Category: Economy
Senator Tester Destroys Biden’s Keystone Pipeline Executive Order
BY MATT MARGOLIS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Senator Jon Tester, the Democrat from Montana, ripped Joe Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday.
“I’ve been a supporter of the Keystone pipeline. There have been two caveats and they’ve been basic caveats: you do it to the safety standards and you respect private property rights. I think the Keystone pipeline folks could have done a better job getting the Fort Peck Tribe on board and they need to continue working to do that. But, in the end I think it’s a good project,” Tester explained. “I believe in climate change but I also think this one pipeline isn’t going to turn it around—isn’t going to turn our climate around. It’s not going to make it a markedly worse situation.”
Tester insists that his belief in man-made climate change and his support for the pipeline do not contradict each other. “These might sound like two different philosophies butting heads but I’ll tell you, in my real life, I’m a farmer,” he said. “And we’re not where we need to be in this country for, you know, replacing diesel fuel with something else, in a tractor, for example, or a semi that’s going down the road. We will get there, but it’s going to take some good policies from Washington, D.C., and it’s going to take some money invested in R&D.”
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester on the Keystone XL pipeline: "I believe in climate change, but I also think that this one pipeline isn't going to turn our climate around." pic.twitter.com/xGi14QKm0h
— The Hill (@thehill) February 2, 2021
Still waiting for the middle-of-the-road governance from Biden that we were promised.
Matt Margolis is the author of Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter, Facebook, Parler, Gab, MeWe, Heroes, Rumble, and CloutHub.
Rick Perry: Biden’s attack on energy sector decimating American jobs
Former Energy Secretary slams the Biden administrations far-left climate policies on 'Hannity'
Populist Stock Market Revolt WIPES OUT $12B From Globalist Elites as Nations REBEL Against Big Tech!
★★★ THE POPULIST REVOLT HAS JUST BEGUN ★★★
Populist Stock Market Revolt WIPES OUT $12 BILLION From Globalist Elites as Nations REBEL Against Big Tech! Wow! In this video, we’re going to take a look at what many are calling the GameStop Uprising that effectively pushed back against predatory billionaires, how nationalist-populist governments around the world are actively pushing back against Big Tech oligarchs, and how all of this points to nothing less than the fact that the worldwide populist revolt is just beginning; you are NOT going to want to miss this!
Islamic Republic of Iran strengthening ties with Communist China, both denounce US sanctions
BY ROBERT SPENCER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
And Old Joe’s handlers stand ready to give both whatever they want, paid for by American taxpayers.
Funny how every country acts in its own interests except the United States, where a large segment of the population thinks it is “racist” and “xenophobic” to put America first.
“Iran Seeks To Boost Ties With China,” Eurasia Review, January 26, 2021 (thanks to Henry):
Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Li Zhanshu discussed ways for closer cooperation between Tehran and Beijing in various fields, reports Iran’s IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency.
According to Tasnim, in a video conference on Monday morning Qalibaf and Li explored avenues for the enhancement of cooperation between Iran and China, particularly the parliamentary ties, and discussed the prospect of the regional and international developments.
“The friendly relations between Tehran and Beijing have not been and would not be influenced by the ties with other countries and international conditions, but will go ahead in all fields on the basis of cooperation and common interests,” Qalibaf said in the webinar, reported Tasnim.
Qalibaf also praised China’s rejection of the sanctions against the Iranian nation, saying the strategically significant relations between Iran and China are not affected by developments in other states, the Iranian news agency said….
Canadian Premier Rips Biden Over Keystone XL Pipeline “He has disrespected America’s closest friend and ally.”
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
In this recent interview on Fox News with Jason Kenney, the premier of Alberta, Canada, he blasts Joe Biden for his cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, stating that the new President has disrespected America's closest ally, killed jobs on both sides of the border, and made the U.S. more dependent on foreign oil. Check it below!
SURPRISE! MICHIGAN RESTAURANTS ARE NOW MAGICALLY READY TO REOPEN NOW THAT BIDEN HAS BEEN SWORN IN
‘CCP Joe’ Welcomes Communist Firms Back into U.S. Energy Grid; Rescinds Trump order
BY STEPHEN GREEN
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Insanity Wrap needs to know: Is it good news that President Joe Biden turns out to be one of those honest politicians who stays bought?
Answer: Not when he’s a majority-owned subsidiary of the Chinese Communist Party, it isn’t.
Before we get to the sordid details, a quick preview of today’s Wrap.
- Prime Minister Zoolander feeds the mouth that bit him
- Woman who knitted those Bernie Sanders meme mittens driven out of business by feds
- Who turned off the lights at the White House?
And so much more.
Shall we begin?
This Is Not a Sane World, Exhibit #1,000,006
Biden Rescinds Trump Order Banning Chinese Communist Involvement In US Power Grid
To Insanity Wrap, it seems like a no-brainer to prevent a Communist front corporation like Huawei from getting its electronic fingers all into our power grid.
Speaking of no brains:
President Biden has revoked a Trump-era executive order that sought to keep foreign countries and companies out of America’s bulk power systems – principally entities associated with the Chinese Communist Party – as part of his “Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.”
But wait, there’s more: “Biden’s son Hunter was previously involved in several business relationships with CEFC China Energy Chairman Ye Jianming.”
Last month Insanity Wrap advised you to “Pray That Joe Biden Isn’t an Honest Politician Who Stays Bought by the CCP.”
Pray harder.
White House, Washington Monument Enter Dark Mode
It is actually half lit. The opposite side to the one shown here is dimly lit. White House is dark tonight too.
— Raheem Kassam (@RaheemKassam) January 25, 2021
Insanity Wrap sees nothing wrong here — Joe needs his rest.
Your Daily Dose of Mostly Peaceful Protest
Just another night in Portland, where partly violent LARPers duke it out with local police…
…using their umbrellas?
Insanity Wrap would give them points for creativity, right before sending them to bed without dessert.
The Craziest Person in the World (Today)
Wait a minute…After months of being told it was racist to refer to COVID as a “Chinese virus” the WP refers to its new strains as “British and South African variants.” So you can use the name of the nation where it comes from, so long as that nation is not China. Got it. pic.twitter.com/IlXLNbRPvx
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 25, 2021
Today’s craziest person in the world is the one who didn’t see this coming.
And Now For a Brief Moment of Sanity
Insanity Wrap is pleased to tell you that you weren’t losing your mind all last year, thinking that Joe Biden was losing his mind.
Previously On Insanity Wrap: Biden Takes Oath of Office, We Take Shots
Getting What You Voted for, Good and Hard
Woman who made mittens worn by Bernie Sanders in meme quit making them after taxes crushed her business
“If only Comrade Stalin knew,” the old GULAG complaint went.
Here’s the Woke version:
“People have been contacting me thinking that they can get mittens, and actually, they can’t,” Vermont school teacher Jen Ellis said about the mittens that Sanders wore on Inauguration Day, adding that high taxes drove her out of business.
“I don’t have any more, and I don’t have much of a mitten business anymore because it really wasn’t worth it,” she continued. “Independent crafters get really taken for a ride by the federal government. We get taxed to the nth degree, and it wasn’t really worth it pursuing that as a business, even as a side hustle.”
Still, despite Sanders’s strident support for raising taxes, including on the middle class, to pay for “Medicare for all,” Ellis says she supports the senator.
Your sacrifice for the revolution has been duly noted, comrade. Enjoy your gruel.
Greater Than, Lesser Than
The US after Trump has been administering 1.16M doses per day. Biden is saying he will do 100M in 100 days. Why the slow down @JoeBiden ? I would imagine we ramp up even more per day. But idiots will think WOW 100M that’s more. Math is hard for a lib
— Reaganette (@Ezinger44) January 25, 2021
Once again, it’s up to bloggers and Twitter randos to do the job that “reporters” from the complicit Infotainment Complex won’t.
Here’s Another Damn Thing We’re Supposed to Be Concerned About
Trudeau says ‘Canadians and President Biden’ share values right after Keystone XL pipeline cancelled
Oh, Canada:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that he and all Canadians shared values with President Biden, including in the “fight against climate change as a way of growing the economy.” This coming after the revoking of the Keystone XL Pipeline project by President Biden, costing Canada a potential 60,000 jobs.
In a statement released Wednesday, Trudeau said that he was “disappointed” in Biden’s decision to axe the project, but went on to say that he looked forward to combat climate change and reduce pollution with the new US president.
Insanity Wrap would first like to pass along our condolences to our Canadian friends, trapped all these years with Prime Minister Zoolander.
We’d also like to address Canada’s surprisingly supine PM directly: Pipelines use less energy and generate less carbon and risk than trains or trucks do. And you can’t produce the wealth necessary to fight climate change or whatever without jobs. But we’re sure you knew all this already, you sad little suckup.
Send In the Hostage Rescue Team
The day Joe Biden was sworn in, America had the single highest one-day death total
2 days later—Washington DC decided to re-open indoor dining
3 days later—Chicago decided to re-open indoor dining
Democrats killed thousands of small businesses and it was never about the virus.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 24, 2021
Plus: “I’m hearing the Governor is going to lift the Stay-At-Home order for Southern California tomorrow. (Allowing outdoor dining, personal services and others to open) Who knows, why did we close them in the first place?”
It’s impossible not to conclude — as many did, months ago — that the shutdowns were about holding the country hostage to a favorable election outcome for the Democrats. Plus, squeezing out small businesses to benefit established players.
Dems held the country hostage for months and got rewarded handsomely for it.
We’re so screwed.
One More Thing…
You know it’s true.
That’s a Wrap for today.
Come back tomorrow for another Insanity Wrap…
…assuming we make it that long.
Previously On Insanity Wrap: One Day With Joe Biden and Everything Has Gone to Hell Already
Texas Files First Major Lawsuit Against Biden Administration FOR VIOLATING DEPORTATION OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONGRESSIONALLY ENACTED LAWS
SEE: https://www.newsmax.com/politics/law-northam-pol-us/2021/01/22/id/1006835/;
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Texas sued the U.S. government for ordering a halt to most deportations of undocumented immigrants, the first major lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s policies just two days into his term and a likely sign of what’s to come from other Republican-led states.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims the directive from the Department of Homeland Security violated federal law by failing to seek input from the state. Paxton also accused the administration of failing to enforce immigration laws and granting a “blanket amnesty.”
“On its first day in office, the Biden Administration cast aside congressionally enacted immigration laws and suspended the removal of illegal aliens whose removal is compelled by those very laws,” Paxton said in the complaint, filed Friday in federal court in Victoria, Texas. “In doing so, it ignored basic constitutional principles and violated its written pledge to work cooperatively with the State of Texas to address shared immigration enforcement concerns.”
The suit highlights the clash between Biden’s pledge to reverse the efforts of Donald Trump’s former administration to clamp down on people in the U.S. illegally and Republicans who want to continue those policies. Biden plans to eventually offer a path to citizenship to the almost 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., which will likely trigger additional litigation.
Paxton, who is under federal investigation for bribery and abuse of power allegations made by former aides, led a failed legal challenge by Republican attorneys general that sought to prevent Biden from taking office based on bogus allegations of election fraud. In his new lawsuit, the Texas official claims the current administration is failing to remove immigrants even after they’ve had “full and fair” hearings.
“The Constitution, controlling statutes, and prior Executive pledges prevent a seismic change to this country’s immigration laws merely by memorandum,” Paxton said in the suit.
The Department of Homeland Security’s press office declined to comment and referred questions to the White House. The White House didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
The case is State of Texas v. U.S., 6:21-cv-00003, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Victoria).
Biden Kills Thousands of Jobs, Hurts Environment, and Harms Relations With a Close Ally on His First Day in Office
BY BRYAN PRESTON
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Joe Biden used an executive order to kill the Keystone XL pipeline permit on his first day as president. The move, which was expected because Biden said he would do it, drew sharp criticism from Texas, where the pipeline would have ended in the Houston area.
The “working class party” is just fine with killing thousands of union jobs.
Anything to appease the radical left and their pseudo-environmentalism. https://t.co/9LU0VQQwgd
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) January 19, 2021
Michelle Michot Foss, a Ph.D. fellow in energy, minerals, and materials at Rice University’s Baker Institute said the extension would have benefitted the Houston region.
“This project is one of those great security blankets. We have that delivery of crude from Canada. It comes right into the refining complex here, which provides roughly 30 to 40% of U.S. fuel supply and would help to keep prices affordable as everybody engages in economic recovery,” said Foss.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) also inveighed against the move. Unions and most Democrats — about 62% — opposed the cancelation. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also weighed in against the move. Canada is now said to be considering some type of sanction against the United States. Biden’s move affects workers in both countries; it kills about 12,000 jobs in the United States and another 2,000 in Canada as both countries are still reeling from the COVID pandemic’s destruction of jobs.
The United States is our most important ally & trading partner.
As friends & allies, we are deeply disturbed that one of @POTUS first actions was to rescind the Presidential permit for Keystone XL Pipeline border crossing.
That’s not how you treat a friend & ally.
My statement: pic.twitter.com/v2vRrs5vPn— Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 21, 2021
It’s how a Democrat president treats not only an ally, but American workers as well.
Canceling the Keystone XL also hurts the environment. The pipeline would have moved between 800,000 and 830,000 barrels of oil per day safely, off our roads and rails, from where it’s produced to where it can be refined. That was to be Texas, which leads the world in the clean and safe refining of oil into products the modern economy depends on every single day. So some of the jobs lost were in Texas, about which Biden will not care, as Texas did not vote for him.
With the pipeline canceled, Canada will find other customers for its oil. That’s likely to be China and India, two of the world’s fastest-growing and most energy-hungry economies. Instead of being transported safely via the Keystone XL pipeline, the oil will be transported by trucks and ships — both of which emit far more gunk into the atmosphere than pipelines, and both of which are far more prone to accidents and spills. It’s likely to be refined outside the United States, where standards do not match U.S. EPA standards.
Joe Biden killed thousands of jobs, hurt relations with a close ally, and hurt the environment on his first day in the job, while also violating his promise to put science first.
BIDEN PREPARES DRACONIAN EXECUTIVE ORDERS & NAMES THE MOST LIBERAL & PERVERSE APPOINTMENTS HE CAN GET HIS HANDS ON
Biden names lead US negotiator of the Iran nuclear deal to be deputy secretary of state
SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/01/biden-names-lead
EXCERPT:
The lead US negotiator of the Iran nuclear accord and a battle-tested hawk on Russia were named Saturday to top posts in President-elect Joe Biden’s State Department, signaling a return to a more traditional, multilateral approach after Donald Trump’s chaotic presidency.
Wendy Sherman, who brokered the Iran accord under Barack Obama and negotiated a nuclear deal with North Korea under Bill Clinton, was named as deputy secretary of state.
Victoria Nuland, a former career diplomat best known for her robust support for Ukrainian protesters seeking the ouster of a Russian-aligned president, was nominated undersecretary for political affairs — the State Department’s third-ranking post, in charge of day-to-day US diplomacy.
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Biden to Cancel Keystone XL Pipeline on First Day
SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/reports-biden-to-cancel-keystone-xl-pipeline-on-first-day/
EXCERPT: Several news sources are reporting that Joe Biden will use an executive order to cancel the permits granted to the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office as the nation’s 46th president. If true, this act would be a powerful demonstration that elections have consequences, as President Donald Trump was a huge advocate of the pipeline — a project that has faced both political and legal opposition for its entire existence.
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Biden plans 10-day blitz to reverse Trump legacy
SEE: https://www.wnd.com/2021/01/biden-plans-10-day-blitz-reverse-trump-legacy/
EXCERPT: On his first day in office, Joe Biden will issue a dozen executive directives to kick off a 10-day blitz that will include a flurry of legislative proposals aimed at reversing President Trump's legacy, the New York Times reported.
Along with proposing legislation to provide a pathway to citizenship for more than 10 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, Biden will on Inauguration Day:
- Rescind the ban travel from countries that aid and abet terrorism;
- Rejoin the Paris climate-change accord
- Extend pandemic-related limits on evictions and student loan payments.
- Issue a mask mandate for federal property and interstate travel.
Biden also will ask Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief and economic stimulus package that will include a $15 minimum wage.
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Amnesty for Everyone Who Was Here on January 1
EXCERPT:
President-elect Joe Biden’s amnesty plan will reportedly provide the glittering prize of U.S. citizenship to everyone who can show they were in the United States illegally on January 1, if Congress passes the wage-cutting, nation-changing legislation amid a deep economic recession.
“To qualify, immigrants must have been in the United States as of Jan. 1, a move meant to blunt any rush to the border,” according to a description provided “by transition officials” to the Washington Post.
But the “rush to the border” is likely because migrants and the coyotes’ smuggling industry can backdate documents and forge new identities, especially when the prize is the opportunity to escape their lives in undeveloped countries and then become citizens of the United States of America.
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Joe Biden Selects Pennsylvania Transgender Health Official Rachel Levine for HHS
EXCERPT:
President-elect Joe Biden announced Tuesday he had chosen Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as the assistant secretary of health for the Department of Health and Human Services.
Levine, born Richard Levine, is an openly transgender individual and would mark the first transgender official confirmed by the United States Senate, if approved.
Levine is currently the Secretary of Health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in charge of the local response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Levine joins Biden's Health and Human Services secretary nominee Xavier Becerra, a Latino politician who rose from humble beginnings to serve in Congress and as California’s attorney general.
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Biden Taps Transgender Health Official With Horrifying COVID-19 Nursing Home Record
EXCERPTS: Levine, a male who identifies as female, faced harsh criticism for removing his mother from a personal care home during the COVID-19 pandemic after he had directed nursing facilities to admit people who had previously tested positive for COVID-19. The elderly are at particular risk for the virus. In May, multiple members of the Pennsylvania State House demanded Levine’s resignation over “the horrific results of the [health] department’s COVID-19 policy” on nursing homes and other facilities under the department’s oversight. More than half (10,022) of Pennsylvania’s 19,390 COVID-19 deaths can be traced back to long-term care facilities.
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Biden to Allow Transgender Students to use Bathrooms of Their Choice via Executive Order
EXCERPT: Joe Biden has vowed to reverse a previous Trump Administration decision revoking an Obama-era rule that allowed sel-identified transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms of their choosing, as reported by Fox News.
Owner of largest online gun retailer reacts to website being ‘yanked’ offline BY HOSTING COMPANY “GO DADDY”
GoDaddy boots largest gun retailer "AR15.COM" from the internet; Owner, Pete Brownell, discusses their response and how they are moving forward
Turkey seeks ‘healthier’ relationship with Biden administration, requests that US sanctions be dropped
BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Turkey’s presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalı has announced that “Biden’s transition team is eager to develop a good relationship with Ankara.” But in “an unusual snub for a powerful NATO ally,” Biden has (at the time of this writing) flatly ignored Erdogan’s request for a phone call.
The Trump administration placed sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of Russian s-400 missiles. On the face of it, it seems unlikely that Biden would remove those sanctions:
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds and said that the Turkish leader “has to pay a price.” He also suggested the U.S. should support Turkish opposition leaders “to be able to take on and defeat Erdogan. Not by a coup, but by the electoral process.”
Turkey’s enthusiasm about a healthier relationship with the US may be premature.
“Turkey urges ‘review’ of US sanction decision over S-400s,” Al Jazeera, January 14, 2021:
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has called on the upcoming Biden administration in the United States to engage in a dialogue with Ankara and to review a decision to sanction the country over its purchase of an advanced Russian air missile defence system.
“We are saying let’s not break things up in this way. Let’s sit down and talk and find a solution,” Akar said on Wednesday.
That request comes even though Washington has made clear that there can be no waiver of the sanctions until Ankara disposes of the Russian technology.
Speaking to reporters late on Wednesday, Akar would not be drawn into a question on whether Turkey would consider disposing of the Russian S-400 system amid US pressure. But he said he was hopeful that a solution can be found “through common sense before coming to that point”.
“It is a very problematic situation to turn back from the point we have come to. We invite [the US] to distance themselves from threatening language such as sanctions,” Akar told journalists in Ankara.
“We want the solution of problems through dialogue. If the US side wants a solution, a solution could be found with work on the technical level,” he said.
Second consignment of the S-400s?
Akar also said talks with Russia on acquiring a second consignment of the S-400 were continuing.Ties between the two allies took a turn for the worse when in April 2017, Turkey signed a contract with Russia to acquire the state-of-the-art missile shield….
Bill Gates Buying Up Huge Amount of Farmland While ‘Great Reset’ Tells Americans Future is No Private Property
Feudalism makes a roaring comeback in the name of progress.
BY PAUL JOSEPH WATSON
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
While Americans are being told by ‘Great Reset’ technocrats that the future is one without private property, Bill Gates and other billionaires have been buying up huge amounts of farmland.
Indeed, Gates is now the biggest owner of farmland in America, according to a Forbes report.
“After years of reports that he was purchasing agricultural land in places like Florida and Washington, The Land Report revealed that Gates, who has a net worth of nearly $121 billion according to Forbes, has built up a massive farmland portfolio spanning 18 states.”
“His largest holdings are in Louisiana (69,071 acres), Arkansas (47,927 acres) and Nebraska (20,588 acres). Additionally, he has a stake in 25,750 acres of transitional land on the west side of Phoenix, Arizona, which is being developed as a new suburb.”
Gates now owns 242,000 acres of farmland across the U.S., mostly “through third-party entities by Cascade Investments, Gates’ personal investment vehicle.”
According to Forbes, it is not known what Gates is doing with the land and Cascade Investments refused to comment on the issue.
In terms of individual landowners, Gates is still far behind media mogul John C. Malone, who is in top spot with 2.2 million acres of ranches and forests and CNN founder Ted Turner, who owns 2 million acres of ranch land.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is also “investing in land on a large scale,” according to the report.
What billionaire philanthropists and technocrats are acquiring land at an accelerating speed, they appear to be telling the general public that in the future private property will virtually cease to exist.
In his books, World Economic Forum founder and globalist Klaus Schwab makes clear that the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ or ‘The Great Reset’ will lead to the abolition of private property.
That message is echoed on the WEF’s official website, which states, “Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my city – or should I say, “our city”. I don’t own anything. I don’t own a car. I don’t own a house. I don’t own any appliances or any clothes.”
Apparently, you won’t be allowed to own any private property and your only recourse will be to live in a state of permanent dependency on a small number of rich elitists who own everything.
That used to be called feudalism, which is a form of slavery.
RITZ Cracker Ad Aiming to ‘Rethink Family’ Includes Homosexual Man Putting on Lipstick
BY HEATHER CLARK
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
A RITZ cracker ad that is uploaded to YouTube and ran on HGTV during the holiday season as part of an effort to “rethink what it means to be family” depicts a homosexual man, who dons red lipstick, putting his arms around his significant other. The advertisement has generated opposition from the site One Million Moms, which created a petition asking RITZ to stop “pushing the LGBTQ+ agenda on families.”
“At RITZ, we believe everyone should feel like they belong. That’s why this holiday, we’re encouraging people to rethink what it means to be family,” a webpage dedicated to the campaign states. “RITZ is on a mission to help make the world a more welcoming place.”
The advertisement is meant to highlight various causes that the brand is supporting, such as the homeless, Hispanic families, and those who identify as homosexual. The campaign site advises that RITZ is partnering with the homosexual advocacy It Gets Better Project, along with the groups Hispanic Star and Invisible People, by donating $50K to support their causes.
RITZ’s video depicts all three entities, opening with a homosexual man on a bus texting his seemingly estranged mother and asking to talk, with his partner putting on lipstick seconds later, presumably as he sits in front of a mirror.
“The holidays are about spending time with family, whether its the one you’re born into or the one you make,” the narrator states.
Later in the advertisement, the homosexual man knocks at the door of his partner’s home. As he opens the door, the two embrace, and the man with red lipstick — and now apparently blue eyeshadow — is seen putting his arm(s) around him in shots that follow.
“Where there’s love, there’s family,” the narrator says, the words also appearing on the screen, directing viewers to RITZ’s “Taste of Welcome” website.
While the video has generated 2.3K likes on YouTube, it also has 11K thumbs down. Part of the reaction may be due to the objection of One Million Moms, which created a petition asking for RITZ to stop pushing the homosexual agenda.
“RITZ Crackers is attempting to normalize the transgender lifestyle by airing a commercial that has absolutely nothing to do with selling crackers,” its webpage states. “The company’s most recent ad features a man putting on lipstick like a woman and effeminately clinging to another man to brainwash children and adults alike by desensitizing audiences.”
The group encouraged Christians to sign its petition, writing, “If RITZ Crackers refuses to remain neutral, then Christians will vote with their pocketbooks and support companies that do.”
As of press time, the petition has generated more than 23K signatures.
As previously reported, a number of companies have included homosexuality in their advertising in recent years, including Nabisco, Colgate, Tylenol, Kellogg’s, Cottonelle, Starbucks, Marriott, DirecTV, Zales, Walmart and Target. Other companies that have made their advocacy known in other ways include Oreo, Doritos, McDonald’s, Burger King, Chipolte, Hallmark, Disney and Sesame Street.
THE GOSPEL
While a common argument among those who struggle with feelings toward the same sex is that they were “born this way,” the Bible teaches that all are born with the Adamic sin nature (Romans 5:19), having various inherent feelings and inclinations that are contrary to the law of God and being utterly incapable of changing by themselves (Job 14:4).
All men, therefore, face the same predicament, being natural lawbreakers and guilty in the sight of God (Romans 3:19), evoking His wrath.
“[W]e all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others,” Ephesians 2:3 outlines.
“All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way,” Isaiah 53:6 reads, “and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
It is why Jesus came: to do what men could not do for themselves, to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Scripture outlines that Jesus came to be the propitiation for men’s sins (1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10), a doctrine in Christianity known as substitutionary atonement, and to save men from the wrath of God for their violations against His law (Romans 4:25, Romans 5:9, Romans 5:16), a doctrine known as justification.
In light of Christ laying down his life for His enemies (Romans 5:10), God calls all men to repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15).
Acts 2:38-40 exhorts, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
The Bible also teaches about regeneration, as in addition to sparing guilty men from eternal punishment, Christ sent his Holy Spirit to make those who would repent and believe new creatures in the here and now, with new desires and an ability to do what is pleasing in the sight of God by His indwelling and empowerment (Ezekiel 11:19, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Titus 3:5).
The late Anglican preacher J.C. Ryle once explained, “The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people’s souls require — not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death but from the dominion of their sins by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit; not only to justify them but also to sanctify them.”
Biden Will Introduce $2 Trillion Stimulus Bill With $2,000 Individual Checks
BY RICK MORAN
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Aides to President-elect Biden say that he will propose another massive pandemic relief bill costing $2 trillion dollars. It will include $2,000 individual checks for taxpayers.
Biden will outline more of the plan later on Thursday, but Senate Democrats are also talking seriously about merging pandemic relief with a completely unrelated infrastructure bill. It’s likely the total cost for both measures together will exceed $3 trillion.
Moreover, Democrats are discussing ways to use budget reconciliation to pass most of their legislation. This would mean the filibuster would be off the table and legislation could pass by a simple majority.
The Biden team is taking a “shoot for the moon” approach with the package, one lawmaker in close contact with them told CNN, though they added that the price tag could still change. The proposal will include sizable direct payments to American families, significant state and local funding — including for coronavirus vaccine distribution and other emergency spending measures — to help those struggling during the pandemic.
Biden is set to announce the details of his plan in Wilmington, Delaware, Thursday evening.
Democrats hold only the slimmest of majorities in the House and the Senate, and Republicans have recently resisted efforts to pass Covid-19 relief on a multi-trillion dollar scale. But Biden’s party believes it may have only a brief window to pass sweeping relief legislation and the President-elect has faced significant pressure from some Democrats to go big.
Also on the table will be more extra unemployment payments and aid to state and local governments that are suffering budget shortfalls because of the pandemic. Some of that cash is likely to go into fixing state pension systems, run into the ground by Democratic governors and their public union allies.
There will be money for vaccine distribution, schools, and other health care concerns, but it’s also likely that the individual checks to taxpayers will be a standalone bill passed very shortly after Biden is sworn in.
Current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected a standalone bill on increasing the value of the checks, but with Democrats about to take control of the chamber — and of Congress — following victories in two Georgia Senate runoff elections, Biden will likely have the votes to approve increased relief spending.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said that one of the first bills he’d like to pass once he becomes Senate majority leader would raise stimulus payments to $2,000.
With unemployment claims skyrocketing, Congress is likely to act swiftly before the economy tumbles into another recession.
Here’s the List of Powerful Companies Cutting Off Trump and His Supporters After Capitol Siege
BY VICTORIA TAFT
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
The list is getting longer of corporations cutting ties with President Donald Trump and his friends and allies because of the January 6th incursion of the US Capitol Building.
A huge Save America rally supporting the president was held at the Ellipse. The four hour long rally with multiple speakers culminated with the president’s more than hour long speech and a planned march to the U.S. Capitol Building for an apparent rally there. Inside, the Congress was discussing the results of the Electoral College vote. Allies of the president attempted to forestall the certification of the election by asking for a ten-day audit of the troubling results from states believed to have experienced electoral fraud.
A break-away bunch of free radical Trump supporters and others, including at least one Leftist, fought their way into windows and doors or were allowed into the Capitol Building by law enforcement. Some people simply walked through the building from one entrance and exiting another. Others stuck around to do some chest beating and breaking objects and stealing things from private congressional offices.
Members of Congress were evacuated wearing gas masks.
It was abominable.
While it’s convenient to blame a president the Left already can’t stand, as I’ve reported at PJ Media, it’s very difficult to make a case that the president’s words fomented the unrest. Former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy has come to that conclusion as well, even after the shocked Fox News contributor said he believed the president incited the mob. Saying that is one thing, proving it is another. Read the president’s words and watch them for yourself.
But, people predisposed to hating the president and hyper-sensitive to the sensitivities of the institutions run by the political Left have spoken. They’ve cut off the president, his friends, colleagues and, in some case, his fans. The New York Times reported a cohort of companies from banks to health care companies are temporarily halting their PAC giving to any political parties.
The following is a list of companies that have cut off the president and/or friends or political party is culled from various news stories, among them from Axios, The New York Times, the Associated Press and other publications.
Amazon
Amazon, one of the biggest companies in the world, owned by the richest man in the world, who also owns The Washington Post, cut off donations to Republicans who fought election fraud and demanded an extension of the voting in the Electoral College.
Golf
Professional Golf Association of America
The PGA has cut its ties with the Trump organization, owner of multiple golf clubs and resorts. The PGA reneged on its agreement to hold the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump’s Bedminster golf course. The New York Times reports that the PGA president claimed the Trump association “would be detrimental to the P.G.A. of America brand, and would put at risk the P.G.A.’s ability to deliver our many programs, and sustain the longevity of our mission.”
High Tech/Social Media
Facebook has banned President Trump from posting on its platform.
Twitter has permanently banned the president from its platform.
Shopify
Shopify, an e-commerce company, has dropped the Trump campaign and Trump Organization from its platform permanently.
Stripe
Stripe, an online payment company, has dropped the president because it claims he encouraged violence.
Reddit cut off the sub reddit handle r/DonaldTrump due to Stop the Steal discussions.
Snapchat
Snapchat cut off the president’s account. It muted the account in June.
Twitch
Twitch has locked out President Trump of its Minority Report-like standard which is he might incite violence
Academia
Lehigh University
Lehigh University, which gave Donald Trump an honorary degree in 1988, withdrew it.
Wagner College
Wagner College withdrew its honorary degree it awarded the president in 2004.
Middlebury College
Vermont’s uber liberal Middlebury College is considering revoking Rudolph Giuliani’s honorary law doctorate, given for his valiant response to 9/11, but they don’t like him anymore.
Banks/Finance
American Express
The NYT reported the American Express PAC would no longer support any Congressional member who voted against certifying the election. The company never supported any GOP Senators according to The New York Times. There’s no word on if the company cut off Democrats who have voted against certification in the past.
MasterCard
MasterCard said said it was cutting off donations to any politician who tried to hold up the count of the Electoral College votes.
Morgan Stanley
The investment giant has cut off donations to any congressional member who voted against certifying the election.
Legal
New York State Bar Association
The liberal New York State Bar Association is considering investigating Giuliani and banishing him from their group.
Telecom/Cable
AT&T
The Dallas based media and telecom company withdrew all its PAC donations from all Republicans including 17 Texas state Republicans and Senator Ted Cruz. A group called End Citizens United called for the corporation’s withdrawal of donations from Republicans. It owns Time Warner cable.
Comcast
Comcast announced it’s cutting off Republicans who fought the election results. Comcast owns NBCUniversal, NBC TV, local NBC stations, Xfinity, Telemundo, not to mention film companies and recreational parks.
Manufacturing
Dow Chemical
Dow Chemical, the Michigan based-chemical and plastics company, announced it would cut off Republicans who didn’t support Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. The multinational corporation announced that it would suspend donations for the next election cycle.
Insurance
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association cut off political contributions to Republicans who tried to stop the certification of the Electoral College. It’s “one of the nation’s largest federations of insurance companies,” according to The New York Times.
Hospitality
Marriott International
The hospitality company Marriott International, which besides its own eponymously named hotels owns nearly 5,400 other properties, including the luxe The Ritz Carlton brand, Autograph Collection Hotels, St. Regis and many others, says it’s cutting off the GOP because of the “destructive events at the Capitol” which undermined “a legitimate and fair election.”
Publishing/Media
Hallmark
Hallmark has asked Senators Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall to give back their campaign contributions for voting against certifying the election. Hallmark owns publishing, television networks, retail stores, and even the Crayola art materials company.
Cumulus
The radio station group reportedly put its conservative hosts on notice that they not give oxygen to the idea that the election wasn’t over. National Review reports the brass at Cumulus put out a memo reading, “We need to help induce national calm NOW,” Cumulus’s executive vice president of content Brian Philips wrote in the memo. The company “will not tolerate any suggestion that the election has not ended. The election has been resolved and there are no alternate acceptable ‘paths.’”
Cumulous stations host Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, and many other conservative hosts across the country.
Other Companies Halting All Political Donations:
The New York Times reports that the following companies also plan on halting all political donations from their political action committees for the foreseeable future.
They are JPMorgan Chase, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Visa, American Airlines, BP, and Coca Cola.
Airbnb and FedEx are studying their political giving before making any further announcements.
The shockwaves from the actions of those at the Capitol Building on January 6th will continue to ripple through a shocked public – a ripple felt all the way up to the glass-enclosed corner offices of corporations around the country.
Victoria Taft is the host of “The Adult in the Room Podcast With Victoria Taft” where you can hear her series on “Antifa Versus Mike Strickland.” Find it here. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Parler, MeWe, Minds @VictoriaTaft
Street Artist SABO Triggers the Left With ‘Say Her Name’ Poster of Woman Shot By Police at Capitol Protest
Which of These Words Spoken by Trump Would Cause You to Riot?
The Left Tries Another ‘High-Tech Lynching’ of Clarence Thomas and His ‘Terrorist’ Wife After Trump Rally
Brandon Straka’s ‘Walk Away’ Facebook Group Deleted in Big-Tech Purge of Conservative Accounts
Huge Leak: Chinese Communists in Key Western Institutions
In this episode of Behind The Deep State, host Alex Newman highlights an explosive leak of Communist Party of China members that shows they have operatives across key Western companies, universities, governments, banks, and pharmaceutical companies. The seriousness of this cannot be overstated, especially considering that, as Newman explains, the CCP is an ally and a tool of the Deep State. 📰
Read the Articles: Top U.S. Media Outlets “Compromised” by Communist China http://bit.ly/3bmylWa Leak: Communist Chinese Infiltrated West’s Pharma, Defense, Banks http://bit.ly/3nDOYPI 🇺🇸 The New American: http://www.thenewamerican.com/
McConnell Calls $2,000 Stimulus Checks ‘Socialism for the Rich’
BY RICK MORAN
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is digging in his heels in opposing the boost in individual stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. McConnell believes that too much money would be going to people who don’t need it, calling the plan “socialism for the rich.” “Borrowing from our grandkids to do socialism for rich people is a terrible way to get help to families who actually need it,” McConnell said of an effort to boost the checks from $600 to $2,000, which is supported by Donald Trump.
This elicited a harsh response from Vermont’s resident socialist curmudgeon Senator Bernie Sanders: “The majority leader helped lead this body to pass Trump’s tax bill. You want to talk about socialism for the rich Mr. Majority Leader?!”
Tax cuts are the same as “socialism”? We’ll have to remember that.
Democrats and some Republicans want a “stand-alone” bill — an up-or-down vote on the stimulus checks. They aren’t going to get it. Any additional stimulus now awaits the presidency of Joe Biden and the outcome of the Georgia runoff elections.
Led by McConnell, many Republicans say the measure the House approved earlier this week delivers too much aid to six-figure earners. The House’s bill would send checks to higher earners more than the two previous rounds of direct payments, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
“Imagine a family of five where the parents earn $250,000 per year and have not seen any income loss this past year. Speaker Pelosi and Senator Sanders want to send them $5,000 from Uncle Sam,” McConnell said.
There’s no doubt that some of that money would be going to people who really don’t need it. But most of it would go to people who are really hurting. Besides the need, there is the rationale that disbursing money now will keep the locked-down economy from sliding deeper toward recession. Some Republicans may not mind seeing a recession in Joe Biden’s first months, but does anyone seriously believe that the media would allow one breath of a suggestion that any economic downturn was the fault of anyone but Donald Trump?
McConnell is preparing the ground for the coming battles on spending during 2021. Republicans will become born-again spendthrifts, having once again discovered they’re supposed to be the party of fiscal prudence and accountability. He is staking out positions now so that later, when Democrats get radically serious about emptying the treasury, he will fight on the ground of his own choosing.
The majority leader doesn’t think the measure has a prayer in the Senate.
On Wednesday, after Trump again insisted upon “$2000 ASAP!” in a tweet, McConnell said the proposal had “no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate” and refused to split the White House’s legislative wish list into separate measures. But that was exactly what Graham pressed the Republican leader to do on Thursday.
“Here’s what I’d like: I’d like a stand-alone vote in the new Congress on the $2,000 check,” Graham said. “We have seven Republicans who’ve already said they would vote for it. We need five more. I think if we had the vote, we would get there.”
McConnell can count noses as well as anyone and he knows the votes aren’t there. If he could sweeten the bill to draw in a few more Republican senators, there would be Democratic objections, rendering the bill dead in the water. Even if he supported the measure, there’s just no way to get there from here.
For Democrats and those Republicans who think a larger stimulus is needed, it’s “wait till next year.”
Shocked, Shocked to Find Europe Cutting Deals With China Behind Our Back
BY DAVID P. GOLDMAN
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Europe and China yesterday signed a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment after seven years of negotiation. Why now? As I report at Asia Times, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron pushed the deal through to pre-empt anything that the new U.S. administration might have to say on the subject.
From my article:
Representatives of the incoming Biden Administration tried and failed to stop the European Union from signing an investment treaty with China this week.
After seven years of often-stalled negotiations, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron pushed for a final agreement on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) before the new US Administration takes office January 20.
A German government official, speaking on background, said that Europe wanted to present Washington with a fait accompli before the new administration could have a chance to exert pressure on the Europeans to keep a distance from China. China of course was on board for that.
“Members of the Biden team in Brussels campaigned against the deal with China in order to be able to exercise more pressure on China in future negotiations,” reported the center-right German daily Die Welt.
Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger said, “Leaders in both U.S. political parties and across the U.S. government are perplexed and stunned that the EU is moving towards a new investment treaty right on the eve of a new U.S. administration.”
Perplexed? Germany now sells more to China than it does to the U.S., thanks to China’s economic snapback and America’s continued economic weakness. East Asia (not just China, but South Korea and Taiwan) crushed the pandemic in weeks, while we still can’t distribute the vaccine we have. Last month China signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with fifteen other Asian countries, eliminating most tariffs on imports from Japan among others. U.S. economic importance is shrinking.
China has a $1.4 trillion, five-year budget to support high tech R&D and investment. China outspends us 10:1 on quantum computing research. China is determined to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution–mobile broadband, quantum communications, quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence, self-programming industrial robots, self-regulating farms, autonomous vehicles, and so forth. It’s no wonder that Europe and Japan are cutting deals with China. China is where the market is, and, increasingly, where the technology is.
Beijing is using trade and investment deals with Europe and Japan to batter its own industry into shape, as I reported at Asia Times.
There’s a lot of talk from the Biden camp about multilateral diplomacy to shape up an alliance of democracies to contain China. It looks like the Biden administration has been made irrelevant before it takes office.
Biden Will Throw in the Towel on China Tech War
UK: Johnson government signs a multi-billion-dollar trade deal with Turkey amid Trump sanctions
BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Britain and Turkey are set to sign a multi-billion-dollar free trade deal this week, despite Trump’s sanctioning of Turkey due to its threats in the region and worldwide.
British trade minister Liz Truss boasted:
“We now look forward to working with Turkey towards an ambitious tailor-made UK-Turkey trade agreement in the near future.”
All this as the Trump administration has cracked down on Turkey. According to the Jerusalem Post:
Those around Trump realized Ankara is hosting Hamas terrorists, having pleasant meetings with Iranian officials and working with Russia against US interests. This has come to a head in the fall and winter as the State Department finally condemned Turkey for giving a red carpet to Hamas terrorists and US sanctions have kicked in after Turkey acquired Russia’s S-400.
In early December, to cushion American sanctions, the Venezuelan regime under Nicolas Maduro urged Venezuelan firms to sign trade deals with both Turkey and Iran.
The Turkish government has also been using US mosques to spread “Islamist-nationalistic fervor,” similar to what Saudi Arabia and Iran have been doing to export their supremacist, jihadist ideologies. David L. Phillips, Director for the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, stated: “These mosques are not places of worship….They are centers for political mobilization functioning like madrasas, distorting Islamic [sic] and radicalizing youth.”
“Britain says it will sign free trade deal with Turkey this week,” Reuters, December 27, 2020:
(Reuters) – Britain and Turkey are set to sign a free trade deal on Tuesday, the UK trade ministry said on Sunday, the first since Prime Minister Boris Johnson secured a new trade agreement with the European Union.
The two nations will sign a deal that replicates the existing trading terms between Ankara and London, but British trade minister Liz Truss said that she was hopeful a bespoke deal between the countries could be struck soon.
“The deal we expect to sign this week locks in tariff-free trading arrangements and will help support our trading relationship. It will provide certainty for thousands of jobs across the UK in the manufacturing, automotive and steel industries,” Truss said in a statement.
“We now look forward to working with Turkey towards an ambitious tailor-made UK-Turkey trade agreement in the near future.”….
Vatican Joins Some of the Largest Corporations to Promote an Inclusive ‘Reform’ of Capitalism
Members of the Council for "Inclusive" Capitalism, with Communist Pope Francis
The "alliance", led by Pope Francis and "Guardian" leaders of large multinationals, represents 500 companies with 200 million workers around the world.
PERHAPS THE COMMUNIST CHINESE MODEL OF "CAPITALISM" WILL BE IMPLEMENTED
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Reforming the economic system to make it more equitable and sustainable. This is how the raison d’être of the Council of Inclusive Capitalism can be summarised.
The Vatican has joined this platform formed by leaders of some of the biggest multinational corporations such as Visa, Johnson&Johnson, BP, Allianz and Bank of America, as well as foundations and large global non-profit organizations.
The Council defines itself as a “partnership” and “alliance” that “signifies the urgency of joining moral and market imperatives to reform capitalism into a powerful force for the good of humanity”.
In fact, Pope Francis stands out among the main leaders of the initiative, alongside Roman Catholic Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development Peter Turkson, and a group of influential business leaders who call themselves “Guardians”.
According to the initiative, these Guardians coming from different businesses “have already committed to hundreds of measurable actions”.
The Council is formed by around 500 companies, which together represent 10.5 trillion dollars in assets under management and 200 million workers in over 163 countries.
“This Council will follow the warning from Pope Francis to listen to ‘the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ and answer society’s demands for a more equitable and sustainable model of growth”, said the founder of the Council, Lynn Forester de Rothschild.
Francis, the "moral guide"
In 2013, Francis stated in the document Evangeli Gaudium, that “the market, by itself, cannot solve all problems”. Now, the highest representative of the Vatican, whose debt has been controversial to the point that some analysts say the institution is close to bankruptcy, is defined by the Council of Inclusive Capitalism as their “moral guide”.
“An economic system that is fair, trustworthy, and capable of addressing the most profound challenges facing humanity and our planet is urgently needed. You have taken up the challenge by seeking ways to make capitalism become a more inclusive instrument for integral human wellbeing”, the Pope told the Guardians.
The Council says it is “inspired by the moral imperative of all faiths” and invites other businesses and non-profit organizations to join the “moral guide of Pope Francis”.
The alliance will have one annual meeting between the Guardians and the Vatican representatives Francis and Cardinal Turkson.
The Abominable “America Last” Porkulus Bill~Money for Everything & everybody except the American people
BY MICHELLE MALKIN
SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/the-abominable-america-last-porkulus/;
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
This country is not governed by a “Republican Party” and a “Democratic Party.” It is governed by an establishment “uniparty” that betrays our citizens at every turn. Exhibit A: The joint annual ritual of fiscal vulgarity known as the omnibus spending bill.
While Americans are distracted with the holidays, Beltway crapweasels stuff their legislative Christmas trees with multibillion-dollar goodies for every special interest except the American people. I’ve reported with depressing regularity over the past quarter-century on how these pork-laden monstrosities get rammed through Congress, unread, with little scrutiny or outrage. But finally, light bulbs are going off.
The juxtaposition of measly COVID-19 relief for U.S. citizens against the backdrop of lavish aid for illegal immigrants, the military-industrial complex, Big Pharma, overseas social justice warriors, nongovernmental organizations and foreign countries is just too brazen to ignore. Americans will receive $600 COVID-19 relief checks and $300 unemployment payments as part of the consolidated federal government funding package. The $900 billion in COVID-related aid is folded into the massive, 5,600-page legislation encompassing 12 fiscal 2021 spending bills worth $1.4 trillion.
The puny pandemic stimulus for we the people is a pittance compared with these giveaways buried in the abominable “America last” porkulus:
— 15.4 million illegal immigrant family members are now eligible for stimulus checks and can also now receive retroactive payments worth up to $1,800.
— The amnesty program for thousands of Liberians who’ve lived and worked here unlawfully since 2014 has been extended for another year.
— Untold numbers of illegal immigrants who claim to live with “unaccompanied minors” smuggled across the border will now enjoy a new shield from deportation.
— While funding support for the detention and removal of illegal immigrants by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has been slashed by $431 million, open borders nonprofits are rejoicing over new funding for catch-and-release pilot programs that will keep deportable illegal immigrants out of federal custody.
— $500 million to Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama to “address key factors that contribute to the migration of unaccompanied, undocumented minors to the United States.”
— $461 million to Colombia for drug control and “human rights” programs.
— $75 million to the “Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.”
— $33 million “for democracy programs for Venezuela.”
— $1.65 billion to Jordan for “foreign military financing” and other assistance.
— $700 million in economic aid to Sudan for “global health” and “transition.”
— $40 million to Syria for economic support, drug control and law enforcement, and emergency medical and rescue response.
— At least $25 million for “democracy” and “gender programs” in Pakistan.
— “Not less than” $135 million for drug control and law enforcement assistance in Burma.
— “Not less than” $85.5 million to Cambodia.
— $130 million to Nepal for “development” and “democracy” programs.
— $1.3 billion to Egypt for “economic support” and “higher education.”
— $453 million to Ukraine.
— $241 million for Tunisia.
— $15 million to refurbish a patrol boat in Sri Lanka.
— $170 million to Vietnam, including $19 million to clean up dioxins.
— $200 million to Bangladesh, including $23.5 million to support Burmese refugees and $23.3 million for “democracy programs.”
— $132 million “for assistance for Georgia.”
— “Not less than” $1.5 billion for implementation of Indo-Pacific Strategy and the Asia Reassurance Initiative.
Then there’s Israel, which raked in $500 million in military aid, plus $250 million to invest in “people to people” exchanges among Palestinians, Israelis and Americans, $5 million for refugee resettlement, $2 million for cooperative COVID-19 health research, $2 million for “sustainability” research, $4 million for the U.S.-Israel Center of Excellence in Energy and Water, $2 million for cooperative energy programs, $2 million for U.S.-Israel “border security” programs and $2 million for “strategic dialogue” among the U.S., Israel, Greece and Cyprus.
This half-billion-dollar gift to Israel, one of the world’s wealthiest nations with universal health care and highly subsidized higher education, comes on top of the $3.8 billion in foreign aid already allocated to the country this month through the National Defense Authorization Act — which also included $3.3 billion for security assistance, $500 million for missile defense, $47.5 million for “anti-tunnel technology” and $25 million for anti-drone aerial systems thousands of miles away to protect them. Not us.
What about our borders? What about our domestic peace? What about our health? What about our sustainability? What about our schools? What about our small businesses? What about our human rights?
Americans who dare ask these questions are viciously attacked by the uniparty gatekeepers and globalist water-carriers as “xenophobic,” “racist” and “anti-Semitic.” We’ve had enough. A manufactured public health crisis, post-George Floyd anarchotyranny, and the wholesale hijacking of our election system are pushing citizens to the brink of revolt.
In such times, and at all times, any self-respecting sovereign nation must put its people first. If you don’t demand leaders who represent your interests, you deserve the serial abusers you elect, embolden and empower.
Michelle Malkin’s email address is MichelleMalkinInvestigates@protonmail.com. To find out more about Michelle Malkin and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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President Trump Begins His SECOND TERM by NUKING COVID Relief Bill!!!
★★★ A NEW CONSERVATIVE AGE IS RISING ★★★
President Trump has in effect begun His SECOND TERM by NUKING the ridiculous COVID Relief Bill! In this video, we’re going to take a look at what’s being called the latest Stimulus Swindle coming from the DC swamp, how President Trump is calling it out for the absurdity that it is, and how his solution is a brilliant beginning to what may be his second term! You are NOT going to want to miss this!
$2,000 CHECKS: President Trump DEMANDS MORE MONEY from COVID bill
Trump calls out disgraceful stimulus bill. Pelosi forced to turn $600 to $2000
Trump veto threat raises the prospect of year-end government shutdown.
Signs Suggest Walmart to Turn Over Customer 4473 Gun Records to ATF
BY JOHN CRUMP
SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2020/12/signs-suggest-walmart-turn-over-customers-4473-gun-records-atf;
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Opinion
Editors Note: Despite the negative outcome for customers the action of turning over FFL documents, in this case, customer 4473 forms from a firearms retailer that is closing is legally required under current federal law.
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Walmart could be transferring an estimated 20% of customer sales records for firearms purchases to the ATF. This information comes to AmmoLand News from a recently leaked internal ATF conference call.
A former ATF Assistant Director confirmed to AmmoLand News that Walmart plans to discontinue gun sales at 500 of its stores nationwide. As of January, of this year, 2388 Walmart stores sell guns.
Options
When an FFL closes a location the ATF allows the transfer of documents to a “successor” federal firearm licensed dealer. Walmart could transfer the 4473 records from those stores that are ending sales to another regional store location that still sells firearms.
If Walmart chose to, they could shield their customer's information from direct access by ATF.
Instead, Walmart appears to be handing over, for locations ending gun sales, the customer's records to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (ATF).
Internal ATF communications appear to show the massive retailer's internal “compliance manager” is working with the ATF to transfer their records to the federal agency. The ATF will then scan all received documents into a searchable database. In recent years the ATF has started using high-speed scanners to catalog out of business FFL’s records into a searchable database using optical character recognition software (OCR).
Federal law prohibits the creation of a national gun registry. Yet, this appears to be what is happening, not only with Walmart’s records but all other out of business FFL records that are turned over at the close of business.
18 USC. Section 926(a)(3) states that:
No such rule or regulation prescribed after the date of the enactment of the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act may require that records required to be maintained under this chapter or any portion of the contents of such records, be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof, nor that any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions be established.
Following the Law
The ATF is permitted by statute to collect “out of business records” from FFLs under 18 USC. Section 923(g)(4) (Where a firearms or ammunition business is discontinued [and is] absolute, such records shall be delivered within thirty days after the business discontinuance to the Attorney General). It is only recently that the ATF has started scanning the records into a searchable database. For many years, FFLs would ship their out of business records to the ATF’s “Out-Of-Business Records Center” in Martinsburg, WV. The records sat undisturbed unless there was something specific ATF needed to go looking for (such as tracing a firearm).
ATF National Tracing Center Division Flyer
AmmoLand News' internal sources provided evidence that the ATF has been employing third-party contractors with high-speed scanners to digitize these records, perform “optical character recognition” (OCR) on them, and transform the documents into a searchable database.
In other words, the ATF has or is in the process of creating a searchable registry of all firearms sold through now-defunct gun dealers.
By using this technology, the ATF could search on a person’s name and pull every gun purchase by the person from any dealer that has gone out of business. Soon this will include the 500 Walmart locations that appear to be in the process of turning over their records to the ATF. The ATF does not view this list as a de facto registry even though serial numbers, names, and addresses are searchable. The ATF’s recent changes to the 4473, which puts the firearms information on the front page, could speed up the creation of the database. This change will increase the speed a document can be indexed and retrieved for information.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) became aware of the scanning practice in May of this year, 2020. The GOA submitted an FOIA request to the ATF to determine what information is searchable, the policies surrounding the scanning of documents, and the current number of searchable records. The ATF has not responded to the FOIA request, leaving us wondering what the agency is hiding.
AmmoLand News reached out to Gun Owners of America and spoke to legislative counsel, Michael Hammond.
“The McClure-Volkmer Amendments prevents the federal government from keeping a gun registry,” Hammond told AmmoLand. “We have a federal agency that is supposed to be enforcing the law but is actually breaking the law. What type of country do we live in where law enforcement agencies are allowed to break the law?”
AmmoLand reached out to Walmart for comment, but the retail giant did not return AmmoLand News’ calls.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
U.S. government distributed covid relief funds to Islamic groups with long-held ties to jihad violence
BY ROBERT SPENCER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Of course. Because no one in the federal government knows anything about Islam. Everyone involved in the distribution of these funds knows that Islam is a religion of peace and that it would be “Islamophobic” to suspect, much less investigate, any of these organizations.
“COVID Relief Funds Went to Violent Extremists,” by Sam Westrop, Newsweek, December 7, 2020:
The federal government’s distribution of COVID relief funds over the past year has been disastrous. As Bloomberg reported in October, the Small Business Administration (SBA) “gave out $10,000 grants to almost anyone who asked.” From fraudulent applications to identity theft, billions of dollars are believed to have been stolen.
However, criminals were not the only ones to benefit from governmental incompetence; federal COVID relief has also helped prop up extremist organizations with long-held ties to violence. The amounts may be small, but the examples are shocking.
Perhaps most striking is the $1,000 handed out to the Virginia-based Khatme Nubuwwat Center. Khatme Nubuwwat (KN) is a violent South Asian movement committed to the eradication of the Ahmadiyyah, a tiny, moderate Muslim sect. For seventy years, KN groups have organized and encouraged violent pogroms against members of the minority sect. Hundreds have been murdered. Just this year, a KN supporter was involved in luring an Ahmadi American citizen to his death in Pakistan.
Today, even in the West, KN distributes leaflets openly advocating the killing of Ahmadiyyah. Islamists in the West follow through. In 2016, a KN member in Scotland stabbed an Ahmadi shopkeeper to death. KN activists applauded the killing, with one KN group declaring: “Congratulations to all Muslims.”
In 2017, the same Khatme Nubuwwat Center in Virginia that received federal monies organized a conference at which speakers encouraged violence against Ahmadi Muslims and discussed their hopes for criminalizing the Ahmadiyyah faith in the West.
But the killer of the Scottish shopkeeper was not only a member of KN; he belonged also to Dawat-e-Islami (DeI), another South Asian Islamist movement. Leaders of DeI warn Muslims against behaving like Jews, and openly advocate the killing of “blasphemers.” DeI members have carried out a number of terrorist attacks, including a recent attack in France near the Charlie Hebdo offices. This year, the SBA handed $10,000 to DeI’s principal U.S. proxy, based in Chicago.
These are far from the only examples. The Indian American Muslim Council, an anti-Hindu Islamist group with alleged ties to SIMI, a banned terrorist organization in India, was given $1,000 of taxpayers’ money. Meanwhile, $10,000 went to the Al-Furqaan Foundation, a prominent Salafi proselytization organization funded by the Qatari regime. Many of these groups could doubtlessly survive without taxpayer subsidies. Al-Furqaan Foundation’s most recent tax return, for example, reported revenue of over $3.5 million.
A number of organizations, long accused of serving as components of a Hamas network in the U.S, also received grants. The government gave $10,000 to Baitulmaal, a Texas charity that openly funds Hamas proxies in Gaza, currently run by Mazen Mokhtar, a former fundraiser for the Taliban and other jihadist groups. American Muslims for Palestine also received $10,000. The group’s officials have long expressed support for Hamas’s activities, and several have been tied to the terror movement’s activities in the U.S….
It is also noteworthy that COVID relief makes up only 1/25th of this year’s federal funding for American Muslim organizations. Under President Donald Trump, perhaps surprisingly, the amount given to American Muslim organizations in 2020 surpassed $25 million, far beyond the previous record of $14 million handed out by federal agencies to Islamic organizations in 2008….
Meanwhile, what do organizations that oppose jihad violence and Sharia oppression get? Why, nothing, of course. Nothing except opprobrium.