Tag: taxes

Trump CUTS OFF Aid To Anti-White South Africa—Offers Deal To Violently Persecuted Farmers: “They will tie people up and drag them behind a truck until they die”

South Africa has been in the news lately, in large part, due to former South African resident, Elon Musk, who has been keeping the news about the genocide of white farmers front and center on his “X” platform.

Yesterday, a video of Julius Malema of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a far-left minority opposition party in South Africa, surfaced showing him saying that they will be confiscating the land, assets and money from White people that live on their land in response to Conservatives and DOGE pushing to cut their funding.

“We will expropriate without compensation whether they (white Afrikaners) like it or not. If they object, they can seek refuge in America.”

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PA Faces “Looming Power Crisis” After Gov. Shapiro’s Electricity Tax And Plant Closures

Not unlike the rest of the country which will soon have aggressive new power needs thanks to the data centers powering AI, Pennsylvania is also facing its own power crisis. 

Nearly a year after Gov. Josh Shapiro promised a “new era” in energy—touting job creation, lower utility bills, and billions in clean energy investment—Pennsylvanians see little progress. Instead, he promotes short-term fixes and questionable deals that do nothing to curb rising electricity costs, according to a new op-ed in the Delaware Valley Journal by Senator Gene Yaw.

Shapiro overlooks the real issue: his RGGI electricity tax and the premature shutdown of key power plants without a clear replacement strategy. When energy supply lags behind demand, prices inevitably rise, Yaw notes.

In the next decade, the grid faces a projected 80,000-megawatt shortfall. Pennsylvania, supplying a quarter of the region’s power, would need at least 20 new plants to keep pace—yet none are planned or in development.

Since RGGI’s proposal, Pennsylvania has seen no new baseload energy investment. The governor insists action is needed, yet his carbon tax push and failed policies only worsen the crisis. Real solutions require attracting energy investment, modernizing the grid, and streamlining regulations.

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FCC’s Brendan Carr Advances Investigation into NPR, PBS Running ‘Prohibited’ Ads

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr advanced his investigation into NPR and PBS running “prohibited” commercials.

Carr ordered an investigation in early January into the taxpayer-funded NPR and PBS, believing the nonprofits are running commercials that they are barred from airing.

“I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing commercials,” Carr wrote at the time. “In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”

Public broadcasting stations are prohibited from running commercials, and instead they often air corporate underwriting spots, which cannot issue a “call to action” to urge listeners to purchase a product or service.

An FCC source said, at the end of last week, the agency sent out 15 letters of inquiry, two to NPR and PBS, and 13 letters to their affiliates, seeking to know more about their advertising and prospective underwriting practices.

Some of these stations include WETA, the Washington, DC, PBS station, WAMU, the American University NPR local affiliate in the D.C. area, and WNYC, a New York City NPR affiliate in the Big Apple.

“For my own part, I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace,” Carr continued.

This is not the only inquiry the FCC has taken since Carr has led the telecommunications regulatory agency.

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DHS Ends TSA Collective Bargaining After Bombshell Finding Of ‘More Full-Time Union Workers’ Than Airport Screeners

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ending collective bargaining for Transportation Security Officers with the TSA, Fox News reports, citing a release obtained by Fox Business.

According to the report, The TSA has more people doing “full-time union work” vs. performing actual screening functions at 86% of US airports. Put another way, 374 out of 432 federalized airports have fewer than 200 TSA Officers to perform screening functions, while the rest are paid by the government but work “full-time on union matters” and do not retain certification to perform screening.

What’s more, DHS cited a recent TSA employee survey which found that over 60% of “poor performers” are allowed to stay employed and “not surprisingly, continue to not perform.”

(Also, maybe get rid of the nut-grabbers in the TSA patdown area when we don’t want to submit to those Total Recall scanners made by Leidos – formerly SAIC).

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Los Angeles cannot track money spent on homeless programs, independent audit finds

  • An independent audit commissioned by a federal judge raised serious concerns about how Los Angeles city and county are handling the billions of taxpayer dollars spent on the homelessness crisis. 

Sergio Moreno’s business sits in the heart of Skid Row, where he sees homeless people overdosing on drugs. 

“There were days we’d see two to three overdoses,” he said. 

The things Moreno has witnessed made him suspicious on how the city has managed the response to the homeless crisis. 

“It’s not dollars we’re talking about,” he said. “Those dollars translate into people’s lives.”

His feelings have been heightened following the independent audit released on Thursday. It claims that Los Angeles city and county leaders cannot account for the billions of taxpayer dollars spent on the homeless crisis last year. The LA Alliance for Human Rights pressed for a series of audits in recent years. 

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Elizabeth Mitchell, an attorney for LA Alliance for Human Rights. “It’s atrocious. It’s immoral. It’s unjustified. But, what it is not, is surprising.”

Many of the problems identified were at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA. 

The auditors said the agency’s paper trail was so poor that tracking the $2.5 billion spent last year was nearly impossible. 

“It is an actual infrastructure disaster,” Mitchell said. “The truth is everybody is in charge and nobody is in charge. There are no checks and balances.”

The office of LA County Supervisor Linsey Horvath called for accountability, results and an end to this “nightmare.”

“This audit is another reminder of what we already know – the current homelessness services system is broken,” she said in a statement. “We need accountability and results right now, which is why I’m proceeding with the creation of a consolidated County department that will end this nightmare.”

The president of the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council believes there are other record-keeping problems. 

“Even the homeless count is not accurate,” Claudia Olviveira said. “Nothing is accurate and based on data.”

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Trump’s Tariff Wars Will Hurt U.S. the Most

President Donald Trump seems to believe that tariffs can help to bring manufacturing back to the States.

Trump’s tariffs have so far been aimed at four targets, the U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico, China and, soon to come, the European Union.

During his first term Trump negotiated the U.S.M.C.A. with Mexico and Canada, a free trade zone covering the U.S. and its neighbors. He is now attempting to change the rules of it. But the way he does so is inconsistent.

On January 21 Trump promised tariffs on Canada and Mexico. On February 1 he announced them. Three days later he delayed the implementation of those tariffs. On February 27 he said the tariffs would go into effect on March 4. On March 5 he was again forced to pull back (archived):

President Trump said on Wednesday that he would pause tariffs on cars coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico for one month, after a 25 percent tariff that he placed on America’s closest trading partners a day earlier roiled stock markets and prompted stiff resistance from industry.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, read a statement from Mr. Trump on Wednesday saying that White House had spoken with the three largest auto makers, and that a one-month exemption would be given to cars coming in through United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

A one-month exemption is a joke. It takes years to move parts production from one country to another. There are hundreds of companies in Mexico, Canada and the U.S. which make the myriad parts that go into a car. It is an completely integrated industry which took years to build.

U.S. car manufacturers had trusted that U.S.M.C.A. would hold. Should the tariffs apply anytime soon they will have to increase their prices by hefty margins or halt their production.

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Musk Fired-Up About Paul’s Rescission Idea For Slashing Spending Up To $500 Billion

Seeking to codify spending cuts pursued by his Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk held a closed-door lunch with Republican senators on Wednesday. Musk was said to be “elated” with Sen. Rand Paul’s recommendation to make the cuts stick with a relatively expeditious budget-slashing technique called “rescission.” The approach could guide DOGE cuts around federal judges who consider executive-branch-initiated spending cuts as exceeding constitutional authority. 

Rescission offers a means by which presidents can collaborate with Congress to cancel previously-appropriated spending. Enabled by Title X of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the rarely-used process starts with the president sending a special message to Congress, providing specific details about which budgetary authorities he wants to rescind. 

With Republicans holding a narrow 53-47 Senate majority, one of the most attractive aspects of rescission is that it doesn’t require 60 votes — a simple majority suffices to grant the president’s wish. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley told reporters that Musk was “elated” with Paul’s proposal: “I think he didn’t realize it could be done at 51.” According to South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham, it was the first time Musk had heard of the rescission process. He said Musk reacted by triumphantly lifting his arms into the air.  

The approach promises to immunize DOGE spending cuts from federal judges who are skeptical about the executive branch’s power to cut spending that was duly authorized by Congress. This week has seen two major developments that demonstrate the strength of that judicial headwind:

Rescission is an alternative to “impoundment,” by which presidents unilaterally delay Congressionally-directed spending. First used by Thomas Jefferson, the method was restricted by the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) after Democrats felt President Nixon was abusing it. Trump has called ICA “a disaster of a law” and vowed to “do everything I can to challenge [it] in court, and if necessary, get Congress to overturn it.” However, as noted above, the same law provides the opportunity for rescission, which means Trump can use ICA to his advantage. 

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Biden Judge Strong-Arms Trump, Orders Admin to Pay a Portion of $2 Billion in Foreign Contracts by Monday Evening

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump Administration to pay a portion of the $2 billion in foreign contracts by Monday evening.

US District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee held a hearing on Thursday after the Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling denied the Trump Administration’s request to vacate his TRO forcing the administration to pay $2 billion in foreign contracts.

Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

Alito said he was stunned by the judge’s order forcing the Trump Administration to pay $2 billion in foreign contracts.

“Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic “No,” but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned,” Alito wrote in a scathing dissent.

After a four-hour hearing on Thursday, Judge Ali ordered the Trump Admin to get some of the plaintiffs’ invoices paid by 6 pm on Monday.

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British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles are useless in Ukraine now President Trump has blocked US intelligence from being shared with allies

Britain’s long-range Storm Shadow missiles are feared to have been rendered useless in Ukraine after President Donald Trump blocked US intelligence from being shared with allies.

In a huge blow to Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s invasion, Trump froze American military aid to Kyiv before suspending intelligence sharing with President Volodymr Zelensky’s war-torn country.

The UK, which has vowed to stand by Ukraine throughout the three-year war, is among the countries who have been banned from sharing Washington intelligence with Kyiv.

It comes amid an ongoing transatlantic rift after Trump and Zelensky dramatically clashed in a heated Oval Office row last week, sparking a wave of support for Ukraine from European allies including Britain.

MailOnline revealed on Tuesday that UK intelligence agencies and military outlets have received an order expressly forbidding the sharing of US-generated intelligence, previously known as ‘Rel UKR’ – short for Releasable to Ukraine’. 

The impact is likely to have major ramifications as British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles, a critical asset used inside Russia’s Kursk region by Ukraine, require US data to hit their targets. MailOnline has contacted the MoD for comment.

Storm Shadow missiles, jointly developed by the UK and France who call it Scalp, are precision-guided munitions used for deep-strike missions as they can hit targets up to 250km (155miles) away. 

The effective missiles, believed to cost roughly £2million each, allow Ukraine to penetrate hardened bunkers and ammunition stores and down critical infrastructure, command centres and logistics hubs at huge ranges.

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CNN Embarrasses Itself Yet Again: Trump Was Right About Transgender Mice Studies

CNN went on a fact-checking frenzy after Trump’s Tuesday night speech to a joint session of Congress, but they forgot to do one thing: check the facts. In one of the epic diatribes of the address, the president lambasted the waste in the federal government that has been uncovered by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and pointed out many of the most ridiculous examples—including transgender studies on mice.

Trump:

Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified: $22 billion from HHS to provide free housing and cars for illegal aliens, $45 million for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma, $40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is. $8 million to promote LGBTQ+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of, $60 million for indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian empowerment in Central America. $60 million. $8 million for making mice transgender. [Laughter.]

This is real.

Well, it didn’t take long for CNN to get their knickers in a twist and try to trip up the president, but they failed badly:

CNN’s Deidre McPhillips initially tried to dispute the claim, arguing only about $500,000 had been allocated for similar research in monkeys — she was later forced to issue a correction after the White House proved CNN’s “fact check” inaccurate in a statement. 

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