“Over 112,000 Americans overdosed in 2023. Over 70,000 overdosed on fentanyl, a particularly dangerous synthetic opioid. While it’s easy to focus on numbers, we can’t forget that these aren’t statistics. They’re people. They leave behind parents, brothers, sisters and children. They’re futures lost. They’re lives squandered. We owe it to victims of this epidemic to do everything we can to curb the flow of fentanyl from overseas (where the vast majority of it originates) into American cities and towns. This poison is a direct threat to the security of America’s citizens. And, though America’s borders are a point of grave concern, they are also the best opportunity we have to seize fentanyl and damage the cartels responsible. And here, there is good news.” (04/18/24)
“As the United Nations Security Council prepares to vote Thursday on Palestine’s bid to become a full U.N. member, the Biden administration (which claims to support Palestinian statehood) is lobbying UNSC nations in an effort to wrangle enough ‘no’ votes so that the United States can avoid resorting to a veto. Leaked cables obtained by The Intercept show U.S. pressure on Security Council members including Malta (which currently presides over the body) and Ecuador. While claiming that President Joe Biden backs ‘Palestinian aspirations for statehood,’ one of the cables asserts that ‘it remains the U.S. view that the most expeditious path toward a political horizon for the Palestinian people is in the context of a normalization agreement between Israel and its neighbors.'” (04/17/24)
“More than a dozen House Democrats voted against a resolution condemning Iran’s airstrikes on Israel Thursday. The resolution, which also affirms U.S. support for Israel responding to the attack however it deems necessary, overwhelmingly passed 404 to 14. Just one House Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted against the bill. Fox News Digital reached out to Massie for comment. Massie was joined by 13 Democrats, including ‘Squad’ member Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Cori Bush, D-Mo.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.; and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was also among those opposing the bill. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the No. 3 House GOP leader, tore into the Democrats who voted against condemning Iran in a statement to Fox News Digital after the vote.” (04/18/24)
“The Left in the United States is arguably at a point of greater political power today than at almost any time in the past century. More than 100 open socialists hold office across the country, from Tacoma, Wash., to St. Petersburg, Fla., from school boards to the halls of Congress. But no advance comes without a counterattack, and the same context that has opened the space for a resurgent Left over the past decade also holds the conditions that could close that space for a generation. We look back at the post-war era as the moment that created the modern world order, and the deep contradictions involved then are reasserting themselves as we travel into uncertain times — with new economies and politics buttressed by broken institutions on a crumbling foundation.” (04/16/24)
“Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office rejected an effort by state Democrats to circumvent a key election deadline to allow President Biden on state ballots this week, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. The documents show correspondence from Yost’s office and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, as well as attorney Donald McTigue, who is representing Democrats on the matter. LaRose, a Republican, had notified state Democrats earlier this month that the Democratic National Convention would not occur until more than a week after Ohio’s Aug. 7 deadline for certifying presidential candidates. LaRose warned that either the Ohio assembly would have to vote to change the law, or Democrats would have to move up their plans for certifying Biden and Vice President Harris.” (04/17/24)
“The U.S. House of Representatives will have its long-awaited vote on aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific as soon as Saturday, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, more than two months after a similar package passed the Senate. The House Appropriations Committee unveiled legislation providing more than $95 billion in security assistance, including $60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine and assist regional partners as they handle Russia’s invasion, of which $23.2 billion would be used to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities. The Israel bill totals $26.38 billion, for Israel and funds to cover the cost of U.S. military operations in response to recent attacks. The Indo-Pacific measure totals $8.12 billion.” (04/17/24)
“If a belligerent state launched 186 explosive drones, 36 cruise missiles, and 110 surface-to-surface missiles from three fronts against civilian targets within the United States, would Joe Biden call it a ‘win?’ Would the president tell us that the best thing we can do now is show ‘restraint?’ What if that same terror state’s proxy armies had recently helped murder, rape, and kidnap more than 1,000 American men, women, and children? What if this terror state were trying to obtain nuclear weapons so it could continue to agitate without any consequences? This is what Joe Biden and the Barack Obama acolytes, Iranian dupes, and Israel antagonists he’s surrounded himself with demand of Jewish State.” (04/17/24)
“Police in Ohio have arrested a man accused of shooting dead an Uber driver he mistakenly believed was part of a scam. According to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, driver Loletha Hall, 61, was shot multiple times by William Brock, 81, outside his South Charleston home last month. A scammer had contacted Mr Brock, threatened him and demanded money. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Ms Hall, according to officials, was also sent to Mr Brock’s house by a scammer and instructed to pick up a package. Police released dashcam footage of the 25 March incident showing Mr Brock brandishing a pistol and pointing it at Ms Hall to prevent her from leaving. During their investigation, officials discovered that an unknown man had called Mr Brock and told him he needed to pay $12,000 (£9,600) to get his nephew out of jail. Police say the caller threatened to kill his nephew if he did not pay.” (04/17/24)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“So they’re really doing it. The Biden administration is really ignoring Australia’s request to end the case against Julian Assange, and they’re proceeding with their campaign to extradite a journalist for telling the truth about US war crimes. In order to move the extradition case forward, per a British high court ruling US prosecutors needed to provide ‘assurances’ that the US would not seek the death penalty and would not deprive Assange of his human right to free speech because of his nationality. The US provided the assurance against the death penalty (which they’d previously opposed doing), and for the free speech assurance they said only that Assange will be able to ‘raise and seek to rely upon’ US First Amendment rights …. Which is basically just saying ‘I mean, you’re welcome to TRY to have free speech protections?'” (04/17/24)
“U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has indicated to advisers he is keen on a new middle-class tax cut should he return to the White House, two people familiar with the discussions said, an initiative that could appeal to voters but could also worsen America’s yawning budget deficit. Among the ideas that advisers have presented to the former president is a cut to the federal payroll tax, said one of those people, a move that could lower the flow of money into the Social Security and Medicare trust funds and open Trump to criticism from Democrats that he is torpedoing the safety net for elderly Americans. Trump has signaled that he is open to the idea, though he has made no commitments, that person added.” (04/17/24)
