Tag: taxes

The Status Quo Is a Comic-Book Parody

The sharpest critique of the status quo–and therefore the one most likely to spark spittle-flecked freakouts–is that stripped of self-important spin, it’s a comic-book parody of a functional state of affairs. The key to a solid parody is the most absurd exaggerations are taken with the utmost seriousness, as if the participants are completely unaware of the laughable nature of the caricatures they’re playing.

So let’s conduct a thought experiment: boil off all the grandiose self-importance (“we’re serious people discussing serious things,” blah-blah-blah) and hyper-stylized spin (“AI will make everything free, or end the world as we know it!”), and then try to parody what’s left.

You can’t. Everything in the status quo is already a self-parody and therefore impervious to being parodied. Whatever we come up with as a parody is only a pale shadow of what’s passed off as “serious people doing serious things.”

Consider The Imperial Project ™ War Room for playing their live-action game War of Choice ™. This is the pinnacle of “serious people discussing serious things”–what’s our next War of Choice ™?

It’s not ideal, but it’s the only war we got.

War generates inflation which creates an illusory “growth” that impoverishes the bottom 90% as life becomes unaffordable, a tragicomic parody of prosperity: as long as this parody of prosperity enriches Wall Street, the status quo cheers.

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As national debt hits $40.2 trillion, interest on the debt cost $1.4 trillion in 2026, audit finds

nterest costs on the national debt totaled $1.4 trillion in fiscal 2026, according to an audit of Treasury’s books released this week by the Government Accountability Office. About $1.1 trillion of that was paid out to bondholders, with the rest credited to federal trust funds the government owes itself.

The audit found total federal debt reached $40.2 trillion as of Sept. 30, up about $2.5 trillion in a single year and about double the $19.6 trillion the government owed a decade earlier. GAO found Treasury’s schedules fairly presented and its internal controls effective.

Payments to bondholders have climbed sharply. The audit put interest expense on debt held by the public at about $392 billion in fiscal 2021, up to about $1.1 trillion last year. GAO attributed the increase to both the growing debt and higher interest rates.

Net interest trailed only Social Security benefits among federal spending lines last year, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s Monthly Budget Review for fiscal 2026. CBO put net interest on the public debt at $1.14 trillion, a slightly different measure than the interest paid to bondholders, and more than the government spent on Medicare or Medicaid. It was about $225 billion more than the War Department spent on military activities. CBO reported net interest rose 11% in a year.

GAO attributed the growth in debt held by the public to spending that continues to outpace revenue. CBO reported the federal deficit at about $2 trillion in fiscal 2026, up from about $1.8 trillion the year before, and projects average annual deficits above $2.4 trillion over the next decade.

Matthew Dickerson, senior fellow for budget policy at the National Taxpayers Union, said he expects the debt limit to be reached in February 2027. Treasury would then have just under $1.5 trillion in cash on hand and need to take extraordinary measures to keep paying the government’s obligations, he said. He anticipates resources to be exhausted by the end of November 2027.

“Congress doesn’t need to wait until next year,” Dickerson told The Center Square. “They should increase the debt limit in the lame duck, along with real spending reforms to address the underlying fiscal problem.”

Lawmakers face a related deadline before then. The continuing resolution signed in September, Public Law 119-103, funds the government through Dec. 11.

David Ditch, a federal budget expert at the Cato Institute, told The Center Square that the ceiling vote has long been Congress’s only real moment for restraint.

“For several decades, votes on the debt limit have been the only time when Congress is willing to vote for meaningful deficit reduction,” he said. “At minimum, they should use the next debt limit vote as an opportunity to cut expected deficits in half by reducing the growth of spending. This would ease inflationary and interest rate pressures that are punishing family budgets across America.”

Treasury did not respond to questions by publication. The department was closed Wednesday for the Veterans Day federal holiday.

Lawmakers have suspended the debt limit rather than raising it by a set amount eight times since the beginning of 2013, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The group said the current $41.1 trillion ceiling was set in July 2025, when the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the limit by $5 trillion.

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Canadian Heritage commits $84,080 for ‘youth climate journalism’, $47,959 for ‘BIPOC Internship Project’

Canadian Heritage’s Canada Periodical Fund has committed $84,080 to the Starfish Environmental Society for “Piloting youth climate journalism using a multi-publication approach” and $47,959 to the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association for a “BIPOC Internship Project,” records reviewed by Rebel News show.

The Starfish and Alberta awards appear in the department’s proactive disclosure of grants and contributions for July to September 2026, and the Starfish agreement starts October 1, 2026.

The disclosure lists eleven awards totalling $452,106 under two streams. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and people of colour.

Under the Changing Narratives Fund, the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers got $32,446 for “Speech is Power: Raising Up Underrepresented Voices to Present to the Magazine Industry,” the Vancouver Association for the Survivors of Torture got $50,000 for “Voices Against Torture (VAT): Changing Narratives through Editorial and Production Mentorship,” the National Media Awards Foundation got $83,757 for “Changing Narratives: Building Career Pathways in Magazine and Digital Media,” the Maple Bamboo Network Society got $21,194 for “NextGen Canadian Filipino Net: Building the Next Generation of Ethnocultural Digital Storytellers,” and the Society of We Are Canadians Too got $20,000 for “Beyond Chinese: Newcomer Storytelling & Community Media Mentorship Initiative.”

Under Collective Initiatives, alongside Starfish, Press Forward got $36,170 for “The Future of Independent Media Summit 2026,” Glacier FarmMedia got $32,000 and $25,000 for a study of agricultural media and a mentorship model for agricultural journalism, and Le Journal Franco-Albertain got $19,500 for “Magazine Plume Jeunesse.”

Canadian Heritage says the Changing Narratives Fund “will not be renewed and will sunset, as planned, on March 31, 2027,” so these awards fall in its final year.

Press Forward launched in December 2020 as a national association to “unify, elevate and advocate for independent journalism organizations in Canada.” Its founding members included The Tyee, The Narwhal, the National Observer and Village Media.

The Starfish’s website tells young people to “Build skills. Connect with changemakers. Lead climate action.” It previously received $10,110 from the same fund for The Starfish Canada Youth Journal in 2024-25.

The department’s guidelines say Collective Initiatives money is meant to “explore and test new business models and digital opportunities for the periodical industry” and to “raise the profile of the periodical industry among advertisers, readers, creators, and as a career opportunity for Canadians.”

Marc Miller has been Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, responsible for Canadian Heritage, since December 1, 2025, when he replaced Steven Guilbeault. The records do not name who approved the awards.

Eleven awards, $452,106, and the titles tell the reader what Ottawa’s magazine fund considers a priority.

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Which minister’s office at Jobs and Families needed $57,437 in workplace investigators?

Two contracts for workplace investigators at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) are flagged as minister’s office contracts, worth $57,437 together, according to records Rebel News found in the federal contracts database. The records do not say which minister’s office the work is for.

Both appear in ESDC’s disclosure of contracts for the second quarter of 2026-27, dated July 31 and August 12.

The first is a $29,893.50 order to QMR Staffing Solutions Incorporated for work from August 3 to March 31, 2027. Its description reads “Investigation services in a workplace environment.”

The second is a $27,543.75 order to the same firm, with the same description, for work from August 13 to March 31, 2027.

Both were ordered under a standing offer, a pre-arranged supply agreement set up by Public Services and Procurement Canada. The database’s “Ministers Office Contracts” field says “Yes” for both.

QMR, a staffing and consulting firm with a downtown Ottawa postal code, says on its website that it offers “Workplace Investigative Services for C-65 compliance and other workplace-related investigations.” Bill C-65 is the federal law on workplace harassment and violence.

Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu, a Liberal, oversees ESDC. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s May 2025 cabinet also named three secretaries of state in its areas, John Zerucelli (Labour), Anna Gainey (Children and Youth) and Stephanie McLean (Seniors).

The records do not say who complained or what about.

Earlier orders for the same service were not flagged.

ESDC used QMR under the same standing offer, with the same description, in June 2025 ($29,380) and February 2025 ($108,651.37 after amendment), and both say “No” in that field. So does a September 2025 order to Les Enquêtes Henri Inc. for $63,082.25.

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Democratic Senator Says ‘Beauty’ Of Ukraine War Is Paying Ukrainians To Kill Russians

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said on Monday that the “beauty” of the nearly five-year-old Russia-Ukraine war is the fact that the US is “paying Ukrainians to kill Russians.”

Gallego, who joined the Senate last after serving in the House for about 10 years, made the comment on X, where he insisted that Ukraine could win the war if its forces killed enough Russians.

“But Ukraine can win. Thats why I back them. It’s a Russian talking point that Ukraine can’t win, cause Russia big blah,blah. If Ukraine kills enough Russians they will quit,” Gellego, an Iraq war veteran, wrote.

A user replied, telling the Senator to join the Ukrainian foreign legion, to which he replied, “No, that’s the beauty of this; we can pay the Ukrainians to kill the Russians.”

In another post a few days earlier, Gallego called for Elon Musk to testify before Congress about Ukraine’s recent Starlink restrictions. A user asked if he was pushing the Ukraine war for “financial gain,” and Gallego replied, “No just hate the fuckin Russians.”

The idea that the US is benefiting from the Ukraine war since Russians are being killed without US troops dying has been a common argument of supporters of the proxy war over the years, a talking point that shows disregard for the Ukrainian lives being lost.

The late Sen. Lindsey Graham said at the start of the conflict that as long as the US provides “Ukraine with the weapons they need and the economic support, they will fight to the last person.” He later described the war as a “great deal for America” because it was hurting Russia and no US troops have been killed.

Gallego’s comments highlight strong support for the proxy war among Democrats, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently said he may get more support after the Democratic victory in the US midterm elections. Russia-Ukraine peace talks are ongoing in Abu Dhabi, but so far there has been no sign of a breakthrough.

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British Universities Push Sharia Loans While Taxpayers Cover The Unpaid Tab

British universities are now openly advertising government-backed “interest-free” student loans designed around Islamic finance rules.

The Alternative Student Finance product, based on the principle of takaful, replaces interest with a mutual “contribution” that is ring-fenced to fund other students on the same scheme rather than flowing back into the Treasury.

Official forecasts already expect nearly half of student debt never to be fully repaid, so British taxpayers will underwrite the shortfall while the ring-fenced pot serves a program primarily aimed at Muslim students, the Telegraph reports.

The scheme is open to anyone eligible for student finance, yet it exists because Islamic law prohibits interest.

Universities including University College London, Bristol, Leeds, City St George’s, Newcastle and De Montfort have begun telling applicants the loans could be available in the 2026-27 academic year, describing them as “compatible with Islamic finance principles,” “non-interest bearing” and “sharia-compliant.”

The Department for Education paid the Islamic Finance Council UK more than £365,000 in public money to design it and has presented the arrangement as one of the first state-backed sharia-compliant student loan systems in the world.

Suella Braverman, Reform’s education spokesman, said: “This outrageous anti-British scheme creates a two-tier education system and divided society. The scheme from Labour proves they are addicted to double standards in all aspects of British life.”

She added that offering sharia-compliant loans risked “creating parallel institutions that are incompatible with the British way of life” and that “the whole idea is made even more farcical by the fact that the Treasury, and therefore British taxpayers, will have to foot the bill if they fail to pay.”

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Moving to Ban Migrants on Government Assistance From Wiring Money Outside the Country

During an interview with Laura Ingraham of FOX News this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that the administration is moving to ban migrants who are on government assistance from wiring money out of America into other countries.

Ingraham pointed out that there are examples of American tax dollars being used to support terrorist organizations overseas and Bessent concurred, agreeing that this is unacceptable.

It is amazing that it has taken this long to address this issue, but better late than never.

Breitbart News has more details:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is banning migrants who are on government assistance from sending any U.S. dollars outside the country.

The secretary is making his move as part of a crackdown on ⁠federal social benefits abuses in Minnesota, which includes audits by the Internal Revenue Service on some banks under suspicion of money laundering.

Bessent has been concerned that money sent back to Somalia by the Somali community in Minnesota has ended up in the hands of the Muslim terror group al-Shabaab. Bessent has now suggested these funds — called remittances — should come under closer scrutiny.

“If you are wiring the money out of the country, one of two things must be true: you’re either getting too much money and your benefits must be cut, or you’re part of this conspiracy. Where did that money come from? We’re gonna find out,” Bessent said during an interview on Fox News.

“From now on, anyone who wires money out from one of these money service businesses has to check a box saying whether they are on public assistance,” he said.

“And if you are on public assistance, we are going to start pushing that you cannot wire money out of the country,” he added.

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Zelensky Wants Western Taxpayers to Finance His Army for Another Decade

The war has not even ended, and Zelensky is already demanding that Western taxpayers finance an 800,000-man Ukrainian army for another TEN YEARS! After billions upon billions have been poured into Ukraine, destroying the finances of European governments while their own citizens struggle with rising taxes and declining living standards, Kyiv is now discussing how to make this arrangement last another decade. This is absolutely astonishing. We have governments borrowing money they do not have to finance a war they have been unable to bring to an end, and now they are being asked to maintain one of the largest standing armies in the world long after the fighting stops.

According to a senior Ukrainian official cited by AFP, Kyiv presented the proposal during negotiations with Russia and the United States in Abu Dhabi. Zelensky had already declared in October that he wanted to maintain 800,000 troops if Western governments provided the funding. He has also insisted that the size of Ukraine’s military is not negotiable with Moscow. Ukraine argues that this enormous force is necessary to deter another Russian invasion. Ukraine cannot simply dictate the size of its military and then expect foreign taxpayers to provide a blank check to maintain it. National defense is one of the most expensive responsibilities of any sovereign government. If Kyiv intends to preserve a wartime military establishment indefinitely, it must explain how that obligation can be supported by an economy that has been devastated by years of conflict.

Ukraine already maintains an estimated 880,000 to 900,000 active military personnel, compared with approximately 200,000 before the Russian invasion in 2022. Zelensky is proposing to retain almost the entire wartime force. Germany has roughly 180,000 active personnel, Britain around 147,000, France approximately 200,000, and Poland around 200,000. Ukraine’s proposed army would exceed the active forces of Germany, Britain, and France combined. Pakistan maintains approximately 660,000 active personnel, while South Korea has around 450,000. Only a handful of countries maintain larger forces, including China, India, Russia, and the United States. Those countries finance their militaries primarily through their own national budgets. Zelensky wants Ukraine to maintain a military comparable to the world’s largest powers while sending the bill to foreign governments. The sheer audacity of this proposal should be enough to force a serious debate over what the West is actually committing itself to.

Let us put some numbers on the table because politicians seem to believe money grows on trees. At an illustrative annual cost of $30,000 per soldier, including pay, benefits, equipment, training, and support, an army of 800,000 would require $24 billion every year. That is $240 billion over ten years. At $50,000 per soldier, the figure rises to $40 billion annually, or $400 billion over the decade. These are illustrative calculations rather than official budget estimates. They also exclude major weapons purchases, reconstruction of military infrastructure, and replacement of equipment destroyed during the war. We haven’t even factored in benefits, retirement, disability payments, or the endless other costs associated with merely the soldiers themselves.

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Colorado Gave Free Healthcare to Illegal Immigrants – Now the Governor is Admitting It’s Not Sustainable

In the coming months, we are going to hear a lot of Democrats talking about ‘Medicare for all.’ This is one of their top issues. Bernie Sanders has been talking about it for years and the left thinks their moment has finally arrived.

Unfortunately for them, there are plenty of examples of why this doesn’t work and would actually be a disaster.

In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis was hailed by the left for offering ‘free’ healthcare to illegal immigrants back in 2022. He is now admitting that the program is unsustainable and is recommending hundreds of millions in cuts.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Colorado Gov Moves To Gut Health Care Coverage for Illegal Immigrant Children Amid Spiraling Medicaid Costs

Colorado Democrats and immigration activists cheered after Gov. Jared Polis (D.) signed a signature 2022 health care law providing coverage to children and “pregnant persons” living in the United States illegally. Four years later, Polis, now a lame duck, is calling to gut the Cover All Coloradans program in his final budget proposal in an attempt to address the state’s spiraling Medicaid costs, and left-wing groups aren’t happy.

Polis released his budget on the eve of the midterm elections—one day after the legally mandated deadline to do so—and proposed $600 million in state Medicaid cuts. He called Medicaid’s growth “unsustainable” and told reporters it was on track to “crowd out everything else, including education.”

Buried in the proposal is a section calling to “replace Cover All Coloradans” by redirecting funds to a separate program, the Primary Care Fund, which offers financial assistance to low-income, uninsured residents for health care. Illegal immigrant children are eligible for that benefit but would lose the comprehensive insurance plan provided by Cover All Coloradans. A fact sheet notes that Polis aims “to end Cover All Coloradans coverage for children,” but “coverage for pregnant and postpartum adults would continue.”

Polis’s budget would strip some $10 million from Cover All Coloradans, with about half of that going to the Primary Care Fund.

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Outrageous Welfare Fraud: Democrat Pennsylvania Councilman Allegedly Pocketed Nearly $7,000 in SNAP and Heating Aid While Falsely Claiming He Was Unemployed

A Democrat member of Uniontown, Pennsylvania’s City Council was arraigned Thursday on charges that he fraudulently obtained nearly $7,000 in taxpayer-funded food and heating assistance while employed and earning more than $166,000 over the same period.

Trace Thomas, 34, faces one count of fraudulently obtaining benefits after state investigators alleged he collected Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds while repeatedly reporting himself as unemployed.

The Pennsylvania State Office of Inspector General alleges Thomas received $5,705 in SNAP benefits and another $1,000 through the heating assistance program after he was hired by Senior Life, a Pittsburgh-based health care company, in September 2023.

According to the criminal complaint, obtained by The Herald Standard, Thomas continued to report himself as unemployed on eight applications for the funds as late as August 2025.

Thomas also completed phone interviews with the county assistance office for SNAP benefits, during which he did not disclose employment or income.

More than a year after receiving his first paycheck from Senior Life, Thomas sent a letter to the county assistance office in September 2024 stating that he was unemployed and looking for a job.

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