Tag: politics

Newsom spends $20M on consultants in struggling DOGE-inspired plan to cut waste

Gov. Gavin Newsom has paid upwards of $20 million to a consulting firm that employs his former cabinet secretary to eliminate wasteful spending — but the effort has come up well short of the goal as state lawmakers blasted the move.

Newsom — who signed an executive order to cut spending in the state, à la Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficienc is hitting roadblocks with the plan amid a multibillion-dollar state budget deficit.

California contracted with one of the world’s largest consulting firms, Boston Consulting Group, for up to $20 million in an effort to cut $2 billion in spending from the departments of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Social Services, and Health Care Services by the 2028-’29 fiscal year.

But the group — which hired former Newsom cabinet Secretary and Department of Finance Director Ana J. Matosantos — is now expected to only find $810 million in savings, according to legislative analysts.

That number may even go down later in May, analysts added, as indicated by the Newsom administration.

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While Federal Workers Go Without Pay, 30 Members of Congress Spotted Vacationing at Scottish Castle on Taxpayer Dime

  • While hard-working federal employees at the Department of Homeland Security are scraping by without full paychecks amid this partial government shutdown, dozens of out-of-touch members of Congress decided it was the perfect time for a lavish, taxpayer-funded vacation overseas.

Left-wing TMZ continued to flip the script and has gone international with their investigation into congressional junkets, and what they uncovered is pure DC swamp corruption at its finest.

Approximately 30 members of Congress were caught red-handed touring Edinburgh Castle in Scotland while the rest of America deals with the chaos they created by failing to fund critical agencies.

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Eric Swalwell raids retirement, delays tax payments as he runs for California governor

Eric Swalwell has been dipping into his retirement savings and postponing his tax payments as he campaigns to become California’s next governor.

The Democratic congressman, 45, who is polling as high as 17 percent in a crowded field, has also tapped more than $200,000 in campaign funds to cover childcare costs.

Tax returns from 2021 to 2024 show Swalwell dramatically reduced how much he paid in federal taxes, from $32,000 in 2021 to just $2,580 in 2022, before withholding nothing in 2023 to maximize his take-home pay.

The filings also reveal that roughly $145,000 of the family’s income came from withdrawals from retirement accounts, showing the extent to which he’s been forced to rely on savings as he gears up for his run for governor.

Swalwell’s financial maneuvering comes despite a comfortable income. He earned a congressional salary of about $184,000 in 2024 and, with his wife Brittany Watts, reports a combined annual income of about $444,000.

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NY assembly to get million-dollar lounge —while demanding huge tax hikes on hardworking New Yorkers

State assembly members are set to personally enjoy a million-dollar renovation for their lounge space just off the chamber floor — even as they push to hike taxes on businesses while driving up spending, The Post has learned.

The Office of General Services, a division of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration which handles much of the capitol complex, is moving forward with plans to renovate the space with the price tag potentially exceeding $1 million, according to bidding documents reviewed by The Post.

The move comes as the same pols who exclusively get to recline on the couches in the antechamber and chomp down on treats prepared in the lounge’s kitchenette demand Hochul hike taxes on businesses amid next year’s proposed $263 billion state budget.

“Albany Democrats always find money for themselves while asking New Yorkers to pay more. They are completely out of touch,” upstate Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), a former assembly woman, told The Post.

Ex-Assemblyman Andy Goodell (R-Chautaqua) added, “The assembly members should work harder rather than ‘lounge’ around.”

A source confirmed to The Post that OGS had received a request from the Assembly for the project.

Lawmakers ran for the hills Wednesday for Passover break after failing to come to an agreement with Hochul on her proposed $263 billion state budget proposal.

Despite being on a scheduled two-week recess, lawmakers will likely have to gather to vote Tuesday on another stopgap spending bill to keep state workers paid.

At least some will likely skip the tally in person, Goodell said.

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The Flailing GOP’s Biggest Advantage This November Is Democrats Are Still Obviously Crazy

BETTER TO BE INCOMPETENT, THAN OBVIOUSLY CRAZY

Things aren’t going well for Trump among the electorate. He’s slipping in nearly every metric. He just hit his highest national disapproval rating yet.

Functionally speaking, the midterms look bad. I’m not sure why Trump doesn’t appear more urgent other than his striking penchant for inexhaustible confidence. Losing the House would be sad but predictable, while losing the Senate would be catastrophic.

The House of Trump is teetering. The brothers have been doing all sorts of … deals. It hasn’t escaped the notice of other Republicans even. It won’t escape the notice of new Senate leadership. Impeachments are the least of it.

Imagine Biden’s foreign grift but 1000x worse.

And what’s the upshot of all this? What’s propelling Trump’s confidence?

In part, despite the cascade of disappointments, it has to be that the electorate still has a dimmer opinion of Democrats. Dim is a bit understated.

As conservative economist Stephen Moore put it, “Voters may not love Republicans, but increasingly, they fear Democrats.”

Machiavelli coined the term, “better to be feared than loved.” He elucidated further by saying that constant fear would eventually lead to instability, but you get the point.

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Alberta Surpasses 177,000 Signatures, Officially Triggering Its Independence Referendum for October 19th

Alberta has entered a historic chapter.
This week, organizers confirmed that the movement for an Alberta independence referendum has officially passed the required threshold of 177,000 verified signatures, clearing the final legal barrier for a vote set to take place on October 19th.

According to the organizers behind the petition, signatures continue to pour in even after the requirement was met — a sign of the momentum and frustration that have been building across the province.

For many Albertans, this referendum is the result of years of tension with Ottawa, fueled by policies that have targeted the province’s energy sector, restricted development, and undermined the economic backbone of Western Canada. Residents and local leaders argue that Alberta has carried the financial weight of the federation while receiving little more than political pushback in return.

The announcement marks a dramatic turning point in Canada’s national landscape.
Independence movements have existed before, but none had crossed the official threshold required to trigger a formal vote — until now. This makes Alberta the first province to force a federal showdown over sovereignty in the modern era.

Political analysts say the development could reshape the country’s balance of power, testing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s already strained relationship with Western regions. The federal government, por su parte, has avoided making strong public comments, aware that any misstep could inflate separatist sentiment even further.

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The Seder That Turned on Mamdani

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani walked into the “Downtown Seder” at City Winery in Manhattan ready to set a tone. He spoke first, leaned into unity, and tried to present himself as a mayor who moves easily across lines that divide the city.

Unfortunately for the mayor, the room didn’t follow his lead.

Zohran Mamdani is clearly aiming to convince the world that he isn’t anti-Semitic in the most lefty-coded theater-kid way possible. It didn’t quite go as he planned.

The New York mayor attended what The New York Times called a “hip” Passover Seder on Monday.

The event was also attended by former CNN host Don Lemon, who is in a bit of legal trouble at the moment, and a whole host of other characters, including a drag-queen rabbi who phoned in from Jerusalem and George Floyd’s brother, who spoke about “racism,” according to the Times.

Michael Dorf, founder of City Winery and longtime host of the event, has run the gathering for over 30 years. Mamdani took a seat alongside Don Lemon and Amichai Lau-Lavie.

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie will appear at the Seder by video from Israel. The rabbi and human rights activist is best known as the subject of the documentary film Sabbath Queen (2024), which followed Lau-Lavie’s “epic journey” as a “drag-queen rebel” who “challenge[s] patriarchy and supremacy.” It is not known if the rabbi will appear as himself or as his drag alter ego, Hadassah Gross. Other guests will include Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, and Matthew Broussard, the actor and comedian who played “Comic 2 at Stage Deli” in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Mamdani addressed antisemitism and told the audience he stands with Jewish New Yorkers, framing himself as a bridge builder, even while promoting a political agenda rooted in democratic socialism and expanded government authority.

That contrast didn’t sit well.

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‘Something Like A Civil War’: Eric Metaxas And James Kunstler Suggest Trump Needs To Outlaw The Democratic Party

On a recent episode of his self-titled program, religious-right broadcaster and full-blown Trump cultist Eric Metaxas interviewed right-wing author James Howard Kunstler, who suggested that President Donald Trump might have to declare a national emergency to outlaw the Democrat Party in order to prevent them from winning the midterm elections.

Angry that the GOP-controlled Congress has been unable to pass the SAVE Act, Kunstler warned that “at some point, I think Mr. Trump is going to have to go Abe Lincoln on the Democratic Party.”

“He’s going to have to declare some kind of a national emergency,” Kunstler said. “He may have to declare the Democratic Party as a seditious outlaw organization and do something about it.” 

Metaxas agreed while noting that such a move would undoubtedly be seen by Trump’s critics as “dramatic.”

“It seems to me that circumstances may require—may require—Mr. Trump to go to a place where he has to declare certain emergency executive powers to deal with an organization that wants to destroy the country,” Kunstler replied. “And that means probably taking some people off the game board in a very demonstrative way.”

Metaxas again agreed, suggesting that it is long past time for criminal cases to be brought against the likes of former President Barack Obama, former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former CIA Director John Brennan. 

“Those of us who care about the country realize that others have done this,” Metaxas said. “Lincoln did it. But what would that look like? … Can he do that before the midterms? What’s that going to look like? If ever the No Kings people would be losing their minds—he does nothing and they lose their minds—when he does something, you have to wonder what that would look like.”

“I think it would probably look something like a civil war,” Kunstler answered. “We’ve been there before and somebody had to rescue the republic, and it looks like we may be entering a period where the republic needs to be rescued again. It’s going to be pretty unappetizing to see that happen, but necessity may call.”

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CNN Alum Drops Blunt Warning on Harris 2028 Run: ‘Very Bad’ News for Democrats

CNN alumnus Chris Cillizza said former Vice President Kamala Harris is likely mounting another White House run, and he explained how that would be ‘very bad’ news for Democrats.

Late last week on his podcast, “So What,” Cillizza warned about the potential damage Harris could do to the Democratic Party if she runs for president again.

“I think this is a bad thing for the Democratic Party that she appears to be moving closer to running,” he proclaimed. “I think that she, based on the polling, would start the race as the front-runner.”

He added, “Notice I focused on ‘start the race as the front-runner.’”

“But I think that the Harris people, or Harris herself, will learn the wrong lesson from that — or has already learned the wrong lesson from that,” Cillizza continued. “And by that I mean this: She will look at that and say, ‘I’m in first place. Why wouldn’t I run? It’s my nomination to lose.’”

His comments came after CNN reported that Harris is scheduled to appear at Democratic events in four southern states next month.

The former vice president’s publicity tour for her book “107 Days” received negative press after it was discovered that she was using California Highway Patrol officers to serve as her personal security.

California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, a Republican, said if elected, he would rescind the protection, which he called a “corrupt freebie.”

About one week later, Harris announced she was cancelling several stops on the tour, according to KCRA-TV.

“In the one general election she ran on the national level, she lost to Donald Trump, a deeply flawed candidate,” Cillizza explained. “So number one, I just don’t think, in … candidate skills, when it comes to being able to reach across the aisle and get voters who are not already hard-core Democrats, I don’t think she has a great record of doing that.”

Cillizza also concluded that Harris would steal attention from other potential Democratic nominees if she ran again, and that she would make former President Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline a main talking point of the election.

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SURPRISE! Zohran Mamdani’s New ‘Free’ Childcare Program is Going to Cost $60,000 Per Child

Are you sitting down? This is shocking news.

It turns out that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new ‘free’ childcare program isn’t free at all. In fact, it’s going to cost $60,000 – Per child. Of course, it’ll be free for the people who get the service, but not for the taxpayers who are funding it.

This is the shell game that is always played by leftists. Nothing is free and they know it. Someone always pays.

Oh and by the way, this is just the rollout of the program. You know it will cost more down the road.

The New York Post reports:

Mamdani rolls out $2.3M day care pilot for NYC workers with hefty $60K cost per kid

The cost of “free” child care is soaring.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the opening of a new daycare center for municipal workers Monday that will cost more than double the average price of child care — to a tune of nearly $60,000 per kid.

The pilot program will start this fall on the first floor of David N. Dinkins Municipal Building in Lower Manhattan after a multi-million-dollar renovation of a room for just 40 children, ages six weeks to 3 years old.

The childcare center co-ops an initiative of Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, that was announced in October.

Mamdani said the Adams administration didn’t allocate operating funds for the center, which Hizzoner said would have a $2.3 million price tag and will be included in the city’s upcoming executive budget.

That works out to $57,500 per child to attend the day care from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On average, day care costs in the city for infants come in at $26,000 and $23,400 for toddlers, according to the city comptroller’s office.

City Hall didn’t respond to questions about the soaring cost to the city compared to private center-based programs.

That’s strange. Why do you suppose Mamdani’s city hall didn’t respond to questions?

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