-Great Cultural Revolution |
It's 'Overreach', But Trump's Just Using Obama's 'Toolkit' on Harvard |
2025-05-29 |
[Breitbart] On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Harvard Professor, author, American Enterprise Institute President Emeritus, and columnist for The Atlantic Arthur Brooks stated that the Trump administration’s actions on Harvard are “overreach” but “the toolkit was actually set during the Obama and Biden years.” And Harvard needs a lot of change. Brooks stated that at Harvard, “it’s pretty chaotic, of course, because a lot of researchers that have nothing to do with any of the controversies are being affected by this. A lot of labs are getting shut down. A lot of researchers are getting laid off at this point. And that’s sort of the collateral damage to what’s happening. And then, of course, there [are] the students. … It’s creating a lot of big problems outside of the blast zone of what I think anybody’s intended to try to change.” He added, “[N]one of the things that the President is bringing to bear or the administration is bringing to bear on Harvard is nothing new. During the Obama administration, they were doing exactly the same thing with Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, and they were bringing all of the DEI stuff and all of the what they were talking about then and talking about, they were threatening to cut off funds then, too. And so, this is — the toolkit was actually set during the Obama and Biden years.” Brooks also pointed to past actions against Bob Jones University before Obama and stated, “So, there’s nothing new that’s actually going on here. What’s new is that it’s such pressure so quickly on one particular university.” And the Trump administration is actually following through “And the fact that the media is actually paying attention to it right now, the media wasn’t paying attention to it when the Obama administration was doing exactly the same thing.” He added, “There’s a ton of reform that needs to get done. And the good news is we have a new President who’s dedicated to it. Alan Garber is a very, very good President. He’s a very reasonable and tough guy.” And that while he thinks change is needed, the Trump administration is engaging in “real overreach. And it’s actually affecting things that it shouldn’t be affecting”, including on foreign students and their social media accounts and that the prohibition on foreign students is even hitting science students, which has nothing to do with DEI or antisemitism. Brooks further stated that both sides have been “hot” but they’ll eventually work out a deal, which will lead to improvements. |
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Home Front: WoT |
Genocide in South Africa Going Global – Alex Newman |
2025-05-28 |
![]() Newman, who once lived in South Africa, warns, "What’s happening down there to them is a microcosm, and that’s what they have planned for you, your country, your family and what’s left of the Christian West. . . . What I have documented (in 2012) very clearly and very unambiguously is this racist, murderous, communist program taking place in South Africa was backed by the highest levels of Deep State power. This includes the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the US State Department, including their allies and partners in Great Britian, and they all knew the Soviet Union was behind this and other communist governments were behind this. This is a monstrosity piled on a monstrosity and, again, what they are doing to the Afrikaners (white farmers) now, they plan to do to you as soon as they get the opportunity. Instead of amalgamating all these nations under a South African government, they want to amalgamate all these nations under a one world system. Barack Obama has said over and over again that he was inspired to get into politics because of what they were doing in South Africa. This all comes together here—and you are next. That’s why it’s important to watch what is happening in South Africa." What are the tools the Deep State uses to gain total control? Look no further than the new global UN pandemic treaty and the huge push for climate change laws to give control to a few people at the top. Let’s start with the recently passed UN pandemic treaty, which President Trump cancelled for America. Newman says, "They have a clause about ’misinformation,’ which means you can’t speak out or ask questions about what injections they demand you and your children take. It’s got digital infrastructure . . . . So, they will track everything, which will pave the way for international vaccine passports. . . . It gives exemptions (to drug makers) and fast tracks the same outrageous process that we have seen before in emergency use authorization (EUA). That is whatever crazy concoction they come up with and then tell us all what we need. It is everything that was wrong with Covid on steroids enshrined into international law." |
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-Lurid Crime Tales- |
Secret Service Fracas Outside Obama Residence |
2025-05-28 |
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… physical fight outside former President Obama's D.C. residence while guarding it. The fracas occurred at roughly 2:30 a.m. early Wednesday morning, according to two sources in the Secret Service community. The lack of professionalism was on display during the fight and in a call one of the women made on a recorded Secret Service line to request a supervisor to come to the scene "immediately before I whoop this girl's ass." The woman officer who made the call was upset that her shift replacement was late and assailed her verbally and physically when she finally did arrive to relieve her. Audio of the early a.m. call is now circulating among agents and officers and is attached to this X post. It's unclear whether either woman was injured or whether they will be disciplined over the altercation. The fight did not wake anyone in the Obama residence or the surrounding neighborhood, the sources said. The incident is raising new concerns among fellow Secret Service agents and officers about the agency's lowering of hiring standards during years of a major DEI push to add more minorities and women to the ranks under previous Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. Where better to post them? Cheatle resigned under a cloud after the J13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump. The Secret Service for years has experienced low morale and a severe manpower shortage, which is also contributing to lower hiring standards as the agency works to increase its agents and officers. (continued) Susan Crabtree @susancrabtree · 6h 📢UPDATE: SECRET SERVICE TAKES ACTION AGAINST WOMEN AGENTS WHO GOT INTO A FIST-FIGHT outside former Pres. Obama's D.C. residence last week. @SecretService spokesperson to @RCPolitics : "The U.S. Secret Service is aware of an on-duty altercation that occurred between two Uniformed Division officers at approximately 2:30 a.m. on May 21. The individuals involved were suspended from duty, and this matter is the subject of an internal investigation. The Secret Service has a very strict code of conduct for all employees, and any behavior that violates that code is unacceptable." "Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further |
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Home Front: Politix | ||||
Trump throws America's $44billion education business into chaos by halting ALL student visas | ||||
2025-05-27 | ||||
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The Trump Administration has ordered US embassies to halt all student visa applications as the president cracks down on America's higher education business. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed officials to stop scheduling appointments with student visa applicants as they prepare to implement a social media vetting process, according to a cable obtained by Politico. 'Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel, which we anticipate in the coming days,' the cable states. The Institute of International Education Open Doors data report found that in 2023-2024 academic year, the United States hosted a record-breaking 1.1 million international students - including an estimated 10,000 British students. These students generated $43.8 billion through tuition, housing and living expenses, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Donald Trump has waged war on elite universities, accusing them of antisemitism and blasting their 'woke' ideology. At the beginning of his second term, Trump ordered the deportation of foreign students who took part in pro-Hamas protests on college campuses in the US. Harvard has borne the brunt of Trump's fire but it is also fighting back just as hard and sued the administration. The Department of Homeland Security announced on Thursday its revocation of Harvard's ability to host and enroll students from other countries. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem published a letter she sent to the Ivy League university last week instructing the thousands of current students to either transfer to other schools or leave the country. Trump has demanded to know all of the names and countries of origin of all nearly 7,000 foreign-born students attending Harvard University. The president said it was unacceptable that 31 percent of the students who attend the famous Ivy League school are 'from foreign lands.' Harvard filed on Friday a lawsuit against the Trump administration for revoking its right to host foreign students. The school said in a court filing Trump's action will have an 'immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.' 'With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,' Harvard wrote. 'Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.'
The announcement will be made via a letter from the General Services Administration to federal agencies, which was obtained by The New York Times. The letter, being sent out later Tuesday, also tells the agencies: 'Going forward, we also encourage your agency to seek alternative vendors for future services where you had previously considered Harvard.'
Trump threatened on Monday to take $3 billion in funding away from the Ivy League university to distribute to trade schools instead. He also used Truth Social to complain that Harvard hadn't released to the federal government a list of foreign students enrolled in the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school. 'I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land,' Trump wrote Monday morning. 'What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!' The president and his Republican allies have claimed that Harvard is antisemitic for allowing pro-Palestinian protests to take place on campus amid the current Gaza war.
'Harvard is very slow in the presentation of these documents, and probably for good reason!' he continued. 'The best thing Harvard has going for it is that they have shopped around and found the absolute best Judge (for them!) - But have no fear, the Government will, in the end, WIN!' Last week Judge Allison Burroughs, a 2014 Obama appointee, temporarily paused the Trump administration's move to cancel Harvard's student visa program.
Trump's Department of Homeland Security moved to cancel the program after the university failed to provide the government with extensive behavioral records of visa holders in the student body. Notably, the president has several close associates who were international students educated in the US, including senior advisor Boris Epshteyn, who helped Trump put together his legal team for criminal cases. Epshteyn was born in Russia and emigrated to the United States, and met Eric Trump as a student at Georgetown University. | ||||
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-Lurid Crime Tales- |
Three more escaped New Orleans inmates captured as manhunt continues for last 2 fugitives |
2025-05-27 |
[NYPOST] Three more fighters on the run after a group of 10 inmates beat feet from a New Orleans jail have been captured, authorities said Monday. Authorities initially announced that Lenton Vanburen was arrested in Baton Rouge and was back in jug. ''Vanburen was originally incarcerated on charges of parole violation, possession of firearm by felon, and illegal carrying of a weapon,'' Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill wrote on X. He will face additional charges related to his escape. Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald were arrested in Walker County, Texas, by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Louisiana State Police said. According to Huntsville Police in Texas, Donald and Tate led law enforcement from several agencies on a high-speed chase before they were taken into custody. Related: Baton Rouge: 2025-03-23 Detained anti-Israel activist Khalil appears in Louisiana court as deportation looms Baton Rouge: 2024-10-15 A Louisiana BIPOC LGBTQ+ activist has been arrested and charged with dozens of child s—x crimes Baton Rouge: 2024-06-14 Scientists move step closer to solving mystery of America's 'cancer alley' - an 80-mile stretch where death and disease is rampant Related: Liz Murrill 11/21/2023 Republicans Sweep 3 Major State Offices in Louisiana Elections Liz Murrill 10/27/2020 Case Dropped After 4th Grader Faced Criminal Charges For BB Gun In Room During Online Learning Liz Murrill 08/23/2018 Judge Foils 'Deep State Bureaucrats' in Obamacare Case, Demands IRS Return $839M to 6 States |
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-Short Attention Span Theater- | |
Jussie Smollett posts bizarre Instagram screed touting innocence and cushy settlement in lawsuit with Chicago | |
2025-05-27 | |
[NYPOST] Hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett![]() ...Cable TV actor whose primary talents seemed to be being black and homosexual. In a bid for national attention, he paid a pair of Nigerian brothers to rough him up a little so he could claim that two large, white, MAGA hat-wearing men had shouted This is MAGA country!while thumping him at 2:30am on a bitter cold night in Chicago and throwing bleach on him, presumably to lighten him up. The story quickly unraveled, and he became a laughingstock and the poster boy for pretend victimization and attention whoredom... went on a bizarre Instagram rant in which he repeated his widely-debunked claim that he was the victim of a bias attack in the wake of his cushy settlement in his civil suit with the city of reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel... ''Over six years ago, after it was reported I had been jumped, City Officials in Chicago set out to convince the public that I willfully set an assault against myself. This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear,'' Smollett wrote on Instagram Saturday.
Smollett was convicted in 2021 for staging a phony hate crime against himself in Chicago in 2019, and was later sued by the Second City for $130,000 for the cost of the investigation into the bogus claims. The ''Mighty Ducks'' actor and the Windy City have now settled their suit — with Smollett agreeing to donate $60,000 to two Chicago-based charitable organizations in lieu of paying the city. Related: Jussie Smollett 03/25/2025 Allentown, Pennsylvania employee LaTarsha Brown charged after placing a noose at her own desk to stage a hate crime. Jussie Smollett 02/12/2025 The truth of Barack Obama's hopelessly-delayed $830 million DEI nightmare of a presidential library that may never be built Jussie Smollett 12/21/2024 George Soros-backed Cook County's former top prosecutor, Kim Foxx, lost her Illinois license to practice law | |
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-Great Cultural Revolution | |
Confused, Starving Reporters Now Desperate for Food After Killing American Journalism | |
2025-05-26 | |
[JOHNKASSNEWS] After it destroyed its own credibility by twisting the truth to protect Joe Biden and hide his senility, can American corporate legacy news media hope for rebirth? No. It’s dead. Journalism killed itself covering up Joe Biden’s senility so Democrats could maintain power. Humpty Dumpty can’t be put back together again. The media is a feast for crows. CNN’s Fake Jake Tapper and the rest of them can shriek and pull out their hair, protesting wildly that they are true journalists interested in "speaking truth to power." That too, is a lie. They are not journalists, they are political propagandists. They’re paid whores. This latest episode of mainstream media corruption brings to mind an apocryphal story often wrongly attributed to Churchill or George Bernard Shaw, "Madam, we’ve already established what you are. All we’re doing now is discussing the price."
The boss whore of this despicable gang is Tapper, who is now cashing in, selling his book, telling the tale he loudly condemned others for approaching . And all of his posse who profit after keeping their mouths shut for so long, after putting the nation through hell, deserve contempt. Tapper’s newfound "humility" is but another means to whitewash this shameful scandal. In this they are much like the prostitute going through pockets after the client has been bludgeoned. But Jake the Fake is not alone. They told us he was "sharp as a tack" but was he? No. Just who was running the country? And why should we trust anything the Democrats and their media coms shop tell us going forward? Democrats worked in concert to cover up Biden’s senility. And so did the mainstream media played along because their hatred and fear of Donald Trump compelled them. We saw it all as it happened, so there’s no spinning their way out of it. But they’re trying desperately, beseeching America to eat their waste. And all we really need are the treasonous actors who used the presidential autopen without the people’s permission. "We are in the midst of this staggering presidential scandal from the Biden administration. Whether you’re talking about the mental decline or the physical decline, there was a conspiracy to keep the American people from knowing who was actually operating as president," said Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway during a Fox News interview. "It really makes all other presidential scandals throughout history seem to somewhat pale in comparison." It would take volumes to list all the White House scandals, from US Grant, Warren Harding, Woodrow Wilson and his manipulative wife Edith; Bill and Hillary Clinton and the 30,000 vanished emails; Barack Obama of the Fast and Furious scandal and the thousands of guns Obama had passed through to Mexican narco-gangs, the murders of the Americans at Bengazi and the political partisan abuses of the IRS. There is a media myth about Obama’s administration perpetuated by the New York Times, that Obama’s administration was scandal free. No, it was not. And of course, Richard Nixon of Watergate infamy. But this one about Biden is much worse than the Watergate break-in. In that one the White House covered up the lawbreaking and the media uncovered it. The establishment media, led by the Washington Post hounded Nixon from office. But in this one Biden and the legacy media covered up his senility, installed him, and publicly ridiculed any of us who dared point out they were protecting a presidential meat puppet at the expense of the American people. Americans need news that they can trust to make important decisions about their vote and who would govern them. But they can’t trust this sort of garbage. And the American people are being told to take it and eat it. We’re told to eat the garbage they throw at us through the video screens and over the internet, to smile and applaud the corporate legacy media for "protecting" our republic from authoritarianism. But as we say in Chicago whenever they put their lips together and blow: It’s all bullshit. I take all this personally. I spent 40 years working in the mainstream media as a reporter, political writer, columnist, and editorial board member of the Chicago Tribune. I loved working there, loved the readers and the paper and the work we accomplished, the detailed reporting we pursued. I just loved it. We were on a mission, in a politically corrupt city, as the tribunes for the people. The Trib was once the voice of midwestern conservatism. It was about as mainstream as you could get. No longer. Once the leftist Jacobins took over newsroom, the knives came out and I had to go. But it wasn’t the ideology that attracted me, it was that we could do real reporting and journalism there. The problem with the Jacobins is they pursued a course that moved away from seeking the truth, they were doctrinaire and lost any pretense of curiosity. They helped turn corporate journalism into what it is today. Years ago, an associate of the Chicago Outfit and I were having lunch and talking about the mob. Specifically, about the economic lessons to be learned from the Chicago Outfit. "Citizens see a couple, three cows on the side of a hill and think about putting them together and make more cows, make a herd. And sell the beef. What’s wrong with that? "Nothing but that’s not the Chicago Way," he said. "The Chicago Way is they pull out shotguns, shoot all the cows and make a barbecue. And then they ride off looking for more cows to kill." I found the photo of the hyenas to illustrate that point, because hyenas aren’t interested in thinking about the future. And neither was the media, so intent it was on protecting Democrats from the people. And so, the news media devoured its own credibility with Biden, and now wonders where they might find the next feast. Biden was not fit for office even before his inauguration. As the great Miranda Devine wrote long ago, Joe Biden has been president-in-name-only since he was inaugurated Jake the Fake and MSNBC and the New York Times and the rest of the pack of hyenas must now admit there is no feast without customers. Who would pay for what passes for corporate legacy journalism now? Only fools. Only chumbolones. A few are still paying for garbage to eat as Fake Jake squeeze the chumbolones, as the New York Times looks down its nose at the American middle class. But many others turn away from garbage journalism and reach out to independent journalism every day. You’re always welcome here at https://johnkassnews.com/ Where did it start? ![]() You might argue that American journalism fell apart with the rise of Al Gore’s internet that killed news advertising. Then the newspapers relied on subscriptions, and if subscribers were rabid Jacobins, they demanded offending heads be lopped. But I’d argue, yeah, sure, OK but don’t forget the hopium smokers in the Washington press corps when Barry Obama became president. I remember writing about the depressing Washington Press Corps addiction to hopium as they offered Obama as their Marxist demi-god. All the newsrooms were besotted. "Obama hopium was so powerful, that that first rush of it, well, it sent a tingle up my leg. Or down my leg. Then up. So now, when I read newspaper stories about Obama’s political history, like a recent gooey, puffy profile in the Washington Post and it didn’t mention Obama as a willing member of Chicago’s Daley machine, well, I didn’t get angry. "Not anymore. "Why? Because I’m a hope-head. "Now, I don’t get upset when foreign and national journalists fail to mention Tony Rezko, or the Daley boys, or how the Chicago machine plans to staff the Department of Justice, and the new Department of Homeland Casinos. "Who cares? I’m numb with hopium." But that was then. I’m much better now. I asked for a Congressional investigation days ago. And for the identity of who controlled the autopen. There seems to be no other way if we’re to keep the republic. The names must be known. According to The Hill, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will be investigating Biden’s use of an "autopen" to sign documents such as the pardons issued just before he left office. The Hill reported that "Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement he plans to subpoena former Biden aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal and Ashley Williams, who he claims "ran interference" for Biden and may have overseen the use of the autopen. "Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is demanding the upper chamber hold hearings on Biden’s health and competence, and rightly so. He wants to interview people who were close to the former president. As he told Axios, "We have to. I mean, who was running the government?" Years ago, in his first news conference since taking office, taxpayer-funded PBS White House reporter Yamiche Alcindor asked President Joe Biden whether migrants are crossing the southern border because he’s so "moral" and "decent." She embarrassed herself without a smidgen of humility. "You’ve said over and over again that immigrants shouldn’t come to this country right now, this isn’t the time to come. That message is not being received," Alcindor said as the nation faces a crisis of illegal immigration not seen in decades. "Instead, the perception of you, that got you elected as a moral, decent man, is the reason why a lot of immigrants are coming to this country and trusting you with unaccompanied minors." Biden, a moral man? A decent man? Yamiche, go sit on Jake’s lap and maybe he’ll tell you bedtime stories of the girl who saved journalism. Better yet Yamiche, just cancel yourself. Last week on the Chicago Way podcast, co-host Jeff Carlin and I interviewed our friend Tom Bevan, co-founder and president of Real Clear Politics. We talked about Biden, the media, Deep State operative James Comey and more. You might want to listen here. I asked him about whether the media can survive this. No, he said. "The media’s broken," Bevan said. "There is no putting it back together. It is Humpty Dumpty for sure." And all the king’s horses, and all the king’s men... ![]() Don’t forget that Monday is Memorial Day, for all those who died for this country. It is not a day to commemorate steaks and hotdogs and beer and chips. It is not the day to raise our glasses to our gluttony. Monday is the day we say a prayer and remember all those who gave their lives for the American republic. A republic, said Dr. Franklin, if you can keep it. Can we keep it? That’s up to you. But they died trying to keep it. In all the cemeteries of American war dead across the world, among the white markers and crosses across the landscape, row after row here, in France, everywhere, it is held in a language unspoken by the political class, but perhaps you can feel it all the same: A republic, if you can keep it. Lest we forget. ![]() Related: Jake Tapper 05/25/2025 VDH talks about Jake Tapper's book 'Original Sin' (short video) Jake Tapper 05/24/2025 Friday morning Kunstler-superb encapsulation of the last 20 years of Presidential politics Jake Tapper 05/18/2025 Newly Released Biden-Hur Audio Captures President''s Stumbles, Mishaps from Special Counsel Interview | |
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Home Front: Politix |
The Party of Ba'al and Jezebel |
2025-05-26 |
In my debates with Democrats, I like to ask them for their Top Ten List of things their party has done to make America safer, stronger, more prosperous, and more united. Only one person has ever listed ten, most list a few and then change the subject. But even the items they list turn out to have been ultimately harmful or ineffective. Obamacare is high on the list, as are the COVID "vaccines," public schools and welfare. When I look at that party’s history I see a consistent and frightening pattern. Southern Democrats owned the slaves, started the Civil War, formed the KKK, opposed passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, and passed Jim Crow laws and the Great Society legislation that decimated the nuclear family. They currently promote the losing side of every 90/10 issue facing America, such as championing MS-13 gang-bangers and Islamic terrorists and placing graphic pornography in K-12 schools. How likely is it that a party would consistently choose actions that are harmful to those they claim to serve? "Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence, three times is enemy action." -- Ian Fleming Promoting evil for personal gain is as old as humankind and people have always looked for the source. Scripture warns us that we "...do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." In the Old Testament, Ba’al was a supernatural entity who demanded child sacrifice in exchange for prosperity. By contrast, Jezebel wielded a seductive charisma, bending loyalty to her will. The Left, particularly the Democrat (they're not democratic) Party utilizes sacrifice and deception, forfeiting the well-being of society for control (Ba’al) while at the same time masking its motives with charismatic manipulation (Jezebel). |
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Government Corruption |
The Ingraham Angle 5-23-25 - Segment starts at 46 minutes in - verbatim] |
2025-05-24 |
FoxNews Anchors Continue to Dance Around the Big "O" [The Ingraham Angle 5/23/25 — Segment starts at 46 minutes in - verbatim] Lisa Boothe anchors. A clip is shown of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart [YouTube Podcast — Thursday 5/22/25 Entitled OBAMA BRO: I WANTED BIDEN TO WIN] Lisa: A former Obama aide was admitting why he wasn’t honest about Joe Biden’s mental decline. Aide: It was April and he was rambling and was hard to follow and repeated a story, but we were assured that he was just exhausted by the people around him. I remember feeling I want to talk about this as a hugh liability, I want to talk something that Joe Biden can overcome. But I think that Joe Biden must drop out — he’s too old to be President, but I don’t know exactly what was going on behind the scenes. If Joe biden is the candidate, I want him to f__ g win! Because I care about the country. Lisa then interviews Jason Rantz, the Auto Radio(?) host and Terry Schilling, the President of some organization. Jason: They lie about Donald Trump so he loses. They will say and do anything if it satisfies some sort of political agena of theirs. I think you’ve got the point here. I wonder who writes this guy’s speeches. [Related: Rantburg 2025-05-21, see comment #5] https://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=05/21/2025&SO=&HC=4&ID=760913 |
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Home Front: Politix |
Voice of America layoffs to result in dozens of deportations |
2025-05-24 |
[TheDesk] Many independent contractors laid off by the broadcaster last week hold work visas that require continued employment to stay in the United States. Dozens of independent contractors who were laid off at the Voice of America (VOA) last week are likely to be deported within the next month as a result of their job losses, The Desk has learned. The contractors — around 60 in total — participate in the Exchange Visitor Program, which entitles them to J-1 visas to live and work in the United States as long as they are engaged in certain roles, including the production and distribution of journalism. The workers were among more than 500 whose contracts were terminated last week by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent organization of VOA. The layoffs come about two months after President Donald Trump ![]() signed an Executive Order that required USAGM and six other agencies to significantly reduce their operations and fire employees accordingly. More than 1,000 VOA workers were laid off and hundreds of contracts were temporarily suspended, triggering legal challenges across the board. Those challenges have resulted in favorable decision by lower courts, some of which have been partially reversed by appellate judges. Earlier this month, USAGM special advisor Kari Lake said the agency intends to partner with right-of-center news broadcaster One America News (OAN), which will license news packages that VOA can use on its radio and TV networks and digital platforms. So far, VOA has yet to broadcast or publish any OAN material, but the partnership served as a partial catalyst toward the independent contractor layoffs last week. The 60 visa holders are required to maintain employment as part of their ongoing participation in the J-1 program. Their status remains in limbo after VOA ended their contract employment last week. Without new employment, many face the likelihood of having their work permits revoked, which would lead to deportations. In a note circulated to employees last Thursday, VOA Director Michael Abramowitz said he was "heartbroken to learn about today’s mass terminations of personal service contractors [PSCs] working for Voice of America." "PSCs have been a critical part of VOA’s mission, and they have made enormous contributions to VOA’s important work," Abramowitz wrote. "Some of VOA’s most talented journalists have been PSCs — many of whom have escaped tyranny in their home countries to tell America’s story of freedom and democracy. Many have served VOA’s viewers and listeners for years and are deeply versed in the markets in which VOA broadcasts." Abramowitz called the firings "inexplicable, and, to my knowledge, no rationale has been provided by USAGM for this decision." "We will continue to make efforts to help individual PSCs, especially those who face possible return to hostile countries, in any and every way we can during this difficult time. This remains among my most important priorities, and I hope it will be a priority for USAGM as well," he affirmed. Related: Voice of America: 2025-04-23 Court orders Trump to restore funding to Voice of America Voice of America: 2025-04-06 DOGE arrives at Peace Corps HQ, signaling possible cuts on the horizon Voice of America: 2025-03-25 'Brainwash like Hitler.' How American 'Freedom' Began Related: Kari Lake 04/23/2025 Court orders Trump to restore funding to Voice of America Kari Lake 03/16/2025 Trump admin axes US-funded media in shock move Kari Lake 01/30/2025 Senate easily confirms ex-LI Rep. Lee Zeldin as Trump''s EPA chief Related: Michael Abramowitz 10/18/2009 Obama Drops Plan to Isolate Sudan Leaders Michael Abramowitz 02/03/2007 'Democrat Party' Is A GOP Slur, A Smear, 'Jarring Verging On Ugly' Michael Abramowitz 12/20/2006 Bush faces off with 3 WaPo Hitmen |
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Government Corruption |
Thar's Gold In Them Thar NGOs! |
2025-05-24 |
[HotAir] You'll remember one of the biggest drop-mic revelations was the $20B slush fund new Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin, along with Musk's DOGE waste-huntin' hounds found stashed in a sketchy secret Citibank account. That money was allocated to just eight climate-related NGOs in last-minute 'awards' from the Biden administration as they shoveled bucks out the door like a steam-driven locomotive's fireman flings coal. The most egregious of which was an earmarked $2B award to a Stacey Abrams-connected NGO called 'Power Forward Communities,' which was only a little over a year old and had less than $100 in the bank. The Washington Free Beacon reports that the Biden EPA awarded a group linked to Stacey Abrams with no real track record a 2 billion dollar environmental grant in 2024. Everyone has been dying to know more as Zeldin turned to clawing back the money. In the meantime, other folks started digging into the Power Forward Communities (PFC) NGO, and one of them uncovered the web of deep money progressive tentacles that run all through these seemingly humanitarian organizations. Sadly, they are, in fact, usually only money laundering schemes for progressive elites and their foot soldiers. Integral to the PFC story is a fellow named Shaun Donovan, who cut his political progressive teeth as the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. He left the city to become, first, Obama's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and then his director of the Office of Budget Management. When Obama left, Donovan knew he needed a new gig, so he slid on over to the Ford Foundation, which lobbies the federal government using Henry Ford's fortune. Eventually, through all his connections, he became the new CEO of Enterprise Community Partners (ECP). The previous CEO of this non-profit NGO - one wealthy enough to boast about investing $72B for a million energy efficient homes - earned $900K a year, which is quite a chunk for a charity, you'd think. But, according to Mr Chavous' research, the co-CEO pulled down a cool $800K, and the NGO spent over 27% of all its considerable income on salaries. What does this have to do with Power Forward Communities (PFC)? For one thing, the well-compensated and connected CEO of ECP, Mr Donovan, is the one who then formed that NGO and bragged about scoring the $2B award for his umbrella organization. Small, incestuous, lucrative world, these NGOs, aren't they? It also explains what went down in Lee Zeldin's testimony to Congress yesterday about the specifics that they have been finding about the proposal that came with PFC's grant paperwork. What was in the documents required to meet the 'eligibility requirements' for the federal handouts was so outrageous, it blew even the Biden administration EPA staff's mind. To the point where, when they were screening the paperwork, as internal documents have subsequently revealed, they wrote notes and memorandums about it to cover their own asterisks. One staff member reviewing the proposed salary structure thought they were so out of whack that they worried it might look bad should the public catch a glimpse. But, if you look at the mothership, ECP, that's where they all are as far as numbers go. On 12 May, PFC filed a status report with the D.C. district court claiming 'irreparable harm,' as they still could not access their Citbank funds because of mean old Lee Zeldin. Related: Lee Zeldin 05/15/2025 Texas mom purchased ammunition and tactical gear for son as he planned 'mass violence' at school Lee Zeldin 04/23/2025 Court orders Trump to restore funding to Voice of America Lee Zeldin 04/22/2025 Mexican sewage gushing into Navy SEAL training waters is US' 'next Camp Lejeune,' vets warn; UPDATE: EPA sect’y Lee Zeldin flies out to handle it Related: Power Forward Communities: 2025-04-19 DC Circuit Court of Appeals Blocks Judge Chutkan''s Order Requiring Citibank to Disburse $Billions From Biden''s Climate Slush Fund Power Forward Communities: 2025-03-09 Stacey Abrams-linked Group Got $2 Billion in 'Gold Bars' Scheme to Greenwash Appliances Power Forward Communities: 2025-03-05 Zeldin: EPA Working with DOJ, FBI on NGO Corruption After Eight Groups Tied to 'Gold Bars' Scheme Related: Shaun Donovan 03/25/2021 Poll: Dem primary for NYC mayor wide open, half of voters still undecided Shaun Donovan 07/15/2016 Final Budget Deficit Under Obama Projected At $600b Shaun Donovan 09/27/2013 White House to announce $300M in aid to Detroit |
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