Tag: taxes

‘You’ve Got to be Freaking Kidding Me’: U.S. Military Spends Over $700 Million for Ozempic and Other GLP-1 Weight Loss Meds

Military personnel criticize the hundreds of millions spent on weight loss medications as a misguided approach to addressing the obesity crisis in the U.S. Armed Forces.

A report from the American Security Project in 2025 revealed that approximately 68 percent—two out of three—of the military’s Reserve and National Guard forces are classified as overweight.

Subsequent to this report, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth expressed his concern on X, stating, “Completely unacceptable. This is what happens when standards are IGNORED – and this is what we are changing. REAL fitness & weight standards are here. We will be FIT, not FAT.”

Was the solution found in raising the bar for “REAL fitness & weight standards?” Perhaps they were. However, some startling revelations concerning weight loss have emerged, with RealClearInvestigations dubbing this disclosure the “Waste of the Day.”

Since 2021, the military has allocated nearly $726 million for Ozempic and other GLP-1 weight loss medications, with $274.6 million spent in fiscal year 2025, as revealed by spending records acquired by Open the Books.

This expenditure encompasses 102,597 individual purchases, all made through the Defense Logistics Agency for “troop support.” The majority of the funds were directed to the wholesale pharmaceutical company Cencora. Over a dozen varieties of GLP-1 medications were acquired, including Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Trulicity.

Many individuals—and taxpayers alike—who have served in the military are infuriated.

Lt. Ted Macie, a retired Navy Medical Service Corps officer, was appalled. He informed The Gateway Pundit that data obtained from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) indicate that obesity rates have surged in the military over the last decade.

From 2016 to 2019, an average of 13,863 cases of overweight and obesity were documented across all branches of service. This average rose to 21,969 between 2020 and 2023. Remarkably, there was a 190 percent increase during this period, with cases soaring from 12,249 to 35,531.

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REPORT: Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger Considering a New Tax on GYM MEMBERSHIPS

Shortly after winning the Virginia governor race by running on a campaign about affordability, it was widely reported that Virginia Democrats were gearing up to create a slew of new taxes for their constituents.

Now it is being reported that Spanberger is considering a new tax on gym memberships and possibly on streaming networks as well. Wehere does it end and how is any of this considered part of affordability?

More importantly, why is cutting the size of the state government not even a consideration?

The Daily Mail reports:

Virginia’s new Democrat governor teases possible tax on GYM MEMBERSHIPS and streaming services

Virginia’s new governor has teased that she may sign a new tax on gym memberships and streaming services if the bills ever reach her desk.

Democrat Abigail Spanberger refused to give a straight answer when asked about the so-called liberal wish list of taxation opportunities that Democrats are attempting to pass in her state.

Spanberger, a former intelligence officer who became governor in January, has made clear she is looking for unorthodox ways to create new revenue streams in Virginia.

New bills were introduced in the Virginia state legislature that proposed expanding taxes to include storage facilities, counseling, dry cleaning, vehicle repair, website design, data storage and digital subscription storage.

A tax on retail sales of services was also floated as an idea under bill HB978 – which would include fitness memberships and athletic club services.

The controversial tax bills never got through the General Assembly before the session’s end on March 14, meaning that it never reached Spanberger’s desk – but that may change in the future.

It’s remarkable how quickly Spanberger and her Democrat cohorts moved to create new taxes.

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Taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark announces ‘Muslim only’ day featuring modest dress and Halal-slaughtered meat

A taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark has sparked backlash by organizing a Muslim-only day to celebrate Eid. 

Epic Waters in Grand Prairie, Texas drew outrage this week as it released fliers for the June 1 event, which will demand a ‘modest dress code’ and serve only Halal-slaughtered meat. 

Posters for the event say it will be ‘for Muslims only’ to create a ‘family-friendly environment’, with tickets starting at $55 each. 

The waterpark’s website notes that men and women will not be separated during the event, but attendees are told to ‘uphold Islamic etiquette’ by ‘lowering the gaze’ throughout the day. 

‘Please follow the event’s modest dress code, and practice ḥayāʾ (modesty) through respectful behavior,’ the event says. 

All attendees are ‘expected to dress in accordance with Islamic values’, and the waterpark says all swimwear must meet Muslim guidelines. 

The event was criticized across social media, with many questioning if a taxpayer-funded space is allowed to exclude certain demographics from its events. 

Conservative commentator and radio host Dana Loesch led the backlash, questioning: ‘How is a taxpayer-funded, city-owned entity allowed to discriminate against non-Muslims at a public water park?’

Loesch added: ‘There would be literal riots if Muslims were similarly excluded and we all know that’s 100% accurate.’ 

Conservative influencer Sara Gonzalez also said she was intent on calling the city of Grand Prairie ‘with my questions’ as she questioned the legality of the event.  

Epic Waters, which is funded by an additional sales tax on Grand Prairie residents, included on the event a list of suggested swimwear for women. 

‘Explore our recommendations and get ready to make a stylish – and modest – splash!’ the website says. 

The suggested swimwear included full head-to-toe coverings with bathing suit material, alongside full body coverings for children. 

The site also includes testimonials from past attendees praising the event, including one from Ahmed S who said: ‘I loved the modesty and the Anasheed.’ 

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IRS weaponized Johnson Amendment to target conservative pastors while ignoring liberals, DOJ finds

Anew report released Thursday by the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias reveals what investigators describe as a “stark contrast” and a systemic double standard in how the Biden Internal Revenue Service policed American churches. 

“The Biden IRS … [opened] multiple investigations into Christian churches focused on the content of their sermons. The IRS asked these churches for detailed information about their operations, not just about the alleged violations,” the task force wrote. 

“But during the same time, when other houses of worship gave sermons that reflected different scriptural interpretations on culture war issues, or prayed for Democrat candidates, the Biden IRS appeared to take no action,” the group added.

The task force, which was established by President Donald Trump in an executive order last year, reviewed internal administration discussions, case files and prosecutorial decisions from the Biden administration across 17 federal agencies. 

Beyond the IRS’s apparent targeting of conservative Christian churches, the task force concluded that the Biden administration’s prosecution strategy, internal policies and practices demonstrated an overall anti-Christian bias that permeated throughout the federal government during that period.  

“No American should live in fear that the federal government will punish them for their faith,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who chaired the task force. “As our report lays out, the Biden Administration’s actions devastated the lives of many Christian Americans. That devastation ended with President Trump.” 

The task force determined that the Biden administration used the Johnson Amendment – a 1954 provision added to the tax code which prohibits 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates – to probe churches that hold traditional Christian teachings, arguing those positions amounted to political support for Republican candidates. 

Though the amendment, in theory, limits what pastors whose churches have 501(c)3 nonprofit status can say in evaluating candidates running for political office, it has only been “sporadically enforced,” according to the Justice Department.

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Europe Explores Wealth Taxes, Capital Taxes, and Exit Taxes

The European Commission has now openly published a two-volume study examining “net wealth taxes,” “capital taxes,” and perhaps most alarming of all, “exit taxes.” They are no longer hiding the agenda behind slogans about “fairness” or “solidarity.” The report openly discusses how to tax wealth, how to monitor ownership, how to close compliance gaps, and how to prevent capital from escaping. This is precisely what I have warned was coming as governments across Europe enter the terminal phase of a sovereign debt crisis.

The study was commissioned by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union and examines wealth taxation systems across Europe and beyond, including France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, and Colombia. The report specifically focuses on recurring wealth taxes, inheritance taxes, capital gains taxes, and exit taxes designed to capture wealth before individuals relocate outside the jurisdiction.

The timing is everything. Europe’s economy is collapsing into what our Economic Confidence Model has projected would become a prolonged depressionary period into 2028. Manufacturing across Germany has been imploding, energy prices remain structurally elevated because of the self-inflicted sanctions war and Net Zero agenda, and capital has been fleeing Europe into the United States for years. The EU knows this. They see the money leaving. They understand that confidence in European governments is collapsing, and instead of reforming policy, they are moving toward containment.

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Report: Pro-China Billionaire Funded NYC’s May Day Events Where Zohran Mamdani Pushed Taxing the Rich

Two leftist groups that have directly or indirectly received funding from a pro-Chinese Communist Party tech-billionaire reportedly helped organize protesters in New York City’s Union Square for communist and socialist May Day events on Friday.

The groups called The People’s Forum (TPF) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) have in some form received money from Neville Roy Singham, according to Fox News.

“A self-identified speaker from PSL announced a People’s Forum spokesperson who was the second to speak into a microphone. The speaker rallied the crowd of demonstrators, asking them to repeat chants and later bashed capitalism. Shortly before remarks, PSL arrived with dozens of pre-made anti-Trump signs and equipment, unloading them from a van parked next to Union Sq. Park,” the outlet said, noting pro-Communism advocates handed out newspapers and encouraged people to attend future events.

“Teamsters and unions gathered downtown at Washington Square Park while TPF and PSL marched from Union Square several blocks up. The union workers’ rally ended shortly after the Singham-connected groups arrived,” the report continued.

Breitbart News Foundation (BNF) reported that Singham’s wife is left-wing Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans. Chinese government records reviewed by the BNF also showed “Singham’s deep, extensive ties with the Chinese regime.”

“Both the People’s Forum and Code Pink have received millions of dollars’ worth of funding for years. These organizations were at the forefront of the anti-Israel and pro-Hamas wave of protests across U.S. university campuses in the months following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel,” the article stated.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic Socialist, spoke to attendees at the rally in Washington Square Park on Friday and said he was “working to tax the wealthiest and the most profitable corporations in New York City”.

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Millions of Americans expected to lose SNAP benefits amid fraud crackdown

Some Americans who are reliant on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, are expected to lose benefits after the passage of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Starting Friday, May 1st, the president’s bill requires adults up to 64 years old, without young children, to log 80 work, school, or volunteer hours per month to maintain eligibility.

Supporters of the new restrictions believe it will reduce the risk of SNAP fraud and increase workforce participation.

“Reintroducing basic guardrails like an asset test is a commonsense step to restore integrity, ensure benefits go to those who truly need them and protect the long-term viability of the program. This isn’t about taking help away. It’s about making sure SNAP works the way it was intended to,” said Matt Schmid, America First Policy Institute Health & Harvest Campaign Director.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently working to crack down on food stamp fraud across the nation, including what officials call a “loophole,” which allows wealthy individuals to claim eligibility for government benefits.

“We’ve found 500,000 people getting more than one benefit illegally. We found 244,000 dead people. This is just the red states,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The USDA also revealed this week that in one state alone, SNAP recipients had ties to more than 14,000 luxury vehicles.

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DOJ Targets Blue State for Giving Illegals Financial Assistance While Neglecting U.S. Citizens

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to scrap New Jersey rules allowing illegal immigrants to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public colleges, even though Americans living outside of New Jersey are charged higher tuition.

“Imagine being denied the opportunity of education in your own country,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said, according to a Department of Justice news release.

“By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, the state of New Jersey is doing just that,” he said.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division added that “this is a simple matter of federal law: in New Jersey and nationwide, colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens.”

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Legal Scholar John Yoo Says State and Elected Officials in Minnesota Could Absolutely End Up in Prison Over Fraud: ‘These People Are in a Lot of Trouble’

John Yoo is a law professor at UC-Berkeley who worked in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush. Today, he appeared on FOX News with
Kayleigh McEnany.

She asked him if there was any possibility that elected officials and state officials in Minnesota could go to prison over the massive fraud that has been uncovered there.

He said that they absolutely can, and maybe not in the way you might think.

Yoo says:

“These people are in a lot of trouble. These are not just overpayments. This is not just, as we were talking about the other day, criminal fraud.

Now that you’re seeing the money end up in the hands of foreign terrorist organizations, the Justice Department’s counter-terrorism and national security division should now get involved and see whether any of these state officers knew or were abetting these money transfers, because if they did they are giving material support to terrorists and they could go to jail for a very long time.”

Kayleigh then asks if any of these people would be covered by any sort of immunity, to which Yoo replies “Of course not.”

As an example, he points to the Wisconsin judge who was recently found guilty of trying to hide an illegal alien from federal officers. He then goes on to say that the situation in Minnesota is actually worse than that.

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Mamdani allocates $500K for reparations talks as NYC faces $5.4B deficit

Under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York City has set aside $500,000 to fund community discussions on reparations and other forms of assistance for Black New Yorkers as a major budget deficit looms, internal communications show.

An internal message, dated January, detailed how more than two dozen groups would be given tens of thousands of dollars each to participate in “conversations to discuss the development of a Reparations study” and to gather “input on the early development of the citywide Truth, Healing and Reconciliation plan.” 

Funding, according to the document, “allows for each community member to receive an incentive for their time” and covers the costs of providing participants with “refreshments.”

Amid the reparations spending, New York City faces an estimated $5.4 billion budget deficit throughout the next two fiscal years. 

Mamdani thus far has not proposed service cuts to address the shortfall, opting instead to seek out increased taxes and dip into the city’s emergency cash reserves while increasing funding for racial equity initiatives.

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