From my friends at Power Line Blog:
Monthly Archives: September 2023
Posted on Twitter by Victor Davis Hanson:
Victor Davis Hanson
@VDHanson
As Gen. Milley leaves office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, on his last day he goes out ranting about his loyalty to the Constitution and not to a “dictator,”—blasting Trump without mentioning Trump, and thus trumping as it were Trump’s own excesses with those of his own. So transits the most politicalized and weaponized 4-star CJS since the office was created. Would that instead Milley had at least explained the 2021 historically disastrous flight from Kabul and defeat in Afghanistan, or the radical implementation of woke agendas into the Pentagon retention and promotion policies, or why he felt the illustrious and renown Professor Kendi, of current Boston University “Center for Antiracist Research” infamy, should be required reading for the U.S. military at time when its recruitment is descending into historical lows and its deterrent reputation is seriously questioned. So what about Milley’s own “constitutional” legacy? Is it that an officer who deems his civilian President and Commander in Chief dangerous—as diagnosed by 4-star psychiatrist, state department diplomat, and now theater commander Milley—has a right to commandeer the chain of command, usurp powers that are expressly by law denied to him, and then take it on himself in a time of Chinese-American tensions to freelance, by contacting his communist counterpart to warn him about his own president’s diagnosed volatility, and to reassure the hardened Stalinist that Dr/Gen. Milley will inform him first of any precipitate action from the White House. Dictatorial much? Americans might ask the departing Milley, two questions, 1) if Trump is reelected in 2024, will a retired General Milley, as did his retired 4-star colleagues in 2020, violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice and repeat his current charges against a second-term President Trump—matching the previous invective of his colleagues’ accusations of “liar” or “Mussolini”?. And 2) what would Milley have done had a subordinate like himself, say a 3-star general, decided that Gen. Mark Milley’s Beijing gambit and his arrogation of command powers that were not legally his own, posed a grave threat to the republic? And thus would such a 3-star call up theater commanders to warn them to resist Milley’s reckless orders and to report to him first, followed by his phone call to the top Chinese PLA general to assure them that if Milley somehow gave an order deemed by the 3-star to be dangerously provocative, then he would not only not obey it but rather first warn the Chinese military of Milley’s unstable state of mind. Is that the kind of military Milley wishes to leave as his legacy, as he departs barking accusations at the moon?
This Might Make Things Interesting
On Friday, Just the News reported that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is expected to announce in early October that he is planning to run for President as an independent. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is currently polling at about 15 percent within the Democrat party. President Biden is currently polling at about 65 percent within the Democrat party.
The article reports:
He is expected to make the announcement on Oct. 9 at a Pennsylvania rally, Mediaite reported. An adviser to the presidential candidate said his decision stemmed from what he considered unfair practices by the Democratic National Committee to stifle his candidacy.
“Bobby feels that the DNC is changing the rules to exclude his candidacy so an independent run is the only way to go,” one campaign advisor told the outlet.
At present, Kennedy averages 14.9% support in the Democratic primary to Biden’s 65.0%, according to RealClearPolitics. Hollywood guru Marianne Williamson places third with 4.9%.
As far as the Democrat party election practices are concerned, many of those practices were put in place after the 1972 campaign of George McGovern. In the 1972 election, George McGovern received 17 Electoral College votes–from Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. Richard Nixon received 520 Electoral College votes. The Democrats learned that a far-left candidate would not win a national election and changed their primary process to prevent a far-left candidate from winning the nomination. That is why Bernie Sanders was locked out in 2016 and in 2020. Joe Biden ran as a moderate even though his administration has not governed that way.
I have no idea who Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., will take votes from. I do hope that he is provided with Secret Service Protection as soon as possible considering the family history. Some Republican never-Trumpers may vote for him because they think he is a moderate (he is not–read his statements of the environment and other issues); and some Democrats may vote for him because they agree with some of his liberal policies.
All things considered, 2024 is going to be an interesting election. We all need to pray for the safety of ALL the candidates.
Laughable!
On Friday, The New York Sun posted an article about the $250 million civil fraud case brought by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, against President Trump.
The article reports:
On Tuesday, a New York Supreme Court judge, Arthur Engoron, used a Palm Beach County assessor’s appraisal of Mar-a-Lago at $18 million as evidence to rule in a pre-trial judgment that Mr. Trump, his sons, and co-defendants in the Trump Organization committed fraud by inflating the values of their real estate holdings to gain more favorable terms on loans and insurance.
If Judge Engoron’s ruling stands, Mr. Trump could lose control of his New York properties. The stakes are high. The rest of the counts against Mr. Trump in the civil fraud case will be tried starting Monday, after an appeals court denied Mr. Trump’s bid to delay it this week.
Mar-a-Lago, a members’ only club where Mr. Trump also lives, is likely out of reach of New York regulators, but the accusation that Trump overstated its value is central to Judge Engoron’s fraud ruling. So is Mar-a-Lago worth only $18 million? That valuation is certainly raising eyebrows in real estate circles and on social media for being “insanely low.”
Palm Beach is one of the wealthiest towns in the world and the value of a historic, waterfront property there such as Mar-a-Lago can be astronomical. “I spoke with my appraisers,” a Palm Beach real estate broker, Lee Allen Schultz, tells the Sun, “they thought the $18 million was ridiculous.”
The article also notes:
Mr. Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985 for $10 million, but Palm Beach property prices have gone up substantially in recent years. Forbes magazine appraised Mar-a-Lago at $160 million in 2018. The property boasts 128 rooms, a 20,000-square-foot ballroom, tennis courts, and a waterfront pool.
Mar-a-Lago is deed restricted and cannot be converted to a residential property, which may lower its value. The brokers who spoke with the Sun, though, say the appraised value between $18 and $27.6 million is laughable. They also note that Mar-a-Lago’s property tax assessed value is $33 million, which is also “very low,” though property owners generally like this to be low to save money on taxes.
The article concludes:
The $18 million assessment may be laughable, but the ramifications are serious. Judge Engoron wrote in his decision that Mr. Trump’s $426 to $612 million valuation of Mar-a-Lago to secure loans was “an overvaluation of at least 2,300 percent.”
“A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud,” Judge Engoron wrote. “The documents here clearly contain fraudulent valuations that defendants used in business, satisfying OAG’s burden to establish liability as a matter of law against defendants.”
It should be noted that all loans were paid back, everyone was happy and no one was defrauded. So who is unhappy and why was this lawsuit brought at all? Those are the questions we should be looking at.
The Quote Of The Week
Matt Gaetz with the quote of the week: “We’re in so much debt, we are driving up deficits so fast, we are devaluing American money so rapidly that in America today you can’t even bribe Democrat senators in cash alone, you need gold bars just so the money can hold value!”
When Reality Catches Up With Business Ventures
On Monday, The Federalist reported that Ford Motor Company is stopping work on a plant in Marshall, Michigan that was going to make batteries for electric cars.
The article reports:
Ford Motor Co. is halting work on a $3.5 billion plant in Marshall, Michigan, that would make batteries for electric vehicles.
The announcement came after the automaker in July projected its EV unit would lose $4.5 billion this year, about 50 percent more than initially expected, and that it was slowing its plans to increase EV production, according to Reuters.
The delay also comes as Ford is in the midst of talks with the striking United Auto Workers union. President Joe Biden plans to join a UAW picket line on Tuesday, a day ahead of a planned visit to the workers by former President Donald Trump.
It is becoming obvious that American consumers are not all that enthralled with electric vehicles. The high cost of the vehicles, the time consumed in charging the vehicles, issues regarding how far the vehicles will travel on a charge, the fire hazard of an electric vehicle, the cost of replacing the batter in an electric vehicle, and the increased insurance rates insurance companies are charging for electric vehicles are all unresolved issues in the minds of consumers. (Also, in my humble opinion, the electric Ford Mustang is a disgrace to its heritage! I realize that it can go really fast, but it doesn’t look good doing it!)
Cultural Changes In Political Parties
On Monday, John Hinderaker at Power Line Blog posted an article about some of the cultural changes in America and how they are reflected in the two major political parties.
The article includes the following chart from Gallup via Breitbart:
The article reports:
Note that in 1999, there was no significant difference between the parties. Here, as in so many other respects, Republicans have stayed pretty much the same, while Democrats have engaged in a mad dash to the left.
It would be interesting to know exactly what caused that shift–our education system, media, social media, etc., are probably all involved. Facebook was launched in 2005. Instagram was launched in 2010. Facebook is now grandmothers posting kid and grandkid pictures. Instagram and TikTok are more likely to be used by younger people. The largest group of Twitter users are between the ages of 25 and 34. MTV went on the air in 1981. All of these media sources have had an impact on our culture. It should be noted that TikTok is Chinese-Communist controlled and American children who watch TikTok see very different things than Chinese children who watch TikTok. American children see sexual content, transgender things, and things you would find on America’s Funniest Home Videos; Chinese children see science experiments, museum trips, and educational videos.
Getting Around The Illegal And Dangerous Border Crossing
On September 21st, The Daily Signal reported that 221,456 illegal aliens have flown directly into America from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua thanks to a program set up by the Biden administration.
The article reports:
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, or FOIA, Bensman (Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies) says, he learned of the federal government’s “CBP One” mobile application parole program, which “permits inadmissible aliens to make an appointment to fly directly to airports in the interior of the United States, bypassing the border altogether.”
The Biden administration introduced the CBP One mobile app to illegal aliens as a way to schedule an appointment at a port of entry and be paroled into the interior of the United States. (The acronym CBP refers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security.)
President Joe Biden said the program was part of an effort to form “lawful pathways” for illegal aliens to enter the country and seek asylum. Illegal border crossings between ports of entry at the southern border appeared to decline in June as more illegal aliens presented themselves at a port of entry.
But, according to Bensman’s findings, migrants also are presenting themselves at ports within the interior of the country.
One of the “least noticed, mysterious, and potentially the most controversial of the new rechanneling programs that use the CBP One app allows migrants to take commercial passenger flights from foreign countries straight to their American cities of choice, flying right over the border—and even over Mexico,” Bensman writes in the Center for Immigration Studies report titled “New Records: Biden DHS Has Approved Hundreds of Thousands of Migrants for Secretive Foreign Flights Directly Into U.S. Airports.”
According to Worldometers, the United States 2023 population is estimated at 339,996,563 people at mid year.
Keep in mind that the number of people flown in by airplane is only a fraction of the number coming over the border every day. According to The New York Post, 820,500 illegal aliens had crossed our southern border in 2023. Even if they were here legally, that is a tremendous number of people to assimilate. How many of those people will have to be supported by American taxpayers who are already struggling because of inflation?
Protecting Your Job At The Country’s Expense
On Wednesday, Townhall posted an article about voting trends in America. It is no coincidence that some of the richest counties in America are located within commuting distance to Washington, D.C., and that those counties can be depended upon to vote Democrat.
The article reports:
The Congressional Research Service this month published a report entitled “Current Federal Civilian Employment by State and Congressional District.”
“This report provides a snapshot of recent statistics for U.S. government employment in each state and territory, as well as estimates for how many federal workers live in each congressional district,” said the report.
It then noted that “these figures do not include uniformed military personnel or federal contractors.”
The report included a table that listed each of the nation’s 435 congressional districts with an estimate — based on the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey — of the total number of federal civilian employees who lived in that district in 2022. The table also listed “a calculation of federal workers as a percentage of all employed civilians (aged 16 and older) who live in that district.”
This table showed there were seven congressional districts in which more than 10% of all employed civilians worked for the federal government. Not surprisingly, each of these districts sits in Maryland or Virginia — near Washington, D.C.
Last November, every one of these seven districts elected a Democrat to Congress.
Indeed, 12 of the 13 districts that had the highest percentages of federal civilian workers among their employed population were districts that elected Democrats. So, too, were 16 of the top 20.
The article concludes:
A subsection of this paper is headlined “Democrats are overrepresented among civil servants.”
“Democrats make up the plurality of civil servants,” the paper says. “(T)he share of Democrat-leaning civil servants hovers around 50% across the entire 1997-2019 period. By contrast, the share of Republicans ranges from approximately 32% in 1997 to about 26% in 2019, with a corresponding increase in the share of independents. To put these numbers in perspective, the share of Democrats in the universe of individuals in our voter registration data is 40.8%, while the share of Republicans is 30.7%.
“This,” the paper says, “implies an overrepresentation of Democrats among federal civil servants of about 10 p.p., or about 20% relative to their share in the population.”
The advent of the uniparty has slightly changed things; but generally any efforts to shrink government come from Republicans. Federal civil servants vote Democrat because they want to keep their jobs.
The Case for Homeschools
Article: Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.
The number of parents choosing to homeschool their children is growing in North Carolina. Recent data reported 162,000 homeschoolers as compared to 128,000 attending private schools. This clearly shows that parents are increasingly looking for an alternative to public schools. Why is this happening?
One of the reasons is the failure of many public schools to adequately educate children in the basic academic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. For example, in Craven County public schools, the average math proficiency (i.e., meeting grade standards) is 38% in math and 47% in reading. When examining specific schools, the reality is even more disturbing. The worst performing schools are as follows: Oaks Road Academy, Math 10-14%, Reading 20-24%; J.T. Barber, Math:20-24%, Reading 25-29%; Roger Bell Academy, Math 24%, Reading 30%; Vanceboro Elementary, Math 26%, Reading 32%; West Craven Middle, Math 19%, Reading 40%; James Smith Elementary, Math 25-29%, Reading 35-39%; Havelock Middle, Math 32%, Reading40%; Ben Quinn Elementary, Math 32%, Reading 41%. (Source of data Public School Review). You get the picture. There was a time when a student who failed to meet expected standards was left back to repeat the grade. Obviously that is no longer the case. This demonstrably poor performance is occurring despite smaller class sizes as shown by a student to teacher ratio of 16 to 1; and a yearly expenditure of $10,944. Per student. Clearly the tax payer is not getting their money’s worth.
Besides this pathetic academic performance, parents are rightfully concerned by the indoctrination of their children in Critical Race Theory, diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI), sexual education, transgenderism, and other leftist ideologies that demean America and foster anti-America attitudes and beliefs. For many, the forced wearing of ineffective masks and shutting down schools during COVID was the last straw.
For some parents, homeschooling provides an effective alternative. It takes a tremendous sacrifice not only in time but financially. In an economy that increasingly requires two incomes, a commitment to homeschooling is a very difficult decision. However, like all things there are many benefits. Having homeschooled our youngest daughter for several years, I found the benefits of controlling her education were very satisfying and rewarding. In addition to the increasing number of academic materials designed for homeschooling, there are also local groups that share the experience. Both can make homeschooling easier.
Parental rights over their children is something the Left tries to undermine. The Left believes they know what is best for children, not the parents. The Republicans in the General Assembly recently confirmed the rights of parents when it comes to education by passing the right to choose legislation over Governor Cooper’s veto. Unfortunately for some unknown reason, they chose to leave homeschools out of the voucher program. This was a serious mistake and needs to be corrected in the next session. Of all groups, parents homeschooling their children need access to the funds that are now going to the public schools. Home schooled children not only achieve at a higher level than public school children, but are much more likely to reflect American values. Vouchers should follow the student. While some homeschooling parents may be concerned about their ability to control what they teach their children if they accept government vouchers, this can be effectively dealt with in the voucher authorizing legislation. Parents would always retain the right to individually decline a voucher since the vouchers would be voluntary. To leave home schoolers out of the voucher system is unfair and may need to be challenged in court.
Is The FBI Part Of The Problem Or Part Of The Solution?
On Tuesday, Just the News reported that the FBI has denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Just the News regarding voter registration fraud in Michigan.
The article reports:
According to the dozens of pages of police reports from the Muskegon Police Department and Michigan State Police, a firm called GBI Strategies was under scrutiny as an organization central to alleged voter registration fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The matter was initially investigated by city and state authorities before the FBI took over.
Contacts between local law enforcement and the FBI continued into 2022 but there is no evidence of what happened after that in the memos obtained by Just the News through requests made under Michigan’s own Freedom of Information Act.
Last week, the FBI denied a Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts request from Just the News regarding records from the investigation into GBI Strategies.
If there is ‘nothing to see here,’ why are they hiding it?
The article continues:
The request sought “copies of all reports, documents, and records about GBI Strategies, including all communication and correspondence regarding investigations of GBI Strategies with Michigan government officials, city and state law enforcement agencies in Michigan, and all other state government officials and law enforcement agencies involved in investigations of GBI Strategies.”
The FBI’s response partially reads: “The material you requested is located in an investigative file which is exempt from disclosure.”
The FBI cited 5 U.S. Code § 552(b)(7)(A) for exempting disclosure of the records, specifically, “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information … could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
The agency’s response continued: “The records responsive to your request are law enforcement records; there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records, and release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
Police from Michigan interviewed GBI Strategies employees in 2020 and cited specific instances of registrations that appeared suspicious or fraudulent, the previously obtained memos show. A Michigan State Police memo described the possible crime being investigated as “Election Fraud by Forgery.”
Distract, delay, and deny until the statute of limitations runs out. We have seen this play before.
Bias Is Not Only How You Report The News, But What You Leave Out
On Tuesday, Newsbusters reported the following:
Early Tuesday evening, Fox News Digital reporter Brook Singman published a bombshell report of documents released from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) showing the $250K Hunter Biden received from his Chinese business partners had President Joe Biden’s address listed. All three evening news broadcasts (ABC’s World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, & NBC Nightly News) ignored this latest development.
Instead, the networks were enthralled with stories like the so-called “Taylor Swift effect” which apparently caused football player Travis Kelce jersey sales to spike nearly 400% (ABC), African American actor Hattie McDaniel’s missing Oscar (CBS), and a reported shortage of primary care doctors (NBC).
According to Fox News Digital, “As part of the investigation, Comer subpoenaed financial records related to a specific bank account and received records of two wires originating from Beijing and linked to BHR Partners.”
How many of these same networks headlined the fiasco in New York that essentially said that President Trump should spend one hundred million years in jail because they disagree with the value of his properties?
The article notes:
…”The first wire transfer sent to Hunter Biden, dated July 26, 2019, was for $10,000 from an individual named Ms. Wang Xin. There is a Ms. Wang Xin listed on the website for BHR Partners. It is unclear if the wire came from that Wang Xin,” Fox reported.
Fox News Digital added that “The second wire transfer sent to Hunter Biden, dated Aug. 2, 2019, was for $250,000 from Li Xiang Sheng — also known as Jonathan Li, the CEO of BHR Partners — and Ms. Tan Ling.”
“The beneficiary for the wires is listed as Robert Hunter Biden with the address “1209 Barley Mill Rd.” in Wilmington, Delaware. That address is the main residence for President Biden,” Fox noted.
According to Hunter’s own diary, he wasn’t living in Wilmington at the time. Could this wire transfer actually be for “The Big Guy”? Don’t expect the leftist media to look into it.
If you rely on the mainstream media for your news, do you know about this?
This Might Be Part Of The ‘Wealth Gap’ Problem
On Saturday, The New York Post posted an article about students in Baltimore, Maryland, schools and their mathematics test scores.
The article reports:
Something doesn’t add up.
None of the students at 40% of Baltimore’s public high schools tested proficient on the state math exam given this past spring — with a staggering three-quarters earning the lowest possible score, an alarming report revealed this week.
At 13 of the school district’s 32 public high schools, 1,295 students of the 1,736 who took the exams scored a 1 out of 4, meaning they were nowhere close to proficiency, Fox 45 reported.
“This is educational homicide,” Jason Rodriguez, deputy director of the Baltimore-based nonprofit People Empowered by the Struggle, told the outlet.
The results were shockingly low even at the city’s top high schools, where just 92 students, or 11.4% of the 809 students who took the exam, tested proficient, the outlet later found.
This is obviously an education problem, but is it also a cultural problem? Have we stopped teaching children that they need certain skills to prosper in life? How many of these students assume that they will be supported by social programs all of their lives and really don’t need an education or need to get a job? How many of these students are growing up in families that encourage them to do well in school and support those efforts?
We know from the story of Ben Carson that growing up poor in a one-parent family does not mean a life of little accomplishment and lots of poverty. Most of us have heard the story of Ben Carson’s illiterate mother requiring Ben and his brother to read a book every week and give her a book report. They had no idea that she couldn’t read the reports.
Our schools need to do better, but so do our parents and our culture. Doing well in school shouldn’t be a negative thing in any culture, and we need to make sure that it is not. The parents and the community can turn this around if they choose to.
What We Are Actually Supporting In Ukraine
On September 24th, CBS News posted an article about exactly how American tax dollars are being spent in Ukraine. The lack of financial accountability for the billions of dollars we have spent in Ukraine is disturbing.
The article reports:
The U.S. has spent just over $43 billion on military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded. That’s equivalent to about 5% of the American defense budget. European countries combined have contributed around $30 billion.
The article notes:
American taxpayers are financing more than just weapons. We discovered the U.S. government’s buying seeds and fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers… and covering the salaries of Ukraine’s first responders – all 57,000 of them.
That includes the team that trains this rescue dog – named Joy – to comb through the wreckage of Russian strikes looking for survivors.
And the U.S. also funds the divers who we saw clearing unexploded ammunition from the country’s rivers – to make them safe again for swimming and fishing.
These are worthwhile causes, but I am not sure it’s American taxpayers’ responsibility to fund them.
Also included in the expenditures:
Russia’s invasion shrank Ukraine’s economy by about a third. We were surprised to find that to keep it afloat the U.S. government is subsidizing small businesses…
…like Tatiana Abramova’s knitwear company.
Holly Williams: These are Ukrainian towns – that’s Kyiv I recognize.
Tatiana Abramova: Yes, yah! It’s Kyiv.
Tatiana Abramova: Especially in the condition of war, we have to work. We have to pay taxes, we have to pay wage– salary to our employees. We have to work, don’t stop.
Holly Williams: Why does that help Ukraine win the war?
Tatiana Abramova: Because economy is the foundation of everything.
American officials from USAID – the agency in charge of international development – helped Abramova find new customers overseas. In the midst of war, her company is supporting over 70 families.
Please follow the link to read further details. The interesting thing about this information is that it was shown on “60 Minutes,” generally a left-wing news source that supports the Ukrainian War. I wonder if this is an indication that the mainstream media is reading the tea leaves and giving up on convincing Americans that funding Ukraine is a good use of our tax dollars.
When Lying Gets You Promoted
On Sunday, The Daily Caller posted an article about some of the appointees to the Biden administration. Some of the names are very familiar.
The article reports:
Several of the 51 former intelligence officials who signed a letter casting doubt on the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 presidential election have ended up serving in roles with President Joe Biden’s administration.
In less than three years, the Biden administration has brought on six out of the 51 former intelligence official signatories of the October 2020 letter arguing that the leak of emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Earlier this week, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) selected three signatories of the letter to join a federal “intelligence experts” national security group, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
These 51 intelligence officials already knew that the laptop was real and the information on it was valid, yet they lied to influence an election. They should be in jail–not in government.
In case you have forgotten, in July 2023, The Washington Examiner reported:
An FBI official told the House Judiciary Committee in a transcribed interview this week that at least one top agent and likely others who were warning social media companies about a “hack and dump” operation ahead of the 2020 election knew Hunter Biden’s laptop was real.
Laura Dehmlow, head of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, said, according to excerpts of the testimony obtained by the Washington Examiner, that her then-colleague Brad Benavides “certainly” was aware of the laptop’s authenticity.
The Daily Caller notes:
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former CIA Operations Officer Paul Kolbe will be members of the new group, which will advise DHS on intelligence and national security matters including “terrorism, fentanyl, transborder issues, and emerging technology,” according to the DHS announcement. All of them signed onto the October 2020 letter casting doubt on the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop before the presidential election.
The Daily Caller News Foundation verified the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop contents in October 2020.
Is there anyone out there who still believes that the 2020 election was legitimate? Is there anyone out there who doesn’t believe that Americans need to do everything they can to make sure 2024 is an honest election?
The Cost Of Media Manipulation
One term that has come into fashion in recent years is ‘body shaming.’ The basic idea is that you should not comment on a person’s weight if they are either underweight or overweight. I would argue that not commenting is part of good manners, but it would also be a good idea to recognize the role that weight plays in health. Not everyone is going to fit into the ‘normal’ weight range–small bones, big bones, etc., make a difference. I remember as a teenager never reaching the number the charts said I should reach–having a small frame changes things. However, there comes a point where avoiding ‘body shaming’ is dangerous.
On September 18th, The Washington Free Beacon reported the following:
…The number of heart disease deaths in the United States linked to obesity was three times greater in 2020 than in 1999—even though overall heart disease deaths declined nearly 20 percent during that period—according to a new scientific study.
• Obesity affects about 115 million Americans, including 42 percent of adults and 20 percent of children, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Why it matters: The alarming scientific findings coincide with the rise of the left-wing “body positivity” movement, which seeks to achieve social justice by celebrating fatness and attacking critics for pointing out the enormous health risks associated with obesity.
• In recent years, liberal cultural elites have embraced obese female celebrities and lauded them as icons of feminist empowerment. Lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan have featured obese women on the cover alongside science-denying taglines such as, “This is healthy!”
What they’re saying: “Those who glorify obesity, or denounce efforts to reduce it, are dangerous … [and] have blood on their hands,” wrote journalist Glenn Greenwald.
I am not recommending that everyone who is overweight go on a crash diet. What I would suggest is that you work with a nutritionist to find the source of your weight problem and work on it slowly and consistently. Best wishes!
Only Some Immigrants Are Really Welcome
On September 25th, Ed Morrissey posted an article at Hot Air about the Romeike family. This family fled Germany in 2008 because the German government would not allow them to home-school their children.
The article reports:
The Romeike family fled Germany in 2008 after authorities cracked down on the practice of home-schooling, and applied for asylum in the US. Initially, a judge granted their asylum request, but when the Obama administration appealed the decision, that started a long legal odyssey that may have come to an end late last week:
The family moved to the U.S. from Germany in 2008. Their application for asylum said they were fined by the German government roughly $9,000 after homeschooling their children, court documents show.
An immigration judge initially granted the family’s application for asylum. The U.S. Department of Justice appealed the decision, and the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals revoked the family’s asylum status, documents show.
The family, with the help of the U.S. Home School Defense Association, appealed to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel unanimously ruled against the family.
“They have not shown that Germany’s enforcement of its general school-attendance law amounts to persecution against them,” Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the court.
Did the Biden administration find out that they might be conservative Christians?
Please follow the link to read the rest of the article.
This is ridiculous. We have an open southern border that is letting in murderers, terrorists, cartel members, gang members, etc., and the government had decided to deport a family that includes American citizens. What level of insanity is this?
It Pays To Be The Son Of “The Big Guy”
On Saturday, Breitbart reported that a fourth IRS whistleblower has come forward claiming that prosecutors in Washington, DC, and California previously blocked now-special counsel David Weiss from charging Hunter Biden in those jurisdictions.
The article reports:
“Mr. Weiss went to the U.S. Attorney’s Office — I can’t recall the dates — and they did not agree to prosecute the case in D.C.,” Waldon (IRS agent Darrell Waldon) told the House Ways and Means Committee during a transcribed interview in September, the Washington Examiner reported.
“I’m aware that it was presented to the District of Columbia and, at some point, the Central District of California, I believe,” he added.
…As the investigation progressed, Weiss never charged Hunter Biden in the jurisdictions of Washington, DC, or California. Instead, he formed a sweetheart plea agreement with Hunter Biden that collapsed in July under judicial scrutiny. Shapley’s testimony in April reportedly triggered the plea deal, filed in Delaware. Weiss later brought three gun-related charges in Delaware against Hunter Biden.
This testimony is interesting because of the way it relates to the testimony of Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The article reports:
The recent testimony by Waldon, who was Shapley’s boss, is notable because Attorney General Merrick Garland testified Wednesday that nobody had the authority to block Weiss from charging Hunter Biden, though “they could refuse to partner with him.”
“You said [Weiss] had complete authority, but he’d already been turned down. He wanted to bring an action in D.C. and the US Attorney there said, ‘No, you can’t’ — and then you go tell the U.S. Senate, under oath, that he has complete authority?” House Oversight Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) asked.
“No one had the authority to turn him down; they could refuse to partner with him.” Garland replied.
“You can use whatever language — ‘refuse to partner’ is turning down,” Jordan replied.
“It is not the same under a well-known Justice Department practice,” Garland claimed.
Waldon previously confirmed Shapley’s notes presented to Congress regarding an October 7, 2022, meeting between Waldon, Shapley, and Weiss, among others. “Darrell asked me to shoot an update from today’s meeting. Darrell — feel free to comment if I miss anything,” the top line of the email read.
The level of corruption in our current Justice Department is breathtaking.
Ignoring The Root Of The Problem
On Saturday, The Daily Wire posted an article about Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s announcement of a partnership with a far-left non-profit to advance his proposal of a government-owned grocery store, which he argues is needed for the sake of “racial justice.”
The article reports:
Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a press release this month that the city-owned grocery store — which would be the largest of its kind in the U.S. — is needed to address the exit of corporate grocery stores and promote “food equity.”
“[F]ood access and security link directly to environmental and racial justice,” Johnson’s office said in a press release, adding that “37% of Black residents and 29% of Latine/x residents are food insecure, compared to 19% of residents overall.”
The mayor’s office argued that “historic disinvestment has led to inequitable access to food retail across Chicago,” and noted that “existing inequities have been exacerbated as at least six grocery stores closed on the South and West sides over the past two years.”
Indeed, as Chicago continues to reel with violent crime and large-scale theft, corporate grocery stores like Walmart and Amazon-owned Whole Foods have recently packed up and left Chicago.
There is so much here that is totally backwards. Does anyone trust the city of Chicago to run a grocery store without major corruption? Has anyone noticed that the lack of grocery stores in some areas could be changed by enforcing laws that would prevent crime in those areas? How about leaving criminals in jail so that the citizens of Chicago are safe?
For example, Chicago has some of the toughest gun laws in America. However, in 2022, Chicago topped 600 homicides and 2,600 shootings in 2022, according to new Chicago Police Department data (source here). I suspect if Chicago dealt with the crime problem the lack-of-grocery-stores problem might solve itself.
The article concludes:
“We are not spending any taxpayer dollars, right?” she told CBS Chicago. “What we’re also going to be able to access is the funding that exists at the national level and the state level.”
Moreover, the mayor’s office has already acknowledged that this project, if completed, will also use economic grant money, which, too, comes from taxpayers.
Critics have said this grocery store proposal is akin to “Soviet-style central planning.” Detractors have also highlighted the city’s penchant for corruption and the city’s half-a-billion dollar deficit to question how the store could be efficient. There are also still questions about how prices would be set, how this would be superior to private grocery stores, and how it would affect private enterprise.
We all need to remember that grant money comes from taxpayers. There really is no free lunch!
Something To Watch
On September 23rd, The Geller Report reported the following headline:
World’s second-largest economy offloaded US$13.6 billion worth of US debt in July
But China still remains the second-largest foreign holder of US Treasury bills, having been surpassed by Japan in mid-2019
The article reports:
Amid persistent concerns over the safety of its overseas assets – most of which are US dollar-denominated – China has slashed its holdings of United States Treasury bills for the fourth straight month.
The world’s second-largest economy offloaded US$13.6 billion worth of US debt in July, bringing China’s holdings to US$821.8 billion, according to the latest data from the US Department of the Treasury.
China’s overall holding of US debt remains at a 14-year low, after reaching that level in June.
Beijing has been continuously cutting China’s US debt holdings since early 2022, with two exceptions – in March of this year and July 2022, when it increased holdings by US$20.3 billion and US$320 million, respectively.
Beijing remains the second-largest foreign holder of US Treasury bills after being surpassed by Japan in June 2019.
Keep in mind that we are seeing a global move away from the U.S. Dollar as a global currency. That has a lot to do with the reckless spending by our government. As oil is traded in currency other than PetroDollars, we can also expect a move toward digital currency. There is nothing wrong with digital currency as long as it is not Central Bank Digital Currency, which gives the government control over how much money you earn and how you spend that money. If you are going to invest in digital currency, treat it like buying a stock–do your research first! Meanwhile, keep an eye on China as it unloads American debt.
Carbon Credits Are Unraveling
On Friday, WattsUpWithThat posted an article about the very predictable unraveling of carbon credits. This is not a new phenomena.
In 2003, CCX (Chicago Climate Exchange) was founded. It was assumed that when Democrats got control of Congress, they would pass Cap and Trade legislation and carbon credits would be exchanged through CCX. Some major Democrat figures were heavily invested in CCX. Cap and Trade never passed and the CCX began laying off employees in 2010. (article here)
Yesterday WattsUpWithThat reported:
The world of carbon credits has long been presented as a major tool for supposed climate woes. Advocates of this system have been quick to sing its praises, positioning it as the ultimate solution for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. But skeptics, like yours truly, have long pointed out the inherent flaws in such a system. Now, even The Guardian, a publication that has been a staunch advocate of climate alarmism, seems to be having second thoughts. It’s almost as if they’re saying, “Oops, maybe the skeptics had a point.”
The Guardian’s Late Awakening
The article from The Guardian delves deep into the world of carbon credits, questioning their actual impact on reducing emissions. It’s almost amusing to see them now asking:
“Carbon credits are supposed to offset the emissions caused by companies and individuals. But do they really reduce greenhouse gases?”
A question that should have been asked and critically examined long before jumping on the carbon credit bandwagon.
The Mirage of Offsetting
The Guardian highlights a significant concern: the illusion of offsetting. Purchasing carbon credits doesn’t necessarily equate to genuine offsetting of emissions. Many of these credits are tied to projects that would have been executed regardless, meaning no real reduction in emissions.
“Many of the projects supported by carbon credits, such as the construction of windfarms and solar parks, would have been built anyway.”
In essence, it’s a system that allows companies to parade their “green” credentials without making any tangible changes to their carbon footprint.
The Inconsistencies of Carbon Credit Accounting
The article also sheds light on the convoluted and inconsistent world of carbon credit accounting. With no unified standard and a lack of rigorous oversight, it’s a system rife with potential for manipulation.
“There is no single standard for carbon credits, and critics argue that this has allowed projects that do not deliver real-world emissions reductions to flourish.”
It’s a system that skeptics have long warned about, and it seems these concerns were not unfounded.
Please follow the link to read the entire article. People are beginning to wake up.
Instituting Better Control Of Absentee Ballots
There are many Americans who believe that there were a lot of weird anomalies during the 2020 election. Many of those anomalies had to do with absentee ballots and ballot harvesting. Ballot harvesting will still be legal in some states in 2024; and hopefully, Republicans will be able to use it effectively. Some of the problems with absentee ballots will probably still exist.
On September 23rd, The Right Scoop reported the following:
The state of Wisconsin will no longer be able to use absentee ballot drop boxes as they did three years using COVID as an excuse.
The conservative majority of the state’s high court ruled that the boxes are illegal and that when someone delivers an absentee ballot to the clerk’s office, it must be done by the voter and not someone else.
The article quotes Wisconsin Public Radio:
Absentee ballot drop boxes won’t be allowed in Wisconsin under a ruling handed down Friday by a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The court’s conservative majority also ruled that it’s illegal for someone else, like a spouse or roommate, to return a voter’s completed absentee ballot to the clerk’s office. The voter must carry out that task personally.
The majority decision was written by Justice Rebecca Bradley and joined by the rest of the court’s conservative majority, including swing Justice Brian Hagedorn.
Both rulings mean absentee voting in Wisconsin’s 2022 election and beyond won’t be as convenient as it was two years ago when it surged during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nothing in the statutory language detailing the procedures by which absentee ballots may be cast mentions drop boxes or anything like them,” Bradley wrote.
This is an interesting ruling. There have been cases of people in nursing homes who were mentally compromised voting in elections because other people filled out their ballots for them and turned them in. Obviously that is wrong, but what about a person whose mobility is limited? How will they vote under this law? I am really not sure how well this law is going to work in actual practice.
Posted by a friend on Twitter:
Do We Have Any Idea Who The Federal Government Is Working For?
In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln stated, “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (source here). Currently it seems as if government of the people, by the people, for the people has been replaced by government of the ruling class, for the interests of the ruling class, and only for the ruling class. There is a lot of money floating around Washington, D.C., and I am sure there are a lot of skeletons in the closet in Washington, D.C., that many politicians don’t ever want to see the light of day. So when someone is actually held accountable or not held accountable, there are probably more reasons behind it than we will ever know. However, recently it seems as if a lot of chickens are coming home to roost.
On Thursday, The Washington Examiner reported the following:
A third IRS official confirmed that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss faced roadblocks when attempting to bring charges against Hunter Biden, contradicting denials issued Wednesday by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf told the House Ways and Means Committee in a closed-door interview on Sept. 12 that he felt “frustrated” by the refusal of the Justice Department to approve tax charges that IRS agents viewed as well-supported by evidence, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by the Washington Examiner.
He also said the IRS removed agent Gary Shapley, a whistleblower, from the Hunter Biden case at the direction of Weiss despite having done nothing wrong.
Batdorf’s testimony was the latest piece of evidence to suggest Weiss did not enjoy the unfettered authority to pursue Hunter Biden that Garland and others claimed he had.
In July, The Federalist reported:
Shapley said U.S. Delaware Attorney David Weiss waited out the statute of limitations related to 2014-2015 financial crimes allowing the president’s son to evade additional charges. In June, news broke of a plea deal struck between Weiss and Hunter Biden limited to two misdemeanor tax crimes and a single felony charge over illegal firearm possession. The latter is forgiven after 24 months of sobriety, an agreement placed in jeopardy if the mysterious White House cocaine was linked to the first family’s son, who wrote a book on his struggle with drug addiction.
“In November of 2022, the statute of limitations was set to expire for the 2014 and 2015 charges in D.C., which included the 2014 felonies for the attempt to evade or defeat tax and fraud or false statement regarding Burisma income earned by Hunter Biden,” Shapley said.
Hunter Biden served on the board of the Ukrainian energy company raking in excess compensation despite having no prior experience in the industry.
“The statute of limitations had been extended through a tolling agreement with Hunter Biden’s defense counsel, and they were willing to extend it past 2022. Weiss allowed those to expire,” said Shapley.
It would be nice if Hunter Biden and those who let the statute of limitations run out on Hunter Biden’s crimes were held accountable for their actions.
North Carolina General Assembly Report Card
Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.
The North Carolina General Assembly recently completed the state budget which usually signals the end of the session. Let’s take a brief look at what was accomplished from a conservative’s viewpoint.
First of all, we must recognize that the Republican party had a very slim (one vote) veto proof majority. Although that fact allowed the over-ride of several of Governor Cooper’s vetoes, it did not put them in a very strong position to advance the most conservative of propositions. Hopefully, if the 2024 elections produce a Republican Governor and continue and hopefully increase their majority, the Republican members should be able to do even more to reverse the leftist policies implemented by the Cooper regime. Elections do have consequences!
It is amazing that a total of 487 bills were passed by the General Assembly this year. If you do not think that our elected officials work hard, think again. You can access these bills on the internet by searching for bills passed in 2023. While the impact of some of these bills varied considerably, some of the positive accomplishments this session include the following: The Parent’s Bill of Rights was passed over the veto of Governor Cooper and provides parents with expanded and well defined rights of access to their child’s academic as well as any health related information retained by a public school. It also allows parents to opt out their child from sex education. Importantly, it also requires the school to notify parents before changing the pronoun used for their child. It also prohibits instructing children about transgender issues and sexual activity from kindergarten through the fourth grade. This bill is a significant step towards reaffirming that parents control what is taught to their children–not teachers or school administrators.
Another bill of consequence, also passed over the veto of Governor Cooper, prohibits gender transition procedures (such as hormone blockers and surgery) for anyone under age 18 except in unusual circumstances and only with the consent of the parent(s). It reinforces the importance of maintaining a person’s sexual identity as established at birth. This bill should protect children from irreversible changes medically done to their bodies before they are able to understand all of the potential ramifications. Medical professionals need to stop promoting the idea of gender fluidity and reinforce the idea that everyone is best served by adapting to their biological birth gender.
In a related area, the General Assembly passed a bill, again over Governor Cooper’s veto, that requires participants in public school and university sports to do so based on their biological gender at birth. This controversy was started by the Left and had an extreme adverse impact on not only the achievement of women in the sport activity, but the demeaning exposure to males in female locker rooms. How anyone with any sense of justice and moral conscience could have supported this aberration is indicative of how far the Left will take our society if we let them.
Parental school choice was also addressed when a bill to expand the existing school scholarship program was passed, again over the Governor’s veto. Income requirements were removed, and specific amounts for vouchers were added to the existing program, allowing funds to be used for private and charter schools. This greatly expanded the availability of funds for parents. This again was passed over the veto of the governor.
These bills represent just some of the advances of the conservative principles that should be guiding the state of North Carolina. There were many other bills including an end to local pistol purchasing requirements. Background checks will still be required.
There were some disappointments, primarily the expansion of Medicaid which was contrary to conservative principles and furthered the socialist agenda of making people dependent on big government. Hopefully, in the next session adding homeschools to the parental choice bill and returning to single day voting in person will be addressed. There are more homeschoolers (162,000) than private school students (128,000) yet they get no support. There is too much reliance on absentee voting which continues to be subject to fraud.