Category Archives: President Obama

Dan Mitchell: Looking just at fiscal policy, who is the worst president in American history?

America’s Most Profligate President Is…?

Looking just at fiscal policy, who is the worst president in American history?

Based on historical data from the Office of Management and Budget, I calculated a few years ago that Richard Nixon was the biggest spender, followed by Lydon Johnson.

But I was only looking at the growth of inflation-adjusted spending during the fiscal years when various presidents were in office.

What about long-run estimates of how various presidents have changed America’s (depressing) fiscal trajectory.

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post did something like this, though he focused on red ink rather than the spending burden.

That being said, he found somewhat similar results. Only he reports that LBJ was the worst with Nixon being the second worst.

Policy choices made long ago are more responsible for the fiscal state of the nation. Assigning a particular president responsibility for a debt increase is rarely productive, because so much depends on factors beyond a president’s control — an economic crisis such as the Great Recession or the pandemic, for example. …Which president has contributed the most to the nation’s long-term fiscal imbalance? That would be Lyndon B. Johnson… Through an exhaustive study of Congressional Budget Office and Office of Management and Budget reports, …LBJ’s share of the fiscal imbalance is 29.7 percent. Close behind is Richard M. Nixon, with 29.2 percent. Johnson enacted Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s, and then Nixon in the early 1970s expanded both programs and also enhanced Social Security so that benefits were indexed to inflation. …almost two-thirds of the nation’s long-term fiscal imbalance is a result of policy choices made more than 50 years ago.

I’m not surprised that Medicare and Medicaid get so much blame. They deserve it!

By the way, Kessler did not do his own calculations.

Instead, he relied on some research by Charles Blahous. Here’s the relevant table from that study, which was published in late 2021.

I’m not surprised that Reagan was the best president.

P.S. Biden was not included since he has just entered office when the research was conducted. If there is a similar study 10 years from now, I’m guessing he will be like Obama with bad but not horrible results. Yes, Biden has an awful fiscal agenda, but his failed stimulus and the watered-down (and absurdly misnamed) Inflation Reduction Act may wind up being the only significant damage he imposes.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC 8/06/22 Transcript

<img class=”i-amphtml-intrinsic-sizer” role=”presentation” src=”data:;base64,” alt=”” aria-hidden=”true” />Former President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC 8/06/22 Transcript

Donald Trump: (02:29)
Thank you. Well, thank you very much. And I’m thrilled to be back in the great state of Texas. And I’m thrilled to be back at CPAC. CPAC, back. The proud patriots here today are the beating heart of the conservative movement. That’s true. The beating heart. It all started for me at CPAC, by the way. I don’t know if anyone was there, long time ago, but they are incredible. And the job that’s been done is unbelievable. You are the loyal defenders of our heritage, our liberty, our culture, our Constitution, and our God-given rights. You never stop fighting for America, and I will never, ever stop fighting for you. Won’t happen. Thank you.

Donald Trump: (03:15)
But let’s begin this evening by showing our appreciation to our two wonderful hosts, two incredible people, unbelievable patriots, a family of young ladies that are even more beautiful than they are. I have to say it. They are beautiful. We just took pictures, and it’s great to see Matt and Mercedes Schlapp.

Donald Trump: (03:53)
Great job. Great job. Really incredible. Thank you, Matt. Thanks, Mercedes. And let’s also show our appreciation to everyone at the American Conservative Union who helps to put this event on. It’s an incredible event, including all of the hardworking activists who dedicate their lives to preserving a thing called American freedom. They’re incredible people. Thank you, everybody. We’re also grateful to be joined by representatives Ronnie Jackson, my doctor. Dr. Ronnie, where’s Ron? Where’s Ronnie? He was the White House doctor. He was a great doctor. He was a Admiral, a doctor, and now he’s a Congressman.

Donald Trump: (04:37)
I said, “Which is the best if you had your choice?” And he sort of indicated Dr, because he loved looking at my body. It was so strong and powerful. How often? But he said I’m the healthiest president that’s ever lived. I was the healthiest. I said, “I like this guy.” I don’t know who the hell he is at the time. I said, but I… And he said, “I’m going to run for Congress.” And there were 48 people running.

Donald Trump: (05:02)
I said, “Ronnie, you’ve never done this before.” He was a great student in Annapolis, a great everything. Everything he did was great, but he said, “I’m going to run.”

Donald Trump: (05:10)
I said, “Well, let’s get you into the runoff.” You needed two, two out of 44. And he made it. And then I said, “Now we’re getting close, Ronnie, and let’s get you by the RINO. And we got him by that RINO.”

Donald Trump: (05:21)
And here he is. And he’s great. We love you, Ronnie. Great job. Thank you. Another one who’s a warrior, and he’s a friend of mine. Incredible man. Ralph Norman, Ralph. Congressman. Thank you, Ralph. Thank you.

Donald Trump: (05:39)
Ralph taught me a lesson. He was in a race, and it was so one-sided that everybody said we don’t have to vote for Ralph. We don’t have to vote. He’s going to win by a landslide. So maybe we’ll just go out to dinner, and then we’ll go back and watch the results.”

Donald Trump: (05:55)
And so many people didn’t vote, but he won. And that was the last time that’ll ever happen to Ralph. Right, Ralph? That was a lesson for us all, but he won. He always wins. And Beth Vandine, right here in Texas. Right here. Thank you, Beth. Thank you, Beth.

Donald Trump: (06:16)
A man who’s really courageous and a really great guy, and he loves Florida, and he loves the country. Matt Gates. Where is Matt? I’ll tell you, he’s always working. And he does indeed fight for all of us. For freedom, is what he fights for.

Donald Trump: (06:40)
Lauren Boebert. I heard you speaking, Lauren. Wow. I heard you speaking. That was something. I said, “Who the hell is that out there?” It was Laura. And she had one of the greatest commercials. She said, “Yeah, anybody can enter my house. Then she takes out a gun, starts spinning it around, “But he may not leave the same way.” This is her commercial.

Donald Trump: (07:06)
I said, “I don’t know who that is, but I love her.” That was a long time ago, right? And I can say the same thing for Marjorie Taylor Greene, a real champion. So popular, so popular. Every time we go someplace, they start screaming for you, Marjorie. You know that. Amazing. Really amazing. Thank you very much. And you’re sitting next to Matt. What a combination those two are. Wow. They are something, but they love our country. Congressional candidates.

Donald Trump: (07:46)
Now, look at this guy. He looks better than Cary Grant. Do you remember Cary Grant today? We don’t have Cary Grant. Today we have Rosie O’Donnell. We have… What happened to Cary Grant and Clark Gable and Errol Flynn? But we have a guy that looks just as good as them, and he’s running, and he’s going to win, Bo Hines. Bo, where’s Bo? Where is this guy? Hi, Bo. Great football player, too. Great student and a great football player.

Donald Trump: (08:15)
And Kevin Kylie. Kevin? Where’s Kevin? Great job, Kevin. A man who’s one of the hottest politicians in our country, married to an incredible woman and respected so much in North Carolina. And anybody that sees him or knows him, they immediately say, “There’s a man that we want representing us,” lieutenant governor, North Carolina, Mark Robinson. Where’s Mark? Thank you, Mark. Right. You’re a very popular guy, Mark.

Donald Trump: (09:07)
And somebody that really took this country by storm, not just the state, but took the country by storm, Tudor Dickson, governor of Michigan, soon to be, we hope straighten this state out. Tudor is fantastic. Tudor? Right. Now, she recently lost her father, very recently. And he’s looking down. He’s saying, “Oh, I’m so proud of my daughter.” I had met him. I guess that was his last meeting. Right? And they were at Mar-a-Lago, and her father was incredible. Great steel person. He was somebody that knew what China was doing. He knew more about China, what they were doing to us and devastation. And we put on those tariffs, and those tariffs worked so good. I hope they don’t terminate the tariffs, but your father’s looking down on you right now. And he’s so proud. He can believe it. He can believe it. It’s not like he can’t. He can, because he knew you better than anybody. So, congratulations, go get them. Go get them.

Donald Trump: (10:09)
She’s running against a woman whose husband didn’t obey any of her orders. It was, she’s the shutdown queen, but everybody was shut down but her husband. He was out there canoeing all by himself. Now, normally you wouldn’t consider that a bad thing, but when nobody else is allowed to do it, it’s not so good. So I think you’re going to have a fantastic success, Tudor.

Donald Trump: (10:32)
Nominee for Michigan, Attorney General. And I’ve known him for a long time. He’s so tough. People are afraid to even be in the same room with him. Attorney General. He’s going to make sure that you’re going to have law and order and fair elections and so many other things. He is respected by everybody in that state, Matt DePerno. Matt? That’s an important race. And a person who you just saw, one of the hottest politicians in this world, I think, at this moment, that I think it’s going to be that way for a long time. She’s incredible. I met her and almost immediately I said, “This one is incredible.” I’ll never forget. I was in Arizona, and a lot of people there, and I was introducing some of the folks and everybody was bored stiff.

Donald Trump: (11:27)
And he said, “This place is dying.” And I’m introducing gubernatorial candidates. And it was like, I said, “I’ve got to get through this. This is very bad.” There were a lot of candidates. And then I introduced this woman named Kari Lake, and the place went crazy. Right? The place went crazy. She’s an incredible woman. She’ll be an absolutely incredible governor. And she’ll be looking at everything. They need a good governor out there. They have a RINO who didn’t do the job. That’s supposed to say that that’s not politically correct, but I’ll say it anyway. You don’t mind. So Kari, good luck out there, and we’ll be out there. We’ll do a couple of rallies. We’ll get 45-50,000 people. Remember when I get 50,000, and Biden couldn’t fill up the eight circles in there? So he won. He won. Couldn’t fill up eight circles, and he won.

Donald Trump: (12:34)
I don’t think Kari feels that way. I don’t think a lot of people do. That state has such spirit. It’s incredible. So, congratulations. That’s an unbelievable win. Thank you. Good.

Donald Trump: (12:46)
A friend of mine and somebody who was truly one of the best. He was so brave. He was so courageous ambassador, Rick Grenell. So brave. [inaudible 00:13:03] He is great.

Donald Trump: (13:08)
Another one who’s great. He’s tough. He’s smart. He knows what’s happening. And he’s really been a friend to this administration, to my administration. And with the other side, saw him, and a lot of times he and Rick worked together. That was a duo. When I had a big problem, I’d send the both of them because the other countries didn’t have a chance. Up here, they didn’t have a chance. And even with toughness, they didn’t have a chance. Kash Patel. Where’s Kash? Great job, Kash. Thank you.

Donald Trump: (13:50)
And thank you, Rick. Chairman of the Japanese Conservative Union, Jay Aeba. And also Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck. Thank you, Glenn.

Donald Trump: (14:08)
So I lost a great friend in, as you know, the prime minister. What a great gentleman he was. What a great man he was. We had an incredible relationship. There was nobody really like him, and the job he did for Japan. So, he’s right now in greener fairways. He loved golf. And he could play golf, too. He was good. And we had a lot of fun together, but we made a lot of great deals for the United States and for Japan. The relationship was incredible. And he’s a man who will be greatly missed, greatly missed.

Donald Trump: (14:41)
I want to thank you for your incredible support also, because I just walked in the door, and they told me I had this straw poll. Now I’d just come in, “Sir, you won the straw poll.”

Donald Trump: (15:05)
I said, “I better damn win that straw poll.”

Donald Trump: (15:11)
Done by McLaughlin. The McLaughlin brothers are fantastic pollsters, so it’s an honor. And I guess we had 69% and 99% approval. Why couldn’t I get 100? Why? 99? Wow. When was the last time somebody had a 99% approval? That’s pretty good. Thank you, everybody. You’re the people that voted. Wow.

Donald Trump: (15:38)
And second place was 24%. And then you had them down in one, and most of them didn’t get anything. And not that I want that to happen, of course, but it’s okay if it does. And a very special thanks, and I do really appreciate that, Matt, because it’s very respected, that straw poll. Comes out and heavily-covered and really something. It’s really where the heart of conservative people in this country is, that straw poll is a tremendous indicator of what’s happening in our country.

Donald Trump: (16:09)
And a very special thanks for the amazing support from so many conservative Hispanic Americans in the Americano media straw poll. I got 81%. Is that nice? 81, with a second place finisher, I don’t even know who it is. Second place finisher was at 16%. That’s pretty good. So, I want to thank you very much. The Hispanic people are incredible, and they have really embraced the Republican Party. I say actually they’ve embraced me, not really the Republicans, but I won’t say that because I don’t want to get myself in trouble with Matt.

Donald Trump: (16:47)
But they really are. They’re incredible people. They’re hardworking. Unbelievable. But I’ve been watching CPAC for years. And as you know, it used to be very divided. You had Ron Paul. And great guy, Ron Paul, a little different, very much like his son Rand, who I also like a lot. But Ron’s a little different, a little difficult, like Rand. Rand can be difficult, but you know when they’re your friend, they’re your friend. But you had the Ron Paul people. You had the Bush people. And of course you had the RINOs.

Donald Trump: (17:17)
And I don’t know. I’m shocked to hear that. But now there’s a great feeling of unity. When you see poll numbers like that, 99% approval. There was no such thing. There was no such thing. And when you see those numbers, there’s a great feeling of unity, not only CPAC, but I think, Matt, in the Republican party, I think we have to do what we have to do to bring our nation back. Right?

Donald Trump: (17:46)
So as we gather tonight, our country is being destroyed more from the inside than out. America is on the edge of an abyss. And our movement is the only force on Earth that can save it. This movement right here. What we do in the next few months and the next few years will determine whether American civilization will collapse or fail, or whether it will triumph and thrive, frankly like never before. This is no time for complacency. We cannot be complacent. We have to seize this opportunity to deal with the radical left socialist lunatics and fascists. And we have to hit them very, very hard. Has to be a crippling defeat, because our country cannot take it.

Donald Trump: (18:41)
You remember when I was campaigning. And again, we did much better in the second election than we did in the first, by many millions of us, much, much better. But I used to say, not thinking this could even be very possible, but it always had a chance. It will be Venezuela large-scale or Venezuela on steroids. That’s what’s happening to our country. It’s not even thinkable. We have to take this chance to shatter the corrupt Washington establishment once and for all. We have to run aggressive, unrelenting and boldly, populist campaigns. Populist. We want to be populist. We want to love our country. That’s what we want.

Donald Trump: (19:26)
And we have to throw off the shackles of globalism, and reassert two very important words. You know what the words are? America first. It’s a very simple thing. We have to put our country first. We had that done, and we were doing great. If we do this, then not only will we fire Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, crazy Nancy Pelosi.

Donald Trump: (19:52)
What was she doing in Taiwan? Everything she touches turns to bad. I don’t want say it, because I don’t want them to say, “He used foul language.” I don’t want to say it, but it does. It turns bad. [inaudible 00:20:11] I got impeached twice. She failed twice. The woman brings chaos, and that’s exactly what’s happening. What’s happened in China, right now. What’s happening in China and Taiwan with what’s going on. She played right into their hands, because now they have an excuse to do whatever they’re doing.

Donald Trump: (20:29)
And I will tell you it would’ve never, ever happened in a million years under Trump. I can tell you that. We played right into their hands, but we will save our nation, and American power, prosperity and prestige will come back. And it’ll come back strongly. Victory cannot come a moment too soon. You could take the five worst presidents in American history, and put them together, and they would not have done the damage that Joe Biden has done to our country in less than two years. It’s true.

Donald Trump: (21:10)
The contrast between the Trump administration’s amazing success and the Biden administration’s breathtaking failure could not be more stark. Let’s look at the facts. I got gasoline, gasoline for cars, put it in the tank. Thank you very much. $ 1.87 a gallon I got it down to. They have it now at $5, $6, $7. A friend of mine from California called me this morning. He just paid $8.55, he told me.

Donald Trump: (21:48)
California. And you’ll follow. You’ll follow. It’s not even believable. With the help of our great Texas oil and gas workers, we achieved American energy independence, and we were even energy-dominant. And we were going to be double the size of Russia and Saudi Arabia combined. We were going to be energy-dominant. Now the United States is becoming a beggar for energy. We’re begging. We gave you the largest tax cuts and regulation cuts in American history. That’s why we had the job numbers. And don’t forget. You have not good job numbers right now. They’re not counting all of the millions of people that aren’t working. If you looked at the real numbers, that 3.5 would be double that, maybe. Some people say triple that. The radical Democrats now intend to impose the biggest tax hike. Think of this, the biggest tax hike in bad times. In American history, this will be, what they’re doing right now, the biggest tax hike in the history of our country. The exact opposite of what I did. And they’re working feverishly to pile on more regulations at levels never seen before. I asked a lot of the big companies, a lot of the biggest and best businessmen, “What’s more important? The big tax cuts that I got for the country to get it going?” And we never had a country going like we had before the China virus came in. We never had anything like it.

Donald Trump: (23:17)
And then we did it again. We did it again. We did it twice. The stock market was actually higher. It was actually higher than it was pre-COVID, as they say. COVID, such a nice name. I wonder where they got it.

Donald Trump: (23:32)
Mitch McConnell got taken for a ride by Joe Manchin and the group. And the great people of West Virginia have been seriously hurt by these political antics. I love West Virginia. I fought for it. I won by 45 points, 45. Joe Manchin has totally sold West Virginia out. What he’s done to West Virginia, I don’t believe… I don’t believe they’re going to stand for it. Let’s see what happens.

Donald Trump: (23:58)
And I said this was going to happen. Joe Manchin is devastating West Virginia. Kyrsten Sinema agreed to allow this massive tax increase just yesterday to go forward, only provided that Wall Street-ers are allowed to keep their current carried interest provision. It’s a hell of a provision. In fact, I had it ended, and then I ended up getting so much more for it. I would’ve terminated it. We were all set to terminated, but we got many, many other things for it. They gave up everything to keep it.

Donald Trump: (24:29)
It’s a rip off. What happened to Manchin and Sinema, what happened? We’re trying to figure out what the hell happened. Where did this new philosophy come from all of a sudden? 48 hours. I think if this deal passes, they will both lose their next election. I do believe that. West Virginia and Arizona will not stand for what they did to them.

Donald Trump: (24:58)
And that includes the races that are being run right now. They’re not going to take it. And I told the old broken crow, Mitch McConnell, that this was going to happen. No, I said it. I said it loud and clear. He should have never approved that fake infrastructure deal. Never approved it. He approved that infrastructure deal for trillions of dollars, and 91% of it is Green New Deal nonsense. There’s only 8% to 9% that’s actually for infrastructure. But he said, “If we approve this one, they will never come back and ask for more.”

Donald Trump: (25:31)
I said, “Yes, they will.” And guess what? They’re voting on it now. So maybe this speech can stop them, because when Manchin hears me say he’s going to lose West Virginia, and I’ll go down and campaign against him as hard as anybody can. And when Sinema does that to Arizona, and I will tell you, we have a person that I believe is going to be the next governor. I don’t think she’s going to stand for it. I don’t think she’s going to stand for it.

Donald Trump: (26:15)
It’s interesting with Manchin. So, I get along with him very well. He wanted to know Jerry West could get the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I said, “Jerry West, great athlete.”

Donald Trump: (26:25)
“Could Bob Cousy get one too?”

Donald Trump: (26:28)
Yeah, Bob Cousy, great. Right? Everybody agrees. He was great. But I got along with him fantastically well, couldn’t have been better. Called me all the time. We had a good relationship. And he said when the impeachment hoax started, “I would never vote against you. You’re a great president. I will never vote against you.”

Donald Trump: (26:46)
And when we were counting up the numbers, which we won very easily, by the way, but when we were counting up the numbers, I say, “One Democrat I know for sure will never vote against me on impeachment is Joe Manchin.”

Donald Trump: (26:58)
So they’re taking the votes, and he voted against me.

Donald Trump: (27:02)
I said, “Oh, he must have made a mistake. Perhaps he didn’t know what they were doing.”

Donald Trump: (27:08)
But I said to Mitch McConnell that, “He will do this. And he will hurt our nation. And he will hurt the Republican Party, and he will hurt Independents, and he’s going to hurt the Democrats. He’s going to hurt everybody.” But Mitch McConnell has hurt our party very badly. Should have never happened. And I said it. And I said it publicly, “When they approve that horrible infrastructure deal,” and then they go and they do this. And they’re not finished yet. They still have a little time left.

Donald Trump: (27:41)
But McConnell is the most unpopular politician in the country, even more so than crazy Nancy Pelosi. And something has to be done. He raises large campaign contributions for senators, and that’s how he holds onto his power. And even I tell some of the senators who I’m very friendly with, which is most of them. You saw the vote. They call. They say, “What do we do? All of a sudden-”

Donald Trump: (28:03)
The vote. They call, they say, “What do we do?” All of a sudden they’re offered 20, and it’s hard for them to raise money. But McConnell will offer them 20 million because he raises all this money and he offers them to many of the senators, not all of them. And they’ll call me, “What do I do? What do I do?” I said, “Take the money. Take it. It’s all right. Don’t worry about it. He’ll end up where he ends up. Take the money.” They need it. But it’s not a good thing, and under the Trump administration, we had the greatest economy in the history of the world. We had no inflation. We had no inflation. It was just… Nobody could even believe it.

Donald Trump: (28:40)
They wrote books and they’re writing books on it. Biden created the worst inflation in 49 years, 9.1%. I believe it’s much higher than that, by the way. And it’s going higher, costing families nearly 5,000 and now they’re estimating 6 to $7,000 a year. Think of that, $7,000 a year. After the pandemic, we handed the radical Democrats the fastest economic recovery ever recorded, the history of our country, ever recorded. They’ve turned that into two straight quarters of negative economic growth, also known, despite their protestation to the contrary, as a recession.

Donald Trump: (29:23)
Just hope that the recession doesn’t turn into a depression, because the way they’re doing things, it could be a lot worse than a recession. The labor force participation is the worst in many, many decades. That’s the number that you have to look at. I rebuilt our military, including our nuclear capability, and we hope to God we never have to use it. But I rebuilt it. They had equipment and they had rockets and they had bombs that they had no idea if they even worked they were so old. It’s all new or newly renovated, and the power is greater than any power ever in the history of our country, but in the history of this world, and we just hope it never gets used.

Donald Trump: (30:13)
We created a thing called Space Force. They smiled at it. Biden smiled at it. It’s turned out to be so important. As you know, in Space Force, not for 79 years since Air Force has anything like that been done. 79 years. Air Force was the last one. Now it’s Space Force. Remember the first day they laughed at it, “Oh, Space Force.” They thought they were going to end it, and the public went crazy because you people know much more than they do. They surrendered our strength and our everything, our dignity, and turned Afghanistan into the greatest humiliation our country has ever seen. Not the fact that we were leaving, because I was the one that got us down to a small number of soldiers, but we were going to leave with strength and with dignity, and we were going to keep Bagram, not for Afghanistan, but because China’s nuclear plants are one hour away, where they make their nuclear weapons, one hour away. It’s one of the biggest airfields anywhere in the world. Cost us billions of dollars many years ago. I was going to keep Bagram.

Donald Trump: (31:21)
You know who’s occupying Bagram right now? China. And the fake news doesn’t want to mention it. But the way we left was a virtual surrender. When you leave, you don’t take your soldiers out first, you take your soldiers out last. After the Americans get out and you take your soldiers out after your equipment is taken out, and all of that was happening. This is the most incredible blunder, and the fake news doesn’t want to write about it because that’s bad for them. Look, you don’t even hear about so many bad things, you don’t ever hear about them anymore. We created the safest border in US history by far. By far. Now it’s the worst border ever in history. There’s never been a border like it, and that includes, in my opinion, third world countries, because there’s no third world country that would allow millions of people to pour in, they have no idea.

Donald Trump: (32:24)
Last month, 141 countries were represented. Not just your three plus Mexico. 141 countries were represented with people that came in illegally. We’re going to be paying a price for this for many years to come in terms of terrorism and crime. We ended catch and release, we deported record numbers of illegal alien gang members, and we built hundreds and hundreds of miles of border wall. In fact, we completely finished our original border wall plan, despite two and a half years of horrible Democrat-inspired lawsuits and litigation, and I won all of those suits. And then we started and we did some job and that gave us these incredible numbers that, frankly, everyone talks about today. The number of people coming in, that’s not three million or four million. In my opinion, it would be anywhere from 10 to 15 million people this year, 10 to 15 million people. We have no idea who the hell they are.

Donald Trump: (33:27)
We then added much more of the border wall, and most of that got finished too. Three weeks was all it would’ve taken. Three weeks and it would’ve been completed, the extra addition that we added. The border was the best ever. Think of it. It was the best ever. I went to Mexico and I said to the president of Mexico, who I like a lot, he’s a socialist, but I even like a couple of socialists in the world, about three. But I said, “President, you’re going to have to give us 28,000 troops to protect our border while we’re building the wall.” “No, no, no. I cannot do that, Don.” “But you have to.” “No, no, no. I cannot do that.” We started a negotiation.

Donald Trump: (34:13)
A woman from the State Department, a good woman, she said, “You won’t ever get any of these things.” I said to the Border Patrol who’s fantastic, by the way, “Give me your top 10 things.” I said, “Give me your top 10 things that you want.” And they gave me 10, and the woman looked at me, she laughed. She said, “Sir, I’ve been dealing in Mexico for 25 years. You won’t get any.” I said, “No, no, I’ll get them all. I’ll get them all. Guaranteed. Guaranteed, I get them all.” She smiled. She was a good woman, by the way. But she’s been doing this for 25 years. She said, “You won’t get anything.” What happened is the top representative came in. We met in front of this woman and others, and I said, “You’re going to have to give us 28,000 troops. You’re going to have to do a thing called remain in Mexico. In other words, people can no longer come into our country. You have to remain in Mexico.” Hundreds of thousands of people remain in Mexico.

Donald Trump: (35:08)
Eight other things, which was in many ways probably worse, right? Probably worse. I remember he laughed at me. He said, “Ha ha ha, we won’t do this.” He thought I was crazy. I said, “No, you’re going to do it. You will. You do.” “No, we won’t do it. We will not do that. We’re not going to give you troops free. We’re not going to give you troops. We’re not going to give you remain in Mexico. Why would we do such a thing?” I said, “Because on Monday morning I’m signing an order that every single car that you make and every single product that you sell into the United States will have a 25% tariff on it.” He said, “May I leave the room to make a call?” I said… Five minutes later, he comes back. “Mr. President, we would be honored to supply you with 28,000 soldiers. We would be honored to accept hundreds of thousands of people all over Mexico and remain in Mexico until we check them out.” It was pretty amazing. We got all 10 things. It took about five minutes. Took longer to create the piece of paper that he had to sign than it did to win the negotiation. But we don’t do that too much. We have a big advantage over China but people don’t know it. We have an advantage over Russia, big, big, but we don’t know it. Nobody knows it. They don’t know how to use it if they did know it.

Donald Trump: (36:42)
The border was the best and safest in US recorded history. They’ve turned it into a nightmare so quickly. The election was rigged and stolen and now our country is being systematically destroyed. And everybody knows it, and this corrupt January sixth of unselect people. They’re unselect. They never comment when I use that. See, unselect committee. But this corrupt group of people, these are the same people that went after me for the impeachment hooks. Number one, number two, the same people. Adam shifty Shift. The same people. They look into the mics, then they lose, and then they go on to the next one. It’s a disgusting… If they use the same energy to go and make our country great, it would be an incredible thing, but I don’t know if they can do that.

Donald Trump: (37:40)
But I ran twice, I won twice, and did much better the second time than I did the first, getting millions and millions of more votes than in 2016, and likewise, getting more votes than any sitting president in the history of our country by far. And now we may have to do it again. We may have to do it again.

Donald Trump: (38:05)
Thank you. Thank you. It’s so sad what’s happened to our country. We’re like a third world country in elections and we’re like a third world country and airports have… Has anybody been flying around lately, or trying? We’re like third world. But first we have to win an earth shattering victory in 2022. We have to do it, coming up in November. It’s a win in this November. This election needs to be a national referendum on the horrendous catastrophes the radical Democrats have inflicted on our country. The Republican party needs to campaign on a clear pledge that, if they are given power, they’re going to fight with everything they have to shut down the border, stop the crime wave, beat inflation, and hold the Biden administration accountable. They have to hold it accountable. Job number one for the next Congress.

Donald Trump: (39:26)
Thank you very much. Job number one for the next Congress and the next president will be to restore public safety. People are walking outside and getting shot in the head because of the radical left’s merciless crusade to dismantle law enforcement in America. Our country is now a cesspool of crime like it’s never been before. They’ve never seen anything like it. Other countries are talking about it. We’re talking about democracy. Isn’t it great? Then they say, ” You had seven people killed in Chicago this weekend. You had 68 people shot.” That’s not democracy. That’s not what we stand for. Savage criminals are being released on cashless bail to continue their violent rampages against the United States of America. Entire communities are being torn to shreds with stabbings, shootings, strangling, rapes, and murders. On that little piece we showed you, did you see the man with the knife in the back? Did anybody see that? I looked at it. I didn’t notice it the first time. I looked at it tonight, I’m getting ready to come on, a knife right in somebody’s back.

Donald Trump: (40:47)
The streets of our Democrat-run cities are drenched with the blood of innocent victims, gun battles rage between blood thirsty street gangs, bullets tear into crowds at random killing wonderful, beautiful little children that never even had a chance. They’re struck and they’re killed, and carjackers lay in wait like predators hunting their prey. They want that car, they’re going to take that car in California. People are leaving the trunks of their cars open so criminals don’t smash the windows when they try to rob their valuables. They leave the trunk open so that they don’t break the car and break the back of the car when they try and steal the tire and what’s ever in the trunk, so they just leave it open. “Take it, but please don’t destroy my car.”

Donald Trump: (41:41)
In Los Angeles, burglars are stalking people back to their homes to clean out the entire house at gunpoint. They follow them. They live in Beverly Hills. They live in some nice community. They follow them back and they go into the house and they do things that you don’t want to know about. This has to stop and it has to stop now.

Donald Trump: (42:10)
We are going to make America great again, but we have to make America safe again first. It’s time for leaders who have the courage to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. It has to happen. It has to be happened. That’s why, when I see Tutor, when I see Carrie, when I see the people that are running, these people are not going to play games. They want to bring our country back. They’re going to bring our country back. To repair the damage from Democrats, gutting of police forces nationwide, defund the police. How about that? Defund the police. Now they’re saying, “Well, we really didn’t say that.” Oh yeah they did, and now they’re saying it again. Never going to change.

Donald Trump: (43:05)
The next Congress should spearhead the largest increase in the hiring of police officers in American history, hiring tens of thousands more officers nationwide. Make our cities safe. We have to leave our police alone. Let them do their job. Give them back their respect. They know what to do. We have to allow them to do it.

Donald Trump: (43:44)
When I came out here a little while ago, I have a consultant and he is a very nice person. He’s a rhino. He said to me, “Sir, I don’t think you should say that last statement. I don’t think you should say it. It’s really not good. I don’t think it’ll be that popular.” I said, “What? You mean the fact that we should let police do their job?” “Sir, I think it’s probably not going to be received well.” I don’t care. We have to let them do their job. He’s a rhino, but he’s a nice person. We’ll probably keep him on the payroll. You know?

Donald Trump: (44:18)
We need to return to the tried and true strategy of a thing called stop and frisk. We have to take the guns away from people that are criminals. Instead of taking guns away from law-abiding Americans, let’s take them away from the violent felons and career criminals for a change. We also need a no holds barred national campaign to dismantle organized crimes. These are street crimes. Organized crime today is on the streets, and this administration doesn’t want to talk about that crime. They want to talk about what they think are other crimes, and many people say they’re not crimes. We have to round up the drug dealers, the gang members, and the dangerous offenders, charge them for their crimes and get them either out of our country and back to where they came from or put them behind bars.

Donald Trump: (45:25)
If you look at countries throughout the world, there’s another thing. Please don’t say it, sir. Please, sir. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, sir. Then I looked at his list of wins. It’s not too good [inaudible 00:45:40]. Please don’t say it, sir. If you look at countries throughout the world, the only ones that don’t have a drug problem are those that institute the death penalty for drug dealers. That’s it. Right? When I was in China, and until the plague came in, I had a very good relationship with President Xi. We made a great trade deal for our manufacturers and farmers. But after the plague, I don’t even talk about that deal. Too much damage done. But I had a great relationship with President Xi of China. Strong man. You could go all over Hollywood, you couldn’t get an actor to play the role of President Xi. He’s a great guy in many respects, but he’s not too in love with our country. I can tell you that. But I said very innocently, “Do you have a drug problem?” First time I’m there? He looked at me like what kind of a stupid question is that? No, I said, “President, do you have a drug problem in China?” “No, no. No, I don’t have a… Why would we have a drug problem?” I said, “Well, what do you do?” “Oh, quick trial. Quick trial.” I said, “What’s a quick trial.” A quick trial is a bring drug dealers quickly to trial, and if they’re guilty, it’s immediate execution.

Donald Trump: (47:11)
Now, it sounds horrible. Sounds horrible. It does. Sounds horrible, but every drug dealer in this country, they say on average will kill at least 500 people. Some people think it’s much higher than that. So you would stop it. I believe if you instituted the death penalty for drug dealers, traffickers, I believe that drug dealing would go down 50% on day one. 50%. I really believe that. I think it goes down the day you institute it. I’ll tell you one thing. If I’m a drug dealer, I’m going to say, “No thanks. I’m going someplace else.” [inaudible 00:47:51] other people. In Singapore, you see what’s going on in Singapore? Very rich society, very powerful on drugs. They have no drug problem whatsoever. Lot of money, plenty of money to buy drugs. They have no drug problem. They have the death penalty for drug dealers. Other countries, likewise. We form blue ribbon committees where we put our great First Lady, Melania, she’s in charge.

Donald Trump: (48:23)
We have a blue ribbon committee headed by the First Lady and very nice people, fine, fine people, Diliton socialites. If they ever met a real killer drug dealer, if they ever met El Chapo or any of these people, I think that would be the end of them. They’d say, “I’m not doing this anymore.” But we have blue ribbon committees headed up by great people that really are well-meaning. I will tell you, our First Lady did a good job. She worked hard and we got drugs down 19%. That’s great. But you know what that is? That’s like nothing. And today, it’s worse than it’s ever been because the border’s so open that not only people are coming through, and bad ones, criminals are emptying their jails into our country, but drugs are coming into our country at a level that we’ve never seen before. Fentanyl coming in from China.

Donald Trump: (49:13)
I was with Xi and I said, “Listen, you can’t send fentanyl. You can’t do it.” They were really cutting down. They were really cutting down. Things were going really well, and then this tragedy happened in November two years ago. Tragedy. It was a tragedy for our country what happened, because of what’s gone on. All they had to do was leave everything in place. This place was going so good and they couldn’t help themselves. What a sad thing.

Donald Trump: (49:41)
But when I see these blue ribbon committees, it’s just… And everyone wants to get on. “Could I get on the blue ribbon committee,” says the local architect. Yeah. But they don’t know what’s happening here. No. You need the death penalty for drug dealers. Drugs will go down immediately by 50% and probably more. But you have to mean it, and you have to mean it. When you look at China and other places, they don’t have a problem. If they had that problem, they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing right now, and they weren’t. They had this problem many, many decades ago, and other countries far smaller were able to invade them and take them over because everybody was suffering from drugs, and they said, “We can’t do this.”

Donald Trump: (50:28)
It’s not very politically correct to say it, but you’ll save millions and millions of lives. Last year, we lost probably 250,000 people to drugs. 250. There’s no war. [inaudible 00:50:41] war. These are numbers that are bigger than war numbers. 250,000. They say it’s 100,000. I say it’s much more than that. It’s probably much more than 250,000, but you also have destroyed millions and millions of families throughout our nation because of drugs in places where there is a true breakdown of the rule of law such as the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago. The next president should use every power at his disposal to restore order, and if necessary, that includes sending in the national guard or the troops.

Donald Trump: (51:26)
Every American of every background deserves to live in safety and in peace. Every American. One of the things that we were saddled with and one of the hardest decisions I had to make when I looked at some of these cities that were run by Democrats going so bad, so fast, I wanted to send in the guard, I wanted to send in the troops, and sometimes I did. In Minneapolis, I sent in the troops and saved the place. I was getting ready to send them in Seattle when, if you look at I guess it was Antifa, took over a big portion. You don’t read about that too much. Nothing happened to those people, or very little. I think nothing. But they took over a big portion of Seattle. The troops were ready to go in and they heard that. All of a sudden they decided to leave. Thank you very much for leaving.

Donald Trump: (52:15)
But the president is not supposed to be doing that. The president is supposed to do it at the request of the governor. Well, when the governor was a Democrat or the mayors are Democrats, they don’t want any help under any circumstances. Very much like on January sixth where I offered Nancy Pelosi and the mayor of DC from 10 to 20,000 troops because I thought the crowd was going to be very, very large coming in, because I felt it. You could see it. And they turned it down. If they didn’t turn it down, and Cash Patel is a witness. Right? I think I can say you’re a witness. But we have many other witnesses to that. 10 to 20,000, they turned it down. Had they not turned it down, you wouldn’t have had January sixth as we know it. But the president is not supposed to be sending in it at well. I think the next time either we’re going for a very quick change or we’re sending them in, because we’re not going to let Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Portland. Portland, when the storefronts… They don’t even use new storefronts. You know what they do? They just put up wooden barricades now for stores, for the few remaining. Places are burned out hulls, and nothing happens to those people that have destroyed that place, that city.

Donald Trump: (53:37)
It’s also time to take back our streets in public spaces from the homeless and the drug addicted and the dangerously deranged, because no civilized society can allow this depravity and squalor to continue. You can’t let this happen. Places like San Francisco, the backyard of Nancy Pelosi, she, by the way, has a big wall around her house. You know that, right? But it’s so bad. It’s gotten so bad. People are leaving. Nobody wants to have office space there. Who would want to have an office space when you’re walking through a lot of people that are unfortunate and, in many cases, very sick, mentally ill. It’s actually dangerous to walk into your office.

Donald Trump: (54:28)
Liberals think that it’s somehow compassionate, then you’re going to have to let them invite the homeless to camp in their backyards, in their homes, and ruin their property and attack their families and use drugs where their children are trying to play, and all of a sudden that’ll stop very quickly. The only way you’re going to remove the homeless encampments and reclaim our downtowns is to open up large parcels, large tracks of relatively inexpensive land on the outer skirts of the various cities and bring in medical professionals, psychiatrists, psychologists, and drug rehab specialists, and create tent cities. You have to have it. They have tents right now. They’re living in tents with holes in them. You don’t have time to build buildings. You can do that later, but you have to get the people off the street. We have to bring back. We have to reclaim our cities. Now you’ll have people that will be taken care of. We’ll have doctors, we’ll have everything. We have to relocate the homeless until they can get their lives back and then come back to where they want to be, and we’ll bring a lot of them back. They will come back. But right now nobody’s coming back. You have no medical help. You have no nothing. It’s so dangerous, those streets. Los Angeles is so bad. San Francisco. Every city that’s run by Democrats, so bad. We want them to succeed. We want people to succeed.

Donald Trump: (56:02)
We want them to succeed. We want people to succeed, but they cannot be allowed to turn every sidewalk and public park, into their personal campground. It’s so dangerous. As everyone here in Texas knows firsthand, there is another horrific disaster we must confront if we want to restore safety in our country. At long last, we must stop the invasion at our southern border. It’s an invasion. Our country is being invaded.

Donald Trump: (56:31)
Our country is being invaded just like a military force was pouring in. Just last month an illegal alien here in Texas was indicted for the coldblooded murders of four elderly women throughout the state, and he’s been accused of links to the deaths of at least 24 people. 24 people. Perhaps the deadliest serial killer in Texas history. They’re now saying he could be the deadliest serial killer. He’s an illegal alien. Earlier this year, an illegal alien fugitive with a prior arrest for aggravated assault and many other arrests, viciously shot and killed a Harris County police officer at a traffic stop. No reason whatsoever, none.

Donald Trump: (57:39)
And in New Mexico last year an illegal alien criminal out of jail on unsecured bond was charged with decapitating a man, mutilating his body and kicking his head around like a soccer ball all over the public park. Think of this. Animals. Never forget every death at the hands of a criminal, illegal alien is entirely preventable. This is all preventable stuff.

Donald Trump: (58:16)
We remember Kate, don’t we? We remember Kate standing in San Francisco with her father. We remember that, a man who came in five times at least and shot beautiful Kate dead. Republicans in Congress must make clear that on their watch, not a single penny of taxpayer money will go to funding. Joe Biden’s open border agenda. It’s a sick agenda. It’s a sick agenda. Makes no sense.

Donald Trump: (58:50)
And some things make sense. I understand the other side. You always have to understand the other side. I understand the other side. Open borders. Nobody has open borders. It makes no sense. We fight and spend billions and billions and even trillions of dollars defending the borders of countries that are 7,000 miles away, but they don’t want to spend any money to defend our border. Makes no sense, does it?

Donald Trump: (59:22)
Next year, we have to use the purse strings to send a message to every would be illegal alien. All over the world if you break into our country illegally, you will be caught. We will detain you and we will quickly send you back to the place from which you came or put you in prison immediately.

Donald Trump: (59:44)
And we did that. We told people. Remember at the beginning? We had these big caravans. We didn’t have the caravans and they already… Now they’re starting at caravans. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. But the Obama administration had a big problem before us because they would bring people into Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico, lesser extent. And they’d bring them back and they wouldn’t let us land the planes. They wouldn’t let them have buses. They would let them come back into the country. So you’d have the worst gang members of the world, mostly MS 13.

Donald Trump: (01:00:28)
And if they came from Honduras, we couldn’t get them back. I had some incredible people in my office, border patrol people. Guys like Tom Homan and Mark Morgan. And so many others. These are great people. These are brave people. But they’d be in and they’d say to me, tell me, “We can’t bring them back, sir because the country won’t allow it.” I said, “Really? Why won’t they allow it? They won’t allow it. They don’t want MS 13 back in their country.” They force them out. They put them into caravans. They force them out.

Donald Trump: (01:01:06)
And why wouldn’t they? How smart. I mean, you don’t have to be… They don’t want them in their country. So what happens is I said, “All right, good. How much money do we pay those three countries?” “Sir, we pay them $750 million a year.” That’s a lot of money, right? Peanuts compared to what we pay to some. 750 million. I say, “That’s all right. Put out a notice immediately that we’re stopping payment. We’re not going to pay anymore.”

Donald Trump: (01:01:38)
They said, “Sir, I don’t think it’ll work. We tried everything. That’s why we kept them here because we couldn’t get them out.” “That’s all right. You let them know, we’re not going to pay anymore money to them.” The following morning I had calls from the three presidents of the country. “President, president. There seems to be a problem. Our funds have been cut off.” “Yeah, they’ve been cut off because you wouldn’t allow these people back that you probably pushed into our country because you didn’t want them because they were criminals and they were in jail in many cases. You got to take them back.”

Donald Trump: (01:02:13)
“Oh, president, this was just a minor misunderstanding. We would love to have MS 13 come back into our country.” And they took them back and we couldn’t get them out of here fast enough, I will tell you. That’s true. That’s true, Carrie. Carrie will do it. Carrie is going to stop him at the border. There’s nobody coming in. Arizona, that’ll be a safe place again. This guy, Kelly, he’s done nothing. He’s done nothing. Blake Masters is going to do a fantastic job, Carrie.

Donald Trump: (01:02:50)
Kelly’s got nothing going. He never did a thing. Never did a thing. We’ll also need a record increase in the number of new ICE officers and border patrol officers to resume the enforcement of our immigration laws and to deport the illegal aliens. Joe Biden is refusing to deport. They won’t even take out illegal aliens out of our country. In addition, we should pass much tougher penalties for repeat immigration violators of which there are many.

Donald Trump: (01:03:22)
If you’re a foreign national who repeatedly tramples upon the laws of our nation, you should be looking at spending a long time in jail. We can’t do it anymore. We can’t do it. We’re like the poor stupid people that take everybody including criminals and some of the worst murderers in the world. As we secure another key priority for the next Congress and the next president will be to drain the swamp once and for all. To remove rogue bureaucrats and root out the deep state Congress should pass groundbreaking reform, empowering the president to ensure that any federal employee who is corrupt, incompetent or unnecessary for the job can be told, “You’re fired.” You ever hear that. You’re fired? “You’re fired.” Our current appeals process to remove these bureaucrats people that can really be bad. They can even be thieves. You can catch them stealing large sums of money. You have to go through a three-stage appeals process, which takes on average five years per stage. 15 years, you’ll be gone. You’ll be out of office by that time. In other words, to fire someone who is doing a bad job, if the government wins will take more than a decade under the current system. Almost all politicians won’t start that process because they’ll be gone and they know it. You know, a lot of politicians in Washington DC.

Donald Trump: (01:05:31)
We did a lot of it, but nobody knew that deep state was that deep. We did a lot of it. As we take power out of Washington, we also need to take power back from the left wing lunatics who are indoctrinating our youth.

Donald Trump: (01:05:49)
We have to finally and completely smash the radical lefts corrupt education establishment. The current system is sick. It’s sick. We have the lowest scores almost in the world and we spend more per pupil than any other nation. School prayer is banned, but drag shows are allowed to permeate the whole place. It’s okay. You can’t teach the Bible, but you can teach children that America is evil and that men are able to get pregnant. Whatever it takes, conservatives must liberate America’s children from the captivity of these Marxist teachers unions. That’s what they are. Where do they come from?

Donald Trump: (01:06:36)
Yeah, where do they come from? We need to defend parents’ rights. Think of this. I gave a talk a few days ago and I was talking about defending parents’ rights. And I just said, “It’s parents’ rights.” They said, “Can you imagine we’re even talking… We are going to defend parents’ rights. Did you ever think 10 years ago, five years ago that we would be fighting for parents’ rights? What’s more basic than parents’ rights, especially parents’ rights over their children?” We’re trying to defend parents’ rights. It’s so crazy.

Donald Trump: (01:07:25)
Across the country, we need to implement strict prohibitions on teaching inappropriate, racial, sexual, and political material to America’s school children in any form whatsoever. And if federal bureaucrats are going to push this radicalism, we should abolish the Department of Education. We will keep men out of women’s sports. That’s another one. And by the way, we have a great person here. Where’s our beautiful, great swimmer, Gaines. Where’s Gaines? Come up here. Will you please come up with me? Come up, come on, come up. This is a great champion. She was beating everybody and then one day she looked over and said, “That’s the largest human being I’ve ever seen.” Come here. Come on up. She’s been so brave. Because a lot of people say you can’t talk about it. They told me, “Please don’t mention that, sir. It’s not politically correct.” And I did. About three weeks ago, the place went crazy. It was the largest applause I’ve ever heard. Come on up here. Look at this. Look at this.

Riley Gaines: (01:09:38)
Basically, all I want to say is that it takes a brain and common sense, and fifth grade biology-level understanding to realize that this is blatantly unfair. It’s completely obvious. So I spoke earlier today and I said a lot. So I’ll keep it short. I’m just going to say keep female sports female.

Donald Trump: (01:09:58)
Just to show you how ridiculous it is. Look at me. I’m much bigger and much stronger than her. There’s no way she could beat me in swimming. Do we all agree?

Riley Gaines: (01:10:16)
Thank you.

Donald Trump: (01:10:31)
Thank you. Now, I’d have a little trouble. It wouldn’t be pretty. I wouldn’t invite too many friends to that one, but how ridiculous is it really? How ridiculous is it? The weight lifters. They’re lifting numbers. They’re breaking the records by hundreds of pounds. It’s ridiculous. And no teacher should ever be allowed to teach transgender to our children without parental consent. At the same time, we need to get critical race theory and left wing gender ideology out of our military. I had it out. I had it out. The world is too dangerous for America’s armed forces to be politically correct. You look at what’s happening with China and Russia, but you look at those rockets going up one after another. We don’t want to be politically correct with our military. We got to be tough. Can you imagine George Patton?

Donald Trump: (01:11:40)
He had a very strong temper. He was a very violent man. Actually, great general. Violent guy. He’d walk in and he’d be screaming at people. They’d throw him out of the military today because he wasn’t nice. Now we have to get back to running things. I had it totally out of the military. I had it out of government through executive order and you couldn’t get the Democrats to go along with it, but it didn’t matter. I had it totally out. One of the first things they signed back in was that nonsense. And we can’t let that happen.

Donald Trump: (01:12:11)
We have to take back over. We have to take over government. We have to run it like it’s supposed to be run. We must also win the battle to restore free speech in America.

Donald Trump: (01:12:24)
Republicans across government have to be ruthless in going after the new censorship regime. It’s censorship. It’s worse than it’s ever been. I’ve never seen anything. It used to be even 10 years ago, because I was always very active with different things and I’d fight the media. I’d say something [inaudible 01:12:48]. You go back and forth. And you win, you lose. You like to win, but you win, you lose. Today, they don’t even talk about it. If you have anything to do with the election, they don’t want to talk about it. If you have anything to do with certain things they won’t even talk about it. They don’t want to debate it.

Donald Trump: (01:13:02)
January 6th never brings up the election, which is the reason all of those people were there. They don’t want to talk about it. They don’t want to look at the corruption that took place in Arizona and all of the states. You saw in Wisconsin, I was in Wisconsin and it was an incredible group of people. But the nursing homes, traditionally, very few people vote in nursing homes. But in 2020, they had almost a hundred percent of the people voted. And you know how they found out? Because the children of elderly people in the nursing homes were so angry.

Donald Trump: (01:13:41)
“My father did not vote. He’s comatose. He’s been sick. He’s ready to die. He’ll be dead very soon. He didn’t vote.” Daughters and sons, they were very angry about it. That’s how it started. They have Justice Gabelman. He came out with this [inaudible 01:13:58] report about how crooked the election was.

Donald Trump: (01:14:04)
We should expose exactly what they’re doing, what they’re hiding, who they’re silencing and who is funding it all and who is coordinating it. Go out, sign up now, by the way, for Truth Social. It’s really great. It’s giving us a voice. It’s giving us our voice back. The list of urgent tasks for the next Congress and the next president is endless and we do not have to wait. We have to move quickly.

Donald Trump: (01:14:33)
We don’t have time to wait. Our country is being shot. It’s being destroyed. It’s something we have to do for the future. The future of our country is at stake. We don’t have time to wait years and years. We won’t have a country left. What I used to say about Venezuela is true. We have to save the economy, defeat the Biden, Pelosi, Schumer tax hike, which is happening right now tonight.

Donald Trump: (01:14:58)
Maybe it’s already approved. I do believe that Manchin and Sinema will pay a big price for it. But think of it, this is the only group. They want to do the biggest tax hike in the history. For green new deal stuff. And they’re just destroying us when everyone’s doing so poorly on top of the gasoline, on top of the bacon which is quadrupled. And stop the out of control inflation that is crushing American workers and families. It’s crushing. We haven’t seen anything like it. To bring down energy prices, we have to abolish the green new deal. It’s a fake. It’s a fake. It’s a fake. We had the cleanest air and the cleanest water in decades in my administration and yet we were producing more energy, more oil, more everything than we’ve ever done before. Instead of begging for oil from Iran and Venezuela or another distant foreign nations, we should be pumping it from Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Louisiana. And if you don’t mind, Texas. If you don’t mind.

Donald Trump: (01:16:13)
We should once again require able bodied, single adults to go back to work or train for a job in order to receive welfare and taxpayer funded benefits. We need the workers. We have to eliminate all remaining COVID mandates and lockdowns. And we have to rehire every patriot who is fired from the military with an apology and we have to give them their back pay.

Donald Trump: (01:16:47)
We have to restore America First. We have to go back to the America First foreign policy. We have to be America First. Right now we are truly America last. We are America last. Focus squarely on our national interest. And we have to keep the United States out of these ridiculous, endless foreign wars where they don’t even want us. To build on my historically successful trade policies, we need to increase the president’s tariff power and we need to make my China tariffs permanent.

Donald Trump: (01:17:25)
We took in billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars. No president has taken in 25 cents. Not 25 cents. China doesn’t like me too much. We need to hold on to our dignity and need to hold China accountable for the unleashing of the virus upon the world. $50 trillion of damage to the world. Not us, to the world. And we need to rapidly reduce our dependence on China and other foreign nations by bringing our supply chains, factories, and critical industries back home where they belong like it used to be. Back to the future. Back to the future.

Donald Trump: (01:18:13)
To be a strong nation, America must be a manufacturing nation. And we were doing that. We were doing that. Now they’re sending it all back to other nations to make for us and to make a tremendous amount of money. We have to protect our totally under siege Second Amendment. It is under siege. And restore the ancient and sacred right to self-defense. I’m sorry.

Donald Trump: (01:18:40)
One thing you know, they take away your guns. They’re not taking away the guns of the bad guy, are they? They’re not going to take away the guns of the bad guy. None of them are giving up their guns. We have to defend our cherished constitution and uphold our heritage as a society built and sustained by Judeo-Christian values. We have to restore one standard of justice in America, one standard of justice. So unfair what’s going on. The weaponization of law enforcement for political purposes must end. It must end immediately. There is massive prosecutorial misconduct going on right now all over our country. The likes of which has never been seen before. They’ve never seen anything like what’s going on right now. Look at all the people who are in prison or whose lives have been destroyed on January 6th, destroyed. A protest over a rigged and stolen election that nobody wants to look at, while others are allowed to burn down cities and violently and viciously kill people, and nothing happens to them. How about that?

Donald Trump: (01:19:58)
Prior to January 6th, I recommend it strongly. We mentioned it briefly before, but I have to say it again that the national guard or troops be brought in, but it was turned down by the DC mayor and Nancy Pelosi. We would’ve never had a problem from 10,000 to 20,000 troops. Is that a correct statement, Cash, and Rick and everybody? They were all there. Thank you. They were all there. Nobody wants to talk about it.

Donald Trump: (01:20:28)
They never bring it up. It’s not that they don’t. You know what else they don’t want to talk about? How about that phony story? I’m sitting in the back of the beast. I wasn’t sure if I should be honored, because I felt very strong. And I had these two big, strong Secret Service guys. I said one guy could lift 350 pounds, no problem. And I said, “Take me to the capital.” “No sir, can’t do it.” So I grabbed the steering wheel to commandeer the car.

Donald Trump: (01:21:04)
And he rebuffed me. She said he rebuffed. Interesting. He rebuffed me. Yeah like this. He rebuffed me. So my hands fell around another powerful guy. Strong as hell. I know these people. These are very strong people. It’s just not my deal. And I started to choke. [inaudible 01:21:31] So when the story came out, some people said, “I never knew you were that strong physically.” And then they said I started throwing food all over the White House.

Donald Trump: (01:21:46)
Now, I have too much respect for the White House. But that, somebody could sort of believe, you know that you could… But to think that I’m going to be jumping into the seat, grabbing a wheel, being rebuff, grabbing this big powerful guy, his neck is like this and grabbing me. I’m going to take him. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. And guess what, the Secret Service put out on announcement, which they never do, put out an announcement that it never happened, which everyone knew anyway.

Donald Trump: (01:22:15)
But they won’t interview anybody from the Secret Service because they don’t want to hear that. And I still see the Times writing about it like it’s something that happened. They don’t want that. They haven’t called anybody from the Secret Service to put them on stand. It’s a disgrace what’s going on. It’s a one-sided witch hunt that continues and continues.

Donald Trump: (01:22:38)
As another example, the sting that they did involving Gretchen Whitmer was fake. Just like those who instigated January 6th, it was a fake deal. Fake. It was a fake deal. Gretchen Whitmer, was in less danger than the people sitting in this room right now, it seems to me. And you look to see what happened and trials are going on all over the place. I guess a lot of people [inaudible 01:23:11] are being exonerated, aren’t they? Huh? They’re being exonerated.

Donald Trump: (01:23:15)
Finally, everywhere we have the chance, we must pass critical election integrity reforms, including universal voter ID. They don’t want a voter ID. They don’t want voter ID, under no circumstances. We don’t want voter ID. There’s only one reason they don’t want voter ID because they want to cheat. They don’t want citizenship confirmation. We don’t care of your citizenship. We want everybody to come and vote.

Donald Trump: (01:23:45)
Think of it, those two things, no more fake drop boxes. You see the drop boxes in one case? 100% of the vote went to Joe Biden. 100%. And you saw 2,000 mules. I hope everybody saw it. I saw a…

Donald Trump: (01:24:05)
I looked at this movie, then I saw somebody being interviewed by Fox, unfortunately, somebody named Sandra Smith. And they talked about this whole scam. Don’t forget, the cameras have them and these are government cameras. Some of them were discarded by people illegally, but these are government cameras, the government. And they talked about it. Well, they saw it. They saw the stuffing, they saw everything. Looking up for the cameras the way they came in, they have it perfectly on tape. And she looks and she goes, “oh, that was debunked.” It wasn’t debunked. How did they debunk it, Mike? They didn’t debunk it. There was no debunking. It was debunked. So what’s debunked? They have it on camera.

Donald Trump: (01:24:54)
Well, the woman in Georgia that took the massive number of ballots from under the dress of the table, and now government’s apologizing to her. Oh, how could she have been so horribly treated? It’s very interesting. That one’s a very interesting one, because remember they said there was a water main break. A water main break, everybody out. They don’t talk about the real facts. Everybody out. Got to get out. They all run out. Then a couple of a short time later, a small group comes back in. They go right for the table. They don’t go back to the machine where they were, which would be more normal. They go right for the table, the dress, they lift that dress up. They grab that group of ballots, thousands of them, putting them in again and again. And then they said nothing happened.

Donald Trump: (01:25:48)
Bill Barr didn’t want to be impeached. He didn’t want to be impeached. How do you not get impeached? Nothing happened. I thought the election was fine. The rather respected Bill McSwain, the respected U.S. attorney from Pennsylvania, McSwain, called me, wanted my endorsement because he was running for governor. I said, “I wouldn’t endorse you for a good dog catcher because you didn’t” … And I didn’t like saying this, “because you didn’t do what you should have done, which is go into the election for it.” “Sir, I wasn’t allowed to.” “Why?” ” Bill Barr wouldn’t let me.” I said, “put it in writing.” He did, he wrote me a letter. I put the letter up, but they don’t want to print the letter. Very strong letter that Bill Barr would not let him look into corruption for it. In Philadelphia, one of the most dishonest election places in the country. In Detroit, the single most dishonest. They found nothing wrong.

Donald Trump: (01:26:54)
It’s a shame. But we want no private money pouring into local election offices anymore. Think of this Zuckerberg. He put in $417 million, Matt. 417 million. Matt knows because he was involved in Nevada. Matt wasn’t really, he was sort of on the edge. He could have gone either way. And then he got involved in looking at Nevada. He said, “this is the most corrupt thing I’ve ever seen.” But we had a Democrat judge who refused to even look at the case. The case was iron clad. He looked, this case is over. It’s a shame what’s happening to our country. A shame. Our goal should be same day voting with only paper ballots. That should be our goal. Only paper. France just said, France, which is pretty big country, just had 55 million people vote, all paper ballots, all same day voting. By 10 o’clock in the evening, the election was over. And the person that lost didn’t go around complaining, it’s onto the next one. I’d much rather do that. I’d much rather do that.

Donald Trump: (01:28:14)
But that would be the worst thing that could happen to our country, because we have to have honest elections or we have to have borders or we don’t have a country. And if we do all this, if we stop the crime, secure the border, save the economy, defend our culture and take back our democracy, then America first conservators will be rewarded with a governing majority that will transform American politics forever. We’re at such an important point. The radical left will be banished into political oblivion. We will save our freedom. We will save our children. And we will save our country. But the task will not be easy. Together, we are standing up against some of the most menacing forces, entrenched interests and vicious opponents our people and our country has ever seen. A friend of mine recently said that I was the most persecuted person in the history of our country.

Donald Trump: (01:29:29)
And then I thought about it, because I didn’t have time to think much because I’m always being persecuted, and I felt he may very well be right. What a terrible thing. We had, think of it, a Russia, Russia, Russia scam that was covered religiously by the fake news media. Even though they knew it was a fake, they knew it was fake, they knew earlier than anybody. It turned out to be a concocted fairy tale made up by crooked Hillary Clinton, the Democrats, a sleaze ball writer named Christopher Steele and a coordinated effort. This could only happen to me with of all places, you know who coordinate? Russia. They were the ones that were involved with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax on me. Then I had impeachment hoax number one, impeachment hoax number two, the Mueller investigation resulting in a verdict after two years of no collusion with Russia.

Donald Trump: (01:30:36)
During the very early part when I came down the escalator with our great first lady, who by the way is very popular, they love our first lady, great style and great heart, but when I came down the escalator, it started early on. Young people would come up, you might have heard this, I’ve told it a couple of times, not much, but young campaign were, “sir. It’s such an honor to meet you, sir.” “Oh, someday I want to be president.” Sir, can I ask you one question?” “Yes.” “Do you have anything to do with Russia?” I’d say, “that’s a strange question from this kid.” Then a month later, somebody else would come up, “sir, it’s an honor to meet you. Sir, do you have anything at all or any knowledge of anything that happened with you and Russia?” “No.” And I was so innocent. It was so crazy that I didn’t even take it seriously. But after about the fifth time this happened, “sir, do you have anything to do with Russia?” I said, “what the hell is going on with Russia?”

Donald Trump: (01:31:37)
And they made up a phony story. It was a concocted story. And it really started as a way to shift blame for the fact that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats lost the election. But then it got carried away, and the press loved it and it kept going and going. But I tell the story with a very heavy heart, because I have a son who’s a very good guy, Don, very, very good guy. He’s a good person. Sometimes he comes across a little rough. But you know what? He’s really, he’s just a good person. And think of this, Adam shifty shift and these people, they made up this hoax. They knew it was a hoax. And I saw him at the microphones one day saying, “Donald Trump Jr., the son of the president of the United States, will soon be going to jail for what he did with Russia.” Think of this. He’s saying that my son, my beautiful son, my child is going to go to jail. And he knew it was a hoax. Wants to put my son, destroy my son. And he knew it was a hoax.

Donald Trump: (01:32:51)
And it continues to this day. These are evil people. These are sick people. Think of them. Kimberly. Who has been through anything like this? Certainly no politician and definitely no president. All of this while I was doing so much as president, including creating the most secure border in American history record tax and regulation cuts, $1.87 gasoline, no inflation, low interest rates, record growth in real wages, record growth in our economy, beating China, and Russian and everybody else, rebuilding our entire military. Rebuilt our entire military. Our military was falling to pieces. We have jet fighters that were 44 years old. You’ve heard the story, where the grandfather flew them, then the father, then the son. The historic Abraham Accords bringing peace to the Middle East. Jerusalem and Israel much, much more. And now we have the January 6th unselect committee of political hacks and folks like Schiff. Think of that though. Think about that. How would you like to be a father and watch this guy, not a stupid man? He’s a psycho, but he is not as stupid. And he does have an oddly shaped head. It’s shaped like a watermelon. No, he’s a psycho. And he acts so sanctimonious. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry to report Donald Jr. will be in jail for what he’s done.” And he knew it was a hoax. What they do to destroy lives. And they’re destroying the lives of many other people right now with that same thing and that same sickness and thinking. But it’s the very same people who perpetrated the lies that I was an agent of Russia. Me, I’m an agent. I’m the worst thing that ever happened to Putin. Look at what he’s doing now. He’s knocking the hell out of everyone because he has no respect. That would’ve never happened with me. Would’ve never happened.

Donald Trump: (01:35:05)
It was an amazing thing. I had to listen to this. With Russia, I put the biggest charges on every one of their people. But what did I do? I stopped Nord Stream 2. Nobody ever even heard the term Nord Stream. I found out. But I stopped them. And I stopped them, why did I stop them? Because I thought it was a terrible thing for our country. It was a terrible thing for Europe. I told that to Germany. They all smiled. Very famous now. Germany was smiling when I was at the United Nations saying this is a terrible thing. All you have to do is look at the last 200 years. It’s going to happen again. We could end up in World War III because we are being governed by incompetent people. Could happen. And this war will be worse than any war ever because we have weapons the likes of which nobody has ever seen before.

Donald Trump: (01:35:57)
But you say, where does it stop? Where does it end? It probably doesn’t stop, because despite great outside dangers, our biggest threat remains the sick, sinister and evil people from within our own country. Never forget everything this corrupt establishment is doing to me is all about preserving their power and control over the American people. They want to damage me in any form so that I can no longer represent the hardworking citizens of our country, so that I will no longer get a 99% approval rating from CPAC. I heard Matt protested. He said, “it can’t be eight.” It came out at 98. This is a story, I don’t know if it’s true, but Matt will tell you someday. He protested, he said, “that’s ridiculous. Can’t be.” So they went back and they checked all the facts, and it went from 98 to 99. Is that a true story? And that was McLaughlin. That’s a great, legit firm. That was McLaughlin.

Donald Trump: (01:37:04)
He said, “can’t be, that’s too high. Doesn’t look right. Well check it again.” It’s 99. But they don’t like that. The other side doesn’t like that much, man. And the fake news media is totally complicit in all of these things that are happening. If I renounced my beliefs, if I agreed to stay silent, if I stayed home or if I stayed in my basement, the persecution of Donald Trump would stop immediately. That’s what they want me to do, but I can’t do that. And I will not do that because I love our country and I love the people of our country so much. I’m not doing this for me because I had a very good and luxurious life. You know that, Carrie. I had a very luxurious life. What the hell did I do? I got a racist attorney general in New York that’s been after me for years. She campaigned on the fact, “I will get Donald Trump.” She doesn’t know anything about me. “I will get him.” Terrible people. These are terrible people.

Donald Trump: (01:38:22)
I built a great company. Now they’re finding out this was a great company. Great company. Actually better than they thought. Much better. But I do it for you and it’s my honor to do it. It’s my great honor to do it, because if I don’t, our nation is doomed to become another Venezuela or become another Soviet Union, which is where we’re headed. Or become a very large scale version of Cuba where all is lost and there is no hope. But no matter how big or powerful the corrupt radicals we are fighting against may be, no matter how menacing they appear, we must never forget that this nation does not belong to them. This nation belongs to you. This is your home. This is your heritage. This is your country that your American ancestors won with their own courage, defended with their own blood and built with their own hands

Donald Trump: (01:39:29)
From the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains, to the gleaming waters of the Great Lakes, from the majestic valleys of California, to the beautiful hill country of Texas, from the stark prairies of the Great Plains, to the banks of the Rio Grande, which is under seizure also, isn’t it? And from the magnificent skyscrapers of New York, and Chicago and LA, to the beauty right here of the story Alamo, we inherit the legacy of generations of American Patriots who poured everything they had into the nation that they loved. They scaled the summits. They forged the rivers. They crossed the sweltering deserts. Braved blistering winters. Conquered and unknown wilderness and settled the great frontier. They laid down the railroads. They built out the highways. And they turned tiny villages towering into great, magnificent buildings of iron and steel like nobody had ever seen before.

Donald Trump: (01:40:55)
They did it all to make America into the greatest and most exceptional nation in the history of the world. But now we are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation. We are a nation that is hurting very, very badly. We are a nation that has the highest inflation in over 40 years, and where the stock market just finished the worst first half of the year since 1872. Likewise, we are a nation that has the highest energy cost in its history. We are no longer energy independent or energy dominant as we were just two short years ago. We’re a nation that is begging Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and many others for oil. “Please, please, please help us, “Joe Biden says. And yet we have more liquid gold right under our feet than any other country in the world.

Donald Trump: (01:42:12)
We are a nation that is consumed by the radical left’s Green New Deal, yet everyone knows that the Green New Deal will lead to our destruction. We’re a nation that surrendered in Afghanistan, leaving behind dead soldiers, American citizens and $85 billion worth of the finest military equipment in the world. And we are a nation that allowed Russia to devastate a country, Ukraine, killing hundreds of thousands of people. And it will only get worse. It would never have happened with me as your commander in chief. And for four long years, it didn’t. And China with Taiwan is next. Would also never have happened. We are a nation that has weaponized its law enforcement like never before against the opposing political party. We are a nation that no longer has a free press. No longer has a fair press. Fake news is all we get and they are the enemy of the people.

Donald Trump: (01:43:27)
We are a nation where free speech is no longer allowed, where crime is rampant like never before, where the economy has been collapsing at a rate that few have ever seen, where more people died of COVID in 2021 than died in 2020. We’re a nation that is allowing Iran to build a massive nuclear weapon, which they are incredibly being allowed to do right now and I had it stopped. And China, they used the trillions and trillions of dollars that has taken from us prior to our administration, and it’s happening again to build a military that will more than rival our own. And just two years ago we had Iran, China, Russia and North Korea in check, and they weren’t going to do a thing against us and everyone knows it. And perhaps most importantly, we are a nation that is no longer respected or listened to around the world. We are a nation that in many ways has become a joke. We are a nation that is hostile to liberty, freedom and faith. We are a nation that allows men to play sports on women’s teams and to dominate them.

Donald Trump: (01:44:53)
We are a nation whose airports are a disaster, whose flights never leave on time and whose passengers are stranded all over the country. We are in many ways, a third world nation. We are a nation whose economy is floundering, whose supply chain is broken, whose stores are not stocked, whose deliveries are not coming and whose educational system is ranked at the bottom of every single list. But we are not going to let this continue. Two years ago we had the greatest in our nation. We had something that was so incredible. We had the greatest people in our nation fighting like they’ve never fought before. They had spirit. They had hope. But we will soon have that greatness again. We will soon have that greatness. America’s comeback begins this November and it will continue onward with the unstoppable momentum that we’re going to develop on November 2024, because that’s going to be, that’s the big one.

Donald Trump: (01:46:14)
We are going to keep on working. We are going to keep on fighting. We are going to keep on winning. And we are going to get our country back. As long as we can not lose our spirit, our movement will never be defeated. This is the greatest movement, MAGA. This is the greatest movement in the history of our country. Greatest in the history of our country. Has never been anything like it. Probably you could say it’s the greatest or one of the greatest in the history of the world. And it’s interesting, because sometimes I’ll make a comment and I’ll be challenged so strongly by the fake news, but they never even challenged me on that. I’ve never been challenged. I look at them right now, a lot of viewers watching. They’ve never challenged me. It’s the greatest movement in the history of our country by far.

Donald Trump: (01:47:10)
And it will only get stronger with each passing day. And with the help of all of you here tonight and the millions of Patriots all across our land, we will make America powerful again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. God bless you all.

Abortion: When Does Life Begin? – R.C. Sproul

Democrats’ National Abortion Bill Replaces Word ‘Woman’ With ‘Person’

Democrats’ latest abortion legislation, while eschewing the words “woman” or “women,” states that its purpose is to “protect a person’s ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy.” Pictured: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks with a staffer Sunday during a press conference on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)

Democrats’ latest abortion bill does not include the words “woman,” “women,” or “female.” Instead, the bill uses the word “person” to refer to those who bear and give birth to children.

The Senate is scheduled to vote Wednesday on legislation called the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is bringing the bill back to the floor for another vote, despite its failure in February.

The new effort follows the leak last week of a draft opinion in the abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson, which suggests the Supreme Court is set to overturn its 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion across the nation.

“Choice should not be up to a handful of right-wing justices,” Schumer told reporters Sunday as he discussed a new vote on the bill. “Choice should not be up to a handful of right-wing politicians. It’s a woman’s right. Plain and simple.”

Although Schumer insisted abortion is a “woman’s right,” the legislation states that its purpose is to “protect a person’s ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy.”

“Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize any government to interfere with a person’s ability to terminate a pregnancy,” the bill explains, “to diminish or in any way negatively affect a person’s constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, or to displace any other remedy for violations of the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.”

A 2021 version of the bill used the word “women” in the text 13 times. But it also clarified that the “terms ‘woman’ and ‘women’ are used in this bill to reflect the identity of the majority of people targeted and affected by restrictions on abortion services.”

“However,” the 2021 bill continued, “access to abortion services is critical to the health of every person capable of becoming pregnant.”

Melanie Israel, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, said Tuesday that the legislation “doesn’t protect anyone’s health and contorts itself to, ironically, avoid mentioning the very term ‘women’ within the bill text.”

In an email to The Daily Signal, Heritage’s multimedia news organization, Israel said:

Allowing radical gender ideology to erase women isn’t new on the left. Seeing it on full display during consideration of a bill that would decimate health and safety protections for women and unborn children is yet another example on a long list of the left’s extremism when it comes to abortion.

The Biden administration has made a concerted effort to use the term “birthing person” when referring to those who bear children, rather than “woman” or “mother.”

Democrats say the Women’s Health Protection Actwould codify Roe v. Wade into law, but the bill actually would go further to remove all limits on abortion across all 50 states, even laws that have been in place for decades.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, called the act “Orwellian” during a teleconference with reporters Tuesday, adding that Democrats are “setting themselves up as the party of abortion absolutism.”

America already has some of the most liberal abortion laws in the word, but the Women’s Health Protection Act would go beyond nations such as China in allowing a woman to choose to have an abortion at any time during her pregnancy and for any reason.

The Senate bill is expected to fail for lack of bipartisan support.

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

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Dr. Francis schaeffer – The flow of Materialism(from Part 4 of Whatever happened to human race? Co-authored by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop)

C. Everett Koop
C. Everett Koop, 1980s.jpg
13th Surgeon General of the United States
In office
January 21, 1982 – October 1, 1989

Abortion: What About Those Who Demand Their Rights? – R.C. Sproul

Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 1 | Abortion of the Human Race (2010)

Standing Strong Under Fire: Popular Abortion Arguments and Why They Fail

Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 2 | Slaughter of the Innocents (2010)

Ben Shapiro Obliterates Every Pro-Abortion Argument

Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 3 | Death by Someone’s Choice (2010)

Adrian Rogers: Innocent Blood [#1004] (Audio)

Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 5 | Truth and History (20…

Abortion: What Is Your Verdict? – R.C. Sproul

John MacArthur Abortion and the Campaign for Immorality (Selected Scriptures)

John MacArthur on Romans 13

Image<img class=”i-amphtml-blurry-placeholder” src=”data:;base64,Edith Schaeffer with her husband, Francis Schaeffer, in 1970 in Switzerland, where they founded L’Abri, a Christian commune.

________________

______________________

September 25, 2021

President Biden  c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here. I know that you don’t agree with my pro-life views but I wanted to challenge you as a fellow Christian to re-examine your pro-choice view.

In the past I have spent most of my time looking at this issue from the spiritual side. In the film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” the arguments are presented  against abortion (Episode 1),  infanticide (Episode 2),   euthanasia (Episode 3), and then there is a discussion of the Christian versus Humanist worldview concerning the issue of “the basis for human dignity” in Episode 4 and then in the last episode a close look at the truth claims of the Bible.

Francis Schaeffer

__________________________

I truly believe that many of the problems we have today in the USA are due to the advancement of humanism in the last few decades in our society. Ronald Reagan appointed the evangelical Dr. C. Everett Koop to the position of Surgeon General in his administration. He partnered with Dr. Francis Schaeffer in making the video WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE? which can be found on You Tube. It is very valuable information for Christians to have.

Today I want to respond to your letter to me on July 9, 2021. Here it is below:

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

July 9, 2021

Mr. Everette Hatcher III

Alexander, AR

Dear Mr. Hatcher,

Thank you for taking your time to share your thoughts on abortion. Hearing from passionate individuals like me inspires me every day, and I welcome the opportunity to respond to your letter

Our country faces many challenges, and the road we will travel together will be one of the most difficult in our history. Despite these tough times, I have never been more optimistic for the future of America. I believe we are better positioned than any country in the world to lead in the 21st century not just by the example of our power but by the power of our example.

As we move forward to address the complex issues of our time, I encourage you to remain an active participant in helping write the next great chapter of the American story. We need your courage and dedication at this critical time, and we must meet this moment together as the United States of America. If we do that, I believe that our best days still lie ahead.

Sincerely

Joe Biden

Mr. President, my wife was born in JEFFERSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and Adrian Rogers tells a story about another lady that was born in that same hospital: “They took that grocery sack and Maria home and one hour passed and two hours passed and that baby was still crying and panting for his life in that grocery sack. They took that little baby down to the hospital there in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and they called an obstetrician and he called a pediatrician and they called nurses and they began to work on that little baby. Today that baby is alive and well and healthy, that little mass of protoplasm. That little thing that wasn’t a human being is alive and well. I want to tell you they spent $150,000 to save the life of that baby. NOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THEY CAN SPEND $150,000 TO SAVE THE LIFE OF SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY WAS PAYING ANOTHER DOCTOR TO TAKE THE LIFE OF?”

_________________

Carl Sagan pictured below:

Image result for carl sagan

_________

_

Recently I have been revisiting my correspondence in 1995 with the famous astronomer Carl Sagan who I had the privilege to correspond with in 1994, 1995 and 1996. In 1996 I had a chance to respond to his December 5, 1995letter on January 10, 1996 and I never heard back from him again since his cancer returned and he passed away later in 1996. Below is what Carl Sagan wrote to me in his December 5, 1995 letter:

Thanks for your recent letter about evolution and abortion. The correlation is hardly one to one; there are evolutionists who are anti-abortion and anti-evolutionists who are pro-abortion.You argue that God exists because otherwise we could not understand the world in our consciousness. But if you think God is necessary to understand the world, then why do you not ask the next question of where God came from? And if you say “God was always here,” why not say that the universe was always here? On abortion, my views are contained in the enclosed article (Sagan, Carl and Ann Druyan {1990}, “The Question of Abortion,” Parade Magazine, April 22.)

I was introduced to when reading a book by Francis Schaeffer called HE IS THERE AND HE IS NOT SILENT written in 1968.

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Francis Schaeffer

I was blessed with the opportunity to correspond with Dr. Sagan, and in his December 5, 1995 letter Dr. Sagan went on to tell me that he was enclosing his article “The Question of Abortion: A Search for Answers”by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. I am going to respond to several points made in that article. Here is a portion of Sagan’s article (here is a link to the whole article):

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(both Adrian Rogers and Francis Schaeffer mentioned Carl Sagan in their books and that prompted me to write Sagan and expose him to their views.

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Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan pictured above

Related image

 “The Question of Abortion: A Search for Answers”

by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan

For the complete text, including illustrations, introductory quote, footnotes, and commentary on the reaction to the originally published article see Billions and Billions.

The issue had been decided years ago. The court had chosen the middle ground. You’d think the fight was over. Instead, there are mass rallies, bombings and intimidation, murders of workers at abortion clinics, arrests, intense lobbying, legislative drama, Congressional hearings, Supreme Court decisions, major political parties almost defining themselves on the issue, and clerics threatening politicians with perdition. Partisans fling accusations of hypocrisy and murder. The intent of the Constitution and the will of God are equally invoked. Doubtful arguments are trotted out as certitudes. The contending factions call on science to bolster their positions. Families are divided, husbands and wives agree not to discuss it, old friends are no longer speaking. Politicians check the latest polls to discover the dictates of their consciences. Amid all the shouting, it is hard for the adversaries to hear one another. Opinions are polarized. Minds are closed.

Is it wrong to abort a pregnancy? Always? Sometimes? Never? How do we decide? We wrote this article to understand better what the contending views are and to see if we ourselves could find a position that would satisfy us both. Is there no middle ground? We had to weigh the arguments of both sides for consistency and to pose test cases, some of which are purely hypothetical. If in some of these tests we seem to go too far, we ask the reader to be patient with us–we’re trying to stress the various positions to the breaking point to see their weaknesses and where they fail.

In contemplative moments, nearly everyone recognizes that the issue is not wholly one-sided. Many partisans of differing views, we find, feel some disquiet, some unease when confronting what’s behind the opposing arguments. (This is partly why such confrontations are avoided.) And the issue surely touches on deep questions: What are our responses to one another? Should we permit the state to intrude into the most intimate and personal aspects of our lives? Where are the boundaries of freedom? What does it mean to be human?

Of the many actual points of view, it is widely held–especially in the media, which rarely have the time or the inclination to make fine distinctions–that there are only two: “pro-choice” and “pro-life.” This is what the two principal warring camps like to call themselves, and that’s what we’ll call them here. In the simplest characterization, a pro-choicer would hold that the decision to abort a pregnancy is to be made only by the woman; the state has no right to interfere. And a pro-lifer would hold that, from the moment of conception, the embryo or fetus is alive; that this life imposes on us a moral obligation to preserve it; and that abortion is tantamount to murder. Both names–pro-choice and pro-life–were picked with an eye toward influencing those whose minds are not yet made up: Few people wish to be counted either as being against freedom of choice or as opposed to life. Indeed, freedom and life are two of our most cherished values, and here they seem to be in fundamental conflict.

Let’s consider these two absolutist positions in turn. A newborn baby is surely the same being it was just before birth. There ‘s good evidence that a late-term fetus responds to sound–including music, but especially its mother’s voice. It can suck its thumb or do a somersault. Occasionally, it generates adult brain-wave patterns. Some people claim to remember being born, or even the uterine environment. Perhaps there is thought in the womb. It’s hard to maintain that a transformation to full personhood happens abruptly at the moment of birth. Why, then, should it be murder to kill an infant the day after it was born but not the day before?

As a practical matter, this isn’t very important: Less than 1 percent of all tabulated abortions in the United States are listed in the last three months of pregnancy (and, on closer investigation, most such reports turn out to be due to miscarriage or miscalculation). But third-trimester abortions provide a test of the limits of the pro-choice point of view. Does a woman’s “innate right to control her own body” encompass the right to kill a near-term fetus who is, for all intents and purposes, identical to a newborn child?

——-

End of Sagan Excerpt

When I was in high school the book and film series named WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE? came out and it featured Doctor C. Everett Koop and Francis Schaeffer and they looked at the issues of abortion, infanticide, and youth euthanasia and they looked at comments from such scholars as Peter Singer and James D. Watson.

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C. Everett Koop pictured above and Peter Singer below

Peter Singer, an endowed chair at Princeton’s Center for Human Values, said, “Killing a disabled infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person. Very often it is not wrong at all.”

James D.Watson

In May 1973, James D. Watson, the Nobel Prize laureate who discovered the double helix of DNA, granted an interview to Prism magazine, then a publication of the American Medical Association. Time later reported the interview to the general public, quoting Watson as having said, “If a child were not declared alive until three days after birth, then all parents could be allowed the choice only a few are given under the present system. The doctor could allow the child to die if the parents so choose and save a lot of misery and suffering. I believe this view is the only rational, compassionate attitude to have.”

Carl Sagan

On August 30, 1995 I mailed a letter to Carl Sagan that probably prompted this discussion on abortion and it enclosed a lengthy story from Adrian Rogers about an abortion case in Pine Bluff, Arkansas that almost became an infanticide case:

An excerpt from the Sunday morning message (11-6-83) by Adrian Rogers in Memphis, TN.

I want to tell you that secular humanism and so-called abortion rights are inseparably linked together. We have been taught that our bodies and our children are the products of the evolutionary process, and so therefore human life may not be all that valuable to begin with. We have come today to where it is legal and even considered to be a good thing to put little babies to death…15 million little babies put to death since 1973 because of this philosophy of Secular Humanism.

How did the court make that type of decision? You would think it would be so obvious. You can’t do that! You can’t kill little babies! Why? Because the Bible says! Friend, they don’t give a hoot what the Bible says! There used to be a time when they talked about what the Bible says because there was a time that we as a nation had a constitution that was based in the Judeo-Christian ethic, but today if we say “The Bible says” or “God says “Separation of Church and State. Don’t tell us what the Bible says or what God says. We will tell you what we think!” Therefore, they look at the situation and they decide if it is right or wrong purely on the humanistic philosophy that right and wrong are relative and the situation says what is right or what is wrong.

This little girl just 19 years old went into the doctor’s office and he examined her. He said, “We can take take of you.” He gave her an injection in her arm that was to cause her to go into labor and to get rid of that protoplasm, that feud, that little mass that was in her, but she wasn’t prepared for the sound she was about to hear. It was a little baby crying. That little baby weighed 13 ounces. His hand the size of my thumbnail. You know what the doctor did. The doctor put that little baby in a grocery sack and gave it to Maria’s two friends who were with her in that doctor office and Said, “It will stop making those noises after a while.”

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(Adrian Rogers pictured above)

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Pine Bluff, Arkansas
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My wife was born in main hospital in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

They took that grocery sack and Maria home and one hour passed and two hours passed and that baby was still crying and panting for his life in that grocery sack. They took that little baby down to the hospital there in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and they called an obstetrician and he called a pediatrician and they called nurses and they began to work on that little baby. Today that baby is alive and well and healthy, that little mass of protoplasm. That little thing that wasn’t a human being is alive and well. I want to tell you they spent $150,000 to save the life of that baby. NOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THEY CAN SPEND $150,000 TO SAVE THE LIFE OF SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY WAS PAYING ANOTHER DOCTOR TO TAKE THE LIFE OF? The same life!!! Are you going to tell me that is not a baby? Are you going to tell me that if that baby had been put to death it would not have been murder? You will never convince me of that. What has happened to us in America? We have been sold a bill of goods by the Secular Humanists!

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Carl Sagan was elected the HUMANIST OF THE YEAR in 1982 by the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION

Carl Sagan asked, “Does a woman’s “innate right to control her own body” encompass the right to kill a near-term fetus who is, for all intents and purposes, identical to a newborn child?”

This message “A Christian Manifesto” was given in 1982 by the late Christian Philosopher Francis Schaeffer when he was age 70 at D. James Kennedy’s Corral Ridge Presbyterian Church.
Listen to this important message where Dr. Schaeffer says it is the duty of Christians to disobey the government when it comes in conflict with God’s laws. So many have misinterpreted Romans 13 to mean unconditional obedience to the state. When the state promotes an evil agenda and anti-Christian statues we must obey God rather than men. Acts
I use to watch James Kennedy preach from his TV pulpit with great delight in the 1980’s. Both of these men are gone to be with the Lord now. We need new Christian leaders to rise up in their stead.
To view Part 2 See Francis Schaeffer Lecture- Christian Manifesto Pt 2 of 2 video
The religious and political freedom’s we enjoy as Americans was based on the Bible and the legacy of the Reformation according to Francis Schaeffer. These freedoms will continue to diminish as we cast off the authority of Holy Scripture.
In public schools there is no other view of reality but that final reality is shaped by chance.
Likewise, public television gives us many things that we like culturally but so much of it is mere propaganda shaped by a humanistic world and life view.

_____________________________

I was able to watch Francis Schaeffer deliver a speech on a book he wrote called “A Christian Manifesto” and I heard him in several interviews on it in 1981 and 1982. I listened with great interest since I also read that book over and over again. Below is a portion of one of Schaeffer’s talks  on a crucial subject that is very important today too.

A great talk by Francis Schaeffer:A Christian Manifesto
by Dr. Francis A. SchaefferThis address was delivered by the late Dr. Schaeffer in 1982 at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is based on one of his books, which bears the same title._________

Infanticide and youth enthansia ———So what we find then, is that the medical profession has largely changed — not all doctors. I’m sure there are doctors here in the audience who feel very, very differently, who feel indeed that human life is important and you wouldn’t take it, easily, wantonly. But, in general, we must say (and all you have to do is look at the TV programs), all you have to do is hear about the increased talk about allowing the Mongoloid child — the child with Down’s Syndrome — to starve to death if it’s born this way. Increasingly, we find on every side the medical profession has changed its views.

Image result for Mongoloid child -- the child with Down's Syndrome  FRANCIS SCHAEFFER

The view now is, “Is this life worth saving?”I look at you… You’re an older congregation than I am usually used to speaking to. You’d better think, because — this — means — you! It does not stop with abortion and infanticide. It stops at the question, “What about the old person? Is he worth hanging on to?” Should we, as they are doing in England in this awful organization, EXIT, teach older people to commit suicide? Should we help them get rid of them because they are an economic burden, a nuisance? I want to tell you, once you begin chipping away the medical profession…

The intrinsic value of the human life is founded upon the Judeo-Christian concept that man is unique because he is made in the image of God, and not because he is well, strong, a consumer, a sex object or any other thing. That is where whatever compassion this country has is, and certainly it is far from perfect and has never been perfect. Nor out of the Reformation has there been a Golden Age, but whatever compassion there has ever been, it is rooted in the fact that our culture knows that man is unique, is made in the image of God. Take it away, and I just say gently, the stopper is out of the bathtub for all human life.

Image result for Mongoloid child -- the child with Down's Syndrome  FRANCIS SCHAEFFER

______________________________________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband. Now I wanted to make some comments concerning our shared Christian faith.  I  respect you for putting your faith in Christ for your eternal life. I am pleading to you on the basis of the Bible to please review your religious views concerning abortion. It was the Bible that caused the abolition movement of the 1800’s and it also was the basis for Martin Luther King’s movement for civil rights and it also is the basis for recognizing the unborn children.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733,

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Is the Debt Ceiling Unconstitutional? What about Default?


1. Describe the current impasse regarding the debt ceiling.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns that the federal government may no longer be able to meet its obligations if the debt ceiling is not raised by June 1. The result: default, with financial chaos to follow. Despite that stark warning, the debate over spending cuts continues. Democrats want a stand‐​alone “clean” vote on raising the ceiling. Republicans want to use the debt ceiling as leverage to force spending reductions. Political compromise remains elusive.

2. What do legal experts say about default?

Enter a handful of imaginative lawyers who promise to save us from economic ruination – not by spending less or taxing more, but by applying the Public Debt Clause in section four of the 14th Amendment. Essentially, they claim the Constitution forbids default and, consequently, a debt ceiling that triggers default is itself unconstitutional.

3. What does the Public Debt Clause of the 14th Amendment say?

The Public Debt Clause says “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, … shall not be questioned.” That 1868 provision was intended primarily to prevent repudiation of Civil War debts. But the Supreme Court in Perry v. United States (1935) held that all federal debt is covered: The constitutional text applies “to the government bonds in question, and to others duly authorized by the Congress.” Still, that leaves several unanswered questions: First, what constitutes “public debt … authorized by law”? Second, is default comparable to repudiation in its effect on the debt’s “validity”? Third, even if default is unconstitutional, does that mean a debt ceiling is also unconstitutional?

4. What constitutes “public debt authorized by law”?

Perry plainly states that authorized and existing public debt must be paid. But proponents of the debt ceiling argue that Perry is irrelevant because the ceiling refers to new obligations that haven’t yet been authorized or issued. The counter‐​argument, to which I subscribe, is that Congress’s appropriation of funds for subsequent expenditure is equivalent to authorizing debt that would finance the expenditure. In other words, Congress has implicitly authorized the executive branch to borrow; and a statutory ceiling on that borrowing – even though signed by the executive – cannot be harmonized with the spending directive.

5. Would default be the same as repudiation in questioning the validity of our debt?

Debt ceiling advocates assert that Perryinvolves repudiation, which is more draconian than merely defaulting. Repudiation is a declaration that the money is not owed. A default, by contrast, declares inability to pay, which may even be accompanied by an acknowledgment that the debt remains valid. As long as the debt is not formally repudiated, so the argument goes, default does not automatically render one’s debt invalid. Once again, I subscribe to the counter‐​argument: If a friend refused to repay my loan when due, while assuring me that he would get around to it at an indefinite future date, I would be hard‐​pressed to intuit that his default – although not a repudiation – left me with a debt of unquestioned validity. As the Supreme Court said in Perry, “[T]he expression ‘the validity of the public debt’ [embraces] whatever concerns the integrity of the public obligations.”

6. What about the constitutionality of excessive spending, which can also affect the integrity of our debt?

A few devil’s advocates have argued that section 4 of the 14th Amendment might also mandate higher taxes, sales of public property, and budget cuts. Without those funding sources, the validity of the public debt might also be called into question. Yet, clearly, enactment of those policies is not constitutionally decreed. Instead, consider this more plausible interpretation: Congress is precluded from capping all sources of funds that could be used to pay the debt, but not from capping some sources. Accordingly, a debt ceiling is constitutional as long as other funding is not statutorily barred. That means, of course, Congress and the president would be compelled eitherto reduce spending, raise taxes, sell the Treasury’s mortgage‐​backed securities or gold, or delay principal and interest on debt held by the Federal Reserve. The choices to avoid default are numerous, notwithstanding a debt ceiling.

7. What’s the bottom line?

Here are my conclusions, tempered by awareness that legal authorities across the ideological spectrum have wide‐​ranging views: First, duly enacted appropriations are legally the counterpart of “public debt … authorized by law.” Second, default on public debt, like repudiation, casts doubt on the debt’s “validity,” and therefore is unconstitutional under the Public Debt Clause. Third, a congressional ban on all funding sources to pay principal and interest would lead ineluctably to default, and is thus unconstitutional as well. But fourth, a debt ceiling that forecloses only one source of funding, leaving open several alternative sources, passes constitutional muster. On the other hand, if default loomed because Congress and the president were unable to agree on a solution, I believe the president would be justified in breaching the debt ceiling.

8. Who would have legal standing to challenge the president if he borrowed above the ceiling?

As a practical matter, I suspect no one has legal standing to challenge an executive decision to borrow in excess of the ceiling. Standing to sue entails a showing of imminent, concrete, and particularized injury to the plaintiff – distinct from injury to the broader public. Perhaps Congress as a whole could claim such injury, but that would require a joint resolution, which would never pass the Democratic‐​controlled Senate. Moreover, even if someone had standing, the Supreme Court would likely treat the debt ceiling dispute as non‐​justiciable – that is, as a political question lacking legal criteria by which a court can resolve the impasse.

9. Where do we go from here?

Finally, there is one subject on which legal scholars seem to agree: Nothing good can come from an attempt to invoke the Public Debt Clause. The constitutional implications for separation‐​of‐​powers, the effect on capital markets, and the status of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency– those considerations should convince the Biden administration and Congress that they, not the courts, must restore fiscal sanity.


This post is an updated version of “Defaults, Debt Limits, and the 14th Amendment,” Daily Caller, July 7, 2011.

RELATED TAGS

Open letter to President Obama (Part 704)

(Emailed to White House on 6-25-13.)

President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here.

The federal government debt is growing so much that it is endangering us because if things keep going like they are now we will not have any money left for the national defense because we are so far in debt as a nation. We have been spending so much on our welfare state through food stamps and other programs that I am worrying that many of our citizens are becoming more dependent on government and in many cases they are losing their incentive to work hard because of the welfare trap the government has put in place. Other nations in Europe have gone down this road and we see what mess this has gotten them in. People really are losing their faith in big government and they want more liberty back. It seems to me we have to get back to the founding  principles that made our country great.  We also need to realize that a big government will encourage waste and corruptionThe recent scandals in our government have proved my point. In fact, the jokes you made at Ohio State about possibly auditing them are not so funny now that reality shows how the IRS was acting more like a monster out of control. Also raising taxes on the job creators is a very bad idea too. The Laffer Curve clearly demonstrates that when the tax rates are raised many individuals will move their investments to places where they will not get taxed as much.

______________________

17 Reasons the large national debt is a big deal!!!

We got to stop spending so much money and start paying off our national debt or the future of our children and grandchildren will be very sad indeed. Everyone knows that entitlement spending must be cut but it seems we are not brave enough to do it. I have contacted my Congressmen and Senators over and over but nothing is getting done!!! At least there are 66 conservative Republicans in the House that have stood up  and voted against raising the debt ceiling.

June 17, 2013 at 7:13 am

GO-Debt-Denial-rev_600

Remember the debt? That $17 trillion problem? Some in Washington seem to think it’s gone away.

The Washington Post reported that “the national debt is no longer growing out of control.” Lawmakers and liberal inside-the-Beltway organizations are floating the notion that it’s not a high priority any more.

We beg to differ, so we came up with 17 reasons that $17 trillion in debt is still a big, bad deal.

1. $53,769 – Your share of the national debt.  

As Washington continues to spend more than it can afford, every American will be on the hook for this massive debt burden.

willrogers_450

SHARE this graphic.

2. Personal income will be lower.

The skyrocketing debt could cause families to lose up to $11,000 on their income every year. That’s enough to send the kids to a state college or move to a nicer neighborhood.

3. Fewer jobs and lower salaries.

High government spending with no accountability eliminates opportunities for career advancement, paralyzes job creation, and lowers wages and salaries.

4. Higher interest rates.

Some families and businesses won’t be able to borrow money because of high interest rates on mortgages, car loans, and more – the dream of starting a business could be out of reach.

5. High debt and high spending won’t help the economy.

Journalists should check with both sides before committing pen to paper, especially those at respectable outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times. A $17 trillion debt only hurts the economy.

6. What economic growth?

High-debt economies similar to America’s current state grew by one-third less  than their low-debt counterparts.

7. Eventually, someone has to pay the nation’s $17 trillion credit card bill, and Washington has nominated your family.

It’s wildly irresponsible to never reduce expenses, yet Washington continues to spend, refusing to acknowledge the repercussions.

>>>Watch this video to see how scary $17 trillion really is for your family.

8. Jeopardizes the stability of Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid.

Millions of people depend on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, but these programs are also the main drivers of the growing debt. Congress has yet to take the steps needed to make these programs affordable and sustainable to preserve benefits for those who need them the most.

9. Washington collects a lot, and then spends a ton. Where are your tax dollars going?

In 2012, Washington collected $2.4 trillion in taxes—more than $20,000 per household. But it wasn’t enough for Washington’s spending habits. The federal government actually spent $3.5 trillion.

>>> Reality check: See where your tax dollars really went.

10. Young people face a diminished future.

College students from all over the country got together in February at a “Millennial Meetup” to talk about how the national debt impacts their generation.

>>>Shorter version: They’re not happy. Watch now.

11. Without cutting spending and reducing the debt, big-government corruption and special interests only get bigger.

The national debt is an uphill battle in a city where politicians too often refuse to relinquish power, to the detriment of America.

12. Harmful effects are permanent.

Astronomical debt lowers incomes and well-being permanently, not just temporarily. A one-time major increase in government debt is typically a permanent addition, and the dragging effects on the economy are long-lasting.

13. The biggest threat to U.S. security.

Even President Obama’s former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff thinks so:

Mullen_450

SHARE this graphic.

14. Makes us more vulnerable to the next economic crisis.

According to the Congressional Budget Office’s 2012 Long-Term Budget Outlook, “growing federal debt also would increase the probability of a sudden fiscal crisis.”

15. Washington racked up $300 billion in more debt in less than four months.

Our nation is on a dangerous fiscal course, and it’s time for lawmakers to steer us out of the coming debt storm.

16. High debt makes America weaker.

Even Britain’s Liam Fox warns America: Fix the debt problem now, or suffer the consequences of less power on the world stage.

17. High debt crowds out the valuable functions of government.

By disregarding the limits on government in the Constitution, Congress thwarts the foundation of our freedoms.

Read the Morning Bell and more en español every day at Heritage Libertad.

_____________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com

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By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

“We feel like it went well, and we appreciate Judge Meyer and her impartiality and her directness,” attorney Clint Lancaster said when asked how he thought the proceedings went!

———

WATCH: Attorneys for Lunden Roberts, mother of Hunter Biden’s daughter, speak to media following court hearing

Hunter Biden appeared in court Monday for a hearing in the child support case between the two parents

 
The attorneys for Lunden Roberts, an ex-stripper and the mother of Hunter Biden’s unacknowledged four-year-old daughter born out of wedlock, spoke to members of the media Monday following a court hearing in the open child support case between the two parents.
 

“We feel like it went well, and we appreciate Judge Meyer and her impartiality and her directness,” attorney Clint Lancaster said when asked how he thought the proceedings went.

The team of lawyers remained tight-lipped for most of the media’s questions, refusing to comment on certain aspects of the case, including the $20,000-per-month payments Biden’s attorney said during the hearing her client is paying Roberts in child support.

WATCH: HUNTER BIDEN IGNORES QUESTIONS ABOUT PRESIDENT BIDEN REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE DAUGHTER WITH EX-STRIPPER

 
Lunden Roberts arrives at the Independence County Courthouse

Lunden Roberts arrives at the Independence County Courthouse in Batesville, Arkansas on Monday, May 1, 2023. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

During the hearing, Biden appeared to blankly stare ahead and had no interaction with Roberts, while Roberts’ family sat behind her along with Garrett Ziegler, whom Biden’s other attorney, Brent Langdon, described during a hearing last week as a potential expert witness in the case involving the contents of Biden’s laptop.

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and David Spunt contributed to this report.

 

———

Lunden RobertsClinton Lancaster, an attorney for Lunden Roberts, ripped the 53-year-old Hunter in a 12-page discovery motion filed Thursday in Independence County, Arkansas.Lunden Roberts/Facebook

 

Hunter Biden appears in Arkansas court for hearing in child support case of 4-year-old daughter

Hunter Biden pays $20K a month to Navy Joan Roberts’ mother, attorney claims during Batesville, Arkansas, court hearing

Hunter Biden appeared in person in an Arkansas courtroom Monday for a hearing in the child support case of his unclaimed 4-year-old daughter born out of wedlock. 

Lunden Roberts, the mother of 4-year-old Navy Joan Roberts, had reached an agreement with Hunter Biden in 2020 regarding the child’s paternity and child support payments. 

The case was reopened when Biden requested adjustments to the child support payments. In December, Roberts’s lawyers filed a motion to have the girl’s last name changed to Biden. 

During Monday’s hearing, Biden’s new attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the president’s son is paying $20,000 a month to the plaintiff. 

HUNTER BIDEN ORDERED TO APPEAR IN-PERSON FOR ARKANSAS PATERNITY CASE HEARING FOR UNCLAIMED 4-YEAR-OLD-DAUGHTER

Independence County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer set deadlines for attorneys to submit discovery and begin depositions. 

“I expect this case to move,” she said. “So get it done.” 

In court, Biden appeared to blankly stare ahead and had no interaction with Roberts. 

Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden must appear in person for an Arkansas paternity case.(Getty images)

Roberts’ family sat behind her along with Garrett Ziegler, whom Biden’s other attorney, Brent Langdon, described during a hearing last week as a potential expert witness in the case involving the contents of Biden’s laptop, which reportedly includes some income-tax records. 

The judge on Monday said the ability to redact information is “being abused” by the Biden team. 

Langdon cited last week’s Daily Mail article on the case, claiming it included redacted information in violation of a protective order in exposing income-tax records. Meyer disagreed and said what the press comes up with is out of her control, remarking, “I can’t gag the whole world.” 

Roberts’ attorney, Clint Lancaster, told the court he has not talked to Daily Mail, explaining to Ziegler the doom and gloom that would come on him if he discussed the case. 

BLINKEN AND WIFE EMAILED FREQUENTLY WITH HUNTER BIDEN, RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT ROLE IN LAPTOP COVER STORY 

From the Biden team, Lancaster requested information on the value of Biden’s art, the president son’s salary/employment for past 5 years, estates/funds from foreign persons/domestic persons/family members, flight/hotel payments, the reason for a promissory note from top Hollywood lawyer, Kevin Morris, and documents on business done with a Chinese firm. 

In response, Langdon claimed his team has already turned over more than 490 documents. Biden’s attorney also requested Roberts’ tax returns, information on “fringe benefits” from her employer father, bank statements and Ziegler’s witness statements. 

The deadline for discovery was set for May 12 at 5 p.m. 

Ziegler’s deposition is to take place on May 22 at Lancaster’s office in Little Rock. 

A status conference hearing will be held on May 23 to address discovery requests, any contempt filings, and a potential request to push back trial date. Deposition for both parties and witnesses will take place from June 13-16 at Lancaster’s office. 

As of now, the trial start date is still set for July 24. 

In a January 2020 order, Meyer declared “with near scientific certainty” that Biden is the father of the girl, referred to in court documents as “Baby Doe,” following a DNA test. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The girl was born in August 2018, and a paternity suit was initially filed in May 2019.

President Biden has refused to acknowledge the granddaughter born out of wedlock. Last Christmas season, first lady Jill Biden hung stockings for six of their grandchildren at the White House, excluding Navy. Those recognized were Naomi, 27, Finnegan, 21, Maisy, 20, Natalie, 17, Robert Hunter Biden II, 15, and little Beau, 1. 

Fox News’ Lindsey Reese contributed to this report. 

“I think retaliatory conduct against whistleblowers is unacceptable. They serve a very, very important role in our system,” FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies Thursday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

 

FBI Director Christopher Wray referred to “malign foreign influence with, potentially, public corruption” during a Senate committee hearing Thursday where participants described Hunter Biden’s alleged misconduct in overseas business dealings in a hypothetical manner. 

When asked specifically about the case of President Joe Biden’s son, Wray described it as an “ongoing investigation that I expect our folks to pursue aggressively.”

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised the Hunter Biden issue early in the hearing by talking about efforts—reported by FBI whistleblowers—to close down an investigation into the president’s son ahead of the 2020 presidential election. 

“In August 2020, the FBI supervisory intelligence analysts opened an assessment. This August 2020 assessment served as a vehicle by which the FBI headquarters team falsely labeled Hunter Biden information as you-know-what disinformation,” Grassley said, referring to partisan Democrats’ claim of Russian interference in the election.

 

“In October 2020, an avenue of reporting on Hunter Biden was ordered closed,” the Iowa Republican added. “That Hunter Biden information related to potential criminal activity. According to whistleblowers, the reporting was either verified or verifiable, via criminal search warrants. But it was shut down on the basis of it being at risk of disinformation.”

Grassley asked Wray about “politically exposed” individuals involved with allegedly improper or illegal foreign financial transactions. 

“I’m not asking about a case here. … If the FBI received information that foreign persons had evidence of improper or unlawful financial payments paid to elected officials or other politically exposed persons, would that pose a national security concern?” Grassley asked the FBI director. 

Wray stressed that it would depend on the facts and circumstances of the individual case. 

“The kind of conduct you’re describing is typically something we would look at very closely through our efforts at malign foreign influence. It starts to shade into a blend of what we call malign foreign influence with, potentially, public corruption, and it’s something we take seriously,” Wray said.  

The hearing came a week after Grassley wrote a letter to Wray and his boss, Attorney General Merrick Garland, about reports from whistleblowers who reported on politicized efforts by the FBI to suppress a probe of Hunter Biden, and falsely characterize anything negative about the president’s son as “Russian disinformation.”

U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss is leading an investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals, conducted both while his father was vice president and afterward. Federal prosecutors are looking at possible charges over taxes and lying to investigators, according to recent news reports. 

 “What steps should the FBI take to vet or more fully investigate evidence of improper or unlawful financial payment paid to elected officials and other politically exposed persons?” Grassley asked.

Wray replied: “There could be an assessment. There could be an investigation. There could be any number of steps that would be taken to make sure that there is not a national security risk.” 

To date, the younger Biden has not been charged with anything.

During the question-and-answer session between Grassley and Wray, both seemed to support protecting whistleblowers. 

“Do you agree that any retaliatory conduct against whistleblowers must be disciplined?” the Iowa lawmaker said. 

Wray responded: “I think retaliatory conduct against whistleblowers is unacceptable. They serve a very, very important role in our system.”

After information about Hunter Biden’s foreign business activities in Ukraine, Russia, China, and other countries surfaced in 2019, two Senate committee chairmen at the time—Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Grassley on Judiciary—opened an investigation in 2020. 

“In August 2020, Sen. Johnson and I received an unsolicited and unnecessary briefing from the FBI. This briefing reportedly was related to our [Hunter] Biden investigation. In the end, the briefing had nothing to do with it,” Grassley said, adding:

The briefing was instituted after the FBI received pressure from my Democrat colleagues to do just that. The content of that briefing [was] later leaked in order to falsely paint the Grassley-Johnson investigation as advancing you-know-what Russian disinformation.

That briefing was held the very same month the FBI opened the assessment that was used to label Hunter Biden’s information as you-know-what disinformation. Considering the timing of events, the timing draws very serious concern. The FBI’s credibility is on the line.

By contrast, Grassley said, the FBI greenlighted a long investigation into then-President Donald Trump and “Russian collusion” with his presidential campaign based on scant evidence. Yet the bureau closed down a probe of Hunter Biden, he said. 

Later in the hearing, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked about the two cases. 

“Americans look at what they perceive to be, and I think rightly so, a ton of money that was wasted on the Russia collusion investigation. So, do you agree that the allegation of secret collusion between President Trump and Russia was a hoax?”

Wray responded, “I don’t think that’s the terminology I would use.”

Blackburn then asked, “Do you agree that the Hunter Biden laptop was not Russia disinformation?”

Wray replied: “Now you are asking about an ongoing investigation that I expect our folks to pursue aggressively, and I can’t comment on that.”

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

 

———

 

left undermines America width=

The left praises democracy when elected but claims the right will destroy democracy when it loses. Pictured: Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton discusses the 2016 election during her 2017 book tour. (Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers, NurPhoto/Getty Images)

 

 

Recently, Democrats have been despondent over President Joe Biden’s sinking poll numbers. His policies on the economy, energy, foreign policy, the border, and COVID-19 all have lost majority support.

As a result, the left now variously alleges that either in 2022, when it expects to lose the Congress, or in 2024, when it fears losing the presidency, Republicans will “destroy democracy” or stage a coup.

A cynic might suggest that those on the left praise democracy when they get elected, only to claim it is broken when they lose. Or they hope to avoid their defeat by trying to terrify the electorate. Or they mask their own revolutionary propensities by projecting them onto their opponents.

After all, who is trying to federalize election laws in national elections contrary to the spirit of the Constitution? Who wishes to repeal or circumvent the Electoral College? Who wishes to destroy the more than 180-year-old Senate filibuster, the over 150-year-old nine-justice Supreme Court, and the more than 60-year-old 50-state union?

Who is attacking the founding constitutional idea of two senators per state?

The Constitution also clearly states that “When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside.” Who slammed through the impeachment of former President Donald Trump without a presiding chief justice?

Never had a president been either impeached twice or tried in the Senate as a private citizen. Who did both?

The left further broke prior precedent by impeaching Trump without a special counsel’s report, formal hearings, witnesses, and cross-examinations.

Who exactly is violating federal civil rights legislation?

New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in December decided to ration new potentially lifesaving COVID-19 medicines, partially on the basis of race, in the name of “equity.”

The agency also allegedly used racial preferences to determine who would be first tested for COVID-19. Yet such racial discrimination seems in direct violation of various title clauses of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

That law makes it clear that no public agency can use race to deny “equal utilization of any public facility which is owned, operated, or managed by or on behalf of any State or subdivision thereof.” Who is behind the new racial discrimination?

In summer 2020, many local- and state-mandated quarantines and bans on public assemblies were simply ignored with impunity—if demonstrators were associated with Black Lives Matter or protesting the police.

Currently, the Biden administration is also flagrantly embracing the neo-Confederate idea of nullifying federal law.

The Biden administration has allowed nearly 2 million foreign nationals to enter the United States illegally across the southern border—in hopes they will soon be loyal constituents.

The administration has not asked illegal entrants either to be tested for or vaccinated against COVID-19. Yet all U.S. citizens in the military and employed by the federal government are threatened with dismissal if they fail to become vaccinated.

Such selective exemption of lawbreaking non-U.S. citizens, but not millions of U.S. citizens, seems in conflict with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

After entering the United States illegally, millions of immigrants are protected by some 550 “sanctuary city” jurisdictions. These revolutionary areas all brazenly nullify immigration law by refusing to allow federal immigration authorities to deport illegal immigrant lawbreakers.

At various times in our nation’s history—1832, 1861-65, and 1961-63—America was either racked by internal violence or fought a civil war over similar state nullification of federal laws.

In the last five years, we have indeed seen many internal threats to democracy.

Hillary Clinton hired a foreign national to concoct a dossier of dirt against her presidential opponent. She disguised her own role by projecting her efforts to use Russian sources onto Trump. She used her contacts in government and media to seed the dossier to create a national hysteria about “Russian collusion.” Clinton urged Biden not to accept the 2020 result if he lost, and herself claimed Trump was not a legitimately elected president.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has violated laws governing the chain of command. Some retired officers violated Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice by slandering their commander in chief. Others publicly were on record calling for the military to intervene to remove an elected president.

Some of the nation’s top officials in the FBI and intelligence committee have misled or lied under oath either to federal investigators or the U.S. Congress, again, mostly with impunity.

All these sustained revolutionary activities were justified as necessary to achieve the supposedly noble ends of removing Trump.

The result is Third World-like jurisprudence in America aimed at rewarding friends and punishing enemies, masked by service to social justice.

We are in a dangerous revolutionary cycle. But the threat is not so much from loud, buffoonish, one-day rioters on Jan. 6. Such clownish characters did not for 120 days loot, burn, attack courthouses and police precincts, cause over 30 deaths, injure 2,000 policemen, and destroy at least $2 billion in property—all under the banner of revolutionary justice.

Even more ominously, stone-cold sober elites are systematically waging an insidious revolution in the shadows that seeks to dismantle America’s institutions and the rule of law as we have known them.

 

(C)2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation. 

 

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

 

The Honorable Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Washington D.C.

Dear Representative Adam Kinzinger, 

I noticed that you are a pro-life representative that has a long record of standing up for unborn babies! It was in the 1970’s when I was first introduced to the works of Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop and I wanted to commend their writings and films to you.

I recently read about your impressive pro-life record:

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) joined his House Republican colleagues in a press conference urging Democratic leadership to allow a vote on the Born Alive protections. The proposal would protect babies who survive abortion and provide them with the same medical care that any other premature baby would receive. Yesterday, the Democrats blocked the proposed legislation—for the 17th time—from coming before the House for a vote.

Joining the Congressman and House Republican leaders at the press conference this morning was Jill Stanek, an Illinois nurse and pro-life advocate who has witnessed the devastating realities of these pro-abortion laws. The Illinois legislature is currently debating two abortion bills, similar to the extreme pro-abortion agendas in New York and Virginia. 

It seems you have a grudge against President Trump while our freedoms under President Biden are being taken away. I recommend to you the article below:

The January 6 Insurrection Hoax

 • Volume 50, Number 9 • Roger Kimball

Roger Kimball
Editor and Publisher, The New Criterion

Mr. Kimball concludes his article with these words: 

That’s one melancholy lesson of the January 6 insurrection hoax: that America is fast mutating from a republic, in which individual liberty is paramount, into an oligarchy, in which conformity is increasingly demanded and enforced.

Another lesson was perfectly expressed by Donald Trump when he reflected on the unremitting tsunami of hostility that he faced as President. “They’re after you,” he more than once told his supporters. “I’m just in the way.”

 

Bingo.

You can google and get Roger Kimball article “The January 6 Insurrection Hoax”

NOW WHAT DID YOU DO TO TURN YOUR BACK ON OUR LIBERTY AND PERPETUATE THE HOAX THAT JANUARY 6TH WAS AN INSURRECTION? Read below!! 

9 Republicans voted to hold Trump aide Bannon in contempt of Congress

 

There were a few Republicans Thursday who surprised observers when they voted in support of holding former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress and referring him to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

Prior to the vote, four Republicans were considered a lock to approve the criminal referral, according to Capitol Hill sources: Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Fred Upton of Michigan and Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio.

 

Cheney and Kinzinger are on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and have for months stood alone as the only two House Republicans willing to speak out against former President Donald Trump’s continued lies about the 2020 election. They were the only two House Republicans to vote for the formation of the select committee on June 30.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formed the select committee after Republicans rejected a bipartisan commission that would have been evenly split between five Democrats and five Republicans. Only 35 Republicans voted for that measure when itpassed the House of Representatives, and it was defeated by a GOP filibuster in the Senate.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 27:  (L-R) Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) arrive for the House Select Committee hearing investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on July 27, 2021 at the Canon House Office Building in Washington, DC. Members of law enforcement will testify about the attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump on the U.S. Capitol. According to authorities, about 140 police officers were injured when they were trampled, had objects thrown at them, and sprayed with chemical irritants during the insurrection. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

 

 
More

Upton has served in the House for more than three decades, since 1987, and will face a primary challenge next year because of his willingness to stand up to Trump.

Gonzalez is retiring from Congress next year, after only four years in the House. “While my desire to build a fuller family life is at the heart of my decision, it is also true that the current state of our politics, especially many of the toxic dynamics inside our own party, is a significant factor in my decision,” Gonzalez said in September when heannounced he would not seek another term.

 

The remaining five Republicans included three who voted for impeachment — Peter Meijer of Michigan, John Katko of New York and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington — and two House Republicans who did not vote to impeach Trump: Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

Do you realize that Americans rights are being taken away from them and would you like an example? I am going to quote Mr. Kimball again.  You can google and get Roger Kimball article “The January 6 Insurrection Hoax”

Trump seems never to have discerned what a viper’s nest our politics has become for anyone who is not a paid-up member of The Club. 

Maybe Trump understands this now. I have no insight into that question. I am pretty confident, though, that the 74 plus million people who voted for him understand it deeply. It’s another reason that The Club should be wary of celebrating its victory too expansively. 

Friedrich Hayek took one of the two epigraphs for his book, The Road to Serfdom, from the philosopher David Hume. “It is seldom,” Hume wrote, “that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.” Much as I admire Hume, I wonder whether he got this quite right. Sometimes, I would argue, liberty is erased almost instantaneously.

I’d be willing to wager that Joseph Hackett, confronted with Hume’s observation, would express similar doubts. I would be happy to ask Mr. Hackett myself, but he is inaccessible. If the ironically titled “Department of Justice” has its way, he will be inaccessible for a long, long time—perhaps as long as 20 years. 

Joseph Hackett, you see, is a 51-year-old Trump supporter and member of an organization called the Oath Keepers, a group whose members have pledged to “defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.” The FBI does not like the Oath Keepers—agents arrested its leader in January and have picked up many other members in the months since. Hackett traveled to Washington from his home in Florida to join the January 6 rally. According to court documents, he entered the Capitol at 2:45 that afternoon and left some nine minutes later, at 2:54. The next day, he went home. On May 28, he was apprehended by the FBI and indicted on a long list of charges, including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, and illegally entering a restricted building. 

As far as I have been able to determine, no evidence of Hackett destroying property has come to light. According to his wife, it is not even clear that he entered the Capitol. But he certainly was in the environs. He was a member of the Oath Keepers. He was a supporter of Donald Trump. Therefore, he must be neutralized.

Joseph Hackett is only one of hundreds of citizens who have beenbranded as “domestic terrorists” trying to “overthrow the government” and who are now languishing, in appalling conditions, jailed as political prisoners of an angry state apparat.

Let me recommend that you read this letter below from Senator Ron Johnson and his colleagues:

Sen. Johnson and Colleagues Request Answers from DOJ on Unequal Application of Justice to Protestors

 

 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), along with senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), sent a letter on Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting information on the unequal application of justice between the individuals who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, and those involved in the unrest during the spring and summer of 2020. The senators sent 18 questions to the attorney general on what steps the DOJ has taken to prosecute individuals who committed crimes during both events, and requested a response by June 21.

“Americans have the constitutional right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances,” the senators wrote. “This constitutional right should be cherished and protected. Violence, property damage, and vandalism of any kind should not be tolerated and individuals that break the law should be prosecuted. However, the potential unequal administration of justice with respect to certain protestors is particularly concerning.”

 

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

 

 

June 7, 2021 

The Honorable Merrick B. Garland

Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530

 

Dear Attorney General Garland:

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently dedicating enormous resources and manpower to investigating and prosecuting the criminals who breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. We fully support and appreciate the efforts by the DOJ and its federal, state and local law enforcement partners to hold those responsible fully accountable.

We join all Americans in the expectation that the DOJ’s response to the events of January 6 will result in rightful criminal prosecutions and accountability.  As you are aware, the mission of the DOJ is, among other things, to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.  Today, we write to request information about our concerns regarding potential unequal justice administered in response to other recent instances of mass unrest, destruction, and loss of life throughout the United States. 

During the spring and summer of 2020, individuals used peaceful protests across the country to engage in rioting and other crimes that resulted in loss of life, injuries to law enforcement officers, and significant property damage.[1]  A federal court house in Portland, Oregon, has been effectively under siege for months.[2]  Property destruction stemming from the 2020 social justice protests throughout the country will reportedly result in at least $1 billion to $2 billion in paid insurance claims.[3] 

                In June 2020, the DOJ reportedly compiled the following information regarding last year’s unrest:

  • “One federal officer [was] killed, 147 federal officers [were] injured and 600 local officers [were] injured around the country during the protests, frequently from projectiles.”[4]
  • According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), “since the start of the unrest there has been 81 Federal Firearms License burglaries of an estimated loss of 1,116 firearms; 876 reported arsons; 76 explosive incidents; and 46 ATF arrests[.]”[5]

Despite these numerous examples of violence occurring during these protests, it appears that individuals charged with committing crimes at these events may benefit from infrequent prosecutions and minimal, if any, penalties.  According to a recent article, “prosecutors have approved deals in at least half a dozen federal felony cases arising from clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Oregon last summer. The arrangements — known as deferred resolution agreements — will leave the defendants with a clean criminal record if they stay out of trouble for a period of time and complete a modest amount of community service, according to defense attorneys and court records.”[6]       

                DOJ’s apparent unwillingness to punish these individuals who allegedly committed crimes during the spring and summer 2020 protests stands in stark contrast to the harsher treatment of the individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.  To date, DOJ has charged 510 individuals stemming from Capitol breach.[7]  DOJ maintains and updates a webpage that lists the defendants charged with crimes committed at the Capitol.  This database includes information such as the defendant’s name, charge(s), case number, case documents, location of arrest, case status, and informs readers when the entry was last updated.[8]  No such database exists for alleged perpetrators of crimes associated with the spring and summer 2020 protests.  It is unclear whether any defendants charged with crimes in connection with the Capitol breach have received deferred resolution agreements.

Americans have the constitutional right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.  This constitutional right should be cherished and protected.  Violence, property damage, and vandalism of any kind should not be tolerated and individuals that break the law should be prosecuted.  However, the potential unequal administration of justice with respect to certain protestors is particularly concerning.  In order to assist Congress in conducting its oversight work, we respectfully request answers to the following questions by June 21, 2021:  

Spring and Summer 2020 Unrest:

  1. Did federal law enforcement utilize geolocation data from defendants’ cell phones to track protestors associated with the unrest in the spring and summer of 2020?  If so, how many times and for which locations/riots?  
  1. How many individuals who may have committed crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020 were arrested by law enforcement using pre-dawn raids and SWAT teams?
  1. How many individuals were incarcerated for allegedly committing crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020? 
  1. How many of these individuals are or were placed in solitary confinement?  What was the average amount of consecutive days such individuals were in solitary confinement?
  1. How many of these individuals have been released on bail?
  1. How many of these individuals were released on their own recognizance or without being required to post bond?
  1. How many of these individuals were offered deferred resolution agreements?[9]
  1. How many DOJ prosecutors were assigned to work on cases involving defendants who allegedly committed crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020?
  1. How many FBI personnel were assigned to work on cases involving defendants who allegedly committed crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020?

January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol Breach:

  1. Did federal law enforcement utilize geolocation data from defendants’ cell phones to track protestors associated with the January 6, 2021 protests and Capitol breach?  If so, how many times and how many additional arrests resulted from law enforcement utilizing geolocation information?
  2. How many individuals who may have committed crimes associated with the Capitol breach were arrested by law enforcement using pre-dawn raids and SWAT teams?
  1. How many individuals are incarcerated for allegedly committing crimes associated with the Capitol breach?
  1. How many of these individuals are or were placed in solitary confinement?  What was the average amount of consecutive days such individuals were in solitary confinement?
  1. How many of these individuals have been released on bail?
  1. How many of these individuals have been released on their own recognizance or without being required to post bond?
  1. How many of these individuals were offered deferred resolution agreements?
  1. How many DOJ prosecutors have been assigned to work on cases involving defendants who allegedly committed crimes associated with the Capitol breach?
  1. How many FBI personnel were assigned to work on cases involving defendants who allegedly committed crimes associated with the Capitol breach?

Sincerely,

 

Ron Johnson

United States Senator

 

Tommy Tuberville

United States Senator

 

Mike Lee                                                            

United States Senator

 

Rick Scott

United States Senator

 

Ted Cruz

United States Senator

 

###

 


[1] Jennifer Kingson, Exclusive: $1 billion-plus riot damage is most expensive in insurance history, Axios, Sept. 16, 2020, https://www.axios.com/riots-cost-property-damage-276c9bcc-a455-4067-b06a-66f9db4cea9c.html.

[2] Conrad Wilson and Jonathan Levinson, Protesters, federal officers clash outside Portland’s courthouse Thursday, OPB, Mar. 12, 2021, https://www.opb.org/article/2021/03/12/protesters-vandalize-portlands-federal-courthouse-again/.

[3] Jennifer Kingson, Exclusive: $1 billion-plus riot damage is most expensive in insurance history, Axios, Sept. 16, 2020, https://www.axios.com/riots-cost-property-damage-276c9bcc-a455-4067-b06a-66f9db4cea9c.html.

[5] Id.

[6] Josh Gerstein, Leniency for defendants in Portland clashes could affect Capitol riot cases, Politico, Apr. 14, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/portland-capitol-riot-cases-481346.

[7] Madison Hall et al., 493 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection so far. This searchable table shows them all., Insider, accessed June 4, 2021, https://www.insider.com/all-the-us-capitol-pro-trump-riot-arrests-charges-names-2021-1.

[8] Capitol Breach Cases, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, accessed May 21, 2021, https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-breach-cases?combine=&order=title&sort=asc.

[9] Josh Gerstein, Leniency for defendants in Portland clashes could affect Capitol riot cases, Politico, Apr. 14, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/portland-capitol-riot-cases-481346.

—-

I want to recommend to you a video on YOU TUBE that runs 28 minutes and 39 seconds by Francis Schaeffer entitled because it discusses the founding of our nation and what the FOUNDERS believed: 

How Should We Then Live | Season 1 | Episode 5 | The Revolutionary Age

 

Thank you for your time, and again I want to thank you for your support of the unborn little babies!

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher, 13900 Cottontail Lane, AR 72002, cell 501-920-5733, everettehatcher@gmail.com, http://www.thedailyhatch.org

——————————————————————————————

——

Dr. Francis schaeffer How Should We Then Live | Season 1 | Episode 5 | The Revolutionary Age

 

– Whatever happened to human race? PART 1 Co-authored by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop)

C. Everett Koop
C. Everett Koop, 1980s.jpg
 
13th Surgeon General of the United States
In office
January 21, 1982 – October 1, 1989

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 2 | Slaughter of the Innocents

Francis Schaeffer – Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 3 | Death by Someone’s Choice

Mr. Hentoff with the clarinetist Edmond Hall in 1948 at the Savoy, a club in Boston.

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 4 | The Basis for Human Dignity 

Image<img class=”i-amphtml-blurry-placeholder” src=”data:;base64,Edith Schaeffer with her husband, Francis Schaeffer, in 1970 in Switzerland, where they founded L’Abri, a Christian commune.

________________

______________________

March 23, 2021

President Biden c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here. I know that you don’t agree with my pro-life views but I wanted to challenge you as a fellow Christian to re-examine your pro-choice view. Although we are both Christians and have the Bible as the basis for our moral views, I did want you to take a close look at the views of the pro-life atheist Nat Hentoff too.  Hentoff became convinced of the pro-life view because of secular evidence that shows that the unborn child is human. I would ask you to consider his evidence and then of course reverse your views on abortion.

___________________

The pro-life atheist Nat Hentoff wrote a fine article below I wanted to share with you.

Nat Hentoff is an atheist, but he became a pro-life activist because of the scientific evidence that shows that the unborn child is a distinct and separate human being and even has a separate DNA. His perspective is a very intriguing one that I thought you would be interested in. I have shared before many   cases (Bernard Nathanson, Donald Trump, Paul Greenberg, Kathy Ireland)    when other high profile pro-choice leaders have changed their views and this is just another case like those. I have contacted the White House over and over concerning this issue and have even received responses. I am hopeful that people will stop and look even in a secular way (if they are not believers) at this abortion debate and see that the unborn child is deserving of our protection.That is why the writings of Nat Hentoff of the Cato Institute are so crucial.

In the film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” the arguments are presented  against abortion (Episode 1),  infanticide (Episode 2),   euthanasia (Episode 3), and then there is a discussion of the Christian versus Humanist worldview concerning the issue of “the basis for human dignity” in Episode 4 and then in the last episode a close look at the truth claims of the Bible.

Francis Schaeffer

__________________________

I truly believe that many of the problems we have today in the USA are due to the advancement of humanism in the last few decades in our society. Ronald Reagan appointed the evangelical Dr. C. Everett Koop to the position of Surgeon General in his administration. He partnered with Dr. Francis Schaeffer in making the video below. It is very valuable information for Christians to have.  Actually I have included a video below that includes comments from him on this subject.

Francis Schaeffer Whatever Happened to the Human Race (Episode 1) ABORTION

_____________________________________

 

Dr. Francis schaeffer – from Part 5 of Whatever happened to human race?) Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 5 | Truth and History

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – A Christian Manifesto – Dr. Francis Schaeffer Lecture

Francis Schaeffer – A 700 Club Special! ~ Francis Schaeffer 1982

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – 1984 SOUNDWORD LABRI CONFERENCE VIDEO – Q&A With Francis & Edith Schaeffer

________________

Jewish World Review June 12, 2006/ 16 Sivan, 5766

 

Insisting on life

http://www.NewsandOpinion.com | A longtime friend of mine is married to a doctor who also performs abortions. At the dinner table one recent evening, their 9-year-old son — having heard a word whose meaning he didn’t know — asked, “What is an abortion?” His mother, choosing her words carefully, described the procedure in simple terms.

“But,” said her son, “that means killing the baby.” The mother then explained that there are certain months during which an abortion cannot be performed, with very few exceptions. The 9-year-old shook his head. “But,” he said, “it doesn’t matter what month. It still means killing the babies.”

Hearing the story, I wished it could be repeated to the justices of the Supreme Court, in the hope that at least five of them might act on this 9-year-old’s clarity of thought and vision.

The boy’s spontaneous insistence on the primacy of life also reminded me of a powerful pro-life speaker and writer who, many years ago, helped me become a pro-lifer. He was a preacher, a black preacher. He said: “There are those who argue that the right to privacy is of a higher order than the right to life.

“That,” he continued, “was the premise of slavery. You could not protest the existence or treatment of slaves on the plantation because that was private and therefore out of your right to be concerned.”

This passionate reverend used to warn: “Don’t let the pro-choicers convince you that a fetus isn’t a human being. That’s how the whites dehumanized us … The first step was to distort the image of us as human beings in order to justify what they wanted to do — and not even feel they’d done anything wrong.”

That preacher was Jesse Jackson. Later, he decided to run for the presidency — and it was a credible campaign that many found inspiring in its focus on what still had to be done on civil rights. But Jackson had by now become “pro-choice” — much to the appreciation of most of those in the liberal base.

The last time I saw Jackson was years later, on a train from Washington to New York. I told him of a man nominated, but not yet confirmed, to a seat on a federal circuit court of appeals. This candidate was a strong supporter of capital punishment — which both the Rev. Jackson and I oppose, since it involves the irreversible taking of a human life by the state.

I asked Jackson if he would hold a press conference in Washington, criticizing the nomination, and he said he would. The reverend was true to his word; the press conference took place; but that nominee was confirmed to the federal circuit court. However, I appreciated Jackson’s effort.

On that train, I also told Jackson that I’d been quoting — in articles, and in talks with various groups — from his compelling pro-life statements. I asked him if he’d had any second thoughts on his reversal of those views.

Usually quick to respond to any challenge that he is not consistent in his positions, Jackson paused, and seemed somewhat disquieted at my question. Then he said to me, “I’ll get back to you on that.” I still patiently await what he has to say.

As time goes on, my deepening concern with the consequences of abortion is that its validation by the Supreme Court, as a constitutional practice, helps support the convictions of those who, in other controversies — euthanasia, assisted suicide and the “futility doctrine” by certain hospital ethics committees — believe that there are lives not worth continuing.

Around the time of my conversation with Jackson on the train, I attended a conference on euthanasia at Clark College in Worcester, Mass. There, I met Derek Humphry, the founder of the Hemlock Society, and already known internationally as a key proponent of the “death with dignity” movement.

He told me that for some years in this country, he had considerable difficulty getting his views about assisted suicide and, as he sees it, compassionate euthanasia into the American press.

“But then,” Humphry told me, “a wonderful thing happened. It opened all the doors for me.”

“What was that wonderful thing?” I asked.

“Roe v. Wade,” he answered.

The devaluing of human life — as the 9-year-old at the dinner table put it more vividly — did not end with making abortion legal, and therefore, to some people, moral. The word “baby” does not appear in Roe v. Wade — let alone the word “killing.”

And so, the termination of “lives not worth living” goes on.

 

______________________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband. Now after presenting the secular approach of Nat Hentoff I wanted to make some comments concerning our shared Christian faith.  I  respect you for putting your faith in Christ for your eternal life. I am pleading to you on the basis of the Bible to please review your religious views concerning abortion. It was the Bible that caused the abolition movement of the 1800’s and it also was the basis for Martin Luther King’s movement for civil rights and it also is the basis for recognizing the unborn children.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733,

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Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 9 “The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 8 “The Age of Fragmentation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 8 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode VIII – The Age of Fragmentation 27 min I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 7 “The Age of Non-Reason” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 7 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode VII – The Age of Non Reason I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 6 “The Scientific Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 6 How Should We Then Live 6#1 Uploaded by NoMirrorHDDHrorriMoN on Oct 3, 2011 How Should We Then Live? Episode 6 of 12 ________ I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 5 “The Revolutionary Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 5 How Should We Then Live? Episode 5: The Revolutionary Age I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Francis Schaeffer noted, “Reformation Did Not Bring Perfection. But gradually on basis of biblical teaching there […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 4 “The Reformation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode IV – The Reformation 27 min I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to […]

“Schaeffer Sundays” Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 3 “The Renaissance”

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 3 “The Renaissance” Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 3) THE RENAISSANCE I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer really shows why we have so […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 2 “The Middle Ages” (Schaeffer Sundays)

  Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 2) THE MIDDLE AGES I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer points out that during this time period unfortunately we have the “Church’s deviation from early church’s teaching in regard […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 1 “The Roman Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 1) THE ROMAN AGE   Today I am starting a series that really had a big impact on my life back in the 1970′s when I first saw it. There are ten parts and today is the first. Francis Schaeffer takes a look at Rome and why […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Edit | Comments (0)

Hunter Biden pays $20K a month to Navy Joan Roberts’ mother, attorney claims during Batesville, Arkansas, court hearing

——

Lunden RobertsClinton Lancaster, an attorney for Lunden Roberts, ripped the 53-year-old Hunter in a 12-page discovery motion filed Thursday in Independence County, Arkansas.Lunden Roberts/Facebook

 

Hunter Biden appears in Arkansas court for hearing in child support case of 4-year-old daughter

Hunter Biden pays $20K a month to Navy Joan Roberts’ mother, attorney claims during Batesville, Arkansas, court hearing

Hunter Biden appeared in person in an Arkansas courtroom Monday for a hearing in the child support case of his unclaimed 4-year-old daughter born out of wedlock. 

Lunden Roberts, the mother of 4-year-old Navy Joan Roberts, had reached an agreement with Hunter Biden in 2020 regarding the child’s paternity and child support payments. 

The case was reopened when Biden requested adjustments to the child support payments. In December, Roberts’s lawyers filed a motion to have the girl’s last name changed to Biden. 

During Monday’s hearing, Biden’s new attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the president’s son is paying $20,000 a month to the plaintiff. 

HUNTER BIDEN ORDERED TO APPEAR IN-PERSON FOR ARKANSAS PATERNITY CASE HEARING FOR UNCLAIMED 4-YEAR-OLD-DAUGHTER

Independence County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer set deadlines for attorneys to submit discovery and begin depositions. 

“I expect this case to move,” she said. “So get it done.” 

In court, Biden appeared to blankly stare ahead and had no interaction with Roberts. 

Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden must appear in person for an Arkansas paternity case.(Getty images)

Roberts’ family sat behind her along with Garrett Ziegler, whom Biden’s other attorney, Brent Langdon, described during a hearing last week as a potential expert witness in the case involving the contents of Biden’s laptop, which reportedly includes some income-tax records. 

The judge on Monday said the ability to redact information is “being abused” by the Biden team. 

Langdon cited last week’s Daily Mail article on the case, claiming it included redacted information in violation of a protective order in exposing income-tax records. Meyer disagreed and said what the press comes up with is out of her control, remarking, “I can’t gag the whole world.” 

Roberts’ attorney, Clint Lancaster, told the court he has not talked to Daily Mail, explaining to Ziegler the doom and gloom that would come on him if he discussed the case. 

BLINKEN AND WIFE EMAILED FREQUENTLY WITH HUNTER BIDEN, RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT ROLE IN LAPTOP COVER STORY 

From the Biden team, Lancaster requested information on the value of Biden’s art, the president son’s salary/employment for past 5 years, estates/funds from foreign persons/domestic persons/family members, flight/hotel payments, the reason for a promissory note from top Hollywood lawyer, Kevin Morris, and documents on business done with a Chinese firm. 

In response, Langdon claimed his team has already turned over more than 490 documents. Biden’s attorney also requested Roberts’ tax returns, information on “fringe benefits” from her employer father, bank statements and Ziegler’s witness statements. 

The deadline for discovery was set for May 12 at 5 p.m. 

Ziegler’s deposition is to take place on May 22 at Lancaster’s office in Little Rock. 

A status conference hearing will be held on May 23 to address discovery requests, any contempt filings, and a potential request to push back trial date. Deposition for both parties and witnesses will take place from June 13-16 at Lancaster’s office. 

As of now, the trial start date is still set for July 24. 

In a January 2020 order, Meyer declared “with near scientific certainty” that Biden is the father of the girl, referred to in court documents as “Baby Doe,” following a DNA test. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The girl was born in August 2018, and a paternity suit was initially filed in May 2019.

President Biden has refused to acknowledge the granddaughter born out of wedlock. Last Christmas season, first lady Jill Biden hung stockings for six of their grandchildren at the White House, excluding Navy. Those recognized were Naomi, 27, Finnegan, 21, Maisy, 20, Natalie, 17, Robert Hunter Biden II, 15, and little Beau, 1. 

Fox News’ Lindsey Reese contributed to this report. 

 

“I think retaliatory conduct against whistleblowers is unacceptable. They serve a very, very important role in our system,” FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies Thursday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

 

FBI Director Christopher Wray referred to “malign foreign influence with, potentially, public corruption” during a Senate committee hearing Thursday where participants described Hunter Biden’s alleged misconduct in overseas business dealings in a hypothetical manner. 

When asked specifically about the case of President Joe Biden’s son, Wray described it as an “ongoing investigation that I expect our folks to pursue aggressively.”

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised the Hunter Biden issue early in the hearing by talking about efforts—reported by FBI whistleblowers—to close down an investigation into the president’s son ahead of the 2020 presidential election. 

“In August 2020, the FBI supervisory intelligence analysts opened an assessment. This August 2020 assessment served as a vehicle by which the FBI headquarters team falsely labeled Hunter Biden information as you-know-what disinformation,” Grassley said, referring to partisan Democrats’ claim of Russian interference in the election.

 

“In October 2020, an avenue of reporting on Hunter Biden was ordered closed,” the Iowa Republican added. “That Hunter Biden information related to potential criminal activity. According to whistleblowers, the reporting was either verified or verifiable, via criminal search warrants. But it was shut down on the basis of it being at risk of disinformation.”

Grassley asked Wray about “politically exposed” individuals involved with allegedly improper or illegal foreign financial transactions. 

“I’m not asking about a case here. … If the FBI received information that foreign persons had evidence of improper or unlawful financial payments paid to elected officials or other politically exposed persons, would that pose a national security concern?” Grassley asked the FBI director. 

Wray stressed that it would depend on the facts and circumstances of the individual case. 

“The kind of conduct you’re describing is typically something we would look at very closely through our efforts at malign foreign influence. It starts to shade into a blend of what we call malign foreign influence with, potentially, public corruption, and it’s something we take seriously,” Wray said.  

The hearing came a week after Grassley wrote a letter to Wray and his boss, Attorney General Merrick Garland, about reports from whistleblowers who reported on politicized efforts by the FBI to suppress a probe of Hunter Biden, and falsely characterize anything negative about the president’s son as “Russian disinformation.”

U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss is leading an investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals, conducted both while his father was vice president and afterward. Federal prosecutors are looking at possible charges over taxes and lying to investigators, according to recent news reports. 

 “What steps should the FBI take to vet or more fully investigate evidence of improper or unlawful financial payment paid to elected officials and other politically exposed persons?” Grassley asked.

Wray replied: “There could be an assessment. There could be an investigation. There could be any number of steps that would be taken to make sure that there is not a national security risk.” 

To date, the younger Biden has not been charged with anything.

During the question-and-answer session between Grassley and Wray, both seemed to support protecting whistleblowers. 

“Do you agree that any retaliatory conduct against whistleblowers must be disciplined?” the Iowa lawmaker said. 

Wray responded: “I think retaliatory conduct against whistleblowers is unacceptable. They serve a very, very important role in our system.”

After information about Hunter Biden’s foreign business activities in Ukraine, Russia, China, and other countries surfaced in 2019, two Senate committee chairmen at the time—Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Grassley on Judiciary—opened an investigation in 2020. 

“In August 2020, Sen. Johnson and I received an unsolicited and unnecessary briefing from the FBI. This briefing reportedly was related to our [Hunter] Biden investigation. In the end, the briefing had nothing to do with it,” Grassley said, adding:

The briefing was instituted after the FBI received pressure from my Democrat colleagues to do just that. The content of that briefing [was] later leaked in order to falsely paint the Grassley-Johnson investigation as advancing you-know-what Russian disinformation.

That briefing was held the very same month the FBI opened the assessment that was used to label Hunter Biden’s information as you-know-what disinformation. Considering the timing of events, the timing draws very serious concern. The FBI’s credibility is on the line.

By contrast, Grassley said, the FBI greenlighted a long investigation into then-President Donald Trump and “Russian collusion” with his presidential campaign based on scant evidence. Yet the bureau closed down a probe of Hunter Biden, he said. 

Later in the hearing, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked about the two cases. 

“Americans look at what they perceive to be, and I think rightly so, a ton of money that was wasted on the Russia collusion investigation. So, do you agree that the allegation of secret collusion between President Trump and Russia was a hoax?”

Wray responded, “I don’t think that’s the terminology I would use.”

Blackburn then asked, “Do you agree that the Hunter Biden laptop was not Russia disinformation?”

Wray replied: “Now you are asking about an ongoing investigation that I expect our folks to pursue aggressively, and I can’t comment on that.”

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

 

———

 

left undermines America width=

The left praises democracy when elected but claims the right will destroy democracy when it loses. Pictured: Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton discusses the 2016 election during her 2017 book tour. (Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers, NurPhoto/Getty Images)

 

 

Recently, Democrats have been despondent over President Joe Biden’s sinking poll numbers. His policies on the economy, energy, foreign policy, the border, and COVID-19 all have lost majority support.

As a result, the left now variously alleges that either in 2022, when it expects to lose the Congress, or in 2024, when it fears losing the presidency, Republicans will “destroy democracy” or stage a coup.

A cynic might suggest that those on the left praise democracy when they get elected, only to claim it is broken when they lose. Or they hope to avoid their defeat by trying to terrify the electorate. Or they mask their own revolutionary propensities by projecting them onto their opponents.

After all, who is trying to federalize election laws in national elections contrary to the spirit of the Constitution? Who wishes to repeal or circumvent the Electoral College? Who wishes to destroy the more than 180-year-old Senate filibuster, the over 150-year-old nine-justice Supreme Court, and the more than 60-year-old 50-state union?

Who is attacking the founding constitutional idea of two senators per state?

The Constitution also clearly states that “When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside.” Who slammed through the impeachment of former President Donald Trump without a presiding chief justice?

Never had a president been either impeached twice or tried in the Senate as a private citizen. Who did both?

The left further broke prior precedent by impeaching Trump without a special counsel’s report, formal hearings, witnesses, and cross-examinations.

Who exactly is violating federal civil rights legislation?

New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in December decided to ration new potentially lifesaving COVID-19 medicines, partially on the basis of race, in the name of “equity.”

The agency also allegedly used racial preferences to determine who would be first tested for COVID-19. Yet such racial discrimination seems in direct violation of various title clauses of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

That law makes it clear that no public agency can use race to deny “equal utilization of any public facility which is owned, operated, or managed by or on behalf of any State or subdivision thereof.” Who is behind the new racial discrimination?

In summer 2020, many local- and state-mandated quarantines and bans on public assemblies were simply ignored with impunity—if demonstrators were associated with Black Lives Matter or protesting the police.

Currently, the Biden administration is also flagrantly embracing the neo-Confederate idea of nullifying federal law.

The Biden administration has allowed nearly 2 million foreign nationals to enter the United States illegally across the southern border—in hopes they will soon be loyal constituents.

The administration has not asked illegal entrants either to be tested for or vaccinated against COVID-19. Yet all U.S. citizens in the military and employed by the federal government are threatened with dismissal if they fail to become vaccinated.

Such selective exemption of lawbreaking non-U.S. citizens, but not millions of U.S. citizens, seems in conflict with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

After entering the United States illegally, millions of immigrants are protected by some 550 “sanctuary city” jurisdictions. These revolutionary areas all brazenly nullify immigration law by refusing to allow federal immigration authorities to deport illegal immigrant lawbreakers.

At various times in our nation’s history—1832, 1861-65, and 1961-63—America was either racked by internal violence or fought a civil war over similar state nullification of federal laws.

In the last five years, we have indeed seen many internal threats to democracy.

Hillary Clinton hired a foreign national to concoct a dossier of dirt against her presidential opponent. She disguised her own role by projecting her efforts to use Russian sources onto Trump. She used her contacts in government and media to seed the dossier to create a national hysteria about “Russian collusion.” Clinton urged Biden not to accept the 2020 result if he lost, and herself claimed Trump was not a legitimately elected president.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has violated laws governing the chain of command. Some retired officers violated Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice by slandering their commander in chief. Others publicly were on record calling for the military to intervene to remove an elected president.

Some of the nation’s top officials in the FBI and intelligence committee have misled or lied under oath either to federal investigators or the U.S. Congress, again, mostly with impunity.

All these sustained revolutionary activities were justified as necessary to achieve the supposedly noble ends of removing Trump.

The result is Third World-like jurisprudence in America aimed at rewarding friends and punishing enemies, masked by service to social justice.

We are in a dangerous revolutionary cycle. But the threat is not so much from loud, buffoonish, one-day rioters on Jan. 6. Such clownish characters did not for 120 days loot, burn, attack courthouses and police precincts, cause over 30 deaths, injure 2,000 policemen, and destroy at least $2 billion in property—all under the banner of revolutionary justice.

Even more ominously, stone-cold sober elites are systematically waging an insidious revolution in the shadows that seeks to dismantle America’s institutions and the rule of law as we have known them.

 

(C)2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation. 

 

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

 

The Honorable Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Washington D.C.

Dear Representative Adam Kinzinger, 

I noticed that you are a pro-life representative that has a long record of standing up for unborn babies! It was in the 1970’s when I was first introduced to the works of Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop and I wanted to commend their writings and films to you.

I recently read about your impressive pro-life record:

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) joined his House Republican colleagues in a press conference urging Democratic leadership to allow a vote on the Born Alive protections. The proposal would protect babies who survive abortion and provide them with the same medical care that any other premature baby would receive. Yesterday, the Democrats blocked the proposed legislation—for the 17th time—from coming before the House for a vote.

Joining the Congressman and House Republican leaders at the press conference this morning was Jill Stanek, an Illinois nurse and pro-life advocate who has witnessed the devastating realities of these pro-abortion laws. The Illinois legislature is currently debating two abortion bills, similar to the extreme pro-abortion agendas in New York and Virginia. 

It seems you have a grudge against President Trump while our freedoms under President Biden are being taken away. I recommend to you the article below:

The January 6 Insurrection Hoax

 • Volume 50, Number 9 • Roger Kimball

Roger Kimball
Editor and Publisher, The New Criterion

Mr. Kimball concludes his article with these words: 

That’s one melancholy lesson of the January 6 insurrection hoax: that America is fast mutating from a republic, in which individual liberty is paramount, into an oligarchy, in which conformity is increasingly demanded and enforced.

Another lesson was perfectly expressed by Donald Trump when he reflected on the unremitting tsunami of hostility that he faced as President. “They’re after you,” he more than once told his supporters. “I’m just in the way.”

 

Bingo.

You can google and get Roger Kimball article “The January 6 Insurrection Hoax”

NOW WHAT DID YOU DO TO TURN YOUR BACK ON OUR LIBERTY AND PERPETUATE THE HOAX THAT JANUARY 6TH WAS AN INSURRECTION? Read below!! 

9 Republicans voted to hold Trump aide Bannon in contempt of Congress

 

There were a few Republicans Thursday who surprised observers when they voted in support of holding former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress and referring him to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

Prior to the vote, four Republicans were considered a lock to approve the criminal referral, according to Capitol Hill sources: Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Fred Upton of Michigan and Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio.

 

Cheney and Kinzinger are on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and have for months stood alone as the only two House Republicans willing to speak out against former President Donald Trump’s continued lies about the 2020 election. They were the only two House Republicans to vote for the formation of the select committee on June 30.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formed the select committee after Republicans rejected a bipartisan commission that would have been evenly split between five Democrats and five Republicans. Only 35 Republicans voted for that measure when itpassed the House of Representatives, and it was defeated by a GOP filibuster in the Senate.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 27:  (L-R) Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) arrive for the House Select Committee hearing investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on July 27, 2021 at the Canon House Office Building in Washington, DC. Members of law enforcement will testify about the attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump on the U.S. Capitol. According to authorities, about 140 police officers were injured when they were trampled, had objects thrown at them, and sprayed with chemical irritants during the insurrection. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

 

 
More

Upton has served in the House for more than three decades, since 1987, and will face a primary challenge next year because of his willingness to stand up to Trump.

Gonzalez is retiring from Congress next year, after only four years in the House. “While my desire to build a fuller family life is at the heart of my decision, it is also true that the current state of our politics, especially many of the toxic dynamics inside our own party, is a significant factor in my decision,” Gonzalez said in September when heannounced he would not seek another term.

 

The remaining five Republicans included three who voted for impeachment — Peter Meijer of Michigan, John Katko of New York and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington — and two House Republicans who did not vote to impeach Trump: Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

Do you realize that Americans rights are being taken away from them and would you like an example? I am going to quote Mr. Kimball again.  You can google and get Roger Kimball article “The January 6 Insurrection Hoax”

Trump seems never to have discerned what a viper’s nest our politics has become for anyone who is not a paid-up member of The Club. 

Maybe Trump understands this now. I have no insight into that question. I am pretty confident, though, that the 74 plus million people who voted for him understand it deeply. It’s another reason that The Club should be wary of celebrating its victory too expansively. 

Friedrich Hayek took one of the two epigraphs for his book, The Road to Serfdom, from the philosopher David Hume. “It is seldom,” Hume wrote, “that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.” Much as I admire Hume, I wonder whether he got this quite right. Sometimes, I would argue, liberty is erased almost instantaneously.

I’d be willing to wager that Joseph Hackett, confronted with Hume’s observation, would express similar doubts. I would be happy to ask Mr. Hackett myself, but he is inaccessible. If the ironically titled “Department of Justice” has its way, he will be inaccessible for a long, long time—perhaps as long as 20 years. 

Joseph Hackett, you see, is a 51-year-old Trump supporter and member of an organization called the Oath Keepers, a group whose members have pledged to “defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.” The FBI does not like the Oath Keepers—agents arrested its leader in January and have picked up many other members in the months since. Hackett traveled to Washington from his home in Florida to join the January 6 rally. According to court documents, he entered the Capitol at 2:45 that afternoon and left some nine minutes later, at 2:54. The next day, he went home. On May 28, he was apprehended by the FBI and indicted on a long list of charges, including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, and illegally entering a restricted building. 

As far as I have been able to determine, no evidence of Hackett destroying property has come to light. According to his wife, it is not even clear that he entered the Capitol. But he certainly was in the environs. He was a member of the Oath Keepers. He was a supporter of Donald Trump. Therefore, he must be neutralized.

Joseph Hackett is only one of hundreds of citizens who have beenbranded as “domestic terrorists” trying to “overthrow the government” and who are now languishing, in appalling conditions, jailed as political prisoners of an angry state apparat.

Let me recommend that you read this letter below from Senator Ron Johnson and his colleagues:

Sen. Johnson and Colleagues Request Answers from DOJ on Unequal Application of Justice to Protestors

 

 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), along with senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), sent a letter on Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting information on the unequal application of justice between the individuals who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, and those involved in the unrest during the spring and summer of 2020. The senators sent 18 questions to the attorney general on what steps the DOJ has taken to prosecute individuals who committed crimes during both events, and requested a response by June 21.

“Americans have the constitutional right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances,” the senators wrote. “This constitutional right should be cherished and protected. Violence, property damage, and vandalism of any kind should not be tolerated and individuals that break the law should be prosecuted. However, the potential unequal administration of justice with respect to certain protestors is particularly concerning.”

 

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

 

 

June 7, 2021 

The Honorable Merrick B. Garland

Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530

 

Dear Attorney General Garland:

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently dedicating enormous resources and manpower to investigating and prosecuting the criminals who breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. We fully support and appreciate the efforts by the DOJ and its federal, state and local law enforcement partners to hold those responsible fully accountable.

We join all Americans in the expectation that the DOJ’s response to the events of January 6 will result in rightful criminal prosecutions and accountability.  As you are aware, the mission of the DOJ is, among other things, to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.  Today, we write to request information about our concerns regarding potential unequal justice administered in response to other recent instances of mass unrest, destruction, and loss of life throughout the United States. 

During the spring and summer of 2020, individuals used peaceful protests across the country to engage in rioting and other crimes that resulted in loss of life, injuries to law enforcement officers, and significant property damage.[1]  A federal court house in Portland, Oregon, has been effectively under siege for months.[2]  Property destruction stemming from the 2020 social justice protests throughout the country will reportedly result in at least $1 billion to $2 billion in paid insurance claims.[3] 

                In June 2020, the DOJ reportedly compiled the following information regarding last year’s unrest:

  • “One federal officer [was] killed, 147 federal officers [were] injured and 600 local officers [were] injured around the country during the protests, frequently from projectiles.”[4]
  • According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), “since the start of the unrest there has been 81 Federal Firearms License burglaries of an estimated loss of 1,116 firearms; 876 reported arsons; 76 explosive incidents; and 46 ATF arrests[.]”[5]

Despite these numerous examples of violence occurring during these protests, it appears that individuals charged with committing crimes at these events may benefit from infrequent prosecutions and minimal, if any, penalties.  According to a recent article, “prosecutors have approved deals in at least half a dozen federal felony cases arising from clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Oregon last summer. The arrangements — known as deferred resolution agreements — will leave the defendants with a clean criminal record if they stay out of trouble for a period of time and complete a modest amount of community service, according to defense attorneys and court records.”[6]       

                DOJ’s apparent unwillingness to punish these individuals who allegedly committed crimes during the spring and summer 2020 protests stands in stark contrast to the harsher treatment of the individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.  To date, DOJ has charged 510 individuals stemming from Capitol breach.[7]  DOJ maintains and updates a webpage that lists the defendants charged with crimes committed at the Capitol.  This database includes information such as the defendant’s name, charge(s), case number, case documents, location of arrest, case status, and informs readers when the entry was last updated.[8]  No such database exists for alleged perpetrators of crimes associated with the spring and summer 2020 protests.  It is unclear whether any defendants charged with crimes in connection with the Capitol breach have received deferred resolution agreements.

Americans have the constitutional right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.  This constitutional right should be cherished and protected.  Violence, property damage, and vandalism of any kind should not be tolerated and individuals that break the law should be prosecuted.  However, the potential unequal administration of justice with respect to certain protestors is particularly concerning.  In order to assist Congress in conducting its oversight work, we respectfully request answers to the following questions by June 21, 2021:  

Spring and Summer 2020 Unrest:

  1. Did federal law enforcement utilize geolocation data from defendants’ cell phones to track protestors associated with the unrest in the spring and summer of 2020?  If so, how many times and for which locations/riots?  
  1. How many individuals who may have committed crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020 were arrested by law enforcement using pre-dawn raids and SWAT teams?
  1. How many individuals were incarcerated for allegedly committing crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020? 
  1. How many of these individuals are or were placed in solitary confinement?  What was the average amount of consecutive days such individuals were in solitary confinement?
  1. How many of these individuals have been released on bail?
  1. How many of these individuals were released on their own recognizance or without being required to post bond?
  1. How many of these individuals were offered deferred resolution agreements?[9]
  1. How many DOJ prosecutors were assigned to work on cases involving defendants who allegedly committed crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020?
  1. How many FBI personnel were assigned to work on cases involving defendants who allegedly committed crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020?

January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol Breach:

  1. Did federal law enforcement utilize geolocation data from defendants’ cell phones to track protestors associated with the January 6, 2021 protests and Capitol breach?  If so, how many times and how many additional arrests resulted from law enforcement utilizing geolocation information?
  2. How many individuals who may have committed crimes associated with the Capitol breach were arrested by law enforcement using pre-dawn raids and SWAT teams?
  1. How many individuals are incarcerated for allegedly committing crimes associated with the Capitol breach?
  1. How many of these individuals are or were placed in solitary confinement?  What was the average amount of consecutive days such individuals were in solitary confinement?
  1. How many of these individuals have been released on bail?
  1. How many of these individuals have been released on their own recognizance or without being required to post bond?
  1. How many of these individuals were offered deferred resolution agreements?
  1. How many DOJ prosecutors have been assigned to work on cases involving defendants who allegedly committed crimes associated with the Capitol breach?
  1. How many FBI personnel were assigned to work on cases involving defendants who allegedly committed crimes associated with the Capitol breach?

Sincerely,

 

Ron Johnson

United States Senator

 

Tommy Tuberville

United States Senator

 

Mike Lee                                                            

United States Senator

 

Rick Scott

United States Senator

 

Ted Cruz

United States Senator

 

###

 


[1] Jennifer Kingson, Exclusive: $1 billion-plus riot damage is most expensive in insurance history, Axios, Sept. 16, 2020, https://www.axios.com/riots-cost-property-damage-276c9bcc-a455-4067-b06a-66f9db4cea9c.html.

[2] Conrad Wilson and Jonathan Levinson, Protesters, federal officers clash outside Portland’s courthouse Thursday, OPB, Mar. 12, 2021, https://www.opb.org/article/2021/03/12/protesters-vandalize-portlands-federal-courthouse-again/.

[3] Jennifer Kingson, Exclusive: $1 billion-plus riot damage is most expensive in insurance history, Axios, Sept. 16, 2020, https://www.axios.com/riots-cost-property-damage-276c9bcc-a455-4067-b06a-66f9db4cea9c.html.

[5] Id.

[6] Josh Gerstein, Leniency for defendants in Portland clashes could affect Capitol riot cases, Politico, Apr. 14, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/portland-capitol-riot-cases-481346.

[7] Madison Hall et al., 493 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection so far. This searchable table shows them all., Insider, accessed June 4, 2021, https://www.insider.com/all-the-us-capitol-pro-trump-riot-arrests-charges-names-2021-1.

[8] Capitol Breach Cases, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, accessed May 21, 2021, https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-breach-cases?combine=&order=title&sort=asc.

[9] Josh Gerstein, Leniency for defendants in Portland clashes could affect Capitol riot cases, Politico, Apr. 14, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/portland-capitol-riot-cases-481346.

—-

I want to recommend to you a video on YOU TUBE that runs 28 minutes and 39 seconds by Francis Schaeffer entitled because it discusses the founding of our nation and what the FOUNDERS believed: 

How Should We Then Live | Season 1 | Episode 5 | The Revolutionary Age

 

Thank you for your time, and again I want to thank you for your support of the unborn little babies!

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher, 13900 Cottontail Lane, AR 72002, cell 501-920-5733, everettehatcher@gmail.com, http://www.thedailyhatch.org

——————————————————————————————

——

Dr. Francis schaeffer How Should We Then Live | Season 1 | Episode 5 | The Revolutionary Age

 

– Whatever happened to human race? PART 1 Co-authored by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop)

C. Everett Koop
C. Everett Koop, 1980s.jpg
 
13th Surgeon General of the United States
In office
January 21, 1982 – October 1, 1989

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 2 | Slaughter of the Innocents

Francis Schaeffer – Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 3 | Death by Someone’s Choice

Mr. Hentoff with the clarinetist Edmond Hall in 1948 at the Savoy, a club in Boston.

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 4 | The Basis for Human Dignity 

Image<img class=”i-amphtml-blurry-placeholder” src=”data:;base64,Edith Schaeffer with her husband, Francis Schaeffer, in 1970 in Switzerland, where they founded L’Abri, a Christian commune.

________________

______________________

March 23, 2021

President Biden c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here. I know that you don’t agree with my pro-life views but I wanted to challenge you as a fellow Christian to re-examine your pro-choice view. Although we are both Christians and have the Bible as the basis for our moral views, I did want you to take a close look at the views of the pro-life atheist Nat Hentoff too.  Hentoff became convinced of the pro-life view because of secular evidence that shows that the unborn child is human. I would ask you to consider his evidence and then of course reverse your views on abortion.

___________________

The pro-life atheist Nat Hentoff wrote a fine article below I wanted to share with you.

Nat Hentoff is an atheist, but he became a pro-life activist because of the scientific evidence that shows that the unborn child is a distinct and separate human being and even has a separate DNA. His perspective is a very intriguing one that I thought you would be interested in. I have shared before many   cases (Bernard Nathanson, Donald Trump, Paul Greenberg, Kathy Ireland)    when other high profile pro-choice leaders have changed their views and this is just another case like those. I have contacted the White House over and over concerning this issue and have even received responses. I am hopeful that people will stop and look even in a secular way (if they are not believers) at this abortion debate and see that the unborn child is deserving of our protection.That is why the writings of Nat Hentoff of the Cato Institute are so crucial.

In the film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” the arguments are presented  against abortion (Episode 1),  infanticide (Episode 2),   euthanasia (Episode 3), and then there is a discussion of the Christian versus Humanist worldview concerning the issue of “the basis for human dignity” in Episode 4 and then in the last episode a close look at the truth claims of the Bible.

Francis Schaeffer

__________________________

I truly believe that many of the problems we have today in the USA are due to the advancement of humanism in the last few decades in our society. Ronald Reagan appointed the evangelical Dr. C. Everett Koop to the position of Surgeon General in his administration. He partnered with Dr. Francis Schaeffer in making the video below. It is very valuable information for Christians to have.  Actually I have included a video below that includes comments from him on this subject.

Francis Schaeffer Whatever Happened to the Human Race (Episode 1) ABORTION

_____________________________________

 

Dr. Francis schaeffer – from Part 5 of Whatever happened to human race?) Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 5 | Truth and History

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – A Christian Manifesto – Dr. Francis Schaeffer Lecture

Francis Schaeffer – A 700 Club Special! ~ Francis Schaeffer 1982

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – 1984 SOUNDWORD LABRI CONFERENCE VIDEO – Q&A With Francis & Edith Schaeffer

________________

Jewish World Review June 12, 2006/ 16 Sivan, 5766

 

Insisting on life

http://www.NewsandOpinion.com | A longtime friend of mine is married to a doctor who also performs abortions. At the dinner table one recent evening, their 9-year-old son — having heard a word whose meaning he didn’t know — asked, “What is an abortion?” His mother, choosing her words carefully, described the procedure in simple terms.

“But,” said her son, “that means killing the baby.” The mother then explained that there are certain months during which an abortion cannot be performed, with very few exceptions. The 9-year-old shook his head. “But,” he said, “it doesn’t matter what month. It still means killing the babies.”

Hearing the story, I wished it could be repeated to the justices of the Supreme Court, in the hope that at least five of them might act on this 9-year-old’s clarity of thought and vision.

The boy’s spontaneous insistence on the primacy of life also reminded me of a powerful pro-life speaker and writer who, many years ago, helped me become a pro-lifer. He was a preacher, a black preacher. He said: “There are those who argue that the right to privacy is of a higher order than the right to life.

“That,” he continued, “was the premise of slavery. You could not protest the existence or treatment of slaves on the plantation because that was private and therefore out of your right to be concerned.”

This passionate reverend used to warn: “Don’t let the pro-choicers convince you that a fetus isn’t a human being. That’s how the whites dehumanized us … The first step was to distort the image of us as human beings in order to justify what they wanted to do — and not even feel they’d done anything wrong.”

That preacher was Jesse Jackson. Later, he decided to run for the presidency — and it was a credible campaign that many found inspiring in its focus on what still had to be done on civil rights. But Jackson had by now become “pro-choice” — much to the appreciation of most of those in the liberal base.

The last time I saw Jackson was years later, on a train from Washington to New York. I told him of a man nominated, but not yet confirmed, to a seat on a federal circuit court of appeals. This candidate was a strong supporter of capital punishment — which both the Rev. Jackson and I oppose, since it involves the irreversible taking of a human life by the state.

I asked Jackson if he would hold a press conference in Washington, criticizing the nomination, and he said he would. The reverend was true to his word; the press conference took place; but that nominee was confirmed to the federal circuit court. However, I appreciated Jackson’s effort.

On that train, I also told Jackson that I’d been quoting — in articles, and in talks with various groups — from his compelling pro-life statements. I asked him if he’d had any second thoughts on his reversal of those views.

Usually quick to respond to any challenge that he is not consistent in his positions, Jackson paused, and seemed somewhat disquieted at my question. Then he said to me, “I’ll get back to you on that.” I still patiently await what he has to say.

As time goes on, my deepening concern with the consequences of abortion is that its validation by the Supreme Court, as a constitutional practice, helps support the convictions of those who, in other controversies — euthanasia, assisted suicide and the “futility doctrine” by certain hospital ethics committees — believe that there are lives not worth continuing.

Around the time of my conversation with Jackson on the train, I attended a conference on euthanasia at Clark College in Worcester, Mass. There, I met Derek Humphry, the founder of the Hemlock Society, and already known internationally as a key proponent of the “death with dignity” movement.

He told me that for some years in this country, he had considerable difficulty getting his views about assisted suicide and, as he sees it, compassionate euthanasia into the American press.

“But then,” Humphry told me, “a wonderful thing happened. It opened all the doors for me.”

“What was that wonderful thing?” I asked.

“Roe v. Wade,” he answered.

The devaluing of human life — as the 9-year-old at the dinner table put it more vividly — did not end with making abortion legal, and therefore, to some people, moral. The word “baby” does not appear in Roe v. Wade — let alone the word “killing.”

And so, the termination of “lives not worth living” goes on.

 

______________________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband. Now after presenting the secular approach of Nat Hentoff I wanted to make some comments concerning our shared Christian faith.  I  respect you for putting your faith in Christ for your eternal life. I am pleading to you on the basis of the Bible to please review your religious views concerning abortion. It was the Bible that caused the abolition movement of the 1800’s and it also was the basis for Martin Luther King’s movement for civil rights and it also is the basis for recognizing the unborn children.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733,

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SANCTITY OF LIFE SATURDAY “AngryOldWoman” blogger argues that she has no regrets about past abortion

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Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 10 “Final Choices” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 9 “The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 9 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode IX – The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence 27 min T h e Age of Personal Peace and Afflunce I. By the Early 1960s People Were Bombarded From Every Side by Modern Man’s Humanistic Thought II. Modern Form of Humanistic Thought Leads […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 8 “The Age of Fragmentation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 8 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode VIII – The Age of Fragmentation 27 min I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 7 “The Age of Non-Reason” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 7 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode VII – The Age of Non Reason I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 6 “The Scientific Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 5 “The Revolutionary Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 4 “The Reformation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode IV – The Reformation 27 min I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to […]

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By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Edit | Comments (0)

Supreme Court Justice Alito says he has a ‘pretty good idea’ on who leaked Dobbs draft decision

Abortion: When Does Life Begin? – R.C. Sproul

Supreme Court Justice Alito says he has a ‘pretty good idea’ on who leaked Dobbs draft decision

Alito said the leak was part of an effort to intimidate the court

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says he has a “pretty good idea” on who leaked a draft version of a ruling that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

Alito made the comments in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Friday, stating that while he knows who likely leaked the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization draft decision, it’s not enough for the court to name someone.

The draft decision, published by Politico on May 2, 2022, eventually overturned Roe v. Wade.

“I personally have a pretty good idea who is responsible, but that’s different from the level of proof that is needed to name somebody,” Alito said.

Alito said that the leak was an effort to intimidate justices on the court.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP Pool, File)

“It was a part of an effort to prevent the Dobbs draft…from becoming the decision of the court. And that’s how it was used for those six weeks by people on the outside—as part of the campaign to try to intimidate the court.” Alito said.

Alito added that the leak created division within the court, which has since been worked through.

The leak “created an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust. We worked through it, and last year we got our work done. This year, I think, we’re trying to get back to normal operations as much as we can. . . . But it was damaging,” Alito told the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking to attempts to intimidate who, at the time, were thought to be in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade when the draft opinion was released, Alito said that the leak placed targets on their backs.

“Those of us who were thought to be in the majority, thought to have approved my draft opinion, were really targets of assassination,” Alito said. “It was rational for people to believe that they might be able to stop the decision in Dobbs by killing one of us.”

An investigation into the leak led by the Marshal of the Court failed to yield a suspect who was responsible for the leak.

SUPREME COURT INVESTIGATION FAILS TO IDENTIFY LEAKER OF DOBBS DRAFT DECISION

The Supreme Court building

The Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington, on Nov. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

“The investigation has determined that it is unlikely that the Court’s information technology (IT) systems were improperly accessed by a person outside the Court,” the marshal’s report issued in January states. “After examining the Court’s computer devices, networks, printers, and available call and text logs, investigators have found no forensic evidence who disclosed the draft opinion.”

Alito said that the marshal “did a good job with the resources that were available to her,” and agreed that there wasn’t enough evidence to make an accusation publicly.

CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS DECLINES SENATE DEMOCRATS’ REQUEST TO TESTIFY ON SUPREME COURT ETHICS RULES

Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision announced

A celebration outside the Supreme Court, Friday, June 24, 2022, in Washington. The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years — a decision by its conservative majority to overturn the court’s landmark abortion cases. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Responding to some on the left who suggested that the leak may have come from the conservative side of the court, Alito said, “That’s infuriating to me.”

Look, this made us targets of assassination. Would I do that to myself? Would the five of us have done that to ourselves? It’s quite implausible,” he said. “I don’t feel physically unsafe, because we now have a lot of protection.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

US Supreme Court building on a sunny day

The Supreme Court is seen Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in Washington.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Alito said he is “driven around in basically a tank, and I’m not really supposed to go anyplace by myself without the tank and my members of the police force.”

Commenting on recent questioning the “legitimacy” of the court, Alito said, “This type of concerted attack on the court and on individual justices [is] new during my lifetime…We are being hammered daily, and I think quite unfairly in a lot of instances. And nobody, practically nobody, is defending us.

“The idea has always been that judges are not supposed to respond to criticisms, but if the courts are being unfairly attacked, the organized bar will come to their defense.”

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Dr. Francis schaeffer – The flow of Materialism(from Part 4 of Whatever happened to human race? Co-authored by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop)

C. Everett Koop
C. Everett Koop, 1980s.jpg
13th Surgeon General of the United States
In office
January 21, 1982 – October 1, 1989

Abortion: What About Those Who Demand Their Rights? – R.C. Sproul

Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 1 | Abortion of the Human Race (2010)

Standing Strong Under Fire: Popular Abortion Arguments and Why They Fail

Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 2 | Slaughter of the Innocents (2010)

Ben Shapiro Obliterates Every Pro-Abortion Argument

Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 3 | Death by Someone’s Choice (2010)

Adrian Rogers: Innocent Blood [#1004] (Audio)

Whatever Happened To The Human Race? | Episode 5 | Truth and History (20…

Abortion: What Is Your Verdict? – R.C. Sproul

John MacArthur Abortion and the Campaign for Immorality (Selected Scriptures)

Arizona Dem gov nominee Katie Hobbs appears to support abortion up to birth

Hobbs accused her Republican opponent Kari Lake of misconstruing her position on late-term abortion, saying the procedure is ‘extremely rare’

Democratic Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs, during a Sunday appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” appeared to suggest that she was in favor of no limits on abortion.

Host Major Garrett noted that her Republican opponent Kari Lake has labeled Hobbs as an “extremist” for her view on abortion. He asked Hobbs whether she supported the current 15-week ban in Arizona or would seek a higher limit as governor.

Hobbs, who currently serves as Arizona’s Secretary of State, said Lake had misconstrued her position and said late-term abortion is “extremely rare.”

FILE: Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs speaks at a roundtable event in Phoenix, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

FILE: Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs speaks at a roundtable event in Phoenix, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

“If it’s being talked about, it’s because something has gone incredibly wrong in the pregnancy. A doctor’s not going to perform an abortion late in pregnancy just because somebody decided they want one. That is ridiculous,” Hobbs said before suggesting that Arizonans would have “government-mandated forced births that risk women’s lives” under a Kari Lake administration.

Asked what her administration’s week limit for abortion access would be, Hobbs evaded answering directly saying that abortion “is a very personal decision that belongs between a woman and her doctor.”

“The government and politicians don’t belong in that decision,” Hobbs said. “We need to let doctors perform the care that they are trained and take an oath to perform.”

DEM GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE KATIE HOBBS FUMBLES QUESTION ON LATINO COMMUNITY IN HARD-TO-WATCH INTERVIEW

“So, if an Arizona voter were to conclude from your previous answer that you do not favor any specific week limit on abortion, would they be correct?” Garrett asked.

Hobbs repeated her initial answer: “I support leaving the decision between a woman and her doctor and leaving politicians entirely out of it.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hobbs’ campaign for comment.

Arizona gubernatorial candidates Katie Hobbs (D), left, and Kari Lake (R), right.

Arizona gubernatorial candidates Katie Hobbs (D), left, and Kari Lake (R), right. (Reuters)

Arizona doctors stopped performing abortions late last month after a judge in Tucson ruled that prosecutors can enforce a law dating to 1864 that bans abortion unless it’s necessary to save a woman’s life. Arizona also has a law passed this year that bans abortion after 15 weeks, creating speculation about what’s allowed.

Democrats have seized on the ruling, which revived the issue ahead of next month’s midterm elections. Democratic lawmakers sent a letter on Tuesday asking Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to call a special session of the Legislature to repeal the 1864 abortion ban.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Lake has spoken positively of Arizona’s total ban on abortion, which she called “a great law that’s already on the books.” She has called abortion “the ultimate sin,” said abortion pills should be illegal and that she would sign a bill banning abortion as soon as fetal cardiac activity can be detected, usually around six weeks gestational age and before many women know they’re pregnant.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

John MacArthur on Romans 13

Image<img class=”i-amphtml-blurry-placeholder” src=”data:;base64,Edith Schaeffer with her husband, Francis Schaeffer, in 1970 in Switzerland, where they founded L’Abri, a Christian commune.

________________

______________________

September 25, 2021

President Biden  c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here. I know that you don’t agree with my pro-life views but I wanted to challenge you as a fellow Christian to re-examine your pro-choice view.

In the past I have spent most of my time looking at this issue from the spiritual side. In the film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” the arguments are presented  against abortion (Episode 1),  infanticide (Episode 2),   euthanasia (Episode 3), and then there is a discussion of the Christian versus Humanist worldview concerning the issue of “the basis for human dignity” in Episode 4 and then in the last episode a close look at the truth claims of the Bible.

Francis Schaeffer

__________________________

I truly believe that many of the problems we have today in the USA are due to the advancement of humanism in the last few decades in our society. Ronald Reagan appointed the evangelical Dr. C. Everett Koop to the position of Surgeon General in his administration. He partnered with Dr. Francis Schaeffer in making the video WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE? which can be found on You Tube. It is very valuable information for Christians to have.

Today I want to respond to your letter to me on July 9, 2021. Here it is below:

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

July 9, 2021

Mr. Everette Hatcher III

Alexander, AR

Dear Mr. Hatcher,

Thank you for taking your time to share your thoughts on abortion. Hearing from passionate individuals like me inspires me every day, and I welcome the opportunity to respond to your letter

Our country faces many challenges, and the road we will travel together will be one of the most difficult in our history. Despite these tough times, I have never been more optimistic for the future of America. I believe we are better positioned than any country in the world to lead in the 21st century not just by the example of our power but by the power of our example.

As we move forward to address the complex issues of our time, I encourage you to remain an active participant in helping write the next great chapter of the American story. We need your courage and dedication at this critical time, and we must meet this moment together as the United States of America. If we do that, I believe that our best days still lie ahead.

Sincerely

Joe Biden

Mr. President, my wife was born in JEFFERSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and Adrian Rogers tells a story about another lady that was born in that same hospital: “They took that grocery sack and Maria home and one hour passed and two hours passed and that baby was still crying and panting for his life in that grocery sack. They took that little baby down to the hospital there in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and they called an obstetrician and he called a pediatrician and they called nurses and they began to work on that little baby. Today that baby is alive and well and healthy, that little mass of protoplasm. That little thing that wasn’t a human being is alive and well. I want to tell you they spent $150,000 to save the life of that baby. NOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THEY CAN SPEND $150,000 TO SAVE THE LIFE OF SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY WAS PAYING ANOTHER DOCTOR TO TAKE THE LIFE OF?”

_________________

Carl Sagan pictured below:

Image result for carl sagan

_________

_

Recently I have been revisiting my correspondence in 1995 with the famous astronomer Carl Sagan who I had the privilege to correspond with in 1994, 1995 and 1996. In 1996 I had a chance to respond to his December 5, 1995letter on January 10, 1996 and I never heard back from him again since his cancer returned and he passed away later in 1996. Below is what Carl Sagan wrote to me in his December 5, 1995 letter:

Thanks for your recent letter about evolution and abortion. The correlation is hardly one to one; there are evolutionists who are anti-abortion and anti-evolutionists who are pro-abortion.You argue that God exists because otherwise we could not understand the world in our consciousness. But if you think God is necessary to understand the world, then why do you not ask the next question of where God came from? And if you say “God was always here,” why not say that the universe was always here? On abortion, my views are contained in the enclosed article (Sagan, Carl and Ann Druyan {1990}, “The Question of Abortion,” Parade Magazine, April 22.)

I was introduced to when reading a book by Francis Schaeffer called HE IS THERE AND HE IS NOT SILENT written in 1968.

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Francis Schaeffer

I was blessed with the opportunity to correspond with Dr. Sagan, and in his December 5, 1995 letter Dr. Sagan went on to tell me that he was enclosing his article “The Question of Abortion: A Search for Answers”by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. I am going to respond to several points made in that article. Here is a portion of Sagan’s article (here is a link to the whole article):

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(both Adrian Rogers and Francis Schaeffer mentioned Carl Sagan in their books and that prompted me to write Sagan and expose him to their views.

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Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan pictured above

Related image

 “The Question of Abortion: A Search for Answers”

by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan

For the complete text, including illustrations, introductory quote, footnotes, and commentary on the reaction to the originally published article see Billions and Billions.

The issue had been decided years ago. The court had chosen the middle ground. You’d think the fight was over. Instead, there are mass rallies, bombings and intimidation, murders of workers at abortion clinics, arrests, intense lobbying, legislative drama, Congressional hearings, Supreme Court decisions, major political parties almost defining themselves on the issue, and clerics threatening politicians with perdition. Partisans fling accusations of hypocrisy and murder. The intent of the Constitution and the will of God are equally invoked. Doubtful arguments are trotted out as certitudes. The contending factions call on science to bolster their positions. Families are divided, husbands and wives agree not to discuss it, old friends are no longer speaking. Politicians check the latest polls to discover the dictates of their consciences. Amid all the shouting, it is hard for the adversaries to hear one another. Opinions are polarized. Minds are closed.

Is it wrong to abort a pregnancy? Always? Sometimes? Never? How do we decide? We wrote this article to understand better what the contending views are and to see if we ourselves could find a position that would satisfy us both. Is there no middle ground? We had to weigh the arguments of both sides for consistency and to pose test cases, some of which are purely hypothetical. If in some of these tests we seem to go too far, we ask the reader to be patient with us–we’re trying to stress the various positions to the breaking point to see their weaknesses and where they fail.

In contemplative moments, nearly everyone recognizes that the issue is not wholly one-sided. Many partisans of differing views, we find, feel some disquiet, some unease when confronting what’s behind the opposing arguments. (This is partly why such confrontations are avoided.) And the issue surely touches on deep questions: What are our responses to one another? Should we permit the state to intrude into the most intimate and personal aspects of our lives? Where are the boundaries of freedom? What does it mean to be human?

Of the many actual points of view, it is widely held–especially in the media, which rarely have the time or the inclination to make fine distinctions–that there are only two: “pro-choice” and “pro-life.” This is what the two principal warring camps like to call themselves, and that’s what we’ll call them here. In the simplest characterization, a pro-choicer would hold that the decision to abort a pregnancy is to be made only by the woman; the state has no right to interfere. And a pro-lifer would hold that, from the moment of conception, the embryo or fetus is alive; that this life imposes on us a moral obligation to preserve it; and that abortion is tantamount to murder. Both names–pro-choice and pro-life–were picked with an eye toward influencing those whose minds are not yet made up: Few people wish to be counted either as being against freedom of choice or as opposed to life. Indeed, freedom and life are two of our most cherished values, and here they seem to be in fundamental conflict.

Let’s consider these two absolutist positions in turn. A newborn baby is surely the same being it was just before birth. There ‘s good evidence that a late-term fetus responds to sound–including music, but especially its mother’s voice. It can suck its thumb or do a somersault. Occasionally, it generates adult brain-wave patterns. Some people claim to remember being born, or even the uterine environment. Perhaps there is thought in the womb. It’s hard to maintain that a transformation to full personhood happens abruptly at the moment of birth. Why, then, should it be murder to kill an infant the day after it was born but not the day before?

As a practical matter, this isn’t very important: Less than 1 percent of all tabulated abortions in the United States are listed in the last three months of pregnancy (and, on closer investigation, most such reports turn out to be due to miscarriage or miscalculation). But third-trimester abortions provide a test of the limits of the pro-choice point of view. Does a woman’s “innate right to control her own body” encompass the right to kill a near-term fetus who is, for all intents and purposes, identical to a newborn child?

——-

End of Sagan Excerpt

When I was in high school the book and film series named WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE? came out and it featured Doctor C. Everett Koop and Francis Schaeffer and they looked at the issues of abortion, infanticide, and youth euthanasia and they looked at comments from such scholars as Peter Singer and James D. Watson.

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C. Everett Koop pictured above and Peter Singer below

Peter Singer, an endowed chair at Princeton’s Center for Human Values, said, “Killing a disabled infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person. Very often it is not wrong at all.”

James D.Watson

In May 1973, James D. Watson, the Nobel Prize laureate who discovered the double helix of DNA, granted an interview to Prism magazine, then a publication of the American Medical Association. Time later reported the interview to the general public, quoting Watson as having said, “If a child were not declared alive until three days after birth, then all parents could be allowed the choice only a few are given under the present system. The doctor could allow the child to die if the parents so choose and save a lot of misery and suffering. I believe this view is the only rational, compassionate attitude to have.”

Carl Sagan

On August 30, 1995 I mailed a letter to Carl Sagan that probably prompted this discussion on abortion and it enclosed a lengthy story from Adrian Rogers about an abortion case in Pine Bluff, Arkansas that almost became an infanticide case:

An excerpt from the Sunday morning message (11-6-83) by Adrian Rogers in Memphis, TN.

I want to tell you that secular humanism and so-called abortion rights are inseparably linked together. We have been taught that our bodies and our children are the products of the evolutionary process, and so therefore human life may not be all that valuable to begin with. We have come today to where it is legal and even considered to be a good thing to put little babies to death…15 million little babies put to death since 1973 because of this philosophy of Secular Humanism.

How did the court make that type of decision? You would think it would be so obvious. You can’t do that! You can’t kill little babies! Why? Because the Bible says! Friend, they don’t give a hoot what the Bible says! There used to be a time when they talked about what the Bible says because there was a time that we as a nation had a constitution that was based in the Judeo-Christian ethic, but today if we say “The Bible says” or “God says “Separation of Church and State. Don’t tell us what the Bible says or what God says. We will tell you what we think!” Therefore, they look at the situation and they decide if it is right or wrong purely on the humanistic philosophy that right and wrong are relative and the situation says what is right or what is wrong.

This little girl just 19 years old went into the doctor’s office and he examined her. He said, “We can take take of you.” He gave her an injection in her arm that was to cause her to go into labor and to get rid of that protoplasm, that feud, that little mass that was in her, but she wasn’t prepared for the sound she was about to hear. It was a little baby crying. That little baby weighed 13 ounces. His hand the size of my thumbnail. You know what the doctor did. The doctor put that little baby in a grocery sack and gave it to Maria’s two friends who were with her in that doctor office and Said, “It will stop making those noises after a while.”

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(Adrian Rogers pictured above)

Image result for pine bluff arkansas 1983
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
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My wife was born in main hospital in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

They took that grocery sack and Maria home and one hour passed and two hours passed and that baby was still crying and panting for his life in that grocery sack. They took that little baby down to the hospital there in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and they called an obstetrician and he called a pediatrician and they called nurses and they began to work on that little baby. Today that baby is alive and well and healthy, that little mass of protoplasm. That little thing that wasn’t a human being is alive and well. I want to tell you they spent $150,000 to save the life of that baby. NOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THEY CAN SPEND $150,000 TO SAVE THE LIFE OF SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY WAS PAYING ANOTHER DOCTOR TO TAKE THE LIFE OF? The same life!!! Are you going to tell me that is not a baby? Are you going to tell me that if that baby had been put to death it would not have been murder? You will never convince me of that. What has happened to us in America? We have been sold a bill of goods by the Secular Humanists!

Image result for carl sagan humanist of the year 1982
Carl Sagan was elected the HUMANIST OF THE YEAR in 1982 by the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION

Carl Sagan asked, “Does a woman’s “innate right to control her own body” encompass the right to kill a near-term fetus who is, for all intents and purposes, identical to a newborn child?”

This message “A Christian Manifesto” was given in 1982 by the late Christian Philosopher Francis Schaeffer when he was age 70 at D. James Kennedy’s Corral Ridge Presbyterian Church.
Listen to this important message where Dr. Schaeffer says it is the duty of Christians to disobey the government when it comes in conflict with God’s laws. So many have misinterpreted Romans 13 to mean unconditional obedience to the state. When the state promotes an evil agenda and anti-Christian statues we must obey God rather than men. Acts
I use to watch James Kennedy preach from his TV pulpit with great delight in the 1980’s. Both of these men are gone to be with the Lord now. We need new Christian leaders to rise up in their stead.
To view Part 2 See Francis Schaeffer Lecture- Christian Manifesto Pt 2 of 2 video
The religious and political freedom’s we enjoy as Americans was based on the Bible and the legacy of the Reformation according to Francis Schaeffer. These freedoms will continue to diminish as we cast off the authority of Holy Scripture.
In public schools there is no other view of reality but that final reality is shaped by chance.
Likewise, public television gives us many things that we like culturally but so much of it is mere propaganda shaped by a humanistic world and life view.

_____________________________

I was able to watch Francis Schaeffer deliver a speech on a book he wrote called “A Christian Manifesto” and I heard him in several interviews on it in 1981 and 1982. I listened with great interest since I also read that book over and over again. Below is a portion of one of Schaeffer’s talks  on a crucial subject that is very important today too.

A great talk by Francis Schaeffer:A Christian Manifesto
by Dr. Francis A. SchaefferThis address was delivered by the late Dr. Schaeffer in 1982 at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is based on one of his books, which bears the same title._________

Infanticide and youth enthansia ———So what we find then, is that the medical profession has largely changed — not all doctors. I’m sure there are doctors here in the audience who feel very, very differently, who feel indeed that human life is important and you wouldn’t take it, easily, wantonly. But, in general, we must say (and all you have to do is look at the TV programs), all you have to do is hear about the increased talk about allowing the Mongoloid child — the child with Down’s Syndrome — to starve to death if it’s born this way. Increasingly, we find on every side the medical profession has changed its views.

Image result for Mongoloid child -- the child with Down's Syndrome  FRANCIS SCHAEFFER

The view now is, “Is this life worth saving?”I look at you… You’re an older congregation than I am usually used to speaking to. You’d better think, because — this — means — you! It does not stop with abortion and infanticide. It stops at the question, “What about the old person? Is he worth hanging on to?” Should we, as they are doing in England in this awful organization, EXIT, teach older people to commit suicide? Should we help them get rid of them because they are an economic burden, a nuisance? I want to tell you, once you begin chipping away the medical profession…

The intrinsic value of the human life is founded upon the Judeo-Christian concept that man is unique because he is made in the image of God, and not because he is well, strong, a consumer, a sex object or any other thing. That is where whatever compassion this country has is, and certainly it is far from perfect and has never been perfect. Nor out of the Reformation has there been a Golden Age, but whatever compassion there has ever been, it is rooted in the fact that our culture knows that man is unique, is made in the image of God. Take it away, and I just say gently, the stopper is out of the bathtub for all human life.

Image result for Mongoloid child -- the child with Down's Syndrome  FRANCIS SCHAEFFER

______________________________________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband. Now I wanted to make some comments concerning our shared Christian faith.  I  respect you for putting your faith in Christ for your eternal life. I am pleading to you on the basis of the Bible to please review your religious views concerning abortion. It was the Bible that caused the abolition movement of the 1800’s and it also was the basis for Martin Luther King’s movement for civil rights and it also is the basis for recognizing the unborn children.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733,

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Climate Change Extremists Detained After Attack on Degas Statue at National Gallery of Art

DC Art

Declare Emergency demonstrators defaced the protective glass around Edgar Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” (circa 1880) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Photo: Declare Emergency/ Twitter)

The FBI is investigating the climate change alarmists with the group Declare Emergency who defaced the protective box around Edgar Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” statue at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation, which is still active,” said Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art.

Museum security guards detained the two Declare Emergency protesters.

The extremists covered their hands in red and black tempura paint to mimic oil and blood, painted the box, and sat down in front of the statue, which dates to circa 1880. Joanna Smith, one of the demonstrators, gave a speech in the gallery explaining her “peaceful yet unsettling civil disobedience,” before police detained the two.

Declare Emergency planned the “Art Action” demonstration in October and waited to carry it out until its April Week of Action, Declare Emergency spokesman Donald Zepeda told The Daily Signal

The vandalism was part of Declare Emergency’s April Week of Action from Earth Day on April 22 to April 27. Demonstrations included marches, distribution of flyers, and roadblocks.

“We unequivocally denounce this physical attack on one of our works of art and will continue to share information as it becomes available,” Feldman said.

Zepeda said the demonstrations are a “conveyance of the desperation we feel” about the climate and fossil fuels.

“The piece ‘Little Dancer’ is a much-beloved figure,” Zepeda said. “It is one that is protected in this glass and secure environment. We understand that we need to protect our culture and our heritage, and that’s great, but at the same time, we are also leaving the rest of us in this unprotected territory, because we let the climate emergency get as far as it has.”

The gallery of the museum that houses the “Little Dancer” is now closed temporarily.

“The work was displayed in a plexiglass case and has been taken off view so that our expert conservation team can assess potential damage to it,” Feldman said. “Gallery 3, where ‘Little Dancer’ was on display, and several connecting galleries on the ground floor of the West Building are closed until further notice.”

Declare Emergency wants President Joe Biden to officially declare a “climate emergency.”

Smith called on Biden to “marshal all necessary resources towards a just transition via an Executive Declaration of Climate Emergency” after defacing the statue’s protective box.

“Today, in nonviolent rebellion, we have temporarily sullied a piece of art to evoke the real children whose suffering is guaranteed if the death-cult fossil fuel companies keep removing new coal, oil, and gas from the ground,” Smith said. “As a parent, I cannot abide this future.”

Fossil fuel emissions are getting worse, Zepeda claimed, so Americans must act.

“We need to make big changes soon, because every 10th of a degree matters,” he said. “We need the president to declare a climate emergency and help convey to the public how bad it is, and we need to be the ones to help convey that as well.”

Zepeda said climate activists should live like we only have two to three more years of life on earth as we know it.

“By acting as if it’s an emergency, it means more than signing a petition or just going to a march or a rally,” he said, calling for actions that engage the public, the government, and the media, reminiscent of the civil rights movement.

Since Declare Emergency launched in 2021, demonstrators have been arrested about 60 times, Zepeda said.

“It shows that we’re willing to sacrifice, that it’s so bad that we are willing to deal with legal outcomes and the legal system,” he said. “It conveys like it’s so bad that we’re willing to take these risks.”

Zepeda has spent more than three months in jail as punishment for disturbances created by his climate activism. Another Declare Emergency member spent 20 days in jail for blocking a highway.

“We can’t just be normal about this. We can’t just be OK with it,” he said about the supposed climate emergency. “And that’s a really powerful and effective way to send that message.”

Zepeda said he did not enjoy his time in jail.

“It’s been similar to just how, probably how, a lot of people feel that they’re in jail,” he said. “Regardless of their reason for being in jail, it’s not fun. I don’t like it. I’m really glad I’m out. I appreciate being out, but I love and respect anyone willing to risk as much as I did or more.”

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The climate-change hustle

John Stossel: Through 50 years of reporting on scares, only COVID proved true

I hear that climate change will destroy much of the world.

“There will be irreversible damage to the planet!” warns a CNN anchor.

Joe Biden says he’ll spend $500 billion a year to fight what his website calls an “existential threat to life.”

Really?

I’m a consumer reporter. Over the years, alarmed scientists have passionately warned me about many things they thought were about to kill Americans.

Asbestos in hair dryers, coffee, computer terminals, electric power lines, microwave ovens, cellphones (brain tumors!), electric blankets, herbicides, plastic residue, etc., are causing “America’s cancer epidemic”!

If those things don’t get us, “West Nile Virus will!” Or SARS, Bird Flu, Ebola, flesh-eating bacteria or “killer bees.”

Experts told me millions would die on Jan. 1, 2000, because computers couldn’t handle the switch from 1999. Machines would fail; planes would crash.

The scientists were well-informed specialists in their fields. They were sincerely alarmed. The more knowledge you have about a threat, the more alarmed you get.

Yet, mass death didn’t happen. COVID-19 has been the only time in my 50 years of reporting that a scare proved true.

Maybe you accepted the phrase I used above: “America’s cancer epidemic.” But there is no cancer epidemic. Cancer rates are down. We simply live long enough to get diseases like cancer. But people think there’s a cancer epidemic.

The opposite is true. As we’ve been exposed to more plastics, pesticides, mysterious chemicals, food additives and new technologies, we live longer than ever!

That’s why I’m skeptical when I’m told: Climate change is a crisis!

Climate change is real. It’s a problem, but I doubt that it’s “an existential threat.”

Saying that makes alarmists mad.

When Marc Morano says it, activists try to prevent him from speaking.

“They do not want dissent,” says Morano, founder of ClimateDepot.com, a website that rebuts much of what climate activists teach in schools.

“It’s an indoctrination that’s so complete that by the time (kids) get to high school, they’re not even aware that there’s any scientific dissent.”

Morano’s new movie, “Climate Hustle 2,” presents that dissent. My new video this week features his movie.

Morano argues that politicians use fear of global warming to gain power.

“Climate Hustle 2” features Sen. Chuck Schumer shouting: “If we would do more on climate change, we’d have fewer of these hurricanes and other types of storms! Everyone knows that!”

But everyone doesn’t know that. Many scientists refute it. Congress’ own hearings include testimony about how our warmer climate has not caused increases in the number of hurricanes or tornadoes. “Climate Hustle 2” includes many examples like that.

“Why should we believe you?” I ask Morano. “You’re getting money from the fossil fuel industry.” After all, Daily Kos calls him “Evil Personified” and says ExxonMobil funds him.

“Not at all,” he replies. “I’m paid by about 90% individual contributions from around the country. Why would ExxonMobil give me money (when) they want to appear green?”

Morano’s movie frustrates climate activists by pointing out how hypocritical some are.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio says he lives a “green lifestyle … (using) energy-efficient appliances. I drive a hybrid car.”

Then he flies to Europe to attend a party.

I like watching Morano point out celebrities’ hypocrisy, but think one claim in his movie goes too far.

“Stopping climate change is not about saving the planet,” says narrator Kevin Sorbo. “It’s about climate elites trying to convince us to accept a future where they call all the shots.”

I push back at Morano: “I think they are genuinely concerned, and they want to save us.”

“Their vision of saving us is putting them in charge,” he replies.

And if they’re in charge, he says, they will destroy capitalism.

—-
State of the Union 2013

Published on Feb 13, 2013

Cato Institute scholars Michael Tanner, Alex Nowrasteh, Julian Sanchez, Simon Lester, John Samples, Pat Michaels, Jagadeesh Gokhale, Michael F. Cannon, Jim Harper, Malou Innocent, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Ilya Shapiro, Trevor Burrus and Neal McCluskey respond to President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address.

Video produced by Caleb O. Brown, Austin Bragg and Lester Romero.

_______________

In the past I have written the White House on several issues such as abortion, medicare, welfare,  Greece, healthcare, and what the founding fathers had to say about welfare programs,   and have got several responses from the White House concerning issues such as Obamacare, Social Security, welfare,  and excessive government spending.

Today I am taking a look at the response of the scholars of the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute scholars to the 2013 State of the Union Address.

Amy Payne

February 13, 2013 at 8:22 am

State of the…Climate?

Swept into office four years ago based, in part, on promises to slow sea-level rise, President Obama initiated a radical climate agenda. It seems we are seeing a rerun in 2013. It is worth asking what is different four years after his first State of the Union Address?

There have been four more years of no global warming. In 2010, there had been no significant world temperature increase for over a decade. The streak is now 16 years long. We have four years of costly lessons on the waste and inefficiency of green-energy subsidies.

The scientific basis for catastrophic climate change gets weaker and weaker. The economic argument for green subsidies has already collapsed. It is time for the administration to quit using both arguments to justify a regulatory and fiscal power grab.

David W. Kreutzer, PhD, research fellow in energy economics and climate change, Center for Data Analysis

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HERITAGE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW:Senator Blunt Vows to Keep Pressure on President Obama Over Contraceptive Mandate

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Cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog that demonstrate what Obama is doing to our economy Part 2

Max Brantley is wrong about Tom Cotton’s accusation concerning the rise of welfare spending under President Obama. Actually welfare spending has been increasing for the last 12 years and Obama did nothing during his first four years to slow down the rate of increase of welfare spending. Rachel Sheffield of the Heritage Foundation has noted: […]

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Sen. Mitch McConnell: Americans Don’t Approve of Anything Obama Has Done Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Dec 8, 2011 In an exclusive interview at The Heritage Foundation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sharply criticized President Obama for engaging in class warfare and accused him of shifting the focus away from his own failed policies in […]

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Obamanomics: A Legacy of Wasteful Spending Published on Aug 12, 2012 by CFPEcon101 This mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation highlights egregious examples of wasteful spending from the so-called stimulus legislation and explains why government spending hurts economic performance. **Links to additional reading material** Thomas Sowell, “Stimulus or Sedative?” http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/09/stimulus_or_sedative_104&#8230; Veronique de […]

Open letter to President Obama (Part 222)

  President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here. Is […]

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  President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here. The […]

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Thomas Sowell (This letter was mailed before September 1, 2012) President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a […]

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I have been writing letters to President Obama almost all of 2012. I have received several responses from the White House but none of the responses have been personal responses from the President. Below is a letter I wrote to the President and a form letter response that I got followed by links to other […]

Dan Mitchell: “The bottom line is that budget deficits don’t necessarily lead to inflation. But if a government is untrustworthy, then it will have trouble issuing debt to private investors”

——

Milton Friedman – Deficits and Government Spending

——

The Federal Reserve and “Fiscal Dominance”

Appearing on Vance Ginn’s Let People Prosper, I discussed spending caps, entitlement reform, past fiscal victories, and potential future defeats.

For today, I want to highlight what I said about monetary policy.

The above segment is less than three minutes, and I tried to make two points.

First, as I’ve previously explained, the Federal Reserve goofed by dramatically expanding its balance sheet (i.e., buying Treasury bonds and thus creating new money) in 2020 and 2021. That’s what produced the big uptick in consumer prices last year.

And it’s now why the Fed is raising interest rates. Part of the boom-bust cycle that you get with bad monetary policy.

Second, I speculate on why we got bad monetary policy.

I’ve always assumed that the Fed goofs because it wants to stimulate the economy (based on Keynesian monetary theory).

But I’m increasingly open to the idea that the Fed may be engaging in bad monetary policy in order to prop up bad fiscal policy.

To be more specific, what if the central bank is buying government bonds because of concerns that there otherwise won’t be enough buyers (which is the main reason why there’s bad monetary policy in places such as Argentina and Venezuela).

In the academic literature, this is part of the discussion about “fiscal dominance.” As shown in this visual, fiscal dominance exists when central banks decide (or are forced) to create money to finance government spending.

The visual is from a report by Eric Leeper for the Mercatus Center. Here’s some of what he wrote.

…a critical implication of fiscal dominance: it is a threat to central bank success. In each example, the central bank was free to choose not to react to the fiscal disturbance—central banks are operationally independent of fiscal policy. But that choice comes at the cost of not pursuing a central bank legislated mandate: financial stability or inflation control. Central banks are not economically independent of fiscal policy, a fact that makes fiscal dominance a recurring threat to the mission of central banks and to macroeconomic outcomes. …why does fiscal dominance strike fear in the hearts of economists and financial markets? Perhaps it does so because we can all point to extreme examples where fiscal policy runs the show and monetary policy is subjugated to fiscal needs. Outcomes are not pleasant. Germany’s hyperinflation in the early 1920s may leap to mind first. …The point of creating independent central banks tasked with controlling inflation…was to take money creation out of the hands of elected officials who may be tempted to use it for political gain instead of social wellbeing.

A working paper from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, authored by Fernando Martin, also discusses fiscal dominance.

In recent decades, central banks around the world have gained independence from fiscal and political institutions. The proposition is that a disciplined monetary policy can put an effective brake on the excesses of political expediency.This is frequently achieved by endowing central banks with clear and simple goals (e.g., an inflation mandate or target), as well as sufficient control over specific policy instruments… Despite these institutional advances, the resolve of central banks is chronically put to the test. … the possibility of fiscal dominance arises only when the fiscal authority sets the debt level.

The bottom line is that budget deficits don’t necessarily lead to inflation. But if a government is untrustworthy, then it will have trouble issuing debt to private investors.

And that’s when politicians will have incentives to use the central bank as a printing press.

P.S. Pay attention to Italy. The European Central Bank has been subsidizing its debt. That bad policy supposedly is coming to an end and things could get interesting.

——-

A.F. Branco for Oct 21, 2021

US Debt by President: By Dollar and Percentage

Who increased the U.S. debt the most? That depends on how you measure it.

US President Barack Obama (L) former President Bill Clinton (C) and former President George W. Bush (R) walk to the Rose Garden
PHOTO:MARK WILSON/STAFF/GETTY IMAGES

What’s the best way to determine how much each president has contributed to our nation’s $31 trillion in U.S. debt? The most popular ways to measure involve comparing the debt level from when a president enters office to the debt level when they leave. It’s also good to compare the debt as a percentage of economic output, which takes into account the size of the economy at the time the administration accumulated the debt.1

Drawback of Measuring Debt by President

Neither of the techniques mentioned above is a very accurate way to measure each president’s impact on the national debtbecause the president doesn’t have much control over the national debt during their first year in office.

For example, President Donald Trump took office in January 2017. He submitted his first budget in May. It covered the 2018 fiscal year, which didn’t begin until October 1, 2017. Trump operated the first part of his term under President Barack Obama’s budget for fiscal year 2017, which ended on Sept. 30, 2017.2

fusing, Congress intentionally sets it up this way. An advantage of the federal fiscal year is that it gives the new president time to put together their budget during their first months in office.

The Best Way to Measure Debt by President

The best way to measure a president’s debt is to add up their budget deficits and compare that total to the debt level when they took office. A president’s budget reveals their administration’s priorities.

Note

Though they sound similar, deficit and debt are two different things. A deficit is a budget shortfall, whereas debt is the running total of all deficits and surpluses. Deficits add to the debt, while surpluses reduce it.

Top 5 Presidents Who Contributed to the Debt by Percentage

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

President Roosevelt added the largest percentage increase to the national debt. Although he only added $236 billion, this was an increase of about 1,048% from the $22.5 billion debt level left by President Herbert Hoover before him. The Great Depression and the New Deal contributed to FDR’s yearly deficits, but the biggest cost was World War II—it added $186.3 billion to the debt between 1942 and 1945.3

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

President Wilson was the second-largest contributor to the debt, percentage-wise. He added about $21 billion, which was a 723% increase over the $2.9 billion debt of his predecessor. World War I contributed to the deficits that raised the national debt.3

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

President Reagan increased the debt by $1.86 trillion, or by 186%. Reagan’s supply-side economics didn’t grow the economy enough to offset the lost revenue from its tax cuts. Reagan also increased the defense budget by 35%.4

George W. Bush (2001-2009)

President Bush added $5.85 trillion to the national debt. That’s a 101% increase, putting him in fourth. Bush launched the War on Terror in response to the 9/11 attacks, which led to multi-trillion-dollar spending on the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq. Bush also dealt with the 2001 recession and the 2008 financial crisis.5

Barack Obama (2009-2017)

Under President Obama, the national debt grew the most in dollar terms ($8.6 trillion) and was fifth by percentage at 74%. Obama fought the Great Recession with an $831 billion economic stimulus package and added $858 billion through tax cuts. Even though the fiscal year 2009 budget was set by President Bush, Obama added to it with the Economic Stimulus Act in 2009.657

US Debt Increase by President Per Fiscal Year

The U.S. Treasury Department has historical tables that report the annual U.S. debt for each fiscal year (FY) since 1790. We’ve compiled this data from that source to create the figures used below.81

Joe Biden

In January 2023, the nation hit the $31.4 trillion debt limit Congress passed in 2021.9Republican lawmakers control the House of Representatives and said they won’t raise the debt limit unless Democrats, who control the Senate, agree to budget cuts.

On Oct. 1, 2021, at the end of fiscal year 2021, the national debt was $28.4 trillion. Between the end of fiscal year 2020 and the end of fiscal year 2021, the national debt grew $1.5 trillion, a 5.6% increase year over year. For fiscal year 2022, President Joe Biden’s budget included a deficit of $1.84 trillion, and by August 2022, the national debt had grown to $30.8 trillion.110

When Biden took office, the economy and household finances were still reeling from the pandemic, and Biden continued his predecessor’s policy of spending heavily to keep households afloat. In March 2021, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, which showered taxpayers with pandemic relief cash in the form of stimulus checks and extra unemployment payments, and temporarily expanded child tax credits, plus other help. It all came with a cost to future budgets: The bill would add $1.9 trillion to the national debt by 2031, the Congressional Budget Office estimated.11

The bipartisan infrastructure bill, signed by Biden in November 2021, which provided new funding for highways, railways, broadband Internet expansion and other projects, added to the debt too, with estimates on its 10-year impact ranging from $374 billion to $400 billion, depending on how it’s calculated.1213

Some of Biden’s actions cut the other way. In August 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, an anti-climate change bill that spent money on new green energy programs and tax credits as well as to make drugs cheaper for patients, and paid for it by raising taxes on corporations and the ultra-wealthy. The bill should reduce the national debt by $102 billion by 2031, the CBO estimated.14

Biden followed up this bill with an executive action that forgave up to $10,000 of federal student loan debt per borrower, and $20,000 for those who received Pell Grants. He also proposed a new, cheaper income-driven student loan repayment program for future borrowers. However, he also announced that student loan interest and required payments, both of which had been frozen since the pandemic hit, would resume in January 2023.15

In August 2022, the government did not have an official estimate for how these measures would impact the national debt. One piece of it—forgiving $10,000 of debt per student loan borrower—would cost $329.7 billion over 10 years, according to an estimate by the Wharton School of Business.16

Donald Trump

At the end of fiscal year 2020, the debt was $26.9 trillion. Trump added $6.7 trillion to the debt between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2020, a 33.1% increase, largely due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and 2020 recession.

In his FY 2021 budget, Trump’s budget included a $966 billion deficit.17 However, the national debt actually grew by $1.5 trillion between October 1, 2020, and October 1, 2021.

  • FY 2021: $1.5 trillion
  • FY 2020: $4.2 trillion
  • FY 2019: $1.2 trillion
  • FY 2018: $1.3 trillion

Barack Obama

President Obama added about $8.6 trillion, about a 74% increase, to the national debt at the end of President Bush’s last budget in 2009.

  • FY 2017: $671 billion
  • FY 2016: $1.42 trillion
  • FY 2015: $326 billion
  • FY 2014: $1.09 trillion
  • FY 2013: $672 billion
  • FY 2012: $1.28 trillion
  • FY 2011: $1.23 trillion
  • FY 2010: $1.65 trillion
  • FY 2009: $253 billion (Congress passed the Economic Stimulus Act, which spent $253 billion)18

George W. Bush

President Bush added $5.85 trillion to the national debt, a 101% increase from the $5.8 trillion debt at the end of Clinton’s last budget for fiscal year 2001.

  • FY 2009: $1.63 trillion (this was Bush’s deficit without the impact of the Economic Stimulus Act)
  • FY 2008: $1.02 trillion
  • FY 2007: $501 billion
  • FY 2006: $574 billion
  • FY 2005: $553 billion
  • FY 2004: $596 billion
  • FY 2003: $555 billion
  • FY 2002: $421 billion

Bill Clinton

President Clinton increased the national debt by almost $1.4 trillion, almost a 32% increase from the $4.4 trillion debt at the end of President H.W. Bush’s last budget.54

  • FY 2001: $133 billion
  • FY 2000: $18 billion
  • FY 1999: $130 billion
  • FY 1998: $113 billion
  • FY 1997: $189 billion
  • FY 1996: $251 billion
  • FY 1995: $281 billion
  • FY 1994: $281 billion

George H.W. Bush

President H.W. Bush added $1.55 trillion to the debt, a 54% increase from the $2.857 trillion debt at the end of Reagan’s last budget.4

  • FY 1993: $347 billion
  • FY 1992: $399 billion
  • FY 1991: $432 billion
  • FY 1990: $376 billion

Ronald Reagan

President Regan added $1.86 trillion to the national debt, a 186% increase from the $997.8 billion debt at the end of Carter’s last budget.4

  • FY 1989: $255 billion
  • FY 1988: $252 billion
  • FY 1987: $225 billion
  • FY 1986: $302 billion
  • FY 1985: $251 billion
  • FY 1984: $195 billion
  • FY 1983: $235 billion
  • FY 1982: $145 billion

Jimmy Carter

President Carter added $299 billion to the debt, a 42.7% increase from the $698.8 billion debt at the end of Ford’s last budget.4

  • FY 1981: $90.1 billion
  • FY 1980: $81.1 billion
  • FY 1979: $54.9 billion
  • FY 1978: $72.7 billion

Gerald Ford

President Ford added $223.7 billion to the debt.4

  • FY 1977: $78.4 billion
  • FY 1976: $87.2 billion
  • FY 1975: $58.1 billion

Richard Nixon

President Nixon added $121.1 billion to the national debt, a 34% increase from the $353.7 billion debt at the end of President Johnson’s last budget.4

  • FY 1974: $16.9 billion
  • FY 1973: $30.8 billion
  • FY 1972: $29.1 billion
  • FY 1971: $27.2 billion
  • FY 1970: $17.1 billion

Lyndon B. Johnson

President Johnson added $41.8 billion to the national debt, just a small 13% increase from the $312 billion debt at the end of President Kennedy’s time in office in 1964.4

  • FY 1969: $6.1 billion
  • FY 1968: $21.3 billion
  • FY 1967: $6.3 billion
  • FY 1966: $2.6 billion
  • FY 1965: $5.5 billion

John F. Kennedy

President Kennedy added $22.6 billion to the national debt.4

  • FY 1964: $5.8 billion
  • FY 1963: $7.6 billion
  • FY 1962: $9.2 billion

Dwight Eisenhower

President Eisenhower added $22.8 billion to the national debt.4

  • FY 1961: $2.6 billion
  • FY 1960: $1.6 billion
  • FY 1959: $8.3 billion
  • FY 1958: $5.8 billion
  • FY 1957: $2.2 billion surplus
  • FY 1956: $1.6 billion surplus
  • FY 1955: $3.1 billion
  • FY 1954: $5.1 billion

Harry Truman

President Truman added $7.3 billion to the national debt.43

  • FY 1953: $6.9 billion
  • FY 1952: $3.8 billion
  • FY 1951: $2.1 billion surplus
  • FY 1950: $4.5 billion
  • FY 1949: $478 million surplus
  • FY 1948: $6 billion surplus
  • FY 1947: $11 billion surplus
  • FY 1946: $10.7 billion

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President Roosevelt increased the national debt by $236 billion, a 1,048% increase from the $22.5 billion debt at the end of Hoover’s last budget.3

  • FY 1945: $57.7 billion
  • FY 1944: $64.3 billion
  • FY 1943: $64.2 billion
  • FY 1942: $23.5 billion
  • FY 1941: $6 billion
  • FY 1940: $2.5 billion
  • FY 1939: $3.2 billion
  • FY 1938: $740 million
  • FY 1937: $2.6 billion
  • FY 1936: $5 billion
  • FY 1935: $1.6 billion
  • FY 1934: $4.5 billion

Herbert Hoover

President Hoover added about $5.7 billion to the national debt.3

  • FY 1933: $3 billion
  • FY 1932: $2.8 billion
  • FY 1931: $616 million
  • FY 1930: $746 million surplus

Calvin Coolidge

President Coolidge reduced the national debt by about $5.3 billion.3

  • FY 1929: $673 million surplus
  • FY 1928: $907 million surplus
  • FY 1927: $1.1 billion surplus
  • FY 1926: $873 million surplus
  • FY 1925: $734.6 million surplus
  • FY 1924: $1 billion surplus

Warren G. Harding

President Harding reduced the national debt by about $1.6 billion thanks to budget surpluses.3

  • FY 1923: $614 million surplus
  • FY 1922: $1 billion surplus

Woodrow Wilson

President Wilson added about $21 billion to the national debt, a 723% increase from the $2.9 billion debt at the end of Taft’s last budget for fiscal year 1913.3

  • FY 1921: $1.9 billion surplus
  • FY 1920: $1.4 billion surplus
  • FY 1919: $12.8 billion
  • FY 1918: $9.8 billion
  • FY 1917: $2.1 billion
  • FY 1916: $551 million
  • FY 1915: $146 million
  • FY 1914: $0 (slight surplus)

Note

All presidents from 1790 to 1913 added a total of $2.8 billion to the national debt.8

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which president has put the United States the most in debt?

President Joe Biden is on track to add the most to the budget deficit, largely due to the costs associated with continuing to battle the coronavirus pandemic. In late 2021, Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling.

Why does the United States owe so much debt?

Continued decreases in the amount of taxes paid by corporations and the wealthiest Americans have resulted in less money coming in. At the same time, spending on pandemic relief and the military continues to increase.

March 31, 2021

President Biden  c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Please explain to me if you ever do plan to balance the budget while you are President? I have written these things below about you and I really do think that you don’t want to cut spending in order to balance the budget. It seems you ever are daring the Congress to stop you from spending more.

President Barack Obama speaks about the debt limit in the East Room of the White House in Washington. | AP Photo

“The credit of the United States ‘is not a bargaining chip,’ Obama said on 1-14-13. However, President Obama keeps getting our country’s credit rating downgraded as he raises the debt ceiling higher and higher!!!!

Washington Could Learn a Lot from a Drug Addict

Just spend more, don’t know how to cut!!! Really!!! That is not living in the real world is it?

Making more dependent on government is not the way to go!!

Why is our government in over 16 trillion dollars in debt? There are many reasons for this but the biggest reason is people say “Let’s spend someone else’s money to solve our problems.” Liberals like Max Brantley have talked this way for years. Brantley will say that conservatives are being harsh when they don’t want the government out encouraging people to be dependent on the government. The Obama adminstration has even promoted a plan for young people to follow like Julia the Moocher.  

David Ramsey demonstrates in his Arkansas Times Blog post of 1-14-13 that very point:

Arkansas Politics / Health Care Arkansas’s share of Medicaid expansion and the national debt

Posted by on Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 1:02 PM

Baby carrot Arkansas Medicaid expansion image

Imagine standing a baby carrot up next to the 25-story Stephens building in Little Rock. That gives you a picture of the impact on the national debt that federal spending in Arkansas on Medicaid expansion would have, while here at home expansion would give coverage to more than 200,000 of our neediest citizens, create jobs, and save money for the state.

Here’s the thing: while more than a billion dollars a year in federal spending would represent a big-time stimulus for Arkansas, it’s not even a drop in the bucket when it comes to the national debt.

Currently, the national debt is around $16.4 trillion. In fiscal year 2015, the federal government would spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion to fund Medicaid expansion in Arkansas if we say yes. That’s about 1/13,700th of the debt.

It’s hard to get a handle on numbers that big, so to put that in perspective, let’s get back to the baby carrot. Imagine that the height of the Stephens building (365 feet) is the $16 trillion national debt. That $1.2 billion would be the length of a ladybug. Of course, we’re not just talking about one year if we expand. Between now and 2021, the federal government projects to contribute around $10 billion. The federal debt is projected to be around $25 trillion by then, so we’re talking about 1/2,500th of the debt. Compared to the Stephens building? That’s a baby carrot.

______________

Here is how it will all end if everyone feels they should be allowed to have their “baby carrot.”

How sad it is that liberals just don’t get this reality.

Here is what the Founding Fathers had to say about welfare. David Weinberger noted:

While living in Europe in the 1760s, Franklin observed: “in different countries … the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”

Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee (15 October 1747 – 5 January 1813) was a Scottish lawyer, writer, and professor. Tytler was also a historian, and he noted, “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”

Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Milligan

April 6, 1816

[Jefferson affirms that the main purpose of society is to enable human beings to keep the fruits of their labor. — TGW]

To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, “the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.” If the overgrown wealth of an individual be deemed dangerous to the State, the best corrective is the law of equal inheritance to all in equal degree; and the better, as this enforces a law of nature, while extra taxation violates it.

[From Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Albert E. Bergh (Washington: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), 14:466.]

_______

Jefferson pointed out that to take from the rich and give to the poor through government is just wrong. Franklin knew the poor would have a better path upward without government welfare coming their way. Milton Friedman’s negative income tax is the best method for doing that and by taking away all welfare programs and letting them go to the churches for charity.

_____________

_________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733

Williams with Sowell – Minimum Wage

Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell – Reducing Black Unemployment

By WALTER WILLIAMS

—-

Ronald Reagan with Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman The Power of the Market 2-5

Related posts:

Welfare Spending Shattering All-Time Highs

  We got to act fast and get off this path of socialism. Morning Bell: Welfare Spending Shattering All-Time Highs Robert Rector and Amy Payne October 18, 2012 at 9:03 am It’s been a pretty big year for welfare—and a new report shows welfare is bigger than ever. The Obama Administration turned a giant spotlight […]

We need more brave souls that will vote against Washington welfare programs

We need to cut Food Stamp program and not extend it. However, it seems that people tell the taxpayers back home they are going to Washington and cut government spending but once they get up there they just fall in line with  everyone else that keeps spending our money. I am glad that at least […]

Welfare programs are not the answer for the poor

Government Must Cut Spending Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Dec 2, 2010 The government can cut roughly $343 billion from the federal budget and they can do so immediately. __________ Liberals argue that the poor need more welfare programs, but I have always argued that these programs enslave the poor to the government. Food Stamps Growth […]

Private charities are best solution and not government welfare

Milton Friedman – The Negative Income Tax Published on May 11, 2012 by LibertyPen In this 1968 interview, Milton Friedman explained the negative income tax, a proposal that at minimum would save taxpayers the 72 percent of our current welfare budget spent on administration. http://www.LibertyPen.com Source: Firing Line with William F Buckley Jr. ________________ Milton […]

The book “After the Welfare State”

Dan Mitchell Commenting on Obama’s Failure to Propose a Fiscal Plan Published on Aug 16, 2012 by danmitchellcato No description available. ___________ After the Welfare State Posted by David Boaz Cato senior fellow Tom G. Palmer, who is lecturing about freedom in Slovenia and Tbilisi this week, asked me to post this announcement of his […]

President Obama responds to Heritage Foundation critics on welfare reform waivers

Is President Obama gutting the welfare reform that Bill Clinton signed into law? Morning Bell: Obama Denies Gutting Welfare Reform Amy Payne August 8, 2012 at 9:15 am The Obama Administration came out swinging against its critics on welfare reform yesterday, with Press Secretary Jay Carney saying the charge that the Administration gutted the successful […]

Welfare reform part 3

Thomas Sowell – Welfare Welfare reform was working so good. Why did we have to abandon it? Look at this article from 2003. The Continuing Good News About Welfare Reform By Robert Rector and Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. February 6, 2003 Six years ago, President Bill Clinton signed legislation overhauling part of the nation’s welfare system. […]

Welfare reform part 2

Uploaded by ForaTv on May 29, 2009 Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/05/18/James_Bartholomew_The_Welfare_State_Were_In Author James Bartholomew argues that welfare benefits actually increase government handouts by ‘ruining’ ambition. He compares welfare to a humane mousetrap. —– Welfare reform was working so good. Why did we have to abandon it? Look at this article from 2003. In the controversial […]

Why did Obama stop the Welfare Reform that Clinton put in?

Thomas Sowell If the welfare reform law was successful then why change it? Wasn’t Bill Clinton the president that signed into law? Obama Guts Welfare Reform Robert Rector and Kiki Bradley July 12, 2012 at 4:10 pm Today, the Obama Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an official policy directive rewriting the welfare […]

“Feedback Friday” Letter to White House generated form letter response July 10,2012 on welfare, etc (part 14)

I have been writing President Obama letters and have not received a personal response yet.  (He reads 10 letters a day personally and responds to each of them.) However, I did receive a form letter in the form of an email on July 10, 2012. I don’t know which letter of mine generated this response so I have […]

Democrats Refuse to Deal as House Republicans Deliver a Pro-Growth Bill to Reduce Spending

A.F. Branco for Oct 21, 2021

It’s important to understand why House Republicans’ proposal on the debt ceiling would be an excellent step toward restoring fiscal sanity to the Washington swamp. Pictured: President Joe Biden presents a copy of his State of the Union speech Feb. 7 to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., before delivering the address to a joint session of Congress. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/Getty Images)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., releasedtext April 19 of legislation dubbed the Limit, Save, Grow Act. The bill, a focus of internal negotiationsamong House Republicans, would provide an increase in the federal debt ceiling lasting into next spring in exchange for a package of reforms aimed at lowering future deficits and boosting economic growth.

This approach of pairing debt ceiling increases with fiscally responsible reforms has public support, but Washington has an uneven track record of doing the right thing. In recent years, Congress has tended to punt and allow huge increases to the federal debt limit without any meaningful reforms.

Kicking the can down the road is exactly what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, R-N.Y., wants.

A “clean” debt limit increase such as Democrats seek would mean ignoring the stark reality of what America’s financial trajectory looks like:

McCarthy has criticized President Joe Biden for an unwillingness to negotiate a debt limit deal, which puts Biden to the left of former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, both fellow Democrats. Even House Democrats are concerned about Biden’s approach.

Although there is no telling how the debt standoff drama will play out, it’s important to understand why House Republicans’ proposal would be an excellent step toward restoring fiscal sanity to the Washington swamp.

In turn, deficit reduction also would  go a long way toward slowing the inflation that has punished hardworking families since the start of the Biden administration.

Bringing Spending Back to Earth, Repealing Unspent COVID-19 Cash

On the spending side, the most significant proposal in House Republicans’ Limit, Save, Grow Act is a reduction in discretionary spending, which covers most federal activity outside of major benefit programs.

The bill would reduce budget authority for fiscal year 2024 to the level of fiscal year 2022, then allow increases of 1% per year moving forward.

Although this might seem like a modest change—reverting to spending levels passed less than two years ago—it would lead to big savings.

That’s because Congress passed a bloated, pork-filled spending frenzy to cover fiscal year 2023, which began Oct. 1. Merely undoing the spending increases from that one-year period would save taxpayers $131.3 billion.

Holding spending growth to 1% per year, rather than the almost 9% growth in the last bill, would lead directly to even larger savings every year thereafter, as well as significantly reduced net interest costs.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this approach would save $3.2 trillion over a decade, or about $25,000 per household.

If Congress enacts a long-term discretionary spending limit, it’s vital for taxpayers to hold their representatives’ feet to the fire. The Budget Control Act of 2011 led to spending caps that saved hundreds of billions of dollars, but the caps eventually were undone in a series of bipartisan deals.

Americans must remember that members of Congress will not do the right thing with public funds unless they know that there will be consequences for irresponsibility. As the tea party movement waned, Washington’s big spenders went hog wild.

Another way the Republican savings package would address reckless spending is by rescinding leftover funds passed during the COVID-19 spending spree, saving tens of billions of dollars.

Ending Biden’s Student Loan Bailouts

The next-largest amount of savings in the Limit, Save, Grow Act, worth $460 billion, would target the Biden administration’s outrageous attempt to cancel student loan debt for those who haven’t felt like repaying what they owe.

This attempted power grab is politically corrupt, so unconstitutional that even then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in 2021 that it would be illegal. It’s an insult to both those who repaid their student debt and to the tens of millions of taxpayers who never took out student loans in the first place.

The House package also would end the loan repayment pause that began in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden repeatedly has extended the pause, which  now will last through June 30 even though the administration belatedly ended the national emergency two weeks ago.

Trading ‘Green New Deal’ for Low-Cost American Energy

The Limit, Save, Grow Act includes two sections devoted to energy policy:

  • Repeal of a swath of hyper-expensive “green” energy and electric vehicle tax credits passed by Democrats last year.
  • The entirety of HR 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which the House passed March 30. It primarily serves to enable more domestic energy production by reforming outdated and cumbersome regulations that impose massive costs for minimal environmental effects.

Although the two sections are not explicitly linked, they flow from the same stream of thought.

Rather than using a mix of taxes, subsidies, and regulations to micromanage the nation’s energy and transportation sectors—the approach of Biden and other progressives—House Republicans would empower Americans to produce and consume energy in ways that best suit them.

This one-two punch has many benefits. It would help prevent energy dependence on China (which controls much of the supply chain for many “green” products such as batteries and rare minerals), grow the economy through increased energy production and lower energy prices, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and reduce future deficits by hundreds of billions (or even trillions) of dollars.

These provisions would do more to combat inflation than anything Congress has done in decades.

Rescinding That Huge Funding Boost for IRS

The so-called Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provided the Internal Revenue Service with almost $80 billion of supplemental funding through fiscal year 2031. These funds were in addition to the agency’s regular annual appropriations, which stood at $12.6 billion as of fiscal 2022.

The Limit, Save, Grow Act would rescind most of the unspent portion of the supplemental IRS funding, but would leave in place funding set aside for taxpayer services, business systems modernization (technology improvements), and agency oversight. The new House bill potentially would prevent IRS outlays of more than $45 billion on enforcement and nearly $25 billion on operations between fiscal 2024 and 2031.

The enforcement portion of the IRS funding was perhaps the most controversial element of the biggest tax-and-spend bill of 2022. Enforcement almost entirely consists of new audit examinations and collections.

Repeal of the extra IRS funding would save honest taxpayers in at least three ways, by: (1) reducing direct taxpayer funding to the IRS, (2) reducing the number of costly and time-consuming audits Americans face, and (3) lowering consumer prices by reducing company overhead, especially for small businesses that can ill afford to pay high-priced accountants and lawyers for tax and audit services.

On April 19, the IRS submitted a compendium of its strategic operating plan to the Senate Finance Committee, and that document shows that the IRS plans to amass an enormous enforcement apparatus, more than tripling its spending on enforcement from about $5.4 billion in 2022 to about $16.9 billion in 2031.

If IRS employees assigned to enforcement were to increase at the same rate as enforcement funding, that would allow the IRS to hire more than 76,000 more full-time employees in enforcement by 2031. If the IRS averaged 50 audits of households per year per new full-time employee in enforcement (less than one audit per week per new employee), that would mean 3.8 million additional audits in 2031 alone.

(Incidentally, fewer than 3.8 million American households reported adjusted gross income of greater than $400,000 as of 2020.)

The coming wave of new IRS audits would impose a huge cost on Americans, regardless of whether they themselves were selected for an audit. The $144.5 billion accounting industry would benefit, but everyday Americans would pay the price if labor and scarce resources were diverted from producing the goods and services they need and shifted to the IRS, accountants, and lawyers.

By constraining the IRS and freeing American workers and small businesses from excessive audits, the Limit, Save, Grow Act wouldn’t just save Americans money, it also would limit the expansion of government and grow the economy.

Work Requirements: Good for Welfare Recipients and Taxpayers

An aspect of the Limit, Save, Grow Act that is receiving outsize attention considering its budgetary impact is adding and strengthening work requirements for federal programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.

The estimated savings, in the neighborhood of $100 billion over a decade, are certainly helpful. However, what matters more is the beneficial effect that work requirements have in rescuing families from the trap of dependency on government.

Welfare reform made great strides in the 1990s by steering the able-bodied into the workforce, which in turn dramatically reduced poverty in single-parent households. Unfortunately, some of that progress has been lost in recent years, and millions of open jobs are available to adults who are languishing in the welfare system.

While the Left portrays work requirements as a harmful burden, keeping adults in the workforce actually has a variety of positive effects beyond improved household financials, including better mental and physical health. That means these reforms would be worth passing even if they didn’t reduce future deficits—which they do.

Protecting the Economy from Regulatory Strangulation

Although discussions about the federal budget typically focus on spending and taxes, Congress has another method to reduce long-term deficits: increasing economic growth by reducing burdensome regulations.

The Limit, Save, Grow Act contains the contents of the REINS (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny) Act, a measure that would force presidential administrations to receive approval from Congress before implementing major regulations.

This would prevent administrations from abusing executive authority and also make it more difficult for Washington to entangle businesses in additional layers of red tape. Such protections are badly needed due to the radical bend of the Biden administration, which has pushed statutes to a breaking point in pursuit of increasing its control over the economy.

While the REINS Act is only one of many necessary actions Congress should take regarding regulation, it would help bolster economic growth, which in turn would help the nation’s bottom line.

Conclusion: This Can’t Wait

The debate over the debt limit is likely to take center stage in the coming months. Hopefully, Democrats will put aside demagoguery long enough to participate in good faith negotiations.

In the meantime, House and Senate Republicans must stand their ground and make it clear to the public that tackling Washington’s unsustainable, inflationary spending can’t wait.

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

March 31, 2021

President Biden  c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Please explain to me if you ever do plan to balance the budget while you are President? I have written these things below about you and I really do think that you don’t want to cut spending in order to balance the budget. It seems you ever are daring the Congress to stop you from spending more.

President Barack Obama speaks about the debt limit in the East Room of the White House in Washington. | AP Photo

“The credit of the United States ‘is not a bargaining chip,’ Obama said on 1-14-13. However, President Obama keeps getting our country’s credit rating downgraded as he raises the debt ceiling higher and higher!!!!

Washington Could Learn a Lot from a Drug Addict

Just spend more, don’t know how to cut!!! Really!!! That is not living in the real world is it?

Making more dependent on government is not the way to go!!

Why is our government in over 16 trillion dollars in debt? There are many reasons for this but the biggest reason is people say “Let’s spend someone else’s money to solve our problems.” Liberals like Max Brantley have talked this way for years. Brantley will say that conservatives are being harsh when they don’t want the government out encouraging people to be dependent on the government. The Obama adminstration has even promoted a plan for young people to follow like Julia the Moocher.  

David Ramsey demonstrates in his Arkansas Times Blog post of 1-14-13 that very point:

Arkansas Politics / Health Care Arkansas’s share of Medicaid expansion and the national debt

Posted by on Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 1:02 PM

Baby carrot Arkansas Medicaid expansion image

Imagine standing a baby carrot up next to the 25-story Stephens building in Little Rock. That gives you a picture of the impact on the national debt that federal spending in Arkansas on Medicaid expansion would have, while here at home expansion would give coverage to more than 200,000 of our neediest citizens, create jobs, and save money for the state.

Here’s the thing: while more than a billion dollars a year in federal spending would represent a big-time stimulus for Arkansas, it’s not even a drop in the bucket when it comes to the national debt.

Currently, the national debt is around $16.4 trillion. In fiscal year 2015, the federal government would spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion to fund Medicaid expansion in Arkansas if we say yes. That’s about 1/13,700th of the debt.

It’s hard to get a handle on numbers that big, so to put that in perspective, let’s get back to the baby carrot. Imagine that the height of the Stephens building (365 feet) is the $16 trillion national debt. That $1.2 billion would be the length of a ladybug. Of course, we’re not just talking about one year if we expand. Between now and 2021, the federal government projects to contribute around $10 billion. The federal debt is projected to be around $25 trillion by then, so we’re talking about 1/2,500th of the debt. Compared to the Stephens building? That’s a baby carrot.

______________

Here is how it will all end if everyone feels they should be allowed to have their “baby carrot.”

How sad it is that liberals just don’t get this reality.

Here is what the Founding Fathers had to say about welfare. David Weinberger noted:

While living in Europe in the 1760s, Franklin observed: “in different countries … the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”

Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee (15 October 1747 – 5 January 1813) was a Scottish lawyer, writer, and professor. Tytler was also a historian, and he noted, “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”

Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Milligan

April 6, 1816

[Jefferson affirms that the main purpose of society is to enable human beings to keep the fruits of their labor. — TGW]

To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, “the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.” If the overgrown wealth of an individual be deemed dangerous to the State, the best corrective is the law of equal inheritance to all in equal degree; and the better, as this enforces a law of nature, while extra taxation violates it.

[From Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Albert E. Bergh (Washington: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), 14:466.]

_______

Jefferson pointed out that to take from the rich and give to the poor through government is just wrong. Franklin knew the poor would have a better path upward without government welfare coming their way. Milton Friedman’s negative income tax is the best method for doing that and by taking away all welfare programs and letting them go to the churches for charity.

_____________

_________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733

Williams with Sowell – Minimum Wage

Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell – Reducing Black Unemployment

By WALTER WILLIAMS

—-

Ronald Reagan with Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman The Power of the Market 2-5

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Welfare Spending Shattering All-Time Highs

  We got to act fast and get off this path of socialism. Morning Bell: Welfare Spending Shattering All-Time Highs Robert Rector and Amy Payne October 18, 2012 at 9:03 am It’s been a pretty big year for welfare—and a new report shows welfare is bigger than ever. The Obama Administration turned a giant spotlight […]

We need more brave souls that will vote against Washington welfare programs

We need to cut Food Stamp program and not extend it. However, it seems that people tell the taxpayers back home they are going to Washington and cut government spending but once they get up there they just fall in line with  everyone else that keeps spending our money. I am glad that at least […]

Welfare programs are not the answer for the poor

Government Must Cut Spending Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Dec 2, 2010 The government can cut roughly $343 billion from the federal budget and they can do so immediately. __________ Liberals argue that the poor need more welfare programs, but I have always argued that these programs enslave the poor to the government. Food Stamps Growth […]

Private charities are best solution and not government welfare

Milton Friedman – The Negative Income Tax Published on May 11, 2012 by LibertyPen In this 1968 interview, Milton Friedman explained the negative income tax, a proposal that at minimum would save taxpayers the 72 percent of our current welfare budget spent on administration. http://www.LibertyPen.com Source: Firing Line with William F Buckley Jr. ________________ Milton […]

The book “After the Welfare State”

Dan Mitchell Commenting on Obama’s Failure to Propose a Fiscal Plan Published on Aug 16, 2012 by danmitchellcato No description available. ___________ After the Welfare State Posted by David Boaz Cato senior fellow Tom G. Palmer, who is lecturing about freedom in Slovenia and Tbilisi this week, asked me to post this announcement of his […]

President Obama responds to Heritage Foundation critics on welfare reform waivers

Is President Obama gutting the welfare reform that Bill Clinton signed into law? Morning Bell: Obama Denies Gutting Welfare Reform Amy Payne August 8, 2012 at 9:15 am The Obama Administration came out swinging against its critics on welfare reform yesterday, with Press Secretary Jay Carney saying the charge that the Administration gutted the successful […]

Welfare reform part 3

Thomas Sowell – Welfare Welfare reform was working so good. Why did we have to abandon it? Look at this article from 2003. The Continuing Good News About Welfare Reform By Robert Rector and Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. February 6, 2003 Six years ago, President Bill Clinton signed legislation overhauling part of the nation’s welfare system. […]

Welfare reform part 2

Uploaded by ForaTv on May 29, 2009 Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/05/18/James_Bartholomew_The_Welfare_State_Were_In Author James Bartholomew argues that welfare benefits actually increase government handouts by ‘ruining’ ambition. He compares welfare to a humane mousetrap. —– Welfare reform was working so good. Why did we have to abandon it? Look at this article from 2003. In the controversial […]

Why did Obama stop the Welfare Reform that Clinton put in?

Thomas Sowell If the welfare reform law was successful then why change it? Wasn’t Bill Clinton the president that signed into law? Obama Guts Welfare Reform Robert Rector and Kiki Bradley July 12, 2012 at 4:10 pm Today, the Obama Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an official policy directive rewriting the welfare […]

“Feedback Friday” Letter to White House generated form letter response July 10,2012 on welfare, etc (part 14)

I have been writing President Obama letters and have not received a personal response yet.  (He reads 10 letters a day personally and responds to each of them.) However, I did receive a form letter in the form of an email on July 10, 2012. I don’t know which letter of mine generated this response so I have […]

Dan Mitchell article: Global Warming Silliness

——

Global Warming Silliness

I’m a great fan of nature, but our friends on the left seem a bit extreme.

Today, though, let’s analyze the the supposed environmentalists who think children are a net minus to society.

A professor of history at the University of Chicago, Peggy O’Donnell Heffington, has a column in the Washington Post about this topic. Here are some excerpts.

One of the most striking trends is the number of students who have told me they feel robbed of the ability to have children, cheated out of parenthood by decades of climate denial and inaction by baby boomers and their own Gen X parents. My students are not alone.A global survey in 2021 of 10,000 people between the ages of 16 and 25 shows…60 percent told researchers they felt “very” or “extremely” worried about climate change. …nearly 4 in 10 said they were “hesitant to have children.” …the carbon footprint of a baby born in the United States is gigantic; having one fewer child cuts emissions far more than giving up airplanes, meat or automobiles. …My students aren’t talking about the carbon footprints of babies. They’re talking about grief, about a future that has been lost.

This is not a new issue, by the way. I wrote way back in 2009 about some people getting sterilized to make sure they don’t inadvertently create a kid.

As a libertarian, it’s not my role to tell people to have kids. Or not to have kids. But I can’t resist opining that it’s bizarrely illogical to get so depressed about the possibility of a warming planet.

Even if you fully believe every apocalyptic prediction from the most hysterical environmentalist (and support their radical agenda), the net impact of a few kids presumably is akin to pouring a glass of water in a big lake.

Yes, the water level changes, but the net impact is utterly trivial.

P.S. If you want climate humor, click here and here.

———-

The climate-change hustle

John Stossel: Through 50 years of reporting on scares, only COVID proved true

I hear that climate change will destroy much of the world.

“There will be irreversible damage to the planet!” warns a CNN anchor.

Joe Biden says he’ll spend $500 billion a year to fight what his website calls an “existential threat to life.”

Really?

I’m a consumer reporter. Over the years, alarmed scientists have passionately warned me about many things they thought were about to kill Americans.

Asbestos in hair dryers, coffee, computer terminals, electric power lines, microwave ovens, cellphones (brain tumors!), electric blankets, herbicides, plastic residue, etc., are causing “America’s cancer epidemic”!

If those things don’t get us, “West Nile Virus will!” Or SARS, Bird Flu, Ebola, flesh-eating bacteria or “killer bees.”

Experts told me millions would die on Jan. 1, 2000, because computers couldn’t handle the switch from 1999. Machines would fail; planes would crash.

The scientists were well-informed specialists in their fields. They were sincerely alarmed. The more knowledge you have about a threat, the more alarmed you get.

Yet, mass death didn’t happen. COVID-19 has been the only time in my 50 years of reporting that a scare proved true.

Maybe you accepted the phrase I used above: “America’s cancer epidemic.” But there is no cancer epidemic. Cancer rates are down. We simply live long enough to get diseases like cancer. But people think there’s a cancer epidemic.

The opposite is true. As we’ve been exposed to more plastics, pesticides, mysterious chemicals, food additives and new technologies, we live longer than ever!

That’s why I’m skeptical when I’m told: Climate change is a crisis!

Climate change is real. It’s a problem, but I doubt that it’s “an existential threat.”

Saying that makes alarmists mad.

When Marc Morano says it, activists try to prevent him from speaking.

“They do not want dissent,” says Morano, founder of ClimateDepot.com, a website that rebuts much of what climate activists teach in schools.

“It’s an indoctrination that’s so complete that by the time (kids) get to high school, they’re not even aware that there’s any scientific dissent.”

Morano’s new movie, “Climate Hustle 2,” presents that dissent. My new video this week features his movie.

Morano argues that politicians use fear of global warming to gain power.

“Climate Hustle 2” features Sen. Chuck Schumer shouting: “If we would do more on climate change, we’d have fewer of these hurricanes and other types of storms! Everyone knows that!”

But everyone doesn’t know that. Many scientists refute it. Congress’ own hearings include testimony about how our warmer climate has not caused increases in the number of hurricanes or tornadoes. “Climate Hustle 2” includes many examples like that.

“Why should we believe you?” I ask Morano. “You’re getting money from the fossil fuel industry.” After all, Daily Kos calls him “Evil Personified” and says ExxonMobil funds him.

“Not at all,” he replies. “I’m paid by about 90% individual contributions from around the country. Why would ExxonMobil give me money (when) they want to appear green?”

Morano’s movie frustrates climate activists by pointing out how hypocritical some are.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio says he lives a “green lifestyle … (using) energy-efficient appliances. I drive a hybrid car.”

Then he flies to Europe to attend a party.

I like watching Morano point out celebrities’ hypocrisy, but think one claim in his movie goes too far.

“Stopping climate change is not about saving the planet,” says narrator Kevin Sorbo. “It’s about climate elites trying to convince us to accept a future where they call all the shots.”

I push back at Morano: “I think they are genuinely concerned, and they want to save us.”

“Their vision of saving us is putting them in charge,” he replies.

And if they’re in charge, he says, they will destroy capitalism.

—-
State of the Union 2013

Published on Feb 13, 2013

Cato Institute scholars Michael Tanner, Alex Nowrasteh, Julian Sanchez, Simon Lester, John Samples, Pat Michaels, Jagadeesh Gokhale, Michael F. Cannon, Jim Harper, Malou Innocent, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Ilya Shapiro, Trevor Burrus and Neal McCluskey respond to President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address.

Video produced by Caleb O. Brown, Austin Bragg and Lester Romero.

_______________

In the past I have written the White House on several issues such as abortion, medicare, welfare,  Greece, healthcare, and what the founding fathers had to say about welfare programs,   and have got several responses from the White House concerning issues such as Obamacare, Social Security, welfare,  and excessive government spending.

Today I am taking a look at the response of the scholars of the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute scholars to the 2013 State of the Union Address.

Amy Payne

February 13, 2013 at 8:22 am

State of the…Climate?

Swept into office four years ago based, in part, on promises to slow sea-level rise, President Obama initiated a radical climate agenda. It seems we are seeing a rerun in 2013. It is worth asking what is different four years after his first State of the Union Address?

There have been four more years of no global warming. In 2010, there had been no significant world temperature increase for over a decade. The streak is now 16 years long. We have four years of costly lessons on the waste and inefficiency of green-energy subsidies.

The scientific basis for catastrophic climate change gets weaker and weaker. The economic argument for green subsidies has already collapsed. It is time for the administration to quit using both arguments to justify a regulatory and fiscal power grab.

David W. Kreutzer, PhD, research fellow in energy economics and climate change, Center for Data Analysis

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HERITAGE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW:Senator Blunt Vows to Keep Pressure on President Obama Over Contraceptive Mandate

Senator Blunt Vows to Keep Pressure on President Obama Over Contraceptive Mandate Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Feb 13, 2012 http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/13/sen-blunt-vows-to-keep-pressure-on-obama-&#8230; | Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced legislation to protect religious organizations from Obamacare’s overreach last summer. Now, as President Obama presses forward with his anti-conscience mandate, Blunt is prepared to keep the pressure on the […]

Cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog that demonstrate what Obama is doing to our economy Part 2

Max Brantley is wrong about Tom Cotton’s accusation concerning the rise of welfare spending under President Obama. Actually welfare spending has been increasing for the last 12 years and Obama did nothing during his first four years to slow down the rate of increase of welfare spending. Rachel Sheffield of the Heritage Foundation has noted: […]

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Sen. Mitch McConnell: Americans Don’t Approve of Anything Obama Has Done Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Dec 8, 2011 In an exclusive interview at The Heritage Foundation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sharply criticized President Obama for engaging in class warfare and accused him of shifting the focus away from his own failed policies in […]

Did Obama prolong the recession with the auto baleout?

Obamanomics: A Legacy of Wasteful Spending Published on Aug 12, 2012 by CFPEcon101 This mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation highlights egregious examples of wasteful spending from the so-called stimulus legislation and explains why government spending hurts economic performance. **Links to additional reading material** Thomas Sowell, “Stimulus or Sedative?” http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/09/stimulus_or_sedative_104&#8230; Veronique de […]

Open letter to President Obama (Part 222)

  President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here. Is […]

Open letter to President Obama (Part 221)

  President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here. The […]

Open letter to President Obama (Part 216)

Thomas Sowell (This letter was mailed before September 1, 2012) President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a […]

Open letters to President Obama displayed here on www.thedailyhatch.org

I have been writing letters to President Obama almost all of 2012. I have received several responses from the White House but none of the responses have been personal responses from the President. Below is a letter I wrote to the President and a form letter response that I got followed by links to other […]

Trump’s Triumphs, From A to Z, vs. Biden’s Botches

 

This combination photo, created Oct. 22, 2020, shows then-President Donald Trump and his president-to-be challenger, Joe Biden, during a presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 22, 2020. (Photos: Brendan Smialowski and Jim Watson/ AFP/Getty Images)

America is sinking among the waves of incompetence, impotence, and fiscal incontinence of democratic socialist President Joe Biden. It is jarring to recall how much brighter things looked just 27 months ago, after four years of President Donald Trump’s triumphs, and before Biden arrived and wrecked everything.

From A to Z, here are 26 things that Trump got right:  

Abraham Accords: Trump brokered four peace agreements among Israel and other countries—Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan.

Border wall: Trump’s 458 miles of concrete and steel fortified the border and curbed illegal immigration before Biden obliterated America’s southern frontier.

 

Consular offices in Jerusalem were upgraded to a U.S. Embassy, thus enforcing the relevant statute that Presidents Bill Clinton through Barack Obama circumvented.

Deregulation: Trump promised to kill two old regulations for every new one imposed. American Action Forum counts 4.7 existing rules junked per new one implemented.

Energy Independence: Trump achieved the impossible dream of U.S. self-reliance and then made America globally dominant as a net exporter of energy for the first time since 1952.

Freedom-of-speech protection, per Trump’s executive order, became a prerequisite for colleges to receive federal funds.

Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett joined the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, 223 other constitutionalists whom Trump nominated reached the federal bench.

Historically Black Colleges and Universitiesscored an advocacy office in the White House, a permanent stream of federal funds, and year-round Pell Grants, to aid their summer school students. HBCU presidents begged Obama in vain for these things. Trump invited them to the Oval Office in his fifth week in Washington, listened, and approved their requests.

Iran nuclear deal: Killed.

Javelin anti-tank missiles that Trump provided have helped Ukraine stymie Russian invaders.

Keystone XL pipeline: Approved.

“Little Rocket Man,” Kim Jong Un, met thrice with Trump. While North Korea did not scrap its nuclear weapons program, it conducted zero atomic tests after this odd couple first huddled in Singapore on June 12, 2018. Kim detonated four nukes under Obama-Biden.

Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. signed a new trade deal that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement.

NATO’s finances soared, as Trump prodded U.S. allies to boost Western collective defense by $400 billion through 2024.

Opportunity Zones incentivized $78 billion in private capital to 8,768 largely low-income, minority communities.

Poverty fell to a rate of 10.5%, the lowest since 1959, when federal figures were first collected. Before COVID-19 unleashed hell on Earth, the strongest economy in 60 years drove black poverty to 18.8%, a record low.

Qassem Soleimani, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps chief, was droned to smithereens on Trump’s order. Tehran’s ayatollahs promptly learned some manners.

Right to Try legislation freed terminally ill patients to use promising treatments that awaited Food and Drug Administration approval.

Space Force: Trump’s out-of-this world promise became reality as the Pentagon’s newest armed service.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: This $1.9 trillion tax reduction unleashed massive economic growth that most benefited lower-income Americans.

Unemployment hit all-time lows for blacks and Hispanics and triggered the lowest female unemployment rate since September 1953.

Veterans secured broader medical freedoms through VA Choice and swift punishment for abusive VA employees.

Washington, D.C.’s school-voucher program was reauthorized with a $45 million appropriation.

Xi Jinping and other Chinese Communist Party members restrained themselves when Trump deployed his peace through strength strategy. Under Biden, Red China does whatever it wants, from an unprecedented mock blockade of Taiwan to spy balloons vacuuming up intelligence over America to U.S.-based CCP “police stations” that terrorize dissidents.

Yes votes for the First Step Act totaled 358 in the House (including 176 Democrats) and 87 in the Senate (among them, 47 Democrats). This overwhelmingly bipartisan criminal justice reformmeasure let nonviolent prisoners, many of them black, return to their communities.

Zero American wars began under Trump. The dovish consequences of his hawkish command were exactly the opposite of the “Push the nuclear button NOW!” belligerence that his deranged critics forecast.

Wouldn’t four more years of Trump be better than four years of Biden?

The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

Defending the (Prudent Understanding of the) Laffer Curve

I’ve written dozens of articles about the Laffer Curveand most of that verbiage can be summarized in these five points.

  • The Laffer Curve helps to illustrate that excessive tax rates result in less taxable activity.
  • All public finance economists – even those on the left – agree there is a Laffer Curve.
  • The Laffer Curve does not mean tax cuts are self-financing or that tax increases lose revenue.
  • Different types of taxes produce different responses, so there is more than one Laffer Curve.
  • There is a real debate about the shape of the Laffer Curve and the ideal point on the curve.

The fifth point recognizes that well-meaning and knowledgeable people can vigorously disagree.

Do changes in tax policy have big effects or small effects on the economy? How much revenue feedback will occur if there is a change in tax rates?

Just a couple of examples of questions that I have endlessly debated with reasonable folks on the left.

But let’s focus today on the unreasonable left. Or, to be more specific, let’s look at an editorial from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Here are some portions of that newspaper’s simplistic screed.

…the deficit explosion…effectively disproved his theory that cutting taxes on the rich would increase government tax revenue. …Laffer continues to be unchastened…, even as Britain reels from a leadership shuffle caused by the catastrophic application of his very theories. Hand it to Laffer: Seldom does someone who is so often proven wrong have the gumption to maintain he’s right…His famous “Laffer curve” presumes to prove that tax cuts for the rich will spur economic investment, causing such strong economic growth that the government’s tax revenue would actually rise instead of falling. …Yes, the economy was robust in the 1980s after Reagan’s historic tax cuts. But that’s also when the era of big budget deficits began. …congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump in 2017 slashed corporate taxes in what they claimed was a necessary economy-booster… Then-Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin’s famous vow that the tax-cut plan would “pay for itself” in growth — the very definition of Laffer’s theory — has since been exposed as the voodoo it always was.

Almost every sentence in the above excerpt cries out for correction.

For instance, Reagan and his team never claimed that the 1981 tax cuts would be self-financing (though IRS data shows that lower tax rates on the rich did produce more revenue).

There were big deficits because of the 1980-1982 double-dip recession, and that spike in red ink mostly took place before Reagan’s tax cuts went into effect.

And it’s absurd to blame the United Kingdom’s political instability on tax cuts that never occurred.

If Secretary Mnunchin claimed the entire tax cut would pay for itself, he clearly deserves to be mocked, but it’s worth noting that the lower corporate tax rate from the 2017 reform is very close to being self-financing.

Not that we should be surprised. Both the IMF and OECD have research showing that lower corporate tax rates do not necessarily lead to lower corporate tax revenues.

The bottom line is that the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch obviously puts ideology above accuracy.

P.S. I can’t resist sharing one other excerpt from the editorial.

“The Kansas Experiment,” was a debacle. The state’s economy didn’t skyrocket, but the deficit did, forcing deep cuts to education before the legislature finally acknowledged defeat and reversed the tax cuts.

Once again, the editors are showing that ideology trumps accuracy. Here’s what really happened in Kansas. I hope we can have more defeats like that! Though I’ll be the first to admit that North Carolina is a much better role model.

Corporate Tax Rates and Taxable Income

In the case of business taxation, the most visually powerful evidence for the Laffer Curve is what happened to corporate tax revenue in Ireland after the corporate tax rate was slashed from 50 percent to 12.5 percent.

Tax revenue increased dramatically. Not just in nominal terms. Not just in inflation-adjusted terms.

Corporate receipts actually climbed as a share of GDP.

And this was during the decades when economic output was rapidly expanding.

In other words, the Irish government got a much bigger slice of a much bigger pie after tax rates were dramatically lowered.

Now let’s look at some evidence from a new study. Three professors from the University of Utah (Jeffrey Coles, Elena Patel, and Nather Seegert), and a Treasury Department economist (Matthew Smith) estimated what happens to taxable income for U.S. companies when there is a change in the corporate tax rate.

In response to a 10% increase in the expected marginal tax rate, private U.S. firms decrease taxable income by 9.1%, which indicates a discernibly more elastic response than prevailing estimates. This response reflects a decrease in taxable income of 3.0%arising from real economic responses to a firm’s scale of operations and 6.1% arising from accounting transactions via (for example) revenue and expense timing. Responsiveness to the corporate tax rate is more elastic if a firm uses cash (9.9%) rather than accrual accounting (7.4%), if the firm is small (9.9%) rather than large (8.6%), and if the firm discounts future cash flows at a lower rate.

The paper is filled with equation, graphs, and jargon, but the above excerpt tells us everything we need to know.

When tax rates go up, taxable income goes down (both because there is less economic activity and because companies have more incentive to manipulate the tax code).

Thus confirming what I wrote back in 2016 about taxable income being the key variable.

By the way, this does not mean that lower tax rates lead to more revenue. Or that higher tax rate produce less revenue.

Such big swings only happen in rare circumstances.

But it does mean that politicians will not grab as much money as they hope when they increase tax rates. And that they won’t lose as much revenue as they fear when they lower tax rates (and we saw that most recently with the 2017 tax reform).

I’ll close by noting that this is additional evidence for why we should be thankful that Biden’s proposal for higher corporate tax rates was not enacted.

P.S. The chart at the beginning of this column may be the most visually powerful evidence for the corporate Laffer Curve. The most empirically powerful evidence, however, comes from very unlikely sources – the pro-tax IMF and the pro-tax OECD.

March 3, 2021

President Biden c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

______________________________

Dan Mitchell shows how ignoring the Laffer Curve is like running a stop sign!!!!

I’m thinking of inventing a game, sort of a fiscal version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

Only the way it will work is that there will be a map of the world and the winner will be the blindfolded person who puts their pin closest to a nation such asAustralia or Switzerland that has a relatively low risk of long-run fiscal collapse.

That won’t be an easy game to win since we have data from the BISOECD, and IMF showing that government is growing far too fast in the vast majority of nations.

We also know that many states and cities suffer from the same problems.

A handful of local governments already have hit the fiscal brick wall, with many of them (gee, what a surprise) from California.

The most spectacular mess, though, is about to happen in Michigan.

The Washington Post reports that Detroit is on the verge of fiscal collapse.

After decades of sad and spectacular decline, it has come to this for Detroit: The city is $19 billion in debt and on the edge of becoming the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy. An emergency manager says the city can make good on only a sliver of what it owes — in many cases just pennies on the dollar.

This is a dog-bites-man story. Detroit’s problems are the completely predictable result of excessive government. Just as statism explains the problems of Greece. And the problems of California. And the problems of Cyprus. And theproblems of Illinois.

I could continue with a long list of profligate governments, but you get the idea. Some of these governments are collapsing at a quicker pace and some at a slower pace. But all of them are in deep trouble because they don’t follow my Golden Rule about restraining the burden of government spending so that it grows slower than the private sector.

Detroit obviously is an example of a government that is collapsing sooner rather than later.

Why? Simply stated, as the size and scope of the public sector increased, that created very destructive economic and political dynamics.

More and more people got lured into the wagon of government dependency, which puts an ever-increasing burden on a shrinking pool of producers.

Meanwhile, organized interest groups such as government bureaucrats used their political muscle to extract absurdly excessive compensation packages, putting an even larger burden of the dwindling supply of taxpayers.

But that’s not the main focus of this post. Instead, I want to highlight a particular excerpt from the article and make a point about how too many people are blindly – perhaps willfully – ignorant of the Laffer Curve.

Check out this sentence.

Property tax collections are down 20 percent and income tax collections are down by more than a third in just the past five years — despite some of the highest tax rates in the state.

This is a classic “Fox Butterfield mistake,” which occurs when someone fails to recognize a cause-effect relationship. In this case, the reporter should have recognized that tax collections are down because Detroit has very high tax rates.

The city has a lot more problems than just high tax rates, of course, but can there be any doubt that productive people have very little incentive to earn and report taxable income in Detroit?

And that’s the essential insight of the Laffer Curve. Politicians can’t – or at least shouldn’t – assume that a 20 percent increase in tax rates will lead to a 20 percent increase in tax revenue. They also have to consider the degree to which a higher tax rate will cause a change in taxable income.

In some cases, higher tax rates will discourage people from earning more taxable income.

In some cases, higher tax rates will discourage people from reporting all the income they earn.

In some cases, higher tax rates will encourage people to utilize tax loopholes to shrink their taxable income.

In some cases, higher tax rates will encourage migration, thus causing taxable income to disappear.

Here’s my three-part video series on the Laffer Curve. Much of this is common sense, though it needs to be mandatory viewing for elected officials (as well as the bureaucrats at the Joint Committee on Taxation).

The Laffer Curve, Part I: Understanding the Theory

Uploaded by  on Jan 28, 2008

The Laffer Curve charts a relationship between tax rates and tax revenue. While the theory behind the Laffer Curve is widely accepted, the concept has become very controversial because politicians on both sides of the debate exaggerate. This video shows the middle ground between those who claim “all tax cuts pay for themselves” and those who claim tax policy has no impact on economic performance. This video, focusing on the theory of the Laffer Curve, is Part I of a three-part series. Part II reviews evidence of Laffer-Curve responses. Part III discusses how the revenue-estimating process in Washington can be improved. For more information please visit the Center for Freedom and Prosperity’s web site: http://www.freedomandprosperity.org

Part 2

Part 3

P.S. Just in case it’s not clear from the videos, we don’t want to be at the revenue-maximizing point on the Laffer Curve.

P.P.S. Amazingly, even the bureaucrats at the IMF recognize that there’s a point when taxes are so onerous that further increases don’t generate revenue.

P.P.P.S. At least CPAs understand the Laffer Curve, probably because they help their clients reduce their tax exposure to greedy governments.

P.P.P.P.S. I offered a Laffer Curve lesson to President Obama, but I doubt it had any impact.

___________________________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733,

Williams with Sowell – Minimum Wage

Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell – Reducing Black Unemployment

By WALTER WILLIAMS

—-

Ronald Reagan with Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman The Power of the Market 2-5

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