Monthly Archives: March 2025

Let’s Allow Our Elected Officials To Make Laws

Posted on by

For a number of years, we have been governed by bureaucrats making regulations. The people we elect to Congress are not making our ‘laws’ and are not being held accountable for those laws. On Friday, American Greatness posted an article about that problem.

The article reports:

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is stepping up efforts to restore the lawmaking authority of Congress by encouraging support of the Make Elected Leaders Vote Again (MELVA) movement to bring accountability to federal laws.

Lee has been strongly urging passage of the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act as a means of preventing unelected bureaucrats from making rules that carry the force of law.

The REINS Act would require bureaucrat-made laws to be approved by Congress before taking effect.

Lee says most laws are never voted on by Congress, despite the fact that Congress alone has the power to make federal law.

Requiring laws to be approved by Congress would be a way to hold our elected officials accountable. If a Congressman consistently votes in a way that contradicts the wished of his constituents, he would be voted out of office.

The article includes a screenshot of a post on X:

The article concludes:

In a hearing with former Congressman Dan Bishop (R-NC), who is the next Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Lee asked Bishop to explain why American voters who assume that their elected Senators and Representatives vote on everything are mistaken as to who has really been running the country.

Bishop shared a graphic illustrating the striking difference between the number of laws voted on by Congress each year versus the regulatory output of the unelected bureaucrats.

Bishop also reminded Sen. Lee that President Trump is pursuing an aggressive agenda of reforming the regulatory state by seeking to take 10 regulations down for every new one to come along.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the OMB will be at the heart of that effort, according to Bishop.

Let’s go back to the plan of our Founding Fathers, where elected officials who were accountable to the voters made the laws.

There Is A Way To Cut Spending Without The Democrats

Posted on by

For whatever reason, the Democrat party seems to be reluctant to cut government spending. They do not seem to be particularly concerned about the waste and possible fraud that is occurring. Because the Republican majority in the Senate is not enough to break a filibuster, the Democrats can easily block any savings the Republicans try to pass. Well, there may be another way to approach this that will result in the savings to taxpayers that the American voters want. For the sake of this article, I will ignore the fact that the Democrats are taking a political risk in opposing spending cuts.

On Thursday, The Patriot Clash posted an article with a possible solution to the stalemate. I don’t claim to understand this completely, but hopefully the Republicans in Congress will understand it enough to do it!

The article reports:

Now this is the kind of news we like to hear—Elon Musk teaming up with Senate Republicans to finally take a sledgehammer to government waste. And the best part? It could be done with just 51 votes, meaning not a single Democrat has to be on board.

This brilliant idea came from none other than Sen. Rand Paul, who pitched Musk on a massive “rescission package” during a closed-door lunch on Wednesday. The plan? Claw back tens—if not hundreds—of billions of dollars in federal spending that has already been approved but hasn’t been spent yet. That’s right, instead of letting Congress continue to blow through taxpayer money like a spoiled teenager with a stolen credit card, this package would undo wasteful spending and return fiscal sanity to Washington.

Rand Paul has been working toward fiscal sanity in America for a very long time.

The article notes:

Elon Musk, who has been aggressively slashing government bloat through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was reportedly elated when he realized the plan could pass with a simple majority. According to Sen. Josh Hawley, Musk “didn’t realize it could be done at 51.” And let’s be honest—why would he? The idea that government can actually reduce spending is about as rare as a Democrat who believes in border security.

Here’s the best part: Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate right now. That means even if every single Democrat throws a tantrum and votes against it, the bill still has a great shot at passing. No need for endless negotiations, no ridiculous 60-vote filibuster—just Republicans doing what they were elected to do and cutting the fat.

The article concludes:

Rand Paul, ever the budget hawk, said he’d like to see at least $500 billion in cuts. Now, imagine if we actually pulled that off—half a trillion dollars in bloated, wasteful spending gone. That’s money that wouldn’t be funneled into pet projects, foreign aid, or bloated agencies that exist solely to expand government power.

Now, of course, the big question is will Republicans actually get this done? Because if they don’t, voters are going to be rightfully furious. This is a golden opportunity to put Washington’s reckless spending in check—and they better not blow it.

This is your chance, Republicans, do what the voters want or lose your majorities!

Predicted Catastrophes That Never Happened

Posted on by

On Thursday, The Daily Caller posted a list of the Top 10 catastrophic climate predictions that failed.

Here is the list:

1) In 1970, S. Dillon Ripley, a wildlife conservationist who served as secretary of the Smithsonian Institute, warned that 75 percent to 80 percent of species would be extinct by 1995. Wrong.

2) In 1970, Kenneth Watt, an ecologist and professor at the University of California, Davis, warned that “there won’t be any more crude oil,” that “none of our land will be usable” for agriculture, and the world would be 11 degrees colder by the year 2000. False.

3) In 1970, biologist Paul Ehrlich at Stanford University warned that by the end of the decade up to 200 million people would die each year from starvation due to overpopulation, life expectancy would plummet to 42 years, and all ocean life would perish. Extremely false.

4) In 1970, Peter Gunter, a professor at North Texas State University, predicted that “world population will outrun food supplies” and “the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine” by the year 2000. Didn’t happen.

5) In 1971, Dr. S. I. Rasool, an atmospheric scientist at NASA, predicted the coming of a “new ice age” within 50 years. Incorrect.

6) In 1975, Ehrlich, the Stanford biologist, warned that 90 percent of tropical rainforests and 50 percent of species would disappear within 30 years. Erroneous. 

You get the picture. Please follow the link to the article to read the last four predictions. All of these predictions called for a change in behavior or more money to be taken from Americans. All of these predictions were wrong. We went along with many of them, either changing our behavior or paying more in various taxes or fees. Let’s learn from our mistakes.

How The Freed Hostages View The Trump Presidency

Posted on by

On Thursday, The Times of Israel posted an article about the meeting between President Trump and eight former Hamas hostages.

The article reports:

“[Trump and Witkoff] made a deal possible, they got us all home,” Keith Siegel is quoted saying in the statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “We urged them to continue their enormous efforts. They have done so much. We trust them and we know they will get the job done to get all the rest of the 59 remaining hostages held in Gaza back to their families, back to Israel.”

Fellow freed captive Eli Sharabi says the group met with Trump “to ensure that the 59 hostages still being held will be released through an agreement for their return as soon as possible,” and thanks the US president and Witkoff for being “committed to this goal.”

A March 6 article at The Geller Report quotes some of the former hostages:

Naama Levy: “You were our hope when we were there and now you are their hope.”

Trump: “Until I came along you didn’t think you would get home?”

Former Hostages: “No.”

Listen to several of the freed Israeli hostages describe the brutality of Hamas captivity to President Trump. No member of Hamas should walk the earth.

“My family and I believe you were sent by God to rescue the hostages,” said one surviving hostage to President Trump. Thank you to President Trump for taking the time to listen to these former hostages in the Oval Office.

President Trump has issued an ultimatum to Hamas telling them to free the remaining hostages. We have no idea how many hostages are still alive, but it is time to go in and destroy Hamas. We cannot allow the remaining hostages to continue to be mistreated. Where is the international outcry?

Scaring Up Voters–Literally!

Posted on by

One of the signs held up by the Democrats at President Trump’s speech on Tuesday said “Save Medicaid.” Just for the record, Medicaid is not in danger. That is a scare tactic to try and persuade voters to vote Democrat.

On Wednesday, The New York Post reported:

Get ready to be bombarded with ghoulish ads warning about grandmothers dying and children denied needed cancer treatments “just to make billionaires like Elon Musk even richer.”

The ads, paid for by a Democratic PAC, started running Monday. And Monday night Democrats attending President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress held up paddles with the message “Save Medicaid.”

It’s demagoguery in full swing to combat Republican efforts to control federal spending on Medicaid and stabilize the nation’s debt.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is claiming, “House Republicans just voted to rip health care away from up to 1.8 million New Yorkers — all to bankroll giveaways for billionaires.”

The article notes:

These are lies. The needy are not going to lose their health care, and the demagogues know it. 

Truth is, congressional Republicans are finally sticking up for working people who resent covering the bills for healthy folks who refuse to work.

To control Medicaid spending, Republicans are calling for a “work requirement” for able-bodied adults without children or an elderly dependent.

“Work” overstates the toughness.  Anyone who is employed for 80 hours a month, or attends school, a training program or drug-recovery program and is low income will still be eligible for free care. Just not moochers.

Just a reminder–in 1996, President Clinton added a work requirement to welfare payments. President Obama removed it in July 2012. President Trump reinstated it in 2017. President Biden removed the work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps.

The article reminds us of the recent history of Argentina:

Take it from Javier Milei, Argentina’s president, elected one year ago.

He campaigned with a chainsaw, pledging deep cuts to his government’s out-of-control spending.

At that time, his country had one of the highest inflation rates in the world. A year later, inflation is coming down fast.

Republicans aren’t taking a chainsaw to Medicaid, but slowing its spending growth will help deter inflation and allow them to renew Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which are about to expire.

Before 2017, the US was losing 10 multinational corporate headquarters a year to countries with lower corporate taxes.

After Trump’s 2017 cuts, the exodus stopped.

Renewing those corporate tax cuts is essential to save American jobs. Possibly yours.

When you hear the demagogues oppose Medicaid “cuts,” think of the guy sitting on the couch, while you go to work to pay his health-care tab.

Don’t fall for the phony sob stories.

Remember, there is no legal requirement for political ads to tell the truth.

A Logical Trend

Posted on by

On Tuesday, The Epoch Times reported that a record number of office spaces in American cities are being renovated and turned into housing units. This is a great way to help with the housing shortage, but I am not sure what will happen if companies ask their employees to begin actually coming into the office to work.

The article reports:

While the U.S. housing market is still falling short by 4–5 million properties, the office-to-apartment conversion industry is making a little headway to help alleviate the problem. This year alone, a record-breaking 70,700 apartments are expected to be created from vacant office space nationwide.

A new report from RentCafe indicates that office conversions now comprise almost 42 percent of some 169,000 apartments in adaptive reuse projects.

Not surprisingly, the New York metropolitan area leads the nation in office-to-apartment conversions in the pipeline for 2025, with 8,310 units planned. Washington, D.C., which held the top spot last year, has 6,533 conversions planned, and Los Angeles has 4,388 units. Chicago and Dallas round out the top five, with 3,606 and 2,725, respectively.

Since the pandemic, a significant share of the nation’s office space remains empty, as workplaces shifted to remote options. According to Yardi Matrix, a real estate data-acquisition firm associated with RentCafe, the national office vacancy rate soared to almost 20 percent by the end of December 2024.

The article notes:

The RentCafe report indicates the bulk of today’s commercial conversions (42 percent) are office buildings, followed by hotels (22 percent), factories (11 percent), and warehouses (6 percent).

The article concludes:

“A lot of younger people fresh out of college are leaving home for the first time and have a different mindset,” he said. “They like a lot of modern amenities like smart homes, gyms, pools, community rooms, rooftop decks, and social engagement. Plus, they value proximity to transportation and convenience retail.”

As for affordable rental options, the report indicates most of the planned conversion developments will be offering a percentage of affordable units for those who qualify financially. “There is also a large amount of supply coming, so developers have to be competitive to be able to retain renters,” he said.

If you are younger and don’t plan on marrying or having children for a while, living in a former business building or hotel converted to private residences would be a great experience. There is no lawn to take care of, and the amenities could be very nice.

Common Sense Is On Vacation

Posted on by

On March 3rd, The Hill reported that the bill to prevent transgender male athletes from competing in women’s sports failed in the U.S. Senate. All of the Democrats voted against the bill.

The article reports:

Legislation to prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports failed to advance in the Senate on Monday after all Democrats voted against it. 

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act failed to clear an initial procedural hurdle on a 51-45 vote. It needed 60 votes to advance, which would have required at least seven Democrats to vote with all Republicans to move it. The bill cleared the House in January on an almost entirely party-line vote. 

The article notes:

House Democrats, all but two of whom voted against the bill in January, said the measure would open the door to sexual abuse and invite invasive scrutiny of girls’ bodies, dubbing it the “Child Predator Empowerment Act.”

“Bills like these send the message that transgender kids don’t deserve the same opportunities to thrive as their peers simply because of who they are. And they are impossible to enforce without putting all kids at risk of invasive questions or physical examinations just because someone doesn’t look or dress like everyone else,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ civil rights group.

I have no problem with transgender kids having opportunities, but I want those opportunities to be fair opportunities on a level playing field. Science tells us that sex is determined by chromosomes. Science tells us that males develop different muscle structure than females. That’s why golf courses have ladies’ tees. Student athletes who are women have been physically injured by transgender women playing in their sports. Women who have trained as athletes all their lives have lost scholarships to transgender women. How is that fair?

Gender dysphoria is an illness. We would be better off helping the people who suffer from that illness rather than encouraging them in the lie that they can become the opposite sex. Their DNA will never change, and they will be taking drugs their entire life to overcome their body’s desire to get back to reality. This is not healthy. Transgender people need to be loved and accepted, but they do not need to be encouraged in their illness.

My Comments On President Trump’s Speech On Tuesday

Posted on by

The saddest moment of the speech:

This is my fifth such speech to Congress, and once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, nothing I can do. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded, and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won’t do it no matter what, five, five times I’ve been up here. It’s very sad, and it just shouldn’t be this way.

It’s very hard to push a car forward when there are people in front of the car trying to push it backwards. Our country needs the Democrats to get on the bandwagon to make America Great again.

The best thing said all night:

And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.

Every child in America of every age needs to hear this every day.

Most ironic moment:

Democratic women showed up in pink to show their support for women the day after Democrats in the Senate voted not to protect women from competing against men for scholarships and athletic records.

Best humor:

Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119. I don’t know any of them. I know some people that are rather elderly, but not quite that elderly. 3.47 million people from ages 120 to 129, 3.9 million people from ages 130 to 139, 3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149, and money is being paid to many of them, and we’re searching right now. In fact, Pam, good luck, good luck. You’re going to find it. But a lot of money is paid out to people, because it just keeps getting paid and paid, and nobody does, and it really hurts Social Security and hurts our country, 1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159 and over 130,000 people, according to the Social Security databases, are age over 160 years old. We have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby.

Saddest and most inspiring moment:

Joining us to the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is D.J. Daniel. He is 13 years old, and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. But in 2018, D.J. was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months, at most, to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, D.J. and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true. And D.J. has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer. Actually, a number of times. The police love him. The police departments love him. And tonight, D.J., we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States secret Service. Thank you, D.J.

D.J.’s doctors believe his cancer likely came from a chemical he was exposed to when he was younger. Since 1975, rates of child cancer have increased by more than 40%. Reversing this trend is one of the top priorities for our new presidential commission to Make America Healthy Again, chaired by our new Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. With a name Kennedy, you would have thought everybody over here would have been cheering. How quickly they forget.

Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply, and keep our children healthy and strong. As an example, not long ago — and you can’t even believe these numbers — one in 10,000 children had autism. One in 10,000, and now it’s one in 36. There’s something wrong. One in 36. Think of that. So, we’re going to find out what it is, and there’s nobody better than Bobby and all of the people that are working with you. You have the best to figure out what is going on. Okay, Bobby. Good luck. It’s a very important job. Thank you.

We all need to support the efforts of President Trump to get waste and fraud out of our government and to bring our country back as a beacon on freedom and innovation.

View From the Lair

Posted on by

Topsy Turvy

It is fascinating to watch the reactions being created by President Trump from all the people who think they know what to expect. As if this time around it will in any way resemble his first administration. It isn’t and it won’t. People who hate him will be absolutely blindsided by his works; people who like him will be delighted.  President Trump doesn’t think outside of the box; he thinks outside of the planet.

Yet so many people expect him to do things the way that they have always been done, just a little bit differently. WRONG! And people are beginning to have their eyes opened. Zelensky actually thought that he could push POTUS around like he did Obozo and Brandon. That didn’t work out well for him. It did give Lindsey Graham an opportunity to get on the right bus. Graham couldn’t just flip flop without a good reason. Okay, he could have, it’s not like some people who do it all the time and expect no one to notice. But it gave him plausible deniability to change his position on Ukraine.

POTUS didn’t push Graham, he pulled.

He has threatened tariffs on countries that are contributing to the harm to our people. He has threatened tariffs on countries that impose tariffs on our goods entering their country. Traditional conservative economists (unlike Paul Krugman, an example of just how moronic the Nobel Committee is) bemoan tariffs as destructive to the economy, inflationary, protecting laborers and companies from their own inefficiencies.

And, yes in a traditional, classical economic environment they may have a point. This is anything but a classical economic environment.

What too many people are not comprehending is that POTUS is using tariffs as a negotiating tool. What is more important – increasing the price of goods imported from Mexico or Canada or reducing the amounts of illegal drugs coming in from either country? Or perhaps using the threat, even imposing them for a while, in order to get the leaders of both of the other countries to understand that POTUS means what he says. This is POTUS’ greatest weapon – He says what he means and DOES WHAT HE SAYS! This is such a totally unusual behavior that people –both friends and foe– just can’t wrap their heads around it.

The result by many on the Marxist side is to bluster and babble and run to their attorney. Good. Once the SCOTUS gets a hold of it, leftist minds will really start to explode. I can’t wait!

By following through on his promises and getting the results expected, he will pull even some anti-Trumpers over to the right side, if only to not look like perfect fools. Of course there will be some – AOC, etc. who delight us in being fools. They can’t help it; it’s what they are. But eventually some of even the die-hard dummycrats will wake up from their wokeness and realize that their bus has left them behind. And under it.

ciao

The Snark

This Could Change By The Time I Post This Article

Posted on by

On March 3rd, Townhall reported that President Trump had put a ‘pause’ on foreign aid to Ukraine.

This was posted on X:

The article includes the following statement by President Trump:

“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump released in a statement on Truth Social after the Oval Office meeting. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”

On March 4th, Townhall reported the following:

In a Tuesday post on X, Zelensky affirmed that “Ukraine is ready t o come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer” and that “Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.”

I hope this time Zelensky keeps his word about signing the deal. If he does, his signing will be proof that a strong America helps bring peace to the world.

The March 4th article reports:

Zelensky further stated that he and his team “do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence” and that they “remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins.”

“We are grateful for this,” the Ukrainian leader wrote.

Zelensky referenced the meeting, saying it “did not go the way it was supposed to be” and that “it is regrettable that it happened this way.”

He further indicated that Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement that would allow the United States access to Ukraine’s mineral deposit in exchange for security. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively,” Zelensky wrote.

Zelensky’s temper tantrum in the Oval Office did not play well at home–one member of the Ukrainian Parliament called for Zelensky’s impeachment. It may also be the Zelensky realized that Europe does not have the money to support the war to the degree that America does. At any rate, I am hoping this will be a step toward peace.

Voter Fraud Is Actually Easy

Posted on by

On Monday, The Federalist posted an article about the indictment of Mohammed Nurul Hasan, Mohammed Munsur Ali and Mohammed Rafikul Islam in Pennsylvania for voter fraud. The article explains how they actually committed the fraud.

The article reports:

The defendants then allegedly used the portal to request mail-in ballots for the non-Millbourne residents, illegally filled the ballots out on their behalf, and submitted the ballots to the county board of elections. The voters were allegedly informed by Hasan and Ali that “they would not get in trouble as long as they did not vote in another election in November 2021,” according to the indictment. 

Hasan ultimately lost the election 165 to 138, according to the indictment. 

So how was it done? Hasan, Ali and Islam simply used the state’s online voter registration (PAOVR) website.

At the time of the May 18, 2021 primary, there were “approximately 549 registered voters in Millbourne,” according to the indictment. Less than six months later, by the time the general election was held, there were 578 registered voters. According to the indictment, “most of the additional registered voters were people who did not live in Millbourne and had previously been registered to vote in locations outside of Millbourne, but whose voter registration addresses had been changed to Millbourne addresses by someone accessing the PAOVR website.”

The article concludes:

Hasan, Ali, and Islam were each charged with conspiracy, false information in registering, and fraudulent voter registration.

Despite claims of robust “safeguards,” the reality is that the system allowed three individuals to exploit its weaknesses and engage in fraudulent activity, undermining the integrity of the 2021 mayoral election. The fact that such manipulation was even possible raises serious concerns about the state’s online voting infrastructure and underscores the dangers of mass mail-in balloting.

That’s how easy it is to commit election fraud.

The Death Of USAID

Posted on by

On Monday, PJ Media posted an article about the death of USAID. The death of USAID may not actually be official, but its money is being taken away.

The article reports:

Whatever USAID was or wasn’t meant to be when President John F. Kennedy created the program by executive order in 1961, it effectively is no more.

Wall Street Mav reported on Sunday that the White House intends to “eliminate roughly $60 billion in foreign aid spending and terminate 92% of grants issued by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).”

“The figures were included in a State Department memo detailing the results of a 90-day review of US foreign aid ordered by President Trump,” which identified “nearly 15,000 grants and targeted almost 10,000 for elimination — the majority of which were issued by USAID.”

Before you get too upset over the humanitarian aid that may be cut, you might want to look at where the money has actually gone in the past.

The article notes:

Of the $4 billion earmarked for Haiti, almost half of it never went much farther than the D.C. beltway. More than half went to “other.” About 2% went to Haitian firms. Six houses were built.

There’s a case to be made that charitable people like us should help feed the hungry and provide disaster relief to those who can’t afford it. But USAID ain’t it.

The article also notes:

Back in 1988, George Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF) helped establish the East-West Management Institute (EWMI). Exactly how isn’t well understood, so I asked both Grok and ChatGPT to look into it for me. Neither LLM was able to come up with much but they both described the relationship as “opaque.”

Fine, whatever — Soros can do what he wants with his money. Except that over the last decade or two, EWMI received an estimated $270 million in tax money, largely through USAID, with another $90 million on tap. What does EWMI do with your money? That’s none of your business. Your tax dollars go — or rather, went — to a Soros organization that does what Soros wants. You just get to pay

Giving money to billionaires to thwart the popular will in this country hardly sounds like “international development” to me. Unless, that is, you’re talking about the postmodern version of “international Communism.”

Somehow I don’t expect to see any of this reported in the mainstream media.

The Impact Of Proposed Tariffs

Posted on by

On Monday, The Daily Caller reported that Honda will be moving some of its manufacturing from Mexico to Indiana as a result of President Trump’s tariff plans for Mexico,

The article reports:

Honda intends to move production of one of its best-selling car models to the U.S. from Mexico in an attempt to avoid potential tariffs, Reuters reported on Monday.

The major automaker decided to shift production of its next-generation Civic hybrid car to Indiana, three anonymous sources told Reuters. The news comes after President Donald Trump on Feb. 1 imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico alongside 10% tariffs on imported goods from China in an attempt to stop deadly drugs and illegal migrants coming into the U.S. from the countries.

The article concludes:

Ahead of Trump’s recent return to the White House, there were a growing number of reports of U.S.-based companies gearing up to shift their production out of foreign countries such as China in anticipation of the incoming Trump administration implementing new tariffs. Notably, Trump signaled on Feb. 19 that reaching a trade deal with Beijing was “possible.”

A spokesperson for Honda did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

There are other reasons for moving manufacturing back to the U.S. under the Trump Presidency. President Trump has shown in the past that he wants to reduce regulations and increase energy production. Less regulation and cheaper (and stable) energy attract manufacturing. Also, the corporate tax under President Trump (if Congress cooperates) will remain low. In the last Trump administration, many corporations brought their manufacturing back to America. If the Trump administration policies are put in place, that will happen again.

This Shouldn’t Happen In America

Posted on by

Over the weekend, Vice-President Vance and his family went skiing in Vermont. What should have been a welcome break from the pressure cooker that is Washington, D.C., turned into something very different. Vice-President Vance and his family were moved to an undisclosed location due to pro-Ukrainian protesters.

Breitbart reports:

Star Trek star George Takei cheered on leftists who crashed Vice President JD Vance’s family ski trip, which resulted in the Vice President and has family having to be moved to an “undisclosed location.”

“Protestors met JD Vance in Vermont when he went to vacation there today,” Takei wrote in a Saturday post on the leftist echo chamber social media platform Bluesky, adding, “This is a good one,” and sharing a photo of a protestor holding a sign that read, “VANCE IS A TRAITOR, GO SKI IN RUSSIA.”

…Notably, Democrat lawmakers, mainstream media journalists, celebrities, and other Ukrainian sycophants took to social media, where they parroted the same anti-Trump and anti-Vance talking points and spun the narrative as to how Fridays meeting with Zelensky unfolded.

The article notes:

As Breitbart News reported, the United States has already authorized around $175 billion in taxpayer dollars for support to Ukraine.

The Vice-President should be able to enjoy a peaceful weekend with his family. It is unfortunate that free speech has turned into a right to ruin someone’s vacation time. The media needs to tone down its rhetoric.

A Short History Lesson On Ukraine

Posted on by

In August 1991, Ukraine separated from Russia. This was roughly two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In December 1994, a treaty called the Budapest Memorandum was signed which stated that Ukraine would give away its nuclear missiles (it had the world’s third-largest nuclear stockpile) in exchange for guarantees that the U.S., the U.K. and Russia would respect the independence and sovereignty of its existing borders. Obviously that treaty was not worth the paper it was written on.

In March 2014, Russia annexes Crimea. There was a referendum with the vote in Crimea favoring secession, but the results of that vote have been disputed. The Obama administration and U.S. allies in Europe imposed sanctions on Russia. Also in 2017, Petro Poroshenko is elected President of Ukraine. He stays in office until 2019 when Volodymyr Zelenskyy is elected on a promise to end the corruption in the country. President Obama asigns Vice-President Biden as the administration’s front man in Ukraine. On January 23, 2018, Vice-President Biden gives a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations telling the story of getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Hunter Biden fired after the Vice-President threatened to withhold $1 Billion in foreign aid to Ukraine. I guess the corruption was still there even after Zelenskyy was elected. Some of the people involved with Ukraine under the Obama administration were Victoria Nuland and Alexander Vindman. You may recognize the name Alexander Vindman from the first impeachment trial of President Trump.

On Friday, February 28, 2025, there was a meeting in the Oval Office between President Trump and President Zelenskyy. Various other people were in attendance, among them JD Vance and Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova.

This is the reaction of the Ukrainian Ambassador as the events of that meeting unfolded:

The purpose of the meeting was to sign an already-agreed-to treaty about mineral rights in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy had already agreed to the treaty but had repeatedly declined opportunities to sign the deal in Kyiv or Munich. He requested the meeting at the White House. Before the meeting, he met with a number of Congressmen from both political parties. Also included in that meeting were U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Deputy Secretary of State under President Obama and National Security Advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2013 to 2017 and U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 2005 to 2008, and Alexander Vindman, a retired United States Army lieutenant colonel who was the Director of European Affairs for the United States National Security Council until he was reassigned on February 7, 2020. You may remember Alexander Vindman from the first impeachment trial of President Trump. This group advised Zelenskyy to ask for a White House meeting with the intention of causing President Trump to lose his temper in order generate sympathy for the Ukrainian cause and President Zelenskyy. The idea was to force President Trump to put American troops in Ukraine and continue the war.  This group is a representation of what is referred to as ‘the deep state.’ They all have connections and investments that profit from the corruption and the continuing war in Ukraine.

Why would anyone want to continue the war? Well, as usual, follow the money. According to CBS News in September 2023, some of the things we are funding in Ukraine include seeds and fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers, salaries of Ukraine’s first responders (57,000 of them), divers clearing unexploded ammunition from the rivers–to make them safe again for swimming and fishing. We are subsidizing small businesses-paying salaries and taxes. We are essentially supporting the country.

Corruption is rampant in Ukraine, and we have no accountability as to how the money we are sending is being spent. If the war continues and our spending continues, the people who are getting kickbacks from the spending will continue to thrive as the citizens of Ukraine suffer. I have read over the weekend that Zelenskyy has stated that he is now willing to sign the treaty. If that is true, this will be the fourth time he has said that. Let’s hope this time he means it.

Sliding to Socialism Part II 

Posted on by

Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.              

Awhile back I wrote an article explaining why Medicaid expansion was a bad idea for North Carolina. Unfortunately, after several years of refusing to expand eligibility for Medicaid the Republican controlled General Assembly inexplicitly changed their minds and voted to expand Medicaid. Predictably, the numbers of people who signed up exceeded what was expected including many who were able to afford their own healthcare. So, North Carolina joined other states in promoting a socialist program that makes more people dependent on the government. Now the Medicaid program, which relies on federal government reimbursement, is in serious funding trouble and may require the state to spend more to keep the program operational. No wonder the federal budget deficit is over $36 trillion and increasing by another trillion every 100 days.

Besides the budget catastrophe, the move towards socialism should be a concern to us all. This country was founded, and has succeeded, based on the idea that individuals, if allowed to be free, can productively fend for themselves. Independence and freedom, along with responsible behavior and a work ethic, are the backbone of a successful Republic. Socialism is exactly the opposite. Socialism is based on keeping the individual dependent on the government and believing that you cannot succeed on your own.

A recent bill introduced to the General Assembly by Republican House majority leader Brenden Jones is another example of going in the wrong direction and making people more dependent on an ever expanding government. The bill, if passed, would allocate $217 million dollars of other taxpayer’s money to repair and rebuild homes that were damaged by hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018). This bill raises some serious questions. First, whose responsibility is it to insure your home? You or other taxpayers? If you live anywhere near the coast, the threat of damage from hurricanes is a reality that every responsible home owner must face. I assume that those home owners who had damage and insurance would have been made whole by now. It is hard to believe that damage caused by storms occurring eight and six years ago respectively have not already been addressed. If a home owner chooses not to have adequate insurance coverage, then they must suffer the consequences. That is the reality of living in a free country. In effect, this bill makes the state government an insurance substitute. Why buy insurance when you can count of the state to repair storm damage?

Let me give you a personal example.   When my wife and I moved to New Bern, we considered several houses including one that was in the flood plain and only about three feet above normal high water. Because of that fact, we purchased another home not in the flood plain and, thank goodness, we were not flooded during Florence. The people who purchased the house we had considered had four feet of water in their house caused by Florence. They did not have flood insurance. Government to the rescue. They applied for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) and received sufficient financial assistance to raise their home and rebuild the damage. I would like someone to show me where in the state or federal constitution, any section, is the authorization for the government to collect money from other taxpayers to pay for rebuilding homes that the owners failed to properly insure.

It is interesting to note, that Rep. Brenden Jones is from Columbus County here in the eastern part of the state. With all the money going to the western part of the state because of hurricane Helene, is this an attempt to balance the funding? Just asking.

Freedom cannot exist without having consequences for one’s decisions. Sometimes the consequences are not pleasant. Taking money from one person to pay for another person’s bad decisions is socialism unless the giving is voluntary.

What Is Zelensky Fighting For?

Posted on by

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House on Friday. It did not go well for him. First of all, in my opinion, showing up at the White House to meet the President in gym clothes is disrespectful. There are restaurants who wouldn’t let Zelensky in dressed like that! Second of all, evidently the agreement had been worked out beforehand, as is the custom with these events. Instead of simply signing the previously worked out agreement, President Zelensky decided he wanted some things changed. He made his request publicly instead of in private, as is the custom. The first rule of holes is to stop digging; President Zelensky chose to ignore that rule. The look on his Ambassador’s face tells the whole story. She at least understood what was happening.

On Friday, Breitbart posted an article about the meeting.

The article reports:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) praised President Donald Trump for giving “a masterclass on how to stand up for America” after kicking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky out of the White House after he made several “disrespectful” comments.

As Breitbart News’s Katherine Hamilton previously reported, Zelensky’s comments were made “in front of the media ahead of planned private talks and the expected signing of the much-discussed minerals deal.”

After Zelensky was kicked out of the White House, the “White House confirmed” that Zelensky had not signed the minerals deal and Trump issued a statement in a post on Truth Social stating that he had “determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved.”

I have a feeling that the gravy trail with kickbacks that has been going to Ukraine for the past few years is about to end.

The Result Of Losing Accountability

Posted on by

On Friday, The Federalist posted an article about President Trump’s recent firing of a number of  high-ranking military officers.

An article posted at Military.com in August 2020 reported:

…In April 1945, when we had four five-stars and 13 four-stars…

Wikipedia states:

There are currently 38 active-duty four-star officers in the uniformed services of the United States:

We won a major war with 17 generals. We haven’t won one since.

The article at The Federalist points out:

An “Appeal to Congress” from five former secretaries of defense warns that Donald Trump is firing flag officers, which is unprecedented and an assault on American political norms. This letter is an appalling package of dangerous claims and dumber than a box of rocks. But let’s take a helpful detour before we get into the details.

An essay Thursday from a professor at the U.S. Naval War College makes a similar argument and perfectly represents the moment:

…The president does have the authority to remove these officers; three- and four-star officers hold that rank only while they possess the position of importance and responsibility to which they have been specifically nominated by the president, and they serve at the pleasure of the president. But just because something is legal does not make it wise.

The article summarizes problems with the case made by the generals protesting their firing:

  1. These measures constitute a crisis;
  2. The president does have the authority to remove these officers… and they serve at the pleasure of the president.

It’s a crisis that the president of the United States is exercising authority that he has.

The article at The Federalist concludes:

Ricks (Thomas Ricks, who wrote A History of American Generals) asked three important questions as he noted the sharp trend away from the view that generals can be fired: “How and why did we lose the longstanding practice of relieving generals for failure? Why has accountability declined? And is it connected to the decline in the operational competence of American generals?”

The current president’s decision to fire flag officers isn’t a break with American law and tradition. The “Appeal to Congress” from former secretaries of defense certainly is. The warning about a crisis is the crisis. This dangerous argument needs to be hammered into its grave, quickly and forcefully.

It is time to clean house ALL through the government.

There Are Financial Reasons Some Judges Are Fighting President Trump

Posted on by

Om Thursday, The Daily Signal posted an article detailing the background of some of the judges opposing the agenda of President Trump.

The article notes:

Federal judges ruling against President Donald Trump’s recent executive actions have been almost entirely appointees of his two Democrat predecessors.

Some were previously activists, others were steeped in Democrat politics, and one is a former clerk for then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor. These judges have issued rulings to block Trump’s policies on immigration, federal spending, the Department of Government Efficiency, and other matters. 

Plaintiffs have been “forum shopping” to attain more favorable rulings, said Curt Levey, president of the Committee for Justice. Forum shopping means they search for specific parts of the country where judges are more likely to be liberal and sympathetic to their case.

Here is some information on some of the judges involved:

A one-time major Democrat donor, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island, recently sided with a group of Democrat state attorneys general in a lawsuit to block Trump’s attempted funding freeze for numerous federal grants to nongovernmental organizations. 

From 2000 until when President Barack Obama nominated him to the federal bench in 2010, McConnell contributed about $60,000 to Democrat candidates. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposed his nomination, noting his long career as a lawyer who sued over lead paint and tobacco, Forbes reported. 

…In a separate case targeting the order on the funding freeze, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan of the District of Columbia, an appointee of President Joe Biden, imposed a restraining order on the freeze. AliKhan was previously on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the D.C. solicitor general. 

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali of the District of Columbia, a Biden appointee, enforced a restraining order to prevent the spending freeze on foreign aid disbursed by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. In 2020, Ali contributed $1,500 to Biden’s presidential campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org. He also made modest contributions to numerous other Democrat candidates. 

…U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang of the District of Maryland, an Obama appointee, blocked the Trump administration from conducting immigration raids and arrests at certain houses of worship. 

During much of Obama’s time in office, Chuang was the deputy general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. Before that, from 2007 to 2009, he was the deputy chief investigative counsel for the Democrat majority on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He was also a past contributor to several Democrat candidates, including giving $750 to Obama’s 2008 campaign and $1,250 to the 2004 presidential bid of Democrat John Kerry. 

You get the picture. Please follow the link above to the article for information on some of the other judges involved. None of these judges can realistically be expected to be objective.

North Carolina Is Not Immune From Lawfare

Posted on by

On Friday, the RAIR (Rise Align Ignite Reclaim) USA Foundation, which describes itself as grassroots activist organization comprised of everyday Americans leading a movement to reclaim our Republic from the network of individuals and organizations waging war on Americans, our Constitution, our borders and our Judeo-Christian values posted an article on their website about some recent events in Holly Springs, North Carolina.

The article reports:

Sloan Rachmuth, a Jewish journalist and political commentator, was arrested at her home in front of her terrified children on November 3, 2024. Her alleged crime? According to Rachmuth, she objected to a supermarket employee at Harris Teeter wearing the controversial keffiyeh, a political symbol widely associated with Hamas and its ambitions to destroy Israel and the Jewish people worldwide.

Rachmuth, an outspoken advocate against antisemitism and a contributor to national media outlets on Middle Eastern affairs, explained to RAIR Foundation in an exclusive interview that she was handcuffed, marched through her neighborhood, and charged with cyberstalking, posting about the troubling incident online.

Rachmuth explained the police never asked for her side of the story, nor investigated the credibility of the alleged victim. Her arrest was based solely on an unverified accusation, raising serious concerns about law enforcement’s complicity in this apparent retaliation.

Rather than uphold its corporate attire and political expression policies, Harris Teeter—a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., the largest supermarket chain in America—ignored its regulations. Indeed, Harris Teeter allowed an employee to wear a threatening symbol of Islamic and Palestinian terrorism, visibly wrapping it around her head while working with customers.

The article includes a summary of the event that led to her arrest:

On October 31, 2024, Rachmuth entered Harris Teeter on Sunset Lake Road in Holly Springs, North Carolina, a store where she had shopped regularly for seven years. According to Rachmuth, as she checked out, she noticed an employee handling food while wearing a keffiyeh—a garment long associated with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and frequently worn by Hamas militants and supporters. In America, the keffiyeh has been used as a rallying icon for violence against Jews during demonstrations. Even countries like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt—both Arab nations—have banned its political use, recognizing its ties to Islamic groups.

Aware of its political significance, Rachmuth says she politely asked the employee, Amira M. Fattah, “It’s Halloween; are you wearing this as a costume?” Fattah replied, “No, it’s for Free Palestine,” confirming she wore the keffiyeh as a political statement rather than for religious reasons.

As a Jewish woman and a longtime customer, Rachmuth was deeply uncomfortable with a store employee openly supporting an ideology that symbolized the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people while handling food. While at the store, Rachmuth escalated her concerns to store manager Sheronna Irick, expecting Harris Teeter to uphold its policies against political speech in the workplace.

Instead of addressing the hostile work environment created by an employee wearing a symbol of Jewish oppression, Irick dismissed Rachmuth’s complaint outright and told her, “Like it or leave.”

…Frustrated by the store manager’s hostile response, Rachmuth turned to social media and posted about the encounter on X (formerly Twitter). She included a photo of the employee wearing the keffiyeh—showing only the employee’s profile—along with a caption questioning the corporation’s stance on political speech in the workplace.

…Three days later, after Rachmuth’s X post, Holly Springs Police officers—Elliott Warren, Benjamin Marino, and Edgar Hernandez—arrived at Rachmuth’s home and began pounding on her door.

The article includes the outcome of the case:

In a letter to Rachmuth dated January 9, 2023, the police admitted that they had thoroughly analyzed the documentation, consulted with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC-SBI), and ultimately concluded that the harassment fell under ‘First Amendment protected speech’—even though it included threats, public exposure of personal records, and clear targeting of her family. In an email, the police chief justified inaction by citing the need to follow a chain of command before presenting charges for judicial review.

Yet, regarding her arrest, no such legal scrutiny or procedural delay was observed, as evidenced by the charges being dropped within 24 hours. She was promptly taken into custody without the due diligence police had claimed was necessary in previous cases. The statute requires ‘repeated’ communication directly to a person, a requirement absent from the arrest warrant. Furthermore, North Carolina courts have overturned similar cases on constitutional grounds.

Questions remain over who ordered her arrest. The DA was not involved in the initial decision—as later suggested when Freeman personally called her to confirm there was no case. Was this the work of a police department eager to silence her? She argues that the lack of due process in her case, compared to the meticulous legal caution used when she was the victim, speaks volumes about the selective enforcement of the law.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. This was definitely a violation of Rachmuth’s First Amendment rights. It’s sad to think this can happen anywhere.

A Necessary Step

Posted on by

There were a lot of reasons for the number of people illegally crossing our southern border during the Biden administration. Among the illegals were people fleeing violence in their home countries, people simply looking for a better, more peaceful life, people looking to take advantage of America’s social safety net, and people simply looking for work to earn money to send home. America’s social safety net was a part of what drew people here, but it was not all of the reason. President Trump decided to do away with at least that reason.

On Wednesday, Chronicles Magazine reported the following:

The Trump White House has successfully flooded the zone in its first 30 days, flummoxing its opponents with a pace and scale even the most ardent anti-Trumper could not have expected. Among all the moves Trump has taken to combat illegal immigration, however, one executive order signed last week stands out and could be the game changer the country so desperately needs.

President Trump’s  order to end federal spending on those here illegally is one of the most meaningful steps taken to end America’s long-running problems with illegal immigration.

“The surge in illegal immigration, enabled by the previous Administration, is siphoning dollars and essential services from American citizens while state and local budgets grow increasingly strained,” the order states. “With this Executive Order, President Trump is ensuring taxpayer resources are used to protect the interests of American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

How many dollars are there in question? A report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) last year targeted federal expenditures on illegal aliens during the four years of the Biden administration. The CBO claimed that that the federal government spent $177 billion in benefits for adult illegal aliens and their children who were admitted under Biden. Add that to another $101 billion of other federal spending on illegals, and CBO’s figure comes to $277 billion.

The report further specified where that money goes. Among the biggest categories were Obamacare premium tax credits ($59 billion), Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit ($43 billion), Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP ($40 billion), and food stamps ($15 billion). This only includes federal spending. A study in 2023 found the annual net cost of illegal immigration to the United States at the federal, state, and local levels, is $150.7 billion.  

Is there any question that this needs to stop now?