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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION

50 STATES AND DC, CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT

The beauty of Ron DeSantis in action By Monica Showalter

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/12/the_beauty_of_ron_desantis_in_action.html

Is Ron DeSantis a national treasure, or what?

Here’s what the press will undoubtedly claim is his latest “stunt,” as reported by Bob Hoge at RedState:

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Governor Ron DeSantis can impanel a grand jury to investigate COVID vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna for potential misconduct. At issue: do the mRNA jabs cause heart issues and were the manufacturers aware of the problem?

The court wrote:

A statewide grand jury shall be promptly impaneled for a term of twelve calendar months, to run from the date of impanelment, with jurisdiction throughout the State of Florida, to investigate crime, return indictments, make presentments, and otherwise perform all functions of a grand jury with regard to the offenses stated herein.

As we reported, DeSantis argued in his petition to the court earlier this month that the Florida Department of Health “found an increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related deaths among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination.”​ The NY Post reports:

“​In Florida, it is illegal to mislead and misrepresent, especially when you are talking about the efficacy of a drug​,” DeSantis said during a roundtable with state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and a number of scientists and physicians last week.

“We’ll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not​,” added DeSantis.

That’s an issue that’s on everyone’s minds right now, the foremost issue from the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. Were those hastily crafted anti-COVID vaccines, forced onto young people by state mandates, causing them to drop dead? And did these vaccine manufacturers, incentivized by the government directive shielding them from lawsuits, know all about it and not tell anyone? Because profits?

In a society that permits lawsuits over spilled coffee, that seems pretty much the kind of information the public is entitled to, not just because of the government mandates, but because so many young people are turning up dead and we’re all supposed to take “no idea why” for an answer.

The federal government is the one that should be investigating this, but we all know why they aren’t — they are a swamp of special interests, with Democrat donations and lucrative consulting contracts the priorities that ensure these things stay buried.

But instead of nothing being done, the one-among-fifty governor of Florida, with his limited scope of power, has stepped in to get to the bottom of this, skillfully maneuvering the entire activity through the court system, thwarting the leftist lawyers trying to stop him.

As a result, there will be answers now, answers the public is looking for, with DeSantis appropriately tough in his rhetoric, telling Big Pharma they’re going to deliver this information whether they like it or not.

The pain isn’t goin’ away: Inflation cost households an extra $10K By Brian Riedl

https://nypost.com/2022/12/22/the-pain-isnt-goin-away-inflation-cost-households-an-extra-10k/

Inflation is over, the administration crows, even as Congress works to pass another massive spending bill — this time, $1.7 trillion.

But struggling families know not to pop the cork yet.

The consumer price index rose just 0.1% last month, bringing the 12-month rate to 7.1% — still higher than any year since the disco days of 1981. Politicians have downplayed inflation ever since President Biden ignored economist warnings in early 2021 that it would be economic malpractice to throw a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill at a supply-constrained economy. Then we were told that inflation was “transitory,” a relic of corporate price gouging and “Putin’s price hike.”

The Federal Reserve has also downplayed inflation. Two years ago, its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) forecast that inflation (using a slightly different measure called the PCE, for Personal Consumption Expenditures) would be 1.8% in 2021. It instead came in at 5.8%. Not learning its lesson, the FOMC projected that inflation in 2022 would fall to 2.6%. It is now set to end the year at 5.6%. So here we are again, with the FOMC projecting inflation rates of 3.1%, 2.5%, and 2.1% over the next three years.

Losing credibility

Repeatedly downplaying the threat of inflation has reduced the credibility of the White House, the Federal Reserve and other forecasters.

Even as the Federal Reserve aggressively plays catch-up on interest rates, one or two positive months mean little to wary consumers — especially when paired with the same old promises that supply chains will open up, government spending will slow, and shifts in demand from goods to services will dampen price pressures.

Consumers have several reasons to worry that inflation may remain sticky.

You Must Assume That All Information Put Out By Our Government Is Corrupt Francis Menton

https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2022-12-21-you-must-assume-that-all-information-put-out-by-our-government-is-corrupt

Throughout the agencies of our federal government, an important function is to issue data and information about the state of the country. These data cover a vast array of topics such as population, demographics, income and poverty, the state of the economy, the GDP, employment and unemployment, activities of foreign adversaries, weather and climate, energy production and use, and much, much more. The Congress and states use this information in making important public policy decisions, and the people use it to make decisions for their everyday lives. Not the least of those decisions is how to vote.

So is the information issued by the government basically honest and reliable for important decisions? Or, instead, is the output of official information cynically manipulated and corrupted by a government interested mainly in perpetuating and increasing its own power? And given that the federal bureaucracy is 90+% Democrat in political orientation, to what extent does that bureaucracy manipulate the information it issues to further the election of Democrats?

The evidence of data manipulation in favor of Democrats is so pervasive that we have to assume that essentially all information put out by the government is corrupt.

The instances of blatant manipulation of information by government personnel are way too clear and way too widespread to be ignored. What is now being called the “Twitter files” — shocking evidence of the FBI working with a big tech company to limit the circulation of information about corruption by one of the presidential candidates in the run-up to the 2020 election — is just one of the latest examples. Let’s have a review of some others:

Manipulation of temperature data to support the narrative of human-caused climate change.

Soros-Backed Nonprofits Gave Tens of Millions to Anti-Police Groups in 2021 By Eric Lendrum

https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/21/soros-backed-nonprofits-gave-tens-of-millions-to-anti-police-groups-in-2021/

Tax forms have revealed that, over the course of 2021, numerous nonprofit groups backed by far-left billionaire George Soros donated tens of millions of dollars to groups and initiatives that actively campaigned against the police.

Fox News reports that nonprofit groups that are members of Soros’ Open Society Foundations network collectively gave at least $55 million to such anti-police movements. This included groups utilized by progressives to actively dismantle law enforcement, as well as databases that track donations to police departments and police unions.

“The Open Society Foundations is proud to have been one of the earliest and most robust supporters of efforts to address the issues of crime and public safety while protecting freedoms that Americans hold dear,” said Laleh Ispahani, a spokeswoman for Open Society-U.S., in a statement. “We have supported reforms to our criminal justice system that enjoy broad support across the political spectrum. We believe that our freedoms are threatened when state actors are above the law, and that accountability is even more essential when they are given the right to use force on behalf of the government.”

“The level of police violence, particularly impacting communities of color, has spurred reform efforts across the country,” Ispahani falsely stated. “Open Society supports the exploration and development of policies that actually work to reduce crime and defers to communities regarding what alternatives make sense to them. Whether that includes shifting funding currently allocated to policing into services that actually work to address crime and improve public safety is up to them.”

Among the largest donations, the Open Society Policy Center gave $15 million to the Tides Advocacy for the Electoral Justice Project, a project that is being led by the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of over 50 pro-Black Lives Matter groups. The Movement for Black Lives had previously pledged to hand out as much as $75,000 to “12 black-led organizations that are expanding democracy and building political power in defense of black lives.”

DeSantis’ COVID Vaccine Grand Jury Gets the Green Light From the Florida Supreme Court By Lincoln Brown

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/lincolnbrown/2022/12/22/desantis-covid-vaccine-grand-jury-gets-the-green-light-from-the-florida-supreme-court-n1655816

On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate potential wrongdoings related to COVID-19 vaccines.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta will preside, with members to be selected from five judicial districts. DeSantis made the initial request on the 13th of this month, stating at the time that “there are good and sufficient reasons to deem it to be in the public interest to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate criminal or wrongful activity in Florida relating to the development, promotion, and distribution of vaccines purported to prevent COVID-19 infection, symptoms, and transmission.”

DeSantis was a one-time proponent of the vaccines for certain demographics, namely senior citizens. However, he became skeptical of them over time, in particular because of the claims about their efficacy. The Associated Press reported that DeSantis contends that drug manufacturers had a financial interest in creating a mindset that vaccinated people could not transmit the virus to another person. According to the article in the Times, the scope of the grand jury will include:

…people and ‘entities, including, but not limited to, pharmaceutical manufacturers (and their executive officers) and other medical associations or organizations involved in the design, development, clinical testing or investigation, manufacture, marketing, representation, advertising, promotion, labeling, distribution, formulation, packing, sale, purchase, donation, dispensing, prescribing, administration, or use of vaccines purported to prevent COVID-19 infection, symptoms, and transmission.’

The Subsidy Tango of Bill Gates and Joe Manchin The West Virginia Senator and the billionaire investor score a windfall in the Inflation Reduction Act.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-subsidy-tango-of-bill-gates-and-joe-manchin-terrapower-climate-spending-john-barrasso-jennifer-granholm-11671741449?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

Bill Gates sold West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on this year’s Democratic climate spending blowout as a way to put unemployed coal workers to work building advanced nuclear reactors. Now we learn, belatedly, that these projects depend on Russia for fuel and will cost taxpayers more than advertised.

The Energy Department last year awarded up to $2 billion for an advanced nuclear reactor “demonstration” project in Wyoming being developed by TerraPower, a company Mr. Gates founded. These advanced reactors have been promoted because they take up significantly less space than conventional reactors and could theoretically use reprocessed nuclear fuel.

TerraPower’s reactors will also supposedly be able to ramp up and down to balance intermittent solar and wind power on the grid. But the technology currently requires enormous government subsidies to be commercially viable. Reactors also require many more years to build than renewable and fossil-fuel plants owing to stricter licensing requirements and environmental reviews.

TerraPower planned to complete the Wyoming generator by 2028 assuming no hang-ups. There always are. So it wasn’t surprising when TerraPower disclosed this month that completion will be delayed by at least two years. But the reason was alarming: TerraPower was counting on Russia to supply it with high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel.

The Marine Corps Goes Woke Sarah Arnold  

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2022/12/22/marine-corps-goes-woke-n2617456

In a world where everything that was once normal is now woke, it’s no surprise that the Marine Corps has also turned the tide. 

A newly released academic report from the University of Pittsburgh recommended that the U.S. Marine Corps drop the words “sir” and “ma’am” used to address senior officers to avoid “misgendering” drill instructors despite there only being 14,000 females in the Marine Corps, which makes up of only 7 percent of the branch.

Instead of using the words “sir” and “ma’am,” recruits in the military services refer to their drill instructors using their ranks or roles followed by their last names. 

The 738-page report highlights a $2 million study that was conducted to examine gender-integrated recruit training, which claimed that the change would make both genders feel more comfortable when being addressed by peers. 

However, not everyone is on board with the woke change. 

According to the Marine Corps Times, Col. Howard Hall, chief of staff for Marine Corps Training and Education Command, expressed several concerns. 

“That’s going to take some effort,” Hall said, adding “honestly, that’s not a quick fix. What is inculcating in our young recruits that will or will not be reinforced when they graduate and enter the fleet Marine force? So again, we want to avoid any quick-fix solutions that introduce perturbations down the line.”

Are Universities Doomed? Elite university degrees certify very little. And the secret is out.  By Victor Davis Hanson

https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/21/are-universities-doomed/

In a famous exchange in the The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway wrote: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually, then suddenly.”

“Gradually” and “suddenly” applies to higher education’s implosion. 

During the 1990s “culture wars” universities were warned that their chronic tuition hikes above the rate of inflation were unsustainable. 

Their growing manipulation of blanket federal student loan guarantees, and part-time faculty and graduate teaching assistants always was suicidal. 

Left-wing indoctrination, administrative bloat, obsessions with racial preferences, arcane, jargon-filled research, and campus-wide intolerance of diverse thought short-changed students, further alienated the public—and often enraged alumni.

Over the last 30 years, enrollments in the humanities and history crashed. So did tenure-track faculty positions. Some $1.7 trillion in federally backed student loans have only greenlighted inflated tuition—and masked the contagion of political indoctrination and watered-down courses. 

 But “gradually” imploding has now become “suddenly.” Zoom courses, a declining pool of students, and soaring costs all prompt the public to question the college experience altogether. 

Nationwide undergraduate enrollment has dropped by more than 650,000 students in a single year—or over 4 percent alone from spring 2021 to 2022, and some 14 percent in the last decade. Yet the U.S. population still increases by about 2 million people a year.

Men account for about 71 percent of the current shortfall of students. Women number almost 60 percent of all college students—an all-time high. 

Monotonous professors hector students about “toxic masculinity,” as “gender” studies proliferate. If the plan was to drive males off campus, universities have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. 

Thanks to Elon, the FBI has a lot to answer for By Michael Letts

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/12/thanks_to_elon_the_fbi_has_a_lot_to_answer_for_.html

Things have not been good for the Federal Bureau of Investigation this year.

Thanks to its new owner Elon Musk, the “Twitter Files” have been making the rounds, revealing just what kind of relationship the social media giant has with the bureau. Apparently the two had “constant and pervasive” communications, with the FBI treating Twitter as a “subsidiary.” In other words, they were making note of accounts and tweets that needed to be taken action against.

That aligns with reports about surveillance on citizens and infringing on free speech rights in a number of ways — all in the name of “justice.”

Republicans are working on getting hold of these “Twitter Files,” in hopes of being able to get several subpoenas against both the FBI and the Department of Justice. Leading this charge is Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who will soon be the chairman for the House Intelligence Committee.

Speaking with Fox News on a recent episode of Sunday Morning Futures, he stated, “We are definitely pursuing the Department of Justice and also the FBI. We certainly intend to pursue subpoena power to expose the extent to which the FBI has been doing this.”

“While we pursue intelligence community to try to hold them accountable, while we’re doing that, Elon Musk is showing what’s happening on the other side with the willing partners, the mainstream media, social media, and really exposing coordination that was occurring between the FBI and them,” he continued.

And how. With Republicans set to take back the House next month, it appears they can finally get things moving as far as taking a closer look at what the FBI is really doing.

Turner believes that, by attaining these files, “we can cut off the funding and prevent, obviously, average Americans being impacted by FBI actions.”

But this goes much deeper than that. “The FBI… under the cover of saying they were pursuing foreign malign influence, had really exploded into activities that involved engaging with mainstream media and social media, and really impacting what is the normal debate of democracy. What’s really troubling here in my opinion is this is not based on intelligence.”

Our President, The Pathological Liar A shameful characteristic throughout his whole 52-year political career. by Jeff Crouere

https://www.frontpagemag.com/our-president-the-pathological-liar/

The sad reality is that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, is a pathological liar. This is not a new personality trait for our Commander-in-Chief, but a characteristic that has been apparent throughout his 52-year political career.

Biden has been telling lies, including massive untruths, for decades. It is a major reason he had to exit the 1988 presidential campaign. He lied about his law school grades and plagiarized speeches from United Kingdom Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.

Regularly, Biden lies about his childhood, his family, his academic career, and his record as a politician.

Does anyone really believe that, as a young lifeguard, he faced off with a “bad dude” named “Corn Pop” who had a “bunch of bad boys” armed with “straight razors?” Biden claimed he used a six-foot chain to force the gang to leave.

Biden pretends he was a tough guy and has boasted that in high school, he would have taken Donald Trump “behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.”

He likes to embellish his career as a college football player and lied about being on the University of Delaware team that beat the Ohio Bearcats. He said he quit the team to date the woman who would become his first wife, but, instead, he was forced to leave due to bad grades.

This week, Biden told a series of lies that are impossible to reconcile. At a town hall meeting with U.S. veterans in Delaware, Biden told a story of awarding a Purple Heart to his uncle, Frank Biden. He said that his uncle had served heroically in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, and had earned the Purple Heart, but never received it.

He declared he “got” his uncle the Purple Heart after he was elected Vice President in 2008. Biden said he awarded it to his uncle in front of family members. According to Biden, his uncle did not want the award because “the others died, I lived, I don’t want it.”