Tag Archives: The Epoch Times

Why We Need To Secure All Points Of Entry Into Our Country

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On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about a drug seizure at a Chicago air cargo facility.

The article reports:

Federal agents at a Chicago air cargo facility have seized shipments from China containing 18 pounds of xylazine, which is increasingly found in the U.S. illicit drug market.

The three shipments arrived on April 12 and were headed to residences in Cleveland and Philadelphia, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in a statement on April 16.

“Drug traffickers are persistent in their attempts to smuggle sedatives such as xylazine into the United States, however, through our hard work and vigilance we will continue to intercept these dangerous substances at our port of entry before they can harm our communities,” LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of field operation at the Chicago field office, said in a statement.

Xylazine, also known as “tranq” and the “zombie drug,” is a veterinary medication that acts as a sedative when administered to animals such as cattle, sheep, and horses during diagnostic and surgical procedures. Xylazine is not a controlled substance in the United States, but it is not approved for use on people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Because of increased border security at America’s southern border, cartels and other drug smugglers are having to look for other ways to bring illegal drugs into America. We need to have drug-sniffing dogs at all points of entry.

The article notes:

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned that xylazine is making the deadly fentanyl crisis in the United States “even deadlier,” as fentanyl adulterated with xylazine has a longer-lasting psychoactive effect than fentanyl alone, increasing the risk of overdose death.

The Mexico-based Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are known to be sourcing chemical precursors from China before these chemicals are manufactured into fentanyl. Last year, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party warned in a report that China-produced xylazines “are rapidly proliferating across the United States.”

The article concludes:

In recent years, some states have enacted laws to regulate the use of xylazine, including South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act in both the House and the Senate in February. The legislation would make xylazine a Schedule III controlled substance while enabling the DEA to track its manufacturing to prevent any diversion to the illegal market.

“Illicit xylazine is contributing to the national drug epidemic and driving up overdose deaths in communities across the country,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who led the Senate bill with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), said in a statement at the time.

“This bipartisan bill recognizes the lethal threat of xylazine and provides law enforcement new tools to combat its spread, while ensuring veterinarians, ranchers and cattlemen can continue to access the drug for legitimate animal treatment,” Grassley said.

Changes To Social Security

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Don’t freak out over that headline. The changes I am talking about are good news for everyone who is currently collecting or plans to collect social security in the future.

On Tuesday (updated Wednesday) The Epoch Times reported:

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on April 15 directing several federal agencies to take measures to prevent Social Security payments from going to ineligible people such as illegal immigrants and fraudsters.

The memorandum was directed at the Social Security Administration inspector general, the Social Security commissioner, the attorney general, and the secretaries of labor, health and human services, and homeland security.

Meanwhile, the commissioner is directed to cooperate with the attorney general to expand the SSA’s full-time fraud prosecutor program specifically targeting identity theft and beneficiary-side fraud to at least 50 U.S. Attorney Offices by Oct. 1.

The memo also “establishes a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program in 15 U.S. Attorney offices,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing.

Department heads are ordered to prioritize the placement of prosecutors in both programs to the offices whose jurisdiction has been determined by Homeland Security to cover the top 10 largest known populations of illegal immigrants.

The memo also directs the inspector general of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to investigate earnings reports for individuals over the age of 100. Earlier this year the Department of Government Efficiency reported that hundreds of eligible Social Security recipients were found to be well over a century old.

In another article posted Tuesday (updated Wednesday), The Epoch Times reported another change to Social Security:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has rolled out “enhanced technology” to detect suspicious activity in telephone claims or banking changes. The new technology will strengthen identification verification, preventing fraud.

The SSA had initially planned to roll out new identity proofing policies in March, but pushback from beneficiaries and advocates delayed it. The policies have gone through two changes so far. So, what are these ID proofing policy changes, and how will they affect you?

The second article concludes:

Social Security benefits are often a target of thieves. And diverting benefits from a recipient’s account to a fraudulent one has been going on for many years.

The SSA is making an effort to stop the fraud by modernizing its phone system with enhanced technology. Using the new technology allows the agency to identify anomalies in the claimant’s account.

In addition, the use of the AVS will not only prevent fraudulent banking changes but also expedite processing. Overall, Social Security beneficiaries and new claimants will still have the convenience of phoning while still preventing fraud.

As someone who is married to a person in Information Technology (IT), I am suspicious of any change to a computer program. There are almost always glitches. I am hoping that the new fraud detection protocols have been thoroughly tested. If these new protocols are successful in eliminating the majority of fraud in the Social Security program, they will extend the lifespan of the program for years.

The Latest Inflation Numbers

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On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the latest inflation numbers.

The article reports:

Falling energy prices helped U.S. inflation cool in March, slowing to its lowest level in six months.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate declined to 2.4 percent from 2.8 percent in February, the lowest reading since September.

Economists had penciled in a reading of 2.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI) fell by a better-than-expected 0.1 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, also eased to 2.8 percent. This is the first time that annual core inflation has been below 3 percent since early 2021.

The core CPI increased by 0.1 percent month over month, below the consensus forecast of 0.3 percent.

The article concludes:

Minutes from the March Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting revealed that policymakers are worried about tariff-driven inflation risks.

“Participants assessed that uncertainty around the economic outlook had increased, with almost all participants viewing risks to inflation as tilted to the upside and risks to employment as tilted to the downside,” the meeting summary, released on April 9, reads.

However, based on President Donald Trump’s recent decision to impose a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, many doom-and-gloom projections “can be dialed down a bit,” according to Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.

“The so-called 90-day pause doesn’t remove all uncertainty or potential negative impacts but is helpful,” Hamrick said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

“Fears about a huge pickup in inflation and near-term recession risks can be dialed down a bit.”

The next major inflation report will be the March producer price index, which measures the prices businesses pay for goods and services. Economists pay attention to this gauge as it can serve as a precursor to future inflation trends.

Energy prices are one of the things that fuel inflation. As American becomes energy independent again, the cost of crude oil will continue to drop, gasoline prices will continue to drop, and inflation will gradually come down. Even if OPEC cuts production in an attempt to keep oil prices high, it is quite possible that America will be able to make up for the cut. At that point, OPEC may not want to continue losing revenue because of their production cuts. We are in a very interesting time economically right now. Stay out of debt and pay your bills on time!

Returning Transparency To Colleges

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On Friday, The Epoch News reported that HR 1048, a bill that will require American colleges and universities to disclose all foreign gifts and contracts from countries of concern, had passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The vote was 241 in favor and 169 against. Thirty-one Democrats voted with the Republicans to pass the bill. One Republican, Representative Don Bacon (R-Neb.), voted against the bill. The bill now moves to the Senate.

The article notes:

The measure would lower the reporting threshold for foreign gifts and contracts from $250,000 to $50,000 and require disclosure of any amount from countries or entities deemed of concern, such as China and Russia.

It would also prohibit institutions from entering contracts with such countries or entities without obtaining a waiver from the Department of Education.

In addition, the bill would require schools to disclose financial ties between covered individuals—such as faculty researchers—and foreign sources. Private universities with large endowments would be required to report foreign investments annually.

…Supporters of the bill said it addresses concerns that increased reporting requirements would be burdensome or threaten faculty privacy, which critics have raised.

A fact sheet from the bill’s backers refuted those claims, noting that faculty disclosures would only apply to gifts above the same threshold that applies to members of Congress.

The bill also passed the House in late 2024 but was not taken up in the Senate by then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-N.Y.).

The bill now heads back to the U.S. Senate, where it is more likely to be taken up this session under Republican Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

Unfortunately, money buys influence. That is the reason many of our universities have whitewashed the violations of civil rights in Muslim countries under Sharia Law. That is the reason we have the absurdity of “Gays for Palestine” on some of our college campuses. The students are not informed enough to know that homosexuals are killed in Muslim countries for being homosexual. This law is needed, and I hope the Senate will consider it and pass it.

Where Did The Money Actually Go?

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On Sunday, The Epoch Times reported that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has uncovered 5,593 loans made by the Small Business Administration (SBA) worth $312 million given to borrowers age 11 or under at the time of the loan.

The article reports:

“While it is possible to have business arrangements where this is legal, that is highly unlikely for these 5,593 loans, as they all also used [a Social Security number] with the incorrect name,” the post reads.

DOGE and the SBA are now working to investigate the matter, according to the post. The Epoch Times contacted the SBA for comment on March 9 but did not receive a response by publication time.

Also on March 8, DOGE wrote in a separate post that it found that the SBA issued 3,095 loans for $333 million to borrowers whose age was listed at more than 115 years old. Those borrowers, it stated, were listed as alive in the Social Security database, and in one instance, a person recorded as being 157 years old received loans worth $36,000, including under the Paycheck Protection Program and as an Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

Also on March 8, DOGE stated that a Department of Agriculture contract worth $10.3 million that was for “identifying unnecessary contracts” had been canceled, noting that it was one of 162 nonessential contracts that had been terminated.

I am happy that DOGE has found the questionable loans. I will be happier when the people responsible for the fraud are put on trial.

A Logical Trend

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

The article reports:

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

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

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

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

The article notes:

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

The article concludes:

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

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

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

How Much Are They Actually Saving?

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On Wednesday (updated Thursday), The Epoch Times posted an article detailing how much government waste the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has uncovered.

The article reports:

A new list from the White House assesses the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) financial impact so far at more than $3.4 billion, with substantial savings realized through cuts to the Department of Education.

The latest numbers, provided to The Epoch Times on Feb. 11, include $59 million that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff sent to house illegal immigrants in New York City hotels. The White House has sought to claw back that money.

The list also includes a variety of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) contracts and grants, many in the Department of Education, as well as moves against DEI-related directives and policies deemed as out of step with the new administration’s priorities. On the first day of his new presidency, President Donald Trump issued an executive order against DEI in the federal government.

The article includes the following:

That’s pretty good for a couple of weeks’ work.

The article concludes:

One lawsuit over DOGE employees’ access to Treasury Department payment systems data resulted in a court order from Judge Paul Engelmayer on Feb. 8, temporarily preventing DOGE employees from looking at that data and requiring that they destroy any of it they may have obtained.

On Feb. 11, in response to a Justice Department filing that challenged Engelmayer’s order, Judge Jeanette Vargas maintained the DOGE employee prohibition while clarifying that the ban did not prevent Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from accessing his own department’s data.

Vargas will preside over a hearing on the DOGE case on Feb. 14.

In the Oval Office on Feb. 11, Trump questioned Engelmayer’s order.

“How could a judge want to hold us back from finding all of this fraud and finding all of this incompetence?” he asked.

This is NOT a Constitutional crisis–this is the American voters making their voices heard.

The Times They Are A’Changing

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On Friday, The Epoch Times reported that Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy will be removing the unreasonable fossil fuel emissions standards put in place by the Biden administration.

The article reports:

In December 2023, the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration finalized a rule establishing a method to measure and report transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

The rule required state-level agencies to establish targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles traveling on national highways. These emission targets were intended to become more stringent over time, and agencies were required to report on their progress in meeting them. The rule did not specify how low the targets should be but allowed agencies the discretion to set goals appropriate for their communities.

The rule was set up to “confront the increasingly urgent climate crisis,” according to the executive summary, and was expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. This was part of a plan to reach “net-zero emissions by no later than 2050,” according to a 2021 White House fact sheet.

On Jan. 29, Duffy approved a proposal to rescind the rule.

The article concludes:

The action is in line with several executive orders recently issued by President Donald Trump, including the “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” and “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” the department stated.

All DOT offices are required to identify and report, within 10 days, programs and policy statements that are subject to Trump’s relevant executive orders, according to the memo, and revoke nonconforming rules.

Duffy also signed an order to lower costs “through smarter policies, not political ideologies.” Under the order, it must be ensured that all DOT loans and grants are based on “sound economic principles, positive cost-benefit analyses, and pro-economic growth priorities.”

Duffy said these actions are a step toward restoring commonsense governance and merit-based policies at the Transportation Department.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are focused on eliminating excessive regulations that have hindered economic growth, increased costs for American families, and prioritized far-left agendas over practical solutions,” he said.“The American people deserve an efficient, safe, and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies. These actions will help us deliver on that promise.”

This is definitely a step in the right direction.

I Don’t Think That Went The Way The Democrats Wanted It To

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On Wednesday (updated Thursday), The Epoch Times posted an article about the confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

The article lists five things the Democrats brought up thinking that they could get a gotcha moment. 1. They used quotes taken out of context to claim that he was anti-vaccine. 2. They claimed that he had changed his position on vaccines and abortion in order to gain political power. 3. They criticized him for saying he would support the Trump administration’s position on abortion. Since he will be part of the administration, it makes sense that he should support their views publicly even if he differs privately. 4. After being accused that he would be a ‘rubber stamp for the Trump administration,’ Kennedy explained that his goal was to improve the health of Americans. 5. Kennedy also pledged to change the lack of transparency that was part of the Department of Health and Human Services Department during the Biden administration.

The article concludes:

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) requested that 11 letters of support, signed by thousands of physicians, be entered into the record. He also noted that he had written more than 70 oversight letters to federal health agencies under the Biden administration.

He said he has received redacted materials and has “issued a subpoena now to cover the information“ that he ”requested in 70 oversight letters.”

Johnson asked Kennedy if he would honor these requests from Congress and make HHS transparent.

“My approach for HHS, as I said before, senator, is radical transparency,” Kennedy said. “Democrats and Republicans ought to be able to come in and get information that was generated at taxpayer expense that is owned by the American taxpayer. It shouldn’t get redacted documents.

“Public health agencies should be transparent. If we want Americans to restore trust in the public health agencies, we need transparency.”

The Senators opposing this nomination have generally been the ones who have taken large campaign contributions from Big Pharma. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is most definitely a threat to Big Pharma. If America becomes healthy again without pills, how will the drug companies make money?

Another Day, Another Lawsuit

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On Tuesday, The Epoch Times posted an article about a lawsuit filed by the National Treasury Employees Union filed to prevent President Trump from being able to fire federal employees.

The article reports:

President Donald Trump’s order removing job protections from federal officials violates federal law, according to a Jan. 20 lawsuit.

Trump’s order, signed earlier on Monday, reclassifies certain employees into the same category as political appointees, thereby removing some job protections.

“The President’s Executive Order is unlawful and ultra vires because it exceeds statutory authority and is contrary to congressional intent,” the lawsuit, filed by the National Treasury Employees Union in federal court in Washington, states.

There is no way that government waste can be cut without having the right to fire people!

The article notes:

“The President’s Executive Order is unlawful and ultra vires because it exceeds statutory authority and is contrary to congressional intent,” the lawsuit, filed by the National Treasury Employees Union in federal court in Washington, states.

In the order, Trump said that “accountability is sorely lacking today” because removing federal employees has been too difficult. He said it is important to ensure that officials in “policy-influencing positions” are accountable to the president.

He noted that in recent years, there have been some federal officials who have resisted executive leadership.

The order states in part: “Employees in or applicants for Schedule Policy/Career positions are not required to personally or politically support the current President or the policies of the current administration. They are required to faithfully implement administration policies to the best of their ability, consistent with their constitutional oath and the vesting of executive authority solely in the President. Failure to do so is grounds for dismissal.”

If you work in a private company and are working against the agenda of management, you will be fired. There is no reason the government should have a different standard of behavior.

The article concludes:

The suit is one of several launched within hours of Trump taking office.

Multiple suits targeted the Department of Government Efficiency, which is tasked with examining ways to make the government more efficient. Another lawsuit challenged Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship for some future babies born on U.S. soil.

The Mess The Biden Administration Is Leaving Behind

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Peace in the Middle East has always been elusive. However, we came very close to achieving it during the first Trump administration. Because of the damage done by the Biden administration, it may be more difficult during the second Trump administration.

On Monday, The Epoch Times reported:

The Iranian Army says it has taken delivery of 1,000 new drones equipped with stealth capabilities and designed to target enemy fortifications.

The Ababil-4 and Ababil-5 drones, which were designed by the Iranian defence ministry, were delivered to various locations throughout Iran, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Tasnim said the weapons were formally handed over to the armed forces on Jan. 13, at a ceremony attended by Iranian Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and Defence Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh.

…Tasnim said the Iranian Army had also received Arash drones, which it said can carry out so-called suicide missions at long range and with “pinpoint accuracy.”

In the past 15 months, Iran has also supplied drones and drone technology to its allies in the so-called axis of resistance, the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen.
On December 11, 2024, The New York Post reported:

The Biden administration quietly extended a sanctions waiver that will grant Iran access to roughly $10 billion from Iraq two days after President-elect Donald Trump’s Election Day victory. 

The controversial waiver, which has been repeatedly extended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken despite strong opposition from congressional Republicans, allows the Iranian regime access to funds from Iraq in exchange for electricity purchases.

“On November 7th, the [State Department] did renew Iraq’s electricity waiver for the 23rd time since 2018,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel confirmed last week.    

“It was done so for an additional 120 days,” Patel noted – a time frame that will overlap with the early months of Trump’s second term in office. 

Why are we indirectly arming a country that has stated it wants to destroy us?

Another Regulation That Did Not Involve A Vote By Congress

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On Sunday, The Epoch Times reported that the Social Security Agency will begin to raise the age at which people can collect their full amount of Social Security. I would like to point out that Congress was never asked to vote on this and thus has never gone on the record for its vote.

The article reports:

The retirement age for many Americans to qualify for Social Security payments will increase by two months, effective Jan 2.

The change does not apply to individuals born between 1943 and 1954, for whom the full retirement age was set at 66 by the Social Security Administration (SSA). For those born after 1954, the age for retirement then increases in two-month increments for each birth year thereafter. 
The gradual increase in the full retirement age is part of a long-term plan implemented by the SSA to cut costs due to financial challenges that emerged partially due to increasing life expectancies, according to information on the administration’s website.
Meanwhile, President Biden recently signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act, which will shorten the time it takes for the Social Security Fund (a questionable concept at best) will go bankrupt. It seems that by the time the generation born in the 1970’s gets to retirement age, retirement age will be somewhere around 85.

Why Some Awards Mean Nothing

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The New York Times and The Washington Post won Pulitzer Prizes for their great reporting of RussiaGate. When the story was proved to be false, they got to keep their awards. I wonder if after Liz Cheney is tried for destroying evidence and other crimes committed during her time on the January 6th Committee if she will get to keep her award.

On Thursday, The Epoch Times reported:

President Joe Biden has awarded 20 individuals the Presidential Citizens Medal, including two leaders of the disbanded Jan. 6 congressional panel—former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.)—for “exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”

The Presidential Citizens Medal, created by President Richard Nixon in 1969, is the country’s second-highest civilian honor after the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is awarded to those who “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”

“President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others,” the White House wrote in a statement. “The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice.”

Considering the current mental state of President Biden, I wonder who actually made this decision. It certainly does nothing to further the idea of a rule of law that applies equally to everyone, and thus will further divide the country. That may actually be the goal.

For all of President Biden’s claims that he is engaging in a peaceful transition of power, his actions tell a very different story. When I examine the President’s actions since the November election, I see a man doing everything he can to put roadblocks in front of the incoming administration. The pettiness of this man and the people behind him never ceases to amaze me.

What Happens When You Elect Good Government

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On Christmas Eve, The Epoch Times posted an article about Argentinian President Javier Milei’s first year in office. He definitely has moved Argentina in the right direction.

The article reports:

On his first anniversary as president of Argentina, Javier Milei announced the initial results of his relentless campaign to cut government spending, eliminate regulations, and pare back the country’s administrative state.

“Today, with pride and hope, I can tell you that we have passed the test of fire,” Milei told Argentinians last week. “We are leaving the desert, the recession is over, and the country has finally begun to grow.”

When Milei took office in November 2023, Argentina, once one of the world’s 10 richest countries, was in a dysfunctional state. Having defaulted on its sovereign debt three times since 2001, it was on track to do it again.

Its annual inflation rate was approaching 200 percent, its poverty rate was above 40 percent, its growth rate was negative 1.6 percent, its fiscal deficit was 15 percent of GDP, and it was running a chronic trade deficit.

Argentinians wanted change and voted the self-proclaimed libertarian into office with the largest majority a presidential candidate has received since free elections were reinstated in 1983, taking 55.7 percent of the vote over his opponent, incumbent economy minister Sergio Massa, who received 44.3 percent.

Over the past year, Milei eliminated 10 of Argentina’s 18 government ministries, capped the salaries of top bureaucrats, and fired 34,000 public employees, cutting government spending by 30 percent.

America is heading to the place Argentina was before President Milei took office. Hopefully, President Trump will get results similar to those of President Milei.

The article notes:

Upon taking office, Milei’s administration operated as if it were in a race against time, scrambling to deliver some sign of a brighter future before voters’ patience ran out.
During his first month in office, Milei issued a “mega-decree” that included 366 regulatory reforms, according to a report by Cato political analyst Ian Vasquez and Human Freedom Index co-author Guillermina Sutter Schneider.

By the end of his first year, that had climbed to 672 regulatory reforms enacted, along with the elimination of 331 regulations and modification of 341 others.

These included actions such as eliminating import licenses and lifting rent controls. These acts ultimately led to a 35 percent reduction in the price of home appliances and a 20 percent reduction in the cost of clothing, the authors write, as well as a sharp increase in available rental apartments in Buenos Aires that brought a significant drop in rent prices.

I hope the incoming Trump administration is taking notes.

Some Tyrannies Have A Long Grasp

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On Wednesday, The Epoch Times reported that a man living in New York City has admitted to operating a secret police station for Beijing in Manhattan. In November 2022, I first posted an article about the Chinese police operations in New York City (article here).

The article at The Epoch Times reports:

A New York City man has admitted to acting as an illegal Chinese agent by operating a secret police station for Beijing in Manhattan.

Chen Jinping, a 60-year-old U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 in front of U.S. District Judge Nina Morrison, a development that prosecutors lauded as the latest progress in countering the Chinese regime’s transnational repression scheme.

Chen was one of two individuals the FBI arrested in April 2023 over the illegal police station, one of more than 100 identified overseas Chinese police outposts Beijing had operated globally.

He faces up to five years in prison.

The New York City site runs under the cover of a Chinese organization called the America ChangLe Association in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The association ostensibly serves as a mingling place for immigrants from China’s southeastern Fujian Province, where the namesake district, ChangLe, is based.

Chen was the secretary general of the association at the time of the arrest, while the other man arrested, Lu Jianwang, was the former president. Lu, also known as “Harry Lu,” has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting trial.
The article notes:

Beijing refuted Chen’s guilty plea.

“The so-called secret police stations do not exist,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a press briefing on Dec. 19.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York said the prosecution was part of his office’s efforts to protect vulnerable people who “come to this country to escape the repressive activities of authoritarian regimes.”

Countering the malign activities of foreign states that violate U.S. sovereignty by targeting local diaspora communities is a priority of his office, he said.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division called Chen’s effort in operating the secret outpost “brazen.”

The Department of Justice will “pursue anyone who attempts to aid the PRC’s efforts to extend their repressive reach into the United States,” he said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.

Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI’s national security branch, said Chen’s admission of guilt was “a stark reminder of the insidious efforts taken by the PRC government to threaten, harass, and intimidate those who speak against their communist party.”

These police stations don’t exist, but they take up space but they rent space in buildings around the world.

Some Of The Spending Cuts Are Obvious

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On Wednesday, The Epoch Times posted an article about some of the federal budget cuts that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could investigate.

The article reports:

In a letter sent on Monday to DOGE advisors Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) outlined her “instruction manual” of ways to eliminate government waste.

“With $3 billion of interest being added to our national debt every day, the longer we delay tackling the problem, the further away the finish line gets,” Ernst wrote in the letter. “To give you a head start, here are a trillion dollars’ worth of ideas for trimming the fat and reducing red ink.”

Ernst pointed out that the cost of maintaining and leasing government buildings costs $8 billion every year.

She noted that the federal workforce still works remotely and “not a single headquarters of a major government agency or department in the nation’s capital is even half full.”

Ernst targeted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in her blueprint of cost-cutting targets. She cited her audit of the tax collection agency which revealed that 5,800 employees and contractors owe nearly $50 million themselves.

The lawmaker also called for the DOGE to act as the “Grinch” on the government’s end-of-year “use it or lose it” spending spree which she called “Christmas in September.” The senator said that Sept. 20 every year marks the deadline for the federal government to spend money left over at the end of a fiscal year.

Part of the problem is baseline budgeting–your budget for next year starts with this year’s spending as the bottom line–thus the rush to spend all of your budget. Therefore, if you ask for a 10 percent increase and only get a 5 percent increase, you can say that you budget was cut 5 percent even though your budget grew. It’s very similar to the wife who goes shopping, spends $300, and tells her husband she saved $100.

There is hope that we will finally see government spending cut in the upcoming Trump administration.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Plans For Public Health

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On Friday, The Epoch Times posted an article listing five things Robert F. Kennedy plans to do if he is confirmed as head of Health and Human Services (HHS).

This is the list:

1. Staff Changes

Kennedy believes little will change until giant or private corporations stop controlling the FDA, the CDC, and the Department of Agriculture.

2. Chemicals and Ultra-Processed Foods

A staunch advocate for regulating chemicals in food, Kennedy recently suggested that Americans should return to using tallow fat instead of seed oils. He has chastised food manufacturers for using ingredients such as artificial dyes.

3. Corporate Capture of Agencies

“Eighty percent of NIH grants go to people who have conflicts of interest,” Kennedy said on Aug. 23.

“These agencies, the FDA, the USDA, the CDC, all of them are controlled by giant for-profit corporations. Seventy-five percent of the FDA funding doesn’t come from taxpayers. It comes from pharma. And pharma executives and consultants and lobbyists cycle in and out of these agencies,” Kennedy said.

4. Vaccines

Cast as an “anti-vaxxer” by critics, Kennedy has consistently said that he isn’t against vaccines, but he believes in vaccine safety and informed consent.

During an interview with The Epoch Times last year, he explained his stance.

5. Fluoride

On Nov. 2, Kennedy wrote in a post on X that one of Trump’s first acts in office would be to advise U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.

Kennedy’s announcement was made as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under a federal court order to take action over potential health concerns, including that fluoride might lower children’s IQ “at dosages that are far too close to fluoride levels in the drinking water of the United States,” stemming in large part from a report published by the National Institutes of Health.
All of of these proposals are perfectly reasonable. However, they are a serious threat to the status quo. Over the years, there have been a lot of people in our government who are not looking out for the interests of Americans. Many of those people have gotten extremely wealthy through their misdeeds. I look forward to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., beginning to change that dynamic.

Planting A Land Mine As You Walk Out The Door

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Despite the talk of a smooth transition of power, the Biden administration has already planted a few land mines in the path of the incoming Trump administration. The agreement with the dock workers will expire three days after President Trump is inaugurated–hardly enough time to negotiate a settlement–putting a possible strike front and center in the first few days of the new administration. The Biden administration has about two months to plant a few more land mines, and one of the ones they have recently planted is going to be a serious challenge.

On Monday, The Epoch Times reported:

Anonymous U.S. officials have said that President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use long-range missiles provided by the United States to strike targets in the Russian region of Kursk, which is currently occupied by Ukraine in the ongoing war.

Ukrainian forces launched a significant cross-border operation into Russia’s region of Kursk earlier this year. Intense fighting is ongoing as Russian forces attempt to reclaim lost territory. Ukraine seized several settlements and is still holding strategic positions. In response, Russia has allowed 11,000 North Korean soldiers to amass in Kursk to aid its fight.

Last year, after North Korea supplied Russia with long-range ballistic missiles, the Biden administration responded by greenlighting Ukraine’s use of the long-range Army Tactical Missile System—with a range of about 190 miles—for targets within its territories, including in Russian-occupied Crimea.

There is a solution to this escalation of the war in Ukraine that is possible before the situation totally melts down (no pun intended). Through back-channels, President-elect Trump could make it clear to President Zelensky that any attacks into Russia would result in the total cutoff of aid to Ukraine as soon as President Trump takes office. In the past, President Trump has shown that he has the ability to use economic leverage to avoid using military force. In this case, it would have a good chance of working.

There are a few things to look at as consequences of a Trump presidency in Ukraine and in the Middle East. If ‘drill, baby, drill’ begins on day one, the price of oil will drop relatively quickly. OPEC will probably cut back their production in an effort to keep prices high, but in the long run that will not work. If America can flood the market with oil and natural gas, the income to Russia and Iran will drop drastically as oil prices drop. At lower oil prices, Russia cannot afford the war with Ukraine and Iran can not afford to fund terrorism to the extent it has been. Drill, baby, drill in America is part of a recipe for a more peaceful world.

The People Speak

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On Wednesday, The Epoch Times posted an article about two referenda that were on the ballot in Arizona.

The article reports and the first ballot question:

Two controversial ballot initiatives concerning illegal immigration and abortion easily passed at the ballot box on Nov. 5 with broad support from voters.

Proposition 314, a statutory amendment referred by the Arizona Legislature, prohibits illegal immigrants from entering the state directly from a foreign country at any location other than a lawful port of entry.

The law effectively empowers Arizona law enforcement officers to arrest illegal immigrants. It also bars illegal immigrants from knowingly submitting false documents to apply for public benefits or a job and makes it a class 2 felony for an adult to knowingly sell fentanyl that later causes the death of another person.

The article reports of the second ballot question:

Arizona was also one of 10 states that voted on the issue of abortion this election.

In a 62–38 vote, the state approved a citizen-led initiative to establish a constitutional right to abortion through fetal viability, and when a “health care professional” deems it necessary to protect the mother’s life or health.

Proposition 139 also bars the state from penalizing anyone who assists a woman in obtaining an abortion.

At present, abortion is legal in Arizona through 15 weeks of pregnancy, though the issue has been a matter of contention in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision, which overturned the federal right to abortion.

The federal right to abortion was never in the U.S. Constitution. That fact was stated by none other than Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Tenth Amendment states:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, the decision on abortion was correctly left up to individual states.

The article concludes:

“We did it!” the group wrote in an X post. “Arizona has overwhelmingly voted to protect abortion access! We proved, yet again, that Arizona is a state that values freedom and individual rights.”

Opponents of the measure argued that the inclusion of an exception for the mother’s general “health” could be interpreted to authorize late-term abortions for virtually any reason. They also held that it would prohibit health and safety regulations to protect women and minors while removing licensed physicians from the equation.

By the morning of Nov. 6, a petition was already circulating online asking Arizona state senators to either repeal the amendment or enact new legislation to “help decrease the actual number of abortions performed in our state.”

Stay tuned.

When Government Is Centralized, The People Lose Their Voice

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On Wednesday, The Epoch Times posted an opinion piece on globalism. Please follow the link to read the entire article. it is very informative.

This is the conclusion:

We are all being acculturated to believe that the nation state is nothing but an anachronism that needs to be supplanted. Keep in mind, this necessarily means treating democracy and freedom as anachronisms too. In practice, the only means by which average people can restrain tyranny and despotism is through voting at the national level. None of us have any influence over the policies of the WHO, World Bank, IMF, much less over the Gates or Soros Foundations. The way politics is structured in the world today, we are all necessarily disenfranchised in a world governed by global institutions.

And that is precisely the point: to achieve universal disenfranchisement of average people so that the elites can have a free hand in regulating the planet as they see fit. This is why it becomes supremely urgent for every person who aspires to live in peace and freedom to regain national sovereignty and say no to the transfer of authority to institutions over which citizens have no control.

Let me conclude with this: I had not always understood this. When the United States pulled out of the WHO in 2020, I was genuinely puzzled. It seemed rather unsporting. These days, I get it. Devolving power from the center is the only path by which we can restore the ideals of the great visionaries of the past like Thomas Jefferson. In the end, governing institutions must be in citizen control, and pertain to the borders of particular states, or it necessarily becomes tyrannical over time.

One of the issues in the upcoming presidential election is globalism. If you vote for the deep state, you will lose your voice.

Economic Vulnerability

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Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D

A strong economy is essential to the security of any nation. Not only to provide a reasonable standard of living for its citizens, but as protection from external adversaries. This was never more evident than in World War II when American industrial might saved the world from fascist tyranny.  As the “Arsenal of Democracy,” America provided the military equipment and weapons without which Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan would have succeeded in their wars of conquest. This was made possible, in large part, by the conversion of existing factories producing consumer goods to producing military hardware. Unfortunately, the American economy does not have the dominant manufacturing capabilities that we once had.

Let’s look at manufacturing in America today. It is difficult to find any manufactured product nowadays that is not labeled “Made in China.” In 1980, 22% of jobs in the U.S. were in manufacturing; now that percentage is 8%. Just this past July, 24,000 manufacturing jobs were lost. In addition, many factories are owned by foreign entities. The recent approval by the Biden/Harris administration to allow the purchase of U.S. Steel by a Japanese company is a perfect example of what has been occurring. Not only has this been occurring in the manufacturing sector, but with pharmaceuticals as well. Many Americans were shocked during the COVID crisis to find out that most of our essential medications are manufacture overseas. A disruption in the supply chain signaled what could happen if a global conflict occurred.

Recently, we have begun to rely on imports of essential food products. A recent article in the Epoch Times reported that thousands of U.S. cattle raising operations have gone out of business. This appears to be due to increasing imports of beef from Mexico and South America as well as the burden of green energy demands imposed on U.S. farmers. In addition, China has been greatly expanding its commercial fishing fleet. Like many things done by China, they are violating international restrictions. China was described as the world’s “biggest perpetrator of illegal fishing.” Not only does China have over 3,000 commercial fishing vessels deployed worldwide, but they pay poor countries to allow them to fly those countries flags so they can fish in their local waters. They are putting our fishing sector out of business and destroying fish stocks.

It should concern every American that our economy can no longer support our needs. Former President Trump recently announced his intention to reverse this dependency on foreign countries. One way is to give tax incentives to American corporations to return production to this county and cancel the green new deal. So far, no comments from the Harris campaign on this critical issue.

The New Jobs Report

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On Friday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the latest jobs report. The economy is cooling down, which will probably provide the Federal Reserve with an excuse to lower interest rates in the hope of providing a Democrat election victory.

The article reports:

The U.S. economy created fewer jobs than the market projected in August as the overheated labor market of the past few years continues to show signs of cooling off.

Last month, payrolls increased by 142,000, falling short of the consensus estimate of 160,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The unemployment rate eased to 4.2 percent, down from 4.3 percent in July. This was in line with economists’ expectations.

Average hourly wages surged at a higher-than-expected pace of 0.7 percent, up from a 0.1 percent drop in July—this was revised from the initial report of 0.2 percent growth. Average hourly earnings also climbed to a better-than-expected year-over-year rate of 3.8 percent, up from 3.6 percent.

The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.7 percent. Average weekly hours ticked up to 34.3 from 34.2.

Much of the job creation was concentrated in construction (34,000), health care (31,000), government (24,000), and social assistance (13,000).

There were some other interesting numbers in the report:

So far this year, the total number of downward job revisions equals 372,000.

The number of people working two or more jobs increased by 65,000 to 8.538 million.

In August, full-time jobs plummeted by more than 400,000, and part-time employment increased by 527,000.

Inflation is hurting all Americans, and until the government stops its runaway spending, inflation will continue to be a problem.

 

 

Curiouser And Curiouser

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On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the person who attempted to assassinate President Trump. We have a whole lot more questions about that attempt than we do answers.

The article reports:

The man who fired shots at former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania had encrypted accounts in multiple countries, according to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives task force investigating the attempted assassination.

“We haven’t learned much about those overseas accounts,” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) said at a press conference in Chicago on Aug. 21. “We do know they were in … Belgium, New Zealand, and Germany.”

Waltz is on the “Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump.”

…“Why does a 19-year-old kid who is a health care aide need encrypted platforms, not even based in the United States, but based abroad, where most terrorist organizations know it is harder for our law enforcement to get into?” Waltz said.

He said that the question had not yet been answered.

The article concludes:

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. told Congress in July that discipline may follow once the agency finishes its internal probe into the situation.

“That roof should have had better coverage, and we will get to the bottom of if there were any policy violations,” he said at one point.

Rowe added later that he would not provide real-time updates on disciplinary measures but would “at a high level provide at least some type of statement that people are being held accountable.”

Kimberly Cheatle, who was the Secret Service’s director before stepping down after Trump was nearly assassinated, said on July 22 that the Secret Service’s initial report about rally security would be ready in 60 days.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is also conducting an investigation.

I don’t care if there were any policy violations–a President was almost killed while supposedly under Secret Service protections. Heads need to roll.

Watch The Margin

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On Friday (updated Saturday) The Epoch Times posted an article about the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the changes the Biden administration is attempting to make to Title IX. The Biden administration is attempting to add the concept of gender into the law. That change would bar discrimination of transgender men in women’s sports, locker rooms, restrooms, etc.

The article reports:

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 to reject the federal government’s bid to partially enforce its Title IX rule in 10 Republican-led states.

In a ruling handed down on Aug. 16, the high court left intact two separate lower court orders that blocked the entirety of the rule in Louisiana and nine other states that challenged it.

At the center of the disputes are three provisions, which include one declaring that the existing federal law against sex-based discrimination in education settings also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The ruling was 5-4. That means that four of the justices were okay with the idea of men in women’s sports. Four of the justices had no problem with men taking scholarships from women who had worked their whole lives to earn them. Four of the justices had no problem with men in women’s dressing rooms. This ruling tells us why the Biden administration is attacking the Supreme Court–they are one vote away from radically changing America.

The article notes:

The rule also addresses gendered pronouns and sex-separate spaces like bathrooms, locker rooms, and shower areas, clarifying that schools and colleges could lose federal funding if they don’t address students by their preferred pronouns or allow them to use facilities corresponding to their gender identity.

The federal government had asked the Supreme Court to partially lift those orders, a relief that would sever the three key provisions while allowing the other unchallenged parts of the rule to go into effect.

Four justices would have let part of the rule take effect, but the full bench agreed that the key changes the federal government has sought to implement, including the re-definition of “sex-based discrimination” to include gender identity and the restrictions on maintaining sex-separated spaces, should remain blocked.

We are one Supreme Court Justice away from insanity.

 

The Economic News Is Questionable At Best

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On Friday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the latest unemployment numbers. Bidenomics does not seem to be all that it is cracked up to be.

The article reports:

The U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected while the unemployment rate increased, signaling that the labor market could be going through a rapid deceleration at a time when the Federal Reserve could soon be cutting interest rates.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 114,000 new jobs in July, down from 179,000 in June. This fell short of the consensus estimate of 175,000.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent, up from 4.1 percent, and higher than economists’ expectations of 4.1 percent. This represents the highest jobless rate since October 2021.

Average hourly earnings eased to a smaller-than-expected pace of 3.6 percent year-over-year. On a monthly basis, average hourly earnings edged up 0.2 percent.

The labor force participation rate inched higher to 62.7 percent, from 62.6 percent. Average weekly hours slipped to 34.2, from 34.3.

Health care accounted for much of the jobs, with 55,000 new positions added last month. This was followed by construction (25,000) and government (17,000).

The article also noted:

Additionally, the household portion of the monthly jobs report, which removes duplication, showed the economy created 67,000 new jobs.

The number of people working two or more jobs surged to 8.473 million, up from 8.34 million. Full-time workers advanced by 448,000, while part-time workers declined by 325,000.

The divergence between U.S.-born and foreign-born workers widened compared to a year ago. U.S.-born workers tumbled by more than 1.2 million from July 2023. By comparison, foreign-born workers increased by roughly 1.3 million.

The economy right now has high inflation and wages that are not keeping up with inflation. The easiest way to ease inflation would be to resume domestic drilling and cut federal spending. Both would require the voters to make changes in both the White House and Congress in November.