Tag: taxes

FEMA an Even Bigger Disaster Than the Storms Themselves — and How it Can Be Replaced

This is more of a think piece than an article, so please stay with me here.  It’s based on decades of public health and disaster management work I’ve been involved with during my career. 

I first got involved in this while working as an executive at Lexington County Hospital, across the river from the state Capital of Columbia in South Carolina.  I’ve had similar positions at other county and city hospitals, including such disaster areas as Flint, Michigan’s city hospital.  In all cases, those hospitals were responsible for public health in the counties and cities they served.

At Lexington County Hospital, we were hit by Hurricane David – not just hit, but for roughly eight hours, the eye of the storm seemed to hover right on top of our hospital, which was in itself frightening. 

Nowhere near as big as Helene, even a relatively mild hurricane like David is a monster storm. Until you’ve seen water blown into the hospital through the brick wall, you have no idea what a deluge coming at you at 85 miles per hour can do – let alone Helene’s 140 miles per hour winds – you really can’t appreciate the damage it can do.  I do know that when David was approaching, I evacuated my family – my wife and infant son, but not our pet Sheltie, “Pumpkin” – into the hospital.  This protected them – hospitals are built to withstand such winds and environmental violence – so I could focus on doing my job without worrying about their safety.

In this South Carolina community, the Army at nearby Fort Jackson provided helicopter emergency medivac – medical and evacuation services. This was great, real-life training for the Army helicopter and air-rescue crews, and it provided excellent med-evac services for our five-county region. 

This got me involved in what the military have to offer in the realm of support services during a natural disaster.  Later, I worked with a hospital in Jacksonville, on the North Carolina coast, and immediately adjacent to Marine Corps Camp LeJeune.  During my time with them, both Hurricane Fran and Hurricane Floyd slammed into the North Carolina coast with winds of up to 137 and 122 miles per hour, respectively.  The disaster rivaled Helene’s impact, but in a much smaller scale.

Keep reading

‘Billions for Ukraine, Pennies for Americans’: Netizens Fume Over Stingy Hurricane Relief

As Hurricane Helene-related deaths grow and officials in the states of North and South Carolina – reportedly the worst hit – are trying to airdrop supplies, restore power, and clear roads, the administration of US President Joe Biden has put together yet another bulky package of military assistance for Ukraine.

Americans on social media are calling into question how stingy US relief funds for victims of the devastating hurricane Helene are compared with the vast amounts of aid funneled to Ukraine.

The Biden administration unveiled a new $2.4billion aid package for the purchase of new arms for Ukraine last week, as well as $5.55 billion worth of weapons to be drawn from Pentagon stockpiles. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that victims of Hurricane Helene, which claimed at least 223 lives and wrought devastating destruction since making landfall in Florida on September 26, will get $750 apiece as immediate aid money.

“$2.4B to Ukraine. $750 to the victims of Hurricane Helen $1B+ of FEMA money to illegal aliens No FEMA funds for hurricane survivors,” fumed Michael Seifert, CEO of the digital marketplace PublicSquare.

Keep reading

The Corporate Transparency Act — The Most Aggressive Domestic Spying Program Since the Patriot Act

At a press conference on August 12th, 1986, President Ronald Reagan said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”

These words reflected the general and growing distrust of the government.

Today, this quote could be reinterpreted to say, “I’m from the federal government, give up your personal data, and as long as you don’t step out of line, we will keep you safe”. Not as snappy but truer today than ever before.

By the end of this year, every citizen in the United States will be required to hand over the personal data of their small business, S-corp, LLC, HoA, Board of Directors, Trustees, Real Estate Holdings, etc., to the Federal Government’s law enforcement database, operated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) under the Department of Treasury. Welcome to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).

President Trump saw this act for what it was, just another way for the Federal Government to target the middle class and their political enemies. President Trump vetoed this unconstitutional power grab in 2019, but it’s back.

In an unprecedented act of overreach, the Federal Government is moving to aggressively collect data on all small business owners, who make up the backbone of the U.S. economy, for reasons that seem “murky” at best.

The sole goal appears to be setting up yet another new database of citizens to monitor, observe, and punish. The Feds are moving to implement the CTA at warp speed, and in seeming total secrecy, as the majority of the millions of small business owners in the United States have no idea this law even exists.

Keep reading

Curbing Global Censorship: House Republicans Take Aim at US-Funded Speech Crackdowns Abroad

A new bill introduced by House Republicans, the No Funding or Enforcement of Censorship Abroad Act (HR 9850), aims to prevent the US government from bankrolling censorship in other countries of content that is legal under US laws.

Chris Smith, Jim Jordan, and Maria Elvira Salazar are behind this draft that they say would protect and promote American values abroad – and those include free speech.

The bill’s authors hope to stop the use of foreign assistance funds to support censorship abroad, as well as US law enforcement from cooperating with authorities abroad conducting such policies.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

Keep reading

Biden Regime Gives $157 Million to Lebanon as Flood Victims Continue to Suffer in Southeast US – They Really Don’t Care About You

On Friday evening Secretary of State Antony Blinken broke the news on X that the Biden regime is sending $157 million to the people of Lebanon.

In his announcement on Twitter Blinken bragged that the Biden regime is “committed to supporting those in need and delivering essential aid to displaced civilians, refugees and the communities hosting them.”

Earlier today Alejandro Mayorkas warned that there would be a FEMA funding shortfall for the rest of the hurricane season this year.

Keep reading

First look inside Maine apartments where migrants are getting free rent for up to 2 years

The Brunswick Landing apartments in Maine sparked controversy earlier this year when it was discovered that homeless migrants in the area were getting the opportunity to live in the units rent-free for up to two years. Migrants living in the apartments shared that not only is the rent-free, the utilities are paid and we got an inside look at the furnished apartments that would run the average American about $2,300 dollars. 

An inside look at the units at Brunswick Landing revealed that the apartments, which are currently set to house 60 migrant families, come fully furnished with migrants receiving a couch, table and chair, a flat-screen TV, and even photo frames on the walls for ambiance. “We don’t pay anything,” one woman from the Congo stated, “but after two years we have to pay the rent,” she finished. 

The city of Brunswick has allocated $3.5 million dollars toward paying the migrant’s rent and opened it back in February of 2024. The project, which was initially created for Maine residents, sparked outrage as the Maine residents deal with a housing crisis that according to the MaineHousing’s “Affordability Index,” left “79.1 percent of Maine families unable to afford a home in 2023,” according to the Maine Wire. 

While 60 migrant families are living across 5 buildings, it has been reported that Americans can rent out the units, which are marketed as “premiere apartments.” However, the average rent for a one-bedroom starts at $1,800 and a two-bedroom starts at $2,300.

The migrants living in the area shared that they were from places such as Angola, Haiti and the Congo expressing that living in the apartments is like “living in a palace.” 

Keep reading

Female, black applicants who failed Maryland State Police tests likely to receive $2.75M in back pay from discrimination suit

The Maryland Department of State Police agreed to settle a Department of Justice lawsuit to the tune of $2.75 million, which will provide back pay to female and black applicants who failed the physical fitness and written tests.

The physical fitness exam, called the Functional Fitness Assessment Test, required applicants to complete 18 push-ups in one minute, 27 sit-ups in one minute, run 1.5 miles within 15 minutes and 20 seconds, and reach approximately 1.5 inches past their toes while seated. Candidates were allowed to take the test up to three times in one year.

“The rate at which female applicants passed the FFAT at least once is statistically significantly lower than the rate at which male applicants passed the FFAT at least once; and the female applicant pass rate is less than 80% of the male applicant pass rate,” the complaint read.

The written exam, the Police Officer Selection Test, included four components: mathematics, reading comprehension, grammar, and report writing skills. To pass, candidates had to achieve an aggregate score of at least 70% on all sections combined and minimally 70% on reading comprehension, grammar, and report writing skills. There was no minimum required score for the math component. Candidates could take the test four times within a year.

The lawsuit said that roughly 91% of white and 71% of black applicants passed at least once.

The lawsuit claimed that both the FFAT and the POST, which are used by MDSP to screen trooper applicants, are “not job related or consistent with business necessity.”

The DOJ argued that MDSP’s screening “results in a disparate impact” on female and black candidates.

“MDSP’s use of the POST has disproportionately excluded African-American applicants, and its use of the FFAT has disproportionately excluded female applicants, from employment as troopers,” the lawsuit stated.

MDSP was accused of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

On Wednesday, the DOJ announced that the MDSP has agreed to settle the lawsuit.

Keep reading

Biden’s Border Crisis Costs How Much?

Earlier this week, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a Senior Fellow with the American Immigration Council (AIC), claimed in an article titled New Report Shows the Devastating Costs of Mass Deportation that “an effort to arrest, detain, process, and remove one million undocumented immigrants per year would cost the U.S. government at least $88 billion per year, ultimately adding up to nearly one trillion dollars in taxpayer costs.”

Since the AIC chose to delve into the costs, let’s indulge them with a cost-benefit analysis focusing on the dollar amounts and then ask you, dear reader, to make a judgement as to whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the economic and societal costs of outrageous administration policy or to take action and deport and, by doing so, mitigate the harm being done to the country’s productive classes.

The Biden-Harris administration has allowed, at a minimum, 8.7 million illegal border crossers into the United States, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Although the administration touts these illegal immigrants as future workers, consumers, and taxpayers, contributing financially to America’s coffers, new research shows that illegal immigrants, the vast majority of whom have limited education and English proficiency, will be a financial drain on the United States. The Manhattan Institute study found that if the educational background of new illegal immigrants is the same as the educational background of illegals from last decade, then 46% would have less than a high school diploma while another 40% would have just a high school diploma.

But wait, Mr. Reichlin-Melnick would say that “beyond fiscal costs, the report details how the U.S. economy would suffer if 4% of the workforce was deported.” Sure. But the question to ask is this: qui bono or who actually benefits? In his 2016 book, We Wanted Workers, Professor George Borjas informs us who the true beneficiaries of mass immigration, are stating, “The current level of immigration in the United States generated a $2.1 trillion increase in GDP. But the immigrants themselves get paid about 98 percent of the increase; very little gets trickled down to the natives.” The remaining 2% surplus for the United States comes from reducing wages for Americans, who are competing now with immigrants for jobs, and increasing immigrant incomes and firm profits.

Keep reading

Minnesota food pantry bans white people, says ‘resources’ are only for ‘Black & Indigenous Folx’

A Minneapolis, Minn. food pantry is only giving food to “Black and Indigenous” people, those who are hungry and white are told not to take the “resources” available. Mykelo ‘Keiko’ Jackson, who runs the food pantry, was awarded a Minnesota State grant to open the food pantry.

The sign on the pantry reads: “The resources found in here are intended for Black & Indigenous Folx. Please refrain from taking anything if you’re not.” An August post emphasized the mission, saying “With the help of our community and MDH: African American Health Office we’ve distributed 2,249 lbs of food to Black & Indigenous Folx in North Minneapolis. This is what liberation looks like on a small scale. We’d like to say THANK YOU to everyone that has supported this initiative, donated their time or resources to be in aid of commUNITY.”

Jackson’s policy forced the food pantry to close down and open in another location. After opening on July 27 on the north side of the city, near the Sanctuary Covenant Church, Jackson let it be known that white people were not welcome to the food for the poor. Local chaplain Howard Dotson, 54, said that he went to the food pantry but was denied entry due to his race. He’s white.

“This is not building community, it’s destroying it,” he told Alpha News. “I went over there and confronted her. I told her that I saw the sign and I asked if she really thought she could take grant money from the state and discriminate against poor white people.” He filed a complaint, which Jackson said was an exhibition of his “white privilege.”

Keep reading

Held Hostage Overseas? The IRS Wants Your Back Taxes.

Many Americans who return home after being illegally detained overseas arrive to find they’ve been billed thousands of dollars by the IRS—including late fees for unpaid taxes.

That’s the bizarre situation in which hostages Evan Gerskovich, Paul Whelan, and Vladimir Kara-Murza found themselves after they were released from detention in Russia last month. All three men say they faced a battery of surprise financial issues after returning home, including tax charges and hits to the credit stemming from bills they were unable to pay while behind bars.

“I got one of those bills from the IRS saying, you owe this much on this year, you owe this much on this year because of failure to pay on time—here’s the interest that’s accrued,” Washington Post reporter and former hostage Jason Rezaian told NPR. He faced more than $6,000 in fees for unpaid taxes after his release, following 544 days of detention in Iran. “This is an oversight that nobody really thought about.”

And they’re not alone. Right now, between 40 and 60 American nationals are being illegally detained by other nations, according to NPR. Many of these Americans will return home to face startling financial penalties stemming from their unjust imprisonment.

Keep reading