The sounds of saber rattling you hear in the China-Taiwan part of the world is in my opinion frustration with Russia. You see, Taiwanese people are happy with the current arrangement. They are essentially an autonomous zone off the coast of China. China on the other hand views Taiwan as a breakaway province that is part of China, not separate. Xi Xinping, the leader of China, has been ratcheting up the rhetoric lately and has been using his military to scare the Taiwanese people.
What I do not understand is this. What does China really want here? Taiwan is only really known for semi-conductors, think the chip in your computer, car, etc. While this is a large booming sector of the world economy, couldn’t China just copy the IP and mass produce on the cheap? They do this with literally everything else. The US will never support that you say? Every CEO in America is looking to cut costs by even $.01 to meet or beat quarterly numbers. Trust me, China would be inundated with orders for their semi-conductors. Sure, our military will still order from Taiwan but let’s be honest, we have a hell of a lot more computers and cars than we do military items.
A military conflict seems increasingly likely, but is it necessary? The US has stated we will defend Taiwan. I would assume South Korea, Japan and the Philippines may get involved too. But is it necessary? Taiwanese people are likely ready to fight to the death, it sounds like they have the island fortified the best they can. (Far better than Ukraine ever was). They seem to have advanced military capabilities, (again better than Ukraine) as they have always figured a day will come when China will swallow them up.
If I am Taiwan, I have a plan set up, so the second Chinese war planes approach I evacuate all the engineers, scientists etc. to a safe haven. I make sure all IP, files, etc. are evacuated or destroyed as well. These are what I feel China really wants. I do not think they really want the land. I would also make sure any buildings or other structures were rigged to blow upon China encroaching. My opinion? Take the land, but it will be proven useless over time.
In my opinion, China is very angry at Russia behind the scenes. The war in Ukraine has dragged on, now it appears likely to have a long stalemate. This is not the way the plans were drawn up. The plan was to occupy the US and its allies, and while Russia marches on toward NATO borders China would take Taiwan. It didn’t happen. China is now having to assist Russia much like we are assisting Ukraine. We are now re-positioning ships and other war machines in the Pacific as a counter to China, exactly what they do not want. China is now watching Russia go to North Korea and Iran to re-stock their military and it’s been uncovered that Russia’s military is ripe with corruption.
In summation, I believe China does take Taiwan. I think the US and others essentially secure a “peace agreement by bending the knee to Xi.” It’ll be a classic US split the baby in half and hope both sides are ok with it. With the goings on in the middle East, Russia-Ukraine, and the usual unrest in Africa, I do not think the American people have the stomach for another conflict. I do not think many bullets will be fired, but as a warning to China, do not underestimate a populace who does not want to be occupied/governed by an adversary. The US never learned its lesson in the Middle East, and we lost many a service member/contractor to needless occupations. I also believe China has a very corrupt military as well. They may not be as powerful with weapons as we think. They do, however, have a large supply of bodies. The supply of bodies, also like Russia, contains hundreds of thousands if not millions of “expendable” bodies. Think slave labor types, political prisoners, ethnic minorities, opposition forces, rural areas, and you know North Korea will supply ample bodies as well. My point being China’s folks in the mainland may not even know a war is going on.
I was minding my own business yesterday when this article showed up in my mailbox. The title was so dumb I just about skipped it. However, since the first sentence of the article was, “California is where freedom goes to die,” I took a further look. A few paragraphs in was this nugget:
There are more than 400,000 business-related regulations on the state’s books…
It’s a ten episode series about folks fighting the Tyranny of Covid lockdowns in Redding California. I never heard about it while I was living in the Sacramento area but it’s a heck of a tale. I saw an edited version of the first four episodes at the local John Birch Society meeting last night. The next four episodes are slated for the next meeting. Note that unlike CRA meetings, this group starts promptly at 6 pm and is done by 7:30 each and every time.
The short version is that folks in Redding were mad that the county (Shasta) shutdown for Covid, told its citizens that wanted to open businesses and schools to go to hell, and then doubled-down on strangling the county’s economic activity. The citizens decided to recall the county supervisors and went to war with the establishment.
The Birch folks were holding this group in California as a model for the rest of us to take control of local government. Not having lived in California, they don’t understand how rare and exceptional the circumstances were that allowed the citizens to fight back. Sadly, what happened in Redding was a case of the conservatives going to war with RINOs and their Democrat allies. Shasta County voter registration is reportedly two-thirds Republican.
I recommend the series but caution you that your mileage may vary when trying to replicate reforming government. If you pick up the torches and pitchforks remember that you are making a lifetime commitment. If you ever claim victory and go home, your state will be worse than having never fought the fight. Just ask a CRA member if you can find one. They once owned the California GOP. Or look at the recall of Gavin Newsom. The recall failed and Gavin is untouchable. The recall’s final result may very well be his eventual ticket to the White House.
Does anybody really think that we can or will stand up to China if it comes to a military conflict?
I think it’s clear that we will rollover and let them take Taiwan. Do we even have the will to fire a shot?
OK, let me restate the last. Do we even have the ammo to shoot at them?
Frankly its clear that we lack the independence of a military supply chain that is not dependent upon China. Liberals in this country say they are more afraid of people like me than a country that has its nuclear arsenal pointed at them. WTF?
If, like me, you think we have been caught with our military pants down while in the outhouse then these next articles will frighten you even more. It proves that Obama and Biden have sold us out. OK, no surprise there.
The U.S. began resuscitating major World War II-era military sites in the Pacific in 2023 amid a sweeping pivot toward preparation for a potential China conflict.
Earlier in December, a U.S. Air Force general said the U.S. has made “significant progress” toward reclaiming the Tinian North airfield on the Marianas island chain from which the U.S. launched its strategic bombers against Japan during WWII, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported. The plan, which has not been officially declared by the Department of Defense (DOD), reflects a trend of expanding and repositioning U.S. troops in the Pacific region as the Pentagon promises to deter China and, if necessary, confront threats to the U.S.
“If you pay attention in the next few months, you will see significant progress, especially at Tinian North,” Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of the Pacific Air Forces, told Nikkei.
The airfield “has extensive pavement underneath the overgrown jungle. We’ll be clearing that jungle out between now and summertime,” Wilsbach said, adding that the structure will be “extensive” once completed, but did not say when that would occur.
Tinian lies 3,700 miles west of Hawaii and just 124 miles north of the U.S. territory of Guam.
In January [2023], the Marine Corps formally opened its first new base in 70 years, known as Camp Blaz, on Guam, which is roughly equidistant between Japan and Taiwan, CNN reported. Plans to establish the base originated during the Obama administration as a means of relocating Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa, where their presence has stirred up local opposition.
Meanwhile the US Navy will be closing their only fuel depot in the Pacific.
The facility will be defueled and closed permanently, Kirby said. The fuel will be repositioned in “a few locations,” Kirby said.
In October 2023, the Pentagon revealed the Red Hill storage facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam suffered a leak that contaminated the water systems. It then began draining the 1940s-era facility, saying the fuel would be loaded by ship and transported to existing support sites. This process is expected to take several years.
In [Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on China] letter, the Republican lawmaker cited a 2016 Defense Department determination that it would need 86 tankers for moving such equipment. He requested that Del Toro explain to the committee whether the department had enough forward fuel storage facilities and would have access to refinery capacity for operations in the Indo-Pacific.
Gallagher also asked the secretary whether the Navy had identified secure locations to build replacement facilities for Red Hill, and whether it had plans to integrate facilities of allies and partners in redistributing fuel.
We are also making arrangements to get fuel from Subic Bay in the Philippines, a base we closed under the first George Bush as part of the ethereal “Peace Divided”.
Just to refresh, the current size of the entire US Navy fleet is less than 200 ships. This is down from a peak of 600 ships under Ronald Reagan. In order to keep the current fleet adequately fueled, it will require 86 more ships due to closing Red Hill. Yet our masters in The Swamp say, “nothing to see here, we’ve got this under control.”
Those of you that insist on living on the Left Coast might want to brush up on your Mandarin skills. You’ll need them soon.
Yep, as we all know, Nikki Haley was ended in New Hampshire. Even after Democrats went all-in on their version of Operation Chaos. Heck, Joe Biden wasn’t even on the ballot in the Granite State. The faithful on the Dem side had to write him in on their ballot.
All you need to know about this race is the following:
Trump easily outpaced Haley among registered Republicans (+42 points).
The mainstream media would like a GOP horserace for ratings and so they can ignore Trump, but the reality is that Haley has no path forward and never did.
In New Hampshire, unaffiliated voters – those not registered with a partisan affiliation – can participate in primary elections, and these voters were the main reason the race in the Granite State was tighter than in Iowa. Unaffiliated voters made up slightly less than half of the electorate (47%), and broke for Haley by 26 points.
Since Trump is the Republican Nominee, it matters not what Independents or Democrats want.
In the end, much of Haley’s support came from voters outside the GOP mainstream. Just over half of her supporters (52%) backed Joe Biden in the 2020 election, while 32% voted for Trump. The vast majority (90%) of Trump’s backers in the primary voted for him four years ago.
Those who considered themselves part of the Make America Great Again movement went overwhelmingly for Trump (+77 points), while non-MAGA voters backed Haley by 52 points.
All told, three-quarters (77%) of Haley voters said they would not vote for Trump in November; 51% of his voters felt the same way about her.
Much of Haley’s voter support was a vote against Trump and not an affirmative vote for her or her policies. Most Haley supporters will vote for Biden in November no matter what candidate the Republicans select. Nikki Haley is not a GOP candidate but the candidate of RINOs and Democrats. To appropriate a quote from a Sylvester Stallone movie, Nikki and her ilk are the disease and Trump is the cure.
Folks, frankly I’m tired of all the nonsense about this conflict. However, the two articles that I will dive into in mere moments are worth a look, if nothing else but to see that our way of looking at the world is very different from that of the people propelling this conflict. Our categories of thinking and reasoning in the West are not capable of understanding this conflict. We should abandon all hope of a rational understanding of this conflict and embrace the craziness as a foreign worldview.
Theory One
The first story is from World Net Daily. If you don’t understand the theological presuppositions of this website, then you might miss the point of what you are about to read. These guys are all-in on Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth—except for the part about it happening 40 years after Israel became a nation—which clearly never happened. They are Premillennial and Dispensational. As a result, they are very pro-Zionist. On occasion, these assumptions have a way of making them look foolish.
(Please note that just because these guys believe this stuff doesn’t mean that it can be found in the Bible because it can’t, but it is entertaining.)
Anyway…
While political experts worldwide pontificate on the war in Gaza, most have overlooked Hamas’ explicitly stated reason for its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, revealed on Day 100 of the war.
Incredibly, according to the terror group’s military spokesman, it has to do with attempting to prevent the “ceremony of the Red Heifer” – a mysterious event of great meaning to both Jews and Christians.
“We look back 100 days to remember the educated, the complicit, and the incapacitated among the world powers governed by the law of the jungle, reminding them of an aggression that reached its peak against our path (Al-Quds) and Al-Aqsa, with the start of its actual temporal and spatial division, and the “bringing of red cows as an application of a detestable religious myth designed for aggression against the feelings of an entire nation in the heart of its Arab identity, and the path of its prophet (the Night Journey) and Ascension to heaven.
The red cows or heifer is related to the establishment of the mythical third temple in Jerusalem.
The “red cows” referred to by the Hamas leader were five red female calves brought to Israel in September 2022 by Boneh Israel, an organization that connects Christian lovers of Israel to the Holy Land, working under the auspices of the Temple Institute, an organization in Israel focusing on establishing the Third Temple.
Yep, some Jews and Christian folks like those at World Net Daily want to see the Jews build a new temple in Jerusalem and reestablish animal sacrifices. Talk about bringing on the old-time religion!
Obeida continued, focusing his ire on Israel for aspiring to build the prophesied Third Temple:
“We will not tire or falter in calling all the free people of the nation to rise to support their Aqsa and the path of their prophet, which the criminal Zionists are practically advancing towards destroying and establishing their temple. This is what we have chosen with our blood in Gaza for 100 days and for which the epic of October 7th was about.”
Zionists of both Jewish and Christian persuasions believe the mosque on the Temple Mount must be leveled and that it will be replaced with a Third Temple. Once this is constructed, they believe that animal sacrifices of the Old Testament will again commence.
Christians support this idea because they believe that a third Temple is necessary to usure in the return of Jesus and institute Armageddon. Oh, these Christians believe that most Jews living in Israel will be killed as a result of all this and then somehow those remaining will acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah.
Here is more …
Islamists do indeed perceive the five red cows from Texas as a dire threat. Arab-language media covered Obeida’s speech extensively, focusing on the red heifers. Both Cairo24 and Al Jazeera reported on the speech, emphasizing that the heifers had been acquired and brought to Israel by evangelical Christians.
After the announcement of the arrival of the cows last year, Hamas reacted almost immediately, warning that the potential Jewish ritual posed a threat to Al Aqsa. This warning came during the Jewish high holidays. Arab-language media, including the “Al Manar” channel, which is closely associated with Hezbollah, are reporting on the intention of the Temple organizations to make a sacrifice on the Temple Mount. The Hamas journal Al–Rassala published an article claiming that the slogan “Al Aqsa is in Danger” is no longer sufficient because the Israelis are already working on manifesting the Temple rituals that would “Judaize the holy mosques.”
For Christians holding to a premillennial view of eschatology, even just one red heifer arriving in Jerusalem means the Rapture is imminent. They believe a Third Temple will be built during the End Times, at which point all the other prophesied events will follow.
The fact that Israel is a clearly secular nation and not one established on the basis of the Old Testament’s Laws doesn’t move the needle in this discussion.
Theory 2
Theory Two is one based on the idea that Israel is not bound to uphold the Ten Commandments.
Theory Two is a mixture of things unrelated to Theory One but interesting in its own right.
In a startling reappraisal of the situation in Israel, former U.S. Ambassador Chas Freeman described the official narrative of the October 7 attacks on Israel as a “cover story for genocide” – backed by “hard line pro-Israel American leaders.”
Speaking on December 26 to behavior analyst Thomas Karat of SaltCube Analytics, he described the Israeli reaction to the October 7 assault which triggered the Gaza invasion. Speaking of the assault which triggered the Gaza invasion, he said:
The Israeli response is essentially to conduct a genocide in Gaza. They are attempting to expel or murder all the Palestinians there. This is a crime against humanity under international law, but Israel justifies it with a cover story, which is that it is going after Hamas.
The mainstream media tells us that the war in Gaza was triggered by the slaughter of Israeli citizens attending a music festival, by the Islamic militia Hamas. Instead, it appears many Israelis were killed by their own army, following a secretive government doctrine known as “The Hannibal Directive.”
Freeman points out how Israel’s war in Gaza began with a lie.
Reflecting extensive research by independent journalist Max Blumenthal, Freeman refers to the “outlandish music festival… taking place beside a concentration camp” at which over a thousand Israelis lost their lives.
“The people who were killed there were largely killed, it appears, by hellfire missiles and by other undisciplined fire by Israeli forces”
Citing extensive Israeli sources, Blumenthal was accused by an Israeli journalist from Ha’Aretz of spreading a “conspiracy theory” – about the fact that the Israeli army bombed Israeli houses and even its own military base with tank shells and missiles fired from Apache helicopters.
Whilst Hamas did indeed kill Israeli civilians during its military action, a month later, Ha’aretz confirmed the Grayzone report as true, admitting that it was Israeli action which killed many of its own people. It should also be understood that most Israelis of fighting age, in civilian clothes or not, were considered by Hamas to be combatants because they are almost all reservists or otherwise in the Israeli military as required by law.
The reason for this action is said to be the secretive “Hannibal Directive,” which dictates that Israelis taken captive should be killed by the military rather than left in the hands of Palestinian militants.
An Israeli helicopter pilot quoted by Ha’aretz supported the charge Israelis had been murdered by their own army according to this Israeli government doctrine.
Freeman claims the Hannibal Directive led to most of the deaths on the day, as it dictates, “rather than get into bargaining over a hostage exchange, you should just kill the Israeli hostages along with their captors. And that was also a factor here.”
Freeman recalls earlier remarks of now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying
“I think his exact statement was he hoped for a war which would provide an excuse for the final removal of all Palestinians from the land of Israel as claimed by Israel.”
Freeman reminds listeners that Israel is unique for two reasons: “It has no borders” – a startling claim evidenced in the Israeli press here – and it is led by Netanyahu’s Likud Party whose “charter calls for Israel to extend from the river to the sea.”
This phrase, which is now mistakenly charged as some sort of Palestinian endorsement of genocide, was in fact quite the opposite. It is a Zionist endorsement of genocide against Palestinians.
Conclusion
Folks, I find it interesting that both of these theories or explanations of the current war are probably true but likely incomplete reasons for what we are seeing.
Yes, I personally know Jews that are all-in on a Third Temple and believe it will happen someday. That Christian Zionists are supporting this too is not surprising. However, this has nothing to do with Biblical prophecy or the Return of Christ.
On October 7th, did Israeli forces fire on their own so they would not be taken as hostages? I think this is possible. That Israel would negotiate with Hamas on the issue of hostages is unusual and not how their government used to operate. Israel has been provoking Palestinian people for many years and systematically pushing them out of areas that they once occupied.
That Benjamin Netanyahu’s political party slogan is “from the river to the sea” is hysterical to me when said slogan is widely reported in the United States as being anti-Semitic. Guess Jews can say it with impunity but not anybody else.
Yep. I said it and I mean it. As if there was any doubt, Donald J Trump will be the 2024 Republican nominee for President. Nikki Haley is toast.
Tomorrow she will get a reality check that should end this thing once and for all. If she persists in staying in the race, then others on our editorial staff may begin calling her Ted Cruz.
Please note that mathematically, less than one percent of registered Republicans have had a chance to cast a vote during the Primary season and it’s over.
Now that the Democrats have the opponent that they wanted, it will be interesting to see who, if, and when Joe Biden gets pushed out to pasture. Gavin Newsom and Michelle Obama have long been rumored to be on the short list to replace Biden, likely at the convention. Folks, it could be that in 2024, Democrats select both party’s candidates for the November General Election without ever casting a vote for either candidate in the primaries.
For those of you that weren’t paying attention a few years back, Rush Limbaugh came out with the idea to back Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama when John McCain was running for election. The Republicans had their Presidential candidate so why not get Republican people to vote for the weaker candidate in the other Party. This was dubbed by Rush as “Operation Chaos”. Clinton got a ten to fifteen percent boost in some primaries from this cross-party meddling. Of course, McCain was a terrible choice for the Republicans and Obama was, per Joe Biden, “articulate and bright and clean”.
Well, not to be outdone with political trickery, Democrats have done likewise in subsequent elections. In fact, the Stolen Election of 2020 may very well be the logical result of such political trickery taken to the extreme.
This brings us to the 2024 election and Nikki Haley. Nikki has very little Republican support except from the RINO faction. She and Ron DeSantis spent a combined 72 million dollars in Iowa and had little to show for it. She came in third with a stronger than expected showing. Post election analysis has shown that much of her support can from Democrats interfering in the Republican caucus system. Yep, thanks to same day registration, a wave of new Republican voters carried Nikki to a strong third place finish in Iowa.
A caucus site just outside Iowa’s capital of Des Moines ran out of registration forms at one point Monday night, as almost 40% of caucusgoers there registered as Republicans. Precinct chair Jim McClure said he heard some say they were previously Democrats or Independents, while others said they had just never registered with the party before.
So where is Ron DeSantis? Well Ron has been running as Trump lite or Trump but nicer. Ron has the same trouble that many Republicans face, why vote for an imitation when you can vote for the real thing? In California this means supporting Democrats over the Democrat lite alternative; however, in this instance, why vote DeSantis when you can vote for Trump, the real deal?
The answer of course is that Nikki can be “managed” and “reasonable” and bipartisan. I.E. she has no core values or principles. Like water, she takes the shape of whatever vessel that she is poured into. In other words, Nikki is part of the problem not the solution. She is a “swamp creature” in drag and a political chameleon.
First, I will start by saying that I really wanted to like Nikki Haley but the more I learn about her, the more convinced I am that she is the type of Republican that is harmful for America; especially, in times like this.
I started writing a previous post on Republican candidates but before I finished, more concerning info came to light, and I scrapped it. However, here is the part about Haley.
Yep, there are folks running for President—not named Biden—that are unfit for the office because they support the mutilation of children in the name of transgenderism. Somehow, they view liberty as the right to forcibly remove someone else’s genitals. I guess once we decided that dismemberment of children was a rite that women could exercise to rid themselves of offspring that this type of mutilation would eventually logically follow but …
Anyway, here they are in their own words:
Chris Christie
“I don’t think that the government should ever be stepping into the place of the parents in helping to move their children through a process where those children are confused about their gender,” Mr Christie said.
The former governor has instead indicated that he would consider legislation that requires parents to be involved in a child’s decision to seek gender-affirming care.
“Folks who are under the age of 18 should have parental support and guidance and love as they make all of the key decisions in their life and this should not be one that’s excluded by the government in any way,” he said.
“Republicans believe in less government, not more and less involvement with government, not more government involvement in people’s lives,” Christie replied. “I trust parents, and we’re out there saying that we should empower parents in education. We should empower parents to make more decisions about where their kids go to school. I agree. We should empower parents to be teaching the values that they believe in in their homes without the government telling them what those values should be. And yet we want to take other parental rights away.”
Please note that I had to lead with Governor Christie. As the rest of America knows; especially anyone knowledgeable about California, parents have zero say in the decision of children to “transition” unless they are the ones initiation the change. Like minors getting abortion, anyone with knowledge of a child doing that is legally forbidden to inform the parents. Please note that in the case of transgenderism, the parent’s insurance is obligated to pay but barred from informing the parents.
Christie’s appeal to the government to stay out of the way is a baldfaced lie. He either knows he is lying, which makes him unfit for office, or he thinks he is telling the truth which also makes him unfit for office.
The legal position of California and the Biden Administration is that transgenderism should be encouraged and kept from their parents. In many states, and in the view of the Biden Administration, those who disagree are unfit to be parents or adoptive parents. Some states say that disagreeing with transgenderism is grounds to remove children from their parents. Christie knows this and still has the gall to spew the trash about a decision between parents and their children, HA.
The proper role of government is to protect its citizens. The government is obligated to protect children from predators be they Jeffery Epstein, Planned Parenthood, or evil family members. Mutilation of children should never be permitted; especially, in the name of “choice”.
Having stated the above, let’s look at Nikki Haley.
Former South Carolina governor and current presidential candidate Nikki Haley, as it turns out, is of the same breed. In a recent interview with CBS, a host asked her: “What care should be on the table when a 12-year-old child in this country assigned female at birth says, ‘actually I feel more comfortable living as a boy’? What should the law allow the response to be?” Haley should have challenged the framing of the question – the ideological nonsense of “assigned female at birth” or referring to transgender quackery as “care.” Instead, Haley caved.
“I think the law should stay out of it and I think parents should handle it. This is a job for the parents to handle,” Haley responded. “And then when a child becomes 18, they can do that. But I think up until then – we see with our teenage kids, they go through a lot in puberty. They go through a lot of confusion, they go through a lot of anxiety, they go through a lot of pressures. We should support them, the whole way through, but we don’t need to go in and force something in schools. We don’t need schools sitting there hiding from parents what gender pronouns their kids are using. We don’t need to have those conversations in schools. Those are conversations that should be had at home.”
At the December 6 Republican presidential primary debate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis highlighted Haley’s prevarications. “I did a bill in Florida to stop the gender mutilation of minors. It’s child abuse, and it’s wrong,” DeSantis said. “She opposes that bill. She thinks it’s fine and the law shouldn’t get involved with it. If you’re not willing to stand up for the kids, if you’re not willing to stand up and say that it is wrong to mutilate these kids, then you’re not going to fight for the people back home. I will fight for you, and I will win for you.” This is precisely how conservatives should be talking about transgender surgeries – as usual, DeSantis speaks with moral clarity and gets the big issues right.
Haley responded by attempting to dodge the question; when pushed, she pretended she didn’t say what she said on CBS. “I never said that,” she claimed. “I said that if you have to be 18 to get a tattoo, you should have to be 18 to have anything done to check your gender.” She clearly recognized the attack could hurt her. “You said the law should stay out of it,” DeSantis reminded her.
Reporting on the same Presidential Debate, Breitbart noted:
While Haley and Christie claim that the government does not have a role in protecting children from pro-transgender sexual mutilation, Democrats across the country are actively working to disempower parents who oppose gender ideology…
Following this abysmal rebuke of American parents, Haley got a 70-million-dollar campaign boost from the Koch (pronounced “COKE”) brothers. Remember them? These guys really hate Donald Trump. They are the financial architects of the George W Bush campaign. Like Haley, they believe in perpetual wars all over the planet. Think NEOCONs.
Four weeks before the first-in-the-nation caucuses, former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in this state over Republican rivals Haley and Ron DeSantis.
So commanding, in fact, that the Haley campaign and Americans for Prosperity Action, the advocacy group founded by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, aren’t trying to win over Trump supporters. The Koch group reported in July it amassed more than $70 million — roughly the same amount President Joe Biden’s campaign raised last quarter.
That money will be spent to ensure Haley, the Koch network’s preferred candidate and a favorite of the Wall Street donor class, makes a strong showing on Jan. 15. She has said she’s aiming to finish second, ahead of DeSantis. Americans for Prosperity Action is also planning to boost candidates in other state and local races.
“We have three priorities when we look at Israel: Support Israel with whatever they need whenever they need it,” Haley said. “Eliminate Hamas, not weaken them — eliminate Hamas. And do everything we can to bring our hostages home.”
According to the latest data from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Palestinian government as of January 9, Israeli attacks have damaged:
More than half of Gaza’s homes – 359,000 residential units have been destroyed or damaged
370 educational facilities
30 out of 35 hospitals not functioning
121 ambulances
221 places of worship
Please note the following highlights from above:
In Gaza, half of all houses have been destroyed and 85 percent of the population is displaced.
Folks, given those numbers, it’s just a matter of time before the refugees start streaming to Western countries.
Nikki is OK with all of this. There is no talk of peace from anyone in Israel or the United States. Nikki also is on record as saying if elected, the first thing she will do is give Israel whatever they need.
So, if you like sending our youth to die overseas, the Koch Brothers say she is your only choice. Nikki is also your best bet to lose your children to the cult of transgenderism. So, if you want to be rid of children and any hope of grandchildren, Nikki Haley is your best bet.
Nikki Haley, the Republican candidate best positioned to insure American has no tomorrow.
68 billion, yes with a “b” that is California’s projected budget shortfall for next fiscal year. That is a big problem for our governor. To give you an idea of just how bad it is, our entire rainy-day fund will only cover about 2/3 of the shortfall. So draconian cuts will be needed/required. Unlike the federal budget, the state must balance its budget. True, they can and do use voodoo accounting tricks, but you can only do that for so long. One trick CA used once was to pay their employees on July 1st rather than June 30th , the last day of the fiscal year, essentially pushing the payment forward a year.
Then came the Covid 19 windfall money. The federal government gave lots of cash to support state and local governments affected by the shutdown and as a result, because flush with cash. Folks also got stir crazy and decided to re-do their landscaping or the interior/exterior of their dwellings. The Home Depot, Green Acre’s, Lowe’s, and Costco had lines miles long each day, let alone on weekends.
While this was great, as usual, the government thought it would never stop. It did.
CA you see has had a steady stream of people leaving it for decades. Ditto with corporations and small business closing. Elon Musk, who most would think would be revered and welcomed in CA was essentially run off.
Now some will point out that we added jobs in California for so many years, even during the Trump administration…. they are correct. But there is a caveat. Most of those jobs were retail, minimum wage type jobs, or government ones. The former don’t really help as minimum wage employees don’t provide much stimulation for the economy, as most are on a form of assistance or not a head of household earner. The latter are an outflow of government monies and come with high unfunded costs like pension commitments and healthcare.
So how do we cut the 68 billion? It’s not easy at all. Gavin is going to be unpopular.
How can you cut electric vehicle subsidies/incentives when we are outlawing cars with internal combustion engines soon? Ditto on cutting incentives/subsidies for solar systems on your roof. Want to put off maintaining the roads? A judge may have something to say about that as gas tax is collected specifically for that. Even eliminating all the incentives above, its likely only several hundred million, we need 68 billion… again with a “b”.
Uncle Joe Biden may want to try to help, but if there is one thing that is bipartisan in Congress, bailing out crazy California in a budget bind isn’t one of them! Halting the high-speed rail is off the table since we have spent 15 years buying up land and suing every owner who dragged their feet. The delta tunnels? Ditto, off the table.
Closing down a government office building? Unless you are planning to turn it into a homeless housing unit, that ain’t happening. If you are in a lease, you owe the money, it’s just like a utility bill or rent payment. Just because you didn’t turn it on or were on vacation all month doesn’t mean you skip the payment.
That brings us to the big cost cutting that needs to happen. The reduction of pension/payrolls. P and P as I call them likely takes up 70% of the budget, the pension is the golden goose, and you cannot cut that. So, it comes down to cutting bodies. Terminations are not really a government thing, layoffs aren’t either. The way the contracts are negotiated, furloughs may be the only option. I remember the Friday furloughs put in place under Governor Arnold were heavily criticized but found to be legal. Also, the State doesn’t cut management. They may keep some positions unfilled for a time but ultimately, they will cut entry level positions (the lowest paying ones) and just add more to the next rung up the ladder.
Also, keep in mind that a balanced budget is required by the State Constitution, but the reality is that the governor and legislature just need to agree to call it “balanced.” In reality the math doesn’t really have to work as long as both sides agree to the smoke and mirrors employed. Look for much to be papered over or pushed into future years. Also, special funds will be looted and their contents diverted to the General Fund in exchange for IOU’s.
Barring some kind of miracle that allows Gavin to run for President and thus avoid this nightmare, he is looking at being one of the most unpopular governors in the country when he starts making tough decisions. The furloughs were hell on wheels for Arnold, will Gavin bring them back? Will he cut back on programs? If so, which ones? CA is the liberal mecca for green energy spending, try to put the brakes on that?
The man in the 68-billion-dollar hole is coming for you.
Honestly, the thing I remember most about Trump is not a slogan, a hat, or clichés. He made a big deal out of being treated fairly. He demanded it. He skipped a debate when first running because he said he wasn’t being treated fairly. He did not do interviews on certain networks or shows and claimed the same. Back when I had cable (before the Blog Father straightened me out) I remember Trump telling Bill O’Reilly that he wasn’t treating him fairly. On Fox no less!
Voter fraud was his thing… and he was very vocal during Covid.
How do you beat him legitimately? Easy.
Stop sending a ballot to every Tom, Dick, Harry, and everyone else. Yes, even in liberal mecca California you used to have to request a mail in ballot. Have voting centers open for dropping the ballot off. The local library, heck even the local watering hole may have had a drop off box for ballots last election. In California (and elsewhere) ballots are also sent to each person who wants one, even if you have died or move away. When I bought my house, the ex-owners got ballots for 3 years. Even when presented with proof of out of state registration (wife) or a death certificate (husband), the county registrar’s office didn’t care. Literally voter fraud is supported in Sacramento County.
My point? Quit this process.
Count all ballots on election night. None of this California bullshit of counting ballots for a good month plus after the election. (The truth is that in many areas, all ballots are not counted.) No broken pipes, no leaving for the day and coming back tomorrow. Bring in temporary workers, I could care less. Make sure the water main doesn’t “break” or have the webcam be “down.” Do vote count updates in real time. We need to know the winner by midnight in California.
Vote in person or request a ballot via mail. Require ballots to be returned by a certain date. A webcam should be live streaming the vote counting process. Count them all that night. No breaks, pauses or anything. This removes Trumps biggest card of fraud and not being treated fairly. Trust me, do what I suggest and the conspiracy folks will have nothing to shout about. Beat him fairly, like I laid out, and there will be no insurrection, stealing, cheating, or anything else. If he tries to pull that card, he and his supporters will be laughed at.
