ON FRIDAY, America First Legal hailed a victory against the Biden regime’s ‘Homeland Intelligence Experts Group’ of the Department of Homeland Security concerning former Ambassador Ric Grenell. The regime has agreed to disband the illegally formed Group and hand over its records to AFL. The Group was formed by DHS in late 2023 to “provide advice and perspectives on intelligence and national security efforts,” but is was never intended to actually provide unbiased or expert advice to anyone. Instead, it was wholly partisan with the mission to provide cover and justification for DHS’s radical agenda under Biden and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. It was believed, with good reason, the Group would have illegally or unethically censor, spy. And grossly violate the civil rights of its political opponents.
Members of the Group included usual suspects, John Brennan and James Clapper, who lead the ‘Letter of 51’ scam using their ‘intelligence credentials’ to falsely claim the Hunter Biden laptop story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation,” despite the fact the F.B.I. had actually authenticated the laptop a year earlier. Other members were Francis Taylor, a former Obama official who has given at least 650 political contributions totaling more than $32,000 to the Democrat Party or Democrat candidates, as well as Asha George, Rajesh De, Caryn Wagner, and Elisa Massimino, who made 179 donations totaling $60,000 to Democrats. Of contributions made by the Group, over 98% went to Dems with just one percent going to G.O.P. candidates.
The Group stunk from the start, and Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Roger Marshall (R-Ks.) promptly wrote to Mayorkas requesting “DHS immediately rescind the appointments of these known purveyors of disinformation to the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group.” (Letter here.) Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) also penned Mayorkas a letter demanding he terminate the group that was “led by at least three individuals who helped suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story preceding the 2020 U.S. presidential election.” (Letter here.) In the House of Representatives, Reps. Mark E. Green, M.D. (R-Tn.) and August Pfluger (R-Tx.), in their respective capacities as Chairmen of the House Committee on Homeland Security and House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence, also wrote to Mayorkas (letter here), after which, Rep. Pfluger (R-Tx.) introduced H.R. 5729 (here) to prohibit federal funds from being used for the Group or any similar group.
AFL represented former Ambassador and Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, claiming the Group of partisans violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act because of its lack of political balance, the regime’s inappropriate influence over it, and lack of public notice and comment. Given the clear illegality of the regime’s actions, it agreed to disband the Group and turn over its records to AFL. This is the second time the regime has either intentionally violated FACA or has been tripped up by it. The first was in 2022 when the Department of Education had to unwind its illegal Parents Council after another AFL legal action on behalf of Parents Defending Education and Fight for Schools and Families.
EVERYONE KNEW IT WAS INEVITABLE. It always is. The unread, unvetted spending bill gets shoved down Americans’ throats whether they like it or not. Because they chose between what they believe are the lesser of (usually) two evils, these same destructive forces get reelected to do the same thing over again year after year. Two evils are just that: evil. Why should 2023 be any different?
It’s not. The monstrosity of a bill passed the Senate, as usual, 68-29, in the wee hours of the morning and goes to the White House as a mere formality. It spends $1.7 trillion over nine months. Some $45 billion goes to the 51st state of Ukraine. An unspecified amount goes to our new neighbors from the south who have invaded our neighborhoods illegally, but with Joey Biden’s blessings. It’s over 4,000 pages, so no one has read it through. It brings tears to my eyes, and the eyes of fellow patriots, who are close to giving up.
The full list of the 18 G.O.P. senators who betrayed their country, their party, and their constituents is too long, so instead, I’ll list those who did not fail us: Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); Ted Cruz (R-TX); Ron Johnson (R-WI); Mike Lee (R-UT); Rand Paul (R-KY); and Rick Scott (R-FL). Marco Rubio (R-FL) didn’t even bother to vote, apparently, since he was not named herein, but was named as voting in opposition in The Floridian. Not that it matters at this point. What should have happened is a continuing resolution until the new congressional members were sworn in in January so they could vote on it. After all, the people spoke last month, and expect to be heard. How the U.S. government could protect the borders of foreign nations and fail to protect our own is totally unforgivable.
THE FACT Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell even had to be told this is appalling, but a coalition of senators had to write him a letter urging him to ignore requests by Democrats to pass their massive omnibus spending bill before the new G.O.P.-controlled House is sworn in in January. Sens. Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Tex.), Rick Scott (Fla.), and Mike Braun (Ind.) sent the letter on Wednesday. The letter is here.
Essentially, they said that nothing but a short-term Continuing Resolution funding the federal government until Jan. 2023 should be passed so that the new House can weigh in. There should also be no additional spending and no additional “policy priorities” included. If it’s claimed to be urgent, it must be considered on its own merits. Failure to do so, they say, disregards the wishes of the American public.
Not that Republicans are looking out for the taxpayers’ monies: they’re very keen on upping defense spending and aid to Ukraine, which has been nothing but demanding and parasitic since their dispute with Russia. The Dems, on the other hand, are looking to increase discretionary spending to $1.6 trillion. It’s enormous. Where on Earth do they the money is coming from? Never mind, the new I.R.S. agents will stick taxpayers up for the new long-range weapons, and wealth transfers to rebuild Ukraine, its infrastructure and power grid, along with a $400 million package Biden approved from U.S. stockpiles earlier this month. Lucky us.
“I think it makes absolutely no sense for a lame-duck Congress to pass Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer’s appropriations bills,” said Sen. Cruz. “[I]f a handful of Senate Republicans decide their outgoing act is to rubber-stamp Nancy Pelosi’s spending priorities, that would be a gross abdication of responsibility and also an affront to the voters who just voted to give Republicans a majority in the House.”
He’s right. But it’s the second time in a week the G.O.P. has coalesced around Dems in a uni-party fashion, so figure it will happen. The first was the passage, aided by the G.O.P., of the “Respect for Marriage Act,” which codified same-sex marriage into federal law. Regardless of where one may fall on the issue, the fact is, marriage has always been in province of the states — most of which have recognized gay marriage without any ‘help’ from Pelosi or Schumer. And in case that’s not good enough, in Obergefell v. Hodges, decided in 2015, the Supreme Court found same-sex marriage lawful in the decision that applies nationwide.
I’M NOT A BIG FAN of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), but he’ll do in a pinch, I guess. He’s at least made a small effort at remedying the border catastrophe and immigration danger that the illegitimate C.C.P. puppet-in-chief occupying the White House when he’s not at his Delaware mansion hiding out in the basement — Joe Biden — has caused.
More specifically, earlier this month, Rubio and five fellow G.O.P. senators proposed legislation, dubbed the “Protecting Our Democracy by Preventing Foreign Citizens from Voting Act,” that would block federal funds from going to states and cities that allow foreigners to vote in U.S. elections. That such legislation would even be necessary is nothing short of mind-boggling. Perhaps that why it took so long to unveil: it was so incredibly unexpected anyone would ever propose foreigners vote for U.S. officeholders. Notable is the fact Rubio is the son of legal Cuban immigrant parents.
Co-sponsors include Sens. Steve Daines (Mont.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), John Kennedy (La.), Rick Scott (Fla.), and James Lankford (Okla.). In the House, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) introduced the bill shortly thereafter.
The most recent example of allowing foreigners to vote in U.S. elections was on Dec. 9th, when Democrat-controlled New York City approved a measure permitting over 800,000 non-citizens to vote in municipal elections. The argument for it was given as given all residents a say in their local neighborhood, except non-citizens of the U.S. are also, ipso facto, not citizens of New York, either. It doesn’t even matter if you’re here legally or illegally. It’s a question of citizenship, which is a bright-line black-letter test.
If you could vote where you reside, some Americans would vote in, say, Afghanistan; or snowbirds in New Hampshire would vote in, perhaps, Florida or North Carolina; or Manhattanites would vote in, maybe, Lake George where they maintain a summer cottage. Residency can be an indicia of citizenship, but it is definitely not dispositive of it. But Dems like to conflate things to their advantage…
THE LATE BARRY FARBER would routinely state on his radio talk show that never had there been a country that gave so much and asked for so little in return. Americans are and always have been generous and tolerant people. Probably no one believes that should change. Yet at some point, the tolerance and generosity can become self-defeating, even self-destructive, and it appears the C.C.P. puppet-in-chief occupying the White House, Joe Biden, wants to test just how self-destructive we can become. We’re about to find out. And it may get ugly.
There is a major crisis on America’s southern border. This is the same border that had been tamed by the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. He built a wall, or at least installed some fencing, to allow immigration officials to patrol the area more easily. He worked with Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), to come up with a mutually agreeable plan to keep migrants in appropriate places until their applications could be reviewed and acted upon. This at least kept ‘terrorists’ out.
Meanwhile, at home, Trump prioritized Americans over foreigners, as well he should, with the idea that immigration, when legally done, can be a good thing. But Biden ‘cancelled’ everything Trump. That included a sound immigration policy. He’s also endangered Americans with Covid infections, oddly his pet issue, given at least six percent of migrants released into the country without question are believed to be positive for the virus and Democrats refuse to test or vaccinate them. The Biden regime has made clear there will be no bipartisanship post-Trump.
Biden’s plan is simple: open borders. He’ll probably get it, too, with a Democrat majority in the House and effectively in the Senate. The massive amount of migrants who have arrived at our border since January is staggering. And the House is expected to take up a reckless bill this week called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. It’s just a start, and not only generously grants temporary H-2A agricultural worker program visas to foreigners, but would grant a special new legal pathway to citizenship to illegal agricultural workers in the country. They could be given a green card in as few as four years.
It doesn’t stop there. The bill would provide amnesty to millions who came here and stayed illegally. Estimates related to illegal aliens are notoriously lowballed, but it is guesstimated 50 to 70 percent of agricultural workers in this country are here illegally, at least 1.5 million souls. Their spouses and children would receive amnesty, too.
While this would ostensibly ‘help’ farmers in the U.S., history shows otherwise. In 1986, when then-President Ronald Reagan used his political capital to very unwisely grant amnesty to over 1 million agricultural workers, the migrants quickly moved off the farms to better jobs in America’s welcoming cities. This surely displaced American workers, effectively ‘punishing’ them while rewarding those aliens who acted illegally.
Meanwhile, accepting and trusting Americans were told by Reagan and Congress that this would end the illegal immigration problem and they wouldn’t be called upon to have to accept the burden again. For a variety of reasons, the new law was an abysmal failure. Today, it is ‘hoped’ Congress learned from its past mistakes. How about we start by enforcing existing laws?!
The situation seems hopeless. Not only do Dems have a majority, but Republicans have RINOs. They want to be on the ‘winning’ side of the debate. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is pro-illegal alien despite being in a largely red state. He is also the National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman and okay with the idea of fast-tracking illegal aliens to American citizenship. While he intends to help the so-called “DACA-kids,” nearly all of which are now well into adulthood, an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) shows that Scott’s proposal could provide amnesty and a pathway to citizenship to a population much broader than just DACA beneficiaries in exchange for a border wall that already was built or planned under President Trump:
“Under the terms of this bill all illegal aliens who were technically eligible to apply for DACA are eligible for amnesty and a green card. This includes even those who did not bother to apply in 2012 when the Obama administration unlawfully created the program via an executive memorandum.”
Another alleged Republican from red state Florida, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, plans to introduce an even more expansive amnesty bill this week.
Roll over, G.O.P., and take one up the ass for Tío Sam!
IN ONE of the most cynical political moves in recent American history, a second round of “stimulus” payments was authorized by Congress on December 21st. The House, thanks to its leader of unicorns and ice cream cones, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had purposely drafted and passed a certain-to-be dead-on-arrival bill months ago that would squander about $3 trillion of the nation’s treasure to feed pork to the politicos and gruel to the people.
Eventually, though, Pelosi et al. had to confront the needs of the people and the impending deadlines from the previously-passed, inaptly-named CARES Act, along with the reality that only a $1 billion package would likely pass. The new bill, totaling $2.3 trillion, was also paired with the budget, about $1.4 trillion, for the remainder of the fiscal year. This was entitled the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021” in an uncharacteristic moment of simplicity and clarity.
The bill itself, let alone, its expenditures, was, to use a Trump-ism, “yuge.” It was 5,593 pages long, and aides had difficulties printing it. It was ultimately uploaded to the House website and can be read here.
Only a few heroic senators voted against the pillage: Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rick Scott (R-FL). Hardly anyone read any of the damn thing, relying on the Pelosi Method, as perfected under Obama: pass it to find out what goodies are inside. Still, the public was quick to discover its myriad failures.
Pandemic unemployment assistance at the federal level was extended through March 14, 2021 and allowed continuation of benefits for individuals for as a long as April 5, 2021 for up to 50 weeks total. The supplemental amount was cut in half, giving the unemployed only $300 bonus benefits on top of regular state benefits per week instead of the $600 weekly bonus given under the CARES Act. This still obviously gives people an incentive to remain unemployed. However, Congress thought of that and decided to require states to have some sort of method to be informed by employers when peoples’ jobs opened up but they refused to return to work. Why would they think, if the private sector isn’t working, that the public sector would be staffed to collect this data? And clearly, a business so badly affected by the pandemic as to lay its workforce off is not going to have any idea if their employees turned down suitable work elsewhere, so why even bother?
New “stimulus” checks or direct deposits will be issued to just over a majority of people, not necessarily taxpayers, which also includes children, yet many people who actually pay the taxes that ostensibly will finance this monstrosity are means-tested out, even though such means-testing is completely un-nuanced and screw those living in high cost-of-living states where incomes (and taxes that are never waived) are higher as a result. Phase-outs start at $75,000 ($150,000 for married couples) which is a pretty good income for most of the country. The full “stimulus” check amount is $600, one time.
Almost forgotten is the extension of deferred payroll taxes. This emerged in August when President Trump issued a directive to the Department of Treasury to permit a deferral of payroll taxes from 9/01 to 12/31/20. It was only a deferral, so the amounts has to be repaid by May 1, 2021, but it was extended under the new bill to December 31, 2021, meaning penalties and interest on the deferred unpaid tax liability would not accrue until 01/01/22. No one seems to know of anyone who availed themselves of this because, if it must be repaid, it could be devastating at the time. It’s not up to individual employees, but rather, their employers, who would definitely be unwillingly on the hook with the I.R.S.
The Employee Retention Tax Credit was extended under the new act. It gives a tax credit equal to 50 percent of the qualified wages each quarter to employers who kept employees on payroll from 03/12/20 to 12/31/20, but now is extended to 7/01/21 and has been bumped up to 70 percent of such wages. It can also be used in combination with Payroll Protection Program (PPP) funds (see below), which may be forgiven loans. The maximum was $10,000 per employee, but is now $10,000 per employee per quarter. There was a change to the gross receipts test used, as well: it is now 80 percent of receipts year over year from 2019.
The P.P.P. will be expanded to allow certain businesses with 300 or fewer employees to obtain additional loan money if they can show a minimum of 25 percent reduction in gross receipts year over year from 2019. The maximum loan is $2 million with the 60/40 cost split between payroll and non-payroll continues to apply. Businesses can borrow up to 2.5 times their average monthly payroll costs from 2019. The loans when forgiven are not taxable. After all, why would you want to tax anyone, except, of course, for the poor schmucks who don’t have a business with which to launder other taxpayers’ money? Interestingly, brevity is valued here: the forgiveness application cannot exceed one page. It sounds as if it’s all on the honor system, which we know works splendidly in Congress as well as in business: all one must do is “attest” the money was used properly.
There’s still a rental assistance program which extends the eviction moratorium through 01/31/21, as well as $25 billion for “rental relief” to be used for future rent and utility payments along with back rent. How Congress envisages getting the money to landlords is opaque, but it’s probably just another one of their income redistribution schemes, anyway. Who cares about landlords (and their mortgages?) They’re more despised than lawyers, for heaven’s sake!
In a similar vein, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children are expanded as are some senior programs. Has Congress has lost sight of how getting kids back to school and service providers back to work would help these vulnerable populations more than more free food?
For purposes of the non-Covid giveaways known as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, income from 2019 is used as it is most likely more advantageous to those claiming these refundable credits. I’d expect that to be quietly changed to be the more advantageous of either the 2019 or 2020 income, however, because that’s how Congress rolls.
For individual income tax returns, there’s charity deduction redux. We can deduct in 2021, above-the-line, $300 per single or $600 for joint filers if we donate that much or more to a bona fide charity. Apparently, $600 is a magical (and vast!) amount of money at the Capitol. And Flexible Spending Arrangements (F.S.A.s) will temporarily allow carry forwards for health and dependent care to 2021/22. The qualified tuition deduction is now replaced by an increase in the phase-out for the Lifetime Learning Credit: $80,000 for single, or $160,000 for joint filers.
A blast from the past promises to get businesspeople blasted with the return of the once popular 3-Martini Lunch. Such business meals and entertainment expenses are 100% deductible for 2021 and 2022. This is a plus for restaurants, bars, and other badly-affected businesses, but it’s not clear how that works in states that are in lock-down. It’s also not clear why only businesses should receive the deduction. After all, a family’s bill is paid with the exact same currency and has the same effect, dollar for dollar. Such parity would also make recovery swifter.
Missing this time is student loan repayment extensions beyond 01/31/21. This probably isn’t a big deal, anyway, given Joe Biden has been hijacked by “progressives” in his party and is under pressure to “cancel” all student loans, anyway, should he make it to the Oval Office. State and local funding, a demand of Democrats who tend to run socialist-style programs, was excluded too, but again, that will be addressed once Biden is installed, assuming he is. Funding issued under the earlier CARES Act may still be used throughout 2021, however.
Liability protection for corporations, insisted on by the G.O.P., was excluded from the package, as well. This represents a cave by Mitch McConnell, who inexplicably made it his primary concern. He apparently doesn’t understand that it’s fairly difficult to prove in court that someone caught a virus at one place as opposed to all others, even if they worked there. And that workers are governed by workers’ compensation acts, anyway.
At this point, the new spending bill, a continuing resolution to keep the government open, became known, with the ‘stimulus,’ as the “Porkulus Bill.” It was apt, given some of the unrelated measures it contained. Naturally, the phony-baloney climate change fraud was funded. But hey, the government would not shut down even if took a few short extensions to get there and oh, Happy Holidays!
Yet $600 in ‘free money’ wasn’t good enough for some greedy Americans and those who were suffering in spite of the nation’s robust welfare programs in addition to the CARES goodies. Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer were quick to make the G.O.P. look out of touch with the financial devastation befalling the nation. A revolt was brewing, but interestingly enough, it was a Republican who was instigating it.
President Trump promptly pointed out he wanted more for those making under $75,000. He had in mind $2,000 per adult and $600 per child. The election was over so his ‘generosity’ with taxpayer money wasn’t directly self-serving, but it would distinguish him from G.O.P. cheapskates when public goodwill would be helpful in contesting the election as he planned to continue to try to do.
The lack of party unity, however, could backfire in the imminent runoff Senate elections in Georgia. And his failure to sign the bill could leave some people out on the lurch with unemployment benefits and a possible government shutdown.
Pelosi and Schumer were quick to pounce when Trump expressed his desire to increase ‘stimulus checks’ to the people. Just do it, then, they taunted him, no Democrats will object, but the president wasn’t interested in them getting their way with the excess spending. Republicans were howling about how bigger checks to the people were unaffordable and the country couldn’t pay for it, but it was hard to take them seriously when massive amounts of money were earmarked for other countries and silly programs abroad.
Three days after Christmas, however, the president capitulated and signed off on the pork-laden $2.3 trillion packages. He had a message for Congress, however, and delivered it through something called the 1974 “Impoundment Control Act.”
Under the Act, the president would sign off on this bill, but redline certain objectionable provisions with instructions to lawmakers to review them. His red lines would be invisible to this Congress, but at least history records his concerns about excessive spending.
At this point, the $600 payments are now being direct-deposited to peoples’ bank accounts and the increased payment amount appears to be in the dust heap of history. Lucky for the rest of the world, the waste, fraud, and abuse in government financing continues.
Here is just a sampling of some of the foolish appropriations here (gender programs in Pakistan), here (truancy in Filipino youth), and here (providing Russian youth free gap years at American community colleges). Or foreign workers first, here. What a country!
sua sponte 