Gold-Backed Or Bust: Judy Shelton's Plan To Tame The Fed And Restore The Dollar

Authored by Paul Mueller via the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER),

Judy Shelton has spent her career advocating for sound money. Her latest book, “Good as Gold: How to Unleash the Power of Sound Money,” makes an up-to-date case for reinstituting a gold standard. Her intriguing conclusion is that the dollar can be reconnected to gold by simply issuing federal treasury bonds with gold-redeemability clauses. The book also addresses recent events and important current debates about monetary systems like whether central bankers should have wide policy discretion, whether fixed or floating exchange rates are better for economic growth, and what happens when countries manipulate their currency to boost exports.

Dr. Shelton engages these questions in the context of academic debates, but she also uses the lens of rational economic planning to evaluate how the monetary system contributes to or detracts from economic growth. At the end of the day, the case for sound money rests on the claim that it will generate more stable and greater long-run economic prosperity. Dr. Shelton believes sound money will do just that. But what would such a sound money regime look like?

Although Dr. Shelton would prefer a system along the lines of a classical gold standard, she would probably be content with other monetary systems that dramatically reduced the discretion of policymakers. The real problem with our current monetary regime is not primarily technical. It is behavioral. Because public officials have strong incentives to inflate the currency, bail out various corporations, and underwrite extensive government borrowing, they do a poor job conserving the value of fiat currency or providing a predictable stable system of interest rates, credit, liquidity, etc.

In the first couple chapters of “Good as Gold,” Dr. Shelton takes the Federal Reserve to task. The wide discretion Fed officials can exercise makes monetary policy unpredictable. Although Fed officials argue that their decisions are countercyclical, that may not always be the case. As Milton Friedman famously noted, the effects of monetary policy decisions have “long and variable” lags. Despite claims to being “data-driven,” Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decisions remain unpredictable. Data can change rapidly and unpredictably, which can make policy change rapid and unpredictable too.

Another problem is that the “data-driven” mantra invokes the assumption that the data always clearly indicate what ought to be done. In fact, this is rarely the case. Not only do a wide variety of inflation measures exist, but there are also a wide range of time intervals over which to compare inflation trends. But that’s not the worst of it!

Employment, unemployment, GDP, and a host of other economic numbers suggest different things are going on in the economy. Retailers expect strong record spending this holiday season while the N.Y. Fed just released a study where the number of people reporting concern about their ability to make debt payments hit its highest level since 2020. How to weigh these various factors is far from clear.

Another problem with Fed policy is the rapid change in its interest rate targets. Three years ago, the short-run interest rate was ~.5 percent. Within two years it was over 5 percent. That rapid change created many issues in the economy, only some of which we have recognized. The rate-hike cycle created significant turmoil in the banking industry with Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failing entirely while many large regional banks shrank or were enfolded into larger national banks.

The commercial real estate market has also been upended. While the owners of office buildings were already facing strong headwinds from the pandemic’s normalization of remote work, the Fed delivered a one-two punch when it raised interest rates. Most large commercial real estate investors use variable rate debt to finance their portfolios—which means the interest rate they pay moves with the market. Adding a couple percentage points to one’s debt rapidly changes the viability of a venture. In addition to higher debt-servicing costs, commercial real estate investors saw the market value of their holdings decline precipitously as buyers disappeared, financing costs rose, and future potential cash flows were more heavily discounted.

The previous rate-hike cycle in 2006 and 2007 preceded a major recession and financial crisis. Even as the Fed creates disruptions in markets, it has also overseen the relentless decline in the value of the dollar—ironically in the name of pursuing their mandate to maintain price stability. A dollar in 2024 is worth what a quarter was in 1980 and what a dime was in 1965. And a 2024 dollar is worth about what a penny was worth in 1900.

This downward march in the value of the dollar creates problems.

It drives up asset prices, favoring those who have investment savvy while eating away at the value of people’s savings and undermining the prosperity of those on fixed incomes. The steady fall of the dollar also distorts price calculations and expectations.

I’ve argued elsewhere that the Fed has been a prime culprit in boosting housing prices and, as a result, creating a “transitional gains trap” where homeowners with significant equity, juiced in large part by easy money, have organized to protect their equity by putting up local legal barriers to building new housing.

But “Good as Gold” includes much more than criticism of the Fed. Dr. Shelton points out that unstable money and exchange rates create costs to doing business. International firms must devote time, energy, and money to protect themselves from erratic fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Creating these “hedges” to protect their profitability from exchange-rate risk necessitates additional classes of assets and asset traders—contributing to greater “financialization” of the economy. While the services being offered create real value for corporations, they come at a price and would not be needed under more stable monetary arrangements.

Besides the frictions and costs that unstable money introduces into day-to-day business operations, it also creates long-term consequences when it comes to investing. If certain exchange rates can move 15 percent, 30 percent, or more in a single year, Dr. Shelton asks, then how can investors rationally allocate capital based on real factors and comparative advantage? The structure and mix of capital investment we currently have across countries and within the same country looks very different than it would in a world of stable money.

Dr. Shelton makes this point indirectly in a fascinating chapter about the monetary debate between Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell. Both were staunch advocates of free markets, but they differed in what monetary regime they thought best. Friedman argued in favor of freely floating exchange rates set by market participants. In this world, governments would feel pressure from markets, in the form of capital outflows, if they engaged in domestic monetary policy shenanigans. Mundell, on the other hand, favored more stability in exchange rates that would require domestic prices to adapt to changes in trade and capital flows. Friedman and Mundell both agreed, however, that government officials and central bankers should have very little discretion in how they managed a country’s monetary system.

In a later chapter, Shelton offers the problem of “currency manipulation” as a reason for implementing a sound money regime. Her argument basically asserts that countries that actively depreciate or weaken their domestic currency experience short-run benefits (in the form of more competitive exports) and long-term costs (in the form of inflation and capital outflows). Other countries, however, feel short-run pain as their exports decline and their factories shut down—even though they also receive cheaper goods and reallocate much of the displaced labor and capital. I find this line of reasoning a bit curious.

Shelton rightly champions free trade and argues that it works best when countries do not artificially manipulate the value of their currencies. No objection here. But I am not convinced that a sound money regime, even a gold standard, would change other countries’ incentives to devalue their currency. Gold convertibility of one currency does not prevent the issuer of a different fiat currency from issuing large amounts of that fiat currency to reduce the relative price of its exports.

I suppose one could argue (and Dr. Shelton does) that currency manipulation becomes easier to discern because currencies will be valued in terms of a fixed standard (gold), rather than in terms of another fluctuating fiat currency. For example, the price of gold in terms of dollars increased by 77 percent from May 2014 to May 2024.

The currencies of the largest trade partners with the United States lost far more value relative to gold in that period: Euros (129 percent), Mexican Peso (131 percent), Canadian dollar (122 percent), Chinese yuan (105 percent), and Japanese yen (165 percent). But that probably matters relatively little to the devaluing regime. Using gold as a benchmark might reveal relative changes in the value of currencies better. It could also defuse the language of “currency manipulation.”

Instead of attributing motives to foreign central bankers, policy makers could set relatively straight-forward criteria for when another country’s currency declines in a distortive way. Shelton suggests that some level of tariffs should be imposed in response to another country’s currency devaluation to offset the monetary distortion to international trade. This idea may not be crazy from a purely technical standpoint, yet I would hesitate to recommend it because of the likely distortions and co-opting of such policies by special interests. I also question whether the costs of not imposing tariffs on depreciating currencies is as high as Dr. Shelton believes.

Sound money advocates like Shelton must explain how we could get to a sound money regime. On the one hand, advocating a gold standard seems archaic and implausible. On the other hand, it would not be technically difficult to implement. And, in fact, given the dominance of the U.S. dollar, if another major currency, such as the Euro, also chose to move back to gold redeemability, it is not hard to imagine other major currencies (Yen, Yuan, Pound, etc.) following suit. The political difficulty, of course, is getting the United States to take the first step and then getting the EU to follow suit.

The odds of successful reform are highest when pursuing the easiest path to transition the current system to a sound monetary regime. Abolishing the Federal Reserve is not on that path. So tying dollars back to gold using the Fed makes more sense than moving back to a pre-Fed world. Similarly, constraining the FOMC seems far more plausible than abolishing it.

It may be worth raising a few other important secondary questions. At what price will the currency be convertible into gold? Dr. Shelton has suggested that incorporating a gold clause in Treasury bonds could be a good method for discovering the right price of convertibility. In fact, putting gold convertibility into government bond contracts may be sufficient, in and of itself, to tie dollars back to gold.

Afterall, depreciation of dollars would create consequences for the federal government and the Federal Reserve, the very institutions primarily responsible for managing the dollar and maintaining the monetary system. Shelton also makes the important point that currency should be seen as being like a weight or measure—something standardized for the public to use. It should not be viewed as a policy instrument or lever for managing the economy. This simple point rarely arises in modern commentary on the Fed and on monetary policy—yet it has deep legal and historical roots in the American founding and beyond.

Another benefit of moving to gold redeemability for U.S. bonds is that it utilizes U.S. gold reserves more effectively. Currently, the United States is the largest holder of gold in the world. But ironically, that gold is severely undervalued on the government’s ledger. Its book value is less than two percent of its market value (i.e., on the ledger the gold is valued at less than $50/oz when its market value is over $2700/oz). Offering gold redeemability might also open up the option for extremely long-dated debt (50 years or more) and lower interest rates because the most significant risk to lending to the federal government, the devaluation of future dollars, has been taken off the table.

The likely benefits of such bonds are so significant that it may seem surprising that they have not been implemented. The problem, of course, is that this form of bond would reveal the man behind the curtain. It would show that government officials can and do play fast and loose with the dollar and with the U.S. financial system to enable themselves and their friends a free hand to borrow and spend, and to actively “manage” the economy.

Dr. Shelton’s proposed changes will be vigorously resisted by those who benefit from the existing status quo—large commercial banks and financial institutions, Federal Reserve officials and bureaucrats, politicians and regulators—everyone who benefits from the Fed’s tendency to loose monetary policy. Still advocates of freedom and prosperity should continue to make the arguments and offer proposals for moving to a sound monetary regime.

And that is exactly what Dr. Shelton does in “Good as Gold.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 20:00

These Are The US States Producing The Most Turkeys In 2024

Every Thanksgiving, millions of Americans gather around the table to feast on a traditional turkey dinner. But have you ever thought about the origins of these Thanksgiving turkeys?

As Visual Capitalist's Jenna Ross details below, turkey production in the U.S. is highly concentrated, with a few states dominating the market. In this infographic from BGO, we’ll explore the top 10 turkey-producing states in 2024.

Ranking the Top States

Over four out of every five turkeys come from just 10 states. Most of these states are located in the Midwest or the South.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, as of October 28, 2024.

The top spot goes to Minnesota, having produced nearly 34 million birds so far in 2024. Minnesota became the top-producing state due to a number of factors:

• Multi-generational farm families have passed down their knowledge and expertise

• The state grows a lot of soybean and corn, which are the main ingredients in a turkey’s diet

• A veterinarian from the University of Minnesota Extension helped eliminate a disease that once killed many turkeys

North Carolina lands in second place for turkey production. The state’s moderate climate and affordable land and labor likely contributed to the industry’s growth. Like Minnesota, North Carolina also has easy access to crops like corn and soybean to feed the birds.

Rounding out the top three, Arkansas produces 12% of America’s turkeys. Many poultry companies are located in the state, including Butterball and Tyson Foods.

Transporting Turkeys to Tables

With turkey production being so concentrated, most birds will need to be shipped to consumers. It’s critical that they don’t spoil on the journey, and that producers have them transported quickly. Cold storage is a key part of the solution.

BGO is a leading investor in cold storage buildings that are strategically placed to ensure quick delivery to stores. Ultimately, these facilities help ensure turkeys arrive cool and on time for Thanksgiving.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 19:20

Trade Policy Is About Much More Than Tariffs

Authored by Gordon Gray via RealClearMarkets,

Since the early days of his campaign, President Donald Trump has pledged to impose wide-ranging tariffs on many imported goods, including a 10 percent or higher tax on imports from other countries. This decision has made waves, drawn criticism, and largely dominated the trade policy debate in recent months – understandable, given the far-reaching implications of such a drastic change in policy. Nevertheless, President Trump’s tariffs are far from the only trade policy issue deserving of attention by the new administration. As we look ahead to January, any trade reform effort considered by President Trump and his advisors should also include overdue changes to a little-known agency responsible for implementing our country’s trade agenda: the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Congress has given the executive branch wide authority to set trade policy. The ITC’s role is less widely understood. Due to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the ITC maintains the ability to institute “unfair import investigations,” a tool ostensibly designed to protect American companies from intellectual property infringement violations stemming from foreign competitors.

If an infringed product is imported into the United States, the ITC has one remedy – an Exclusion Order – that completely ban the product in question from the U.S. market.

Unfortunately, in recent years, the ITC has become the forum of choice for opportunistic patent assertion entities (PAEs). Also known as patent trolls, PAEs are companies that purchase portfolios of patents with the sole purpose of using them as the basis for infringement litigation. While the threshold for injunctions in federal courts are much higher, patent trolls flock to the ITC thanks to its unique ability to issue relief via ITC Exclusion Orders.

When an Exclusion Order is issued, the ITC is supposed to investigate and determine whether banning the imported product in question will negatively affect the public. In the past, a wide range of stakeholders, from Hispanic interest groups to rural community advocates, have called on the ITC to issue public interest exemptions and ensure consumers’ access to critical products is not impeded. Unfortunately, the ITC rarely conducts a thorough public interest review before taking action. In fact, it’s been nearly forty years since it last used a public interest exemption to decline issuing an Exclusion Order.

Fortunately, there are bipartisan efforts in Congress to address these deficiencies in how the ITC considers such cases. Last year, Representatives David Schweikert (AZ-01) and Don Beyer (VA-08) introduced the Advancing America’s Interests Act (AAIA) to stop patent abuse at the ITC and reaffirm its public interest standard.

The AAIA would also strengthen an important feature of the the Tariff Act – the “domestic industry” standard – that would prohibit a U.S. company from being used as a plaintiff unless they voluntarily join a complaint requesting the ITC’s relief. As part of the Tariff Act of 1930, a complainant at the ITC needs to demonstrate that it contributes to the industry in the U.S. related to whatever patent rights it is alleging have been infringed. Yet in an oft-used loophole, the patent holder can satisfy this requirement by stating it licenses its patents to other companies even if those companies did not join the complaint.

This creates a “domestic industry by subpoena” problem where a patent troll claims it has met the domestic industry requirement by involving an otherwise unwilling and uninterested licensee in the investigation. The AAIA would prohibit this practice unless the licensed entity in question ‘joins’ the complaint.

Tariffs policy and protectionism figured prominently in the presidential campaign, and there is no doubt these issues will remain salient during the second Trump administration. But trade policy is more than simply a function of tariffs. Congress should act and pass legislation to return the ITC to its original mission. The constant threat of patent troll litigation is a drag on many U.S. companies and pulls resources away from developing the new technologies necessary to grow our economy and out-innovate the world.

As policymakers look forward to what should be included in a new administration’s trade agenda, fixing the ITC should be at the top of the list.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 18:40

Lebanon Accuses Israel Of Already Violating Ceasefire Several Times

Who could have seen this coming?

6 hours

Israeli tank fire hit six areas in southern Lebanon today, and the Israeli military said its ceasefire with Hezbollah was breached https://t.co/QphgwM1uLK

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 28, 2024

As The Cradle reports, the Israeli military carried out several artillery and bombing attacks on the south of Lebanon on Thursday, marking yet another round of ceasefire violations on the second day after the cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. 

"Israeli enemy artillery is shelling the heights of the town of Halta, Hasbaya district, targeting citizens in the outskirts of the town," Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday afternoon. 

Via Reuters

Taybeh, Khiam, and the Marjayoun plains were also struck by Israeli artillery, according to NNA. Three shells were fired at the town of Rmeish, damaging a house and a supermarket. Israeli troops also opened fire on Lebanese citizens trying to return to their homes in Bint Jbeil. 

Israeli tanks shelled the towns of Kfar Shuba and Wazzani as well. At least two Lebanese citizens were injured in an airstrike on the town of Markaba. 

The Lebanese army warned displaced residents of southern border villages on Wednesday not to enter areas where Israeli troops are still deployed. 

Israeli forces have been violating the ceasefire since it took effect early on November 27. The Israeli army opened fire on a group of Lebanese journalists in the southern town of Khiam on 27 November. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli troops also opened fire on Khiam, Kfar Kila, and other towns as displaced residents made their way back. Israeli Army Radio and Channel 12 reports claimed several people were killed. Lebanese media did not acknowledge any deaths. 

Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday night "that its fighters from various military specialties will remain fully prepared to deal with the Israeli enemy’s ambitions and attacks, and that their eyes will continue to follow the movements and withdrawals of the enemy’s forces beyond the borders, and their hands will remain on the trigger, in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and for the sake of the dignity and honor of its people."

Lebanese forces announced their deployment across the south on 27 November as part of the ceasefire deal, which is based on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701. As part of the agreement, Lebanese troops are required to dismantle all Hezbollah infrastructure south of the Litani River, and Israel is required to withdraw its army from Lebanon – all within a period of 60 days.

⚡️The sound heard in Al-Bisariya in the south was caused by the explosion of a missile from Israeli remnants. pic.twitter.com/XIATOLN7qN

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 28, 2024

The entry of weapons into Lebanon and attempts by the resistance to restock weaponry are prohibited in the agreement.

A pre-existing tripartite mechanism, including France and the UNIFIL, has been headed by the US to monitor any violations reported by both Israel and Lebanon.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 14:40

"Good Faith" Discussions Underway To Un-Cancel NFL Redskins Logo 

In a recent X post by Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the senator wrote, "The censorship of the former Commander logo was a classic case of woke gone wrong. I applaud the Commanders & the NFL for their commitment to never censor the logo again."

Speaking to Fox News, Daines said, "The irony - they [woke left] were canceling Native American culture, as in the DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] movement went way too far ..." 

Censorship of the former Commanders logo was a case of woke gone wrong.

I applaud the @Commanders & the @NFL for their commitment to never censor the logo again & for working with the Wetzel family to restore it to a place of prominence and honor to benefit Indian Country. pic.twitter.com/BYnNDGXnhB

— Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) November 20, 2024

At a recent Energy & Natural Resources Committee meeting on Capitol Hill, Daines stated that there had been "good faith negotiations" with the NFL team to restore the logo of Blackfoot Chief John Two Guns White Calf, which had been in use for half a century.

In 2020, the NFL team succumbed to pressure from the radical left, promoting woke culture and forcing a name change from the Redskins to the "Washington Commanders."

Before the woke left unleashed cancel culture, the NFL franchise used Native American artist Walter "Blackie” Wetzel's artwork of the Blackfoot chief as the inspiration for the team's logo from 1972 to 2020.

In 2022...

And just like that, the iconic logo, celebrating Indian Country, was memory-holed, as were many other logos.

The nation is waking up from a terrible decade of toxic and nation-killing wokeism nightmare. As we've previously noted, the 'Overton Window' has shifted. 

Next: Uncle Ben's, Aunt Jemima, Mrs Buttersworth, Eskimo Pie, Frito Bandito, and so much more, as the nation finally awakes from 4 years of woke lunacy https://t.co/x3sDcuVOHh

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 28, 2024

For the sake of humanity, let us hope the woke mind virus—destructive by nature and detrimental to the nation—comes to an abrupt end. Woke ideology was never intended to succeed; its true purpose is to destroy. Even The New York Times and Bloomberg acknowledged a new Rutgers study showing that DEI initiatives transform individuals into being "hostile." 

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 14:00

Will Your Thanksgiving Table Become A Political Battleground?

Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times,

The presidential election is over, and while half of America may be celebrating, the other half may be feeling a mixture of emotions from angst to anger. But when it comes to breaking bread with family for the Thanksgiving holiday, will the politicians hold the upper hand and wreak havoc at your dinner table?

New data from Prolific reveals that many Americans are bracing themselves for potentially uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner conversations with family or relatives who share opposing political views.

In fact, 20 percent of respondents to a recent poll say they plan to skip the traditional holiday gathering to avoid family interactions. Some indicated they would take a vacation instead, while others intend to spend Thanksgiving alone or with a few like-minded friends.

Prolific, a technology and research company based in California, polled more than 2,000 U.S. residents of different ages, genders, and ethnicities. Of that number, 96 percent reported feeling confident in their voting decisions with no regrets.

While the poll indicated that 62 percent of those surveyed expressed disapproval of the current Biden administration, 58 percent had an unfavorable opinion of President-elect Donald Trump. Some 22 percent already reported increased polarization within families following the election. Among younger voters—ages 18 to 24—that number jumped to 36 percent.

Andrew Gordon, senior consultant at Prolific, told The Epoch Times that researchers were quite surprised by the survey responses.

“While the depth of potential political division within families was striking, it actually aligns well with the trends we’ve been observing in our ongoing polling—extreme polarization within the electorate on any number of key issues,” he said.

“The data underscore just how deeply woven into the fabric of everyday life politics has become, even extending into family dynamics during traditionally unifying occasions like Thanksgiving.”

More than 23 percent of people living in Northeast states such as Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island believe the election has stirred up political tensions within the family. California and Washington state were the only western states included at that level.

“This year has been marked by a perfect storm of political and societal factors: an extremely polarizing election, a big focus on leadership across party lines, and a worldwide economic slowdown that has led to general dissatisfaction with government performance,” Gordon said. “Add to this social platforms, and politics has become an unavoidable part of daily conversations.”

Tim Ives, a licensed New York psychoanalyst specializing in family therapy, told The Epoch Times it’s important that people decide what they want to do before getting into a potentially stressful situation.

“As much as many of us are family-oriented, holidays don’t necessarily look like Norman Rockwell paintings,” he said. “Families getting along together is not always the norm.”

Ives, who is also a minister serving the Scarborough Presbyterian Church in Briarcliff Manor, New York, said the key for those choosing to spend Thanksgiving and the holidays with family is to be non-reactive.

“Politics can be divisive and it’s difficult sometimes to ignore opinions that are different from yours. My advice is to just smile and nod,” he said.

Alcohol can also fuel the fires for controversial discussions, so Ives recommends keeping drinks to a minimum.

“If discussions do get heated, people can always quietly get up from the table and go to another part of the house or outside to avoid getting caught up in that turmoil,” he said. “A lot of families set a rule of no politics or religion discussions at gatherings.”

Political polarization is nothing new, noted Ives.

“I remember back during the 1964 election when everyone was scared to death of Barry Goldwater—they thought it was going to be the end of the world,” he recalled. Lyndon Johnson eventually defeated Goldwater in a landslide.

Ives has recently been involved with counseling couples who find themselves on opposite sides of the political fence.

“This year’s election has caused some angst among couples, but the bottom line is people have to consider how much this is really going to affect their personal lives,” he said.

Almost 50 percent of the survey respondents living in southern and western states reported that they were not surprised at the outcome of the election. These states included Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Texas, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.

Answering the question of whether democracy is alive and well in the United States, 52 percent of those aged 45 to 54 said yes, compared with 47.1 percent of those aged 55 to 64, and 45.2 percent of people in the 65-plus range. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed in Wyoming also provided an affirmative answer to the question, as did 52 percent of those polled in Montana, North and South Dakota, and Utah.

“While we have conducted numerous studies on political sentiment and its impact on societal interactions, this is the first time we have explicitly explored how these divisions might manifest during Thanksgiving,” Gordon said.

“This year’s findings take that dynamic a step further, demonstrating how political tensions are reshaping holiday traditions and prompting Americans to reconsider how they celebrate.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 13:30

Joy Reid Has Thanksgiving Meltdown Over Trump Supporters "Suffering The Consequences" Of Their Vote

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via modernity.news,

MSNBC’s Joy Reid took all the joy out of Thanksgiving by going on a 10 minute meltdown rant about how Trump supporters won’t get a “cookie, trophy or hug” from her.

Oh no, how awful.

Still furious that Trump supporters refer to ‘undocumented immigrants’ as “illegal immigrants” (they are), Reid suggested “right-wingers” should have to suffer the consequences of voting for Trump.

“Make your own sandwiches, wipe your own tears, troll amongst yourselves with Elon, and leave us alone,” said the host, acting as if Trump supporters would want to socialize with her anyway.

NEW: Joy Reid has a 10-minute meltdown about Thanksgiving, tells Trump "worshiping" Capitol storming MAGA they won't get a "cookie, trophy or hug" from her.

For your own sanity, I am only sharing a minute of the meltdown.

"Make your own sandwiches, wipe your own tears, troll… pic.twitter.com/MV7Aqbu0nY

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 28, 2024

“You got your heart’s desire. The president you dreamed of and worshiped instead of Jesus. And this time, you didn’t even have to storm the Capitol, smash the windows or try to kill police officers or issue death threats to poll workers,” she added.

“But if you expect the 73 million who voted for the prosecutor, not the felon, and particularly the 92% of black women who voted for Kamala to give you a cookie for your vote, a trophy, a hug, a high five, you might be asking too much,” said Reid.

No one asked, Joy, no one asked.

“If we want to eat with you, we will. But if we just want some peace over the holidays, and we don’t want to put up with your trolling… get over it. Stop acting like we owe you,” added the host, pretending as though any Trump voter actually thinks like this.

“And for God’s sake, stop whining, it’s embarrassing, our Thanksgiving, our choice,” she concluded.

The only person whining is you, Joy, for 10 minutes straight.

Given that MSNBC is up for sale and Elon Musk has suggested he might buy it, this might be the last Thanksgiving that Reid will have to spew such vitriol on cable news.

As we previously highlighted, after spending the entire election campaign demonizing Trump supporters as Nazis and fascists, on the eve of the election she bragged that the media had “said all they can” to help Kamala win.

After she lost, Reid told what few viewers she has left to stay away from Trump-supporting family members because they might “turn you in” to the authorities.

One suspects it’s going to be a far from joyful Thanksgiving in the Reid household this year.

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Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 12:10

"We Can't Afford A World Empire, Mr. Ferguson"; Heated Ukraine Debate Highlights With Scott Horton, Niall Ferguson

In the most heated ZeroHedge Debate yet, historians Scott Horton and Sir Niall Ferguson clashed vigorously in their tellings of what led to the war in Ukraine. We’ve compiled the most interesting and riveting moments below but encourage readers to listen to the entire debate because, at the end, Ferguson and Horton agreed on one thing: the war must end through peaceful settlement.

Ferguson, a world-renowned scholar and author, and Horton, founder of the Libertarian Institute with his newly published Provoked book, were joined by Hoover Institute fellow Peter Robinson.

Watch the full debate here (or listen on Spotify):

For those short on time, here were notable moments:

A Dwindling Empire

With 750 military bases worldwide, can the U.S. Empire sustain itself? Neither historian thinks so but Ferguson argues “primacy” is worth maintaining.

Ferguson: “America was not likely or able to run an empire, but… we must want American primacy to endure in Europe as well as in Asia. The United States has to prioritize. It faces a hostile axis of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. They threaten American interests in multiple locations.”

Dismissing this as little more than jargon, Horton called out Ferguson's lack of candor compared to his 2003-self debating neocon Bob Kagan (Victoria Nuland’s husband) when Ferguson readily admitted “United States is an empire” and should “acknowledge the fact, and do the job properly.” Horton continued by blasting Ferguson's Iraq War record as the latter was a leading proponent of it.

Horton [in response to Ferguson claiming Ukraine's death count dwarfs that of Mid-East]: “There are 37 million people driven out of their homes by the terror wars. At least four million people killed according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University. You're absolutely wrong about that. There's still war going on in Somalia and all across the Middle East.”

pic.twitter.com/MDJ1IohER9

— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) November 28, 2024

2014: Coup or Revolution

The events of 2014 — Maidan Revolution and Putin’s annexation of Crimea — are often used (selectively) by both sides of this wider debate.

After Horton characterized Maidan as a U.S.-backed “street putsch” led by Nazi descendants, he went on to argue that Viktor Yanukovych — the former Ukrainian President often characterized as “pro-Putin” by the corporate press — was far from it.

Horton: “Yanukovych wanted to sign the association agreement with the European Union… Henry Kissinger said [the events that led to Maidan were] all Angela Merkel's fault because she played too hardball.”

Applying positive attributions towards Yanukovych did not sit well with Sir Niall. “To hear Scott Horton defend the Yanukovych regime, one of the most corrupt regimes to have emerged since the collapse of communism, is a bit rich,” he said. Ferguson — citing his personal trips to Ukraine — also vehemently denied any Nazi involvement in the uprising of 2014.

“Did you meet with Andriy Parubiy?” Horton retorted, referencing a prominent Ukrainian neo-nazi and former member of parliament who was present at the revolt.

pic.twitter.com/wkbfTBNwfz

— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) November 28, 2024

What should Trump do?

Despite heated disagreements, common ground appeared during the final and perhaps most important question: what now? Included in both historian's answers: a negotiated settlement and Ukraine’s acceptance of the reality that Russia now controls part of its territory.

Ferguson: “An armistice is I think the most likely outcome. A ceasefire — and in that ceasefire — I think it's highly likely that Russia will remain in control of somewhat less than 20% of Ukrainian territory.”

Horton agreed but added one caveat. Zelensky needs protection, but not from Russia…

Horton: “Nazis like Dmitry Yurash and Andrey Perubiy and Andrey Boletsky have threatened to murder Poroshenko and Zelensky repeatedly when they talk about trying to make peace. Zelensky tried to implement the Minsk 2 deal in 2019 and they threatened to murder him. And the New York Times said these are credible threats.”

pic.twitter.com/hb8H2cQ8ki

— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) November 28, 2024

If these two can agree… maybe there is hope for peace.

We hope you enjoyed and check in Saturday morning for our “Gold Standard” debate moderated by Real Vision’s Ash Bennington available exclusively to premium/pro subs.
 

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 11:35

There Is No Downside To Gratitude, So Fill Your Plate This Thanksgiving

Authored by Steven Sultanoff via The Epoch Times,

Each year, Thanksgiving is a fresh chance to embrace the spirit of gratitude that characterizes the holiday. As we enjoy turkey and stuffing and spending time with family and friends, it’s important to slow down and take stock of the bounty we enjoy, and give thanks because we recognize that all we have is a blessing.

No matter your standing or status in life, there is always much for which to be grateful. All too often, especially here in America, we get hyper focused on what we don’t have, instead of focusing on the many blessings we do have.

There are many advantages to practicing gratitude. When you appreciate what you have, you set yourself on the path to peace and serenity. Gratitude fortifies and inoculates you from negativity and the poison of a toxic attitude. It keeps you centered and helps you embrace contentment with what is before you.

However, gratitude is not merely being focused on the blessings in the external world. It also has an internal component. When you are grateful, you affirm what is good in life, both internal and external. You recognize the goodness before you, including food, shelter, family and friends, and material possessions, and you recognize the goodness within you, such as your health, your abilities, your attitudes, your intellect, and your emotional being. You are grateful for the goodness that abounds around you and within you.

While gratitude is related to your emotional life, it is also related to your will or choice. Sometimes, though we may not feel grateful, we have to choose to focus on the good rather than being stuck in negativity.

That may be even more true this Thanksgiving.

With the polarization of the United States population, Thanksgiving this year will be a challenge for many families as they gather with people on each side of the political divide. In these kinds of situations, we are faced with two choices. We can either disengage and abandon our annual Thanksgiving gathering to avoid potential conflict, or press in through the power of gratitude and choose to share Thanksgiving, focusing on what brings us together rather than what would seek to push us apart.

It is important to remember that while you may have polarized (and strong) points of view, you remain family and friends. We cannot pretend the differences don’t exist, but we can choose to recognize the differences and instead be grateful for the bonds that bring us together.

These intentional choices help weave a grateful disposition into the very fabric of your being so that it becomes more than a mere moment of thanksgiving. While feeling a moment of gratitude may bring pleasure, it has much greater emotional, cognitive, physical, and social impacts over time.

Being grateful reduces distressing emotions such as depression, anxiety, and anger. While you may want more than you have, being grateful for what you have brings peace, contentment, and tranquility. These serve as psychological antibodies that help the stressors of life become significantly less stressful.

Other benefits of gratitude include improving sleep, reducing overeating, strengthening the immune system, increasing pain tolerance, helping manage glucose levels, fighting heart disease, and even possibly increasing longevity. Put simply, practicing gratitude makes living far more pleasant and has a powerful impact on overall well-being.

Internally, gratitude increases self-confidence, improves patience, and makes you more resilient. Because gratitude and distressing emotions such as depression, anxiety, and anger cannot occupy the same psychological space, gratitude acts as a buffer against stress.

Practicing gratitude has many other benefits. It can sharpen clarity of thought, increasing cognitive flexibility. This enables creative, outside-the-box thinking, which helps generate new and original ideas.

While gratitude can seem like an abstract concept, there are tangible ways to practice it in your daily life.

You can enhance your gratitude by recording (in writing, audio, or video) the details of positive experiences in your day. You can set aside time each day or each week to count your blessings, focusing on the good that can often get lost in the busyness of life. You can openly express your gratitude to others through your words or by writing letters thanking those in your life who have helped you. You need not even send the letter. Simply feeling grateful and writing the letter will have a positive impact.

Personally, I am grateful for the hummingbirds that frequent our feeders, build nests, and hatch their young in our cozy garden. I am grateful for every Thanksgiving that brings my family together, even when we are celebrating from distant locations. I am grateful for my health and being able to remain physically active even during my senior years.

There really is no downside to gratitude. So, this Thanksgiving, let’s commit to focusing on what we have and giving thanks for the manifold blessings that surround us, both large and small.

*  *  *

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 11:00

Putin Threatens Ukrainian Capital With New Hypersonic Missile

Another day, another record-setting Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine at a moment the West is escalating its support to Kiev.

President Vladimir Putin announced to security officials at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Kazakhstan  that 100 drones and 90 missiles were launched at Ukraine over the last 48 hours "in response to strikes deep" inside Russia.

Via Sputnik 

These have included attacks with US and UK-supplied long-range missiles, which Russia has acknowledged killed and wounded some personnel, and damaged a radar site in Kursk.

"We carried out a comprehensive strike," Putin said Thursday. "It was a response to ongoing attacks on our territory using [U.S.-supplied] ATACMS missiles." 

He further warned that the Russian military is actively monitoring the locations of Ukraine's long-range weapons to determine "where they are" and issued a fresh warning over the new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile.

He warned that more Oreshnik deployments would be necessary if Ukraine continues its attacks on Russian territory. Importantly he said that this advanced weapon, for which there is no defense, will target "decision-making centers" in Kiev.

The Russian leader boasted that the Oreshnik missile can turn targets "into dust" and that that multiple launches of the hypersonic weapon could be "comparable to a nuclear strike." He described it can reach speeds of "around three kilometers per second" and unleashed temperatures and energy "like the surface of the Sun" upon impact.

As for these latest attacks on Ukraine, the country's Energy Minister German Galushchenko acknowledged that the power infrastructure came "under massive enemy attack". This means emergency blackouts and conservation efforts have been imposed amid freezing temperatures.

Polls say both Ukrainians AND Americans want the US proxy war in Ukraine to end, but instead of ending it Washington is pressuring Kyiv to throw teenagers into the threshing machine of an unwinnable conflict. https://t.co/YVP67dFxgM

— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) November 27, 2024

President Zelensky denounced "despicable escalation" and said, "In several regions, strikes with cluster munitions were recorded, and they targeted civilian infrastructure," according to his words on Telegram. "This is a very despicable escalation of Russian terrorist tactics."

"This is especially important in winter when we have to protect our infrastructure from targeted Russian attacks," Zelensky warned the population.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 10:25

'Hillary 2028' Speculation Rife As Dem Strategist Urges Kamala: "Please Don't Run Again"

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

A prominent Democratic strategist has advised Kamala Harris to never run again for president following her landslide loss to president Trump.

Theryn Bond made the comments Wednesday in an interview with Newsmax, following the release of a video by Harris in which she appeared dishevelled and, some have speculated, drunk, telling supporters to keep fighting.

According to Politico, Harris has told advisors she is “staying in the fight” and may be considering another presidential run in 2028 or the launch of a gubernatorial campaign in California.

“[Her political ambitions should] not be to run for president again in 2028, please don’t,” Bond urged during the Newsmax National Report segment.

“I can’t really speak for governor of California. Californians seem to support her significantly, we haven’t yet be able to measure what that support looks like after this current run she just had. That may be the only thing that would make sense for her to consider, but another shot at the presidency, I hope she doesn’t,” Bond added.

“And if she is relying on those same advisers that advised her the first cycle, that is not who I would listen to,” the strategist further warned.

Republican strategist Luke Ball chimed in, declaring that Kamala couldn’t even get elected as a “dog catcher” now in anywhere except California, particularly given the news that her campaign burned through $1.5 billion and ended up $20 million in debt.

"I hope [Kamala Harris] doesn't [run for president in '28]. And if she is relying on those same advisers that advised her this cycle, that's not who I would listen to."

— Theryn Bond, Democratic strategist@WalkingMicDrop @LukeTBall @EmmaRechenberg @Glasgow_Jon pic.twitter.com/CdYm1qWr4B

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) November 26, 2024

As we previously highlighted, a poll conducted among Democratic voters to gauge who the Party should consider running for the next election found that a staggering 41 percent want Harris to run again, despite her woeful loss.

There simply isn’t another Democratic candidate, unless they return to Hillary Clinton for a 2028 run.

BREAKING: Speculation is brewing about Hillary Clinton running for president in 2028. pic.twitter.com/Za56C9GqpG

— Dominic Michael Tripi (@DMichaelTripi) November 28, 2024

Hillary circa 2028... pic.twitter.com/NBMy7NrOsk

— Brandon Weichert (@WeTheBrandon) November 28, 2024

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 09:50

S&P Futures Rise, On Pace For Best Year This Century

US equity index futures rose on Thursday, with cash markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. As of 9am ET, S&P 500 futures gained 0.1% after the key index snapped a seven-day rally on Wednesday; Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.2%.

US stocks have been been buoyed by enthusiasm over the return of Donald Trump to the White House, as well as the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates for the second-straight meeting. This has pushed the YTD performance of the S&P back to the highest of the 21st century, once again surpassing 2021's record performance.

“Post-election market activity has been remarkable, with volumes surging and major indices reaching all-time highs,” said Jeff O’Connor, head of market structure at Liquidnet. “However, as we move closer to the year-end, we expect this momentum to subside, with a focus shifting to upcoming macroeconomic data releases.”

One looming gray cloud: inflation is once again picking up rapidly. As CMC Markets analyst Jochen Stanzl  said, the monetary policy outlook for the Federal Reserve has “dimmed in recent days,” as the central bank’s preferred indicator, core PCE, accelerated in October rising 2.8% YoY, the biggest increase since April.

“Should prices continue to rise, Jerome Powell would quickly find himself under double pressure,” Stanzl said. “From the growing accusations that he has made a monetary policy mistake, and from the pressure that he is already under from US President Trump, who would prefer to dismiss him altogether.”

Earlier, Bloomberg reported the Biden administration was weighing additional curbs on semiconductor equipment and AI memory chips to China that would escalate the crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions, but stop short of stricter measures that were previously considered.

Chip stocks in Asia and Europe jumped on the news, with ASML Holding NV, ASM International NV, and Nvidia Corp. suppliers ISC and TSE all rising. When stocks resume trading in New York, names such as Lam Research Corp., Applied Materials Inc. and KLA Corp. will be ones to watch.

While the US is closed, the rest of the world is open, if subdued, and European stocks bounced after a two-day decline, led by tech shares. The Stoxx 600 is up 0.5% while US equity futures also edge higher.

In open rates markets, French government bonds outperform, narrowing the spread with Germany after Finance Minister Armand said he is prepared to make concessions on the budget bill to avoid opposition parties toppling the government in the coming weeks. French 10-year yields fell 2 bps to 3.01%.

In Fx, the euro weakens 0.2% after showing little reaction to Spanish and German inflation data, and after ECB's Villeroy went full dove, saying that not only should rates drop to Neutral, but wouldn't exclude them dropping below neutral but that NIRP should remain in the ECB's toolkit. The yen, which inexplicably soared in the past few days, was the weakest of the G-10 currencies, falling 0.6% against the greenback and pushing USD/JPY up toward 152. The Mexican peso rallied 1.7% after Trump said he had a productive conversation with Mexico’s president Sheinbaum.

In commodities, oil prices advance while in thin trading after OPEC+ confirmed it will delay Sunday’s online meeting on oil production curbs to Dec. 5. WTI rises 0.6% to $69.10 a barrel. Spot gold climbs $9 to $2645/oz. Bitcoin falls below $95,000.

With the US closed for Thanksgiving today, there is no macro calendar.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 09:30

For Millions Of Americans, This Holiday Season Will Be A Season Of Very Deep Suffering

Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

If you live in a warm home and you have plenty of food to eat, you should consider yourself to be extremely blessed, because millions of others are deeply suffering right now.  

Most of the country is living paycheck to paycheck, the number of homeless Americans is higher than ever, demand at food banks is back to pandemic levels, and many victims of Hurricane Helene are living in very thin tents and are not getting the help that they need from the government.  Children in the mountains of western North Carolina are literally shivering in the freezing cold all night long because their parents have nowhere else to go…

Nearly two months since Helene hit, hundreds of local families are left with nowhere to go.

Now some of these children are living in tents and cars as their parents try desperately to find a new home.

One of those parents is Dana Wunsch.

She showed News 13 the camper where she and her partner, along with her two daughters, are now staying.

We are taxed extremely hard, and one of the things that our tax dollars are supposed to pay for is disaster relief.

But while FEMA personnel in North Carolina are sleeping in heated trailers, many victims of Hurricane Helene are sleeping in extremely flimsy tents that look like they could literally be blown away at any moment.

Could you imagine having your kids sleep in a flimsy tent night after night?

And now snow has arrived in the mountains of western North Carolina…

Some survivors in western North Carolina have had to navigate their recovery efforts around potentially hazardous conditions as snowfall ranging from a light dusting up to about 2 feet has blanketed the area.

In addition to snow, those living in tents have also been facing very high winds…

Additionally, Helene survivors in western North Carolina will also have to manage with powerful winds. Wind gusts are expected to reach 30-40 mph in Asheville, while other areas may feel gusts of 50 mph or greater.

Of course Hurricane Helene is just one of the historic natural disasters that have hit our country here in 2024.

Overall, there have been 24 “billion dollar disasters” in the U.S. so far this year…

During the first 10 months of this year alone, 24 disasters have occurred in the U.S. with losses exceeding $1 billion, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.

That’s roughly three times the average annual number since 1980.

Our nation just keeps getting pummeled over and over again.

Is there anyone out there that still believes that this is just a coincidence?

Meanwhile, the homelessness crisis in the U.S. just keeps getting worse, and there are millions more Americans that could soon be joining the ranks of the homeless.

If you can believe it, one recent survey discovered that 22 percent of all U.S. renters say that “all their regular income goes toward rent payments”…

22% of U.S. renters say all their regular income goes toward rent payments, according to a recent Redfin-commissioned survey. 19% of renters report they have worked a job they hated to afford rent.

Just over one in five (22%) U.S. renters say all of their regular income goes directly to paying their rent, according to a recent Redfin-commissioned survey.

Working a second job is also a fairly common way for renters to pay housing costs, with 20% of renters citing that method. Nearly the same share (19%) say they have worked a job they hated to afford rent.

If all of your income is going to paying rent, you are just one step away from being homeless.

Sadly, most of the country is just barely scraping by from month to month at this point.

According to Bank of America, from 2019 to 2024 there was a 10 percent jump in those that are living paycheck to paycheck…

The share of U.S. households living paycheck to paycheck has grown across all income brackets over the past five years, according to a new study from the Bank of America Institute.

A new analysis released by the think tank on Tuesday found that more than a quarter of Americans, 26%, have necessary expenses that chew up more than 95% of their takehome pay, and nearly a third, 30%, of households spend upwards of 90% of their income on critical bills like groceries, housing, utilities, gas, insurance and child care.

The data showed a 10% increase in those living paycheck to paycheck in 2024 compared to 2019.

Economic pain is all around us, and the cost of living just continues to go even higher.

Once upon a time, if you were making $50,000 a year you were doing well.

But now the average American believes that it takes an income of $270,000 a year in order to be “financially successful”…

The average American thinks a salary of just over $270,000 a year qualifies them as “financially successful,” but there are huge disparities between generations, according to a new study.

Needless to say, the vast majority of the population does not make that sort of money.

Instead, the vast majority of us are just trying to survive.

Unfortunately, the outlook for the year ahead is not good because our economic momentum is heading in the wrong direction very rapidly.

In fact, it is being reported that the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has fallen for eight months in a row…

Weakness in the housing market and manufacturing, as well as higher jobless claims, pulled the leading indicators for the U.S. economy down for the eighth consecutive month in October.

The Conference Board said its index of leading indicators dropped 0.3 percent last month. The Conference Board pointed out that over the six-month period between April and October 2024, the index declined by 2.2 percent, slightly more than its two percent decline over the previous six-month period, suggesting that drags on the U.S. economy picked up.

If we are seeing such tremendous economic suffering now, what will conditions be like if the U.S. economy continues to deteriorate?

For decades, we have been living a debt-fueled standard of living that is way beyond what we have actually earned.

Now that bubble is starting to burst, and our society is not going to be able to handle it.

We are in far more trouble than most people realize, and an immense amount of pain is ahead of us.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 08:00

'Defund The Police' Activist Charged With Misusing Over $75,000 Donations On Vacations & Shopping Sprees

Extending a prolonged trend of alleged misuse of funds by social justice warriors running leftist charities, an anti-police-brutality activist has been accused of spending $75,000 in charitable donations on himself, blowing the money on vacations, designer clothing and more. 

On Tuesday, Washington DC attorney general Brian L. Schwalb filed suit against Brandon Anderson and his nonprofit organization "Raheem AI," which was launched in 2017 to provide “black, brown, and indigenous community crisis responders with the tools, training, connections, and funding they need to provide care.”

Brandon Anderson stands accused of spending charitable donations on luxury vacations, hotels, designer clothing and veterinary services (Anderson via Facebook)

“Brandon Anderson misused charitable donations to fund lavish vacations and shopping sprees, and the Raheem AI board of directors let him get away with it," said Schwalb in a statement. “Not only did their financial abuses violate fundamental principles of nonprofit governance, but Anderson and Raheem AI failed to pay their employee the wages they had earned.”

Schwalb's statement provided spelled out the nature of Anderson's alleged self-indulgent spending:

Since 2021, Anderson repeatedly used Raheem AI’s funds for personal use: spending over $40,000 on a luxury vacation rental service that allows members to stay in high-end mansions and penthouse apartments, $10,000 on hotels and Airbnb’s for personal travel - including to a Cancun resort, $10,000 on designer clothing brands, and $5,000 on emergency veterinary services. None of these expenses furthered Raheem AI’s stated nonprofit purpose.

Anderson's alleged failure to pay an employee apparently lit the fuse that led to Tuesday's move by the DC attorney general. The employee, Jasmine Banks, told the New York Times she contacted Schwalb's office after her salary screeched to a halt. She says she was put on leave after she found credit card records of Anderson's wild spending and raised her concerns. One of the firm's board members told the Times that mansion rentals were associated with business travel. 

Raheem AI initially worked to create an app to facilitate police misconduct complaints. The vision evolved to creating a police alternative, one that would let people dealing with nonviolent situations contact a network of aid workers. The group racked up more than $4.3 million in donations from leftist organizations, with much of that money pouring in after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.  

The DC attorney general says Anderson spent $10,000 in donated funds on designer clothing (Anderson via Facebook) 

Before his fall, Anderson's press coverage frequently included his claim that his work was inspired by the death of his gay "life partner" Raheem, whom he said was shot to death by police during a traffic stop in Oklahoma City. Now, it appears Anderson may not only guilty of financial misconduct, but also of concocting that whole story. Per the Times:  

As the group foundered, former employees discovered something else that was troubling: They could not find proof that Raheem ever existed. Mr. Anderson did not previously respond to questions about the man whose purported life and death inspired the nonprofit. 

Schwalb said there were no checks and balances at Raheem AI, as the entity hasn't had a treasurer since 2020, leaving Anderson with full control over the assets. His suit seeks a court order to dissolve the nonprofit, recover misused money, and bar Anderson from serving in the leadership of any other DC nonprofits. 

“My office will not allow people to masquerade behind noble causes while violating the law, cheating taxpayers, or stealing from their workers,” said Schwalb. 

Jasmine Banks, a former staffer, says she is owed tens of thousands in unpaid wages since April, when she flagged Anderson’s actions to the board. She also alleges she was forced to sign an illegal noncompete clause.

“It hurts my heart to say it, but I think it was a con from the beginning,” she said of the organization. 

To rattle off just two previous episodes, we've seen an Atlanta Black Lives Matter founder arrested for using $200,000 in BLM donations on food, dining, entertainment, clothing, furniture, a home security system, tailored suits and accessories, and the Stacey Abrams-founded voting group the New Georgia Project accused of financial mismanagement and misuse of donated funds. 

We're guessing there's more where all these came from. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 07:20

In California, Vote-Counting Dampens Holiday Spirit

Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClearPolitics,

While most political strategists and campaign operatives are finally enjoying a post-election repose, making their favorite Thanksgiving fixings and preparing to deck the halls, California’s election officials and party leaders are still on the job.

Once again this year, California is the last state to finish its vote-counting, thanks to a set of vote-by-mail election laws the Democratic Party’s supermajority in the state legislature passed beginning last decade – purportedly to encourage more voter participation.

But making it easier to vote has come with a cost: The state is now a national punchline for election inefficiency, and critics assail it as rife for fraud. As of Tuesday night, two fiercely contested congressional races are hanging in the balance, and three state Assembly races remain too close to call.

“We’re still working,” lamented Jessica Millan Patterson, who chairs the California Republican Party. “Not just as Republicans, but as Californians, it’s embarrassing that we’re the last state in the nation. We’re the home of Silicon Valley, and we can do better. Florida has their elections tabulated in three hours.”

Yet three weeks after the election, there are still 109,485 votes to count across 58 counties, according to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. And even when all the votes are counted, they won’t be certified until mid-December.

The main reason behind the delays? The state sends a ballot to every registered voter and counts all that are turned in within a week after polls close on Election Day – even if the ballots don’t carry a postmark. All that’s required is that a voter “has dated the vote-by-mail ballot identification envelope or the envelope otherwise indicates that the ballot was executed on or before Election Day,” according to California regulations.

County election officials must complete final counts of all 15.3 million votes cast by Dec. 5, and Weber has until Dec. 13 to certify the results. The vast majority of California voters use vote-by-mail, which slows down the vote-counting process.

“We have to open envelopes, we have to verify the signature, and all of those things before we can actually accept that ballot,” Weber said during a press conference the week after the election. “We have to make sure that that’s the person who actually sent the ballot in.”

But that’s not the whole story. The later deadlines have led to slower counts, as counties with strained election resources have no incentive to pay workers overtime to count votes around the clock.

And each year, the state legislature passes more laws lengthening the process. Under state law, counties must notify voters if their ballot isn’t accepted because of a missing or questionable signature so they can “cure” their ballot by signing a form verifying its authenticity. This year, the California legislature extended the time voters must respond to the notice and return the signed form. They now have until Dec. 1.

Republicans, on a national basis, have ridiculed the process, arguing that the system is vulnerable to cheating. They also point to the state’s “ballot harvesting” law, which went into effect in 2016 and allows any individual to return stacks of ballots to an unattended drop box or county elections office. Before that law, only a member of the same household could return a voter’s ballot.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used the late vote-counting last week to take a shot at California, continuing the heated rivalry between the two states – and between DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“California is still ‘counting’ votes — and there are two congressional races where the leads enjoyed by GOP incumbents have been either eliminated or dramatically reduced long after Election Day,” DeSantis posted on X.com. “It is possible that Republicans lose one or both of these seats — making the House majority razor thin. California’s election system is a disgrace, and the state should follow Arizona’s lead, recognize the need for an overhaul, and enact transparent reforms.”

But any efforts to speed up the process are unlikely as long as Democrats maintain a supermajority in both state legislature chambers. The U.S. Constitution gives states the power to set up and run elections as they see fit, frustrating Republican officials who have to play by the Democratic-set rules even if they strongly disagree with them.

Earlier this year, voters in Huntington Beach, a conservative-leaning city in Orange County, approved a law requiring voter identification in city elections starting in 2026. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the legislature reacted to it by passing a law prohibiting local governments from adopting voter ID laws. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Weber also sued the city, arguing that Huntington Beach’s requirement unlawfully conflicts with state law and impedes citizens’ “right to freely cast” their votes without imposing what he called a “hardship” burden on low-income voters, minorities, young and elderly voters, and people with disabilities.

On Nov. 16, an Orange County judge rejected the attorney general’s lawsuit, and the ruling could help clear the way for Huntington Beach and other cities across the state to implement ID requirements for voting. Bonta vowed to appeal the decision, arguing that it didn’t address “the merits of the case.”

“We disagree with the court’s decision that it is too early to bring our lawsuit and remain confident in the strength of our case,” Bonta said.

Still, the court ruling is encouraging Republicans in conservative strongholds where votes have little trust in the current election system.

“I would be a lot more confident in the process if we actually had voter ID,” Sen. Brian Dahle, who represents a largely rural district just south of Oregon, told RealClearPolitics. “You can’t buy a pack of cigarettes in the state without having an ID. It’s ludicrous to think we’re going to let people vote without one. There’s just a lot of opportunity for people to take advantage of the system.”

For now, California Republican officials say they have little choice but to play by the Democrats’ rules, trying to use them to their advantage when possible. During Millan Patterson’s tenure, the state party developed a far more robust ground game, developing a ballot harvesting operation, scrutinizing vote-counting, and curing ballots after Election Day.

Over the last three election cycles, the GOP efforts to scrutinize vote-counting and cure ballots paid off, but its effectiveness this year is still up in the air.

In 2020, Millan Patterson said the party had poll watchers to monitor 60% of all ballots. That year, Rep. Mike Garcia, a Republican locked in a tight race for a seat previously held by a Democrat, beat his challenger, Christy Smith, by 333 votes. But this year Garcia lost 51%-49% to George Whitesides, with 95% of the votes counted.

In 2022, the state party had volunteers and lawyers scrutinizing 93% of all vote-counting. That year, Republican John Duarte won against Assemblyman Adam Grey by 560 votes. In a rematch this year, Gray leads Duarte by 182 votes, with 95% counted, as of Tuesday night. In the other closely contested race in Orange County, Democrat Derek Tran leads GOP Rep. Michelle Steel by 613 votes, as of Tuesday night.

Also, in 2022, Greg Wallis, a GOP candidate, was locked in one of the closest Assembly races in history. After nearly all votes were counted, Republican officials worked to cure an undisclosed number of ballots, and Wallis won by 87 votes.

“In those types of incredibly close races, you have a lot of scrutiny over those and protesting ballots,” said Dahle, who is term-limited out of his seat. His wife, Megan, ran a successful race to replace him, winning 76% of the vote.

Still, there’s little doubt that the Golden State shifted decidedly toward Republicans this year. Millan Patterson credited Trump with moving nearly every county across California to the right, with several counties flipping from voting for Joe Biden in 2020 to voting for Trump in 2024. Every county also voted to approve Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime measure aimed at strengthening sentencing after a decade of lenient prosecutions across the state.

The California Republican Party coordinated with the Republican National Committee and county committees to deploy what she called “the largest election integrity infrastructure” the party has had. Republicans enlisted thousands of trained volunteers and more attorneys to help monitor vote-counting and cure ballots in the most targeted districts. In total, this team helped cure roughly 3,500 ballots after Election Day, with most taking place in the two most highly contested elections, the Duarte and Steel races.

“We can’t change the rules until we get more Republicans elected,” she said. “While it’s frustrating, we’re going to continue to do the work necessary to cure every legal ballot and make sure that they are counted so that we can have confidence in these elections.”

First elected in 2019, Millan Patterson has worked to help Republicans develop their own ballot harvesting ground game, coordinating with churches and recruiting thousands of volunteers to hold barbecues and other events where ballots are collected en masse and later dropped off at county election offices. Before Election Day, Patterson said the GOP collected 33,000 ballots through the effort. It’s hard to compare that with the Democrats’ efforts because they are more tight-lipped about their ballot-harvesting results.

During Millan Patterson’s tenure, the party has added at least 775,000 new Republicans to the voter rolls, gaining in every county and flipping two targeted districts red, after losing voter registrations over several years prior. Ric Grenell, Trump’s former U.S. ambassador to Germany who is under consideration to serve as his envoy on Ukraine, led a significant registration drive through his “Fix California” group over the last few years.

Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics' national political correspondent.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 06:40

WaPo Laments Ukraine Will Be Pushed To Negotiate Peace "Within Months"

The Washington Post in a fresh report have revealed more details and rationale behind the decision-making of the lame-duck Biden administration, which this month has chosen to escalate with Russia in several ways.

"President Joe Biden’s recent decisions to allow Ukraine to launch missiles deeper into Russia and to provide Kyiv with controversial antipersonnel land mines were driven by a stark new reality: Russia’s importing of North Korean troops, Ukrainian battlefield losses and the election of Donald Trump have thrust Ukraine into perhaps its weakest position in nearly three years," the publication writes.

Via Shutterstock 

But missed is the fact that Ukrainian forces have been suffering steady losses on the front lines in Donetsk, have long lacked for manpower, and has also refused Western calls to lower the conscription age below the current age of 25.

WaPo almost seems upset by the fact that Ukraine will be pushed to the negotiating table "within months"...

"Many U.S. officials now concede that within a few months, Ukraine could be pushed into negotiations with Russia to end the war and that it could be forced to give up territory," the report continues. "Biden’s reversal of his previous policies on mines and missiles was intended in part to give Ukraine the strongest possible hand as it enters those potential talks."

The Kremlin is likely to demand nothing less that full recognition of Crimea as well as the four annexed oblasts as Russian territory, and that Ukraine forever gives up on aspirations to join the NATO alliance.

Perhaps the most absurd lines from the Washington Post report come in the following:

In all, the current dynamics suggest that one of Biden’s biggest foreign policy accomplishments is increasingly under threat. Biden declared in 2022 that Putin “cannot remain in power,” but it now appears likely that Putin’s gamble that he could outlast Western support for Ukraine could come to fruition, as he will soon face a U.S. president far more sympathetic to his position.

The reality is that Putin was never going anywhere, and Washington has risked nuclear and global war in seeking to make it happen. But when this fantasy comes to an end, the mainstream media is ready to blame Trump, who is supposedly "sympathetic" to Putin.

Meanwhile Trump has former general Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine-Russia envoy...

Trump names former general Keith Kellogg as Ukraine-Russia envoy. Kellogg has previously mooted halting Ukraine aid if Kyiv doesn’t take part in peace talks, and offering to put off NATO membership if Putin gives security guarantees pic.twitter.com/gIcGFHXbsz

— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) November 27, 2024

And yet recent polls show that the majority of the American public backs immediate peace negotiations. For example CBS News/YouGov poll taken November 19-22 has revealed that most Americans are in favor ending US military aid to Ukraine at 51%.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 06:00

One Of FBI's 'Most Wanted Terrorists' Arrested In Wales For Bombings In 2003

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

The FBI announced on Nov. 26 that one of the bureau’s “most wanted terrorists” was arrested by officials in Wales for alleged bombings in San Francisco in 2003.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, considered one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives as well, was arrested on Nov. 25 in a rural area in northern Wales, according to the UK’s National Crime Agency. He was ordered held in custody after appearing on Nov. 26 in Westminster Magistrates’ Court and faces extradition.

San Diego, 46, is charged in the United States with planting two bombs that exploded about an hour apart in the early morning of Aug. 28, 2003, on the campus of a biotechnology company in Emeryville, California. He’s also accused of setting off another bomb with nails strapped to it at a nutritional products company in Pleasanton, California, a month later.

“Daniel San Diego’s arrest after more than 20 years as a fugitive for two bombings in the San Francisco area shows that no matter how long it takes, the FBI will find you and hold you accountable,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.

“There’s a right way and a wrong way to express your views in our country, and turning to violence and destruction of property is not the right way.”

In 2009, San Diego, of Berkeley, California, became the first person suspected of domestic terrorism to be added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List. A reward of $250,000 was offered for information leading to his arrest.

The bulletin stated that San Diego “has ties to animal rights extremist groups” and is “known to follow a vegan diet.” It added that he previously worked as a Linux operating system networking specialist.

San Diego grew up in an upper-middle-class suburb of Marin County, north of San Francisco. His father was the city manager of nearby Belvedere, a wealthy enclave. The FBI has also said San Diego worked as a computer network specialist, was a skilled sailor, and was known to carry a handgun.

An archived FBI page, announcing that San Diego was added to the domestic terrorism list, said he was involved in a group called Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty and was “wanted for his alleged involvement in bombing two biotech facilities that did business with Huntingdon Life Sciences, a company that conducts animal experimentation for the medical and pharmaceutical industries.”

“Animal rights and environmental extremism pose a significant domestic terror threat,” the notice said at the time, adding that such attacks were responsible for 1,800 criminal acts and tens of millions of dollars in damages.

A group called Revolutionary Cells-Animal Liberation Brigade claimed responsibility for the bombings, citing the companies’ ties to Huntingdon Life Sciences. Huntingdon was a target of animal rights extremists because of its work with experimental drugs and chemicals on animals while under contract for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and other companies.

Earlier this year, House Republicans, including Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), the incoming Trump administration national security adviser, announced that they would investigate the “potential for eco-terrorist attacks” inside the United States, namely against energy infrastructure.

Their probe was launched because of a “spike in calls for violence by radical eco-terrorists on U.S. college campuses and across the globe,” the lawmakers said, requesting a briefing from Wray in April. It’s not clear if Wray eventually provided the House lawmakers with the briefing they sought.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 05:20

Maryland's Death Spiral: Reckless Democratic Lawmakers Spark Budget Crisis Fears As "Deep Recession" Looms

Fiscally irresponsible policies pushed by far-left Democratic lawmakers have put Maryland, a deep-blue progressive state, into a projected death spiral, with some warning that the state could soon face its worst fiscal crisis in two decades. 

"The overarching takeaway from today's meeting is that there's an enormous gap between the ongoing spending commitments the state has made and ongoing revenues," David Romans, a Department of Legislative Services budget analyst, said in a presentation for lawmakers, including members of the Joint Spending Affordability Committee, earlier this month. 

Romans warned the state will face "a significant challenge" in paying for those commitments. 

"By fiscal 2030 — the final year of our forecast — we are showing the state will only have enough revenue to cover 84% of the expenses we're projecting the state to incur," Romans said, adding, "That is the largest gap that we have seen in the last 20 years. It is more significant than the Great Recession."

In 2008-09, Maryland, the state that borders Washington, DC, to the north and is known for the HBO hit series The Wire, was battered by a deep recession. At the time, budget projections had the state covering between 89% and 87% of its ongoing spending. Now, that figure is projected to be around 84% by the end of the decade. 

The local media outlet Maryland Matters was the first to report on the looming budget crisis, warning that it could plunge the state into an economic disaster if the sinking ship is not righted immediately.

Stagnant revenues and ambitious spending could leave the state able to pay just 84% of its bills in five years, when the deficit could be in the billions, analysts say.https://t.co/tEKl8TuxZY

— Maryland Matters (@marylandmatters) November 13, 2024

Here's more from Maryland Matters:

Maryland faces more than $1 billion in combined structural and cash deficits in the current year. That gap more than doubles to $2.7 billion in fiscal 2026 and 2027.

By fiscal 2028, the state will exhaust the money set aside to cover the costs of education reforms, and will require money from the general fund. The structural deficit grows to nearly $4.7 billion in 2028, then $5.2 billion a year later, and again to $5.9 billion in fiscal 2030.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey (R-Upper Shore) called the outlook "pretty dismal."

"A $2.7 billion deficit is not something that, unfortunately, … you can just make up with cuts," Hershey said. "I hope that you can, but that's a pretty big gap. It makes it very concerning that the governor and General Assembly are going to have to raise taxes. I'm hoping that's not going to be the case, but I'm not sure how they can close that gap."

Tuesday's briefing was a stark reminder of budget pressures facing Gov. Wes Moore and a legislature controlled by Democrats.

An impasse between the House and Senate earlier this year led to a budget compromise that failed to fully address concerns. House leaders wanted a $1.3 billion tax and gaming proposal, while Senate leaders opposed broad-based taxes in favor of targeted increases. The result was a projected $1 billion structural deficit — the difference between expected spending and revenues — for fiscal 2026.

By July, those budget concerns were growing.

Moore proposed $150 million in budget adjustments this summer that were billed as cuts, but in reality reduced spending in several state agencies that was then shifted to cover costs of growing Medicaid enrollment and the state's child care subsidy program.

Multiple legislative sources said in July that Medicare spending alone could add $800 million to the projected deficits.

Moore and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore) said this summer that they had a "high bar" for any tax increase. Moore also warned county officials in August of the likelihood of tough budget decisions.

It comes as recent polling shows Marylanders are still feeling pinched economically. The issue was top of mind for many voters in Maryland and nationally during last week's election.

A spokesman for Ferguson said the Senate leader would have a comment on the fiscal briefing soon.

A stagnant economy

Over the next five years, ongoing expenses in the state budget are projected to grow at 6% annually, while revenues are projected to grow at around half that amount, legislative analysts said Tuesday.

Maryland's economy remains stagnant: The Board of Revenue Estimates said in September, in a first look at expected revenues for fiscal 2026, that taxes and other funds flowing to the state would grow by 0.9% over the current fiscal year.

"We have not seen a lot of employment growth," Romans told lawmakers. "We do have very low unemployment, but we're just not seeing much employment growth, and that's suppressing our revenues a little bit."

Coming state budgets will have to absorb billions in additional costs for education reforms in the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. The state also faces higher-than-expected costs for Medicaid, driven by inflation and increased enrollment, and greater demand for the state's child care subsidy program.

"So, all those additional spending pressures are leading to spending growing much faster than the revenues," Romans said.

"Significant long-term solutions" needed

Moore and lawmakers could draw down on the state's Rainy Day Fund. At $2.5 billion, the cash in the account is twice the statutory requirement of 5% of annual revenues. Taking half the fund would cover the gap projected for the current year and a portion of fiscal 2026.

The state could also suspend a requirement to set aside hundreds of millions to hedge against revenue volatility, and it could shift $250 million in cash to the deficit and opt to borrow money to pay for the already approved capital projects.

"If you did those three things, you can get through fiscal '25 without any really difficult decisions, and you solve roughly half the fiscal '26 problem," Romans said.

Source: Maryland Matters

Those moves are not without risk, however.

First, Romans said Moore and lawmakers still face "an enormous problem in '26 and it grows dramatically by (fiscal) '28." That problem likely will require "significant long-term solutions."

Those include cuts to spending in,creased taxes, or both.

"You're not going to be able to just use the cash resources the state has to manage our way out of the problem," Romans said.

"This budget problem is not being driven by a recession," he said. "It's being driven by a somewhat stagnant economy and by our spending ambitions.

Advocates renew push for $1.6 billion tax plan

The cash options are a one-time fix.

"So, if you use the Rainy Day Fund and you get rid of the revenue volatility, you're eliminating two of the things that you sort of can rely on during recession to help mitigate the impacts of a recession," Romans warned.

"I would be cautious in using these strategies without having a longer-term plan to solve the budget problem, because if we were to fall into a recession in the next few years, you would have very few options left to deal with it, other than making substantial cuts." he said.

Advocates for a broad-based tax package proposed earlier this year seized on the briefing to renew calls for their plan.

"Now is the time to fix our tax system and ensure we have the revenue we need to fund the education, health, and public safety programs that make our communities stronger," Fair Share Maryland, a coalition of 40 organizations, said in a statement Tuesday. "The Fair Share Maryland plan reforms the state's upside-down tax system that currently gives unfair tax breaks to large corporations and the ultra-rich."

Advocates said the plan, as introduced in January, cobbled together a number of proposals from earlier, failed legislation. The largest revenue source — $576 million a year — would come from closing what advocates called "corporate tax loopholes." That includes counting corporations and their subsidiaries as one entity for tax purposes, preventing corporations from moving profits from one state to another state or country with a lower tax rate.

"Maryland leaves hundreds of millions of dollars on the table each year it fails to close corporate tax loopholes," the group said. "Our state policies also allow the wealthiest 1% of households in Maryland to pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than anyone else. This puts the burden for public services on working families and our small businesses."

The bill also included an increase in taxes for residents earning $1 million or more annually, as well as a 1% surcharge on capital gains.

"We can build a durable and resilient economy by righting our state's tax code," the group said. "Maryland can also raise $1.6 billion in revenue each year to support good schools, health care, transportation, and the state workforce needed to deliver high-quality services. Doing so will also cut taxes for more than 1 million Marylanders with a family income of $65,000 or less."

But the deficits projected 10 months ago were smaller. It is unclear how much the Fair Share plan would cut into the current projections.

Possible Trump effect looms

None of the projections outlined Tuesday included potential changes as the result of the 2024 presidential election.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to purge federal employees and move federal agencies outside the Washington, D.C.,  region. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said last week that he ordered a review of potential impacts to the county budget, but predicted there would also be consequences for the state.

There are also concerns about funding for the replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the relocation of the FBI headquarters to Prince George's County.

One proposed project important to Moore – the Red Line rail system — was not mentioned. But Hershey said he does not believe the Trump administration will ever fund the east-west transit line.

"I think honestly, with the Trump administration coming in, essentially, for all intent purposes, the Red Line is dead," Hershey said. "We're not going to see federal funding for that."

Maryland receives about $19 billion annually in federal aid. That's in addition to the 256,000 residents – about 8% of all state taxpayers — who received some form of federal wages or pension payments in 2021, according to the Comptroller's Office.

The economy could also take a hit if Trump follows through with other proposals, including mass deportations and tariffs that analysts worry could trigger inflation and recession.

"We don't have any real way to model what they might propose to do, and a lot of those sort of things will require congressional action, so we'll certainly be monitoring that," Romans said. "There's certainly a significant risk to our economy."

Sending Maryland into a fiscal crisis is not a great look for Democrats and Governor Wes Moore. Moore has been pitched as a possible candidate for the presidential run in 2028. It's going to be a tough campaign for Moore - considering he can't even balance the state's budget as far-left politicians in the state spend taxpayer funds on illegal aliens and wokeism. 

BREAKING: Frederick, Maryland Mayor Michael O’Connor announced he’s creating a fund using tax dollars to help illegals pay for legal fees to fight deportations once Trump takes office pic.twitter.com/XN5hFZ0NMZ

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 26, 2024

Marylanders should recognize that the state's potential fiscal collapse could mirror that of Illinois. The common denominator in both states is that the leadership is mostly of radical left-wing policymakers, not based in reality.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 04:40

Risking Nuclear War

Authored by Christopher Roach via American Greatness,

Escalating brinkmanship might be justified if victory were in sight or if any of this contributed to American security.  But none of these things are true...

We are probably closer to a nuclear war than any previous point in my lifetime.

As a Generation X kid who grew up during the Cold War, fear of nuclear war is still a deeply ingrained instinct. We read Alas Babylon in school and saw The Day After to give us a sense of what a nuclear apocalypse might be like. Everyone understood it was the summum malum, the end of civilization as we know it.

The fear of nuclear war did not stop all conflict during the Cold War, but it did ensure that conflicts were limited. During that tense time, there were no world wars or sustained fighting between the nuclear powers themselves. Instead, wars took place among proxies far from the territory of the superpowers, such as the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

A few decades after the end of the Cold War—during which no one was particularly worried about a nuclear war—a new conflict with Russia has arisen due to major disagreements about the nature of the international order and our respective places within it. What began in 2014 as a limited confrontation between Russia and a western-backed Ukraine has evolved into an enormous conventional war.

After the West increased its support to Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion, there was some recognition among western leaders about the dangers of provocation. Even so, such risk has increased in an incremental fashion. At first, western leaders thought it was too much to provide tanks, but soon the West relented, and the Ukrainians received M1 Abrams and Leopard II tanks.

Then, there was a lot of hemming and hawing about providing F-16 fighter jets. This surprised me, as they are not materially better than Ukraine’s MiG-29s, but, apparently, one of the Russian objections was that F-16s can carry nuclear armaments and risk confusion about western intentions. But now Ukraine has these as well.

We have since crossed the last phase line. Having provided Ukraine the Storm Shadow and ATACMS medium-range missiles, we have now authorized their use against Russian territory, in spite of increasingly desperate Russian warnings. After this authorization, Ukraine promptly fired them into Russian territory. Russia claims that these weapons can only be targeted with direct western involvement and that the West is practically and morally responsible for their use.

While Russia has conveyed many warnings, so far it has avoided directly targeting western countries and personnel. This week something different happened. First, after the West’s official authorization to use smart missiles against Russian territory, Russia expanded its nuclear doctrine to authorize the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Then, in response to a Ukrainian attack using these sophisticated weapons, Russia launched several intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) with multiple independent reentry vehicles (MIRVs) against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

This is extremely serious. These launches and missile trajectories can be detected from space through our nuclear warning satellites. While Russia made normal deconfliction communications in advance of the missile launch, it is not clear if anyone on our side knew for certain whether or not the Russian MIRVs had nuclear warheads.

Nuclear warheads are typically the only thing delivered through MIRVs. Perhaps as the hypersonic weapons approached the target, the crews at NORAD were on the edge of their seats with anticipation, like a scene from the movie War Games. Dramatic footage of their impact showed sophisticated, fast-moving warheads that cannot easily be intercepted.

Regardless of anyone’s feelings about the war, Ukraine is not winning, and it will not recover its lost territories. It is not a question of its people’s commitment or the West’s. We have given them everything we could in terms of money and matériel, and they have fought with bravery and tenacity.

But this is a war of attrition, and reality has a vote. Ukraine has far fewer people than Russia, is losing territory at an accelerating pace, has likely lost several hundred thousand men killed, and many of the remaining men are avoiding service, remaining overseas, and building lives elsewhere.

When the conflict devolved into a war of attrition in late 2022, it was pretty clear that there was no realistic prospect for a Ukrainian victory. This was even more clear after the failure of the 2023 Ukrainian summer offensive.

The Kursk incursion earlier this year was supposed to boost Ukrainian spirits and change the strategic landscape. But the initial success of that campaign has proven to be entirely ephemeral, and this risky move accelerated the collapse of the Ukrainian front. It seems western leaders are only coming around to this realization now.

While Joe Biden and Kamala Harris promised to prosecute the war to the maximum extent, Trump made it clear in his presidential campaign that he would force through a peace deal of some kind. This is what the American people chose.

With only a couple of months left in office, Biden could have tried to stabilize things, avoid provocations, and begin negotiations. Such a course would take into account the decision of the American people to reject his Ukraine policy. But, instead, he—or more likely the interventionists of the Deep State like Anthony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Victoria Nuland—has taken new and provocative steps in authorizing the use of ATACMs against Ukraine and possibly assisting in their targeting, as Russia claims.

These weapons will not win the war. Ukraine has had access to HIMARS rockets and Storm Shadow long-range missiles for over a year now. While these have hit targets inside Ukraine’s disputed territory and had some effect, Russia has developed various countermeasures, and these weapons have not been enough to turn the tide.

While western rhetoric condemns Putin as an irrational madman, our actions suggest that our leaders believe he is restrained and will remain so. In other words, in spite of many warnings, Biden’s team has proceeded as if Russia is bluffing and will bluff forever. But what if we are wrong?

The Russian use of an ICBM is the first combat usage of such weapons in history. This is a very clear warning that Russia has nearly run out of patience with the West’s practice of incrementally increasing its assistance to Ukraine. Such weapons can reach European capitals in minutes, whether armed with conventional or nuclear payloads.

For NATO and the West, escalating brinkmanship might be justified if victory were in sight, some high principle like anti-communism were involved, or if any of this contributed to American security. But none of these things are true. We are risking the annihilation of the world over a border dispute that has nothing to do with our country or its security. The American people have rejected our continued involvement in this tragic war, but there are unfortunately many opportunities for escalation and miscalculation in the weeks ahead.

The only thing standing between the world and a nuclear war is the rational restraint of Vladimir Putin and any hope he harbors of a deal under President Trump. Let us hope Russia’s leaders remain more rational and restrained than our own in the weeks ahead.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/28/2024 - 04:00

Did Trump Just Solve The Border Crisis: Mexican President "Agreed To Stop Migration Through Mexico" Trump Claims

Did Trump solve the border crisis two months before even being sworn in as the 47th president?

Two days after surprising markets - and sending the peso plummeting - by announcing he would enact 25% import duties on Mexican goods if the country doesn't stop the flow of drugs and migrants across the border.

tariffs on Mexican goods in response to the flood of drugs across the porous southern border, best known for allowing millions of illegal immigrants to enter the US in the past four ears, Trump's unexpected gambit may have already paid off.

In a post on Truth Social network, Trump announced that after a "wonderful" conversation with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, she "agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."

He added that the two also talked about "what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States" concluding that it was a "very productive" conversation which of course, it would be, if indeed Trump - who again is still two months away from inauguration - managed to solve the US border crisis just 48 hours after using targeted tariffs as a bargaining chip.

While it remains to be confirmed on the Mexican side if Trump's recollection of the conversation is accurate, Trump's announcement comes just hours after the legacy media reported that Mexico would take on a more aggressive posture, with the AP reporting that Sheinbaum had suggested that "Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own" and that while she was willing to engage in talks on the issues, drugs were a U.S. problem.

"One tariff would be followed by another in response, and so on until we put at risk common businesses," Sheinbaum said, referring to U.S. automakers that have plants on both sides of the border.

She said Tuesday that Mexico had done a lot to stem the flow of migrants, noting "caravans of migrants no longer reach the border." However, Mexico's efforts to fight drugs like the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl - which is manufactured by Mexican cartels using chemicals imported from China - have weakened in the last year.

Amusingly, Sheinbaum also said Mexico suffered from an influx of weapons smuggled in from the United States, and said the flow of drugs "is a problem of public health and consumption in your country's society" which judging by the libs ongoing reaction to Trump's victory is pretty much spot on.

As noted, there is still no official confirmation or full context of the agreement from President Sheinbaum's side, but the market certainly reacted with the peso surging, and almost wiping out all losses from the past 48 hours after Trump's first unveiled his 25% tariff threat.

If confirmed, this would be the second time Trump has managed to convince Mexico to suspend migrants from crossing its territory to enter the US. Back in 2018, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador - a charismatic, old-school politician - developed a chummy relationship with Trump. The two were eventually able to strike a bargain in which Mexico helped keep migrants away from the border - and received other countries' deported migrants - and Trump backed down on similar threats.

While Sheinbaum, who took office Oct. 1, has been seen as a stern leftist ideologue trained in radical student protest movements, and appeared less willing to pacify or mollify Trump, it seems she too has capitulated just 48 hours after Trump unveiled what was coming.

Tyler Durden Wed, 11/27/2024 - 23:17