Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,

After taking in hundreds of millions of dollars of corporate contributions, paying millions in bonuses and buying million-dollar mansions for founders, BLM (Bolshevik Lives Matter) ran a $9 million deficit.

Cowardly CEOs eager to appease the woke mob fall for these scams every time. Could we soon be witnessing the demise of the “DEI” movement?

The letters “DEI” stand for diversity, equity and inclusion, which is the mantra of corporate and political America today.

It sounds good. Who doesn’t like diversity in experience and conversation? Who doesn’t support equity? And what’s wrong with the inclusion of individuals in larger groups and institutions? Nothing.

The problem is that none of these words is used in any common-sense way. They’re used in Orwellian fashion to mean almost their exact opposites.

In his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell wrote the slogan of Big Brother’s political party as WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.

Today’s DEI pushers have done Orwell proud.

• Diversity means uniformity of thought and practice along ideological and political lines.

• Equity does not mean equality of opportunity. It means equality of result, which involves handicapping the most talented and taking from the most productive to give handouts to the laziest and least motivated.

• Inclusion means exclusion of whites from Black dorms, exclusion of unpopular speakers from public venues and exclusion of ideas that vary from a politically rigid orthodoxy. The DEI thought agenda is being enforced by armies of inspectors and compliance officers who will fire you, demote you and denigrate you in front of your peers if you deviate from their thought control.

It’s time for DEI to DIE. It’s time to exclude these ideas from the campuses, institutions and corporations where they prevail.

Many decent-minded Americans have begun to push back against the DEI agenda but none more aggressively and successfully than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has just signed legislation that eliminates DEI in higher education in the state of Florida.

This comes after DeSantis fired the president and the entire board of trustees of the New College of Florida for their DEI propaganda and replaced them with officials who value honest education and the study of the humanities.

A lot of people talk a lot about DEI but don’t actually do anything except create sound-bites. DeSantis gets things done. Let’s hope he’s not alone.

The future of education, open debate and creativity is at stake.

Related to the DEI agenda is the ESG agenda. And the main component of the ESG agenda is climate. Below, I show you how that climate agenda has little to do with climate — and everything to do with control over you. Read on.

The Green Fraud

Those yelling the loudest about climate change want to destroy the oil and natural gas industry, destroy nuclear power plant construction, shut down coal-fired plants, end coal mining, mandate electric vehicles (EVs) on very short deadlines and eliminate gas stoves in your kitchen, fireplaces and even outdoor barbecues.

They also want to build wind turbine arrays offshore and on deserts, plains and even mountains near you. They want to install solar module fields on every rooftop and open space near a population center. The climate change radicals want to increase the mining of lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, rare earths and other dangerous chemicals to feed their obsession with EV batteries.

They’re spending hundreds of billions of tax dollars to subsidize the EVs, battery manufacturing and a coast-to-coast network of charging stations to keep the EVs moving (even if they do have to stop for a charge every 180 miles).

The greenies also want to mandate “15-minute cities” where you can walk everywhere in town within 15 minutes, which means you won’t need your car to visit a doctor, dry cleaner, grocery store, pharmacy or any of the other locations we routinely visit for errands and necessities.

That may sound attractive if you chose it voluntarily. That’s not what the greenies have in mind. They want 15-minute cities as a Trojan horse to eliminate automobiles entirely and force you to ride bicycles or use public transportation. In the end, you’ll need a permit to fly to another city.

The permits will be rationed and you’ll have to put yourself on a waiting list until your turn. You can pay for your ticket with the new central bank digital currency (CBDC), assuming your social credit score is high enough and you didn’t vote for the wrong candidate in the last election.

In short, the climate change agenda is not about climate change. It’s about total political and economic control of the population. So-called climate change is an elite scare tactic to get you to fall into line and obey government orders (as most people do).

Elites claim that if we don’t radically reduce CO2 (carbon dioxide) and CH4 (methane) emissions, global warming will melt the ice caps, raise sea levels, put island nations underwater and flood the New York City subway system in 10 years or less. They’ve been making similar claims for 40 years and they’ve been wrong every time. That doesn’t stop them. Fear works.

What is new is that the climate crowd now has the political power they need to push their agenda using fear and the regulatory state to attack your means of transportation, your personal conveniences and your consumer choices.

This is being enabled by Joe Biden and thousands of bureaucrats buried in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and scores of other agencies.

The U.S. Treasury, SEC and the Federal Reserve have even joined in by regulating loans to the oil and gas industry and requiring financial disclosures about climate change and other ESG (environment, social and governance) metrics.

Meanwhile, the World Bank (controlled by the U.S.) is being encouraged to deny loans to industries that involve carbon-based development and to steer financing toward projects approved by the climate mavens. This is called the “all of government” approach in which every agency gets involved in pushing the climate agenda, even if it’s not the primary job of that agency. The pressure never stops.

In short, the climate change debate could not be more relevant to investors. Those calling the shots in the Green New Deal (what I call the Green New Scam) will decide which industries win or lose, which projects get financed (or not), which initiatives are subsidized by the government or left to wither on the vine and which companies will feel the regulatory heat if they don’t get with Biden’s programs.

Climate change is not a sideshow. Nothing is more relevant to markets, investors and asset allocators today.

Climate change is real but it’s slow and powerful and has nothing to do with trace gasses such as carbon dioxide and methane. It’s caused by the interaction of complex systems such as sun cycles, ocean currents, wind patterns including the jet stream, volcanic activity, salinity levels (in turn caused by ocean current subduction) and other mega-systems over which humans have no control.

We’re living in a world where major forces beyond our control have been hijacked by elites to create a climate of fear to achieve their agenda of total government command over your life. It’s time for Americans and citizens around the world to learn the facts, push back on the elites and reestablish public policy based on real science. It’s time to push the flawed models, phony data and bogus warnings out of the way.

Unfortunately, the public relies on media elites and political leaders for their information. As decades roll by and scare stories are discredited time and again, public skepticism will rise and the alarmists will lose credibility.

The danger is that alarmists may pass legislation, limit choices and impose costs in the name of climate change before the public catches on to the scam. At that point, the economic damage becomes semi-permanent even if alarmism fades.

In the elites’ vision, citizens will be confined to small towns or cities for extended periods. Travel will be tightly restricted. Appliances will be downsized with no consumer choice allowed. Taxes will be imposed on targeted activities to discourage use. Education will be turned to indoctrination to raise a generation who believe in the climate lies needed to gain support for these measures (that kind of indoctrination has been underway for some years).

Welcome to the world of the green elite. It’s coercive, restrictive, arrogant and apparently not much fun. It’s a world where the elites control everything and you do as you’re told. It’s a world based on lies and fear. It’s coming sooner than you expect unless citizens can join hands, reassert the truth and push the elites back into a corner where they belong.

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said Wednesday that he “wouldn’t care” if Ukraine used American-made F-16s to strike Russian territory despite the risk of such an attack escalating into a direct clash between the US and Russia.

When asked by Epoch Times reporter Liam Cosgrove if he was concerned about the potential of Ukraine using F-16s to hit targets inside Russia, Nadler said, “No, I’m not concerned. I wouldn’t care if they did.”

NY Congressman @RepJerryNadler told me he “wouldn’t care” if Ukraine used western F16s to strike Russian territory.

He then dismissed the likelihood of that happening, despite Ukrainian forces deploying U.S. weaponry in Russia’s border city of Belgorod earlier this week: pic.twitter.com/oRLmqv0mBm

— Liam Cosgrove (@cosgrove_iv) May 25, 2023

Nadler said it was unlikely Ukraine would use F-16s to attack Russian territory, but Cosgrove pointed out that US-made armored vehicles were used in a cross-border raid in Russia’s Belgorod region that was launched on Monday.

“That may be, but they’re not gonna use major weapons. Things like F-16s, they need for air defense over Ukraine so that they can provide air cover for their counterattack and things like that. They’re not gonna waste it in Russia,” Nadler said.

So far, there’s no clear timeline for when the F-16s will be delivered to Ukraine. President Biden signed off on European countries delivering the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft, but Ukrainian pilots still need to be trained, and estimates for how long that will take vary from a few months to up to two years.

Russia has said providing Ukraine with F-16s brings “colossal risks,” a warning brushed off by President Biden. In the early days of the war, NATO chose not to provide Kyiv with fighter jets over concerns Moscow would perceive the move as the alliance directly entering the war.

Authored by Matt Towery via RealClear Wire,

To be clear, I am writing this as a pollster, not as a politician or partisan.

Here’s the bottom line. As it gets closer to the summer of 2023, I would rate the Democrats as more likely to again take/keep the White House. They might even hold on to the Senate and re-take the House.

This is a tough message to deliver to the Republican faithful at a time when inflation is way up, millions have crossed the border illegally, China and Russia both pose true threats to international stability, and crime has spiraled in many areas of the nation.

Sure, events and issues would seemingly favor the 2024 Republican nominee for president. But consider this. On Oct. 25, 2022, immediately following a Wall Street Journal poll showing Republicans up by two points in the “Generic ballot” midterm contest, my firm, InsiderAdvantage, also showed Republicans leading Democrats by four points, well within the WSJ poll’s margin of error. Sixteen national polls followed ours in the RealClearPolitics average with only two of the polls showing Democrats leading and one showed a tie. The other 13 polls had Republicans ahead. CNN had the same four-point advantage our survey showed. ABC News/Washington Post along with CBS News had the GOP with a two-point lead. NPR had it at a three-point GOP lead.

For whatever reason, only a few national pollsters chose to survey the battleground Senate contests in the last few weeks  of the 2022 midterms. Many of us who did, such as one of the most accurate over the past four cycles, Robert Cahaly of Trafalgar, showed Republican candidates in competitive states trending ahead, reflecting what the many national organizations were indicating in their generic ballot polls.

But the building “Red Wave” disappeared on Election Day. Sure, as pollsters we will be examining our data and weighting for the next cycle. But it may be that for Republicans, opinion surveys, whether suggesting a win or a loss, won’t matter. A loss is more likely regardless.

Why?

In part because there exists a not-so-subtle Democratic machine that goes far beyond politicians and now includes significant segments of corporations, media and “nonpartisan” governmental entities. Presidential and battleground Senate races are currently won at the slimmest of margins and Republicans face a system that now requires that their nominee blow past those margins on the crest of not just a possible “Red Wave” but riding a true “Red Tidal Wave.”

Only that massive “Red Tidal Wave” can carry a Republican back into the White House. Here’s a list of why such a GOP meltdown is possible again and the potential remedies for the party that, at present, seem unlikely to materialize in time to avert disaster for Republicans in 2024.

If a Tree Falls…

You know how this goes: If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound?

In the political forest, the answer is no if the tree is Republican or conservative. This is by far and away the biggest obstacle Republicans face in having a fair chance of winning in 2024.

While Fox News remains the dominant cable news network, it cannot possibly serve to counterbalance the three broadcast news networks along with CNN and MSNBC. Even with Newsmax thrown into the mix, the “conservative” broadcast and online media, based on total viewership and readership, is overwhelmed day in and day out. Other than Rupert Murdoch, conservative-leaning financiers have either lacked the will or have been stymied at forming consortiums to purchase or challenge the “legacy” media. And Republican operatives seem hellbent on spending all their money in short-burst primary and general election cycles. They just assume that everyone knows their view of the news: that President Joe Biden is “cognitively challenged”; the economy is in decline; the border is flooded daily by undocumented immigrants; that crime is destroying the nation’s once great and revered cities; that the U.S. appears weak and unprepared for future aggressions by major foes. You get the point.

But the average voter doesn’t. Polls asking voters about issues provide conservatives with the appearance that their issues are important to voters as well as the foibles of Democrats. But most issue-oriented polling questionnaires assume that their respondents are aware and have an opinion on the matter. And respondents rarely want to confess that they haven’t a clue. Put that same respondent in an unaided survey where they must articulate the issues of the day and one will find that those opinions on most issues dissolve into a mishmash of general concepts and less definitive answers.

It seems that Republican leaders just assume that everyone else lives in the bubble they live in. But they don’t.

Most voters whose vote the GOP might otherwise win don’t much know about critical race theory, the consequences of mounting federal debt, or much of anything conservatives talk about amongst themselves or to their audiences.

Were it not for Twitter CEO Elon Musk, what little information conservatives manage to get out beyond their bubble would be shut down by the social media establishment.

Consider the following. On the day after news reports of an IRS whistleblower’s allegations of potential wrongdoing concerning the Department of Justice’s handling of the Hunter Biden investigation and the revelation that Secretary of State Antony Blinken allegedly requested a letter from members of the intelligence community to label the younger Biden’s laptop “a Russian Hoax,” the daily White House briefing was devoid of questions on the two issues.

Weeks later, when the House Oversight Committee presented financial records of members of President Biden’s family and their business associates receiving over $10 million from foreign corporations linked to China and Romania using a labyrinth of corporations, a massive tree fell. But virtually no one heard it.

The three “legacy” TV networks did not cover it in their news broadcasts and mostly ignored it on their websites. But taking the old “tree falls” to a new level, The New York Times decided to ignore the tree falling and instead proclaim renewed sturdiness and growth for the tree. Their headline: “House Republican Report Finds No Evidence of Wrongdoing by President Biden.”

The selective and slanted nature of news now often starts at its initial gathering point and continues in its final presentation to a busy public, most of whom grab their news from social media and news aggregations on their smartphone. Republicans and conservatives have missed the boat in educating voters in a non-controversial and balanced manner, about the true facts and news of the day.

And consider that conservatives are routinely labeled by the mainstream press with the pejorative phrase “far-right wing” while even the most “out there” liberals are labeled the more upbeat moniker of “progressives.” Republicans haven’t even been able to address the simple matter of the lexicon used in political battle.

No Check on the Checkers…

The business of “fact checking” arose with the same foundational financial and logistical support that brings “legacy” news to us. Have you noticed how journalists, and I mean top ones, are willing to use definitive terms like “lies” and “debunked” in their description of certain people and issues rather than the more cautionary and traditional terms like “disputed” and “alleged”? That’s because the fact checkers make definitive statements that allow journalists to definitively dismiss certain matters and embrace others. While the NewsGuards and PolitiFacts of the journalistic world were being incubated and lovingly made into “institutions,” there was no formidable effort made by those who long for a more balanced media to create credible and less politicized alternatives. And that’s a fact!

Add to that “fact” the amazing coincidence that AI has burst on the consumers of news and social media just in time for what might be the most critical presidential election cycle in American history. Now facts, figures, biographies, and narratives can be gathered, edited and selectively presented to consumers who have no idea who or how their AI database or algorithms were programed or written in the first place. If those wanting a more balanced media don’t fund their own legitimate and well-funded fact-checking organizations, an entire generation will become reliant on one-sided and often extremely biased groups claiming to be the ultimate arbiters of truth.

‘Existential’…

This is the most overused word of the last three years. Everything, it seems, is deemed “an existential threat” to the world. The philosopher Soren Kierkegaard must be rolling over in his grave at the endless use of his central concept.

So let me keep Kierkegaard spinning. The failure of the GOP to flood nursing homes, bingo halls, and mortuaries (OK, that one is a joke, of a sort) in search of voters willing to cast early ballots remains, as of today, unaddressed, And it really is an “existential threat” to the Republican leaders. They must come to understand that in our post-COVID era, the rules for who votes when and where, and under the aegis of “voter outreach,” has changed forever. Democrats know how to spend buckets of money to advance what could best be termed “selective democracy.” They know just how to bump against the line of what is allowed and what is not, should anyone with any authority and objectivity care.

The GOP has only months remaining to create armies and methods to match those efforts.

If the Shoe Fits…

Republicans must wear it. In recent years Republicans have suffered from a tenuous relationship with white suburban women and younger voters. They are being made to feel guilty in the classrooms, carpool lines or suburban tennis matches that they were born white or were provided opportunities while growing up. It translates as “Republicans are the racist party” by default.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, some Republican leaders in various states decided to up the ante on abortion laws. It’s logical for Republicans, given their position on the matter, to advance protecting unborn lives. But to do so without a massive ad and public relations outreach campaign to those essential demographic groups to explain their legislation, creates a political shoe so tight that an elephant’s foot has no prayer of fitting. Hence, a contributing factor to the massive turnout and marginal losses for Republicans in many marginal contests in 2022.

It’s the same for the issue of gun control versus gun rights. If Republicans want to continue to support a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment, they need to educate a public overwhelmed by a media that does not.

How about a massive paid ad campaign exposing voters to statistics supporting the claim that in areas where everyone is “packing heat,” so to speak, gun violence drops? If that is indeed the case, don’t just say it on conservative-leaning cable news shows, prove it to the public in well-reasoned ads with real live statistics. Ditto for the value of armed security in every school. If the evidence exists to support those concepts, why is it not front and center in ads on popular TV shows and the web? Shucking and jiving through endless mass shootings isn’t working — and is costing the GOP with younger and suburban swing voters.

The Tooth Fairy vs. the Dentist and Periodontist…

Lord knows both parties know how to pander, but Republicans let their “fiscal responsibility” stand in the way.

Democrats under Joe Biden have been described as “the Tooth Fairy,” promising outrageously massive handouts to various demographic targets with no apparent way to pay for them. Meanwhile, the Republican counter to this Democratic approach is to serve as national dentist and periodontist. Incrementally trying to fight cavities and oral decay but with nothing new to offer voters. Ask yourself “Tooth Fairy or Dentist?” Most would choose the Tooth Fairy every time!

For the sake of argument, try this idea on for size, Republicans: Propose that the government eliminate all these programs you view as needless handouts, unappreciated foreign aid and government waste.

Put it all into the Social Security “trust fund” as a sort of “matching contribution” and give seniors a real live retirement that they can live on. Instead of raising the age requirement for benefits, lower it over time! And jack those payments way up while cutting out the “left-wing woke funding” you claim to despise in order help pay for it.

No one would ever expect that from the GOP. Yet that would consolidate (and could increase) for Republicans a senior base they began to lose during the pandemic, and which continues to be problematic. Based on exit polls of battleground Senate races, increasing the GOP share of the vote among those age 55 and over is the most likely way for Republicans to expand their vote and create a true “Red Tidal Wave.”

The choice between forgiving college loans of over-educated millennials who offer little potential for significant vote gains, versus an enhancement and expansion of benefits to more senior Americans of all backgrounds, would seem to be a no-brainer. And it would put to rest the constant Democrat go-to of last-minute ads warning seniors that “Republicans want to cut your benefits.”

How about a national bonus or additional tax credit program for police and firefighters across the nation? How else are we ever going to motivate the next generation to consider taking on these increasingly dangerous and thankless jobs?

The GOP has become the party of the working person, including those who have worked hard all their lives. Why not seal the deal by promising to reward those voters and taking resources away from programs that encourage the opposite? That is exactly how Democrats under Biden are seemingly operating. They arguably penalize those who work to have good credit by rewarding those who don’t. The Green New Deal makes the future far more expensive and impracticable on the average worker while searching for ways to transfer resources to others in the name of “energy and climate equity.”

Take from one group and give to another. Republicans better learn to do it big — and soon — or they will wither as a party.

It’s likely, for the GOP I know, that the shoe won’t fit their agenda either. They will deem such ideas “unworkable and fiscally irresponsible.” As if the Democrats’ “Inflation Reduction Act” was?

A Better Class of Prisoner…

In the 1960s, one governor, when asked about the sorry conditions of his state prisons, responded by saying that what the state needed was “a better class of prisoners.” When it comes to Republican campaigns, a better class of prisoners might be called for. Or at least a truce among inmates. For decades Republican political operatives have approached one another as rival “political gangs,” more interested in capturing all the dollars from political donors and spending them through their associates and fellow “gang members,” than winning. “Diss me and my gang and we will cut funds off from your candidate.” We saw that same mentality prevail once again in 2022, and Republican candidates once again were the casualties of it.

Democrats take a different approach. They tend to work toward one common goal of winning. The spoils of victory are then rewarded after the votes are in and the political power has been gained. Of course, to be fair, Democrat “dark money” is more plentiful, and Republicans often must scrounge around for funds in order to compete.

A lot has to change in a short time period to give former President Trump or any other Republican nominee a sporting chance of winning in 2024. No GOP nominee, even Trump (who tends to pull more voters to the polls than other modern-day Republican nominees could have hoped for) cannot win if these substantial changes don’t start to take place, and rapidly.

If not, the elephant walk of 2024 could once again be one straight off the political cliff. But for this upcoming cycle, pollsters will likely be extra careful not to march off that cliff with them.

Texas Children’s Hospital will stop offering hormone therapy and other transgender care, according to the Houston Chronicle and ABC affiliate KTRK. 

In anticipation of a Texas bill — which aims to curb gender-transition care and which was sent to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk on May 19  — becoming law, Texas Children’s CEO Mark Wallace told employees the hospital will cease providing some transgender care services within the next few months, according to an email sent May 24 and obtained by the news outlets. 

The hospital is one of two Texas facilities part of an attorney general investigation based on allegations of providers “unlawfully performing” gender-transition procedures. 

A screenshot of the email was first posted on Twitter Wednesday afternoon. A hospital spokesperson confirmed its authenticity to the Houston Chronicle. In the email, Wallace said the hospital will “continue to offer psychosocial support and any form of care we can within the bounds of the law.” A Texas Children’s spokesperson said Wednesday that the hospital so far is not canceling any appointments related to transgender care.

In the email, Mr. Wallace said “we will work with patients and their families to manage the discontinuation of hormone therapies or source appropriate care outside of Texas,” according to KTRK. The hospital said it plans to continue offering psychological care that complies with state laws. 

“The transition we will embark on is going to be immensely heart-wrenching, but we will lead through this adversity and navigate these next steps together with grace, love and compassion like we always do,” Wallace said in the email. “I understand that there are many viewpoints and opinions related to this matter, but I want to remind everyone that our mission is to create a healthier future for all children.”

The email followed an announcement last week from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton saying he intended to investigate whether Texas Children’s is “illegally” performing transgender care. His announcement came after a conservative activist posted what he said was evidence that the hospital “secretly” provided such care. That activist posted Wallace’s email to staff on Twitter. Paxton had previously announced a similar investigation at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin.

Senate Bill 14, which would ban transgender care for minors, has not been signed into law, though Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to do so. The state Senate approved a final draft of the legislation last week. The legislation prohibits doctors from prescribing medications such as puberty blockers or from performing surgeries on minors diagnosed with psychological distress about their gender identity.

A previous statewide directive to investigate medical treatment for transgender youth as child abuse has been paused since a district court ruling last year. Puberty blockers and hormone therapy are widely accepted treatments for patients with gender dysphoria, which is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as psychological distress and anxiety due to a mismatch between a person’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth.

In his email, Wallace said changes to gender transition care will take place “over the next few months.” He described the upcoming changes as “painful.”

“It is difficult for me, the In-Chiefs & Chairs, executives, faculty, staff and care teams to know that this is where we find ourselves,” he said. “However, I want to assure all of you that through this period and after, we all remain dedicated to educating the amplifying the importance of safe, high-quality transgender medicine programs.”

Wallace went on to ask for “support, empathy and care” for the children, families and care teams affected by the legislation. 

Authored by Mark Tapscott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

IRS officials picked a left-wing think tank to conduct a $15 million “independent review” of a proposal long supported by the same foundation to empower federal officials to prepare Americans’ tax returns, according to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.).

The think tank in question is New America, a Washington-based nonprofit foundation with deep ties to Democrat officials, appointees, and advocates.

“The characterization of New America as a strictly non-partisan, non-profit is surprising since the organization is known to be a left-leaning think tank. Specifically, some of the non-profit’s top officials include alumni from the Obama Administration … and other top officials of the organization are tied to left-leaning mainstream and openly left-wing media outlets,” Smith said in a March 6 letter to Acting IRS Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell.

Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) co-signed the letter.

Smith and Schweikert told O’Donnell that they want copies of all IRS documents generated during the selection process that resulted in New America getting the nod to do the review. The requested documents haven’t been provided to the committee.

The proposal on the table is to establish the IRS Direct File program, under which taxpayers would have their annual income tax returns prepared by the agency using a new government software program to be developed. The $15 million funding for the review was authorized in an obscure provision of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Even before New America was selected to conduct the review, the IRS had established a pilot program to begin testing the idea of turning federal officials into tax preparers, in addition to tax collectors and enforcers.

An IRS spokesman didn’t respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

President Joe Biden’s administration and the Democratic majorities that controlled the 117th Congress approved $80 billion in funding that would allow the addition of 87,000 new IRS agents to its payroll, many of whom could be assigned to tax preparation if the Direct File initiative continues and expands from a pilot project.

Smith has no doubt that the project will be expanded as fast as Democrats can do it.

“From the start, the Biden Administration cooked the books to get exactly the outcome it wanted. The IRS chose a left-wing think tank and professor to run the study, both of whom are already on the record supporting the IRS becoming America’s tax preparer, filer, and auditor,” Smith said in a May 16 statement.

“IRS control of tax preparation is the latest step in Democrats’ ongoing efforts to supercharge the agency to go after working-class families, after giving the agency $80 billion to increase audits on taxpayers making less than $75,000. Americans will be powerless when the IRS completely controls the tax filing process from start to finish,” he said.

Smith is particularly upset that IRS officials initiated the pilot program without prior congressional authorization.

“Americans don’t want to give the IRS such sweeping control and authority, yet the Biden Administration refuses to listen,” he said in the statement.

“The announcement of a pilot program raises serious questions about how long the Biden Administration’s decision to move forward on such a program has been in the works, whether the agency had any intention of following Congress’ direction that this study be conducted in an independent and impartial way, and whether the IRS is acting outside the law in establishing a program that Congress has not authorized.”

If a truly independent review had actually been sought, New America was an odd choice, he said, given its lengthy record of advocating on behalf of expanding the IRS to be tax preparer, auditor, and collector.

In a March 2021 analysis, for example, New America argued that “the IRS would calculate taxpayers’ refund based on existing wage data, and then offer a simple and free tool for taxpayers to make corrections, provide additional information, review calculations, and finally file taxes. Such a system is commonplace in many countries, including Spain, Chile, Sweden, Estonia, and Iceland, and a proposal to create it has been repeatedly introduced in Congress by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Senate Democrats.”

But experts within and without the federal government wonder if the IRS could handle such a huge expansion of its powers and duties, if only because the tax agency’s management record in recent years has been the subject of multiple critical reports.

Read more here…

Black Lives Matter finished its latest fiscal year nearly $9 million in the red, even as world’s premier race-grifting organization continued shelling out millions to execs and relatives of co-founder Patrisse Cullors, according to new tax documents posted last week and first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.  

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation spent double what it took in — $17 million in outlays against just $8.5 million in gross revenue. In contrast, the group took in a whopping $77 million in contributions and grants in the preceding fiscal year, which included half of 2020. Assets plummeted by 28% year-over-year, from $41.9 million to $30.2 million for the fiscal year. 

“That means it has spent two-thirds of the $90 million it raised [in 2020],” reports the New York Post. Given this report is for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2022, the group’s balance sheet may look a lot worse today, after another 11 months of potential deterioration. 

Broken down by major categories, Black Lives Matter spent $11.5 million on “program services expenses.” $5.1 million on “management general expenses” and $485,000 on fundraising — after all, you have to spend money to waste money. 

Co-founder Cullors quit the group in May 2021 after the New York Post revealed wild spending by the group and Cullors herself, with massive amounts of the purported charity’s money also flowing to her family members. Some of the greatest hits:

• BLM paid $970,000 to a company owned by the father of Cullors’ child to “produce live events” and for “creative services“
• Her brother Paul Cullors was paid $840,000 for providing “security services” for the group
• Cullors spent $3.2 million to buy four high-end homes, including a $1.4 million house near Malibu and a “custom ranch” in Georgia with an airplane hangar and runway
• BLM bought a $5.6 million mansion in Los Angeles, which Cullors claimed as an “investment” that would also serve as a “media creation space” and even a safe house for activists. She hosted a Biden inauguration party there. 
• The group and its affiliates bought a $1.7 million luxury condo in the Bahamas and a $6 million Toronto mansion 

Many eyebrow-raising expenditures have continued, according to the latest financial disclosures. A company owned by Cullors’ successor, Shalomyah Bowers, was paid $1.69 million over two years for “management and consulting services.”

A board member’s firm took $1.06 million for “consulting,” and an unidentified board member’s company got $600,000 in the settlement of a “contract dispute.” Cullors’ brother’s security company — Black Ties LLC –was paid another $756,000, and the brother himself also scored $125,000 in compensation plus another $15,000 for unspecified security. 

Black Lives Matter has done NOTHING for black folks. pic.twitter.com/TpYWkMIerP

— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) May 22, 2023

“While Patrisse Cullors was forced to resign due to charges of using BLM’s funds for her personal use, it looks like she’s still keeping it all in the family,” the National Legal and Policy Center’s Paul Kamenar told the Washington Free Beacon. 

Ohio State University accounting professor Mittendorf was more diplomatic, telling Newsweek that the most significant issue arising from the new disclosure filings is the “continued and substantial transactions with insiders. While this is not improper per se, it does raise concerns about potential conflicts of interest in governing the organization.”

Referring to the giant influx of money following George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police, Cullors marveled, “That was a lot of white guilt money. There’s a lot of white folks being like, ‘We just got to put the money’.”

Authored by Donavan Lingerfelt via The Mises Institute,

It’s been over five decades since the war on drugs began in the United States, and billions of dollars coerced from taxpayers have been spent on this frivolous operation.

The General Accounting Office’s report found that the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program did not deter youth from drug abuse.

How exactly has this war benefited taxpayers when drug use has increased, and more potent drugs are being consumed? Even the diabolical Charles Manson distributed drugs while imprisoned. Does one honestly think the government will eradicate drugs off the streets?

The mere suggestion of legalizing drugs causes many to accuse me of advocating drug abuse. I do not have any inclination to consume harmful drugs, and neither do I condone such behavior. My motivation for writing this article, however, is grounded in freedom. I hope that after reading this, people across the political spectrum will understand this objective. For people on the right, they should realize this war is unconstitutional. The Constitution does not grant the government control of what someone injects into their body. The state continues to extend its tentacles of power over its people, and the war on drugs is just one facet of that reality.

The state believes it has the prerequisites to decree what can and cannot be allowed, not just regarding drug policy but in our private lives as well. Lysander Spooner, the nineteenth-century theorist, argued that vices are not crimes: “Vices are those acts by which a man harms himself or his property. Crimes are those acts by which one man harms the person or property of another.” You have total autonomy of your body, not the government or anyone else. This should hopefully register with individuals on the left. Today’s political climate has forced citizens into a political dichotomy with no room outside the uniparty’s parameters. Most politically passionate people fail to realize that they share quite a bit of similarities with their supposed “enemies.” It’s not Left versus Right; it’s the state versus you!

Many today disregard the significant number of deaths caused by alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs. A considerable number of people abuse these substances, but drug warriors seem to disregard these addictions. Alcohol is a form of drug and can be dangerous when consumed as it affects people differently. On average, 140,000 people die every year from this beverage. Prescription drugs claim 16,500 lives per year. Tobacco consumption is the foremost cause of preventable deaths at an astounding 480,000 deaths annually. One can consider food to be a drug, and its abuse leads to a multitude of health issues. Heart disease, being one of those issues, is the leading cause of death in America.

The government doesn’t care about your well-being or privacy; it only wishes for complete control over you. Financial privacy has even been encroached upon by the state due to the drug war. Deposits of more than $10,000 in the bank are reported to the Internal Revenue Service even though it’s your money. If you are pulled over with a substantial amount of cash, the police can confiscate your money under civil asset forfeiture laws. Essentially, you are guilty until you prove your money was legally acquired. They can slander your name for simply transporting cash. Police, on countless occasions, have been found planting drugs on one’s person or vehicle. By ending the war on drugs, the accused can be protected from these pernicious acts.

In 2003, the life of a young man, Weldon Angelos, was ruined by the war’s idiocy. An undercover informant made several purchases from Angelos involving minimal amounts of weed. The informant claimed Angelos possessed a gun, despite one never being brandished or used. Initially, Angelos would have been imprisoned for a day, but federal law required fifty-five years due to a gun being present during the transactions. Presiding over the case, Judge Paul Cassell was so distraught at handing down this absurd sentence that he later petitioned for Angelos’ release. An actual criminal who had committed child rape, second-degree murder, or an aircraft hijacking would have had a shorter sentence than Angelos. After public outrage, Angelos was released in 2016 and pardoned in 2020. Unfortunately, there are many stories like Angelos’ across our country.

Due to the irreparable harm from Richard Nixon’s war, the US has the world’s largest prison population. China has almost half as many incarcerated individuals. When comparing China’s population to America’s, this is an astounding statistic. In 2020, over a million people were arrested for using or possessing illicit drugs. The government and the police will be further strengthened as they wage their unjust war, while citizens are terrified of false accusations. To clarify, I am not arguing that a person on drugs who hurts or steals from someone should not be in jail. There should be no leniency for these violent crimes. Harm done to people and property are crimes, not vices. To help solve the drug epidemic, however, one should realize this war has not worked.

There are a few countries that have pursued intriguing alternatives to this crisis. The Netherlands has decriminalized cannabis possession of less than five grams. Psychedelic mushrooms were made illegal in the Netherlands in 2008, yet users found with small quantities are not criminally charged. In Switzerland, they adopted a policy of helping their drug-addicted citizens instead of fighting drugs. For the past two decades, the Swiss have implemented drug-consumption rooms and needle exchange programs. By providing clean needles to users, this reduces the risk of infections. Because of these measures, HIV infections have declined at a significant rate, and Hepatitis C cases have continued to decrease since 2002. Consumers at drug-consumption rooms are watched to prevent overdoses. Facility employees make connections with these individuals without stigmatizing them. Users are more comfortable with what they inject at drug facilities compared to what they may find on the streets.

Portugal has arguably been the most prominent trailblazer in drug policy reform. In 2001, they decriminalized all drugs, treating it as a health-conscious issue rather than a criminal one. Individuals possessing less than a ten-day supply of any drug will not be punished with prison time but will usually be sent to a commission for recovery treatment options. The European Union’s average rate of drug-related deaths is five times higher than Portugal’s. From 1998 to 2011, drug treatment attendees in Portugal increased by 60 percent. This result is encouraging because Portuguese citizens are seeking help, rather than fearing incarceration.

An ample portion of US states and cities have changed their tune on drug legalization based on the positive results from the aforementioned countries. Marijuana used for medical purposes is currently legal in thirty-eight states, while recreational use is permitted in twenty-two states. In 2021, the city of Seattle approved legislation decriminalizing psychedelics, which mirrors the policies of Oakland and Santa Cruz. Similar to Portugal’s revolutionary policy, Oregon has adopted legislation that will not criminally charge individuals with small quantities of any drug but will instead enforce a hundred dollar fine. Although there is much to improve in America’s drug policy, these states and cities are taking a closer step toward allowing citizens the freedom to choose what they can consume. Hopefully, all states can learn from these drug pioneers, domestic and abroad, that are helping addicts rather than waging an irrational crusade against their people.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hailed China’s “balanced position” on the conflict in Ukraine during a Friday meeting with Chinese special envoy Li Hui in Moscow.

China has thus far resisted Western pressure to condemn Moscow, but has instead tried to present a neutral stance while issuing occasional statements condemning NATO expansion and US global dominance. Beijing has also been among a handful of Asian countries to have greatly expanded Russian energy imports since the start of the war.

The Chinese envoy on Friday once again called for an immediate ceasefire, at a moment Russian forces are consolidating gains in Donetsk, particularly in Bakhmut where Wagner finally declared victory over the weekend following more than 200 days of fierce fighting.

According to The Wall Street Journal Li Hui conveyed a clear message that: “US allies in Europe should assert their autonomy and urge an immediate ceasefire, leaving Russia in possession of the parts [of Ukraine] …that it now occupies.”

China has also sent representatives to Ukraine and Europe, with EU officials conveying their stance that freezing the conflict was not in their interest. The Zelensky government too believes that a ‘freeze’ would only allow the Russians to resupply, regroup, and fortify their positions. Western allies have also been arguing against a freeze.

EU officials reportedly told the Chinese envoy that “it’s impossible to split Europe from America” and that Europe remains committed and unified in support of Ukraine.

According to a review of Friday’s meeting between Russian and Chinese representatives: 

Russia’s Lavrov expressed gratitude for China’s “balanced position” and willingness to play a positive role in a meeting with China’s Ukraine envoy, the foreign ministry said.

China’s Li Hui, who spent 10 years as ambassador to Moscow, has been on a tour of European capitals, and last week visited Kyiv.

After those talks, China said it wanted to “form the greatest common denominator for resolving the Ukrainian crisis, and make its own efforts to stop the fighting and (establish a) ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible”.

Kyiv has told Li, however, that it would not accept any proposal that involved Ukraine losing territory.

Hawks in both Britain and the United States have urged Ukraine to stay the course, despite mounting troop casualties in the tens of thousands. The UK especially has long been accused of actively thwarting attempts at peace talks which were proposed last year – instead encouraging Ukraine to ‘win’ militarily. President Zelensky has all the while maintained that talks with Moscow are impossible until Russian troops leave every bit of Ukrainian territory.

By Mary Claire Evans of Gallup

Americans, on average, estimate that a family of four needs a minimum income of $85,000 annually to “get by” in their community, marking a considerable increase from a decade ago. The past decade has witnessed not only an increase in the average income required but also a notable shift in the upper range of income expectations.

During that time, the proportion of Americans who believe that a family needs more than $100,000 to get by has tripled to 30%, while 18% now estimate it to be between $75,000 and $99,999, and 31% think it is $50,000 to $74,999. Half as many Americans now as in 2013 believe a family of four can get by on less than $50,000 annually. This includes 3% who estimate a figure lower than $30,000, and 11% who cite a figure between $30,000 and $49,999.

The latest average of $85,000, from an April 3-25 Gallup poll, is notably higher than the federal poverty line for a family of four, which is currently $30,000.

In 2013, the average estimate was $58,000, and the federal poverty line for a family of four was $23,550. Accounting for inflation and the subsequent change in purchasing power, Americans’ 2013 estimate translates to $75,668 in 2023 dollars. Their 2023 estimate therefore reflects an increase of about $9,000 in perceived family needs beyond what inflation alone would account for.

Higher-Income Respondents Believe Families Need More

Americans’ perceptions of the minimum income a family of four needs are influenced by their own financial circumstances. Specifically, those with an annual household income of $100,000 or more project $100,000, on average, as necessary for a family to get by. Middle-income respondents, those with between $40,000 and $99,999 in annual income, estimate a family needs about $80,000. Meanwhile, those earning less than $40,000 believe an income of about $66,000 suffices.

Eastern, Suburban Residents Give Higher Estimates

Geographical location also influences Americans’ perceptions of the income needed for a family of four to get by. Notably, residents in the Eastern U.S. estimate, on average, that families need an income of about $98,000, which is significantly more than the estimates from other regions. Residents in the Midwest have the lowest estimate, saying families need an average income of $76,000. These regional differences likely reflect variations in cost of living, housing prices and wage levels.

Similarly, Americans’ views on the minimum income for a family of four are influenced by their urbanicity. Those residing in cities (about $87,000) and suburban areas ($91,000) project a higher required income for a family of four than those living in towns or rural areas ($78,000).

These findings are similar to those from 2013, when Eastern and suburban residents’ estimates of what a family of four needs to get by were substantially higher than those given by people in other regions or urbanicities.

Bottom Line

The rise in perceived necessary income to support a family of four highlights the economic pressure facing American households as high inflation stretches into a second year.

There is a diversity of socioeconomic realities across various population segments and geographic locations. Notably, individuals residing in urban and suburban areas, as well as those with higher incomes, tend to estimate a higher necessary income for a family of four. These patterns might reflect their cost-of-living circumstances as well as differences in perceptions of need and evolving lifestyle aspirations.

The increasing estimate of required income may also be linked to the rise in two-income families. Americans’ average estimate for getting by sits at $85,000, an amount more likely to be reached only in families with dual incomes, further emphasizing the changing economic dynamics of American households.

Authored by Bryan Jung via The Epoch Times,

Florida’s citrus industry posted its worse harvest since 1937, which should give orange fans some pause at the supermarket.

Damage from the 2022 hurricane season, combined with the impact of citrus greening disease, is ravaging the Sunshine State’s orange crop.

This will likely cause citrus prices to skyrocket nationwide, as Florida farmers recorded its smallest orange harvest in 90 years, according to the state’s latest agriculture report.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in January that only 18 million boxes of Florida oranges would be on the market in 2023, a 56 percent drop from last year.

Peak orange production in Florida is normally at 244 million boxes a year.

“No doubt, as the supply of juice continues to rise because of the storms and the low harvest. The prices of oranges are gonna go up and that’s simple supply and demand,” Matt Joyner, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, told Fox Business.

“We are devoted to getting back into production and making sure that the orange juice that Americans know and love is available to them. Hopefully, we’ll see these prices come back down soon.”

Oranges hang on a tree at one of the Peace River Packing Company groves in Fort Meade, Fla., on Feb. 1, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Sparking Worldwide Shortages

The collapse of Florida’s orange harvest is having effects worldwide, as the Sunshine State, along with Brazil, produces the majority of oranges for the global citrus market.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the price for a gallon of orange juice in some parts of the United States is already above $6.

U.S. orange prices have already risen 25 percent, while other countries have seen prices more than double.

“Congress, back in December, appropriated money for disaster relief, and there was money for agriculture nationwide, which would include the disasters here in Florida from 2022,” said Joyner.

“Unfortunately, we’ve not seen any of that aid make it down to the state yet, but we continue to have conversations with USDA, and we’re hopeful that maybe some of those funds will start flowing,” he added.

The $9 billion citrus industry employs more than 76,000 full- and part-time workers and provides over 90 percent of orange juice consumed in the United States.

Natural Disasters

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences estimated that Hurricane Ian caused more than $1 billion in damage to the state’s agriculture industry, including $247 million to the citrus crop.

Massive winds, rainfall, and flooding caused damage in nearly 77 percent of the state’s counties.

Workers attempt to prop up with stakes the new growth orange trees in an orange grove in Arcadia, Fla., on Oct. 20, 2022, in the wake of Hurricane Ian. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

However, the situation worsened with a hard freeze in January that ruined many surviving oranges.

“It’s eight months after the storm and you can imagine the difficulty that growers are having in recovering and going on with their operations without any kind of disaster relief at all,” said Joyner.

The advocacy group Florida Citrus Mutual, along with a delegation of citrus growers, met with USDA officials and members of Florida’s Congressional delegation in May to discuss further hurricane relief

Farmers are currently more worried about the spread of citrus greening disease which was first detected in 2012 in California and is beginning to sweep the Florida peninsula.

Some growers have planted disease-resistant orange tree rootstocks developed by University of Florida citrus researchers in a bid to save the industry.

The bacteria are a threat to most of Florida’s citrus trees, leaving bitter, greenish fruits that are inedible.