This has to be the dumbest (or calculating) country on the planet!!
We allow millions to flood our borders illegally and we allow “mystery” companies and China to purchase lands surrounding our most sensitive hubs.
‘MYSTERY COMPANY’ BUYS $800M WORTH OF LAND NEAR TRAVIS AFB, RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY
By Stephanie Sierra
Friday, July 21, 2023 6:50AM PT
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (KGO) — The United States Air Force is investigating a company that’s purchased $800 million of land near Travis Air Force Base, one of the most critical military bases in the U.S. But after eight months of investigation, government officials have been unable to identify who’s behind it nor rule out any threat to national security.
“We’re very, very concerned about this,” said Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA08). “It’s so extensive and so secret and it’s impossible to get any information about what’s happening here.”
Congressman Garamendi raised the alarm to the U.S. Air Force — prompting a federal investigation.
Stephanie Sierra: “In your briefings on the matter, do you have any reason to believe the purchase of this land is for spying?”
Rep. Garamendi: “I have every reason in the world to believe that this land is adjacent to a critical national security platform Travis Air Force Base. Therefore — an area where spy operations or any other nefarious activity could take place…that could detrimentally impact the ability of Travis Air Force Base to operate in a moment of national emergency.”
Public records show the company “Flannery Associates LLC” began purchasing land around the military base in 2018. The controversy was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Investigators say those acquisitions ramped up in 2023.
“Now literally three sides of that base are totally controlled by the Flannery group,” Rep. Garamendi said.
Yet no one – including local, state, and federal officials — can seem to track down who’s behind the group.
“Who are these people?” Garamendi said. “Where did they get the money where they could pay five to ten times the normal value that others would pay for this farmland?”
Even after eight months of investigation, Garamendi says federal authorities are still struggling to get those answers.
“To this day we don’t know where these people are coming from,” Garamendi said.
I-Team reporter Stephanie Sierra asked Garamendi if there is any reason to believe China is tied to this group.
“I have reason to be concerned,” he responded.
Last year 300 acres of farmland were purchased near Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Garamendi called it a ‘”spy base.”
“That base is where we launch our airplanes to figure out what’s going on across the world,” he said. “A company in China was acquiring land around that base and wanted to build a 400-foot silo that could look directly into the base… and we were like ‘whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on there?'”
Garamendi says the attorney representing Flannery Associates indicated the firm is made up of a group of families, 97 percent of whom are allegedly American, looking to diversify their portfolio from equities to real assets – including agricultural land.
But the congressman is skeptical.
“We have heard scheme after scheme that makes no sense at all,” Rep. Garamendi said. “We’re going to build a deep water port. Really? Around Travis Air Force Base? Which is 10 miles from the Bay. No, you’re not… We’re going to farm… well at that price you’re going to lose a lot of money farming. Well, we’re going to build a city… No, you’re not going to build a city…so none of the reasons why the land is being acquired make any sense at all.”
The attorney representing Flannery Associates sent a letter to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, one of several agencies investigating the matter, issuing a formal response.
“No foreign person or group holds any significant interest or substantial control over Flannery, either now or at the time of any land purchase made by Flannery,” the letter said.
The company added they don’t comment on its investments.
Sierra: “What do you think is happening?”
Rep. Garamendi: “I don’t know, it doesn’t make any sense… It’s the secrecy… Why are you doing this in secret? If you’re not a nefarious operation, why are you keeping it secret?”
According to Garamendi, Flannery Associates has also acquired land around the interstate electrical grid system stemming from the Columbia River into Central California – including land that houses wind turbines that provide significant power into Northern California.
In the meantime, Garamendi says the company continues to negatively impact the farming community in Solano County. He says at least 10 landowners are being sued by Flannery, accused of being engaged in an illegal scheme to prevent the company from buying their land
This can all be traced back to Obama when he said that they will fundamentally change the USA. What people did not realize was that he was putting in place the seeds for a socialist government, and then convinced voters to drink his version of the Jim Jones Kool-aid.
Socialist governments are tyrannical by nature, as they use a sledge hammer to threaten people who oppose their ideology. Obama weaponized the DOJ, FBI and IRS. Pres. Trump’s election threatened the Obama agenda, which was why he was then mercilessly targeted for four years and now again as he runs for president. Biden is nothing more than the 3rd term of Obama with the continuation of weaponizing government agencies against the people.
“Dozens of armed IRS agents recently raided a Florida business, with witnesses telling a local news outlet that they were stunned by the show of force by the tax agency.
At least 25 to 30 IRS agents in tactical gear executed a search warrant at a business in Stuart, Florida, last week, according to Fox 29.
“It was like a scene from a movie,” an unnamed witness told the outlet. “They had the big gear, tactical gear because they probably didn’t know what they were walking into.”
An IRS spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the agents were from the IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) unit, a division whose agents investigate crimes like fraud and tax evasion.
The agents, who are authorized to carry guns as their work can be dangerous, were at the location on “official business,” the spokesperson added.
The unnamed witness told Fox 29 that it appeared that the agents were removing evidence from the business in bags and boxes.
While details remain scant on the raid, the show of force by IRS agents was noteworthy as it recalled Republican criticism of a funding boost to the agency amid concerns that it would be used to hire more tax enforcers who would target ordinary Americans.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other Biden administration officials have insisted that the $80 billion funding boost would not be used to increase audits on Americans making less than $400,000 per year.
Some have questioned why IRS agents would need to carry firearms at all. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, for example, on Aug. 4, 2022, led a segment on his show by expressing concern that the government is “treating the IRS as a military agency” and is “stockpiling” ammunition.”
The left’s latest abortion lie. She was convicted of a crime, but not for the abortion,. It was for her treatment of the remains.
And the usual idiots play along.
Twitter’s Community Notes sets the record straight. Media types love to complain about Twitter being the Wild West, yet what it offers is a chance with Community Notes to correct incorrect reporting on the spot, for all to see. The comments used to allow this, so most media banned the comment section. What the media hates most is accountability.
My dismay that the state of Nebraska sent a young woman to prison for self-administering an abortion at age 17 has sparked reaction. While some forthrightly cheer the imprisonment, others have trawled my publishing record for some change of heart. If they found it, so what? But- https://t.co/T32JA53VDz
Your previous, full-throated opposition to Roe v. Wade was LOUD. Your current, full-throated opposition to the overturning of Roe v. Wade is LOUD. Your 'conversion' was entirely invisible, unexplained save that your reputation collapsed and you still needed to make money. https://t.co/oFM3iProLg
— Jeff Blehar is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) July 22, 2023
“You got the basic facts wrong…” is a charitable interpretation.
And whine about Community Notes setting the record straight.
The Twitter community note at the bottom of the tweet is stupid. Putting women in jail for concealing an abortion as compared to having an abortion is not the winning message that Republicans think it is. https://t.co/H40YEemmsI
This tweet isn’t the win you think it is. If anyone tries to conceal any dead human body (burning and burying it) and doesn’t consult proper authorities, they are going to prison.
“Joe Biden is obsessed with “firsts” — especially when it comes to naming minorities to positions in his administration. Biden has prioritized “diversity” over almost everything else, including merit, experience, and judging by some of his choices, intelligence (we’re looking at you, Mayor Pete).
So it was no surprise when Biden announced that the new chief of naval operations would be Adm. Lisa Franchetti — the first woman to lead the Navy and the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The backstory to Franchetti’s nomination, as told by Politico, is that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had two slates of nominees for Biden to examine, including two choices for the top job and other nominations for open posts. One slate that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pushed had Adm. Samuel Paparo, who leads the U.S. Pacific Fleet, named as chief of naval operations. Paparo had several years on the front lines facing down China in the South China Sea.
The other slate had Franchetti ascending to the top spot from her post as Vice Chief of Naval Operations — a post she’s held for less than a year. So Biden chooses a rookie to match wits with the Chinese military. Paparo will now head up the Indo-Pacific Command.
Austin, the good soldier, took the snub quietly and without apparent malice.
The president doesn’t normally hand-pick the Navy’s top officer, so Biden’s decision to tap Franchetti for the job could be seen as a rebuke of Austin. But the move has not caused tension in the relationship, Sullivan said on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum.
“The president had the chance to sit with the secretary of Defense, and they worked this slate together, and this is the slate, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
Asked if there was any daylight between Biden and Austin, Sullivan said, “I don’t believe there is.” Both men ended the discussion “feeling very good about where we are,” he said.
“As our next chief of naval operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti will bring 38 years of dedicated service to our nation as a commissioned officer, including in her current role of vice chief of naval operations,” Biden said in his statement. “Throughout her career, Admiral Franchetti has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas.”
What do you suppose the Russians and Chinese think about all this “diversity”? I guess if/when we go to war with either of them, we’ll find out.”
Wandering Views 
This has to be the dumbest (or calculating) country on the planet!!
We allow millions to flood our borders illegally and we allow “mystery” companies and China to purchase lands surrounding our most sensitive hubs.
‘MYSTERY COMPANY’ BUYS $800M WORTH OF LAND NEAR TRAVIS AFB, RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY
By Stephanie Sierra
Friday, July 21, 2023 6:50AM PT
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (KGO) — The United States Air Force is investigating a company that’s purchased $800 million of land near Travis Air Force Base, one of the most critical military bases in the U.S. But after eight months of investigation, government officials have been unable to identify who’s behind it nor rule out any threat to national security.
“We’re very, very concerned about this,” said Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA08). “It’s so extensive and so secret and it’s impossible to get any information about what’s happening here.”
Congressman Garamendi raised the alarm to the U.S. Air Force — prompting a federal investigation.
Stephanie Sierra: “In your briefings on the matter, do you have any reason to believe the purchase of this land is for spying?”
Rep. Garamendi: “I have every reason in the world to believe that this land is adjacent to a critical national security platform Travis Air Force Base. Therefore — an area where spy operations or any other nefarious activity could take place…that could detrimentally impact the ability of Travis Air Force Base to operate in a moment of national emergency.”
Public records show the company “Flannery Associates LLC” began purchasing land around the military base in 2018. The controversy was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Investigators say those acquisitions ramped up in 2023.
“Now literally three sides of that base are totally controlled by the Flannery group,” Rep. Garamendi said.
Yet no one – including local, state, and federal officials — can seem to track down who’s behind the group.
“Who are these people?” Garamendi said. “Where did they get the money where they could pay five to ten times the normal value that others would pay for this farmland?”
Even after eight months of investigation, Garamendi says federal authorities are still struggling to get those answers.
“To this day we don’t know where these people are coming from,” Garamendi said.
I-Team reporter Stephanie Sierra asked Garamendi if there is any reason to believe China is tied to this group.
“I have reason to be concerned,” he responded.
Last year 300 acres of farmland were purchased near Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Garamendi called it a ‘”spy base.”
“That base is where we launch our airplanes to figure out what’s going on across the world,” he said. “A company in China was acquiring land around that base and wanted to build a 400-foot silo that could look directly into the base… and we were like ‘whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on there?'”
Garamendi says the attorney representing Flannery Associates indicated the firm is made up of a group of families, 97 percent of whom are allegedly American, looking to diversify their portfolio from equities to real assets – including agricultural land.
But the congressman is skeptical.
“We have heard scheme after scheme that makes no sense at all,” Rep. Garamendi said. “We’re going to build a deep water port. Really? Around Travis Air Force Base? Which is 10 miles from the Bay. No, you’re not… We’re going to farm… well at that price you’re going to lose a lot of money farming. Well, we’re going to build a city… No, you’re not going to build a city…so none of the reasons why the land is being acquired make any sense at all.”
The attorney representing Flannery Associates sent a letter to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, one of several agencies investigating the matter, issuing a formal response.
“No foreign person or group holds any significant interest or substantial control over Flannery, either now or at the time of any land purchase made by Flannery,” the letter said.
The company added they don’t comment on its investments.
Sierra: “What do you think is happening?”
Rep. Garamendi: “I don’t know, it doesn’t make any sense… It’s the secrecy… Why are you doing this in secret? If you’re not a nefarious operation, why are you keeping it secret?”
According to Garamendi, Flannery Associates has also acquired land around the interstate electrical grid system stemming from the Columbia River into Central California – including land that houses wind turbines that provide significant power into Northern California.
In the meantime, Garamendi says the company continues to negatively impact the farming community in Solano County. He says at least 10 landowners are being sued by Flannery, accused of being engaged in an illegal scheme to prevent the company from buying their land
LikeLiked by 4 people
Our government has gone rogue…
This can all be traced back to Obama when he said that they will fundamentally change the USA. What people did not realize was that he was putting in place the seeds for a socialist government, and then convinced voters to drink his version of the Jim Jones Kool-aid.
Socialist governments are tyrannical by nature, as they use a sledge hammer to threaten people who oppose their ideology. Obama weaponized the DOJ, FBI and IRS. Pres. Trump’s election threatened the Obama agenda, which was why he was then mercilessly targeted for four years and now again as he runs for president. Biden is nothing more than the 3rd term of Obama with the continuation of weaponizing government agencies against the people.
“Dozens of armed IRS agents recently raided a Florida business, with witnesses telling a local news outlet that they were stunned by the show of force by the tax agency.
At least 25 to 30 IRS agents in tactical gear executed a search warrant at a business in Stuart, Florida, last week, according to Fox 29.
“It was like a scene from a movie,” an unnamed witness told the outlet. “They had the big gear, tactical gear because they probably didn’t know what they were walking into.”
An IRS spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the agents were from the IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) unit, a division whose agents investigate crimes like fraud and tax evasion.
The agents, who are authorized to carry guns as their work can be dangerous, were at the location on “official business,” the spokesperson added.
The unnamed witness told Fox 29 that it appeared that the agents were removing evidence from the business in bags and boxes.
While details remain scant on the raid, the show of force by IRS agents was noteworthy as it recalled Republican criticism of a funding boost to the agency amid concerns that it would be used to hire more tax enforcers who would target ordinary Americans.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other Biden administration officials have insisted that the $80 billion funding boost would not be used to increase audits on Americans making less than $400,000 per year.
Some have questioned why IRS agents would need to carry firearms at all. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, for example, on Aug. 4, 2022, led a segment on his show by expressing concern that the government is “treating the IRS as a military agency” and is “stockpiling” ammunition.”
LikeLiked by 3 people
The left’s latest abortion lie. She was convicted of a crime, but not for the abortion,. It was for her treatment of the remains.
And the usual idiots play along.
Twitter’s Community Notes sets the record straight. Media types love to complain about Twitter being the Wild West, yet what it offers is a chance with Community Notes to correct incorrect reporting on the spot, for all to see. The comments used to allow this, so most media banned the comment section. What the media hates most is accountability.
This is the crime, not the abortion. But the media willingly play along in the lie.
Frum is useless.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Democrats just run with the lie….
And whine about Community Notes setting the record straight.
Reality.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Another diversity hire…..
I feel safer already.
“Biden Overrules Pentagon and Names a Female Admiral to Head the Navy”
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2023/07/22/biden-overrules-pentagon-and-names-a-female-admiral-to-head-the-navy-n1712822
“Joe Biden is obsessed with “firsts” — especially when it comes to naming minorities to positions in his administration. Biden has prioritized “diversity” over almost everything else, including merit, experience, and judging by some of his choices, intelligence (we’re looking at you, Mayor Pete).
So it was no surprise when Biden announced that the new chief of naval operations would be Adm. Lisa Franchetti — the first woman to lead the Navy and the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The backstory to Franchetti’s nomination, as told by Politico, is that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had two slates of nominees for Biden to examine, including two choices for the top job and other nominations for open posts. One slate that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pushed had Adm. Samuel Paparo, who leads the U.S. Pacific Fleet, named as chief of naval operations. Paparo had several years on the front lines facing down China in the South China Sea.
The other slate had Franchetti ascending to the top spot from her post as Vice Chief of Naval Operations — a post she’s held for less than a year. So Biden chooses a rookie to match wits with the Chinese military. Paparo will now head up the Indo-Pacific Command.
Austin, the good soldier, took the snub quietly and without apparent malice.
The president doesn’t normally hand-pick the Navy’s top officer, so Biden’s decision to tap Franchetti for the job could be seen as a rebuke of Austin. But the move has not caused tension in the relationship, Sullivan said on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum.
“The president had the chance to sit with the secretary of Defense, and they worked this slate together, and this is the slate, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
Asked if there was any daylight between Biden and Austin, Sullivan said, “I don’t believe there is.” Both men ended the discussion “feeling very good about where we are,” he said.
“As our next chief of naval operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti will bring 38 years of dedicated service to our nation as a commissioned officer, including in her current role of vice chief of naval operations,” Biden said in his statement. “Throughout her career, Admiral Franchetti has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas.”
What do you suppose the Russians and Chinese think about all this “diversity”? I guess if/when we go to war with either of them, we’ll find out.”
LikeLiked by 2 people