Entries by ThePricklyPear.org

Budget Group Says The Actual Federal Deficit Is $158.6 Trillion

By Casey Harper Written by Casey Harper Editor’s note: The government’s dishonest reporting of the fiscal state of the country is especially shameful when one considers that businesses are required, BY LAW, to report their fiscal situation using “full accrual budgeting and accounting”. This means that businesses cannot ignore “incurred” or earned expenses–expenses the business […]

California losing another refinery, impacting AZ and NV; fuel shortages possible

By Kenneth Schrupp With Valero announcing the pending closure of one of its two remaining California refineries, the state will lose at least 18% of its current refining capacity by the end of 2026. Because California is an “energy island,” meeting demand for California and the parts of Nevada and Arizona that rely on its […]

The Shot Heard Round the Web: Freedom Fighters Across Many Aprils

By Catherine Salgado Written by Catherine Salgado From Lexington to Warsaw, from Dublin to Concord, freedom lovers throughout history chose the month of April to stand up to tyranny and make the choice for liberty or death. We could benefit from their dauntless spirit today. Passover began this past weekend and Easter this upcoming weekend, […]

YOU’RE FIRED: Trump Makes it Easier to Terminate Federal Workers

By Alex Isenstadt Written by Alex Isenstadt The Trump administration on Friday will announce that it’s moving ahead with a new rule, previously known as “Schedule F,” that will make it easier to remove federal employees it believes are undercutting President Trump’s agenda. Why it matters: By stripping civil service protections from about 50,000 people […]

Why Americans Oppose DEI

By Scott Yenor They’re right to rebel against wokeness The following is a lightly edited version of a speech that was delivered to university administrators at the annual meeting of the Higher Learning Commission on April 7, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois. These administrators heard the moral case against DEI policies (some for the first time). […]

Planned Parenthood Spends Big For Democrats, Faces Cuts Under Republican Control

By Casey Harper Written by Casey Harper Planned Parenthood’s political donations to Republicans have plummeted in the past decade, leaving the nation’s largest abortion provider with few friends on the right as it faces funding cuts under the Trump administration. Planned Parenthood reports that about 34% of its funding comes from the federal government, usually through federal […]

Getting Rid Of Some Clutter In Our Lives

By Thomas C. Patterson Written by Thomas C. Patterson Americans are getting fed up with their government. Why not remove some useless government-provided “stuff” from our lives. It would be cheap and easy. For example, Daylight Savings Time (DST) can’t compete for attention with issues like inflation, immigration and geopolitical threats, so it just hangs […]

Global Markets Brace for Trump’s Tariff Onslaught

By The Editors Written by The Editors Published by Financial Times | April 17, 2025 In a world where trade policies swing like a pendulum, President Trump’s potential tariffs are stirring up a storm among international partners, as detailed in this incisive piece. The article explores how nations are scrambling to promise more ‘Buy American’ […]

SCOTUS’ Timidity Triggers Constitutional Crisis

By Margot Cleveland Written by Margot Cleveland The Supreme Court’s continuing failure to define lower courts’ authority is wreaking havoc on the reputation of the courts — and our constitutional order The Supreme Court has interceded six times in less than three months to rein in federal judges who improperly exceeded their Article III authority […]

Virtue Signaling Without Virtue

By M. Stanton Nobel Written by M. Stanton Nobel It is impressive to behold the upside-down, inside-out utterances of the left concerning political philosophy and history. They twist and rewrite the facts and make up stories that give a whole new dimension to the word hypocritical. (No surprise here, because to the leftist, hypocrisy is […]

Arizona to Remove Up to 50,000 Noncitizens From Voter Rolls After Successful Conservative Lawsuit

By Ben Kew Written by Ben Kew All 15 counties in Arizona have now started reviewing and cleaning their voter rolls to remove noncitizens, including nearly 50,000 voters who registered without showing proof of U.S. citizenship. The lawsuit was filed by America First Legal (AFL) on behalf of EZAZ.org and Yvonne Cahill, a naturalized U.S. […]

China Would Lose a ‘Trade War’ With the US—’Gradually, then Suddenly’

By Victor Davis Hanson Written by Victor Davis Hanson China’s trade war bluff may backfire as the U.S. pushes allies to choose between a rogue economic actor and a flawed but fairer partner with unmatched global power No one wants a “trade war” with China, or for that matter with any nation. Nonetheless, China has […]

The Sahel: Emerging Center of Global Islamism

By Nils A. Haug Written by Nils A. Haug The West Is Nowhere to Be Seen The center of world terrorist activity and violent death is no longer the Middle East. The “Sahel region of Africa is now the ‘epicentre of global terrorism,’” responsible for “over half of all terrorism-related deaths” worldwide, according to the respected Global […]