Today’s News 8th February 2025

• How USAID And Its $50 Billion Budget Became A Target For Reform
  How USAID And Its $50 Billion Budget Became A Target For Reform

  Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was a little-noticed federal agency until it suddenly became the object of a fierce political battle over the limits of presidential power and the accountability of government bureaucracies.

  

  When the Trump administration closed the agency’s offices on Feb. 3 and later placed most employees on administrative leave, USAID took center stage in a drama unfolding at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

  On one side is the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to make all parts of the executive branch comply with the president’s agenda. On the other side are congressional Democrats, who are warning that the action is a dangerous abuse of executive power and are vowing to fight it.

  Meanwhile, many observers fear that USAID’s true purpose—to advance U.S. interests through the use of soft power—may be overlooked.

  On Feb. 3, President Donald Trump appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting director of USAID. The next day, the president indicated that the agency may be shuttered and its functions permanently transferred to the State Department.

  Here is why critics want to abolish or reform the agency, supporters want to save it, and what may happen next.

  Influence as Power

  USAID was established by an executive order of President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to advance U.S. foreign policy by offering developing nations technical assistance, help with education and health care, and disaster relief.

  The idea was that turning poor countries into stable world citizens would benefit U.S. citizens, too. A stable, prosperous nation makes a good ally, the theory went.

  Champions of USAID continue to see it as both an essential tool for foreign policy and a tangible expression of the goodness and generosity of the U.S. people.

  Most observers agree that the agency does some good. Relatively small by Washington’s standards, USAID employs about 10,000 people and controls an annual budget of about $50 billion.

  In 2023, USAID poured $10.5 billion into humanitarian aid and $10.5 billion into health programs in countries around the world, according to the Congressional Research Service.

  One program that is often touted as a shining success story is the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a USAID program that has provided more than $110 billion for controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS in more than 50 countries.

  

  “Most estimates are that somewhere in the vicinity of 27 million people are alive today because President Bush initiated and Congress supported that program,” Scott Pegg, acting director of the Global and International Studies program and chair of political science at Indiana University–Indianapolis, told The Epoch Times.

  President Donald Trump said in remarks to reporters on Feb. 4 that “some of the money is well spent.”

  Yet the agency’s halo dims on closer inspection. Critics tell the story of an agency gone rogue, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on inane programs, refusing to answer basic questions from congressional committees, and actively undermining the foreign policy goals of the United States.

  Lost Purpose

  The White House on Feb. 3. produced a list of projects funded by USAID that it characterized as examples of waste and abuse.

  The projects include $1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities,” another $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia, and $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam.

  Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) listed further examples on social media platform X on Feb. 3, including $56 million to boost tourism in Egypt and Tunisia and $27 million for “reintegration gift bags” for deported Central Americans.

  Hunt said the agency was behaving “like a child with YOUR credit card.”

  Some USAID grant recipients include terrorist-controlled organizations, according to a study by the Middle East Forum released on Feb. 1.

  The study found that $122 million has gone to groups aligned with designated terrorist organizations, including millions of dollars for organizations directly controlled by the Hamas terrorist group.

  A July 2024 report from the U.S. Office of Inspector General noted deficiencies and vulnerabilities in USAID’s vetting process, which is supposed to prevent the diversion of U.S. funds to terrorist organizations.

  In one case of apparent abuse, USAID partnered with Chemonics, an international consulting firm, to spend $9.5 billion to improve health supply chains. Chemonics allegedly overbilled the agency by up to $270 million and failed to meet its objectives, and the project led to 31 indictments for the illegal resale of USAID-funded materials, according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has called for an independent analysis of USAID grant recipients.

  

  Ernst said USAID also provided nearly $1 million in funding to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, which the CIA has said was the most likely source of the virus that causes COVID-19.

  USAID has resisted congressional oversight for decades, some lawmakers say, resulting in a culture of defiance.

  “The agency has engaged in a demonstrated pattern of obstructionism,” Ernst wrote in a letter to Rubio on Feb. 4.

  False claims were made that certain documents were classified to delay review by congressional staffers and to mislead Congress on the indirect cost of programs, Ernst wrote, adding that in some cases, this amounted to more than 25 percent of the grant total.

  The agency refused to provide data on administrative costs, Ernst said. The agency later said that providing the data to Congress would violate federal law and that it had no obligation to respond because Ernst did not present a formal request from a “committee of jurisdiction.”

  Read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 23:25

• The Chinese Trust Their Institutions The Most, Japanese Not So Much…
  The Chinese Trust Their Institutions The Most, Japanese Not So Much…

  Now in its 25th edition, the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, a global survey on trust, reveals a world increasingly divided by grievance, institutional distrust, and a zero-sum mindset.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the 2025 Edelman Trust Index by country, and their change from 2024.

  

  The Trust Index is the average percent trust in NGOs, businesses, government, and media based on a survey of over 33,000 respondents from 28 different countries conducted by Edelman Trust Institute.

  Which Countries Trust Gov’t, NGOs, and Business the Most?

  Below, we show each of the 28 countries’ Trust Index score for 2025 and their change from 2024.

  Country	Election/change in government leadership in past year	Trust Index 2025	Change in percentage points from 2024
  🇨🇳 China	N	77	-2
  🇮🇩 Indonesia	Y	76	3
  🇮🇳 India	Y	75	0
  🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	N	72	-2
  🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	N	71	-1
  🇹🇭 Thailand	Y	66	-4
  🇲🇾 Malaysia	N	66	-2
  🇸🇬 Singapore	N	65	-1
  🇳🇬 Nigeria	N	65	4
  🇰🇪 Kenya	N	63	-1
  🇲🇽 Mexico	Y	57	-2
  🇳🇱 Netherlands	Y	57	1
  🇿🇦 South Africa	Y	53	4
  🇨🇦 Canada	N	52	-1
  🇧🇷 Brazil	N	51	-2
  🇮🇹 Italy	N	50	0
  🇸🇪 Sweden	N	50	1
  🇦🇺 Australia	N	49	-2
  🇨🇴 Colombia	N	49	2
  🇦🇷 Argentina	Y	48	9
  🇫🇷 France	Y	48	1
  🇮🇪 Ireland	N	48	1
  🇺🇸 U.S.	Y	47	1
  🇪🇸 Spain	N	44	-2
  🇬🇧 UK	Y	43	4
  🇩🇪 Germany	Y	41	-4
  🇰🇷 South Korea	Y	41	-2
  🇯🇵 Japan	Y	37	-2

  The global average saw no change from 2024, remaining steady at 56. However, a slight majority (54%) of the countries saw a drop in their trust index compared to last year.

  Among the world’s 10 largest economies, five rank among the least trusting nations on the Trust Index: Japan (the lowest at 37), Germany (41), the UK (43), the U.S. (47), and France (48).

  Argentina saw the largest increase in trust from 2024 at +9, following the election of Javier Milei, who campaigned on radical economic reforms amid the country’s ongoing financial crisis.

  Only 4 of the 13 countries that had a national election or leadership change in the past year saw an increase in trust (Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Argentina)

  The Edelman Trust Barometer also found that 61% of respondents had a moderate or high sense of grievance, which is defined by a belief that government and business make their lives harder and serve narrow interests, and wealthy people benefit unfairly from the system.

  The survey highlights a rising willingness to justify extreme actions, such as violence and disinformation, as economic fears, deepening grievance, and institutional distrust continue to escalate.

  To learn about global trust in various institutions, check out this graphic that visualizes the level of trust the public in 28 countries have in the United Nations.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 23:00

• 14 States To File Lawsuit Against DOGE Access To Government Payment Systems
  14 States To File Lawsuit Against DOGE Access To Government Payment Systems

  Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A coalition of 14 state attorneys general said on Thursday that they will file a lawsuit to stop the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive federal payment systems.

  

  The coalition said that DOGE, an advisory committee led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has no authority to access federal government systems—which they said contain Americans’ personal data, state bank account data, and “some of our country’s most sensitive data.”

  “This level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented, and unacceptable,” the coalition said in a statement released by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

  “DOGE has no authority to access this information, which they explicitly sought in order to block critical payments that millions of Americans rely on—payments that support health care, childcare, and other essential programs.”

  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted DOGE access to the Treasury’s payment system after Trump took office on Jan. 20. DOGE has been tasked with reviewing agencies for potential downsizing and termination, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to reduce federal spending and boost government efficiency.

  The attorneys general also argued that President Donald Trump “does not have the power” to grant DOGE access to Americans’ private information or to withhold federal payments approved by Congress.

  They planned to pursue legal action to defend “our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on.”

  The coalition includes Platkin and attorneys general from New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

  On Feb. 5, a coalition of labor unions sued to block DOGE access to federal payment systems, alleging that it violates “constitutional limits on executive power” and “laws protecting civil servants from arbitrary threats and adverse action.”

  The plaintiffs—which include the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and the Economic Policy Institute—sought a temporary restraining order or administrative stay against DOGE.

  Justice Department attorneys issued a proposed order on Feb. 5 saying the federal government will temporarily restrict DOGE from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system and allow special government employees “read-only” access to payment records.

  “The Defendants will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service,” it said.

  The proposed order followed an incident in which Democratic members of Congress attempted to enter the Treasury building on Feb. 4, saying they wanted to provide oversight after DOGE was granted access to the federal payment system. Democratic lawmakers have been calling for the access to be revoked.

  Trump had previously said that Musk would not be able to take any action without approval from the White House and assured that the government would prevent him from acting in cases of conflict of interest.

  “Where we think there’s a conflict or there’s a problem, we won’t let him go near it, but he has some very good ideas,” the president told reporters at the Oval Office last month.

  Zachary Stieber and Stacy Robinson contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 22:35

• Days Of Work To Afford A Monthly Mortgage, By State
  Days Of Work To Afford A Monthly Mortgage, By State

  Thinking of buying your first home? 

  Here’s some useful data to see how much work it will take to make that a reality.

  Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao maps and lists the number of eight-hour workdays it takes to afford a monthly mortgage payment across the U.S.

  

  This data is sourced from Today’s Homeowner, based off median hourly wages and home prices in each state, assuming a:

  • 30-year mortgage

  • 5.8% mortgage rate

  • 6% down payment

  How Was this Data Put Together?

  Today’s Homeowner looked at the median hourly wage in each state as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024.

  They used Zillow to determine the median home listing price and factored in the national average mortgage interest rate (5.8%) for a 30-year-loan, along with a 6% average down payment.

  ℹ️ A 6% down payment is on the lower end of the spectrum. Increasing it would reduce the principal borrowed and resulting interest—also lowering the # of days of work.

  From this, they calculated the average mortgage payment in each state and arrived at hours of work required per month to pay it. We then converted their figures to workdays (assuming 8 hours per day). Overtime was not factored into this metric.

  Ranked: Days of Work to Afford a Mortgage in Each State

  Hawaiians have to work the most number of eight-hour days (33) in a month to afford mortgage payments in their state.

  Not only is this more than the actual days in a month, it also implies that even working weekends is not enough for those making the median wage.

  State	Workdays	Median Hourly Wage	Median Home Prices	Monthly Mortgage
  Hawaii	33	$23	$909,000	$6,030
  California	28	$23	$788,000	$5,241
  Utah	26	$19	$572,000	$3,834
  Idaho	22	$18	$472,000	$3,183
  Nevada	22	$18	$467,000	$3,150
  Washington	22	$24	$624,000	$4,172
  Colorado	21	$23	$586,000	$3,925
  Arizona	20	$19	$448,000	$3,027
  Montana	21	$18	$453,000	$3,006
  Oregon	20	$23	$524,000	$3,521
  Florida	19	$18	$402,000	$2,727
  Massachusetts	18	$28	$591,000	$3,957
  New Jersey	17	$23	$470,000	$3,170
  New Hampshire	16	$23	$436,000	$2,948
  Rhode Island	16	$23	$437,000	$2,904
  District of Columbia	15	$38	$707,000	$4,713
  Georgia	15	$18	$319,000	$2,185
  Maine	15	$21	$365,000	$2,443
  North Carolina	15	$18	$322,000	$2,167
  Delaware	14	$22	$358,000	$2,440
  Maryland	15	$23	$406,000	$2,705
  New Mexico	14	$18	$296,000	$2,035
  New York	15	$23	$407,000	$2,711
  South Carolina	14	$18	$295,000	$1,994
  South Dakota	14	$18	$294,000	$1,998
  Tennessee	14	$18	$303,000	$2,045
  Texas	14	$19	$315,000	$2,122
  Vermont	14	$23	$356,000	$2,427
  Virginia	14	$23	$375,000	$2,551
  Connecticut	13	$23	$361,000	$2,459
  Alaska	12	$23	$328,000	$2,244
  Minnesota	12	$23	$334,000	$2,244
  Wyoming	12	$22	$323,000	$2,174
  Missouri	11	$18	$231,000	$1,611
  Nebraska	11	$19	$240,000	$1,642
  Pennsylvania	11	$22	$266,000	$1,840
  Wisconsin	11	$22	$265,000	$1,833
  Alabama	10	$18	$207,000	$1,431
  Illinois	10	$22	$267,000	$1,846
  Indiana	11	$18	$221,000	$1,546
  Kansas	10	$18	$207,000	$1,470
  Kentucky	10	$18	$198,000	$1,411
  Louisiana	11	$18	$215,000	$1,507
  Michigan	10	$22	$237,000	$1,651
  North Dakota	10	$23	$277,000	$1,879
  Ohio	10	$19	$212,000	$1,503
  Arkansas	9	$18	$179,000	$1,295
  Iowa	9	$19	$192,000	$1,372
  Mississippi	9	$17	$166,000	$1,200
  Oklahoma	9	$18	$182,000	$1,306
  West Virginia	7	$18	$139,000	$1,028
  National Average	14	$22	$355,852	$2,431

  As it happens, Hawaii’s median wage is quite literally the middle of the pack ($23/hour) and is tied with 14 other states. But its median home values are nearing $1 million, which puts the mortgage payment at more than $6,000 a month.

  Additionally, all of this work is just for housing—without any leeway for other bills and expenses.

  Predictably, Southern states are the most affordable. Their median wages may be lower than the rest of the country, but so are their median home prices.

  However, some states on the East Coast don’t do so badly either: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York, are all below the 15-day mark.

  In case more proof is needed that the South has lower costs of living, we have some data there. Check out: The Purchasing Power of $100 in Each State for some insights.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 22:10

• Netanyahu Suggests Palestinians Can Have A State In Saudi Arabia
  Netanyahu Suggests Palestinians Can Have A State In Saudi Arabia

  Via Middle East Eye

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Thursday that Palestinians should establish a state in Saudi Arabia, rather than in their homeland, in his latest dismissal of Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

  “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14.

  

  The remarks come as Saudi Arabia and Israel seem even further away from normalizing relations, over a year after officials in the US said an agreement was close.

  Riyadh repeatedly said over the past year that only a clear pathway towards Palestinian statehood would lead it to establish formal ties with Israel, but Netanyahu rejected the idea outright on Thursday, calling it a “security threat to Israel”.

  “Especially not a Palestinian state,” he said. “After October 7? Do you know what that is? There was a Palestinian state, it was called Gaza. Gaza, led by Hamas, was a Palestinian state and look what we got.”

  The interview took place while Netanyahu was on an official visit to the United States. 

  It followed a joint press conference with Donald Trump, in which the US president announced his plan for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza to make the Palestinian enclave the “Riviera of the Mediterranean”, with the US taking over the territory.

  Normalization with Saudi Arabia was discussed between the two leaders and, in addition to his strong dismissal of the key Saudi condition of the establishment of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu insisted that peace between Israel and the kingdom was a reality to come.

  “It is not only feasible, I think it’s going to happen,” he said.

  The press conference was quickly followed by a statement from Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, which said that the kingdom’s stance on Palestinian statehood was “firm and unwavering”.

  

  “His Royal Highness emphasized that Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement read.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 21:45

• 'Worse Than World War II' – Visualizing US National Debt (As A Percent Of GDP) Since 1900
  ‘Worse Than World War II’ – Visualizing US National Debt (As A Percent Of GDP) Since 1900

  This year, U.S. national debt is set to approach 100% of GDP, up from 36% in 2005.

  By 2035, the tab is projected to reach 118.5% of GDP as higher debt costs steepen the deficit, fueling further government borrowing. Today, the deficit stands at $1.9 trillion with net interest and mandatory spending outpacing revenues.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows U.S. federal debt projections to 2035, based on data from the Congressional Budget Office.

  

  Swimming in Debt

  Below, we show how national debt held by the public is set to mushroom over the next decade:

  Year	U.S. Federal Debt as a % of GDP
  2035P	118.5
  2034P	117.1
  2033P	115.3
  2032P	113.0
  2031P	111.1
  2030P	109.2
  2029P	107.2
  2028P	105.4
  2027P	103.4
  2026P	101.7
  2025P	99.9
  2024	97.8
  2023	96.0
  2022	95.0
  2021	96.9
  2020	98.6
  2019	78.9
  2018	77.1
  2017	75.7
  2016	76.0
  2015	72.2
  2014	73.3
  2013	71.8
  2012	70.0
  2011	65.5
  2010	60.6
  2009	52.2
  2008	39.2
  2007	35.2
  2006	35.4
  2005	35.8
  2004	35.7
  2003	34.7
  2002	32.7
  2001	31.5
  2000	33.7
  1999	38.3
  1998	41.7
  1997	44.6
  1996	47.0
  1995	47.7
  1994	47.8
  1993	47.9
  1992	46.8
  1991	44.1
  1990	40.9
  1989	39.4
  1988	39.9
  1987	39.6
  1986	38.5
  1985	35.3
  1984	33.1
  1983	32.2
  1982	27.9
  1981	25.2
  1980	25.5
  1979	25.0
  1978	26.7
  1977	27.1
  1976	26.7
  1975	24.6
  1974	23.2
  1973	25.2
  1972	26.5
  1971	27.1
  1970	27.1
  1969	28.4
  1968	32.3
  1967	31.9
  1966	33.8
  1965	36.8
  1964	38.8
  1963	41.1
  1962	42.3
  1961	43.6
  1960	44.3
  1959	46.5
  1958	47.8
  1957	47.3
  1956	50.7
  1955	55.8
  1954	58.0
  1953	57.2
  1952	60.1
  1951	65.5
  1950	78.6
  1949	77.4
  1948	82.4
  1947	93.9
  1946	106.1
  1945	103.9
  1944	86.4
  1943	69.2
  1942	45.9
  1941	41.5
  1940	43.6
  1939	42.4
  1938	42.2
  1937	39.6
  1936	42.5
  1935	42.4
  1934	43.5
  1933	38.6
  1932	34.0
  1931	22.0
  1930	16.3
  1929	14.8
  1928	17.0
  1927	18.0
  1926	19.0
  1925	21.6
  1924	23.5
  1923	25.2
  1922	31.1
  1921	31.6
  1920	27.3
  1919	33.4
  1918	30.2
  1917	13.3
  1916	2.7
  1915	3.3
  1914	3.5
  1913	3.2
  1912	3.4
  1911	3.6
  1910	3.7
  1909	3.8
  1908	4.3
  1907	4.0
  1906	4.0
  1905	4.3
  1904	4.7
  1903	5
  1902	5.4
  1901	5.7
  1900	6.6

  By 2029, federal debt is forecast to exceed the post-WWII record based on an outlook that doesn’t factor in recessions.

  This comes amid a widening deficit during a period of low unemployment and a growing U.S. economy. In many ways, this counters the theory of shrinking the deficit during economic expansion and increasing the deficit during downturns.

  Looking ahead, net interest on the federal debt is expected to nearly double from 2024 levels, reaching $1.8 trillion by 2035. To put it in perspective, interest costs will be 1.7 times higher than defense spending that year.

  While Modern Monetary Theory suggests that countries that have control over their currencies will never face default since they can print more money, evidence from history suggests a different outcome.

  From the British Empire and Habsburg Spain to the Ottoman Empire, historian Niall Ferguson finds that superpowers that have spent more on debt servicing costs than defense have not held onto power for very long.

  To learn more about this topic amid swelling debt, check out this graphic on the top holders of U.S. debt.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 21:20

• "Recycling" Makes Plastic Pollution Worse
  “Recycling” Makes Plastic Pollution Worse

  Via Brian McGlinchey at Stark Realities

  If you’re like many people, you’ve always thought a numbered-triangle symbol on the bottom of a plastic container tells you it’s recyclable — giving you peace of mind that when you toss it into a blue bin, it will be turned into something else.

  That’s not true. Those symbols are Resin Identification Codes (RICs). Numbered 1 through 7, they only identify the kind of plastic an item is made of. Far from giving a sweeping assurance that RIC-stamped items are recyclable, the symbol frequently indicates a particular item absolutely cannot be recycled.

  Reluctant to burden citizens with figuring out which plastics are recyclable — a chore that could dampen participation and cause confusion as recyclability of various plastics changes over time — many municipal recycling programs simply encourage people to toss all their RIC-stamped plastics in the bin and let the recyclers sort it out.

  

  Which ones do recyclers actually want? The most-recycled plastic in America is stamped with a “1,” identifying the item as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). You’ll find it on beverage bottles, cooking oil containers, and many other liquid-containing bottles. A “2” tells you it’s high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Another generally recycling-suitable plastic, it’s used for milk jugs and laundry detergent jugs, and spray-cleaner bottles.

  It’s all downhill from there. Chances are your bin has plenty of #5 — polypropylene (PP) — which is frequently used for single-serve coffee-maker pods; yogurt, butter, prescription pill and soft tofu containers; and the lids on paperboard raisin cartons. Unfortunately, while there’s been a modest recent uptick in recyclers’ interest, polypropylene generally isn’t being recycled in the United States.

  As for the rest of the RIC spectrum, feel free to make pointed inquiries with your city government, but chances are extremely slim that any #3, #4, #6 or #7 items you throw in your curbside blue bin will be made into anything else. That heap includes lots of packaging, such as non-cardboard egg cartons, fast-food clamshells, styrofoam cups and to-go containers, flexible 6-pack rings and bread bags.

  Feeling a little demoralized? Brace yourself: This blue-bin buzzkill is just getting started.

  

  Let’s circle back to recyclers’ favorite: #1 PET. Even for this most-favored plastic, much of what’s placed in blue bins isn’t recycled. It’s a question of configuration: Recyclers love clear PET bottles, but most of them don’t want PET when it’s in the form of clamshell containers, cups and tubs. In these formats, PET reacts differently to the heat of recycling. For example, if they’re combined with bottles, those PET tubs used to package your blueberries and strawberries create ash that contaminates the whole batch.

  “This is a perfect example of why we don’t go by plastic numbers,” explains Millenium Recycling. “A #1 clamshell container is NOT the same as a #1 bottle and they cannot be recycled the same way.”

  Size matters too. No matter the type of plastic, if it’s smaller than three inches, most recycling processors don’t want it cluttering up their works. Given that, the Washington Post recently advised simply throwing away any plastic that doesn’t fit in the palm of your hand. Thinness is another liability — which means your plastic forks, spoons and straws are also a no-go.

  Then there’s color discrimination — any kind of black plastic is pretty much guaranteed not to be recycled, because infrared scanners in automated sorting machines aren’t able to “see” most black plastic. And while clear #1 PET bottles are at the top of the recyclability list, colored PET bottles are less favored.

  

  The public’s falsely favorable perception of plastic recycling has been deliberately cultivated. Knowing consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their purchase decisions, plastic manufacturers and product-packagers are quick to say a package is recyclable — failing to differentiate between plastics that are technically recyclable and those that are actually being recycled in practice.

  Three plastics — #1 PET, #2 HDPE and #5 PP —have been granted the designation of “widely recyclable” by How2Recycle, a consortium founded by Exxon Mobil and other plastics producers. However, only about 2.7% of #5 PP is being recycled today. Regardless, you may see “widely recyclable” printed on a yogurt tub that has a slim chance of being recycled. Environmentalists have cried foul, urging the EPA to take control of such designations to prevent consumers from being misled.

  However, governments get in on the deception too. Many cities, states and countries calculate their recycling rate based merely on what’s diverted from landfills — even if that plastic is incinerated or shipped off to another country where its fate is far from certain. More on that in a moment.

  Mythology surrounding plastic recycling is also reinforced by a decades-long stream of public service ads. While they ostensibly encourage recycling, critics say their real purpose is divert the public from challenging plastic’s domination of packaging, by cultivating a falsely rosy view of what recycling is accomplishing.

  The most famous such ad was the “crying Indian” commercial that debuted in 1971. More recently, you’ve surely seen the ad that shows a plastic bottle — personified with a vulnerable yet determined female voice — blowing down streets, roads and highways before finally being placed in a recycling bin by a passer-by, and then happily turned into a park bench overlooking the sea.
  

  Neither the crying Indian nor the talking bottle are brought to you by environmentalists. They were underwritten by chemical and consumer product companies. While the ads are attributed to Keep America Beautiful, that entity is itself the creation of major packaging and beverage companies.

  “The marketing of it, for decades, has been ‘You’re saving the Earth. That’s all you need to do, public. Keep consuming. You can do all this disposability and all you have to do is simply put it in that blue bin — your job as a citizen is done’,” the Burbank Recycling Center’s Amy Hammes told NPR. “So it led to more disposability, really, because we had that Get Out Of Jail Free card to ease our guilt.”

  To a great extent, America’s entire recycling regime is the creation of the companies that profit from plastics. Staring down the barrel of proposed plastic bans in the late 1980s, big oil and chemical companies created The Council for Solid Waste Solutions, which funded municipal-recycling pilot programs.

  “The industry attitude was, we’ll set this up and get it going, but if the public wants it, they are going to have to pay for it,” Ronald Liesemer, who was tasked with setting the wheels in motion told PBS. “Making recycling work was a way to keep their products in the marketplace.”

  Today, it’s increasingly clear that plastic recycling isn’t working, and the most emphatic criticism is coming from environmentalists. “Plastic recycling is a dead-end street,” Greenpeace bluntly declared in a 2022 report that concisely summed up plastic recycling’s empty environmental promise:

  “Mechanical and chemical recycling of plastic waste has largely failed and will always fail because plastic waste is: extremely difficult to collect, virtually impossible to sort for recycling, environmentally harmful to reprocess, often made of and contaminated by toxic materials, and not economical to recycle.”

  It’s important to note that, unlike infinitely-recyclable aluminum, plastic can only be recycled two or three times before it degrades beyond usefulness. And unlike the aluminum, recycled plastic costs a lot more than new plastic.

  Despite more than a generation of effort, only 8.7% of plastic waste is being recycled in the United States, according to the EPA’s most recent data, compared to 68.2% of paper and cardboard and 50.4% of aluminum — materials you can put in your blue bin with relative contentment.

  What happens to all the plastic that’s rejected by recyclers? It may be incinerated or sent to a landfill. That’s the good news. Believe it or not, some of plastic that Americans diligently “recycle” is dumped into rivers, fields or oceans halfway around the Earth.

  

  America has long shipped much of its unwanted plastic overseas. For years, China was the largest importer by far, using cheap labor to pick by hand through millions of tons of plastic. Irresponsible handling of all that material — from toxic open-air burn-piles to illegal dumping of undesirable plastic— meant China was also importing pollution on an enormous scale.

  In 2018, China effectively slammed the door shut on the import of plastic trash. However, other developing countries stepped up; among them, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Predictably, the same terrible practices that caused China to change course are being observed in these countries too, with processors extracting the “good stuff” from piles of unsorted plastic and putting the rest wherever they feel like it.

  Just as the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, it turns out the plastic “recycling” stream may ultimately deposit your #5 yogurt tub or #1 blueberry carton into an Asian river, and then the Pacific Ocean.

  Delusions about plastic recycling contribute to collateral harms at home too. “If you rinse a plastic bottle in hot water, the net result is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than if you threw it in the garbage,” former New York Times science writer John Tierney told John Stossel.

  That’s tough enough to hear in the context of a bottle that actually gets recycled. Now imagine the incalculable volume of hot water that’s been pointlessly poured on plastics that never had a prayer of being recycled — because local governments didn’t want to burden citizens with the truth about recycling’s viability.

  Even at its best moments, plastic recycling is itself a source of waste and pollution. In processing a batch of those relatively-prized #1 PET bottles, about 30% of the material is typically wasted and must be disposed of. Meanwhile, the processing of plastic trash consumes energy, with much of the energy consumed by processing plastic that won’t be recycled. All that processing also generates microplastics, and the release of toxins associated with the thousands of chemicals that are added to plastics in the original manufacturing process.

  “Americans support recycling. We do too,” wrote former EPA administrator Judith Enck and Last Beach Cleanup founder Jan Dell at The Atlantic. “But although some materials can be effectively recycled and safely made from recycled content, plastics cannot. Plastic recycling does not work and will never work.”

  

  Since the 1970s, environmentalists have used the slogan “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” To some, the biggest collateral harm of plastic recycling is that it shifts attention away from the “Reduce” component — reducing the production of plastic in the first place, by replacing it with an alternative.

  While it’s universally resented, plastic dominates packaging because of its many beneficial attributes — which include being lightweight, inexpensive and durable. Amid broad yearning for plastic to be replaced — perhaps via government dictates — we should all keep in mind economist Thomas Sowell’s invaluable caution about any policy question: “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.”

  • If you replace plastic with something heavier, transporting it will consume more energy. More weight on truck tires means they wear faster — and tires are themselves a major generator of microplastics.

  • If you replace plastic with something more expensive, you make food and other products less affordable — especially for poor people.

  • If you replace plastic with something less durable and sealable, you’ll increase contamination, spoilage, and maybe even sickness.

  One potential replacement is bioplastic made from corn or sugar beets. Such a “natural” solution has instinctive appeal, but critics say bioplastics can have an even worse environmental impact, thanks to emissions associated with agriculture. Similarly, researchers last year concluded that alternatives like glass, paper and metals have worse greenhouse gas emission profiles than plastic.

  

  That’s not to say we should throw in the towel on seeking viable plastic alternatives that have a better end-to-end environmental profile. In the meantime, however, a case can be made that the best way to handle our plastic trash is to send it straight to landfills, rather than continuing to embrace a fiction plastered over the hard truth of plastic recycling. After all, much of your “recycled” plastic is going to landfills already.

  Instinct may tell you that putting an empty blueberry carton in a landfill is nearly as bad as throwing it in a river. If so, it may be because your vision of a landfill doesn’t match the reality of today’s modern, regulated facilities. As civil engineer and hydrologist BJ Campbell explains:

  [Modern landfills] are sealed on the bottom with geotechnical fabric to prevent leachate from entering the groundwater. They burn off, or sometimes even harvest, the methane produced from decomposition. Landfill cells are capped off with clay or bentonite to protect the environment. And then often they’re turned into parks or golf courses at the end.

  What about decomposition and seepage into the soil? Modern landfills have an ongoing mechanism for collecting that liquid waste — or “leachate” — the collects at the bottom. Researchers from the University of Illinois who scoured the leachate flowing from four landfills were pleasantly surprised by the low volume of microplastics they found. In a 2024 study published in Science of the Total Environment, they reported that landfills “retain most of the plastic waste that is dumped there, and wastewater treatment plants remove 99% of the microplastics…from the wastewater and leachate” that comes from the landfills.

  Lest this sound like a landfill PR piece, note that researchers found higher levels of a different type of contaminant — PFAS, aka “forever chemicals” — than they expected. We should also acknowledge that, despite the promising findings regarding plastic retention in the examined landfills, no man-made system is immune to failures.

  It’s often said that we’re going to run out of space for all our trash. In turns out that widely-held assumption is, well, rubbish. “If you think of the United States as a football field, all the garbage that we will generate in the next one thousand years would fit inside a tiny fraction of the one-inch line,” notes science writer Tierney.

  Eliminating largely fictional plastic “recycling” and sending plastic straight to landfills isn’t an appealing choice, but it bears repeating: There are no solutions, only trade-offs.

  Where environmental issues are concerned, the sheer volume of trade-offs is dizzying. Amid that daunting cloud of variables, one thing is certain: From the question of what to do with today’s plastic to the pursuit of viable plastic alternatives, rational evaluation of trade-offs is impeded by mythology that masks the stark realities of plastic-recycling.

  Stark Realities undermines official narratives, demolishes conventional wisdom and exposes fundamental myths across the political spectrum. Read more and subscribe for free at starkrealities.substack.com  

  

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

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 20:55

• Trump Envoy Demands Hezbollah Be Booted From Lebanese Govt In 'Red Line'
  Trump Envoy Demands Hezbollah Be Booted From Lebanese Govt In ‘Red Line’

  Trump’s newly appointed regional diplomat, United States deputy envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, is in Lebanon where she’s bringing serious pressure to bear on the Lebanese government.

  She’s demanding that Hezbollah be swiftly booted from Lebanon’s government. “We have set clear red lines … that [Hezbollah] won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government,” Ortagus told reporters.

  Ortagus issued the words after meeting with Lebanon’s new president Joseph Aoun. She declared in a news conference that Hezbollah has been “defeated” by Israel after a multi-month bombing campaign where Israeli jets obliterated many buildings in central and southern Beirut.

  

  This included the killing of longtime Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his top officials in a Sept. 27 Israeli strike on Dahieh. The covert pager attacks during the middle of that month also killed and wounded dozens of Hezbollah commanders, but also killed children who were innocent bystanders.

  Ortagus, who replaced Biden’s envoy Amos Hochstein, expressed that “We are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah.” Many Lebanese civilians were also killed in the Israeli bombing raids, but Ortagus did not emphasize this, which is unlikely to make her many friends among the Lebanese population.

  “It is thanks to the Lebanese President Aoun and the Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam and everyone in this government who is committed to an end of corruption, who is committed to reforms and who is committed to making sure that Hezbollah is not a part of the new government in any form,” she continued.

  The reality is that this is not something practically achievable, given Hezbollah maintains widespread support across various parts of the Lebanese population, and any attempt to force it out of parliament would likely trigger another civil war.

  Lebanon’s government has been traditionally apportioned along the lines of sectarian representation, based on a census which happened many decades ago earlier in the 20th century. The country hasn’t dared attempted a census since, given fears that fighting would break out between Maronite Christians, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and Druze. Demographics have shifted in favor of the Muslim population, and likely the offices of prime minister and the presidency would be taken from the Christians in this scenario.

  The NY Times has observed further of the precarious situation the government finds itself in:

  Her remarks came after she met with Mr. Aoun, whose election by Lebanese lawmakers last month ended years of political gridlock.

  Mr. Aoun has appointed a new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, but the new leadership has so far not formed a government. Senior government posts in Lebanon have traditionally been divided up among the country’s sectarian communities under a decades-old power sharing agreement.

  The diplomatic pressure comes at a delicate time for Lebanon. Under the terms of a 60-day cease-fire that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in November, Israeli troops were supposed to have withdrawn by now from Lebanon.

  Another practical difficulty regarding US demands is that the Lebanese Army is weak, under-trained, and most importantly under-equipped. Washington has sanctioned and limited how much military equipment Lebanon can receive. 

  Many Lebanese commentators were outraged over Ortagus’ visit and stance:

  ⚠️ Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus, infringing on Lebanese sovereignty straight from the Lebanese Presidential Palace in Baabda, while wearing the Star of David on her finger.
  Intentionally provocative on all levels.

  “Israel defeated Hezbollah & we are… pic.twitter.com/luv37k4xur

  — Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber) February 7, 2025

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Lebanon’s tiny air force is not even allowed to have jets, but has only been given what are essentially armed crop-dusting planes. The US in one breath demands the Lebanese Army boot Hezbollah from power, but in the next prevents it from having the arms necessary to do so. So these Trump demands of a Hezbollah exit from the country will remain but empty posturing.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 20:30

• Death And Taxes: A New Take On An Old Problem
  Death And Taxes: A New Take On An Old Problem

  Authored by Robert F. Mancuso via RealClearMarkets,

  Death and taxes. They are often called the only two certainties in life.  Yet for countless family-held businesses, these inevitabilities collide when the owner passes away. There are millions of family-held businesses across this country. Many are at risk: when transferring ownership from one generation to the next, financial obligations often threaten the family business’s very existence.

  

  Take, for example, the case of Courtney Silver and Ketchie, Inc., a third-generation machine shop based in Concord, North Carolina. Tragically, Courtney lost her husband to brain cancer, and at the same time had to focus on keeping the family business afloat. She was worried, as she testified before Congress just this month, about the “looming tax bill” that could have shut down the company. Her story mirrors many others who encounter unexpected tax liabilities following deaths in the family.

  This year, Congress is set to debate on and legislate countless tax proposals, which will have far reaching impacts on communities, industries, and families across the country.

  While debates over income taxes dominate headlines, comparatively little attention is given to federal estate taxes. In fiscal year 2023, the tax generated $33.7 billion—just 0.8% of federal revenue and 0.1% of GDP, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. While it’s a drop in the bucket in terms of federal revenue, its impacts are far reaching.

  According to Cerulli Associates, the “Great Wealth Transfer” underway will amount to as much as $124 trillion in inheritance through 2048. The Baby Boomer generation has started passing on its wealth to subsequent generations, and the sums involved only grow larger with every passing year.  Much of this wealth is held in family businesses, whose valuations have soared due to inflation, asset appreciation, and robust market performance. A business worth $20 million a decade ago might now be worth $50 million – a figure that can trigger significant estate tax liabilities upon the founder’s death. For context, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 17,832 in January 2015 and reached 41,938 in January 2025.

  When a founder dies and the next generation inherits a thriving enterprise, the tax bill can be enormous. If the business’s heirs don’t have the liquidity to cover the tax, they may be forced to sell off assets, take on crushing debt, or, as is often the case: liquidate entirely.

  Compounding matters, a dozen states and the District of Columbia impose estate taxes, and six others levy inheritance taxes. Maryland uniquely enforces both. Top state estate tax rates reach 20% in Hawaii and Washington, while seven states, including New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts, impose a 16% rate. Combined with the federal tax, these rates can exceed 50% of an estate’s value, jeopardizing the survival of family businesses.

  This burden exists despite the immense contribution family businesses make to the economy. Representing nearly 65% of U.S. GDP and serving as the largest employer, these enterprises often lack the lobbying power of other industries. Pharmaceuticals, transportation, oil and gas, and agriculture all have advocates in Washington, ensuring legislation doesn’t cripple their industries. Family businesses, by contrast, must often fend for themselves.

  Many are woefully unprepared. Although estimates vary, there are a minimum of five million family-held businesses in the United States; and, according to a 2021 Family Business Survey by PWC, only one-third have a documented succession plan in place. Confidentiality—valued by many families—often leads to secrecy about a business’s worth, even among family members. Add to this mix the complications of divorce or inter-family grievances, and the result is widespread unpreparedness for the inevitable.

  When these businesses are forced to sell or liquidate simply to pay estate taxes, it is not just the families who lose. Employees lose jobs, communities lose vital institutions, and the economy loses key contributors to growth and innovation.

  The Great Wealth Transfer presents an urgent call to action. Family businesses should prioritize planning long before a founder’s death to ensure they have enough liquidity to pay these estate taxes. Death is inevitable, but its timing is unknowable. Preparation is therefore critical.

  Several proactive steps can mitigate the financial burden of estate taxes. These measures must be implemented while the founders are alive and well. From strategic estate planning to utilizing specific financial tools, families can ensure their businesses—and legacies—survive. The process requires education, commitment, and a deep respect for the sacrifices and hard work that built these enterprises.

  By taking steps now, family businesses can secure their futures, protect employees, and guarantee thriving communities. Nothing is more vital than securing your family’s destiny and safeguarding the cornerstone of your shared future.

  With proper planning, founders of family-held businesses can create a “new take on an old problem.”

  Robert F. Mancuso was the first President and Chief Executive Officer of Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Merrill, and was an attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier in his career. He is the founder of White Knight Capital, which through its Capri Capital Partners Fund focuses exclusively on helping mid-sized family held businesses preserve their legacies.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 20:05

• More Government Workers Accept Trump Admin Buyout Offer, Official Says
  More Government Workers Accept Trump Admin Buyout Offer, Official Says

  The number of workers who have decided to accept the buyout offer from the Trump administration has risen by about 25,000, according to a White House official, with some 65,000 government employees now having signed up for the offer.

  

  That was up from more than 20,000 on Feb. 4 and more than 40,000 on Thursday morning.

  As Zachary Stieber reports for The Epoch Times, the buyout offer is a deferred resignation that pays workers until Sept. 30.

  One worker, based in the Pacific Northwest, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that she took the offer on Thursday. She hopes to use the opportunity to move overseas but said that even if the money never comes, she still wants out. She says she is unwilling to comply with the new administration’s policies, including the elimination of diversity initiatives, and worries that the situation will only get worse for people who stay.

  After entering office in January, President Donald Trump ordered federal employees back to the office and directed officials to impose stricter performance standards.

  The Trump administration says that those and other changes mean that the majority of federal agencies will likely see a reduction in employees.

  “If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce. At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” a message from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management told government workers.

  “If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program.”

  Workers could start resigning on Jan. 28. The original deadline was Feb. 6, but a judge ordered the government to push it back until Feb. 10.

  One worker, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the judge’s decision bolstered suspicions that the deferred resignation program was legally questionable.

  The new deadline is Monday, Feb. 10, at 11:59 p.m. ET, the government told workers in a letter after the order was handed down.

  “Should you wish to pursue Deferred Resignation please reply to this email from your government email with the word ’resign,’” the email reads.

  A hearing will take place that day in a case brought by unions that could result in the deadline being delayed further.

  Unions said in court filings that they don’t know whether the government can honor the buyout offer since congressional appropriations don’t currently run until the fall. They said the offer is illegal because it’s arbitrary and capricious in part due to “run[ning] counter to long-standing rules and requirements for federal employees.”

  Government lawyers said in response that the offer is legal because it is, rather than being a final agency action, “a matter of pure internal governmental administration and, in all events, imposes no legal right or obligation on anyone, let alone Plaintiffs.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 19:40

• Trump Says He Will Investigate California's High-Speed Rail Project
  Trump Says He Will Investigate California’s High-Speed Rail Project

  Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

  President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that his administration will investigate the long-delayed California high-speed rail project, which was authorized by voters in the state in 2008.

  

  California has dedicated billions to the project so far, yet no track has been laid. According to recent California High-Speed Rail Authority disclosures, 38 structures and 39 miles of guideway have been completed after spending $13.6 billion.

  Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said it is the “worst managed project” he has seen and “hundreds of billions of dollars” over budget.

  The president said the overruns for the rail project, expected to span approximately 460 miles once complete, are the worst of any project in the history of the United States.

  “You could take every single person that was going to go on the train and get the finest limousine service in the world, and take them back and forth with limousines, and you’d have hundreds of billions of dollars left over,” Trump said.

  “It is the worst thing, and we’re going to start an investigation of that because it’s not possible.”

  The state is currently focused on building 171 miles of train line from Merced to Bakersfield in California’s Central Valley.

  California Policy Center Visiting Fellow Marc Joffe told The Epoch Times that, like the president, he’s not optimistic about the high-speed rail’s future.

  “If things go according to plan, they’ll have spent a total of $35 billion,” he said of the Bakersfield-Merced line.

  “The original estimate for that same length of track from Anaheim to San Francisco was $33 billion.”

  From the proposed Los Angeles-area station to San Francisco, the overall project is expected to cost up to $128 billion—$95 billion more than originally projected.

  Joffe said the overages are due to numerous reasons, such as disorganization on the part of the state at the start of the rail project.

  “They’ve also had a lot of trouble acquiring all of the land that they needed,” he said. Instead of running the track along or in the median of I-5, the state decided to run the line through the Central Valley.

  “That required them to work out deals with landowners or exercise eminent domain,” Joffe said. “That all takes a lot of time.”

  The bullet train is being built by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, a state agency established in 1996.

  The authority’s CEO Ian Choudri spoke about the project with reporters Jan. 30 during an industry forum in Sacramento.

  “I stepped into this role knowing very well the path forward would be challenging. It’s not going to be easy. But we are definitely going to work together to make it happen,” Choudri said.

  “The Authority is laser-focused on building more and getting it delivered sooner, economically smarter, and faster. And we can do it. It’s not complicated.”

  Choudri said the project will be run responsibly. “We will run it like a business and make sure we are investing every dollar wisely.”

  The latest official project update was released by the state in 2023, according to the California Legislature’s biennial update requirements. That same year the federal government earmarked $6 billion for the high-speed rail project. In 2019, Trump criticized the project and rescinded nearly $1 billion in federal funding.

  California Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated progress on the project on Jan. 6 and said passengers could begin riding the high-speed trains by as early as 2030.

  “We’re moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments, and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network,” Newsom said in a statement. “The future of transportation is being realized right here in the Central Valley with thousands of good paying jobs already created and 171 miles being worked on. As only California can, we’re building America’s biggest infrastructure project.”

  In contrast, during his first State of the State message in February 2019, Newsom had said the project would be too expensive and time-consuming.

  “The project, as currently planned, would cost too much and take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency,” the governor said. “Right now, there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to LA. I wish there were.”

  “However, we do have the capacity to complete a high-speed rail link between Merced and Bakersfield. I know that some critics will say this is a ‘train to nowhere.’ But that’s wrong and offensive,” Newsom added.

  Then Gov. Jerry Brown approved legislation authorizing the commencement of construction for the project in 2012.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 19:15

• Syria's New HTS Government Clashes With Hezbollah On Lebanese Border In First
  Syria’s New HTS Government Clashes With Hezbollah On Lebanese Border In First

  For the first time since Assad’s ouster in early December, Syrian Army under the new Islamist government of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have entered areas of Hermel, Lebanon, resulting in fierce clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

  The border breach came amid internecine fighting this week along the border, which Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported as involving “artillery shelling and heavy machine gun fire on the town of Jarmash on the city of Hermel’s northern border with Syria.”

  

  Jarmash actually precisely straddles the border, with one part of it in Lebanese territory and the other in Syria. The Lebanese national army has said it is not involve, as this involves local militia forces. However, Lebanese national troops have been sent to secure the border area.

  Unverified social media fighters have shown HTS jihadists launching shoulder-fired rockets onto Lebanese towns, and others show the militants firing blindly and wildly.

  This particular border area was also a hotspot of fighting involving Shia and Sunni militants at the height of the Syrian proxy war of the last decade:

  The fighting, which began early Thursday, escalated as Syrian forces repelled Hezbollah’s attempted advances near the Syrian town of Al Qusayr, a longtime stronghold of the Iran-backed group.

  A field source told The Media Line that Hezbollah fighters launched multiple attempts to push into Al Qusayr but were met with heavy resistance from the Syrian Army, which forced them back into Lebanon. As the situation escalated, Syrian forces crossed into Hawik, a Lebanese town in the Hermel region, where intense combat forced Hezbollah elements to retreat.

  There are reports that amid a pause in the fighting and following casualties, hostage exchanges will commence.

  Syria’s HTS-led government had previously announced it was launching an “extensive campaign” along Lebanese border areas to crack down on smuggling, but tribes and militias which have long overseen illegal border trade are firing back.

  This week’s fighting is a first such instance of HTS and Lebanese militants clashing, and at this rate it’s unlikely to be the last.

  HTS militants firing into Lebanon:

  Syrian Army striking positions of Hezbollah-affiliated gangs on the Syria-Lebanon border. pic.twitter.com/ucbOEljIMa

  — Clash Report (@clashreport) February 7, 2025

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “The town of Hawik is known as a hotbed for smuggling between Lebanon and Syria,” Beirut-based The Cradle writes. “Earlier this week, the HTS-led Military Operations Department deployed forces to set up checkpoints in an attempt to thwart smuggling.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 18:50

• DOJ Issues Directive Ending Biden-Era Task Force Aimed At Seizing Assets Of Russian Oligarchs
  DOJ Issues Directive Ending Biden-Era Task Force Aimed At Seizing Assets Of Russian Oligarchs

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

  The Department of Justice (DOJ) disbanded a program started under the Biden administration that sought to seize Russian oligarchs’ assets after the war in Ukraine started.

  

  In a memo released this week to DOJ employees on Wednesday, new Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office said that the effort, called the Task Force KleptoCapture, will end in order to shift DOJ focus on targeting criminal gangs and drug cartels.

  That memo said that “attorneys assigned to those initiatives shall return to their prior posts, and resources currently devoted to those efforts shall be committed to the total elimination of Cartels and TCOs,” referring to transnational criminal organizations.

  “This policy requires a fundamental change in mindset and approach,” Bondi also said in the directive, adding that resources now devoted to enforcing sanctions and seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs will now directed at Mexican cartels.

  Weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland launched the KleptoCapture program to put pressure on Russia’s finances in order to stop the war. Nearly three years from the start of the conflict, fighting still rages in eastern Ukraine, although the Trump administration has said that President Donald Trump would seek to end the conflict.

  At the time, Garland said that the law enforcement group would focus on enforcing sanctions and placing other penalties on high-level Russian officials and business people in order to prevent Russia from accessing global markets.

  “Arrests and prosecution will be sought when supported by the facts and the law,” the DOJ said in its announcement at the time. “Even if defendants cannot be immediately detained, asset seizures and civil forfeitures of unlawful proceeds—including personal real estate, financial and commercial assets—will be used to deny resources that enable Russian aggression.”

  This week, Trump said there has been progress made on ending the Russia–Ukraine war, after he said during his 2024 campaign that he would stop the conflict within 24 hours of taking office.

  “We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine,” Trump said earlier this week while speaking to reporters at the Oval Office. “We’ll see what happens. We’re going to stop that ridiculous war.”

  Meanwhile, Trump last month signed an executive order—one of many targeting illegal immigration and border security—that classifies drug cartels and two criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.

  “It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States,” the order stated.

  And late last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News that after Trump’s executive order, “all options will be on the table” for U.S. military intervention against Mexican cartels.

  “So the president will make that call. I’ll work with him in that decision-making process. Ultimately, we will hold nothing back to secure the American people,” he said.

  Trump often said during his presidential campaign that he would use the U.S. military against the cartels and has suggested that special forces could be sent into Mexico.

  The Epoch Times contacted the DOJ for additional comment on Friday.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 18:25

• Trump Signs Order Sanctioning The Hague's ICC Over Treatment Of Israel
  Trump Signs Order Sanctioning The Hague’s ICC Over Treatment Of Israel

  President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the Hague-based court targeted Israeli and American officials and their allies, according to a White House official.

  The administration official cited that the order will “implement financial and visa sanctions on individuals and their family members who assist in ICC investigations of U.S. citizens or allies.”

  

  The court has had a long-running investigation against the US over alleged troop war crimes committed in Afghanistan. During the first Trump administration, initial retaliatory sanctions were imposed on the ICC in 2020.

  And more recently the ICC has issued an arrest warrant last year for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who just visited the White House and met with Trump this week.

  The new executive order is clearly timed on the immediate heels of the Trump meeting with Netanyahu, who is unable to travel to many European states and other countries for fear of arrest.

  The Trump-signed order states that “The ICC was designed to be a court of last resort” and that “Both the United States and Israel maintain robust judiciary systems and should never be subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC.”

  Biden had actually reversed Trump’s 2020 sanctions in order to back ICC investigations into Russian war crimes in Ukraine; however, Trump reversed Biden’s ending of the sanctions on his first day back in office.

  Washington has had a shaky relationship with the ICC going back to the Bush years. Republicans railed against the idea that top US officials could be tried.

  Of course, the US has backed ICC convictions when it comes to trying and convicting tin-pot banana republic dictators and warlords, or Serbian war criminals. The Hague has recently come under scrutiny for seeming to only bringing war criminals in the third world, such as in Africa, to justice. 

  Meanwhile…

  

  However, it just so happens that Western leaders, troops, and officials always seem to conveniently “evade” justice – even for things like the Iraq War, where torture by allied forces of local Iraqis was later shown to be rampant. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 18:00

• America's Electric Grid Is At Risk – And We Need Coal To Save It
  America’s Electric Grid Is At Risk – And We Need Coal To Save It

  Authored by Emily Arthun via RealClearEnergy,

  A recent report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) sounds the alarm: America’s power grid is becoming dangerously unreliable. The nation is hurtling toward a future where rolling blackouts and power shortages will be the norm rather than the exception. At the heart of this crisis is the closure of baseload coal plants, a move that is leaving our electric system vulnerable to demand surges and extreme weather events, and our people subject to skyrocketing electric bills.

  

  NERC’s latest assessment reveals an unsettling reality: the rapid shift away from coal and other reliable baseload power sources is pushing our electric grid to the brink. More than half of the U.S. faces an elevated risk of power shortages, particularly during peak demand periods in summer and winter. The root cause? The aggressive push to retire coal-fired power plants without ensuring an adequate and reliable replacement.

  While renewable energy sources like wind and solar are expanding, they are not yet capable of providing the always-available, on-demand power that coal and other baseload sources deliver. When the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing, grid operators must scramble to fill the gap. Too often, they are left with insufficient options, leading to potential shortfalls that can cripple homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure.

  The Reliability Crisis

  NERC’s findings make one thing clear: reliability is at stake. Energy demand is increasing exponentially, driven by factors such as electrification, population growth, and the rise of energy-intensive technologies like data centers. At the same time, dispatchable generation—power that can be turned on or off as needed—are disappearing.

  This gap leaves the grid exposed to extreme weather events. In recent years, we have seen where coal has been there to keep our power flowing:

  • Winter Storm Uri (2021): Texas experienced widespread blackouts, leaving millions without power and causing over 200 deaths. The cold temperatures experienced in Texas during Uri led to natural gas supply issues and frozen wind turbines creating an insufficient base-load of power.
  • California’s Rolling Blackouts (2020): A combination of heat waves and inadequate power supply forced California to implement rolling blackouts, impacting millions.
  • Christmas 2022 Outages: Severe cold across the Eastern U.S. led to power shortages as demand surged, highlighting the dangers of relying too heavily on intermittent energy sources.
  • January 2024: During a cold snap MISO showed that 38,508 MW of energy from coal led the energy mix, keeping the heat on.
  • January 2025: The country saw an extended cold snap and coal power production was the highest since 2019 reported LSEG.

  NERC warns that immediate action needs to be taken to shore up the grid with reliable, baseload power.

  Why Coal Remains Essential

  Coal has long served as the backbone of America’s electric grid, providing a stable and affordable power source that can be counted on during peak demand. Unlike wind and solar, coal generation is not subject to weather variability. Unlike natural gas, coal is stored on site and in the short term is not susceptible to supply chain disruptions or price volatility.

  Despite this, policymakers continue to prioritize the rapid transition away from coal, often without considering the consequences. The closure of coal plants is driven by regulatory pressures, market distortions favoring renewables, and misguided environmental policies that fail to account for the grid reliability crisis.

  The loss of coal-fired generation doesn’t just threaten reliability; it also drives up electricity costs for consumers. Without coal’s stabilizing effect on the market, electricity prices become more volatile, hitting households and businesses with higher bills.

  Moreover, shifting too quickly to an over-reliance on renewables requires massive investments in energy storage, transmission upgrades, and backup power sources. These costs ultimately fall on ratepayers, making electricity less affordable for millions of Americans.

  To avoid a full-blown reliability crisis, we must take a balanced approach to energy policy. This means:

  • Halt Premature Coal Plant Retirements: Policymakers should pause the closure of existing coal plants until replacement generation with equal reliability is available.
  • Invest in Advanced Coal Technology: High-efficiency, low-emission (HELE) coal plants and carbon capture technologies can ensure coal remains a viable part of a cleaner energy future.
  • Restore Market Fairness: Energy markets should recognize the value of baseload power and compensate coal plants for their role in ensuring grid stability.
  • Reevaluate Renewable Integration:Renewables have a role to play, they must be integrated in a way that does not jeopardize reliable affordable power supply This means investing in firm, dispatchable power sources alongside renewables.

  NERC’s report should serve as a wake-up call. The U.S. cannot afford to gamble with its electric grid. Reliable and affordable power supply is not just a convenience—it’s a necessity for economic stability, public safety, and national security. Coal has been and should continue to be a key part of our energy mix, ensuring that the American citizen has access to reliable energy , even in the toughest conditions. Policymakers must act now to protect America’s energy future before it is too late. If not, the simple fact is that lives will be needlessly endangered.

  Emily Arthun is CEO at the American Coal Council.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 17:40

• "Pattern Locked" For "Non-Stop Storms" To Pepper Lower 48, "Snowmaggedon" Risks For Northeast
  “Pattern Locked” For “Non-Stop Storms” To Pepper Lower 48, “Snowmaggedon” Risks For Northeast

  A series of winter storms is set to traverse the central and eastern United States through mid-February, bringing a mix of snow, ice, and rain. The next big round of winter precipitation could occur as early as next week. 

  Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore provided more color on the active storm pattern on X:

  This pattern is locked and loaded right now. Non-stop storms will pepper the USA through mid-month and likely beyond. 

  Of course the devil is always in the details, but 3 impact events are likely Monday through Sunday of next week which will carry all hazards to some extent.  Again not crippling, but impactful.

  ECMWF below (out through the 18th) is locked into mean trough in the west with large-scale, Gulf moisture loving systems ejecting east.  Still looking at potential for first upper end AR (atmospheric river) for southern CA next Thursday.

  Cantore’s map, showing the active storm pattern, suggests that residents in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast should be on alert for potential adverse weather conditions next week.

  This pattern is locked and loaded right now. Non-stop storms will pepper the USA through mid-month and likely beyond.

  Of course the devil is always in the details, but 3 impact events are likely Monday through Sunday of next week which will carry all hazards to some extent.… pic.twitter.com/zY80QG94ve

  — Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) February 7, 2025

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Several meteorologists on X have posted models showing the potential threat of “Snowmeggedon” in the Northeast through the midpoint of the month.

  GFS 18z model update:

  24″-36″ of snow expected in the next 10-days across the Northeast including NYC and Boston.

  Are you not entertained?❄️ pic.twitter.com/njuldizvvt

  — Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) February 6, 2025

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  The theme of endless snowstorms continues on the 18z GFS…

  If these models are even half correct, this will be a memorable February.

  This map represents a running total out to the morning of Feb 20th and includes 6-7 different storms.

  Snow lovers are going to be swimming like… pic.twitter.com/P7o8to1s4x

  — Mark Margavage (@MeteoMark) February 6, 2025

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Euro Snowmeggedon run for the northest, upcoming 15 days and period thru St Pattys day. Jackie Chiles sums it up pic.twitter.com/WjG47S8qSa

  — The American Storm (@BigJoeBastardi) February 6, 2025

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “It’s like déjà vu all over again!” Yogi Berra. Another round of Snow/Sleet and Freezing Rain (Ice) is likely again Saturday Afternoon into Saturday Night. And it still looks like the Snow Train is on track for Tuesday next week. 👇 Whew! Stay tuned… ❄️🚂 pic.twitter.com/Dg79FKzwNR

  — Tony Pann (@TonyPannWBAL) February 6, 2025

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  On Tuesday… 

  Another Polar Vortex May “Penetrate Deep” Into Lower 48 By Mid-Month https://t.co/OQkabNu6ro

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 4, 2025

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  The latest Lower 48 average temperature forecast, combined with a two-week outlook, shows that the next round of cold will be less severe than last month’s. 

  

  Last Sunday, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, signaling six more weeks of winter. Let’s hope this extreme cold comes to an end. Meanwhile, global warming alarmists in the far-left corporate media, along with Al Gore, the Democrats, and Greta, have been unusually quiet about the cold—or perhaps their USAID ‘climate change’ funds have run dry.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 17:20

• California Town Explores Installing Cameras To Monitor Migrant Boat Arrivals
  California Town Explores Installing Cameras To Monitor Migrant Boat Arrivals

  Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

  A recent uptick in the arrival of smuggled migrants landing on Southern California shores in fishing boats has prompted one coastal city to explore installing infrared cameras and possibly allowing the public to monitor the beaches at night.

  

  San Clemente, home to more than 62,000 residents and located on the coast about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, decided unanimously Feb. 4 to ask federal immigration authorities if they want to partner with the city to install a coastal surveillance system.

  Mayor Steven Knoblock discussed the idea with city councilors Tuesday and called for City Manager Andy Hall to reach out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

  While the land border crossings have dropped since President Donald Trump took office last month, the number of boats arriving on San Clemente’s shores has increased because of the city’s location just north of a federal border checkpoint on Interstate 5, according to Councilman Rick Loeffler.

  “It’s very obvious why they come in there,” Loeffler said. “It seems like [federal immigration enforcement agencies] would want to have cameras here.”

  The boats used—usually unlicensed pangas, which are small, outboard-powered boats often used for fishing—are frequently left behind as the people scatter into the community, Knoblock said.

  “More and more people are coming up by pangas,” he said. “I think it’s important that they be identified. This is a public safety issue.”

  Migrants in the boats risk drowning if the craft overturns, especially in the last 50 feet of arrival, according to the city manager.

  Hall said Imperial Beach, Calif., located on the U.S. border in San Diego, had a similar surveillance program when he managed that city.

  During his time there, one panga overturned and all 15 passengers drowned in waist-deep water, he said.

  Knoblock floated the idea of installing three thermal imaging cameras, placed on the city pier and at north and south neighborhood locations.

  He also wanted the public to be able to access the live cameras at night after the city’s lifeguards leave for the day.

  “I just think it would be a good thing for our community to have and take an opportunity to keep an eye on their own backyard,” he said.

  

  The Rip Curl WSL Finals of Lower Trestles surf spot in San Clemente, Calif., on Sept. 8, 2023. City officials are exploring the idea of installing infrared cameras for the public to watch out for nighttime Migrant boat arrivals. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

  Councilman Zhen Wu said the city didn’t have the money to buy the cameras, but he approved of the idea.

  If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has the money or the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) wanted to install cameras on city property, “I would be open to that,” Wu said.

  Councilors also voted to place contact numbers on the city’s website so that people can call federal agencies if they see the boats arrive.

  Some residents were concerned about giving the public access to the live camera feed, but the mayor stressed the program would operate like a neighborhood watch.

  About an hour south along the San Diego County coastline, officials have reported several boats landing at area beaches to drop off smuggled immigrants in the past year.

  On Jan. 25, a boat filled with migrants capsized near a San Diego beach, sending about 20 people into the sea as lifeguards and surfers rushed to rescue them.

  It was the second boat found to be smuggling migrants into the county that day, according to the city.

  The Border Patrol did not return a request for comment about the city’s plan.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 17:00

• Watch: Maxine Waters Flips Her Wig As Dept. Of Education Employee Blocks Path
  Watch: Maxine Waters Flips Her Wig As Dept. Of Education Employee Blocks Path

  Sanpaku-eyed lawmaker Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was beside herself on Friday, after several Democratic lawmakers attempted to enter the Department of Education headquarters, only to be turned away by security official identified on social media as Jim Hairfield.

  

  Dozens of Democratic representatives traveled to the DoE building in Washington DC, demanding to be allowed inside to meet with acting Education Secretary Denise Carter. Hairfield, giving zero fucks, calmly denied their request as their performative outrage grew.

  Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and 95 of his fellow partisans had demanded an “urgent meeting” Thursday with acting secretary Denise Carter before taking matters into their own hands Friday — only to be halted by security who “locked” the building doors, a congressional aide told The Post. -NY Post

  Watch:

  Maxine Waters (D) is currently accosting random federal employees outside the Department of Education pic.twitter.com/5L8RviQ9rH

  — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 7, 2025

  “Get out of the way!” Waters erupted, adding “We pay for your job!“

  pic.twitter.com/fBpWGK20I6

  — Perfunctory (@pfunkin1) February 7, 2025

  Needless to say, we’re getting sick of your shit, Karens…

  

  President Trump has vowed to abolish the Department of Education, which was signed into legislation as a cabinet-level agency by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

  “I told Linda — ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday, referring to Education Secretary-designee, Linda McMahon. “I want her to put herself out of a job [in the] Education Department.”

  Elon Musk, meanwhile, posted a meme on X in which Jimmy Carter states “In 1979, I created the Department of Education. Since then, America went from 1st to 24th in education.”

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 16:40

• How It Worked…
  How It Worked…

  Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

  “They never prepared for algorithms that could map everything. For personnel pre-positioned everywhere. For a president who counts every week like it’s his last.” 

  – VP JD Vance

  If you wondered since 2016 how come the blob and the Democratic Party were aligned so exquisitely in their operations to destroy populism (personified by Mr. Trump) and to permanently entrench single party power in America for all time to come, it’s because an endless font of taxpayer money was streamed into countless non-governmental orgs creating a shadow civil service of Democratic Party activists that melded seamlessly with the big policy-making agencies.

  The money was laundered through manifold layers of these orgs and their sub-orgs to pay for an ongoing “color revolution” in the USA — lawfare, election fraud, propaganda, censorship, career cancellation, medical fuckery, open borders, and other totalitarian ploys — while enriching political players at all those manifold layers from multi-millionaire congressmen and senators to thousands of NGO officials making six-figure salaries to street hustlers like Patrisse Cullors of Black Lives Matter and “anti-racism” racist Ibram X. Kendi and his $50-million Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University (recently axed) — and, of course, ultimately the former Potemkin president “Joe Biden” and his family.

  It was all this money that drove eight years of sponsored insanity. Mainly, it kept the hands of the Democratic Party firmly on the levers of power so that nothing could be done about the insults and injuries they were inflicting on our country. So, is it a mystery now that nobody was prosecuted for burning the cities in 2020, or for magically creating millions of extra “Joe Biden” votes out of nowhere that year, or setting up the kickback machine from Ukraine to Congress, or forcing millions to get a janky vaccine?

  Pam Bondi is going to be a busy girl. 

  The DOGE has uncovered a government racketeering operation of which the USAID scandal is but one cog in a colossal engine of grift. What the public, including you readers, may not appreciate is how much planning went on over the past year to mount the DOGE effort, and how comprehensively the work of its many hundreds of computer techies (not just six whiz-kids) has laid bare the money-trails out of previously impenetrable government computers. Their algorithms have pierced the firewalls, revealing decades of fraud and deceit.

  

  Mr. Trump’s cabinet officers have started the job of dismantling the machine by getting rid of the employees who set it up and worked for it. By Thursday, Secretary of State Rubio, fired all but 300 of the 10,000 people working for USAID. CIA Director Ratcliffe offered the agency’s entire workforce a “deferred resignation” option that will allow them to bail out and still collect their salaries until September. Look for straight-up firings to ensue. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered the acting FBI director to terminate eight senior FBI officials and asked for a review of up to 5,000 involved in J-6 investigations (including, presumably, agents who engaged in abusive SWAT-team deployments).

  Many lawsuits have been mounted by blob-adjacent attorneys to make all this stop. But one big problem for them is that their gigantic legal fees — hundreds of dollars an hour on the meter multiplied by x-hundreds of lawyers— were previously paid by exactly those NGOs that are getting shut down now. So, perhaps you see exactly how those levers of power worked. The money will have to come from somewhere else, and I doubt that Silicon Valley billionaire blob-supporter Reid Hoffman wants to piss away the rest of his fortune on this.

  Some actual persons will have to be held accountable for all the mischief carried out in rogue agencies over many years. It has to start somewhere. I nominate Samantha Power as a first test case. She was in charge of USAID for nearly four years — until Jan 20, 2025 — including the duration of the Ukraine War. She was also personally very busy hands-on in arranging attempted color revolutions in Hungary (failed, against Viktor Orban), Georgia (failed), Mexico (failed), and Brazil (succeeded against Jair Bolsonaro). Ms. Power provided money from USAID-connected NGOs to foster instability in many more countries, including our country. It must have come as quite a shock to her that Kamala Harris did not win the 2024 election. USAID will not be paying for Ms.Power’s legal representation.

  Much more will come to shock the blobsters and their legions — though just now, as the reformation of government begins, it’s comforting just to think of all those dedicated seditionists, Wokesters, Marxians, and Jacobins unable to make their rent payments or buy groceries all of a sudden. The paychecks have stopped coming for thousands who wanted to turn American life upside-down and inside-out. This happened most colorfully at the fake-news outfit called Politico this week. Turned out they were a subsidiary of the blob. Who knew? (Everyone who was paying attention to the jive they published.) Management had to send out a memo that reporters and editors would not get paid this week, or maybe ever again. Boo hoo.

  It was also revealed this week that the Reuters News Agency, the Associated Press, The New York Times, the Wash-Po, and around 700-other news outfits altogether had been receiving financial support from USAID, the CIA, and other government entities. Now do you understand why the Democratic Party voters are so obdurately deluded and deranged?

  Besides the perfunctory lawsuits filed against DOGE and the agency chiefs, the response to all this corrective action has been surprisingly feeble. You might conclude that they couldn’t marshal the rioters this time because the money for rioters has been cut off. Instead, you saw a motley pack of political creeps — Jamie Raskin, Ayanna Pressley, Liz Warren, Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters, Jasmine Crockett , Ilhan Omar —crying crocodile tears outside USAID HQ at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. They looked like roaches after the exterminator’s visit.

  The reform of our gone-rogue government is barely underway, notwithstanding these mighty initial actions. Yet to come, you have the whole filthy underbelly of the public health agencies who brought you Covid-19. The terrified Democrats are holding back confirmation of Patel, Gabbard, and RFKJr, but even if they fail to get confirmed, the new administration will put capable figures in those jobs at FBI, ODNI, and HHS. The party of Chaos must know that they cannot stop the dismantling of their evil machine.

  Beyond these grifts lies the Okefenokee of treason, bribery, conspiracy, and sedition deriving from RussiaGate, the impeachment of 2019, and all the shenanigans emanating out of Ukraine since the Maidan Revolution in 2014. Turns out, it was all of a piece. The same cast of characters were involved in all these nefarious events. I believe we’ll see those “Joe Biden” preemptive pardons tested in the SCOTUS. You haven’t begun to hear about the cases that AG Bondi will have to consider in that giant hairball. It’s only her second day on the job. Have mercy.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/07/2025 – 16:20

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