If You Believe This…

On Tuesday, PJ Media posted an article about a recent claim made by The Washington Post about the impact of illegal immigration on America’s economy. Of course The Washington Post did not call it illegal immigration–they simply called it ‘immigration.’

The article reports:

Then on Tuesday morning, I came across this headline in The Washington Post: “The economy is roaring. Immigration is a key reason.” 

I immediately wondered if I might be concussed. 

Upon further review, I had no head injuries, and I hadn’t touched a drop of booze since last Friday, so I was indeed reading the headline correctly. Sorry, Burger King, there’s a new Home of the Whopper. 

Last fall, I began reminding readers that the MSM Biden bias was going to have to be at least three times stronger than it was in 2020 to get the slurring idiot in the White House reelected. They created a fictional Joe Biden out of whole cloth back then. He’s become such a mess that they are now creating a fictional version of their fictional version. They aren’t even pretending that the real Joe Biden is right in front of our eyes. 

The cheerleading for the economy is to be expected. It’s a kitchen table issue that they hope they can hide somewhere in a cluttered pantry. Over at The New York Times, Paul Krugman writes an almost weekly column telling readers not to believe their lying household budgets and dwindling savings accounts. His most recent effort has a headline that almost rivals the one we’re discussing today: “Bidenomics Is Still Working Very Well.” 

The article includes this quote from The Washington Post article:

There isn’t much data on how many of the new immigrants in recent years were documented versus undocumented. But estimates from the Pew Research Center last fall showed that undocumented immigrants made up 22 percent of the total foreign-born U.S. population in 2021. That’s down compared to previous decades: Between 2007 and 2021, the undocumented population fell by 14 percent, Pew found. Meanwhile, the legal immigrant population grew by 29 percent.

The article at PJ Media notes:

The authors don’t mention the inconvenient fact that record numbers of people are crushing the border and have been for months. The numbers are so overwhelming that the government is scrambling to keep tabs on as many as they can by putting them up in hotels on the taxpayer’s dime. 

This immigration isn’t much of a boon to state and local economies. We continually cover stories here about the financial strain that the “immigrants” are placing on states and cities all over America, like this recent one that Catherine wrote

Even if, as the authors posit, the economy is “roaring,” because of the “immigrants,” it’s only in one area. The southern border crisis is dragging the economy down in many ways. The “Rah! Rah!” in this article is akin to celebrating a $5000 bonus check on the same day that your mechanic tells you that your car needs $7000 worth of work to get back on the road again. 

I wonder if anyone still believes The Washington Post.

Is The U.S. Constitution Relevant In America?

On February 27th, Issues and Insights posted an article about a recent statement by President Biden.

The article reports:

The Supreme Court told President Joe Biden that he didn’t have the authority to forgive student loan debt. But he did anyway, bragging that the Court “didn’t stop me.” So why do we even have a legislative branch and a high court if the president is going to make law as if he were a king?

Does Congress have the intestinal fortitude to insist that the President abide by the Constitution? Frankly, I doubt it.

The article continues:

It’s Biden’s party, and its activist media, that has been carping for years about losing “our democracy.” Yet when a Democratic president bypasses the checks and balances that are the backbone of our republic, the three co-equal branches framework of government that is intended to guard against descending into a dictatorship, they celebrate rather than condemn.

Maybe it’s because they care about the integrity of our system of government only when it’s making policies they want.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down the Biden administration’s plan to cancel up to $400 billion in student loans, which it had announced in August 2022. In her concurring opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett noted that “when it comes to” national policy, “the Constitution gives Congress the reins — a point of context that no reasonable interpreter could ignore.”

But high court rulings apparently don’t apply when a Democratic president decides they don’t. Last week, the White House played the role of unreasonable interpreter and announced “$1.2 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 153,000 borrowers.”

“The Biden-Harris administration has now approved nearly $138 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 3.9 million borrowers through more than two dozen executive actions,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Biden acknowledged last week that “my MAGA Republican friends in the Congress, elected officials, and special interests stepped in and sued us,” and that “the Supreme Court blocked it.”

The government does not have the power to step between a lender and a borrower. That is a private contract and should not be interfered with by the government. How would you feel if the government stepped in and forgave your neighbor’s mortgage while requiring you to pay off your mortgage? That is what the Biden administration is trying to do.

Are We Living In A Police State?

News organizations are firing employees because of law ratings. CNN, BuzzFeed, and Vice Media have all recently announced layoffs. CBS is also firing reporters.

On Thursday (updated Friday), The New York Post reported the following:

The acclaimed CBS reporter who was investigating the Hunter Biden laptop scandal before she was fired last week had her personal files seized by the network in an “unprecedented” move, sources told The Post on Thursday.

Catherine Herridge — who is the middle of a First Amendment case being closely watched by journalists nationwide — was among 20 CBS News staffers let go as part of a larger purge of hundreds of employees at parent company Paramount Global.

Her firing had stunned co-workers, but the network’s decision to hold on to her personal materials, along with her work laptop where she may have other confidential info, has left many staffers shaken, according to insiders.

“It’s so extraordinary,” a source familiar with the situation told The Post, noting that the files — which are presumptively now the property of CBS News — most likely contain confidential material from Herridge’s stints at both Fox and CBS.

The source said the network boxed up all her personal belongings except for Herridge’s notes and files and informed her that it would decide what — if anything — would be returned to her.

“They never seize documents [when you’re let go],” a second source close to the network said.

Brit Hume posted the following on Twitter:

 

This is just one more step in the direction of a police state where the media is controlled by the people in power.

The article at The New York Post concludes:

Jonathan Turley — a legal scholar and a former CBS legal analyst who first broke the news of Herridge’s documents being seized in an opinion piece for The Hill — said the timing of the journalist’s termination raised suspicions.

“She was pursuing stories that were unwelcomed by the Biden White House and many Democratic powerhouses, including the Hur report on Joe Biden’s diminished mental capacity, the Biden corruption scandal and the Hunter Biden laptop,” Turley wrote.

Under normal circumstances, journalists are entitled to their notes and make available the files if needed in future ligation, but leaving sensitive documents in the hands of unnamed CBS officials, could compromise Herridge’s numerous other confidential sources.

It also potentially violates HIPAA laws, as her files may also contain personal and family medical records.

Turley said CBS’ “heavy-handed approach” to the files” is “dead wrong” and that it had “sent a chilling signal in the ranks” of the network.

SAG-AFTRA, the union which represents CBS staffers, condemned the network for seizing Herridge’s notes and research from her office.

“This action is deeply concerning concerning to the union because it sets a dangerous precedent for all media professionals and threatens the very foundation of the First Amendment,” the union said in a statement to The Post.

The union added it has been in touch with CBS News and is hopeful the matter “will be resolved shortly.”

We are in a dangerous place.

Are You Surprised?

On Tuesday, The New York Post posted an article reporting that President Biden will not take a cognitive test during his upcoming annual physical.

The article reports:

The White House says President Biden will not take a cognitive test — even after a damning report from his own Department of Justice highlighting his “poor memory” and voters expressing major concerns about his mental acuity.

“The president proves every day [in] how he operates and how he thinks — by dealing with world leaders, by making difficult decisions on behalf of the American people — whether it’s domestic or national security,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday, quoting from Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor.

“That is how Dr. O’Connor sees it, and that is how I’m going to leave it,” she said, adding that she has known the now-81-year-old Biden since 2009 and he is still “sharp.”

“When we have meetings with him and his staff, he is constantly pushing us, trying to get more information, and so that has been my experience with this president,” Jean-Pierre said.

I am not willing to demand that every candidate for President take a cognitive test, but I would support a law that said every President over the age of 70 in office should include a cognitive test as part of his annual physical.

The article also notes:

Last year, O’Connor did not put Biden through any cognitive tests. The doctor has also never taken questions from the press — in a clear break from White House precedent.

Jean-Pierre, asked about finally letting O’Connor take reporters’ questions after the oldest-ever president’s annual physical, which is expected to take place as soon as this month, refused to commit to whether that would occur.

At this point, I think the only thing that is keeping President Biden from being forced to step down from the presidency is the fact that Kamala Harris is Vice-President.

Supporting The Right To Defend Yourself

I guess since the Biden administration does not think it worthwhile to defend America by protecting its southern border, it doesn’t see why other nations should find it necessary to defend themselves.

On Sunday, NBC News reported the following:

The Biden administration is discussing using weaponry sales to Israel as leverage to convince the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to heed long-standing U.S. calls to scale back its military assault in the Gaza Strip, according to three current U.S. officials and one former U.S. official.

At the direction of the White House, the Pentagon has been reviewing what weaponry Israel has requested that could be used as leverage, said the sources. They said no decisions have been made.

The sources said Israeli officials continue to ask the administration for more weapons, including large aerial bombs, ammunition and air defenses.

After weeks of private administration requests produced fewer results than the White House wants, the sources said, the U.S. is considering slowing or pausing the deliveries in the hope that doing so will prod the Israelis to take action, such as opening humanitarian corridors to provide more aid to Palestinian civilians.

Why in the world should Israel scale back its operations in the Gaza Strip? Israel was peacefully existing when it was brutally attacked on October 7th. Israel did nothing to provoke the attack (other than exist). If Israel does not end Hamas and find a way to prevent terrorists from taking over Gaza again, there will be another attack similar to the one of October 7. You can’t negotiate with terrorists. That has been proven. Why is the administration focused on Israel rather than pressuring Hamas to release the hostages?

The article concludes:

Biden has said for weeks that he’s been doing all he can to get Israel to change its military tactics.

“I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza,” Biden said on Jan. 8 when confronted by protesters calling for a cease-fire. “I’ve been using all that I can to do that.”

White House officials argue that Biden has had some success, though they concede that Israeli government officials still have not gone as far as the president has wanted.

A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly, expressed frustration with Israeli officials. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done and they need to be more careful about,” the official said.

If Israel continues its activities in Gaza, the rest of the hostages may not survive. However, if Israel withdraws from Gaza, there is a good chance that the hostages will never be released and before very long more hostages will be taken.

Creating An Energy Crisis In America

The last real energy crisis America experienced was in the 1970’s. It was then that the country discovered that there was a price to be paid for not being energy independent. We have forgotten that lesson.

On Friday, Red State reported:

In a Friday morning announcement, the White House and Department of Energy (DOE) revealed their next target — and it’s enormous.

The White House is halting the permitting process for several proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal projects over their potential impacts on climate change, an unprecedented move environmentalists have demanded in recent months.

[T]he pause [will] occur while federal officials conduct a rigorous environmental review assessing the projects’ carbon emissions, which could take more than a year to complete. Climate activists have loudly taken aim at LNG export projects in recent weeks, arguing they will lead to a large uptick in emissions and worsen global warming.

The article concludes:

Chatterjee (former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Neil Chatterjee) was right— but here’s the thing. Facts, data, and science only matter to Democrats when they support the left’s narratives. We saw it with COVID-19. When facts don’t support the left’s narratives, they are to be dismissed, lied about, or outright ignored. (See: “Anthony Fauci.”)

Finally, House Speaker Mike Johnson released a statement following the White House announcement, warning that Biden is playing into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hand.

This announcement by President Biden is as outrageous as it is subversive. Stalling LNG export terminals, like Calcasieu Pass 2 in Louisiana, not only prevents America’s economic growth, it empowers our adversaries like Vladimir Putin.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, American petroleum producers have increased LNG shipments to our partners in Europe to prevent a catastrophic, continent-wide energy crisis and to provide an alternative to Russian energy exports.

It is outrageous that this administration is asking American taxpayers to spend billions to defeat Russia while knowingly forcing allies to rely on Russian energy, giving Putin an advantage. 

This policy change also flies in the face of the commitments made when the White House announced the joint US-EU Task Force less than two years ago to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia and strengthen energy security.

Nailed it. The question is, whether Biden is capable of understanding the gravity of the Speaker’s statement. The answer is no doubt chilling.

The Bottom Line

If the environmental alarmist crowd came out today and announced it has changed its position on natural gas, Joe Biden would be singing its praises before he eats his pudding cup and goes nighty-night.

Pleas follow the link to read the entire article. We are committing economic suicide.

What An Incredible Coincidence!

On Tuesday, The Daily Caller reported that Hunter Biden didn’t sell any paintings under his father was elected President.

The article reports:

Hunter Biden’s first art sale with a professional art dealer came shortly after his father, Joe Biden, was elected president, his art gallerist testified earlier this month.

Attorneys for Georges Berges, Hunter Biden’s New York City-based gallerist, provided a letter to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees showing Hunter Biden sold his first piece of art with Berges on Dec. 11, 2020, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller.

The article notes:

“[W]hen did you first sell a piece of Hunter Biden’s art?”

“Gees, I don’t remember,” Berges said. One of his attorneys appeared to show him the letter with the date of Hunter Biden’s first art sale with Berges.

“Is this the–so, December 11th, 2020,” Berges stated.

“So according to your letter, the first sale of Hunter Biden’s art was on December 20th. Had you established anything in writing regarding your relationship with Hunter Biden at that time? Excuse me. December 11th,” Berges was asked.

“I believe so, yeah,” he replied. He recalled a 60% to 40% split between Hunter Biden and himself in the terms of the first contract. He believed the first contract was agreed upon around the 2020 presidential election but he could not recall a precise date.

Berges and Hunter Biden entered into a new contract in September 2021, and Hunter Biden received a slight commission increase in the new deal. The 60% to 40% rate for artists and gallerists is the industry standard, Berges said.

As part of the initial contract, Hunter Biden was allowed to learn the identity of his art buyers, and in the second contract Berges was required not to inform Biden of his buyers, the art gallerist testified.

The article also notes another strange coincidence:

On Feb. 17 2021, right after President Biden’s inauguration, Democratic donor Elizabeth Naftali purchased a piece of Hunter Biden’s art for $52,000, Berges stated. It took the art gallerist a year of persuasion to get Naftali to buy the piece.

President Biden appointed Naftali in July 2022 to a presidential commission tasked with preserving America’s heritage abroad. She bought another Hunter Biden art piece for $42,000 on Dec. 9, 2022. Berges confirmed that Naftali knew Hunter Biden and he believed she could have told him about her art purchases.

The art gallerist said he did not provide the White House with any records of Hunter Biden’s art sales or the patrons who bought his art.

Please follow the link to the article for further details. To say that this whole new art career on the part of Hunter is fishy is like saying water is wet.

Peaceful Protest?

On Sunday, Hot Air posted an article about the pro-Hamas protests outside the White House on Saturday. The protests were not peaceful.

The article reports:

The thousands of people screaming about peace and ceasefires outside of the White House yesterday certainly weren’t acting as if peace was important. In fact, as Fox News reported, many of them were becoming overtly violent. The speeches and chants gave way to attempts to break down the security fencing that had been erected to keep them out. They also began hurling things at the Metropolitan Police as well as the United States Park Police. The tone of the chants coming from the rioters shifted a bit also. Instead of only decrying Israel and demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, they were demanding that the United States stop striking back against the Houthi militants in Yemen. The potentially violent situation was bad enough that some White House staffers and journalists were temporarily “relocated” to keep them safe. The situation was completely out of control.

I have some questions for the protesters. Does the ceasefire include returning the innocent hostages that have been held for more than three month? Will reparations be paid by Hamas to the families of the innocent civilians Hamas killed or the families of the hostages? Why isn’t Hamas being tried in the World Court for the purposeful killing of civilians and the use of civilians as human shields?

The article notes:

As Bob Hoge pointed out at RedState, there were more than the normal Palestinian flags on display. People were hoisting ISIS flags as well. Yes, that would be the same ISIS terrorists that are so famous for their peaceful, humanitarian efforts around the world. Making things all the more bizarre, the person the protesters were attempting to influence (Joe Biden) wasn’t even there. He was already at Camp David. Also, Andy Ngo was on the scene as usual, filming the action and later posting it to Twitter.

Some of the protesters were protesting the attack on the Houthis, another terrorist group.

Please follow the link to read the entire article–I wonder if the people protesting truly understand what they are supporting.

Did You See This In The Mainstream Media?

The following was posted on Twitter on Saturday. I totally support peaceful protest. I don’t support breaking the law, and I don’t support the unequal application of the law. It will be interesting to see exactly what happens to the people involved in this ‘protest.’ It really does not look like a peaceful protest.

What Does Secretary Austin’s Being AWOL Tell Us?

On Friday, The Association of Mature American Citizens posted an article on its website about the mysterious disappearance Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. To say that the fact that the Secretary of Defense was in the hospital for cancer treatment and no one in the chain of command knew about it is unusual is an understatement. The situation is very concerning for many reasons.

The article reports:

As of this column, he remains in the hospital and is reported to be in “good condition.” That’s good news, but in the process, some very serious issues regarding our government and the Biden administration have been revealed.

Now, the inspector general of the Department of Defense has announced an investigation into exactly what happened that allowed Austin’s hospitalization and incapacitation to be hidden from the White House, the president, the NSA, and even his own second in command, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. She had been handling the duties of the secretary of defense for at least two days from her vacation spot in Puerto Rico. Reports are that even she was kept in the dark about why she had been delegated the responsibility. This new DoD watchdog investigation joins congressional investigations already underway.

The statement from the DoD watchdog, however, gives us a hint about how this dangerous turn of everts will be minimized. In a memo announcing the investigation, they write: “The objective of the review is to examine the roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities, and actions related to the Secretary of Defense’s hospitalization in December 2023 – January 2024, and assess whether the DoD’s policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities as may be warranted due to health-based or other unavailability of senior leadership…” 

“Policies and procedures.” Got it. For this to be discussed as some sort of problem involving regulations and rulebooks is absurd.

How could America attack the Houthis and provide military aid to Israel without anyone being in touch with the Secretary of Defense? Who is making the decisions? What is the purpose of having a cabinet if you don’t discuss things with them (or even know where they are)? Who is running America right now?

Unequal Justice For Protests

On Sunday, The Federalist posted the following headline:

8 Times Left-Wing Protesters Broke Into Government Buildings And Assaulted Democracy

This is the list:

1. Interior Department Overtaken

On Oct. 14, 2021, climate activists breached the Interior Department, with demonstrators who were left outside struggling with law enforcement officers as they reportedly tried to force their way in, shouting “Go inside! Go inside!” Some activists vandalized a building, while others pinned police against a wall. The ordeal resulted in a number of injuries, according to multiple sources, with a police officer being transported to the hospital.

2. President Moved to Bunker After White House Fence Breach

3. Wisconsin Capitol Overwhelmed

4. Portland Federal Courthouse Overtaken by Violence

5. Democracy Halted at the Texas Capitol

6. SCOTUS Police Lines Breached, Senate Overwhelmed by Anti-Kavanaugh Activists

7. Senate Bombed by Left-Wing Terrorists

8. Senate Chamber Breached by Biden Himself

I’m not totally convinced the last one really happened.

At any rate, how did the Justice Department handle these cases. How long were the people who did these things kept in jail? How long did they wait for their trials? You get the picture. Please click on the link above to read the details.

Remember When The Democrats Screamed That Donald Trump Ruined The Decorum Of Washington?

The circus that is the Biden administration and the Democrat party continues. If you haven’t seen the video of the White House Christmas dance, please spare yourself. During the summer there were bare breasts on the White House Lawn. Now there is gay sex in the Senate hearing room. I’m so sorry that President Trump ruined the decorum of Washington.

On Saturday, Townhall reported:

At the time of this post, an aide to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who allegedly filmed himself having gay sex in a Senate hearing room, tried to play the victim card when the clips were leaked. This staffer was identified last night, and Cardin’s office issued a classic crisis management response, which some could view as throwing the aide under the bus. It was a prelude to an employment termination. Immediate action was required. Yet, for now, that’s the least of that office’s worries. I do not envy the Cardin communications staff right now.

The article includes the following quote:

Aidan Maese-Czeropski posts a statement on LinkedIn after having sex in a senate hearing room where he says that he is “being attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda” and that “I would never disrespect my workplace.” 

Sir, you were not fired because of who you love–you were fired for actions that were grossly inappropriate in the setting in which they occurred. No one really cares what you do  in your bedroom, but they do care what you do in a Senate hearing room.

The article notes:

Are the adults in charge again? We’ve had someone bring cocaine into the White House, with the perpetrator being as elusive as D.B. Cooper. Breasts were exposed on the White House lawn, and now gay sex in the Senate. What a circus 

Remember when Biden was elected that all the Democrats said the grownups were in charge again. These are very strange grownups.

When Your Words Come Back To Bite You

On Thursday, PJ Media posted an article about Hunter Biden’s refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena.

The article reports:

On Wednesday, instead of complying with the committee’s subpoena, he gave a whiny press conference, during which he played the victim card like a petulant child. 

He accused Republicans of cherrypicking and fabricating evidence against him and denied any “financial involvement” by his father, Joe Biden, in his foreign business dealings. Hunter curiously moved the goalposts, considering that for a long time, the narrative was that Joe Biden never even spoke with his son about his business, and now suddenly, he seems to be conceding more significant involvement.

But regardless of his son’s reasons for refusing to comply with the subpoena, Joe Biden is on record saying that anyone who doesn’t comply with a congressional subpoena should be prosecuted.

It’s true. In October 2021, Biden urged the Department of Justice to prosecute anyone who defied congressional subpoenas from the January 6 Select Committee.

“Mr. President, what’s your message to people who defy Congressional subpoenas on the January 6 Committee?” asked CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.

“I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally,” Biden told her.

Somehow I can’t picture the current Department of Justice holding Hunter Biden accountable criminally. And that is the problem. We have watched three years of a totally politicized justice system. I have no reason to believe that things are going to change until we get a new President, and even if that happens I am not optimistic.

If Joe and Hunter Biden did nothing wrong, how did Joe buy a million dollar beach house on a public-servant’s salary?

The Silence Is Deafening

On Thursday, Issues & Insights posted an article about the media’s ignoring the hostages that are currently being held by Hamas. President Biden invited the families of American hostages to the White House on Monday.

The article reports:

CNN reported that: “Ruby Chen, whose son Itay is a reservist missing since the militant group’s October 7 attacks on Israel, said a number of the families of American hostages were in Washington, D.C., this week, and had reached out to the White House asking to attend the reception but were not invited. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.”

The White House then scrambled to have these families meet President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

Biden isn’t the only one who doesn’t seem to care much about these hostages. The press has been weirdly quiet about their plight and seems content to wait for Biden to “negotiate” their release. If they’re even still alive.

Who are these hostages? Who are the families? What are they going through? It’s possible there have been news reports telling the world about the seven American men and possibly one American woman who are being held captive by these murdering, butchering, raping terrorist thugs. But we couldn’t find any. Even Biden’s unbelievable invitation foul-up was given ho-hum treatment.

This is in stark contrast to other such stories, where the press devotes endless amounts of ink to personalizing and humanizing victims — if they’re the right victim of the right sort of crime, that is.

This media blackout is not for lack of trying by the families. USA Today notes that these families have a public relations firm representing them. And several told CNN that “they wanted the international community – both governments and the Red Cross – to push more forcefully on behalf of their loved ones, to speak out against the terrible conditions they’re experiencing and for their release.”

Where is the outrage?

 

The Ever-Changing Narrative

Yesterday, instead of complying with the subpoena issued by Congress, Hunter Biden held a mini press conference outside the Capitol building. When Republicans are in contempt of Congress (which Hunter Biden now is), they get arrested. It will be interesting to see what happens to Hunter Biden.

The Daily Caller posted an article about the statement made by Hunter Biden when he gathered the press together yesterday.

The article notes:

Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan said six words that Hunter Biden told reporters on Wednesday represent a “huge change” in the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Hunter defied republicans’ subpoena for closed-door testimony on Wednesday, saying he would only testify publicly. House republicans have threatened to hold Hunter in contempt of Congress.

The article includes the following statement by Representative Jordan:

“The White House’s story has changed multiple times, the Justice Department story has changed multiple times how they handled this investigation. But the story that hasn’t changed, the testimony that has been consistent and stood up to cross examination is the two whistleblowers. Their story has not changed and frankly it’s been buttressed and reinforced by – we’ve done eight different depositions of people involved in the investigation at the Justice Department…None of them have refuted what those guys say. So over time it just keeps changing from the White House. This statement today I think is the biggest news of the morning I guess along with the fact he didn’t show up which he’s supposed to do.”

In September I posted an article about the changing narrative on Hunter Biden’s business dealings (article here). The narrative has evolved as evidence has been uncovered. It began with ‘President Biden has no knowledge of his son’s business dealings, evolved into ‘there is no direct evidence Hunter Biden did anything wrong’ and now has become ‘my father was not involved in any of the financial transactions that I was involved in.’

The next iteration will be, “Joe Biden was in business with his son, but they didn’t do anything illegal.” They need to come up with more Trump drama to see if they can distract people from the truth.

This Might Backfire

On Thursday, The U.K. Daily Mail posted an article about President Biden’s new plan to forgive student loan debt.

This is the headline from the article:

American workers – are YOU happy to pay $1,800 EACH to wipe the student debt of the privileged elite who’ll earn $52,000 a year? Because BRAD POLUMBO reveals that’s your bill for desperate Joe’s naked bribe for votes

The article reports:

‘Congratulations! I erased your student loans. Now will you vote for me?’

That’s what President Biden should have said in an email to more than 800,000 student loan borrowers – because his latest scheme to ‘forgive’ some of their $1.78 trillion in outstanding debts is nothing more than a bribe.

‘Your student loan has been forgiven because of actions my Administration took to make sure you receive the relief you earned and deserve,’ read the White House message sent to in-boxes on Tuesday.

Gee – Democrats are so generous with other people’s money.

What had these lucky few done to ‘earn’ and ‘deserve’ this multi-billion dollar ‘relief?’

Very little.

In a bit of bureaucratic sleight of hand, Biden and his dutiful ministerial assistants transformed an obscure Education Department repayment program into a brand new entitlement program.

The monthly payments of hundreds of thousands of borrowers will be capped at five percent of discretionary income, and if they pay these tiny installments for 10 to 20 years their entire remaining loan will be wiped away.

This move is aimed at college students and graduates ages 18-34. This is a demographic that is not generally supporting President Biden.

However, according to the Census Bureau, only 35 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 vote, and 48 percent of people between the ages of 30 and 44 vote. Almost 60 percent of people between the ages of 45 and 64 vote, and 66 percent of people over 65 vote. It is quite possible that those over the ages of 45 learned critical thinking in school–something that is rarely taught now. If the people over 45 realize that they are paying for this student loan forgiveness program, it is very possible that they will turn out to cancel the votes of the younger people benefitting from the program. It is also possible that those in the age group that will benefit will include enough people who didn’t go to college that are angry about paying for someone else’s education that they could not afford for themselves.

At any rate, please follow the link to read the entire article. It will be interesting to see if this actually works or backfires. Meanwhile, we should mention that it is entirely unconstitutional.

When You Have Someone In The White House Who Does Not Understand Basic Economics…

On Wednesday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about one of President Biden’s recent speeches. The President is most interesting when he is not reading his notes.

The article reports:

President Biden acknowledged Monday that prices are still “too high” and argued that companies should lower them after an 18% jump in consumer costs since he took office.

“We know that prices are still too high for too many things — that times are still too tough for too many families,” the 81-year-old said near the White House.

“We’ve made progress, but we have more work to do,” Biden added. “Let me be clear to any corporation has not brought their prices back down, even as inflation has come down, even supply chains have been rebuilt: It’s time to stop the price gouging and give the American consumer a break.”

The prices of some goods, such as food products, are expected to decline in the coming months, but periods of general deflation are rare in US history.

Biden previously used his bully pulpit to try to pressure oil companies to take action to lower gas prices last year.

The only one price gouging is the federal government–they call it taxing. The cause of our current inflation is government spending, but that is the one cause that Washington consistently refusing to examine.

We need a businessman in the White House and many more in Congress.

Gaslighting?

After a while you wonder if people are going to believe what the mainstream media tells them or what they see with their own eyes. Some of the recent claims made by the Biden administration simply do not agree with the reality Americans are dealing with.

On Monday, The U.K. Daily Mail reported:

President Joe Biden on Monday touted his administration’s success in bringing down the price of gas, groceries and airline tickets during the past year but received little thanks for his efforts.

Republicans ridiculed his claims.

‘FACT: Since Biden took office, airfare is up 21%, Thanksgiving dinner was up 25%, and gas prices are $0.86/gallon higher,’ the Republican National Committee said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

It illustrates the difficulty Biden faces as he tries to sell what his administration believes is an economic good news story ahead of next year’s general election. 

Inflation may have slowed and some prices may have dropped since last year, but most prices are still higher than they were before the pandemic.  

The article concludes:

And when it comes to public perceptions, most consumers don’t see a good news story in inflation settling down when they are still paying much higher prices than they did before the pandemic.

‘No matter how the White House spins it, Joe Biden’s out-of-control spending & mismanagement of our nation’s finances have increases prices by more than 17%,’ said Republican Rep. Ben Cline on X.

‘The cost of “Bidenomics” just keeps adding up for working families.’

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin said: ‘Last year, Joe Biden’s broken policy agenda generated the highest inflation in 40 years. Americans have faced 33 straight months of rising prices, with food costs increasing every month since Biden took office. 

‘Americans aren’t buying the spin.’

The Republican National Committee also took issue with Biden saying gas prices had come down.

‘FACT CHECK: Under Joe Biden, gas prices have been above $3 per gallon for over 900 days in a row,’ it posted.

I think I would welcome a mean tweet about now.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

On Friday, Rumble posted an article that included a tweet by Roger Stone that asked a very interesting question.

Here is the tweet:

The article notes:

Have you heard the latest? The Biden Boys are set to fiercely fight their congressional subpoenas. Remember what happened to the Trump officials who took a similar stand during the January 6th sideshow?

Who can forget when Peter Navarro refused to testify before the circus known as the January 6th Committee? That poor guy was convicted of contempt of Congress so quickly, it made his head spin.

On October 6, 2014, Politico reported:

A federal judge has declined a House committee’s bid to have Attorney General Eric Holder held in contempt of court — and perhaps even jailed — for failing to turn over documents related to the Justice Department’ s response to Operation Fast and Furious.

However, in a ruling Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson also denied Holder’s request for an indefinite stay of her prior order that the attorney general must turn over any “non-privileged” documents the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed as part of an investigation into the botched gunrunning investigation. The judge previously ruled that Holder must give the panel any documents that are not both predecisional and deliberative in nature.

On November 17th, CNN reported:

The White House says the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden lacks constitutional legitimacy and is calling on GOP-led congressional committees to rescind their subpoenas and interview requests, according to a new letter obtained by CNN.

The move sets up a showdown with House Republicans as the White House criticizes what it describes as “Congressional harassment of the President,” calling on the committees to withdraw subpoenas and a series of requests for interviews aimed at White House officials and Biden family members and associates.

Earlier this week, House Oversight Chairman James Comer said he sent a subpoena to former White House counsel Dana Remus to discuss Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. The Kentucky Republican had previously requested that Remus to appear for a voluntary interview, but the White House did not comply. And last week, the House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas to the president’s son Hunter and brother James as well as a Biden business associate.

Ignoring subpoenas only matters when you are a Republican.

 

Spied On Again

On Wednesday, The U.K. Daily Mail posted the following headline:

Congress demands answers from White House over ‘invasive’ surveillance program known as Hemisphere that has tracked TRILLIONS of phone records for Americans each year – even if they are not suspected of a crime

Who authorized this surveillance?

The article reports:

Congress is demanding answers from the Biden administration about a secret spying program that tracks more than a trillion phone records from innocent and unsuspecting Americans each year.

The under-the-radar system, known as Data Analytical Services or ‘Hemisphere,’ has been in operation for over a decade. It allows federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to tap into the phone records of U.S. citizens who have not been accused of any crime.

Under the Hemisphere program the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) pays phone service provider AT&T to hand over phone records as far back as 1987.

The deal first came to light in 2013 after a bombshell New York Times report, but it has since been expanded.

The article notes that Congress is ready to investigate why the government is spying on innocent Americans.

The article reports:

Republican congressman Andy Biggs, Ariz., accused the government of spying on Americans.

Hemisphere is ‘invasive’ and allows ‘government agents warrantless access to trillions of Americans’ domestic communications records,’ he said.

Biggs went on: ‘The federal government doesn’t care about your privacy and it’s long past time we end these abuses and hold rogue actors accountable.

‘The Hemisphere Project highlights major loopholes in federal law through which the government is able to spy on Americans without judicial oversight, such as the purchase of personal data.’

Congress is currently considering renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702.

That allows for warrantless surveillance of foreigners but often catches the conversations of Americans.

Biggs said it must also look at the Hemisphere program.

The article concludes:

The program is run primarily by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Its stated purpose is to help investigate drug traffickers and other complex criminal enterprises.

However, it has also been used to arrest jewelry store robbers, a murder suspect and even a woman who was making nuisance bomb threats.

The program bypasses usual privacy regulations through a complex network of funding.

Rather than directly funding the surveillance, the ONDCP provides a grant to the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which in turn pays AT&T to operate the program.

Because of this Hemisphere is not subject to a federal Privacy Impact Assessment like most projects funded by federal agencies.

The program is obviously not successful in stemming the drug problem; why is it still in place?

This May Not Be Going As Planned

On Tuesday, NBC News reported that a Michigan judge has refused to hear the case that would remove President Trump from the ballot in 2024.

The article reports:

A Michigan judge on Tuesday dismissed an effort to keep former President Donald Trump off the state’s ballot in 2024.

The judge said that under Michigan law, the secretary of state does not have the authority to intervene in a primary election if the party chooses to list a candidate who would not qualify for the office.

“The ultimate decision is made by the respective political party, with the consent of the listed candidate,” the judge wrote.

The decision comes after a group of Michigan voters in September filed a legal challenge to Trump’s candidacy, arguing that his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his and conduct surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, making him ineligible for office.

If January 6th was an insurrection, it was the first insurrection in history where the police opened the doors and the insurrectionists had no guns. At some point the full video evidence will be released, and the public will realize that they have been lied to. The only person shot in the ‘insurrection’ was an unarmed civilian. There was also a death in the tunnel due to police brutality (article here).

I firmly believe that January 6th was a false flag operation designed to keep President Trump permanently out of the White House. Otherwise, why were his instructions to the crowd constantly misquoted?

There Seems To Be Some Confusion Here

On Thursday, The Daily Wire reported the following:

UPDATE: Israel Refutes White House Claim About ‘Humanitarian Pauses’

The article reports:

On Thursday morning, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that starting today Israel will implement daily, four-hour humanitarian pauses in its attack on the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza. However, following the widely reported claim that Israel had agreed to four-hour humanitarian pauses beginning today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office dismissed the White House’s statement.

Kirby said the Israeli government stated they will suspend military operations during the four hours and they will announce three hours before the pause begins when it will start, CBS News reported, adding, “President Biden told reporters Thursday morning that he has asked Netanyahu for a pause even longer than three days for the release of hostages.” Israel has reportedly already been “implementing these pauses since Sunday, opening a daily four-hour humanitarian corridor on Salah a-Din road for Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza to its south,” The Times of Israel reported.

Following the announcement from the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying, “The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages. Israel is allowing safe transit corridors from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south, as 50,000 Gazans did just yesterday. We once again call on the civilian population in Gaza to evacuate to the south.”

Israel has been under a tremendous amount of pressure both from the United States and the European Union to declare a ‘pause’ in the fighting in Gaza. Why in the world should Israel declare a ‘pause’ when Gaza has made no effort to release the hostages they are holding or to inform the world of the condition of the hostages?

The article concludes:

On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with the 252nd Sinai Division, which is operating in the northern Gaza Strip and was clear about Israel’s objectives.

“We must remember that in Beit Hanoun (city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip) is the battalion from which the terrorists came to murder and kidnap in Kibbutz Erez, Netiv Ha’Asara, and Sderot,” Gallant said, “This battle has meaning beyond the symbolic aspect. We need to ensure that all terrorist infrastructure in Beit Hanoun is destroyed. We will not stop, we will continue with all our might until we eradicate the Hamas organization – we will strike the entire chain of command, military depots, communications channels, tunnels, bunkers, and headquarters, everything.”

Referring to the horrific October 7 massacre executed by Hamas on the Israeli civilian population, he continued, “The answer to these brutal and barbaric acts is to wipe out Hamas. From here we will move on. If we don’t wipe out Hamas in Gaza, we will have ten more of these [massacres] from other places.”

The Israel government is the one who gets to determine how to handle the terrorists on its border. I can’t imagine any other country putting up with the terror attacks that Israel has put up with since it became a nation. Any other nation would have obliterated the Arabs who support terrorism by now.

The Most Ridiculous Excuse Yet

On Sunday, Miranda Devine posted an article at The New York Post about the investigation into the cocaine found in the White House.

The article reported:

Of all the excuses offered by the Secret Service to explain why it shut down the White House cocaine investigation last week after just 11 days, one jumped out as particularly ridiculous. 

It couldn’t conduct interviews of potential cokeheads known to be in the vicinity of where the bag of drugs was found because it didn’t want to infringe on their civil rights, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told NBC. 

“We have no evidence to approach them,” he said of 500 possible suspects identified in the area on the holiday weekend before July 4. 

Hah! Tell that to the hundreds of people rounded up by the FBI for just being in the vicinity of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

The article also notes:

Even more astonishing is that, in a complex bristling with security cameras, the Secret Service said no surveillance video footage exists because the baggie was located in a “blind spot.” 

“I don’t care if it was a six-foot blind spot,” says Kerik (former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik). “I can tell you who walked into it and who walked out of it. The whole blind spot argument is bogus.” 

He claims the Secret Service knows exactly whose cocaine it is.

“They don’t miss anything. They know their job. They are very systematic, very organized, very thorough,” he said, adding, “The whole thing is preposterous. It’s really an insult to the men and women in the Secret Service and the FBI for them to say they can’t identify where the cocaine came from.”

As the mystery dragged on into its second week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to rule out that the cocaine belonged to a member of the Biden family and slammed the question as “incredibly irresponsible.”

It’s time to replace any law enforcement personnel in Washington with people who can actually do their job.

 

 

Equal Justice Under The Law?

On Friday, The Conservative Treehouse reported that the Department of Justice has dropped all charges against Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, of Chesterfield, Missouri, who attempted to crash a U-Haul truck through the security perimeter of the White House.

The article reports:

Oddly, during the event the Capitol Police never called the bomb squad, never moved the crowd or media back away from the truck, and simply opened the vehicle and started placing the contents -including a swastika flag- on the ground for the media to photograph.  The entire event, including the way the authorities handled the truck, was seriously sketchy.

Kandula was then federally charged with threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a president, vice president or family member, assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, destruction of federal property, and trespassing, according to U.S. Park Police.  However, yesterday the DOJ dropped all the charges except depredation of federal property.

Considering that J6 attendees have been charged and locked up for simply parading around the Capitol Hill building, the contrast of the way the authorities are handling Sai Varshith Kandula is rather stark.

Initial reports accused Mr. Kandula of being a white supremacist, but that narrative was dropped as soon as his picture was published. This whole incident seems really odd–particularly the part about dropping most of the charges. People who make threats to the President generally go to jail, particularly if they have taken any action relating to the threat.

A Strategy For More Government Control

On March 2nd, The White House posted the following on their website:

Note the phrase, “…shifting the burden for cybersecurity away from individuals…” Also note the phrase, “Biden-Harris administration.”

On March 4th, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about this strategy and noted the following:

The “National Cybersecurity Strategy” aligns with, supports, and works in concert with a total U.S. surveillance system, where definitions of information are then applied to “cybersecurity” and communication vectors.  This policy is both a surveillance system and an information filtration prism where the government will decide what is information, disinformation, misinformation and malinformation, then act upon it.

In part, this appears to be a response to the revelations around government influence of social media, the Twitter Files.  Now we see the formalization of the intent. The government will be the arbiter of truth and cyber security, not the communication platforms or private companies.  This announcement puts the government in control.

All of the control systems previously assembled under the guise of the Dept of Homeland Security now become part of the online, digital national security apparatus. I simply cannot emphasis enough how dangerous this is, and the unspoken motive behind it; however, to the latter, you are part of a small select group who are capable of understanding what is in this announcement without me spelling it out.

Remember, we have already lost the judicial branch to the interests of the national security state.  All judicial determinations are now in deference to what is called broadly “national security,” and the only arbiter of what qualifies to be labeled as a national security interest is the same institutional system who hides the corruption and surveillance behind the label they apply.

We cannot fight our way through the complexity of what is being assembled, until the American People approach the big questions from the same baseline of understanding.  What is the root cause that created the system?  From there, this announcement takes on a more clarifying context – where we realize this is the formalization of the previously hidden process.

Please follow the link to read the entire article at The Conservative Treehouse. It is long, but worth the read.