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| Ray Epps on Jan. 6 at the Capitol |
One of the theories to explain away the January 6th insurrection to prevent the peaceful transfer of power is that it was really not Trump supporters who organized and executed the attack on the Capitol, but it was agents of the government to make Trump supporters look bad. I know that is nuts, but that is what many Trump supporters claim.
The theory that says the attack on the Capitol was a false flag operation often focuses on a guy named Ray Epps. According to Trump cultist, Epps was an undercover government agent who helped incite the Capitol attack to entrap Trump supporters. When the word spread naming Epps as the government agent leading all of these innocent Trump supporters into the Capitol, he became a target of Trumpinista hatred. His life was threatened, and he had to sell his home and close his business and go into seclusion and keep a low profile.
Epps was a Trump supporter who says he went to Washington to peacefully protest the certification of the election. Maybe his original intention was peaceful protest, but he engaged in the attack on the Capitol. Epps was at one time a leader of a chapter of the Oath Keepers. I have not seen anything that would cause one to think he was an FBI agent provocateur. Even after Epps was charged by the Justice Department for participating in the Jan. 6 attack on the capitol, the right-wing allegation that he was a FBI provocateur continued.
Today Epps was sentenced to a year of probation for disorderly conduct on restricted grounds. Will this cause Trumpinistas to conclude he really wasn't a agent provocateur? I would be surprised if it did. They will claim the deep state is just really good at hiding its misdeeds. They will say he got a lesser sentence than some other people who attacked the Capitol. The slap on the wrist proves he really was a government agent, the argument will go.
When confronted with facts that don't conform to their theory, Trump cultist just dig deeper into their delusion.
For more on this story see the AP website at this link.
Mission America Foundation focuses on the fight against human trafficking, and over the last several years Aaron and his team has made a significant difference in Tennessee and around the world preventing and rescuing trafficking victims.
Bellevue Breakfast Club will meet Saturday, January 6 at Plantation Pub. Located at 8321 Sawyer Brown Rd., Nashville TN 37221, and will begin around 8:30am.
by Rod Williams, Jan. 2, 2023- We're rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell.
In foreign affairs, an isolationist mood in the country may mean America abdicates its leadership role in the world. A Russian victory in Ukraine may occur and that may lead to additional Russian aggression and drag us into a war to defend a NATO ally. It is doubtful we are up to the task of challenging Chinese aggression. We no longer have the industrial capacity to be the "arsenal of democracy."
With approximately two million foreigners a year pouring across our open southern border, many of them being from nations which wish us harm, we are ripe for a major jihadist terrorist attack. The threat of nuclear exchange appears to me to be as great as any time in our history. The list goes on.
One of the threats to our national security which does not get a lot of attention is the threat to our national security caused by our growing national debt. One glimmer of hope is that this is now being recognized as a serious threat. Even liberals are waking up. Those of you who read the conservative journals of analysis and opinion know it is threat. The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and a few other publications, and organizations like Committe for a Responsible Federal Budget provide the data and explain the problem. Even we who know it is serious problem, have heard it for so many years that we become somewhat jaded. Now however, even the tax and spend liberals are realizing that our current debt trajectory is not sustainable.
Writing in today's New York Times, German Lopez writes the following:
The federal debt starts the new year at a level that is hard to grasp: $34 trillion. That is 1.2 times the U.S.’s annual economic output. At the end of World War II, the ratio was only about 1.1.
Both parties have contributed to the situation. Republicans have passed large tax cuts. Democrats have enacted ambitious climate and health care initiatives. Both funneled money to Americans in response to the Covid pandemic.
For years, many economists believed the country’s debt was not a problem. Interest rates were low, which held down debt payments. Inflation was also low, which suggested the debt wasn’t hampering the economy. If anything, additional government spending helped create jobs when unemployment was elevated for much of the 2010s.
But times have changed, and federal deficits now look scarier.
The author quotes liberal's favorite economist Paul Krugman as saying, “Serious deficit reduction, a bad idea a decade ago, is a good idea now.” I would disagree that serious deficit reduction was ever a "bad idea," but at least someone to whom liberals with listen is now saying serious deficit reduction is a good idea.
For a New York Times columnist to say federal deficits are scary is a sea change. It is not just this one article, but I have been seeing a change in tone from other liberal voices. It is encouraging that liberals are starting to see the problem. Unfortunately, at the same time liberals may be waking up, what passes for conservatism today may be retreating in concern about deficits and the national debt. Republicans are backtracking. To address the problem of the growing national debt we must address Social Security and Medicare and Republicans have joined Democrats in taking those issues off the table.
We're rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell.
The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
Though our level of debt is dangerous for both our economy and for national security, America just cannot stop borrowing. The U.S. gross national debt – the combination of both the debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt – hit $34 trillion Friday, which is barely three months after it hit $33 trillion. A truly depressing ‘achievement.’
There is not a single economic reason to add to the debt at the rate we are, but sadly our political leaders are unwilling to make the changes we need to turn the fiscal situation around.
There is some good news: 2023 was actually a good year for fiscal responsibility, where we saw a net $1.3 trillion improvement in the ten-year deficit picture, largely thanks to the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA). That’s a decent down payment on the much-needed deficit reduction it will take to stem the rise in our national debt.
But as we enter 2024, there is a huge risk we will return to making things worse by adding new tax cuts, spending increases, and/or ignoring the caps agreed to in the FRA.
We remain hopeful that policymakers will take further measures to reduce our borrowing either by raising taxes, reducing spending, or creating a fiscal commission – or ideally by doing all of the above.
We can be a weak divided country where our leaders fight, pander, and take the easy way out while we become increasingly vulnerable, or we can do the hard work to be stronger, more secure, and more prosperous for the long run. This is a moment of consequence and continuing to refuse to pay our own bills will not lead us to where we need to be as a nation.
to end the party, but if there is any chance that you are driving with an elevated BAC, then stop the party. Say, “OK folks, we need to straighten up. I need your help in getting us home.” Don’t sing or engage in distracting conversation. Turn off the radio. Don’t talk on the cell phone. Give driving your undivided attention. Don’t let anyone in the car have an open container. You may be perfectly capable of driving, but if a drunk passenger is yelling out the window, the police may stop the car and give you a drunk driving test. The moment you get in the car the party is over.
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| Rep. Bill Beck |
Stay safe. Drive careful. Happy New Years.
The $682,949 in out-of-pocket expenses included paying for outside counsel, expert witnesses, filing fees and court reporters, the newspaper said.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office showed it spent $2,096.08 for court reporters, transcripts and filing fees for the four lawsuits but told the newspaper that it does not track the specific number of hours its attorneys spent on specific cases.
The first law is set to reduce the size of Metro Nashville’s council from 40 to 20 members. It was blocked for the most recent election but set to become law in 2027.
The second was a law intended to stop Nashville’s super-majority requirement for demolition at the Fairgrounds Speedway. The bill was later blocked by a three-judge panel.
A third law changing who had the power to nominate members of the Nashville Airport Authority board was also blocked. The bill intended to move authority for nominees from Nashville’s mayor to an eight-member board with two appointees each for the mayor, governor, House speaker and Senate speaker is unconstitutional and that new board is now vacated.
A similar bill changing appointments for Nashville’s Metropolitan Sports Authority is currently blocked through a temporary restraining order, the paper reported.
Among the equipment funded are atmospheric monitors, handheld spectrometers, pneumatic tools, portable radios and a Boston Dynamics Spot Robot. Usually accepting a grant from the Federal or State government is not controversial. Metro accepts grants almost every meeting.
The part of this grant that was controversial was "Spot." The robotic dog has specialized sensors that can detect possible chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats from a safe distance and is capable of investigating suspicious packages and suspected explosives.
I am pleased to see Metro get this equipment including Spot. We live in a dangerous world. It has been 21 years since 9-11. I am not going to surprised when we are next hit with a terrorist attack. With our national borders unsecured and about 2 million unknown people walking into our country every year, I do not expect the next big attack to be airplanes flying into buildings but an attack on a well-attended public gathering by people who walked across the border. Events like Nashville's New Year's Eve bash would make prime targets.
We do not only have a threat of international terrorism aiming at big targets to be concerned about, but we have the growing threat of home-grown antisemitic terrorist that are making threats against synagogues as well as a growing danger from right-wing anti-government groups. If a mysterious package is found planted in a local synagogue, I would much prefer being able to send in a robotic dog to investigate than a police officer.
Huffman went on to explain the use for the atmospheric monitors, which he said will be placed in and around large crowds during events in Nashville to detect any harmful substances like anthrax that could potentially be thrown into the air.
Approval of this grant seems like a no-brainer to me. Why the opposition? Opponents apparently fear the robotic dog will be used to attack people and to spy on people. Watch the above video to see the debate.
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| Ginny Welsch cast lone vote against bomb-sniffing robot |
Despite the resolution being thoroughly discussed and approved in committee, a move was made to defer action on the resolution. The move to defer failed by a vote of 15 in favor and 24 against. After more discussion the measure passed overwhelmingly with only one "no" vote and four abstentions. District 12 Council Member Ginny Welsch was the only "no" vote.
That Ginny Welsch would vote no is no surprise. While we have a lot of left-leaning progressives serving in the Metro Council, thankfully there is only one Ginny Welsch. While the Council is liberal, it is not totally nuts. Ginny Welsch is by far the most radical member of the Metro Council. She has a consistent history of attempting to defund the police and votes against the police at every opportunity. There is no vote that she could cast that would surprise me. In 2020 she sponsored a budget amendment that would have slashed the funding for the Police by 40%. Thankfully, she is one of a kind and no one is following her lead. She did not speak during the debate on the bill.
It's still rising rapidly.
The U.S. Treasury Department estimates the national debt at $33.87 trillion, but the deficit figures for December could put the figure over $34 trillion.
For fiscal year 2023, which began on Oct. 1, 2022, and ended Sept. 30, 2023, the deficit rose about $1.7 trillion. The federal government spent $6.13 trillion while total revenue was only $4.44 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.
While the Treasury normally tracks the deficit by the fiscal year, a look at the monthly Treasury Department reports shows the federal government borrowed about $1.65 trillion this calendar year, not counting the unreleased data from December.
Deficits have spiked in recent years, topping a trillion dollars per year during the COVID-19 pandemic. While deficits have decreased from that peak, they still remain higher than before the pandemic began.
As The Center Square previously reported, the rough debt estimate and rough U.S. population estimate means every American would owe about $100,000 just to pay off the debt in full and not including ongoing operations of the federal government.
Interest payments on the national debt alone will soon be the biggest expense for the federal government. Several federal programs face insolvency in the coming decade, such as the trust funds for Medicare, Social Security and highway maintenance.
Federal projections show the national debt will be twice as large as the U.S. economy within 30 years.
“By the end of 2023, federal debt held by the public equals 98 percent of GDP,” the U.S. Congressional Budget Office said in July. “Debt then rises in relation to GDP: It surpasses its historical high in 2029, when it reaches 107 percent of GDP, and climbs to 181 percent of GDP by 2053.”
Experts did celebrate the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a bipartisan bill the president signed in June that cut spending over the next 10 years.
“In 2023, Congress and the President approved $1.3 trillion of ten-year deficit reduction – consisting of more than $1.6 trillion of savings and roughly $350 billion of costs,” the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said in a statement. “This has been a monumental year for fiscal policy with the enactment of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act – the largest deficit reduction measure implemented in a dozen years.”
Despite the growing burden on taxpayers, the federal debt has not been a primary topic of debate among 2024 presidential candidates.
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