Tag Archives: aid to Ukraine

This Is Not Acceptable

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Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina very hard. It will be a long time before the Blue Ridge Parkway and the roads along the Tennessee border are up and running.  It will be a long time before the area recovers economically. There will be a significant death toll by the time the rescue efforts are done. This is a serious blow to our country. So what is the response from the White House?

On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit reported the following:

According to Grok, the United States has committed approximately $175 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

This figure includes both military and financial aid.

Here’s a brief breakdown from Grok AI:

    • Military Aid: The bulk of the aid has been in the form of military support, which has been crucial for Ukraine’s defense against Russian forces. This includes a wide array of equipment from artillery and ammunition to more advanced systems like anti-aircraft missiles and tanks.
    • Financial Aid: While the exact financial aid amount varies slightly depending on the source, there have been mentions of around $33.3 billion in “budget support” or direct financial aid, although some posts claim a lower figure like $10 billion when considering solely financial support.
    • Contextual Comparison: Critics and supporters alike have noted that this aid, while significant, represents a relatively small percentage of the U.S. annual budget or GDP. For instance, one comparison highlighted that the aid to Ukraine constitutes about 0.25% of the U.S. GDP for the year it was measured.
    • Public Sentiment and Debate: On platforms like X, there’s a mix of support for the aid, citing reasons like maintaining global security and supporting democracy, and criticism, often focusing on domestic spending priorities or the perceived effectiveness of the aid.

How much is the White House willing to give the victims of Hurricane Helene?

On Monday Joe Biden told suffereing Americans in the flood disaster zone, “No,” there won’t be more resources coming… “We’ve given them all we can.”

Joe Biden also snapped at reporters, saying, “I was commanding!” when he was asked why he was away from the White House and DC all weekend amid the catastrophic flooding.

And then later, during a live video feed from the White House, Joe Biden told the American public they need to help the recovery in North Carolina and, “It’s gonna take a hell of a lot of money.”

Meanwhile President Trump and Elon Musk are doing all they can to help restore communications in the area and to bring in relief supplies.

Bait And Switch By The Democrats

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On Sunday, Fox News posted an article about the aid to Israel that the United States has promised. Remember when the Republicans were told that they had to pass the horrendous aid to Ukraine bill in order to get aid to Israel? Well, we have been fooled again.

The article reports:

The Biden administration has put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-manufactured ammunition to Israel for the first time since the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, according to a report.

Two Israeli officials told Axios that the weapons shipment was stopped last week, leaving officials within the Israeli government scrambling to understand why.

When asked about the report, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council told Fox News Digital that it has supported Israel’s defense since the Oct. 7 attack.

Remember that after October 7th, the Biden administration requested that Israel’s response be ‘proportional.’ As I have previously asked, exactly what is the correct proportional response to killing innocent civilians at a music festival, raping women, mutilating bodies and taking hostages?

Are we supposed to let Hamas regroup and do another October 7th-style attack?

Is There Anyone Honestly Doing Their Job In Washington?

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On Friday, The Federalist posted an article about fprmer National Intelligence Council analyst Eric Ciaramella. Eric Ciaramella was the person who triggered the first impeachment of President Trump. It has recently come to light that Mr. Ciaramella was equally aware of the Ukrainian corruption involving the Biden family.

The article reports:

The “whistleblower” who sparked Donald Trump’s first impeachment was deeply involved in the political maneuverings behind Biden-family business schemes in Ukraine that Trump wanted probed, newly obtained emails from former Vice President Joe Biden’s office reveal.

In 2019, then-National Intelligence Council analyst Eric Ciaramella touched off a political firestorm when he anonymously accused Trump of linking military aid for Ukraine to a demand for an investigation into alleged Biden corruption in that country.

But four years earlier, while working as a national security analyst attached to then-Vice President Joe Biden’s office, Ciaramella was a close adviser when Biden threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine unless it fired its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Ukraine-based Burisma Holdings. At the time, the corruption-riddled energy giant was paying Biden’s son Hunter millions of dollars.

Those payments — along with other evidence tying Joe Biden to his family’s business dealings — received little attention in 2019 as Ciaramella accused Trump of a corrupt quid pro quo. Neither did subsequent evidence indicating that Hunter Biden’s associates had identified Shokin as a “key target.” These matters are now part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

It’s interesting that his conscience only required him to object to President Trump’s questioning the corruption in Ukraine.

The article concludes:

A spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee, which is leading the Biden impeachment inquiry, declined to say whether Ciaramella is on the witness list. “I don’t have anything for you on this at this time,” said House Oversight Communications Director Jessica Collins. However, Comer has publicly described the “whistleblower” impeachment of Trump as a “cover-up” operation for the alleged Biden blackmail scheme in Ukraine involving U.S. aid and the Burisma corruption probe.

What Ciaramella witnessed and what he documented in notes he took during high-level Biden-Ukraine meetings could now be relevant to the active impeachment inquiry of President Biden. The House may have little choice but to hold the kind of hearings the Democrats blocked during the earlier impeachment by keeping Ciaramella’s identity — and his own potential conflict — secret.

As the catalyst for Trump’s impeachment, Ciaramella could now be a reluctant witness for Biden’s.

Please follow the link to read the entire article. It provides a lot of insight to the lawfare that President Trump has had to deal with since he walked down the elevator in 2015.

Tying The Next President’s Hands

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The following was posted on Twitter on Sunday:

This is an attempt to tie the hands of any President who tries to cut off aid to Ukraine in the next ten years. If that is not already illegal, it should be. We should also remember that federal spending is supposed to originate in the House of Representatives–not from the President or from the Senate.

Us or Them?

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Author: R. Alan Haarrop, Ph.D

George Washington warned us to avoid getting involved in foreign wars. Like most concerns of the Founding Fathers, his warning was right on target. We are fast approaching the two year anniversary of the war between Russia and Ukraine. It appears to be at a stalemate. The spending bill recently passed by the Senate (with the support of North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis) would provide another $60 billion in addition to the $ 75 billion already authorized and spent. This is the most amount of U.S. foreign aid to a European country since the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after WWII during the Truman administration. Of course, this is borrowed money which will only add to the current national debt of over $34.3 trillion and counting (see U.D. National Debt Clock). Thanks to the Biden regime, the interest payments on the national debt are now more than the entire military budget.

The question we must ask is, “What is the endgame of our involvement in Ukraine?” Biden’s comment that we are committed to funding Ukraine  “ …As long as it takes” is just not acceptable. We cannot afford to fund endless wars! In addition to the monetary cost, there is real danger of a widening war with Russia which could lead to a nuclear conflict. As history has shown on many occasions, so-called limited wars readily escalate into total war where there are no restrictions or limits. This is especially dangerous in the age of nuclear weapons. It should be noted that this is the closest we have come to a direct war against Russia which has a nuclear arsenal equal to ours.

So what should we do about this omnibus foreign aid bill that actually totals $95 billion? First, the Biden regime must be required to tell us what their endgame objective is. Second, no more aid to Ukraine without a strict accounting for all expenditures. For example, we are being told that some of the aid money will pay for the pensions of Ukrainian government employees. Third, Ukraine should be required to enter into negotiations to end the war, or no more funds from us.

The other disturbing aspect of the $95 billion bill passed by the Senate is the $10 billion slated to go to Hamas. They start a war with one of our allies with a brutal, savage attack against defenseless civilians and we are going to give them money? This would be the equivalent of us sending money to Japan right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Unbelievable. The Palestinians voted for Hamas as I recall.

Finally, there is no funding in this bill to seal our southern border or to begin deporting the millions of illegals who have entered this country under the Biden regime. Our country’s security should always come first, as George Washington advised.

What We Are Actually Supporting In Ukraine

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On September 24th, CBS News posted an article about exactly how American tax dollars are being spent in Ukraine. The lack of financial accountability for the billions of dollars we have spent in Ukraine is disturbing.

The article reports:

The U.S. has spent just over $43 billion on military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded. That’s equivalent to about 5% of the American defense budget. European countries combined have contributed around $30 billion.

The article notes:

American taxpayers are financing more than just weapons. We discovered the U.S. government’s buying seeds and fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers… and covering the salaries of Ukraine’s first responders – all 57,000 of them.

That includes the team that trains this rescue dog – named Joy – to comb through the wreckage of Russian strikes looking for survivors.

And the U.S. also funds the divers who we saw clearing unexploded ammunition from the country’s rivers – to make them safe again for swimming and fishing.

These are worthwhile causes, but I am not sure it’s American taxpayers’ responsibility to fund them.

Also included in the expenditures:

Russia’s invasion shrank Ukraine’s economy by about a third. We were surprised to find that to keep it afloat the U.S. government is subsidizing small businesses…

…like Tatiana Abramova’s knitwear company.

Holly Williams: These are Ukrainian towns – that’s Kyiv I recognize.

Tatiana Abramova: Yes, yah! It’s Kyiv.

Tatiana Abramova: Especially in the condition of war, we have to work. We have to pay taxes, we have to pay wage– salary to our employees. We have to work, don’t stop.

Holly Williams: Why does that help Ukraine win the war?

Tatiana Abramova: Because economy is the foundation of everything.

American officials from USAID – the agency in charge of international development – helped Abramova find new customers overseas. In the midst of war, her company is supporting over 70 families.

Please follow the link to read further details. The interesting thing about this information is that it was shown on “60 Minutes,” generally a left-wing news source that supports the Ukrainian War. I wonder if this is an indication that the mainstream media is reading the tea leaves and giving up on convincing Americans that funding Ukraine is a good use of our tax dollars.

Misplace Priorities

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After a while, one begins to wonder what kind of information Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has on the Biden family and many other members of Congress. It is beginning to appear to some of us that the war in Ukraine is simply a massive money laundering operation designed to funnel money back to members of Congress and the Biden administration for personal and campaign purposes. The latest comments from the White House Press Secretary do not dispel this idea.

On Friday, BizPacReview reported the following:

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested on Wednesday that much-needed disaster relief for Florida’s hurricane victims and those in Maui who were devastated by the raging wildfire could be withheld unless Congress approves another $24 billion to aid Ukraine’s military.

“[Republican Florida] Sen. Rubio, whose state is recovering from [Hurricane] Idalia, says the $16 billion in additional disaster relief should be decoupled from the additional funding [sic] for Ukraine. Of course, that’s part of their request which seems to be opposed by many Republicans,” a reporter began during Wednesday’s briefing. “Is the administration willing to separate these requests and seek the FEMA disaster aid independently to ensure it gets to the hurricane victims [and] Hawaii wildfire victims as quickly as possible or do you see that these things have to be grouped together for the request?”

“We are not going to get into hypotheticals here about decoupling anything at this time,” Jean-Pierre replied. “What we believe is that these are vital, important government programs that need to be funded, that Congress should act on, that has been done in a bipartisan way, and so that is what we are going to continue to stick to.”

The article also notes:

As the Florida Phoenix reports, “FEMA has projected at least a $4 billion deficit with the disaster relief fund. The Biden administration in August proposed a supplemental package to Congress, including $12 million for disaster relief to pay for recent natural disasters like the fire in Maui and now the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia. But in the same spending package, the president sought more than $24 billion in additional funding for Ukraine’s military needs in their battle against Russia.”

Republican Florida Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio are pushing back against the Biden administration.

In an August 29 press release, ahead of Hurricane Idalia’s landfall, Scott called on his colleagues to “immediately vote on a disaster relief package, the Federal Disaster Responsibility Act, that takes care of Florida families and all Americans facing emergencies” when the Senate reconvenes next week.

All Congressmen who support Ukraine over America need to be defeated in their next election.

A Vulnerable Home Front

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On Monday, NewsMax reported that in providing massive amounts of aid to Ukraine, America has seriously depleted its own weapons stockpiles.

The article reports:

President Joe Biden has used drawdowns – which allow the president to withdraw existing weapons, ammunitions, and material from existing U.S. military stocks to assist other nations – to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia.

A Bank of America Securities report obtained by Newsmax’s Logan Ratick said that presidential drawdowns have reduced U.S. weapons stockpiles to levels not seen in decades.

The report said the U.S. had committed nearly $8.4 billion through presidential drawdowns – more than half of the overall $16.2 in security aid – since Russian President Vladimir Putin began his unprovoked attack on Feb. 24.

“As the U.S. continues to provide security assistance to Ukraine, defense primes have been tasked with both meeting newfound demand throughout Europe and restocking U.S. inventories that have dwindled as a result of 20 presidential drawdowns since August 2021,” the report said.

Department of Defense officials have indicated that ammunition stocks with several ground systems have dwindled to levels that would be considered problematic during wartime, the report said.

The article also notes:

The report also said that doubt previously had been cast on some ground-based defense programs due to the DoD’s shift in focus to the Pacific – with concern about China – and away from ground conflicts in the Middle East.

In fact, Raytheon Technologies almost ended High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) production in 2021. However, efforts to ramp up the manufacturing of HIMARS now are being made.

The Pentagon said that roughly $1.2 billion in contracts already were being processed in order to replenish stockpiles, especially for Stinger missiles ($624 million), Javelin missiles ($352 million), and HIMARS systems ($33 million).

Keeping America safe should not be a political issue–it should be an issue that all Americans and their representatives in Congress are concerned about. When is Congress going to take a good look at the impact of what we are doing in Ukraine on the security of America and the American economy?

Refusing To Learn The Lessons Of History

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Our Founding Fathers were not fans of nation-building. They felt that nations had to struggle to find freedom for themselves in order to be strengthened enough to hold on to that freedom. That idea is similar to the concept of not helping a baby chick peck its way out of the shell. The pecking is what builds the strength for the survival of the baby chick. Fighting for freedom is what causes a nation to cherish that freedom. Unfortunately our current politicians have forgotten that particular history. We are currently pouring money into Ukraine as if we actually have the money (rather than borrowing it from China). We are considerable weakening the American economy in an attempt to shore up another country. There is also some question as to why our Congress is so interested in funneling money into Ukraine. It would be very interesting to see which Congressmen have large investments in Ukraine and how much those investments are currently worth and would be worth if Ukraine falls to Russia.

On Thursday, Fox News reported that the Senate had passed a bill to send $40 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

The article reports:

Despite some GOP opposition, the bill passed by a final tally of 86-11, with the support of leadership from both parties and a significant majority of Republican senators. It will now go to President Biden’s desk. 

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., led the opposition to the bill, demanding an inspector general be appointed to oversee the spending. The U.S. total financial commitment to the Russian war on Ukraine will now total nearly $54 billion. 

The article concludes:

“Those senators who voted to gift $40 billion to Ukraine argue that it is in our national security interest,” Paul said on the Senate floor after the vote. “I wonder if Americans across our country would agree if they had been shown the costs, if they had been asked to pay for it.”

Paul added: “By my calculation, each income taxpayer in our country would need to pay $500 to support this $40 billion, which by some accounts is a down payment and will need to be replenished in about four months.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are railing against Republicans for the fact they delayed the Ukraine funding bill by a full week. “Senator Paul’s obstruction of Ukraine funding is totally unacceptable, and only serves to strengthen Putin’s hand in the long run,” Schumer said this week.

It’s time to elect people to Congress who will treat the American taxpayer’s money with respect. The current spending level is totally unacceptable.

At Least We Have One Courageous Democrat

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On Friday, The Daily Wire posted an article with one of the best quotes so far this year. The quote, by Rand Paul, is, “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy.”

The article reports:

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked the fast-tracking of a massive $40 billion Ukraine aid package through the Senate on Thursday.

Paul objected to the move by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), with the consent of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), to pass the bill via unanimous consent. After Paul’s objection, the bill now needs to go through a number of procedural moves, but is still expected to pass sometime next week. 

“Reserving the right to object, my oath of office is to the U.S. Constitution, not to any foreign nation,” Paul said when the Senate chair asked if there were any objectors. “And no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States of America.” 

“We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy,” the Republican senator added, referencing the steep increases in gas, food, and used vehicles faced by Americans. “Inflation doesn’t just come out of nowhere, it comes from deficit spending.”

The article concludes:

The bill is likely to pass the Senate next week as it has both Schumer and McConnell’s backing, though several Republicans have said they would vote against the bill. According to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Sen. Bill Haggerty (R-TN), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said they would not vote for the bill.

Any Senator who votes for this bill needs to be voted out of office as soon as possible. Ukraine and its people are a sympathetic cause, but bankrupting America accomplishes nothing. We simply do not have the money to support the Ukraine bureaucracy.

As The Conservative Treehouse put it on May 14th:

Comrade taxpayers, as the glorious and esteemed senate move through the procedural hurdles to pass a massive $40 billion spending bill for the U.S. altruistic Ukraine money laundering operation, a fabulous diplomatic envoy consisting of Mitch McConnell, John Barrasso, John Cornyn and Susan Collins travel to Kyiv to meet the magnanimous defender of the international treasury and wealth transfer operation, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The magnificent republican leaders went to visit the nicest war zone their bipartisan efforts have created in the past four decades. As the angels of abundance parted the clouds, many congratulations were shared from the delegation toward their generous host and the expressions of appreciation and respect for the generosity were reciprocated.

There are no good guys in this war, and the victims are the innocent civilians of Ukraine.

 

The Biden Economy

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“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a statement generally attributed to T. Bert (Thomas Bertram) Lance, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in Jimmy Carter’s 1977 administration. It is a statement that the Biden administration would have done well to listen to when they took office.

On Wednesday, Breitbart posted an article about the latest inflation numbers.

The article reports:

The Department of Labor said Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index rose 8.3 percent compared with a year ago. Prices were up 0.3 percent compared with the prior month.

This is the eleventh straight month of inflation above 5 percent. Prices rose at an annual rate of 8.5 percent in March. This was the month since September 2021 that the year-over-year inflation figure was not higher than the month earlier.

Economists had forecast CPI to rise by 0.2 percent for the month and 8.1 percent compared with a year ago.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.6 percent, well above the 0.4 percent estimate. Compared with a year ago, core prices were up 6.2 percent, above the 6.0 percent expected.

After inflation average hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.1 percent from March to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Real average hourly earnings decreased 2.6 percent, seasonally adjusted, from April 2021 to April 2022.

One of the main causes of the increased inflation is runaway government spending. Meanwhile on Tuesday night, The House of Representatives passed a $39.8 billion bill to aid Ukraine. Where do they think this money is going to come from?