Monthly Archives: January 2026

Good News On The Economy

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On Thursday, The Western Journal posted an article about the December jobs numbers.

The article reports:

The top economist at the Heritage Foundation made a compelling case for why President Donald Trump’s jobs numbers are better than the headline figure indicates.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that a total of 50,000 jobs were added to the economy in December. That’s a holding-steady number. Given the country’s population, it takes upward of 50,000 new jobs to keep the unemployment rate about constant.

Such was true last month when the unemployment rate dropped slightly, by 0.1 percent to 4.4 percent.

The Heritage Foundation’s chief economist, E.J. Antoni, pointed out in a piece for Townhall.com that if you look a little deeper at U.S. employment, there’s some very encouraging information, especially for those holding down multiple jobs to make ends meet.

He highlighted the discrepancy between the 50,000 news jobs figure and the survey of households’ total, finding that the number of people employed in the country jumped by 232,000.

“There’s an explanation for this difference if we dig further into the report, and it indicates a very positive development in the labor market,” Antoni argued.

“The number of multiple jobholders plunged by 444,000 last month, the second-largest drop since the government-imposed Covid lockdowns. Simultaneously in December, the number of part-time jobs declined by 740,000 while full-time employment shot up by 890,000,” he added.

The article notes:

But, Antoni noted, “All the net job growth in 2025 came from the productive private sector, while government jobs declined, due entirely to federal layoffs. It’s a positive development, but it drags down the headline jobs number.”

The BLS reported that federal employment is down 277,000 from January of last year.

Biden presided over a nearly 6 percent increase in the size of the full-time federal workforce during his tenure, with the total cresting 3 million in September 2024 for the first time since 1990, according to USA Facts.

The current number of federal employees is 2.744 million, the lowest since late 2014.

Finally, under Trump, people’s real income is going up, since wage increases are outpacing inflation.

Trump told the Detroit Economic Club on Tuesday, “After real wages plummeted by $3,000 under Sleepy Joe Biden, real wages are up by $1,300 in less than one year under President Trump.”

Inflation is a major tax on all Americans. Just bringing inflation down to manageable levels increases affordability.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

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The level of fraud in government programs is astonishing. Every day we read about another scandal involving the government’s ‘safety net.’ Many of us are wondering how much of our tax dollars are funding fraud rather than a ‘safety net.’

On Wednesday, The Federalist reported:

The ongoing scandal regarding Minnesota’s welfare-industrial complex demonstrates the extent to which government-created graft has “hidden” in front of the nation’s noses for not just years but decades. Another report released just before Christmas illustrates the depths of those fraudulent payments.

Last summer, I wrote here about a report by Louisiana’s legislative auditor highlighting nearly $10 million in Medicaid payments that state made on behalf of deceased beneficiaries between February 2019 and last March. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most recent report shows that this type of government waste and abuse — or, depending on one’s perspective, fraud by insurance companies, who receive payments for “covering” dead people — occurs with regularity nationwide.

The report came from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) and covered payments made to Medicaid managed care organizations from July 2021 through June 2022. The report arises because in most (but not all) cases, state Medicaid agencies do not directly administer benefits (i.e., pay doctors and hospitals who treat beneficiaries). Instead, they contract with managed care organizations and pay insurers a capitated (i.e., per-person) amount every month for that coverage. That dynamic represents a clear opportunity for fraud: If no one reports the beneficiary as deceased, the insurer will get paid to “cover” that person indefinitely.

The article notes:

A footnote in the report demonstrated how this type of abuse is a choice that states consciously make. OIG noted that “Connecticut, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming had no capitation payments with a service date after the month of the enrollee’s death.” In other words, these six states all imposed proper safeguards to ensure that Medicaid dollars did not go to dead beneficiaries, while 35 other states did not, leading to the improper payments. (The remaining states did not have significant amounts of capitated payments to managed care organizations and therefore would not face this type of fraud.)

It’s time for all states to put in place laws that protect taxpayer money. The government should not be paying money to dead people!

The Quiet Impact Of Deportations

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On Thursday, Zero Hedge posted an article about one of the less-mentioned results of deporting illegal aliens.

The article reports:

Democrats entered 2026 confident they could make “affordability” the rallying cry that would win back suburban voters and propel them back into the majority. But an inconvenient political twist has upended that plan: Donald Trump is the one actually delivering on affordability – and doing it in ways his opponents are almost certain to despise.

The foundation of this shift is the administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigration. ICE deportations under Trump have sharply reduced the number of illegal migrants in the country – which, according to the White House – is easing the enormous housing demand that exploded under Joe Biden thanks to his open borders policies. 

In short, rents and home prices in many major metro areas are becoming more affordable. Though we would of course note that correlation is not necessarily causation.

It’s called the law of supply and demand. If there are more people than houses available, the price of housing goes up. If there are more houses available than people who want them, the price goes down.

The article concludes:

Falling rents, rising wages, and higher labor participation are giving younger voters something they’ve struggled to find for years: a sense of stability. Lower immigration is also contributing to reduced crime and drug deaths, further tying economic security to Trump’s immigration policies.

And then there’s the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the administration believes will play a huge role in giving Americans the relief they’ve been craving. The legislation aims to lock in lower individual and corporate tax rates, expand full business expensing, and let voters see more of their paychecks. The administration describes it as a direct strike on the cost-of-living crisis.

Other key provisions include higher SALT deduction caps for homeowners, no tax on tips and overtime, and a modest expansion of charitable deductions. Seniors will also see new tax breaks on Social Security income. Buyers of U.S.-made vehicles would get fresh incentives. Each piece will show that while Democrats talk the talk on “affordability” the GOP walks the walk.

Democrats built their midterm plans around the assumption that they could own the affordability issue. Trump is instead redefining it on his terms: fewer migrants competing for jobs and housing, stronger wages, cheaper rents, and more disposable income. Republicans hope that by the time voters head to the polls, “affordability” may no longer be a Democratic talking point. And it might just work.

Illegal aliens working ‘under the table’ drive American wages down, and illegal aliens drive rents and house prices up. At some point the unions and others who support Democrat policies are going to realize that they are hurting themselves.

Wrong Again!

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How many times do the experts have to be wrong before we ignore them? Remember the predictions that the Trump tariffs would add to inflation? Well, the numbers tell a different story.

On Wednesday, The Conservative Treehouse reported:

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released the December price information on Tuesday 1/13/26 [DATA HERE].  Overall, the topline inflation number is moderate at 2.7% much lower than economists projected.

However, that’s not the only important element.  To get an understanding of the impact from tariffs to imported consumer goods, you can look at TABLE-2 [DATA HERE].  As you skim the categories we import the most, electronics, television, sporting goods, apparel, shoes, tools, furniture, etc. what you will note is that the prices are stable with negligible inflation impact noted.

What this means is that tariffs are not creating any upward price pressure on the imported good.  The December ’25 imported good prices are stable despite massive tariffs applied in the second and third quarter of 2025.  As expected, based on history from 2018/2019, the exporting nation (and company) are absorbing most of the wholesale price increased due to tariffs.

The imported goods are reaching the consumer with no substantively changed price.  Some domestically generated goods (food and housing) are still driving the overall inflation number, particularly in the year-over-year calculation, but no substantive price pressure is coming from the import sector.

Export dependent nations are squeezing their own productivity, their governments are subsidizing the critical industries, and the tariffs are being absorbed before the products leave the docks.   This is the USA “rust belt” in reverse.  The same scenario played out in the USA for decades as domestic manufacturers tried to retain U.S. industry.  Now the foreign countries are experiencing their own economic squeeze.

This is part of the inflation table:

The article concludes:

Having gaslit the American electorate over the issues of Joe Biden’s economic/energy policy which created record inflation, the same media who ran cover for Joe Biden then switched during the Trump administration to calling the subsequent high costs an “affordability” crisis.

In essence, Biden’s economic, energy and monetary policies drove 2021/2022 inflation to record levels, this made all prices rise massively. Those high prices are now the “affordability problem” all U.S. consumers are dealing with.

When will we learn not to pay attention to the ‘experts’?

Bringing Back Common-Sense Guidelines

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On Monday, Breitbart posted an article reporting that President Trump has cancelled a Biden-era rule requiring banks to ignore immigration status for loan applications.

The article reports:

On Monday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Justice Department eliminated the Biden guidelines that ordered lenders not to consider immigration status when evaluating loan and credit applications, a rule that had major implications for mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans, Bloomberg reported.

The Biden administration maintained that considering immigration status would violate anti-racism laws that ensure equal and fair lending practices.

The Biden era rules were intended to help anchor illegal and temporary visa workers into Americans’ communities, for example, by providing funds for homes, autos, and apartment leases.

But the Trump administration now says the rule went too far and was inappropriate and that considering immigration and residency status does not violate the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

The article notes:

Biden’s rules raised many complaints when they were announced in 2023. One came from then-Ohio senator and now-Vice President JD Vance, who, when Biden made the change, said that considering immigration status as part of the loan vetting process is “nothing short of common sense.”

“A borrower’s likelihood of repayment significantly falls if there is no guarantee that they will be residing in the same community, let alone the same country or legal system,” said a Senate letter Vance, along with “every other Republican on the Senate Banking Committee,” signed in November of 2023.

“Financial institutions are right to be concerned that they may never see a return on loans issued to illegal immigrants,” then-Sen. Vance said in a press release.” If someone is deported to their home country, how is a bank in Ohio supposed recoup the loan it was forced to issue? The federal government should be cracking down on illegal immigration — not encouraging more of it.”

American citizenship should have value attached to it. Treating people who are here illegally as citizens undermines the value of citizenship. If I break into your house, I am not automatically part of your family. I have no problem with legal immigration, but people who break the law to come here are not citizens.

Moving Forward To Secure America

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On Tuesday, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about the Muslim Brotherhood.

The article reports:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the first official set of Muslim Brotherhood chapters that are designated as “global terrorist” organizations. The first set will not come as a big surprise: Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood were chased out of the country by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over a decade ago. The Jordanian chapter is similarly aligned and was previously targeted by King Abdullah. The Lebanese faction is not as well known, but their support for Hamas is well understood.

The article quotes the Secretary of State website:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio – Today, as a first step in support of President Trump’s commitment to eliminate the capabilities and operations of Muslim Brotherhood chapters that pose a threat to the United States as described in Executive Order 14362, the United States is imposing terrorist designations against the Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Department of State is designating the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), and the group’s leader Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh as an SDGT. Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is designating the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood as SDGTs for providing material support to Hamas.

These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs. The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was responsible for the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981. President Sadat had signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. His assassination was the Muslim Brotherhood’s response to his signing of that treaty.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been active in America for at least 35 years. Their plan for America was revealed in An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America a document which was part of the government exhibits during the Holy Land Foundation Trial. Please use the search engine on this site for further details. All chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood (and their unindicted co-conspirators named in the Holy Land Foundation trial) operating in America need to be declared as terrorist organizations.

Good News For America’s Veterans

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On Sunday, Just the News posted an article about the changes the Trump administration is bringing to the Veterans Administration.

The article reports:

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins is touting significant reforms in serving America’s veterans, arguing the Trump administration is reversing Biden-era trends by increasing visits while reducing backlogs and wait times.

Collins spoke exclusively to Just The News, No Noise television show Friday and said, “It is simply that the veteran comes first at the VA.

“We put back the only reason for us to exist. We put back at the very focus of what we do, is a veteran walking through the door or making a phone call or making an inquiry. And so, when you take a bureaucratic organization that for the lot of its time and energy has been spent on how does it treat itself instead of how did it treat its customer, then you have a way to start making great progress,” he added.

The improvements have come quickly in many areas that were suffering prior to Collins taking over the department.

The backlog of veterans waiting for VA benefits has decreased more than 49% (and up to 57% in later reports) since January 20, 2025, following a 24% increase during the Biden Administration.

The progress, officials say, stems from enhanced processing efficiency, with the VA achieving an all-time fiscal-year high by processing three million disability compensation and pension claims by September 30, 2025 — surpassing the previous record set in FY 2024.

The article concludes:

As of last spring, many Washingtonians were still working from home, despite the Covid-19 pandemic being long over. However, under Collins’ leadership, tens of thousands of VA employees have returned to in-office work to improve teamwork and service delivery. The department has terminated union contracts for most bargaining unit employees, redirecting millions in previously wasteful union spending back to veteran services.

The VA has also ended DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives at the department, reversing Biden-era policies and halting more than $14 million in related spending. Additionally, the department is phasing out treatment for gender dysphoria, described as a commonsense reform.

Putting a businessman in the White House is good for everyone.

Freedom Is Expensive

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The men who signed the Declaration of Independence paid a high price for America’s freedom. Five of them were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.  (source here)

Many Americans paid a heavy price for America’s freedom. Now Iranians are fighting for their freedom and already paying a heavy price.

On January 13th, Townhall reported:

Iranian security forces have begun killing civilians not even involved in the country’s mass protests, according to witness accounts, as the country’s officially reported death toll surpassed 2,000 on Tuesday.

However, even that number has been eclipsed, according to the Editorial Board of Iran International, which says the death toll has risen to over 12,000, with the vast majority of those taking place last Thursday and Friday.

…Accounts began emerging late on Monday, after citizens were finally able to make international calls. The country had cracked down on most major forms of communication, including the internet and most international traffic, but then selectively restored and allowed limited channels of communication. Several Iranians were able to contact the foreign press.

According to a witness, Iranian security forces on motorcycles were seen opening fire on protesters in the city of Fardis, just outside the capital city of Tehran. Others have reportedly been operating from unmarked vehicles, patrolling alleys and murdering local residents, including people not involved in the protests.

One woman told the press that the worst of the slaughter occurred on Friday in Tehran.

“Security forces only killed and killed and killed. Seeing it with my own eyes made me so unwell that I completely lost morale. Friday was a bloody day,” she said. “In war, both sides have weapons. Here, people only chant and get killed. It is a one-sided war.”

I don’t know if the resistance in Iran has the leadership or the strength to stop the killing and remove the thugs from power. I hope they do. I also hope that Israel and America have undercover people in Iran helping and working toward freedom for the people of Iran.

Seeking Justice For Harmful Medical Procedures

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On Monday, The Epoch Times posted an article about three lawsuits brought by young adults who were encouraged to have transgender medical procedures as teenagers. There have been many of these lawsuits filed, but they have either been dismissed or resolved by arbitration. These three cases are looking for a verdict.

The article reports:

One case in New York, scheduled to go to trial this week, involves a then 16-year-old girl who thought she was a male and underwent a double mastectomy in December 2019, according to court documents. She has since detransitioned.

The case, Fox Varian vs. Kenneth Einhorn et. al, was filed in the Westchester County Supreme Court in 2023 against the teenager’s therapist and doctor and the medical facilities involved.

​The significance of the lawsuit is apparent to attorneys at Fiedler Deutsch, an experienced New York law firm representing the detransitioner in the medical malpractice suit.

​It “may be the first case of its kind in the nation to go to trial,” the firm’s website noted in an April 2025 post titled: “Understanding Detransition Cases: Legal Recourse for Minors Impacted by Gender-Affirming Care.”

​Medical professionals involved in the case are accused of negligence and causing pain, suffering, and mental anguish “of a permanent nature” to the plaintiff, formerly known as Isabella Basile, according to court documents.

​Defendants allegedly failed to inform the teen of “the risks, hazards, and alternatives” involved in the medical procedures she underwent, according to the lawsuit.

​Defendants have denied any wrongdoing, saying in court documents that at the time of surgery, “the plaintiff still identified as a male, was happy without breasts, and did not regret her decision.”

The article notes:

Besides the New York case, two other detransitioner cases are expected to go to trial this year.

​Those include the high-profile California case brought by Chloe Cole against Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, doctors, therapists, and others.

​Cole is an outspoken detransitioner and critic of medically transitioning gender dysphoric children. She sued Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and others after surgeons removed both her breasts when she was 15.

​Her case, filed by the Dhillon Law Group, LiMandri & Jonna LLP, and the Center for American Liberty, is headed toward trial after California’s Third Appellate District ruled this fall that the case did not have to go to arbitration.

​The lawsuit claims defendants “engaged in fraudulent, oppressive, and malicious conduct by giving her incorrect/false information about suicide risk and by reinforcing her erroneous belief that gender transition services would resolve her mental health issues.”

Please follow the link to read the entire article. The teenagers involved in these lawsuits were not mature enough to make the life-altering decisions they were encouraged to make. I hope they win their lawsuits and that these lawsuits discourage other medical professionals in doing surgery in these cases.

Do We Really Have Equal Justice Under The Law?

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Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro served jail time for defying a Congressional subpoena. Bill and Hillary Clinton are about to find out if that same standard applies to them.

On January 13, Fox News reported:

Former President Bill Clinton appears to have defied a congressional subpoena to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday morning.

Clinton was compelled to sit for a sworn closed-door deposition in the House’s bipartisan probe into Jeffrey Epstein, but Fox News Digital did not see him before or after the scheduled 10 a.m. grilling.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., had threatened to begin contempt of Congress proceedings against Clinton if he did not appear Tuesday.

Comer said Tuesday morning, “We will move next week in the House Oversight Committee … to hold Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress.”

The article notes:

The Clintons’ attorneys tore into Comer’s leadership of the investigation, accusing him of violating the Constitution’s separation of powers and trying to obfuscate the search for real information.

“President and Secretary Clinton have already provided the limited information they possess about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the Committee. They did so proactively and voluntarily, and despite the fact that the Subpoenas are invalid and legally unenforceable, untethered to a valid legislative purpose, unwarranted because they do not seek pertinent information, and an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers,” the letter said.

“Your continued insistence that the former President and Secretary of State can be compelled to appear before the Committee under these circumstances, however, brings us toward a protracted and unnecessary legal confrontation that distracts from the principal work of the Congress with respect to this matter, which, if conducted sincerely, could help ensure the victims of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell are afforded some measure of justice for the crimes perpetrated against them, however late. But perhaps distraction is the point.”

I believe that the excuse that President Clinton used during the Monica Lewinsky scandal was that he needed to focus on running the country. I expect to hear similar excuses from the Clintons in the near future.

Exactly What Are The Charges Against Federal Reserve Chairman Powell?

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There are a few things that need to be pointed out about the investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

First of all:

So exactly what are the charges:

They are listed in a letter from Representative Anna Paulina Luna to Attorney General Pam Bondi (source here):

The two laws Chairman Powell is accused of breaking are 18 U.S.C. § 1621 and 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

This Should Have Been Done Ages Ago

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On Monday, Newsmax posted an article about a bill being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to ban stock trading by members of Congress.

The article reports:

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., on Monday will introduce a bill banning lawmakers from buying individual stocks.

A post from the House Administration Committee on X confirmed the rollout of the “Stop Insider Trading Act,” saying “it’s time we banned lawmakers from trading stocks,” as Republicans move to answer a long-simmering public concern: that members of Congress can use privileged information to pad their portfolios.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Steil drafted the legislation with the backing of House GOP leadership and support spanning party factions, including Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., as original co-sponsors.

The last time the House tried to do this, they called it the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act. Now that Nancy Pelosi is not running for re-election (she was one of the most successful stock traders the market has ever seen), they may be able to pass this.

The article concludes:

The Washington Times reported last month that House Republicans planned to vote early in 2026 on a congressional stock-trading ban after reaching a compromise under which the ban would apply only to lawmakers, not the president or vice president.

“I think we’re going to deliver a really strong product in 2026,” Roy told the outlet.

Roy declined to discuss specifics but said the legislation will include “a lot of elements” of his Restore Trust in Congress Act, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., and 118 others.

The push comes as bipartisan frustrations over congressional trading persist.

Lawmakers in both parties have explored stricter bans in recent years, driven by voter anger over conflicts of interest and weak enforcement.

It is way past time to pass this bill.

Voting With Your Feet

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On January 12, Issues & Insights posted an article about the reaction to a proposed California tax on billionaires. It should not be a surprise that billionaires do not want to pay this tax.

The article reports:

The Billionaire Tax Act isn’t even officially on the California ballot yet, but that hasn’t stopped businessmen, entrepreneurs, and investors from fleeing the state, taking $1 trillion in wealth – along with jobs and opportunity – with them.

Tech entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya has been keeping track of who’s decided to leave the state in advance of this “temporary” tax.

“We had $2T of billionaire wealth just a few weeks ago. Now, 50% of that wealth has left – taking their income tax revenue, sales tax revenue, real estate tax revenue, and all their staffs (and their salaries and income taxes) with them,” he posted on X this weekend.

“In other words, by starting this ill-conceived attempt at an asset tax, the California budget deficit will explode. And we still don’t know if the tax will even make the ballot.”

Among those who’ve given up on California are Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. The New York Times reports that 10 days before Christmas, Brin “terminated or moved 15 California limited liability companies that oversee some of his business interests and investments out of the state” and “more than 45 California limited liability companies associated with Mr. Page filed documents last month to either become inactive or move out of the state.”

The Laffer Curve is an illustration of what is happening  in California:

Millionaires and billionaires have tax accountants, lawyers, and other people who help them legally avoid many of the taxes the rest of us pay. Voting with your feet is one of the easiest ways to avoid excessive taxes. Voting with your feet is one of the reasons Texas and Florida are the fastest growing states in the nation. Their tax policies make them very attractive to businessmen.

The article concludes:

This is a state, after all, that has managed in the past few years to kill its other golden goose, the film industry – the Wall Street Journal last fall said  “L.A.’s Entertainment Economy Is Looking Like a Disaster Movie.”

It’s a state that sits at the top of the list for highest tax rates, but the bottom of the list for just about everything else. (See “Do Californians Realize How Badly They’re Getting Ripped Off?”)

It’s a state that – despite idyllic weather and natural beauty – has driven more than 1.6 million residents away. (See “The Great Divorce Continues.”)

As we noted in this space a couple of weeks ago (See “California’s ‘Get Out Now’ Tax”), “Businesses and people are fleeing because lawmakers and blue voters are stuck in a Bolshevik rut.”

The question is, what will it take to get California’s lawmakers and voters unstuck?

Holding The Line

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On January 12th, The Federalist posted an article about the reaction to President Trump’s statement about being flexible about using federal funds to fund abortion. This may be an issue where Republicans actually demonstrate having a spine.

The article reports:

Less than one week after President Donald Trump appeared to encourage congressional Republicans to put the annually passed congressional restriction on taxpayer-funded abortion on the chopping block, the White House is walking back his comments and members of the Senate GOP who looked like they might cave with Trump are committing to holding the line on the Hyde Amendment.

For nearly 50 years, the legislative provision barring taxpayer-funded elective abortions, including through federal healthcare programs such as Medicaid, was a nonnegotiable for Republicans who claim to belong to the pro-life party. Congress’ latest fight over whether to extend Obamacare, however, put the Hyde Amendment in the line of fire from both Democrats, who have had it out for Hyde for years, and the GOP alike.

The first call from inside the house came last week, when Trump urged GOP representatives to “be a little flexible on Hyde.”

The article concludes:

The Federalist also asked the White House early last week to clarify Trump’s comments and position on the Hyde Amendment, especially considering his historic support for making it permanent, but did not receive a response. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to walk back Trump’s declaration. She told The Daily Signal that “The president did not change the administration’s policy” on prohibiting taxpayer-funded abortion and pointed to his 2024 executive order demanding Hyde Amendment enforcement.

“What the president was saying yesterday was Republicans, and frankly Democrats, too, need to show a little bit more flexibility so we can actually get something done with respect to the issue of health care,” Leavitt added.

Using federal funds to fund abortion is a bad idea. First of all, it devalues life. We have enough scientific evidence now to know that a baby is a baby when it is conceived–it is not a blob of tissue, it is not any other animal–it is a baby. I don’t think we will ever reach a point where abortion is illegal in all fifty states, but we can stop the federal government from funding it.

Capitalism and Freedom

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Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.  

The inaugural speech by socialist/communist  Zohran Mamdani as the new mayor of New York City was revealing in at least two ways. First, swearing on the Koran instead of the Bible is verification that Islamists are out to change our culture, not to assimilate with American culture. Second, his comment that he wants to change New York City culture from “rugged individualism to the warmth of collectivism” is a direct retreat from successful free enterprise capitalism to failed cultural/economic communism. These should serve as a warning to all patriotic Americans.

The fact that he was elected as a known Marxist is disturbing, especially since New York City has been the focal point of our economic system for most of our existence as a free country. It indicates two things. First, the voters in New York City have no clear understanding about the historical failures of communism and the degree to which the free enterprise capitalistic system is essential to their freedom; and/or second, that there are so many of the voters already dependent on the government through various welfare programs that they see the government as their only salvation. A recent search on the internet showed that the exact numbers of people on government handout programs in New York City is unknown and not reported! It did report that the numbers have increased dramatically during the Biden administration. Over half of the recipients of these programs are black and over a quarter are Hispanic.   Government dependency is working for the leftist Democrats, not only in New York City but many other places in the country. The slide to socialism/communism is accelerating.

The connection between free market capitalism and personal freedom is generally not being taught in public schools and especially universities. A book by Milton Friedman (1962) Capitalism and Freedom should be required reading in all public supported schools/universities. He details the essential connection between individual personal freedom of choice and the economy. Freedom does not exist without freedom to make your own decisions. Socialism/communism replaces free choice with government mandates and limits on choice. The government picks and chooses what options you can select. The recent effort by the Biden administration to mandate electric vehicles is a perfect example as the Ford Motor company just found out. Under capitalism, a company that fails to satisfy its customer’s choices will soon go out of business. The free choice of the people is the deciding factor not a decision by some government agency.

Businesses succeed when they provide what the people want and go out of business when they do not. This is the essential power of the people to exercise their freedom of choice. It is a self-correcting process since the people decide who fails and who succeeds. This can lead to some disruptions as companies compete to produce new products that are attractive to their buyers. For example, the creation of the automobile totally disrupted the horse breeding and carriage industries, but the result was a dramatic improvement in freedom of travel.

Creativity and innovation are the cornerstones of the free enterprise system. The resulting advancement in standard of living is mindboggling. In the past one hundred years alone, everyone has:  indoor plumbing, electricity, telephones/cell phones, automobiles, computers, and the internet. In 1900 only 40% of the people lived above the poverty level, now it is over 90%. Free enterprise capitalism is responsible not socialism/communism. China is good at stealing our inventions, but what have they created other than COVID? We must mandate the teaching of the success of free enterprise capitalism into all public funded educational curriculum before it is too late. If not, we could all end up like New York City.

Good News For American Consumers

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On Friday, The Post Millennial posted an article about a policy announced by the Trump administration limiting Credit Card interest to 10 percent for one year. Considering the damage that the four years of President Biden did to America’s economy and to the pocketbooks of Americans, this is a welcome move.

The article reports:

In what will surely be hailed as a massive gift to America, President Donald Trump announced Friday night that all credit card interest rates will be capped at 10% for one year. This would lift the burden for many Americans who have been struggling under the weight of high-interest rate debt.

In a post, he said “Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more, which festered unimpeded during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration. AFFORDABILITY! Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%. Coincidentally, the January 20th date will coincide with the one year anniversary of the historic and very successful Trump Administration.”

The article notes:

Many credit cards have an interest rate of 20% or higher, making it difficult for American borrowers to get ahead of those balances. Just paying the minimum balance on high interest rate credit cards means the debt won’t be paid down for decades in some cases. Forbes states that the average credit card interest rate is 25.32%.

Trump has been under pressure to create a more affordable economy for Americans, and for most who carry debt and are paying off that debt to creditors monthly, a drop in the interest rate could make a huge differance. As the economy has tightened up, many Americans choose to make purchases on credit rather than with ready funds and many online creditors have sprung up to make that easier than ever.

This is good news for Americans.

Trying To Get Back To Where We Started

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Up until 2008, there was a definite process for funding our government. It involved separate spending bills for each department. Up until that time, there were still government shutdowns, but they were rare. The current House of Representatives is trying to bring us back to the regular order of passing budgets.

On Saturday, The Daily Signal reported:

The House of Representatives took a major step toward averting another government shutdown when it passed a funding package Thursday. 

But perhaps more importantly, House Freedom Caucus members influenced the process around the bill’s consideration in ways they say could help government spending in the future.

The House’s “minibus” package covers three of the 12 funding areas for the federal government: Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, and Commerce-Justice-Science. Appropriators have attempted to reconcile both chambers’ priorities, and the package will be considered in the Senate next week.

The article concludes:

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told The Daily Signal after the vote on Thursday that he views the outcome as a victory for his caucus, which has long called for separate votes on individual appropriations bills.

“We’ve already done away with what we call the ‘Christmas omnibus’ [where] you pile all 12 bills together, you work them out in a smoke-filled room, nobody has any chance to say anything about them,” Harris said.

“What we did today for the first time ever is say, ‘oh, and by the way, we’re going to have a separate vote on some of the bills,’” he added.

Harris also praised the stripping of the “very offensive million-dollar earmark to a Somali led organization where the brother of the organizer was arrested as a terrorist.”

In Harris’ view, the process this process should be replicated in the future.

“The framework we’ve laid out, especially this past week, allows us to… return to… what we call regular order: Each bill considered separately, amendments allowed on the floor—you know, the way it was when I first came here, and the way we should return to.”

The legislation could still face headwinds in the Senate, though, where Paul is complaining of “billions in refugee money” in the bills.

There is too much pork in the bills. However, until we elect people who actually have a sense of fiscal responsibility, we have to consider what will actually pass Congress.

Complying With The Spirit Of The Law

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On Friday, Townhall posted an article about Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s shutting down on state funding of travel for abortion.

The article reports:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has successfully shut down San Antonio’s abortion travel fund, his office announced on Friday.

…In April 2025, the city had reportedly allocated $100,000 of taxpayer funds to the so-called “Reproductive Justice Fund” which would cover travel expenses for out-of-state abortions in order to circumvent the state’s pro-life policies. Soon after its establishment, Paxton sued the city, citing the Gift Clause of the Texas Constitution.

A state Court of Appeals issued a temporary injunction to prevent the funds from being dispersed, according to the Texas Tribune. The city then abandoned the fund after the injunction.

“Texas respects the sanctity of unborn life, and I will always do everything in my power to prevent radicals from manipulating the system to murder innocent babies,” said Paxton. “It is illegal for cities to fund abortion tourism with taxpayer funds. San Antonio’s unlawful attempt to cover the travel and other expenses for out-of-state abortions has now officially been defeated.”

The people who are constantly complaining about ‘white privilege’ need to take a look at abortion statistics.

According to GROK:

  1. Black women account for approximately 38% of all abortions, despite making up about 13% of the U.S. population.
  2. Hispanic women represent around 25% of abortions, reflecting their growing demographic in the country.
  3. White women have the lowest abortion rate among ethnic groups, comprising about 36% of total abortions.
  4. The abortion rate is higher among women living below the federal poverty line, which disproportionately affects minority communities.
  5. Access to reproductive health services varies significantly by ethnicity, impacting abortion rates.
  6. Studies indicate that systemic factors, such as healthcare access and education, contribute to these disparities in abortion statistics.

There is a reason most abortion clinics are located in minority neighborhoods. We need to go back to teaching young people (and older people) moral standards. Stricter abortion laws will help, but what would be more helpful is more resource centers to encourage women to keep their babies, mentor them through their pregnancies, and help them be self-sufficient after the baby is born.

Cutting Spending Is Hard

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On Thursday, Fox News reported that seventeen Republicans voted to extend the ‘temporary’ Obamacare subsidies for another three years. These are the ‘temporary’ subsides put in place during Covid. The only justification for the Republicans who voted for this is that they are in liberal districts and fear that they will lose in the mid-terms if they end the subsidies. This illustrates how citizens can raid the treasury and how that impacts elections. Hopefully the bill will not pass in the Senate. Premiums for Obamacare are increasing, but the solution is not to pay the insurance companies–it’s to fix the problems with Obamacare.

The article reports:

The vast majority of Republicans believe the subsidies are a COVID-era relic of a long-broken federal healthcare system. Conservatives argued that the relatively small percentage of Americans who rely on Obamacare meant that an extension would do little to ease rising health costs that people across the country are experiencing.

But a core group of moderates has been arguing that a failure to extend a reformed version of them would force millions of Americans to grapple with skyrocketing healthcare costs this year.

Those moderates were also frustrated with Jeffries for not working with Republicans on a bipartisan solution to the subsidies but felt they were left with little choice but to support Democrats’ bid in the end.

Unless someone stands their ground, the subsidies will continue forever, and Americans will wonder why the government keeps taking more of their money and insurance companies get richer.

The article concludes:

House Republicans passed a healthcare bill in mid-December aimed at lowering those costs for a broader swath of Americans, but that legislation has not been taken up in the Senate.

There’s also little chance the three-year extension will pass the upper chamber, however. Similar legislation led by Senate Democrats failed to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold to advance in December.

More Good Economic News

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On Thursday, CNBC posted an article about the October trade deficit.

The article reports:

  • The U.S. trade deficit six months into President Donald Trump’s tariffs tumbled to its lowest level since mid-2009, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
  • The total was the lowest since the second quarter of 2009 as the U.S. was just coming out of the financial crisis and the Great Recession.

The U.S. trade deficit six months into President Donald Trump’s tariffs tumbled to its lowest level since mid-2009, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

With exports rising and imports falling, the trade shortfall was just $29.4 billion for October, down 39% from the prior month. Exports increased 2.6% while imports slipped 3.2%.

The total was the lowest since the second quarter of 2009 as the U.S. was just coming out of the financial crisis and the Great Recession.

The numbers reflect the trade activity since Trump levied his “liberation day” tariffs in April 2025. Economists and policymakers worried that the levies would work against the U.S. by inviting retaliation and slowing the movement of goods and services around the world. However, Trump has backed off many of the most severe tariff threats he made, and the data shows a strong market for U.S. products.

To be sure, the year-to-date deficit still was 7.7% higher than the same period in 2024.

The article concludes:

“The latest figures suggest firms are successfully doing more with less labor, giving more credence to a jobless expansion,” said Matthew Martin, senior economist at Oxford Economics. “Productivity will be key to determining the economy’s speed limit and inflationary dynamics. If productivity growth continues to accelerate due to tax cuts, deregulation, and technological advancements, including AI, economic growth can pick up without causing unwanted inflation.”

Though hiring has been weak, the Labor Department reported Thursday that layoffs are holding low.

Initial unemployment claims for the week ended Jan. 3 totaled 208,000, pushing the four-week moving average to its lowest since April 27, 2024.

President Trump is a businessman. When our Founding Fathers formed our government, they did not want career politicians. As we have seen, career politicians talk about problems and corruption, but they don’t seem to do anything about them.

Stopping Corruption At Its Root

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On Thursday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article that provides one example of how the fraud in Minnesota got started and is continuing.

The article reports:

Another Minnesota money pipeline just got shut down, and this one leads straight back to Rep. Ilhan Omar.

The funding, which was tucked into a federal spending bill, was purportedly destined for a “substance abuse clinic” in Omar’s home state of Minnesota.

However, a shocking investigation led by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) revealed that the “clinic” was anything but legitimate.

During an interview on Fox Business, Senator Ernst detailed the absolute absurdity of the proposal, describing a trail of red flags that would make any honest taxpayer’s blood boil.

“What I uncovered the other day, in one of our spending bills making its way through Congress, was a $1 million earmark from Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

“This earmark was supposedly going to a substance abuse clinic, which actually happened to be housed in a restaurant and run by three individuals who share the same residential address, according to their IRS paperwork. Tons of red flags.

“So this is what we saw with the fraud involving the daycare centers. Now we see other earmarks coming directly from members of Congress where it seems fraud is being perpetrated as well.

It’s very easy to tuck earmarks into thousand-page bills that no one has time to read. It’s time that Congress passed bills that were less than five pages long and were limited to one topic.

The article notes:

As scrutiny intensified over Rep. Ilhan Omar’s role in directing taxpayer funds to questionable Minnesota entities, attention also focused on her family’s abrupt and dramatic rise in wealth.

According to a bombshell report from the New York Post, Rose Lake Capital, founded by Mynett in 2022, scrubbed the details of nine key figures between September and October 2025.

The list included high-profile Democrats like former Obama Ambassador to Bahrain Adam Ereli, ex-Senator and Obama Ambassador to China Max Baucus, DNC Finance Chair associate Alex Hoffman, former DNC treasurer William Derrough, and Keith Mestrich, the ex-CEO of Amalgamated Bank, which he once called “the institutional bank of the Democratic Party.”

None of these individuals has been charged with any fraud. However, the timing coincides with federal prosecutors announcing charges against eight more suspects in the massive Minnesota welfare scam, six of whom are of Somali descent.

Omar, a prominent member of the far-left “Squad,” entered Congress in 2019 with a net worth between negative $25,000 and negative $65,000, burdened by student loans and car debt with no assets to her name.

Ilhan Omar will continue to be elected because of the voter fraud in her district. I think it is time that the Justice Department spent some time with her.

Moving Toward Freedom In Venezuela

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On January 9th, Just the News posted an article that illustrates the success of the Trump administration’s policy toward Venezuela.

The article reports:

President Trump on Friday said Venezuela is releasing political prisoners and that because of their cooperation he canceled the planned second wave of attacks against the country.

“Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of ‘Seeking Peace.’ This is a very important and smart gesture,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure.

“Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes. At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT.”

We don’t need to invade Venezuela–we just need the threat. As long as the government is cooperating with the U.S., we may be able to move the country toward freedom.

The Trump Economy Booms

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On Thursday, Breitbart posted an article about improved labor productivity in America.

The article reports:

U.S. labor productivity accelerated sharply in the third quarter of 2025, rising at a 4.9 percent annual rate as workers contributed more output per hour worked, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

The figure substantially exceeded economist expectations of 3.6 percent and marked the strongest quarterly gain in two years. Combined with an upwardly revised 4.1 percent increase in the second quarter, the back-to-back performance suggests American businesses are adapting to tighter labor markets by investing in efficiency rather than pursuing the low-cost labor strategies that dominated much of the past two decades.

This is good news for American workers.

The article concludes:

The consecutive strong quarters in mid-2025 follow a weak first quarter when productivity fell 2.1 percent and unit labor costs surged 7.3 percent at the tail end of the Biden administration. That volatility is typical in quarterly data, but the trend over multiple quarters now points clearly toward sustained productivity acceleration.

The productivity gains carry significant implications for the economy’s inflation outlook. The Federal Reserve closely monitors unit labor costs as an indicator of wage-driven price pressures. With these costs now declining, the data removes a potential concern that could have complicated the Fed’s policy decisions.

The figures also suggest the economy may be capable of sustaining higher levels of output growth without generating inflation, since businesses are producing more from each hour of work rather than simply adding expensive labor inputs.

The government will release December employment data on Friday, providing additional insight into whether the labor market dynamics driving productivity gains are continuing into the final months of 2025.

Despite what the ‘experts’ are telling you in the mainstream media, President Trump’s economic policies are working. Not only are they working, they are helping average Americans who work for a living.

Senator Fetterman has pointed out that we should all be rooting for America to succeed, because when America succeeds, we all succeed.

To quote the prophet Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 29:7 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”