Soon, President Biden will meet with seven of our most important allies and partners at the upcoming G7 summit in Italy, June 13-15. This meeting comes at a pivotal moment: wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East show little signs of stopping, China is becoming more aggressive in the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and beyond, and the global economy is still suffering from slow growth and inflation. Having just returned from Europe, I encountered a palpable sense of anxiety about America’s current leadership in the world given the widespread failure of deterrence and continued economic malaise. During trying times like these, the United States needs to be seen as standing with like-minded allies to confront common challenges, not just as a leader, but also as an equal partner.
Japan, as the only Asian G7 member, will attend the G-7 summit in Italy’s Puglia region. In addition to the multilateral discussions, it can be expected that President Biden will have a bilateral meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
This will not be the first time these two leaders have met this year. On April 10th, Prime Minister Kishida visited Washington for a rare state visit with President Biden, a testament to the continued significance of our alliance. The meeting concluded with the launch of a new Forum on Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition, and Sustainment led by the Pentagon and Japan’s Ministry of Defense. Shortly after in May, this new initiative produced an agreement between the two governments to collaborate on the Glide Phase Interceptor Cooperative Development. This was an unmistakable sign of our collective resolve to pursue regional deterrence and missile defense together.
Moreover, the Government of Japan (GoJ) has taken numerous steps recently to align its foreign and defense policies with the U.S., arguably more than any other country:
Japan has committed to doubling its defense budget to 2% of its GDP, which equates to approximately $100 billion annually to bolster Self-Defense Forces and enhance its capabilities in line with U.S. strategic interests.
In response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Japan has imposed sanctions in coordination with the U.S. demonstrating its commitment to upholding international law and security. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Japan has committed nearly $12 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) amounted to $21 billion in 2022, focusing on global health, climate change, and sustainable development, aligning with U.S. goals to promote global stability and development.
Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy aligns with U.S. efforts to ensure regional stability and counter China’s influence, reflecting shared strategic objectives.
General Mark Milley, the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lauded this shift from GoJ, saying that “having a powerful Japan, a militarily capable Japan that has a close alliance with the United States and other countries, will go a long way to deterring war” with China. And in the context of China’s increasingly belligerent behaviors, like its recent military exercises meant to intimidate Taiwan, this should be a welcome relief for Washington who knows it cannot do everything on its own to deal with Beijing.
Despite the unprecedented forward-leaning actions taken by the GoJ to align with the U.S., often at the expense of domestic opposition to increased defense spending, there are distractions that are impacting the alliance emanating from Washington, DC.
During a recent campaign fundraiser, President Biden likened Japan to Russia and China for being “xenophobic,” a comment that Japan justifiably called “unfortunate.” On the heels of a state visit and during an era of Great Power Competition, one can only wonder how POTUS could compare Japan with the countries of a new arc of authoritarianism.
Political posturing in the U.S. during an election year also distracts from our critical alliance. During a campaign event, the president opposed the proposed merger between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel by saying that U.S. Steel must “remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.” On the same day as Kishida’s arrival for the state visit, the Federal Trade Commission announced they opened an investigation into the proposed acquisition. All this while the Congress was debating the future of TikTok in the United States, an unfortunate while hopefully unintentional parallel.
It is important for Washington to strike the proper balance of international relations and domestic politicking. While much has been accomplished with Japan, we cannot take the relationship for granted at a time when we need more help than ever to counter China. Distractions like the President’s rhetorical gaffes or politicizing commercial deals only serve our adversaries’ objectives.
As Secretary Austin just said at the Shangri-La conclave, America’s “greatest global strategic advantage” is our alliances. We should not put that at risk for domestic political gain.
Heino Klinck was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, 2019-21.
A Nationwide Teacher Shortage Is Costing Schools $4 Billion Per Year
Statewide teacher attendance in Nevada has fallen to the lowest in a decade, echoing a similar problem seen at school districts all over the United States, in places like New York and Connecticut to Chicago, Bloomberg wrote this past week.
According to staffing firm Kelly Services Inc., teacher absenteeism has risen from 6% during the Covid pandemic to 10% currently, based on data from 40 states.
The report says that this increase poses a significant economic challenge for school districts, especially as they attempt to recover from educational disruptions caused by lockdowns.
Bloomberg estimates that if 8% of the 3.2 million full-time public school teachers are absent, it could cost districts approximately $25.6 million daily, totaling about $4.4 billion each school year. This financial strain is expected to worsen with the cessation of federal stimulus funding in September.
Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, commented: “We hear from financial leaders that they’re worried about it, the cost can be from $100 to $250 a day for a sub.”
“If students who missed a year of learning are now missing 10% because of chronic absence, and another 10% because their teacher is chronically absent, they are never going to get back on track,” she continued.
Educational leaders are highlighting a troubling trend in teaching, attributing increased teacher absenteeism to challenging work conditions, behavioral issues among students, dwindling resources, and declining salaries amidst rising inflation.
According to Bloomberg/Yahoo, fewer individuals are pursuing education degrees, leading to a smaller pool of potential teachers. Before the pandemic, teachers maintained a high attendance rate of 95%, typically missing nine out of 187 school days annually.
However, recent federal data indicates that teacher absentee rates have escalated post-pandemic, with nearly three-quarters of public schools observing a rise during the 2021-22 school year.
Nevada is one of few states monitoring teacher attendance, unlike most of the top ten largest states. Post-pandemic shifts in sick time usage have affected attendance rates, as seen in Clark County’s 76% rate for the 2022-23 school year.
Significant teacher absences, such as those in Connecticut where teachers missed an average of 13 days, correlate with declining student performance and increasing achievement gaps.
In New York City and Chicago, teacher absences have risen markedly, influencing educational outcomes and prompting responses like Illinois’ $45 million grant program to address teacher shortages through incentives and support programs. Despite these measures, challenges persist, exacerbated by low pay, high attrition, and a shrinking pool of teachers.
This national issue is compounded by a lack of substitutes, adding strain on remaining staff and impacting the educational environment, now fraught with political tensions and heightened stress from behavioral issues.
Danette Stokes, a teacher and president of the local union chapter, the United Education Association of Shelby County in Tennessee, concluded: “The day to day operations are tiresome. A lot of teachers don’t get the support they need when it comes to discipline, we have to do what is best for us.”
UN Security Council Backs Biden’s Gaza Ceasefire Plan, Russia Abstains
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has finally agreed on something related to Gaza. On Monday it adopted a US-proposed resolution which gives formal backing to an Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan.
Fourteen council members voted in favor, Russia abstained, and there were no votes against, allowing it to pass. The draft resolution welcomes the new ceasefire deal currently set before both sides, “which Israel accepted, calls upon Hamas to also accept it, and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”
NEW: Today, the UN Security Council sent a clear message to Hamas:
Accept the ceasefire-hostage deal on the table.
Israel has already accepted this deal.
The fighting could stop today – and hostages could come home today – if Hamas agreed to the deal.
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) June 10, 2024
Washington immediately began using the UNSC vote to add pressure on Hamas, at a moment Secretary of State Antony Blinken is touring the Middle East in an effort to get all parties to back the ceasefire plan. But crucially Hamas has faulted the Israeli side while holding firm to its longtime demand of a full IDF military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
“We’re waiting on Hamas to agree to the ceasefire deal it claims to want,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the security council. “With every passing day, needless suffering continues.”
The newly adopted UN resolution stipulates that “if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue.”
The US-backed plan which Biden has also controversially referred to as Israeli-proposed (despite the Netanyahu government having criticized it as “incomplete”), lays out three phases. The below outlines these proposed stages…
First Stage
This stage reportedly includes:
A temporary halt to military operations by both sides, with Israeli forces withdrawing to the border areas, including the Gaza Valley – Netzarim axis and Kuwait roundabout.
Daily suspension of aerial operations in Gaza for ten hours, extending to 12 hours on days of detainee exchanges.
Return of displaced persons to their homes, with a partial Israeli withdrawal from Al-Rashid Street to Salah Al-Din Street starting on the seventh day after Hamas releases seven female detainees.
Withdrawal from the Gaza Strip’s center (Netzarim axis and Kuwait Roundabout) by the 22nd day, positioning Israeli forces east of Salah al-Din Road along the border.
Humanitarian aid, including 600 trucks per day – including 50 fuel trucks and 300 trucks for the north – will be allowed in from day one, along with necessary supplies to operate essential services and clear rubble.
Indirect negotiations for the second phase will begin on the 16th day, focusing on the exchange of remaining Israeli prisoners in Gaza.
Second Stage
During this stage, the following actions will take place, according to the document:
Declare the restoration of sustainable calm, marking the permanent cessation of military and hostile operations, before the exchange of detainees and prisoners begins.
Release all remaining surviving Israeli male detainees, both civilians and soldiers, in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers.
Complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Third Stage
During this stage, the following actions will take place, according to the document:
Exchange all body parts and remains of the deceased from both sides after identification.
Begin the Gaza Strip reconstruction plan, lasting 3 to 5 years, covering homes, civilian facilities, and infrastructure. This process will be supervised by countries and organizations, including Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations.
Open border crossings to facilitate the movement of residents and transportation of goods.
Meanwhile both warring sides have continued to blame the other for blocking finalization of a ceasefire deal. Hamas says Israeli leaders don’t actually want a truce, and Israeli says it is Hamas thwarting the possibility of peace.
Here Are The 5 Supreme Court Issues Set To Reshape America’s Political Landscape
As the Supreme Court gears up to conclude its decision season by the end of June, several high-stakes cases loom that could significantly alter the nation’s political and social fabric in a crucial election year.
In less than three weeks, the high court is expected to decide matters involving abortion, social media, the 2nd Amendment and of course – Trump, The Hill reports.
Trump’s Legal Battles Take Center Stage
At the forefront is former President Donald Trump’s appeal regarding criminal immunity for official acts performed by former presidents. The outcome could affect ongoing charges against him in federal election interference cases in Georgia and Florida, potentially dismissing these charges or even halting the trials altogether. During oral arguments, the justices seemed open to granting some form of immunity to former presidents, which could lead to further delays in these high-profile cases.
At oral arguments, the justices appeared inclined to carve out some immunity for former presidents, leaving for a lower court whether the specific allegations against Trump fall within that shield.
That narrow resolution could provide Trump with more pathways to delay his cases, as he hopes to retake the White House following November’s election and grind his remaining indictments to a halt.
Meanwhile, one Jan. 6 rioter’s appeal could help Trump – as one of four charges the former president faces is obstruction of an official proceeding. When said rioter challenged the use of this provision, the Supreme Court seemed skeptical of the DOJ’s use of the charge.
Social Media Rights Under Scrutiny
The Court is also set to decide on the rights of social media platforms, with significant implications for free speech online. This includes cases from Texas and Florida, where laws have been enacted to prevent social media platforms from banning users based on political views, challenging the platforms’ First Amendment rights to editorial discretion. The justices showed mixed reactions during the February arguments, reflecting the complexity of balancing regulatory measures with free speech.
The rights afforded to social media platforms are on the line in two cases stemming from controversial laws regulating social media bans in Texas and Florida.
The laws aim to prevent social media companies from banning users based on their political views — even if users violate platform policies.
Tech industry groups challenged the legislation as a violation of private companies’ First Amendment rights, arguing that the laws allowed the government to walk all over platforms’ editorial discretion.
The justices appeared conflicted over the laws during oral arguments in February.
A third case against the Biden administration threatens to upend how the federal government quells misinformation online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 presidential election.
The Fate of a Widely Used Abortion Pill
Another critical decision involves the abortion pill mifepristone, with the justices evaluating changes made by the FDA that ease access to the medication. This ruling follows the conservative majority’s previous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and it could further impact abortion access across the United States, depending on whether the Court restricts the use of the pill, which is involved in over half of all abortions nationally.
A group of anti-abortion doctors and medical associations challenged changes made by the FDA over the past decade easing access to the pill, including increasing the gestational age at which mifepristone can be used to up to 10 weeks of pregnancy and allowing the medication to be mailed.
The high-stakes case could impact abortion access in both red and blue states, with mifepristone being used in more than half of abortions nationwide.
During March oral arguments, a majority of justices appeared skeptical that the challengers were sufficiently harmed to have gained legal standing to bring their case.
Gun Rights Reexamined
The Court is addressing two major gun rights cases. The first involves the constitutionality of federal restrictions on gun possession for individuals under domestic-violence restraining orders. Initial hearings suggest the Court may uphold these restrictions. The second case examines the legality of Trump-era regulations on bump stocks, with the justices appearing divided during arguments.
Potential Overhaul of Federal Agency Power
Lastly, the justices are considering a challenge to the Chevron deference, a pivotal doctrine that has permitted federal agencies broad regulatory authority for decades. A decision to overturn this precedent could significantly rein in the power of the executive branch to enact regulatory changes across various sectors, including environmental protection and financial regulations.
Each of these decisions not only holds profound implications for the individuals and policies directly involved but also for the broader trajectory of American political and social life, signaling a potentially transformative period in U.S. jurisprudence.
“To hell with them fellas. Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms.”– Josey Wales
As our political, economic, civic, and social structures continue to degrade, dissolve, and disintegrate before our very eyes, it is easy to become apathetic and surrender to hopelessness. There are relentless powerful forces actively trying to destroy the fabric of our society and force the masses into economic servitude while caged in an electronic gulag, controlled by an oligarchy of evil totalitarian minded billionaires and their lackeys in key governmental, political, banking, military, media, and corporate positions of power. We are in the same situation as Josey Wales in Clint Eastwood’s epic 1976 film – The Outlaw Josey Wales.
The film tells the story of Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer, just trying to live his life in peace without interference from the government, uninterested in the violent Civil War between two monolithic forces fighting for their created causes. His wife and son are brutally murdered by Union Redleg militants, led by the despicable Captain Terrill, while he was away from his homestead. After burying his family, his mind naturally turns towards seeking revenge against the perpetrators, and he begins to practice shooting. He joins a group of pro-Confederate bushwackers who become the scourge of Union forces until the war’s conclusion.
At the conclusion of the war, Josey’s friend and superior, Captain Fletcher, persuades the guerrillas to surrender, having been promised by Senator Lane that they will be granted amnesty if they hand over their weapons. Josey refuses to surrender because he knows you can never trust the government or the politicians who make promises they never keep. They have been pissing down our backs since the last Civil War, while telling us it’s just raining, so everyone can relate to this scene in the movie.
Senator:The war’s over. Our side won the war. Now we must busy ourselves winning the peace. And Fletcher, there’s an old saying: To the victors belong the spoils. Fletcher:There’s another old saying, Senator: Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining.
Wales having refused to surrender, along with a young guerrilla named Jamie, are the only survivors when Terrill’s Redlegs massacre the surrendering men. Wales intervenes and wipes out many of the Redlegs with a Gatling gun before fleeing with Jamie, who dies from a bullet wound sustained in the massacre after helping Josey kill two pursuing bounty hunters.
Fletcher learns the lesson that you can never trust the government, or the lackeys carrying out their mandates. They will lie and murder to accomplish their goals. Anyone who does not bow to their authority will be treated as an outlaw, with no acquiescence to the Constitution, decency, or simple human dignity. Once decent men are pushed too far, they will push back in a more violent manner than the authorities will expect. Violence begets violence, and will create more Josey Wales type characters who will not surrender or ever bow down to governmental authority.
Fletcher:Damn you, Senator. You promised me those men would be decently treated. Senator Lane:They were decently treated. They were decently fed and then they were decently shot. Those men are common outlaws, nothing more.
The remainder of the movie entails Union soldiers and bounty hunters trying to track and kill Josey, while he accumulates a rag-tag group of companions, including Indians, foul mouthed grannies, and a slew of other settlers trying to live their lives unhindered by the government. Clint Eastwood’s character maintains a stoic meanness throughout the film towards his government enabled enemies, but has empathy and kindheartedness towards the downtrodden people who represent the vast majority of citizens in this country.
I found it interesting the film was based on the novel Gone to Texas, written with a virulent anti-government slant by a former George Wallace speechwriter. When the script writer/director tried to tone down the anti-government aspects, Eastwood told him no and eventually fired him, taking over as director for the remainder of the film. Eastwood’s refusal to bow to Hollywood pressure and soften the dialogue and story line is a tribute to his resolute dislike and mistrust of governmental authorities. He has essentially gone his own way and made his films his way, never letting the Hollywood elite dictate his path.
Released in 1976 when anti-war sentiment was at its peak, following the government created Vietnam war debacle, which slaughtered over 50,000 American boys, Eastwood later referred to it as an anti-war film. And we all know it is governments and those Deep State operatives who control the levers of power, and start wars to increase their wealth, power and control. War never ends because it is extremely profitable for those waging it, while the youth doing the fighting are just cannon fodder for corporate interests. Eastwood was dead on, as we have waged wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and now Ukraine and Palestine, benefiting the military industrial complex at the expense of you and me.
“As for Josey Wales, I saw the parallels to the modern day at that time. Everybody gets tired of it, but it never ends. A war is a horrible thing.” – Clint Eastwood
Eastwood equates the plight of the Confederacy with the plight of the American Indian, as both groups were bullied, bloodied and crushed under the weight of the Federal government, which began its unfettered growth during the Civil War and has now reached its zenith of incompetence, arrogance, lawlessness, and hatred towards the citizens it is supposed to serve. Most people just want to be left alone, like Josey Wales, to live their lives in peace and harmony with their fellow community members. But the federal government makes that impossible, with their rules, regulations, taxes, fees, and enforcement thugs harassing the public on a daily basis.
In Eastwood’s movie they murder his family, murder his comrades, and are hell-bent on murdering him. The song remains the same. Our government murdered people minding their own business at Ruby Ridge. They murdered women and children at Waco. They murdered a rancher at Bundy Ranch. They send young men to war for bankers and corporations. They have been unlawfully imprisoning protestors in dungeons for a fake insurrection fomented and initiated by government agents. They rigged the presidential election and have convicted the leading political candidate of fake crimes he did not commit in order to maintain control over the political system.
The list could go on for pages, as the totalitarian methods and abuse of power against the citizens of this country accelerate at a breakneck pace. Fear of seeing their wealth and power slip away has created an almost psychotic spasm of unhindered chaotic flailing about, in an ultimately fruitless effort to retain control. They are fearful of the masses wakening from their technology induced slumber and realizing the enemy is not the groups they have been programmed to hate, but the very government pulling the strings of this clownshow.
The government needs a sedated, dumbed down populace who fear what they are told to fear and obey the instructions of their overlords. But the covid scamdemic and continuing death of loved ones from the toxic jabs, has opened the eyes of millions. The debt death spiral induced by Biden’s handlers, supercharged by the coordinated and financed invasion of our southern border by third world mutts, and resulting in raging inflation for average American families, has angered and infuriated the masses. We are approaching our moment of truth.
The government is in the midst of creating millions of vengeful Josey Wales characters. As political chaos increases in the coming months, the threat of global conflagration escalates and the economic plight of the masses deteriorates, revenge against politicians, government drones, and the globalist financial elite for creating this madness will expand rapidly. We know what Josey Wales would do. The question is what will we do.
Eastwood made his final Western masterpiece, sixteen years after Josey Wales, with the release of the Academy Award winning Unforgiven. He paid tribute to Josey Wales in the climactic scene in the saloon when confronting Little Bill. In The Outlaw Josey Wales Grandma Sarah’s initial reaction to meeting Josey Wales was:
“This Mr. Wales is a cold-blooded killer. He’s from Missouri, where they’re all known to be killers of innocent men, women and children.”
He closes the loop with Will Munny, out of Missouri, with the same false accusation that he killed women and children, as he also seeks retribution on government authoritarians who murdered an innocent man. Both Josey Wales and Will Munny tried to live out their lives as peaceful farmers, but were forced to revert to violence because the government would not allow them to live in peace.
Little Bill Daggett : “You’d be William Munny out of Missouri. Killer of women and children.”
Will Munny : “That’s right. I’ve killed women and children. I’ve killed just about everything that walks or crawled at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned.”
Eastwood’s first and last epic Westerns both examined the harsh reality of violence and retribution as the logical consequence for crimes committed against innocent people just trying to lives their lives. His meditations on the concepts of age, repute, courage, and the cloudy definition of heroism, make for far deeper and complex examinations of the old West than other western films. Eastwood distinguishes between the brutal reality of a world controlled and run by tyrannical psychopaths acting as government agents, and people living peacefully, with no government intervention.
Eastwood’s ideal vision of America as a pluralist society of individualists of all races and backgrounds who put aside the past and their difference to live in harmony, contrasts with the reality of a society controlled and manipulated by those referred to as the “invisible government” by Edward Bernays. The ruling elite do not want people to live peaceably in a self reliant manner. The climactic scene in Outlaw Josey Wales between Josey Wales and Ten Bears captures the nature of our world and the difference between governments and the people.
Josie Wales : “I came here to die with you. Or to live with you. Dying ain’t so hard for men like you and me. It’s living that’s hard when all you’ve ever cared about has been butchered or raped. Governments don’t live together – people live together. With governments, you don’t always get a fair word or a fair fight. Well, I’ve come here to give you either one or get either one from you. I came here like this so you’ll know my word of death is true, and my word of life is then true. The bear lives here, the wolf, the antelope, the Comanche. And so will we. Now we’ll only hunt what we need to live on, same as the Comanche does. And every spring, when the grass turns green, and the Comanche moves north, you can rest here in peace, butcher some of our cattle, and jerk beef for the journey. The sign of the Comanche, that will be on our lodge. That’s my word of life.”
Ten Bears : “It’s sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues. There is iron in your words of death for all Comanche to see, and so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron. It must come from men. The words of Ten Bears carries the same iron of life and death. It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life… or death. It shall be life.”
I had previously used Josey Wales as the basis for Part Four of my five part series based on Clint Eastwood movies in 2012, documenting how the Federal Reserve, under the control of the Wall Street banking cabal, had destroyed the middle class and set in motion the ultimate destruction of the American economic system. Here we are twelve years later and that destruction is approaching its climax. As the powers that be are flailing about in a final destructive apocalyptic spasm of hate, greed, and war, the average American needs to channel their inner Josey Wales.
We can either give up and allow those running this shitshow for their own benefit to enslave us in perpetual debt, culling us with their toxic “vaccines”, making us eat meatless meat and bugs, forcing us into their digital currencies, 15 minute cities (aka electronic gulags), electric cars, and social credit system, or we can get plumb, mad-dog mean and man up. In order to reverse our totalitarian spiral, being executed by powerful mega-wealthy men and their highly compensated double tongued lackey politicians, bankers, media moguls, and corporate chiefs, those 300 million guns will need to be put to use.
If we want to live together peacefully, unhindered by an overbearing, corrupt government behemoth, controlled by evil men with evil intentions, then we will have to fight. That’s just the way it is. Ask yourself, “What would Josey Wales do?”, and act accordingly.
Speed Cameras In Atlanta Improperly Issued $300,000 To $500,000 Worth Of Tickets
This is where the future is heading when we leave the police work up to big brother and AI.
Innocent drivers in Atlanta were improperly issued $75 tickets for speeding through a school zone at times when flashing yellow lights, used to indicate a revised speed limit during school hours, were not flashing.
FOX affiliate WAGA-TV reports that once school is dismissed and the orange lights cease flashing, the speed limit increases to 35 miles per hour, from the revised limit of 25 miles per hour.
According to follow up reporting from The Sun, Atlanta Public Schools acknowledged that cameras were mistakenly issuing tickets to drivers after hours when the orange lights were off.
As a result, drivers who received these citations, numbering nearly 4,500 since November 2023, will be refunded. The issue led to the issuance of hundreds of thousands of dollars in incorrect fines over a period of six months.
Reporters inquired why cameras weren’t deactivated after hours but received no direct response. Ivan DeQuesada was fined $75 for speeding—39 mph in a 25 mph zone at nearly 5 p.m. on a Friday, despite inactive flashing lights, the report says.
He said: “I thought about what was happening that day. I remembered what I was doing, and then I thought, ‘Man, I don’t remember that school zone light being on.”
“So I asked my neighbors, and then I was shocked to find out that several neighbors also got tickets, and they were kind of unexpected for the same reasons,” he continued.
His neighbor, James Murphy, called it out as a potential money grab: “They shouldn’t be raking in money from dozens of cars driving down the road when there’s no light blinking.”
“It really just seems like a way to try to bring in money, rather than actually increase safety,” he concluded.
Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong says we are going to have a wild close to 2024.
Let’s start with Biden’s new job approval rating from Martin Armstrong’s “Socrates” program, which is now only 6% to 7%. Armstrong explains,
“It’s the old story of draining the swamp, but now, the swamp is an ocean. This is completely crazy. The cases against Trump show you how desperate they are here.
The reason they want Biden, and they even blocked RFK Jr. from getting on the Democrat ticket, the reason they want him is he is just a sock puppet.
He’s not really in charge. He’s not making any decisions.”
Are the Deep State globalist Democrats panicking over the 6% to 7% Biden approval rating? Top people on both sides know this is an accurate number. With about four months to go before the 2024 Election, are they now panicking over these dismal approval numbers? Armstrong says, “Oh, yes, they are panicking…”
” I have been in politics for more than 40 years. I know how it works. All of a sudden, you see in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, oh, Biden is slipping behind closed doors. That would not make the press unless they wanted it to.
They are floating a balloon to see how it goes. All of a sudden, they want Biden to do a debate. Before, no debates. Why? Because they know he’s going to look bad…
At the Democrat Convention, they will draft someone else, and that is most likely going to be Hillary.”
The economy and war are linked in a big way, according to Armstrong, and he explains:
“You’ve got about $10 trillion of US debt that is maturing this year. . . . You’ve got Secretary of State Blinken threatening China with war. China dumped $53 billion in US debt in the first quarter of 2024. That means China are sellers and not buyers. You had Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen flying to China asking, ‘Please don’t sell.’
It didn’t work. This is why they are talking about raising the capital gains to 44%. Why? If nobody is going to buy the debt, that’s when default comes. If you cannot sell the new debt to pay off the old debt, guess what? It’s done.
This is how governments fall, and I have been warning them for decades that this is how it’s going to end…
This is why they need war. This is why Europe is going into war. . . . If you cannot sell the new debt, you have to default. If you have war, and that is what is really behind this, if you go into war, they get to default and blame Putin…
In November, it’s going to be Trump vs World War III regardless who is on the other side.
If you get Hillary or you get Biden, it’s the same thing. Hillary is a neocon, and Biden says yes to whatever the neocons want.”
And the neocons clearly want war–a big one.
There is much more in the 1-hour and 3-minute in-depth interview.
Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with Martin Armstrong as he gives his analysis about unpayable global debt, world war and the 2024 Election for 6.8.24.
Blinken’s Exercise In Futility: Mideast Tour #8 To Achieve Gaza Truce
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is once again in the Middle East where he’s pressing for a Gaza ceasefire. But so far at least, it seems this but more of the same futile and hopeless, contradictory messaging. It is his eighth trip to the region since the Gaza war began.
He first stopped in Cairo Monday before heading to Israel, after which he’s expected to go to Jordan and Qatar. The Biden administration is pressing for finalization of what’s been described as an “Israeli-proposed” truce plan but which oddly enough the Netanyahu government has distanced itself from.
The finger-pointing continues, suggesting that more of the same gridlock will again lead to failure to secure a deal, also as Israel’s military shows no signs of slowing the Rafah offensive. The US is saying Hamas must urgently accept the ceasefire deal on the table while Hamas is saying that Israel must accept it.
In essence, both warring sides are accusing the other of thwarting ceasefire:
Blinken once again called on Hamas to accept the plan, which he said has wide international support and has been accepted by Israel. “My message to governments throughout the region… if you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say ‘yes,’” he told reporters before leaving Cairo.
Blinken said: “I believe strongly… that the overwhelming majority of people, whether they’re in Israel, the West Bank, in Gaza… actually want to believe in a future where Israelis and Palestinians would live in peace and security.”
However, Hamas has hit back, saying it is in reality Israel’s leaders that refuse to end the war – in reference to the three phase deal currently under discussion which would eventually result in the release of hostages and exchange of prisoners.
“We call upon the US administration to put pressure on the occupation to stop the war on Gaza and the Hamas movement is ready to deal positively with any initiative that secures an end to the war,” a senior Hamas official identified as Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Hamas also likely sees Washington as a bad faith actor, given Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address both chambers of Congress on July 24. Biden is beset by a growing movement among Democrats to boycott the speech. Billions in aid and weaponry has continued to be pledge to Tel Aviv.
🚨 Hamas and PIJ in a joint statement:
Any deal must include a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, rehabilitation and lifting of the siege, and a serious prisoner exchange deal.
— Voice of Justice || صوت العدالة (@V4P4L) June 10, 2024
On Monday, the US is pushing for a UN Security Council (UNSC) vote which would give formal UN backing for the current ceasefire deal being considered.
Fighting in southern Gaza has meanwhile only intensified, as Israeli tank forces days ago cut through the so-called Philadelphia corridor all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. This means the IDF now has total control of a strip of land that cuts across southern Rafah, effectively cutting off the Strip from the Egyptian border. An estimated one million internally displaced Palestinians have fled Rafah city and its environs over the past weeks.
What Exec Order? Biden Memo Instructs SoCal Border Patrol To Release Most Single Adults
President Biden’s executive order to curb the illegal alien invasion was nothing more than optically pleasing headlines before the September presidential debates. Just days after the order was signed, US Customs and Border Protection agents in the southern California sector received a memo instructing them to release single adults from all but six countries.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin obtained an internal CBP memo sent to agents in the San Diego sector following Biden’s executive order last Tuesday. The memo instructed them to release single adults from over 100 eastern hemisphere countries, except for six (Uzbekistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan) deemed “mandatory referral” countries. This means despite the president’s promise of stopping the invasion between border checkpoints, the majority, including Chinese, Middle Eastern, and African adults, are still being released into the US.
Here’s more from Melugin:
NEW: @FoxNews has obtained an internal Border Patrol memo sent to agents in San Diego sector after President Biden’s executive order took effect, instructing them to release single adults from all but six countries in the eastern hemisphere & classifying them as “hard” or “very hard” to remove.
Specifically, the memo instructs agents to process all single adults from 100+ countries in the eastern hemisphere as NTA/OR, which means “Notice to Appear/Release on Own Recognizance”, except for six countries which are deemed “mandatory referral” countries (Uzbekistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan).
President Biden & DHS promised consequences & removal for those who cross illegally between ports of entry after the executive order took effect – but the overwhelming majority of illegal crossers in San Diego sector, including the Chinese, Middle Eastern, & African adults we’ve been showing, are still being released into the US with future court dates, as our coverage has shown repeatedly with Border Patrol mass releases at a trolley station in San Diego.
In a background call with reporters, DHS officials acknowledged the difficulty of removing illegal immigrants from eastern hemisphere countries, as some governments won’t cooperate with US repatriation flights/travel documents & won’t take their citizens back
DHS officials said they are engaged with these countries and are trying to enhance cooperation.
Bottom line in the short term: Mass catch & release continues for illegal immigrants in San Diego sector, who continue pouring in from all around the globe.
H/T to @Anna_Giaritelli , who was the first reporter to scoop this memo.
NEW: @FoxNews has obtained an internal Border Patrol memo sent to agents in San Diego sector after President Biden’s executive order took effect, instructing them to release single adults from all but six countries in the eastern hemisphere & classifying them as “hard” or “very… pic.twitter.com/OaSLSYbuC1
NEW: Just spoke to senior CBP officials about this memo. I’m told this was localized guidance put out to San Diego sector only because of the unique countries around the world they encounter there, & this is not CBP or DHS’ guidance for the entire border. The CBP officials said…
NEW: Once again, we witnessed Border Patrol mass release hundreds of migrants from around the world who crossed illegally. Dropped off at a trolley station in San Diego. When you hear DHS say “removal proceedings”, it often means released with a future court date.
“Consequences” pic.twitter.com/kMNd45JGK8
🚨 MAJOR SCOOP: Border Patrol agents in southern California have been instructed to admit migrants from all but 6 of the 100+ countries in the eastern hemisphere — days after @POTUS issued an executive order in which he stated migrants would be removed from the country and not… pic.twitter.com/nE68rrfJa2
Last week, Biden tried to convince the nation that his executive action would actually do something to stop the illegal invasion, yet it was merely a lie as the flood of migrants will continue. One reason to lie to the American people is that Biden’s polling data has been crushed by the crime and chaos spreading across cities as migrants pour in by the tens of thousands, and in some cases, hundreds of thousands.
Below is my column in The Hill on the latest calls to protect democracy with distinctly undemocratic measures. Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton insisted that the 2024 election was our D-Day, suggesting that voters would have to fight the GOP like the Nazis in World War II. Clinton previously called on Europe to censor American citizens when Twitter sought to dismantle its censorship program and called her defeat in the 2016 election “illegitimate.” Yet, for civil libertarians, the “defenders of democracy” are the very threat to democracy going into the 2024 election.
Here is the column:
In 2024, the greatest test for our Constitution may be whether it can survive the “Defenders of Democracy.”
Ronald Reagan often said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Today, Reagan’s line cannot compare with the line that sends many of us into a fetal position: “I’m a Democrat and I am here to save democracy.”
The jump scare claim is that unless citizens vote for democrats, the end of democracy will begin shortly. In 2022, House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told “Fox News Sunday” that “democracy will be ending” if Democrats lost the midterms.
The rhetoric has continued to ramp up with the upcoming election.
From President Joe Biden to a host of progressive politicians and pundits, the 2024 election is all about saving democracy. The public has been told that if the Democrats lose power, citizens will be living in a tyrannical hellscape. Vice President Kamala Harris stated in one interview that 2024 “genuinely could be” the last democratic election in America’s history. Dozens of Democrats have said that democracy will end if Biden is not reelected.
The Washington Post even ran an op-ed titled, “A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending.”
Many Americans have tuned out the overheated rhetoric, as shown by Donald Trump’s continuing lead in many polls even after his conviction in Manhattan. The warnings also ignore that our system has checks and balances that protected democracy for centuries as the world’s oldest and most successful constitutional system. These dire predictions would require all three branches to fail in an unprecedented fashion.
While these figures cite the Capitol riot on Jan 6., 2021 as evidence of the pending collapse of democracy, the system worked as designed on that day. Congress refused to be deterred by the riot and virtually every court (including many presided over by Trump-appointed judges) rejected challenges to the election.
The most obvious threats today to the democratic system are coming from the left, not the right.
Democratic secretaries of state sought to block Trump from the ballot in 2024, and Democratic members sought to bar roughly 120 colleagues from their respective ballots. It seemed that the greatest threat to democracy was its exercise by voters. Fortunately, a unanimous Supreme Court rejected the theory and added, “Nothing in the Constitution requires that we endure such chaos.”
There has also been a push by Democrats to keep third-party candidates off ballots. Again, the last thing democracy needs is for voters to have more democratic choice.
In New York, Democratic congressional candidate Paula Collins even suggested that, after the election, the focus must be on “re-education” of MAGA voters, although she acknowledged that “that sounds like a rather, a re-education camp. I don’t think we really want to call it that. I’m sure we can find another way to phrase it.”
Democratic operatives are using the same rationalization to call for biased reporting to help Biden get reelected.
Democratic strategist James Carville this week demanded more “slanted” media coverage against Donald Trump to save democracy. Carville was triggered by New York Times editor Joe Kahn suggesting that the newspaper report the news in a fair and neutral manner. The suggestion sent many pundits into vapors at the very thought of reembracing objectivity in journalism.
“I don’t have anything against slanted coverage,” Carville insisted. “I really don’t, I would have something against it at most other times in American history, but not right now. F— your objectivity. The real objectivity in this country right now is we’re either going to have a Constitution or we’re not.”
It was particularly galling to hear the call for “slanted coverage” in the same week that the Hunter Biden laptop was authenticated and used as evidence in his Delaware trial. The government has called the widely reported claim that the laptop was “Russian disinformation” a debunked “conspiracy theory.” Carville was making his pitch for more biased reporting to the very media that buried the laptop story before the last election and spent two years in denial of its authenticity.
Yet, many journalists agree with Carville. Some journalism schools have been teaching that reporters need to dump concepts of objectivity and neutrality to achieve political and social reforms.
This week, reporters were irate after Washington Post publisher and CEO William Lewis issued a blunt message that the newspaper could not survive after losing half of its readership and tens of millions of dollars last year. He told the staff: “People are not reading your stuff. Right. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.”
The fear that these newspapers might cover Biden and Trump in a fair and balanced way was immediately denounced as . . . wait for it . . . a threat to democracy. After Carville’s meltdown, the Washington Post’s Margaret Sullivan warned Kahn and others that “our very democracy is on the brink, and how the Times covers that existential threat is of extraordinary importance.” She then asked whether the paper will “forthrightly identify the problems posed by a radicalized Republican Party that is increasingly dedicated to lies, bad-faith attacks and the destruction of democratic norms.”
Sullivan expressed alarm that the media would “try to cut the situation straight down the middle as if we were still in the old days — an era that no longer exists?”
The “era” appears to be the golden age of journalism when most Americans respected and patronized the same media outlets. Now, citizens are fleeing mainstream media, and polls indicate that they view reporters as pursuing the very political agendas embraced by figures like Carville and Sullivan.
Many voters are also responding to what they see as the politicalization of the criminal justice system, particularly with Trump’s recent trial in Manhattan. Again, these cases are being embraced as key to “defending democracy” when many citizens view them as the very antithesis of a nation committed to the rule of law.
This glaring disconnect was evident when President Joe Biden spoke on the top of the Point-du-Hoc in Normandy on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Biden again used the event to suggest that democracy was in danger in the United States with the upcoming election. Yet, Biden has overseen widespread government censorship with federal agencies targeting those with opposing views on everything from elections and climate change to COVID-19 and transgender policies.
As Democratic secretaries of state sought to bar Trump from ballots, Biden refused to oppose the efforts. When liberal law professors and members demanded to pack the Supreme Court to guarantee a liberal majority, Biden refused to denounce it during the last campaign.
This is why some in the country may view Biden and the Democrats as existential threats not just to democracy, but to themselves.They see a party that is engaged in efforts to cleanse ballots (of Republicans), censor dissenting voices and prosecute political opponents. That is not exactly what propelled those men to climb the cliff of Pointe-du-Hoc in 1944.
Fortunately, our democracy does not depend on any president. It was designed by James Madison to withstand the worst, not the best, motivations of our leaders. After all, Madison wrote in Federalist #51, “If Men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
The system that he designed has withstood political, economic and social crises, including a civil war. It may even protect us from today’s “defenders of democracy.”
