Tag Archives: The Washington Free Beacon

Looking At The Results

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On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about the results of placing the National Guard in Memphis.

According to a News Nation article posted on Tuesday, “Memphis had the nation’s highest violent crime rate in 2024, with a total crime rate 344% above the national average, according to officials. The city recorded nearly 300 homicides last year and nearly 400 in 2023.”

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Since the Trump administration first deployed federal officers to Memphis in late September, the city has seen a 48 percent decrease in homicides, Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a press conference on Monday. The “Memphis Safe Task Force” has also led to a 45 percent year-over-year decrease in “overall serious crime,” a 49 percent drop in sexual assaults, and nearly 3,000 arrests, she told reporters, adding that the task force has recovered more than 100 missing children in less than two months.

…The news of the task force’s results comes as Bondi and the Trump administration face pushback and legal challenges from Tennessee Democrats. A state judge blocked the administration’s deployment of the National Guard in Memphis earlier this month after critics argued that the move violated Tennessee law.

When the Founding Fathers wrote the U.S. Constitution, they assumed that the individual states and cities would work to keep their cities and states safe. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case. Judges have not always upheld the law, and people who should not be walking the streets are walking the streets. I have been told by law enforcement that the majority of crimes are committed by repeat offenders. If we lock up first-time offenders, they are not able to repeat offend. I don’t like to see the National Guard used in this way, but if the local government won’t clean up their city, then someone else has to step in and do it.

This Really Is Not A Surprise

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On Monday, The Washington Free Beacon reported that a group claiming to be working against war crimes that happens to have filed complaints against over one thousand Israeli soldiers has ties to Hezbollah.

The article reports:

An obscure Belgian nonprofit that has single-handedly filed more than 1,000 complaints against Israeli soldiers at the International Criminal Court (ICC) bills itself as a neutral legal entity crusading against “war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli state.” According to a new watchdog report, though, one of its co-founders has openly identified himself as a former Hezbollah terrorist, and the organization itself is entrenched within Hezbollah’s financing network across multiple continents.

Lebanese-Belgian activist Dyab Abou Jahjah, who co-founded the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) in late 2024, described himself in a 2003 New York Times profile as a “very proud” former Hezbollah member. He was arrested by Belgian authorities in 2002 for inciting Arab riots in Antwerp, and has repeatedly pledged his allegiance to Hezbollah and Hamas on social media. One of Europe’s leading anti-Israel activists, Abou Jahjah allegedly remains “linked to organizations associated with U.S.-designated terrorist groups” like Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the report states.

The HRF does not publicly disclose its funding structure, but the watchdog report identifies it as “part of Hezbollah’s extensive business networks tied to families and local diaspora connections across Europe, Latin America, and Africa.” These networks, the report states, “are known to support front companies, informal trade, and layered laundering operations” through “used car exports, counterfeit goods, and commodity trades, facilitated through relatives or friendly businessmen.”

The article concludes:

An HRF spokesman denied any affiliations with Hezbollah and described the watchdog report as “false, defamatory, and politically motivated.”

“We have no ties—financial, operational, or organizational—to Hezbollah, Hamas, or any other group designated as a terrorist organization,” the organization said. “HRF operates transparently under Belgian and EU law, and is entirely funded by small public donations.”

The sole specific piece of information the HRF spokesman disputed in an email exchange with the Free Beacon was the report’s characterization of Hassoun as “Lebanese-Belgian,” stating that “both parents of Mr Hassoun Morrocan-Belgians [sic].” Though the spokesman said the report had misrepresented Hassoun’s origins, both Israeli news outlet Ynet and the Anti-Defamation League have also described Hassoun as Lebanese-Belgian.

The Trump administration may disagree with the spokesman’s claims. A second senior U.S. official tracking the matter told the Free Beacon  the watchdog group’s findings “are another example of the dangerous precedent being set by the ICC. We’ve been clear that the United States will actively oppose actions that threaten our national interests and infringe on our sovereignty and that of our allies.”

Keep in mind that the Islamic concept of taqiyya allows Muslims to lie to non-Muslims if the purpose of the lie is to advance the cause of Islam. Also remember that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has never supported the State of Israel.

Revisiting An Old Issue

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On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article reporting that Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) and Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) are urging the Trump administration to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations’s links to Hamas. If you have been following RightWingGranny for any length of time, this ‘possible’ link is not a surprise.

In December 2015, I posted:

If Americans want to be fully informed on Islamic terrorism–who it is, what it is, and how it works–they need to be familiar with the Holy Land Foundation trial and the government exhibits that are filed with it. In 2008 the directors of the Holy Land Foundation (America’s largest Islamic charity) were convicted on multiple charges of terrorism financing. The trial revealed a lot about the Muslim Brotherhood in America–its plans, its operations, and its affiliated groups. The government exhibits from the Holy Land Foundation trial are available on line. They are in Arabic, but the English translation follows. There were also numerous Muslim organizations named in the trial as unindicted co-conspirators. Some of the groups with known associations to the Muslim Brotherhood are CAIR, ICNA, MSA, ISNA and others. For further information about the Holy Land Foundation Trial and these organizations, I suggest reading Shariah the Threat to America, the Team B II Report (available on Amazon) and the Muslim Mafia by P. David Gaubatz (available on Amazon). Meanwhile, what follows is an illustration of why all Americans need this information.

Yesterday the Daily Caller posted an article about Rafia Farook, the mother of San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook. Mrs. Farook is an active member of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a Muslim organization that promotes the establishment of a caliphate and has ties to a radical Pakistani political group called Jamaat-e-Islami.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

In a letter sent Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Republicans argue that CAIR’s “pattern of historic ties” to Hamas, combined with the rhetorical encouragement CAIR leaders have offered for Hamas, may constitute “material support for terrorism.” They cite CAIR’s designation as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2009 federal court case against the Holy Land Foundation, a Hamas front group, and pro-Hamas rhetoric from CAIR leaders in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.

CAIR executive director Nihad Awad, for example, said in November 2023 that he was “happy to see” Hamas attack the Jewish state, and applauded Hamas operatives for “breaking the siege” against Israel. Cotton and Stefanik noted that Awad is a former leader of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a propaganda arm of Hamas.

You get the picture. Please follow the links to read both articles. It is long past time to wake up and smell the coffee. Another book I highly recommend is Catastrophic Failure by Stephen Coughlin, also available on Amazon.

They Are Home!

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All of the living hostages who were taken on October 7, 2023, were returned to Israel today. I can’t imagine what their families are feeling.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Israel reclaimed its 20 living hostages early Monday after they spent more than two years in Hamas captivity, a triumphant moment that marked the first stage of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

Video footage showed some of the hostages speaking to their families from video calls in Gaza before being turned over to the Israel Defense Forces. The first seven were released to the IDF around 2 a.m. Eastern Time, with the remaining 13 living hostages joining them roughly two hours later. All of the living hostages arrived on Israeli soil by 5 a.m. Monday.

The article includes some beautiful pictures of family reunions.

The article notes:

The hostage release is part of a ceasefire deal that also requires Hamas to return the remains of deceased hostages, though it’s unclear exactly when that will happen. Israel released around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal’s initial phase and withdrew its military forces from around half the territory of Gaza.

Trump will leave Israel to attend a summit on the deal scheduled to take place in Egypt on Monday. It is there that world leaders are expected to discuss the peace plan’s subsequent stages, including Hamas’s disarmament and the formal end of the war. Questions remain on those details, but Trump expressed confidence that the ceasefire will hold.

“The war is over,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening. “We have a lot of verbal guarantees, and I don’t think they’re going to want to disappoint me.”

If I were Hamas, I would understand that as a threat.

The article concludes:

Trump made good on his promise to help bring the hostages home by issuing several strict deadlines to Hamas while fully backing Israel’s war operations in Gaza. The pressure campaign worked, squeezing the terror group and eroding its support among Arab nations, particularly the Hamas-friendly Qatar.

Israel’s government approved the deal at Netanyahu’s urging last week, and in discussions with negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the Jewish state ensured that its military will remain in parts of Gaza to prevent terrorism and stop Hamas from rearming. The IDF will retain control of the territory along Gaza’s border with Egypt—a central pipeline for weapons—and other areas that include Hamas strongholds like Gaza City and Khan Younis, according to the Times of Israel.

Witkoff and Kushner addressed hundreds of thousands of Israelis at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. They praised the “heroism” of the IDF and the “exceptional” state of Israel. The crowd broke out in chants of “Thank you Kushner! Thank you Trump!”

This isn’t the end; it is only the beginning.

Misuse Of The Opioid Settlement Money

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On September 29th, The Washington Free Beacon reported the following:

Democratic House candidate Bob Harvie (Pa.), a county commissioner in Pennsylvania, oversees a local fund that distributes millions of dollars his county received as part of a settlement with opioid manufacturers. While the money is supposed to go toward “Prevention, Treatment and Recovery” services, Harvie used some of it to transport kids as young as 14 to an “LGBTQ-youth” center that offers “medical transition” seminars.

The Bucks County, Pa., Board of Commissioners, which Harvie chairs, approved a $13,500-grant in December to Planned Parenthood Keystone for “Expanding Services and Transportation” to the Rainbow Room, a local center that caters to gay and trans youth. The grant was used to transport high school students to Rainbow Room functions, the Delaware Valley Journal reported earlier this year. Its funding came from the county’s Opioid Settlement Fund, which is due to receive $70 million from drug distributors and pharmacy chains over the next 18 years.

The money from this settlement was supposed to be used to help the people who became addicted to drugs as a result of using OxyContin after its manufacturers claimed that the drug was non-addictive. Using it to encourage medical transition among young people is one way of ensuring that the pharmaceutical companies will have patients for life. People who are ‘transitioned’ have to be on a major drug protocol for their entire lives. Our bodies are programmed to maintain the sex we were born with–even after surgery and medical procedures, the body still produces the hormones and DNA that align with its original sex. It takes a lot of drugs to overcome that.

The article concludes:

Roy G Biv will hold a seminar later this week about “The Spectrum of Asexuality,” and in June held an event called “Queer Tarot Night.”

Harvie has worked closely with the Rainbow Room before. In 2023, Harvie, donning a rainbow tie, hosted an event to commemorate gay pride month with Marlene Pray, the Rainbow Room director who provided the condom-filled goody bags for the organization’s Queer Prom.

Harvie’s allies have also tapped taxpayer money to fund the Rainbow Room.

In November 2022, state senator Steve Santarsiero (D.), who has endorsed Harvie for Congress, announced $630,000 in state funding would be allocated to the Rainbow Room to open a second facility in Bucks County.

Harvie’s campaign, the Bucks County commissioners’ office, and the Rainbow Room did not respond to requests for comment.

Gender dysphoria is a mental illness. We don’t need to push it on our children. 

Honoring Antisemitism In Michigan

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Many areas of Michigan have become Muslim enclaves. I have no problem with that as long as the Muslims who live there support the American Constitution and are making some effort to assimilate. Everyone who lives in America has the right to free speech, but our elected representatives also have the responsibility to promote speech that creates unity–not division.

On September 12, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about Dearborn, Michigan, naming a street after a prominent newspaper publisher. Normally that wouldn’t concern me at all, but this publisher has an interesting history. The publisher is Osama Siblani, who has praised terrorists as ‘heroes’ and threatened to send Israeli Jews ‘back to Poland,’ accompanied Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer on an official state trip to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain

The article reports:

The city of Dearborn on Monday honored the Lebanese-born Siblani, a prominent anti-Israel activist who founded the Arab American News outlet, with a plaque bearing his name at the intersection of Warren Avenue and Chase Road, a location home to Middle Eastern-style bakeries, a hookah lounge, and the Islamic Center of Detroit. Video from the ceremony posted on the city’s Instagram account shows Siblani and supporters unveiling an honorary street sign with his name emblazoned across.

…During a September 2024 rally in Dearborn, when Israel was locked in a fierce fight against Hezbollah terrorists on its northern border, Siblani told a crowd chanting “death to Israel” that the terror group will “take care of the job” by eradicating the Jewish state, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which monitors radical activity.

Siblani later told the crowd: “To [Israeli prime minister Benjamin]  Netanyahu, who wants to bring [evacuated Israeli civilians back] to the north: We are going to take you back to Poland.”

At a 2022 “Nakba Day rally” meant to honor the “catastrophe” of Israel’s creation, Siblani said the Dearborn Muslim community will “lift Palestinians all the way to victory” and encouraged his supporters to “fight.”

Obviously, he has the right of free speech. Do we have to honor him and name a street after him? Is this the speech we want to honor?

Our Upside-Down World

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On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about the Israeli attack on the Hamas leaders in Qatar.

The article reports:

Several senior members of Hamas, the populist Palestinian political party, perished Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike while attempting to secure a lasting peace in the region. In other words, they died doing what they loved.

The strike occurred in Doha, Qatar, where many Hamas leaders have been residing in luxury since the group came into possession of several hundred Israeli combatants, sometimes referred to as “hostages,” on Oct. 7, 2023. The decision to seek refuge in Qatar was motivated by the Hamas leadership’s unwavering opposition to the colonialist violence taking place in Gaza, as well as a healthy fear of tunnels and other confined spaces.

The extent of the martyrdom has yet to be revealed. Israel was targeting four Hamas leaders, including chairman Khaled Meshaal and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who recently hosted talks with representatives from the notoriously pacifist nation of Iran. Their fates are unknown at this time, but Hamas officials told the New York Times that al-Hayya’s son and his office manager were incinerated in the attack. Al Jazeera, the Qatari-funded media conglomerate, reported that the strike occurred as a team of Hamas diplomats was meeting to consider a peace proposal drafted by the United States.

…Hamas allies were devastated by the apparent demise of their comrades. Former Obama adviser Tommy Vietor lashed out at Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who posted a GIF of a satisfied Winnie-the-Pooh in response to the news of Israel’s strike in Qatar. “I fucking hate this idiotic, childish memeification of deadly serious issues,” the Hamas advocate wrote on X. “Any hope of getting the remaining Israeli hostages out alive could be gone, any hope of ending the war in Gaza could be dead, and this clown is posting a Winnie-the-pooh gif.”

The article concludes

Sources tell the Washington Free Beacon that Vietor and his former colleague, Ben “Hamas” Rhodes, are preparing to nominate their fallen comrades for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Indeed, the civilized world would be foolish not to honor their sacrifice.

This nomination is not really a surprise considering it is coming from two members of the Obama administration. For more information on Ben Rhodes, follow this link.

Anyone who believes that Hamas’ goal in peace with Israel needs to look again. The Charter of Hamas calls for the elimination of Israel and has never been changed. Hamas does not want a two-state solution–they want a one-state solution with Israel gone. The maps being used to teach their children affirm that. Giving Hamas a Palestinian state would only pave the way for more October 7th attacks.

Lied To Again

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On Thursday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about Abdul Rahim “Abood” Muhammad Hamden, eight-year-old boy who was reportedly killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site.

The article reports:

A Gazan boy alleged to have been killed by the Israeli military is alive and has been safely evacuated from Gaza with his mother, according to video footage and new reports—contradicting the allegations promoted by commentator Tucker Carlson and Senators Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.).

The eight-year-old boy, who was misidentified as “Amir” but whose real name is Abdul Rahim “Abood” Muhammad Hamden, appeared alongside his mother in a video interview with a translator asking questions provided by Fox News. The boy smiled as he talked about looking forward to his and his mother’s then-upcoming extraction from Gaza, saying, “Outside the Gaza Strip is nice,” according to a translation verified by the outlet. The boy and his mother are now in a secure, undisclosed location outside Gaza, according to Fox News.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) also confirmed in a Thursday announcement that the boy is “alive and safe” and condemned the false allegations. “We are overjoyed and deeply relieved that Abood is safe, and that this story ends in hope,” GHF executive chairman Johnnie Moore said. “Too many people, including in the press and civil society, were quick to spread unverified claims without asking the most basic questions.”

Tony Aguilar, an ex-contractor for the GHF, made national headlines this summer when he claimed in several media appearances that the Israel Defense Forces had shot and killed Hamden in May, as the boy sought aid at a GHF site.

The article concludes:

Tucker Carlson, a conservative-host-turned-vocal-critic-of-Israel, had Aguilar on his show in an interview released July 31. Carlson was “nodding solemnly” as Aguilar claimed Israel had killed the boy, Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) wrote in an X post Thursday.

Sanders and Van Hollen also pushed Aguilar’s story, even after the IDF and GHF denied the claims. In late July, Van Hollen met with Aguilar and released a recording of their conversation, while Sanders featured Aguilar’s testimony in a video titled “Former U.S. Special Ops: What I Saw in Gaza.”

Be careful who you listen to for Middle East news.

Do We Really Need To Continue To Fund This

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On Monday, The Washington Free Beacon reported that the funding for The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will need to be reauthorized by the United Nations at the end of August. After the total failure  of UNIFIL to avoid Hezbollah from arming southern Lebanon, I don’t think their mission should be reauthorized. The article notes that UNIFIL receives between $400 million and $500 million each year, with the United States shouldering roughly 30 percent of the burden.

The article reports:

Trump administration officials are closely assessing UNIFIL’s expenditures and activities before awarding fresh U.S. cash to the force, the sources told the Free Beacon. Those activities include a host of DEI initiatives UNIFIL has publicly promoted in recent months that run counter to President Donald Trump’s ongoing push to eradicate taxpayer spending on progressive ideological projects.

UNIFIL in July of this year, for instance, initiated a training session on “gender mainstreaming in military operations” alongside the agency’s “gender unit” after a request from the Lebanese Army.  But the agency’s focus on gender issues did not begin with that training session.

The agency employs a “Military Gender Advisor” who discussed hiding in a bunker in October 2024 when Israel retaliated against Hezbollah, the terrorist organization UNIFIL is meant to prevent from attacking Israel, in a videotaped interview. Its navy boasts a “Gender Task Force,” founded in 2022 “to boost women’s role in peacekeeping.” And UNIFIL maintains “gender-sensitive accommodations” at its bases, featuring its facilities online amid a 2023 push “for more diverse and efficient operations.”

UNIFIL member Major Rajinish Pandey said in a May 2023 video diary that his “job is to maintain gender diversity and conduct all civic activities planned in the area of responsibility.” In another May 2023 X post, UNIFIL touted Lt. Cmdr. Suzanne van Opstal, a “Military Gender Adviser at @UNIFIL_” whose job it was to emphasize “gender perspectives in military ops.” A similar post from March 2024 explained how “more gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive security institutions is vital to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.”

Somehow their goals don’t mention keeping southern Lebanon free of Hezbollah weapons.

The article concludes:

“This campaign to renew UNIFIL is a last ditch effort by the French government and their supporters in the State Department ‘Deep State,'” a senior congressional staffer briefed on the efforts to renew UNIFIL’s mandate told the Free Beacon. “They’re trying to undo President Trump’s DOGE-ing of foreign assistance, his global campaign to dismantle wokeness and DEI, and his crackdown against Iranian terrorists.”

UNIFIL’s recent bid to integrate Chinese forces along Israel’s northern border has also driven opposition to renewing the agency’s mandate. Chen Chuandong, China’s ambassador to Lebanon, announced earlier this week he was “briefed by Major General Diodato Abagnara, Head of Mission and Commander of UNIFIL of its operation.” During that sit down, Chuandong “pledged China’s continued support” to the agency.

I really would like to get rid of the United Nations, but in the meantime, let’s stop funding its corruption.

Buyers’ Remorse

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On Friday, Hot Air posted an article about the city fathers of Nantucket’s regret at allowing the developers of the Vineyard Wind project to construct a large-scale offshore wind farm 15 miles from the island town.

The article reports:

The Nantucket City Council and Nantucket residents are suffering from buyer’s remorse, like everybody who decided to buy a Yugo based on the marketing that it was a great car at an amazing price. 

We told you so. It’s as if liberals see common sense and choose to do the opposite of what it tells them. No amount of sage advice will dissuade them because some “expert” with dollar signs in their eyes can talk them into anything as long as they whisper magic words like “renewable energy.”

The article includes a quote from The Washington Free Beacon:

If they could go back in time, officials in Nantucket, Massachusetts, wouldn’t sign the legal agreement that helped bring the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind farm 15 miles from the island town’s picturesque shoreline.

That was the common sentiment expressed during a Nantucket select board meeting this week about the August 2020 community benefit agreement the town entered into with developers of the Vineyard Wind project, which is currently under construction. “These wind turbines are bigger, brighter, and much more impactful than we ever thought—and not to mention the environmental hazards from failures,” said Dawn Hill, the chairwoman of the select board, which serves as the town’s executive body.

The agreement represented Nantucket’s formal endorsement of the project and satisfied Vineyard Wind’s legal responsibility to consult with the town. Because Nantucket is a federally designated national historic district, regulators and developers must consult with the town on new projects that may threaten its protected status.

“Hindsight is 20/20,” added Greg Werkheiser, an attorney who represents Nantucket. “Every lawyer in the world wishes 5 or 10 years into a negotiated contract that they could take the knowledge they have, fly back in time, and renegotiate—but communities make the choices they have with the information they have at the time.”

North Carolina take note! There is a group pushing for wind farms off the North Carolina coast.

Remember this event:

Tensions between Nantucket and Vineyard Wind reached a boiling point in July 2024 after a football field-sized blade on one of its wind towers fell apart during construction, sending 50 tons of fiberglass and industrial-grade foam into the ocean, forcing the island’s beaches to close. Project developers waited until debris washed ashore three days following the failure before they informed Nantucket about the incident, sparking fury from officials, businesses, and residents.

In the 12 months since the blade failure, the developers haven’t provided the town with information about changes to the construction timeline or the progress of environmental reviews related to the blade failure. As of this week, Vineyard Wind’s leadership remains in “hiding,” according to Mohr. Alas, Vineyard Wind issued its most recent press release in October, and its only public update this year appears to have come during an earnings call held last week by one of its developers, the Spain-based energy firm Iberdrola.

“They were not uninformed. Local groups were informing them five years ago that they should not do this deal and gave them all the reasons why they now regret it,” said Dave Stevenson, the director of the Center for Energy Competitiveness at the right-leaning Caesar Rodney Institute. “The folks in the town didn’t fight, they didn’t look at all the negatives, they just didn’t listen.”

Don’t let that happen here!

Moving Toward American Energy Independence

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American energy independence is a really good idea. We say during the 1970’s what dependence on foreign oil can do to our economy and our gasoline supply. America has the resources to be energy independent, and some of what we are learning indicates that fossil fuel is not as limited as we once thought.

On June 25th, The Washington Free Beacon reported:

The Trump administration announced a Gulf of America oil and gas lease sale that would span roughly 80 million acres, an area that is larger than the United Kingdom.

The behemoth lease sale, which will be the first offshore lease sale since President Donald Trump took office, is scheduled for December 2025 and will offer 15,000 blocks of federal waters across the entire gulf. Companies with winning bids will be subject to a reduced royalty rate, something that could potentially drive greater industry interest and participation in the sale, according to the Department of the Interior (DOI).

It is the latest action the Trump administration has taken in pursuit of its aggressive energy dominance and “drill, baby, drill” agenda. The announcement also represents a U-turn from the Biden administration’s approach to drilling, which involved shutting down oil production, canceling offshore lease sales, and hiking royalty fees for producers.

The article concludes:

“Today’s announcement marks another step in a new path forward for safe and responsible U.S. offshore development after years of roadblocks that hampered energy investment in the Gulf of America,” American Petroleum Institute’s senior vice president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs Dustin Meyer said in a statement Wednesday.

“It underscores the vital role the Gulf of America plays in providing affordable, reliable energy, supporting hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, and reinforcing our national security,” added Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, an industry group that represents offshore energy developers.

Having a businessman for President is going to be a good thing for all Americans who are willing to participate in the workforce.

Oddly Enough, War Is Supposed To Have Rules

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According to Britannica:

The development of the Geneva Conventions was closely associated with the Red Cross, whose founder, Henri Dunant, initiated international negotiations that produced the Convention for the Amelioration of the Wounded in Time of War in 1864.

…Because some belligerents in World War II had abused the principles contained in earlier conventions, an International Red Cross conference in Stockholm in 1948 extended and codified the existing provisions. The conference developed four conventions, which were approved in Geneva on August 12, 1949: (1) the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, (2) the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, (3) the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and (4) the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

These are supposed to be “the rules of war.” Hamas does not follow them, and humanitarian groups choose to overlook that fact.

On Friday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about an investigation, conducted by the Henry Jackson Society’s Centre for the New Middle East.

The article reports:

The United Nations and its network of international NGOs have systematically whitewashed Hamas’s reliance on human shields in Gaza, sweeping aside mountains of evidence revealing how the terror group intentionally places civilians in harm’s way to maximize bloodshed, a new report finds.

The first-of-its-kind investigation, conducted by the Henry Jackson Society’s Centre for the New Middle East, presents “the ‘missing chapter’ in all the U.N. and NGO reports” issued since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Its authors reveal in detail how the terror group transformed civilian residences and infrastructure into military outposts, all while evading international scrutiny.

The article cites incidents such as placing mines among children’s toys and storing rockets in a child’s bed. Hamas has also reportedly hidden entrances to their tunnels in children’s bedrooms. The terrorist group has long been known to use civilians as shields. That is what makes it so difficult for Israel to fight Hamas without killing civilians.

The article notes:

Hamas members have admitted the terror group’s attitude toward civilian casualties in Gaza. The day after Oct. 7, for instance, Hamas official Ali Baraka told Russia Today TV that “the Israelis are known to love life. We, on the other hand, sacrifice ourselves. We consider our dead to be martyrs.”

Terrorists’ admissions of their own tactics have not prompted the U.N. to acknowledge them. In one notable display noted in the Henry Jackson Society compilation, a U.N. official said “word count” prevented the international body from noting Hamas’s reliance on human shields in a June 2024 report on “Children and Armed Conflict.”

…High-profile human rights organizations that work alongside the U.N. have also downplayed—or outright ignored—Hamas’s intentional endangerment of civilians.

One such group, Amnesty International—known for its hostility to Israel—released a December 2024 report accusing the Jewish state of perpetrating a genocide in Gaza. The 296-page report, You Feel Like You Are Subhuman: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, barely mentions Hamas’s battlefield tactics, the Henry Jackson Society’s analysis shows.

Much like the ICJ’s filing, Amnesty International “deliberately omits any discussion of Hamas’s extensive tunnel network,” mentioning them only in the context of Israeli military operations.

A 2024 report from Human Rights Watch contained similar accusations of genocide without any discussion of Hamas’s tactics.

There are a lot of causes for the irrational anti-Semitism that is rampant around the world right now. A media that fails to report the truth is one of them.

Re-Evaluating Coastal Wind Energy

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On Wednesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about President Trump’s halting construction of a massive offshore wind project being built in federal waters off the coast of New York and ordering a sprawling review of existing offshore wind permits.

The re-evaluation of coastal wind energy is a good idea. One of the blades in the wind farm off of New England broke apart and contaminated oysters and mussels with hazardous fiberglass particles that can cause harm to humans (article here). Another windmill was hit by lightning, also causing damage to the environment.

The article at The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Wednesday to order foreign energy developer Equinor to cease all construction activities on its Empire Wind project, according to a memorandum obtained by the Free Beacon. Burgum said the Biden administration green-lit permits for the project and ultimately approved it without conducting proper analysis.

“Approval for the project was rushed through by the prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project,” Burgum wrote. He said the halt on Empire Wind will be in effect indefinitely until further review is completed to “address these serious deficiencies.”

Burgum additionally ordered Interior Department staff to continue a review of federal wind permitting practices related to both existing and pending permits and approvals.

…But the memorandum Wednesday is a significant victory for the fishing industry, wildlife advocates, and local grassroots groups that have vociferously opposed offshore wind development. Critics argue the planned industrialization of American oceans will devastate marine-based industries, harm wildlife like whales, interfere with military operations, and disrupt scenic beach views that are critical for tourism revenue in coastal communities.

Heeding those arguments and following through on a central campaign promise, President Donald Trump paused new approvals, permits, leases, and loans for wind projects until the Department of the Interior completes a full assessment of how such projects were approved under the Biden administration. Burgum’s halt of the Empire Wind project represents the first action of its kind since Trump ordered that review three months ago.

There may come a day in the future when offshore wind energy is a good idea, but we are not there yet. The number of dead whales who washed ashore during the construction of wind farms should have been enough to stop their construction.

This Is No Way To Run A Country

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On Friday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about some of the money spent on environmentalism during the Biden administration.

The article reports:

The Environmental Protection Agency has no ability to track or conduct oversight of more than $650 million in taxpayer funds that a Biden-backed green group wired to dozens of credit union accounts last month, the agency told the Washington Free Beacon.

In mid-February, the New York-based eco group Inclusiv—which received $1.9 billion last year as part of the EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program—transferred $651 million to 108 credit unions across 27 states and Puerto Rico. The group said the credit unions would use the funding to offer financing for green energy projects such as solar installations and electric vehicle chargers within their jurisdictions.

Inclusiv initiated the transfer on the same day that EPA administrator Lee Zeldin discovered that the Biden administration had parked $20 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund funding in accounts at an outside financial institution, limiting federal control and oversight of the money. In collaboration with the Department of Justice, Zeldin ultimately froze the accounts, but not before Inclusiv completed its transaction.

“The passthrough structure of these grants is a significant deviation from how EPA regularly conducts oversight of grantees,” EPA spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou told the Free Beacon. “EPA has no visibility nor role into understanding how these taxpayer dollars are being spent on the ground.”

Traditionally, the EPA selects which projects to fund and distributes grants directly to developers. In this case, however, Inclusiv solicited grant applications from credit unions who will then select which projects the federal funds will finance and determine the terms developers must meet—a setup that takes the EPA entirely out of the loop.

The article concludes:

The scope of that funding dwarfs the amount of money Inclusiv previously handled. In 2023, Inclusiv reported $11.9 million in revenue and $10.1 million in expenses, according to the group’s most recent tax filings.

“This is borderline fraudulent. It is just like a money laundering scheme,” said Travis Fisher, the director of energy and environmental policy studies at the Cato Institute. Fisher is the author of a forthcoming report that concludes Biden-era green programs created “an overwhelming and undue burden on taxpayers.”

“I am frustrated to my core,” Fisher told the Free Beacon. “One thing that I think is even more frustrating is when we compile the entire spending of all of what the Inflation Reduction Act authorizes, it is such a staggering amount of money that the part that we’re talking about that is probably fraudulent, or at the very least shady and questionable, is a tiny fraction of the total spending.”

“By comparison to the rest of it, it seems small,” he continued. “They thought they could fly under the radar with that and we were essentially all fooled and caught flat-footed.”

Inclusiv did not respond to a request for comment.

Our government watchdogs have obviously not done a very good job in the past. The taxpayers want accountability. How much money given to the Environmental Protection Agency is actually spent on the environment?

Heading Back To Energy Independence And Prosperity

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On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about the recent actions of newly-confirmed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

The article reports:

In a series of orders Monday evening, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum revoked Biden-era actions that blocked drilling across 625 million acres of federal waters nationwide—an area that is equivalent in size to a third of the continental United States—in the 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and in the state’s 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve.

The actions, while expected, signal an abrupt change in how the Interior Department will approach oil and gas leasing issues during the Trump administration. Under Biden-era interior secretary Deb Haaland’s leadership, the agency pursued an aggressive climate strategy, severely restricting oil and gas drilling and mining while expanding green energy production on public lands and waters.

“We are committed to working collaboratively to unlock America’s full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America’s natural resources and innovation,” Burgum said in a statement.

Burgum unveiled a six-pillar plan to implement President Donald Trump’s energy agenda: address the national energy emergency, unleash American energy, deliver emergency price relief for American families, revoke former president Joe Biden’s offshore drilling bans, roll back regulations, and unleash Alaska’s resource potential.

The article notes:

And as part of the department’s new effort to roll back regulations, the Interior Department will eliminate at least 10 existing regulations for every new one introduced and “ensure that the costs of new regulations are offset by removing the costs of previous ones.”

“These actions will align U.S. energy policy with the nation’s current and future needs,” National Ocean Industries Association president Erik Milito said on Tuesday. “They will enhance energy security, bolster national defense, grow our economy, and keep energy affordable for every household and business, reducing reliance on foreign adversaries.”

Financial relief is coming for America’s families.

Spending That Undermines Our National Security

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On Friday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about a program funded by the Biden administration that was supposed to protect Jewish institutions against the rising anti-Semitism in America and around the world.

The article reports:

The Biden White House and Senate Democrats have touted their funding for an anti-terrorism initiative they say “has been critical to the security of Jewish institutions.” But the program has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent months to mosques whose clerics have preached anti-Semitic hate, cheered Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, and been accused of raising money for terrorist groups.

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded $150,000 in grants since November to Masjid Jamaat al Mumineen, the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent, and the Islamic Center of Bothell as part of its “Nonprofit Security Grant Program,” according to federal records. The program gives taxpayer funds to nonprofits and religious groups deemed “at high risk of terrorist attack” to help enhance security.

President Joe Biden touted the program last year as an example of the administration’s “aggressive” actions to counter anti-Semitism and “protect Jewish institutions.”

But the mosques have condoned the kinds of violence the grant program aims to prevent. In a sermon last month, Nader Taha, the imam of the Islamic Society of Akron & Kent, called the Oct. 7 attacks a “miracle” that “planted the seed of freedom in the heart of not just only the Muslim world, but the whole world.”

Mosques that preach Islamism are common in America. An Islamist is someone who supports the idea of a world-wide caliphate with sharia law. There are already sharia courts in Britain, and the goal of the Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood) is to bring sharia law to America. All of this is outlined in the government exhibits in the Holy Land Foundation Trial. If you are unfamiliar with that trial, the search engine at the top of this page will provide you with information.

There are many Muslims who simply want to practice their religion in peace. Unfortunately, you only need one or two terrorists to create a problem. Mosques that preach the doctrine of the Muslim Brotherhood are scattered throughout America and should not be given any money for any reason by our government.

The article concludes:

The Department of Homeland Security provides little insight into how it selects grant recipients. According to a DHS fact sheet, Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas makes all “final funding determinations” about which organizations will receive grants. The agency screens applicants for red flags by checking U.S. intelligence agencies for any “derogatory information.” The agency also prioritizes organizations that are deemed to be in “disadvantaged” areas.

The White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the mosques did not respond to requests for comment.

One Partial Solution To The Chinese Banning Shipments Of Critical Minerals

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On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about China’s halting shipments of critical minerals to America.

The article reports:

The Chinese government in recent weeks expanded its ban on exports of a handful of minerals found in critical military and energy technologies in America. The move puts a spotlight on America’s domestic mineral supplies, many of which are locked in years-long federal permitting and regulatory reviews.

This emphasizes the need for America to be self-sufficient in many areas–energy, pharmaceuticals, and minerals. We are not self-sufficient due to years of over-regulation.

The article notes:

“We must confront Chinese mineral extortion and recognize that U.S. mining policy is the foundation of our nation’s economic, energy, and national security,” Nolan continued. “We can and should be producing gallium, geranium, and antimony right here at home. Our challenge is not geology—the U.S possesses vast mineral resources—but the lack of comprehensive, urgent policy to turn those resources into the secure supply chains we so desperately need.”

Antimony, like the other minerals targeted by China, has significant defense and energy applications—it is a key component of munitions, night-vision goggles, and military uniforms and is required for both utility-scale and electric vehicle batteries.

The United States, though, imports 100 percent of its antimony supplies, 63 percent of which comes from China. China supplies the international market with about half of its antimony.

According to Perpetua, the Stibnite mine—which contains roughly 67,000 metric tons of antimony—could account for 35 percent of the nation’s antimony demand in its first six years of production and fulfill long-term defense needs.

“China is putting an exclamation point on its control over our essential needs by weaponizing access to defense and technology minerals,” Perpetua president and CEO Jon Cherry said in a statement. “It’s time to get serious about American mineral sources and end our reliance on China.”

Perpetua spokeswoman Marty Boughton told the Free Beacon in an interview that the company is expecting a favorable record of decision from the U.S. Forest Service before the end of the year. That would put it on track to begin production in 2028—18 years after its initial work at the site.

“Waiting 18 years isn’t a good model,” said Boughton. “We are not at all in favor of relaxing environmental standards, but there are ways to make this an efficient process. I don’t think you can really overstate the importance of strong coordination and communication between permitting agencies.”

Self-sufficiency is the answer to a lot of America’s economic woes and trade woes.

Why Are We Giving Money To People Who Want To Destroy Us?

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On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon reported that three days after the election of President Trump, the Biden administration waived sanctions on upward of $10 billion in once-frozen funds for Iran.

The article reports:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined on November 8 that “it is in the national security interest of the United States” to waive mandatory economic sanctions that bar Iraq from transferring upward of $10 billion to Iran in electricity import payments.

The Biden-Harris administration has renewed the waiver repeatedly over the objections of congressional Republicans, who warned that the cash helped fuel terrorism and Iran’s war against Israel. In one case, the administration signed off on the sanctions relief one month after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.

The most recent iteration of the waiver lifts sanctions for 120 days, at which time the incoming Trump administration will have to decide whether Tehran will continue receiving the relief.

Though the first Trump administration did green-light the same waiver—causing tension with some congressional Republicans—it narrowly tailored the waiver to restrict Iranian access to the cash. The Biden State Department tweaked the waiver last year to allow Tehran to convert the funds from Iraqi dinars to euros, then hold those euros in bank accounts based in Oman. Access to a widely traded currency like the euro enables Iran to more easily spend the cash in international markets. Under the first Trump administration, Iran had to keep the cash in an escrow account in Baghdad, making it more difficult to access.

The State Department confirmed last week that it issued the waiver.

The article concludes:

President-elect Donald Trump, who nearly bankrupted Iran during his first term in office, has pledged to restart his “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran. Richard Goldberg, a former White House National Security Council member who worked the Iran portfolio, welcomed that pledge.

“Joe Biden and his team are taking credit for bringing down Assad just a few weeks after renewing a sanctions waiver to give Iran access to billions of dollars,” Goldberg said. “Give me a break. This policy of appeasement needs to end on January 20, and locking down these accounts so Iran can’t get access should be priority one.”

I am looking forward to “a new sheriff in town.”

I Really Can’t Mourn This Man’s Death

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On September 28th, The Washington Free Beacon reported that Israel Defense Forces killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on the Iran-backed terrorist group’s Beirut headquarters.

The article reports:

“Last night, in a precise strike on Hezbollah’s terrorist headquarters in the neighborhood in Beirut, the IDF eliminated the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Hassan Nasrallah,” IDF international spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters in a briefing. “I can now confirm this to you.”

“Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world,” the IDF said on X.

The Israeli airstrike on Friday also eliminated Ali Karaki, Hezbollah’s Southern Front commander, and other leaders of the group, according to the IDF.

“The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command, what’s left of it, were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” Shoshani said.

Hezbollah confirmed the death of Nasrallah on Saturday.

Shoshani said the Hezbollah headquarters were located underground, beneath a residential building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, in keeping with the group’s strategy “to hide behind civilians.” He said the IDF always takes precautions to avoid civilian deaths, but he was not prepared to speak to the specifics of Friday’s airstrike, including the types of munitions that were used or the extent of the collateral damage.

If the terrorists are going to hide among civilians, civilians are going to be killed. I am just grateful that the IDF makes very surgical strikes when taking out terrorists.

The article also notes:

The Biden administration, which failed to impose a ceasefire on Israel and Hezbollah on Thursday, distanced itself from the strike against Nasrallah.

“The United States was not involved in this operation, and we had no advanced warning,” a Pentagon spokeswoman said on Friday.

A terrorist is killed and the Biden administration doesn’t even celebrate! They had no advanced warning because they cannot be trusted. There are too many people in the Biden administration who support Iran instead of Israel.

Why Are We Funding Terrorism?

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On July 1st, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about a ruling by a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The article reports:

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled on Friday that the lawsuit brought by victims of Palestinian terrorism can proceed, marking the second time the Biden administration’s motion to dismiss the case has been rejected. The court, in its latest decision, said there is evidence the Biden administration continued awarding taxpayer cash to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)—the leading aid organization in Gaza—even after Congress blocked funding to that group due to its support for Hamas’s military infrastructure.

The lawsuit, originally filed in December 2022 by American victims of Palestinian terror attacks and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R., Texas), alleges the Biden administration violated federal law when it restarted aid to the Palestinians, including for programs in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. This money, they argue, subsidized terrorism and contributed to the Palestinian government’s “pay to slay” program, which provides imprisoned terrorists and their families with monthly stipends.

The latest decision paves the way for the case to “move forward, tearing away the veil from the Biden Administration’s illegal and dangerous $1.5 billion terrorism subsidy program for the Palestinians,” America First Legal, a watchdog group handling the lawsuit on behalf of terror victims, said in a summary of the case provided to the Washington Free Beacon.

In September 2023, Medill News Service reported:

Members of Congress and top experts disagreed yesterday about whether the Biden administration has been complying with the Trump-era law to withhold economic assistance from the Palestinian Authority.

The 2018 Taylor Force Act ended economic aid for the Palestinian Authority over the Palestinian Authority’s controversial policy of compensating the families of terrorists who died or have been imprisoned. Critics of the policy dub it “Pay to Slay,” and say it incentivizes terrorism against Israeli citizens and visiting Americans.

Congress passed the Taylor Force Act to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from incentivizing or funding Palestinian terrorism by cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority until the organization ceases to operate a fund providing salaries for families of deceased and imprisoned terrorists. During the hearing representatives of both parties expressed support for the Taylor Force Act, and questioned the witnesses on whether the Biden administration is complying with provisions of the Trump-era law.

“It is clear the Biden administration is not in compliance. The Palestinian Authority still has this fund in operation,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY. “The Biden administration resumed levels of payments and encouraged the Saudi government to do so.”

However, when asked by Rep. Dean Phillips, D-MN, the three witnesses disagreed on whether the Biden administration is complying with the law.

Elliott Abrams, President George W. Bush’s deputy national security advisor, said the Biden administration is “not fully” in compliance, but he said “our money is not going to the PA,” referring to the Palestinian Authority. Abrams believes the Biden Administration is not following the law’s requirements to highlight the issue of the Palestinian Authority funding terrorism at the United Nations and in relations with other countries.

America is funding both sides of the Israel/Hamas war. It is time we stopped. Please read both articles–they explain the details.

Asking For Trouble

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On Monday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about some of the immigrants that are coming into America illegally with the help of our government.

The article reports:

The Biden administration is flying previously deported Cameroonians whose asylum claims were determined to be invalid back into the United States, according to interviews with Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff and internal agency memos reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

The program, which has not been announced to the public, appears to be a response to a February 2022 Human Rights Watch report about dozens of Cameroonians deported between 2019 and 2021 and then allegedly mistreated by their government. An estimated 80 to 90 Cameroonians were deported during that period of time.

But now some are arriving back in the United States under a program with little precedent, both current and former ICE officials say. All of the individuals deported under the previous administration were found not to have valid asylum claims in the United States.

“The program, which has not been announced to the public”??!! Is this a dictatorship? Who is writing the laws?

The article continues:

The decision to fly back the previously deported Cameroonians is the latest instance of the Biden administration reversing its predecessor’s immigration initiatives. On his first day in office, President Joe Biden rolled back a number of former president Donald Trump’s border policies and paused southern border wall construction. Biden later ended a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico before their court hearing, which critics blame for the sharp uptick in illegal border crossings.

“Gutting deportations isn’t enough for the Biden administration, so now they’re apparently bringing back previously deported illegal aliens,” said former ICE official and director of investigations at the Center for Immigration Studies Jon Feere. “These are people who have already had their cases closed, one way or another, and they’ve been returned home.”

Immigration will be an issue in the November election. Stay tuned for more insane moves by the Biden administration to try to convince voters that the open border and the millions of illegal aliens in America are not their fault.

You Might Want To Ask Your Doctor Where He Went To School

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On Thursday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about the results of racial preferences in higher education.

The article reports:

Up to half of UCLA medical students now fail basic tests of medical competence. Whistleblowers say affirmative action, illegal in California since 1996, is to blame.

Long considered one of the best medical schools in the world, the University of California, Los Angeles’s David Geffen School of Medicine receives as many as 14,000 applications a year. Of those, it accepted just 173 students in the 2023 admissions cycle, a record-low acceptance rate of 1.3 percent. The median matriculant took difficult science courses in college, earned a 3.8 GPA, and scored in the 88th percentile on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT).

The article notes:

As the demographics of UCLA have changed, the number of students failing their shelf exams has soared, trends professors at the medical school say are connected.

Between 2020, the year Lucero assumed her post, and 2023, when the first classes she admitted were taking their shelf exams, the failure rate rose dramatically across all subjects, in some cases increasing tenfold relative to the 2020 baseline, per internal data obtained by the Free Beacon.

“UCLA still produces some very good graduates,” one professor said. “But a third to a half of the medical school is incredibly unqualified.”

The collapse in qualifications has been compounded by UCLA’s decision, in 2020, to condense its preclinical curriculum from two years to one in order to add more time for research and community service. That means students arrive at their clinical rotations with just a year of courses under their belt—some of which focus less on science than social justice.

First-year students spend three to four hours every other week in “Structural Racism and Health Equity,” a required class that covers topics like “fatphobia,” has featured anti-Semitic speakers, and is now the subject of an internal review. They spend an additional seven hours a week in “Foundations of Practice,” which includes units on “interpersonal communication skills” and, according to one medical student, basically “tells us how to be a good person.” The two courses eat up time that could be spent on physiology or anatomy, professors say, and leave struggling students with fewer hours to learn the basics.

“This has been a colossal failure,” one professor posted in April on a forum for medical school applicants. “The new curriculum is not working and the students are grossly unprepared for clinical rotations.”

Nearly a fourth of UCLA medical students in the class of 2025 have failed three or more shelf exams, data from the school show, forcing some students to repeat classes and persuading others to postpone a different test, the Step 2 licensing exam, that is typically taken in the third year of medical school and is a prerequisite for most residency programs.

Forgetting your actual mission can lead to getting lost on the road to success. The first problem we need to look at is to figure out why minority children are not getting the basic educational foundation from kindergarten to high school that they need to be successful in medical school–is it cultural or a failure of our schools? The second thing we need to look at is the fact that the medical school has lost its focus. A medical school needs to train doctors to practice medicine. Social justice and racial equality are fine, but if the doctor doesn’t know how to solve a problem, it really doesn’t matter what race the patient is.

We all need to strive for equality, but let’s not lose standards and practical knowledge in the process.

 

The Price Of Following The Crowd

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It’s a pretty safe bet that less than one percent of the students protesting in support of Palestine have any idea of the history of the Middle East. Most of them are simply doing the ‘cool’ thing with their classmates (not realizing that the people who are encouraging them are paid agitators).  So essentially, these students are followers–not leaders–who did not fully investigate the facts before they followed. This is not a trait employers generally look for when hiring people. Protesting is legal, destroying property and denying access to students are not. The students’ treatment of their fellow students who were Jewish was also despicable.

On Monday, The Washington Free Beacon posted the following headline:

13 Federal Judges Say They Will No Longer Hire Law Clerks From Columbia University, Citing ‘Virulent Spread of Antisemitism’ and ‘Explosion of Student Disruptions’

The article reports:

Thirteen federal judges said Monday that they would no longer hire law clerks from Columbia College or Columbia Law School after the university allowed an encampment on its lawn to spiral into a destructive occupation of a campus building. The judges cited the “explosion of student disruptions” and the “virulent spread of antisemitism” at Columbia, which has now canceled its main graduation ceremony because of the unrest.

Led by appellate judges James Ho and Elizabeth Branch, who spearheaded a clerkship boycott of Yale Law School in 2022 and Stanford Law School in 2023, as well as by Matthew Solomson on the U.S Court of Federal Claims, the judges wrote in a letter to Columbia president Minouche Shafik that they would no longer hire “anyone who joins the Columbia University community—whether as undergraduates or as law students—beginning with the entering class of 2024.”

“Freedom of speech protects protest, not trespass, and certainly not acts or threats of violence or terrorism,” the judges wrote. “It has become clear that Columbia applies double standards when it comes to free speech and student misconduct.”

Actions have consequences. Tuition and housing at Columbia University costs approximately $85,000 a year. That’s a lot of money to pay for an education that, because of the actions of some students, disqualifies you from an entire group of jobs.

When Making Peace Isn’t Possible

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On March 18th, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about the futility of trying to make peace with radical Islamists.

The article reports:

A California synagogue axed its leadership and is struggling to retain members after leasing its facility to a Muslim group that brought in an anti-Israel speaker who compared Israel to Nazi Germany.

Hamakom synagogue, a conservative congregation of around 900 families located in an upscale Los Angeles suburb, says it was trying to ease tensions between the Jewish and Muslim communities when it decided to lease its space this month to the Islamic Society of West Valley, a neighboring Muslim faith group that needed space to hold services during the holy month of Ramadan.

Hamakom entered into an agreement with the Islamic Society that allowed it to take over the synagogue’s main campus, pushing Jewish members onto a smaller satellite branch. In anticipation of the lease’s commencement, the synagogue’s leadership covered up pictures of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to photographs reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, sparking anger among Jewish congregants.

Soon after the Islamic Society began using Hamakom’s facility, it hosted anti-Israel activist Hussam Ayloush, who said last year that Israel did not have a right to defend itself following the Oct. 7 attack and compared Israel to Nazi Germany. The invite led many Jewish members to threaten to resign from the shul, according to internal emails viewed by the Free Beacon, and prompted Hamakom to sever its rental contract with the Islamic Society within days of inking it.

I am sure that there are moderate Muslims in America who behave themselves better than the group that rented the synagogue. However, there is a major thread of anti-Semitism that runs through the Muslim faith. Until the Muslims themselves cut that thread, I would strongly suggest that no religious group lease space to Muslims.

Funding Countries That House Terrorists

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On March 5th, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about one consequence of the Biden administration’s pause on liquefied natural gas production in America.

The article reports:

President Joe Biden’s pause on liquefied natural gas production is already turning into a major financial windfall for Qatar, even as the Gulf regime undercuts the United States and its allies by funding terrorists and sheltering fugitive Hamas leaders.

Qatar, which is the third largest LNG exporter after the United States and Australia, announced last week that it is expanding its natural gas production by 85 percent. The news came weeks after the Biden administration announced that it would freeze new domestic LNG export permits, a policy that many political observers viewed as a concession to climate activists ahead of the presidential election.

Brenda Shaffer, a senior adviser for energy at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Qatar’s liquefied natural gas expansion was likely spurred by Biden’s policy announcement, adding that Doha will “benefit financially” from the pause.

“Nature doesn’t allow a vacuum. The United States is the biggest producer of natural gas in the world. To say that it’s going to put a pause or freeze for a few years, obviously [other countries] are going to pick up that market,” she said.

Energy experts told the Washington Free Beacon that Biden’s LNG announcement is already pushing buyers away from the U.S. market and toward adversarial competitors.

Limiting natural gas production in America does not limit the use of natural gas worldwide–other countries pick up the slack. Natural gas is a very clean fuel and does very little damage to the environment. The Biden administration’s energy policies have consistently negatively impacted Americans and benefitted America’s enemies. We need to go back to helping Americans and the American economy by becoming energy independent again.