How the Government Used the Pandemic to Crush Small Businesses—and Why: An Interview With Carol Roth

Author Carol Roth discusses the winners and losers in the 2020 pandemic lockdowns and how the American Dream can be saved in a wide-ranging interview with FEE.

 

This week FEE sat down with Carol Roth, an American entrepreneur, TV personality, radio host, investor, and bestselling author.

Roth’s latest book, The War on Small Business: How the Government Used the Pandemic to Crush the Backbone of America, examines the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which triggered the sharpest economic collapse in American history.

In a wide-ranging interview, we talked about the winners and losers in the 2020 pandemic, lockdowns, and how the American Dream can be saved.*

First, what made you decide to write this book? What led you to realize that this book was needed?

ROTH: I’d written a book ten years ago called The Entrepreneur Equation. It was about all of the risks you take on as a small business owner and how difficult it is to be a small business owner. So I was highly aware of the plight of the small business owner. Little did I realize that the government shutting them down and taking away their business by mandate while leaving their big competitors open was actually their number one risk.

So HarperCollins approached me early in the pandemic. They knew this was going to be historic economically in some way, shape, or form. They wanted someone who had deep economic knowledge to be able to give a fair assessment and get into the nitty gritty, not something based on high level talking points.

So like a crazy person I said, “Oh, that sounds like fun!”

Did anything surprise you during the process?

I didn’t realize at the time this was going to be the herculean task that it was. Obviously things were unfolding in real time, information would dribble out and I’d have to piece it together. So I kind of wrote three and a half different books during the pandemic (laughs).

Ultimately, I knew small business was going to be a big part of the story. I didn’t realize the extent to which it would involve government picking winners and losers—not based on data or science but purely on political clout and connections. Government enabled the most historic wealth transfer we’ve seen in our lifetimes from Main Street to Wall Street.

We were the first person to market really making this case. So we were really excited. Unfortunately, it’s largely falling on deaf ears. It’s striking to me that no one is talking about this.

You write that government bureaucrats have been looking for the chance to destroy small businesses for years. Why would government declare war on small businesses? As you point out, they are in many ways the backbone of the US economy.

It sounds counterintuitive until you get into the details and see how the government has been slanting the playing field towards big businesses and away from small businesses for years via regulatory capture, anti-competitive regulations, tax structure, and so on.

As I write in the book, really what’s happened over the last twenty years or so is that we’ve moved away from free market capitalism toward central planning.

Many people today would say America is a capitalist country. You seem less sure.

I specifically use the term central planning because I don’t want to get caught up in terms like socialism and communism and democratic socialism. It doesn’t matter. It’s a handful of people who are making decisions for the masses using force and coercion and control. That always benefits the people in the “in club.”

If you think about the way the economy is built—and most people don’t think about it—it’s basically split in half. Half of it is very decentralized and looks more like a free market. Before COVID, it was about 30.2 million small businesses that accounted for about half the GDP and half the jobs and represented about 99.9 percent of all business entities. This half of the economy is very hard to corral and get lobbying dollars from and so forth.

If you’re disrupting wealth creation opportunities for the average American and you’re building this Frankenstein behemoth that is increasing its purview and doing everything inefficiently and ineffectively, that’s havoc in my opinion.

The other half of the economy—next to these 30.2 million or so businesses—you got 10,000 or 15,000 big businesses. If you’re trying to centralize power and make the government more powerful and increase its purview and spending, what are you going to do?

Are you going to focus on the half that’s easy to work with or focus on the decentralized, independent 30.2 million?

When you start thinking in that direction and looking at what they’ve actually done, you just ask yourself: If you were intentionally trying to do this to small business, would you have done anything differently?

You write in the book that even before the pandemic arrived central planning was here and wreaking havoc on the US economy. What kind of havoc. Do you have some examples?

Obviously it depends on your perspective of what you think havoc is, but if you look before COVID, governments at all levels were spending somewhere around $8.1 trillion. That’s insane.

If you look at the number of laws passed—the numbers are cited in the book—it’s more than a million over a fifty-year period. That doesn’t even include the last 20 years. More recently you’ve had 12,000 or 15,000 laws passed at the state level and 15,000 federal regulations passed.

We didn’t have liberty and we didn’t have lockdowns. We targeted individuals who were deemed ‘non-essential’ and locked them down. But we had a whole host of individuals and businesses who were declared “essential” by politicians.

If you look at these laws and how they’ve disrupted wealth-creating opportunities for the average American, it’s very real. They’ve made it harder to get appropriate health care. I know people will argue about the ACA, but I can tell you most people are paying more and getting less. It’s become harder to generate wealth in the stock market or even off a money market because the Fed has disrupted risk in the market. It’s become more expensive and difficult to purchase a home and create a small business.

These are all the ways that people create wealth in this country. If you’re disrupting wealth creation opportunities for the average American and you’re building this Frankenstein behemoth that is increasing its purview and doing everything inefficiently and ineffectively, that’s havoc in my opinion.

Good answer.

(laughs) You know, I’ve given this a little thought.

Let’s talk about lockdowns a minute. At FEE, we spent much of the last year writing about the unintended consequences of lockdowns, which have been severe. I’ll ask you point blank. Were the lockdowns the right move?

We didn’t have lockdowns. This is the big issue. We didn’t have liberty and we didn’t have lockdowns. We targeted individuals who were deemed “non-essential” and locked them down. But we had a whole host of individuals and businesses who were declared “essential” by politicians. Whether it was an Amazon warehouse or a weed dispensary that had been illegal just a few years ago, we all had these businesses that were magically declared essential.

So we didn’t have lockdowns. We didn’t have everyone sharing equally in the pain. And because of the Fed’s actions, we didn’t have sustained pain the market. So I can’t say if the lockdowns were the right move, because we didn’t have one.

If your strategy is to do this to just part of the people—based on whim, not science—then you need to appropriately compensate them. And to that point, it’s not like we didn’t spend $6 trillion, we just didn’t spend it on the people who deserved due compensation.

Let’s talk about that. You write that when the federal government stepped in with its “assistance” during the pandemic—$1.9 trillion CARES Act—it clearly favored the wealthy and well connected. You offer numerous examples. The Kennedy Center got a $25 million grant (even though it furloughed most of its staff). The country’s wealthiest universities were allocated millions of dollars even though they had multibillion-dollar endowments.

Why was so much of this money flowing to the Kennedy Center and universities and not to small businesses that were ordered closed?

Cash for cronies. This is the whole issue. When there is an opportunity to do the right thing, the people are not angels who are going to organize society for us, as Milton Friedman quipped.

They are power-hungry, greedy individuals who are going to give favors to the people that they know. And they never let a good crisis go to waste. That’s what we saw last year.

The Kennedy Center had hundreds of millions in assets. It received all kinds of funding, this random arts center for the hoity toity. And they weren’t even open! They were given $25 million and one of the stated reasons was deep cleaning of the building? Are you kidding me?

Interviewer: *Laughs*

It’s funny, but it’s not funny. Same thing with the universities, who by the way already get tax advantages and have been able to drive up their prices because of the government effectively nationalizing most of the student lending business. They had already been paid for the semester by their students. They were losing zero revenue and had a lower operating cost structure because no one was there. Frankly, they should have been refunding their students’ money, not receiving money from us.

The worst part is that nobody reported on it. I tried to keep this on the DL because I don’t want to get targeted, but I was the one who brought up the Harvard thing on Twitter that went viral and eventually forced them to give the money back.

You as a saver or a retiree are earning next to nothing on your savings that are being lended out and then multiplied by free Fed money to give to big companies who are using that to get a competitive advantage and get bigger.

One of my followers brought the table to my attention. I started making it a big deal that Harvard—which I always call a hedge fund with a university attached to it—got millions of dollars for nothing. They didn’t have to jump through hoops or do anything. They were just gonna get it handed to them.

Meanwhile, my local dry cleaner, pizza parlor, and hair dresser were duking it out with everyone over what was a couple hundred billion dollars. What does that say? You tell small businesses they’re non-essential, and then you back it up with how you allocate the money.

It’s the government picking winners and losers. It always works out well for those who are connected. It doesn’t work out for those who aren’t in the inner circle.

It was recently pointed out that the top 1 percent in America hold more wealth at any time in history since the Federal Reserve has tracked the statistic. Are you suggesting it’s not a coincidence this happened during the greatest expansion of government in modern history?

Their increase in wealth closely matches what the Fed has printed over the last twelve to fifteen months! It’s no surprise, but it comes at the expense of Main Street and the average American.

You as a saver or a retiree are earning next to nothing on your savings that are being lended out and then multiplied by free Fed money to give to big companies who are using that to get a competitive advantage and get bigger. I talk in the book about how the money is used to prop up zombie companies that probably shouldn’t even exist anymore. It’s all to the detriment of innovation and small businesses and fair competition.

Black Rock going in and buying up residential housing is a direct result of these policies. Artificially low-interest rates that need to go and find yields because risk has been completely disrupted, and all of this government money is coming to compete with the average American.

As far as the 1 percent, I’m a free market capitalist. There’s always going to be a top 1 percent. I don’t care. If you innovate and the market determines you should get all this wealth, great! But I have a huge problem when that comes as the result of government mandate and action.

During this spending bonanza, untold numbers of Americans who owned small businesses were being crushed. We’ve all seen the Yelp figures, but those only scratch the surface. Do we have any hard data on how many small businesses went under over the last 15 months?

Different sets of data say different things. The Biden administration has said more than 400,000. We know that’s a floor for sure. They wouldn’t say it if it was less than that.

That figure was reported by Opportunity Insights and the Hamilton Project out of Harvard in June 2020. I know for a fact that many small businesses have closed since then.

The Opportunity Insights data also say 38 or 39 percent of all small businesses across the country have closed permanently. I do not believe that figure is correct. But it could be true of employer small businesses—that number was 6 million of the 30.2 million small businesses pre COVID—which would put the total at about 2 million.

I don’t think people really understand how staggering that is. And that number is going to be obfuscated because an epic number of small businesses were also started last year.

I don’t know about you, but I had a good year in 2020. Stocks were great. Value of my home increased a lot. A lot of people like me did really well. How do we convince these people that what government did in 2020 was really bad?

You have them read The War on Small Business (laughs). That’s why I wrote the book.

Look, we’ve seen what I’ve called an E shaped recovery. A capital letter E has three tiers. This very top level just killed it; they consolidated wealth and power and value. The bottom tier did not do well. It’s not okay to say, “Well, I’m not in that part, so I shouldn’t care about it.”

The business survived Prohibition—as a bar. But it could not survive the mandates and the long tail effects of the mandates.

It was done by government choice. This isn’t the natural outcome of someone not working hard or making the wrong decisions. This was by choice and by mandate. That is scary.

And what if you don’t get the golden ticket next time? You need to care about these principles. If you give up on the principles, they’re just going to move everyone toward socialism and the government mandates and soon there will not be wealth creating opportunities in this country.

We’ll turn into France or the UK, and that’s the best case scenario. The worst is we turn into Venezuela.

Was there someone you interviewed or a story you heard that drove home just how damaging lockdowns were for families that owned small businesses?

Two stick out. I’ll share the less grim one first.

I live in Chicago. There’s a place called South Port Lanes. It’s in the Lakeview neighborhood.

It’s a bar that had been in Chicago forever under a couple different names. It was a year away from celebrating its 100-year anniversary. It survived Prohibition—as a bar. But it could not survive the mandates and the long tail effects of the mandates. It’s closing after nearly a hundred years as a bar. That gives you the scope of this.

And the other one?

Right. This one broke my heart.

There’s a gentleman who I’ve known for a long time. He had a friend who cleaned carpets in northwest Chicago. His business was one of the first forced to shut down and he didn’t qualify for PPP because he’d had some debt issues in the past. He was in a bad financial situation and he turned to drinking more. He ended up taking his own life.

You’re told first, ‘You didn’t build that.’ Then you’re told you’re not ‘essential.’ What does that say to people?

It was a direct outgrowth of the mandate and not getting the compensation. That shifted his life. And by the way, there are many examples like that. I just happened to know a guy who was friends with this individual.

That’s what people don’t understand. When someone has a business and they risk their own money, a lot of times it becomes their identity and their reason for being. And how are they treated?

You’re told first, “You didn’t build that.” Then you’re told you’re not “essential.” What does that say to people? How is it that we’re supposed to be the bastion of free markets and the American Dream and you got the government coming down to the place where businesses are built telling people those kinds of things? It’s disgusting.

And frankly the organizations who should be standing up for small businesses just weren’t there.

You write that decentralization is the key to saving small business and preserving American prosperity. How does that happen?

It happens with people pushing back. You’re seeing the movement organically. You’re seeing people start businesses. You’re seeing workers turn to gig work instead of corporate work. You’re seeing people turn to cryptocurrencies instead of trusting the Fed and the government. You’re seeing media creators turn to the creator economy and to report and share outlets on different platforms outside the corporate press.

The reality is every decision a business is making right now is political whether we like it or not. We don’t have to discuss this in terms of parties though. And I don’t. This is a non-partisan issue.

People are naturally doing all this. Consider how you spend your dollars. We have choice in how we spend our dollars, and I think people should also really consider that. I saw a statistic yesterday that said 85 percent of back to school shopping is going to be done on Amazon. That’s a choice people can make or not make.

We have some responsibility to vote with our dollars. We have some responsibility to stand up to bad legislation.

I’ve been telling small business owners to sue. I think we need to say, you used eminent domain to subjugate our rights. We didn’t get appropriate compensation. Pay us. If we don’t challenge this unconstitutional behavior, we’re going to have more of it.

Let’s talk about you a little bit. What was your process for writing the book?

I’m super anal retentive. So I took my deadline for the manuscript and gave myself a buffer of a month. Then I broke it down and said, how many words do I need to write each day to make sure I get my work done.

I did have a couple people helping me with research. But then you have to go back and verify all that.

Overall, it was a pretty methodical approach.

What do you find more fun: Writing the book or doing the tour and the promotion and that stuff?

Totally different experiences from this book and my first two. With my first book, which I wrote in like six weeks, I enjoyed the writing process a lot more. It was a lot of opinion writing and stories.

In this one, oh lord. It was much harder. It took so much sourcing. It was insane. And given the fact that this is such an underreported and important story, I obviously enjoy spreading the message. I hate to be the messenger about it, but it has to be said.

So it’s been a mission getting people engaged with this information so they themselves can turn into messengers.

I follow you on Twitter, so I saw that at least one speaking engagement you had scheduled was canceled after someone expressed concern that your book was “too controversial.” What’s controversial about defending small business? Last I checked, Americans of every color, creed, gender, etc. owned and operated them. Few things are more diverse and universal today than small business. Where’s the controversy?

Your timing is great. I had a follow up call with them this morning and said the same thing to them. I’m like, “I don’t understand why we can’t take a side.” I mean, what’s the side to killing small business?

As I mentioned on Twitter, it was one outside PR consultant who raised all these questions and concerns and didn’t like one of the six people I had on the back of the book. I tried to explain, look I know you’re trying to not be political right now. But the reality is every decision a business is making right now is political whether we like it or not. We don’t have to discuss this in terms of parties though. And I don’t. This is a non-partisan issue; it’s a systemic political issue.

I had a Twitter follower who recently was my bellhop in Vegas when I was there speaking. He was like, “Are you Carol Roth from Twitter? I follow you!”

Everybody is afraid of one squeaky wheel who probably doesn’t even buy from them. It’s a sad state of affairs. I have a lot of friends from other countries who live here. They think we are the most ridiculous and insane people ever.

Anyway, the marketing person told me he hadn’t actually read the book. He said he’s going to. I’m back in the game in a sense. I don’t know. We’ll wait and see.

Your fans seem to love you and your book. It seems to be doing very well. I’m seeing you in the New York Post and on Fox News and in other media. So are you famous now? Are people starting to recognize you when you go out for coffee?

Alton Brown called it modern famous. It’s like one percent of the people think you’re the Beetles, and 99 percent don’t know who you are.

I’ve been stopped at hockey games. I’ve been stopped in airports. It used to happen a lot more when I was traveling back and forth from New York for CNBC. I’d be on a plane with my hair and makeup done and someone had just watched the show.

I’m naturally crazy. My husband says I have a low bar for humor. I spend my days cracking myself up. I find humor in life and situations.

I had a Twitter follower who recently was my bellhop in Vegas when I was there speaking. He was like, “Are you Carol Roth from Twitter? I follow you!”

So it happens. But I always say I’m like a luxury brand. I’m very well curated. I’m somewhat popular but definitely not for everybody. I don’t have the personality or the desire to be a mass brand. I’m not controversial for the sake of being controversial. I try to be nice to people, unless they’re jerks to me first, and then I’ll light them up.

I have a very specific set of knowledge and humor and either you get it or you don’t, and I’m okay with that.

On Twitter you told a fan you don’t drink or smoke marijuana. So what do you do for fun when you’re not writing bestselling books?

I’m naturally crazy. My husband says I have a low bar for humor. I spend my days cracking myself up. I find humor in life and situations. I have a pinball machine in my living room—that is broken at the moment. The flipper is burned out. I’m trying to get the pinball guys out here to fix it.

I’m a big sports fan. My Blackhawks didn’t make the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, but I’m still rooting for them.

I like to create. I like to read and hang out with family. I spend like 90 percent of my time completely amused.

That’s a good way to live.

I think so.

Final question: It’s March 2020. Carol Roth is president of the United States. Does Dr. Anthony Fauci keep his job?

Nope. In fact, Anthony Fauci probably wouldn’t have had a job to begin with. And he definitely doesn’t get on TV to do the whole little tour to begin with.

*****

This interview was published on July 14, 2021 and is reproduced with permission from FEE, Foundation for Economic Education

Arizona Corporation Commission Won’t Give Up on Its Green New Deal Dream

Some ideas need to be put to sleep. Maybe someone should tell that to the Arizona Corporation Commission.

About a year ago, the commission quietly released its plan to impose California-style energy mandates in our state. While following in California’s footsteps for just about anything seems like a bad idea, that certainly rings true when it comes to energy.

After all, last August, not too long after the Arizona Corporation Commission released its plan, California instituted its first intentional rolling blackouts since 2001. And the state’s residents were also asked to conserve electricity during a significant heatwave last summer.

But this year, it may be even worse. While electricity prices explode across the state, more blackouts are almost guaranteed to happen again this summer. But California won’t be the only state affected.

California is exporting blackouts

To protect themselves, California is buying up power around the West, essentially exporting blackouts to other states. Apparently, they’re afraid to rely on all their “green” energy and solar power. What does that tell you?

But unfortunately, Arizona is a part of the Western Interconnection, making it one of the most likely states to be impacted by California’s failures. Now, despite seeking energy mandates just like California’s, the Arizona Corporation Commission and other utilities are worried. Earlier this month, they even issued a warning that California’s decisions could lead to outages here in Arizona this summer.

Can you imagine having intentional blackouts during a 110-degree day in Phoenix?

That doesn’t sound like fun, and our commissioners are right to be concerned. But then, why are they pushing the same California-style mandates right here in our state?

Arizona Corporation Commission continues to embrace the Green New Deal

You would think having a front row seat to California’s grid meltdown would be enough for our own commission to learn a lesson. But they just can’t help themselves. In November of last year, the commission voted 4-1 to initially approve a plan to ban fossil fuels and require most electricity companies to provide “clean” energy by 2050. The lone vote against this ridiculous plan belonged to conservative Republican Justin Olson.

Then, in early May, something changed. The Arizona Corporation Commission made an amendment to the original plan and rejected the 100% “clean” energy rules. Our state appeared to dodge a bullet. But at the end of May, the commission revived the so-called “clean energy” plan and is now looking to ban all fossil fuels by 2070.

Not only does this ignore the will of the voters, who largely rejected the statewide energy mandate sought by Proposition 127, but it will lead to less reliable energy, higher rates, and millions of corporate welfare dollars going to special interest groups. A final vote on the revised energy mandates is expected to take place sometime this December.

Our commissioners have seen the warning signs. They have watched California go all-in on the Green New Deal. They claim they are upset and worried about it. Now, they have to decide if they plan to take Arizona down the same exact path.

Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network

Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!

Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.

*****

This article was published on July 16, 2021 and is reproduced with permission from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.

When it comes to race, wokesters are confused about Cuba and Marxism

‘Workers of the world, unite!’ — unless you’re a worker with a MAGA hat.

The woke class believes that the United States is one of the most oppressive nations on Earth. Consequently, it will side with any dictator who is not on good terms with the US government.

Cuba is a case in point: after 60 years of a vicious dictatorship, the Cuban people have had enough — and now they are out in the streets protesting for freedom. Unsurprisingly, instead of supporting protests, wokesters are excusing the Cuban dictatorship.

Consider a recent statement by Black Lives Matter: the movement “condemns the US federal government’s inhumane treatment of Cubans, and urges it to immediately lift the economic embargo.” Not a single word against Díaz Canel’s — the Cuban dictator— brutal repression and forced disappearance of some demonstrators.

Not to be outdone, over the years, other prominent wokesters have sung praises of the Cuban revolution. For example, Nikole Hanna-Jones — founder of the infamous 1619 project — recently praised the Cuban revolution for ending codified racism. In a podcast conversation documented by The National Pulse, Jones stated that “Cuba has the least inequality between black and white people of any place really in the hemisphere.”

Jones’ claim may or may not be true. Yet she fails to understand that Communist regimes are very apt at reaching equality by levelling down, or as Churchill memorably put it, “socialism is the equal distribution of poverty”.

Still, Jones may indeed be onto something. There were never lynchings or Ku Klux Klan-like organizations in Cuba. In Havana you can encounter plenty of happy interracial couples, and you just don’t see in Cuban life the racial obsessions that you do perceive in the United States.

But Jones does not seem to notice that these facts run counter to her agenda.

For, despite its brutality and corruption, the Cuban regime can be praised for resisting the temptation to engage with the neo-racist policies and rhetoric that much of the Left in the United States now favours. In Cuba, slavery was only abolished in 1886, and in subsequent years, de iure racial segregation persisted in some areas of Cuban life. When Castro rose to power in 1959, he abolished any remnants of legal segregation.

But he was careful enough never to engage in identity politics. Concerning race, Castro’s agenda was very similar to 19th Century poet José Martí’s— the father of the nation. As a promoter of Cuban nationalism, Martí had a deep commitment to end racial injustices in his nation, but he always made it clear that all Cubans —black and white— must stay united, and national identity must always be more important than ethnic identity.

Castro ultimately embraced Marxist rhetoric promoting class warfare, but when it came to race, his approach was far closer to Marti’s. His policies were always thoroughly colourblind, and he severely repressed those who attempted to sow racial divisions amongst the Cuban population.

Truth be told, Castro was actually following Marx’s own dictum. Yes, Marx encouraged class struggle, and this ushered terrible consequences. But Marx was sensible enough to understand that poverty affects all races, and that in order to build a truly progressive society, racial divisions must not be exploited for political gain. The Communist Manifesto’s most famous words, “workers of the world, unite!”, neatly expresses this colourblind ideology. Marx and Engels urged all workers to unite, regardless of the colour of their skin. Marx and Engels would have little patience with the counter-intuitive woke notion that a royal such as Meghan Merkle— or a capitalist such as Oprah Winfrey ­— are oppressed solely because their skin is dark.

Black Lives Matter’s founder Patrisse Cullors proudly claimed that her fellow organizers are “trained Marxists”. They might be Marxists, to the extent that they want some sort of violent struggle to bring about their political goals. But living in a mansion —as Cullors does— hardly qualifies you as a genuine Marxist who is concerned with people’s poverty. And more importantly, when it comes to race, Black Lives Matter is far from being a Marxist organization.

Black Lives Matter does not want the workers of the world to unite; for all they know, blue-collar whites — most of whom voted for Trump— can keep on living in the trailer as despised hillbillies. If you even dare say “All lives matter”— a slogan not altogether different from “workers of the world, unite!”— you’ll be in deep trouble.

Nikole Hanna-Jones favours affirmative action, reparations, and a host of other colour-conscious policies. She wants race to be continue to be a central element in American life— even if it means falsifying history, such as her claim that the American Revolution took place as an attempt to preserve slavery, because the British were considering to abolish it.

Yet, she sings the praises of a regime that for 60 years has been carefully trying to avoid racial divisions. Say what you want about Cuba’s tyranny, but occasionally we should give the devil his due: Castro’s revolution has always kept a commitment to a colourblind approach to race.

Wokesters are a tad confused about Cuba and Marxism’s approach to race, or — more likely — they are simply ignorant. Shame on them.

COLUMN BY

Gabriel Andrade

Gabriel Andrade is assistant professor of medicine at Ajman University, in the United Arab Emirates. He received a PhD from University of Zulia (Venezuela), in 2008. He worked as Titular Professor at University… More by Gabriel Andrade

EDITORS NOTE: This MercatorNet column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Bill Gates, China and COVID-19

“A Thorough Knowledge Of The Bible, Is More Valuable Than A College Education!” – 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt.

Today’s blog comes from a friend of mine, Pastor Bob Brown, who runs an organization called One Nation Under God. Some of you will remember him from our huge “Save America Foundation” event in Tampa. A great speaker and truly good man. His site has many great articles but this one hit me and I knew you, my informed readers, will want to read it to. I will put all links and credits at the end but ask you share from this blog.

“THE TRUTH ABOUT BILL GATES, CHINA, COVID 19 AND THE VACCINES.”

The Corona Virus, COVID-19, was Patented in 2006, under U.S. Patent # 2006257852,
called “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ” (S.A.R.S. is also called a Corona Virus), which is owned by GlaxoSmithKline, a major vaccine manufacturer.

There is also an European patent on this same virus, and its vaccine; Patents # EP3172319A1 & B1, applied for in November 2014, and granted in November 2019 – just ONE MONTH before the debut of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Chinese Military and Communist Party ONLY further manipulated this VERY SAME Corona Virus, to allow its transmission to humans (SOMETHING THAT IS ILLEGAL, AND ALSO MAKES IT A BIOLOGICAL WEAPON)! Using a Biological Weapon against the world, politically correct verbiage aside; IS AN ACT OF WAR – Regardless of whether or not your politicians have the moral courage to DECLARE that SO in public!!!

The European patents for this virus, are owned by the Pirbright Institute (which is owned by Bill and Melinda Gates, who have been Very Publicly Telling Us that they seek to MANDATE, and then to Vaccinate, The ENTIRE WORLD with “THEIR” vaccines)!!! Only AFTER worldwide Vaccination is complete, does self-appointed World Emperor, Bill Gates think that it would be ok to go back to planet normal!!!

Is this HOW Almighty God Intends for us to deal with, and to Treat – Diseases, Plagues, and Sickness? Read our Bible Study on “Divine Healing, and The Laying On Of Hands”, at www.onug.us for WHAT Almighty God SAYS about Healing and Curing Sickness and Disease!

Note: Most flu vaccines increase the risk of getting the Flu by 36%, according to a recent U.S. Army Study on vaccinated servicemen (if in fact the vaccines did not “GIVE” the 36% percent of our troops the Flu, tested in this Study)!

Remember they stopped giving the Polio vaccine because it was determined that the vaccines were actually transmitting the disease (Vaccine Induced Polio) to the Non-Vaccinated public, instead of curing it!!!

In other words, Vaccinated people were having a genetic reversal occur of the pathogen in their  bodies, and were actually excreting a viral form of the pathogen to non-Vaccinated people around them!!!

In medical terms: The vaccine-derived attenuated virus is normally excreted from vaccinated  people for a limited period; thus, the spontaneous reversal of the vaccine-derived virus to a virulent form and its spreading in the environment, can lead to unvaccinated people becoming infected!!!

Shockingly, in 1960, rhesus monkey kidney cells were used to prepare  the Polio Virus vaccines, which were then later determined to be infected  with the Simian Virus-40 (or SV40), which is a naturally occurring virus that infects monkeys. In 1961, SV40 was found to cause tumors in  rodents!!! More recently, the virus was found in certain forms of cancer  in humans (brain, bone tissue, pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, and  some types of non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma)!!! Hundreds and Hundreds of Millions of people have been Inoculated and Vaccinated with “Animal DNA” over the last 70 years!!!

What does God Think and Say about those who Defy His Natural Order? READ Romans 1:18-32!!! www.onug.us

Back to the 19th Chinese Originated Viral Infectious Disease (or COVID-19):

COVID-19 only infects humans, because like our previously discussed polio vaccines, they have been genetically manipulated, in laboratories – ON PURPOSE – to specifically infect humans!!! WHY would humans want to infect other humans? Because these “Scientists and Doctors” are Following Satan instead of Almighty God (John 10:10 / Romans 1:18-32 /  Exodus 15:26 / Psalm 91:1-16)!!!

There are some very Wealthy, but very EVIL people, that want to Kill and Control MOST of the people on this earth!!!

So let’s indulge in a fantasy for a moment, and imagine; If YOU were an Evil and Twisted Billionaire, with lots of Mad Scientists on your payroll, HOW would YOU control the ignorant and pathetic masses of people around you?

How To Control The World in Ten Easy Steps:

  1. Develop a virus that will run rampant like the seasonal flu, yet with minimal fatalities (about one third the deaths that annual flu strains cause).
  2. Obtain a patent on the virus, and for it’s vaccines, in European and in American patent offices. YOU now OWN the Disease and it’s CURE!!!
  3. Assist the Chinese Communist Party (The Second Largest Naval Military Powerhouse on the planet – after the U.S. Military and Navy; but without any of the moral scruples or “weak minded” religious views getting in the way), in the infiltration of American Universities, where bio-labs are working on your “patented” flu strains.
  4. Assist Chinese Communist Party Military Officers, acting undercover as  “Foreign Exchange Students”, to steal and transport your viruses back to Military Biological Weapons Labs in China, where they can be Manipulated with Bat DNA to make a simple and benign virus, now transmittable to human hosts!!!
  5. Have China release the viruses worldwide, once patent and vaccine manufacturing are in place; and then work extensively with your paid agents in The World Health Organization  (W.H.O), Center for Disease Control (C.D.C.), and in worldwide media outlets to “Hype” the disease way out of proportion, and well beyond its Actual and True casualty impact.
  6. Use allies in government offices, and in healthcare, to “cook the books”, and give financial incentives to those treating YOUR disease, and to direct resources and manpower at areas with “your false” inflated infection and fatality data.
  7. Shut Down and Control societies, businesses and manufacturing under the guise of a “Major Health Crises”; thus producing hoarding and artificial shortages of certain goods and services. 
  8. Limit individual rights and freedoms, use all available means to appeal to “Sensationalism” and to instill “Irrational FEAR” wherever and whenever possible. Promote the wearing of masks, so that people will “believe” that there is an invisible threat, EVERY time they SEE someone wearing a mask!!!
  9. Blame China as the “Bad Guy”; and when all Hope appears to be lost, Offer a viable, but “Untested”, VACCINE to the masses, using “Deemed Credible” Medical Experts; with the Promises of both Preventing  future outbreaks, and / or, of Substantially Reducing the symptoms and death rates during future and similar Pandemics. (NOTE: Vaccines given to “The Sheeple”, will be later discovered to have an unfortunate side effect: they will have STERILIZED 80-90 percent of school age children, worldwide (those with strong natural immunity), and have caused an Exponentially Greater fatality rate, than COVID viruses ever could). In Essence: Create an Artificial Crises, then Use FEAR to Mandate Worldwide  Vaccines; then after Financial Profits have been Realized – WAIT for Vaccines to Drastically Lower Western Society, and Developing Nations’ Population Levels – BOTH by short term attrition, through Vaccinated Caused Deaths (one year), and through Long Term Attrition, through Vaccinated Caused Sterility!!! Patience PAY$$$!!!
  10. Allow China to dominate Militarily, and Politically in the “Carefully Created Power  Vaccum”; acting as The New Powerhouse for a European Orchestrated and Controlled New World Order!!!

Call this fantasy, if you’d like. But there are some very rich and very powerful people, who are currently Very Drunk with the wine of this very particular fantasy (Revelation 18:3)!!!

Never forget that the W.H.O. has been accidentally “sterilizing” tribes in Africa, since the mid 1980’s (or  causing “insignificant research casualties, necessary for the greater good of Stabilizing the World’s Human Population at Sustainable Levels”)!!!

I’ll bet you that the people “tricked” and sometimes “forced” to take these vaccines in order to be “Exterminated in slow motion”, over one generation, don’t feel insignificant (Matthew  10:26-33 / Genesis 1:26-31)!!!

ALL men and women, and ALL boys and girls, are Precious in Almighty God’s Sight!!! Creating a Pandemic and a Vaccine, in order to MURDER Billions is of Satan, and NOT of  Almighty God or of His Son – Our SAVIOR (John 10:10)!!!

You can read about WHAT Almighty God has to Say, about this, and future “Pandemics”, in Two Great Bible Study Series:

  1. Jesus Christ’s Olivet Prophecy (Parts 1-4)
  2. The Beast of Revelation, and The King of The North (Parts 1-4)

Both are always available, at No Cost, at www.onug.us!!!

Prepare Yourself NOW!!!

We recommend staying Physically and Spiritually Healthy (See below for details on how to Biblically achieve both). Store up a reasonable amount of food, medicine, and supplies as a Prudent and Wise Ant (Proverbs 6:5-11). Contemplate how you could or might have to, withstand future food shortages, riots, looting, and forced inoculations, under your  national laws, under your current financial and employment status; and lastly, we ask you to realistically evaluate your safety and security infrastructure and contingency plans, for your current dwelling’s location.

The Biblical Answer to The Beginning of Sorrows (Matthew 24:1-51), is 90 percent Spiritual; but make NO MISTAKE, Jesus Showed us that it is also 10 percent Physical Preparation and ACTION (Matthew 13:41-43, 25:1-46)!!!

Learn HOW to Keep Alert, and HOW To Stay SAFE in the days, months, and years ahead – EXACTLY AS Jesus Christ Taught Us To DO!

In Jesus Christ’s Mighty Name,

Pastor Bob Brown

www.onug.us

©All rights reserved.

Jen Psaki – Joe’s Commie Mouthpiece!

I presume most of you have been listening to the communist mouthpiece of the extremist and dangerous WH administration, the one who criminally stole the 2020 election blatantly and openly and also definitely unashamedly!

What I am talking about is her admission that the WH has been working with FB to have posts that their “experts” think spread false information about the China virus to readers and followers on that social media platform removed! Yes. Censored.

The Administration seems to be panicking that enough Americans are not being vaccinated. To this end they have launched a massive propaganda campaign that the Nazis would have been proud of to “inform” American standouts that all the new and increasing number of cases of the China virus are spreading like wildflower among the “Unwoke” citizenry who are refusing to get those shots!! Hurry hurry – the sky is falling. I am from the Government and I am telling you to take the shot! It will save you from that awful Delta variant and others we have lining up!!!

As part of that propaganda campaign they are working with FB to identify members who might make posts contrary to their beliefs, even though they themselves are not “ following the science” as they love to call it!

As old crazy Joe would say, “Come on man! It’s only a shot!! It’s your patriotic duty! You are a Neanderthal if you don’t!”

They and these big tech socialist partners like FB, Twitter, Google etc. are readily working with these traitors to help identify and remove posts that give a different and oft time medically sound opinion on Covid.

These are her words Thursday :- “We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation. We’re working with doctors and medical experts…who are popular with their audience with accurate information. So, we’re helping get trusted content out there.”

Doctors and medical experts popular with their audience?? What does that even mean coming from her overpaid and under talented mouth?
( Psaki is reported to make around $183,000 per year with a net worth of $2 million )

Does she mean the man who has been discredited multiple times by medical experts, the insane Dr. Fauci?

Then Friday, yesterday, she followed up with this next gem, totally disregarding the outcry from citizens of all political parties that the WH has no part or rights to pressure social media organizations to remove posts. She said about :- steps social media outlets could take for public health:- “They should create robust enforcement strategies that bridge their properties and provide transparency about rules. You shouldn’t be banned from one platform and not others if you are for providing misinformation out there.”

Then she added “Our biggest concern, and frankly I think it should be your biggest concern, is the number of people who are dying around the country because they are getting misinformation that is leading them to not take a vaccine, young people, old people, kids, children … a lot of them are being impacted by misinformation.”

FEAR MONGERING. PROPAGANDA.

So now this illegal bunch of treasonous liars, cheats, perverts, crooks, rogues and anti American administration wants a situation where if FB purges you ( like they did with me ) then all other social media platforms should follow suit. ( Kinda like they did to me! )

I have noticed a lot of my blogs have been removed from group pages they are posted and shared on. This is definitely happening more often.

Who in Gods name agrees with me that the WH has zero right to declare who should be allowed to post what on social media? All of Big Tech are purely the Devil mouthpieces of this tyrannical administration squatting illegally in Washington DC.

America. When a government can get away with dictating your comments and punishing you for having a different opinion or idea to them, we have become a socialist nation. Next stop communism.

I hope you are all as outraged as I am.

©Fred Brownbill. All rights reserved.

Alleged Iranian Kidnap Plot Targeted Iranian/American Dissident In Brooklyn

Connecting the immigration dots Biden ignores. 

On July 13, 2021 the Department of Justice issued a press release that announced, Iranian Intelligence Officials Indicted on Kidnapping Conspiracy Charges. The subtitle of that press release provides a bit more information: Iranian Intelligence Services Allegedly Plotted to Kidnap a U.S. Journalist and Human Rights Activist from New York City for Rendition to Iran.

The information contained in the DOJ press release reads like the plot of an international spy novel, but this case is not a fictitious novel.  The claims made in the press release detail a serious plot allegedly mounted by the renegade government of Iran to shut down any criticisms of the Tehran regime by kidnapping Iranian expatriates around the world to silence them and to intimidate any others who might consider speaking out against the Iranian government.

The DOJ press release also contained a ink to the superseding indictment and began this way:

A New York federal court unsealed an indictment today charging four Iranian nationals with conspiracies related to kidnapping, sanctions violations, bank and wire fraud, and money laundering. A co-conspirator and California resident, also of Iran, faces additional structuring charges.

According to court documents, Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, aka Vezerat Salimi and Haj Ali, 50; Mahmoud Khazein, 42; Kiya Sadeghi, 35; and Omid Noori, 45, all of Iran, conspired to kidnap a Brooklyn journalist, author and human rights activist for mobilizing public opinion in Iran and around the world to bring about changes to the regime’s laws and practices. Niloufar Bahadorifar, aka Nellie Bahadorifar, 46, originally of Iran and currently residing in California, is alleged to have provided financial services that supported the plot.

“Every person in the United States must be free from harassment, threats and physical harm by foreign powers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Through this indictment, we bring to light one such pernicious plot to harm an American citizen who was exercising their First Amendment rights, and we commit ourselves to bring the defendants to justice.”

“As alleged, four of the defendants monitored and planned to kidnap a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who has been critical of the regime’s autocracy, and to forcibly take their intended victim to Iran, where the victim’s fate would have been uncertain at best,” said U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss for the Southern District of New York. “Among this country’s most cherished freedoms is the right to speak one’s mind without fear of government reprisal.

Additional important information about this case, including the identity of the intended target of the alleged Iranian operation, Masih Alinejad, is provided in the July 13, 2021 New York Daily News report, Iran plotted to kidnap dissident journalist and author from her Brooklyn home: feds.

The Daily News article began with this excerpt:

An Iranian intelligence officer and a network of accomplices tried to kidnap a prominent U.S. journalist and author from her Brooklyn home to silence her criticism of the Iranian regime, federal prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors allege a disturbing plot by the Iranian government aimed to grab activist Masih Alinejad and lock her up in an Iranian prison. Their plans included spying on her home for months and researching the best route to the Brooklyn waterfront — where they hoped to shove her in a military-style speedboat headed for Venezuela.

The Daily News report also included this excerpt:

Alinejad is known for her fierce activism against the law requiring women in Iran to wear a hijab, and in 2019, she sued the Iranian government in federal court, accusing it of harassing her family and imprisoning her brother. She fled Iran in 2009, and became a U.S. citizen in 2019.

“I have 5 million followers on my Instagram… I’m giving a platform to people inside, challenging the compulsory hijab, and challenging the religious dictatorship,” she told The News. “All the years and years they called America the great Satan, the biggest enemy. But they’re scared of their own people. That’s why they sent officers from the intelligence service to Brooklyn to kidnap me.”

She said she was horrified by the news last year that the Iranian government had executed Ruhollah Zam, a dissident journalist living in France. Federal prosecutors said he was lured by Iranian intelligence services to leave France in October 2019, and captured him.

“My heart was broken following the news of his execution, and I was like, ‘Wow, they’re trying to exactly do the same to me.’ It’s scary but it gives me hope. I give voice to the voiceless people inside Iran,” she said.

News coverage of this case has, however, ignored the immigration components of this case.  To begin with, while four of the defendants are fugitives and, at least for the present at large (likely outside the United States), the fifth defendant in this case, Niloufar Bahadorifar, aka Nellie Bahadorifar, is in custody and is charged with providing financial assistance to the plotters.

The obvious question is how she was able to enter the United States in the first place.  If, as it is alleged, she provided the financial resources necessary for the plot to be carried out, when did she first decide to help Iran with this nefarious plot?  Has she been involved in other such operations before she entered the United States?

Therefore I would hope that the U.S. Attorneys who are assigned to this case will dig into Bahadorifar’s apparent ability to secure a visa.  It is significant to know if she lied on her application for that visa and if anyone helped her to secure that visa.

Visa fraud was identified by the 9/11 Commission as the key method of entry and embedding for terrorists and was, in fact, the focus of the very first congressional hearing in which I participated back on May 20, 1997 on the topic, Visa Fraud And Immigration Benefits Application Fraud.

That hearing was predicated on two terror attacks carried out in the United States in 1993 by aliens from the Middle East, who had gamed the immigration system- the deadly shooting at the CIA in January 1993 and the bombing of the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993.

Because of the findings of the 9/11 Commission that visa fraud is an extremely serious crime with potential national security implications, under the provisions of 18 U.S. Code § 1546, an alien who commits visa fraud in support of terrorism faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.

Incredibly, as I noted in a previous article, Biden’s DHS: Department of Homeland Surrender, the current Director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, has an abysmal track record on seeking to identify and ferret out fraud in immigration and visa applications.  I noted in my earlier article that an investigation conducted by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) into Mayorkas’ practices, when he was the Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Obama administration, found that he acted improperly.

In my earlier article I provided links to several worrying news reports and an OIG report about Mr. Alejandro “Get to yes!” Mayorkas who admonished those under his command to approve virtually all applications.

Here are the appropriate links from my earlier article:

On March 24, 2015 a report of the findings of the investigation by the Office of the Inspector General was released.

The focus was on how applications for a particular visa category, the EB-5 Visa for aliens who invest between 500,000 and 1,000,000 in businesses that creates jobs for Americans in the United States, were wrongly approved.

ABC News published several in-depth articles about the troubling findings of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

On March 24, 2015 ABC News reported, “Top Homeland Official Alejandro Mayorkas Accused of Political Favoritism Alejandro Mayorkas oversaw controversial $500,000 visa program.

The above-noted report was preceded by two ABC News reports that were published on February 3, 2015 which illustrate a clear nexus between these visas and national security:

“Whistleblowers: US Gave Visas to Suspected Forgers, Fraudsters, Criminals Internal documents show feds ignored warnings from FBI.”

“Feds Investigating Iran Ties to Firm Involved in US Visa Program Documents: Iranian operatives may be abusing program to “infiltrate” U.S.”

Finally, the alleged Iranian plot sought to remove Masih Alinejad from the United States on a speedboat from along what is America’s longest border.  Not the U.S./Mexican border.  Not the U.S./Canadian border, but along America’s 95,000 mile coastline.  In this case, the shore line near her home in Brooklyn.

As I have noted ever so many times, the United States has 50 border states.  It is clear that the Biden administration is determined to erase all of America’s borders, thereby leaving America and Americans vulnerable to America’s enemies including spies, terrorists, transnational criminals, human traffickers and drug smugglers.

A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!

©Michael Cutler. All rights reserved.

The Fed Says It Stabilizes the Economy. I’m Skeptical.

Before, during, and after the 2007–09 financial crisis, the masthead of the Federal Reserve Board’s main webpage included the following assertion right below its name at the top of the page:

The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, provides the nation with a safe, flexible and stable monetary and financial system.

This statement is still there today. Can we all breathe easier now? Maybe not, if we endured one of the worst financial crises ever while the Fed was championing itself as a source of stability.

Rebranding to Inspire Confidence

Curiously, the board changed the wording of the statement at the top of the main page of its website during 2007, amid the onset of the 2007–09 disaster. Back in January 2007, the internet archive Wayback Machine shows the following saying to the right of the board’s name at the top:

The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, was founded by Congress in 1913 to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system.

In other words, at the beginning of the year, the assertion was an opinion of what Congress intended, not what the Federal Reserve said that it provided in reality. By the end of 2007, however, the statement had taken on the more assertive, confidence-inspiring tone it has today. The Fed has advertised itself as a sufficient condition for financial stability, period—not simply as a means by which Congress tried to promote that difficult goal.

This helps to explain why the Fed’s forecasting failed so dismally before 2008–09. When advertising itself as a source of stability, it may have been hard to predict what ended up being one of the worst financial crises in our nation’s history.

We should try to learn lessons from history, including this one. Can we take for granted the Fed’s continuing claims to be a guarantor of stability, today? Not just in terms of the Fed’s role in stabilizing and/or bailing out large financial institutions, but for a stable price level?

In this light, the Fed’s more recent claims that inflation threats are “transitory,” and that it has the tools to manage higher inflation if it arises may not be so comforting. And the factors undermining confidence in the Fed’s credibility for inflation-fighting are related to its claims to serve as a source of financial system stability.

The Financial Stability Report: Avoiding Liability for Crises

Back in 2010, reeling from the political effects of the 2007–09 financial crisis, Congress passed the 849-page “Dodd-Frank” legislation. It was signed by President Barack Obama with a statement that the law was intended “to make sure that a crisis like this never happens again.”

The first section of Dodd-Frank created a new Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). The first listed member of the FSOC was the secretary of the Treasury and the second was the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The law made the Treasury secretary, not the chair of the Federal Reserve, the chair of the FSOC. And the law created ten voting members, with the chair of the Fed holding only one of those votes.

The law directed the FSOC to annually report on financial market developments with “potential emerging threats to the financial stability of the United States,” including developments relating to “accounting regulations and standards.”

In 2011, the FSOC issued its first annual report. That report listed a financial system that was “less vulnerable to crisis” first among three elements of the “stronger, more resilient financial system” the FSOC said the law was trying to promote. In turn, the first of six elements of policies to achieve those ends was “tougher constraints on excessive risk taking and leverage across the financial system.”

Before 2011, and indeed before 2008, the Federal Reserve had assumed the lead role on such matters. That may help explain why, beginning in 2018, the Fed began publishing its own Financial Stability Report. The Fed doesn’t have a specific directive from Congress for this report, and it has justified enlightening the rest of us on financial stability developments as a means for promoting increased “transparency and accountability for the Federal Reserve’s views,” given that “promoting financial stability is a key element in meeting the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate for monetary policy regarding full employment and stable prices.”

But the Fed has already long reported semiannually on its performance in meeting Congress’s dual mandate in the Humphrey-Hawkins testimony, raising the question of whether this report is necessary or merely a means by which the Fed is trying to defend and promote its leadership role.

The latest version of the Fed’s Financial Stability Report arrived in May 2021. The Fed distinguishes “shocks” from “vulnerabilities,” with a view to promoting a financial system capable of performing intermediation services during and after the arrival of difficult-to-predict or control “shocks.” In making this distinction, the Fed risks a perception that is trying to wash its hands of responsibility for creating the conditions under which shocks arise.

In all of its financial stability reports issued since 2018, the Fed has reviewed developments in four categories established for its “vulnerabilities,” including asset valuations, funding risk, borrowing by businesses and households, and “leverage in the financial sector.” For the last category, the Fed has been tracking leverage among banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies, and hedge funds—but it has refused to look at itself in the mirror. The financial stability framework does not include leverage for the Federal Reserve Banks in monitoring vulnerabilities.

Doing More Harm Than Good

In its latest weekly consolidated balance sheet for the twelve reserve banks, the Fed reported $8.1 trillion in total assets, funded by $8.0 trillion in liabilities and $36.9 billion in capital. That’s a massive amount of leverage for an $8 trillion dollar “company,” one whose assets and liabilities quadrupled from 2007 to 2019, and have since doubled with the arrival of the pandemic and the impact of government lockdowns on the economy.

Assume a widely unforeseen but significant increase in inflationary expectations arrives in the coming months. That might qualify as a shock—under the Fed’s framework for financial stability, anyway—especially given the implications for the prices of trillions of dollars of “risk-free” Treasury bonds, as well as longer-term securities issued in the private sector. In turn, widespread losses in bond prices would have immediate consequences for the finances of the Federal Reserve Banks and the independent exercise of monetary policy.

In “normal” times, the Fed could try to manage rising inflationary expectations with contractionary monetary policy, selling bonds in open market operations with a view to drawing down reserves in the financial system. Given its high leverage, however, selling bonds could generate significant losses for the Reserve Banks. These would wipe out its reported capital were it not for an accounting change the Fed made to its own accounting standards a few years ago.

In 2014, Marvin Goodfriend identified Federal Reserve quantitative easing as a “bond market carry trade,” one that accumulated risk on the Fed’s balance sheet and threatened the independent exercise of monetary policy given the Fed’s implied reliance on the US Treasury and future fiscal policy. Goodfriend argued that the Fed should retain more of its earnings and build up its capital to reduce its leverage risk and bolster the credibility of its monetary policy.

In this light, the Fed’s ongoing efforts to monitor and advertise its ability to manage financial market stability bring to mind a prophetic article written by George Kaufman and Kenneth Scott in 2003, titled “What Is Systemic Risk, and Do Bank Regulators Retard or Contribute to It?,” Kaufman and Scott decried the moral hazard implications of government safety net policies, concluding that “many bank regulatory actions have been double-edged, if not counterproductive,” and called for significantly reducing government’s backup role in the financial sector.

Congress should explore a fundamental reexamination of that backup role today.

*****

This article was published on July 13, 2021 and is reproduced with permission from the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

Putting Covid Deaths Into Perspective!

350,000 deaths were attributed to COVID-19 here in America in 2020. Now, we all know this number was highly inflated for political and financial gain. Hospitals, cities, counties, states and many organizations benefitted from a Covid related death as opposed to say a Flu death! Shocking huh? Always follow the money! We all know medical professionals with stories of the corruption in reporting Covid and even crazy cases like here in Florida where a motorcyclist died in an accident and cause of death was listed as Coronavirus! Then the New York Nursing Home deaths, almost a deliberate act by their socialist leaders. We will never know the true number or even believe what we hear anymore.

Now, let’s agree that maybe 200,000 people, give or take a few, actually died due to Covid and nothing else. That means taking out those that were going to die like congestive heart failure patients etc. and those they lied about.

Now, let’s look at a statistic that plays directly off the tyrannical and oft times insane Covid era rules and regulations on movement etc..

93,000 people died of a drug overdose that same year, 2020. A 29% increase over 2019. This alone is a staggering number of deaths and the pathetic government policies obviously exasperated the number. People with addiction problems were locked down, unable to attend meetings, clinics, drug counselors and generally any help.

Heroin and fentanyl led the numbers where prescription painkillers once ruled. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid developed to treat terrible pain in patients suffering for instance cancer. This drug was named in 60% of the cases in 2020!

Suicides are an unknown as the CDC, in typical big government style, has not reported statistics for suicides in 2020. This is either on purpose so they can fudge the numbers or as I say, just typical big government laziness! The number being supplied however is just under 50,000. No breakdown on age, sex, race etc. is available yet.

42,060 people died in car accidents in 2020, an increase strangely enough of 7.2% over 2019. Guess the lockdowns didn’t help here either huh?

The final data on flu season in the States 2019/2020 was released by the CDC in April as Covid-19 continued to spread throughout the United States. Between October 1, 2019 and April 4, 2020, the flu resulted in:

  • 39 to 56 million illnesses
  • 410,000 to 740,000 hospitalizations
  • 24,000 to 62,000 deaths
  • 195 pediatric deaths.

( Not sure how they have such wide margins! )

My point here is that people die, 3,358,814 in the USA alone in 2020.

Now – the total number of deaths world wide attributed to Covid-19, ( and as I said earlier that number was greatly upwardly massaged to scare people and promote the leftist agenda ) according to the WHO is copied here below. Notice how they change the figure greatly as I mentioned. “On 30 January 2020 COVID-19 was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) with an official death toll of 171. By 31 December 2020, this figure stood at 1 813 188. Yet preliminary estimates suggest the total number of global deaths attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is at least 3 million, representing 1.2 million more deaths than officially reported.”

So world wide deaths attributed falsely or not to the China Virus is less than the total number of deaths from multiple causes in America in 2020!

For this we ruined our strong economy, jobs, businesses, lives and removed freedoms, rights and liberties in a constant barrage of attacks on our constitution and our constitutional rights.

It is way past time here America to make a stand against the tyrannical government that seized power illegally in the 2020 election fraud cycle. It is time to say NO MORE! We are Americans and by very definition a free personage with liberties and choices. Some are God given, others a constitutional right. Defend them with a firm resolute mind or risk losing them forever.

©Fred Brownbill. All rights reserved.

VIDEO: Vaccination Passport — The Road to a Totalitarian State.

This new Glazov Gang episode features Reggie Littlejohn, the founder and president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers.

Reggie discusses Vaccination Passport – The Road to a Totalitarian State, revealing the new gateway to mass surveillance and a “national enemies” register.

WATCH:

Follow us on our Rumble Channel – and also on Instagram: @JamieGlazov, Twitter: @JamieGlazov and FrankSpeech.com.

EDITORS NOTE: This Glazov Gang video is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Victory! TikTok Takes Fighting Exploitation Seriously with New Updates

Once known as a “hunting ground for predators,” the wildly popular short-form video app TikTok has transformed itself into a model of fighting sexual exploitation and abuse on its platform.

Featured on NCOSE’s 2020 Dirty Dozen List for rampant grooming and exploitation children and on the 2021 DDL for highly sexualized content, TikTok has instituted a series of such sweeping and significant changes this past year that in many areas it now serves as an industry standard for online child safety. They’ve defaulted most safety settings for minors, removed high-risk features (like direct messaging) for 13–15-year-olds, is the only app that has pin-protected caregiver controls, and has instituted the most robust Community Guidelines we’ve seen for any corporation. They’ve also started released their Transparency Report on a quarterly basis (versus every 6 months) to increase their own accountability.

And they’ve kept up the trend.

New TikTok Changes Fight Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Last Friday (July 9), TikTok announced that it will automatically remove “violative content” such as videos showing nudity or sexual activity or threating minor safety. TikTok’s current process uses technology to identify and flag potential violations for further review by their Safety Team. In the announcement, Head of US Safety Erin Han explains that in the US and Canada over the next few weeks, TikTok will begin using technology to a greater extent to automatically remove content upon upload in areas where it has the highest degree of accuracy: minor safety, adult nudity and sexual activities, violent and graphic content, and illegal activities and regulated goods. Uploaders are notified if their video has been removed and can appeal the decision. Repeat offenders will suffer increasingly heightened penalties, including being permanently banned. This move shows a genuinely proactive effort by TikTok to implement their Community Guidelines for the good of their users, rather than merely having them on paper to protect their own liability.

TikTok Paves the Way for Big Tech 

Aside from the obvious win that this policy is likely to dramatically reduce the number of people (including minors) subjected to sexually explicit material, this move yet again has TikTok moving the needle on what can and SHOULD be expected of Big Tech:

Recognition of Harm (to viewer and their own employees)

TikTok explicitly stated that reviewing the type of content outlined (minor safety, adult nudity and sexually explicit material, etc.) can be distressing to their employees, showing a recognition that this content can be harmful to both adults and children.

While human moderation is still necessary in many cases, automated removal will further protect their Safety team from the potential negative emotional and psychological effects that many such content moderators suffer. This change exemplifies an empathy and care for their employees that does not seem to be the norm in Big Tech—it’s the first time we’ve seen a tech company explicitly note an improvement being made to protect their staff. It also seems to be a smart business move to use technology in a way that frees up a greater number of their human reviewers to address more “nuanced” content.

Erring on the Side of Safety

One of my colleagues posted a TikTok video about the harms of OnlyFans and due to this new policy, it was quickly removed (especially significant, because NCOSE has called out TikTok for the vast number of videos promoting OnlyFans and we’ve asked them to prioritize removal as it’s such a dangerous site—especially for minors).

At first, we were frustrated, but after brief reflection we cheered. She was able to appeal the removal and it was back up in no time.

Why did we cheer? Because we’d love to see more online platforms err on the side of removing potentially violative material rather than allowing it to proliferate while putting the onus on users (including minors) to report harmful material after they’ve already been exposed to it. A quick appeals process is possible—and we hold that if something is worth posting, then it’s worth the users time to appeal for the greater good of elevated safety measures.

Let’s be clear, there is still a lot of problematic material on TikTok. We found several OnlyFans-related videos with a quick search. And we also know this approach can backfire if there isn’t a swift appeals process. Survivor leaders and other allies have shared that their material is often blocked or removed on other platforms due to the nature of their work and the appeal process goes nowhere, effectively silencing their voices on social media. But if TikTok can prioritize this and figure out a way, then larger, more resourced tech companies should be able to as well.

Creativity and Entertainment Without Exploitation

TikTok’s mission is to “inspire creativity and bring joy.” The announcement reiterated their commitment to bringing together a “diverse, global community fueled by creativity” that can “express themselves creatively and be entertained in a safe and welcoming environment.”

Too many individuals and corporations have bought into the myth of our pornified culture that nudity and sexually explicit content are not only acceptable but necessity for any type of medium to be entertaining. TikTok is rejecting the notion that exploitation is entertainment.

TikTok not only hosts influencers, but with nearly a billion active monthly users, TikTok is an influencer in itself. Young and older people alike do take note when platforms legitimize—or don’t—certain cultural messages (as popular as they may be). We applaud TikTok for being vocal in its values and in making a concerted and genuine effort to foster the environment they claim to seek.

We hope to see greater use of technology by TikTok and other tech companies to combat, rather than perpetuate, sexual abuse and exploitation in all areas of their platform (content, comments, messaging, etc.)… and to err on the side of removal, protect the well-being of their users and employees, and to reject the notion that nudity and sexually explicit content is entertainment.

EDITORS NOTE: This National Center on Sexual Exploitation column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Disney is Moving 2,000 Jobs From California to Florida—Here’s Why

One of the great things about America’s 50-state federal system is that people can vote with their feet in response to different policies. In that sense, California just lost yet another foot-vote referendum.

“The Walt Disney Company is the latest business to plan to move some operations out of California in favor of a lower-taxed state,” Fox Business reports. “Disney will move about 2,000 jobs from its California headquarters to a new campus in Florida.”

In a letter to employees, Disney executive Josh D’Amaro explained that the decision to relocate the jobs is in part due to “Florida’s business-friendly climate.”

“Florida is known for its rich culture of hospitality and active lifestyle as well as a lower cost of living with no state income tax,” D’Amaro also wrote.

While this decision was reportedly made before COVID-19, Disney did criticize the heavy-handed way California’s state government approached the pandemic, with its executives blasting the state’s shutdowns as “arbitrary.”

Disney becomes just the latest in a long series of businesses abandoning California for greener pastures. The California Policy Center has documented an extensive list of celebrities and enterprises to leave the state due to its high taxes and unfriendly business climate. This includes major corporations like Hewlett Packard, Oracle, Palantir, Dole Food, Nestle, Toyota, and many others, moving thousands of jobs out of California. Notable celebrities and entrepreneurs including Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, and Ben Shapiro have all left the state in recent years as well.

In fact, California’s population declined in 2020 for the first time in years. The 2,000 Disney employees relocated to Florida will likely meet many other ex-Californians there.

There’s simply no denying the fact that wealth, businesses, and people are pouring out of California. And there’s not much mystery around what’s motivating the exodus, either. California has the 8th-highest state and local tax burden, according to the Tax Foundation. And it’s ranked as having the 49th-worst—yes, seriously—business tax climate. The results are predictable.

And the foot-voting verdict is clear. When given the option, people overwhelmingly choose economic freedom over big-government stagnation.

EDITORS NOTE: This FEE column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Coca-Cola Shareholders Getting Weary of Company’s Virtue Signaling

The Coca-Cola Company has a long track record of promoting radical values and wading into divisive issues which go against basic First Amendment freedoms. That’s why the beverage corporation has a rock-bottom 2ndVote score of just 1.00. But recently, it seems that Coca-Cola’s own shareholders have run out of patience with the company’s irresponsible virtue signaling.

In January, Coca-Cola’s top lawyer Bradley Gayton openly stated that the company was adopting a policy that would discriminate against outside law firms based on race. If a law firm wanted to work for Coca-Cola, they would need to prove that at least 30 percent of the work would go to attorneys from minority backgrounds. If a firm that was already working for the company failed to “diversify,” Coca-Cola would reduce its fees or cut them off altogether.

It’s rare for a corporation to be so explicit about such an anti-American policy. Maybe Coca-Cola assumed that no attorney would be willing to sue such a massive corporation. But at least some of Coca-Cola’s shareholders realized how much trouble they and the company could end up in over such blatant race-based discrimination. In June, a group of shareholders threatened to sue the company.

But Coca-Cola itself probably knew that it had gone too far, even by the standards of powerful woke corporations. The company let their controversial top lawyer go all the way back in April. It was a step in the right direction, but he was allowed to stay on as a consultant. In fact, the company will pay him a $4 million initial fee, plus a mind-boggling two-thirds of a million every month for unspecified consulting work. Bradley Gayton might not be setting the legal agenda at Coca-Cola, but it seems like pushing a radical agenda at the company is going to pay off big for him at the expense of American culture, freedoms, and customers. Let’s hope that Coca-Cola’s shareholders put their company’s behavior in check. Reach out to Coca-Cola today and remind them that Americans just want drinks – not lectures – from the company.

RELATED ARTICLE: Company Contrast – Wendy’s

EDITORS NOTE: This 2ndVote column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Soviet Fascism’s Expansion in America

Ideology runs the world. The Obama legacy and his Global Program is much bigger than you think. It is a copy of Stalin’s project for a One World Socialist Government Under the Kremlin’s Rule—well-crafted and decorated with buzz words. A repetition of the design created by Stalin/Andropov and described by me for years. Their devoted disciple Vladimir Putin is promoting it today. Very little has changed in the world of ideology since Stalin/Andropov design—Russia and China are working together again. They are connected by an umbilical cord of the Ideology, and they are building, participating and developing a Global Spy Ring against America today …

The Chinese Covid-19 has brought enormous harm to the population of the globe-over 3 million deaths and millions of family’s much suffering. America lost 650 thousands of its citizens, more than we lost in WWI, WWII and the Cold War combined. Yet, the Chinese virus has brought even more surprises—our “superior technology” can’t find the origin of the virus for almost two years.  It is an infuriating story! All of that happened because we don’t know the Chinese Intel. Yes, we don’t know Chinese Intel, because we demonstrate no knowledge of Russia, her Intel, and the Socialist/Communist modus operandi.

Ideology Runs the World–Knowledge is Power

I realized that shortly after immigration to the U.S. when my English allowed me to learn politics in America. Leon Trotsky was right saying that “permanent revolution has its own art.” Yes, and the main part of this Art is the ideology and the Socialist/Communist modus operandi. Living half of my life in Soviet Russia, I felt the constant control and power of the ideology there. But only in America, by studying and researching the subject, while writing my books and columns, have I finally grasped the sinister and diabolic essence of the ideology and its modus operandi.

American pundits relentlessly assured us after the Cold War that we are a Superpower militarily and we had defeated Fascism and Communism. It is not completely correct. We defeated Nazi Germany by conquering it militarily, and we made Russian Socialist economy to collapse, but we have not crushed nor rooted out the ideology of Fascism or Communism. They are two sides of the same coin of a totalitarian regime and intellectually and cerebrally we have not been able to defeat them yet. American history of the last decade proves it—Fascism and Communism are well and very alive globally even in 2021 American politics. You can see their longevity in America and the world today, as I will try to analyze the platform they share…

We are quite well familiar with the ugly crimes committed by Nazi Germany. Americans saw the trenches full of corpses, and know about Doctor Mengele experimenting with children’s bodies and heard about the Nuremberg Trials. We are now in a deep discussion of Holocaust, the killing of 6 million Jews—a major feature of Nazi ideology—Anti-Semitism. Yet, we had no clue and know nothing about the crimes committed by Stalin’s Soviet Socialism, which I have renamed Soviet fascism. Russian writer Solzhenitsyn counted 60 million killed by Stalin, other researches have believed up to 80 million were killed and perished during Stalin’s Purges and Show Trials. Stalinism introduced to America a deep seated hatred, viciousness, and unprecedented venom of violence…

There is a direct line in the course and events from the current crises in America and Russia in the 20th century. There are two direct lines of the course and events from the current crises in America to Russia and China in 21st century. All of that, I have described in my books and columns during the last thirty-five years. But my books have been sabotaged and banned many times to prevent you from knowing the Truth. Despite the corruption of our media and the FBI, I have continued writing my columns, published in E-magazine by American patriot and retired military man—Dr. Rich Swier. My sincere gratitude to him for his love of America and courage…

Reading my column: From Uncle Joe #1 to Uncle Joe #2, March 8. 21, you will get the information nobody in America is talking about, the data of the Stalinist crimes in the 20th century directly connected to the events in the current America today. The invasion on our Southern border by the migrants and thousands of unaccompanied children is part of WWIII designed by Stalin/Andropov—a successful continuation of Stalinism in America. Don’t be surprised by the thousands of migrants from hundred countries, highly organized: they have reflect the KGB activity globally. Remember: Putin is weaponizing migration globally. When a man from American Space Program called China “our friendly adversary,” my jaw has dropped. America doesn’t know the enemy! America doesn’t understand who is creating the chaos and why there is a violent crime surge in the major cities of the country! The answer is clear to me…

Putin’s Socialist Revolution in America

Today in June 2021 America is ignorant of Putin’s Socialist revolution in America. The revolution is organized and proceeding in two directions: from the top by the President’s executive orders and from the bottom by an incredible violence in the states run by the Democrat party. Those who know the Russian history, her Intel and the Socialist/Communist modus operandi can see the repetition of the same attributes of the Russian Socialist Revolution 1917 in America—redistribution of money. Read my books and columns.

The narrative of the ‘virus escaping from the lab’ is laughable—nothing can escape from the military installation, run by an intelligent agency created by Stalin in the 20th century. Tell me about the event or something that has escaped Putin’s KGB? Both Putin’s KGB and the Chinese Intel have been built with a design, uniting the Military and Intel to work in tandem—the Intel is a para-military agency. The years after Stalin’s death had given both agencies the opportunity to greatly develop themselves technologically and otherwise, which they did.  If you know Russia, her Intel, and the Socialist/Communist modus operandi, you will recognize a common platform and agenda the two share.

To remember the arsenal of tools used by Socialist Charlatans in fighting Western civilization, I deliberately repeated their modus operandi: lies, deceit, and fraud, propaganda, symbols, and slogans, manipulations, provocations, intimidation threat, and violence… Watch the third Manchurian President, Biden. He can’t read a teleprompter, the text his staffers prepared for him. He is a total fraud and the Dems are building a cult of personality of a demented man the way they did it with Obama. People are in fear to ask them questions, like it was under Stalin in the Soviet Russia—nobody dared asking Stalin any questions…

Watch Biden’s administration and you will find this modus operandi, these tools are being used permanently to solidify Control and POWER. The Democrats are operating in the best traditions of Stalinism, deceiving, defrauding, and misleading you—misleading is a primary tool of Stalinism. Moreover, they operate in concert with Russia/Chinese Intel against the American interests… You witness them every day… Just look at this couple…

The Odd Couple: Dr. Fauci and Nancy Pelosi

While it seems that they are the odd couple, in fact, they are not. In respect to Dr. Fauci, he is definitely a working contradiction and he is in trouble. Republicans suspect him acting against the American interests and raising the need for investigation, they are ramping up calls for Dr. Fauci to resign. Some in the American gov. and medical elite want to prevent the investigation of coronavirus origins, because it will open a can of worms: They want the lab probe and Investigation of COVID origins to disappear. Who is behind COVID origins cover-up? You can answer the question knowing Russia, her Intel, and the Socialist/Communist modus operandi… I believe that COVID-19 was deliberately engineered to kill. Read my column 12.21.20 Russian/Chinese Intel: Carousel and COVID-19 in America

I am not a scientist and am approaching the issue from the stand point of national security risk. As a matter of fact, I didn’t like Dr. Fauci in the beginning, when I found out that he has a long-term relationship with the W.H.O. Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus. This alliance had threaten me, because I knew who Tedros was and wrote about him, 10-15 years ago. History again plays a role, by presenting additional information and knowledge. Please remember: when you hear the word Oil—think Russia. The one of the major commodity for international trade in Russia is Oil. That is why Russia’s foreign policy and trade are intertwined:

In the beginning of the 1970s, Soviet/Russian expansion in the aquatoria of Gulf of Aden has started by initiating a civil war in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen to bring Socialism in those countries to secure the oil trade to the world. It was a continuation of Stalin’s WWIII in Africa with the same formula and practice: Recruitment, Infiltration, Drugs, and Assassinations. It was the time when Dr. Tedros was recruited, many other people from Somalia, Kenya, and Yemen had become KGB agents. Knowing the history of Soviet/Russia expansion and modus operandi could open many dead cases, never resolved in America. I would advise the FBI to check the ‘Squad,” Rep. Omar and her Somalian community…

Now I can answer why investigation of coronavirus origins “can open a can of worms.” I know what it means, writing about the real Russia Collusion with the Dems leadership, I was writing about it for the last thirty-five years, pursuing the Truth and my writings being sabotaged and banned many times. Yes, Russian Collusion is a fact in reality of America—a Collusion of Russia with the leadership of the Democrat Party.

Everything you have witnessed during the last five years was an attempt of Socialist Charlatans to cover-up their collusion in the best traditions of Stalinism to accuse Trump of the crime they had committed.… Remember Stalinist postulate: Never admit crime committed, instead accuse the opponent in this exact crime. I hope you grasped the crux of the story: collaboration with the Dem’s leaders made Americans the Ginny pigs by Putin’s social engineering of Socialism in America…

This cover-up continues today when Speaker Nancy Pelosi was rushing for 9/11 commission style–a farce for many reasons. But, it was also Pelosi’s attempt to start Stalinist Purges in America. The goal of the Jan. 6th commission is not intended to objectively investigate the case, rather politicize and criminalize the Republican Party, as Stalin had done with the leaders of the opposition. “It is a Travesty to compare an event on Capitol January 6, 2021 to attacks on 9/11, when more than 3 thousands children never saw their parents again. On Jan. 6, our Congress returned to work within hours.” Besides, the 9/11 commission failed miserably. Read here: From Uncle Joe #1 to Uncle Joe #2 March 8. 2021. The real insurrection happened much earlier, it was described by me in my columns. We still don’t know who killed Ashli Babette a supporter of Trump. I suspect it was done by the KGB agent to help Pelosi…

I also suspected Pelosi before that, when she executed the Trump Impeachment. I was stunned by her announcement of Impeachment in November 2019–she has stolen from American citizens our favorable festivity—Christmas celebration. Then, I didn’t know the reason of her hurrying to Impeach Trump in the very heart of the Christmas Season. I had no staff to investigate the reason. Later on, when Pandemic came, I got the reason of her behavior—she had known that the coronavirus was on its way to America. I don’t know who had informed her. It could be Erik Swalwell, who slept with the Chinese spy, or Dr. Fauci who was in a constant contact with the Chinese Communist Party. At any rate, our country is deeply infiltrated by its enemies, they are demonizing America and dividing us!

The Dems are waging a war against the First and Second Amendments. They want us to be silent and disarmed, like the people under Stalin and Hitler, where Purges and killings prevailed. There are other signs of Soviet fascism in in America: When crooks demand ransom you should know they are coming from “the Axis of Evil.” Read my column about “the Axis of Evil” under the Kremlin’s supervision. Soviet fascism has no race or ethnicity, it attacks the language of all targets and profanity reigns. There is no more Russian language of Pushkin or Chekhov—Russian language is now a jargon. Watch the English in America and you will notice the same changes. I had warned you about Putin playing Biden like a Stradivarius. You can see it in 2021–Soviet Fascism never sleeps…

My fellow Americans!

The fate of our unique and precious Constitutional republic, designed and left to us by our Founders is in peril! We the People Must save the republic for the next generations. Act accordingly!

The torch is yours!!!

Teaching Black History is Broken

A discerning look at public school history books, grades six through twelve, will reveal that the teaching of black history is, indeed, broken. Excluded are most of the exceptional accomplishments of blacks throughout American history. History textbooks are the dominant educational tool that shapes students’ views. Our children are missing some of the greatest inspirational stories ever told when American history books are inadequately represented and devoid of black history.

In recounting the history of the 1619 arrival of the first blacks, history books do not share that some were treated as indentured servants, as was Anthony Johnson. Anthony arrived on the English ship, White Lion, eventually became a landowner through the “headright system” and a slave owner. Anthony, a black man, won a court case in Northampton County Court on March 8, 1655, to keep his slave, John Casor. It was the case that changed the American landscape, for it was the first legal sanction of slavery in the Virginia Colony.

How many students know about the black heroes of the Revolutionary War? Thousands of free and enslaved blacks fought in every major battle from Lexington and Concord to Yorktown and served in an integrated army. Some blacks were fighting for the promise of freedom, while others were fighting for their country’s independence. By 1779, fifteen percent of the Continental Army was black. Peter Salem was born a slave and joined the Massachusetts Minutemen, and was a sharpshooter who played a vital role in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Salem was honored in John Trumbull’s painting, “Battle of Bunker Hill.” James Armistead posed as a runaway slave and gained the trust of the British and gave strategic information of troop movements to the Continental Army resulting in success at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.

Students learn about the Abolitionist movement and Harriet Tubman, but what about Levi and Catherine Coffin, who helped more than 3,000 slaves escape to freedom? Or what about the escaped slaves Ellen and William Craft, who became active in the Abolitionist movement? Or the wealthy free black James Forten family of Philadelphia, who were instrumental in the fighting for slave freedom.

By the time the American Civil War commenced, more than 488,000 free blacks were in the North and South. Thousands of free and enslaved blacks fought in every major campaign in the last two years of the Civil War. Twenty-six blacks were Medal of Honor recipients. Landsman Aaron Anderson (U.S.S. Wyandank), enlisted at the age of 52, was singled out for courage under heavy fire; Sergeant William H. Carney (54th Massachusetts Infantry) received his award for the Battle of Fort Wagner; and Sergeant Christian A. Fleetwood (4th U.S.C.T.), a graduate of Ashmun Institute, said he enlisted “to save the country from ruin.”

Frederick Douglass was a great well-known orator, but what about Robert B. Elliott?  Robert B. Elliott was a U.S. Congressman whose speech “The Shackle is Broken” addressed the Civil Rights Bill of 1875, which enriched the meanings of liberty and citizenship. Elliott’s speech was so brilliant that some doubted if he wrote it.  Additionally, more than 2,000 black leaders during Reconstruction at the local, state, and national levels contributed invaluable leadership to America.

There are thousands of stories about inspirational leaders: inventors such as Granville T. Woods, called the black Thomas Edison, was awarded more than forty-five patents for his inventions, or the first black woman physician, Dr. Rebecca Crumpler, who graduated from medical school in 1864, or people in business such as the “Potato King” Junius G. Groves who produced more white potatoes than anyone in the world, or explorers such as the first black woman astronaut Mae Jemison, or the NASA pioneer mathematician Katherine Johnson of Hidden Figures fame, and the gifted surgical teacher, Vivien Thomas who never went to college, but was awarded an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1976.

Yocum African American History Association (YAAHA) was founded by two women, one black and one white, who forged a partnership and began their journey to uncover hidden black history. These two women, Frances Presley Rice who is black and the undersigned, created YAAHA, a non-profit organization, to provide educational resources that celebrate black history and prove that black history is American history.

The founders of YAAHA co-authored “Black History 1619-2019: An Illustrated and Documented African-American History” that is an in-depth look at the events which shaped the lives and contributions of the African American community in the United States of America. Now in its third printing, the book is available at Amazon.com and through bookstores nationwide. Proceeds from book sales are donated to YAAHA.

The Headmaster of Bridgeport International Academy wrote:

“Our Academy refers to this excellent and objective review of Black History that sheds light on many chapters of American history in clear, objective, and precise language backed up by thorough research and many compelling photos and individual stories. It enables real conversation and constructive thinking about race in this country instead of the propaganda that seeks racial division for economic and political gain. I encourage other schools to use it when developing their American History courses, particularly during Black History month, as it is a wealth of resources for lesson planning.”  – Frank LaGtotteria, D.Min.,Headmaster, Bridgeport International Academy

The article “Let’s Celebrate America’s Black Patriots” by Burgess Owens, the U.S. Representative for Utah’s Fourth district, that was published in the Newsweek online magazine includes a reference to the book, plus information extracted from it.

For more information about the YAAHA educational resources, visit: www.YocumBlackHistory.org.

©Sandra K. Yocum. All rights reserved.

White House: If You Post ‘Misinformation’ Online You Should Be Banned From All Social Media Platforms

We have been fighting in defense of free speech for the better part of this young century. Once the Western press refused to run the Danish cartoons back in 2005, the handwriting was on the wall. It’s why I organized Muhammad art exhibits and ran national ads defending free speech, to wake people up. It certainly woke up the left.

This is totalitarianism. The illegitimate regime imposing illegal suppression of our most basic freedoms. What’s next for us? Prison?

Psaki: If You Post Misinformation Online You Should Be Banned From All Social Media Platforms

ByDaily Wire News • Daily Wire, Jul 16, 2021:

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday that users “shouldn’t be banned from one platform and not others” if they post “misinformation online.”

Psaki made the remark when asked by a reporter about the administration’s efforts to push tech companies to crack down on what the Biden administration claims is online “misinformation.” Psaki also said that the administration also contacts media companies when they have a problem with something that media companies are reporting.

“So a couple of the steps that we have, you know, that could be constructive for the public health of the country are providing for Facebook or other platforms to measure and publicly share the impact of misinformation on their platform, and the audience it’s reaching, also with the public, with all of you, to create robust enforcement strategies that bridge their properties and provide transparency about rules, you shouldn’t be banned from one platform and not others, if you, for providing misinformation out there,” she said. “Taking faster action against harmful posts, as you all know, information travels quite quickly.”

WATCH:

TRANSCRIPT:

REPORTER: You went through kind of top line details on this yesterday, but can you elaborate a little bit on the Facebook … the administration to Facebook, flagging disinformation? And then there’s also some reporting that we’ve had that Facebook maybe hasn’t been as proactive as the White House would like it to be in response to some of the flags. And so is there a process of how flagging works, and then whether Facebook has been amenable to those requests?

PSAKI: Sure. Well, I would say first, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that we’re in regular touch with social media platforms, just like we’re in regular touch with all of you and your media outlets about areas where we have concern, information that might be useful, information that may or may not be interesting to your viewers, you all make decisions, just like the social media platforms make decisions, even though they’re a private sector company and different, but just as an example. So we are regularly making sure social media platforms are aware of the latest narratives dangerous to public health that we and many other Americans are seeing across all of social and traditional media. And we work to engage with them to better understand the enforcement of social media platform policies. …

REPORTER: And then has Facebook been as proactive as the White House would like in terms of its response to those flags?

PSAKI: Well, I think, as I noted yesterday, Phil, there is more, there are more steps that everyone can take. And I would just note again, this is a responsibility of officials speaking, of course, on behalf of the government, it’s the responsibility of members of the media. It’s the responsibility of citizens and civic leaders and people who are trusted voices in communities around the country, that has a broad definition, social media platforms is one of them. And as we know, it is also, they’re are also areas where a lot of people get news and information. Sometimes those are accurate news items reported by some of your outlets or accurate information shared by a neighbor. Sometimes there is information that is not, it is hard to discriminate, as we know, this is not a new issue. But it is an issue that is impacting people’s lives. So a couple of the steps that we have, you know, that could be constructive for the public health of the country are providing for Facebook or other platforms to measure and publicly share the impact of misinformation on their platform, and the audience it’s reaching, also with the public, with all of you, to create robust enforcement strategies that bridge their properties and provide transparency about rules, you shouldn’t be banned from one platform and not others, if you, for providing misinformation out there. Taking faster action against harmful posts, as you all know, information travels quite quickly. If it’s up there for days and days and days, when people see it, you know, there’s it’s hard to put that back in a box. And of course, promoting quality information algorithms. I don’t know how they work, but they all do know how they work. So those are some of the steps that we think could be constructive for public health, for public information for public and you know, the right of the public to know. Go ahead.

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Quick note: Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here. We will not waver. We will not tire. We will not falter, and we will not fail. Freedom will prevail.

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Trump : ‘We Must Decertify the Election’

Praise G-d!

‘We Must Decertify the Election’: Trump Issues Fiery Response to Audit Bombshells

Donald Trump reacted to the preliminary findings of the independent election audit team that testified in an update to the Arizona Senate on Thursday.

“Arizona Senate hearings on the Maricopa County Election Audit is devastating news to the Radical Left Democrats and the Biden administration,” Trump said.

“While this, according to the Senate is preliminary, with results being announced at a later date, it seems that 74,234 Mail-in Ballots were counted with ‘no clear record’ of them being send,” he added. “There were 18,000 voters who were scrubbed from the voter rolls AFTER the election.”

“They also revealed that the voting system was breached or hacked (by who?),” he added. “Very big printer and ballot problems with different paper used, etc. and MUCH MORE.”

“This highly respected State Senator Wendy Rogers said in a tweet this hearing today means we must decertify the election,” Trump said. “In any event, the Senate patriots are moving forward with final results to be announced in the not-too-distant future, but based on today’s hearing, why even wait?”

Arizona Republican State Sen. Wendy Rogers is calling for “the Biden electors to be recalled to Arizona” and demanding that a “new election must be conducted” following explosive news this week.

Following the audit hearing in Maricopa County, Rogers is calling for Joe Biden’s electors from Arizona to be recalled and for the state to hold a new election.

Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan testified on Thursday that the auditors reported 74,000 ballots that were received and included in the 2020 Election in Maricopa County than were mailed out.

Logan said they found 74,243 mail-in ballots with no clear record of them ever being sent.

“We have 74,243 mail-in ballots where there is no clear record of them being sent,” Doug Logan said. “And so we have 74,000 where we have them came back from individuals where we don’t have a clear indication that they were ever sent out to them.”

Logan stated that the standard of verification for mail-in ballots dropped considerably as the volume of the ballots increased.

Logan claimed that Maricopa County is withholding mail-in ballot images that can be used as evidence.

Logan also said there were 11,326 individuals who did not show up on the version of the voter rolls prepared the day after the election but did show up on the Dec. 4 list as not only being registered but having voted.

And he said there were nearly 4,000 people listed as registering to vote after the cutoff on Oct. 15.

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Arizona State Senator Demands Biden Electors be Recalled to Arizona and New Election Held Following Thursday’s Stunning Audit Revelations

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Arizona Senate President Says 2020 Election Audit’s Ballot Count Differs From Maricopa Tally

HUGE New Evidence Pointing to Massive Voter Fraud in Fulton County, WHOPPING 60% Error Reporting Rate, Tally Sheets FALSIFIED

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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TYRANNICAL: Democrats To Ram $3.5T Biden Agenda Through Senate Without Bipartisan Support As Inflation Skyrockets

Legal plunder. This is communism.

Democrats To Ram $3.5T Biden Agenda Through Senate Without Bipartisan Support As Inflation Skyrockets

By: Ryan Saavedra • Daily Wire Jul 13, 2021 •

Senate Democrats will reportedly ram through a $3.5 trillion spending bill that will “enact the full array of President Joe Biden’s social welfare” agenda without any bipartisan support in a Senate that is split 50-50.

“The proposal sets an overall limit of $3.5 trillion for the spate of Democratic policy ambitions that won’t make it into a bipartisan infrastructure deal, if Congress can reach one,” Politico reported. “Formal text of the Senate’s budget resolution has yet to be released. If that measure can clear both chambers with lockstep party support, it will unleash the power to circumvent a GOP filibuster using budget reconciliation, the same move that Democrats used to pass the president’s $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package in March.

The move comes as Biden has continued to see his approval ratings slide, especially among Democrats, who want him to be more radical in ramming through his agenda. The news comes as inflation has skyrocketed in recent months, driven in large part by the massive government spending from the Biden administration.

RELATED ARTICLES:

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Report: True National Debt Exceeds $123 Trillion, or Nearly $800,000 per Taxpayer

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President Trump: News from Georgia ‘Beyond Incredible,’ ‘We Will Lose Our Country If this Is Allowed to Stand’

As it stands, President Trump was the last duly elected American president. We cannot let this stand. History will judge us most harshly.

Trump: News from Georgia ‘Beyond Incredible,’ ‘We Will Lose Our Country If this Is Allowed to Stand’

By: Martin Walsh, Conservatove Brief, July 16, 2021:

Donald Trump has weighed in on the explosive revelations coming out of Georgia.

“The news coming out of Georgia is beyond incredible. The hand recount in Fulton County was a total fraud! They stuffed the ballot box—and got caught. We will lose our Country if this is allowed to stand.”

“According to the just released report from Garland Favorito and the highly respected Voter GA, in Fulton County the hand recount was wrong by 60%; 100,000 tally sheets for ballots were missing; they duplicated thousands of extra votes for Joe Biden; and fabricated vote counts of 100-0 for Biden, many times!” he said.

Trump: News from Georgia ‘Beyond Incredible,’ ‘We Will Lose Our Country If this Is Allowed to Stand’
Photo of Martin Walsh Martin WalshJuly 14, 2021
28,867
AP Photo/Tony Dejak

OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author’s opinion

Donald Trump has weighed in on the explosive revelations coming out of Georgia.

“The news coming out of Georgia is beyond incredible. The hand recount in Fulton County was a total fraud! They stuffed the ballot box—and got caught. We will lose our Country if this is allowed to stand.”

“According to the just released report from Garland Favorito and the highly respected Voter GA, in Fulton County the hand recount was wrong by 60%; 100,000 tally sheets for ballots were missing; they duplicated thousands of extra votes for Joe Biden; and fabricated vote counts of 100-0 for Biden, many times!” he said.

Almost 200 duplicate ballots were found in Fulton County, Georgia, this week by a major voting group.

Digital scans of ballots made public under Georgia’s new voting law show that nearly 200 ballots, including a write-in vote for rap artist Kanye West, were initially scanned twice last fall before a recount, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The discovery of identical ballots was brought to light by a group of voters called VoterGA, which is seeking to prove that the election was fraudulent.

The group argued in the initial findings that double-counting is just the tip of the iceberg of what they hope to find.

The AJC reported:

Double-counted ballots were discovered by voters suing Fulton in an effort to persuade a judge to allow them to conduct an in-depth inspection of 147,000 absentee ballots. The judge ruled against the plaintiffs last month, but the case survived with new claims filed against the county’s five election board members.

“If we’re finding this in Fulton County, we’re probably going to find it throughout the state. The question is, why did it happen?” said David Cross, an investment manager working with the plaintiffs. “The simple fact that it happened and we found it here means that it probably occurred elsewhere.”

VoterGA said they found evidence of “massive” fraud in Fulton County after reviewing ballot data.

The group says the claims are based on a VoterGA data team’s analysis of Fulton’s mail-in ballot images………..

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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Implications of the Arizona Audit- Part II

The widening implications will likely depend on whether the results show there has been significant discrepancy or fraud, whether those results are credible and believable, and whether the press actually covers the story and public opinion shifts.

Once Republicans believe they have a solid case, then strategies will need to be developed to go into the political and legal unknown where there is a great political risk for this already badly divided country. There is little precedent for what to do and many will argue that it is better to “let sleeping dogs lie” until the next election. However, a better case can be made that the lying dogs who perpetrated election fraud should never be allowed to sleep.

Should legislators in various states simply fix the election procedures and processes? Should those that engaged in fraud be prosecuted?  What happens to those already in office? What happens to the legislation illegitimate leaders have passed?

The problem is there are obviously partisan reasons for either believing or not believing. You can expect partisan fury will attempt to overwhelm evidence and procedure.

Right now, we are at the point of a discrepancy, which is itself an important milestone. But if Maricopa County officials continue to block the investigation, it will be argued that it was not complete and credibility will be reduced. Ironically, at least in Arizona, it is Republicans that will determine whether this election integrity project has credibility.

As we have come this far that many believe the election was fraudulent, and we are at least at the point of a discrepancy, it is alarming the Board of Supervisors should continue to block a legitimate inquiry conducted by elected representatives. This story affects the whole state and the nation, and they are mere county officials, albeit elected as well.

For the sake of party unity if not the integrity of the democratic process, they should go along with this investigation, especially if they have done nothing wrong. If no wrongdoing occurred, they will be able to make their opponents look like idiots.

If they have done wrong, it is not worth destroying the electoral reputation of this great Republic just to save the political hides of county officials. We should remember their names for sure for the next election cycle, and see that they are all removed, hopefully in the primary stage of the election cycle.

But in the interim, maybe a bargain should be struck. Come clean and cooperate and no one gets prosecuted.

We need to break out of the conundrum formed by those that opposed the investigation in the first place. They will contend, no credible evidence has been developed, while all along blocking the path to develop the credible evidence.

It is similar to the “the courts have found no evidence of fraud”, when in most cases the courts refused to even hear the case as they claimed that plaintiffs had “no standing”.

Just for the sake of intellectual speculation, let’s assume that results do show “significant” fraud, that is fraud on a sufficient scale to alter the results of a close election.

Let’s further assume that results are considered supportable. That could be a hard sell since we have few examples of true audits rather than just recounts by the same officials that may have been conducting the fraud. There are few examples of outside parties actually not just counting the ballots, but verifying the ballots that are being counted. Thus, we don’t have a lot of precedents.

Arizona may be setting a new precedent.

A recount is not enough. Recounting fraudulent ballots simply cannot tell you which are fraudulent and those that are not. It might find if there are issues of mechanical counting errors or improper or inaccurate counting, but counting illegitimate ballots simply gives you a tally of illegitimate ballots mixed in with proper ballots.

Recounts can’t determine if voters were not citizens, or have moved, are deceased, or if the chain of custody was compromised, or if machines are internally or externally manipulated.

But assuming the conclusions of fraud are supportable, will the mainline press bury the story? Probably not, although they have buried other big stories that offend Democrats like Hunter Biden. Can they, in the end, truly bury this story?

So, let’s assume significant fraud is determined, the means and methods of determining said are supportable and accepted by the majority of voters. And we assume, the press can’t ultimately deep-six the story. It gets widespread coverage and more states copy Arizona and look into their elections as well and similar things are found.

Now, what happens? Republicans will be in the position of the “dog that caught the bus”, to wit, what do you do with it once you have it? One does not get the sense they have a plan that is thought through to its full logical implications.

Obviously, the people in office, are in office. In this case, given the Democrat party’s ability to unite and the Republican party’s ability to fragment, nothing is likely to happen until the next election cycle. I doubt Democrats will step down, even if it is determined they are illegitimate officeholders.

However, it would appear Democrats are putting out signs of desperation. Midterm elections don’t go well historically in any case, and in this particular case, with fraud, dementia, DOJ collusion, inflation, their created border crisis, the critical race theory they embrace, a crime way they caused, and illegitimacy issues dogging them; they act like they want to stuff the channel with as much radical legislation as possible. They must fear a short tenure.

Assuming this plays out, the Democrats will lose the House and Senate at the mid-term election, but maintain the Executive Branch and the fourth branch of government, the bureaucratic establishment.

Then what do the Republicans do especially if the courts continue to run from the issue?  Clearly, under the Constitution, state legislatures ultimately are in charge of election procedures and processes.

For those in office that benefited from election fraud, impeachment would be in order. But if mid-term elections are not decisive, we are stuck with a full Democrat presidential term and all the executive orders and legislation that got through in the first two years and executive orders in the final two years. The Democrats would surely be wounded, but they will have crammed through their desired radical legislation nonetheless.

Biden is already using Executive Orders at a faster pace than any previous President, as well.

Assuming in four years, Republicans have both the Executive and Legislative branches, then what?

We saw what happened when they had that situation with George Bush, and it was not impressive was it? So, Republican leaders need to develop a clear strategy if election fraud is determined.

Conservatives should not brook any talk of a military coup or this kind of nonsense. Our guide has to be the Constitution, but not necessarily tradition.

Democrats will have to be removed either by impeachment or preferably, elections. Hopefully, honest elections. That means election integrity is essential for constitutional remedies to work. Election integrity is not a threat to the republic, continued election fraud is.

That means at a minimum, the GOP must have the courage to pursue a course that ensures election integrity in as many states as politically possible.

The minimum effort would be the least disruptive I suppose, but what then do Republicans do if they come back into power?

My own preference would be to see that every piece of legislation and executive order be legally repealed going back to say…Grover Cleveland.

But seriously, we should want to repeal anything put in place by a government that was formed on the basis of fraud and deceit. It would indeed be undemocratic to let stand legislation that was put in place by individuals not properly elected. To honor laws written by illegitimate politicians is certainly a greater affront to democracy than questioning an election.

Then, some important people need to go to jail.

As far as the bureaucratic agencies, clean house. If that requires modifying civil service laws, then that will be necessary.

*****

Read The Arizona Election Audit and Its Implications – Part I here.

Free Enterprise Club Announces 2021 Legislative Scorecards

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club today released its Legislative Scorecard for the 2021 first session of the 55th Legislature. In preparing the scorecard, the Club conducted a thorough review of over 25 bills, key legislative action and votes taken by lawmakers this session with an emphasis on the Club’s supported or opposed bills as well as issues important to our grassroots activists.

View Senate and House of Representatives Scorecards

View Senate Scorecard Methodology

Methodology for House Scorecard

The Club Top performers in the Legislature who have earned an A+ in 2021 included:

  • Senator Warren Petersen (LD 12)
  • Senator J.D. Mesnard (LD 17)
  • Rep. Jacqueline Parker (LD 16)
  • Rep. Jake Hoffman (LD 12)
  • Rep. John Fillmore (LD 16)
  • Rep. Joseph Chaplik (LD 23)
  • Rep. Shawnna Bolick (LD 20)
  • Rep. Travis Grantham (LD 12)
  • Rep. Beverly Pingerelli (LD 21)
  • Rep. Bret Roberts (LD 11)
  • Rep. Gail Griffin (LD 14)
  • Rep. Judy Burges (LD 1)

 

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s methodology on the 2021 scorecard included weighing bills focused on tax cuts and reform, election integrity, addressing regulatory relief and government overreach from the covid-19 pandemic, banning critical race theory in our taxpayer-funded institutions and school choice.

Not all legislation was weighted equally but ranked by Club priority. Highly prioritized issues included votes on special interest tax carveout programs, as these are often “truth-test” issues that separate the stalwart conservatives and the lawmakers more influenced by special interest lobbyists. Club President Scot Mussi expounded, “Our organization was founded to fight for the taxpayer of Arizona. The ability for ‘woke’ corporations to secure major tax carveouts, in some instances zeroing out all tax liability, is a serious threat to a broad-based, low-tax environment for every Arizona family and small business. Our lawmakers shouldn’t be picking winners and losers but representing all Arizona taxpayers.”

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