity you’d see from a prank. Indeed, it was a prank, as a former intern already admitted as much. The Associated Press ran with the story, but even their communications director admitted they had nothing to corroborate it, opening the news outlet to a massive lawsuit. Jonathan Turley wrote if Moreno should file a lawsuit and it reaches the discovery phase; embarrassment can be re-directed at AP. Who wants some scalps?

The article adds that the AP could not corroborate the story and that Dan Ricci, a former intern, claimed to have created the account as a prank. Still AP ran with the story.

This is one of many reasons Americans do not trust the mainstream media. It would be nice to see the AP held responsible for this smearing of a candidate right before a primary election with no confirmation of the story.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

On Thursday, The Daily Wire posted an article about the amount of taxpayer money that goes to federal employees that actually work for the unions that represent federal employees rather than the government but are paid by the federal government.

The article reports:

The federal government pays more than $100 million a year to employees who aren’t doing their actual government jobs, but rather working for unions representing government employees against management — with taxpayers essentially funding both sides of the bargaining table. 

For decades, the government has tracked and reported those figures, but the Biden administration has removed the reports.

Under the policy known as “official time,” hundreds of nominal government employees haven’t done anything but full-time union work in years, yet remain on the federal payroll. Not only is the policy expensive to taxpayers, but it also props up the power of unions by subsidizing their activities, giving them resources even if employees don’t support them enough to pay dues. Those unions fight against the firing of employees accused of misconduct, and advocate for policies that sometimes pit the interests of employees over the interests of taxpayers, such as resisting a return to in-person work.

The Office of Personnel Management has historically kept track of and published how the program is being used, including during the Obama administration. But the data has not been updated since 2019 — when the government shelled out for 2.6 million hours, or nearly 300 years’ worth, of employee time that was actually spent on union business.

The Biden administration has even been secretive about its secrecy. In December, The Daily Wire asked OPM why the page listing the reports was missing, along with all historical reports except 2019, which can only be located via the search function. A spokesperson said, “Previous reports on official time are not currently available because OPM is reorganizing our website to improve navigation and customer experience.”

The article concludes:

In 2014, the Washington Examiner found more than 500 employees who did no or almost no work for their actual government jobs, despite drawing a full-time salary from taxpayers, because of official time. That includes 271 employees on full-time union release with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 201 from the IRS.

Then-Sen. Tom Coburn said “I just don’t think the federal taxpayers ought to be paying for that… That’s what union dues are for. What’s irksome to me is that we are paying someone to be a pharmacist or a nurse, but they’re not doing that. They’re doing union work.”

Washington is due for a really good cleaning out!

Making Selling A Home Cheaper

On Friday, Yahoo Finance posted an article about a change in the commission rate that many realtors will make when selling a home.

The article reports:

The 6% commission, a standard in home purchase transactions, is no more.

In a sweeping move expected to dramatically reduce the cost of buying and selling a home, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday a settlement with groups of homesellers, agreeing to end landmark antitrust lawsuits by paying $418 million in damages and eliminating rules on commissions.

The NAR, which represents more than 1 million Realtors, also agreed to put in place a set of new rules. One prohibits agents’ compensation from being included on listings placed on local centralized listing portals known as multiple listing services, which critics say led brokers to push more expensive properties on customers. Another ends requirements that brokers subscribe to multiple listing services — many of which are owned by NAR subsidiaries — where homes are given a wide viewing in a local market. Another new rule will require buyers’ brokers to enter into written agreements with their buyers.

…By some estimates, real estate commissions are expected to fall 25% to 50%, according to TD Cowen Insights. This will open up opportunities for alternative models of selling real estate that already exist but don’t have much market share, including flat-fee and discount brokerages.

I have very mixed emotions on this. I support the change because I think it was needed in view of the inflation of house prices in recent years. A 6 percent commission on selling a house for $100,000 would be $6,000. Obviously some of that commission would be paid to the Real Estate Agency–the agent would not be able to keep the entire amount. According to Statista, the average price of a house sold in 2023 was &511,100. The real estate agent’s commission on the sale of that house would be approximately $30,000. I realize that the agent has expenses-a photographer to photograph the house, the cost of multiple listing, etc., but that seems high. I hope with this lawsuit, we will get back to more of a free market in real estate sales where the rate is competitive. I don’t want to see either a private or government monopoly determining real estate commissions.

Finally Addressing The Obvious

On Thursday, PJ Media posted an article about the difference between the way the ‘summer of love’ Antifa protestors who burned down buildings and killed people were treated and how the January 6th protestors who did nothing but walk through the Capitol were treated. Evidently there are some people in our judicial system who want to restore equal justice under the law.

The article reports:

Finally a federal judge who believes in justice or something close to it. Could this be a crack in the dike of the tyranny of the DOJ? Is this the beginning of the end of Antifa pattern of violence and silence? We can hope.

To understand what’s at stake, let’s take you back.

At UC Berkeley in 2017, Antifa and their local black bloc franchisees set fires and rioted to prevent Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking on campus. 

The anti-free speech violent protesters set off munitions, broke windows, beat people, and scared the university away from allowing any right-wing speakers to be heard on campus—unless they paid for their own security. Antifa radicals, calling themselves By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), framed themselves as brave and heroic for silencing speech of people they detested at the very birthplace of the campus free speech movement.

It was the first round of the speech wars between people on the right who were trying to speak and those on the left who called them “fascists” while calling themselves “anti fascist” and using violence to literally shut them up. 

Several people were arrested for the melee, but guess who were the only ones prosecuted? 

In an opinion issued February 21, California Federal District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney stiff-armed the DOJs Terrorism and Export Crimes Section out of Los Angeles and nailed them for selective prosecution. The decision to dismiss the federal charges against two men who at some point became members of a group characterized as “white supremacist” was based on the fact that Antifa did as bad or worse that day and at other events where both groups were represented and Antifa wasn’t prosecuted.

This pattern continues as charges were dropped against those who participated in the ‘summer of love’ and Vice-President Kamala Harris asked people to contribute to the bail of the people who were arrested. We need to restore ‘equal justice under the law’ if our country is to survive.

Cleaning House At The Republican National Committee

It has become obvious in recent years that the people we are electing as our ‘representatives’ don’t always represent us. They seem to have their own little power clique that generally ignores the will of the people. This is true in both parties with a few exceptions. Part of the appeal of President Trump is that despite being unbelievably wealthy, he seems to be able to relate to the common man. As he takes over the Republican National Committee and cleans house, hopefully he will fill the Committee with people who represent those of us who have to live under the rules put in place by our government.

On Saturday, American Greatness reported the following:

Sixty (former) Republican National Committee (RNC) staffers received their walking papers this week, just days after new pro-Trump leadership took over at the committee.

The RNC voted on March 8 to replace Ronna McDaniel with new Chairman Michael Whatley and Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara, as co-chair.

…The firings are a clear sign that the Trump campaign is focused on aligning the Republican Party with the campaign after months of feckless leadership at the RNC.

Whatley, the former chair of the North Carolina GOP, said in his acceptance speech that the RNC “will be focused like a laser on getting out the vote and protecting the ballot” and “will work hand in glove with President Trump’s campaign.”

Former Trump White House adviser, who is set to become the RNC’s new chief operating officer, Sean Cairncross, reportedly sent an email that said a full evaluation of RNC staffing was being done “to ensure the building is aligned with his vision of how to win in November.”

…The changes appear to having an immediate impact.

Lara Trump announced the RNC had the “largest digital fundraising weekend since 2020.”

Trump also told Fox News that she “personally had $2.7 MILLION pledged to her on her first weekend as RNC co-chair”:

Let’s hope that at least one of the political parties will make an effort to listen to the voters.

 

Following The Science?

On Friday, Just the News posted an article about some recent comments by Representative. Cori Bush, D-Mo, about the causes of recent problems with the American electric grid.

The article reports:

A House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee hearing Tuesday examined threats to the security and reliability of the U.S. electricity grid, which can lead to more blackouts.

While reliability assessments regularly find that increased reliance on wind and solar, increased demand from electrification, an underbuilt electrical delivery network, and rapid retirements of on-demand generators are creating an increased risk of blackouts, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., ranking member of the subcommittee, instead blamed other sources of the problem, namely, white supremacy. She also threw in “climate change” for good measure.

The article notes:

Fallon (Pat Fallon, R-Texas, chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs) also talked about threats from cyberattacks by “foreign adversaries” meant to cripple the grid. “It’s critically important for Congress to engage in serious discussions to identify the risks to this reliability and safeguard our grid against threats,” Fallon said.

He said many of these risks are caused by the federal government, including the attempts to get rid of all fossil fuels, which he said are needed for providing consistent power generations. He also pointed to regulations that are increasing demands on the grid, including more electrification of appliances and heat, as well as electric vehicle mandates.

Bush, in her opening statement, argued that the problems of electricity reliability were unrelated to wind and solar. Fossil fuels, Bush said, were the problem, and they were especially harming non-white people.

“Decades of pollution and overuse and over reliance on fossil fuels have disproportionately harmed black and brown communities in St. Louis, and throughout the world,” Bush said.

If we truly want to know what the problem is with our electric grid, we only have to look to Germany and Spain–both countries attempted to build an energy infrastructure based solely on green energy, and both countries discovered that was not possible. The sun does not shine all of the time, and the wind does not blow all of the time. Reliable back-up sources of energy are needed. It is time to take an honest look at natural gas and nuclear energy as the path forward to lowering pollution. It is also time to acknowledge that although America needs to make an effort in the direction of cleaner energy, until China and India stop building coal plants, our efforts are insignificant.

Just Because It’s Legal Doesn’t Mean It Is Safe

On March 12th, CBN News posted an article about the dangers of marijuana and Delta-8, a substance containing THC.

The article reports:

Laura Stack told CBN News marijuana stole the life of her son Johnny.  She recalled he was a happy, intelligent child who grew up in a Christian home.  However, he began using marijuana at age 14 when his home state of Colorado legalized its recreational use.   It was a move that changed his life forever, leading to ultimate tragedy. 

“He took his own life when he was 19 years old five years later, after he became psychotic, very delusional, and paranoid, and suspicious, from using the marijuana,” she said. 

Laura didn’t realize that most of today’s marijuana contains at least 10 times the psychoactive compound THC than it did 20 years ago. 

“In my head, I said, ‘It’s just weed. I used it when I was a girl. I’m fine. It’s no big deal,’ and I was so wrong,” she said. 

Laura and her husband John founded Johnny’s Ambassadors as a way to honor their son and help prevent other people from suffering the same fate.

Former marijuana addict Zach Plant told CBN News the drug almost took his life.

“I had thoughts of other people wanting to hurt me, thoughts of the only way of being safe was to end my own life,” he said.

Zach was admitted to the hospital and was diagnosed with Cannabis-Induced Psychosis.  Symptoms include losing touch with reality, hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia.  Zach recalled the stark warning doctors gave him.

“‘If you smoke marijuana again, there’s a chance you don’t come out of psychosis. You go back into it and your brain may never recover,'” Zach said.

Nora Volkow, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told CBN News these types of episodes are becoming more common as the drugs get stronger.

“The higher the dose of THC for example, the higher the likelihood that you will end up with a psychotic episode,” she said. “And that will lead you to the emergency room department.”

I understand that there are people who do not seem to be affected by smoking pot. However, is the risk of psychosis one that you or your children are willing to take.

The article also notes:

Aside from marijuana, there’s growing concern about another substance containing THC called Delta-8.  It doesn’t come from the cannabis plant.  Instead, it’s synthesized from a similar plant called hemp.  It can contain as much THC or more than marijuana.  

Delta-8 products like vape pens can be purchased at gas stations, convenience stores, and online even in states where the commercial sale of marijuana is illegal.  That’s because of a legal loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp nationwide. 

Julie Killian, co-founder of RyeACT, Rye Action for Children and Teens, to educate families on youth substance abuse, told CBN News she was surprised to encounter the widespread sale of Delta-8 while she was visiting a state where commercial, recreational marijuana sales were outlawed. 

“I was at a truck, one of those food trucks, and they were selling coffee in the morning, and you could get a shot of Delta-8 THC in your coffee,” she said. 

Be careful out there.

 

Asking A Really Good Question

On Thursday, The Federalist posted an article about a really good question Wyoming Senator John Barrasso asked Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

The article reports:

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra refused to explain Thursday why “hardworking Americans should pay” for foreign lawbreakers’ healthcare when grilled by Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso.

Barrasso detailed how cities are being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants draining their resources and putting a massive strain on health funds and infrastructure, noting Denver Health saw more than 20,000 illegally present foreigners seeking medical care in 2023. Denver Health is “at a critical, critical point” as costs pile up, CEO Donna Lynne said, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.

“Can you please explain why it is the responsibility of hard-working American taxpayers to foot the bill for all of this care for people, nine million now, from all across the world who have flooded their way into the United States?”

“What I could tell you is that we have extended the resources and authorities that we have at HHS to try to be there to help any healthcare facility when there is a way that we can go in to be supportive. I don’t know of a particular case that you might want to mention, but I know that we are prepared to be supportive of any facility where the authorities that you have given us allow us to go in and support,” Becerra responded.

“The federal government doesn’t pay for the health care of every legal U.S. citizen,” Barrasso shot back. “It seems like it’s in the position now of having to do it all for these illegal immigrants. Why should the American citizen be forced to pay for illegal migrants to receive this same care for free? Because that’s what’s happening.”

At some point our government needs to realize that money does not grow on trees. Our first responsibility should be to Americans. Unless we can afford to give all Americans free health care, we should not be giving it to people who broke the law to get here.

It’s The Spending, Stupid!

On Tuesday, The Daily Caller posted an article about federal spending. If the average American family spent money the way the government does, they would be bankrupt within six months.

The article reports:

The U.S.’ national deficit surged in February as income declined and expenses rose, resulting in the federal government spending more than double what it collected in the month, according to a release from the Treasury Department.

The federal government collected $271 billion in February, mostly through taxes and social insurance and retirement payments, but spent $567 billion, a difference of $296 billion that was funded by an increase in the national debt, according to the Treasury Department. The gain in February brings the total national debt increase in fiscal year 2024 to $828 billion, which began in October 2023.

Remember–we have to pay interest on that debt.

The article continues:

At the end of February, the national debt totaled $34.71 trillion, with $27.38 trillion of that being held by the public and $7.09 trillion being held by other government organizations, according to the Treasury. The federal government recently passed the $34 trillion debt mark right before the start of 2023.

The government has already paid $433 billion in gross interest expenses in fiscal year 2024, far higher than the $306 billion that had been paid at this point in the last fiscal year, according to the Treasury. For the current fiscal year, the Treasury anticipates that it will pay over $1 trillion in just interest costs.

The article concludes:

A Biden administration official claimed that 90% of the non-emergency increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio since 2001 has been the result of tax cuts, the official told the Daily Caller News Foundation in response to a request to comment. The official argued that Biden’s recently proposed budget would reduce the national deficit by $3 trillion through taxing wealthy individuals and big corporations.

If President Joe Biden’s budget proposal is enacted, it is estimated that the debt would increase to $42.5 trillion by the end of fiscal year 2028, around the time his presumptive second term would end.

Can we please have a President who understand the Laffer Curve and economics!

Shades Of The Patriot Act

On Thursday, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about HR7521, the proverbial “TikToK Ban Law.” The article notes that the justification Congress is giving for supporting this law is very similar to the justification for passing the Patriot Act. We see how that has turned out.

The article reports:

First, the context that should matter (it doesn’t because the USIC are in charge here) is that every element that preceded the passage of the Patriot Act is being duplicated in the passage of the TikTok ban.  Which is to say, everyone is deferring to this ridiculous need to support USA National Security.

We The People have been burned by this approach before, yet so many refuse to see the similarity.

Second, the essential shield for those who support the bill [READ HR7521] comes down to the term “Foreign Adversary”, which is defined in the bill as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.  As they make the case, TikTok ban advocates cite the content or platform of the issue must originate from, and/or be controlled by, a foreign adversary…. so quit worrying.

However, the legislative language cites Foreign Adversary Controlled Application (FACA), which applies to content providers, apps, websites, social media and hosting platforms.  This is where things get sketchy, because “under the direction of” is language that is included in the legislation, and the determinations of “at the direction of” are made by the Attorney General.

If the content, platform, website, or social media app generates content that is considered a national security threat, and providing information therein that is deemed to be under the control of a “foreign adversary,” it is the content within, not necessarily the platform ownership itself, that transfers compliance inquiry to the U.S government (DOJ Attorney General) for definitions.

If, for example, a U.S. company (think Twitter or CTH) is deemed to be providing information that is controlled by Russia, or actors who participate in the platform content on behalf of Russia (expand your FARA thinking here), then the U.S. or non-Foreign Adversary designation, may result in review subject to the terms of service as created and defined by the DOJ. In this example, the “Foreign Adversary” designation is simply a nose under the tent.

The DOJ, through this act, essentially becomes the overarching determination of terms of service (TOS) that can supersede the TOS of the platform or website.  Want to fight the definition or determination… prepare to spend big money fighting a battle exclusively in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, as that’s the only place you can appeal the determination of the govt.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.