Feb 09

Today’s News 9th February 2025

  • What Does National Security Have To Do With Soaring Defense Spending?
    What Does National Security Have To Do With Soaring Defense Spending?

    Authored by Casey Carlisle via AntiWar.com,

    Paraphrasing Thomas Jefferson, the natural progress of things is for prices to yield and for quality to gain ground.  Technology is what enables this natural progress.  Do televisions cost more now than they did in the early ‘90s?  What about mobile phones?  Same answer for both questions: both are better and less expensive today than they were in the early ‘90s, which is why one will conclude that something is awry when reading headlines like “Global Military Spending Has Almost Doubled Since the Early ‘90s.”

    USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group underway in the Atlantic

    Why has military spending almost doubled since the early ‘90s?  Arguably for the same reason hospital services have: government intervention.  Those who ‘serve’ in government endlessly tax the present because they arrogantly claim to know what the future should be rather than allow the future to unfold via voluntary exchange between producers and consumers.  Against all reason and historical precedent, they claim that, in order to stay safe, ‘defense’ spending must increase.  But that’s like claiming that, in order for eggs to contain yolks, the cost of raising chickens must necessarily outpace the rate of inflation.

    “But but but” the unthinking screech, “the world is much more dangerous today!”  Perhaps, but is warfare immune from technological advance?  No, as Jefferson’s actual quote helps explain: “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”  The world’s danger stems from governments’ interventions.  Wars aren’t cheap; governments don’t engage in them for fun.  The people would rather not fight, but instead of consulting with the people, governments conscript them.  Increased military spending is inversely proportional to market forces – the will of the people.

    Military spending has almost doubled because the government that allegedly serves us trades our present liberty for its imagined, grotesque future.  Weapons manufacturing is one of the most regulated – if not the most regulated – industries in the “land of the free,” and that regulation paves the way for the most perverse incentive imaginable: though the maiming, killing, and destruction of “them” and their cities equates to the decimation of their economy, “our” business relies on it.Y

    But work divided – not obliterated – is what enables the natural progress of things.  And when the number and duration of wars are unknown, and when that uncertainty is combined with the fact that war – at least its initial phase – is entirely devoid of market forces, weapons manufacturers can charge whatever they like, considering the governments that purchase their products spend their citizens’ money and not their own.  Governments have only what they’ve taken from the people they claim to serve, and they spend that money in the same way they obtained it: without consent.

    There’s nothing natural about military spending nearly doubling; it’s a choice, just like inflation.  But these are not choices freely made by citizens; they’re choices imposed on citizens by those who claim to serve citizens.  Where citizens do have a choice, however, is whether to enlist, but increasingly more patriots have decided to abstain from military enlistment.  Why, then, would military spending increase while the number of those ‘serving’ decreases?  Because, again, military spending is not the product of billions of freely transacting individuals but of a handful who claim with a straight face that they know better than the billions engaging in voluntary exchange (the global economy).

    “That’s just the way things are” is what the parasites hope you’ll keep chanting, but that song is better ascribed to things subjected to market forces.  “This is the way things will be” is why global military spending has doubled and will continue to increase.  As long as the government—not the people – decides which weapons will be purchased and which wars will be funded, the people will continue to fund the increasingly expensive suffering of others worldwide for the benefit of their governments.

    Casey Carlisle writes in the Pacific Northwest.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 23:20

  • CDC Reports 'Unknown' Illness Outbreak on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship
    CDC Reports ‘Unknown’ Illness Outbreak on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Nearly 100 people were sickened by an outbreak of an unknown gastrointestinal illness this week on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Radiance of the Seas, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    The Radiance of the Seas in Sydney harbour, in this undated file image. Pixabay

    The CDC said on Feb. 5 that about 89 of the 2,164 passengers on the ship were affected by the outbreak, or about 4 percent of the passengers. Two out of 910 crew members reported symptoms, the agency said.

    The primary symptoms, according to the CDC, are vomiting and diarrhea. The “causative agent” was listed as “unknown,” the agency also said.

    The Radiance of the Seas trip started on Feb. 1 and is scheduled to end on Feb. 8, while the outbreak was first reported on Feb. 5.

    Sick passengers and crew members were isolated from the rest of the individuals on the cruise ship, the CDC said. The ship also has stepped up “cleaning and disinfection procedures” and collected samples for testing to determine the nature of the outbreak, the agency said.

    Officials with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program are now “remotely monitoring the situation, including review of the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation procedures,” it added.

    While the cause of the outbreak wasn’t disclosed, the CDC noted that norovirus is generally the cause of outbreaks on cruise ships and that “finding the agent that caused an outbreak … can take time.”

    “When an outbreak occurs, people whose symptoms met the case definition are asked to provide stool or vomitus samples. These samples are tested to determine the causative agent,” the CDC said.

    Since the start of 2025, the CDC has reported six outbreaks on cruise ships, including the Radiance of the Seas trip. Three of the outbreaks were caused by norovirus, while one was caused by E. coli and other was “presumed” to have been caused by ciguatera fish poisoning, according to the agency.

    Cruise ships are required to report cases where individuals report diarrhea or vomiting, along with other symptoms, to the CDC, the agency has said.

    Norovirus Case Updates

    Cases of norovirus started surging in parts of the United States over the winter, according to government data.

    The most recent numbers from the CDC show there were 97 outbreaks of norovirus reported during the week of Jan.9, although that was down from the 128 outbreaks reported a week earlier. Numbers from the past few years show a maximum of 65 outbreaks reported during that first week of December 2024.

    A norovirus infection is characterized by sudden vomiting and diarrhea. Outbreaks are often seen on cruise ships, in congregate living situations such as nursing homes and jails, and in schools and places where people are close together.

    In a normal year, according to the CDC, norovirus causes between 19 million and 21 million cases of vomiting and diarrhea, 109,000 hospitalizations, and 900 deaths across the United States. The virus also is associated with about 495,000 emergency department visits, mostly in younger children, the CDC says. Most outbreaks occur between November and April.

    If there is a new strain of the virus, there can be upward of 50 percent more norovirus illness. the agency said. Norovirus outbreaks often occur in health care facilities, long-term care facilities, restaurants, child care centers, schools, and cruise ships.

    The Epoch Times contacted Royal Caribbean for comment on Friday.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 22:45

  • Lebanese PM Forms New Government, Includes Hezbollah, Rejecting Trump Envoy's 'Red Lines'
    Lebanese PM Forms New Government, Includes Hezbollah, Rejecting Trump Envoy’s ‘Red Lines’

    Via The Cradle

    Prime Minister Nawaf Salam officially announced the formation of a new government for Lebanon on Saturday, naming 24 ministers to his cabinet, including five allied with the so-called “Shia duo” of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.

    “Reform is the only path to salvation, and the government will work to restore trust between the citizen and the state,” Salam said during a short speech from Baabda Palace following the announcement. “The government will work in harmony among its members, and diversity will not be a source of disruption. I envision establishing a state of law and institutions, and we are laying the foundations for reform and rescue. No government formation will satisfy everyone, but we will work in unity,” the premier added.

    Via Reuters

    Salam also stressed his government would “complete the implementation of [UNSC] Resolution 1701 and the ceasefire agreement” with Israel, stressing that Israeli occupation troops must “withdraw to the last inch of Lebanese territory.”

    Lebanese officials revealed that the first Cabinet session will be held on Tuesday at Baabda Palace, following the official group photo. The successful formation of Salam’s government comes one day after US special envoy to West Asia Morgan Ortagus declared during a news conference that Hezbollah would not be a part of the Lebanese government and that its “reign of terror” was “over.”

    “We have set clear red lines from the US that they won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government,” Ortagus said while alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

    Despite Washington’s interventionist statements, the country’s new cabinet is split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, including five ministries headed by allies of Hezbollah and Amal.

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

    According to local reports, these are: Minister of Interior Ahmad Hajjar; Minister of Finance Yassine Jaber; Minister of Health Rakan Nasereddine; Minister of Labor Mohammad Haidar; and Minister of the Displaced Kamal Chehade.

    “After all the threats and arrogance, the [Shia duo] entered the government in full partnership. Not a single name has changed after Ortagus’s words, and the duo ultimately approved the appointment of the fifth minister,” Lebanese journalist Hosam Matar said via social media, referring to a reported dispute between Salam and the Shia parties over their representation in government.

    “Lebanon announces the birth of a new 24-Ministers government and did not exclude Hezbollah.” – Elijah Magnier

    According to a statement issued by the Lebanese president’s office, the new cabinet members “are nonpartisan,” and Salam’s government was formed “based on competence, experience, specialization, CV, and good reputation.” Saturday’s cabinet formation also marked the end of the caretaker government of long-serving prime minister Najib Mikati.

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

    Following general elections in 2022, Lebanon was mired in a years-long presidential deadlock. This impasse was broken late last year after the implementation of a one-sided ceasefire deal with Israel. Under heavy US and Gulf pressure, the Lebanese parliament elected former armed forces commander Joseph Aoun as President. He elected former chief judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Nawaf Salam to head the government as Prime Minister.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 22:10

  • Him & Hers Superbowl Ad Hijacks "MAHA Messaging"
    Him & Hers Superbowl Ad Hijacks “MAHA Messaging”

    The Hims & Hers Super Bowl advertisement is “illegal” due to the lack of a required disclaimer, according to a former consultant for major food and pharmaceutical companies, adding the ad’s theme ripped off RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement while promoting GLP-1 medications.

    Calley Means, the founder of TrueMed, a company that enables tax-free spending on food and exercise, wrote on X:

    This ad is illegal. Ads pushing drugs must communicate the risks of the product. This drug has pronounced side effects – but this ad promotes easy prescriptions for millennials as some kind of counter-cultural moral good. A patient advocacy group should sue – happy to help.

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

    The Hims & Hers ad is themed around “Sick of the System” and criticizes the $160 billion weight loss industry. The ad shows a “life-changing” solution: affordable weight-loss drugs while completely ignoring the true core pillar of MAHA: eating clean, healthy food and exercising. 

    Means continued: 

    The fact that they are co-opting MAHA messaging is cynical BS. We don’t have an obesity crisis because of a lack of Ozempic. It is because pharmaceutical companies have rigged out incentives to profit when we are sick.

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

    On Friday, the New York Times reported that Senators Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, and Roger Marshall, Republican of Kansas, sent a letter to the acting head of the Food and Drug Administration warning the ad “risks misleading patients.”

    “Nowhere in this promotion is there any side-effect disclosure, risk or safety information as would be typically required in a pharmaceutical advertisement,” the senators wrote. 

    However, a Hims & Hers spokesperson told CNBC in a statement:

    “We are complying with existing law and are happy to continue working with Congress and the new Administration to fix the broken health system and ensure that patients have choices for quality, safe, and affordable healthcare.”

    Hims & Hers’ marketing department quite possibly made a bad move by attempting to hijack the MAHA movement by promoting weight-loss medications. MAHA advocates for clean, nutritious food—not low-cost, experimental weight-loss drugs as a solution to America’s broken healthcare system

    Let’s not forget this about Hims & Hers…

    We wonder what MAHA’s Nicole Shanahan has to say about this ad… 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 21:35

  • Bipartisan Bill Would Ban DeepSeek AI On US Government Devices
    Bipartisan Bill Would Ban DeepSeek AI On US Government Devices

    Authored by Andrew Thornebrooke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A bipartisan pair of congressmen are introducing a bill to prohibit the use of China’s DeepSeek AI on government-issued devices.

    The DeepSeek logo is seen in this illustration taken on Jan. 29, 2025. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

    Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) are expected to introduce the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act” on Feb. 6.

    The pair serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and hope the bill will help prevent Americans from sharing sensitive, proprietary information with DeepSeek which could then be stored on servers in China accessible by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

    “The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans,” Gottheimer said in a prepared statement.

    He added that the CCP could leverage its control over servers in China to steal American contracts, financial records, and other business documents commonly uploaded to DeepSeek’s chatbot.

    “We must get to the bottom of DeepSeek’s malign activities. We simply can’t risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials and jeopardizing our national security.”

    Texas has already banned DeepSeek from government devices in the state, and Taiwan, Italy, and Australia have done the same.

    “Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. “Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”

    DeepSeek has sparked data privacy concerns following the launch of its free open-source AI model in January. The app is controlled by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, according to its privacy policy webpage.

    Major security concerns about DeepSeek center on its censorship rules, possible copyright infringement, and compliance with Chinese regulations and laws that compel individuals and companies to cooperate with Chinese authorities in their intelligence work, such as by handing over data collected both inside and outside the country.

    To that end, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Jan. 28 that the government is looking into the potential national security implications of the DeepSeek AI app.

    Founded in 2023 by Chinese businessman Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek stated the company adheres to Chinese laws and regulations, as well as “socialist core values.” Similarly, social media accounts linked to Chinese state agencies pushed narratives favoring DeepSeek prior to its mass proliferation through the U.S. marketplace earlier this month.

    DeepSeek is not the first technology platform to export the CCP’s censorship and revisionist propaganda.

    Social media giant TikTok came under fire for the same thing back in 2020, when it was found that the company’s platform suppressed content related to the CCP’s human rights abuses.

    Nor is Gottheimer and LaHood’s bill the first legal response to DeepSeek in the U.S. government.

    Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) filed his own Senate initiative in the wake of DeepSeek’s release. That effort aims to stop U.S.–China cooperation on AI development in toto by prohibiting AI products from being exported to or imported from the communist regime. The bill would also ban U.S. companies from investing in Chinese AI development.

    Gottheimer and LaHood’s joint statement said that DeepSeek’s code shared user data with China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications company that was banned in the United States for its ties to the CCP’s military wing.

    “The national security threat that DeepSeek—a CCP-affiliated company—poses to the United States is alarming,” LaHood said.

    “DeepSeek’s generative AI program acquires the data of U.S. users and stores the information for unidentified use by the CCP. Under no circumstances can we allow a CCP company to obtain sensitive government or personal data,” he added.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 21:00

  • Jim Acosta's World Bends Away From CNN, Towards The Truth
    Jim Acosta’s World Bends Away From CNN, Towards The Truth

    Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

    Jim Acosta — best known for acting like a spoiled infant refusing to give up a rattler during a Q&A with President Trump during his first term — was recently rewarded for his “journalistic integrity” by being relegated to the midnight shift on CNN.

    The network, fresh off watching its preferred Presidential candidate get blown out while the entire podcasting and “new”/alternative media world laughed and ridiculed it, is apparently rethinking its priorities. Long overdue.

    And, well, Acosta would have been relegated to the midnight slot — except, in true “you can’t fire me, I quit!” fashion — he took his ball and went home, leaving the network and announcing on air to the world he was quitting.

    The man who helped peddle both the Russian collusion hoax and “the science” during Covid on the network that outright lied to the public on multiple key issues the last decade, left with the ironic parting words:

    “Don’t give in to the lies, don’t give in to the fear.”

    That flaccid declaration was then followed by Acosta declaring he was going out on his own and moving to Substack. Acosta said on his new Substack account:

    “Let me just say this, I have had quite the day. I am going independent, at least for now. This is just the beginning, but I wanted to invite you to join me here on this platform as we talk about the day’s news, talk about politics, and so on.”

    A good friend of mine told me the other day that the world “bends to the truth.” In context, he meant that no matter what people are saying, the truth always finds a way of seeping out and imposing its will on the world.

    I couldn’t help but reflect on that while reading the news about Jim Acosta.

    It’s hilarious that over the last few years, Substack has been written off as a home for only conspiracy theorists and renegade journalists that supposedly don’t belong in the mainstream. Of course, for years, I’ve been arguing that Substack is just the opposite: a fertile breeding ground of critically thought-out ideas, raised by a collective of people who, for the most part, are interested in getting to the objective truth of matters more than anything else.

    And if I had to bet money on it, I would guess that at some point during his on-air career or off-the-air discussions, Jim Acosta joined a long chorus of people—like Chelsea Clinton—who lashed out at Substack and even, in one instance, called us Substack authors “grifters.”

    But the truth has a funny way of dishing out karma. It was arguably CNN’s inability to tell the objective truth that helped put Donald Trump into the White House this go-round. It also arguably helped accelerate the shift toward alternative media sources for people near the center of the political aisle who just have an interest in, at the very least, hearing both sides of a story.

    It’s funny now to see people like Acosta, former mainstream left-wing journalists like Taylor Lorenz, and a couple of people from The Washington Post embrace what Substack has to offer: free speech and a platform that isn’t going to censor them. If the libertarian and right-wing desire for free speech and autonomy doesn’t make sense to them—now that they are finding refuge in it—they’re never going to get it.

    🔥 50% OFF FOR LIFE: Using this coupon entitles you to 50% off an annual subscription to Fringe Finance for life: Get 50% off forever

    I’ll always think Jim Acosta is a clown for how he’s acted, but I welcome him onto the platform. After all, I acted like a infantile imbecile through most of my teen years and 20s, too. In my 30s, I committed to trying to reform my behavior actively. In my 40s, I’m seeking sobriety and even further personal growth. Maybe Jim is on a similar journey. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

    And hey — I’ve said many times over, I have no desire to hear only one side to any story, regardless of what my personal opinion is and what the topic is. I’m always interested in hearing all of the facts and then making my decision accordingly. And so, for that reason, I’ll tell you what I don’t need to if you’re already my subscriber: vibrant free speech is a beautiful thing.

    But the irony of this move isn’t lost on me and shouldn’t be lost on you either.

    Substack is a desirable place to be a journalist not just because it makes one’s individual work easy to monetize and provides a wonderful direct-to-reader experience, but because it welcomes all opinions and the company had the foresight to understand that being accepting of everybody—even those people that may have cast off the platform in days prior—is better as a long-term asset than a short-term, prideful sticking point.

    I hope it’s no secret to my subscribers that I’m immensely appreciative of having you as readers. This blog has been cathartic for me in so many ways, and I couldn’t possibly imagine the kindness that you have all shown me as I work to express my opinions and curate content. That gratitude extends to Substack as well, and I’ve told them as much privately.

    And now, publicly, I want to congratulate them—not just on the platform’s success, but in how it was made manifest: by having confidence in free speech and a shared pursuit of the objective truth, and then letting the world bend around Substack instead of Substack bending around the world. Congratulations to the Substack team… and even to you, Jim Acosta. I hope this is a new chapter in a journey where you begin to truly find your voice.

    Enjoy this piece? Join my free mailing list. And now read:

     

    QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

    This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 19:50

  • Ayatollah Shuts Door On Negotiations With US After Trump Restores 'Maximum Pressure'
    Ayatollah Shuts Door On Negotiations With US After Trump Restores ‘Maximum Pressure’

    Iran’s top cleric who oversees the state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to have shut the door on opening new negotiations with Washington in the wake of fresh Trump-ordered sanctions intended to disrupt Iran’s oil network and to take exports “down to zero”.

    “First, negotiations with the US have no effect on solving [Iran’s] problems. The reason? Experience!” Khamenei said on Friday. He explained that during the Obama presidency, “we sat down and negotiated with the US for about two years, and an agreement was formed. In this agreement, the Iranian side was very generous and gave many concessions to the other side.”

    During Trump’s first term, he unilaterally pulled the US from the ‘bad’ JCPOA nuclear deal, which happened in April 2018 – after which a “maximum pressure” campaign was imposed on Tehran. Trump this week revived this pressure campaign via ramped-up sanctions.

    Khamenei continued, “But the US did not carry out that agreement. The same person who is now in office tore up that agreement. We must learn from this experience.”

    He then emphasized, “One must not negotiate with a government like the US government. Negotiations with it is not wise, it is not intelligent, and is not honorable.”

    Many critics of Trump’s Iran policy back in 2018 warned that the Iranians would never be able to trust Washington again if a deal to end the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program is dangled in front of Tehran.

    The basics of the JCPOA were that Iran would limit its nuclear energy program, agree to routine inspections, and in return US-led sanctions would be lifted.

    The US is now worried that given last year’s tit-for-tat exchange of major strikes with Israel, Tehran leaders are more incentivized than ever to secretly develop a nuke.

    However, the CIA has long assessed, even recently, that Iran’s leadership has not yet ordered the pursuit of a bomb. The Ayatollahs throughout the decades have also condemned atomic weapons as ‘unIslamic’.

    Supreme Leader Khamenei seems to be favoring the hardliners, who’ve long argued that dealing with Washington is futile…

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

    Officially at least, Iran’s nuclear program remains for peaceful energy purposes for the needs of the domestic population. But Israel has long charged that this is but a cover, and US Congressional hawks agree with this allegation.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 19:15

  • Powerful Earthquake Rattles Caribbean Sea Near Cayman Islands
    Powerful Earthquake Rattles Caribbean Sea Near Cayman Islands

    A powerful earthquake has been reported in the Caribbean Sea. According to USGS data, the 7.6-magnitude quake struck about 125 miles southwest of the Cayman Islands. Tsunami alerts have been issued for multiple coastlines along the Caribbean Sea.

    NOAA posted the latest tsunami map. 

    “This was a lateral “strike-slip” quake; minimal up/down motion, so very low tsunami threat,” meteorologist Matthew Cappucci wrote on X.

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

    *Developing… 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 19:05

  • Contrasting DEI With Equality Of Opportunity
    Contrasting DEI With Equality Of Opportunity

    Authored by Christian Milord via The Epoch Times,

    Folks with common sense likely were pleased when a recent executive order came down from the Trump administration to ban DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs from all federal agencies. One wonders why it has taken so long to discard such an un-American system from the government.

    What is DEI? It is a Marxist secular construct that claims to embrace diversity and justice in our society. Critical Race Theory (CRT) makes up a part of the DEI vision. Purveyors of CRT and DEI believe that ethnic minorities in America are victims of discrimination at the hands of the majority population and deserve to receive special favors to make up for this alleged oppression. The DEI apparatus doesn’t take into account that minorities in a free society have the same rights under the law as everyone else, and they don’t require extra rights.

    The DEI apparatus also attempts to implement quota systems for minorities regarding higher education enrollment slots as well as in occupational positions whether individuals are qualified or not. In other words, it discriminates based on color, gender, and race instead of seeking to enroll or hire folks based on character, experience, and merit. Martin Luther King, Jr., would likely be disgusted at the DEI apparatus as he believed that people should be evaluated based on character, not physical characteristics. He also noted that, “darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.” The best disinfectant to expose the reverse racism of DEI is the light of transparency.

    Folks who promote the DEI worldview also believe that competition and success should be devalued in favor of the equity of prearranged outcomes. In other words, education must be watered down so that less ambitious students can somehow get a leg up as they move through the educational process. The result of lowered standards is declining test scores, intellectual poverty, grade inflation, and social promotion. Is it any wonder that at least 40 percent of California public school students require remediation in language arts and math when they enter higher education?

    Unfortunately, DEI has permeated businesses and key institutions in our society, and it won’t be easy to dismantle. It tends to punish folks who work hard and want to compete on a level playing field. It also hurts minorities because it creates a blanket generalization that certain minorities are victims and need special assistance in order to succeed. That broad brush claim is insulting to the intelligence of minority communities, and many will tend to believe that they can’t succeed through merit and their unique talents.

    Consequently, DEI has generated soul-crushing damage in our society due to a lowering of standards in academia and the workplace. Visualize for a moment the outcomes that can unfold if an air traffic controller, architect, dentist, doctor, engineer, mechanic, pilot, professor, etc., are hired primarily due to color, gender, or race rather than competence and experience. Lives can be placed at risk if folks who lack the requisite abilities are chosen over others based on gender or skin tone.

    DEI, which includes affirmative action and identity politics, breaks the law when it intentionally targets minorities for college enrollment or career positions instead of marketing to all eligible students and workers regardless of ethnicity and gender. 

    Moreover, DEI attempts to censor folks who question its discriminatory practices. DEI influencers forget that America was founded on the constitutional principle of freedom of assembly, the press, religion, and speech for everyone, not the freedom from these activities.

    Now let us turn to equality of opportunity, which is a principle that is very American in nature. 

    In America, anyone can compete and pursue opportunities regardless of ethnicity and gender. Any individual can also create opportunities that can generate ideas, products, and services to benefit society.

    While most folks value natural cultural diversity and fairness in the big tent that is America, they bristle if an immoral quota-based DEI is coerced upon them. Any form of diversity should never make folks feel guilty for injustices of the past in which they did not participate. Genuine diversity would not pick and choose winners and losers in human endeavors based on superficial characteristics.

    Americans believe that no special interest group should receive extra rights merely due to some cultural, linguistic, or religious differences. Yet DEI demands that minority groups receive preferences over the majority population which undermines the concept of a level playing field for all. Yet DEI can be inconsistent, as witnessed by the rampant anti-Semitic behavior targeting Jews on campuses and in the streets following the heinous ambush perpetrated by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

    By contrast, equality of opportunity offers the same rights to all folks who want to pursue training for a career. Is equality of opportunity perfect? By no means. It doesn’t guarantee success for everyone who seeks opportunities, because nothing in life is guaranteed. What it does is provide options for those willing to study hard and work diligently. If one opportunity doesn’t pan out, other opportunities arise, and folks can revise their academic and career goals.

    The beauty of equality of opportunity is that it leads to limitless opportunities through competition and innovation. People tend to rely on communities and personal initiative to reach their dreams rather than government handouts. While DEI treats people like children forever with its mentality of unearned entitlement, equality of opportunity encourages maturity, merit, and the development of genuine virtues. While the inverted reasoning of DEI would be normal under autocratic rule, it has no place in a representative democracy.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 18:40

  • Democrat Rep. Sterilizes Herself To Protest Trump
    Democrat Rep. Sterilizes Herself To Protest Trump

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    A Democratic state Rep. from Michigan says she has sterilised herself as a form of protest against President Trump.

    Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) stated “Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America.”

    “I refuse to let my body be treated as currency by an administration that only sees value in my ability to procreate,” she added while speaking to hundreds of extreme left-wing protesters on the lawn of the Michigan Capitol.

    “If you know people who are questioning how serious this is, I’m going to repeat myself: A sitting government official opted for voluntary sterilization because she was uncertain she would be able to access contraception in the future,” she further claimed.

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

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

    Unable to access contraception? What on Earth is she blathering about?

    In 2022, Michigan added a measure to their state constitution that made abortion, contraception, and sterilization a “fundamental right.”

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

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

    Trump has also repeatedly said abortion is a states issue following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

    As such, it is unclear why these people are still claiming that Trump is going to deny them those rights.

    Radical leftists are inventing fake issues as a justification for staying angry and taking extreme measures because they cannot accept that Trump won the election.

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

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

    Footage from the Michigan protest was posted online by Trump supporters who were harassed and told they had no right to be there.

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

    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 17:30

  • "We Need To Go Gangster Here": NY Mag Editor And Scott Galloway Demand Doxxing And Prison For "Little Pricks" From DOGE
    “We Need To Go Gangster Here”: NY Mag Editor And Scott Galloway Demand Doxxing And Prison For “Little Pricks” From DOGE

    The leftist freakout over government accountability has escalated to open calls for the doxxing and imprisonment of the “arrogant little pricks” working for Elon Musk’s DOGE, who over the past two weeks have descended upon the US Treasury, USAID, and most recently the US Department of Education in order to uncover waste, fraud and abuse. And boy have they found that in spades.

    In a Friday episode of NY Magazine Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher’s “Pivot” podcast with guest Scott Galloway, the two leftists outlined their ideal response to the Trump administration’s recent moves.

    Galloway called DOGE’s actions “illegal” and a “coup,” and called for Democratic governors to throw Musk’s team in prison.

    “I want to know who their names are, and I want to see Democratic governors saying ‘I’m gonna do everything I can in my power to use the full faith, to the letter of the law, to put you folks in prison,” said Galloway, adding “I think what you’re doping is trespassing. I think this is a coup. And be clear – just because the new insurrectionist who was elected… I don’t believe this is legal. And I’m gonna hold the people accountable who are trespassing and part of a coup, accountable.“

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

    “To just sit back and say this is horrible and this is unlawful – we need to go gangster here and say ‘look, we are not negotiating around this stuff. This is illegal. This is a coup. This is the unlawful seizure of power. We are not gonna engage in these bullshit ridiculous arguments over Gaza and Greenland. We are going to hold the people accountable. Here are their names, here are their faces, and we have contacted the local authorities where these kids live – these young adults, and we are going to hold them accountable.”

    Swisher suggested that they don’t have that ability, telling Galloway that she’s told concerned leftists; “You actually don’t have the means to do so, because these poor people are in these agencies, and when these idiots come in. These children. These arrogant little pricks come in and say ‘we’re going to call the federal marshals or the president has ordered you to step aside,’ they kind of have to. You have to be resistant and be walked out by security. And then security doesn’t know which one to listen to, right?

    Galloway then called on Congress to stage what the left has defined as an insurrection at a federal building, saying: “I’d like to see all, 48 or 49 US Senators and any Republicans who want to join. I’d like to see a couple hundred members of Congress go to the building where this is, and demand to go in, and physically stop this and let them arrest you.”

    Swisher elaborated on how she thinks the media is downplaying what’s going on, insisting “It’s a coup!” before suggesting that DOGE employees are “so typical … of the juvenilization of men.”

    Amazing.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 16:55

  • The Rise And Rise Of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
    The Rise And Rise Of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

    There is much to learn about the way the world works today by watching the confirmation vote on Trump’s pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services. In so many ways, this is a remarkable development with a dramatic story arc, one that speaks presciently to events over the past five years and where they stand in public consciousness.

    In November 2021, a major book blasted onto the scene that hardly anyone had expected. It was “The Real Anthony Fauci” by Kennedy. The author had already emerged as the world’s leading critic of the policy response to COVID-19, which included locking down societies across the globe to prepare the population for a vaccine that was already on record as failing to protect against both infection and transmission.

    This book was not just a criticism of the way that the “nation’s leading infectious disease doctor” had been the dominant voice for shutdowns, closures, distancing, and masking. It dug through the deep history of the U.S. bioweapons program to highlight the role of dangerous research with a military angle. Fauci was not merely the guy telling you how to stay well; he had become a powerful figure in the bioweapons industry, which had a deep relationship with pharmaceutical companies.

    The book was beyond mind-blowing, and its many hundreds of footnotes provide an incredible documentary source for readers to check. I dug through them to discover features of the pandemic response I never knew existed. The depth of research here was simply astounding. As the book became a bestseller, Amazon itself faced pressure to censor it. It acquiesced for a time simply because the powers that be were so awesome and aggressive. Still, the book made inroads in any case.

    At that time, the political constellation in the country was shifting wildly, and no one knew where it would wind up. The Biden administration had doubled down on coercive pandemic policies and added vaccine and mask mandates while issuing wild warnings of mass death for noncompliance. Resistance on the right and left were growing, but no one knew for sure where all of this would end up.

    As Trump clinched the Republican nomination, there was a brief moment when it seemed that the Democrats would be open to replacing Biden on the ticket. A lifelong Democrat and the inheritor of the mantles of both his father and uncle, Kennedy seemed like an obvious choice to take the nomination in an open primary. He started an ad campaign that revived his uncle’s early efforts. But there would be no primary, thus forcing him into an independent bid for the presidency.

    Third-party attempts in the United States always run into the same problem: The whole system is geared toward two parties, and voting logic usually ends up reinforcing that as well. As that reality gradually dawned on Kennedy, there was a growing sense within the large movement that backed him that he needed another option.

    As events unfolded, Trump was subjected to a close assassination attempt on July 13, 2024. That was the moment when the two camps came together. After several days of talking, there was a sudden realization on both sides that they were fighting the same corporatist enemies from two different fronts, one focused on immigration and trade and the other focused on food and pharma power. There was general agreement that many things in America needed to change.

    The sudden emergence of the unity effort of Trump and Kennedy together disoriented both sides, simply because the coalition brought together factions that had long seemed opposed. Kennedy was a long-time environmental lawyer, and Trump was generally an anti-environmentalist. They would agree to disagree on oil and energy but concentrate on the economic and physical health of America, which came to be embodied in the MAGA/MAHA coalition.

    The shock in both camps was high, but the urgency of the moment—and the deep desire for change in Washington—impressed upon the grassroots the need to shake off their squeamishness and get to work together. How much did Kennedy’s involvement help the Trump campaign? Enormously. Was it decisive in the sweeping victory? Very likely.

    As a thank you for joining forces or perhaps a quid pro quo that was nonetheless highly merited, Kennedy gained nomination to the position of secretary of health and human services, which oversees many other agencies in the realm of food, health, pharmaceuticals, and much more.

    The real challenge then began after Trump’s victory because of a peculiar feature of the American system: Cabinet picks have to be confirmed by the Senate. In normal years, and with most appointees of the past never really presenting that much of a challenge to the status quo, a president’s picks sail through with bipartisan support. Trump’s picks would be different, particularly the Kennedy choice since his stance on pharma and pandemic planning was well known.

    A choice for him would represent a repudiation of the past five years of policy, a prospect nearly all of Washington dreaded.

    In the course of events, an incredible irony emerged. In committee—and likely too in the larger Senate—the vote fell along party lines, but not in the way one would expect. This lifelong Democrat and scion of the great Democrat family was opposed by every Democrat and supported (so far) by every Republican. Not only that, but the Republican-friendly press opposed him tooth and nail. The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and the New York Post all published bitter editorials that called the nominee a crank and conspiracy theorist.

    Largely because of a huge push from the grassroots—and because of support from Trump—the Republicans voted for him in any case, while the Democrats simply could not and did not, despite the manner in which Kennedy, in many ways, represented causes long important to many people generally considered to be on the left.

    Thus does the expected confirmation of Kennedy—his rise and rise for fully five years—embody the best symbolic indication that the old partisan and ideological divides in the country that date back three-quarters of a century find themselves fully scrambled into a wholly new alliance. If you attend any events that bring together MAGA and MAHA, you know exactly what I mean. They are exciting scenes of people who have never been in the same room together, gradually discovering points of agreement and feeling very optimistic about the future.

    No one could have predicted such dramatic events 10 or even five years ago. In the larger picture, the triumph of Kennedy represents more than careful planning and clever politicking. It shows the extent to which the pandemic policy response continues to serve as the disruptive template that is shaking up conventional politics not just in the United States but all over the world and thereby building a new philosophical and ideological alignment that will disrupt nations, states, and industries for many generations.

    Most exciting of all is to observe the ways in which public pressure seems to be in the driver’s seat today—not just elites with large megaphones but real people who have taken a keen interest in civic affairs like never before in our lifetimes. We see it in the emergence of Kennedy as a key figure in the Trump government and also with Tulsi Gabbard in intelligence, Elon Musk in agency and spending reform, and Kash Patel overseeing law enforcement.

    These are new times. One might even call it a Great Reset—just not the one that anyone anticipated.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 16:20

  • Three Gaunt-Looking Israelis Freed By Hamas After "491 Days Of Hell"
    Three Gaunt-Looking Israelis Freed By Hamas After “491 Days Of Hell”

    At this point the Hamas-Israel truce has held since January 19, and several successful rounds of hostage/prisoner exchanges have followed since. The latest happened Saturday, with Hamas releasing three more Israeli hostages captured on Oct.7, 2023 – in exchange for another 183 imprisoned Palestinians released by Israel.

    This brings the total freed since the ceasefire took effect last month to 21 people freed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad – 16 of them Israelis and five Thai citizens who had been workers in the Kibbutz which were attacked. This is still part of the first, 42-day phase of the agreement.

    Via Associated Press

    The three Israelis released Saturday have been identified as Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34. They were paraded on a stage in the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza to sign handover documents.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the scene of the emaciated hostages “shocking” and vowed that the government would take action against Hamas.

    “The shocking images we saw today will not pass without response,” the statement reads. “The government, together with security officials, will support them and their families. Israel is committed to bringing back all the hostages and missing.”

    According to a description via NBC:

    The freed captives looked gaunt as they were paraded on stage by Hamas just before the were transferred into the custody of the Red Cross, and they were also interviewed on stage by one of the fighters.

    Netanyahu has “instructed to now allow the situation to go unaddressed,” a statement from his office said, without giving further details. 

    Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said in separate statement the hostages were “being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle,” after suffering “491 days of hell.”

    But Gaza officials also pointed to the emaciated condition of some of the freed Palestinians:

    Seven of the Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel today have been taken to hospital due to “their poor health condition,” according to the Red Crescent.

    Hamas said yesterday that 183 would be freed today. A group were taken to the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank earlier today. But it is unclear how many were freed.

    The released prisoners were let go by a bus in Ramallah, to large crowds and jubilation as they were reunited with their families.

    Palestinians say there were abused in Israeli jails and right up until release:

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

    “Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, the head of the medical division in the Israeli Health Ministry, reported that the three hostages who returned to Israel today are malnourished and have lost significant weight during their time in captivity,” NBC added.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 15:45

  • USAID Funded Massive 'News' Platform, Extending 'Censorship Industrial Complex' To Billions Worldwide
    USAID Funded Massive ‘News’ Platform, Extending ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’ To Billions Worldwide

    Tl;dr: Elon Musk summed up the whole f**king farce succinctly:

    We wonder how the American taxpayer feels about their hard-earned cash being taken away from them and used for this purpose…

    *  *  *

    In addition to propping up far-left corporate media outlets like Politico and the BBC with taxpayer funds, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funneled half a billion dollars to a secretive non-governmental organization operating a global news propaganda matrix. 

    WikiLeaks published the bombshell report in the overnight hours that shows the massive taxpayer-funded state propaganda network – operating as a shady NGO – called “Internews Network”: 

    USAID has pushed nearly half a billion dollars ($472.6m) through a secretive US government financed NGO, “Internews Network” (IN), which has “worked with” 4,291 media outlets, producing in one year 4,799 hours of broadcasts reaching up to 778 million people and “training” over 9000 journalists (2023 figures). IN has also supported social media censorship initiatives.

    The operation claims “offices” in over 30 countries, including main offices in US, London, Paris and regional HQs in Kiev, Bangkok and Nairobi. It is headed up by Jeanne Bourgault, who pays herself $451k a year. Bourgault worked out of the US embassy in Moscow during the early 1990s, where she was in charge of a $250m budget, and in other revolts or conflicts at critical times, before formally rotating out of six years at USAID to IN.

    Bourgault’s IN bio and those of its other key people and board members have been recently scrubbed from its website but remain accessible at http://archive.org. Records show the board being co-chaired by Democrat securocrat Richard J. Kessler and Simone Otus Coxe, wife of NVIDIA billionaire Trench Coxe, both major Democratic donors. In 2023, supported by Hillary Clinton, Bourgault launched a $10m IN fund at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The IN page showing a picture of Bourgault at the CGI has also been deleted.

    IN has at least six captive subsidiaries under unrelated names including one based out of the Cayman Islands. Since 2008, when electronic records begin, more than 95% of IN’s budget has been supplied by the US government (thread follows). 

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

    Not suspicious at all! 

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

    IN’s funding has doubled since Trump’s first-term victory, as the Deep State poured billions into combating so-called misinformation and disinformation targeting conservative media worldwide—all under the guise of “saving democracy.”

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

    IN’s complex funding graph. 

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

    The bio for IN CEO Jeanne Bourgault shows past jobs at Wired, Guardian, and other corporate media outlets. 

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

    Not surprising. 

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

    Speaking at the globalist Davos event last year, IN’s CEO argued that global advertisers should prioritize spending ad dollars on “good news.” In other words, this would pressure companies to spend exclusively on far-left corporate media outlets while ensuring they slash ad spending on alternative media websites that do not promote state propaganda.

    American taxpayers funded the global censorship matrix that has lied about wars, covid origins, vaccines, and go down the list…

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

    Wikileaks shows the moment in time when IN “lost its way”… And you’ll never guess how. 

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

    IN’s media matrix spans worldwide.

    Here are the downstream holdings on IN via public records forensics data:

    “Internews is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard,” the NGO stated in an IRS 990 filing as its purpose of businesses. 

    Public records data shows IN has many business purposes worldwide, all in an effort to control a media matrix and ensure only state propaganda is told on the local level. 

    How does it feel to know that your tax dollars are funding a state propaganda media matrix around the world? 

    ________

    If you would like to support ZeroHedge, please subscribe to our premium service or purchase something from our store. We just added handmade solid wood American flags from longtime ZH reader JohnO that are definitely worth checking out!

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 15:15

  • Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump Admin Officials' Access To 'Sensitive' Treasury Records, Cites "Cybersecurity Risk"
    Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump Admin Officials’ Access To ‘Sensitive’ Treasury Records, Cites “Cybersecurity Risk”

    Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A federal judge has temporarily barred the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk, from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans kept at the Treasury Department.

    Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

    The late-night order, issued Saturday by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan, blocks most Trump administration officials—including Musk and members of his cost-cutting initiative—from accessing sensitive Treasury records for at least a week while the case proceeds in the New York court.

    The injunction specifically prohibits President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from granting access to records containing personally identifiable or confidential financial information to political appointees, special government employees, or any other employees from outside of the department. The White House has designated Musk a special government employee.

    Under the order, only those working at the Bureau of Fiscal Services and have passed background checks may access those records in order to do their job.

    The judge further ordered any person among those whom he restricted to “immediately destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems, if any.”

    A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Feb. 14.

    The decision was made after 19 state attorneys general sued the Trump and Bessent after DOGE was given access to the Treasury records. DOGE is an advisory body tasked to identify ways to reduce government spending.

    The attorneys general argued that Musk and DOGE, which is not an official government department, should not have access to such highly sensitive financial data. They claimed that the move violates federal law and presents a massive cybersecurity and privacy risk.

    “Defendants’ new expanded access policy poses huge cybersecurity risks” that put “vast amounts of funding for the States and their residents in peril and endangers the [personally identifiable information] of States’ residents whose information is stored on the payment systems,” reads the complaint, which was filed late Feb. 7 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

    Musk responded to the controversy Saturday, saying in a post to X:

    To be clear, what the @DOGE  team and @USTreasury  have jointly agreed makes sense is the following:

    – Require that all outgoing government payments have a payment categorization code, which is necessary in order to pass financial audits. This is frequently left blank, making audits almost impossible.

    – All payments must also include a rationale for the payment in the comment field, which is currently left blank. Importantly, we are not yet applying ANY judgment to this rationale, but simply requiring that SOME attempt be made to explain the payment more than NOTHING!

    – The DO-NOT-PAY list of entities known to be fraudulent or people who are dead or are probable fronts for terrorist organizations or do not match Congressional appropriations must actually be implemented and not ignored. Also, it can currently take up to a year to get on this list, which is far too long. This list should be updated at least weekly, if not daily.

    The above super obvious and necessary changes are being implemented by existing, long-time career government employees, not anyone from @DOGE
    . It is ridiculous that these changes didn’t exist already!

    Yesterday, I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious.

    When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!!

    This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.

    Engelmayer agreed with the state’s argument that they “will face irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief.”

    “That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking,” Engelmayer wrote.

    There was no immediate comment from the White House or Musk.

    The decision is the latest in a series of judicial interventions blocking the Trump administration’s rapidly unfolding actions to overhaul the federal bureaucracy. Just hours before Engelmayer’s order, another federal judge in Washington halted a Musk-led initiative to dismantle USAID, the agency responsible for administering foreign aid programs.

    In recent weeks, judges have also intervened to block Trump’s early executive actions ending automatic citizenship for children born on U.S. soil, pausing federal grants and loans, offering buyout to federal workers, and sending male inmates who identify as transgender women back to men’s prisons.

    As Charlie Kirk of TPUSA notes;

    New York Judge Paul Engelmayer just forbade all political appointees — including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — from accessing Dept. of Treasury data, all based on Blueanon conspiracy theories!!

    Those theories couldn’t be challenged because the order was EX PARTE — meaning Trump’s lawyers weren’t warned, and couldn’t weigh in. Only Democrat Attorneys General were allowed to argue.

    The judge cites no law or logic to support this unprecedented order, because it defies both. The judge’s ruling is, in essence, that Scott Bessent simply occupies a ceremonial position without real power, like the King of England.

    This is a grenade thrown into the functioning of the Treasury Department.

    It forbids the elected government from accessing information about budget and finances. Instead, only the permanent, deep-state government can know what’s being spent.

    It means Scott Bessent’s subordinates have far more power than Scott Bessent does.

    Democrat pundits who whine about the Constitution are liars, and will shred it the first chance they get.

    For now, the order is only for the next week, but if a court tries to make it permanent the Trump Administration should absolutely consider defying it.

    Better yet, SCOTUS should bar this judge from ever hearing similar cases again, and every Democrat lawyer involved should be sanctioned.

    As always, the Deep State is the enemy of democracy.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 15:10

  • Newsom Approves $50 Million To Help Migrants, Boost California's Legal Defense
    Newsom Approves $50 Million To Help Migrants, Boost California’s Legal Defense

    Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Friday that would set aside a combined $50 million to protect immigrants and defend the state from potential legal actions by the Trump administration.

    One of the bills allocates $25 million to nonprofit organizations that offer legal immigration services to people “at risk of detention, deportation, eviction, wage theft, intimate partner violence, and other actions that put their safety at risk” due to federal actions.

    In his signing statement, Newsom said the bill will help to protect the civil rights of California’s “most vulnerable residents,” including people with disabilities, homeless people, victims of human trafficking and wage theft, as well as immigrants.

    The governor made clear that the allocated funding would not be used to protect immigrants convicted of serious or violent felonies. Newsom also called on state lawmakers to pass subsequent legislation if further clarification on this is necessary.

    The second bill sets aside $25 million for the state Department of Justice to push back against federal policy “that adversely impact the state, its taxpayers, and residents” through litigation.

    The bills were passed by state lawmakers on Feb. 3. California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-District 29) has raised concerns over President Donald Trump’s executive actions targeting various federal agencies, as well as the administration’s recent funding freeze—which he said has affected critical resources for the community.

    “Right now, Californians are being threatened by an out-of-control administration in Washington that doesn’t care about the Constitution and thinks there are no limits to its power,” Rivas told the assembly on Feb. 3.

     “We must ensure that our residents receive the federal services and benefits that they have contributed to and that they deserve.”

    California joined a coalition of attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia in filing an emergency motion on Feb. 7 to ask a federal judge to enforce a restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s freeze on federal financial assistance.

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo on Jan. 27 directing federal agencies to suspend the distribution of grants, loans, and other financial assistance while the programs were being reviewed to ensure they aligned with the president’s policy priorities.

    California has also moved to protect immigrants amid the Trump administration’s recent crackdown on illegal immigration. Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has directed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out enforcement actions in various major U.S. cities, resulting in the arrest of 956 people within a day on Jan. 27.

    Newsom’s Meeting With Trump

    Newsom signed the two bills just a day after returning from Washington where he met with Trump and a bipartisan group of lawmakers to secure federal disaster aid.

    His office described the meeting with the president as “very productive,” with Newsom emphasizing the critical need for disaster aid for people affected by the wildfires that hit parts of California last month.

    “We’re working across the aisle, as we always have, to ensure survivors have the resources and support they need,” Newsom said in a statement on Feb. 5. 

    “Thank you President Trump for coming to our communities to see this first hand, and meeting with me today to continue our joint efforts to support people impacted.”

    The governor expressed his appreciation for the Trump Administration’s early collaboration and specifically thanked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for his agency’s swift action,” including the deployment of 1,000 individuals to aid with debris removal.

    Newsom signed a $2.5 billion package for fire relief into law last month to help fund the state’s disaster response including evacuations, sheltering survivors, and removing household hazardous waste. His administration has said they expect the federal government to reimburse the state.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 14:35

  • When The FAA And DEI Don't Mix
    When The FAA And DEI Don’t Mix

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    I’d like to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

    [President] Donald Trump caused a firestorm in the aftermath of this horrific and tragic crash at [Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]. He mentioned that he was going to examine the role of diversity, equity, [and] inclusion.

    The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration building in Washington on July 21, 2007. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    What he meant was criteria other than merit that go into hiring these critical positions in the air traffic controller tower, but also as pilots and general in the military.

    And people got very angry, and they said this was inappropriate. But like all things Donald Trump does, he tries to open a very sensitive issue in a very loud fashion, and that brings attention to it, and then, people do some investigation.

    Greenland is a good example. “How dare he say he wants to buy Greenland?” Then we discover that Denmark is investing almost no money in Greenland. We discovered that Greenland is in North America. Did you know that? It’s closer to New York than it is in Copenhagen.

    That this left-wing Danish government is way behind on its NATO contributions. And it’s an imperialist power with a colony that it doesn’t really help too much. So, there’s always more to it, and there is with diversity [and] inclusion.

    So, now we are learning that there were mandates about a person’s race and mandates about a person’s sexual orientation.

    When I say mandates, I mean that people who didn’t fit those criteria were not encouraged to apply. [The Federal Aviation Administration] disbanded a lot of university programs that encourage people with military experience or encourage people that had courses in scientific disciplines or mathematics or aeronautics not to apply.

    And the assistant director of the FAA and a former applicant nominee who was rejected, they were just explicit about that.

    But here’s the thing about DEI in general: It’s a system that has many faces. In the old Soviet Union, it was not race or gender, it was ideology. And one of the reasons, among many, but I think the prime reason, that the Soviet Union imploded was they had an apparat, a group of incompetents that swore that they were more ideologically and Marxist-Leninist pure than anybody else.

    And they were given the top billets in rocket science and military affairs. We saw that in World War II, with the Red Army almost collapsed in June of 1941. And within a year, all the commissars were out.

    DEI is a commissar system. I once was in Libya and I asked this person—a high government official—I was interviewing, I said, “You have potholes everywhere, but you’re the fifth-largest producer of oil in the world.”

    “Mr. Hanson, we hire our first cousin, first. We’re a tribal society.” He told me that.

    The thing about DEI—what Trump brought up with the FAA—ask yourself something: If it’s so good, why don’t people just say that? Why don’t they just say, we’re willing to have collateral damage? We’re going to bring in people that may not have traditional criteria or traditional resumes, but we’re willing to take that risk with your life.

    They never say that.

    And remember one thing else, if you hire someone on the basis of their race, or their gender, or their sexual orientation, and they know it, then why would that be the end of it? That is the beginning.

    If you show up late for work, if you don’t do your job, if you’re subject to an audit, then you think, I want the same exemptions that were accorded me when I was hired. I need them.

    And of course, no one ever discusses that. So, what we’re watching is, if it turns out to be true that the tower was understaffed, that one person was let go early, that the air traffic controller made a mistake, that the pilot was at the wrong [elevation], these were all mistakes.

    It was a perfect storm, apparently, of blunders. And if those blunders are connected with people who felt they were not subject to meritocratic criteria, there’s going to be a scandal.

    I’m not saying there is, but Donald Trump is bringing attention to it. And by bringing attention, then, what do we do? We review the Biden-Obama FAA, and we discover—not us, we knew it a long time—but the general public, discovers that they have been systematically using race and gender and sexual orientation, not just to promote particular people, but to exclude people who have had perfect scores on tests, who come from the military, who have majors in the type of college disciplines that would be perfectly suitable for an FAA controller.

    And if that’s true, then we’re in big trouble. I’ll just finish with this observation: When affirmative action started, some 50 years ago, I was a graduate student, and one of the professors said, “You’re not going to get a job.” None of the three males in the graduate program in classics—when you get your Ph.D. or not—and I said to them, “That doesn’t seem fair.”

    And he said, “We’re guinea pigs, academia. Who cares about a classics professor?” So, we will be, basically, diverse. But nobody’s going to worry about that you use criteria because who cares about classics?

    I thought that was a very cynical thing to say about an advocate. But then he said, “But of course, we would never do this with atomic reactors, nuclear reactors. We’d never do this with brain surgeons.” And then he said this, “And we would never do this with FAA air traffic control.” And that’s exactly what we may have been doing.

    [It] doesn’t mean that was culpable in this particular instance. It means that this particular instance has got us worried about the system, in general, and we want to improve it.

    And one of the things we can do is take a hard look at the FAA.

    Reprinted by permission from The Daily Signal, a publication of The Heritage Foundation.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 13:25

  • 2 Decades Ago, A Senator's Probe Of USAID Funding Led To Government Transparency Reform
    2 Decades Ago, A Senator’s Probe Of USAID Funding Led To Government Transparency Reform

    Revelations that USAID officials are spending hundreds of millions of U.S. tax dollars overseas for controversial projects such as advancing atheism in Nepal and funding “transgender opera” in Columbia are nothing new.

    As Mark Tapscott details below for The Epoch Times, nearly 20 years ago, in October 2005, the refusal of USAID officials to admit they were funding a prostitution ring in India so angered Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) that he vowed to introduce a new law enabling every U.S. citizen with the internet to quickly and easily find out how federal officials are spending his or her tax dollars.

    A year later, President George W. Bush’s signing of Coburn’s proposal into law—thus mandating the creation of today’s USASpending.gov—marked a huge step forward in making government spending easily accessible for every citizen with internet access.

    Coburn described the USAID coverup in detail in his Senate floor speech in April 2006 as he introduced the promised proposal, which was known as the Federal Financial Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA).

    The FFATA proposal was a bipartisan one from the beginning, with then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) as co-sponsors.

    Coburn, who was already well-known among his Senate colleagues as “Dr. No” for his opposition to wasteful federal spending and his annual compilation of examples, called the “Wastebook,” assembled a crack staff of congressional investigators and communicators who constantly exposed outrages such as the $329 million earmark better known as Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere.”

    In his FFATA floor speech, Coburn described how USAID officials fought his staff investigators every step of the way in their probe of the agency’s funding of a nongovernmental organization (NGO) called “Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanstha (SANGRAM).

    Coburn quoted an unclassified State Department memorandum concerning how SANGRAM opposed a U.N. agency’s effort to free 17 young Indian girls from a prostitution ring.

    “The girls are now back in the brothels, being subjected to rape for profit,” the memorandum said.

    “On November 16, 2005, a USAID briefer asserted to subcommittee staff that USAID had ‘nothing to do with’ the grant to the pro-prostitution SANGRAM and that the subcommittee’s inquiries were ‘destructive,’” the Oklahoma lawmaker told his Senate colleagues.

    “Nonetheless, congressional investigators continued to pursue this matter and eventually proved that USAID money financed the pro-prostitution SANGRAM through a second organization named Avert, which was established with the assistance of four USAID employees as a pass-through entity.”

    Not only did USAID officials help start Avert and fund it, but one of them also served on the group’s board of directors.

    Twenty years later, USASpending.gov has been used for billions of searches by journalists, congressional staffers, academic researchers, and nonprofit advocacy groups seeking information about how the federal government spends trillions of tax dollars every year.

    Many of those searches produce widely read and discussed news stories about waste and fraud in government.

    Roland Foster, who was one of Coburn’s staff investigators as his legislative director, is now a special adviser to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

    Ernst makes public a monthly “Squeal Award” that highlights the latest examples of tax dollars being wasted.

    She has also introduced legislation to strengthen USASpending.gov, including the Stop Secret Spending Act that penalizes agencies that hide spending from disclosure and “TRACKS,” to require prompt and accurate reporting of funds going to China.

    U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) questions former Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought during a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on his second nomination to be OMB director, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025. Jemal Countess/ AFP

    When asked about the current USAID revelations, Foster told The Epoch Times that “between USAspending and Wastebook, Senator Coburn created the blueprint empowering every taxpayer to continue carrying on his mission today as a DOGE deputy.”

    John Hart, the recently appointed chief executive officer of Open the Books, the website that captures virtually all spending by every level of government in America, was Coburn’s long-time communications director, including during the years when FFATA was conceived, written, proposed, and adopted by Congress.

    Hart told The Epoch Times that the latest USAID revelations were no surprise for him.

    “It’s been an open secret for years that USAID was not spending effectively on vital humanitarian assistance,” Hart said.

    “Decades ago, Senator Coburn was pointing out that agency’s funding of radical organizations that use the money for far-left, dangerous or even criminal activities. It’s a relief that a reckoning has come.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 12:50

  • "You're Fired": Trump Revokes Biden's Security Clearances, Intel Briefings Citing "Poor Memory"
    “You’re Fired”: Trump Revokes Biden’s Security Clearances, Intel Briefings Citing “Poor Memory”

    President Trump revoked former President Biden’s security clearance and terminated his daily intelligence briefings, stating that, given his “poor memory,” there was no reason for Biden to continue receiving classified government information. 

    “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Friday evening. 

    Trump said the decision was based on the precedent of Biden’s 2021 decision to end his access to the secret information. He also pointed to the special counsel report last year: “The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information.”

    Biden in 2021… 

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

    Trump concluded the post with: “I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” 

    Steven Cheung, the president’s communications director, shared Trump’s Truth Social post on X and said: “Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back no more!”

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

    Trump’s team made a smart move given the investigations into various Biden family members—including Hunter Biden, who has been at the center of a probe into influence peddling schemes. Federal investigators have also recently become concerned about the Biden family’s close ties to China.

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

    Speaking with The Hill last month, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY.) said the pardons “validated” the investigations into Biden family members.

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

    Perhaps the actual reason the Trump team revoked Biden’s security clearance is over the family’s close ties with the Chinese. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 12:15

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.