The debate over U.S. foreign aid is a distraction.
That’s not to say that the amount of taxpayer money flowing to foreign countries in the form of military and economic assistance is insignificant. Even at less than 1% of the federal budget, the United States still spends more on foreign aid than any other nation.
The latest foreign aid spending bill includes $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Continue reading
When I open my eyes in the morning, the first thing I lift my head to see is the clock sitting on the nightstand beside me. If it’s even a minute past six, I’m up and out of bed…
Yes, I’m aware that retirement offers me the luxury of keeping myself attached to the pillow, eyes closed, drifting in and out, without caring to which number of that clock the short hand is crawling. Problem is though, that over the course of fifty years I’ve developed the impossible-to-break habit of getting up early – despite the fact that I no longer have a proverbial timecard to punch.
So, sun-up or not, when that hour comes I swing my feet over the side of the bed and onto the floor, stand as noiselessly as my creaking knees will allow, and very quietly – so as not to awaken my still-dreaming wife – navigate down the hall and into what we call the “back bedroom.” There I have access to the two drawers and three feet of closet space not being used for seasonal storage, and which hold a few pairs of well-worn old jeans and a small, folded stack of t-shirts and sweatshirts good for just hanging out. Continue reading
As I write this, Washington DC is dealing with the fallout of two events in which two different groups of people had to answer the question: What is Congress for?
One of these events came on February 8, when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. Anderson. In this case, a collection of Colorado activists asked the Court to reaffirm the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to ban Donald Trump from running for re-election on the grounds that, back in January of 2021, Trump committed “insurrection” against the United States.
The fact that the various criminal charges against Trump have not yet gone to trial is of little concern to them. Instead, they argue that because the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution bars officers who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office again, judges should be able to remove an “insurrectionist” from the ballot as easily as they might remove a noncitizen, or a candidate who hasn’t reached the proper age. Continue reading
Given the wholesale disaster that has been the Biden presidency, one has to wonder how it all happened. We have all seen the Democrat party become radicalized, almost purely Marxist, since the Obama administration. Obama promised to transform the country and he surely did. He effectively drove race relations backward by seventy years. Continue reading
The second verse of the Bible states that the world was in a chaotic state. God then made order. Which is why the Left is undoing it.
It is impossible to understand what is happening to America — and to the rest of the West — without understanding the most dynamic ideology of the last hundred years: leftism.
We need to begin with the understanding that leftism (or “progressivism”) and liberalism are not only not the same ideologies, they are in fact opposed to each other on virtually every major issue. Continue reading
The meme below perfectly captures the downfall of a once thriving nation, before the Deep State/CIA murdered John F. Kennedy, ushering in the welfare/warfare state, built upon debt, consumerism, egotism, and technological distraction. The image is sad, deeply disturbing, and accurate.
The ongoing degradation and decay are a consequence of the nation turning its back on personal responsibility and service to community as reflected in JFK’s viewpoint of, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”. LBJ’s Great Society encouraged the destruction of the family – particularly black families, while setting in motion the accumulation of current and unfunded welfare debts. What can your politicians give you to buy your vote. The selling of feminism to females further destroyed the traditional family and has resulted in the state raising our kids in their indoctrination centers, to the detriment of society. Continue reading
I remember drinking from a water fountain in 1964 in a bus station in Columbia, South Carolina with a sign above it that read “Colored Water”. We had just arrived and were waiting to be met by my father who had gone ahead of us to prepare a place to live, as he had been sent to Ft. Jackson to train troops.
When I first read it, I thought, “I wonder what color it is?” Continue reading
I was recently struck by how cynical our society has become. This thought came as I encountered one critical comment after another on various websites I was visiting – it seemed like people found fault with anything and everything and felt the need to publicly express it.
It was discouraging and annoying – and judging from the responses of others, I wasn’t the only one who viewed these cynical people in such a negative light.
But then I began to reflect on my own life. Sure, I wasn’t the one making the negative, cynical comments online … but was I making them in conversations with my family, friends, and co-workers? Unfortunately, I had to admit that such was the case. Continue reading
Robert Kraft has been the owner of the New England Patriots since 1994 and has been the pinnacle of sports ownership in North America.
Olivia Falcigno via Imagn Content Services, LLC, USA Today
Six Super Bowl trophies, 10 appearances , and a thriving business have left Kraft among the wealthiest people in the United States. Despite that wealth, the Massachusetts native isn’t too pleased with where we are as a country. Continue reading
Monkey’s – It is what they have become!
How is it possible that someone is talented and involved enough to run for political office and win the election – but once in office, has no clue of the origins or purpose behind the very policies they are forced to consider? Specifically, policies dealing with comprehensive planning, such as Smart Growth, 30×30 land issues, energy, and transportation, all of which affect day-to- day life in the community. These are the issues that every city council and county commission in the nation is now faced with imposing on the community.
Yet when citizens attend council meetings and seek to speak out in opposition, discussing how such policies are negatively affecting their property rights, small businesses, and their neighborhoods, they are often met by their elected council members staring at them, with arms folded, scowls on their faces, and gavels in hand, ready to stop their testimony. Continue reading
The following are THREE recent columns recently written by one of our well-known columnists – and each are quite explanatory regarding the continuation of the insanity that continues with this issue. ~ Editor
The question I ask in the title of this short article has never really been answered. Oh, the socialists in both major parties will tell us they are here for a better life–to partake of the “American Dream.” To which I say horse puckey.
Over ten million of them have illegally crossed our borders in the three years since Biden “appropriated” the office of president. Where Trump sought to keep them out, Biden has thrown open the border and invited the world to illegally enter in
Why?… (Continue to full article)
I’m sure, when I started mentioning this in articles (giving illegals the vote here) there must have been quite a few folks that, though they didn’t say anything, that thought I was off the wall. I wish I had been, but unfortunately, such was and is, not the case.
In yesterday’s article, I noted comments where Senator Dick Durban, a radical Democrat with a lousy voting record, has suggested that we arm illegal aliens and give them military training, presumably to put them in the army at some point so they can shoot American citizens that may not agree with the Biden/Obama Regime’s objectives for the country… (Continue to full article)
Paul Craig Roberts had an interesting article recently in which he asked some interesting questions.
In part, Mr. Roberts said: “Israel can evict Palestinians from the Palestinian villages in Palestine. Tiny Latvia can deport Russian ethnics born in Latvia for not learning to speak Latvian, but mighty America cannot prevent millions of immigrant invaders from illegally entering the United States each year and remaining. How can that be? Clearly the United States government is in a conspiracy with the NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) that are recruiting and funding the invasion in order to replace the white American population. Why is the U.S. government cooperating with anti-American NGO’s to steal America from Americans?”
Good questions. The answers should be rather obvious to anyone who bothers to think… (Continue to full article)
I saw an article on Dr. Joseph Sansone’s website about Tucker Carlson’s interview with Putin that exposed much of what the Biden/Obama Regime is really all about (the promotion of world government). I can’t quote the whole thing, but there were several relevant parts that are worth noting. Sansone did a good job bringing some of this out. Continue reading
Mexican drugs cartels have expanded all the way north and are targeting America’s ‘last best place’ by preying on vulnerable Native American communities in Montana.
A recent report showed Montana to be the second most ‘addicted’ state with 18.2 percent of the state’s population using illicit drugs in 2021 – a figure that has only been rising as time goes on.
Drug cartels from Mexico are drawn to the state of Montana because of how much money they can squeeze out of residents…. (Continue to full article)
Denver officials warn that the 38,464 migrants they have served since late 2022 are increasing every single day. The Mile High City is one of a number of Democrat-run metropolises that have seen
The city is one of many that migrants are routinely shuttled to after entering the US, with weak southern border policies allowing December to shatter the record for CBP migrant encounters at over 302,000.
Alongside the $5 million being slashed from the two departments’ budgets, Denver officials are also set to take $10 million from contingency funds and $15 million from city-wide maintenance projects.
But with those costs only totaling $30 million, there remains a $150 million shortfall caused directly by the migrant crisis… (Continue to full article)
Republican lawmakers slammed President Joe Biden and his administration after the White House threatened that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would reduce removal operations of illegal immigrants if Congress refused to pass the Senate’s border bill.
During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that ICE will “be forced to reduce operations because of budget shortfalls” in the “coming weeks.”
The press secretary appeared to shift the blame Wednesday for the border crisis that has taken place under the Biden administration’s open border policies. Jean-Pierre argued that congressional Republicans are prioritizing “partisan politics” instead of U.S. national security by “refusing to pass the bipartisan national security agreement.”… (Continue to full article)
The number of migrants arriving at the southern border is unprecedented. Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded two-and-a-half million instances of detaining or turning away people attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico.
So what’s the fastest growing group among them? Chinese migrants. Yes, you heard that right…Chinese. We saw large groups, including many from the middle class, come through a 4-foot gap at the end of a border fence 60 miles east of San Diego.
The illegal entryway is a new route for those hoping to live in America… (Continue to full article)
Lyin’-Ass Mayorkas
The House Homeland Security Committee’s report on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says it is about “deporting” him from his position.
“This Committee, through these articles of impeachment, begins the process of deporting Secretary Mayorkas from his position on account of his failure to comply with his official duties, and thereby allow his position to be filled by someone willing to enforce the Nation’s immigration laws once again,” the report says.
…and too many pussified Republc-RATS chose not to support this endeavor – thus far – it has failed… (Continue to full article)
What is behind the surge of people trying to cross the border and what dangers do they face?
Record levels of migration are straining an immigration system left nearly broken by decades of congressional inaction.
Republicans have spent years amplifying scenes of turmoil and tragedy at the southern border, but Democratic leaders are also worried now, particularly big-city mayors and blue state governors who are demanding more federal resources to shelter and feed an influx of migrants.
With many voters now saying immigration is a top priority, what exactly is happening at the US border to make so many people concerned?… (Continue to full article)
Conservatives have attacked a provision of the new border security bill that would only allow legal challenges to be made in Washington D.C.
The bill would strip the power of Texas and other states to challenge some of its provisions in their local federal court.
Conservative commentators were quick to denounce the provision, contained on page 221 of the bill. Bill Shipley, who was a federal prosecutor for over 20 years, decried the its court provisions on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
The Texas governor, an outspoken critic of Biden over immigration issues, has vowed that the fight “is not over” and called the razor wire “an effective deterrent” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, despite the legal blow. He also issued a statement declaring Texas’ “right to self-defense…. (Continue to full article)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has responded with fury to a provision in the new bipartisan Senate border security bill that would block the state of Texas from challenging some of its provisions via the local federal court.
The bill sets out the circumstances under which suspected illegal immigrants can request a judicial review of their deportation orders, stating: “The United States District Court for the District of Columbia shall have sole and original jurisdiction to hear challenges, whether constitutional or otherwise, to the validity of this section or any written policy directive, written policy guideline, written procedure, or the implementation thereof.”
In addition to the immigration reform, designed to address a surge in illegal crossings across the southern border, the bill would provide an additional $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, along with assistance to Israel and Taiwan.
On immigration it includes a provision that illegal migrants can be removed with little legal recourse if the number detected rises above an average of 5,000 per week, or 8,500 in a single day… (Continue to full article)
In the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, border agents (pictured here alongside a temporarily deployed National Guard unit) patrol the area for undocumented immigrants entering from Mexico. Credit Photograph by Kirsten Luce
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb announced Friday morning the deployment of 50 National Guard soldiers to the Mexico border in Texas as part of a border security mission.
Holcomb got a detailed briefing about the border crisis along with 13 other governors earlier this week according to a press release. Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested help from other states as a means to secure the border.
“Federal negligence enforcing immigration law and the failure to secure our country’s border jeopardizes national and economic security, affecting every state, including Indiana,” Gov. Holcomb said. “We’ve worked too hard in Indiana attacking the drug epidemic for more Hoosier lives to be put at risk by a constant supply of killer drugs spilled over an open U.S. border. The only way to resolve this is to stop the historically high flow of illegal immigrants crossing the border.”
These soldiers will begin mobilizing for the mission immediately and will arrive in Texas in mid-March… (Continue to full article)
In a whirlwind of political drama, the halls of Congress witnessed a breathtaking showdown as a Republican-led push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas came down to the wire on Tuesday. The outcome hung in the balance, teetering on the edge of history, until Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas swooped in, quite literally, to cast a deciding vote and thwart the Republican effort.
The tension reached its zenith as the final vote tally stood at a razor-thin margin of 214-216. With just a single vote separating success from failure, the chamber held its breath. Three Republicans dared to defy their party line and joined forces with all present Democrats in opposition to the measure.
As the dust settles and the echoes of the day’s events reverberate through the hallowed halls of Congress, one thing remains clear: the fate of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas hangs in the balance, and the political drama shows no signs of abating… (Continue to full article)
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) will return to Congress after more than a month of cancer treatment and recovery, his office said Thursday.
Why it matters: It puts Republicans one step closer to impeaching Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, which could happen as soon as next Tuesday.
With Scalise absent and all Democrats present and voting against impeachment, the vote ended in a tie after three Republicans defected… (Continue to full article)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expanding southern border security as Congress can’t reach an agreement for a massive federal immigration overhaul.
A comprehensive 370-page, $118 billion bill negotiated behind the scenes for months didn’t make it out of the U.S. Senate earlier this week due to Republican opposition, namely due to a provision within the legislation requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to shut down the U.S. border only if migrant crossings exceeded a 5,000 daily average in any given week.
“In Texas, we’ve been able to achieve a decrease in illegal crossings only because of great teamwork,” Abbott said Thursday at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, on the southern border. “Part of that teamwork is our partnership with the Texas National Guard, and we are currently working with the Texas Military Department to add more razor wire, anti-climb barrier, and personnel… (Continue to full article)
About 80 percent of asylum-seekers who come to the United States are being rejected and sent back home, according to Luis Miranda, Assistant Secretary for Communications with the Department of Homeland Security.
“In general, most of the people who arrived in the United States during the last three years have been deported, expelled or returned to Mexico,” Miranda said during a video news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
He stated those who could not be immediately sent back face removal proceedings that can take years… (Continue to full article)
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont made headlines during a televised interview with CNBC, where he announced his readiness to deploy the state’s National Guard to assist at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Lamont emphasized the far-reaching impact of the immigration crisis, asserting that it affects states beyond those typically associated with frontline border issues, such as Connecticut.
The conversation comes as Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy from Connecticut has sparked a contentious debate with his bill addressing national security and immigration. The bill failed to pass the Senate on Wednesday, amid heightened tensions between Republicans and Democrats surrounding the management of migrant crossings at the southern border… (Continue to full article)
Texas is on track to build more of Donald Trump’s infamous border wall than the former president’s own administration put up in the state, Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday.
“Texas is the first and only state in the history of the United States of America to build our own border wall,” Abbott said during a press conference in Shelby Park.
“If you look at the amount of wall already constructed and the amount of wall that is going to be under construction, Texas will have built more of the Trump border wall than even Trump built in the state of Texas,” the governor boasted.
The Lone Star State has additionally erected roughly 160 miles of barriers — including razor wire fencing, anti-climb barriers, Conex boxes and buoys in the river — that do not include the wall, according to Abbott… (Continue to full article)
Record numbers in illegal immigration have resulted in United States taxpayers bearing the burden of tens of billions of dollars going toward paying for migrants and their families.
The federal government is at a political standstill following Senate Republicans’ rebuke of a $118 southern border bill claimed by advocates to be among the most comprehensive immigration reform in four decades. The bill included emergency powers for the federal government to deter migrants in large numbers, changes in asylum laws in addition to tens of billions in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
With no new legislation in place and more than 1 million migrant encounters at the U.S. border since the new fiscal year began on October 1, states like Texas are leading the way in trying to enforce their own laws. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said deployment of his state’s National Guard has reduced daily encounters from a couple thousand or more to less than a dozen per day… (Continue to full article)
Life, Liberty & All That Jazz may be heard at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday on The Micro Effect.
Title suggested by Jeffrey Bennett
Between 1852 and 1853, Charles Dickens published an episodic novel titled “Bleak House,” about a family waiting in vain to inherit money in a disputed settlement from an extremely long-running lawsuit. It’s about the undeserved suffering the High Court of Chancery in England created, mainly by venal, self-serving lawyers.
Dickens’ ultimate attack is not on the court, as he makes perfectly clear the workings (or misworkings) of the court that constitute the major evil. He savagely condemns that particular institution and the prominent issue involved: The system itself – the whole system of law.
Although the book ends on a happier note, the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce in ‘Bleak House‘ ends as expected; lawyers consume the ENTIRE estate.
It was true in the 19th century; it reverberates through the 21st. Our justice system is based on centuries of tradition and legal wrangling mired in the self-serving and self-perpetuating practice of law.
Consider that last sentence… It’s the crux of this column. Continue reading
Senator Ron Johnson recently noted that trying to seal and secure the Southern Border with the Biden regime is like negotiating with arsonists to put out the fire they had started.
For all those patriotic Americans who still want to try to work in peaceful opposition to these Democratic Party Communists, they need to push for Congress to pass H.R.2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023. This act, which passed through the House, closes loopholes in the law and policy to make it harder for any future presidents to open our borders and cause another catastrophe such as Biden has created on our Southern Border. It imposes strict limits to asylum, builds the border wall, codifies Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy, and has accountability mechanisms in place to make certain the law is enforced.
I wish I still had as much faith as I used to have in the American people and the mechanisms that used to ensure the peaceful resolution of our differences and the peaceful transfer of power. But we face a far different animal today in this Marxist-Maoist movement that has practically torn the heart from the country, and while many will disagree with me, I cannot shake the nagging inkling that we’re far past the point where the press box, the ballot box or the jury box will correct America’s course.
Break open the ammo box and prepare for what’s to come. ~ J.O.S.
Continue reading
The refrain from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” suggests an alluring title for curious reasons; it encapsulates sentiments I’ve held for a very long time and leads in some fascinating directions.
In Poe’s poem ‘The Raven,’ the Raven symbolizes a mournful, never-ending remembrance and sorrow for his lost, perfect maiden, Lenore, who is the driving force behind his conversation with the Raven.
* If you’re interested, you can find the poem on the interweb; perhaps you have the book.
The maiden Lenore, in my case, is the republic as I learned it, and my sweet remembrances of the lovely maiden it was. Maiden, in this case, refers to a female virgin – someone not sullied, soiled, or tarnished.
Get the picture? Continue reading
This is a topic which captured my interest after several remarkable occurences throughout my life. I’ll never forget the most amazing synchronicity that I ever experienced.
The year was 1993, and I’d been working and living on a small ranch 5 miles outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. One morning I noticed that my vehicle, a 1959 Toyota Land Cruiser, had a flat tire, but even worse, since the vehicle had only a canvas bikini top, I discovered that someone had stolen my tire iron from the open and unsecured back end, so I was unable to change the tire.
The ranch owner had only Fords and Chevys, so his lug wrenches wouldn’t fit the Toyota – I needed a metric size… Continue reading
The rabid antisemitism on college campuses that has bubbled to the surface since October might have been outdone by two radical third-grade teachers in Brooklyn and a twisted version of “Wheels on the Bus” pulled from a communist website.
The New York Post somehow learned two elementary school teachers are teaching an anti-Israel song, “Wheels on the Tank,” to children at Public School 705, an arts and science school located in Prospect Heights. Continue reading