Tag Archives: The Epoch Times

Protecting The Health Of Americans

Posted on by

On Monday, The Epoch Times reported that Coca-Cola will be suspending its production of Fairlife milk in America after a cyberattack.

The article reports:

Dairy company Fairlife LLC, owned by the Coca-Cola Company, suffered a cyberattack and has ceased its U.S. operations.

A portion of Fairlife’s systems was accessed by a third party, “including its production-related systems, in connection with a ransomware event,” Coca-Cola said in a July 16 statement. “After detecting the issue, the company promptly activated its incident response and business continuity protocols,” it said.

Although product quality and safety were not affected, production operations at Fairlife have been temporarily suspended, with the company clarifying that its Canadian operations are operating as usual.

The article notes:

Globally, the critical manufacturing sector faced the highest number of attacks, accounting for 22.7 percent of such incidents. This was followed by commercial facilities, IT, healthcare and public health, financial services, and legal sectors.

The U.S. government is taking action to tackle cyber threats. On June 2, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security.”

The order directed the establishment and expansion of federal programs and cybersecurity services that result in enhancing AI-enabled defensive tools. It called for prioritizing the cyber defense of information systems under the federal government to protect the country’s vital functions.

This is growing problem. Rightwinggranny was hacked in June of this year, and it was a mess to get it up and running again. This is a small blog and generally runs between 40,000 and 60,000 hits a day, and it got hacked. It’s a shame that people who are smart enough to hack into other peoples’ property can’t put their talents to better use!

The Trump Economy Is Working

Posted on by

Despite the current volatility in gasoline prices, inflation is gradually coming under control.

On Tuesday, The Epoch Times reported:

A decline in energy prices helped drive consumer inflation lower in June, providing relief for Americans, especially at the pump, the government reported on July 14.

The annual inflation rate eased sharply to a lower-than-expected 3.5 percent, from 4.2 percent.

The monthly U.S. inflation rate declined 0.4 percent last month, down from the 0.5 percent increase in May, according to new data from the Consumer Price Index released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent drop.

This represented the largest one-month decrease since April 2020, when it fell by 0.8 percent, the bureau said.

Excluding the volatile energy and food categories, core inflation came in at 0 percent. The annual core inflation rate slowed to 2.6 percent, from 2.9 percent.

We are moving in the right direction. I believe that as soon as the war in Iran settles out, inflation will decrease significantly.

The article concludes with some insight into what the Federal Reserve may do at its July meeting:

Investors do not expect the Fed to raise interest rates at this month’s policy meeting. But traders have made the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting their base case, with a 73 percent chance of a rate hike, according to CME FedWatch data.

Minutes from last month’s gathering indicate that officials believe tightening monetary policy is “warranted.”

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller believes the central bank should wait for more data before raising rates. At the same time, he stated that it was crucial to avoid the 2021 mistake of waiting too long.

“As always, we need to avoid making the mistake of fighting the last war and reacting too soon to tighten inflation, merely because we waited too long last time,” he said in prepared remarks. “But we also must avoid repeating the same mistake we made in 2021 and 2022 by waiting too long to respond.”

New Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh has hinted that inflation will be his primary focus, telling a European Central Bank audience that prices are still “too high.”

Financial markets could gain more insight into Warsh’s plans when he testifies on Capitol Hill for his two-day semi-annual monetary policy report.

The next Fed meeting will take place on July 28 and 29.

ObamaCare Enrollment Drops

Posted on by

On June 29th, I posted an article about the amount of fraud in ObamaCare. It seems that there were more than a million people enrolled in Obamacare without Social Security numbers on file. That might be an indication of a fraud problem.

On Tuesday, The Epoch Times reported:

Obamacare enrollment declined by nearly 3 million in 2026, sparking renewed debate about the affordability of healthcare in America.

National politicians and policy experts disagreed on the reasons for the dip in enrollment, with some saying that it was driven by rising premiums. 

Others said the decline was evidence that program integrity measures taken by the Trump administration were successful in rooting out fraud and waste. 

The program grew significantly during the declared National Health Emergency from 2021 through 2024, when eligibility verification requirements were relaxed and participants were automatically reenrolled.

Enrollment peaked at 22.1 million last year and dropped to 19.2 million as of February, according to federal data released June 26.

Though that’s still higher than in any year except 2025, some analysts interpreted the decline as a massive loss of coverage resulting from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025.

…Others including Brian Blase, president of Paragon Health Institute, say that the changes mostly reverted to pre-pandemic coverage and policy rules, which had been an incentive for fraud. 

“Excessive subsidies and zero-premium plans created unusually strong incentives for improper enrollment, while weak verification systems, permissive enrollment pathways, and insufficient oversight allowed those incentives to be exploited at scale,” Blase wrote in a June analysis.

The Trump Administration has focused on program integrity, preventing about 2.9 million enrollees from receiving Obamacare subsidies that they didn’t qualify for, according to a statement from the assistant secretary for Health and Human Services.

The government estimates that 2.6 million fraudulent enrollments remain in the program, down from an estimated high of 5.6 million last year.

I have no problem helping people afford health insurance. However, we have seen in the past that anything the government touches loses money, It’s time to get the government out of medicine and let the free market in. The free market would open competition between health insurance providers and health providers. We need competition in both areas. It could be done in a way that would insure that Americans get the healthcare they need regardless of their financial situation.

Again?

Posted on by

On Sunday, The Epoch Times posted an article about a recent bus accident on Interstate 95 in Virginia.

The article reports:

A crash in Virginia that killed five people last week involved a non-English-speaking driver of a bus who obtained a commercial license in New York state, U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said on Sunday.

Among those killed were a 13-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, officials said, adding that the driver of the bus slammed into stopped traffic on Interstate 95 in Virginia. The driver, Jing S. Dong of Staten Island, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and additional charges are likely, Virginia State Police said.

The prosecutor’s office in Stafford County, Virginia, said Dong was arrested and would be in custody while he is treated for his injuries at a hospital.

Police officials confirmed that the driver of the bus, a man originally from China who became a U.S. citizen, “doesn’t speak English,” said Duffy in a May 29 post on X.

“He received his commercial drivers license from New York State in 2024. Unacceptable. This is exactly why we are holding states’ accountable, enforcing the rules of the road, and cracking down on drivers who can’t speak English,” Duffy wrote. “If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus.”

The article notes:

Federal law requires the drivers of commercial vehicles to be able to speak and read English well enough to perform their job safely, according to the White House.

The article concludes:

Earlier this month, Duffy signed an order announcing new guidelines that truck drivers must meet the federal requirements to understand English well enough to understand road signs and be able to communicate with law enforcement officials.

A number of states have allowed drivers to take their license tests in other languages even though they are required to demonstrate English proficiency. California offered tests in 20 other languages.

American road signs are in English. If someone cannot speak or read English, they should not have a driver’s license–commercial or otherwise.

China And Drugs

Posted on by

The Trump administration’s war on drugs is having an impact on the amount of drugs coming into America. According to Reuters (source here), drug overdose deaths in the United States fell nearly 14% in ​2025, federal estimates showed on ‌Wednesday, marking a third consecutive year of declines. Unfortunately, we still have a problem with drugs, and those who sell them are getting more creative.

On Tuesday, The Epoch Times reported:

A Chinese national has been indicted by the federal authorities in Florida for his alleged role in a plot to import and distribute large quantities of a new synthetic opioid, protonitazene, which is “significantly more potent than fentanyl,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a May 11 statement.

Jia Guo and Seven Schmidt, an associate from Las Vegas, Nevada, are charged with conspiracy to import protonitazene into the United States from China and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute protonitazene. “If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the two counts,” the attorney’s office said.

The pair allegedly began operating a drug trafficking operation in September 2024. In the statement, the attorney’s office said the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) had investigated the pair, with assistance from China’s Ministry of Public Security.

The article notes:

In September, Frank Tarentino, who heads the New York Division of the DEA, warned about the growing threat from new synthetic opioids called nitazenes, which are being imported from China. He said they are increasingly prevalent on the illicit drug scene.
Nitazenes are delivered in the form of counterfeit pills mimicking drugs such as Xanax or Percocet, according to the DEA. They are more resistant than fentanyl to naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses.

“Here in the United States, we have found it in heroin, methamphetamine, in some cases fentanyl, and more alarmingly, we have now seen it pressed into pills,” Tarentino said in a Sept. 10, 2025, interview with NTD, a sister outlet of The Epoch Times.

“These pills are made to look familiar, but one pill can kill,” Reding Quiñones said on May 11. “If you use South Florida as a gateway to import synthetic opioids, make counterfeit pills, or profit from addiction, you will face federal prosecution.”

Never take a pill that is from anywhere except a prescription bottle with your name on it!

Ending The Chinese Police In New York City

Posted on by

In the past I have posted two articles about the Chinese police quietly operating in New York City to monitor the activities of Chinese citizens in America (here and here). At least one of those undercover police stations in New York City has been shut down.

On Wednesday, The Epoch Times reported:

A jury has found the Chinese American who ran Beijing’s undercover police station in New York City guilty of being a foreign agent for China.

He was also found guilty of obstructing justice by deleting WeChat messages documenting his direct communications with his contact in the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Lu Jianwang, 64, community leader and former president of the America ChangLe Association, was convicted on May 13 in Brooklyn Federal Court.

The jury found him not guilty of conspiring with others as a Chinese agent.

Lu ran the Overseas Chinese Police Service Center out of the offices of the hometown association on East Broadway in New York City’s Chinatown.

Lu is now being held accountable, and the police station has seen its “sinister purpose disrupted,” Joseph Nocella, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.

The article notes:

The New York City branch run by Lu was just one of 30 stations launched on Jan. 10, 2022, by the Fuzhou Ministry of Public Security.

Prosecutors said the station was part of a larger campaign of transnational repression to monitor and intimidate Chinese people living abroad.

“I think if you’re a member of a community that originated in another country, you have to be very, very, very careful how you deal with people from your home country,” said Lu’s attorney, John Carman. “That should make everybody very nervous about reaching out and doing good things when there’s somebody who’s a government official from another country.”

Carman also said Lu would be appealing the verdict.

The charge of not registering as a foreign agent for the Chinese regime carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. The maximum sentence for the obstruction of justice charge is 20 years in prison. A date for sentencing has not yet been set.

Communism does not allow freedom–even when you leave the communist country.

The Obstacles To Voter Integrity

Posted on by

Oddly enough, one of the obstacles to voter integrity is America’s courts. I can’t imagine why a judge would not want to clean up the voter rolls, but here we are.

On Saturday, The Epoch Times reported:

A Rhode Island judge on April 17 delivered another blow to the Trump Administration’s quest for voter-registration rolls nationwide.

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy denied what she called “unprecedented demands for unredacted voting rolls” from the state of Rhode Island.

In a ruling that echoed similar decisions from judges in several other states, McElroy said Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers provided neither a legal nor a factual basis for the records.

Two federal laws require each U.S. state to make a “reasonable effort” to ensure that its voter-registration lists are accurate, the judge noted. But those laws do not allow “DOJ to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” McElroy wrote.

DOJ lawyers, in a demand letter issued to Rhode Island, stated that they sought the records to ensure the state’s voter rolls met legal requirements. Yet the lawyers cited no specific evidence suggesting problems with Rhode Island’s voter records, the judge said.

In contrast, in a demand letter issued to Michigan, the DOJ “pointed to several purported anomalies” in that state, including “a high percentage of registered voters, a low confirmation notice rate, a low voter removal rate, and a high duplicate registration rate,” the judge said.

McElroy noted that judges in “nearly identical cases” ruled against the DOJ’s requests for unredacted voter-registration information. Those cases occurred in California, Oregon, Michigan, and Massachusetts.

While supporters of the federal effort to obtain voter rolls say it could help ensure integrity of U.S. elections, opponents raise concerns over voter-data privacy and ways in which the government might use the information.

If these judges really believe that the government doesn’t already have every bit of information on every American, they are seriously naive and should probably seek other employment.

Creating The Infrastructure To Continue Energy Independence

Posted on by

On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about President Trump’s moving to ensure that America remains in a position to meet its energy needs and to export energy to other countries.

The article reports:

President Donald Trump issued several pipeline permits on April 15, including one for the construction of a new pipeline to facilitate the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products between the United States and Canada, according to documents released by the White House.

The action covers four permits in total. The permit authorizing construction was issued to the Bakken Pipeline Company LP for pipeline facilities in Burke County, North Dakota. Other permits were issued for the maintenance and operation of existing pipelines at border locations in North Dakota and Michigan. The recipients of those operational permits are “Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership” and “Enbridge Pipelines (Southern Lights) L.L.C.”—both indirect subsidiaries of Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge Inc.

According to the White House documents, the permits cover transport of crude oil and petroleum products of every description—refined and unrefined—including naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel. The permits explicitly exclude natural gas subject to the Natural Gas Act.

Wednesday’s permits reflect the administration’s sweeping effort to expand America’s domestic and cross-border energy infrastructure.

At the CERAWeek energy conference March 2025 in Houston, Energy Secretary Chris Wright had said that Trump’s pledge to lower energy costs by boosting oil and natural gas production would require a corresponding increase in infrastructure investment.

“If ‘Drill, baby, drill’ is to [lower energy costs], we’re going to have to ‘Build, baby, build,’” Wright told reporters.

The article concludes:

Canada has been eager to expand its access to U.S. markets. Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. has been in talks with customers about expanding its Mainline pipeline network—the largest pipeline system in North America—to handle growing volumes of Canadian oil output. Canada currently sends 97 percent of its oil exports and 100 percent of its natural gas exports to the United States, leaving it with limited leverage in any trade dispute.

Wednesday’s permits are the latest step in Trump’s strategy to make North America self-sufficient in energy and a dominant exporter.

These pipelines will help both the American and Canadian economy. Energy independence is a good thing for both countries.

Taking Action In The Strait of Hormuz

Posted on by

On Saturday, The Epoch Times posted an article about clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The article reports:

Two U.S. missile destroyers started clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz on April 11 as peace talks kicked off between Washington and the Iranian regime, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.
“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement on Saturday.

The American ships included the USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112).

…Saturday’s confirmation about the mine clearing came hours after a United States government vessel was spotted entering the Strait of Hormuz, according to the ship-tracking intelligence platform Marinetraffic.com.

It’s not clear if this was related to CENTCOM’s mine-clearing mission.

As part of a series of posts on Saturday morning, Trump said countries are sending ships to the United States to “load up” with oil as the Iran War has heavily slowed down oil and gas operations in the Persian Gulf.

“We have more oil than the next two largest oil economies combined—and higher quality. We are waiting for you,” Trump wrote in a separate post on Saturday.
The updates from Trump came hours after Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and adviser and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, to attend in-person negotiations with Iranian leadership amid a fragile two-week ceasefire.

The article concludes:

The talks, moderated by Pakistani leadership, were set to begin at around 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, a senior White House official confirmed to The Epoch Times.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X in Persian that the country’s delegation will guard its interests “with all its might” and “engage in negotiations with courage.”

Iranian state media, Press TV, reported that Iranian negotiating teams will only extend their stay in Islamabad if they think progress can be made.

I have stated before–I am not optimistic. Any peace agreement that takes away Iran’s nuclear program or forces Iran to stop funding terrorism is not going to be agreed on. As long as whatever ruling forces in Iran that are left can hold on to power and fund terrorism, they will.

The Game Continues

Posted on by

At least 80 percent of Americans support the SAVE America Act that requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and a picture id to vote. The Senate, however, does not seem to be able to pass the bill.

On Wednesday, The Epoch Times posted an article about one aspect of the bill that has not gotten a lot of attention. It’s something positive for the American people, but may explain why the Senate does not want to pass the bill.

The article reports:

The bill, which passed the House in February but got stuck in the Senate, would require new voter registrants to present proof of citizenship, such as a passport, a REAL ID, or birth certificate. It’s been much touted by Republicans as a necessary bulwark against voter fraud. Democrats have called it an attempt at voter suppression.

The bill would codify that the attorney general can sue officials that register voters without the citizenship check. Yet the question has remained what would happen if the attorney general refuses to enforce it.

The bill attempts to solve that issue by including a private right of action. It means that private citizens could also file lawsuits based on violations of the law.

“Private right of action is vital,” according to Hans von Spakovsky, election law expert and former member of the Federal Election Commission currently at the Advancing American Freedom think tank.

“Democrat administrations will refuse to enforce it at all, and particularly not against blue states. Private parties will be forced to do that,” he told The Epoch Times in a text message.

The caveat is the right to sue is written as an amendment of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which says that only a person “aggrieved by a violation” can sue and only if the violation occurred within 30 days before a federal election. Otherwise, the person needs to first notify the top election official in the state and then sue only if the state fails to address the violation for some time—120 or 20 days, depending on how close to an election.

The games the Senate is playing are unacceptable. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has stated that he does not have enough Republican votes to support even a talking filibuster which would make the Democrats go on the record with their objections. If the Save America Act does not pass, every Senator currently serving in Congress should be voted out of office as soon as possible. The current Senate has chosen not to represent the wishes of the American voters.

Reversing Bad Policy

Posted on by

President Biden never had the authority to forgive student loans, but he did it anyway. The people who took out those loans got a nice break (at the expense of the taxpayers) that is now coming to an end.

On Friday, The Epoch Times reported:

Millions of student loan borrowers who thought they wouldn’t have to pay back their student loans under former President Joe Biden’s loan forgiveness plan found out March 27 they will have to start making payments on the money they borrowed.

The U.S. Department of Education began notifying 7.5 million borrowers on March 27 who enrolled in Biden’s “Saving on a Valuable Education” (SAVE) plan that they must exit the plan and enter a new federal repayment plan.

“Today’s guidance, which every borrower enrolled in the defunct SAVE plan will receive over the next week, puts the Biden Administration’s illegal student loan bailout agenda to rest once and for all,” said Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent. “For years, borrowers have been caught in a confusing cycle of uncertainty, but the Trump administration’s policy is simple: if you take out a loan, you must pay it back.”

The article notes:

The debt relief ended in spring 2024, when a federal district court intervened to stop further debt discharges.

Estimates found the plan would have cost taxpayers more than $342 billion over 10 years, according to the Education Department.

The settlement between the Education Department and the state of Missouri was approved by a court, ending the SAVE plan. As part of the settlement, the department will not enroll any new borrowers in the plan, deny any pending applications, and move all borrowers into new repayment plans.

Starting July 1, federal loan servicers will start notifying borrowers and telling them how to exit the SAVE plan and enroll in a legal repayment plan.

If college is supposed to help young people become adults, it should also teach them to live up to their responsibilities. They took out the loans; they should pay them back.

Trying To Protect Americans

Posted on by

On Thursday, The Epoch Times reported that the U.S. House of Representatives had passed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by a vote of 221–209. Four Democrats joined all Republicans in voting for it.

The article reports:

The vote came just hours after Senate Democrats again blocked a vote on legislation to fund the DHS, extending the shutdown of the agency.

The tally was 51–45.

A March 5 procedural vote to advance a full-year DHS spending bill failed to reach the 60-vote threshold it needed to move forward. A previous attempt was blocked on Feb. 24, although it garnered the support of Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
The votes came as President Donald Trump announced on March 5 that he is replacing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). Noem is set to fill a newly created position called special envoy for the shield of the Americas. The president released the news shortly before the vote concluded.

This is not the time to shut down the DHS. We had four years of open borders under President Biden, and we have no idea who is in the country or why. This is the time for a more robust DHS.

The article reports:

The shutdown affects only part of the DHS because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection are funded through 2029 under Trump’s sweeping reconciliation package passed in 2025. Congress has approved the remaining 11 appropriations bills, funding roughly 96 percent of the federal government.

Agencies affected include the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Coast Guard.

According to figures released by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), roughly 120,000 DHS employees are currently working without pay. About 95 percent of TSA employees are working without pay during the shutdown, while roughly two-thirds of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s workforce has been furloughed.

The bill would provide $5.7 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an $873 million increase over fiscal year 2025 levels, excluding $26.37 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund.

It allocates $3.25 billion to the Secret Service, including $44 million for security planning related to major upcoming events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America250 celebrations, and the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

The legislation would also provide $7.96 billion for the TSA, including $300 million for checkpoint screening systems, funding for exit-lane staffing, law enforcement officer and canine reimbursement programs, and $13.9 million to reimburse airports for installing explosive detection systems.

All Congressmen and Representatives should have their salaries docked any time any part of the government is shut down. Shutting down domestic security at a time when the country is at war should be regarded as treason.

Something To Consider In The Discussion On Legalizing Marijuana

Posted on by

On Tuesday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the consequences of regular use of marijuana.

The article reports:

Unlike alcohol or caffeine, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound found in cannabis, doesn’t clear from the bloodstream in a few hours; it accumulates in fat and organs, where it can continue influencing inflammation and immunity long after the high fades.

With today’s high-potency products and increasingly frequent recreational use, researchers are discovering that the body’s relationship with cannabis has fundamentally changed—and the long-term effects of accumulation are only beginning to come into focus.

THC behaves unlike most substances the body encounters. While many drugs are processed and eliminated within hours, THC takes a different path. After inhalation or ingestion, THC enters the bloodstream quickly and is distributed to the organs.

“Regular cannabis use leads to accumulation of lipophilic substances in fat stores and highly vascularized organs such as the brain and liver,” Dr. Ella Fedonenko, an internal medicine physician, told The Epoch Times. “These substances are released back into the bloodstream very slowly, even when standard screening tests are negative.”

In other words, standard drug tests measure THC metabolites in blood or urine, not what remains stored in tissues. A negative test doesn’t mean the substance—or its effects—are gone.

A widely cited review by Marilyn Huestis, who has a doctorate in toxicology and is a former chief of chemistry and drug metabolism at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found that THC spreads quickly into tissues throughout the body rather than staying in the bloodstream, where it can be detected and measured.

The article notes that in the past the THC level of marijuana was considerably lower than it is at present.

The article notes:

With short-term or occasional use, cannabis can have a calming effect on the immune system, which is why its compounds have been studied for pain and related conditions. Inflammation is meant to turn on, do its job, and then turn off.

However, with regular exposure to stored THC, that process may not work as smoothly. When something repeatedly interferes with that process, the immune system can remain partially activated rather than fully resolving.

The article concludes:

THC lingers and accumulates, with effects that depend on how much is used, how often, and what kind of product is involved.

For occasional users, these factors may not matter much.

However, with daily use, the effects can add up over time, influencing how the body manages stress, sleep, and immune activity.

The question is no longer whether THC lingers. It’s what accumulation means for long-term health, and how users and doctors should respond.

There is also the risk of buying marijuana illegally and not knowing what is in it. Even legal marijuana has risks. It is smart to avoid those risks.

At Some Point, We Have To Deal With Lawlessness

Posted on by

On Monday, The Epoch Times posted an article about an escalation of the violence and unrest in Minneapolis.

The article reports:

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking into possible violations stemming from a protest by anti-ICE demonstrators at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 18, according to officials.

Footage circulating on social media shows protesters gathering inside Cities Church in St. Paul during a Sunday service, while chanting phrases like “Justice for Renee Good” and “Who needs justice, we need justice.”

Protests against ICE in Minnesota have escalated after a federal agent in Minneapolis fatally shot protester Renee Good, who allegedly drove her SUV toward the officer after being ordered to exit her vehicle during an ICE operation. Federal officials have said the officer opened fire in self-defense.

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said on X that federal officials are investigating protesters for potential violations for allegedly “desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers” during a service at Cities Church.

This is obviously not acceptable behavior.

The article notes:

YouTuber Don Lemon, who livestreamed the protest, said that anti-ICE protesters disrupted a church service at Cities Church following claims that one of the church pastors is serving as acting field office director for ICE in Minnesota.
In his video, Lemon spoke to the church’s lead pastor, Jonathan Parnell, as protesters gathered inside the church. Parnell said that he had requested the protesters to leave but they refused.

“I mean this is unacceptable. It’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship,” Parnell told Lemon.

…Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, said that his organization will step in and provide security for the church if local officials fail to take action.

“For protestors to disrupt a Sunday morning worship service this way is absurd. If elected officials won’t contain lawlessness @NAMB_SBC will provide security,” Ezell said on X.

Somehow lost in all of this is the fact that many of the people being deported are not people that you would want living next door to you–there are gang members, sex traffickers, drug dealers, and other criminals. Why do want to keep them here when many of them are a danger to Americans?

We need to find out who is funding these riots and paying the protesters.

Seeking Justice For Harmful Medical Procedures

Posted on by

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.

Why? Why Now?

Posted on by

On January 3rd, The Epoch Times posted an article about the indictment of Nicolás Maduro and his wife. This story is just breaking, so there will be updates in the future.

The article reports:

Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were indicted in the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced early on Jan. 3.

“Nicolás Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States,” Bondi said on X. “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
Bondi issued the statement hours after Maduro and Flores were captured and extracted by U.S. armed forces in Caracas in the early hours of Jan. 3.

The article notes:

In 2020, Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials were charged with narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and other charges in New York City, Miami, and Washington, D.C.

“The scope and magnitude of the drug trafficking alleged was made possible only because Maduro and others corrupted the institutions of Venezuela and provided political and military protection for the rampant narco-terrorism crimes described in our charges,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in the 2020 press release. “As alleged, Maduro and the other defendants expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine in order to undermine the health and wellbeing of our nation. Maduro very deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon.”

So what is this actually about, and why now?

Venezuela has been a center for Hezbollah operations in South America for years. Iran has poured money into the country. Iran had money during the Obama administration the Biden administration–sanctions on Iranian oil were either withdrawn or not enforced. During the Obama administration roughly $150 billion of frozen Iranian assets was released. In essence, America was funding the terrorism used against our troops in the area. Under President Trump, Iran is going broke. The people are staging a revolution. They are not in a position to help Venezuela. This is the time to strike. The taking of Maduro and his wife is part of a battle against drug cartels and worldwide terrorism. Hopefully, Venezuela can now return to the thriving democracy it once was.

A Veto That Should Not Have Been Overridden!

Posted on by

On Tuesday, The Epoch Times posted an article about a decision by the lawmakers in Maryland to override the Governor’s veto of a law establishing a commission to study reparations for slavery.

The article reports:

Maryland will form a commission to study the possibility of providing reparations for slavery after the state’s legislature reversed Gov. Wes Moore’s veto of enabling legislation on Dec. 16.

Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865 with the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It was abolished in Maryland a year prior, in 1864, when the state amended its constitution to outlaw the practice. In 2007, the Maryland General Assembly and the Annapolis City Council issued official statements expressing “regret for the role Maryland played in instituting and maintaining slavery.”

Supporters of reparations benefits being paid to descendants of slaves say such benefits are justified because the harms that slavery inflicted on black Americans continue to be felt today, long after the practice was abolished.

Opponents say that no one who is alive today suffered under slavery and that it would be unfair to force Americans who had nothing to do with slavery to pay people who themselves did not experience slavery.

Blacks comprise almost 32 percent of Maryland’s population, the highest percentage in any state outside the Deep South.

Would you also consider reparation for the Irish who came to America as indentured servants, worked for seven years as slaves, then were thrown out into the streets? Slavery was horrible, but it was not unique to America. In fact, Britain and America were the two countries that worked to end slavery.

Instead of wanting to take money from people who had nothing to do with slavery and give it to people who were never slaves, why not put your efforts into ending modern slavery? Slavery exists in today’s world. It exists in America in the form of human trafficking–something exacerbated by four years of a porous border under President Biden. Slavery exists in some other countries in the form of forced marriage, child labor, and debt bondage.

In paying reparations, you are asking people to work to earn money to give to someone else who didn’t work for it. Isn’t that a form of slavery?

A New Level Of Insanity

Posted on by

On Sunday, The Epoch Times posted an article reporting that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has filed a lawsuit stating that the ballroom construction project at the White House violates several federal statutes. Does anyone think this lawsuit would be filed if it were anyone other than President Trump doing the construction?

The article reports:

The National Trust is also asking for an injunction to halt work on the project “until the necessary federal commissions have reviewed and approved the project’s plans; adequate environmental review has been conducted; and Congress has authorized the Ballroom’s construction,” according to the complaint.

The National Trust describes itself in the complaint as a private, charitable, educational nonprofit corporation that Congress chartered in 1949. Its purpose is “to further the historic preservation policy of the United States and to promote the public’s awareness of and ability to comment on any activity that might damage or destroy our nation’s architectural heritage.” The trust has filed preservation lawsuits against several presidential administrations, the complaint said.

The lawsuit lists several federal agencies and those who head them as defendants.

The defendants are: the National Park Service and its acting director, Jessica Bowron; John Stanwich, superintendent of the White House and President’s Park; the Department of the Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum; the General Services Administration and its acting administrator, Michael Rigas; and Trump.

The complaint said the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make room for the ballroom facility began in late October without congressional approval or approval from federal commissions responsible for development oversight in the nation’s capital. The federal government did not carry out required environmental studies, nor did it give the public an opportunity for comment, the complaint said.

In other words, let’s delay the project until President Trump is out of office. The project does not use taxpayer money and provides a ballroom that is desperately needed. I also suspect that all building permits are in order. That should be the end of the discussion.

Policies Have Consequences

Posted on by

On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about America’s trade deficit in September.

The article reports:

President Donald Trump’s tariffs helped shrink the U.S. trade deficit to its lowest monthly level in more than five years, according to new data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Dec. 11.

The U.S. goods and services trade deficit narrowed by 10.9 percent in September to $52.8 billion—the lowest monthly deficit since June 2020—down from $59.3 billion registered in August.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a September trade deficit of $63.3 billion.

The article notes:

Trump’s tariffs helped narrow the trade gap with other major U.S. trading partners, including China and India.

The goods deficit with China tumbled by $4 billion to $11.4 billion in September. Exports climbed by 0.2 percent to $8.8 billion, while imports fell by $3.9 billion to $20.1 billion.

The United States’ merchandise deficit with India also narrowed by about $1.8 billion to $3.05 billion.

U.S. and Indian delegations have been engaged in negotiations to iron out a bilateral trade agreement.

The article concludes:

Updated projections from the Congressional Budget Office suggest that enacted tariffs this year will generate $2.5 trillion of revenue, excluding dynamic effects. This is down from the August estimate of $3.3 trillion.

There is still uncertainty, Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel said.

“The United States has not implemented increases in tariffs of this size in many decades, so there is little empirical evidence to guide our estimates of their long-term effects,” Swagel said in a Nov. 20 report. “Consumers and businesses could be more or less responsive to increases in tariffs of this size, which would cause trade and revenues to diverge from projected amounts.”

The overall average effective tariff rate is 16.8 percent, the highest rate since 1935, according to The Budget Lab at Yale.

When America began, the government was funded by tariffs. At that point the government was following the U.S. Constitution and had not yet become the bloated mess that it is today. The federal government was limited to doing the things the U.S. Constitution allowed it to do. That is not the case today. We can’t just slash and burn the bureaucracy without serious consequences, but we can institute the cuts that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) identified. The tariffs can help with the deficit, and cutting spending could help with the deficit. We need to unelect the people who are fighting the tariffs and the spending cuts.

Goods News For The America Economy

Posted on by

On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the unemployment numbers released for last week. Some of the economic statistics for October and November have not been released because of the government shutdown. I am not sure if they are going to be released.

The article reports:

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits declined to the lowest level in more than three years, new Department of Labor data released on Dec. 4 show.

For the week ending Nov. 29, initial jobless claims fell by 27,000 to 191,000, marking the fourth consecutive weekly drop.

Economists had penciled in a reading of 220,000.

Notice how the economists’ estimates are always more negative than the actual figures when a Republican is in office.

The article notes:

But while slowing layoffs and declining jobless claims have been positive signs, the futures market overwhelmingly expects the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates when monetary policymakers convene their two-day policy meeting next week.

Minutes from the October Federal Open Market Committee meeting reveal a divergence in views of where monetary policy is headed. Commentary from central bank officials also suggests different assessments of the U.S. economy.

“From late spring through June, the soft data, including anecdotes from business contacts, suggested the labor market was in a ‘no hire, no fire’ equilibrium,” Fed Gov. Christopher Waller said in a speech last month. “Firms repeatedly said they were holding off on hiring for a variety of reasons.”

Waller, considered a top contender to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell next year, supports a quarter-point rate cut to the benchmark federal funds rate.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack has expressed skepticism over further rate cuts, warning of high inflation.

“I remain concerned about high inflation and believe policy should be leaning against it,” Hammack said at a Nov. 6 Economic Club of New York event.

The headline annual inflation rate presently sits at 3 percent. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure—the personal consumption expenditure price index—is at 2.7 percent.

Somehow inflation was not a worry when the rates were cut during the Biden administration. Considering how much the rate of inflation has dropped, I think it is time to cut the rates and let the housing market loose.

Trying To Gain An Edge In The 2026 Elections

Posted on by

On Friday (updated Monday), The Epoch Times posted an article about the redistricting taking place in some American states.

The article includes a map showing the current state of redistricting:

I find it interesting that New York is redistricting. New York currently has 26 Representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives; seven of them are Republicans. They may have to do some serious gerrymandering to change that.

The article lists the states that have redistricted and the projected changes, the states that are considering redistricting, and the states the have ruled out redistricting. Please follow the link to the article for the details.

The 2026 mid-term election is crucial. If the Democrats take control of Congress, we will have two years of impeachment attempts of President Trump. If the Republicans take control of Congress, we might make progress in dealing with the national debt. The choice is up to voting Americans.

Moving Ahead Toward Energy Independence

Posted on by

On Sunday, Zero Hedge posted an article about the Trump administration’s actions to help America use more of her energy resources.

The article reports:

The DOE said in a statement that it had issued a notice of funding opportunity for “practical, high-impact projects” aimed at modernization and refurbishment – including projects designed to enhance efficiency, extend operational lifespan, and improve the performance of coal and natural gas facilities.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that the initiative is designed to keep US coal plants running and ensure access to affordable energy (as data center energy demands are shoving working class families in the financial hurt locker). 

“For years, the Biden and Obama administrations relentlessly targeted America’s coal industry and workers, resulting in the closure of reliable power plants and higher electricity costs,” Wright said in a statement. 

“Thankfully, President [Donald] Trump has ended the war on American coal and is restoring common sense energy policies that put Americans first.”

As the Epoch Times notes further, the initiative follows the DOE’s announcement in September that it would invest $625 million in funding to expand and reinvigorate the U.S. coal industry in an effort to increase energy output.

The Trump administration is seeking to reverse the decline of coal use in the country. In April, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to “identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining, and prioritize coal leasing on those lands.”

The president also directed federal agencies to “rescind any agency policies that seek to transition the Nation away from coal production or otherwise establish preferences against coal as a generation resource,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Following the order, the DOE unveiled initiatives to boost domestic coal production, including facilitating new investments in coal-powered electricity generation, commercializing coal ash conversion technologies, and designating steelmaking coal as a critical material and mineral.

America has a lot of coal resources. The technology is available to use them in a way that is not harmful to the environment. In recent years, America was shutting down its coal-fired electric plants while China was building them at an accelerated rate. It’s time for that to change. Our national security depends on energy independence.

Solving The Rare Earth Trade Problem

Posted on by

On Monday, The Epoch Times reported that President Trump has signed a trade agreement with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese which will counter China’s monopoly on rare earth minerals.

The article reports:

U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Oct. 20 signed a rare earths agreement at the White House, outlining plans for both countries to jointly invest more than $3 billion in critical minerals projects over the next six months.

The White House announced that recoverable resources from these projects are valued at an estimated $53 billion, as both countries work to counter China’s global dominance in the sector.

Trump on Oct. 20 welcomed Albanese to the White House for their first formal meeting to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues, including trade, defense, and the nuclear submarine partnership.

The article concludes:

Australia views China as an increasing threat.

During the meeting, Trump noted that Beijing is paying high tariffs to the United States. He also reiterated his plans to meet with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping soon.

“I think China has been very respectful of us,” Trump said, while highlighting the billions of dollars in tariffs paid by the communist country.

Existing 55 percent levies will increase to 155 percent if Xi and Trump don’t come to terms when the two meet in South Korea in the next two weeks.

“I expect we’ll probably work out a deal with President Xi of China,” Trump said. “It’s going to be very exciting. I think we’re going to work something out that’s good for both countries.”

Trump said the United States has leverage because domestic companies sell many airplanes, parts, and components to China.

“They threatened us with rare earths, and I threatened them with tariffs, but I could also threaten them with many other things, like airplanes,” Trump said. “You know about airplanes because they can’t get parts for their airplanes. We build their airplanes.”

He suggested China is in a losing position regarding trade.

“I believe that they’re in big trouble, and I don’t want them to be in big trouble,” Trump said.

China has been working to build a monopoly on rare earth minerals for many years. It was shortsighted of western nations not to counter their efforts much earlier. Hopefully this effort is not too late.

Quietly Doing Their Work

Posted on by

On Monday, The Epoch Times reported the following:

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced this past week that more than 100 federal contracts have been terminated with a value of nearly $6 billion.

Multiple agencies “terminated and descoped 108 wasteful contracts” that have a ceiling value of $5.8 billion and resulted in savings of $397 million,” DOGE wrote in an Oct. 10 post on X.

That includes a $3.1 million State Department contract titled, “Tanzania National Coordination Office Development,” it said, and a $46,500 U.S. Agency for Global Media lease for “office space for the Voice of America East Asia and Pacific Service.”

Other terminated items include a $5.8 million Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) contract for “organizational development, executive coaching, and leadership training” and a $44 million State Department contract for “professional services in Doha, Qatar.”

After being established by President Donald Trump on his first day in office, DOGE has slashed around $214 billion in estimated savings, or around $1,329.19 per taxpayer, according to an Oct. 4 update.

So far, 13,440 contract terminations totaling approximately $61 billion, 15,887 grant terminations worth around $49 billion, and 264 lease terminations totaling around $113 million have been posted on DOGE’s website.

On Friday, Fox News reported:

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday released data showing the federal government ran a $1.8 trillion budget deficit in fiscal year 2025 amid mounting interest costs on the nearly $38 trillion national debt.

The article at The Epoch Times concludes:

While the number of layoffs is unclear, a group called the Partnership for Public Service says that more than 201,000 federal employees have left the government as of Sept. 23.

Earlier in the year, the Trump administration also had offered to pay federal workers who do not want to return to offices the option of a “deferred resignation,” meaning they would agree to resign but get paid through Sept. 30.

Efforts to lay off more employees, known as reductions-in-force, are ongoing in the midst of a nearly two-week-long government shutdown that started Oct. 1, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought confirmed this past week. Court papers that were later submitted by the administration said that around 4,100 workers across several agencies received layoff notices.

A memo released by the budget office stated that for federal programs that would have a funding lapse during a government shutdown, “such programs are no longer statutorily required to be carried out.”

It also directed all federal agencies to submit reduction-in-force plans to the budget office for review.

I know that there is some serious griping among federal employees about the Reduction In Force (RIF), but RIF’s have been happening for a long time–the last major one was in 1994. The country cannot survive without seriously cutting government spending.

Good News

Posted on by

I am writing this on Saturday afternoon. The Epoch Times has just reported that Hamas has agreed to release all hostages in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

The article reports:

The group also said it has accepted parts of the peace proposal to end the war in Gaza, including giving up power, but noted that other provisions would require further consultations among Palestinians.

The announcement came after Trump gave Hamas until Oct. 5 to accept a deal to end the war between the terrorist group and Israel and release all the hostages. Trump announced the deadline in a post on Truth Social on Oct. 3.

…Hamas said it welcomed Trump’s proposal but sought clarification on certain provisions, adding that it would release all living hostages and hand over the bodies of those who have died.

I will admit to being more than a little skeptical. However, there may be some very good reasons for this. When the Arab nations joined with President Trump on the peace proposal, Hamas lost the public relations war. That is the only war they had a chance of winning. If the blockades have been successful, Hamas must be looking at a dwindling supply of ammunition, and I suspect their terrorists/soldiers are concerned about what will happen on October 6th. I will be surprised if this goes smoothly, but I also expect Israel to react without hesitation if it doesn’t. This needs to be watched closely.