Monthly Archives: September 2023

It’s Really All A Matter Of Perspective

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CNBC has posted its list of the ten best states in America to live in and its list of the ten worst states in America to live in. When you look at the lists that CNBC has compiled and compare them to how Americans are ‘voting with their feet,’ you really wonder what the people who put together the lists were thinking.

This is the list of the 10 best states to live and work in according to CNBC:

10. Connecticut

8. (tie) Massachusetts

8. (tie) Colorado

7. Washington

6. Oregon

5. Hawaii

4. Minnesota

3. New Jersey

2. Maine

1. Vermont

These are the ten worst states to live and work in according to CNBC:

10. Florida

9. Arkansas

8. Tennessee

7. Indiana

6. Missouri

4. (tie) Alabama

4. (tie) South Carolina

3. Louisiana

2. Oklahoma

1. Texas

Please note that the only state in the ‘best’ places to live that has a Republican governor is Vermont, where Phil Scott is the Governor. The rest are Democrats. Based on the states chosen as ‘best’, I don’t believe there was much consideration given to the cost of living in the ‘best’ states.

Also note that in the ten ‘worst’ states, the only one with a Democrat governor is Louisiana, where John Bel Edwards is Governor. The rest are Republicans.

It is interesting to compare the CNBC list to the relocation habits of Americans. Below is a map posted at world population review illustrating states that have gained population and states that have lost population.

Believe the mainstream media at your own risk!

The Results Of Out-Of-Control Spending

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On Wednesday, Issues & Insights posted an article about the budget deficit.

The article reports:

Over the weekend, the Washington Post let it slip that all is not well in Bidenomicsville. The deficit, it reports, could end up hitting $2 trillion when the current fiscal year ends in three weeks, which it describes as an “unexpected deficit surge.”

In other words, the deficit will nearly double this year, calling the lie on one of President Joe Biden’s favorite boasts about how he cut the deficit more than any president in history.

But while this apparently comes as a shock to the Post, as well as other liberal news sites that picked up on the Post report, anyone paying attention knew this was happening.

Back in February, for example, we pointed out that Biden’s reckless economic policies had added more than $5 trillion to projected deficits, even as he claimed he’d done more to cut the deficit than “any president in history.”

…Now, households are paying dearly in the form of sharply higher prices for food, energy consumer goods, rents, and just about anything else they buy.

At the same time, Biden pushed through tax hikes and unleashed federal regulators, who are now gleefully writing rules to ban gas stoves, force electric car sales, slap massive new costs on energy producers, with plenty more to come. These are all anti-growth policies that are having their expected effect.

This is what Bidenomics is all about. And now we have a budget crisis that is snowballing.

That’s because while revenues keep coming in “unexpectedly” low (thanks to Biden’s sluggish economy), interest rate hikes are fueling massive increases in the cost of financing the federal government’s $30 trillion debt load.

Shutting down the government to stop the spending may be the only way we even have a possibility of not seeing our economy collapse under the weight of the federal debt.

Thought For The Day

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Occasionally I fill in for the high school Sunday School teacher at my church. Recently I filled in for her, and the lesson was very interesting. The theme of the lesson was “God has a plan and a purpose for your life.” That was mixed in with the need for personal integrity and hard work. It was a good lesson.

The example given in the lesson was the story of Squanto. Squanto is very well known in Massachusetts as the Indian who pretty much saved the Pilgrims’ lives during their first winter in America. The Pilgrims landed on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on November 11, 1620. Shortly after, they moved to Plymouth, a harbor somewhat protected by Cape Cod Bay. Coming to New England in November with limited supplies is a recipe for disaster. Initially the Pilgrims were greeted by an Indian named Samoset, chief of the Algonquin tribe in Maine, who was exploring the coast. He spoke English, which he had learned from various fishing captains who had fished off the Maine Coast. He explained to them that area where they had settled had previously belonged to the Patuxet Indians, a large, hostile tribe who murdered every white man who landed on their shores. Four years before the Pilgrims arrived, that tribe had died of a mysterious plague. The devastation was so complete that neighboring tribes would not settle in that land. Later, Samoset brought his friends Squanto and Massasoit, the Chief of the Wampanoag Tribe, to meet the Pilgrims.

This is Squanto’s story:

In 1605, Squanto and four other Indians were taken captive by English sailors and taken to England. When he met Squanto in England, Captain John Smith, an English Captain, promised to take Squanto back to his people. In 1614, Captain Smith fulfilled that promise. Unfortunately, Captain Hunt, who was sailing with Captain Smith’s expedition on another ship kidnapped Squanto and some other Indians and brought them back to Spain. Squanto was bought by local friars, who introduced him to Christianity. Squanto managed to get back to London where he embarked for New England with Captain Dermer. Captain Dermer picked up Samoset at Monhegan, an important fishing station in Maine, and dropped both Indians off at Plymouth. When Squanto got to Plymouth, he found out that his entire tribe had been wiped out by disease. Squanto lived with the Massasoit (Wampanoag Tribe) for a while as he grieved his loss. Then Samoset told him about some peaceful English families at Patuxet. He went with Samoset to meet the Pilgrims.

That meeting resulted in a 40-year peace treaty of mutual aid and assistance. Massasoit was an example of God’s provision in his care for the Pilgrims. Squanto chose to stay with the Pilgrims after the meeting with Samoset and Massasoit. He showed them how to catch fish and how to plant corn. He taught them to stalk deer, make beaver pelts for trading, and the other skills they needed to survive. His grieving ended as he discovered new purpose.

Based on where he was born and his family, Squanto was not someone you would have assumed would make a difference in the world. Yet, despite his beginnings and unbelievable challenges and disappointments, he played a significant role in the history of America. Never assume that you are too insignificant to be significant. We are at a major tipping point in America right now. You never know the impact you may have on a person when you simply share a basic truth or insight with them. We know in the end that the good guys win. You are part of that victory.

Much the information here can be found in THE LIGHT AND THE GLORY By Peter Marshall and David Manuel.

What Has Happened To The FBI?

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On Tuesday, The Federalist reported the following:

Emails obtained by the Heritage Foundation following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, and shared exclusively with The Federalist, reveal that lies leaked to The New York Times about the origins of damning evidence implicating Hunter and Joe Biden in a bribery scandal were fed to Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss. 

As I previously detailed, The New York Times reported those lies in its Dec. 11, 2020, article, “Material from Giuliani Spurred a Separate Justice Depart. Pursuit of Hunter Biden” — just a week after Americans first learned of the investigation of the now-president’s son. The Times’ reporting was “replete with falsehoods and deceptive narratives,” but “Americans just didn’t know it at the time.” 

However, earlier this year, thanks to “whistleblower revelations and statements by former Attorney General William Barr,” the country learned that the Times’ claims — that evidence implicating the Bidens was derived from Giuliani — were false. Rather, a separate investigation had uncovered reporting from a “highly credible” FBI confidential human source (CHS) implicating Hunter and Joe Biden in a bribery scandal.

Now the FOIA-produced emails reveal even more: The FBI lies, laundered through The New York Times, were fed directly to Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss.

Until we begin to hold those in the FBI who are responsible for the lies and the leaks accountable, the bad behavior will continue. Meanwhile, the American public is being treated to public lynchings done by the mainstream media and the Justice Department working together.

The article concludes:

The Federalist has also learned from a source with knowledge of the matter that the Delaware U.S. attorney’s office kept the Hunter Biden laptop secret from the Pennsylvania-based U.S. attorney’s office, which surely limited the investigators’ ability to assess the credibility of the evidence it was screening for disinformation.

Nonetheless, through its independent investigation of the CHS’s reporting, Pittsburgh corroborated several details of the FD-1023 and briefed Wolf on those details, telling her they believed the CHS’s information warranted further investigation.

But did Wolf tell that to Weiss? Did anyone tell that to Weiss? Or did Weiss’s team, after sharing The New York Times’ false narrative that Brady was on a political witch hunt of the Bidens and demanding an investigation into Giuliani disinformation, remain mum? Or did Weiss know about the FD-1023 and do nothing?

The emails don’t answer those questions, but they do confirm that Weiss and his top deputies were fed the Times story. Which leads to a final question: Which FBI agent(s) fed the Times the lies?

How You Vote Impacts YOU!

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On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported the following:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed Tuesday to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices.

The dual announcements from Riyadh and Moscow pushed benchmark Brent crude above $90 a barrel in trading Tuesday afternoon, a price unseen in the market since November.

The countries’ moves could increase inflation and the cost for motorists at gasoline pumps. It also puts new pressure on Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the United States, as President Joe Biden last year warned the kingdom there would be unspecified “consequences” for partnering with Russia on cuts as Moscow wages war on Ukraine.

Because of the Biden administration’s energy policies, we are not in a position to make any threats to any oil-producing country! Like it or not, fossil fuel is one of the major foundations of our economy. Fossil fuel powers the trucks that move products, the factories that produce products (those factories the Biden administration tax policies have not driven out of the country), and provides Americans with comfort and mobility. Under President Trump we were energy independent and inflation was under control. Until we go back to the policies that worked for the American people, our standard of living will continue to decline and inflation will continue to rise.

The article concludes:

In recent months, tensions eased slightly as Biden’s administration sought a deal with Riyadh for it to diplomatically recognize Israel.

But those talks include Saudi Arabia pushing for a nuclear cooperation deal that includes America allowing it to enrich uranium in the kingdom — something that worries nonproliferation experts, as spinning centrifuges open the door to a possible weapons program.

Prince Mohammed already has said the kingdom would pursue an atomic bomb if Iran had one, potentially creating a nuclear arms race in the region as Tehran’s program continues to advance closer to weapons-grade levels. Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a détente in recent months, though the region remains tense amid the wider tensions between Iran and the U.S.

Higher oil prices would also help Russian President Vladimir Putin fund his war on Ukraine. Western countries have used a price cap to try to cut into Moscow’s revenues. But those sanctions have seen Moscow be forced to sell its oil at a discount to countries like China and India.

How Is Bidenomics Working For You?

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On Monday, Breitbart posted an article about the ‘success’ of Bidenomics. The White House is attempting to convince Americans that Bidenomics has had a positive impact on the American economy. I don’t think they are succeeding.

The article reports:

A super-majority of voters have negative views of the U.S. economy and disapprove of President Biden’s handling of the issue, according to a Wall Street Journal poll that the paper describes as “a stark warning to the 80-year-old incumbent ahead of the 2024 contest.”

Sixty-three percent of American registered voters say the economy’s strength is “not so good” or “poor.” Just 32 percent say the economy is “good” and only five percent say the economy is “excellent.”

…When asked how the economy has fared over the past two years, 58 percent say the economy has gotten worse. Just 28 percent say the economy has gotten better. Twelve percent say the economy is about the same as it was two years ago.

Although the rate of inflation has declined this year, Americans are unhappy with rising prices. Seventy-four percent say inflation has moved in the wrong direction, with just 20 percent saying it has moved in the right direction.

…The economy is weighing heavily on the minds of many Americans. Thirty-eight percent of Americans say the economy is the most important issue in the 2024 Presidential election, up from 35 percent in April. Another 10 percent said inflation is the most important issue, up from seven percent in April. After the economy, the top issue is “immigration, at 23 percent. No other issue scores in the double-digits.

These negative views of the economy are likely weighing down Biden’s overall popularity. Just 39 percent say they have a favorable view of Biden, versus 58 percent who say they have an unfavorable view. Forty-nine percent say they have a very unfavorable view.

Unfortunately, because of media bias, former President Trump has never been given credit for the economy he created during the first two years of his administration (and was beginning to rebuild after Covid). The logical solution to the pending economic disaster under President Biden is to re-elect President Trump. However, the media and the uni-party in Washington are willing to do anything to prevent that from happening.

Why The First Amendment Is Important

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In Finland, Paivi Rasanen, a legislator, stated her Biblical beliefs on line. She is now on trial for “agitation against a minority group.”

On September 2nd, WND reported:

In a trial, she was acquitted of the charges months ago, but prosecutors demanded that an appeals panel deliver to them a favorable decision in the case, insisting that she must be punished.

This week, the Helsinki Court of Appeal finished a two-day hearing on the case that was triggered by her online statement about the Bible, as well as her part in creating a brochure that talks about the Bible.

The Decision report explained, “In 2019, Räsänen—a medical doctor and mother of five—posted a tweet in which she asked the leadership of her church why they would sponsor the Helsinki Pride parade, and she attached a photo with verses from Romans 1. Years earlier in 2004, she had written a pamphlet on marriage and sexuality titled ‘Male and Female He Created Them.”’And during a radio program, she also upheld the biblical view of marriage and sexuality.”

Police, not about the tolerate those beliefs, did an investigation that included interrogating her for 13 hours.

The article concludes:

In a press conference after the trial, Räsänen said: “It has been a long two days at the court of appeals. When I was voted into Parliament in 1995, I expected that I would face many challenges. But I never would imagine that I would face a criminal trial for posting a Bible verse and sharing my Christian convictions online.”

WND reported when 16 members of Congress released a letter calling on U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain and U.S. Ambassador to Finland Douglas Hickey to oppose the “egregious and harassing” by Finnish authorities of a Christian member of their parliament.

The 16 House members said in the letter the Räsänen’s case “is dead set on weaponizing the power of Finland’s legal system to silence not just a member of parliament…but millions of Finnish Christians who dare to exercise their natural rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion in the public square.”

It continued, “It is abundantly clear—the process is the punishment.”

Thank God for the wisdom of our Founding Fathers when they authored The First Amendment.

 

 

One Impact Of An Open Border

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On Friday, The Daily Caller reported the following:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) flagged 74,904 illegal migrants nationwide for potentially posing risks to national security between October 2022 and August, according to CBP data obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Certain illegal migrants are deemed to be “special interest aliens” because they may have travel patterns that “possibly have a nexus to terrorism” or may come from countries with such ties, according to a 2019 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fact sheet. Border Patrol agents encountered 25,627 “special interest” illegal migrants in fiscal year 2022, compared to 3,675 encounters in fiscal year 2021, according to internal agency data previously obtained by the DCNF; however, this data doesn’t account for all CBP encounters of special interest aliens.

…“This does not mean that all SIAs are “terrorists,” but rather that the travel and behavior of such individuals indicates a possible nexus to nefarious activity (including terrorism) and, at a minimum, provides indicators that necessitate heightened screening and further investigation,” DHS adds.

Illegal migrants can be deemed special interest aliens based solely on their country of origin, such as Turkey or Uzbekistan, according to an internal Border Patrol document previously obtained by the DCNF.

The FBI is currently searching for a group of more than one dozen Uzbek migrants that federal authorities released into the country after they used an ISIS-tied smuggler to cross the southern border illegally.

I know you are tired of hearing this, but as long as we elect Republicans who want cheap labor and Democrats who want future voters, our national security will be at risk. Allowing the southern border to stay open is the fault of BOTH political parties, and those involved in keeping the border open should be charged with treason.

Some ?Good? News About Covid

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On Saturday, The Epoch Times posted an article about some recent research results about the Covid virus.

The article reports:

The new study, published in the August issue of The Lancet’s Microbe journal, shows that people who are sick with COVID-19 but don’t show any symptoms have a limited ability to spread the virus to other people.

Participants in the British study, which was carried out by researchers at Imperial College London, were unvaccinated healthy adults aged 18-30 who were intentionally infected with COVID-19.

The subjects were monitored under controlled circumstances while self-reporting symptoms three times per day, and researchers collected nose and throat swabs from them daily, checking for the presence of the virus.

The researchers also tested the inside of masks worn by the participants, checked their hands, and examined the air and surfaces of rooms that the subjects were kept in for a minimum of 14 days.

Ultimately, the researchers found that less than 10 percent of the viral emissions from infected participants took place before the first symptoms emerged.

“Very few emissions occurred before the first reported symptom (7%) and hardly any before the first positive lateral flow antigen test (2%),” the authors of the study wrote.

The new study—which takes the form of a rigorous, controlled “challenge study” rather than the earlier modeling studies that relied on subjective inputs and assumptions of researchers—contradicts earlier research that set the tone for much of the prevailing narrative. That early research appears to have inflated the perceived threat of presymptomatic spread.

The latest study, suggesting that silent transmission is far less significant, comes amid a growing drumbeat of alarm as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are on the rise—along with calls in some circles for renewed restrictions.

By contrast, many are calling for cool heads to prevail—or are urging civil disobedience if lockdowns or other mandates are reimposed.

Please follow the link to read the entire article. Covid has morphed into an annual flu and should be treated with respect, but not with panic. There will be a reliable Covid vaccine as soon as there is a cure for the common cold.

Something To Think About If Your Live Near The Coast

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I live in North Carolina. North Carolina is part of hurricane alley. We can count on at least one or two hurricanes during the hurricane season. The hope is that they will brush by without much damage or that they will come in over land and weaken before they get here. However, if you live near an ocean or brackish river in a place prone to hurricanes, there are some things you need to consider before climbing aboard the electric car bandwagon.

On Saturday, The Epoch Times reported the following:

Hurricane Idalia and subsequent floods have created an electric vehicle (EV) fire risk in Florida as batteries exposed to saltwater become susceptible to combustion, based on statements from one of the fire departments in the state.

“WARNING. If you own a hybrid or electric vehicle that has come into contact with saltwater due to recent flooding within the last 24 hours, it is crucial to relocate the vehicle from your garage without delay. Saltwater exposure can trigger combustion in lithium-ion batteries. If possible, transfer your vehicle to higher ground,” Palm Harbor Fire Rescue (PHFR), Florida, said in an Aug. 31 Facebook post.

“This includes golf carts and electric scooters. Don’t drive these through water. PHFR crews have seen numerous residents out in golf carts and children on scooters riding through water.”

The issue with saltwater is that even if the water dries off, the residue can remain, potentially triggering electrical connections within the EV battery, which eventually sparks into a fire. In the post, PHFR pointed to two Tesla EVs in Dunedin that had caught fire.

The article concludes:

The problem of EVs catching fire was a major issue in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022. In a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) following the hurricane, Florida CFO Mr. Patronis called the potential of EV fires a “ticking time bomb on our hands.”

“I joined North Collier Fire Rescue to assess response activities related to Hurricane Ian and saw with my own eyes an EV continuously ignite, and continually reignite, as fire teams doused the vehicle with tens of thousands of gallons of water,” he wrote.

“I was informed by the fire department that the vehicle, once again reignited when it was loaded onto the tow truck.”

According to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, 21 fires have been associated with electric vehicles following Hurricane Ian.

Even without being submerged in water, EV fires are now a major concern in several places. In New York, there were 220 fires last year due to electric batteries in e-micromobility devices, up from just 44 in 2020.

“These fires are particularly severe and difficult to extinguish, spreading quickly, and producing noxious fumes,” officials said in a news release.

In a report on safety recommendations, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) warned that “lithium-Ion batteries are known to unexpectedly reignite (without warning) minutes, hours, and even days after all visible fire has been put out.”

The batteries “can enter an uncontrollable, self-heating state. This can result in the release of gas, cause fire, and possible explosion.”

This needs to be shouted from the rooftops.

Does Anyone Actually Believe This?

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On Saturday, Hot Air reported the latest amazing statement by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The article reports:

The Biden administration thinks you are stupid. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Joe Biden has “done more to secure the border than anybody else.” She delivered that statement with a straight face to the press corps and no one laughed at her.

She has stated:

“Look, the president has done what he can from here, from the federal government, from the White House to put forth and manage our border in a safe and humane way to respect the dignity of every human, as he says all the time, and making sure that our communities are safe, and you have seen him do that,” Jean-Pierre said.

She later said: “The president has done more to secure the border and to deal with this issue of immigration than anybody else. He really has. June saw the single largest month-to-month drop in unlawful border crossing because of the policies this president put in place.”

The problem with the border is bi-partisan. As long as we keep electing Republicans who want cheap labor and Democrats who want future voters, we will have an open border. If the voters want change, they will have to vote in change. The conclusion of the article is very telling.

The article concludes:

Not only has Joe Biden thrown open the southern border to prove he is not Donald Trump, which we already knew anyway, but he is prosecuting Governor Abbott who has been left to fend for himself in protecting the Texas border with Mexico. Abbott began Operation Lone Star in March 2021 and the Biden DOJ has fought him ever since. Abbott is defending his buoy barrier in the Rio Grande River at Eagle Pass now. Think about that – the American president is trying to stop a governor from protecting a sovereign border. Biden’s top job is to protect the homeland, but, never mind.

The administration describes Abbott’s efforts as political stunts.

Jean-Pierre also said at the time: “We continue to see political stunts from many Republicans out there and that’s not how we’re going to fix this issue. They want to secure the border, we’ve been doing that work on our own, and we’re asking them to, ‘Hey, you know what? There’s an immigration reform plan that the president put out on the first day, they should work with us and do this in a bipartisan way.’”

You can’t make this up.

The problem with the Democrats’ “immigration reform” plan is that they demand blanket amnesty of all illegal aliens. That’s a deal-breaker for Republicans. Why would we reward law-breakers? Republicans were burned when Reagan agreed to amnesty during his administration. Democrats want the future voters. Republicans want law and order on the border. Just enforce the laws already on the books and put enough personnel on the border. That would be a solid start to bringing the situation back under control.

As long as you put a ‘poison pill’ in the bill that the Republicans cannot accept, you can continue to blame the Republicans for the lack of reform. Until the Republicans learn to (or want to) stand up to those tactics, we will have an open border.

Why You Should Never Trust The Mainstream Media

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On August 23rd, The Media Research Center posted an article about how the mainstream media is covering the run-up to the 2024 Presidential Election.

The article reports:

Does that sound like fair coverage from the press?

The media includes the following analysis of t he coverage of two other candidates:

■ …But DeSantis Whacked With Bad Press, Too: The evening newscasts allocated 40 minutes to Governor Ron DeSantis’s battle against the “woke” agenda in Florida, including new rules on how schools should present information on matters related to race and sexual identity, and his subsequent legal battles with the Disney corporation. The evening newscasts were just as lopsidedly negative here as they were with Trump’s courtroom battles: 92 percent negative vs. eight percent positive.

But the “woke” agenda made up only about one-third of TV’s DeSantis coverage, and the remainder of the governor’s coverage was more balanced: 58 percent negative, vs. 42 percent positive. Overall, the evening newscasts treated DeSantis to 78 percent negative coverage — hardly favorable, but not as preposterously lopsided as their coverage of Trump.

■ Less Media Hostility for Mike Pence: The only other candidate with a significant amount of coverage was former Vice President Mike Pence. More than half of Pence’s coverage was devoted to just two controversies: the classified documents found at Pence’s home in January (14 minutes), and January 6 (27 minutes).

The networks’ spin on Pence’s documents case was split evenly: 50 percent positive, 50 percent negative evaluations. The negative press came early on, as news of the discovery of documents was accompanied by earlier soundbites of Pence telling ABC anchor David Muir flatly that he “did not” take any classified documents when he left the White House. In early June, however, that coverage turned positive — reflecting the Justice Department’s decision to close its investigation without any charges.

When it came to January 6, the network spin on Pence was neutral; the former Vice President was portrayed merely as a witness and a Trump critic. Yet because of their overwhelming focus on Trump’s legal problems, January 6 was the single biggest topic in Pence’s coverage as well, eclipsing much of the rest of his candidacy.

Overall, the networks’ spin on Pence was negative, but not lopsidedly so: 57 percent negative, vs. 43 percent positive. None of the other candidates received enough evaluative coverage to even calculate percentages.

If we are going to keep our republic, we need an honest media.

Privacy, Anyone?

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On Thursday, The New York Post reported the following:

Mayor Eric Adams on Friday claimed the public’s fantasies about “sci-fi” are to blame for any fears involving NYPD drones flying over Labor Day weekend celebrations.

“We have to push back on the sci-fi aspects of drones — nobody’s going to be monitored,” Adams insisted at a press conference Friday alongside NYPD Commissioner Eddie Caban — after some civil-rights activists and Big Apple residents trashed the cops’ use of the gadgets as Big Brother-esque.

“So what we’re doing over this weekend, there are a number of calls of loud music disruptive behavior,” Adams said. “Instead of the police having to respond and look at those, they’re going to utilize drones from a safe distance up, not down flying in someone’s backyard to see what they have on a grill.

“[NYPD are] going to utilize the drones to determine [if they] should they send crisis management teams there right away to help mitigate the problem. We don’t want police to be the only response.”

In the past when a noise complaint took place, two police officers would knock on the door and ask the residents to turn the music down. If the residents complied, there was no reason to continue the matter. My fear with the use of drones is that first of all, it eliminates initial human interaction (which is where I feel most arguments happen). I also fear that those at private parties will decide to create a new party game called, “Shoot down the drones.”

Even if the law is not bad in itself, the precedent it sets for the government being able to look into your private affairs is not good.

Who Wins Under Bidenomics?

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On Saturday, The Washington Examiner posted an article about Bidenomics, the name given to the Biden administration’s economic programs.

The article reports:

President Joe Biden announced $12 billion in corporate welfare to U.S. automakers and their suppliers this week to subsidize a transition from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars.

This should be understood as part of the long-term effort to ban gasoline-powered cars while insisting that they are not banning gasoline-powered cars.

Check out this paragraph in this CNN article on the subsidies: “The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported last year that aggressive, pollution-slashing changes in the global transportation sector — including the transition to EVs — could reduce the sector’s emissions by more than 80%.” The New York Times likewise writes in its article on this $12 billion in handouts: “Transportation is responsible for about one-third of the greenhouse gases generated by the United States, pollution that is dangerously heating the planet.”

But more interesting than the climate angle here is the redistribution angle. Biden administration officials present this corporate welfare as a way to help auto workers.

The article notes:

“Under Bidenomics, building a clean energy economy can and should provide a win‑win opportunity for auto companies and unionized workers who have anchored the American economy for decades.”

This is literally trickle-down economics. Biden gives billions to big business in the hope that big business will pass the money on to workers. The irony is that Biden always pretends to hate “trickle-down economics” and claims that Bidenomics is the alternative.

“Here’s the simple truth about trickle-down economics,” Biden said this summer: “It didn’t represent the best of American capitalism, let alone America.”

This is totally empty rhetoric, as Biden’s $12 billion corporate welfare to automakers shows.

Actually, Bidenomics is simply a plan to raid the American treasury, bankrupt the country and force everyone into a government-controlled crypto-currency. The only way to recover the American economy is to lower taxes on people and corporations, reduce regulation, and decrease government. The chances of that happening under a Democrat administration are non-existent.

For The Greater Good?

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The political left is always talking about the great divide between those who have done well and those who live in or close to poverty. However, it’s unusual to see any liberal offering up a room in his house or showing personal charity rather than relying on the government to provide charity. A recent example of this phenomena is an incident in New York City that has recently caught the eyes of the press.

On Sunday, The New York Post reported the following:

The ultra-progressive New School university is facing a projected $85.5 million budget deficit — and things are so bad that even asked students and faculty have been asked to submit budget-cutting suggestions.

In no surprise for a school that’s produced Marxists and progressives such as Jacques Derrida and Erich Fromm, the ideas include chopping executive salaries and even selling off the school-owned Greenwich Village townhouse currently occupied by former Clinton cabinet member Donna Shalala, now serving as New School’s interim president.

The New School woke up to a harsh reality during the pandemic: operating a private university in lower Manhattan is quite expensive.

After enrollment tumbled by 15%, the college dipped into its endowment to offset a $130 million revenue shortfall.

According to their website, The New School was founded in 1919.

I guess it’s expensive to operate a school in New York City. Here are their tuition costs:

The article concludes:

Professor and chair of economics Sanjay Reddy has suggested alternative cost-cutting measures, like emergency fundraising and further salary cuts to the highest-paid employees.

As he points out, the New School president’s salary is higher in proportion to its endowment than Harvard’s president’s, and the presidential townhouse is worth an estimated $15 million

The New School told The Post that a first wave of community suggestions are being implemented — including optimizing the school’s real-estate portfolio, leasing out venues, managing its trademark and reimagining the campus bookstore. Another round pertaining to academic changes is forthcoming.

Professor and chair of economics Sanjay Reddy has suggested alternative cost-cutting measures, like emergency fundraising and further salary cuts to the highest-paid employees.

As he points out, the New School president’s salary is higher in proportion to its endowment than Harvard’s president’s, and the presidential townhouse is worth an estimated $15 million

The New School told The Post that a first wave of community suggestions are being implemented — including optimizing the school’s real-estate portfolio, leasing out venues, managing its trademark and reimagining the campus bookstore. Another round pertaining to academic changes is forthcoming.

Maybe you should try operating the school along the lines of basic capitalistic principles. That has a better track record than either communism or socialism.

Ignoring The Sunshine Laws

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Most states have ‘sunshine laws’ that allow the public to attend meetings or various legislative groups and boards. Generally speaking the public has the right to observe what their government is doing.

On Thursday, BizPacReview posted an article about what happened when a member of the press demanded that those laws be enforced.

The article reports:

Investigative journalist James O’Keefe has released bombshell police bodycam footage showing New Jersey school board officials colluding with the police to target “Trumpish” school board hearing attendees.

According to O’Keefe, head of O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), the footage offers “the most riveting and fascinating psychological case studies into what school board officials, superintendents, and cops are saying, thinking, and believing about you.”

The article contains a video (posted on Twitter) of a recent incident:

The article includes the following:

“There’s a group of about nine men. They’re there, they’re on their phones, they’ve never been there before. It was just a little bit of a concern,” one official could be heard saying in a recorded 911 call that was made that day.

“There’s about eight of them, and none of our administrators recognize them as past students. They’re not parents. They’re different-looking. Some look Trumpish. They look a little scary,” the same official, identified as executive assistant to the superintendent Toni McLaughlin, later told a responding officer.

What does Trumpish look like? School boards are under scrutiny right now because of the trash they are feeding our children. This is the time that parents and concerned citizens needs to be a school board meetings to find out what their children are learning and what is in the school libraries. If we are going to turn this country around, we need to include changing much of what is being taught to our children.

Good Analysis From Victor Davis Hanson

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On Friday, Victor Davis Hanson posted an article at Townhall about the media’s handling of recent scandals.

The conclusion of the article is most telling:

The 2020 Biden campaign and an ex-CIA head rounded up “51 intelligence authorities” to mislead the country into believing that Russian gremlins in the Kremlin had fabricated a fake laptop.

Ponder that absurd fantasy: Moscow supposedly had created fake nude pictures, fake photos of Hunter’s drug use, and fake email and text messages from Hunter to the other Bidens.

The media preposterously convinced the country that the Russians and, by extension, Trump had once again sandbagged the Biden campaign.

No apologies followed when the FBI later admitted it had kept the laptop under wraps for more than a year, knew it was authentic, and yet said nothing as the media and former spooks misled the country and warped an election.

Now we are enmeshed in at least four court trials on cooked-up charges that could as easily apply to a host of Democrats as to Trump.

For the last eight years, discredited media has never expressed remorse for any of the damage they did to the country. And they will not again when their latest mythological indictments are eventually exposed.

However, there are some things mentioned in the article that are even more disturbing:

Had journalists just been honest and independent, then-candidate Joe Biden might have lost a presidential debate and even the 2020 election. The public would have learned that Hunter’s business associates and his laptop proved Joe was deeply involved in his son’s illicit businesses.

Later, as the evidence from IRS whistleblowers mounted, the White House stonewalled subpoenaed efforts and sought to craft an outrageous plea deal reduction in Hunter’s legal exposure.

Reporters ignored the Ukrainians who claimed Joe Biden himself talked to them about quid pro quo arrangements.

They again discounted Hunter’s laptop, explicitly demonstrating that Hunter was whining that he had handed over large percentages of his income to his father, Joe –variously referred to as the Big Guy and a “ten percent” recipient on many deals.

Part of being a representative republic is having educated voters. Right now the media is doing everything it can to avoid educating voters on the scandals surrounding the Biden family. Unless you have cultivated a group of alternative news sources, you are an uninformed or misinformed voter. If uninformed or misinformed voters make up the majority of the electorate, our republic will not survive.

Misplaced Priorities

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Hawaiians have suffered greatly as a result of the wildfires that swept the island of Maui. Normally the federal government would supply significant help to an area after an event like that. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

On Thursday, Breitbart reported:

President Joe Biden is asking Congress to approve $24 billion more in aid for Ukraine, which would bring the total amount of U.S. taxpayer-funded aid to Ukraine since February 2022 to $135 billion.

In contrast, Biden announced Wednesday that he would send $95 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to aid in rebuilding Maui after the nation’s deadliest fire in over a century, which has claimed more than 115 lives, with hundreds still unaccounted for.

That’s barely a rounding error.

The article notes:

According to preliminary figures from the University of Hawaii’s Pacific Disaster Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it will cost more than $5.52 billion to rebuild Lahaina, which was destroyed in the fires.

The article concludes:

Biden had told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “I think we’ve given more than any other nation combined in terms of assistance and cost and the American people are supportive. They’re supportive, because they know it’s about you, it’s about more than you, it’s about innocent people around the world, and the absolute brutality with which Putin is acting and the Russians are moving on, it’s like something out of the 14th Century, the way they’re acting.”

Our President’s first responsibility is to America. That does not seem to be the case here.

Unfortunately, Inflation Is Still With Us

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On Thursday, Townhall posted an article about the current inflation levels.

The article reports:

Yet another inflation metric jumped in July, further debunking claims that inflation is in the rear-view mirror and reinforcing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks earlier this month that additional interest rate hikes would be needed.

The latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index print released Thursday was in-line with expectations which were higher than previous reads.

Headline PCE inflation showed an increase of 3.3 percent year-over-year and Core PCE inflation — excluding volatile food and energy prices — increased 4.2 percent in the last year.

Compared to the previous release, headline and core PCE inflation increased 3.0 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, showing that price increases continue to trend in the wrong, more expensive, direction. The July report also (again) debunks President Joe Biden’s wishful claims that inflation is “down.”

So what do higher interest rates mean for Americans?

Today’s fixed interest rate on a thirty-year mortgage is about 7 percent. If you have an $180,000 mortgage and put 10 percent down, your monthly payment at 7 percent (mortgage only) would be about $1,200. For the same down payment and loan amount, your monthly payment (mortgage only) at 3.5 percent would be about $800 (source here). That’s a difference of almost $5,000 a year. That impacts the housing market as well as the ability of young couples starting out to buy a house.

There is also the matter of payments on the national debt. As the interest rate is raised, those payments also go up.

Raising interest rates may slightly slow down inflation, but it will not solve the problem. Until someone deals with the runaway spending in Washington, we will have inflation. The other thing to note is that as the value of the dollar goes down because of inflation, payments on the national debt are made with money that is worth less than it was when the debt was incurred. The whole thing is a viscous circle where working-class Americans pay the price.

Climate Indoctrination

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Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D

All totalitarian governments have relied on the indoctrination of children to stay in power. This was true in Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Russia, and Mao Tse Tung’s communist China. Alarmingly, we see the same strategy occurring in this country. What is the primary tool being used today to indoctrinate our children into compliance with government dictates? Climate change. Indoctrination is best accomplished by allowing discussion of only one side of an issue and using emotions such as fear. I think we would all agree that mankind functions best when engaging in calm, rational thought and debate. That is the basis of all valid science and sound decisions based on verified facts and not pretend or pseudo-science.

Now, ask yourself one question: Are we engaging in rational scientific enquiry about climate change in our public schools? The answer is a definite No! If you ask any child attending a public school what is the major issue facing mankind today, you will get one answer: manmade climate change caused by CO2 emissions. If you watched the Republican candidate’s debate, you would have observed one of the moderators present a question posed by a youth which was essentially that the primary concern of the youth in this country is climate change. Fortunately, at least one of the candidates, Vivek Ramaswamy, was willing to come out and say that manmade climate change is a hoax. Good for him!

I have also labelled the so-called climate crisis as a “hoax” in previous articles. Importantly, the Epoch Times, in a recently published article summarized a declaration by 1,609 international scientists (including two Nobel prize winners) stating that: “There is no climate emergency and that climate science should be less political and more scientific and that politicians should dispassionately count the real costs as well as the imagined benefits of their policy measures”. They go on to say, that not only is CO2 not a pollutant but it actually enriches the atmosphere and is beneficial; essential to all life on earth; and boosts the yield of crops! You will never hear that from the fake media.

Back to indoctrinating children. The Left is using the climate change hoax because children are easily persuaded into thinking the government experts know what is best. If a child does not answer the questions on an exam about climate change in the correct way, they fail the test. Public schools must be made to stop this indoctrination. Here’s how: since most of the administrators and teachers themselves believe in manmade climate change, the only option is for the elected local Boards of Education to do the right thing and stop this. The following needs to be done: a) manmade climate change is merely an unproven theory, and the other side of the debate that climate change is naturally occurring must be taught; b) stop scaring children by claiming that climate change is a threat to their existence; c) limit climate change discussions to science classes and stop introducing this topic to lower grades that are not part of a science debate.

It is past time that we fight back against the indoctrination of our children.

 

The Other Side Of The Story

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On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about carbon dioxide and climate change.

The article reports:

International scientists have jointly signed a declaration dismissing the existence of a climate crisis and insisting that carbon dioxide is beneficial to Earth.

“There is no climate emergency,” the Global Climate Intelligence Group (CLINTEL) said in its World Climate Declaration (pdf), made public in August. “Climate science should be less political, while climate policies should be more scientific. Scientists should openly address uncertainties and exaggerations in their predictions of global warming, while politicians should dispassionately count the real costs as well as the imagined benefits of their policy measures.”

A total of 1,609 scientists and professionals from around the world have signed the declaration, including 321 from the United States.

The article notes:

The coalition pointed out that Earth’s climate has varied as long as it has existed, with the planet experiencing several cold and warm phases. The Little Ice Age only ended as recently as 1850, they said.

“Therefore, it is no surprise that we now are experiencing a period of warming,” the declaration said.

Warming is happening “far slower” than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In March 2021, Science Daily reported:

Scientists stunned to discover plants beneath mile-deep Greenland ice

Long-lost ice core provides direct evidence that giant ice sheet melted off within the last million years and is highly vulnerable to a warming climate

Date:  March 15, 2021
Source:  University of Vermont
Summary:
Scientists found frozen plant fossils, preserved under a mile of ice on Greenland. The discovery helps confirm a new and troubling understanding that the Greenland Ice Sheet has melted entirely during recent warm periods in Earth’s history — like the one we are now creating with human-caused climate change. The new study provides strong evidence that Greenland is more sensitive to climate change than previously understood — and at risk of irreversibly melting.

The article explains the value of carbon dioxide to the environment and also notes that the panic over ‘climate change’ is driven by faulty models. Please follow the link to read the entire article. It contains a lot of good, unreported information.