After US weapons in the hands of Hamas fighters have surfaced on several videos, questions are being asked about how they got there. Were they shipped from Afghanistan, where the US left tons of military equipment in its hasty departure? Were they sold to Hamas by corrupt officials in Ukraine? Also today: Wall Street Journal tries to nudge a war with Iran in a highly sketchy piece claiming Tehran behind Hamas' attack.
America's major problems have been caused by both parties. Whether it be spending, debt, war, or covid, it has all been a joint effort. Despite all the campaign promises made by politicians of all stripes, the trend has always remained the same - government gets more intrusive and overbearing, while Americans lose their freedom and standard of living. If there really is a uniparty, who's in charge?
Politico has trotted out an "expert" on the Tea Party Movement to put forth the idea that the Tea Party was always ONLY about McCarthy, Paul Ryan, and Eric Cantor, and with the fall of McCarthy the movement is finally dead. What does Politico get wrong? Everything. Also today Ukraine "freaking out" over end to US gravy train.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is the first to throw his hat in the ring to replace Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker, as Ukraine money laundromat supporters on both sides of the aisle have gone full panic mode. Will McCarthy's defenestration signal the end of "Project Ukraine" in the US Congress? Also today, UK "out of weapons" for Ukraine and global weapons stocks are in free-fall.
Rep. Matt Gaetz' motion to vacate the Chair of the House Speaker is scheduled for a vote today, with the outcome for Speaker McCarthy uncertain. Leading Republicans such as Rep. Thomas Massie have criticized the move. Will it backfire? Also today: Trump on the dock as his lead increases. Finally: 'Leaked' report shows level of DC concern over Ukraine corruption.
By Ron Paul
Federal spending is so out of control that it only took three months for the federal debt to increase by one trillion dollars to over 33 trillion dollars. In contrast, it took almost 200 years for the federal debt to reach one trillion dollars. So the federal government racked up more debt in the last three months than it did from the ratification of the US Constitution until Ronald Reagan’s first term! There will be even more shocking increases in the future since, according to some experts, federal debt is increasing by approximately 14 billion dollars a day. Those tempted to blame the increase on President Biden, the Democratic Congress, or the covid-related spending spree, should consider the debt increased by around a trillion dollars a year in 2017 and 2018 — years when Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress. One more statistic to keep in mind is that the government’s debt already exceeds America’s gross domestic product. In other words, the US national debt, according to the government’s own figures, is already worth more than the value of everything produced by American businesses. Americans should keep these facts in mind when the media attacks as “irresponsible” the small group of Republicans who refuse to vote for a continuing resolution or CR, and thus risk a government shutdown, unless the CR is accompanied by spending cuts and reforms that would take federal spending off autopilot. Unfortunately, the welfare-warfare spending coalition has once again triumphed over the small group of fiscal conservatives, as a continuing resolution that did not even pretend to cut spending passed in Congress over the weekend. Fiscal conservatives and the growing wing of the GOP opposing foreign intervention did achieve one significant victory: The CR did not contain the Biden administration’s requested additional aid for Ukraine. The successful effort to strip Ukraine funding from the continuing resolution may threaten President Biden’s effort to obtain billions more in funding for Ukraine. Since the start of the conflict, the US government has wasted more than 100 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine, which is close to Russia’s entire 2023 military budget! Not only does the Ukraine-Russia conflict have no impact on America’s national security, it could also have been avoided had the US not helped orchestrate a 2014 coup in Ukraine. The Ukraine conflict is thus another example of Ludwig von Mises’s observation that the unintended (or intended) consequences of government intervention are used to justify further government action. Unless the US reverses course and begins to cut spending, the Federal Reserve will be forced to end its limited efforts to fight price inflation. Instead, the Fed will bow to political pressure to keep interest rates low in order to help government manage its ever-increasing debt. This will lead to both a rejection of the dollar’s world reserve currency status and a major economic crisis. The best place to cut spending is the so-called “defense” budget that makes Americans less free and less safe. Hopefully the successful effort to strip Ukraine funding from the CR is the first of many victories by the antiwar fiscal conservatives over the military-industrial complex and its politicians, lobbyists, and propagandists.
Pro-war Democrats and Republicans in desperation pulled Ukraine money from the weekend bill to keep the government open. Backroom deals suggest Ukraine would be brought up as a straight vote on the Floor, where it might pass. But the road to more money is not as smooth as establishment politicians would like. Also today: UK defense secretary announces, then unannounces, that British troops would be sent to Ukraine. Finally: Slovakia votes "NO" on "Project Ukraine."
By Chris Rossini
How many times have you heard something along the lines of "If only every American understood this" ... "Every American needs to read this article" ... "This is what they should be teaching in schools" ... "If Americans understood this, we'd be living in a free society." Yeah, it's not that simple. Human beings are tricky. We have the ability to believe what is false, even when presented with the truth. We can stick with the untrue; with the lies. But how can this be? Why would someone stick with believing a lie, even after hearing the truth? If you tell someone that 2+2=4, why would they maintain the belief that 2+2=5? There can be many reasons: - People may have a job that depends on believing that 2+2=5, and they don't want to lose their job. - People may have friends that believe that 2+2=5, and they don't want to be different their friends. - People may come from a family that has always believed that 2+2=5, and would never want to disappoint them. - People may feel better in believing that 2+2=5, whereas the truth makes them uncomfortable. - A person may not like you, and the last thing the person wants to hear from you is that 2+2=4. So, you see, it's not so simple as "If only more Americans heard the truth." If you're a champion of 2+2=4 there's a few things to understand if you want to get the message out. First, is that there will always be opposition. There will always be the 2+2=5 people. Lies are always a part of human life. Weeds are always a threat to the garden. The key is in which ideas dominate. One set of ideas always dominates the other, and the pendulum swings back and forth ... over and over ... throughout all time. Two hundred years ago, the ideas of liberty dominated. Today, the ideas of tyranny dominate. Which will dominate in the future is unknown to everyone. So, if you are firmly in the camp of truth, and are firmly willing to stand behind 2+2=4, your job is to seek out a certain type of person. There are two types that you will encounter: #1 - "I believe that 2+2=5, and I cannot be wrong." #2 - "I believe that 2+2=5, but I'm open to admitting that I'm wrong." Your job is to find the #2's and tell them the truth. These are the people that have open minds. And if their minds are open, it means the truth will not bounce off of them like a brick wall. That's your target audience. When it comes to the #1's, they cannot be wrong in their own minds. So you can tell them that 2+2=4 until you are blue in the face and it will bounce off of them like a brick wall. You'd be spending your time on the wrong person. Each person has free will. They can refuse the truth, and there is nothing you can do about it. They are the sovereigns over their own minds. They choose, and you cannot choose for them. That doesn't mean that telling a person with a closed mind that 2+2=4 is a losing endeavor. The beauty is that once they hear the truth, they can't un-hear it. So it's still a good idea to inform them. Inform and move on. Don't waste your time trying to convince them, and giving yourself an ulcer in the process. A person with a closed mind may not be convinced by you right now, but you informing them may still be of value in the future. How so? Well, we live in a world of constant change. Circumstances always change. People with a closed mind now, may have an open mind when their circumstances change. It's never fixed. Think of the failed "vaccines." There were so many people who could not be wrong in their own minds at first. But when circumstances changed, and it was proven that the "vaccines" were not effective, their minds changed. They were open to admitting that they were wrong. So the key to spreading any type of truth is to do it as smartly and as efficiently as you can. Seek out those with open minds. Spend time with them. Don't bang your head against the wall with people who cannot be wrong in their minds. Know what you're fishing for, and you cast your nets appropriately. |
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