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SEPTEMBER 14-15,  2023

ANOTHER SHARP WARNING!  No, we are not safe.  We are also not awake.  From Newsmax: 

An increasing number of people on the U.S. terror watchlist are being encountered at the southern border, the Department of Homeland Security warned this week.

“Although encounters with migrants have declined from record highs in December, migrants seeking entry to the United States are still arriving at a rate that is on pace to nearly match 2022 total encounters,” the agency said in its 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment report released this week.

"As part of this increase, we have encountered growing numbers of individuals in the Terrorist Screening Data Set (TSDS), also known as the ‘watchlist,’" the report said.

As of July, around 160 illegal immigrants on that watchlist have "attempted to enter the United States via the southern border this year, most of whom were encountered attempting to illegally enter between ports of entry," according to the DHS.

The report noted that the 2024 election cycle could be a key event for domestic and foreign extremists, and that China, Iran, and Russia were likely to attempt to steer the election toward a candidate who may be more favorable for their nations.

"During the next year, we assess that the threat of violence from individuals radicalized in the United States will remain high, but largely unchanged, marked by lone offenders or small group attacks that occur with little warning," the DHS said. "Foreign terrorist groups like al-Qaida and ISIS are seeking to rebuild overseas, and they maintain worldwide networks of supporters that could seek to target the Homeland. … Domestic and foreign adversaries will likely continue to target our critical infrastructure over the next year, in part because they perceive targeting these sectors would be detrimental to U.S. industries and the American way of life."

COMMENT:  Happy report, isn't it?  What DHS is saying is that the chances of our being hit again by a terror attack are increasing.  What it's not saying is that this increased vulnerability is a direct result of our own reckless border policies.  National security is of little interest to the people who are pushing these policies.

We saw the tragic events surrounding our incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan.  Our enemies are getting stronger again, and they may well be coming over our southern border.

September 15,  2023     Permalink

PUSHING BACK ON CRAZINESS:  Whatever happened to common sense?  Whatever happened to reason?  Each day brings us the latest wisdom of the blue states, and we start to wonder if America can survive. 

No state has gone off the rails to the extent that California has.  And to think, Ronald Reagan was once its governor.  California attempts to influence the rest of the country, but I'm happy to report that there is pushback.   There is simply a limit to what mature adults are willing to take.  From Fox: 

The House voted Thursday afternoon in favor of legislation striking down environmental regulations in California mandating electric vehicle (EV) purchases.

In a 222-190 vote, the House approved the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act with 214 Republicans and eight Democrats voting in favor. A group several Republican lawmakers led by Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., first introduced the bill, which has been endorsed by the energy industry, in March, arguing EV mandates would hurt the economy and violate consumer choice.

"The simple fact is that electric vehicles cannot meet the demands of my constituents," Joyce told Fox News Digital in an interview earlier this week. "Coupling the mountains with the harsh winters and the intense heat of summers makes driving an electric vehicle both unreliable and ultimately unrealistic for many of my constituents."

"This legislation, H.R. 1435, is an option. It is not an anti-electric vehicle legislation," he added. "For those who would like an electric vehicle, they should have the option of buying one. But it doesn't help my constituents — it doesn't help in any district to require an individual to buy an EV regardless of what they want and regardless of the demands of the market."

The Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act, if enacted, would block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing waivers to states seeking to ban or limit internal combustion engine vehicles. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is currently empowered to grant California a waiver to implement stricter emissions standards than the federal government.

In March 2022, the EPA reinstated California’s authority under the Clean Air Act to implement its own emission standards and EV sales mandates, and allowed other states to adopt California's rules. The move came after the Trump administration revoked the state's authority to pursue standards that run counter to federal rules.

Months later, on Aug. 25, 2022, the California Air Resources Board, a state environmental agency, announced new regulations banning gas-powered cars, and mandating electric cars, by 2035. California Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated the regulations, saying the state would continue to "lead the revolution towards our zero-emission transportation future."

In addition, another 17 states have laws in place that tether their vehicle emissions standards to those set in California, meaning the electric vehicle mandate would impact tens of millions of Americans nationwide. Overall, it is estimated that the states adopting California's 2035 rule represent more than 40% of total U.S. car purchases.

COMMENT:  What a racket.  Electric vehicles are unproved, and vastly expensive.  Those people who have legitimate questions about them never seem to get answers.  We are expected to believe and to go along.  And anyone who doesn't go along is a polluter.  No, a racist polluter.  No, a racist, capitalist, child-killing polluter. 

Electric cars are vastly expensive, What happens to the millions of Americans who can't afford them?  Will lifestyles change?  Will people have to go without other necessities, like medical care?  Will they be forced to have fewer children?  The leftists will love that.

What guarantee is there that EV's will reduce emissions?  Manufacturing the toxic batteries will produce substantial emissions.  So will building new electric plants to charge the cars.  And where will we dump all those toxic batteries when they're worn out?  I hear silence.

Also, why don't we get complete journalistic reports on alternatives to electric vehicles that are under development – in other words, alternative fuels that can use current engines?  Huh?

I'd like to know who's making the money.

September 15, 2023       Permalink

SEPTEMBER 12-13,  2023

HAVE YOU NOTICED?    IT'S HARD NOT TO NOTICE.  IN THE LAST THREE OR FOUR DAYS THERE HAS BEEN A DRAMATIC CHANGE IN THE POLITICAL CONVERSATION IN WASHINGTON:  It may have begun with President Biden's embarrassing performance during his trip to Asia, and the reaction here at home.  Or, we may have noticed how mainstream liberal news organizations like CNN are getting serious about covering the Biden scandals, in part because House Republicans will now conduct a formal impeachment inquiry.

And then there was the latest polling, showing Biden/Harris sinking faster than the Titanic.  And then the body-blow column by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a mouthpiece for the Washington liberal establishment, calling for President Biden not to run for re-election.  And now a similar request by Republican 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in announcing his own retirement, recommending that the president join him in retirement.

And then there was the blunt question asked by a reporter at the latest White House press briefing:   Why does Joe Biden say so many things that aren't true?  It doesn't get much worse than that.

What was unspeakable in public only weeks ago has now become very speakable:  It is time to go, Mr. President, and time for you, too, Madam Vice President.  Some 70 percent of Democrats in a recent poll agreed.

It will not be easy.  Biden seems determined to go for it.  And, even if he could be persuaded to leave the Democratic ticket, in the interest of party victory, his logical successor would be an equivalent disaster.  Kamala Harris has flubbed it, and almost no one thinks of her as a president.  Maybe president of an eighth-grade student government. 

I can't imagine Kamala going quietly, or even going at all.  She would have to be defeated in a primary race for the top job, president of the United States.  Who will take on a woman of color in the primaries?

With former President Trump heading for his first court trial, with the dam bursting all around Biden and Harris, 2024 is shaping up as the most dramatic presidential election in modern history.  And most of Washington has gotten the message. 

May combat begin.

September 13, 2023       Permalink

INFLATION IS JUST KILLING US:  The economic situation for the average household is getting worse, maybe dramatically worse.  This is the great, evil giant that too many in the political class refuse to confront.  From Fortune: 

US inflation-adjusted household income fell in 2022 by the most in over a decade, highlighting the toll of a higher cost of living and the expiration of pandemic-era programs.

The median income last year was $74,580 compared with $76,330 in 2021, according to the Census Bureau’s annual reports on income, poverty and health insurance coverage.

The 2.3% drop in incomes — which was the most since 2010 — marked the third-straight annual decline, which has been a feature of past recessions like the global financial crisis, the dotcom bubble and the downturn in the early 1990s. Last year, American families faced the the largest annual increase in the cost-of-living adjustment in over four decades.

The report paints a concerning picture of the financial health of American families halfway through Joe Biden’s presidency. Even as the economy remains strong by many measures and inflation has cooled significantly from last year’s peak, it’s still proven a to be a political roadblock as Biden seeks a second term.

Tuesday’s data include two gauges of poverty. The official US poverty rate — which is calculated before taxes and excludes stimulus payments and tax credits — edged lower to 11.5% from 11.6% in the prior year. The rate has been roughly cut in half over the past six decades, and reached a record low before the pandemic.

However, the supplemental poverty measure — which is based on post-tax income and includes government-transfer payments like stimulus checks — rose to 12.4% last year. It was the first increase since 2010, which in part reflected the end of government pandemic-era programs and stimulus payments.

For children, the SPM rate more than doubled last year after the expiration of the advance child-tax credit. The benefit, which was expanded in 2021 as a part of Biden’s signature American Rescue Plan, gave families as much as $300 per child per month. 

COMMENT:  Read the rest, and the fine print.  The impact of past inflation is still having a devastating effect on Americans.  It's only the rate of inflation that's going down.  Prices are not.  Maybe the Biden administration believes Americans are too stupid to figure that out.  They aren't, and many will vote accordingly.  

There is a gloomy atmosphere in America right now.  It reminds me of 1979, when many Americans felt the country was in decline.  But along came Ronald Reagan to win the election of 1980.

We need a Reagan.  Any nominations?

September 13, 2023       Permalink