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Thursday, August 8, 2024

A Reality Check for American Voters

 By Steve McCann

This election season, the Democrats have again descended into a quagmire of duplicity, lies, mindless name-calling, and one-upmanship.  In response, the Republicans, including the Trump campaign, are predictably and foolishly initiating their own campaigns of name-calling and one-upmanship.  In the meantime, the vast majority of Americans remain on the sidelines, watching the food fight.

As a result, far too many fail to understand the threat the Democrat party, controlled by the Obama-led Marxist faction, poses to the country.  In order to win in November, Donald Trump, his campaign surrogates, Republican candidates, and Republican party activists must single-mindedly focus on the issues and America’s bleak future if the Democrats win the upcoming election.

The United States will never recover if the Democrat party controls the White House, the Senate, and the House for another four years.  The institutions of government will be irretrievably in the hands of the Marxists/socialists.

Over the past thirty years, the federal Judiciary has increasingly assumed the role of being the last line of defense in upholding the Constitution and the rights of every American.  Once Barack Obama assumed the presidency, he and the party, per the Marxist blueprint, have been singularly focused on radicalizing the federal Judiciary.

That single-minded determination has culminated in Obama and his minion, Joe Biden, appointing numerous radical left-wing judges during their twelve years in office.  The unabashed lawfare directed at Donald Trump and the January 6 protesters is a manifestation of their increasing success.

There are 667 District Court judges in 94 districts who resolve disputes and conduct trials.  Fifty-four percent of the current serving judges were appointed by Obama and Biden.  Based on historical averages, if the Democrats retain the presidency and the Senate, they will appoint upwards of 160–170 judges over the next four years, bringing the total number to 84% of all District Court judge appointed by the Obama/Marxist-controlled Democrat party.

The only check on the District Court judges are the Circuit Courts of Appeal and ultimately the Supreme Court.  Currently, 50% of serving Circuit Court judges were appointed by Obama/Biden.  Historically, a president during his term will appoint 30–35 Circuit Court judges; thus, by 2029, the Marxists will have appointed 74% of all Circuit Court judges.

The two oldest Supreme Court justices, Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito, will be 80 and 78 years old, respectively, by 2028, opening up the distinct possibility of the Democrats appointing multiple replacements.  In that case, the Supreme Court will also make a dramatic turn to the radical left.

Consequently, there will be no recourse for the American citizenry.  No one who opposes the Democrat party regime will receive equitable treatment in the courts, and virtually no action by the administration or the “swamp” will ultimately be declared illegal or unconstitutional.  The Democrat party will have free rein to govern.

The Democrats, in alliance with a transformed Judiciary, will embed government censorship under the guise of controlling disinformation or threats to the nation.  The Second Amendment will come under renewed attack and will be dramatically altered.  Religious freedom and assembly will be progressively restricted, as will the right of parents to raise their children as they see fit.

Racial, tribal, and cultural animosity will increasingly engulf the nation as Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity combined with radical environmentalism will become the underpinning of laws, regulations, and executive orders that will be immune from any challenges as they will be upheld by a compliant Judiciary.

Since Biden’s inauguration, over 10 million illegal aliens have descended upon the United States.

Added to the 22+ million illegals already in the country, 10% of the American population are here illegally, voting and absorbing untold billions of dollars in benefits and welfare while depriving American citizens of jobs and wealth creation.

This process will continue unabated during the next Democrat administration as upwards of at least another 12+ million will be granted unrestricted access.  By 2029, there could be as many as 45–50 million illegal aliens in the United States.

Over the next four years, the Democrats will pass a mass amnesty bill.  Within this bill will be an accelerated path to citizenship.  A dependable Democrat voting bloc will be created as the nation begins to fracture and balkanize.

Since the ascendancy of the Biden administration, the American populace has been blindsided by the impact of ever-rising inflation.  That trend will not only continue, but accelerate if the Obama/Marxist-controlled Democrat party remains in power.

This massive decline in the purchasing value of the dollar has been caused by excessive government spending, which created massive annual deficits, which in turn precipitated de facto money-printing by the Federal Reserve and earth-shattering levels of national indebtedness.

In 2008, the total national debt since the founding of the country was $10.0 trillion.  Since 2008, $25.2 trillion has been added to the national debt, which now totals $35.20 trillion.  Of the $25.0 trillion added since 2008, $18.0 trillion (or 72%) has been accumulated during the Obama/Biden presidencies.

If the Democrats continue in power, by 2034, per the Congressional Budget Office, the national debt will increase by least $21 trillion to $56 trillion.  Interest payments alone will approach $2.5 trillion, or 92% of current income tax receipts.

These same Democrats are also proposing massive tax hikes on wealth, wealth creation, investments, capital, and income.  These tax increases combined with escalating government control of the economy and out-of-control spending will result in real annual economic growth being nearly nonexistent.

With this overall scenario, America’s ability to sell its debt at any reasonable interest rate to international investors will be curtailed, as the United States will have become a grossly irresponsible debtor nation.  Consequently, the Federal Reserve will have to continually buy the government’s debt, thereby effectively printing money and fomenting unending and accelerating inflation.

The United States will have descended into a downward spiral that can only end in insolvency, chaos, and collapse.

Lastly, the Democrats will do whatever it takes to pass a bill previously introduced and passed by the House in 2021.  This bill effectively nationalizes all elections, codifies mass mail-in voting, legalizes ballot-harvesting, embeds same-day registration, and makes permanent no requirement for identification or proof of citizenship to vote — thus assuring Democrat one-party dominance in future elections.

I am not alone in my concern for the future of this magnificent country.  There are many of us who either survived a war initiated by the proponents of Nazism or communism or lived under the thumb of Marxist-inspired dictatorships, warning our fellow citizens about the abyss that lies over the horizon.

The Democrat party is the ideological successor to those despots in the twentieth century whose single-minded quest for power deprived untold millions of life and liberty in countries around the globe.

The American Marxists will be on the cusp of transforming the United States into a one-party socialist oligarchy if they win in 2024.  All Republican candidates, including Donald Trump, and their surrogates must focus on this reality and not name-calling and one-upmanship.  Leave that to the indoctrinated candidates and supporters of the Democrat party.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/08/a_reality_check_for_american_voters.html

‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris ‘unburdened’ herself of responsibility to secure the country

 “Border czar” Kamala Harris’ record on the crisis at America’s borders is now in sharp focus — and the increased scrutiny reveals one of failure and dereliction.

Before examining that record, let’s note that until just recently, it was uncontroversial to label the vice president as the “border czar.”

She was officially tasked by President Biden on March 24, 2021, “to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle . . . in stemming the movement of…migration to our southern border.”

From fiscal year 2021 through mid-July 2024, the Border Patrol had recorded 52,058 arrests of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds, compared to 21,936 between fiscal years 2017 to 2020.
From fiscal year 2021 through mid-July 2024, the Border Patrol had recorded 52,058 arrests of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds, compared to 21,936 between fiscal years 2017 to 2020.AFP via Getty Images

The Washington Post reported that Biden was “giving Harris the lead role on the overall border and regional issue,” while outlets like Axios even actually labeled her the “border czar.”

Understanding, then, that Harris has long held responsibility for ending this self-inflicted crisis, Americans deserve answers on whether she followed through on her charge.

The answer is a resounding no.

On her watch, Customs and Border Protection has recorded approximately 10 million illegal immigrant encounters nationwide, and more than 8 million encounters at the Southwest border.

Additionally, roughly 2 million known gotaways have evaded Border Patrol agents since fiscal year 2021. Encounters at official ports of entry have exploded, from just under 20,000 in January 2021 to more than 117,000 in June 2024.

From fiscal year 2021 through mid-July 2024, the Border Patrol had recorded 52,058 arrests of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds, compared to 21,936 between fiscal years 2017 to 2020.

Apprehensions between ports of entry of individuals on the terrorist watchlist have increased from just 14 in the previous three-year period to 380 since fiscal year 2021.

These numbers are not surprising considering Harris’ past anti-enforcement advocacy. In 2015, she declared, “An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.”

That’s a shocking statement from the then-state attorney general, who either did not know or did not care that illegally entering the country is a federal misdemeanor, and a felony for repeat offenders.

Furthermore, the statement continues to define her approach to immigration enforcement.

As a US senator, Harris advocated abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying “We need to probably think about starting from scratch.”

She introduced legislation to strip hundreds of millions of dollars from ICE enforcement operations, and called the construction of new border wall system, a move supported by the overwhelming majority of Border Patrol agents, “just a stupid use of money.”

But she has done her worst damage from her “border czar” position.

Many of the policies Harris supported as a senator have been implemented on her watch, including cutting ICE beds, stopping border wall construction and ending Title 42, the Trump-era expulsion measure ordered during the COVID pandemic.

On her watch, illegal crossings by those from Mexico and Northern Triangle countries currently exceed those seen during the Trump administration by an incredible 140%.

After dismissing border visits as “grand gestures,” she has only made one highly scripted and sanitized trip to the Southwest border, in what a member of her own party called a “politically safe,” “check the box” tour.

And just recently, we learned she has never spoken with current Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens or his predecessor.

Our border czar has repeatedly lied to Americans about the crisis. In September 2022, she falsely claimed on national television, “The border is secure. . . . We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration.”

That month, there were 272,338 encounters at our borders nationwide, the worst September in decades

She also viciously slandered mounted Border Patrol agents in Del Rio in furtherance of the fake “whipping” scandal.

She has become a punchline to the cartels. In July 2021, after she warned would-be border crossers not to make the journey, more illegal aliens were apprehended at the Southwest border than any other month in decades — and millions more followed.

According to former Border Patrol Chief and CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan, “Vice President Harris has overseen the worst, unmitigated border security crisis in our lifetime. Her performance has negatively impacted every aspect of our country’s safety and national security and can only be described as a complete failure.”

That’s why the House, on a bipartisan vote, passed a resolution condemning the Biden-Harris administration’s open-borders policies, and Harris’ failure to do her job.

We were told that her role was to find the “root causes” of the crisis.

It turns out that to do so, all Harris had to do was look in the mirror: Her extreme open-borders policies are why Americans are suffering.

Harris may want to be “unburdened by what has been,” to quote her favorite aphorism, but the families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning and illegal alien crime do not have that luxury.

Don’t let the media change the subject. Harris has embraced and led on this administration’s failed border policies, and minimized the horrific consequences they have created.

She owes the American people an explanation. And we should demand one.

Rep. Mark E. Green, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.

https://nypost.com/2024/08/08/opinion/border-czar-kamala-harris-unburdened-herself-of-responsibility-to-secure-the-country/

Stranded astronauts on '8-day ISS voyage' preparing for possible 6 months in space

 The two astronauts who launched for an eight-day voyage are now settling in for a possible extended stay in orbit 262 miles above earth — and have spoken to their families about the possibility that they won’t return home until 2025.

Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were piloting the maiden voyage of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, have been stuck in space for 63 days.

Both Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, have been in frequent contact their families as they await their ultimate fate. “Butch and Suni are ready to support whatever we need to do,” Dana Weigel, the Program manager for the International Space Station. “They’re prepared for whatever path that we go down.”

The Starliner spacecraft docked into the International Space Station, 262 miles above earth.AP

From the start, Starliner has faced serious mechanical issues in its propulsion system, ultimately stranding Whitmore and Williams at the International Space Station. In a media teleconference on Wednesday, NASA announced yet another delay in bringing them home — and made it clear that the astronauts may not return on Starliner at all.

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Engineers are worried about the loss of control as Starliner returns to earth, and will conduct multiple tests in the coming weeks. If they determine that the risks are too high, Wilmore and Williams would have no choice but to hop on Space-X’s Crew-9 return flight in February 2025.

While NASA is warning about possible risks on Starliner, its manufacturer is insisting that a return flight would be safe for the astronauts. In a statement on Friday, Boeing maintained that returning in the craft would pose no risk to the astronauts.

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck in space for 63 days.NASA
Williams (left) And Wilmore (right) have a combined two years in space.AP

“Boeing remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew,” the embattled company said in the statement. “We continue to support NASA’s requests for additional testing, data, analysis and reviews to affirm the spacecraft’s safe undocking and landing capabilities.”

Both Wilmore and Williams are veteran astronauts with several years of experience.

Williams, 58, was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of two space missions before piloting the Starliner. A former Navy pilot, she has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft. On her two space missions, she has performed 7 spacewalks totaling more than 50 hours. She has spent more than 385 days in space. She is married with no children.

It was the Boeing Starliner’s maiden voyage.Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies/AFP via Getty Images
Wilmore, 61, is also a former Navy pilot. He joined NASA in 2000 and has conducted two previous space missions. He has spent more than 242 days in space and gone on four spacewalks. He is based in Houston with his wife and two daughters.

NASA says it will continue to conduct tests to decide the astronauts’ plans by the end of August.

https://nypost.com/2024/08/08/us-news/how-stranded-astronauts-are-preparing-for-6-months-in-space/