Tag Archives: The Western Journal

Policies Have Consequences

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On Monday, The Western Journal posted an article about gasoline prices in California.

The article reports:

California is having to rely on gasoline shipped in from the Bahamas as more refineries close in the state due to its strict environmental policies.

And the restricted in-state refining capacity is causing gas prices to surge.

The current average for regular gasoline is $4.59, up from $4.21 last month, according to the American Automobile Association.

The New York Post reported, “Valero’s Benicia refinery — a key Northern California supplier — is in the process of sunsetting operations. The move follows other major pullbacks, including the closure of Phillips 66’s Los Angeles refinery, steadily reducing California’s ability to produce its own gasoline, and driving up costs at the pump.”

“California sucked in more gasoline imports last November than at any point in its history — and a staggering 40%-plus of it came from the Bahamas — all that means more cost at the pump for drivers,” the news outlet added.

Cal Matters reported in September that in 1982, California, which has rich oil reserves, imported about 6 percent of its needs from foreign sources. As of last fall, the percentage had climbed to 64 percent.

The article concludes:

Michael Mische, an associate professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, wrote in the Cal Matters piece that “the Legislature should consider the repeal of regulations limiting production and pipeline use in more counties, assess the powers of agency bureaucrats who force higher prices on the backs of Californians, and a new regulatory strategy that will provide a more hospitable business environment for refiners and producers.”

Businesses are already leaving California. If the state continues in its current direction, more businesses and more people will leave. Our Founding Fathers envisioned a country where each state would act as a laboratory for policy. The states that created successful policies would have those policies copied by other states so that every state would be successful. Unfortunately, politics has become so toxic that successful policies from red states are not being copied in blue states simply because they are from red states. I believe we will see California go bankrupt in the near future.

The Heart Of The Matter

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The SAVE America Act has passed the House of Representatives. Now it’s the Senate’s turn to pass a bill that more than 80 percent of Americans agree with. But somehow, nothing is happening. One of the main talking points against the bill is that the bill will disenfranchise Americans, because there is a requirement to prove citizenship. Most Americans have Social Security cards. You need to prove U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status to obtain a Social Security card. A birth certificate is obtainable through the city records of the place you were born. Another talking point is that the majority of women change their name when they get married. That issue is easily solved by presenting a birth certificate and a marriage certificate. A marriage certificate can be obtained at the city hall of the place where you were married. Most women can figure this out.

On February 16th, The Western Journal posted an article about the discussion on CNN NewsNight about the SAVE America Act.

The article reports:

Salem Radio Network host Scott Jennings triggered “CNN NewsNight” panelists Charles Blow and Alencia Johnson Wednesday by suggesting Democrats thought black voters were “too dumb” to obtain voter IDs.

The House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and photo ID for voting, on Wednesday by a 216-213 vote.

After Johnson claimed that the legislation was part of a pattern of “racism” by President Donald Trump, Jennings challenged her to explain how the bill would strip voting rights from citizens.

…Jennings pressed Johnson repeatedly how the legislation would strip voting rights from racial minorities, with Johnson finally claiming that voter ID was a form of a poll tax, which was prohibited by the 24th Amendment, which was ratified in 1964.

“Does it — does it concern you that you’re making all these claims, you’ve yet to lay out how it’s hurting anyone, but 76 percent of black voters think we should show an ID to vote, 80 percent of Hispanic voters, 83 percent of the American people?” Jennings asked.

The article concludes:

Jennings didn’t back down, questioning if Phillip thought certain portions of the population were too dumb to figure out how to navigate voting in an election.

“Listen, this — all week long, all week long, I have heard Democrats with the same argument,” he said, with Phillip responding, “So, Scott, why don’t you actually respond to the substance of what I’m saying, as opposed to making this about something that it’s not? It’s not just about voter ID. It’s also about who has access to —”

“You’re saying married women, black voters and rural people are too stupid to figure out how to register to vote?” Jennings responded, adding, “Are you saying they can’t figure out how to vote?”

The simple fact is that the Democrats opposing the SAVE America Act don’t want to help people navigate the requirements in the act–they simply want talking points.

Evanston Illinois Has A Plan

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On Wednesday, The Western Journal reported the following:

More than a million dollars will soon be doled out to black residents of Evanston, Illinois, under the city’s reparations program.

Evanston’s Reparations Committee announced last week that 44 people will be getting $25,000 each, for a total of $1.1 million, according to the Chicago Tribune.

All 44 are descendants of individuals who qualify under the city’s program that pays out reparations to black residents who claimed they experienced housing discrimination between 1919 and 1969.

The payments are intended to be used for housing expenses, Cynthia Vargas, Evanston’s communications and community engagement manager, said.

Through Jan. 31, the city has received $276,588 for the Reparations Fund from its real estate transfer tax. The city’s Cannabis Retailers Occupation Tax, which by state edict does not share amounts, also kicks in to the fund.

So the city is taxing people who had nothing to do with the housing discrimination to compensate for the housing discrimination. Notice that the payout will be more than $1 million and the money received to make the payout totals about $276,000 so far. Where is the rest of the money going to come from? The goal is to hand out $10 million to black residents in the next ten years.

The article notes:

Judicial Watch has sued the city over the program, saying it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

In its lawsuit, Judicial Watch argued that the “program’s use of a race-based eligibility requirement is presumptively unconstitutional, and remedying societal discrimination is not a compelling government interest.”

“Among the program’s other fatal flaws is that it uses race as a proxy for discrimination without requiring proof of discrimination,” the lawsuit continued.

“To date, Evanston has awarded over $6,350,000 to 254 individuals based on their race,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in September when the lawsuit was filed.

“The city must be stopped before it spends even more money on this clearly discriminatory and unconstitutional reparations program,” he said.

Aside from the fiscal insanity, how long before fraud enters this program?

Reporting Only Half Of The Story

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On Tuesday, The Western Journal posted an article about the mainstream media’s reports on the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on America’s economy. The focus of the mainstream media is on how much the tariffs are costing the average American. If you are an average American, you might have noticed a little more money in your pocket at the end of the month–not less. The cost of the tariffs had been more than made up for by the lowering of the gasoline prices. If we could just finish getting other energy prices down, we would have it made.

The article reports:

Media outlets were quick to glom onto a study that found President Donald Trump’s tariffs resulted in a $1,000 increase in costs to the average American household.

However, they did not couple it with the savings Americans are experiencing overall, thanks to Trump’s economic policies, which more than offset the price of tariffs.

The Tax Foundation, which leans conservative, does not like tariffs, as its latest study confirms. They came out strongly against Trump’s tariffs beginning in February 2025, shortly after he took office.

ABC News reported, “The research called Trump’s tariffs ‘the largest U.S. tax increase as a percent of GDP since 1993.’ It suggests the president’s signature economic policy is exacerbating cost of living concerns at a time when many households are grappling with persistently high prices.

“According to the research think tank Tax Foundation, the federal government collected $264 billion in total tariff revenues in 2025 — far short of the trillions regularly touted by the White House. The research also finds the tariffs will offset most of the economic benefits of the new tax cuts from Trump’s signature tax law that took effect this year,” the news outlet added.

The article concludes:

During a recent appearance on Megyn Kelly’s podcast, Vice President J.D. Vance said, “If you look at the numbers on affordability, they are starting to move in our direction.”

“There’s clear movement from where there was, say, four or five months ago,” he added.

Vance went on to note that due to inflation spiking to over 9 percent during the Biden administration, the average household lost about $3,000 in buying power.

Meanwhile, “The average American household … has gained about $1,200 during the Trump administration,” he said, arguing that this is why people are still feeling the pinch, because they are still $1,800 per year poorer than when Biden took office in 2021.

“We recognize there’s still a lot of work to do,” the vice president argued, but things are going in the right direction.

If you take tariffs in the context of everything else Trump and his team are doing economically, Americans are definitely better off than they were under Biden.

It would be nice if the mainstream media would report the WHOLE story.

Good News On The Economy

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

The article reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The article notes:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Twisted Logic

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On Saturday, The Western Journal posted an article about a journalist who was offended by the fact that a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., opened with the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.

The article reports:

Jamie Stiehm, who has contributed to several corporate media outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, wrote for The Capital Times on Thursday that though the “Star-Spangled Banner” might be appropriate for “ballparks and stadiums,” it is “dissonant” to play before a classical music concert in today’s political climate.

Stiehm said that classical music transcends international boundaries, but the national anthem pulls the arts back into the orbit of President Donald Trump’s influence.

Television stations used to sign on and off the air with the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. The song has nothing to do with President Trump other than at this time he is the President of America. Is that what is actually bothering her?

The article notes:

After attending a symphony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the columnist opined about the National Symphony now reportedly playing the national anthem ahead of performances, under Trump’s leadership.

“Readers, President Donald Trump’s new regime at the beloved center decreed the National Symphony Orchestra must stand and play the national anthem before every concert. How dissonant,” Stiehm wrote.

The article concludes:

“Seeking spiritual solace, I washed ashore at the John F. Kennedy Center’s concert hall,” the columnist wrote.

“Yes, I loved the crashing chords of the ‘Organ Symphony’ by Saint-Saens and the lyrical light notes of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

“‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ not so much.”

Stiehm then concluded the piece by paraphrasing someone else who attended.

“These times reminded her of her German girlhood,” Stiehm said, adding that this person was a young girl during World War II.

The columnist told the DCNF that the article clearly articulates her stance on the national anthem being played before classical music concerts.

I am sorry that being patriotic is so offensive to some Americans. That is sad.

Changing The Rules On Your Way Out The Door

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On Saturday, The Western Journal posted an article about a change the Biden administration made to the H-1B visa rules. the H-1B visa program has been used by a number of American companies to avoid paying the wages that American workers demand. The visas are particularly common in high-tech industries.

The article reports:

A few short weeks before he left office, staffers for now-former President Joe Biden expanded H-1B visa rules to allow foreign workers to work remotely.

In recent days, a viral social post has noticed that “Hundreds of H1Bs have listed the same residential buildings in Irving, Texas as their address of employment.”

The poster of the data set said that “these scammers are either committing tax fraud by claiming to work in Texas,” or they are “actually working in California or they went back to India and are lying about their work address.”

…According to an investigation from Blaze Media, a trend of H-1B visa holders working from is linked to a Biden administration final rule issued on Dec. 18, 2024, just over one month before the end of Biden’s term.

The Department of Homeland Security thereby decided that remote work in “higher education, nonprofit research, or government research” would be allowed in the form of “telework, remote work, or other off-site work.”

The article notes:

One analysis from the Federation for American Immigration Reform noted that “abuse and fraud have plagued the H-1B visa program” for decades.

“The H-1B visa lobby, primarily tech giants and outsourcing firms, frequently claim that a sustained influx of foreign guest workers is necessitated by labor shortages,” the group noted.

“In fact, the program does not supplement the U.S. workforce. Rather, it supplants able-bodied Americans with foreign workers who are beholden to their employers by virtue of their presence in the U.S. depending upon employer sponsorship.”

In some cases, American workers have even been laid off and then made to train the foreigners hired to replace them.

“This happened in a famous, but not isolated 2015 case involving Disney World and its decision to replace many skilled American employees with foreign H-1B workers and then forcing them to train their replacements,” the analysis noted.

Whoever was running the Biden administration was in the pocket of big tech. I am sure they assumed the change in the rules at the last minute would go unnoticed.

Much Ado About Nothing

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The mainstream media is so desperate to destroy President Trump’s second term, they really don’t care how many lies they have to tell to do it. Obviously, one of the major liars is The New York Times.

On Monday, The Western Journal posted an article about The New York Times’ latest attack on President Trump.

The article at The Western Journal reports:

The New York Times, along with multiple other outlets, chastised President Donald Trump for allegedly breaking the Vatican’s dress code for Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday.

The featured image of their story was cropped in such a way as to suggest that Trump was the only leader in a blue suit at the event.

The Times’ chief fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, wrote that President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Great Britain, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy all wore black.

This is the picture The New York Times ran:

This is the picture of the entire group:

I see a number of blue suits in the crowd.

Hearing The Truth Is Not Always Pleasant

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On April 23rd, The Western Journal posted an article about a podcaster, Tim Pool, asking his first question during a White House press briefing. Tim Pool is a 39-year-old podcaster who is described as a “you tuber – journalist.” He is considered right-wing by the mainstream media. His website is timcast.com. Now that the White House Press Conferences are including a wider variety of media, Tim Pool is in attendance.

The article reports:

For those of you wondering why there needed to be a new media seat in the White House press briefing room, leave it to podcaster Tim Pool to elucidate with his first ever question at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with one of the legacy media’s biggest outrages at the second Donald Trump administration, one of the many changes the press office has made is to include a spot for a “new media” representative during media briefings — “a catchall category that the administration said would include podcasters, social media influencers and other creators of ‘news-related content,’” The New York Times reported in January, a move which they said was part of a series of changes that would upend what it called the “delicate journalistic ecosystem of the White House’s James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.”

And, just to put a finer point on it, here were some of the “new media” participants as per the Times; open and proud liberals didn’t have their sympathies noted, while others were listed as being from “right-wing media,” “right-wing podcast[s]” or “right-wing video platform[s].”

The left never identifies themselves as left-wing. It’s up to the public to figure that out!

This was the question Tim Pool asked:

“Many of the news organization that are represented in this room have marched in lock step on false narratives, such as the ‘very fine people’ hoax, the Covington smear, and now what’s being called the ‘Maryland man’ hoax — where an MS-13 gang member, adjudicated by two different judges, I believe, is just simply being referred to as a ‘Maryland man’ over and over again,” Pool began when called upon by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“In an effort from the White House to expand access to new companies, you’ve created this ‘new media’ seat. So I’m wondering if you can comment on — following this expansion, you’ve had numerous outlets disparage the companies that you’ve had sit here, as well as the reporters” featured, he added.

“I’m wondering if you can comment on that unprofessional behavior, as well as elaborate on if there’s any plans to expand access to new companies.”

The article continues with the answer:

Leavitt (Karoline Leavitt), barely suppressing a smile, said, “We certainly welcome diverse viewpoints,” which was part of the reason behind the fact “there’s many new faces in this room.”

“We welcome unbiased journalists who really care about the truth and the facts and accuracy,” she continued, noting how the “Maryland father” story — the Kilmar Abrego Garcia deportation, where a man with a history of gang affiliation and brushes with the law that was in the country illegally was sent back to his home country — had been distorted beyond belief. (Abrego Garcia is a “Maryland father” in the same way that Che Guevara was an “Argentine physician” — technically true, but wholly extraneous.)

I think future press briefings are going to be fun! I think the “delicate journalistic ecosystem of the White House’s James S. Brady Press Briefing Room” has been upended.

You Can’t Believe Everything You Read Or Hear

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Recently, there has been some talk about the large attendance at rallies being held by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. These two figures claim that they are energizing the Democrat party while in fact they are simply moving it further away from its base. The large attendance figures may not be all they seem to be. Sometimes technology can be a problem for those lying to the public.

On Monday, The Western Journal reported:

After Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discussed the size of their recent political rally in Denver, Colorado, a data expert and entrepreneur raised doubts about the size and supposed grassroots nature of the crowd.

Sanders claimed that the Friday rally, which was part of a tour against government efficiency initiatives and the influence of technology billionaires like Elon Musk on the Trump administration, was his most attended event ever, according to a report from The Colorado Sun.

“The video speaks for itself. 34,000 people out in Denver. Largest political rally there since 2008,” Sanders wrote on social media alongside footage of the crowd.

The article notes some problems with those numbers:

But Tony Seruga, an entrepreneur and data expert, questioned the claim on social media, asserting that a substantial number of devices present at the rally in Denver were also present at other Democratic political events.

According to GPS, there were only 20,189 devices at the rally, meaning the crowd size appeared to be smaller than what Sanders had claimed.

Seruga said that “84% of the devices present had attended 9 or more Kamala Harris rallies, antifa/blm, pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian protests,” while “31% had attended over 20.”

…Seruga therefore claimed that some “90% of those in the above 84%” of repeat rally attendees were likely working with one of five progressive groups: Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project, Troublemakers, and the Democratic Socialists of America.

“This is based [on] a very sophisticated algorithm that looks at the behavioral metrics for each device, including the physical 1:1 proximity to leaders and paymasters from these groups in the past,” he emphasized.

It has been proven that many of those attending these rallies are paid to attend. I am not sure there is enough money in the world to persuade me to attend an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders rally.

A Reminder

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On December 31, The Western Journal posted an article reminding Americans that beginning on May 7, 2025, Americans will need a REAL ID-compliant ID to board a domestic flight, visit certain federal facilities or enter a nuclear power plant.

The article reports:

“Come early May, you will need a REAL ID-compliant ID (which you may already have) to board a domestic flight. It will also be necessary if you are visiting certain federal facilities or entering a nuclear power plant,” the service reported.

“Once the REAL ID requirement kicks in, federal agencies like TSA will be prohibited from accepting state-issued IDs that do not meet the necessary standards.”

At this point, they noted, “all states must at least require proof of your legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, legal residency, and two forms verifying your address before issuing a driver’s license or ID card.”

“Thankfully, many states have been issuing REAL ID-compliant IDs for years, which means there is a good chance you already have one. The quickest way to tell is by looking at your driver’s license or state-issued ID: if there is a star — it will be either black or gold, appear as a star or a cutout — your ID is a REAL ID.”

If you opt out of the program, you’ll be issued a license with “Federal Limits Apply” on it.

“As of the end of December, the REAL ID rules will take effect on May 7, 2025. Once the deadline passes, if you do not have a REAL ID, you may need to provide another form of identification, like a U.S. passport or military ID, to board a plane,” Nexstar noted.

The article notes:

Of course, as we approach a quarter of a century since 9/11, we know that federalizing ID standards is more or less pointless; the weak point in the system with those terrorist attacks was a series of missed red flags by the same team of bureaucrats we’re now entrusting to federalize what was once a state matter, the issuance of driver’s licenses.

It’s impossible to believe that legislation so unwieldy that it will be implemented only 17 years after it was supposed to has actually stopped an attack — or done anything, period, aside from create new, fresh levels of bureaucracy for people to navigate.

Please follow the link to read the story of an American citizen who had trouble getting a real ID because his parents did not file the proper paperwork at the time of his birth.

The Impact Of A Government Shutdown

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A government shutdown was avoided. A deal was reached at the last possible moment because no one wanted to be blamed for a shutdown. The brinkmanship got something down. Time will tell how good that something was.

On Friday, The Western Journal posted an article about government shutdowns and their impact.

The article reports:

One can hardly contain one’s astonishment. In fact, my own “shocked” expression might remain forever frozen.

Ready for this? The establishment media colludes with Democrats, and the federal government swindles Americans. Who knew?

Thursday on social media platform X, with the prospect of a government shutdown looming, independent investigative journalist and former CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson shared what she called a “[q]uick story about govt. shutdowns and the theatrics behind them.”

Attkisson recalled that around 2013, she and CBS News colleagues searched in vain for a government shutdown’s “real life impact.”

“When we couldn’t find any, *that* should have been part of the story. Instead, we kept trying to create the appearance of an impact,” she wrote.

…“Anyway, the Ds were blaming Rs for the shutdown, so we were calling Ds and the Obama administration for ideas to report what was the real impact. Taking our cue, these officials fabricated impact that we could report,” she wrote.

The fabrication came in the form of cordoning off public monuments in Washington, D.C.

“We knew and even discussed in the newsroom that this made no sense. These monuments weren’t ‘manned’ to begin with,” she wrote.

Attkisson characterized this incident as simply the most memorable among multiple acts of shutdown-related theater and deceit.

The article notes:

First, the establishment media will stoop to any degree of dishonesty, provided it helps Democrats.

CBS’s own “60 Minutes,” for instance, got caught doctoring an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris in October during her failed presidential campaign.

Second, Democrats and their allies in the Republican establishment desperately want Americans to regard the federal government as essential. After all, the federal government functions as the mechanism by which the establishment plunders American citizens.

According to U.S. News & World Report, suburbs of Washington, D.C. accounted for five of the 10 wealthiest counties in America by median household income in 2023. Only a massive transfer of wealth to the nation’s capital can produce a statistic like that.

Hopefully, the times are changing.

Stating The Obvious

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Posting this article is going to get me in trouble with some of my friends who believe that recreational drug use is no big deal, but it’s time to look at the bigger picture.

On Sunday, The Western Journal reported:

Not only did last week see the election of a libertarian fan of former President Donald Trump to the presidency of Argentina, another new South American leader much closer to the border just overturned a policy in his own country that U.S. leftists have been pushing for years.

Maybe progressives can learn something from the neighbors to the south.

On Friday, according to Agence France-Presse, Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa dumped a policy of decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs, declaring that it  “encourages micro-trafficking in schools and creates a whole generation of addicted children.”

It applies to “up to 10 grams of marijuana, 2 grams of cocaine paste, 1 gram of cocaine, 0.10 grams of heroin, and 0.04 grams of amphetamine” for personal use, according to the Washington Examiner.

The policy was instituted a decade ago by the country’s then-president, socialist Rafael Correa, according to AFP.

The article notes what happened when Oregon decriminalized drugs:

The idea was, ostensibly, to”transform addiction by minimizing penalties for drug use and investing instead in recovery,” the Post reported.

But in a result that should have surprised literally no one with any sense, things haven’t worked out quite that way. Drug use has grown, gotten worse, and gotten more deadly.

As the Post (The Washington Post) reported, “even top Democratic lawmakers who backed the law, which will likely dominate the upcoming legislative session, say they’re now open to revisiting it after the biggest increase in synthetic opioid deaths among states that have reported their numbers.”

Even the leftist publication The Atlantic has been compelled to report the results of Oregon’s experiment as a failure.

A population that has clear mental facilities will always result in a better society.

A New Level Of Trump Derangement Syndrome

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On Friday, The Western Journal posted an article about a recent commentary published in Salon Magazine.

The article includes a screenshot of the commentary headline:

Somehow, with all of the illegals pouring across our southern border and our government having no idea who they are, I don’t think it will be the MAGA and Christian Republicans who are responsible for the next terrorist attack in America.

The article notes

He (Brian Karem) went on to insist that that “There is little difference between [South Carolina Sen. Tim] Scott, [Louisiana Rep. Steve] Scalise and Hamas,” and outrageously added, “Further, there is little or no difference between most of the GOP leadership, including Jim Jordan and Donald Trump, and the leaders of Hamas.”

“Donald Trump and his followers are terrorists,” Karem added.

This is an outright calumny, of course. Republican leaders are nothing like Hamas. They have killed no one. They have not murdered babies, raped and decapitated women or murdered large swaths of people, like Hamas has — and like Hamas proudly says it will continue doing.

…The original title of the piece proclaimed, “MAGA and Christian nationalism: Bigger threat to America than Hamas could ever be.” Salon changed it to read, “Far-right MAGA theocrats: Most dangerous threat to America.”

Neither headline contained any truth. But both articles are perfect examples of how the far left in America has worked against half the country, with FBI stormtroopers “investigating” and harassing parents at school board meetings and MAGA voters, the IRS harassing Christian organizations or Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton calling MAGA voters “deplorables” and haters.

 

 

Something We Need To Remember

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Chapter 12 of Genesis in the Bible describes the calling of Abram:

…2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will blessthose who bless youand cursethose who curse you;and allthe familiesof the earthwill be blessedthrough you.”4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.…

A close look at world history enforces this Bible verse. The sun never set on the British Empire until they reneged on the 1917 Balfour Declaration. That began the unraveling of their Empire. Maybe that was an incredible coincidence, but then let’s look at Germany after World War II. Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass” occurred on November 9 and 10, 1938. This was a night of violence against Jews and Jewish businesses that took place throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia recently occupied by German troops. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Germany was a divided nation for 51 years. On August 18th, 2005, Jewish residents in the Gaza Strip were forcibly removed from their homes with the approval of the American government. On August 29,2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. How many coincidences do we need to recognize that there might be a pattern.

In the past few days we have seen Hamas, located in the Gaza Strip attack Israel with a brutality beyond the ‘normal’ brutality of war. Unfortunately, America has not responded well.

On Sunday, The Western Journal posted an article about America’s response to the attack. Unfortunately we got it wrong. Fortunately the Tweet was taken down.

The article notes:

In a now-deleted tweet from the account of the U.S. Office Of Palestinian Affairs, the State Department wrote, “We unequivocally condemn the attack of Hamas terrorists and the loss of life that has occurred. We urge all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing,” the tweet said.

This is a screenshot of the tweet:
War is a horrible thing, but you can’t live in peace next to people who want to drive you into the sea. Now is the time to destroy Hamas. It is probably true that Hezbollah will be drawn into the fight and will have to be destroyed also. Unfortunately that leads us back to Iran (hopefully they don’t yet have nuclear weapons) who is bankrolling both Hamas and Hezbollah. This is a dangerous time for the world. We all need to be praying, and we all need to understand that God’s covenant with Israel is forever. We need to act carefully and remember we are not the final answer.

About That Article V Convention

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Many Americans have espoused the idea of an Article V Convention as a way to add two amendments to the United States Constitution–a balanced budget amendment and a term limits amendment. When those of us who are skeptical of the ability of our political class to do the right thing question the idea of holding an Article V Convention, we are told that the checks and balances would prevent any mischief. I am not convinced. We have checks and balances built into our government, and we have had a lot of mischief in spite of those checks and balances.

On Friday, The Western Journal reported the following:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is eyeing a change to the United States Constitution.

The state’s legislature on Thursday approved a resolution in support of Newsom’s call for a 28th Constitutional amendment, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The amendment would enshrine a list of Democratic gun-control policy priorities into federal law.

…The proposed “Right to Safety Amendment” would limit legal gun ownership to adults 21 and older, enact universal federal background checks on gun sales, create a mandatory “reasonable waiting period” for gun purchases, and ban the purchase of many forms of semiautomatic rifles.

The article notes:

The governor claims the new amendment would co-exist with the Second Amendment despite the proposed amendment’s changes to the American legal understanding of gun ownership.

“The Right to Safety Amendment would preserve the integrity of the Second Amendment, while enshrining in our Constitution commonsense safety provisions that are supported overwhelmingly by the American people,” the progressive governor said in a news release.

…Three-fourths of state legislatures need to approve any amendment to the Constitution before it becomes law, and Republicans control a majority of state houses.

Many of the amendment’s provisions already are law in California, but that state experienced the most mass shootings in the nation between 1982 and August of this year, according to Statista. However, the nation’s most populous state had the eighth-lowest gun-death rate among the 50 states in 2021, according to Giffords Law Center.

I don’t want to let this man anywhere near amending the U.S. Constitution.

Breaking The Law When You Are Supposed To Be The Law

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On Sunday, The Western Journal posted an article about evidence tampering in the trials of the January 6th protesters.

The article reports:

The FBI has been accused of doctoring evidence against a defendant who was involved in the Capitol incursion.

The controversy erupted last week after an attorney for Ethan Nordean, a Proud Boys member facing charges over the events of Jan. 6, 2021, said “hidden” messages between FBI agents had been found in a document presented to the court by FBI Special Agent Nicole Miller, according to Newsweek.

“[A] close examination of the agent’s sheet revealed over one thousand hidden Excel rows of messages,” a court document said.

“Nordean must be permitted to cross-examine Miller with the hidden Lync messages to determine whether defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights have been violated through government collection of attorney-client communications about trial strategy,” said the court filing by Nordean’s attorney, Nicholas Smith.

The disclosure resulted in a pause on the trial of several Proud Boys members until next week, including Dominic Pezzola, a co-defendant of Nordean’s who is facing obstruction and conspiracy charges.

The article notes:

Roger Roots, an attorney for Pezzola, explained the significance of the find.

“There are a couple of emails between FBI agents casually discussing altering a document and destroying hundreds of pieces of evidence. It’s very disturbing and right now we have more questions than answers,” Roots said, according to the Epoch Times.

Roger Roots has filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Dominic Pezzola.

The article concludes:

The motion also cited footage from Jan. 6, 2021, aired by Fox News host Tucker Carlson in the effort to dismiss the charges. The footage showed protester Jacob Chansley walking through the Capitol in the company of Capitol police, who were not making any physical effort to remove him.

“This footage is plainly exculpatory; as it establishes that the Senate chamber was never violently breached, and — in fact –was treated respectfully by January 6 protestors. To the extent protestors entered the chamber, they did so under the supervision of Capitol Police,” the motion claimed.

Please follow the link to the article for further details of the FBI’s misconduct.

 

 

Misleading People To Cause Division

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As long as America is divided, we are not paying a lot of attention to what is happening in Washington. Therefore, it is to the advantage of some people to keep up divided. I am going to report on one instance of how this is done.

On Saturday, The Western Journal posted an article about the death of Keenan Anderson, 31. Keenan Anderson is the cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, who cited this case as the latest example of police brutality against blacks. Well, there are a few problems with her claim.

The article reports:

After Anderson’s death, Cullors posted his photograph to Instagram with the following message: “This is my cousin Keenan Anderson. He was killed by LAPD in Venice on January 3rd, 2023. My cousin was an educator and worked with high school aged children. He was an English teacher. LAPD has killed three people this year. One of them is my family member. Keenan deserves to be alive right now, his child deserves to be raised by his father. Keenan we will fight for you and for all of our loved ones impacted by state violence. I love you. JusticeForKeenan#BlackLivesMatter.”

However, the video from the body cameras of the police involved tell a very difference story:

The officer asked Anderson to sit down and he complied “for several minutes,” Muniz said. After backup arrived, Anderson got up and ran into the street. The officers ordered him to stop and “to get on the ground.”

“As the police tried to take Anderson into custody, he became increasingly agitated, uncooperative and resisted the officers,” she said.

An officer shouts “Get out of the street” to Anderson, who shouts back that, “Somebody’s trying to kill me, sir.”

Contrary to Cullors’ claims, the video shows the officer being extremely patient with Anderson.

Anderson tells him, “They’re trying to put stuff in my car.”

“Who’s trying to put stuff in your car?” the officer asks.

A message on the video said that seven minutes later, Anderson tried to run away again. The officer continued to be patient, even kind, to Anderson.

Please follow the link above the read the entire story. I don’t care what color you are, if you run from the police or refuse to cooperate, bad things happen. Read your news carefully, things are not always what they appear to be.

 

Why We Need To Assimilate Immigrants

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Immigration is what built America. People came here to work and make their fortunes. It’s interesting that many of the British who originally settled America were second sons who left Britain because under British inheritance laws, they were not entitled to any of the family’s estate. Our early  immigrants came here to be free, and eventually they became Americans.

Today’s immigrants are not necessarily assimilating. Many come from cultures other than western culture and do not understand that some of their customs are not welcome here. On Thursday, The Western Journal posted an article illustrating what happens when immigrants don’t assimilate.

The article reports:

The all-Muslim City Council of the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck on Tuesday voted to allow the religious sacrifice of animals on private property.

Since the 2021 elections, the council has had three members of Yemeni descent, two whose roots are in Bangladesh, and one who is of Eastern European heritage who converted to Islam.

The vote to allow animal sacrifice was 3-2. Mayor Amer Ghalib, who is also a Muslim, cast an additional vote for the proposal, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Muslims slaughter animals during the Eid al-Adha, a religious holiday.  Hamtramck has a high percentage of Muslims among its residents.

Dawud Walid, director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, framed animal sacrifice as no big deal saying it was “not something new or novel,” according to the Associated Press.

“This is when Muslims recognize Abraham sacrificing a sheep instead of having to sacrifice his son,” Walid said.

City Attorney Odey Meroueh said the council was on shaky legal ground if it did not pass the law.

…“If somebody wants to do it, they have a right to do their practice,” Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Mohammed Hassan said, according to the Free Press.

Hassan said passing the law will not make Hamtramck “blow up with the nasty blood, contamination.”

Councilman Nayeem Choudhury said the question was one of freedom of religion.

“Our rights come first,” he said, adding that he was “born … Muslim, and that’s my faith, and I will stick with my same faith.”

I am all for religious freedom, but I am against animal sacrifice because of religion. I believe it is uncivilized. Yes, I understand Jewish history, but I believe we have walked away from the custom of killing an animal to attone for our wrongdoing.

More Intrigue At Twitter

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On Wednesday, The Western Journal posted an article about a recent comment by Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter. Whenever you read anything about the current goings on at Twitter, it is probably a good idea to go to The Conservative Treehouse and read the articles related to Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop. The articles explain the relationship between Twitter and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Western Journal notes:

The dramatic revelations coming out of the “Twitter Files” haven’t stopped yet, and the developing side stories are a look at just how far the Democratic National Committee and other powerful forces wielded their influence over social media platforms to shape narratives and influence elections.

The most recent evidence that there is something yet to be uncovered came in a peculiar request from Twitter’s founder, Jack Dorsey, to its new CEO, Elon Musk. Dorsey suggested that instead of releasing a limited number of internal documents over a period of weeks, it would be better to release them all now.

“If the goal is transparency to build trust, why not just release everything without filter and let people judge for themselves? Including all discussions around current and future actions? Make everything public now,” Dorsey tweeted Wednesday.

The article notes:

An investor group called Elliott Management, which Dorsey described as an “activist” group, tried to force him out of Twitter starting in 2020.

In a series of text messages between Dorsey and Musk that were released as part of Twitter’s previous lawsuit against Musk when he backed out of the purchasing deal earlier this year before eventually going through with it, Dorsey expressed great interest in getting Musk on Twitter’s board.

“Back when we had the activist come in, I tried my hardest to get you on our board, and our board said no,” a March text from Dorsey to Musk read.

Dorsey explained in another text why he believed the board wouldn’t go for it. “I think the main reason is the board is just super risk averse and saw adding you as more risk, which I thought was completely stupid and backwards,” Dorsey wrote.

The question remains: Does Dorsey want something from that turbulent time to be released for public consumption? It sure sounds that way.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. There seems to be (and to have been) a lot going on behind the scenes at Twitter.

Things The Mainstream Media Left Out

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On Sunday, The Western Journal posted an article titled, “Most Damning Detail of Fauci’s 7-Hour Deposition Slips Through Media Blackout.”

The article reports:

During a several hour-long deposition, Republicans grilled Fauci regarding the NAIAD director’s reported collusion with Big Tech companies to censor opinions about COVID-19, according to Fox News.

More specifically, the deposition was part of Republican attorneys general Eric Schmitt and Jeff Landry’s lawsuit filed against the Biden administration in May.

The two allege that information, such as the origin of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of masking, was censored thanks to collusion between the White House and social media companies, Fox News reported.

Perhaps the most notable fact to come out of the deposition has fallen completely under the media radar.

Apparently, Fauci based his lockdown narrative on Chinese propaganda. Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, MD, one of the parties partnered with the two AGs in filing the lawsuit, walked through this revelation on Thursday.

According to Kheriaty, Fauci sent NAIAD deputy Clifford Lane to China in order to represent the U.S. for the WHO.

After meeting with Chinese officials, who falsely claimed their draconian lockdowns had effectively combated the virus, Lane convinced Fauci that the U.S. needed to follow the communist, authoritarian government’s lead.

“From the very beginning, the evidential basis for this global policy catastrophe was always paper-thin,” Kheriaty wrote. “We are now living in the aftermath.”

…Jenin Younes of the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), another partner in filing the lawsuit, explained as much via Twitter as well.

Younes concluded that Fauci was “apparently willing to base his lockdown advocacy on the observations of a single guy relying on reports from a dictator.”

Looking back on this, it seems as if China was able to cripple the American economy with a few words to an American official. The entire Covid pandemic is looking more and more like a biological weapon attack designed to weaken America and bring us closer to The Great Reset and One World Government. Those who pushed the narrative of lockdowns and school closures need to be removed from their positions. Those governors who sent Covid patients into nursing homes need to be put on trial.

We Need To Watch This Case Closely

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On Saturday, The Western Journal reported that

Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright — with the Elections Integrity Unit — wrote a letter to the Maricopa County officials Saturday demanding an accounting for the widespread ballot tabulation and ballot printer problems seen during the general election on Nov. 8.

Among the most troubling issues raised in the letter directed to Thomas Liddy with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office was the apparent co-mingling of ballots in black duffle bags in at least one polling location, which were successfully run through the on-site tabulators with those put in “Door 3” to be sent to the Election Department’s downtown Phoenix tabulation center because they could not be read.

“The Elections Integrity Unit (“Unit”) of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) has received hundreds of complaints since Election Day pertaining to issues related to the administration of the 2022 General Election in Maricopa County,” Wright opened her letter.

“These complaints go beyond pure speculation, but include first-hand witness accounts that raise concerns regarding Maricopa’s lawful compliance with Arizona election law,” she continued.

Wright wrote that statements made by Maricopa Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates and County Recorder Stephen Richer, along with other official communications from the county appear to confirm potential election law violations.

Unfortunately, election fraud has been part of American elections for many years. Chicago Mayor Richard Daly is said to have delivered Ilinois’ electoral votes to John Kennedy in 1960 under questionable circumstances. What we need to do is take measures to limit the amount of fraud possible–voter id laws, ballot harvesting laws that are enforced, signature verification on absentee ballots, etc. We may eventually have to go to paper ballots and hand counts. I think the purple finger in Iraq worked really well. At any rate, watch Arizona to see if anyone is willing to challenge voter fraud and if they can do it successfully.

Big Brother Is In Control Of Most Social Media

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It may be years before we fully appreciate what Elon Musk has done by buying Twitter. He may have put a stake in the ground to protect Americans from government-controlled media.

On Monday, The Daily Caller reported the following:

The Department of Homeland Security has left open a special feature that allows government officials to flag Facebook posts for misinformation after scrapping a controversial advisory board tasked with developing guidelines for social media censorship, the Intercept reported Monday.

DHS announced plans for a Disinformation Governance Board to “develop guidelines, standards, guardrails to ensure that the work that has been ongoing for nearly 10 years does not infringe on people’s free speech rights, rights of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in May, according to The Hill. While DHS shuttered the initiative after an onslaught of bipartisan opposition decrying the potential censorship, the Intercept found through an analysis of public and leaked documents that government efforts to police tech companies goes on.

On Tuesday, The Western Journal reported:

Twitter and other social media platforms have been cozy with the Department of Homeland Security to squelch what DHS calls “misinformation,” “disinformation” and “malinformation,” or “MDM,” according to an investigative report published Monday by The Intercept.

But you knew that.

And maybe Elon Musk did in his purchase of Twitter last week.

Job one for Musk was to not only fire CEO Parag Agrawal but also Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s top lawyer and the individual responsible for booting former President Donald Trump off the platform and for censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story in the run-up to the 2020 election.

You probably remember a few months ago when DHS rolled out what it called its Disinformation Governance Board, designed to go after “MDM” on social media. A firestorm of bad publicity meant the Biden administration had to quickly yank it offstage.

But the concept is still around and Gadde has been part of it.

Please follow the links above to read both articles. It is obvious that the government has interfered in the free speech rights of Americans. America has had a biased media for a long time, but social media should have been a neutral platform. For further information on the relationship between our government and Twitter, please go to The Conservative Treehouse and read the articles about Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop.

And The Media Lies Just Continue

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Earlier this week, someone broke into the campaign headquarters of Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Democratic gubernatorial candidate. The media (and Ms. Hobbs) immediately framed the break-in as politically motivated. Somehow, when that was proven to be false, the candidate stopped talking about the break-in.

PJ Media reported the following on Thursday:

Democrat Katie Hobbs, Arizona secretary of state and gubernatorial candidate, was quick to amplify claims that “dangerous misinformation” from her Republican opponent Kari Lake was connected to a break-in at her office this week. Police have now reportedly arrested a suspect and confirmed the break-in had no political motivation, so Hobbs did what any self-respecting Democrat political candidate would do — she refused to discuss the new development or her former accusations.

“AFTER accusing my team of coordinating a Watergate-style break-in of her office, Katie Hobbs has now flip-flopped and DOES NOT want to talk about the crime,” Kari Lake tweeted Thursday. “This comes AFTER arrest was made and NO political motivation confirmed.”

On Oct. 26, Hobbs tweeted a statement from her campaign manager Nicole DeMont. “Earlier this week, a break-in occurred at our campaign headquarters,” DeMont said. “We continue to cooperate with law enforcement as they investigate, and we are thankful to the men and women of the Phoenix Police Department for their work to keep us safe.” DeMont might need to up her wokeness — she’s excluding dozens of genders by talking only about the “men and women” of the police department. Do better, DeMont.

“Secretary Hobbs and her staff have faced hundreds of death threats and threats of violence over the course of this campaign,” DeMont’s statement continued. “Let’s be clear: for nearly two years Kari Lake and her allies have been spreading dangerous misinformation and inciting threats against anyone they see fit. The threats against Arizonans attempting to exercise their constitutional rights and their attacks on elected officials are the direct result of a concerted campaign of lies and intimidation.” All nice and vague, of course.

On Thursday, The Western Journal reported:

The Arizona Democratic Party was even more explicit in blaming Republicans for the alleged burglary, taking aim at “fringe Republicans” for the act.

…However, an arrest in the case appears to debunk any notion of a Republican operative targeting Hobbs. Police have apprehended 36-year-old Daniel Mota Dos Reis in the case, a man who identifies as a “Democrat” on his Facebook page.

The Democrats have complained for years that the Republicans are creating division in America. Has it occurred to them that false accusations that are not quickly retracted when proven wrong might be a source of division?

This Was Not An Individual Effort

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On Saturday, Michael Flynn posted an editorial in The Western Journal about some of things that are being revealed in the federal trial of Igor Danchenko. Please follow the link to read the entire editorial. I will try to  highlight it, but there is a lot of good information in the piece.

The editorial notes:

The FBI is not alone in this coup perpetrated against our nation.

For years, Americans were force-fed lie after lie by the propaganda press doing the dirty work of the Obama-Biden gang and their half-wit minions at the Department of Justice, FBI and others that caused havoc across our country and sought to destroy lives and families. Mine included.

…Now, Americans learned the FBI offered to pay $1 million of taxpayer money to a foreign spymaster conspiring with the Clinton campaign and others, plotting against America and striking at the heart of democracy and the republic. The extent to which they would go to destroy America had no boundaries.

The editorial concludes:

It matters less to me if these thugs spend the rest of their lives in jail, for this is the most consequential time in our nation’s history, and if we don’t correct the path this country is headed down, we may be seeing the last vestiges of the America our Founders envisioned — a free nation of self-governed citizens emboldened with their God-given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Thank God the truth has broken through since the Durham trial began. Truth has no fear and will always surface to the top. And there are no more disguises of righteousness for those who seek to dismantle the American way of life. No hiding places, no rocks to climb under — America is informed.

The relentless and brutal attacks on me and my love for God and country will continue, but these are whistles in the wind. They will not deter me from honoring my oath and duty to protect this country from harm or my love for my family — my children and grandchildren — for whom I will give my last breath so that they will live free.

The ongoing trial is giving us a lot of insight into the bad behavior of what is now known as the ‘deep state’ during the Trump administration. General Flynn is correct in stating that the actions of those involved in undermining the Trump administration were also undermining our republic. There need to be some consequences for everyone who was involved.