Authored by Kevin Stocklin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Kentucky has joined a growing list of conservative states that have begun to boycott banks they charge are discriminating against the fossil fuel industry.

In compliance with a Kentucky law passed in March, State Treasurer Allison Ball yesterday released a list of banks that “are engaged in energy company boycotts.” This list included Wall Street giants BlackRock, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas, HSBC, and six other smaller banks.

“Energy is important in Kentucky,” Ball told The Epoch Times. “It’s important to the nation, but in Kentucky in particular, about 7.8 percent of our labor force is from the energy sector. We have a lot at stake just because it’s a part of our economy.”

Kentucky’s action to protect its fossil fuel industry follows similar measures by West Virginia and Texas last year. Kentucky is the seventh-largest state in coal production and 71 percent of its electricity depends on coal-fired plants. Kentucky is also responsible for 1.6 percent of America’s oil refining capacity and 2 percent of its natural gas storage. More than half of Kentucky households rely on electricity to heat their homes.

“From an ideological perspective, those industries have been have been targeted for the last few years by the ESG movement,” Ball said. “So our state legislature in Kentucky passed last year a bill that said, ‘If you are boycotting the fossil fuel industry, then we don’t want to do business with you as a state.’ We don’t want to use taxpayer dollars to support an ideology that’s actually targeting and harming our signature industries.”

According to the Kentucky law, known as SB205, the banks on the boycott list have 60 days to dispute the charge and 90 days to “cease engaging in energy company boycotts in order to avoid becoming subject to divestment by state governmental entities.”

Derek Kreifels, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, lauded Treasurer Ball’s action, stating: “She and other state financial officers across the country are leading the movement to ensure that money earned by hardworking American families is used in accordance with their values, not weaponized against them.”

Kreifels told The Epoch Times that he expects more states will follow the lead of Kentucky, Texas, and West Virginia in 2023.

“ESG is front and center in this next legislative session,” he said. Issues of concern could range from fossil fuels to firearms, to plains states like Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa working to protect their farming industries that feed the nation.

“We see the harm that ESG is doing, and we applaud any state official who’s willing to stand up to this scam that is being pushed across America from the White House to Wall Street,” he said.

Many of the financial institutions on Kentucky’s boycott list have signed pledges to reduce carbon emissions across their lending and investment portfolios as members of international clubs like Climate Action 100+, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM). While firms who have joined these groups insist that they remain active investors in fossil fuel companies and do not discriminate against them, investment firm Vanguard is one of the few financial firms to withdraw its membership in these clubs.

“It’s remarkable to me that any of these institutions say that they’re not engaging in boycotts, because they have statements that say that they are, and some of them very explicitly,” Ball said. “Blackrock has been very explicit in wanting to cease business with coal companies.”

At a December hearing before the Texas state senate, representatives from State Street and BlackRock testified that they only join these clubs to discuss climate issues with other members, rather than to force an agenda on companies whose shares they own. Despite the pledge of members of Climate Action 100+ and NZAM to “reach net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner across all assets under management,” many banks and asset managers insist they are doing no such thing in practice.

BlackRock recently received a three-year exemption from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to buy up to 20 percent of U.S. public utilities. Vanguard is currently seeking similar approval.

As the largest asset managers in the world, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street typically do not divest from fossil fuel companies, but rather buy and hold their shares and work with management regarding the changes they want to see. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, issues an annual letter to CEOs that details what he considers the most important topics for them to focus on in the coming year, which often includes “sustainability” issues.

“We engage with companies in our portfolios; we do not divest,” State Street Global Advisors’ Chief Investment Officer Lori Heinel stated at the Texas hearing. But Heinel added: “We do not discriminate against companies in any sector, including energy companies … That means we do not tell those energy companies to shift their strategy or to drill more wells.”

Read more here…

Capitol police have arrested Micki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt, for allegedly “jaywalking” while protesting during the anniversary of her daughter’s death. 

Ashli Babbitt, the January 6th protester and military veteran who was famously shot and killed by police while unarmed, was the only fatality of the event that did not involve natural causes.  

Witnesses noted that sidewalks near the Capitol Building were blocked as protesters sought to move closer, which forced them to shift onto the side of the street in order to navigate around. 

Police immediately ordered Witthoeft and others to cross to the opposite side of the road away from the building. 

When Witthoeft refused, she was arrested. 

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Thursday to stop the Biden administration from ignoring a federal immigration law that prevents illegal immigrants from residing in the United States if they’re likely to rely on taxpayer-funded programs.

“I’ve sued [President Joe] Biden over a dozen times to secure our southern border,” Paxton said on Twitter. “Now, just as 2023 is starting, I’m bringing another lawsuit—the first of its kind in the nation on Biden’s disastrous new public-charge rule. I’ll keep suing [and] winning until he [and] his lawless Dems follow the law.”

Paxton accused the Biden administration of furthering an open borders policy by enacting the new rule, which “effectively nullifies federal law excluding aliens likely to become public charges,” according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (pdf).

That rule has been in place since 1882 and was reaffirmed by Congress in 1996 under the bipartisan Welfare Reform Act. By not enforcing the law, the Biden administration has opened the door to illegal aliens who’ll be dependent on welfare, the lawsuit alleges.

Paxton’s lawsuit argues that the December 2022 rule was enacted in violation of federal law and is arbitrary and capricious.

“The Biden Administration is committed to opening the borders to aliens who lack the ability to take care of themselves. Texans should not have to pay for these costly immigrants, nor should any other American,” Paxton said in a statement. “I will continue to defend the rule of law and fight to ensure that the massive costs of illegal immigration don’t further burden taxpayers.”

Public Charge

Paxton’s office said the new rule prohibits the consideration of statutorily required factors in determining whether an alien is likely to become a “public charge.” The term public charge first appeared in statute in the Immigration Act of 1882, where Congress barred the admission of “any person unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge.”

Self-sufficiency has been considered a basic principle of U.S. immigration law since the country’s earliest immigration statutes. It is U.S. immigration policy that aliens within the country’s borders shouldn’t depend on public resources to meet their needs but rather rely on their individual capabilities and the resources of their families, sponsors, and private organizations. Further, the availability of public benefits shouldn’t be an incentive for immigration to the United States.

As assurance that they won’t become a drain on taxpayers, aliens usually offer U.S. authorities documentation that their family will financially support them. However, Biden’s rule prevents a comprehensive probe of the truth of this material, according to Paxton’s office.

Paxton is also leading a 14-state coalition that filed a cert-stage brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in September 2022 after the Biden administration tried to covertly abolish the public charge rule. That petition was filed after the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled against a Texas-led coalition.

“With America in the midst of a recession and families across the country already facing record-high inflation, it’s completely reprehensible to expect taxpayers to foot the bill for hundreds of millions of dollars to sponsor more and more illegal aliens,” Paxton said at the time.

Rule Change

Paxton argues in his lawsuit that the Biden administration’s rule change is intended to ensure that “virtually no alien is ever found to be a public charge.”

While the 1996 reform was designed “to increase the bite of the public charge determination,” the 2022 rule change “illegally narrows the meaning of ‘public charge’ to oblivion, disregarding of the term’s historical meaning and violating the statute,” according to the lawsuit.

Paxton’s lawsuit argues that the 2022 rule change ignores congressional mandates by only considering cash, but not in-kind, government benefits when assessing whether an individual is likely to become a public charge.

Read more here…

After four grueling days and 15 votes, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is finally Speaker of the House – but not without having made a pile of concessions to a group of hard-line Republicans who think he’ll be too accommodating to uniparty interests.

The last vote came after a dramatic scene, where during the 14th vote Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) threw a wrench in the gears – voting ‘present,’ which left McCarthy just one vote short of victory.

McCarthy – who clearly thought he had a deal, stormed up to Gaetz and exchanged words, during which a visibly angry Rep. Mike Rodgers bolted towards Gaetz and had to be muzzled and restrained.

Kevin McCarthy approaches Gaetz and Boebert because he needed 216 votes to win. pic.twitter.com/o6VBsbwVVV

— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) January 7, 2023

Rodgers lunged at Gaetz? pic.twitter.com/THHpZA4XjQ

— Elizabeth Wachsberg (@EWachsberg) January 7, 2023

During the final, 15th ballot, enough holdouts voted ‘present’ to bring the total required number of votes low enough for McCarthy to finally win around midnight.

Here’s what McCarthy had to give up for the votes, according to The Epoch Times‘ Roger L. Simon, who interviewed first-year Congressman Andrew Ogles (R-TN), who has yet to be sworn in;

I spoke with Ogles by phone the night of Jan. 6, 2023, before the roll call vote during which, it was said, two of the remaining rejectionists who couldn’t accept McCarthy personally would absent themselves so that the magic number would be lowered and the new Speaker could go over the top.

Apropos, Ogles informed me that what many had guessed was true. His absence from voting in a previous round was also planned. He waited to see that all was going according to plan before stepping forward to flip his vote to McCarthy after the initial round.  

For Ogles, the basis of all the negotiations was to establish the rules of the game in Congress that had been altered over the years beyond recognition. As he pointed out, the rules of a game almost always determine the winner.

He shared with me a list of some of what has been roughly negotiated to date. The devil, as always, is in the details.

1. As has been reported, it will only take a single congressperson, acting in what is known as a Jeffersonian Motion, to move to remove the Speaker if he or she goes back on their word or policy agenda.

2. A “Church” style committee will be convened to look into the weaponization of the FBI and other government organizations (presumably the CIA, the subject of the original Church Committee) against the American people.

3. Term limits will be put up for a vote.

4. Bills presented to Congress will be single subject, not omnibus with all the attendant earmarks, and there will be a 72-hour minimum period to read them.

5. The Texas Border Plan will be put before Congress. From The Hill: “The four-pronged plan aims to ‘Complete Physical Border Infrastructure,’ ‘Fix Border Enforcement Policies,’ ‘Enforce our Laws in the Interior’ and ‘Target Cartels & Criminal Organizations.’”

6. COVID mandates will be ended as will all funding for them, including so-called “emergency funding.”

7. Budget bills would stop the endless increases in the debt ceiling and hold the Senate accountable for the same.

*  *  *

In response to the outcome, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), one of the holdouts, said in a statement that the anti-McCarthy Reps. “changed the way the government will be funded,” and “changed the way committees will be formed.”

“We secured votes on term limits, the fair tax, the Texas Border Plan, and so much more.“

Bobert goes on to slam President Biden for calling the speakership process ’embarrassing for Republicans.

“How sad is it that us governing as the founders intended looks embarrassing to Democrats?” Bobert asked, adding “I’ll tell you what’s embarrassing. 40-year high inflation is embarrassing. 5 million illegals crossing our southern border is embarrassing/ Surrendering to ISIS and fleeing Afghanistan is embarrassing. Having a president that cant’ finish his sentences is embarrassing.”

My statement on the historic victories House conservatives secured. pic.twitter.com/O8rG1VHk0X

— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) January 7, 2023

“It’s safe to say that we believe there ought to be specific, concrete limits on spending attached to a debt ceiling increase,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) on Thursday.

“There will be no clean debt ceiling increase, that’s for sure,” said Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), another anti-McCarthy lawmaker who was convinced to switch his vote due to the concessions.

No word from Ogles on committee assignments or agreements, however there are discussions on positions for members of the Freedom Caucus.

Also no word on whether the House will hold a different kind of Jan. 6 investigation, unless it’s going to be part of the new “Church” committee.

Meanwhile, The Hill notes that chairmanships on subcommittees are still going to need to be earned.

Another major concern for centrist Republicans throughout the week’s marathon negotiations was the conservatives’ push to win more subcommittee gavels for themselves — an idea that infuriated those already in line for those seats.

Bacon had called it “a non-starter,” particularly among the more moderate Republicans who have worked their way up the ladder into those seats. 

“If you’re talking about chairmanships and things like that, they’re gonna have to still earn it,” Bacon said. “I call it affirmative action for [the] smallest of the caucuses to put them in leadership roles when they’ve not earned it. We believe in a merit-based system on the GOP side.”

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), who has served in the House since 2013, also highlighted the “seniority process” for chairmanships.

“Everybody has to work their way through the seniority process and earn positions on both committees and gavels and things of that nature,” she said. –The Hill

“These concessions have been agreed to by our conference, and ultimately I believe it’s going to lead to a more people-driven legislative process,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). “It’s about restoring more power and decision making to the members.”

Democrat Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland says McCarthy gave up too much.

“I think he gave away much more than I wish he’d given,” he said, adding “I think it does give to a small, willful faction of his caucus, a negative faction of his caucus, a faction of his caucus that has been almost uniformly obstructionist, more authority than they ought to have.”

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

How bad do things have to get before people start realizing that we are in the midst of a full-blown economic crisis? 

The “experts” on television are endlessly debating about whether or not we are going to have a “recession” this year, and meanwhile economic activity is imploding all around us.  The number of homes being sold in this country each month has already fallen by a third.  The number of job cuts in November was 417 percent higher than it was during the same month a year earlier, and at this point even Amazon is laying off thousands of workers.  The Federal Reserve has declared war on inflation, but prices continue to spiral out of control.  In fact, vegetables are 80 percent more expensive now than they were 12 months ago.  Meanwhile, the financial markets continue to plunge.  A third of the value of the Nasdaq has already been wiped out, and more than two-thirds of the value of all cryptocurrencies is already gone.

After everything that has already transpired, everyone should be able to clearly understand what is happening.

So many people have been waiting for an economic nightmare to come, but the truth is that it is already here.

The following are 11 signs that the economic “tipping point” that everyone has been waiting for has now arrived…

#1 U.S. manufacturing is declining at the fastest pace that we have seen since the early days of the COVID pandemic…

The S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell at the fastest rate since May 2020 in December, a continuing sign that the manufacturing sector is on the decline, S&P Global reported Tuesday.

The U.S. Manufacturing PMI posted a 46.2 in December, down from 47.7 in November and solidly below 50, which signals that the sector is contracting, according to S&P Global. Production levels contracted in back-to-back months, with new sales plummeting at the end of December at the fastest pace since 2007, as companies cited weakening demand amid “economic uncertainty” and inflation weighing on customers.

#2 U.S. services PMI has now fallen for sixth months in a row.

#3 We just witnessed the largest one day drop in the Baltic Dry Index since 1984…

The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index crashed on Tuesday in the worst decline on record, sinking on prospects of a global recession.

Baltic Dry Good Index is a measure of global shipping and economic health. The overall index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, plunged 17.5% to $1,250, the most significant daily decline since 1984.

#4 Thanks to rapidly falling imports, we just witnessed the largest monthly decline in the trade deficit since the last financial crisis…

According to the BEA, the November trade deficit narrowed to $61.5b from $77.8b in prior month, coming in below the median estimate of $63.0BN (and just barely missing the top end of the range of $61.3BN to $80.5BN from 42 economists).

Remarkably, the 20% one-month decline in the deficit was the single biggest drop in the US trade deficit on a percentage basis going back to the global financial crisis!

#5 In 2022, U.S. auto sales were the lowest that we have seen for a full year in more than a decade…

Industrywide, U.S. auto sales totaled 13.7 million vehicles in 2022, the lowest figure since 2011 and an 8% decrease from the prior year, according to the research firm Wards Intelligence. Sales had topped 17 million vehicles for five straight years before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, unleashing supply-chain problems that have bogged down deliveries ever since.

#6 The average rate on a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage is more than twice as high as it was this time last year…

Mortgage rates inched up again last week, after a slight increase the week before interrupted six straight weeks of falling rates.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.48% in the week ending January 5, up from 6.42% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate was 3.22%.

#7 According to CNN, sales of apartments in Manhattan were 28.5 percent lower in the fourth quarter of 2022 than they were in the fourth quarter of 2021…

Higher rates and still-high housing prices cooled demand at the end of last year, causing sales to tumble. Sales dropped 28.5% in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

#8 Overall, existing home sales in the United States have fallen for 10 months in a row and are now down by more than a third since January 2022.

#9 Bed Bath & Beyond is warning that the company is literally on the verge of declaring bankruptcy…

Bed Bath & Beyond warned Thursday it’s running out of cash and is considering bankruptcy.

The retailer, citing worse-than-expected sales, issued a “going concern” warning that in the upcoming months it likely will not have the cash to cover expenses, such as lease agreements or payments to suppliers. Bed Bath said it is exploring financial options, such as restructuring, seeking additional capital or selling assets, in addition to a potential bankruptcy.

#10 It is being reported that Amazon has decided to lay off approximately 18,000 employees…

Amazon.com Inc. is laying off more than 18,000 employees — the biggest reduction in its history — in the latest sign that a tech-industry slump is deepening.

#11 Overall, the tech industry has already laid off more than 150,000 workers over the last year.

Many more American workers will lose their jobs as economic activity slows down even more throughout 2023.

So if you currently have a good job that you value, try to cling to it as hard as you can.

The times that we are moving into are going to look completely different from the times that we have enjoyed over the past decade.

Our leaders were able to keep the party going for a long time by absolutely flooding the system with money, but now they have lost control.

We are literally careening toward disaster, but most Americans still don’t understand what is taking place.

Most Americans just assume that those in authority know exactly what they are doing and that a “return to normal” is inevitable.

I wish that was true, because the ride into the economic abyss that we are facing is not going to be fun.

*  *  *

It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.

A six-year-old child shot and seriously wounded an elementary school teacher in Virginia on Friday. 

The shooting occurred in a first-grade classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Police say the shooting took place during an altercation and was not an accident. They have not yet determined how the child gained access to a firearm. Details about the firearm have been withheld. 

The wounded teacher — a woman in her 30s whose name wasn’t released — suffered life-threatening injuries. In critical condition from what Fox3 said was an abdominal gunshot, she was said to have seen “some improvement” by late afternoon. No students were injured. 

“I’m in awe, I’m in shock and I’m disheartened,” said Dr. George Parker, Newport News school superintendent. “Today, our students got a lesson in gun violence, and what guns can do to disrupt not only an educational environment but a family, a community.”

The 6-year-old was promptly taken into custody. In their posted statement, Newport News Police didn’t disclose the gender of the child — perhaps because, following public education trends, authorities didn’t want to make any rash assumptions. However, subsequent reports indicate it was a boy whose gunfire ensued after he started arguing with the teacher.  

The police chief evidenced concern about the shooter. “We have been in contact with our commonwealth’s attorney (local prosecutor) and some other entities to help us best get services to this young man,” said Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew.

Virginia law has no provision by which a 6-year-old can be tried as an adult. Nor can he even be committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, if convicted. 

A parent, Trannisha Brown, told The New York Times about the frightening call she received from her son, a student at the school. “It shook me up hearing those kids crying and going frantic. All they knew was that there was a shooter in the school and they didn’t know where the shooter was. 

The child apparently didn’t target anyone else. “We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting,” said Drew.  The school was put on lockdown from around 2pm until 3:30. 

Superintendent Parker struck notes of helplessness in the face of armed first-graders: “I cannot control access to weapons. My teachers cannot control access to weapons.” Classes at the school on Monday have been cancelled. 

A mother at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia demands gun reform after a 6-year-old shot a teacher pic.twitter.com/MDMJlb27CW

— Marjorie Gaylor Queen 🏳️‍🌈 (@Tim_Tweeted) January 7, 2023

“It’s a dark day for Newport News,” said Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones, a Marine veteran who — at 33 — just took office as the youngest-elected mayor in the city’s history. “We’re going to learn from this and we’re going to come back stronger.”

My heart goes out to our community tonight. Thank you to the first responders, teachers, staff, and those who were first on the scene. The work ahead for all of us could not be clearer. pic.twitter.com/BfETFyfnzF

— Mayor Phillip Jones (@Phil_Jones_757) January 7, 2023

Eastern European countries have been steadily ramping up their defense readiness in wake of Russia’s Feb.24 invasion of Ukraine. For Western defense firms, this means a continued bonanza of contracts even beyond arms requests and deliveries sent directly to Kiev.

On Friday a new Raytheon deal with NATO-member Romania has been announced, valued at over $208 million. “Raytheon Missiles & Defense [of] Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $208,736,138 firm-fixed-price contract for the Naval Strike Missile Coastal Defense System for the Republic of Romania,” a Raytheon press release stated.

Romania will use the Raytheon manufactured anti-ship missiles to help defend its some 100 miles of coastline on the Black Sea – where Russia’s Black See Fleet frequently patrols, and is now executing a war against Ukraine. 

The range of the Naval Strike Missile Coastal Defense System is typically estimated at over 100 nautical miles, and it was first developed for use by the Royal Norwegian Navy.

Raytheon will work on fulfilling the contract with Norwegian defense firm Kongsberg, who described the modern weapon system as follows: 

“The primary missions for NSM CDS are maritime interdictions against sea targets from small and light ships made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GFRP) to large naval combatants like destroyers and frigates and ships with [a] thick hull like icebreakers.”

The Kongsberg marketing material continues, “Secondly, land targets are handled by the NSM CDS. The land attack capability is primarily based on use of the military GPS but seeker-assisted land attack capability is also available if requested.”

The US government had authorized more sales of advanced defense equipment to Romania in 2021. Currently units of the Army’s 101st Airborne are stationed in Romania, estimated at about 4,000 US troops, to conduct joint drills with Romanian forces. The exercises are part of operational readiness and muscle-flexing aimed at Russia amid the ongoing Ukraine war.

Authored by Drieu Godefridi via The Gatestone Institute,

Belgian federal police recently found €150,000 ($157,700) in cash at the Brussels home of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili (Panhellenic Socialist Movement), who was then arrested and charged with corruption. She remains in jail. Also arrested were Luca Visentini, secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation, and former socialist MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri. Francesco Giorgi, Kaili’s domestic partner and former parliamentary assistant to Panzeri, was also arrested. The home of MEP Marc Tarabella (Socialist Party) was searched.

Notably, Panzeri is the president of the NGO “Fight Impunity“, of which Giorgi is one of the founders. Niccolò Figà-Talamanca was also taken into custody, according to the Italian newswire Ansa. Figà-Talamanca is the executive director of another NGO, “No Peace Without Justice,” which is based in Rome and Brussels and ostensibly focused on international criminal justice, human rights and the promotion of democracy in North Africa and the Middle East. It also happens to have the same Brussels address as Fight Impunity: 41 rue Ducale.

According to media reports, and with respect to the presumption of innocence, this elite of European socialism and trade unionism was corrupted by Qatar to praise the “progress” of the emirate in the field of “labour law.” According to the New York Times:

“The case, which Belgian authorities say they have been building for over a year with the help of their secret services, has uncovered what prosecutors say was a cash-for-favors scheme at the heart of the European Union. And it highlighted the vulnerabilities in an opaque, notoriously bureaucratic system that decides policies for 450 million people in the world’s richest club of nations.”

Faced with this information, the first reaction of a large number of Europeans, judging by social media networks, was a feeling of humiliation. That a small country such as Qatar could so easily bribe the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, to the point of causing it to say the opposite of what it supported a week earlier, is indeed dismaying.

Let us recall the facts.

The stadiums for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar were built in conditions described as slave-like and hellish. For ten years, armies of Asian workers were put to work for miserable wages in wretched living conditions. According to the Guardian, since the emirate was awarded the World Cup, 6,500 workers died on Qatar’s construction sites. This carnage did not predestine Qatar for praise from the Socialist Group in the European Parliament.

The change in Tarabella’s discourse, for example, was dazzling. Initially hostile to Qatar hosting the World Cup, Tarabella suddenly became its advocate on television: “Qatar has made remarkable efforts in terms of labour rights”, the socialist MEP stated on LN24 on December 11.

“Qatar, with the help of NGOs, the International Labour Organisation… has made clear progress which is now being welcomed…. The signal to say we are going to boycott diplomatically is a bad signal. Why is that? Because it means that even if they have made progress, particularly in relation to the welfare of workers, housing allowances, a decent minimum wage, working conditions in which, during the hot summer months, people no longer work between ten in the morning and 3.30 pm, and the abandonment of slavery… not everything is perfect in Qatar, I repeat… if, in spite of all this, you boycott, you are giving the signal that the efforts made are useless.”

Kaili visited Qatar in person and praised the emirate’s “labour reforms”. According to the local press, Kaili said that she represented 500 million European citizens who consider that “Qatar’s progress represents common values”.

Are Members of the European Parliament in financial need? An MEP earns a gross €13,944 (roughly $14,000) per month, including an expenditure allowance, plus €4,716 ($5,000) a year for travel expenses and €338 ($358) for each day of attendance at meetings of the Parliament’s bodies. Usually, though, such considerations are irrelevant. People are generally susceptible to bribes.

“While this may be the most egregious case of alleged corruption the European Parliament has seen in many years,” explained Michiel van Hulten, director of Transparency International EU, “it is not an isolated incident.”

“Over many decades, the Parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop, with a combination of lax financial rules and controls and a complete lack of independent (or indeed any) ethics oversight. In many ways it has become a law unto itself. Every serious attempt to improve accountability is blocked by the Parliament’s ruling Bureau, with the acquiescence of a majority of MEPs. The recent backroom deal approved by the Bureau to appoint a new EP Secretary-General is emblematic of an institution that thinks that rules for ethics and integrity should only apply to others…. As a first step, the European Commission should now publish its long-delayed proposal on the creation of an independent EU ethics body, with powers of investigation and enforcement.”

That the Socialist Group, the second-largest in the European Parliament, was so easily bribed by little Qatar, to the extent of cheering on the “labour law reforms” of a slave emirate, has yet to be confirmed by the courts. It is also possibly just the “tip of the iceberg.”

Other geopolitical actors, who are known to have an interest in the resolutions of the European Parliament, have even more considerable means at their disposal.

This affair also reveals — if it were still necessary — the extreme energy distress of the European continent. For 20 years, Europe has been systematically destroying the only truly European source of energy that is being produces — nuclear power, and has refused to even consider exploiting the underground shale gas that is so abundant in some European regions. As a result, Europe finds itself in a situation of extreme dependence on the regimes, generally authoritarian, that supply its gas. This means Russia and, increasingly, Qatar.

This situation has been perfectly understood by Qatar, which published the following statement as soon as possible retaliatory measures were announced following discovery of the alleged corruption:

“The decision to impose… a discriminatory restriction that limits dialogue and cooperation on Qatar before the legal process has ended, will negatively affect regional and global security cooperation, as well as ongoing discussions around global energy poverty and security.”

The blackmail is clear.

Update (0030 ET): After a dramatic 14th vote which saw Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) Kevin McCarthy’s 14th bid for House Speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has finally won – ending a dramatic impasse.

Interestingly, the House was set to adjourn for the evening, but then something changed and they held a 15th vote.

The vote is still ongoing, but at least five of the GOP holdouts – including Gaetz, voted ‘present’ on the 15th ballot, giving McCarthy just enough votes to stumble over the finish line.

Those who switched their votes to ‘present’ included Gaetz, Eli Crane, Lauren Bobert, Bob Good and Andy Biggs.

*  *  *

Update (2313 ET): After a dramatic Friday evening in the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to clinch the Speakership after 14 rounds of voting, after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) voted ‘present’ – sending the entire chamber into disarray.

The official count for the vote was:

• McCarthy: 216
• Jeffries: 212
• Jordan:2
• Biggs: 2

At one point a visibly angry Rep. Mike Rodgers bolted towards Gaetz and had to be restrained.

Kevin McCarthy approaches Gaetz and Boebert because he needed 216 votes to win. pic.twitter.com/o6VBsbwVVV

— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) January 7, 2023

Rodgers lunged at Gaetz? pic.twitter.com/THHpZA4XjQ

— Elizabeth Wachsberg (@EWachsberg) January 7, 2023

Gaetz could still flip tonight, but as it stands now, is now pushing for a Monday vote.

Vote is still open; no one is sure what happened. Gaetz, who called McCarthy speaker-designate on Fox, wants an adjournment till Monday. But several other holdouts could have ended it with present or pro-McCarthy vote. Another setback for McCarthy, but can rebels ever get to yes?

— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) January 7, 2023

*  *  *

Update (1550ET): The House has adjourned until 10 p.m. ET, with McCarthy telling reporters “We’re going to win.”

Kevin McCarthy tells CNN’s @mkraju he believes he will have the votes to be elected House Speaker tonight.

Asked how he knows that, McCarthy responds, “Because I count.” pic.twitter.com/DsCfQHrQH0

— The Recount (@therecount) January 6, 2023

McCarthy just told me he has the votes to be elected speaker tonight

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 6, 2023

Indeed, things seem tense within the “Never Kevin” camp.

Paul Gosar has laid down his sword. He votes for McCarthy on the 12th Round of Voting.

Gosar appeared agitated as he spoke with Matt Gaetz moments before casting his vote. Gosar quickly exited the floor to thunderous applause from GOP moderates. pic.twitter.com/DZBcivX8RK

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 6, 2023

*  *  *

Update (1400ET): After four days and 13 votes, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has lost his bid for House Speaker yet again.

That said, he’s been able to flip 15 holdouts, the latest being Andy Harris of Maryland. During the vote, Harris could be seen standing in the back of the chamber, several rows behind the 6 GOP holdouts.

So for the 14th round, McCarthy would need to win at least three of the remaining six GOP holdouts, if everything in round 13 plays out as expected.

— Rick Klein (@rickklein) January 6, 2023

Harris had been seeking a subcommittee gavel on the appropriations panel, according to CNN‘s Manu Raju.

Andy Harris just voted for McCarthy — a big get for McCarthy.
He had been seeking a subcommittee gavel on the appropriations panel. McCarthy had said gavels were not part of the talks.

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 6, 2023

*  *  *

Update (1341ET): Rep. Kevin McCarthy is on track to lose his 12th ballot for House speaker, though he has picked up 14 votes from GOP holdouts.

FOURTEEN FLIPS ON THIS VOTE FOR MCCARTHY

BRECHEEN
BISHOP
CLOUD
CLYDE
DONALDS
LUNA
MILLER
NORMAN
PERRY
ROY
SELF
SPARTZ
GOSAR
OGLES

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 6, 2023

somehow, some way, kevin mccarthy finds himself on the brink of the speakership.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 6, 2023

Kevin McCarthy on this Speaker vote
pic.twitter.com/lrg85abHXv

— Conservative George (@grandolepartay) January 6, 2023

According to CNN, McCarthy’s team sees Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as their biggest obstacle now, and see him trying to “gin up opposition.’

The seven current holdouts are Gaetz, Biggs, Boebert, Crane, Good, Harris and Rosendale.

Gaetz thinks he can hold back 10 votes from McCarthy, however McCarthy’s side thinks they can overcome the opposition by isolating Gaetz – who wasn’t invited to negotiations on Wednesday but showed up anyway.

Rep. Victoria Spartz, who has been voting “present,” is still undecided on whether to vote for McCarthy. She told me she wants to see “movement” first. pic.twitter.com/IHV5lTb0SA

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 6, 2023

He said rules package presented on Sunday is staying the same and the only change is the threshold to allow one member to call for the motion to vacate
 
“Everyone on our call before January 3rd loved that package.” w/@FoxReports @AnnieGrayerCNN @MZanona

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 6, 2023

The current bid for House leadership is now the longest speaker contest in 164 years.

*  *  *

Update (1045ET): The chaos continues! After initial reports that there was a deal, McCarthy walked it back, saying there isn’t one, but they are in a ‘great place.’

He then started shouting at journalists to get off the call.

Summary:

– McCarthy loses 11 votes for speaker
– Today, is reported to claim he has a deal on a call
– Walks it back saying he doesn’t have a call but is in a great place
– Is now shouting at journalists to get off the call and he doesn’t have a deal https://t.co/GPsLPPxiZw

— Newsquawk (@Newsquawk) January 6, 2023

Chip Roy has also denied a deal has been reached.

So House Republicans think reporters are on the call where they are detailing a deal. but reporters are getting it wrong. and there is no deal all about a call where they are reviewing the deal. got it.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 6, 2023

*  *  *

Update (1035ET): Kevin McCarthy said on today’s GOP call that he and holdout leader Chip Roy have struck a deal.

🚨🚨🚨NEWS— KEVIN MCCARTHY ANNOUNCES ON GOP CALL THAT HE AND CHIP ROY HAVE A DEAL

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 6, 2023

*  *  *

After losing 11 votes, the most since before the Civil War, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is now confident that a deal for his ascension to House Speaker is imminent.

“We’re going to make progress today, we’re going to shock you,” he told reporters ahead of a 10:15 a.m. ET call on Friday.

“We’ll have to see you know we have a couple members who have some family issues,” he said when asked about the current framework for a deal, adding “we’re going to get it done.“

As Punchbowl News reports, however, the situation is ‘highly fluid,’ to say the least.

As House Republicans enter the fourth day of this internecine struggle, the GOP leadership’s plans seemingly change at a moment’s notice. One minute they’re going to move to adjourn, the next, they’re ready to start another round of voting. At times it seems like significant progress is being made, only for that to turn out to be a mirage.

Yet GOP leaders now believe they’re reaching a tipping point. Either a large bloc of McCarthy’s 20 conservative opponents moves in his direction following yet another round of negotiations or McCarthy’s quest to become speaker may have stalled out permanently.

The House is set to reconvene at Noon, ET.

According to Punchbowl, McCarthy may ‘grind it out’ and hold votes over the weekend – or as long as it takes until the speaker’s race is wrapped up.

“We shouldn’t leave. Why should we leave if we haven’t got our work done?” he told the outlet at 9:45 p.m. Thursday night.

When asked if his allies are pressuring him to step aside in favor of another Republican, such as Majority Leader Steve Scalise, he said “Have you seen any drop [in my support]? But you would’ve thought” that would occur.

“Who else can get to 218?” he added.

“I feel good today, really. I felt very positive yesterday. I feel more positive today. I think we had really good discussions. I think it’s really come to a really good point.”

McCarthy is still 18 votes or so shy of becoming speaker.

McCarthy’s backers who have been working on a deal include Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), French Hill (R-AR), Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Garret Graves (R-LA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), plus Emmer and his chief deputy, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania. This team has been burning the midnight oil with conservative hardliners Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Scott Perry (R-PA) and Byron Donalds (R-FL).

if Roy is able to reach a deal with the pro-McCarthy faction on the rules package, Roy needs to bring along 10 or so Republicans with him. McCarthy can then try to pressure the final conservative holdouts to move to his side. It’s a high-wire act that needs to be executed impeccably. So far, it hasn’t yielded the results McCarthy has hoped for, obviously. -Punchbowl

The anti-McCarthy crew want, among other things, changes in rules and changes in policy.

“There are some of the others … who want changes in the rules and there are some others who care about policy,” said Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) to CNN on Wednesday. “So I think if Steve (Scalise) meets those three needs, he will be able to move forward and take the speakership.”

Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina says he won’t budge on McCarthy unless he’s “willing to shut the government down rather than raising the debt ceiling.”

McCarthy can also try to find a few Democrats to form a coalition and cross the aisle in order to edge out the hardline Republicans.

Authored by John and Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.”

– Montesquieu, Enlightenment philosopher

For those wondering what to expect from the government in 2023, it looks like we’re going to be in for more of the same in terms of the government’s brand of madness, mayhem, corruption and brutality.

Digital prisons. Unceasingly, the government and its corporate partners are pushing for a national digital ID system. Local police agencies have already been given access to facial recognition software and databases containing 20 billion images, the precursor to a digital ID. Eventually, a digital ID will be required to gain access to all aspects of life: government, work, travel, healthcare, financial services, shopping, etc. Before long, biometrics (iris scans, face print, voice, DNA, etc.), will become the de facto digital ID.

Precrime. Under the pretext of helping overwhelmed government agencies work more efficiently, AI predictive and surveillance technologies are being used to classify, segregate and flag the populace with little concern for privacy rights or due process. All of this sorting, sifting and calculating is being done swiftly, secretly and incessantly with the help of AI technology and a surveillance state that monitors your every move. AI predictive tools are being deployed in almost every area of life.

Mandatory quarantines. Building on precedents established during the COVID-19 pandemic, government agents may be empowered to indefinitely detain anyone they suspect of posing a medical risk to others without providing an explanation, subject them to medical tests without their consent, and carry out such detentions and quarantines without any kind of due process or judicial review.

Mental health assessments by non-medical personnel. As a result of a nationwide push to train a broad spectrum of so-called gatekeepers in mental health first-aid training, more Americans are going to run the risk of being reported by non-medical personnel and detained for having mental health issues.

Tracking chips for citizens. Momentum is building for corporations and the government alike to be able to track the populace, whether through the use of RFID chips embedded in a national ID card, microscopic chips embedded in one’s skin, or tags in retail products.

Military involvement domestically. The future, according to a Pentagon training video, will be militaristic, dystopian and far from friendly to freedom. Indeed, all signs point to the battlefield of the future being the American home front. Anticipating this, the government plans to have the military work in conjunction with local police to quell civil unrest domestically.

Government censorship of anything it classifies as disinformation. In the government’s ongoing assault on those who criticize the government—whether that criticism manifests itself in word, deed or thought—government and corporate censors claiming to protect us from dangerous, disinformation campaigns are, in fact, laying the groundwork now to preempt any “dangerous” ideas that might challenge the power elite’s stranglehold over our lives.

Threat assessments. The government has a growing list—shared with fusion centers and law enforcement agencies—of ideologies, behaviors, affiliations and other characteristics that could flag someone as suspicious and result in their being labeled potential enemies of the state. Before long, every household in America will be flagged as a threat and assigned a threat score. It’s just a matter of time before you find yourself wrongly accused, investigated and confronted by police based on a data-driven algorithm or risk assessment culled together by a computer program run by artificial intelligence.

War on cash. The government and its corporate partners are engaged in a concerted campaign to shift consumers towards a digital mode of commerce that can easily be monitored, tracked, tabulated, mined for data, hacked, hijacked and confiscated when convenient. This push for a digital currency dovetails with the government’s war on cash, which it has been subtly waging for some time now. In recent years, just the mere possession of significant amounts of cash could implicate you in suspicious activity and label you a criminal.

Expansive surveillance. AI surveillance harnesses the power of artificial intelligence and widespread surveillance technology to do what the police state lacks the manpower and resources to do efficiently or effectively: be everywhere, watch everyone and everything, monitor, identify, catalogue, cross-check, cross-reference, and collude. Everything that was once private is now up for grabs to the right buyer. With every new AI surveillance technology that is adopted and deployed without any regard for privacy, Fourth Amendment rights and due process, the rights of the citizenry are being marginalized, undermined and eviscerated.

Militarized police. Having transformed local law enforcement into extensions of the military, the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and the FBI are moving into the next phase of the transformation, turning the nation’s police officers into techno-warriors, complete with iris scanners, body scanners, thermal imaging Doppler radar devices, facial recognition programs, license plate readers, cell phone extraction software, Stingray devices and so much more.

Police shootings of unarmed citizens. Owing in large part to the militarization of local law enforcement agencies, not a week goes by without more reports of hair-raising incidents by police imbued with a take-no-prisoners attitude and a battlefield approach to the communities in which they serve. Police brutality and the use of excessive force continues unabated.

False flags and terrorist attacks. Almost every tyranny being perpetrated by the U.S. government against the citizenry—purportedly to keep us safe and the nation secure—has come about as a result of some threat manufactured in one way or another by our own government. This has become the shadow government’s modus operandi regardless of which party is in power: the government creates a menace—knowing full well the ramifications such a danger might pose to the public—then without ever owning up to the part it played in unleashing that particular menace on an unsuspecting populace, it demands additional powers in order to protect “we the people” from the threat.

Endless wars to keep America’s military’s empire employed. The military and security industrial complexes that have advocated that the U.S. remain at war, year after year, are the very entities that will continue to profit the most from America’s expanding military empire abroad and here at home.

Erosions of private property. Private property means little at a time when SWAT teams and other government agents can invade your home, break down your doors, kill your dog, wound or kill you, damage your furnishings and terrorize your family. Likewise, if government officials can fine and arrest you for growing vegetables in your front yard, praying with friends in your living room, installing solar panels on your roof, and raising chickens in your backyard, you’re no longer the owner of your property.

Overcriminalization. The government has increasingly adopted the authoritarian notion that it knows best and therefore must control, regulate and dictate almost everything about the citizenry’s public, private and professional lives. Overregulation and overcriminalization have been pushed to such outrageous limits that federal and state governments now require on penalty of a fine that individuals apply for permission before they can grow exotic orchids, host elaborate dinner parties, gather friends in one’s home for Bible studies, give coffee to the homeless, let their kids manage a lemonade stand, keep chickens as pets, or braid someone’s hair.

Strip searches and the denigration of bodily integrity. Court rulings undermining the Fourth Amendment and justifying invasive strip searches have left us powerless against police empowered to forcefully draw our blood, forcibly take our DNA, strip search us, and probe us intimately. Individuals—men and women alike—continue to be subjected to what is essentially government-sanctioned rape by police in the course of “routine” traffic stops.

Censorship. First Amendment activities are being pummeled, punched, kicked, choked, chained and generally gagged all across the country. Free speech zones, bubble zones, trespass zones, anti-bullying legislation, zero tolerance policies, hate crime laws and a host of other legalistic maladies dreamed up by politicians and prosecutors have conspired to corrode our core freedoms. The reasons for such censorship vary widely from political correctness, safety concerns and bullying to national security and hate crimes but the end result remains the same: the complete eradication of what Benjamin Franklin referred to as the “principal pillar of a free government.”

Taxation Without Any Real Representation. As a Princeton University survey indicates, our elected officials, especially those in the nation’s capital, represent the interests of the rich and powerful rather than the average citizen. We are no longer a representative republic. With Big Business and Big Government having fused into a corporate state, the president and his state counterparts—the governors—have become little more than CEOs of the Corporate State, which day by day is assuming more government control over our lives. Never before have average Americans had so little say in the workings of their government and even less access to their so-called representatives.

Year after year, the government remains the greatest threat to our freedoms, and yet year after year, “we the people” allow ourselves to be suckered into believing that politics will fix what’s wrong with the country.

Indeed, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, this is the very definition of insanity.