Tag: taxes

Reading and Math Test Scores for American 12th Graders Hit 20 Year Low, Despite Massive Spending on Education

The reading and test scores for American 12th graders have hit a 20 year low, new analysis has found.

This is despite the fact that the United States spends more on education than most countries. New York City is currently poised to spend up to $42,000 per student this school year.

The closure of schools during Covid can be blamed in part for this, but there has to be more to the story than that.

NBC News in Chicago reported:

Nationwide test scores show U.S. high school students falling behind in math and reading

A decade-long slide in high schoolers’ reading and math performance persisted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 12th graders’ scores dropping to their lowest level in more than 20 years, according to results released Tuesday from an exam known as the nation’s report card.

Eighth-grade students also lost significant ground in science skills, according to the results from the National Assessment of Education Progress.

The assessments were the first since the pandemic for eighth graders in science and 12th graders in reading and math. They reflect a downward drift across grade levels and subject areas in previous releases from NAEP, which is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of U.S. schools.

“Scores for our lowest-performing students are at historic lows,” said Matthew Soldner, the acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics. “These results should galvanize all of us to take concerted and focused action to accelerate student learning.”

Trump’s Education Secretary Linda McMahon spoke about this recently and explained that this is one of the reasons why the Trump administration wants to return education authority to the states, so that parents and local communities can get more involved in fixing the problem.

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Free Abortions And No Prisons: 6 Craziest Beliefs Of The Socialist Faction Infiltrating The Democrat Party

ew York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh have more in common than campaigns to run major cities in the United States. Both are under 40 and elected members of their state houses. Zohran, 33, is a member of the New York State Assembly; Fateh, 35, is a Minnesota senator. Both are charismatic, Muslim, and are members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), running on the Democrat ticket with radical, socialist ideas.

DSA is not a political party, but it is acting like one. It is a parasite taking over the Democrat party, which means it is becoming harder for traditional Democrat candidates to rise within the party. Every Democrat candidate should be scrutinized for policy ties to DSA, even if they don’t advertise the connection.

As the traditional, old Democrat Party is cannibalized by DSA members, voters should understand that the DSA aims to fundamentally change the United States. The DSA calls the Constitution “ossified.” Its socialist platform is so radical that the DSA essentially proposes trashing the Constitution completely, developing a “new political order,” and writing “founding documents of a new socialist democracy.” If allowed to flourish, DSA will render the U.S. society as we know it unrecognizable.

Here is a closer look at some of the DSA’s platform that rarely, if ever, come up during campaign speeches.

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Scandal: EU Paid Over $600,000 to USAID Media Network Accused of Election Manipulation Right After EU Vote

A bombshell report from Berliner Zeitung has revealed that Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission wired over €604,000 to the controversial media network OCCRP immediately after the 2024 EU elections. The revelation came in response to a parliamentary inquiry by AfD MEP Petr Bystron.

The OCCRP (“Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project”) includes German establishment outlets such as Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung. These are the very same outlets that ran smear campaigns against conservative and EU-skeptical politicians in the run-up to the election. Critics say the payment looks less like support for “investigative journalism” and more like a payoff for political services rendered.

OCCRP’s Track Record: Targeting Populists

This is not the first time OCCRP-linked media have interfered in European elections. In 2019, Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung detonated the infamous “Ibiza Affair,” toppling Austria’s successful FPÖ-government and driving the party’s EU election results down from 26% in the polls to just 17.2% at the ballot box.

In 2024, the same outlets again spearheaded attacks – this time together with Czech partner Denik N – falsely accusing politicians from six European countries of being “Moscow’s agents” because they gave interviews to Voice of Europe, a Prague-based news site critical of Zelensky’s regime.

Among those smeared were former Czech President Václav Klaus, ex-Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda, and AfD candidate Petr Bystron. None were ever charged with any crime, yet OCCRP media blasted the claims across Europe. Bystron endured 23 house raids based solely on OCCRP’s “reporting.” After more than a year, not a single shred of evidence has been found.

NATO Narrative and Media Propaganda

The attacks mirrored findings by U.S. investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger, who documented how NATO-linked networks financed smear campaigns to delegitimize critics of the Ukraine war. Rather than investigate, OCCRP outlets dutifully repeated the talking points – unverified, uncritical, and amplified millions of times.

Bought and Paid For

According to French outlet Mediapart, OCCRP has taken in nearly $50 million from U.S. sources, with funders holding veto rights over staff appointments and dictating yearly editorial agendas. The Panama Papers, for example, conveniently wiped out competition to U.S. tax haven Delaware. That wasn’t independent journalism – it was paid political warfare.

OCCRP and Trump’s Impeachment

The network even played a role in the 2019 impeachment drive against President Donald Trump, peddling CIA-fed stories that he withheld Ukraine aid. In reality, Trump was pressing Ukraine to investigate the Biden family’s corruption. One of Trump’s first moves after his reelection was to cut OCCRP’s funding from USAID.

Why Did von der Leyen Pay?

The question now is why Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission wired over half a million euros of taxpayer money to this network immediately after an EU election – especially when OCCRP’s record is riddled with election interference, propaganda campaigns, and ties to U.S. intelligence-linked funding.

As Berliner Zeitung concludes, this could be shaping up to be the biggest media scandal in postwar Europe.

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Ukraine Runs Low On Air Defense Munitions-Expect Another Z Trip To DC?

It’s time for another Zelenskiy trip to Washington to demand weapons the American military needs to defend the homeland.

The question is — will Trump give them to Kyiv? Or put America first?

Recently, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth released information that after the Middle East ’12 Day War’, the U.S. had used up 25% of its reserve of air defense munitions.

Ukraine is running low on air defence munitions as the Pentagon slows arms deliveries following a June review of US military aid.

The slowdown comes amid intensified Russian missile and drone attacks, including the largest aerial assault since the full-scale invasion, killing civilians and targeting key infrastructure, reports FT.

Officials warn Ukraine’s air defence systems could soon face critical shortages if attacks continue. 

US shipments of Patriot interceptors, Stingers, NASAMS missiles, Hellfires, and precision artillery shells have all been delayed.

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Suffering in Afghanistan the Fault of Taliban, Not U.S. Aid Cuts

A devastating earthquake underscores how the Taliban has subjected the people of Afghanistan to suffering, while the muted international response shows that even globalists, Muslim-majority nations, and authoritarian regimes are steering clear of the Taliban and its support for transnational terrorism.

Prior to the earthquake, the only government extending significant economic support to the Taliban was the Biden administration. In 2021, it left behind over $7 billions of dollars’ worth of weapons, and over its four-year term (2021–2025) provided an estimated $2.5–3 billion in direct aid. However, the real total is much higher. Testimony before the House Oversight Committee revealed that between 2021 and 2023 alone, the Biden administration gave Afghanistan $8 billion.

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Konar province near the Pakistan border late on August 31, 2025, killing more than 2,200 people and injuring thousands. The shallow quake collapsed fragile mud-and-brick homes, wiping out entire villages and leaving over half a million people without shelter.

This tragedy comes amid one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Four years of Taliban rule have left Afghanistan isolated, foreign aid has dried up, and nearly half the population, about 23 million, depend on assistance. While the Taliban has appealed for help, its alignment with authoritarian powers, support for terrorism, and gross human rights violations have discouraged broader aid and recognition.

The Taliban maintain close ties with al-Qaeda and provide safe haven for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which continues to operate from Afghan territory and carry out cross-border attacks. A UN report noted, “The Taliban do not conceive of TTP as a terrorist group: the bonds are close, and the debt owed to TTP is significant.” Other designated terror groups have pledged allegiance to the Taliban, including al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and Ansar al-Sharia in Libya.

Since the fall of Kabul in 2021, only Russia has formally recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government. Moscow lifted its “terrorist” designation in April 2025 and formally recognized the regime that July. China has not granted formal recognition but accepted Taliban credentials in 2024, and Iran has also moved closer, handing over the Afghan embassy in 2023 and sending its foreign minister to Kabul in 2025. Yet both Iran and Pakistan have worsened the crisis by deporting 1.9 million Afghan refugees, many forced to live in tents near the borders.

Under Taliban rule, human rights and quality of life, especially for women, have collapsed. Nearly 23 million Afghans require aid: 21 million lack safe water, 14.8 million face acute food insecurity, 14.3 million have limited healthcare access, and 7.8 million women and children need nutrition support. The World Food Program warns 3.1 million Afghans are on the brink of starvation, with 2.9 million already at emergency levels.

Healthcare is collapsing. By April 2025, 439 facilities had closed due to U.S. funding cuts, leaving three million people without care. More than 200 others have shut from severe shortfalls, affecting two million more. In 2023, reports warned that over 90 percent of facilities were at risk, leading to an estimated 4.8 million unattended pregnancies and 51,000 maternal deaths between 2021 and 2025. Infant mortality was 43 per 1,000 in 2021, and maternal mortality 620 per 100,000 in 2020. Between mid-2024 and mid-2025, 3.5 million children and 1.2 million pregnant or breastfeeding women are projected to suffer acute malnutrition.

The economy has collapsed. Nearly half of Afghans live below the poverty line. Before the Taliban takeover, foreign aid made up 40 percent of GDP, funded more than half the government’s $6 billion budget, and covered up to 80 percent of public expenditures. Since then, this support has vanished, leaving more than 14 million food insecure and nearly five million women and children acutely malnourished.

Repression is systematic. In the first half of 2024, UN monitors recorded nearly 100 arbitrary detentions and at least 20 cases of torture, targeting former officials, deportees, and LGBT Afghans. Corporal punishments are common, with at least 147 men, 28 women, and four boys flogged in 2024, and more than 180 people publicly punished for adultery or homosexuality in early 2025.

Freedom of expression has disappeared. Between 2021 and 2024, UNAMA documented 336 cases of arbitrary arrest, torture, and intimidation of journalists. The Taliban banned live political broadcasts, censored images, and detained reporters, often without legal or family access. Civil society critics also face harassment, including the detention of analyst Jawed Kohistani.

Women and girls have been erased from public life. They are banned from secondary school from age 13, excluded from universities, and denied healthcare without a male guardian. Nearly 80 percent of young women between 18 and 29 are neither in education, employment, nor training. Only one in four women is working or seeking work, compared to nearly 90 percent of men, creating one of the world’s largest workforce gender gaps. The Taliban suspended women’s medical education in 2024, and UNDP estimates these restrictions cost the economy up to $1 billion annually.

Violence compounds repression. ISKP has carried out deadly attacks on Hazara communities, mosques, buses, and Taliban offices. Pakistani cross-border fire and airstrikes have added civilian casualties. Meanwhile, the Taliban’s Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice law enforces strict dress and behavior codes, backed by raids and checkpoints, mirroring their 1996–2001 rule. UN experts describe this as “institutionalized persecution” that may amount to crimes against humanity.

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Tucker Carlson DEMOLISHES Mark Cuban After the Liberal Billionaire Offers a Silly Reason Why “We” Should Continue Sending Money to Ukraine

Liberal billionaire Mark Cuban suffered an epic humiliation at the hands of Tucker Carlson during a recent debate, which exposed his self-serving and hypocritical attitude regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Carlson and Cuban faced off at the “All In” summit, which was held in Los Angeles from Saturday to Monday. The two discussed a variety of topics, including AI job displacement, the Epstein files, and antisemitism.

The debate, however, took a bad turn for Cuban when one of the hosts asked him if he thought ‘we’ (Americans) should continue sending money to Ukraine. After admitting he did not have a good answer, Cuban eventually brought up his Ukrainian ancestry on his grandparents’ side as a reason why.

Carlson quickly interjected and asked Cuban how much money he had sent to Ukraine. When Cuban said ‘none,’ Carlson left him speechless by asking what the billionaire meant by “we.”

Things got even worse for Cuban when he offered his reason for refusing to send Ukraine a single dime despite his ties to the country. Carlson scolded Cuban on his hypocrisy and pointed out that what he was advocating for was the opposite of charity.

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Why “Don’t Let America Become the UK” Has Become a Warning for Americans

Many American conservatives are saying “don’t let America become the UK.” The reasons are well documented: unbridled illegal immigration, high levels of legal immigration and asylum seeking, and rising crime including rape, sexual harassment, mugging, stabbing, assaults, break-ins, theft, and sexual grooming of minors.

Housing and rental price spikes, unemployment, wage suppression, heavier burdens on taxpayers and public finances, and benefits paid to illegals, asylum seekers, and immigrants—many living fully or partially on welfare, add to the tax burden on citizens. Immigrants are also demanding that crosses be removed from churches and that the British flag be removed from public places. There is also the rise of Sharia councils creating a parallel legal system.

Protests have erupted that suppress British freedoms and values, some openly supporting Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, with calls for death to Britain. Conservatives also highlight bans on public preaching of the Christian gospel, hate crime laws used to arrest citizens for Facebook posts criticizing immigration or crime, and arrests for displaying the British flag.

Muslims now hold key political positions, including Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London (2016-present) and Shabana Mahmood as Justice Secretary in the UK Cabinet (2024-present). Humza Yousaf, of Pakistani heritage, served as Scotland’s First Minister from March 2023 to May 2024 before resigning. Additionally, 25 Muslim MPs were elected in the 2024 general election, making up almost 4% of the total 650 MP.

Immigration numbers reveal the same upward trend. Small-boat arrivals climbed from 28,526 in 2021 to about 38,000 in 2024, accounting for 86 percent of irregular entries (British government term for illegals). Total irregular arrivals rose from 38,600 in 2024 to about 44,000 in 2025, a 14 percent increase. Asylum claims nearly doubled since 2021, reaching 93,000 in 2023 and 109,000 in 2024, the highest since 2002.

Mainstream media, with its extreme liberal bias, often suppresses or misrepresents the numbers, while authorities in some jurisdictions falsify or reclassify crimes to make it appear that crime rates are dropping. This happens in the UK just as it does in the U.S. Media outlets claimed Trump was wrong when he said Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York had extremely high crime, although any sane person knew the crime rate, particularly murder and violent crime, was high, and citizen watchdog agencies along with primary source data supported the claims of higher crime rates.

UK crime data shows a decided increase since 2020. Sexual offences totaled 163,244 in 2020 and rose to 209,556 in 2025, the highest on record. Knife crime was just under 49,000 incidents in 2023/24 and rose to about 50,500 in 2024. London knife offences jumped from 12,786 in 2022/23 to 16,344 in 2024/2025. Knife homicides were 244 in 2022/23, and rose to 262 in 2023/24.

And for the privilege of these rising crime rates, UK taxpayers are footing staggering bills. The Home Office spent $5.9 billion on asylum in 2023–24, with another $8.0 billion projected for 2024–25. Welfare payments to non-UK nationals reached $9.4 billion, the equivalent of 1.26 million non-citizens collecting checks.

Asylum seekers get support while claims are processed, refugees receive full access once status is granted, legal immigrants qualify after residency, and EU settled status holders enjoy the same. Nearly $10 billion annually goes to foreign nationals.

Education adds another hidden cost. In 2023/24, 1.7 million pupils in England’s schools used English as an Additional Language, 20.8 percent of all students and up to 37 percent in some districts. With average per-pupil funding at $7,500, taxpayers spend $12.8 billion annually, plus $1.0–2.4 billion in language support, for a total of $13.8–15.0 billion.

This excludes translation services, special education, smaller class sizes, and new school construction in high-immigration areas. These costs are buried in the education budget, while the government promotes fee-paying international university students as an economic benefit.

Healthcare is another manipulated figure. The government estimates $1,295 per migrant annually. At least 1.5 million non-UK nationals receive free NHS care, including asylum seekers in hotels, refused applicants, dependents, and 1.26 million Universal Credit claimants, bringing the cost to $1.9 billion.

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Africa joins campaign to claim reparations from Britain for ‘historic crimes’

Africa has officially joined the push to demand reparations from Britain and other former colonial powers for ‘historic crimes’, including slavery and imperialism.

The African Union, which represents all 55 nations on the continent, has called for ‘meaningful reparations’ from European powers for exploiting Africa’s people, land and resources and blamed colonialism for ongoing ‘systemic injustice’ across the region.

At a joint summit in Addis Ababa with Caribbean leaders, the bloc said it would team up with countries across the Atlantic to seek compensation and what it called ‘reparatory justice’.

Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the Djiboutian politician heading up the African Union Commission, said the two regions would now work together to ‘honour our ancestors, to uplift our descendants and reclaim our shared destiny in freedom, justice and unity’.

It comes as Caribbean nations – under the Caricom alliance of 15 states – have already demanded trillions in compensation for slavery. Now African leaders are expected to draw up their own list of demands.

Britain, which at the height of its empire controlled a quarter of Africa, could find itself facing fresh claims – not just for its involvement in the slave trade, but for the broader impact of colonialism and what has been described as ongoing ‘structural and systemic injustice’.

Reparations are now being framed more broadly, not only in terms of slavery, but also the return of cultural artefacts, reforms to global economic systems, and compensation for climate change impacts. 

Leaders argue that the industrialised nations of the ‘Global North’ bear historical responsibility for environmental degradation.

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Appeals Court Stacked with Far-Left Judges Sides with Biden Judge, Says Trump Can’t Unilaterally Cut Billions in Foreign Aid

On Friday, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a radical Biden judge and said President Trump could not unilaterally cut billions in foreign aid.

Last Wednesday, US District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, blocked President Trump from cutting billions of dollars in USAID and foreign aid that Congress authorized.

Trump immediately appealed Judge Ali’s ruling.

“President Trump has the executive authority to ensure that all foreign aid is accountable to taxpayers and aligns with the America First priorities people voted for,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to Reuters.

On Friday, a three-judge panel ruled 2-1 against President Trump.

The three-judge panel included: Majority: Pillard (Obama), Pan (Biden), and Dissent: Walker (Trump).

Reuters reported:

A U.S. appeals court on Friday declined to block a lower court ruling that said President Donald Trump’s administration could not unilaterally cut billions of dollars of foreign aid, requiring the administration to quickly move to spend funds on projects authorized by Congress.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made its ruling just days after a lower court ruled that the administration should take steps to spend roughly $11 billion on foreign aid projects before Congressional authorization for the spending expires in September.

Earlier this year, Judge Ali temporarily blocked President Trump from cancelling foreign aid contracts.

Judge Ali ordered the Trump Admin to restore funding for the foreign aid contractors after Trump froze US foreign aid for 90 days.

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Notorious Beagle Breeder That Supplies Fauci-Funded Labs Hit with 300 Violations

A notorious Wisconsin beagle breeder at the center of taxpayer-funded puppy mill horrors has been exposed and slammed with more than 300 violations, drawing a potential $55,000 fine as investigations continue.

This troubling development comes amid growing scrutiny of how this breeder supplies dogs to government-supported research labs, including those funded by Dr. Anthony Fauci.

According to a report from WMTV, Ridglan Farms’ facility was cited by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) for a staggering 308 infractions related to mistreating dogs and performing unauthorized surgeries without anesthesia, leading to a hefty penalty as authorities move to crack down on the horrifying conditions under which over 3,000 dogs were housed in filthy wire cages.

The White Coat Waste Project (WCW), a watchdog group, has uncovered that the breeder is supplying beagles to labs conducting painful experiments funded by the National Institutes of Health, including ongoing tests initiated under Dr. Fauci.

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