The bill passed the House last night with a far margin as discussed here yesterday. The media simply made more noise about the closeness of the vote, when they should have been educating the public on the debt, its implications, meaning and long term impact.
A message to the far right of the Republican Party: I happen to agree that we need to get this budget in balance with the same vehemence you do. However, I am completely turned off by your tactics and words. You want a better deal? Well, try winning elections. You would have a far greater majority in the House, and a clear majority in the senate if you had backed quality candidates the last three cycles. You own part of the issue. Try winning over yelling. Secondly, your attacks on Speaker McCarthy and the threat to recall him, since any one of you can force a vote, is beyond ridiculous. He went to the negotiating table with the hand you gave him in electing representatives. I hope you understand the other side feels as passionate the other way as you do. What did you expect him to do? What would any of you have done differently, short of leading the nation into default and greater problems? If your only answer is to attack your leader, then you are part of the problem. Take a look at yourself, you are turning off Republicans who like McCarthy’s leadership, but then again you are probably used to losing by now.
A message to the far left of the Democratic Party: You, who want to take us to socialism are so off base that you will destroy the fabric of the nation. Your desire to keep spending, without income to match, is the perfect path like minded politicians took Venezuela and every other socialist experience on. Check the results for the people of those nations. It’s easy to tell people what program you will give them for free. When you can’t say how you will fund them, you are baiting. The thing in life is, someone has to pay the bill. You never get there. And, for the record, don’t give me the Biden, “pay your fair share” line. What is fair share? Give the number for federal, state and local taxes. Is it 90% as some of you say? What is it?
Here’s another idea. Go get a job, of which there are plenty, and pay your own way. Stop having children, expecting others to pay your bills. You take a loan, it’s in your name, you pay it back. Try responsibility. It’s not only good for the person, it’s good for the nation and the children’s future. Let’s call it fair share responsibility; the way America grew, families bonding together to take care of each other and building a better America for tomorrow. I can define that fair share. It’s you taking responsibility for you and yours and then us assisting if circumstances warrant. It’s not us from the start.
The agreement reached between the President’s and Speaker’s teams will pass tonight, despite all the noise you hear; and it will be with five days to spare before we hit the debt limit. Those on the far right and far left don’t like it. The right, because it still produces trillions of debt in the years ahead. The far left, because we don’t spend enough. From my standpoint this should be a top, if not the top, issue of the election next year. The questions: Do we continue to spend what we don’t have? Do we raise revenue (taxes) to continue spending more? Do we cut spending to get the budget into balance? What do we cut? How do we pay the bills and promises we made? Can we do it over time, by controlling increases, allowing the tax revenue from a growing economy to narrow the gap?
Long time readers of this blog know we have long advocated that we need to balance the budget, and then begin to pay off the now $38 trillion dollar debt. Politicians know that, but the allure of giving more potential voters a handout is too great for them. We the people need to solve this, as we solve our own family spending and budgets.
Follow the vote today and listen to the arguments. This will pass as we said, but listen to the cutters, spenders and visionary officials who want to solve this. Then decide how you will vote in the future. You owe it to the country and world we will leave our children, grandchildren and future generations.
Just look around the nation today and you’ll see how much your informed vote matters.
As far as the vote tonight, I know you’re hearing a lot of noise from the anti’s. You could get the impression it might not pass. Wrong. All you hear is media noise, which is what they do best. Republican congressmen will vote for it 4-1, and a majority of Democrats will clearly do so too.
Put Me On The Side Of Controlled Spending And Getting Us To A Balanced Budget.
With Memorial Day Weekend ahead we will cease this blog until next week, but before we do, let’s stop and reflect for a moment on the day’s meaning.
Memorial Day is the day a grateful nation has set aside to honor and remember all those who wore a uniform for our nations freedom, and never came home. That number is over one million of our fellow citizens, who never had the chance to live their lives and grow old. They left home, never to return, leaving shattered, broken and empty hearts all around the lives they touched. For the most part they were young, never married, never having the chance to experience all the joys of life we have enjoyed. Their final resting places are over the globe, wherever duty called. Some lie in immaculate cemeteries in lands far away that grateful nations for their sacrifice keep. Some were retuned to their homes for burials where their families could visit. Some have been lost forever, their body locations known to only God. Some we still find today through the magic of DNA. Each month the defense department announces a few from WWII and Korea we have found and identified.
Memorial Day is the day we set aside to say thank you and remember and honor their sacrifice. The Veterans Groups hand out poppies, the flower of the fallen. For it was the red poppies that grew over the fallen gravesites in Flanders Fields in WWI.
So hang your flag, put one on your front lawn. Drop a dollar or two in the Poppy bucket. March in a parade. Wear the colors and remember. Honor those who never had the chance to do so. They did it, so we could.
Let me close with this. The other day I had a chance to speak at a Veterans Luncheon and I said this: “A few weeks ago we celebrated Mother’s Day, honoring those who brought us into this world. In a few weeks we will celebrate Father’s Day, and the Dads in our lives. In between the two, we have Memorial Day. A day we stop, honor and remember all those who never had the chance to be a Mom or Dad, because they gave their lives for our freedom.
Let Us Always Remember And Teach Our Children What The Day Means.
The story about Florida and the coverage it got, with the charges leveled, got me thinking about the racial divide some are creating. I wanted to address it today.
I am personally tired of all those who do nothing except to try and build a racial divide. Why is that? Why do they do it? It seems some exist to do only that. It’s as if they want the foundation of our nation shaken and broken. To them everything is racial. Why? Why? Why? Why does the media fan this? Is this the way we live? I don’t see that in any way. Look around you, do people get along? That’s what I see. I see people are friends and care about one another. I see more and more interracial couples and marriages. I see integration all around. I see people befriending others all around them.
I think people care about their children and want the best for them, no matter what their background. I think people want the best healthcare, the best schools, the best life they can have. The best neighborhoods and opportunity for their families and children. I see people helping each other when in need. I always think back to that fox hole next to me; it didn’t matter who was there, as long as we protected each other.
Yet, I watch the news and the President says the biggest threat to the nation is white supremacy. Really? I see a media that covers a skin color crime with endless time and hype, as long as it’s not black on black or white on white. Why is that?
I see them rush to judgement on things that they should not be doing so. They condemn the Marine in the NY subway, when other passengers, including a black elderly woman, say he saved them. Why? I see them rush to cover and judge, unfairly as it turns out, a six month pregnant nurse coming off a 12 hour shift, who said she rented the bike and was actually protecting it. Do they apologize for getting it wrong? Of course not. In the meantime, the nurse gets labeled a “Karen” and is suspended from her job. How about suspending those who light the match with a false story and narrative? How many still believe that Michael Brown in Ferguson had his hands up and said don’t shoot? The media still covers that as fact, when it was a lie.
Why do they hysterically cover a white on black crime, when black on black affects the majority of victims. Don’t their lives matter too? Why don’t they cover 90% of the crime with the same hysteria? Why are they fueling hatred and division needlessly?
It’s so frustrating, untrue and divisive. It leads to mistrust, anger, and sometimes more crime. It divides rather unites a great nation, and it is unacceptable. The media is dividing the nation with their coverage and bias.
Back to Florida. A reader did respond to the blog story yesterday with these stats. I wanted to share the comments and thank the reader. According the US Census bureau the state of Florida has 151,490 black-owned businesses, with a population of 22.5 million. For comparison, California has 119,921 black owned businesses with population of 39 Million.
As we close in on Memorial Day let’s remember what the day is about.
The Budget Talks
As they continue to negotiate and posture, you and I know that with the deadline approaching there will be a deal. By Sunday night or early Monday at the latest is my prediction. Now I wonder how many people know this: The interest charges on our debt is approaching One Trillion dollars a year. Let that sink in for a second. One trillion dollars of interest payments. A trillion dollars that does nothing except pay interest. At that rate it would be about $3 billion dollars a day in interest charges. Could you run your household finances that way? Now the fight they are having is over this. The administration wants the debt ceiling (limit) raised with no stipulations. Just allow them to spend more. McCarthy is saying “no.” We want some spending cuts. Like what? Well how about no welfare without 20 hours of work for able bodied individuals 18 -49, with no dependents. Does that sound radical to you? It doesn’t to me. Republicans also say stop spending. Limit increases in the budget to 1% annually. (The 1% increase is called a cut in Washington.) I can tell you that in business they certainly manage increases in this manner. They often ask their management for a zero per cent increase as the starting point. These are the same corporations that the President says are multi billion dollar companies and making so much profit. Maybe they are because they manage their spending, Mr. President? You know, the same ones you keep saying should pay their “fair share.” How about following their lead? Plus, I will tell you again. You can raise the rates as high as you want. It’s the deductions you need to take away. Then again, you can fool some of the people all the time with the “fair share” line.
And here’s a novel thought. The President wants higher taxes, or closed loopholes. The Speaker wants less spending. With a $1.5 trillion dollar deficit, how about both?
Are You Serious?
The NAACP issued a “travel advisory” for the state of Florida, saying that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies constitute an “all-out attack on Black Americans” and other minorities. They can’t be serious. Is it all about politics for them now, and not the mission? Look at their words: “Please be advised that Florida is openly hostile toward African-Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the State of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of and the challenges faced by African-Americans and other minorities.” What are they talking about? I guess things like: In 2021, the Governor signed a law that creates harsher penalties for crimes committed during riots or violent protests, and also made it a felony to destroy symbols that commemorate historical events or people. The law still hasn’t taken effect due to ongoing legal challenges. “I don’t even know what the NAACP is talking about,” Rep Donalds of FL said. “This is silly, and it’s dumb. It’s political. It makes no sense. We should be focused on making sure people actually have the opportunity to achieve, which Florida is actually doing and thriving in way better than other states, let’s say New York or California or Washington state.” Florida is booming with people, jobs and opportunity. Does the NAACP really wants minorities to miss the opportunity?
Now This Could Be Interesting
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said that the state’s new 12-week abortion law (passed over his veto) was a deal struck between “right-wing” Republicans. He said this: “This bill was contradictory, conflicting, confusing. They wrote it in the middle of the night. It’s a compromise between the right wing and the radical right wing.” Now, the law bans most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and includes a mandatory 72-hour waiting period. There are 20-week exceptions for rape and incest, and a 24-week exception for “life limiting” fetal abnormalities. Now, this is close, to where the majority are Americans are (15-20 weeks instead of 12 and not the 72 hour waiting period). The question becomes this. Can he define the Republicans as radical and anti abortion with this timeframe and restriction? Or, can they define him as okay with abortion at nine months? The winner of that debate wins the state of North Carolina.
Here’s A Surprise
Legal marijuana appears to have played a role in the number of workers testing positive after on-the-job accidents hitting a 25-year high, according to a new analysis.
Let me close with a question. Did you see the former President’s reaction to Senator’s Scott announcement yesterday? Very complimentary, while taking a shot at Governor DeSantis. Why? Could the former President realize his VP options are limited and Scott is one who could actually help him? Just asking.
This week the Republican field widens with Senator Tim Scott and Governor Ron DeSantis announcing they are in. We can add them to the announced field of: Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Larry Elder, Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy. Then consider there are a number of others set to announce like former VP Mike Pence and Chris Christie. Who does the large field favor? Donald Trump without question. His loyal primary followers are going to stick with him, no matter the convictions, charges or issues. Who, in my opinion, can’t win the General Election? Donald Trump. In fact, if you want Democratic control of all three branches because of how well that worked out the first two years under Joe Biden, just nominate Trump. I know the Trump supporters reading this don’t see it that way, but refusing to do so does not solve the issue.
Now, Governor DeSantis said this out loud last week. He said only three people have credible shots at the presidency today. The Current President, the former President and himself. He then added, only one of them can beat President Biden and it was him.
Yesterday the respected Senator Bill Cassidy from Louisiana said the same. On CNN’s “State of the Union” he said, “I don’t think Trump can win a general election.” Cassidy is not alone in this assessment.
Cassidy also took objection to DeSantis’ comment saying it was “a nice way for him to diss people like Tim Scott who’s a pretty formidable candidate.” I happen to agree with that wholeheartedly too. Elon Musk made a splash by posting on Twitter Senator Scott’s short thirty second comments. If you haven’t seen it, I think it might be worth a look. It talks of individual responsibility in this time that we surely are lacking: Here’s a link: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1659726355511271430?s=42&t=svnw8RZ-WOKFJLL9qk4wqQ
The other thing about the announced 2024 Republican field is its diversity. Counting Scott and DeSantis there are seven candidates. Four are what we define these days as minorities. Two African Americans, two Indian Americans (one female). How is the press reacting to this? Here’s the NYT yesterday: “The number of Black Republicans who won seats last year is a fraction of the total number who ran for state and local office under the G.O.P. — more than 80. And the Republican Party’s inroads with Black candidates have yet to overcome enduring feelings of distrust among Black voters toward the party. The ascension of Black Republicans such as [Sen. TIM] SCOTT and [Kentucky AG and GOP gubernatorial nominee DANIEL] CAMERON comes against the backdrop of a Republican Party that has largely stood by as some of its members have employed overtly racist rhetoric and behavior.” Oh yea, we have a fair press in America. Rather than celebrate this, they revert to the standard “Republicans are racist” attitude. Look no further than how they portray Supreme Court Justice Thomas.
Imagine if Scott is the nominee. An articulate conservative with a rags to riches story and true values. It would throw the left into a frenzy and certainly cause the President some issues. Think about that.
Interesting Comment
The Mayor of New York gave us another classic yesterday. He said the city is being let down and going to incur $4.3 Billion in costs because of illegal immigrants. He used the word “problem.” Problem Mayor? The President and his Homeland Security Director said the border is closed. Did you miss that? The border czar (you know the VP), she is working on root causes. One day, she might even visit the closed border. Please too, let’s not forget how proud you and the citizens of New York City are to be a sanctuary city. Remember we got rid of that racist tyrant and his border policies, former President Trump. By the way, you forgot to mention Gov Abbott yesterday and how he’s the problem.
If you watched any part of the whistleblower hearing yesterday and didn’t come away disgusted and upset for our future, then we have differing observations. Here’s what I saw: I saw FBI agents raise their hands and under risk of jail if they did not tell the truth, agree to do that. I then saw political partisanship that placed party and politics above nation. I saw callous mistreatment of agents who said they saw corruption, wrong and wanted to correct it for the nation’s sake. I didn’t see some asking the questions looking for truth. I saw nothing but an attempt to discredit men who served our nation in the military and law enforcement. I didn’t see that phony line they often use, why don’t good cops come forward on bad ones. I saw some trying to discredit, only because they didn’t fit the narrative they wanted. I saw congressional members trying every tactic to destroy theses public servants. I saw a congressional member ask one if the twitter account she cited was his. I saw the agent say no, but the congressional member, not listening for answers, went forward with the quote as if it was his. When she finished she asked, “Now what do you say about that?”, and he had to repeat it wasn’t his account. It didn’t matter to her, she just continued. I saw a disgrace yesterday. If you didn’t and you saw a positive from whistleblowers in the last administration, you are part of the problem.
And beyond disgrace is the MSM not covering the hearing at all.
Here’s An Example On The State Of The Nation
This story out today, but not much coverage. The Pentagon said an accounting mistake left the U.S. with an additional $3 billion to use in sending arms to Ukraine. What? A $3 Billion accounting mistake? This is not major news? What happened? The military services inadvertently used a higher value for at least some of the weaponry the Pentagon sent to Ukraine, using valuations for new equipment instead of the older gear pulled out of U.S. stockpiles. The error could eliminate the administration’s need to ask Congress for more money to keep Kyiv in the fight this spring.
One Final Story And Thought
The rates of depression in America are on the rise, according to a new Gallup poll release. Nearly 18% of Americans say they have depression, up from 10% less than a decade ago. But, here’s the number that jumped at me: Depression is rising especially quickly among young adults. Twenty-five percent of individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 say they’re depressed. That’s a stunning 12-point jump from 2017. Twenty-five per cent of young adults! I always think back to Tom Brokow’s book on the Greatest Generation. As he talked to those young adults of the WWII generation and all their accomplishments, they named their one regret: It was their failure to raise and instill the values they grew up with, into their children. Now we have the children of their children, and they think the world and life is tough today. Their Great Grandfathers went to a world war at their age and their Great Grandmothers went into the factories to support that effort. Their Grandparents went to Vietnam and lost 58,000+ of their generation. Yea, they have it rough. They even have a President trying to pay their college bills.
The President is in Japan for meetings prior to the G7. The President overseas is always interesting to watch.
Congress has some whistleblowers in for a hearing today. Interesting to see what they have to say. Interesting, too, to see how the media covers this. Remember the heroes they made of whistleblowers in the last admininstration?
There is a viable report that Gov. DeSantis is set to officially enter the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination next week. If he does, then it’s gloves off between him and the former President.
Montana Gov. Gianforte signed a new law prohibiting downloads of TikTok in the state. It takes effect Jan. 1 and would fine any “entity” — an app store or TikTok — $10,000 per day for each time someone “is offered the ability” to access the social media platform or download the app. Get ready for the court battle, but after all the talk, this Gov. took action. The penalties would apply to companies and not individual users.
Now we read that military officials caught National Guard Member Jack Teixeira mishandling secrets months before he was charged with leaking documents online. Isn’t the question – why? Why, after one time is a person not removed, charged and fired?
The abortion issue is in the news again. Two states, North and South Carolina, passed date restrictions for allowable abortions. NC set a 12 week limit. SC a six week limit. It will be interesting to see the impact here. The NC Gov. had vetoed the bill, but the state house overrode his veto. The question I have, is six and twelve weeks too soon? I know the public backs a deadline, but it’s 15 – 20 weeks. Whey wouldn’t you set a date the populace backs instead of creating more questions?
In primaries and elections this past Tuesday the Democrats won every major contested election. That included a house seat in PA that would decide control. They overturned a Republican Mayor in Jacksonville. I didn’t see any good news for Republicans. One interesting race was for Mayor in Philadelphia. Cherelle Parker won the Democratic nod. Besides being the first woman mayor in the city, she has called for hiring 300 cops for foot and bike patrols. She beat a more progressive primary opponent.
After 134 years, The Wall Street Journal will no longer use courtesy titles — Mr., Ms., Mrs., Miss or Mx. before last names.
On a lighter note, how about a little fantasy. Prince Harry and Meghan said paparazzi chased them at high speeds, for two hours in Manhattan. Hmmm. Two hours in NYC at high speeds? Two police officers were hurt? They just avoided catastrophic accidents? HMMM. No video in NYC? No police officers reported hurt? No accident? What were they thinking?
We got the Durham report on the 2016 election which told us the FBI failed in its role. Conservative media hailed the report because it validated its reporting that Russian Collusion with the Trump camp was a false story. Liberal media hailed the report because Durham didn’t bring any charges to back Trumps charge that this was the crime of the century. From my standpoint, the whole Russian Collusion, which we now know was a Clinton campaign act combined with the phony Steele Dossier, the bleach bit and smashed phones, certainly enjoyed much more scrutiny than it got. The FBI knew it was a lie, according to Durham, and allowed it to go forward. Obama, Clinton and Biden knew. Pelosi, Schumer, and Schiff knew. The media knew and kept reporting it as if it were factual. In fact, with the majority of Americans still believing the Trump rumors because of the media coverage, it tells how biased the media is. You will never convince me that wasn’t election interference.
Here’s an update on a story we have been telling you about. A House committee is planning to vote next week (May 24th) to hold Secretary of State Blinken in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over documents related to the Biden administration’s abrupt U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. That’s the report from the Afghanistan embassy on what was going to happen if they withdrew. You know, the withdrawal where the President has said no one told him anything negative or recommended otherwise. Of course, we know now he lied and the Generals did, but his own embassy staff wrote a memo he won’t share. If this hearing and vote holds, Blinken will be the first secretary of state ever held in contempt of Congress.
Meanwhile, here’s another story moving in an interesting direction. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan released an “interim joint staff report” on how the Biden campaign reacted to the Oct. 2020 New York Post story on the laptop. You know, that letter signed by 51 “experts.” Staffers for the House Judiciary and Intelligence panels looked into a letter released by the former intelligence officials alleging the story has “all the classic earmarks” of Russian disinformation. They found the letter “was a political operation to help elect” Biden, and the Biden campaign “took active measures to discredit the allegations about Hunter by exploiting the national security credentials of former intelligence officials.” Guess who was a key player? Secretary Blinkenwho then wasa Biden campaign advisor. Isn’t this election interference?
I again watched the local New York News and city residents were up in arms over the Mayor’s plan to place migrants in shelters, including converting school gymnasiums into shelters. People were protesting in mass. There was a major outcry. I couldn’t help but thinking you voted, about 80% for Joe Biden. You elected Eric Adams, you were proud of your legislatures and governor announcing you’re a sanctuary city. You took pride in it all. What’s the problem now? You voted for this. You proudly stated it. What did you think you were voting for?
Let’s close today with a few questions on all this: If Donald Trump, or any Republican for that matter would have funded a false Steele dossier report about Hillary, Obama or Biden, would the media have reported it as fact for 2 1/2 years or called it out and demanded resignation by the person who paid for it? If Mike Pompeo or any ex Republican official would have organized a false document to protect Donald Trump in a debate, would he still be serving as Secretary of State, or would he have been pounded out of office? If a Republican would have orchestrated that failed withdrawal, with American troop and Afghan civilian deaths, would they have gotten away with not releasing the report from their embassy? If a Republican President said no one told him that leaving that way would be an issue, would we know what the Generals and Embassy personnel said? If a Republican Presidents border policies were producing the illegal immigration we have today, would there be no coverage in the MSM? If a Republican President’s polices were resulting in kids losing school gyms like NYC, would it be a major story about a failed President?
The Durham report makes clear a failed FBI allowed the story of the Russian Collusion to percolate and fester for two and a half years. We were inundated daily with breaking news stories furthering the false narrative. Reporters won Pulitzer and writing prizes for their reporting – on a false story. Congressman (think Adam Schiff) saw the evidence they told us. It was all a lie. Did that lie affect the 2020 election? Does the MSM ever tell you it did?
The more I hear and see the NYC subway story about the Marine being indicted, the angrier I get. The NYC Mayor and the failed DA allowed a mob mentality to lead them. Another example of failed leadership. Another example of politicians acting for party over nation. You are less safe in that city now. No sane law abiding citizen is coming to anyones aide.
Here’s another example we’ve written about and the party over nation axiom applies. Abortion. Here’s the results of a survey released yesterday: “There are about 15-20% on each side who want absolutely no restrictions or absolutely no abortions unless it’s for the life of the mother.” Got that? There are extremes on both sides of the issue, but far from a majority. The Poll showed: That 61% of Americans favor keeping abortion legal in “most or all circumstances in the first trimester,” or about 13 weeks of gestation. In the second trimester, 65% said abortion should be illegal in most circumstances. That figure rose to 80% in the third trimester. Just looking at that, you see the answer for now, don’t you? Americans don’t want abortions at nine months, nor do they want to never allow one. They want a timeframe. If we had real leaders wouldn’t they work to satisfy that, and then both sides can go ahead and try and convince people why their extreme position is right. But no, our politicians would rather have an issue than solve problems.
The debt ceiling rises as the clock ticks. There is a meeting today. Remember, this has until June to be solved, which is when it will be.
The IRS removed the entire investigative team from the Hunter Biden tax-fraud probe last night. Why? We don’t know the answer yet. However, the attorneys for a whistleblower within the tax agency told Congress in a letter that the purge was retaliation done on the orders of the Justice Department. Watch this in the days ahead as the questions heat up.
Do any of us who have been talking about the border decision this administration made on day one requires any comment? Even the MSM has caught up with it, though reluctantly and trying to minimize the chaos. I heard the useless Mayorkas trying to blame congress this morning and a judge blocked the administration scheme to ship people out without even registering. Why did they want to do that? To avoid the optics of the chaos they are causing. If you don’t know that the Biden administration owns this mess, then you have not been paying attention. They opened this border to all. What country in this world has such an open border? Who came in? Where are they going to live and work? Why is fentanyl availability growing and killing so many? You know every time there is a shooting we talk of the number shot; here’s a question. How many are dying because of the illegal fentanyl coming across the border? Answer: Over 150 a day. Where is the coverage and analysis from the media on that?
Then, let me add this. The Mayors in NY and Chicago and the Homeland Director are on the air calling Gov. Abbott names this AM. Let me try and understand their position, because I don’t get it. You are allowing 15,000 to come across the border daily now. What’s Abbott supposed to do with them? Where’s he supposed to house them? Feed them? Get care for them? His state is clear, don’t come here. So he buses a few to “sanctuary cities” that made a big deal about how “welcoming” they are and they go crazy? Wait, you’re welcoming when they’re someone else’s problem? Abbott’s a racist? And, the media covers that and gives them credibility? In N.Y.C. they show over crowding at the hotels holding the migrants, as if Texas, with fifty times more people doesn’t have a bigger issue?
Here are two interesting quotes from Democrat Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas: “The buses that they’re sending to D.C. or Chicago or New York are just a drop of what a border community [sees] — and they’re already complaining. They’re already complaining. They’re talking about sending buses from New York City to other places! … It’s different when it happens in your own backyard.”
“A lot of first-generation Americans — mainly Hispanics in South Texas … they’re saying: ‘Hold it. We and our parents came in through a long process, [a] legal process.’ And they’re seeing people just come through the border. … It causes a little resentment. And I emphasize the word ‘resentment,’ because a lot of first-generation Hispanics did it the right way.”
This border issue is owned by the progressive left that Joe Biden has supported.
In NYC They Charge A Good Samaritan
Let me be as clear as I can here. This morning they charged the ex-marine with manslaughter for his actions on the subway. Well, you can be sure there will be no more public assistance for anyone in trouble in the city. You are on your own. D.A. Bragg is useless. He lets criminals who set out to commit crimes free, while an ex soldier who steps in to help innocent citizens is charged. He let the victim here free 44 times after he was arrested. Forty-four times. What do you think the eventual outcome is going to be? Someone is going to die. In this case it was him and not an innocent citizen. He should arrest himself, because he’s as much responsible for the death as anyone.
Then I hear the victim’s family is “demanding” an arrest of the ex-marine. What part of this do they own? The report is they locked him out of their home because of violence. They knew he was arrested 44 times. They knew he had punched elderly women so hard they were hospitalized. They let him walk the streets. What did they think was going to happen? Ridiculous.
The Debt and Budget
The follow-up meeting between the President and the Congressional four leaders was cancelled for this morning. As we said after the first meeting, this is going to deadline in June. We don’t have leaders looking for the best interest of America, we have politicians looking for votes. The first thing to go by the wayside are facts. If you believe Joe Biden is cutting the debt, you are a charter member of the fool me all the time club. First of all, the debt is going up every minute of every day. The debt went up even faster with covid spending. Who do you think paid for those free checks you got during lockdown? Your children will pay in the future. So we stop covid spending and the President says he cut the debt. The only thing that went down was the additional spending for Covid. You can check the President’s budget, it contains a $1.7 trillion dollar debt increase. Only in Washington can you increase something by $1.7 trillion and tell people you reduced it.
Okay, this was billed as a Town Hall right? Thus, question one is, did the host here interject, question more, and challenge the former President more than MSNBC did in its hour long interview with the current President Friday? The answer is, by far, and tougher in tone, content and actuality, by calling him a liar. If you didn’t see the MSNBC interview, the moderator actually led with a question about Biden family corruption like this: I know you’re not involved or implicated in any way, but did Hunter do anything…..? Think of that apologetic tone and contrast it to the vehemence of the words last night. The MSM is a large part of the problem.
Now, Donald Trump. As far as I am concerned, he did himself no good last night. Oh, his loyal and blind supporters will say he aced the night. Yea, he did, if the primary was the general election, because in the latter, he lost ground. Why the Democrats are trying to push him out is beyond me. In my opinion, he is the only candidate that President Biden can beat. What happened last night to cause me to say this? Well, first of all, on question one he again said he was cheated in 2020, and then used the same discredited reasons. The ballot boxes, the counting, the hidden ballots….. When challenged that every court case challenging the election lost in every state, he didn’t care. He saw people voting seven times. When he named Wisconsin, the moderator hit him over the head with the recount he paid for; which, when it was over, he lost the state by more votes. He went back to Georgia and was hit with the Republicans in state office investigated and found nothing. He blamed Mike Pence, again, for being an honorable man and doing his duty, This went on for minutes and was cringe worthy. Now, should he have been prepared for this question? Of course. Was there an answer he could have given? Yes. Did he? No. Why? Because he’s Donald Trump. Here’s the answer to question one from CNN. Mr. President, do you still think you were cheated in 2020? Oh, I was cheated, and if you don’t see it, then you are misinformed, blind or too prejudice for the truth. Did you see the information about the letter about the 51 former agents lying about the laptop? Did you see why they did it? They said they did it to influence the vote and give Joe Biden an answer in the debate. They lied to change votes and Joe Biden knew. Did you see the polls that say one in six of Biden voters would have voted differently if they knew that? Would that have changed the election? Would you reporting on the laptop and its contents have made a difference? You buried it as Russian misinformation. You were wrong. Did that influence people? The polls say it did. Did Twitter, Facebook and social media not covering the truth and making noise about people supporting me with the truth being banned influence people? Did your false reporting for two and a half years that I was colluding with the Russians influence people? Yes, the election was influenced and you, CNN, were part of the reason. And by the way, when you have 92% negative coverage about a person, it makes a difference. People know the economy under my administration was far superior to the economy today. Were real wages up during my time? Are they down now? You don’t report it, but people know. They know gas prices are up 50%. They know what inflation has done to their family budgets. They know in foreign affairs how much better we were. How do you explain his positive coverage versus my 92% negative? You get the idea. The problem is the former President had the chance to be so prepared for every question, because every one was predictable, but he’s Donald Trump, he’s a genius, he doesn’t need to do that. I’ll write it again. He can win a primary, but cannot win in the general election. If you want to win, you need to go in another direction.
The Comer’s Team Presentation
No MSM outlet thought covering the Comer’s House Team presentation on their findings to date on the Biden family was worth covering. No outlet reported on it. No reporters asked the President questions about it yesterday when they had the chance. I laid it out all week, that the committee better have details or they would all be Adam Schiff’s. I watched the conference in full. They don’t have the “smoking gun” in the Presidents hand, but they had a ton of smoke around his family. This deserved coverage, if for no other reason than we should know why so much money ($13 million outlined yesterday) went to nine members of the Biden family. What services were they providing? What business are they in? What did Hunter do? His first wife? His brother’s wife? His children? The Presidents grandchildren (3 of them received funds).The President’s Brother and his wife. Nine in total. How come the money came from countries that the former President was managing at the time? How come the money was washed, in the sense they went to dummy LLC’s and then the Biden family? Maybe it’s all innocent and the brother, son, wives and grandchildren did something. Don’t we deserve to know? Well, the MSM doesn’t even think the American People should know there is an issue. No coverage. Nothing.
Remember when there was no coverage of the border crisis? The MSM didn’t cover it for a year. Trump was the issue, not the Biden policy. Watch them tonight and tomorrow. Plenty of coverage is coming for what they didn’t see.
The problem is they control the airwaves and won’t criticize themselves.
Now we’ll see what the public verdict is. The jury said there was no rape, but there was guilt and liable for sexual abuse and defamation. They ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. As the verdict unfolded, first came the rape charge. Not guilty. From this corner, I didn’t see how a rape could occur in a dressing room of a busy Manhattan department store. That just didn’t seem feasible. Then came the verdict on sexual abuse. Guilty. Did that seem feasible? Yes, it did. The former President’s own words made it seem feasible. In his deposition he defended that cringe worthy tape of his ability to “grab women” and they liked it. He said “right or wrong,” stars got away with that forever. Asked if he was a star, he said “yes.” Then, after saying the plaintiff was “not his type,” he was shown a photo and named the plaintiff as his second wife (Marla Maples). I would guess at some point she was his type.
In the end, no matter what happened, and I think something happened, the verdict now belongs to we the people. What do I think happened? Well, I wonder why the plaintiff went into a dressing room alone with Donald Trump. She said he asked her to pick something out for a friend; how did that end up in a dressing room? He didn’t carry her in. He didn’t force her in. How come she walked into a dressing room with him? Especially since the dressing rooms then were designated by gender. Did a rape occur there? No way. Did some other things happen? I would be inclined to guess yes. What and what occurred after, we’ll never know, but I am guessing something happened.
If Republican voters disregard this, you are setting up the party for a disaster in 2024. When Joe Biden turns to him and says: “You are a convicted sexual abuser and women will not vote for you. You don’t want them to control their own bodies and you think as a star you can abuse them. You are no star, you are nothing more than a sexual predator. “
The Budget Meeting
The four congressional leaders met with the President to discuss the budget, debt and extending our borrowing. When it was over, they all agreed they made no progress. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. The deadline is not until June, and there will be no solution until the very end. It’s called politics and gives the media great stories to write.
Time To Put Up
As of this writing we’re awaiting the press conference on the Biden records, charges and money movement. After all the talk, they better have some real concrete information or their entire future will be Schiff like. What’s that? Your mouth moves, words come out and people hear, but don’t believe.
Congressman Comer has been all over the air waves (of the venues that will carry him and the subject) about corruption and how Hunter, the President and many members of the Biden family are involved. Tomorrow at 9:00 he has a planned press conference where he has to lay this out. It’s put up, Congressman, or Shut Up time. If you fail tomorrow to present the case you have shouted for months, then you are the Republican version of Adam Schiff. The man who saw the evidence that wasn’t. All eyes on Congressman Comer tomorrow.
While today, it’s all eyes on the meeting between McCarthy, McConnell and the President on the budget, debt and spending. Both sides have drawn a line in the sand. It’s put up or shut up time here. Something has to give. Do we just continue barreling down the path of ever increasing the debt; or did we begin to try and control things?
The Polls
Yesterday the ABC poll that showed President Biden at a record low and losing by 7 points to former President Trump got a lot of play. You know what didn’t? The sampling in the poll, which has been so quiet. I understand they sampled more Republicans than Democrats in it. Now, you know how strongly Republicans are anti Biden and, in a choice between the two, don’t you expect they would say “Trump?” In addition, you know Democrats are wary of President Biden and wonder about age and stamina. They say that every poll, but would back him against the former President. Thus, if they over sample Republicans, what do you think the poll will show? Most polls over sample Democrats because there are more registered Democrats than Republicans. Why would they do this? When people figure out what happened, watch the theories come — from both sides. Like: They wanted to bolster Trump because they know Biden can beat him. They wanted to make Biden look bad because they know what is coming from the Republican investigation.
Just A Thought On The Noise
There’s a lot of noise and coverage about the NYC subway incident and local activists jumping on the tracks and blocking trains, disrupting life for working citizens. They want the marine arrested and can’t understand why he is not. Of course there is no concern for the 44 times the victim was arrested, including the last two for attacking and beating woman on the street. The last, a 61 year old, who ended up in the hospital for facial wounds. Then there was the shooting in Allen, Texas this weekend. There was one thing that both, the NY Subway victim and the shooter in Texas, had in common. You know what it was? Both had been diagnosed with mental illness. In fact, the NYC subway victim was identified a top 50 in the city for illness and help needed. In Texas, the shooter was dismissed from the military after three months for mental issues. Yet, they were on the streets, allowed to do havoc and not getting care. You want to arrest a marine for that? Who do you blame for the eight dead? The gun? How about the attitude we have, that we will stigmatize the individual if we take them off the streets? If you ask me, that’s the problem.
We are days from Title 42 ending, and the estimate is that from 7,000 illegal crossings a day we are about to triple that. Seven thousand a day is 2.5 million people each year. Now we are about to triple that?
Let’s settle one thing first. We want immigration. It is a part of a growing nation. You want to be a place where people want to come. You want workers and people seeking the American Dream. However, we want legal and controlled immigration. You bring in individuals who have applied legally, been vetted and fill a skill set void you need. What we have had the last two years is a sham, and it’s about to get worse.
Now both the President and his Homeland Security Director have talked about the 1,500 troops that are being sent to the border. Except they are not going to secure the border, which we would need 150,000 for. They are going to do paperwork to register people so we don’t have a stampede in the holding center. Think about that. We are using troops to take information so illegal border crosses can move into the country faster. What country that has real leadership would do that? We talk about China all the time, would they?
Add to this mess we have politicians who, because the President is a member of their party, refuse to call him out, but instead want to call the Governor of Texas prejudice. Prejudice for shipping people from his border state to a state they want to go? This mess is Governor Abbott’s fault? If you even think that is possible you may want to ask yourself this. If Trump were the president, the Governor of Texas a Democrat and the Mayor of New York a Republican, would you say the same thing? Would you say this is the Governor’s fault, or would you say it’s the President’s policies. If you answer different here than you see it now, consider yourself biased.
To point how hypocritical Mayor Adams was in calling Gov. Abbott a racist for busing illegal crosses to the city of their choice, consider this. Abbott is overwhelmed with thousands of illegals daily for over two years. He is sharing the pain, and NYC, a sanctuary city, says enough. We can’t take a few buses a week. You are racist sending these people here. Well guess what? The Mayor of NY is shipping migrants, via bus, to counties outside his city. You can’t make this up. He is doing exactly what the Governor of Texas did, except this time the migrants did not ask to leave NYC. How hypocritical can you be? The neighboring county elected leader immediately reacted saying the Mayor better not do it. He even threatened to “grab the mayor by the throat.” Thus, we have a mess across the board. Who does the Mayor never mention? The President. You see, he’s of the same party, so he won’t speak up as to who owns this. When they care more about party than nation, we have failed leadership. The border is a major problem, no matter how little the MSM wants to cover it.
Political News
I say again, watch the civil trial in NY which has closing arguments today. I still think it’s bigger than most realize.
The race in California to replace Diane Feinstein is shaping up as quite a donnybrook. Consider this: Yesterday, Rep. Barbara Lee was endorsed by Rep. James Clyburn (SC), while Rep. Katie Porter was endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Then we have former Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsing Rep. Adam Schiff(D-CA).
President Biden will meet at the White House with the congressional Big Four tomorrow. (Speaker McCarthy, Minority Leader Jeffries, Senate Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell.) Here’s a surprising fact (to me at least); this is the first time the five of them will sit down together while serving in their current roles.
On Thursday, Jim Jordan and the Judiciary committee has former CIA Director, John Brennan, before it. They are probing the circumstances surrounding the letter signed by Brennan and dozens other former intelligence officials describing theHunter Bidenlaptop story as Russian disinformation.
On Friday, Jim Jordan’s committee will have Mark Pomerantz,the former special assistant district attorney at the Manhattan DA’s office before it. You remember this was the hearing DA Bragg went to court to negate.
The NY D.A. is still considering what to do about the subway incident. The left has already decided, the Marine is wrong and should be locked up. I say again, wrong. You want to place blame? Try the D.A. who let the obviously troubled individual loose 44 times after arrest. Try the Governor, State of NY and City, who think homeless is a right and not to be dealt with. The “right” of individuals to “live on the street” is a sick mentality that sets up things like this. Finally, all the videos we have watched about crime on the subway and wondered why no one stepped in, now someone did and we want to charge them? That will help innocent travelers in the future. How about the city and state doing the right thing to protect citizens who do not go out to commit crimes?
While on New York, incredibly, the Mayor (with support from the Governor) calls the Texas Governor racist for shipping immigrants to his city, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston. These cities he stressed have no means to support any more illegal immigrants. Adams actually said this: “With a vacuum of leadership from border states, we need the federal government to step in and provide us with support and to prevent this cruelty from continuing.” Let’s examine that. The vacuum is in the border states? They actually have a solution, shipping some to you. Your statement is exactly what’s wrong with leadership in our nation. Your loyalty is to party above country. The Republican Governor is not the problem. He’s a Governor of a border state where hundreds of thousands are flowing across because the President won’t stop it. In fact, he says “there’s no issue.” How are those border cities supposed to handle the influx? They get no support or relief. They are not “proud sanctuary” cities as NY, Chicago and the others are. In fact, those cities made a big deal of being a sanctuary city when the former President was in office and controlling the border. (Because he was mean, uncaring and a racist, they said.) You mean it’s only a problem when it impacts you? If you don’t see the hypocrisy of that, consider yourself indoctrinated by the left.
And, if you think its a problem now, wait until next week with Title 42 being lifted. The MSM won’t tell you, but the administration and their border czar are completely unprepared for that.
So we have inflation threatening our economy, and a possible recession, because of rising prices, and what does Bernie Sanders see as the solution? Raise the minimum wage to $17.00 an hour. They have no clue when you raise business costs or taxes, you raise prices. And you would be amazed at how many think “yea, raise their taxes, it doesn’t affect me.”
And enough with the “pay your fair share” junk, Mr. President. You really want them to play their fair share? Stop the rhetoric and take away the deductions. You can raise the rate as high as you want, but until you take away the deductions they will reduce their rate. You know that, but I guess you can fool some of the people all the time. If you can’t figure that out and do it, then be prepared for higher prices, because that will be the result.
In announcing his plan to seek a second term, the President said he has “unfinished business.” Now, this scared a lot of people, so what are some of the specifics? He signaled this will include universal prekindergarten, expanded eldercare benefits, more affordable housing, and new social programs. Oh, great. We all want that, right? Well, how do you pay the bill with a deficit growing to $31.8 trillion next week? The border? It’s all fine. Crime? Not an issue. Inflation? It’s transitory. The debt? It’s nothing. Just spend more and don’t worry.
Former President Trump reiterated again that he intended to skip the first two Republican debates. His reasoning, why give others a platform? I say again, the civil trial ending today in NY is a minefield that could blow up on him.
Republican chances to pick up a senate seat in Maryland disappeared when ex Gov. Hogan said he is not interested in running. His quote: “The Senate is an entirely different job. You’re one of 100 people arguing all day. Not a lot gets done in the Senate, and most former governors that I know that go into the Senate aren’t thrilled with the job.”
Meanwhile, AOC said she is not planning to run for senator. A big change from a few weeks ago when she indicated she was considering it. She took a hit with Emily’s list endorsing current Senator Gillibrand. Then this week the NACCP gave the senator an A+ rating.
Just Some Stories We Wanted To Catch Up On Before The Weekend.
Let’s say that the House Oversight Chair Rep. Raskin and an old experienced and respected senator like Dick Durbin, brought forward some charges that Donald Trump or George Bush or Ronald Reagan, had gotten payoffs from a foreign government to influence a decision, and they have proof from a whistleblower with documents. Would have that been a major breaking story? Would there have been wall to wall coverage?
Well, yesterday there was such a story. It was a most respected Senator Grassley and the House Oversight Chairperson Comer who broke it. I imagine many of you reading this have heard it. The story was covered by the right leaning venues. It is front page in the NY Post today.
However, the MSM did not see any reason to cover it. GMA, again, skipped over it in their main segment this AM. The NYT front page has nothing.
We don’t know if there is anything to this story. It could well be another smoke screen with no fire. It could be something. We did have a most respected Senator, who has been extremely fair and reliable before, talk about it. Yet, no coverage. Would it have been the same if it were about a Republican? It is a fair, non biased media we need.
While I am on politics, the civil trial against Donald Trump is drawing to a close. Expect a decision early next week. GMA did cover it this AM. As you are aware I have been saying this is going to have a far bigger impact than people realize. I say again, watch this and the aftermath if Trump loses. Why? Imagine the debate stage when a primary challenger or President Biden turns to him and says, “you’re a convicted rapist.” Game over.
A Breaking Case and Opinion
Here’s a story that is going to get big, then bigger and bigger again. It is the incident in the NY Subway yesterday, where a former Marine tackled and put in a chokehold a passenger who, according to riders, was threatening them. The passenger died. The DA in Manhattan, you know him, is investigating. If that DA would charge an older store clerk with murder because he protected himself against an attack, imagine what he will do here. In that case, you may recall, a women came in to buy chips and candy, and her WIC card balance was zero. The clerk said she could not take the stuff. She threatened to get her boyfriend to beat him up, and then did.
The boyfriend came, went behind the counter and began to beat upon the worker, who grabbed a knife and stabbed him. Who goes to Rikers and is charged? The store clerk. He spent a week before public outcry caused a stop to it. Well, here’s my thought on yesterday’s incident.
The person who was killed was homeless and had a rough life. His Mother was murdered by his stepdad and stuffed into a suitcase when he was 14. He was called to testify in the case when he was 18. He became homeless and has been arrested 44 times. Yesterday, according to the riders in the car, he became “unhinged, yelling at riders” and making clear he “didn’t care if he went to jail.” Police reported he had been throwing garbage at riders. The young marine (24 years old), approached and brought the victim down and held him in a choke hold. Other riders helped. Now the DA is investigating murder charges against the ex marine. Here’s an opinion from me: The ex-marine, and every passenger on that subway car, did not board it with any intent to commit a crime. They were going to work, returning home or visiting. What happened was all because of what the victim did. It was his actions that caused the reactions. Every action you take in life has ramifications. He caused the incident, not anyone else. It’s about time we held people responsible for their actions.
Did the people who took action intend to kill him? No. Everyone said that. They wanted to restraint him. They all began their day to do what they needed in their lives. Not one intended to commit a crime, or get into an altercation. Now you want to lock them up? You should have locked up the person you arrested 44 times. It would have saved his life and these innocent citizens. You want to hold someone responsible, I have the answer for you. Mr. DA, look at your department and the city of NY social justice system. You and your city set this up to happen. You want to see the problem, look in the mirror.
I am so tired of this budget battle and its back and forth. I am tired of the outright lies, the misstatements and the failure of leadership.
We have a spending problem in this nation. We are increasing debt at an alarming rate and dropping the value of the dollar at the very moment China is moving to establish the Yuan as the world barometer. When the President and his team say they will accept no compromises or cuts and we must spend what they want and proposed, it is simply shocking. It’s a $6.9 Trillion dollar budget. We have a $31.7 Trillion dollar deficit. Are we supposed to just continue adding on? Doesn’t anybody know that one day the bills come due?
Yesterday it was reported that year to date tax receipts are down $74 billion dollars versus last year. While federal spending is $359 billion above last year. You got that? Spending is up and income is down. The deficit is up $433 billion versus last year. (Last year’s deficit was $1.4 trillion, and we are up this year.)
We’ve spent more than we’ve taken in for 21 years running. When is enough, enough?
Have we reached the point where people care only about themselves and what they can get and not the nation, our future and children? It certainly seems like that.
Let’s remember this too. In the past five quarters the U.S. economy has grown under 1%. Despite what you hear the President saying how great things are. Under 1%. Now add this fact. Inflation over that time has been 6.4%. Remember, inflation is growing faster than wages are rising. This is the opposite of the previous administration. The answer is not to spend more, cause the fed to act more and increase the problem.
So the Republican House sends a budget proposal that says let’s increase spending by 1% a year and get the deficit down. The administration refuses to discuss it. Then they go on the air and say they are “cutting” your benefits. You see, only in Washington is spending more a cut, because it’s not all the spending they want. Yet, they fool the people, because you can fool some people ALL the time. I had a friend who heard the administration said that “they” were cutting veteran benefits and wouldn’t believe me that the House had no proposal to cut veteran benefits. There was a time you could count on the media to tell the truth. Not anymore. The MSM, in their bias, doesn’t do that anymore. They are too busy saving America from Donald Trump.
From this blog, we say enough. We need to get the budget under control and then balanced. Then we need to begin paying back the debt we spent on ourselves. We need to save the American economy and reestablish our nation’s standing. In America, you go to work and pay your own way. Enough with all this spending.
Let’s start with a story that was barely covered in most of the MSM, the Hunter Biden hearing in Colorado. Now, there is a human interest side to this in that the Biden family, for all the talk about family, refuses to recognize this grandchild. The President talks of his love of his grandchildren and how he talks to them all daily; yet, he never met nor acknowledged this one. Why? After denying it was his child, a DNA test told us all that Hunter was the father. I wonder about this child growing up knowing her Grandfather was President and he wouldn’t say hello to her. I wonder, too, how the media allows him to get away with it, while perpetuating this family first image.
We learned Hunter is paying the child’s Mother $20K a month and says his financial condition has changed and he needs to lower that. Second, the Mom wants the child’s last name to be Biden. Hunter and team are fighting that. Why? He’s the father. Finally, in trying to get a handle on Hunter’s income, the judge was told that Hunter had no idea who has purchased his art work. No idea? You believe that? Add this, “It’s not my client’s laptop as far as I know,” Biden’s attorney told the court. Really, he did.
Well, they were ordered to be back in court in July for a hearing and trial. Here’s a prediction. Hunter will settle out of court right before that date, because what would be disclosed would end up being headline news even on the MSM. In his drive to pay less, it may cost more.
Let’s Talk Debt
So the President finally reaches out to Speaker McCarthy for that meeting on the deficit. Of course, in his bravado, the President says he will not discuss cuts, only a debt extension. Yes, he will discuss cuts, because the Republicans will demand it. Our deficit is $31.7 trillion. We need control. What prompted the urgency was Treasury Secretary Yellen saying the U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills in less than a month. Did we really need all the drama of the past three months to get here? Of course not. Do we need the drama ahead in the next 30 days? Of course not. How about just paying our bills as we go? How about paying back some of the debt we are giving our children?
Let’s Talk Politics
A big list today of people not running: Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland announced he is not running for reelection next year. Maryland is the bluest of blue states, but there is one Republican who can make a run here. Ex Governor Larry Hogan. Washington Governor, Jay Inslee, announced he will not seek a fourth term in 2024. This is a safe Dem. seat. Virginia Gov., Glenn Youngkin announced that he won’t be running for president this year. More Politics: A Democratic presidential hopeful says he’s against biological males competing against women in sports. This differs from President Biden’s stance. What did Robert Kennedy say? “I am against people participating in women’s sports who are biologically male. I think women have worked too hard to develop women’s sports over the past 30 years. I watched it happen, and I don’t think that’s fair.” Is that a popular position in the Democratic Party? Let’s see.
Remember when the story about banning gas stoves arose, and there was an uproar and the left said they didn’t have plans to ban them? They lied. Yesterday, NY State Gov Hocul announced that New York will ban gas stoves in new construction beginning in 2026. If you don’t pay attention when you hear they are coming for something, you better start listening. Your gas car is going by government order and now so is your gas stove.
It can’t be politics without a Donald Trump story. How about the announcement that he will be doing a Town Hall on CNN next week? It will be his first time appearing on CNN since he ran for president in the 2016 campaign. Why CNN? Some see it as a rebuke to FoxNews. Others, an attempt to engage with the mainstream media while they are all over Gov. DeSantis. We hear his team is talking to other MSM venues too. With Donald Trump, you just never know.
A reminder to our readers, keep an eye on that civil trial moving along in New York. I still think it has the potential to have a major impact on things once it is decided.
Remember that deadline extension we told you about from the House Foreign Affairs Committee to Secretary Blinken to gain access to that dissent cable written by embassy officials in Kabul, criticizing the Biden administration’s plans to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021? Well, it was May 1, and it has passed again with nothing turned over. What are they hiding? The committee is now considering court action.
Remember the Covid restrictions? The administration will end most vaccine requirements next week. Everyone can go back to work.
A Media Report
Here’s a study out yesterday on a topic we mention often – the MSM. Seems like a lot agree with us. The survey is from: The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
When it comes to the news media and the impact it’s having on democracy and political polarization in the United States, Americans are likelier to say it’s doing more harm than good. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults say the news media is increasing political polarization in this country, and just under half say they have little to no trust in the media’s ability to report the news fairly and accurately. While a slim majority of Americans say they have some degree of confidence in the news media’s ability to report the news fully and fairly, only 16% say they are very confident. Forty-five percent say they have little to no confidence at all. Four in 10 say the press is doing more to hurt American democracy, while only about 2 in 10 say the press is doing more to protect it. An additional 4 in 10 say neither applies.
A Reminder Today
If you have good credit and are going for a mortgage today, you will pay a higher rate as a penalty for your conscientiousness. Under the new rules, fees will double from 0.5% to 1% for a homebuyer with a “very good” credit score — 740 to 759 — who pays a 20% down payment. On a $400,000 home, that raises the fee from $2,000 to $4,000. Makes sense doesn’t it? I’m sure it doesn’t to you, as it doesn’t to me. Remember, your vote counts.
The press held its annual event on Saturday night and, as always, acclaimed itself for their brilliance, role, actions and performance. They had a particularly good time being able to lock in on FoxNews for the Tucker move and the Dominion agreement. They were able to poke fun on their lead competitor and reinforce their beliefs. Poke fun at the President, who has a lot of open avenues for it? Not so much.
Meanwhile, FoxNews did not have a good week in the ratings. They held the lead spot in cable, but the gap narrowed dramatically with MSNBC. It’s early, but the Tucker firing seems to have impacted them more than previous ones on Bill O’Reilly and Megan Kelly. We’ll see if it’s long term or not. I should note that Newsmax did have a good week and picked up viewers. Nowhere near what Fox lost, but a good number. Overall, cable news viewership numbers were down and it was all FoxNews.
One last note on this. There are rumors that Fox is going to make moves on more hosts. Two prominent names mentioned were Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, If these two go, the former especially, I think you’ll see a further deterioration for the station.
Political News
If you watched any Sunday News Show yesterday I want to assure you heard this from Meet The Press: Homeland Director Mayorkas said President Joe Biden “delivered a solution” to the crisis “on Day 1” of his term in the form of immigration reform legislation, and put the blame on Congress for being slow to act. Now, just think back to how the Democrats controlled both houses of congress and stuck together as one, to get through every piece of legislation they wanted. Now the border that he claimed over and over “was under control” is congresses fault. Can you believe that? But, then again you can fool some of the people ….. Add a supportive media and you’re good to go.
Did you see the defense from Trumps attorneys on the classified documents? As reported in the Washington Times, here it is: The staff at the “overly political” National Archives refused to help President Trump pack up his office in the final days of his administration and their absence caused him to unknowingly take classified material to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. They said that the National Archives and Records Administration “unfortunately has become overtly political and declined to provide archival assistance to President Trump’s transition team.” Adding this: Had National Archives staff offered to help pack in Mr. Trump’s final days in office, “he would have accepted the offer and there would have been no reason to transfer the documents to Mar-a-Lago.”
Senator Manchin has a formal challenger and it is a real one. Governor Jim Justice announced he is running and this race is real. In fact you would probably make Justice the favorite now, but he faces a primary and we’ll see how he and his opponent (Rep. Alex Mooney) beat each other up.
Senator Rick Scott introduced legislation that would put armed guards in every U.S. school. How would he fund this? With $80 billion in proposed reprogramming of the IRS appropriations for 87,000 new agents. How do you feel about that? More IRS agents to review your taxes or guards to protect your kids?
The 1% mortgage penalty goes into effect today. The one where if you have good credit you pay more so those who have bad credit can pay less. If that makes sense to you, consider yourself a woke progressive. Most of us were raised to do things the right way and win. This makes you a loser.
Lots of discussion on the House debt bill that was passed. Republicans continued stressing what they call the positives of the bill. Among them are: – Work requirements for welfare benefits for able-bodied adults – More domestic energy production – No funding for 87,000 new IRS goons – A one percent cap on spending – No $300 billion green energy slush fund – A one percent cap on spending – No new major regulations without approval by Congress – A one-year rise in the debt ceiling
The President and Senator Schumer, as leader of the Senate, both said that none are acceptable and only a raising of the debt limit with no cuts is acceptable.
As you will recall, Donald Trump lost in court trying to prevent former Vice President Pence from testifying before the Jan. 6 grand jury investigation. A day after the federal appeals court ruling, Pence was before the committee for five hours. Just another one of those court trials that the former President is facing. I say again, watch closely this civil trial, it is not getting coverage, but it could end up with a big impact.
Did you see that President Zelenskyy (Ukraine) said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a “long and meaningful” phone call last week? This was the first known contact since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, and Beijing appointed an envoy to pursue a “political settlement.” The negotiate a settlement leadership is the kind of thing a U.S. President used to do.
A big endorsement for Senator Gillibrand who we mentioned last week was likely to be challenged from the progressive left. She got it from Emily’s List, the pro-abortion rights group that aims to elect Democratic women. The early backing from a major Democratic campaign group is notable for her. Interestingly, Politico reported yesterday that AOC is leaning to not challenging her in 2024.
Later this morning Hunter Biden is supposed to be in a Colorado Court on child alimony payments. I’m most interested to see how this is maneuvered by the attorneys.
One interesting tidbit on life and inflation today. Consider this: Inflation may make a penny worth less — but it also makes that penny cost more. The rising prices of raw materials have sent the costs of manufacturing coins soaring, adding nearly a full cent to the cost of producing each penny. Thus, it now costs more than 2.5 cents to mint and distribute each penny coin. We made 5.5 billion pennies. Thus the treasury lost $92.7 million on them. Making a nickel now costs more than 10 cents. It rose from 7.42 cents in 2020 to 10.41 cents in 2022. The mint produced 1.4 billion nickels in 2022, with a total face value of about $72 million. Manufacturing cost about $150 million, resulting in a net loss of about $78 million.
