Monthly Archives: April 2023

Further Attacks On Our Economy And On Our Freedom

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On Friday, The Daily Caller reported that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has finalized the Advanced Clean Fleet rule.

The article reports:

California regulators voted Friday morning to implement a ban on new combustion truck sales after 2036, and mandate all trucks be zero emission vehicles by 2042, significantly tightening the state’s already strict trucking emissions rules.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) finalized the Advanced Clean Fleet rule, which would mandate that 50% of all state and local government vehicle fleet purchases be 50% zero-emissions by 2024, and 100% by 2027, and create a registry for drayage trucks. The rule — which comes one day after the board voted to implement the state’s first-ever rules to limit train emissions — would go even further than recent California rules approved by President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency, which would cut diesel truck sales in half by 2035.

The measure has received pushback from the trucking industry, which expressed concerns about electric vehicle charging infrastructure and widespread deployment, according to The Washington Post. Mike Tunnell, director of environmental affairs at the American Trucking association, told the outlet that industry actors “would rather see the technology be proven and work,” before any action was taken.

Most of us would like to see the technology proven before we move forward.

The article concludes with a reminder of past history:

Eight other states, which along with California represent 25% of the national trucking market, are poised to implement similar rules, according to the Post. Following the EPA’s approval of California’s previous rules, several experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that California’s economic size would likely prompt truck electrification nationwide, because it would be uneconomical for truck manufacturers to manufacture two types of trucks for two different markets.

California previously implemented rules that would ban the sale of gas passenger cars in the state by 2035. One week after the rules were implemented in late August, the state warned electric vehicle owners not to charge their cars amid a significant heat wave to prevent the possibility of blackouts.

No wonder people are moving to Texas.

Disturbing Information On Covid Vaccines

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On Thursday, The Conservative Review posted an article about one aspect of the Covid vaccine that was kept from the public.

The article reports:

No wonder Pfizer and the FDA sought to hide these documents from the public for 75 years. To this day, the medical field is pressuring pregnant women to get these terrible shots, but now we know that Pfizer was tracking safety concerns for these women from day one. As we observe plummeting birth rates and skyrocketing fetal losses throughout the world, it is now clear that Pfizer and the FDA were aware that the vaccine could spread through the placenta and breast milk, as later studies seemed to confirm. Where is the action from Congress? This affects all of humanity, including a generation yet to be born.

The eight-page confidential document was dated April 20, 2021, but tracked 458 pregnant women and 215 lactating women from the time the shots were released until February 28, 2021. That was the same date that Pfizer already recorded over 1,200 deaths and over 1,000 categories of serious adverse events.

The article concludes:

How can Congress continue to allow multiple DOD and HHS agencies to funnel billions of dollars to Pfizer to continue producing similar biologics that are so harmful at the same time they are indemnified from liability? The company is able to use the taxpayer-funded revenue to then funnel money to powerful organizations to promote mandates. Earlier this week, Lee Fang posted on his Substack a copy of the disclosures showing some of the top medical and civic organizations took Pfizer funding before pushing the mandates.

These organizations included the Chicago Urban League, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the National Consumers League, The Immunization Partnership, the American Pharmacists Association, the American College of Preventive Medicine, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Thus, it’s quite evident that none of the decisions of “private” institutions to mandate or even endorse the shots were driven by free market factors, but by government funding, coercion, and denying those initially injured during the early weeks an ability to sue Pfizer, which is a gross violation of the Seventh Amendment.

In many respects, this “public-private” partnership is more fascistic than pure unvarnished government action because we cannot vote out the leadership of Pfizer. To that end, either the subsidies or the liability exemptions need to be repealed. Yet Congress hasn’t even precluded mandates in the future. What a disgrace!

Is anyone in the Government or in the medical or civic community actually looking out for the health of Americans?

One Former CIA Officer Had Integrity

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On Friday, Townhall posted an article related to the former security professionals who signed the letter alleging that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation. It seems that not everyone who was asked to sign the letter did.

The article reports:

But now Fox News Contributor Dan Hoffman, a former CIA station chief who revealed in an op-ed this week for the first time that he had received the letter and was asked to sign it, is explaining why he didn’t add his name when he was asked to do so by former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell.

“I got the letter October 18, 2020,” Hoffman said Friday on Fox News Channel’s America Reports. He noted that, “at first glance, it seemed natural” to blame Putin for the existence of, and revelations from, Hunter Biden’s laptop from hell. “But, at the same time, there was no evidence, and the letter noted there was no evidence” backing up the conclusion, Hoffman added. “We needed to do the forensics,” he said, in order to assert a conclusion.

Hoffman added that, when he received the letter and was asked to sign it, there was no opportunity to edit its contents or “debate” its merits. Instead, the letter was already in its final form and being passed around seeking endorsements.

In making his decision not to add his name, Hoffman said he believed “it was not up to us to speculate” without evidence showing a connection to Russia. “So, I didn’t sign the letter — I typically don’t put my name to other people’s words,” Hoffman added, “and I didn’t respond.”

It is unfortunate that Mr. Hoffman’s decision was the exception rather than t he rule. I suspect that intelligence officers are trained to evaluate evidence before making decisions. Evidently this was not done in the case of this letter. Note that Mr. Hoffman mentions that there was no opportunity to either edit the letter or debate its merits.

Keeping One Promise

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On Wednesday, The Daily Caller reported that the Senate voted to overturn the Biden administration’s new rule on heavy-duty vehicle emissions, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The vote was 50-49, with Senator Manchin voting to overturn. All other Democrats voted to keep the rule in place. (Can you tell that Senator Manchin faces a serious election challenge next year?)

The article reports:

By a vote of 50-49, the resolution to overturn the rule passed, with all Republicans and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia voting in favor, while the remainder of Democrats and Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voted against. Its passage is a win for Senate Republicans, who were able to pass the bill largely on party lines despite Democratic control of the Senate.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, 89, who is recovering from shingles in her home state and whose absence, amid her old age, has led several Democrats to call for her resignation, was not present. Had she voted “Yes,” the vote would have ended in a tie at 50-50, which could’ve been broken by Vice President Kamala Harris to prevent the resolution’s passage.

It should be noted that the bill now heads for the House of Representatives where it is likely to pass. The bill then goes to President Biden who will likely veto it. There will not be enough votes to override that veto, so essentially Senator Manchin’s vote means nothing. It this were a situation where the Democrats needed his vote (as in the Inflation Reduction Act), he would vote with the Democrats. That’s how the system works. Senator Manchin is facing a tough re-election battle, so whenever possible, he is allowed to vote as a moderate. However, when the chips are down, the Democrats can count on his vote.

The article concludes:

Manchin, who gave the GOP the single vote needed to pass the bill — which, under the Congressional Review Act to review regulations, is not subject to a Senate filibuster — said that he would be joining Republicans to “stop this government overreach,” he said in a written statement.

The resolution now heads to the House, where the Republican majority is expected to approve it. President Joe Biden is certain to veto the resolution, which would make it only the third veto of a Congressional bill during his presidency, and the rule remains in effect unless he signs the bill or it is repealed.

Mental Health of Students

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Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D

In a previous article, I expressed my opinion that local Boards of Education should not accept federal funds (your tax dollars) to establish mental health treatment clinics in our public schools for a variety of reasons. In this article, I am going to address what today’s public schools are doing that are detrimental to the mental health of their students. 

Sound mental health is based on two things:  self-confidence and self esteem; and avoiding negative, demoralizing influences. Here are some things schools can do to enhance the mental health of students: First, help students be successful and develop a positive outlook for their futures.    This can only be done by successfully mastering traditional academic knowledge and skills. Self- esteem is only real when it is based on demonstrated actual achievement. Second, teach children to believe in the American Dream, where they can achieve any reasonable goal through hard work and self-discipline. America is still the land of opportunity.  Third, stop teaching subjects that are contrary to good mental health.   Examples are (a) Critical Race Theory, where inherent unchangeable racial bias will block a person’s ability to reach one’s goals. Where skin color is more important than the content of one’s character. (b) Transgender indoctrination, that instead of teaching that one’s gender at birth should be celebrated and provides opportunity for rewards and a fulfilling life, makes transitioning to the opposite gender an acceptable solution to dysphoria, which it clearly is not. Individuals that attempt to transition to the opposite sex are much more likely to develop mental disorders and twenty times more likely to attempt suicide. (c) Respect for Authority, clearly many children who enter school do not show proper respect for authority and do not follow basic classroom conduct rules.  This not only is detrimental to their learning but interferes with the learning of others.  Clear, consistent conduct rules must be  established and enforced.  Students should not be permitted to call their teachers by their first names since that level of familiarity diminishes respect for the authority of the teacher. Teachers are not the students’  pals.(d)  Environmental Catastrophe. The idea that mankind’s actions are the primary cause of climate change is a theory and not proven fact. Teaching children that extreme climate change threatens to destroy the world in their lifetimes can only produce fear and discouragement. Through positive and creative action mankind can deal with whatever climate change that occurs. Optimism not pessimism!   

Last but not least, is not allowing students to have access to their cell-phones at school.  A great deal of mental stress on students occurs on social media. Children spend too much time on often detrimental sites like Tik-Tok and Facebook. Negative messages that impact a student can distract the student for hours during the school day.     

If Boards of Education and the school administrations are seriously concerned about the mental health of their students they will focus on improving the school climate not on treating problems after they occur. 

An Interesting Perspective

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On Tuesday, The New York Post posted an article about Generation Z workers.

The article reports:

Despite many of them having only just entered the workforce, Generation Z — those born from 1997 onwards — is already getting a bad rap at the office.

According to a recent survey of 1,300 managers, three out of four agree that Gen Z is harder to work with than other generations — so much so that 65% of employers said they have to fire them more often.

One in eight have let go of a Gen Zer less than one week after their start date, the study found.

The results ring true with managers across the US and in various industries, who report that young hires have been difficult to deal with, particularly when it comes to language.

“I feel kind of hamstrung on what I can and can’t say,” Peter, a New Jersey-based manager in the hospitality industry, told The Post.

…“I do think the pandemic had a big role to play in that because for all of them, this was their first job out of college and their last years were spent remote,” McDonnell, 28, told The Post.

Starting their careers during a pandemic may have stunted Gen Z’s office etiquette.

In fact, 36% of survey respondents reported poor communication skills among their young hires.

The article concludes:

Employers are also finding that Gen Z hires tend to be more easily offended on the political front.

In fact, a 2022 Deloitte survey found that, despite having only just entered the workforce, 37% of Gen Zers say they’ve already rejected a job or assignment based on their personal ethics.

“Our Gen Z employees dominated our culture with social justice fundamentalism,” Matt, the leader of a nonprofit in Colorado who withheld his last name, told The Post.

“What is initiated by the 25-year-old comms manager is then adopted by previously rational Harvard and Yale types who begin leveling accusations of ‘white supremacist colonialism.’”

Because Gen Zers are bringing their politics into the workplace, more and more employers report that they’re walking on eggshells — and even fearful of their own subordinates.

“I’m a normal human being and certainly not an angry racist or homophobe or anything like that, but I don’t know where the line is,” Peter said, “and it feels like with the younger generation, the line keeps getting redrawn every day.”

What did we expect? We taught them to be offended by everything. We took the guard rails off of what was right and wrong–it was all according to how you felt. We created a generation that can bully electronically and we taught them to try to compromise with a bully rather than to fight back. We are simply reaping what we have sown. How do we fix this? We introduce the concept of black and white and remove some (not all) of the gray. We give them rules and structure and tell them that being offended is not a card you can play to get your own way. We strongly encourage them to grow up!

Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

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On Thursday, Issues & Insights posted an article about the impact the Biden administration has had on the pocketbooks of Americans. It’s not a pretty picture.

The article notes:

In one of the most memorable presidential debate moments, Ronald Reagan asked voters if they were better off in 1980 than they were when Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976. The obvious answer was, for most, a resounding “no.” Whoever runs against the Democratic nominee next year needs to bring back that question, because it’s a certainty that in the fall of 2024, we’ll still be worse off than we were in pre-pandemic 2020.

And for that, we can thank, or rather blame, Joe Biden.

In a poll taken earlier this year, 41% of Americans said they were financially worse off than they were two years earlier when Biden took office, the highest number in “ABC News/Washington Post polls dating back 37 years.” Only 16% said they were better off, the lowest number since 2009, when only 8% said their financial situations were better.

At roughly the same time in Donald Trump’s term, only 13% said they were worse off than when he became president while a quarter said their finances had improved.

An America struggling under Biden is not a new development. In a survey conducted in the spring of 2022, 52% said they were worse off than a year earlier; 39% said they expected to be worse off in one year than they were when they were asked the question in June.

Last year’s New York Times|Momentive Poll further discovered that “The number of people who expect periods of widespread unemployment or depression to occur in the next five years has risen to 71%, another new high,” while 41% said “now is a bad time to make large purchases.” This was “up from 36% in April and slightly” exceeded “the 39% that number reached in April 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic.” 

A few months after those poll results were released, the Heritage Foundation published an analysis that determined the average American had lost $4,200 in annual income since Biden stumbled into the Oval Office.

It’s where we are, folks. I will make a calculated guess that most Americans want the economy to improve. Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, the economy will not improve. When the economy tanks in the next month of two, the Democrats will blame the Republicans for not raising the debt ceiling. That’s how Washington works. A recession is coming. The only way the Democrats can avoid being blamed is if the Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling–then the Democrats can blame the Republicans. Refusing to raise the debt ceiling will not be the cause of the recession, but Americans who watch the mainstream media will not know that. Hang on to your hats–the next two years is going to be rough, and if a Democrat is elected to the White House in 2024, the next six years are going to be very rough.

When The Cancel Culture Doesn’t Pay

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On Wednesday, The National Review posted an article about the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ vote to end the boycott they began in 2016.

The article reports:

The board voted 7-4 to repeal a 2016 law that prohibited city employees from traveling to or doing business with companies in states that passed conservative laws. The board of supervisors first enacted the law in an effort to punish states that had enacted what it viewed as restrictions on LGBT rights after the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Since 2015, the board had amended the law to include states that, in its view, had limited voting rights and abortion access.

“It’s not achieving the goal we want to achieve,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, the sponsor of the legislation to repeal the boycott. “It is making our government less efficient.”

The article notes the effect of the boycott:

The rollback comes after a report by the city administrator’s office found that no states ever appeared to change their own laws in response to the city’s boycott. A budget and legislative analyst’s report also found the city had done business with the states on the boycott list. A one-year period between mid-2021 and mid-2022 saw waivers for contracts and purchase orders totaling $791 million. Meanwhile, the budget and legislative analyst also found that the city had spent nearly $475,000 in staffing expenses to carry out the boycott.

The law “has created additional administrative burden for City staff and vendors and unintended consequences for San Francisco citizens, such as limiting enrichment and developmental opportunities,” according to the city administrator’s report. “Few, if any, other jurisdictions implement travel or contracting bans as expansive as the City’s.”

The article concludes:

Supervisors Shamann Walton, who previously told National Review that the San Francisco advisory committee’s recommendation that the city pay out hefty reparations to the city’s longtime black residents does not go far enough toward making things right, warned there could be “many unintended consequences of the repeal” and said as states are doubling down on their conservative laws he does not want to make it seem that the city is “not still fighting against these discriminatory practices and laws.”

You have to admire their chutzpah. Just for the record, requiring voter ID and cleaning up voting rights does not qualify as limiting voting unless you mean that it limits the votes of those not legally qualified to vote.

There Is A Real Plan

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On Tuesday, Breitbart posted an article about the Republican plan to deal with the debt ceiling.

The article reports:

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a report released on Tuesday that the Limit, Save, Grow Act would reduce the deficit by $4.8 trillion over the next ten years.

That is a really good idea.

The article explains:

The CBO report found that the debt limit plan would drastically cut the growth of spending between 2023 and 2033. The nonpartisan analysis agency found:

  •  The bill’s cap on discretionary funding would result in savings of $3.194.5 trillion over ten years
  • Scrapping energy tax credits would save $569.5 billion
  • Reducing funding for the IRS would save $119.7 billion
  • Implementing work requirements [for] Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would save $120 billion
  • Rescinding funding for unspent coronavirus aid would save $29.5 billion
  • Requiring the Department of the Interior (DOI) to conduct oil and gas leases would save $3.4 billion

House Republican leadership hopes to pass the debt limit bill this week to pressure President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats to negotiate a debt ceiling compromise.

As the debt ceiling deadline, likely in June, looms ever closer, battleground Democrats continue to fret over the president’s refusal to continue negotiating with McCarthy over a long-term deal.

I honestly don’t know if Democrats have any incentive to work with Republicans on this. Most Americans won’t even notice the debt ceiling unless the government shuts down. At that point the media will make it look like the shutdown was the Republicans fault. We need to stop raising the debt ceiling, but no one is willing to take the political hit that would be the result of doing that. Until Americans are properly schooled on the impact of our ever-increasing debt, I think this is a losing battle for Republicans. They should probably fight a debt ceiling increase for moral reasons alone, but unless the public can be educated, the Republicans will not succeed here.

Learning Slowly

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As you recall, Senator Manchin from West Virginia’s vote for the Inflation Reduction Act allowed the bill to pass. In return for his vote, Senator Manchin was promised that Biden administration would pursue energy security provisions within the legislation. Aside from the fact that it was a horrible bill, the Biden administration did not follow through on its promise (are you surprised?). Well, Senator Manchin is up for re-election in 2024 (although he has not confirmed that he is running) and he has a strong Republican opponent. We can expect to see Senator Manchin become very conservative in the next year. He will only vote with the Democrats when his vote is absolutely necessary. He will vote with Republicans when his vote doesn’t matter.

On Wednesday, Just the News reported the following:

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday that he would lend his support to a Republican-backed effort to overturn a Biden administration rule limiting pollution from large trucks.

The Environmental Protection Agency posits that the regulations could prevent nearly 3,000 deaths through 2045 by reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides, according to The Hill. 

“The Biden Administration wants to burden the trucking industry with oppressive regulations that will increase prices by thousands of dollars and push truck drivers and small trucking companies out of business,” Manchin said, ahead of a vote on a resolution to eliminate the regulation. “When our country faces record-high inflation and vulnerable supply chains, we cannot let the EPA continue to seize unrestrained power and create regulations that devastate our economy.”

“I am proud to support this resolution to stop this government overreach,” he added.

The moderate lawmaker’s remarks follow a declaration earlier this week in which Manchin vowed to see the Inflation Reduction Act repealed if the Biden administration did not pursue energy security provisions within the legislation.

Expect more conservative words from Senator Manchin during the coming year. Don’t watch his actions too closely as they may not agree with the conservative words.

A Scary Thought

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On Tuesday, Hot Air posted an article about President Biden’s re-election campaign. The theme of the campaign is going to be “Let’s finish the job.” That is a scary thought. So far we have through the roof inflation, the loss of energy independence, domestic spying, misuse of the Justice Department to target political opposition, and seemingly major corruption. What does the President want to finish?

The article reports:

Now that President Biden has rolled out his first campaign advertisement of the 2024 cycle, we’ve learned that his theme is going to be “Let’s finish the job.” As with so much else that we’ve watched unfold over the past two years, that video left me feeling like I was watching some sort of poorly scripted dystopian movie. He’s hardly the first president to adopt such a theme, but surely he’s aware that most of his target audience (likely voters who are interested in the election) have access to the internet or at least a television, right? We’ve all witnessed “the job” that he’s done thus far and the results that have been produced. Can Biden actually believe that people like the way things have been going? Let’s take a brief walk down memory lane, even though “memory” might not be Uncle Joe’s strong suit these days.

The article concludes:

So what was that you were saying about how everyone needs to give you a chance to “finish the job?” If the “job” in question was to completely wreck this country for far too many Americans, you probably don’t need a second term. The job looks like it’s nearly done already. But if you’re somehow arguing that your plans will make life better for everyday Americans, take a look around at all that you have wrought in barely two years. Why on earth would we believe you?

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. When you write it down all together, what the Biden administration has done to America is scary.

Does The Biden Administration Care About American Workers?

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On Tuesday, Breitbart reported that President Biden has stated that he will veto a bipartisan plan that would reverse his tariff waivers on China-made solar panels.

The article reports:

In June 2022, Biden announced a 24-month tariff moratorium on solar panel imports from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Commerce Department officials suspect that the solar panels are actually made in China but have been routed through the four southeast Asian nations to avoid U.S. tariffs on China-made solar panels.

The suspension of tariffs came even as Biden’s Commerce Department found that BYD Hong Kong rerouted its production through Cambodia, Canadian Solar, and Trina through Thailand, and Vina Solar through Vietnam for the sole purpose of avoiding the tariffs.

This month, House Republicans, as well as Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) on the House Ways and Means Committee, voted to pass a resolution that would reverse Biden’s tariffs waivers. The resolution is expected to go to the House floor in the coming weeks.

The article concludes:

While skyrocketing U.S. trade deficits have led to devastation across America’s working- and middle-class communities over the last two decades, tariffs would be a boon for reshoring jobs and boosting wages, studies show.

A study from economists at the Coalition for a Prosperous America finds that tariffs on nearly all foreign imports would create about ten million American jobs while boosting domestic output.

One of the problems with the Biden administration’s rapid push toward green energy is that America at the moment does not have the manufacturing capacity to fuel that drive. America’s green energy is made in China and has been a boon to the Chinese economy–not the American economy. Aside from the fact that climate change is not ‘proven science’ (there is no such thing as proven science), the technology of green energy is simply not advanced enough to support the American way of life. I am not convinced all Americans are willing to accept a lower standard of living in the name of climate change. I myself am not particularly excited about the prospect of eating insects instead of steak. I am also convinced that those making the rules will not be the ones eating insects instead of steak.

Unfortunately, the threatened veto of the reversal of the tariff waivers simply fuels the suspicion that the financial and political fortunes of President Biden and his family are tied to the success of the Chinese economy.

President Biden Has Announced He Is Running For Re-election

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Why would an 80-year-old man run for President? He has obviously lost some of his mental abilities, and he is not likely to regain them. On Tuesday, Townhall posted a fact check of President Biden’s announcement that he was running for President in 2024. The announcement was in video form–it was not live, which in itself is curious.

In the video, the President noted:

“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer,” the 80-year-old stated. “I know what I want the answer to be. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.”

The article notes:

As Katie pointed out, vaccine-obsessed Biden, the so-called leader of the free world, issued a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers, ordering that all employees were required to get vaxxed against the coronavirus or be subject to disciplinary action, which included termination. Likewise, in an affront to individual autonomy and those bravely fighting for America’s freedom, Biden imposed a military-wide vaccine mandate, causing thousands of U.S. military personnel to have been discharged or sidelined for refusing the jab. Biden’s administration also sought to enforce a draconian vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but the move was deemed illegal.

The article also notes:

Attacking GOP leadership, Biden claimed, “But you know, around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away,” which the octogenarian alleged included “cutting Social Security that you’ve paid for your entire life.”

Townhall previously debunked this oft-repeated claim that Biden regurgitates in office and on the 2024 campaign trail. The majority of conservative lawmakers aren’t on board with sunsetting Social Security and Medicare as Republican top brass has repeatedly declared that mainstream GOP members have no intention of ending these generations-old federal entitlements.

…Moments after the false Social Security claim, Biden alleged that “MAGA extremists” across America are “banning books.”

Please follow the link to the article for further details. I really can’t believe that anyone believes President Biden is capable of being President until 2028. I do wonder exactly what the Democrats are setting up.

I Know This Is A Little Out Of The Ordinary, But…

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Sometimes you just have to change the subject.

On Tuesday, The Daily Caller posted an article with the following headline:

Great White Shark Breaks Record For Highest Breach Ever Recorded With Beautiful Jump Out Of Ocean

The article reports:

Two regulars of the cult classic week-long program “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel recently filmed one of the most beautiful breaches that a great white shark has ever done.

And as a matter of fact, the footage — which was shot in South Africa by Andy Casagrande and Dickie Chivell — also happened to catch the highest breach on record by a great white shark.

The article includes the following video. It’s a bit long, but it is fascinating:

I’m not sure if Shark Week is a refreshing change from politics or if it’s just an illustration of them!!

Tucker, You Will Be Sorely Missed

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I have no insider knowledge of why Tucker Carlson and Fox News parted ways, but I believe the writing has been on the wall for a while. After Tucker Carlson got access to the January 6th tapes and played them for about two nights, he stopped playing them. I also believe that very few if any of the other shows on Fox aired those tapes. I suspect that was due to pressure from the network. They did not want the tapes played despite the fact that they had exclusive access to them–the tapes showed that President Trump did not start or encourage an insurrection. The tapes also revealed the lies about the death of a policeman who did not die in the protest. The tapes were exculpatory and really didn’t belong on Fox News–they belonged in courtrooms as evidence that the Justice Department was being used against political opponents. At any rate, Tucker Carlson will be missed and Fox News stock tanked on the Stock Market after the announcement.

On Tuesday, PJ Media reported the following:

Carlson is expected to land on his feet. Former Fox News talent Megyn Kelly told her podcast audience on Monday that Carlson could look forward to “blue, blue skies ahead,” adding, “He’s got a bright future. A more joyous, brighter, and more lucrative future.”

Her guest, former Fox News talent Glenn Beck, who knows all about starting his own digital information fortress, agreed that Carlson would be much happier out on his own. In fact, he said he’d been planning for Carlson’s ouster at Fox News and had prepared a job offer for him.

The article concludes:

Kelly, who covered the Dominion voting machine lawsuit on her program, said that Carlson had the least culpability of all the Fox talent. She said that if Fox were to get rid of anyone, it would be Jeanine Pirro or Maria Bartiromo cut first.

But Kelly wonders about “the board’s” influence on the decision. And who is on that board? You’ll remember former GOP Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. It’s Ryan who was instrumental in getting the network to “move on from Trump” and could have had a hand in green-lighting Carlson’s ouster.

“Way to know your audience. Tucker was the only reason anybody ever talked about Fox News,” said Kelly.

It’s a sad day for Fox News. I remember the days of Brit Hume, Tony Snow, and Charles Krauthammer. Today they are not looking for that type of accurate, intelligent, unbiased reporting and commentary.

Is Our ‘Democracy’ Endangered By Authoritarian Republicans?

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First of all, we are not a democracy–we are a representative republic. Secondly, let’s look at the authoritative tendencies of each party. On Tuesday, Steven Hayward posted an article at Power Line Blog that included the following chart:

The article concludes:

Given how Democrats like President Biden think your own children don’t belong to you, imagine what Democrats might do if there wasn’t a Second Amendment.

Chaser: Yes, you may well ask, who are the idiot Republicans who answer Yes to any of these questions, when the right answer is NO. I suggest this survey is an ideal screen for identifying RINOs, who are, alas, not an endangered species.

Maybe you support the idea of mandatory vaccines, but do you want to see your fellow Americans arrested or put in camps because they refuse a shot?

Words From A Whistleblower

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On Monday, The Epoch Times posted an article about former FBI Special Agent Stephen Friend.

The article reports:

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, Stephen Friend was told.

Why would he—an FBI special agent—not want to hunt down and jail rioters who killed police officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021?

The question, its justification, and its accuracy were equally troubling when they were presented to Friend by an FBI superior on Aug. 23, 2022.

“I responded back that no police officers were killed by any of the individuals who were charged with the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” Friend recalled.

At the time a fairly recent transfer from Iowa to the FBI in Florida, Friend had just lodged a complaint against what he saw as heavy-handed tactics being planned against Jan. 6 suspects in Florida. Sitting with an FBI assistant special agent in charge, he had to correct some of the misinformation that was being used to justify those tactics.

The article notes:

Friend said he is equally disturbed by how the “process” of Jan. 6 cases ends up punishing every suspect before they ever get a day in court.

“For many people who are being interviewed by the FBI, there’s no case to be built against them for January 6,” he said. “It might be stemming from an anonymous tip, where there’s no cell phone GPS information, no facial recognition software. The FBI is still knocking on that person’s door. That’s an undue stress for anybody.”

Friend interviewed one suspect who attended former President Donald Trump’s speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, then walked to the Capitol. He asked Capitol Police if he could enter and was told it was OK.

“He doesn’t even walk beyond the red velvet rope,” Friend said. “He walked to the Capitol for a few minutes and exited. We asked him, ‘Did you take anything?’ He told us apologetically that he had taken a free brochure that was available for people who were touring the Capitol. He’d taken it as a keepsake.

“Now that man told me this story inside a law office, which I’m sure was not free for him. He also told us that was the biggest mistake of his life because he’d already lost his career. He might never face jail time, and if he does, it will probably be minimal.

“But even if he never sits inside a jail; even if he’s never charged with a crime, he has been punished. That to me is wrong.”

The most important part of the article to me:

One Democrat attorney showed Friend a photograph of a Jan. 6 suspect wearing a helmet and body armor and asked, “Does that look like somebody who went there that day to do something good?” Friend recalled.

“‘He looks bad,’” Friend said he told the committee. “‘He probably did some really bad things that day. He probably should get arrested for them, get charged with them. It would really be a shame if we lost a trial because we violated his civil rights.’”

Friend said that was his “mic-drop moment” before Congress. “I wish that had been in front of an open hearing,” Friend said. “You know, I was really proud of that.”

Friend hopes to return for public testimony before the Weaponization subcommittee, along with fellow FBI whistleblowers Kyle Seraphin, Garret O’Boyle and George Hill.

Please follow the link to read the entire article. It is amazing.

Public Input On Craven County Schools

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At the School Board meetings in Craven County, there is an opportunity for public comment. Some people do a lot of research before speaking before the School Board. Below is one example of a public comment that needs to be shared. I have omitted the name of the person making the comment out of respect for their privacy.

Here is the comment:

I am concerned that there are many, many discussions on classroom sizes and as a tax payer the county is paying for 25 public school buildings, when there are only enough students to fill 20.

In 2019 there was a study purchased by the Craven County School system to look at all the schools and recommend closing some of them. The study was done by professional contractors that looked at the physical conditions of the school. The study has been put on hold. There has been no discussion about upgrading this study. Some have said this study is still accurate which cannot be true based on budget actions to improve the physical conditions.
For example, some schools have replaced HVAC systems, put fences in, and other upgrades so it is imperative this study be updated. We heard on Tuesday many upgrades to several buildings using ESSER funding is occurring, further showing the study needs to be updated to reflect the
current physical state of the schools. Additionally, there are new security concerns, both process and physical, not just physical, that need to be considered as part of an upgraded study. Finally, this study needs to incorporate the county population changes with new communities appearing such as those in Carolina Colors. People are moving and where the students are and the current schools are is shifting.

Since closing of even one school will affect the entire district, I am recommending closing at least 3 schools to put the county tax money to better use for the school system. Since the closing of even one school will affect the entire county, I am further recommending all three be done at the same time and a complete redistricting plan be put in place based on these items:  current physical state of the schools, additional changes to schools needed, and future anticipated population. Updating this study is a fast, cost–effective manner towards obtaining this end goal. It is understood that there may be more than 3 schools closed with the building of one or two new schools so all schools are in an acceptable physical state – but the net
closure will be at least 3.

I am hoping to see in the budget submission this study upgrade occurring over the next year, so that actual closure can be considered for the 2024–2025 school year or the 2025–2026 school year depending how much redistricting is needed and time to work with the county planners is needed. Without this study, there is no firm basis of fact to have the hard discussion of school closure and the redistricting that will result out of this action. There will be no basis of fact to discuss the physical states of the school, except by opinion, no basis of fact to discuss the population centers, except by opinion, and same for security.

Mental Health Services in Schools

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Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D

I have a Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology, a career as Mental Health Director for the NC Department of Correction, and have worked with a variety of clients and families in private practice. I want to offer my opinion concerning whether mental health counselors and service providers should be added to the staff of the public schools in North Carolina (an idea currently being encouraged by the Federal Department of Education). As usual, the federal government is providing start-up funds to initiate this effort.  Remember what President Reagan warned us about– that we should beware of any time the federal government says they are here to help. I am opposed to this for the following reasons 

First, public schools are already facing many challenges in meeting their primary function of academic education. Adding another responsibility, such as providing mental evaluation and services, is a totally unnecessary complication to their primary function. Second, schools should establish clear rules for expected behavior for all students and enforce those rules. Parents should be expected to make sure their children can demonstrate those essential expected behaviors. Otherwise, not only will that student not learn properly, but will disrupt the learning of other students. Remedial conduct training may be required before an unruly child is assigned to a regular classroom. Learning self- discipline and obeying authority are the keys to academic success and in life after school. Third, students, who are suspected of having mental health problems, that fact should be brought to the attention of the parents and the parents provided with information about the availability of mental health evaluation and services in the community such as the county mental health center. The decision and responsibility to seek these services should remain with the parents. Fourth, mental health problems rarely, if ever, manifest themselves only in one phase of a child’s life. The idea that a true mental disorder will manifest itself solely in school is incorrect. Fifth, the idea of attributing unacceptable behavior in school to a mental disorder is counter-productive to learning self-control and discipline.   There are far too many students placed on medication now instead of being trained in proper school conduct. 

Instead of putting mental health clinics in the schools, it would be better if schools would remove unnecessary distractions like cell phones and over-reliance on computers and return to more traditional means of teaching. I am afraid that we have abandoned effective instructional techniques in favor of non- proven so-called modern approaches. Using mental health intervention, especially with medication, puts the blame on the student and not the educational process.  It also moves the responsibility for one’s conduct from the student to a mental disorder that of course cannot be their fault or that of the parents. 

 

This Would Have Been Very Interesting

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On Friday, PJ Media reported that the national Democrat Party has announced that it will support President Biden’s bid for re-election, but it has no plan to sponsor primary debates. As of now, President Biden’s two primary opponents are Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson. Ms. Williamson became a Democrat in 2019. Her wikipedia page describes her as an author, spiritual leader, teacher, politician, activist. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is known for his anti-vaccination activities and claims that the childhood vaccines we give our children are responsible for the increase in autism. Other theories blame the increase on better diagnostics.

The article reports:

Biden has two challengers, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson. When Kennedy announced his candidacy on Wednesday, USA Today reported that RFK immediately had the “support of 14% of voters who backed President Joe Biden in 2020,” according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll. Williamson had 5%, and another 13% were undecided. USA Today noted that “that is surprising strength for a candidate who has a famous political name but is now known mostly as the champion of a debunked conspiracy theory blaming childhood vaccines for autism.”

USA Today’s confident use of the word “debunked,” however, can’t mask a growing suspicion among an increasing number of Americans that the authorities aren’t being honest with us. The COVID vaccine debacle, with what was originally touted as a single shot that would protect you from a deadly disease becoming multiple shots and boosters that carried side effects that were often worse than COVID itself, only fueled that suspicion. So the establishment media’s confidence that voters will dismiss Robert F. Kennedy Jr. because they dislike this vaccine skepticism may be whistling in the dark.

…There is a lot of truth to that, and a Biden-Kennedy-Williamson debate could be a marvelous show, featuring the garrulous old liar rattling on about how he got arrested for trying to visit Nelson Mandela in prison or about how his son Beau was killed in Iraq, Kennedy calling out state and corporate fascism, and Williamson waxing philosophical.

That’s precisely why the debates won’t happen. The Democratic National Committee knows that Williamson is nutty, and it thinks Kennedy is nutty, too, and it’s well aware that the less the public sees the dementia patient who pretends to be president, the better. They’re going with Biden for reelection, and they know that he can only hurt his own chances by standing toe-to-toe against a man who can actually articulate a coherent sentence and defend his positions, as well as against a woman who, however loopy she may be, looks like Madame Curie next to Old Joe.

I think people would pay money to see that debate!

The Real State Of The Economy

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Remember when owning your house was something of a hedge against inflation? When everything else fell apart, at least your house maintained its worth and you had a place to live. Well, it seems as if President Biden is even threatening that small amount of stability. First the administration changed the mortgage rules to penalize people with good credit ratings (article here), now higher interest rates are beginning to slow down the housing market.

On Thursday, The Conservative Treehouse reported the following:

As higher interest rates continue to put pressure on borrowers, the ability of the average person to afford a mortgage diminishes. Higher mortgage rates lead to downward pressure on residential home values as fewer borrowers can afford higher payments. Simultaneously, commercial real estate is dropping in value as vacancies continue increasing.

Put both of these issues together and already tenuous banks holding mortgage bonds as assets can become more unstable.

…A perfect storm starts to realize.

(Wall Street Journal) U.S. existing-home sales decreased 2.4% in March from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. March sales fell 22% from a year earlier.

March marked the 13th time in the previous 14 months that sales have slowed. The housing market had a surprisingly strong February, when sales rose a revised 13.75% from the previous month. But after mortgage rates ticked higher, March sales resumed the extended period of declines.

The housing market’s slowdown is now starting to weigh on prices, which have fallen on an annual basis for two consecutive months for the first time in 11 years. The national median existing-home price decline of 0.9% in March from a year earlier to $375,700 was the biggest year-over-year price drop since January 2012, NAR said.

Median prices, which aren’t seasonally adjusted, were down 9.2% from a record $413,800 in June. Home prices in the western half of the U.S. experienced some of the biggest gains for many years but are now falling the fastest.

[…] Housing starts, a measure of U.S. home-building, fell 0.8% in March from February, the Commerce Department said this week. Residential permits, which can be a bellwether for future home construction, dropped 8.8%.

The housing market slowdown shows one of the main ways that the Fed’s aggressive interest-rate increases are rippling through the economy. Housing is one of the most rate-sensitive economic sectors, and high housing costs have been a big contributor to inflation.

The article concludes:

As mortgage rates rise, just as a consumer would pull back from the housing market, so too will institutional investment groups now control the slow dumping of the asset to remove the equity they pumped into it.  Much of the investment housing will be retained as rental housing, with the monthly rents being part of the returns on the investments.    However, as this dynamic unfolds further investment purchases of houses stop, because the asset overall is declining in value.  This halt of investment activity also worsens a steeper drop in home values.

Notice this line within today’s WSJ article: “The housing market had a surprisingly strong February, when sales rose a revised 13.75% from the previous month.”

What happened in February?  The BIG CLUB [Blackrock, Vanguard, Citadel, etc.] moved liquid assets out of banks into hard assets (real estate), to avoid a predictable banking issue which surfaced a month later in March.  They knew what was going to happen in banking, they moved their own assets to avoid it.

I am not sure that the American economy can survive the Biden administration’s economic policies. Even if you hated President Trump, the impact President Biden has had on stock portfolios, real estate values, the price of gas, etc., has had a serious negative impact of the middle class.