In next decade, 84% of federal spending growth comes from health, Social Security, interest: CRFB - Nicholas Ballasy

 

by Nicholas Ballasy

"Spending on Social Security will grow from $1.5 trillion this year to $2.5 trillion by 2034, while spending on health care will grow from $1.6 trillion to $2.8 trillion," says a new Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget analysis.

 

Over the next decade, 84% of federal spending growth will come from health, Social Security and interest, according to a new analysis from a federal budget watchdog group.

"Spending on Social Security will grow from $1.5 trillion this year to $2.5 trillion by 2034, while spending on health care will grow from $1.6 trillion to $2.8 trillion," a Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget analysis found. "Net interest costs will more than double from $870 billion this year to $1.6 trillion by 2034, after costs nearly doubled between 2020 and 2023. Interest on the debt is the fastest growing part of the budget and will be the second largest government expenditure this year, surpassing both defense and Medicare."

The CRFB noted that "budget deficits are projected to grow from $1.7 trillion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 to $2.6 trillion by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) latest projections."

The organization issued a strong warning about the growth of the national debt over the next 10 years.

"As a result of this rapid spending growth alongside revenue that fails to keep up, the national debt will exceed its record as a share of the economy in just four years," the group wrote in the analysis. "Policymakers should address this growing divide between spending and revenue to put the debt on a sustainable downward path."

The president of the CRFB, Maya MacGuineas, has urged Congress to create a fiscal commission to work on entitlement reform and other issues to address the long-term growth of the deficit and debt.

"Interest on the national debt, already higher than federal spending on children or Medicaid, will exceed spending on defense this year, on its way to $1 trillion by 2026. This is no way to run a country. Policymakers need to take this somber moment to reflect on the grave situation we face and commit themselves to do better. Last year’s Fiscal Responsibility Act was a good start, but there is so much more to be done," MacGuineas said.

"We can start by actually passing a budget and by establishing a bipartisan fiscal commission to tackle some of these issues. We need a real plan to put the national debt on a downward sustainable path before it’s too late," she added.

The House Budget Committee recently passed legislation that would create a bipartisan fiscal commission but it has not yet passed the full House. Most of the Democrats on the House Budget Committee opposed establishing the commission, arguing that it would result in cutting Social Security benefits.

Former House Speaker Ryan and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon last month warned the American public and U.S. elected officials that the nation is nearing the edge of its fiscal cliff, calling it the "most predictable crisis" the country faces. Both Ryan and Dimon indicated that they support the creation of a statutory fiscal commission.

 
Nicholas Ballasy

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/congress/next-decade-84-federal-spending-growth-comes-health-social-security-and

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Imam recites Quran at Belgian parliament, calls for killing, kidnapping of Jews - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

Since the war in Gaza began, between October 7 and December 7, Belgium's anti-discrimination agency registered 91 reported incidents related to the conflict, exceeding the 57 recorded in 2022.

 

A Belgian national flag flies over the Royal Palace

(photo credit: FRANCOIS LENOIR / REUTERS)

An Imam at the Belgian parliament last week began reciting a verse from the Quran that explicitly calls on Muslims to kill and take Jews captive.

The Quran excerpt is verse 26 from the Surah. It translates to, “ And He brought down those from the People of the Book who supported the enemy alliance from their own strongholds, and cast horror into their hearts. You ‘believers’ killed some, and took others captive.”

Within the Quran, Jews are referred to as the “People of the Book.”

The event on Tuesday was not organized by the parliament, but rather at the initiative of Hasan Koyuncu, a member of parliament within the socialist party and vice president of the Francophone Parliament in Brussels, along with the Friends Of Brussels association. 

Performance led to condemnations

Secretary of State of the Brussels Capital region Nawal Ben Hamou left the event during the incident.

Cover of a Quran (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Israel's ambassador to Belgium Idit Rosenzweig commented on Twitter that she is “absolutely horrified” over the incident. “He could have chosen anything else, not a frightening symbolic message to anyone who knows the Quran, straight from the parliament podium,... in Brussels’ parliament, a city with 18,000 Jews who are already experiencing increased antisemitism and fear.”

Absolutely horrified to discover that in Brussels Parliament, an invited Muslim preacher chose to recite parts of Surah "Al-Ahzab", a Surah about a battle between Muslims and Jews.

This is a Surah that explicitly (verse 26) calls for the KILLING and TAKING CAPTIVE of Jews! In… pic.twitter.com/2jO7maJQrg

— Ambassador Idit Rosenzweig-Abu (@IditAbu) February 16, 2024

The imam who recited the Surah is Qari Muhammad Ansar Norani. 

Between October 7 and December 7, Belgium’s anti-discrimination agency, Unia, registered 91 reported incidents related to the conflict, far exceeding the 57 recorded for all of 2022. Of the 91 incidents, 66 were antisemitic in nature, and eight were anti-Islamic or anti-Arab.Belgium’s 29,000 Jews are primarily based in Brussels and Antwerp, according to the World Jewish Congress.

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-787452

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Norway PM sees imminent deal to transfer tax funds between Israel and Palestinians - Reuters

 

by Reuters

Norway is part of an international effort to build a broad, Palestinian unity government, with Western nations aiming for the PA to play a key role in it.

 

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu and PA head Mahmoud Abbas shake hands at the funeral of Shimon Peres on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem, in 2016.

(photo credit: AMOS BEN GERSHOM/GPO)

In agreement to unfreeze tax funds earmarked for the Palestinian Authority (PA) that are held by Israel is "imminent," Norway's prime minister, whose country is working as an intermediary, said on Saturday.

Under interim peace accords reached in the 1990s, Israel's finance ministry collects tax on behalf of the Palestinians and makes monthly transfers to the PA. But no payments have taken place since November following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas terrorists based in the Gaza Strip in October.

On Jan. 21, Israeli officials said the cabinet had approved a plan for frozen tax funds earmarked for the Gaza Strip to be held by Norway instead of transferred to the PA.

"I would say that the talks have been concluded and we are very close to settling an arrangement," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told Reuters in an interview, saying he believed they had been able to forge a compromise.

Accessing this revenue is key to the survival of the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank.

IN SEPTEMBER 1993, Yasser Arafat, then head of the PLO, agreed to a new division of the West Bank. He is seen here shaking hands with then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at the White House ceremony, as then-US president Bill Clinton looks on. (credit: GARY HERSHORN/REUTERS)

Several Western countries, including the United States, want the PA to play a role in the administration of the Gaza Strip, should the war come to an end.

"I think we are trusted by the parties to manage financial support to the PA in a responsible way," he said. "It has taken a lot of diplomatic work between Norway, the PA, Israel, the US, but I will say that we are very close, imminent."

Norway supports building a Palestinian unity government 

Norway is part of an international effort to build a broad, Palestinian unity government, with Western nations aiming for the PA to play a key role in it.

The country served as a facilitator in the 1992-93 talks between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that led to the Oslo Accords in 1993.

It has remained involved as chair of the donor group coordinating international assistance to the Palestinian territories, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC).

Since Israel has stepped up strikes on Gaza in its war against Hamas, there has been interest to revive the AHLC as a possible channel for diplomacy.

Stoere said there were consultations to assess when it would be the right time to call another meeting, but the priority was getting humanitarian aid into the enclave.

"We believe that seeing the PA fail and go broke is in no one's interest. It would be a disaster for Palestinians and it would be also very bad for Israel's security," he said.

Reuters

Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-787448

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Iran declares Antarctica its property in direct challenge to Biden, global treaty - Benjamin Weinthal

 

by Benjamin Weinthal

Iranian Navy commander announces planned military base in South Pole

 

JERUSALEM — Iran’s Navy commander announced in a televised broadcast last fall that the regime owns Antarctica and will build a military operation in the South Pole.

"We have property rights in the South Pole. We have plan to raise our flag there and carry out military and scientific work," Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said in late September, according to a translation by the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Iran’s naval saber-rattling is drawing new attention in response to the Iranian-backed militias that murdered three U.S. soldiers in Jordan last month.

AYATOLLAH'S FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE DECLARES ‘HORROR AND FEAR’ IRAN MILITARY CAMPAIGN AGAINST US, ALLIES

Iran’s naval commander announced in a broadcast that Iran’s regime will build in Antarctica. (Getty Images)

Fox News Digital asked a U.S. State Department spokesperson if the recent American unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian funds held in Qatar could be used by Iran to set up a base in Antarctica.

"No. Iran’s funds held in Qatar may not be used for any activities in Antarctica," the spokesperson said. "Those funds can only be used to purchase humanitarian goods, meaning food, medicine, medical devices and agricultural products."

Despite the clerical regime’s growing bellicosity in the Middle East and across the world, according to veteran Iran observers, the Biden administration released $6 billion in sanctions relief to Tehran’s rulers ahead of the Iran-backed Hamas massacre of 1,200 people Oct. 7 in southern Israel. Hamas slaughtered over 30 Americans during its invasion of Israel.

Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, who was sanctioned by former President Trump for his role in the two massacres of Iranian dissidents and protesters, disputed the Biden administration’s restrictions on the use of the $6 billion. Raisi taunted Biden’s White House, declaring his regime will use the massive cash infusion "wherever we need it."

The IRGC National Aerospace Park, showcasing the achievements of the IRGC Aerospace Force, was inaugurated Sept. 27, 2020, by IRGC Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami and IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.  (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"Iran's future plans to try to expand its military presence and influence into the Antarctic would not only violate multilateral conventions on the issue, but continues the regime's trend of aggression across the globe," said Yonah Jeremy Bob, author of "Target Tehran" and a senior Jerusalem Post military and intelligence analyst.

"Whether through terrorism on basically every continent or its rampant piracy in the maritime arena, the Islamic Republic continues to show why it is a danger to world stability and why Israel and the Mossad's role in holding it back from nuclear weapons remains critical."

IRAN HOLDS TOP MILITARY DRILLS IN MAJOR OIL WATERWAY IN 'WAR BEFORE THE WAR'

"Every time Tehran expands its tentacles into a new area to disrupt the rules-based order promoted by the West, the U.S. and its allies are given an additional opportunity to take the nuclear threat more seriously. Antarctica might seem a distant threat, but if the West acts as meekly as it did when Iran recently kicked out nuclear weapons inspectors, the Islamic Republic will only become further emboldened on other track," he added. 

Flags of the original 12 signatory nations of the Antarctic Treaty fly next to a bust of Admiral Richard Byrd at McMurdo Station Oct. 21, 2005, in Antartica. (Rob Jones/National Science Foundation via Getty images)

Fox News Digital reported in February 2023 that the United States tracked warlike announcements by Iran's navy chief that Tehran plans to establish a military presence at the Panama Canal. Iran deployed two military ships to Brazil at the time that were headed for the Panama Canal. 

In December, the Islamic Republic claimed it was building "smart" cruise missiles for its navy arsenal.

WHITE HOUSE ACCUSES IRAN OF GIFTING 'SEVERAL HUNDRED' DRONES TO RUSSIA

"It’s an arcane topic, but little lies between Iran’s coast outside the Persian Gulf and the eastern hemisphere side of Antarctica," Jennifer Dyer, a retired commander of U.S. Naval Intelligence, told Fox News Digital

"In theory, Iran could claim an interest in Antarctica similar to India’s, Australia’s, New Zealand’s or Chile’s (or those of the U.K. and France, for that matter), with their island outposts in the southern hemisphere.

Sheets of ice on top of the sea en route from McMurdo to Cape Royds, Antarctica, in February 2000. (Frances M. Ginter/Getty Images)

"I can say that raising the flag at the South Pole doesn’t carry any implications in international law. The Antarctic Treaty (which became effective in 1961) has a specific provision that no action by any nation after 1961 can be the basis of a territorial claim on the continent."

"Iran isn’t a signatory to the treaty and might try to do frisky things in Antarctica," Dyer noted. "Those things wouldn’t be recognized by other nations, at least as matters stand now. The U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Japan, India, China and Russia are all signatories to the treaty, as are Brazil, and Argentina, Chile, Australia and New Zealand, the ‘jumping off’ nations closest to the continent."

Potkin Azarmehr, an expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital, "Everything in Iran is reminiscent of the USSR in its last days before collapse. Ambitious but pointless plans by a state with completely wrong priorities. Unable to provide basic services to its people, bankrupt institutions but full of grandiose talks"

Fox News Digital sent press queries to Iran’s Foreign Ministry and its U.N. mission in New York.

 

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-declares-antarctica-its-property-in-direct-challenge-to-biden-global-treaty

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Yemen Government Warns of Houthi Threat to ‘World’s Digital Infrastructure’ - Christine Williams

 

by Christine Williams

What happens if a large chunk of the world’s internet goes down?

 

According to the World Bank, “Yemen has long been one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa.” The Shia Houthis have been living in the “rugged mountains” since the 9th century and have been battling ever since for control of Yemen and beyond. In 2003, after the American invasion of Iraq, the Houthis adopted a slogan: “Allahu akbar, death to the U.S., death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam.” The group now threatens the globe. Its siege of the Red Sea due to its support for Hamas against Israel is being felt beyond the region as reported in the Daily Mail:

The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen, began attacking international shipping in the Red Sea on November 19 in support of Hamas in its war with Israel in Gaza.

Since then several dozen ships causing major disruptions to global trade, some 12 percent of which passes through the Red Sea.

The U.S. and U.K. have launched a massive airstrike campaign against them.

Now there are concerns the Houthis could respond by targeting the internet and transmission of financial data.

It is estimated that 17 percent of global internet traffic travels via underwater fiber optic cables in the Red Sea.”

A little history about the Houthis sheds light on their religious zeal, determination and threat. Houthis adhere to the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam, taking their name from Zayd bin Ali, the great-grandson of Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law. In 740, Zayd rose up against the Umayyad caliphate. He died in the revolt and thus was enshrined as a martyr. His “head is believed to be buried in a shrine to him in Kerak, Jordan.” Zaydis believe that Zayd bin Ali was “a model of a pure caliph who should have ruled instead of the Umayyads.” Followers of Zayd, the Houthis established themselves in north Yemen’s rugged mountains in the ninth century, and have never wavered from their mission of conquest, though they have seldom had the chance they have now to perform actions that reverberate worldwide.

The Yemen civil war has been widely regarded as an Iran-Saudi proxy conflict, linked to the Shia-Sunni divide.

Given the historic battle for Yemen, the Houthis have had remarkable success. One may wonder how a jihad group from the mountains of poverty-stricken and war-torn Yemen could threaten the world, but they have managed to do so. Fanatical religious zeal combined with a sense of having nothing to lose is effective. Westerners underestimate the depth and power of Islamic religious zeal.

Yemen’s government warned that the Red Sea is ‘one of the three most important meeting points for cables’ on the globe and the Houthis pose a ‘serious threat to one of the most important digital infrastructures in the world.’

The Houthis posted a map on their social media channel, “showing the routes of various cables through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea”, “accompanied with the ominous message: ‘It seems that Yemen is in a strategic location, as internet lines that connect entire continents – not only countries – pass near it.'”

This isn’t an idle warning. The nuclear-threshold Iranian regime backs the Houthis, and Iran aims for regional hegemony, as well as power over the entire Islamic world. Iran identifies its greatest enemies, of course, as Israel and America.

America and Israel are now engaged in a proxy war with Iran, as the regime buys time, prepares, and strategizes. If Houthis are not controlled in the Red Sea, the war is destined to escalate. Imagine the possibility of “a fifth” of the world’s Internet going down. The world economy would collapse and full-scale war would be inevitable.

Houthi jihad warriors who are humbly living in the mountains of Yemen do not have much to lose, and, they believe, a great deal to gain in the name of Islam.

Christine Douglass-Williams is Associate Editor of Frontpage, regular writer for Jihad Watch, a nine-time award-winning journalist, past Canadian government appointee to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Office of Religious Freedom; author of "The Challenge of Modernizing Islam" and "Fired by the Canadian Government for Criticizing Islam".

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/yemen-government-warns-of-houthi-threat-to-worlds-digital-infrastructure/

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Top election lawsuits to watch ahead of the 2024 presidential election - Natalia Mittelstadt

 

by Natalia Mittelstadt

The lawsuits range from candidate eligibility to alleged violations of election laws. The impact of the decisions may be wide-ranging.

 

There are multiple ongoing or just-filed election lawsuits this year that could have wide-ranging impact on the 2024 elections, as plaintiffs from both sides of the political aisle challenge election laws or applications of them. 

In 2020, there were as many as 400 lawsuits brought by both Republicans and Democrats regarding election procedures and laws as election administration was quickly changed during the COVID-19 lockdowns leading up to the presidential election. This year, new election lawsuits are focusing on candidate eligibility, different changes in law, and alleged violation of election laws. All of these lawsuits may greatly impact how the 2024 presidential election will be conducted. 

Below are some of the most signficant lawsuits to follow in 2024: 

Donald Trump v. Norma Anderson 

On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Donald Trump v. Norma Anderson, in which the Colorado respondents have argued that the former president should be taken off the primary ballot because he allegedly incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.  

Republican and unaffiliated voters in Colorado brought the lawsuit. The Colorado Supreme Court had overturned a ruling of a lower court, deciding that under the Section 3 "insurrection clause" of the 14th Amendment, Trump was disqualified from holding the office of president. Trump appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.  

During the oral arguments on Thursday, justices across the ideological spectrum appeared concerned in their questioning of the Colorado respondents’ lawyer on the legal reasoning for keeping Trump off the ballot and its implications nationwide.  

Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP v. Chapman 

The Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP sued the then-acting secretary of the commonwealth in 2022 regarding the commonwealth’s decision to not count mail-in ballots that are either missing a date on the outer return envelopes or have an incorrect date. Pennsylvania counties were ordered by a court following a Republican lawsuit in 2022 to reject undated or incorrectly dated mail-in ballots. However, the issue is still being litigated and has reached the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

The NAACP argues that the mail-in ballots are valid – regardless of the incorrect or missing date – and should be counted. 

Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and Eric Lovelis v. Maricopa County

On Tuesday, America First Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and a voter against Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and the Maricopa County recorder. 

The lawsuit alleges that Maricopa County has violated multiple state election laws, such as refusing to maintain chain of custody for ballots and require in-person ballot curing for voters, as well as using artificial intelligence for signature verification on ballots instead of only humans. 

The county, which has the largest population in Arizona, has had numerous election irregularities over the last several years. 

Maricopa County didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

Libertarian Party of MS v Wetzel et. al 

Last Monday, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Mississippi Libertarian Party, challenging a state law that allows absentee ballots to be received and counted after Election Day.  

Absentee ballots can be received as long as five days following the election. 

Judicial Watch argues that under a recently enacted federal law, there cannot be an extension of Election Day barring any catastrophic events. 

The Republican National Committee and the Mississippi Republican Party have also filed a lawsuit challenging this election law. 

The Mississippi secretary of state's office declined to comment due to pending litigation. 

Late ballot acceptance deadlines have resulted in delays in tabulating and announcing election results, which the president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, J. Christian Adams, has previously said leads “to distrust and chaos in the system.” 

However, some election lawsuits can disrupt election administration, according to another election integrity watchdog.

Jason Snead, Executive Director of the Honest Elections Project, said last month that “One of the biggest threats that we’re gonna face between now and November is gonna be just a torrent of left-wing litigation.” He explained, “We saw the chaos, we saw the confusion, we saw the rules changes that [Marc] Elias and his operation were able to impose on states through the litigation process of 2020. And they’re already starting that up again this year.” 

“I think litigation is gonna be one of the big, big threats because you can go into the November election with the best laws on the books, but if those laws are gutted in your courts, if those laws are gutted through consent agreements between a Democrat suing a Democrat, then that law is not worth the paper that it’s written on,” Snead said.  

The Honest Elections Project recommended in an election reform report that states “Ensure that elected lawmakers write election laws,” rather than courts. 

The reform states that “Legislatures should protect their constitutional authority to regulate elections by barring executive agencies from agreeing to legal settlements or consent decrees that substantively alter or weaken election laws. States should prohibit sue-and-settle litigation, in which activists and partisans sue officials to secure an agreement to ignore or effectively rewrite election law.”  

Natalia Mittelstadt

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/top-election-lawsuits-watch-ahead-2024-presidential-election

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Hearing begins over alleged conflict of interest of Fani Willis, Trump special prosecutor in GA case - Ben Whedon and Natalia Mittelstadt

 

by Ben Whedon and Natalia Mittelstadt

Willis and Wade have admitted to a "personal relationship," though they claim it began after she hired him and that there exists no conflict of interest in the case.

 

The hearing began on Thursday regarding Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade over their relationship and the resulting potential conflicts of interest.

Willis last year indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants over his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results in Georgia. She had hired Wade as a special prosecutor to pursue the case. Co-defendant Mike Roman first raised the allegations in January, claiming the pair "engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship" and have profited from the case. Wade has been paid roughly $654,000 in legal fees from January 2022 through December 2023, he claimed.

Willis and Wade have admitted to a "personal relationship," though they claim it began after she hired him and that there exists no conflict of interest in the case. Defense attorneys for Roman, however, insist the relationship preceded Wade's hiring.

The hearing began on Thursday with many of the co-defendants in the case waiving their right to appear in the hearing.

Judge Scott McAfee, who will preside over the hearing, on Monday suggested that Willis could be removed from the case, telling the court that the allegations against her "could result in a disqualification."

In the Monday hearing, Roman's attorney indicated that Terrence Bradley, Wade's ex-law partner, would testify that Wade and Willis's relationship began before she hired him, The Hill reported.

Late last month, Wade abruptly settled his divorce dispute with his estranged wife Jocelyn Mayfield Wade ahead of a planned hearing in which he was expected to discuss his finances and travel with Willis. Court filings in the divorce case revealed that Wade bought tickets for at least two out-of-state trips with Willis. Of those, one was a 2022 trip to Miami, Fla., and a 2023 trip to San Francisco, Calif.

Willis steadfastly denies having received any benefit from her relationship with Wade.

This is a developing story...

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.

 

Ben Whedon and Natalia Mittelstadt

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/thufani-willis-trump-special-prosecutor-face-pivotal-hearing-over-alleged-conflict

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Impeach Biden for Obstruction of Justice - Daniel Greenfield

 

by Daniel Greenfield

New report shows Biden interfered into investigations of himself, his son and Trump.

 

The Mueller report suggested that former President Trump could be charged with obstruction of justice because of his decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey and alleged pressure on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller. Now a report has emerged that Biden is planning to fire Attorney General Merrick Garland over special counsel investigations.

While the media made much of the obstruction of justice allegations at the time, it’s shown little interest in its own reporting which implicated Biden in multiple instances of obstruction of justice.

A recent Politico report described Biden complaining that Attorney General Merrick Garland did not stop Special Counsel Hur from editing out mentions of his diminished mental capacity in his report, that Garland should not have allowed a special counsel to look into his son’s misconduct and finally that Garland had failed to schedule a trial of former President Trump quickly enough.

As a result, Politico reported that Biden would oust Garland if he gets a second term.

Not only was Biden interfering with supposedly independent investigations of himself and his son, but even into criminal proceedings aimed at his likely opponent in the presidential race. The interference has become crude and overt enough that it now includes media leaks threatening the job of his attorney general for not sufficiently protecting him from investigations.

And for not doing enough to schedule his presidential opponent’s trial before the election.

Troublingly, the report describes Biden complaining in “recent weeks” that Garland took too long to move on trying Trump. And in mid-January, Garland unexpectedly told CNN that “the cases were brought last year, the prosecutor has urged speeding trials with, with which I agree, and it’s now in the hands of the judicial system, not in our hands.”

It appears now that the attorney general was not just talking to CNN, but to President Biden.

If the Politico report is true, this is deeply corrupt behavior that meets the standard for impeachment. A pattern of interfering in his own investigations is obstruction of justice, but interfering to speed up a criminal case against his opponent so that a trial takes place before an upcoming election is abuse of power. Both are extremely impeachment worthy charges.

Impeachment proceedings moved forward against former President Nixon over obstruction of justice charges related to the coverup of Watergate. Former President Bill Clinton actually was impeached on obstruction of justice grounds and finally former President Trump was impeached for the first time on obstruction of justice charges. The precedents point to impeaching Biden.

These reports come after multiple denials by the White House, by Attorney General Garland and other administration figures that there was any political interference in the investigations.

“Since he took office and consistent with his campaign promise that he would restore the independence of the Justice Department when it comes to decision-making in criminal investigations, President Biden has made clear that this matter would be handled independently by the Justice Department, under the leadership of a U.S. Attorney appointed by former President Trump, free from any political interference by the White House. He has upheld that commitment.” the Biden administration claimed after whistleblowers described efforts by the Department of Justice to sabotage their investigation into Hunter Biden.

The independence has been exposed as a sham and the documented interference with the Hunter Biden investigation could have come from the Justice Department under pressure from the Attorney General or other administration figures because Joe Biden was protecting his son.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan had already announced an obstruction of justice investigation into Biden over allegations that he had interfered in the Hunter Biden investigation and the revelations in the Politico article that Biden had sought to pressure not just one investigation but three and to do so at the level of the attorney general’s office are likely to provide more fuel for an obstruction of justice case.

“We are facing obstruction like has never been demonstrated in the history of congressional investigations,” Rep. Comer had argued.

According to the Politico report, anger at Special Counsel Hur’s report by “Biden and his closest advisers” led them to “put part of the blame on Garland, who they say should have demanded edits to Hur’s report.” While Attorney General Garland could have tried to edit or suppress the report, Congress would have demanded unredacted copies and the leaked copies would have been an even bigger scandal. Garland appears to have understood this even when Biden did not.

Biden also charged that Garland should not have “empowered a special counsel to look into his son” claiming that “the stress could send Hunter Biden spiraling back into addiction.”

Most damagingly, Biden recently took to grumbling “to aides and advisers that had Garland moved sooner in his investigation into former President Donald Trump’s election interference, a trial may already be underway or even have concluded” apparently out of concern that the trial might not take place before the presidential election for maximum political advantage.

As a result, “most of the president’s senior advisers do not believe that the attorney general would remain in his post for a possible second term.”

Clearly the Biden team expects more legal troubles or assaults in a possible second term and believes that Attorney General Garland is spending too much time protecting himself from the fallout and not doing enough of their dirty work. That does not bode well for the next four years.

While there are no indications that Biden has directly pressured Garland, the constant mentions of the subjects to top aides and advisors, followed by media leaks, are meant to have the same effect while providing plausible deniability. They also convey a message to anyone who wants to be Garland’s possible successor of the expectations of the office that he or she hopes to assume.

When the president expresses his unhappiness to aides, they are expected to act on it. And the question is, beyond media leaks, what actions did they take to pressure Garland on the three investigations? That is the question on which Biden’s impeachment may depend.

Despite efforts to portray Biden as a disinterested party who was watching the investigations unfold without interfering with them, the Politico report shows that he was highly invested in them, closely monitoring them and sending strong signals of what he wanted to see done with them. These are evidence of obstruction of justice and a severe abuse of power.

And they cannot go unpunished.

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/impeach-biden-for-obstruction-of-justice/

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Tax revenue increased 33% since Trump-era tax reform, while spending jumped more than 50%, CBO says - Nicholas Ballasy

 

by Nicholas Ballasy

The data is contained in the CBO's 10-year budget outlook. The Committee for Responsible Federal Budget released an analysis, which shows that interest on the U.S. national debt is on pace to become the "second largest" federal government expenditure.

 

Federal tax revenue increased 33% since Congress passed the Trump-era tax reform bill in 2017, while spending increased more than 50% over that same time frame.

The data is contained in the Congressional Budget Office's recently released 10-year budget outlook.

"Measured as a share of the economy, tax revenue averaged 17% of gross domestic product in the years since the TCJA was passed, the same share as in 2017, and would have been higher if not for the pandemic and associated economic shutdowns," wrote Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network. "The CBO projects the tax share to grow in the years ahead."

Congress faces two appropriations deadlines in March. Lawmakers will need to a pass a new spending bill to continue federal government funding and avoid a shutdown. Currently, the total national debt, including intragovernmental holdings, is approaching $35 trillion.

The debt held by the public is currently $27.1 trillion and it is projected to jump to $48.3 trillion by the end of 2034, according to the CBO. 

The Committee for Responsible Federal Budget released an analysis that shows interest on the U.S. national debt is on pace to become the "second largest" federal government expenditure and the "fastest growing" part of the federal government's annual budget.

"Net interest has been exploding over the past few years, with payments rising from $223 billion in 2015 to $352 billion in 2021 before nearly doubling to $659 billion in 2023. In 2024, CBO projects net interest will total $870 billion, a near-record 3.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," the budget watchdog's analysis revealed. 

Republicans have argued that Congress should find areas to reduce federal spending rather than increase taxes while Democrats want to raise taxes on wealthy individuals and families as well as corporations. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation pointed out that the top 10% of income earners, based on the most recent IRS data, "bore responsibility for 76% of all income taxes paid, and the top 25% paid 89% of all income taxes."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., released in a report published in December 2023 that contains a list of items he characterizes as federal government "waste" totaling $900 billion. “Congress creates the inflation by running massive deficits," Paul said on the Senate floor last month.

Conservatives point to IRS data to argue that raising taxes on the wealthy isn't the best way to balance the federal budget over time. 

The latest report from the IRS's statistics of income division for tax year 2021 shows that the top 1% of earners with incomes above $682,577 paid almost 46% of all income taxes, which set a new record.

 
Nicholas Ballasy

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/congress/tax-revenue-increased-33-trump-era-tax-reform-while-spending-increased-more-50

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Hamas Member Reveals That Organization’s Goal is Not Just to Free ‘Palestine’ - Robert Spencer

 

by Robert Spencer

Can the leftist/Islamic alliance survive Hamas’ universalist mission?

 

Virtually every political and media analyst in the Western world agrees that Hamas is a national liberation movement, dedicated to freeing Palestine from an alleged Israeli occupation. Most also assume that if the Palestinians are given a state, Hamas’ mission will end, and the organization will fade away. A video that surfaced Saturday, however, suggests that all of that analysis, despite being nearly universally accepted, is false.

The video is of a hijabed woman, identified as “Elham, Member of Hamas, Planner of a Suicide Bombing,” explaining matter-of-factly that “we don’t only fight against occupation. Our goal is to spread Islam to all, everywhere.” This suggests that Hamas would not be satisfied with a Palestinian state, but would continue its war against the diminished Israel that would remain after the creation of a Palestinian state until the remainder were Islamized as well. What’s more, Elham’s statement amounts to a declaration of war against every state that is not governed under Islamic law.

Of course, there is no indication that Elham speaks for Hamas as a whole. However, many other Hamas spokesmen have said essentially the same thing. Last December, Fathi Hammad, a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, also spoke of Hamas as having a universal mission beyond the destruction of Israel. He explained that “the [Palestinian] people have been soldiers throughout history. They are now preparing to liberate Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and I am saying this loud and clear: [The Palestinian people] are preparing to establish the Caliphate, with Jerusalem as its capital city, Inshallah. Jerusalem will not only be the capital city of Palestine as an independent state – it will be the capital city of the Islamic Caliphate.”

In Sunni Islamic theology, an Islamic caliphate is a supranational state that commands the allegiance of all Muslims worldwide, transcending nationality and ethnicity. Thus Hammad, like Elham, sees Hamas as far more than just a movement dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Another Hamas official, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, explained in a December 2022 interview that Hamas’ universal mission would eventually bring it into war with Christianity:

When we speak about the Army of Jerusalem and the Battle of the Promise of the Hereafter, we are not talking about liberating our land alone – but we believe in what our Prophet Muhammad said: “Allah drew the ends of the world near one another for my sake, and I have seen its eastern and western ends. The dominion of my nation would reach those ends that have been drawn near me.” The entire 510 million square kilometers of Planet Earth will come under [a system] where there is no injustice, no oppression, no treachery, no Zionism, no treacherous Christianity, and no killings and crimes, like those being committed against the Palestinians, and against the Arabs in all the Arab countries – in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and other countries.

If Hamas is going to bring the entire 510 million square kilometers of Planet Earth are going to come under the domination of Islam, Hamas is essentially declaring war against the entire planet with the exception of Sharia states. Leftists who are expressing their support for Hamas and hatred for Israel these days are likely neither to know nor care that Hamas has these aspirations, as they simply cannot imagine a world in which their Muslim allies would turn against them.

Yet it is already happening. We have seen Muslims in the U.S. leading protests against the trans madness being forced upon children in schools, and in Gaza in October 2023, a Muslim sheikh, Mohammed Saleem Ali, declared during a sermon at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount that he did not want any “allyship” from “Queers For Palestine,” thank you very much: “Our Muslim Palestinian people will not accept a single homosexual openly declaring his abomination. Will you allow a single homosexual in the land of Jerusalem and Palestine? Will you allow that? No. Our people will not allow there to be institutions that promote this abomination on the blessed and pure land of Palestine. They will not allow any omission or change to the laws of the shari’a, nor will they accept curricula that go against the laws of Islam.”

Can the leftist/Islamic alliance survive both Hamas’ universalist mission and its hostility to sexual deviance and perversion? In a word, no.

Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is author of 27 books including many bestsellers, such as The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), The Truth About Muhammad and The History of Jihad. His latest books are The Critical Qur’an and Empire Of God. Follow him on Twitter here. Like him on Facebook here.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/hamas-member-reveals-that-organizations-goal-is-not-just-to-free-palestine/

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