She will never admit to it. But according to recently-released federal disclosures, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the wealthiest people in Congress.
And it’s easy to understand why; she completely dominates every other member of Congress when it comes to fundraising. In fact her total fundraising haul just in the first half of 2025 was a whopping $15.4 million (whereas most politicians are lucky to bring in a few hundred thousand). Continue reading
Email users appear to be facing a never-ending barrage of scam emails. Approximately 3.4 billion phishing emails are daily worldwide.
A New Alert from the team at Action Fraud issues important new advice to consider for all email users. When most of us spot something dodgy, we often just throw it away, but that doesn’t actually help to defeat cybercriminals. Continue reading
Cackling Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris may not be a good “fit” in the California governor’s mansion and would face a “difficult” road getting elected, her ex-boyfriend and political mentor, Willie Brown, warned in a recent interview.
“I do think people running for public office really ought to fit eventually where they are trying to land at. And I really do, hope, frankly, that [Harris] comes to that reality,” Brown said of Harris’ political future when asked by “State of Gold” podcast host Jon Slavet. Continue reading
King, Louis XVI
The late king, along with his predecessor — the legendary Louis XIV — had indebted France up to its eyeballs with endless war, waste, and lavish spending.
Sure, Versailles was gorgeous. But the interest payments were eating the royal Treasury alive. And everyone knew that France was in serious trouble… so when the king died, people became hopeful that change was coming.
The new king, Louis XVI, was young, bright, energetic, and wildly popular. People desperately believed that he would finally be the one to reform the system and fix the nation’s gargantuan problems.
And initially things went very well. One of the young king’s first orders was to appoint an economic libertarian named Jacques Turgot as his chief minister… Continue reading
Economists have for months warned that tariffs would cause an inflation surge, but as of July, there’s little evidence of that in economic data, despite about $100 billion in tariffs already collected by the Treasury. Fortune asked economists to explain why. The possible reasons range from “it’s too soon” to “consumers won’t stand for it.”
Since the first weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term, when the president signaled a wholesale reimagining of the international trade system on a scale not seen in decades, mainstream economists have warned that prices would surge.
The mantra, repeated by everyone from mainstream economists to factions of the GOP, has been clear: A tariff is a tax on consumers. Businesses said the same, with three -quarters of importers in a recent New York Fed study declaring they planned to pass on some tariff costs to customers.
But halfway into the year and well into the most consequential reshuffling of trade in half a century, tariff-fueled inflation is missing in action. Continue reading
A massive data leak has compromised the healthcare records of more than eight million Americans.
Cybersecurity researchers found the information was exposed in an unprotected dental marketing database, allowing anyone to see the details online.
The dataset included roughly 2.7 million patient profiles and 8.8 million appointment records.
It included names, dates of birth, addresses, contact details, and sensitive healthcare metadata enough to form a detailed profile of each patient. Continue reading
“When a long train of abuses and usurpations… evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government.” – Declaration of Independence (1776)
We are now struggling to emerge from the wreckage of a constitutional republic, transformed into a kleptocracy (government by thieves), collapsing into kakistocracy (government by the worst), and enforced by a police state algogracy (rule by algorithm).
This week alone, the Trump administration is reportedly erecting protest barricades around the White House, Congress is advancing legislation that favors the wealthy, and President Trump is grandstanding at the opening of a detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Against such a backdrop of government-sponsored cruelty, corruption and shameless profiteering at taxpayer expense, what, to the average American, is freedom in an age when the government plays god- determining who is worthy of rights, who qualifies as a citizen, and who can be discarded without consequence?
If you remember the Disney version of “Peter Pan”, you may well remember the Island’s name, Neverland. If you were raising children in the late 80s and throughout the 90s, you may recall the commercial from ToysRus. The line from the jingle was “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a ToysRus kid.” In many ways, we’ve seen our culture promote delayed childhood.
In our current time (2025), there are an alarming number of young adults (16 to 24 years) who are absolutely clueless when it comes to the basics of being on their own. What do I mean? Examples like balancing a checkbook, cooking, laundry, changing a tire are just a few of what I’m referring to. But, it goes beyond these types of basics. It’s also mentally crippling our young people. Continue reading
Social Security is the bedrock of the American retirement system. Although it was never intended to fully cover the expenses of retirees, many Americans unfortunately find themselves in this situation. But with an average monthly retirement payout of just $1,980.86 as of February 2025, according to the Social Security Administration, the idea of privatizing Social Security has reared its head once again.
Privatization refers to diverting some or all of workers’ Social Security taxes into individual investment accounts instead of the Social Security Trust Fund.
As the Republican-led Congress pushes forward with President Donald Trump’s landmark 2025 mega tax bill, you may have noticed that a key campaign promise is, so far, noticeably absent.
During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump made several promises. One for retirees was that he would end federal taxes on Social Security benefits.
In several rallies and interviews, then-candidate Trump assured older adults that “SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY!”
After being elected for his second term, he repeated the pledge in his 2025 State of the Union address: “I’m calling for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security benefits for our great seniors.” Continue reading
Seventy years after President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about the cost of a military-industrial complex, America is still stealing from its own people to fund a global empire.
In 2025 alone, the U.S. has launched airstrikes in Yemen (Operation Rough Rider), bombed Houthi-controlled ports and radar installations (killing scores of civilians), deployed greater numbers of troops and multiple aircraft carriers to the Middle East, and edged closer to direct war with Iran in support of Israel’s escalating conflict.
Each of these “new” fronts has been sold to the public as national defense. In truth, they are the latest outposts in a decades-long campaign of empire maintenance – one that lines the pockets of defense contractors while schools crumble, bridges collapse, and veterans sleep on the streets at home.
This isn’t about national defense. This is empire maintenance. Continue reading
New research reveals the Inflation Reduction Act’s $2,000 cap may not help most Medicare beneficiaries as insurers raise drug costs and deductibles. Image (c) ConsumerAffairs
A core promise of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed by President Biden in 2022, was to lower the cost of prescription medications for Americans, particularly older adults on Medicare. But new research suggests the reality may be more complicated — and costlier — for most beneficiaries. Continue reading
I would say I have never seen more collective confusion, and emotion-driven, unproductive, though self-congratulating drivel. But I have. It has become a distinctive of the left.
What a busy weekend it was! Hardly any time to celebrate pops or papas with all that is happening in the world.
We had the horrific assassination of lawmakers in Minnesota, which we will absolutely be addressing in a later post.
We had the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade. What were y’all’s thoughts on this? I loved it. But I love history, America, and the military. More than once I found myself googling a fact or “Well, how about that-ing” to new information. For instance, because of the Big Red 1 flag on my neighbor’s house…I now know he is not to be trifled with, and also where I have now instructed my children to go if danger presents itself. Go, Arny! Continue reading
Jerome Powell
Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, told Newsmax on Thursday he has a simple message for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after the agency’s board declined to lower interest rates this week: Resign.
The Fed on Wednesday held its benchmark interest rate steady at 4.25% to 4.5%, keeping borrowing rates elevated for Americans for the fourth straight time. The last time it cut rates was in December, by a quarter of a percent. President Donald Trump responded later that day in a post on Truth Social calling Powell “a real dummy, who’s costing America $Billions!” Continue reading
Every aspect of our society is targeted – from our money supply, to the energy system, to our food supply, to the education system, to the sanctity of our own home – to the very system of freedom created by our founders. It’s all under attack. Continue reading
The federal government paid $79 billion in Covid-19 relief to individuals who likely used phony or stolen Social Security numbers (SSNs), according to a recent report from the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC).
Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 and subsequent legislation, Uncle Sam shelled out $5 trillion to counteract the economic damage wreaked by federal, state, and local policies that shuttered businesses and put millions out of work.
Among the largest pandemic-relief programs were the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (COVID-19 EIDL) program and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and the Department of Labor’s (DOL) pandemic Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs. Those programs accounted for an estimated $400 billion worth of fraud, according to 2023 reports from the SBA’s and DOL’s inspectors general. Continue reading
In a recent interview, Bill Clinton was asked if he thought Biden was competent to serve as president.
“I thought he was a good president,” Clinton answered.
He mentioned he had several talks with Biden and said he never noticed a cognitive decline. Really, Bill? Maybe that was because you are on a mental decline yourself. Or perhaps you enjoy exhibiting an obtuse loyalty to fellow Democrats.
Ben Garrison
grrrgraphics.com
June 6, 2025