Sunday Talks, Texas Governor Greg Abbott Discusses Crisis at The Border March 14, 2021 | Sundance | 219 Comments

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has exposed a little more blue than prior to the COVID fiasco; and now he will likely face several Republican primary challengers in the next election.  That said, today Governor Abbott was on television discussing the crisis at the U.S. Southern border with Mexico.

One of the data-points that Abbott shares comes via the Rio Grande Valley sector.  In 2020 there was a total of 90,000 illegal border crossing apprehensions.  So far this year there have been 110,000 apprehensions and over 800 of them were criminal aliens previously convicted of crimes in the U.S.

Human trafficking is a major source of funding for Mexican cartels, and they are now storming the border in an effort to overwhelm the Border Patrol.   Additionally, various foreign nationals, from all over the globe, are also paying the cartels for transit into the United States.https://www.youtube.com/embed/h1aKeSalQYc?feature=oembed

(more…)Posted in 1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, Big Government, Big Stupid Government, Cold Anger, Decepticons, Deep State, Dem Hypocrisy, Illegal Aliens, media bias, Mexico, Refugees, Uncategorized, USA

ALT-MARKET.US 

How The Fight Over American Freedom Will Probably Escalate

March 4, 2021 

By Brandon Smith

HAT TIP: MATTACHIONE

Three months ago in December I published an article titled ‘Is The Globalist Reset Failing? The Elites May Have Overplayed Their Hand’. I was specifically interested in the development of the pandemic “crisis”, the lockdown mandates of governments worldwide, the bizarre vaccination campaign for the new and under-tested mRNA cocktail which was rushed out to the public in the span of six months, the World Economic Forum’s open statements that they hoped to exploit the pandemic as a springboard for their globalist agenda, and the public’s reaction to it all.

I have to say, I continue to see a divergence in what the elites clearly wanted to happen vs. what has actually happened. If the Event 201 pandemic war game on a coronavirus outbreak, held two months before the actual outbreak occurred in China, is any indication, then the globalists greatly overestimated the fear effect of Covid.

They predicted at least 65 million deaths from a coronavirus outbreak, but over a year has passed since the pandemic went international and the official death count stands at 2.5 million, with over 40% of deaths in the US attributed to nursing home patients that were ALREADY dying from preexisting conditions. Removing suspect nursing home deaths from the equation, the death count is probably closer to 1.5 million, again, if we adhere to official estimates.

To put this number in perspective, the CDC states that global deaths from the flu virus peak at around 649,000 depending on the year. Deaths from the flu and pneumonia reach as high as 1.4 million globally per year. Studies funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation find annual pneumonia death stats that are comparable to the CDC’s. Yet, we never saw Bill Gates calling for economic lockdowns, mask mandates and medical passports because of the flu or pneumonia. Why is that?

Today, the death rate of covid is 0.26%, FAR below initial predictions by globalist institutions and governments. It is now widely proven that the lockdowns did NOTHING to slow the infection spread of the virus, and now many areas of the US are starting to experience what the lab coat “professionals” affectionately call “herd immunity”. Infections and deaths are plunging, and the lockdowns and mask mandates were useless.

Like the vast majority of all viral illnesses, humans simply get sick, endure, build immunity and get healthy. Some of us die, as we always have, and government intervention is not needed nor is it welcome. This is why large portions of US and European populations are refusing to accept the lockdowns and the vaccines. Why destroy the economy and submit to a potentially dangerous genetic cocktail over a disease that 99.7% of the population is sure to survive?

The establishment elites really blew it this time.

My suspicion, my “conspiracy theory” if you will, is that the globalists announced their reset agenda under the assumption that the death rate for covid would be MUCH higher than it is. They were expecting something biblical, and instead they got something not much more dangerous than the flu and pneumonia.

There is now mass public resistance to the vaccinations and medical passports. This is probably why they rushed out the vaccines in the span of 6 months instead of a year to 18 months as they hinted at in early 2020. They are trying to get as many people as possible to take the experimental vaccines before the citizenry realizes that covid is a nothing-burger.

I can say that in my area the majority of people never wore the masks and the majority of local businesses never tried to enforce them. And though they initially went along with the first economic shutdown, they will not be complying with another. In my state of Montana, there are 1,300 deaths attributed to covid. In my county, the estimated infection rate is over 25% (which means almost everyone has probably already been infected), and there are only 13 deaths total.

No one is scared of this thing. Almost no conservative is going to wear a mask, and many people in Red states (and some in Blue states) are going to refuse to take the vaccines or accept medical passports.

This means that the globalists have a big problem. They obviously invested a lot into this pandemic. It is the key to their entire Reset agenda. Without a frightening pandemic killing tens of millions, the globalists will not be able to lock down the public and prevent them from traveling or organizing. They will not be able to institute the medical passports and contact tracing apps that would allow them to watch the public 24/7. They certainly won’t get most Americans to go along with the cashless society and the centralized global governance the elites are so obsessed with.

The fear of cronavirus is waning. The globalists have indeed failed in epic fashion. But, this doesn’t mean that they are going to give up. If my experience studying psychopathic people tells me anything, it is that when these lunatics are cornered they tend to double and triple down on their failures.

The question is, what will happen next? The establishment will need maximum instability and chaos in the near term if they hope to salvage their Reset project. If they wait too long awareness will spread and they might not get another chance for many decades to come, if ever. Here are the events I expect to see over the course of the next year…

Covid Mutation Hype

The globalists are doomed unless they can keep the pandemic panic rolling forward. For now, puppets like Biden and Fauci are going to pretend as if a full reopening of the economy is going to happen. This us a lie. Already we are seeing Biden waffling on when a reopening will take place. He has indicated that it will be at least a YEAR before the shutdowns will completely end, and this is predicated on the majority of Americans submitting to vaccinations and medical passports.

In other words, the establishment is telling us that they intend to hold the economy hostage until we take the jab and give up our freedoms.

Now, are these inbred totalitarians just out of their minds? Well, probably, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a Plan B. Just look at all the hype surrounding “covid mutations” in places like South Africa and Brazil; the narrative will be that a “new covid variant” that is more dangerous and deadly than the first virus is spreading, and that the lockdowns must return for the greater good of the public.

As a recent article from ‘The New Scientist’ states:

“Existing vaccines should stop people getting severely ill and dying if they do get infected by the P.1 variant. However, because many people remain unvaccinated, plans to ease lockdown restrictions would have to be rethought if this variant causes a resurgence in case numbers. Plus, any variant that circulates widely will have more opportunities to evolve into a more dangerous form.”

The New Scientist does not seem to understand basic science. The overwhelming majority of viruses circulating in the world usually evolve into less deadly forms of their original iteration. Viruses need to survive too, and they don’t do this by mutating into more and more deadly monstrosities that kill their favorite hosts. There is still no evidence that the new covid mutations are any threat whatsoever, but the establishment is already staging the narrative that new lockdowns are coming.

Federal Lockdowns

If the mutation narrative continues on the path it seems to be following, then I expect the Biden Administration to attempt a national federalized lockdown similar to the Level 4 lockdowns used in Europe and Australia, and it will be announced sometime this year.

This program will trigger several reactions; most importantly, most conservative states and counties will refuse to follow federal mandates. I know that my county and probably most of Montana will defy any new shutdown.

There will be several economic consequences that will erupt from this conflict; some positive and some negative.

Domestic Economic Warfare

This phase of the crisis will happen within a month to two months of any national shutdown. Red states will refuse to comply. State politicians, even if they are part of the agenda, will be too scared to try to enforce federal mandates. They will be compelled by the conservative citizenry to keep their states open. Most people in these areas will ignore mandates.

This will lead to a red state fiscal boom, at least in the beginning, as business continues to thrive in conservative areas while blue states suffer under medical tyranny. Companies will flee leftist states by the thousands and move to any states that remain open and accommodating. This will be short lived, though.

Biden and the federal government will try to retaliate, first by cutting off federal funds to any state that does not bow to their power and refusing to give stimulus to any businesses that relocate. Blue states will be flush with stimulus cash while red states will be forced to reduce or eliminate welfare programs and some pension funds.

Of course, the government has no real money to give, they only have our tax dollars and the fiat that the central bank creates from thin air. The likely response will be that conservative states and citizens will simply stop paying federal taxes. Another reaction will be red states taking over federal lands and utilizing the resources on those lands to rejuvenate their industry and make up for the federal dollars lost.

What this amounts to is a soft secession of conservative regions, which will eventually lead to federal attempts at physical intervention (the economic war will turn into a shooting war). The argument from the establishment will be that conservatives are putting the rest of the country “at risk”, that we are “selfish” and “literally killing grandma”.

Complete Erasure Of Conservatives From The Internet

I expect Biden and Big Tech to further pursue their current witch hunt against conservative voices, far beyond what we have already seen. In order to win a fight with conservatives they will first have to silence us so that our side of the argument is never seen or considered by the rest of the population. If they allow us to be heard, we will undoubtedly win because facts and moral reason are on our side.

It is hard to demonize people that simply want to be free.

But, if you can silence conservatives and moderates, then the narrative can be rigged. The establishment spin doctors can tell people that we don’t actually want freedom; we want something else, something evil and nefarious. They can tell people we are “fascists”, and that we are “racists” and that we actually want tyranny. Who is going to tell the public otherwise when we are removed from all available platforms and our websites are booted off service providers due to “dangerous ideas”?

Gun Control Madness

I know that some people think that leftists under Biden will not try to carry out a widespread gun crackdown and that much of the current talk is merely hollow rhetoric. I disagree. I think the globalists are going for broke, and they need to get as many combat capable firearms as they can from Americans soon. Democrats will push hard for legislation like HR 127.

They will then offer a “compromise” with Republicans and the NRA, cutting out portions of the bill. This will be a trick to make the public think that the new restrictions are a “reasonable compromise”. They think we will breath a sigh of relief and say “Well, at least they didn’t take everything…”

The gun grabbers are delusional.

What will really happen is millions of gun owners will pass local and state laws negating federal restrictions. No conservatives are going to give up their gun rights, allow red flag laws to be implemented or allow high capacity firearms to be limited; not at this stage in the game.

International Intervention

Eventually, leftists and the establishment will realize that conservatives will be harder to subjugate than they expected. They will discover that a large part of the US military and law enforcement is on our side. They will start to see mutiny among the people that they rely on as cannon fodder to carry out their dictates.

Even now, there are sheriff’s departments across the country refusing to enforce lockdown orders. And, 30% to 50% of medical professional say they will not be taking the covid vaccine depending on the state. When the rebellion goes live, this is when the globalists will have to pursue extreme options. They will not be able to win using domestic forces. Instead, they will seek out an international response, probably through the United Nations.

The rationale will be that the US has an enormous nuclear arsenal and that the international community cannot allow these weapons to fall into the hands of “white supremacists”. This is when the real fight will begin. If international intervention fails in the US, the globalists will find their heads on the chopping block. If the globalists win the fight in the US then there will be very few people left to resist them in the years going forward.

I have had numerous readers from all over the world write to me, saying that they believe in the face of the pandemic lockdowns it is now all up to Americans to turn the tide. I agree. A successful rebellion against globalism in America will lead to rebellions elsewhere, but the fact remains that if we lose, no one else will dare lift a finger. The future is in our hands.

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2,000 Busloads of New ImmigrantsAre Heading to Your Town Are YOU Ready for the Caravan?

 By Pem Schaefferpemster4062@yahoo.com

March 14, 1 A.T. 

Rip McIntosh

Sometimes it helps to convert big numbers to tangible imagery of some sort that helps average humans grasp the scale of the figure at hand. Recent attempts to explain the magnitude of a $1.9 TRILLION bill have all fallen flat. The number is simply too big to symbolize with anything of remotely human scale.
Another number in the news these days is much, much smaller.  Remarking on illegal entries into the US at our southern border, the numbers in February this year were reported as more than 100,000, and significantly higher than last year. This is attributed to Biden’s reversal of Trump’s policies on border control, and in particular, calling a stop to border fence construction.
Open border advocates like to say that a country as vast as ours, with a population in the range of 350 million (350,000,000), should have no problem at all absorbing and supporting 100,000 new arrivals, diseases, criminal records, and what have you as part of the mix.
Per month.
I could think of a few different ways of picturing 100,000 people. Our largest football stadiums can hold roughly that amount, at least for a 3 or 4-hour game.
But then I thought about another way. A typical large bus (motor coach) holds in the range of 50 passengers. That means transporting 100,000 new arrivals would take at least 2,000 such buses. Can you imagine organizing that brigade of buses, routing them to the pickup point in an orderly manner, and then loading and dispatching them to their destination, again, in an orderly manner, each with clear instructions and full fuel tanks?
Quite a task, and quite an image to behold. It would take helicopters high above to capture the scene for broadcast.
Now imagine that caravan of 2,000 buses arriving in your town to spend the night, make bathroom breaks, and allow passengers to eat. Who is going to organize and handle that?
If that seems too big to get your arms around, ask yourself what it would look like if your town was the final destination for those 2,000 bus-loads. Where would you like them to park and unload their passengers? Who will be there to greet them and make arrangements for their living arrangements and all the other needs they will have?
Look, if it will make things easier for you and your fellow residents, those 2,000 buses won’t have to arrive all at once. Instead, they can come in a steady stream, averaging just under 70 bus-loads per day.But, fair warning, that daily rate will continue for the foreseeable future, according to the new managers of America’s borders.
And remember; this is not a “crisis,” this is a “challenge.”
You’re up to the challenge, we assume. Welcome centers, medical personnel, translators, temporary housing, and all the rest. 
After all, this is a great country, and all because of folks like you. Washington is counting on you, so don’t let them down!

A Funeral Director playing President

By: Stanley Ralph

March 13, 2021 

Hat Tip: Rip McIntosh

I struggled through the Biden Eulogy on America last night. 

could not muster anger, because I was so sad. 

Here we had a feeble old man shuffling down a hall to tell us that everything was bad until he arrived.

He didn’t have the courage to state the obvious that Trump had left office with 3 vaccines and millions of doses ready for injection, that treatments from Regeneron and Eli Lily were cutting hospitalizations and deaths by 87%, that China was an evil state actor doing “gain of function” virus research with funding approved by NIH and Fauci, that the CCP spread the virus more or less deliberately, that masks were discouraged (Fauci again) primarily because China had bought a billion masks (essentially the world’s supply) before the WHO declared a pandemic, that the Permanent Deep State Bureaucracy fought Warp Speed all the way, that Pfizer held announcement of effectivity until after the election (no doubt to get even for Favored Nation Status on drugs).

 I could go on, but it sickens me. Wearing a dark suit and funereal tie, Biden played the perfect role of the greeter at a wake. In oh so somber tones, he played to the emotions of families across the nation who lost loved ones. I could almost smell the carnations and lilies. I am deeply saddened too, but against this awful enemy, we must curly up in a ball. We are the home of the Brave, and we need to show it.

Disgusting as all of this was, I was frightened by how completely out of touch he is with Americans and the American spirit. Americans, real Americans, can get slapped down, but we get up, fight and overcome. He just ordered us to stay down, stay isolated, wait for government handouts and help, and get used to dependency. Maybe, just maybe, we can have a hot dog on July 4^th with our family, but only if we stay in our holes until then. And only if the Central Government says it’s OK.

His idea of unity is universal suppression until he allows us even to sit upright. When their time is right they will loosen their grip slightly, and we will feel liberated. Such is the new definition of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Such is the new Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

The giant giveaway just passed and signed is hailed as a great achievement. Claiming it will raise people out of poverty, like LBJ’s Great Society, it’s a grand welfare giveaway, reinstituting the Great Dependency State on a scale this country has never seen. Once a class is given a “living income”, why work ever again? And how do you convince a person that work is noble and good? Even right now when there are 6.9 million jobs available and unfilled? The “regime” is further dividing us into those who work and those who don’t, those who prosper from work, and those who don’t care as long as the smartphone is free.  And, by the way, racism has nothing to do with it. Laziness and sloth are universal human traits.
My wife and I watched this trash speech on Fox with a thumb view of Tucker Carlson at the lower right; his expression was more entertaining than watching Biden’s darkness. Tucker was aghast; so were we. You should be too.  Finally, the producers put a caption on the screen “Biden speech almost over”, worrying that eyeballs might tune out. And yet, the liberal fan club was gushing with tearful praise and relief. 

At the end, Biden shuffled off into the distance where two Praetorian Guards escorted him to bed. Day 51 at the White House and all is quiet.

Roma Locuta Est On the 8th Anniversary of the Election of Cardinal Bergoglio by Steven O’Reilly March 13, 2021 Today is the eight anniversary of the election of Pope Francis.  I wasn’t planning on marking this year’s anniversary with an article, as I had last year (see The 7th Anniversary of the Election of Cardinal Bergoglio), or as I had on the 8th anniversary of the “influential Italian gentleman” (see On the 8th Anniversary of McCarrick’s “Influential Italian Gentleman”).  Rather, I had originally planned to spend the full day working on Book II of the PIA FIDELIS historical-fiction trilogy I am writing, set in the days of the Arian crisis, and the rise of Julian the Apostate. Yet…before continuing onto that ongoing project, I happened upon an article that discussed Archbishop Ganswein’s ‘infamous’ speech on Pope Benedict (see full speech here). Ganswein’s talk in May of 2016 was given on the occasion of a book presentation, i.e., author Roberto Regoli’s book on the Pope Benedict BXVI’s papacy. [NB: Those following the “Benedict is Pope” (BiP) controversy will recall that speech, and the interpretations given to it by BiP-ers.  Roma Locuta Est has offered its take on the overall BiP controversy (here), and specifically on Ganswein’s speech (here, and here).]While the article by Andrea Gagliarducci (see Pope Francis’ dilemma is the dilemma of Today’s Church, May 30, 2016) discussed Ganswein’s speech at the Regoli book presentation in brief, that is not the point of this article. Rather, what caught my eye is that Gagliarducci’s article went on to mention something of which I had not been previously aware. That ‘something’ is that Andrea Riccardi had also spoken at the same Regoli book presentation on the same day[1] as Ganswein. Followers of this blog may remember that Andrea Riccardi appears a possible candidate to be McCarrick’s mysterious “influential Italian gentleman” (see here, here, here, and here; and see also The Conclave Chronicles).Given the above, I was naturally curious as to what Gagliarducci had to say of Riccardi’s talk.  Just before he discusses Riccardi, Gagliarducci recalls that Ganswein spoke of the St. Gallen Mafia, saying:“Joseph Ratzinger, after one of the shortest elections in the history of the Church, was elected after only four ballots following a dramatic struggle between the so-called ‘Salt of the Earth Party’ gathered around Cardinals Lopez Trujillo, Ruini, Herranz, Rouco Varela and Medina, and the so-called ‘St. Gallen Group’ gathered around Cardinals Danneels, Martini, Silvestrini and Murphy O’Connor – a group that Cardinal Danneels himself recently amusedly described as a sort of ‘mafia club’.”Gagliarducci writes that “Archbishop Gaenswein’s words certify the existence of an internal struggle. Perhaps, this internal struggle is the key to the many attacks on Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate. Just so, the outcome of the struggle is the “charm offensive” around Pope Francis’ pontificate.”  Gagliarducci then moves on regarding this “struggle,” writing of Riccardi’s speech at the Regoli book presentation (emphasis added):That the struggle is still ongoing is attested by some details of Andrea Riccardi’s talk at the same book presentation. Founder of the Sant’Egidio Community, Riccardi wanted to underscore that in the end the St. Gallen Group had not so much importance and weight, since some of its members could not take part in the Conclave (those over 80 years of age can no longer take part in a conclave). In his talk, Riccardi even spoke about a conclave made up of cardinals who did not know how to elect a Pope.Why did Riccardi made (sic) these remarks, in spite of the fact that his talk was full of praise for Benedict XVI? Perhaps the reason is that Sant’Egidio, with his social initiatives, with its tireless work with refugees, with its initiative of creating humanitarian corridors that Pope Francis appreciates (so much that the Pope made of the Holy See a humanitarian corridor on his way back from Lesbos) is now a key actor on the Vatican chessboard, while it was not so under Pope Benedict XVI. Under Pope Francis, Sant’Egidio is free to play at being a sort of diplomatic outpost: this has always been the secret goal of the movement, even thought they were not so free to act in this way during past pontificates….Andrea Riccardi, readers of this blog may recall, would appear to be a possible candidate to be ex-Cardinal McCarrick’s “influential Italian gentleman” (see The “Influential Italian Gentleman”: A Sant’Egidio Connection?).  Whether Riccardi is McCarrick’s mysterious visitor or not, it is curious that he sought to downplay the involvement of the St. Gallen mafia at the 2013 conclave on the basis of their advanced age, i.e., their inability to vote in the conclave. Surely, Riccardi is one who knows that influence over many may be more important than a solitary vote.  That is to say, Riccardi is no stranger to lobbying before a conclave, as Italian journalist Sandro Magister describes (emphasis added):“On the eve of the conclave of 2005 he carried out an incessant lobbying effort among the cardinals, in order to block the Ratzinger candidacy and to push that of Dionigi Tettamanzi, at the time the archbishop of Milan.” (Source: Sandro Magister, Between “Gay” Marriage and Elections. Can the Pope Trust Andrea Riccardi?, January 10, 2013)Indeed, even as far back as 1998, Magister, commenting on the Community of Sant’Egidio founded by Riccardi, wrote (emphasis added):But they´ll get their way. The members of Sant´Egidio are few in number. It´s difficult for them to make new recruits, and many leave. But they think of themselves as “the ant capable of doing great things with modest resources.” They are a powerful lobby. They will influence the conclave that elects the next Pope. No Church leader wants to have them as an enemy. Riccardi frequently says to his followers: “We must seem to be more than what we really are. That is our miracle: the great bluff.” (Source: Sandro Magister, The Story of Sant´Egidio. The Great Bluff. April 9, 1998)Given the above, it is curious that Riccardi, a man of influence, would downplay the possibility of the St. Gallen mafia’s influence at the conclave which elected Cardinal Bergoglio simply because they could not vote.  Riccardi, per Magister as noted above, had lobbied before another conclave and was an anti-Ratzingerian, and he described himself as a “convinced Bergoglian” (see here).  The latter two points are, coincidentally, something he held in common with the members of the St. Gallen mafia.  Did Riccardi lobby cardinals prior to the March 2013 conclave as he reportedly had in 2005?  Was he the Italian who McCarrick said lobbied him (see The “we” in “We did it!” — and what they did)?  Why would he downplay the role of the St. Gallen mafia as Gagliarducci suggests?All interesting questions, and good ones for a professional journalist to ask the relevant parties. As I have observed elsewhere, McCarrick’s meeting with the “influential Italian gentleman” must have been known to the McCarrick report investigators — as it was included in Archbishop Vigano’s Testimony. Given these McCarrick Report investigators were responding in part to what Vigano alleged regarding McCarrick and Pope Francis, it is odd there is no mention of this meeting in the McCarrick Report (NB: The full report may be found here). The exclusion cannot be a simple oversight (see Glaring Omission in McCarrick Report: What about the “Influential Italian Gentleman?”). Steven O’Reilly is a graduate of the University of Dallas and the Georgia Institute of Technology. A former intelligence officer, he and his wife, Margaret, live near Atlanta with their family. He has written apologetic articles and is author of Book I of the Pia Fidelis trilogy, The Two Kingdoms. (Follow on twitter at @fidelispia for updates). He asks for your prayers for his intentions.  He can be contacted at StevenOReilly@AOL.com  or StevenOReilly@ProtonMail.com (or follow on Twitter: @S_OReilly_USA or on Parler or Gab: @StevenOReilly).Notes: Riccardi’s full talk in Italian may be found here. Steven O’Reilly | March 13, 2021 at 9:22 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: https://wp.me/p7YMML-6Fe

PROUD SYMBOL OF FREEDOM

BY E.P.UNUM

March 13, 2021

(Thank you, Rip McIntosh)

 She has been called by many names…Liberty Enlightening the World, The Mother of Exiles, The Lady in the Harbor, and, of course, The Statue of Liberty. But for over 135 years one thing has remained constant: The Statue of Liberty’s abiding legacy as a symbol of American ideals. Draped in a majestic robe, and raising an illuminated torch 305 feet in the air, this striking figure proudly welcomes all who enter America legally seeking new and better opportunities for themselves and their families. From the original idea proposed in France in 1865 to the monument’s spectacular unveiling in 1886, the story of the Statue of Liberty’s creation is the story of how two nations with a shared commitment to freedom set about honoring the United States of America as it approached its centennial anniversary.
The idea was conceived by Edouard de Laboulaye, a professor of comparative law at the College de France. An expert on the U.S. Constitution and an ardent abolitionist, Laboulaye had been closely following the American Civil War. He invited other like-minded French intellectuals and abolitionists to a meeting at his estate to discuss relations between America and France. At this meeting, he floated the idea that a colossal monument should be built in time for America’s centennial celebration on July 4, 1876. Laboulaye wanted the statue to be paid for by the people of France and given as a gift to the American people. Laboulaye believed, however, that the foundation or pedestal should be paid for by the American people, thus making the project a joint effort that would underscore the solidarity between the French and American people.
The project began with great enthusiasm. Auguste Bartholdi, a 31-year-old respected artist, and sculptor expressed interest in designing it Plans were made, artists were recruited, engineering designs were created and a major fundraising effort mounted. Then, the fundraising effort was terminated early in 1871 by Napoleon III, emperor of France, who viewed such a monument to liberty as a criticism of his regime. After Napoleon was defeated in the Franco- Prussian War, Laboulaye resurrected the project and, despite several major hurdles and delays, saw it through to completion, with the help of President Ulysses S. Grant, Jacob Pulitzer who raised the last $100,000 to finalize the completion of the pedestal and the Union League Club of New York. Liberty Enlightening the World was completed in France in 1884 and was formally presented to the United States in Paris at a ceremony held on July 4. The statue was then disassembled into 350 pieces, packed into 214 crates, and shipped to America aboard the French Navy Frigate L’Isere. Upon arrival, it was then re-assembled by American and French workers on Bledsoe Island, where it stands today, her torch shining in New York’s harbor, lighting the entrance to the land of the free and home of the brave. Emma Lazarus, a Jewish author, wrote the words inscribed on Lady Liberty’s pedestal/foundation, the full text of her poem entitled The Great Colossus is presented below:

• Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

 I remember my grandfather and my father taking me to visit the Lady in the Harbor several times. I remember listening with a thirsty ear to family discussions of how important that symbol meant to them. My grandfather spoke of the emotions he felt seeing it from the deck of a ship bringing him home from World War I. My father also spoke of how magnificent the monument looked to him coming home from World War II. Later in my life, I too felt great pride as our nation celebrated its bi-centennial in 1976 and, seeing the fireworks in New York harbor, my eyes like lasers focused on that lighted torch reminding all that freedom rings true. I thought of the stories of my family arriving on ships from Italy, some before the turn of the century, seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time, and giving thanks to God they would finally be able to pursue the American Dream. Since that day of celebration in 1886, the Statue of Liberty has remained a revered national symbol. For all immigrants, passing through Ellis Island, the Statue has represented a mother welcoming them to a life of freedom in America. During times of war or conflict, its image has been used to depict a guardian who will protect America from outside threats. Today, the Statue of Liberty, having undergone a massive restoration project in the mid-1980s, stands strong and tall, “her lamp lit beside the golden door” at the entrance to New York harbor, a personification of freedom for all who look upon it.
But, today I find myself wondering if American children in our elementary and high schools know about Liberty Enlightening the World (the official name of the Statue of Liberty) and what a powerful symbol of freedom she represents? I wonder if they realize how important this gift called freedom really is and how much America has paid in blood and treasure for it? I wonder if they know…and more importantly, why… the history of how this beautiful gift from France was created and came to our shores? I wonder if they have ever heard or read the words of Emma Lazarus inscribed on the base of this monument to liberty and, equally if they understand their significance? I wonder if it is important at all to them or to those who teach them. 
I wonder if they care. I wish I didn’t wonder about such things. They have always mattered to me.

The Progressive Democratic Steamroller

The $1.9 trillion spending bill is only a taste of what’s coming.

By: The WSJ Editorial Board

March 10, 2021  

Democrats on Wednesday passed their $1.9 trillion spending and welfare bill that would have been unimaginable even in the Obama years, and the big news is how easily they did it. The party is united behind the most left-wing agenda in decades, while Republicans are divided and in intellectual disarray. This is only the beginning of the progressive steamroller, and it’s worth understanding why.
One lesson from the Covid non-fight is that there are no Democratic moderates in Congress. The party base has moved so sharply left that even swing-state Members are more liberal than many liberals in the Clinton years. Democrats lost not a single vote in the Senate and only one in the House. The fear of primary challenges from the left, which took out House war horses in 2018 and 2020, has concentrated incumbent minds. A second lesson is that President Biden is no moderating political force. Democrats in the House and Senate are setting the agenda, and Mr. Biden is along for the ride. He’s the ideal political front-man for this agenda with his talk of “unity” and anti-Trump persona, but he isn’t shaping legislation. He is signing on to whatever chief of staff Ron Klain tells him he needs to support. For now, at least, there also isn’t much of an opposition. With a few exceptions, the media are marching in lockstep support of whatever Democrats want. The substance of the Covid bill was barely covered outside of these pages. Opposition to H.R.1, the federal takeover of state election law, is literally reported as a revival of Jim Crow racism. The business community has also been co-opted, as it often is at the beginning of a Democratic Presidency. Industries are trying to protect their specific iron rice bowls, but one price is their accommodation with the larger progressive agenda. Small business opposes the $15 minimum wage, but bigger businesses don’t mind saddling smaller competitors with higher costs. Big Oil doesn’t mind selling out independent frackers on climate rules. Despite their sizable minorities, Republicans are a divided mess. They stayed united on the Covid vote but they had no consistent strategy or message. They’re focused on the culture war over Dr. Seuss, while Democrats are moving legislation with huge economic consequences.
The House this week passed the most radical pro-union labor bill since the 1935 Wagner Act, but you wouldn’t know it from the muted GOP protests. The bill would erase right-to-work laws in 27 states, but the GOP has no media message to let voters in those states know.
This is in part a legacy of the Trump years, and especially the post-election meltdown. The party is still preoccupied with Donald Trump, who is preoccupied with revenge against Republicans who don’t bow to the Mar-a-Lago throne. Members are fighting each other rather than Democrats. The party also lost some of its intellectual moorings during the Trump years, notably on spending and economics. Right-wing anti-business populism has empowered left-wing populism, and too few GOP Members are able to make an economic argument. The prediction of an immigration border crisis has been the dominant message from Republicans on Capitol Hill or cable TV. That’s about it.
All of this is giving Democrats growing confidence that they can drive their agenda into law despite historically narrow majorities. They’ll pass huge tax increases on a party-line vote. They also still hope to peel off enough GOP Senators to raise the minimum wage, perhaps to $11 or $12 an hour, and for $2 trillion in green energy and public-works spending. Don’t be surprised if they succeed. Republicans counting on Democrat Joe Manchin to maintain the Senate filibuster may also be disappointed. He’s from Trumpy West Virginia, but he is also a partisan Democrat. He said he wouldn’t vote for the $1.9 trillion bill unless it was bipartisan but went along anyway in the end. As bills that pass the House pile up at the Senate door, the pressure to break the filibuster will be enormous. The media will turn Mr. Manchin into the moral equivalent of GOP leader Mitch McConnell. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s second-ranking Democrat, said this week that Democrats plan to bring two or three bills from the House to the floor soon. “We need some floor experience first,” he told the Capitol Hill press. “I think this is progression. First, try the legislation. Second, try modifications to filibuster. Then see what happens.”They’ll use the threat of breaking the filibuster as leverage to win GOP policy concessions even if they don’t formally rewrite the Senate rules. Politics is never static, and perhaps this momentum will ebb as Democrats lose the false cover of “Covid relief” for their agenda. But it’s no exaggeration to say the country is facing the most confident left-wing majority since 1965. This isn’t what Joe Biden promised, but it is what we’re getting.

Herd Immunity v. Biden/Fauci Perpetual Fear

Every state should open for business, now.

By: MARK ALEXANDER

American Thinker

March 11, 2021

(emphasis added)

It is now clear that government lockdowns have proven disastrous for people and our economy. They have also been ineffective. According to the most recent summary of social-distancing measures published by Nature, “Stay-at-home orders did little to mitigate the pandemic spread.” The authors say there is “no evidence that the number of deaths/million is reduced by staying at home.”
But there is another reason well-governed states are lifting restrictive ChiCom Virus pandemic mandates.
In discussions this week with physicians who are career disease specialists, I noted these interesting data points. This information is receiving no mention by the Biden administration or its Leftmedia propagandists in order not to disrupt their perpetual “fear and angst” agenda — ensuring their constituents believe BIG Gov is their savior.
First, according to the CDC, in the U.S. there have been 29 million individuals who have tested positive for the ChiCom Virus and recovered.
Second, early in the pandemic, it was estimated that the number of Americans who have had the virus but were either asymptomatic or recovered from mild flu-like symptoms was 10 times the number of diagnosed cases. That number is now more conservatively estimated to be about three times the diagnosed number. So at present, there are about 87 million undiagnosed recoveries.
Third, thanks to the stunning success of the Trump administration’s  Operation Warp Speed vaccine-development program, 60 million people have already had one or both vaccine doses, and by the end of March, the number of those fully vaccinated will be almost 100 million.
Thus, by the beginning of April, more than 200 million Americans will have COVID immunities.
According to Mayo Clinic experts, 70% of the population must have immunities intact in order to reach COVID “herd immunity” — that’s 220 million people. In other words, we are weeks away from reaching herd immunity, as predicted by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor Dr. Martin Makary, despite the variants.
Of course, Makary was “fact-checked” for daring to suggest we would reach herd immunity prior to when the Swamp Doctor, Anthony Fauci, says we will. But the fact-checkers got fact-checked and Makary is correct.
Indeed, this week Fauci himself declared, “We anticipate … that the herd immunity level will be about 70-85%. That’s the time that we believe, if you look at the planned rollout of the vaccines, that we would hopefully get to that point somewhere by the end of the summer and the early fall.”
Well, no.
If 70%, we will reach that target by mid-April. If 85%, we should reach that target in May.
Last week, Joe Biden read these words from his prepared script: “We’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May.” That is “every adult” including those who have already recovered but may choose to take the vaccine anyway.
What’s next from Fauci, “herd immunity when we reach 150%”? Is anyone paying attention to the basic math?
For sure, Fauci’s fake narrative fit all the faux Demo drama ahead of the party-line passage of their larded $1.9 TRILLION so-called “American Rescue Plan,” despite an economic recovery well underway.
Question: Should anyone be listening to anything Fauci says?Behind Biden, the second most powerful and equally senile wax figure in DC is Fauci. He wields an enormous amount of power for an 80-year-old lifelong DC bureaucrat, having been in the bowels of various federal agencies since 1968.
Frankly, I never understood why Donald Trump did not tell Fauci “YOU’RE FIRED” last June when Fauci admitted lying to the public about the effectiveness of face masks — or after any one of the countless times Fauci ventured far off the White House Coronavirus Task Force reservation with serial contradictions in celebrity media appearances.
Recall that once caught in that lie, demonstrating his signature unmitigated arrogance, Fauci insisted, “With all due modesty, I think I’m pretty effective.”
Fauci’s “modesty” and “effectiveness” notwithstanding, herd immunity is on its way! While those with significant comorbidity factors should take appropriate precautions, it is past time to reopen our country. Unlike Fauci, Makary is sticking with the science. As Dr. Makary advised in an additional Wall Street Journal analysis today, get the vaccine and go.
Finally, never again should we quarantine the most healthy among us and shutter businesses across the nation.

Cuomo Had A Different Standard For Priests March 11, 2021 Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s duplicity: Now that Gov. Cuomo has been accused of being a serial predator, he is insisting that his due process rights be respected. Yet when it came to accused priests, Cuomo sang a different tune. Cuomo has a different standard for himself. When asked this week about the charges against him, he said, “You can allege something, might be true, might not be true. You may have misperceived, there may be other facts.” If this is his best defense, the man is in trouble. Nevertheless, what he said was accurate. Not all allegations are true. Misperceptions are not uncommon. There may be other facts that have yet to surface. That’s why the accused, including him, are entitled to due process. However, when it came to allegations against priests—for offenses alleged to have happened decades earlier—Cuomo showed no respect for their due process rights. He was happy to sign legislation that gave rapacious lawyers out to sunder the Catholic Church all the leeway they wanted. Just as important, Cuomo knew these lawyers would focus on the Church and not pursue claims against public school teachers. Given the generosity of the teachers’ unions at election time, he was not about to demand that their sordid record of child rape be prosecuted. When Cuomo signed the bill aimed at the Catholic Church in 2019, he called out the Church for fighting the legislation. What he said was as ignorant as it was cruel. Cuomo accused Catholic Church officials of “threatening” those who were not supportive of their opposition to the bill. He said, “I believe it was the conservatives in the Senate who were threatened by the Catholic Church. And this went on for years.” When teachers’ unions oppose a bill it is called lobbying. When bishops oppose a bill it is called a threat. Cuomo’s double standard, and his animus against the Catholic Church, could not be more plain. What he failed to note is that for over a decade, bills targeting the sexual abuse of minors did not apply to the public sector. It took the bishops, and the Catholic League, to demand that the bill be made inclusive of all entities. We didn’t threaten anyone.  Our major concern was the due process rights of accused priests. Most of the allegations took place a very long time ago, making it difficult to determine innocence or guilt. We know that memories fade and witnesses die, which is why we have statutes of limitations in the first place. There is nothing “threatening” about opposing bills that gut this fundamental due process provision. If I had said about accused priests, “You can allege something, might be true, might not be true. You may have misperceived, there may be other facts,” would Cuomo have agreed with me? Not a chance. In fact, on the day he signed the bill that the Church opposed, he blithely assumed that all of the accused priests were guilty. “I want to start by applauding these victims/advocates who went through a horrendous violation in life and an aggravated defilement because it was a person in authority, a person who was supposed to be respected.” So there we have it. The accusers are to be believed and the accused is guilty. If Cuomo’s standard for priests were applied to himself, then his accusers are telling the truth and he is guilty. And if that is the case, why is he still in office, especially now that he is accused of sexual assault? Contact: Press.Office@exec.ny.gov

State Democrats Resign as Democratic Socialists Take Over

(RepublicanNews.org) – It’s no great secret that Democrats serving in the nation’s capital are locked in a bitter battle over control of the party. On one side lay radical Progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and her fellow “Squad” members. The other side is led by more traditional Democrats like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

The party rift spilled into Nevada when a group of radical Progressive Democrats, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, swept the March 6 elections to assume control of the state’s party.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1369095436179496960&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Frepublicannews.org%2Fstate-democrats-resign-as-democratic-socialists-take-over%2F&theme=light&widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&width=550px

Judith Whitmer, the head of Clark County Democrats, led the victory as the new chair of the Nevada Democratic Party. Overall, endorsed candidates won all but five seats.

The Intercept reported that Alana Mounce, the Democrat’s executive director, sent an email to Whitmer shortly after the election announcing her resignation along with other Nevada Democratic Party employees and consultants. Those resignations included several directors overseeing the party’s operations, communications, finance, and research.

The mass exodus of party officials in Nevada could be a preview of coming attractions as radical leftists and traditionalists wrestle for control of the Democratic Party.