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July 2024

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

BREAKING: Who is Running America? 565 Staffers At The White House Cost Taxpayers $61 Million

By on July 3rd, 2024

The White House payroll reaches historic highs not seen since President Richard Nixon in 1971.

BIG NUMBERS

During President Joe Biden’s four years, he spent $225 million on the largest White House payroll since at least 1971, based on headcount. White House staff for FY2024 cost $60.8 million.

Biden has a total turnover since his first year of 77-percent. A stunning 435 out of his initial 560 White House staffers left.

No White House since the Richard Nixon administration ever employed 500 staffers until Biden became president. The Biden White House employed 560 in FY2021; 474 in FY2022; 524 in FY2023; and the headcount increased by 41, to 565 this year.  

Biden employs 152 more staffers than Trump (413) (FY2020) and 97 more than Obama (468) (FY2012) at the same point in their respective presidencies. 

Between 2023 and 2024, 225 people left, a 43 percent turnover rate, only slightly lower than the 46 percent turnover rate between 2022 and 2023. 

Jill Biden’s staff increased by four employees, to 24 this year. Dr. Biden’s staff now equals Michelle Obama’s staff (FY2009) – a headcount that was controversial – and far exceeds Melania Trump staff of 11 (FY2020).

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IMMIGRATION, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

US deports 116 Chinese migrants in first ‘large’ flight in 5 years Rebecca Santana

By on July 3rd, 2024

https://www.aol.com/news/us-deports-116-chinese-migrants-182831963.html

The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it sent 116 Chinese migrants from the United States back home in the first “large charter flight” in five years.

The flight, which happened over the weekend, comes as Chinese immigration has become the subject of intense political debate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

“We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

The department said it was working with China to “reduce and deter irregular migration and to disrupt illicit human smuggling through expanded law enforcement efforts.” It did not respond to questions about how long the migrants had been in the U.S.

In recent years, the United States has had a difficult time returning Chinese nationals who do not have the right to stay in America because China has resisted taking them back. Last year, the United States saw a drastic surge in the number of Chinese immigrants entering the country illegally from Mexico.

U.S. border officials arrested more than 37,000 Chinese nationals on the southern border in 2023, 10 times the number during the previous year.

Chinese migration has increasingly become a rallying cry for Republicans and former President Donald Trump who have raised suspicions about why Chinese migrants are coming to the U.S.

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ELECTIONS, IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

49 States Are Now Supplying ‘Non-Citizens’ With Voter Registration Forms.

By on July 3rd, 2024

https://thenationalpulse.com/2024/06/25/49-states-are-now-supplying-non-citizens-with-voter-registration-forms/

Illegal aliens and other “non-citizens” can receive voter registration forms without needing to show proof of citizenship in at least 49 states. They can use these forms to access welfare benefits and obtain driver’s licenses and mail-in ballots. Only Arizona has passed a law preventing this—but it applies only to state forms, not federal ones.

The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 mandates that states facilitate voter registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and welfare offices. These agencies must provide voter registration forms alongside application papers. Without a federal law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration forms, migrants can simply claim to be U.S. citizens to register to vote, easily bypassing the official ban on non-citizens voting.

The House Administration Committee has approved the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to combat this. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) also emphasizes the need for increased enforcement measures. However, with foreign aid and spending bills desired by the Democrat-controlled Senate and the White House already passed, the GOP has little chance of compelling them to pass new election integrity bills.

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Battery Baloney, Hydrogen Hype, and Green Fairy Tales By Viv Forbes

By on July 3rd, 2024

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/07/viv_forbes.html

How low Australia has fallen — our once-great BHP now has a “Vice President for Climate,” the number of Australian students choosing physics at high school is collapsing, and our government opposes nuclear energy while pretending we can build and operate nuclear submarines.

Our Green politicians want: “No Coal, No Gas, No Nuclear” while Our ABC, Our CSIRO and Our Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) are telling us that wind and solar energy plus a bit of standby gas, heaps of batteries, and new power lines can power our homes, industries, and the mass electrification of our vehicle fleet. This sounds like Australia’s very own great leap backwards.

There are two troublesome Green Energy Unions — the Solar Workers down tools every night and cloudy day, and the Turbine Crews stop work if winds are too weak or too strong. And wind droughts can last for days. The reliable Coal and Gas Crews spend sunny days playing cards, but are expected to keep their turbines revving up and down to keep stable power in the lines.

Magical things are also expected from more rooftop solar. AEMO says we need to quadruple rooftop solar by 2050. But panel-power has four huge problems:

Zero solar energy is generated to meet peak demand at breakfast and dinner times.

Piddling solar power is produced from many poorly oriented roof panels or from the weak sunshine anywhere south of Sydney.
If too much solar energy pours into the network (say at noon on a quiet sunny Sunday), the grid becomes unstable. Our green engineers have the solution — be ready to charge people for unwanted power they export to the grid, or just use “smart meters” to turn them off.
More rooftop solar means less income and more instability for power utilities so they have to raise electricity charges. This cost falls heaviest on those with no solar panels, or no homes.

Magical things are also expected from batteries.

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Gradually, then suddenly: The sad story of Joe Biden’s decline His apparent decision to stay in the race is a national tragedy and a palpable danger Charles Lipson

By on July 3rd, 2024

https://thespectator.com/politics/slowly-then-suddenly-sad-story-biden-decline/

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” 

Those were Hemingway’s words in 1926’s The Sun Also Rises.  

A century later, they apply to Joe Biden, not financially but politically. For him, the sun is not rising. It’s setting.  

“Gradually and then suddenly” is the story of Joe Biden’s physical and cognitive decline. “Gradually and then suddenly” is how his army of enablers in the media, the Democratic Party and the donor base abandoned his defense. “Gradually and then suddenly” is how he gifted his party and his country with a full-scale political crisis, centered on a president who no longer appears fit for office and whose vice president (and presumptive successor) is widely disliked. 

Years ago, Ronald Reagan wrote, elegiacally, that the sun was setting on his life. But by then, he was a former president, living in retirement on his ranch. He was not occupying the Oval Office, holding down the most powerful and demanding job on earth. 

Joe Biden is. The public no longer thinks he is fit to do that job. They reached that firm conclusion after watching the debate Thursday night and then hearing nothing from Biden’s allies to convince them otherwise. Whatever voters think of Biden’s performance for the last three-plus years, they simply don’t think he can continue. They are certain he won’t last another term and wonder if he will make it to the end of this one. They didn’t vote for the country to be governed by his staff. 

That situation is a tragedy for Joe and his family and a source of anguish for his friends. He deserves our sympathy. But what doesn’t deserve sympathy is Joe’s decision, backed by his family and close associates, that he should stay in the race and remain on the job. 

That decision affects all Americans. We depend on the president to lead the country and keep us safe in a dangerous world. That’s why Joe Biden’s decline goes far beyond a family tragedy. It’s a national tragedy and a palpable danger. 

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Biden and the Democrats can’t decide what to blame the disastrous debate on

By on July 3rd, 2024

https://dnyuz.com/2024/07/03/biden-and-the-democrats-cant-decide-what-to-blame-the-disastrous-debate-on/

President Joe Biden has offered a new explanation for his disastrous debate performance — jet lag.

Giving a reason for his incoherent sentences, slurring and vacant expression on the June 27 CNN debate with former President Donald Trump, Biden said that he “nearly fell asleep on stage.”

Speaking to donors at a fundraising event in Virginia on Tuesday, he added that he “wasn’t very smart” about his use of time before the debate. “I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through around 100 time zones,” Biden said.

He added: “It’s not an excuse but an explanation.”

Other reasons for his poor performance

The jet lag explanation, however, deviates from the one his own campaign put out days ago.

The Biden campaign source said that he was suffering from a cold during the debate. That Biden had a cold going into the big night, The Wall Street Journal reported, which did explain his hoarse voice and coughing.

But post-debate, Biden critics and supporters alike have been speculating on whether his advanced age might kill the Democratic ticket’s chances of winning in 2024.

And on that front, the Biden camp has been willing to admit the obvious — the president is old.

When asked at a White House press conference whether “Biden’s cognitive decline” was “an episode or a condition,” his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that he was not a young man and “he’s a little slower than he used to be.”

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Biden, Trump Knotted In July Poll, But Debate Disaster Could Lead To Big Shift: I&I/TIPP Poll

By on July 3rd, 2024

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/07/03/biden-trump-knotted-in-july-poll-but-debate-disaster-could-lead-to-big-shift-ii-tipp-poll/

Following President Joe Biden’s abysmal performance in the June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump, you might think he would suffer a crash in his support for re-election. Even the media describe the Democratic Party’s response to Biden’s poor showing as “panic.” Will voters abandon Biden? They haven’t yet, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows, but signs of trouble loom.

The national online I&I/TIPP Poll, answered by 1,244 registered voters from June 26-28, includes last Thursday’s debate night. So the final day of the poll reflects that information. Did it have an impact?

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

Where Is Sinwar Hiding? Report: Just Two or Three People Know The terror leader is still hoping for a Middle East in flames. P. David Hornik

By on July 3rd, 2024

https://pdavidhornik.substack.com/subscribe?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=email-subscribe&r=8t06w&next=

A report on Israel’s ynet (Hebrew)—drawing on a report in Asharq al-Awsat, an Arabic newspaper published in London—cites Hamas members both inside and outside Gaza who say the organization’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, is updated all the time on the ongoing Gaza war.

“[Sinwar’s] ability to stay hidden, alongside Israel’s inability to reach him, does not mean he lacks communication with [other Hamas leaders]”—including those outside of Gaza, primarily in Qatar.

Sinwar “remains updated especially on the negotiations [for a hostage deal], and looks into every initiative, ponders it, and gives his judgment.” 

The Hamas members further told the paper that only “a very small circle knows [Sinwar’s] location. No more than two or three people who provide for his needs and handle his communication with other [Hamas] leaders.”

Is it true, as widely speculated, that Sinwar has surrounded himself with Israeli hostages to keep himself safe? Is Israel’s failure to reach him due to concerns about those hostages, or to the fact that the Israeli (and American? British?) intelligence agencies have lost sight of his whereabouts?

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

Why Are Hamas’s Crimes Ignored by Western Media? by Bassam Tawil

By on July 2nd, 2024

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20738/hamas-crimes-western-media

The Palestinian Authority and other Arab governments have been reminded in recent days of the reasons why entering the Gaza Strip after the war would be risky, if not impossible…

According to reports from the Gaza Strip, Hamas has murdered a number of Palestinians who it believed had indicated willingness to be part of a new government that would replace the terrorist group after the war.

Hamas, apparently, does not want food or medication to reach the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, particularly not via Israeli border crossings. This situation is most likely caused by Hamas’s desire to prolong and aggravate the suffering of the Palestinians and create a “famine” so it can place the blame on Israel.

“Why is the media ignoring what is going on in central and southern Gaza? Hamas is assassinating Gazans, particularly tribe leaders, in order to deter anyone other than Hamas from delivering humanitarian relief and participating in Gaza.” — Hamza Howidy, Palestinian social media influencer from the Gaza Strip, x.com, June 26, 2024.

Until the international community – and particularly the Biden administration – fully support Israel’s efforts to destroy Hamas, unfortunately there can be no real discussion of “the day after” in the Gaza Strip.

Israel… will not be the only party to benefit from Hamas’s demise. A large number of Arabs and Muslims who oppose Hamas and other Iran-backed Islamist groups will also benefit, even though it is “politically incorrect” and immensely dangerous to say so.

In reality, those advocating for a “ceasefire” are asking for Hamas to be allowed to continue ruling the Gaza Strip, rearming, and gearing up to attack Israel — in their words, “again and again.”

A ceasefire will only ignite an immediate increase in terrorist attacks against Israel. Worse, Islamists worldwide will be incentivized to launch attacks not only against Israel but also against Europe. Islamists have already attacked US troops in the Middle East more than 150 times in the region since Oct 7.

By exposing the crimes of Hamas against its own people and raising awareness of these threats — instead of helping the terrorists cover them up — the international media can actually help to protect their own countries against steadily increasing terrorism. At the moment, terrorists over the world can only see their efforts as victorious, glorified and rewarded.

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ANTI-SEMITISM, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Guy Sorman Anti-Semitism and the French Elections As the July 7 vote approaches, an old specter returns.

By on July 2nd, 2024

https://www.city-journal.org/article/anti-semitism-and-the-french-elections

When President Emmanuel Macron called for a new election in the National Assembly—a first round June 30 and a second and final round July 7—no one thought that anti-Semitism would become a central subject of political debate. In principle, what is at stake is the reconstitution, or not, of a parliamentary majority with which Macron might govern. But in fact nothing is happening the way the president expected. Instead of two traditionally opposed camps, one for the president and the other against, we have seen the emergence, in the first round, of three blocs, each somewhat heterogeneous. On the far right, the Rassemblement national (National Rally), led by eternal presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, is now allied with a center-right party, formerly Gaullist. Le Pen advances a conservative program, but one quite distinct from the flamboyantly xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and anti-immigrant appeals characteristic of past campaigns of her father and founder of the party, Jean Marie Le Pen. On the left, an alliance of convenience, hastily composed, has come together that includes Communists, Trotskyites, ecologists, and social democrats, under the name New Popular Front, evoking the anti-fascist Left of the 1930s. In the center is a collection of conservative, liberal, and moderate candidates that could form the core of a new presidential majority for Macron. The second round will decide it: probably none of these three blocs will be able to rule alone, compelling Macron to build case-by-case alliances in order to manage domestic and international affairs. All parties agree to support NATO, the European Union, and Ukraine: some are more enthusiastic than others.

On top of all this, however, we find a surprising intruder: a resurgent anti-Semitism.

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