“Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker broke down in tears Thursday while testifying during a congressional hearing.
Parker said during the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government’s inaugural hearing that she left her job at a hedge fund after 9/11 to serve her country, working as an FBI Special Agent from 2011-2022.
“I considered it a very sacred responsibility and was honored to be trusted to protect and serve the American people,” Parker said, recounting how she joined a Miami field office.
“Participating in the investigations of myriad criminal cases, the Majorie Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in Parkland, Florida,” Parker said as she began to break down.
“The 2017 Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, the Cesar Sayoc pipe bomb case-” she continued, listing other areas she covered as she wept.
“It was emotionally jarring, but I believed I was making an impactful difference. And every day I woke up and embraced being a Special FBI agent until things changed. Over the course of my 12+ years, the FBI’s trajectory has transformed. On paper, the bureau’s mission has remained the same but its priorities and governing principles shifted dramatically. The FBI became politically weaponized from the top in Washington and trickling down to the field offices.”
Parker said it seems as though there are two separate FBI’s, one of which is tainted with political bias and has destroyed the credibility of the agency. Parker added that there has been a “lowering of the eligibility requirements” for new recruits, which has negatively impacted the agency.”
—–
“She joined the FBI to defend America; she left when it turned its guns on Americans”
“She joined the FBI after watching the World Trade Center collapse before her eyes, leaving a lucrative job at a hedge fund.
As a Special Agent in Miami, she worked on many high-profile cases and won awards and accolades for her hard work and diligence.
Last year she resigned in disgust. The FBI had turned its sights from fighting crime to fighting Americans’ freedoms.
Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker broke down in tears Thursday while testifying during a congressional hearing.
Parker said during the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government’s inaugural hearing that she left her job at a hedge fund after 9/11 to serve her country, working as an FBI Special Agent from 2011-2022.
“I considered it a very sacred responsibility and was honored to be trusted to protect and serve the American people,” Parker said, recounting how she joined a Miami field office.
“Participating in the investigations of myriad criminal cases, the Majorie Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in Parkland, Florida,” Parker said as she began to break down.
“The 2017 Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, the Cesar Sayoc pipe bomb case-” she continued, listing other areas she covered as she wept.
“It was emotionally jarring, but I believed I was making an impactful difference. And every day I woke up and embraced being a Special FBI agent until things changed. Over the course of my 12+ years, the FBI’s trajectory has transformed. On paper, the bureau’s mission has remained the same but its priorities and governing principles shifted dramatically. The FBI became politically weaponized from the top in Washington and trickling down to the field offices.”
Her testimony before Jim Jordan’s House Committee to investigate the weaponization of the federal government against Americans’ freedoms was riveting. Former Special Agent Parker tearfully recounted how disillusioned and then appalled she became as, over the years, top FBI officials used their power to pursue highly political, partisan ends.”
FBI Agent Parker breaks down in tears as she describes how there are "2 FBI's" and how current agents know Americans are losing faith in their institution.
“Isn’t the FBI’s reputation with much of the public already far enough in the toilet without tossing something like this onto the bonfire? A recently leaked internal FBI memo from their Richmond office warned agents about the lurking danger of “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology” (RTC ideology). The document spoke of “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism,” suggesting that anyone who prefers to attend traditional Latin mass is somehow prone to racism or xenophobia and violence or whatever. Oh, and they allegedly also tend to be anti-Semites, so they’re probably out there attacking synagogues. Honestly… you just can’t make this stuff up. (National Review)
The FBI’s Richmond field office released an internal memo last month warning against “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology,” and claiming it “almost certainly presents new mitigation opportunities,” according to a document shared by an FBI whistleblower on Wednesday.
Kyle Seraphin, who was a special agent at the bureau for six years before he was indefinitely suspended without pay in June 2022, published the document, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” on UncoverDC.com.
“In making this assessment, FBI Richmond relied on the key assumption that [racially or ethnically motivated extremists] will continue to find [radical-traditionalist Catholic or RTC] ideology attractive and will continue to attempt to connect with RTC adherents, both virtually via social media and in-person at places of worship,” the document from January 23 states.
As insane as this sounds, it starts to make a little more sense when you learn the source of the warning that led to this memo. It came from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC, which was once a well-regarded civil rights organization, is now essentially a bought and paid-for militant arm of the progressive movement. They will condemn anyone who espouses unapproved views as a “danger” or a “threat” to preferred minority groups and most of the legacy media, unfortunately, treats their diatribes as serious news.
This particular bit of madness is made even more ironic when you look at what’s been going on around the country over the past few years. As Teri Christoph reminded us at RedState yesterday, there were 278 attacks on Catholic churches in 2020 alone. (They were a favorite target during the BLM riots.) And since the question of abortion was returned to the states last year by the Supreme Court, attacks on both churches and Catholic crisis pregnancy centers have been increasingly common, including incidents of firebombing.
As we’ve seen, the FBI has done little more than pay lip service to the arson attacks on pregnancy centers, while they attempted (and thankfully failed) to throw a pastor in prison for more than a decade for singing bible hymns in an abortion clinic. It’s no wonder that public faith in the Bureau is cratering. And incidents such as this one only further validate the need for the new House panel that will be looking into the political weaponization of law enforcement under the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, might the FBI be willing to point out a few examples of these alleged mobs of violent racists who happen to be able to speak Latin? I’m willing to bet that there have been some individuals who wound up getting into trouble and who also attended Catholic church services at some time in their life. But that’s very different than finding a church where militant activist groups are recruiting new members and meeting in the basement of St. Josephs.”
“AChristian legal group filed a lawsuit on behalf of Catholic students and chaperones who said they were removed from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for donning beanies with anti-abortion messages last month.
The American Center for Law and Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday known as Kristi L. v. National Air & Space Museum, claiming the museum in Washington, D.C., “kicked out” nearly a dozen Catholic high school students and their chaperones on Jan. 20 for wearing anti-abortion hats they had worn to the annual national March for Life.
The plaintiffs belong to Our Lady of the Rosary School based in Greenville, South Carolina, and had traveled to Washington for the annual event wearing the same matching hats with the words “Rosary PRO-LIFE.”
ACLJ claimed the students were “mocked” and “accosted” after they went into the museum following the anti-abortion event on the National Mall, according to the 20-page complaint.
“Once in the [federal] museum, they were accosted several times and told they would be forced to leave unless they removed their pro-life hats. The group all wore the same blue hat that simply said, ‘Rosary PRO-LIFE.’ Other individuals in the museum were wearing hats of all kinds without issue,” according to the ACLJ.
At one point, a museum employee allegedly “proceeded to inform Plaintiffs that they must remove their hats because the museum was a ‘neutral zone,’ and that the First Amendment ‘does not apply here,'” according to the lawsuit, which also claimed the students were subjected to inappropriate expletives.
Lawyers for ACLJ strongly pushed back on the alleged claims that free speech protections did not apply to the museum, writing in their filing that the Smithsonian Institution is a federal entity that receives “more than $1 billion” from the government per fiscal year.
The Smithsonian released a statement to the public last week apologizing for the encounter and said employees involved in the matter did not adhere to the institution’s policy or protocol.”
“That is not the way anyone wants to start their morning, and thank God she’s okay.”
Absolutely horrible. @RepAngieCraig was assaulted in the elevator of her apartment building in DC this morning.
"Rep. Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay," her chief of staff says in a statement pic.twitter.com/y2iV1u4aGM
“It had to be truly frightening. But it sure sounds as if Ms. Craig kept her wits about her and reacted swiftly when she was attacked.
…According to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital, Craig told police that she saw the male suspect “acting erratic” in the lobby of the building, “as if he was under the influence” of “an unknown substance.” Craig then said, “Good morning,” to the man before she went into the elevator, according to the report.
The report said the suspect also entered the elevator and then started doing pushups before punching Craig “on the chin area of her face” and grabbing her by the neck. She then threw her hot coffee at the suspect and escaped before officers arrived, the report said.
…Two officers canvassed the basement-level parking area of the building but did not find the suspect.
Cynically, most of us, upon reading the first reports coming in, were wondering how many priors the perp would be found to have if and when they caught him. That “revolving door” is a recurring problem in Washington, as it is elsewhere in progressively led cities.
As we’ve reported on a number of times here, the D.C. city council was preparing to make it much worse when their new social justice crime reform statute – the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 – took effect. Passed in November last year, Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the bill, but the council overrode it and there things stood – a done deal.”
—
#UPDATE: The House of Representatives voted Thursday to repeal the update to D.C.’s controversial criminal code https://t.co/IwXhcbdrJp
Well maybe now the RINO/fence sitter faction of the GOP will come around, now that one of theirs has been targeted too.
BREAKING: Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel looking into former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. pic.twitter.com/5LIOlSlYcQ
“Reflecting on their personal financial situations, 35% of Americans say they are better off now than they were a year ago, while 50% are worse off. Since Gallup first asked this question in 1976, it has been rare for half or more of Americans to say they are worse off. The only other times this occurred was during the Great Recession era in 2008 and 2009.
On the other hand, today’s “better off” percentage is not unusually low, having descended to 35% or lower during other challenging economic times. This includes the late 1970s and early 1980s, the early 1990s, and from 2008 through 2012. In those periods, a higher percentage than today’s 14% volunteered that their finances were “the same” as last year.”
The latest results are based on a Jan. 2-22 Gallup poll. They follow a year of persistent high inflation, with the highest inflation rates since 1982. Stock market values declined and interest rates rose in 2022, but, on average, personal wages increased substantially.
In both 2021 and 2022, Americans were evenly divided between saying they were better off versus worse off, including a 41% to 41% split in last year’s survey.
By contrast, before the pandemic in January 2020, Americans were almost three times as likely to say they were better off (59%) as worse off (20%). The 59% reading is one of the highest in Gallup’s trends, along with a 58% reading in 1999.
Lower-Income Americans More Likely to Say They Are Losing Ground
Most lower-income Americans, 61%, say their financial situation has deteriorated over the past year, while less than half that number, 26%, indicate it has improved. Middle- and upper-income Americans are also more likely to say they are worse off than better off, but by much narrower margins than seen among the lower-income group.”
“Among the many potential recession indicators you can look at, such as the inverted yield curve or the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, one that should always be consulted is consumer debt delinquency. After falling during COVID because of lockdowns and endless stimulus payments, the trend in recent months doesn’t look good.”
“Federal government interference has massively distorted American health care costs for decades. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Joe Biden touted how the misnamed Inflation Adjustment Act (IRA) will further warp medical care costs by “finally giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices.” The result is essentially putting price controls on prescription drugs. And price controls will do for prescription drugs what they do for all other products upon which they are imposed: create shortages, queues, black markets, and rationing.
Even worse, drug price controls will have the additional baleful effect of increasing disease, disability, and deaths while simultaneously raising the total costs of health care. How? Because price controls substantially reduce the incentives for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to research, develop, and deploy innovative new medicines that would prevent and cure illnesses and cut overall costs.
These are the conclusions of a November 2021 study by the University of Chicago economist Tomas J. Philipson and his colleagues that analyzed the impact of the IRA on biopharmaceutical innovation and patient health. The study calculated that through 2039, the IRA will reduce pharmaceutical revenues by 12 percent, resulting in research and development (R&D) spending being cut by $663 billion. According to the authors, the decreased R&D spending would lead to 135 fewer new drug therapies, resulting in a potential loss of around 331 million patient life years through 2039. In comparison, through January 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in the loss of about 13.5 million life years in the United States.
Biden also asserted that new price controls on prescription medicines “will cut the federal deficit, saving taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars on the prescription drugs the government buys for Medicare.” Maybe so, but an August 2022 study by Philipson and his colleague calculates that what Medicare and other health care payers might save on prescription drugs over the next 20 years will be more than offset by increased spending on other sorts of medical care.
That study analyzed data showing how over time, the development of new drugs has significantly reduced overall health care costs from what they otherwise would have been. The researchers find that new drugs save money by reducing the need for other costly treatments such as hospitalization, surgeries, and disability care. Applying those findings to the consequences of developing 135 fewer drug therapies through 2039, the researchers calculate that the “average increase in total health care spending would be about $50.8 billion over a 20-year period.””
—-
This would not help costs either, because nothing is free. Someone would have to make up the difference.
“You may be familiar with the liberal activist group known as Citizen Action. They have subgroups in every state of the nation and most of you have probably had one of their representatives knocking on your door or accosting you out on the street, asking you to sign a petition for some lefty cause and, most importantly, wanting cash donations. They have a particularly pernicious group in New York and they regularly flood the email inboxes of anyone who hasn’t remembered to block them. Their latest campaign seeks to expand on the national student loan relief project that’s been embraced by liberals in Washington. They are drumming up New Yorkers to demand that Governor Kathy Hochul put an end to medical debt. They apparently feel that she can wave a magic wand and make everyone’s medical bills disappear.”
We envision a world where every New Yorker has the quality health care they need and the financial stability they deserve. It’s time to end medical debt and pass coverage for all to put us on a path to healthy, strong communities where every single person can thrive. The Governor has identified medical debt as an urgent health equity problem that needs to be solved. We need state legislators to take robust measures to ensure all New Yorkers, including immigrants, are protected from medical debt.
Everyone deserves affordable, accessible, culturally competent, and comprehensive health care and freedom from the burden of medical costs.
You can see all of the standard liberal buzzwords in this list of demands. They talk about “healthy, strong communities” and people “thriving.” It all sounds so sunny and positive, doesn’t it? Of course, they also specify that this total debt relief must apply to “immigrants,” as well. By which they mean illegal immigrants, of course. But they’ve chosen to leave the word “illegal” out of their brochures because it doesn’t poll well.
Addressing the main issue at hand here, I will be the first to agree that the cost of medical care in the United States is out of control and has been for some time. The medical industry is a mess, financially speaking, and far too many irregularities exist inside the system with almost no governmental oversight. Hospitals have frequently been caught charging different patients wildly different amounts of money for the same products and services based on whether or not they have medical insurance and how generous the policy is. That’s also a large driver of why insurance costs so much, by the way.
There is a reason for the glaring lack of government oversight I mentioned above. The healthcare industry in general spent more on lobbying during the last election cycle than any other industry, far outpacing the one that came in second. Big Pharma in particular dumped the most cash into the pockets of lawmakers. And what was the number one issue they were lobbying for? Stopping a cap on prescription drug prices. These people are not your friends and they have been showering money on candidates from both parties with equal abandon.
But with all of that said, this “plan” suffers from the same fatal flaws that Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness proposal contains. Once a debt is established, it doesn’t simply “go away” because some politician signs a piece of paper. (Unless that piece of paper is a check made out to the lender, of course.) It always winds up needing to be paid. These liberal debt “forgiveness” proposals simply shift the burden to the taxpayers, including the people who are being released from their repayment obligations.”
That Representative was wise to be on her guard. I am sure she thought of that plan (to throw the coffee) before she needed to react. Too bad she had no chance to exit the elevator. Sad that the day for not thinking that way is way behind us in this country.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Friday afternoon shot down a “high-altitude object” flying over Alaskan airspace and Arctic waters, National Security Council official John Kirby confirmed at the White House.
The Pentagon had been tracking the object over the last 24 hours, he said.
Been away for a bit – winter blues, report card and IEP writing, and a general annoyance of the political discourse of our times. However, I came across an article on the SuperBowl, written by an old classmate who now teaches at Covenant College
It appears most of the issues from a month ago are still here.
Apparently there’s now a committee to investigate the politicization of the FBI . Will they be going back to the time the FBI investigated and harassed MLK jr? Or perhaps investigate their ties to the Red Scare of the 50s? The FBI has always had a political side to it; it’s only now that Republicans and their supporters find themselves investigated are they concerned. A bit hypocritical. Perhaps they should call some historians to testify.
Of course, people feel worse off – inflation is a problem. Mostly caused by profit grubbing price gouging companies. But neither the Republicans nor the Democrats will address it.
Your post on health care and drug price caps was a bit strange. Some of your second quote contradicts the opinion of the first article linked. As the second article points out, the health care industry in the US is a mess and lacks government oversight especially big pharma. As for your first article, most R&D in drugs therapies is funded by the gov’t and/or public state universities. The price gouging in the US goes straight to the private company, shareholders and CEO bonuses. Every OECD country uses their bulk buying to negotiate low prices. Accepting the highest price without leveraging bulk buying is corporate socialism as opposed to the free market.
And none of the ill effects predicted by your article have occurred. This is fear mongering at its finest by big pharma who not only funds many politicians but “think tanks” who turn out papers to support big pharma. The suppositions and leaps of logic in the article are insane.
Thanks for the link, hwesseli. It was an interesting read. To me, professional sports has always seemed to invite idolatry of sorts. Fans can invest way too much importance in these games and waste needed resources. And it can even result in pretty bad violence at times. Yet there are people whose way out of poverty (or just mediocrity) is through excellence in sports, and that’s not to be necessarily discouraged. There are lessons to be learned through playing sports well and even in the training and endeavoring to do so.
The article lost me a little where it harped on racism. Almost everything is ‘racist’ now, so I tune out at the very mention of the topic. When people are ready to go back to ‘content of character, not color of skin’ discussions, I will be more interested.
Hwesseli, apparently the FBI and other alphabet agencies have been out of hand for decades. Now that the masses realize it, perhaps it will get some light and correction. Instead of crying ‘hypocrisy’ perhaps left leaning folk should just take the win. Gloat if you must, but take the win. Some on the left are doing just that. ;–)
As for the issue of medical debt (and student debt too for that matter)*, the short answer is we need to restore these debts to the bankruptcy policy. Individuals and families used to be able to declare bankruptcy and lawfully discharge those debts if they were unable to pay them—just as businesses do ALL THE TIME. But greed won out in the 1980s or 1990s if memory serves. I’m too lazy right now to google the details, but they’re out there for anyone who’s interested .
*Disclaimer: I have both types of debt. Student debt is only survivable because of Income Based Repayment plans (probably the one single policy Obama got right, though we paid for it dearly in other ways).
Wandering Views 
Fire everyone in leadership. This fish is rotting from the head down.
“Former Agent Breaks Down In Tears When Detailing Her Time With ‘Politicized’ FBI”
https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/09/nicole-parker-weaponization-hearing-fbi/
“Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker broke down in tears Thursday while testifying during a congressional hearing.
Parker said during the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government’s inaugural hearing that she left her job at a hedge fund after 9/11 to serve her country, working as an FBI Special Agent from 2011-2022.
“I considered it a very sacred responsibility and was honored to be trusted to protect and serve the American people,” Parker said, recounting how she joined a Miami field office.
“Participating in the investigations of myriad criminal cases, the Majorie Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in Parkland, Florida,” Parker said as she began to break down.
“The 2017 Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, the Cesar Sayoc pipe bomb case-” she continued, listing other areas she covered as she wept.
“It was emotionally jarring, but I believed I was making an impactful difference. And every day I woke up and embraced being a Special FBI agent until things changed. Over the course of my 12+ years, the FBI’s trajectory has transformed. On paper, the bureau’s mission has remained the same but its priorities and governing principles shifted dramatically. The FBI became politically weaponized from the top in Washington and trickling down to the field offices.”
Parker said it seems as though there are two separate FBI’s, one of which is tainted with political bias and has destroyed the credibility of the agency. Parker added that there has been a “lowering of the eligibility requirements” for new recruits, which has negatively impacted the agency.”
—–
“She joined the FBI to defend America; she left when it turned its guns on Americans”
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2023/02/09/she-joined-the-fbi-to-defend-america-she-left-when-it-turned-its-guns-on-americans-n529598
“She joined the FBI after watching the World Trade Center collapse before her eyes, leaving a lucrative job at a hedge fund.
As a Special Agent in Miami, she worked on many high-profile cases and won awards and accolades for her hard work and diligence.
Last year she resigned in disgust. The FBI had turned its sights from fighting crime to fighting Americans’ freedoms.
Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker broke down in tears Thursday while testifying during a congressional hearing.
Parker said during the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government’s inaugural hearing that she left her job at a hedge fund after 9/11 to serve her country, working as an FBI Special Agent from 2011-2022.
“I considered it a very sacred responsibility and was honored to be trusted to protect and serve the American people,” Parker said, recounting how she joined a Miami field office.
“Participating in the investigations of myriad criminal cases, the Majorie Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in Parkland, Florida,” Parker said as she began to break down.
“The 2017 Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, the Cesar Sayoc pipe bomb case-” she continued, listing other areas she covered as she wept.
“It was emotionally jarring, but I believed I was making an impactful difference. And every day I woke up and embraced being a Special FBI agent until things changed. Over the course of my 12+ years, the FBI’s trajectory has transformed. On paper, the bureau’s mission has remained the same but its priorities and governing principles shifted dramatically. The FBI became politically weaponized from the top in Washington and trickling down to the field offices.”
Her testimony before Jim Jordan’s House Committee to investigate the weaponization of the federal government against Americans’ freedoms was riveting. Former Special Agent Parker tearfully recounted how disillusioned and then appalled she became as, over the years, top FBI officials used their power to pursue highly political, partisan ends.”
LikeLiked by 5 people
This is what the weaponization of govt looks like.
Be warned people of faith. Eventually, they’ll come for you too.
“FBI warns against “Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology””
https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2023/02/09/fbi-warns-against-radical-traditionalist-catholic-ideology-n529443
“Isn’t the FBI’s reputation with much of the public already far enough in the toilet without tossing something like this onto the bonfire? A recently leaked internal FBI memo from their Richmond office warned agents about the lurking danger of “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology” (RTC ideology). The document spoke of “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism,” suggesting that anyone who prefers to attend traditional Latin mass is somehow prone to racism or xenophobia and violence or whatever. Oh, and they allegedly also tend to be anti-Semites, so they’re probably out there attacking synagogues. Honestly… you just can’t make this stuff up. (National Review)
The FBI’s Richmond field office released an internal memo last month warning against “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology,” and claiming it “almost certainly presents new mitigation opportunities,” according to a document shared by an FBI whistleblower on Wednesday.
Kyle Seraphin, who was a special agent at the bureau for six years before he was indefinitely suspended without pay in June 2022, published the document, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” on UncoverDC.com.
“In making this assessment, FBI Richmond relied on the key assumption that [racially or ethnically motivated extremists] will continue to find [radical-traditionalist Catholic or RTC] ideology attractive and will continue to attempt to connect with RTC adherents, both virtually via social media and in-person at places of worship,” the document from January 23 states.
As insane as this sounds, it starts to make a little more sense when you learn the source of the warning that led to this memo. It came from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC, which was once a well-regarded civil rights organization, is now essentially a bought and paid-for militant arm of the progressive movement. They will condemn anyone who espouses unapproved views as a “danger” or a “threat” to preferred minority groups and most of the legacy media, unfortunately, treats their diatribes as serious news.
This particular bit of madness is made even more ironic when you look at what’s been going on around the country over the past few years. As Teri Christoph reminded us at RedState yesterday, there were 278 attacks on Catholic churches in 2020 alone. (They were a favorite target during the BLM riots.) And since the question of abortion was returned to the states last year by the Supreme Court, attacks on both churches and Catholic crisis pregnancy centers have been increasingly common, including incidents of firebombing.
As we’ve seen, the FBI has done little more than pay lip service to the arson attacks on pregnancy centers, while they attempted (and thankfully failed) to throw a pastor in prison for more than a decade for singing bible hymns in an abortion clinic. It’s no wonder that public faith in the Bureau is cratering. And incidents such as this one only further validate the need for the new House panel that will be looking into the political weaponization of law enforcement under the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, might the FBI be willing to point out a few examples of these alleged mobs of violent racists who happen to be able to speak Latin? I’m willing to bet that there have been some individuals who wound up getting into trouble and who also attended Catholic church services at some time in their life. But that’s very different than finding a church where militant activist groups are recruiting new members and meeting in the basement of St. Josephs.”
LikeLiked by 4 people
And this is what “institutional capture” does to once good institutions. It rots them.
“Smithsonian museum sued after it ‘kicked out’ Catholic students who wore ‘pro-life’ beanies”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/smithsonian-museum-sued-after-it-kicked-out-catholic-students-who-wore-pro-life-beanies/ar-AA17ixNe
“AChristian legal group filed a lawsuit on behalf of Catholic students and chaperones who said they were removed from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for donning beanies with anti-abortion messages last month.
The American Center for Law and Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday known as Kristi L. v. National Air & Space Museum, claiming the museum in Washington, D.C., “kicked out” nearly a dozen Catholic high school students and their chaperones on Jan. 20 for wearing anti-abortion hats they had worn to the annual national March for Life.
The plaintiffs belong to Our Lady of the Rosary School based in Greenville, South Carolina, and had traveled to Washington for the annual event wearing the same matching hats with the words “Rosary PRO-LIFE.”
ACLJ claimed the students were “mocked” and “accosted” after they went into the museum following the anti-abortion event on the National Mall, according to the 20-page complaint.
“Once in the [federal] museum, they were accosted several times and told they would be forced to leave unless they removed their pro-life hats. The group all wore the same blue hat that simply said, ‘Rosary PRO-LIFE.’ Other individuals in the museum were wearing hats of all kinds without issue,” according to the ACLJ.
At one point, a museum employee allegedly “proceeded to inform Plaintiffs that they must remove their hats because the museum was a ‘neutral zone,’ and that the First Amendment ‘does not apply here,'” according to the lawsuit, which also claimed the students were subjected to inappropriate expletives.
Lawyers for ACLJ strongly pushed back on the alleged claims that free speech protections did not apply to the museum, writing in their filing that the Smithsonian Institution is a federal entity that receives “more than $1 billion” from the government per fiscal year.
The Smithsonian released a statement to the public last week apologizing for the encounter and said employees involved in the matter did not adhere to the institution’s policy or protocol.”
LikeLiked by 5 people
A little sanity….
“D.C.: US Rep assaulted as House deep-sixes district crime bill”
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2023/02/09/d-c-us-rep-assaulted-as-house-deep-sixes-district-crime-bill-n529547
“That is not the way anyone wants to start their morning, and thank God she’s okay.”
“It had to be truly frightening. But it sure sounds as if Ms. Craig kept her wits about her and reacted swiftly when she was attacked.
…According to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital, Craig told police that she saw the male suspect “acting erratic” in the lobby of the building, “as if he was under the influence” of “an unknown substance.” Craig then said, “Good morning,” to the man before she went into the elevator, according to the report.
The report said the suspect also entered the elevator and then started doing pushups before punching Craig “on the chin area of her face” and grabbing her by the neck. She then threw her hot coffee at the suspect and escaped before officers arrived, the report said.
…Two officers canvassed the basement-level parking area of the building but did not find the suspect.
Cynically, most of us, upon reading the first reports coming in, were wondering how many priors the perp would be found to have if and when they caught him. That “revolving door” is a recurring problem in Washington, as it is elsewhere in progressively led cities.
As we’ve reported on a number of times here, the D.C. city council was preparing to make it much worse when their new social justice crime reform statute – the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 – took effect. Passed in November last year, Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the bill, but the council overrode it and there things stood – a done deal.”
—
—–
Thankfully and to their credit, many Democrats joined in killing this and another stupid bill.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Well maybe now the RINO/fence sitter faction of the GOP will come around, now that one of theirs has been targeted too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Apparently these folks missed Biden telling them how good they have it the other night.
“Half in U.S. Say They Are Worse Off, Highest Since 2009”
https://news.gallup.com/poll/469898/half-say-worse-off-highest-2009.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication
“Reflecting on their personal financial situations, 35% of Americans say they are better off now than they were a year ago, while 50% are worse off. Since Gallup first asked this question in 1976, it has been rare for half or more of Americans to say they are worse off. The only other times this occurred was during the Great Recession era in 2008 and 2009.
On the other hand, today’s “better off” percentage is not unusually low, having descended to 35% or lower during other challenging economic times. This includes the late 1970s and early 1980s, the early 1990s, and from 2008 through 2012. In those periods, a higher percentage than today’s 14% volunteered that their finances were “the same” as last year.”
The latest results are based on a Jan. 2-22 Gallup poll. They follow a year of persistent high inflation, with the highest inflation rates since 1982. Stock market values declined and interest rates rose in 2022, but, on average, personal wages increased substantially.
In both 2021 and 2022, Americans were evenly divided between saying they were better off versus worse off, including a 41% to 41% split in last year’s survey.
By contrast, before the pandemic in January 2020, Americans were almost three times as likely to say they were better off (59%) as worse off (20%). The 59% reading is one of the highest in Gallup’s trends, along with a 58% reading in 1999.
Lower-Income Americans More Likely to Say They Are Losing Ground
Most lower-income Americans, 61%, say their financial situation has deteriorated over the past year, while less than half that number, 26%, indicate it has improved. Middle- and upper-income Americans are also more likely to say they are worse off than better off, but by much narrower margins than seen among the lower-income group.”
—–
And on a related note…..
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/02/the-daily-chart-delinquent-recession-indicators.php
“Among the many potential recession indicators you can look at, such as the inverted yield curve or the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, one that should always be consulted is consumer debt delinquency. After falling during COVID because of lockdowns and endless stimulus payments, the trend in recent months doesn’t look good.”
LikeLiked by 3 people
He should stop “helping” because it usually does the opposite.
“Biden’s Drug Price Controls Will Kill More Patients in the Long Run
And increase total health care costs to boot.”
https://reason.com/2023/02/09/bidens-drug-price-controls-will-kill-more-patients-in-the-long-run/
“Federal government interference has massively distorted American health care costs for decades. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Joe Biden touted how the misnamed Inflation Adjustment Act (IRA) will further warp medical care costs by “finally giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices.” The result is essentially putting price controls on prescription drugs. And price controls will do for prescription drugs what they do for all other products upon which they are imposed: create shortages, queues, black markets, and rationing.
Even worse, drug price controls will have the additional baleful effect of increasing disease, disability, and deaths while simultaneously raising the total costs of health care. How? Because price controls substantially reduce the incentives for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to research, develop, and deploy innovative new medicines that would prevent and cure illnesses and cut overall costs.
These are the conclusions of a November 2021 study by the University of Chicago economist Tomas J. Philipson and his colleagues that analyzed the impact of the IRA on biopharmaceutical innovation and patient health. The study calculated that through 2039, the IRA will reduce pharmaceutical revenues by 12 percent, resulting in research and development (R&D) spending being cut by $663 billion. According to the authors, the decreased R&D spending would lead to 135 fewer new drug therapies, resulting in a potential loss of around 331 million patient life years through 2039. In comparison, through January 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in the loss of about 13.5 million life years in the United States.
Biden also asserted that new price controls on prescription medicines “will cut the federal deficit, saving taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars on the prescription drugs the government buys for Medicare.” Maybe so, but an August 2022 study by Philipson and his colleague calculates that what Medicare and other health care payers might save on prescription drugs over the next 20 years will be more than offset by increased spending on other sorts of medical care.
That study analyzed data showing how over time, the development of new drugs has significantly reduced overall health care costs from what they otherwise would have been. The researchers find that new drugs save money by reducing the need for other costly treatments such as hospitalization, surgeries, and disability care. Applying those findings to the consequences of developing 135 fewer drug therapies through 2039, the researchers calculate that the “average increase in total health care spending would be about $50.8 billion over a 20-year period.””
—-
This would not help costs either, because nothing is free. Someone would have to make up the difference.
“Lib group: Legislators must end medical debt”
https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2023/02/09/lib-group-legislators-must-end-medical-debt-n529464
“You may be familiar with the liberal activist group known as Citizen Action. They have subgroups in every state of the nation and most of you have probably had one of their representatives knocking on your door or accosting you out on the street, asking you to sign a petition for some lefty cause and, most importantly, wanting cash donations. They have a particularly pernicious group in New York and they regularly flood the email inboxes of anyone who hasn’t remembered to block them. Their latest campaign seeks to expand on the national student loan relief project that’s been embraced by liberals in Washington. They are drumming up New Yorkers to demand that Governor Kathy Hochul put an end to medical debt. They apparently feel that she can wave a magic wand and make everyone’s medical bills disappear.”
We envision a world where every New Yorker has the quality health care they need and the financial stability they deserve. It’s time to end medical debt and pass coverage for all to put us on a path to healthy, strong communities where every single person can thrive. The Governor has identified medical debt as an urgent health equity problem that needs to be solved. We need state legislators to take robust measures to ensure all New Yorkers, including immigrants, are protected from medical debt.
Everyone deserves affordable, accessible, culturally competent, and comprehensive health care and freedom from the burden of medical costs.
You can see all of the standard liberal buzzwords in this list of demands. They talk about “healthy, strong communities” and people “thriving.” It all sounds so sunny and positive, doesn’t it? Of course, they also specify that this total debt relief must apply to “immigrants,” as well. By which they mean illegal immigrants, of course. But they’ve chosen to leave the word “illegal” out of their brochures because it doesn’t poll well.
Addressing the main issue at hand here, I will be the first to agree that the cost of medical care in the United States is out of control and has been for some time. The medical industry is a mess, financially speaking, and far too many irregularities exist inside the system with almost no governmental oversight. Hospitals have frequently been caught charging different patients wildly different amounts of money for the same products and services based on whether or not they have medical insurance and how generous the policy is. That’s also a large driver of why insurance costs so much, by the way.
There is a reason for the glaring lack of government oversight I mentioned above. The healthcare industry in general spent more on lobbying during the last election cycle than any other industry, far outpacing the one that came in second. Big Pharma in particular dumped the most cash into the pockets of lawmakers. And what was the number one issue they were lobbying for? Stopping a cap on prescription drug prices. These people are not your friends and they have been showering money on candidates from both parties with equal abandon.
But with all of that said, this “plan” suffers from the same fatal flaws that Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness proposal contains. Once a debt is established, it doesn’t simply “go away” because some politician signs a piece of paper. (Unless that piece of paper is a check made out to the lender, of course.) It always winds up needing to be paid. These liberal debt “forgiveness” proposals simply shift the burden to the taxpayers, including the people who are being released from their repayment obligations.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
More lies under oath.
LikeLiked by 3 people
That Representative was wise to be on her guard. I am sure she thought of that plan (to throw the coffee) before she needed to react. Too bad she had no chance to exit the elevator. Sad that the day for not thinking that way is way behind us in this country.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Sinister or distraction???
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Friday afternoon shot down a “high-altitude object” flying over Alaskan airspace and Arctic waters, National Security Council official John Kirby confirmed at the White House.
The Pentagon had been tracking the object over the last 24 hours, he said.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Been away for a bit – winter blues, report card and IEP writing, and a general annoyance of the political discourse of our times. However, I came across an article on the SuperBowl, written by an old classmate who now teaches at Covenant College
https://comment.org/one-square-inch-we-wont-concede/?fbclid=IwAR21c7VSwLFbso8hTPQ6EDGK_nctFpW8WSt5HmiJ8fRGd3XAlVQDJPAHQNc
LikeLiked by 1 person
It appears most of the issues from a month ago are still here.
Apparently there’s now a committee to investigate the politicization of the FBI . Will they be going back to the time the FBI investigated and harassed MLK jr? Or perhaps investigate their ties to the Red Scare of the 50s? The FBI has always had a political side to it; it’s only now that Republicans and their supporters find themselves investigated are they concerned. A bit hypocritical. Perhaps they should call some historians to testify.
Of course, people feel worse off – inflation is a problem. Mostly caused by profit grubbing price gouging companies. But neither the Republicans nor the Democrats will address it.
Your post on health care and drug price caps was a bit strange. Some of your second quote contradicts the opinion of the first article linked. As the second article points out, the health care industry in the US is a mess and lacks government oversight especially big pharma. As for your first article, most R&D in drugs therapies is funded by the gov’t and/or public state universities. The price gouging in the US goes straight to the private company, shareholders and CEO bonuses. Every OECD country uses their bulk buying to negotiate low prices. Accepting the highest price without leveraging bulk buying is corporate socialism as opposed to the free market.
And none of the ill effects predicted by your article have occurred. This is fear mongering at its finest by big pharma who not only funds many politicians but “think tanks” who turn out papers to support big pharma. The suppositions and leaps of logic in the article are insane.
LikeLike
Thanks for the link, hwesseli. It was an interesting read. To me, professional sports has always seemed to invite idolatry of sorts. Fans can invest way too much importance in these games and waste needed resources. And it can even result in pretty bad violence at times. Yet there are people whose way out of poverty (or just mediocrity) is through excellence in sports, and that’s not to be necessarily discouraged. There are lessons to be learned through playing sports well and even in the training and endeavoring to do so.
The article lost me a little where it harped on racism. Almost everything is ‘racist’ now, so I tune out at the very mention of the topic. When people are ready to go back to ‘content of character, not color of skin’ discussions, I will be more interested.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hwesseli, apparently the FBI and other alphabet agencies have been out of hand for decades. Now that the masses realize it, perhaps it will get some light and correction. Instead of crying ‘hypocrisy’ perhaps left leaning folk should just take the win. Gloat if you must, but take the win. Some on the left are doing just that. ;–)
As for the issue of medical debt (and student debt too for that matter)*, the short answer is we need to restore these debts to the bankruptcy policy. Individuals and families used to be able to declare bankruptcy and lawfully discharge those debts if they were unable to pay them—just as businesses do ALL THE TIME. But greed won out in the 1980s or 1990s if memory serves. I’m too lazy right now to google the details, but they’re out there for anyone who’s interested .
*Disclaimer: I have both types of debt. Student debt is only survivable because of Income Based Repayment plans (probably the one single policy Obama got right, though we paid for it dearly in other ways).
LikeLiked by 1 person