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Top Ten Moments From Trump’s CNN Town Hall; AOC And Jake Tapper Livid

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Top Ten Moments From Trump’s CNN Town Hall; AOC And Jake Tapper Livid

Former President Donald Trump appeared on CNN Wednesday night for a town hall with moderator Kaitlan Collins and an audience of Republican and independent voters.

Trump was… Trump – an unapologetic steamroller who didn’t let Collins bully him into admitting that he lost the 2020 election (and called Collins a “nasty person” at one point). Here are the top 10 moments from last night;

Rigged election

“You still have not acknowledged the 2020 election results, but you are also under active federal investigation for trying to overturn the 2020 election results,” said Collins. “Your first term ended with a deadly riot at the Capitol, and you still have not publicly acknowledged the 2020 election results. Why should Americans put you back in the White House?”

To which Trump replied: ““I think that when you look at that result, and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happened. A lot of the people—out of the people in this audience and maybe a couple that don’t—but most people understand what happened was a rigged election. And it’s a shame that we had to go through it. It’s very bad for our country. All over the world, they looked at it and they saw exactly what everyone else [saw].”

January 6th

Trump and Collins tussled over the timeline of events on January 6th – pointing out that he called for peaceful protests.

Pardons?

Trump said he would pardon “many” of the January 6th protesters currently sitting in jail.

“I am inclined to pardon many of them,” Trump said. “I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control. But, you know, when you look at Antifa, what they’ve done to them… then what they’ve done to these people, they persecuted these people. And yeah, my answer is, I am most likely if I get in, I will most likely—I wouldn’t say it will be a large portion of them. You know, they did a very [applause] and it’d be very early on,” he continued (via PJ Media).

Ashli Babbitt

When told that “Over 140 officers were injured” during the incident, Trump replied: “And a person named Ashli Babbitt was killed. You know what? She was killed and she shouldn’t have been killed — and that thug that killed her — there was no reason to shoot her.”

Mike Pence

Trump grabbed his former VP by the Pence for not sending the 2020 election back to the states for a 2nd bite at the apple, insisting that his former #2 “made a mistake.”

“His lawyer said, ‘You cannot move.’ I call them the human conveyor belt. I said, even if the votes… are absolutely fraudulent, he can say yes, or he can [send them back]… and the Democrats played it and the RINOs played it. And then the election was over. They told him he couldn’t do it. And Mike said to me, ‘I can’t do it. The lawyers told me you can’t do it. They can’t do it.’ The lawyers are wrong. Because right after the election, they all met, the RINOs and the Democrats, and they worked out a plan to make sure that future vice presidents don’t do what I said you could do.”

The war in Ukraine

Collins tried to get Trump to submit to a purity test – asking if he wants Ukraine or Russia to win.

“I don’t think about it in terms of winning and losing, I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people,” Trump replied, insisting that he would have the war “settled in one day.“

Rape accuser

Trump insisted the sexual assault accusations against him by E. Jean Carroll (bankrolled by anti-Trump billionaire Reid Hoffman and convinced to sue by George Conway) was a political stunt ahead of the 2024 election.

“Because what’s happening is they’re doing this for election interference,” said Trump. When asked if he thinks it will hurt his chances with female voters, Trump replied: “No, I don’t think so because the whole thing, just so you understand. Ready? I never met this woman. I never saw this woman.”

A dog (or cat) named Vagina?

To illustrate how crazy Carroll is, Trump said she named her dog, or cat, vagina.

Inflation

When asked what he would do to bring down rising costs, Trump replied: “Drill baby, drill.”

Nasty Person

“You are a nasty person. I’ll tell you,” Trump said to Collins following a tense exchange.

CNN‘s Jake Tapper and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were absolutely livid over the whole thing.

Meanwhile, the post-mortem focus group really put the cherry on top.

And Rep. Byron Donalds mopped the floor with CNN talking heads.

Lastly, we encourage you to read this from Breitbart‘s John Nolte regarding CNN‘s massive blunder by holding the event in the first place. It’s great.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/11/2023 – 10:20

Pakistan Top Court Orders Immediate Release Of Imran Khan, Declares Arrest Illegal

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Pakistan Top Court Orders Immediate Release Of Imran Khan, Declares Arrest Illegal

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that the arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was illegal and has ordered his immediate release, following two days of deadly protests and spreading unrest, which has pitted his supporters against the miliary and security services.

Khan was taken into custody when he appeared in the Islamabad High Court Tuesday, and was filmed being whisked away in an armored vehicle by dozens of anti-corruption task force agents dressed in Swat gear. The scene sparked outrage, and was interpreted by his opposition Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) as a political ploy to block him from challenging Shahbaz Sharif. Top military commanders have also come out against Khan.

By Tuesday the army had deployed to the streets of the capital of Islamabad, after protesting mobs began raiding military buildings and bases. A national radio building was also burned to the ground. 

The BBC on Thursday has confirmed: 

The court ordered Mr Khan’s immediate release. His lawyers had argued that his detention from court premises in Islamabad on Tuesday was unlawful.

At least 10 people have been killed and 2,000 arrested as violent protests have swept the country since he was held.

When Khan was taken into custody, he was attending a court hearing related to an Al-Qadir Trust corruption hearing. Khan heads the trust with his wife, and there’s an ongoing probe over billions lost in a ‘bad deal’ as well as corruption allegations going back years.

Since the overnight hours, a sense of calm may have begun to return to the capital amid a heavy military presence…

But it may not be over, given the government appears ready to pursue Khan further:

Amid speculation ahead of his appearance Thursday that the Supreme Court could order his release, national Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told reporters in Islamabad that it would be “unfair” for the top court to intervene is such a manner. Aurangzeb noted the violence instigated by Khan’s supporters this week and said a release order would be tantamount to a “license to kill to everyone.”

Yesterday, many PTI party bosses were arrested, with the central government denouncing ‘acts of terror’ on the part of the protests, which were encouraged by Khan’s party.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/11/2023 – 10:00

IRS Files $44 Billion Claims Against Bankrupt FTX; Court Filing Shows

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IRS Files $44 Billion Claims Against Bankrupt FTX; Court Filing Shows

The United States Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have filed 45 claims worth $44 billion against bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its subsidiaries.

As CoinTelegraph’s Zhiyuan Sun reports, in what appears to be a tax bill for FTX’s sister company Alameda Research LLC that circulated online on May 10, the IRS assessed the firm $20.4 billion due in partnership taxes and payroll taxes.

The assessment appears to match the IRS claim found on the website of Kroll’s Restructuring Administration practice, FTX’s claims agent.

A further $7.9 billion claim is made by the IRS against Alameda Research LLC, while two claims — $7.5 billion and $2.0 billion — are made against Alameda Research Holdings.

The IRS filed the claims under “administrative priority,” enabling its claims to supersede that of unsecured creditors during bankruptcy proceedings.

While Alameda Research was headquartered in Hong Kong, its founders and key personnel, including Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, are U.S. nationals. Unlike most other countries, the U.S. uses a taxation-by-citizenship regime, meaning that U.S. nationals are liable for taxes on their worldwide income irrespective of their place of residence or how much time they spend in the U.S. each year. For partnership entities, taxes are not paid at the partnership level but are passed through their partners and taxed at the individual level.

In one single claim, the IRS assessed a balance of $20.4 billion against Alameda Research. Source: Kroll

In April, Cointelegraph reported that FTX had recovered $7.3 billion in assets and would consider rebooting the exchange next year. The announcement was made before the IRS’ claims, and at the time, FTX’s liabilities still outweighed its assets by an estimated $8.7 billion.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/11/2023 – 09:45

Hindenburg Raises “Critical New Questions” About Icahn’s Increasing Share Pledges In New Report

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Hindenburg Raises “Critical New Questions” About Icahn’s Increasing Share Pledges In New Report

The next chapter of the Hindenburg Research vs. Carl Icahn saga looks like it’s beginning. Both firms have dug their heels in, with Icahn Enterprises issuing a scathing response to the short seller alongside its earnings yesterday, and with Hindenburg Research offering up new questions this morning. 

This morning Hindenburg released a follow-up to its original report called “Icahn’s Latest Disclosures Raise Critical New Questions About Margin Loans, Continued Portfolio Losses”. In the piece, the short seller points out that, per IEP’s latest 10-Q, Carl Icahn’s pledged shares have increased: 

In its newest filings, IEP disclosed that as of May 8, 2023 Icahn had increased his pledge by about 11.7% from prior levels, to 202.6 million IEP units, valued at $6.5 billion as of yesterday’s closing price. No further detail was provided.

The new metrics represent a significant increase in pledging activity from year-end 2022, when Icahn had pledged 181.4 million IEP units, which were worth over $9 billion at the time.

The short seller also notes that Icahn added $3.4 billion in cash to his investment funds since 2014 and asks the question: “Where Did the Money Come From?”

The short seller writes: “We strongly suspect—based on our analysis that we had not previously published—that Carl Icahn has borrowed billions, and reinvested some, or all the proceeds, into his own investment funds. These funds subsequently generated significant losses, which could pose an overleveraging risk for both Carl Icahn himself, and IEP unitholders.”

The short seller also wrote about continued losses in Icahn’s portfolio and disclosed that, in addition to remaining short IEP, it was now also short IEP bonds. 

In a detailed response out yesterday, Carl Icahn unloaded on the short seller, stating: “Hindenburg Research, founded by Nathan Anderson, would be more aptly named Blitzkrieg Research given its tactics of wantonly destroying property and harming innocent civilians. Mr. Anderson’s modus operandi is to launch disinformation campaigns to distort companies’ images, damage their reputations and bleed the hard-earned savings of individual investors. But, unlike many of its victims, we will not stand by idly. We intend to take all appropriate steps to protect our unitholders and fight back.”

It continued: “We expect that, over time, IEP’s performance will speak for itself. We have a strong balance sheet, with $1.9 billion of cash and $4 billion of additional liquidity, and stand ready to take advantage of all opportunities. As we consider recent events, we are left asking why Mr. Anderson issued this inflammatory report, doing great harm to retail investors. He has admitted to shorting stock before issuing his report, believing that the stock price would temporarily decline. Was that his only goal? Whatever the motive, IEP intends to vigorously defend itself and its unitholders.”

“The good news for IEP’s investors is that we have Carl, the liquidity, the strategy and the know-how to fight back,” the company said. 

IEP shares fell yesterday after the company reported earnings that missed expectations, but the company also authorized a $500 million buyback. The Wall Street Journal also reported yesterday that Icahn was under federal investigation following Hindenburg’s research. 

Recall, on May 2nd, Hindenburg accused Icahn of “throwing stones” from his own glass house, claiming that shares of IEP were inflated by more than 75% and, while referring to Icahn as a “legend”, said he “has made a classic mistake of taking on too much leverage in the face of sustained losses: a combination that rarely ends well.”

“Confidence games never last forever. We expect Icahn Enterprises will be no different,” the short seller concluded on May 2. 

Since then, IEP shares are down almost 40%, but Icahn has committed to keeping the dividend in place and fighting back on behalf of his shareholders. 

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/11/2023 – 09:30

A Third Of US Home Prices Fall In First Quarter As Shelter Costs Peak

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A Third Of US Home Prices Fall In First Quarter As Shelter Costs Peak

Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius told clients he views today’s consumer price index report “as supportive of our call for a pause at the June FOMC meeting because the shelter stepdown looks increasingly durable.” 

Shelter costs, which comprise about one-third of the CPI weighting, increased another .4% in April on the month and up 8.1% compared to the same month last year. However, recently, shelter costs have been decelerating. 

US home prices are starting to slide in certain areas. We pointed out last month that shelter costs have likely “topped out.” 

More evidence of this was published in the National Association of Realtors report this week, which shows home prices have declined in more areas of the country than in over a decade during the first quarter, according to The Wall Street Journal.

NAR’s report showed housing markets are falling on the West Coast while rising in Midwest, South, and Northeast. The most significant declines were recorded in California and the Mountain West. San Francisco posted a 14.5% median single-family existing-home sale-price decline compared with the quarter last year. Also, towns that boomed the most during the pandemic, such as Austin, Texas, and Boise, Idaho, which saw an influx of Californians, slumped more than 10%.

High mortgage rates have heavily weighed on home-buying demand as supply has been limited. The effect of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve is beginning to filter through where more regions in the US are recording home price declines. On an annual basis, price declines have been seen in 31% of the 221 metro areas monitored by NAR, the highest in over a decade. 

The deceleration is a welcoming sign for home buyers, but Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, describes the unevenness of the market:

“Generally speaking, home prices are lower in expensive markets and higher in affordable markets.” 

Yun did point out that if inventory shortages persist, it could make home price declines “short-lived.” 

NAR’s data shows US median single-family existing-home sale prices fell by .2% in the quarter compared to a year earlier to $371,200. This was the first year-over-year price decline in the first quarter since 2012.

In a separate note via NAR, Yun was quoted as saying, “Federal Reserve’s most recent rate hike was unnecessary, and he expects the Fed will stop raising interest rates further.” 

Yun explained that the Fed’s aggressive rate hike campaign triggered regional bank turmoil and hurt the housing market. 

So, to sum up, shelter costs have peaked as the Fed’s most aggressive interest rate tightening campaign has ignited the most severe affordability crisis in years. Overall, home prices are beginning to wane. For a more substantial decline, there needs to be an influx of inventory to hit markets. 

Tyler Durden
Wed, 05/10/2023 – 20:00

Texas Lawmakers Advance Bill To Raise Age For Buying Semiautomatic Rifles To 21

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Texas Lawmakers Advance Bill To Raise Age For Buying Semiautomatic Rifles To 21

Authored by Caden Pearsen via The Epoch Times,

Texas state lawmakers advanced a bill on Tuesday that seeks to raise the minimum age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle to 21, just days after a mass shooting in Allen.

Two Republicans on the House Select Committee on Community Safety joined the committee’s Democrats to approve moving House Bill 2744 to the full chamber for a vote. This move is seen as a small victory for gun control advocates despite the bill being unlikely to pass the conservative Legislature and become law.

Reps. Sam Harless from Spring and Justin Holland from Rockwall, both Republicans, voted with Democrats on the last day of the bill’s deadline to move out of committee and continue through the legislative process. Their support came as a surprise, notably with Holland’s previous strong pro-Second Amendment stance.

The bill has been widely criticized by Republicans and gun rights advocates as infringing on the constitutional rights of law-abiding adults. Opponents of the bill have argued that if an 18-year-old is considered an adult with respect to voting, purchasing tobacco, and serving in the military, then it should entitle them to the full rights to protections granted by the U.S. Constitution.

The unexpected vote came just days after a gunman killed eight people, including several children, at a mall in Allen, Texas. Harless described his decision as “the most emotional vote” he’s ever taken, The New York Times reported. “I started crying after I made it. That means my heart told me I made the right vote,” he said.

Holland Defends Decision

Holland, who has previously advocated for permitless carry of firearms, sought to clarify his position and defend his decision in a letter in which he indicated that he was moved by recent messaging from gun control advocates.

“I do not believe in gun control, and I certainly don’t agree with the Biden administration’s many attempts to undermine our gun rights. When I voted for a bill in committee to raise the age requirement from 18 to 21 to purchase semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines whose caliber is greater than a .22, I did so in full knowledge that some people would try to mischaracterize my vote and the motivations for casting it,” Holland wrote.

Holland said that he was convinced by hours of testimony that making “this small change” might be a roadblock to a person aged between 18 and 21 who wants to buy a gun to use it in a “destructive and illegal manner.” The gunman in the Allen shooting was 34, so such a law would not have prevented that attack, which some gun control advocates have admitted.

“To be clear, I do not support a ban on the sale or possession of these types of rifles. In fact, I own several myself. Rather, I think that increasing the age requirement for purchase lessens the possibility that the weapon is misused while not undermining our fundamental right to keep and bear arms,” he added.

The Texas lawmaker had previously earned an endorsement from the National Rifle Association, which assigned him an A rating three times. He shared his letter in response to a statement by the Texas Young Republican Federation (TYRF), which criticized the bill.

Gun Rights Advocates Respond

Joacim Hernandez, chairman of TYRF, expressed the organization’s “strong opposition” to the bill, describing it as infringing on the rights of law-abiding Americans, who he says have every right to protections guaranteed by the Constitution.

“TYRF stands firmly in defense of the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans and maintains that this bill infringes upon those constitutional rights,” Hernandez said in a statement.

Hernandez said TYRF has advocated for a consistent age of adulthood to be endorsed by the Republican Party of Texas platform.

“We firmly believe that anyone who can exercise the fundamental right to vote or is considered old enough to die for their country should also enjoy all the protections our Constitution guarantees,” he added.

TYRF advocates for responsible gun ownership and safeguarding Second Amendment rights.

Gun Owners of America (GOA) described the Republican lawmakers’ vote as a compromise and the bill as a “slap in the face” to legal gun owners.

“Law-abiding citizens ages 18-20 have EVERY right to protect and defend themselves,” the organization said on Twitter. “Compromises like this are why we work incredibly hard to vet candidates’ Second Amendment beliefs before offering them our support and the support of our members.”

Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two men and injured a third while defending himself during riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020 and was found not guilty of all charges filed in a high-profile trial, echoed the criticisms of other gun rights advocates.

He wrote on Twitter: “18 year olds can join the military. They can vote. They can get married. But you are trying to infringe on not just my rights but all 18-20 year olds gun rights.”

Meanwhile, Texas Gun Rights, a “no compromise” gun rights group in Texas, vowed to sue if the bill manages to become law.

‘Important Step’: Democrats

In a letter to Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and Chairman Dustin Burrows, who chairs the House calendar committee, 21 state Democrats led by Rep. Vikki Goodwin from Travis County requested the bill be added to the General State Calendar.

“[G]etting HB 2744 voted out of Committee is an important step. Texans deserve to know the Texas Legislature at least debated these issues and is working toward solutions both for mass shootings, but also gun suicides and accidental shootings,” the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers requested that HB 2744 and other bills be brought to the floor this week.

They also lamented that another mass shooting had taken place in Texas and noted its proximity to the committee’s vote to advance the bill.

“This was a welcomed action for many, many Texans. These acts of mass violence have become much too prevalent. Too often loved ones are taken from their families in tragedies that are too immense to comprehend,” they wrote. “These horrific acts are causing death and trauma for victims, bystanders, law enforcement, first responders, doctors, extended family, and really, all of us. We can’t become numb to this.”

Tyler Durden
Wed, 05/10/2023 – 19:40

The Cases Against Trump

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The Cases Against Trump
The Cases Against Trump

Donald Trump was found liable of sexual abuse and defamation yesterday in a civil case brought against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll. The former president has been ordered to pay roughly $5m in compensatory and punitive damages. Trump has indicated he will appeal the verdict.

As information collected in the Just Security Litigation Tracker and expanded on by Statista’s Martin Armstrong shows, when looking at cases brought over the last couple of years, this is the second verdict going against Trump and his organizations or affiliates.

In January, the Trump Organization was sentenced to pay $1.6 million in fines for a tax fraud conviction.

This latest judgement by no means marks the end of Trump’s legal peril, either.

As well as a series of ongoing investigations, the potential 2024 Republican Party presidential candidate is known to be involved in 11 ongoing cases, including one related to a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels involving 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records.

Infographic: The Cases Against Trump | Statista

You will find more infographics at Statista

Here is Reuters breakdown of some of the remaining cases facing Trump ahead of the 2024 election:

TRUMP NEW YORK CRIMINAL CASE

Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges when a New York grand jury indicted him for allegedly falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to a porn star before his victory in the 2016 presidential election. During the campaign, Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence about an affair she says she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump denies the allegations and the affair but has admitted to reimbursing Cohen for his payment to Daniels. He has called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s probe a politically motivated “witch hunt” and pleaded not guilty on April 4 to 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Trump’s reimbursement checks for the suppression payment falsely stated that the money was for a “retainer agreement,” prosecutors said. The indictment accused Trump of falsifying his real estate company’s books with intent to defraud.

While falsifying business records in New York on its own is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than one year in prison, it is elevated to a felony punishable by up to four years when done to advance or conceal another crime, such as election law violations.

Prosecutors say Trump falsified records in part to cover up the fact that the payment to Daniels exceeded federal campaign contribution limits. Last week, Justice Juan Merchan in Manhattan asked Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors to see if they could agree on a trial date in February or March 2024, which would be in the thick of Trump’s campaign for the November 2024 presidential election.

GEORGIA ELECTION TAMPERING PROBE

A prosecutor in the state of Georgia is investigating whether Trump and others acted illegally to try to overturn his defeat in that state’s 2020 presidential vote. The investigation focuses in part on a phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, on Jan. 2, 2021. Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” enough votes needed to overturn Trump’s loss in Georgia.

Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney and a Democrat, is expected to disclose this summer whether Trump and others will be charged. Prosecutors have granted immunity to at least eight fake electors who may have offered to cast electoral college votes for Trump even though Biden won Georgia, according to a court filing last week.

Legal experts said Trump may have violated at least three Georgia criminal election laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and intentional interference with performance of election duties.

Trump could argue that his discussions were free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. CAPITOL ATTACK

The U.S. Justice Department has an investigation under way into Trump’s actions after he lost the 2020 election. Overseeing the investigation is Jack Smith, a war crimes prosecutor and political independent. Trump has accused the FBI, without evidence, of launching the probes as political retribution.

A special House of Representatives committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol urged the Justice Department to charge Trump with corruption of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement and inciting or aiding an insurrection.

Only the Justice Department can decide whether to charge Trump, who has called the Democratic-led panel’s investigation a politically motivated sham.

MISSING GOVERNMENT RECORDS

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to also investigate whether Trump improperly retained classified records at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate after leaving the White House and then tried to obstruct a federal investigation.

It is unlawful to willfully remove or retain classified material. The FBI seized 13,000 documents from Mar-a-Lago in an Aug. 8 search. About 100 documents were marked classified; some were designated top secret, the highest level of classification.

Trump has accused the Justice Department of engaging in a partisan witch hunt.

NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL CIVIL LAWSUIT

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and his Trump Organization last September for fraud. James said that her office found more than 200 examples of misleading asset valuations between 2011 and 2021, and that Trump inflated his net worth by billions of dollars.

She said the scheme was intended to help Trump obtain lower interest rates on loans and better insurance coverage. The civil lawsuit seeks to permanently bar Trump and three of his adult children from running companies in New York state, and to recoup at least $250 million obtained through fraud.

Trump, a Republican, has called James’ lawsuit a witch hunt, and the defendants have said the claims are without merit. James is a Democrat.

A trial is scheduled for October.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 05/10/2023 – 19:20

Oakland Teachers Strike In 5th Day Over Higher Wages, Climate Justice, Homeless Housing, Reparations

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Oakland Teachers Strike In 5th Day Over Higher Wages, Climate Justice, Homeless Housing, Reparations

By Mish Shedlock of MishTalk

In another giant leap forward for progressive madness, Oakland Teachers Are on Strike for Social Justice.

The strike is now in the fifth day, and it it isn’t about pay. The district offered teachers a record 22 percent raise and a $5,000 bonus, both of which are unwarranted for performance reasons.

 List of Demands

  • Repurpose vacant school buildings for homeless housing

  • Landscape school yards with drought-resistant trees

  • Reparations for black students to remedy alleged historic injustices

  • Dedicate the first week of school each year to create a “positive school culture”

Bargaining for the Common Good

The National Education Association has those goals on its website Bargaining for the Common Good

With Bargaining for the Common Good, union members partner with the community around a long-term vision for the structural changes they want to see in their communities. Together, they use collective bargaining and advocacy as a critical moment in a broader campaign to win that change.

When we expand the continuum of bargaining, we build power, and go on the offense in order to fight for social and racial justice, for our kids, for our schools, for our communities, and for the future. 

It’s All on the Table

“It’s all on the table,” says the NEA. Indeed, and Oakland is taking that cue.

Kill Collective Bargaining by Public Unions

I have commented on this many times before, but hopefully it sinks in now. Public unions are holding students hostage over goals that have nothing to do with their mission. Even FDR recognized this would happen.

Public Unions Have No Business Existing: Even FDR Admitted That

Please consider a few key snips from FDR’s Letter on the Resolution of Federation of Federal Employees Against Strikes in Federal Service, August 16, 1937, emphasis mine.

All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish policies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters.

Particularly, I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place in the functions of any organization of Government employees. Upon employees in the Federal service rests the obligation to serve the whole people, whose interests and welfare require orderliness and continuity in the conduct of Government activities. This obligation is paramount. Since their own services have to do with the functioning of the Government, a strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government until their demands are satisfied. Such action, looking toward the paralysis of Government by those who have sworn to support it, is unthinkable and intolerable. It is, therefore, with a feeling of gratification that I have noted in the constitution of the National Federation of Federal Employees the provision that “under no circumstances shall this Federation engage in or support strikes against the United States Government.”

“For the Kids”

Teacher’s unions demand money “for the kids”. The school boards are padded with teachers demanding more money “for the kids”. None of this is for the kids, and now it’s not even about wages but things totally unrelated to teaching.

Collective bargaining cannot possibly exist in such circumstances. Unions can and have shut down schools.

The unions do not give a damn about the kids. Notice I said “unions” do not give a damn. Many, if not most, teachers do care for the kids, but the union does not. 

The unions can, and do, protect teachers guilty of abusing kids. It is nearly impossible to get rid of a bad tenured teacher or a bad cop.

Abolish Public Unions Entirely

Union leaders have a mandated goal of protecting bad cops, bad teachers, and corrupt politicians. Unions blackmail politicians and threaten the public they are supposed to serve.

Union leaders will do anything to stay in power, the kids and the public be damned. The only way to deal with the situation is to “effectively” abolish public unions entirely.

We need to take away 100% of their power as opposed to ending their right of association.

Recommended Steps

  1. National right-to-work laws

  2. Abolishment of all prevailing wage laws

  3. Ending public unions ability to strike

  4. Ending collective bargaining by public unions

Consider Illinois’ prevailing wage laws: Prevailing wages are union wages. Municipalities and businesses have to pay prevailing wages. If they do not hire union workers, they get picketed.

Why bother hiring non-union workers if you have to pay union wages in the first place? As a direct result, municipalities and businesses must overpay for services in Illinois. 

Tyler Durden
Wed, 05/10/2023 – 19:00

‘Net Zero’ Grid Batteries Alone Would Bankrupt America

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‘Net Zero’ Grid Batteries Alone Would Bankrupt America

Authored by Craig Rucker via AmericanThinker.com,

Senate Budget Committee chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) cites “the climate crisis” at almost every opportunity. President Biden calls it a greater threat than nuclear war.  They and their allies champion “carbon-free” electricity generation by 2035 and nearly fossil fuel–free energy by 2050.

Achieving “net zero” carbon dioxide emissions will be painless, they assure us.  Costs will be so low that you’ll need a magnifying glass to see them.  Governments merely have to enact mandates and provide subsidies, and the transformation to “clean” energy will just happen.  Almost like in a fairy tale.

Here in the real world, however, we would need literally millions of weather-dependent wind turbines, billions of equally unreliable solar panels, millions of half-ton battery modules for vehicles, billions more modules to back up intermittent electricity generation, millions of transformers, and tens of thousands of miles of new transmission lines.

All these technologies must be manufactured from metals, minerals, and petroleum extracted from the Earth, via mining on scales unprecedented in human history.

The dollar costs alone — just for a U.S. transformation — are almost incomprehensible.

Science and policy analyst David Wojick calculated that just the batteries needed to back up wind and solar electricity generation in a “net zero” USA would cost $23 trillion — America’s entire 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) — and probably many times that.

Energy and technology consultant Thomas Tanton found that battery backup to replace current U.S. fossil fuel electricity — and convert vehicles, furnaces, water heaters, and stoves to electricity — would cost at least $29 trillion in initial outlays.

Trillions more would be needed to cover financing, repairs, maintenance, replacements, burying broken and worn out non-recyclable equipment, and building systems strong enough to survive hurricanes.

Professional engineer Ken Gregory determined that grid-backup battery costs could reach $290 trillion (12.6 times the USA’s 2021 GDP), based on actual 2019 and 2020 hourly intermittent electricity generation data, rather than annual average data utilized in the other studies.

None of these estimates includes the costs of turbines, panels, transmission lines, or transformers.

Energy analyst Francis Menton estimated that New York’s plan to procure 24,000 megawatt-hours of battery storage would provide only 0.2% of what the state would actually need as backup.  But even that would require 300,000 Tesla Long Range 80-kilowatt-hour battery modules — before New York mandates electric automobiles and home heating and cooking systems.

Each of those modules weighs over 1,000 pounds and holds 6,000 individual lithium-ion cells.  Each one contains 25 pounds of lithium, 60 pounds of nickel; 44 pounds of manganese; 30 pounds of cobalt; 200 pounds of copper; and over 550 pounds of aluminum, steel, graphite, plastics, and other materials, energy analyst Ron Stein reports.

To manufacture each module, we must mine 30,000 pounds of cobalt ore (much of it with child labor in the Congo), 5,000 pounds of nickel ore, and 25,000 pounds of copper ore, plus inject and extract 25,000 pounds of brine to get the lithium.

Backing up New York’s peak summertime electricity needs for just 45 minutes (those 300,000 battery modules) would require 3,750 tons of lithium, 9,000 tons of nickel, 6,600 tons of manganese, 4,500 tons of cobalt, 30,000 tons of copper, and 82,500 tons of other materials.

Together, we’d need to mine more than seventy-five million tons of ores for those New York grid-backup batteries — after removing at least as much overlying rock to get to the ore bodies.

Backing up California’s currently planned wind and solar electricity generation would require nearly 310,000,000 long-range modules.

Imagine the batteries, materials, and ores that we’d need for the entire USA — or world!

Processing those ores into finished metals requires acids and other chemical processes and results in extensive toxic wastes that cause horrific air and water pollution if not handled properly.

This is absolutely not clean, green, affordable, ecological, or sustainable.

The bottom line: “Net zero” is aptly named — if what is meant is the sum total of our nation’s bank account and natural resources after it’s implemented.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 05/10/2023 – 18:20

Disney Tumbles Below $100 After Paying Subs Slide Following Sharp Price Increase

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Disney Tumbles Below $100 After Paying Subs Slide Following Sharp Price Increase

After Bud Light suffered a catastrophic corporate suicide after it tried to shove its tranny agenda into the mouths of its now former clients, is it now Disney’s turn?

With Wall Street expecting the Mouse to report earnings of 93 and to grow subscribers to 163.1 million, reversing last quarter’s slump, things did not quite work out as expected. Instead, moments ago Disney reported the following:

  • Revenue $21.82 billion, +13% y/y, matching estimates of $21.82 billion
  • Adjusted EPS 93c vs. $1.08 y/y, missing estimates of 94c

Broken down, revenue beat in parks but missed in medi:

  • Media and entertainment distribution revenue $14.04 billion, +3.1% y/y, missing estimates of $14.16 billion
  • Parks, experiences and products revenue $7.78 billion, +17% y/y, beating estimates of $7.67 billion

Despite the 13% increase in revenue, operating income declined 11% YoY, but was enough to beat median consensus expectations:

  • Total segment operating income $3.29 billion, -11% y/y, estimate $3.18 billion
    • Media and entertainment distribution operating income $1.12 billion, -42% y/y, beating estimates of $970.7 million
    • Parks, experiences and products operating income $2.17 billion, +23% y/y, beating estimates of $2.14 billion

Profit at Disney’s traditional TV business, including the ESPN cable networks and ABC’s broadcasting business, fell 35% to $1.83 billion, the result of higher sports programming costs and lower advertising.

“The linear TV business is still in decline, there’s no two ways about that,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Geetha Ranganathan said.

But while the company’s financials were ok, if nothing spectacular for a company which is trading exactly at half its all time high price of 203 hit in March 2021, it was the number of subs that shocked markets: at only 157.8 million, this was not only a sharp, 2% drop from the 161.8 million last quarter (including a 1% drop in Domestic Disney + subs to 46.3 million)…

… but badly missed the consensus estimate of 163.1 million which would have reversed last quarter’s decline. Instead, it only accelerated it.

The breakdown is as follows:

  • ESPN+ subscribers 25.3 million, estimate 25.5 million
  • Hulu & Live TV subscribers 4.40 million, estimate 4.50 million
  • Total Hulu subscribers 48.2 million, estimate 48.6 million

Why this unexpected drop? Simple: DIS is starting to charge way too much for its content: the good news is that ARPU rose notably, by 2some 20% domestically to $7.14 from 5.95, with most other verticals likewise raising prices.

Disney introduced a new ad-supported tier for Disney+ in December, hiking the cost of the ad-free version by 38% to $11 a month in the process.

The rise in ARPU was sufficient to push the Disney+ operating loss of $659 million, well below the $850.3 million analysts projected and less than half what it was just two quarters ago. The problem is that from this point on, any incremental price increases will lead to even more user declines. There is another problem: Disney+ Hotstar, which saw an 8% plunge in paying subs in the quarter, also saw its monthly revenue per paid subscriber decrease from $0.74 to $0.59 due to lower per-subscriber advertising revenue. In other words, the paying model has peaked, while the ad-supported model is in freefall.

CEO Bob Iger has been working to achieve profitability in streaming by 2024. As part of a wider plan to put Disney on a better financial footing, he’s cutting $5.5 billion in annual costs and culling 7,000 jobs from the entertainment giant’s workforce. The recent cost cutting led to the departure of streaming chief Michael Paull and most of the product and technology teams that supervised the rollout of Disney+ in 2019.

Commenting on the results, woke CEO Bob Iger said that he is “pleased with our accomplishments this quarter, including the improved financial performance of our streaming business, which reflect the strategic changes we’ve been making throughout the company to realign Disney for sustained growth and success.”

Judging by the plunge in the stock price, which slid below $100 after hours…

… and is now down more than 50% from its all time high…

we somehow doubt he is all that “pleased.”

Tyler Durden
Wed, 05/10/2023 – 16:40

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