Corruption in U.S. at Worst Levels in Almost a Decade, According to New Transparency International Report

 

Foreign Policy.com  "Corruption in the United States is apparently at its worst in almost a decade, according to a new global report released Thursday by Transparency International. Advocates attribute the drop to declining trust in democratic institutions and poor oversight of pandemic-related financial aid.

"In the annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the United States fell to a low of 67 out of a maximum possible score of 100, down from a high of 76 in 2015. By its nature, corruption is difficult to document, so the index relies on a variety of different sources to measure the level of perceived public sector corruption. The lower the score, the worse the corruption. Two-thirds of the 180 countries and territories included in the 2020 index scored below 50, with an average of 43. ". . .

". . .Scott Greytak, the advocacy director for the U.S. office of Transparency International, cited a broader “decay” in U.S. political institutions as a major contributor to the country’s declining rating. Gretyak noted that public confidence in U.S. elections has been undercut by disinformation and record-setting amounts of untraceable money in elections—especially in 2020, when twice as much was spent compared with 2016. 

“Second, and increasingly important, are these series of really bombshell exposés by media outlets that are demonstrating how much dirty money is flowing into the United States’ financial system,” he said, referencing a joint investigation published by BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists last year that confidence in U.S. elections has been undercut by disinformation and record-setting amounts of untraceable money in elections—especially in 2020, when twice as much was spent compared with 2016. 

“Second, and increasingly important, are these series of really bombshell exposés by media outlets that are demonstrating how much dirty money is flowing into the United States’ financial system,” he said, referencing a joint investigation published by BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists last year that revealed how major banks had knowingly allowed trillions of dollars of suspect financial transactions to go ahead, enabling drug kingpins, kleptocrats, and terrorists to move corrupt cash around the world. ". . .

Missouri AG Fires Dem Attorney Kim Gardner After She Refuses To Resign Over Public Safety Outcry

One down.

 Resist the Mainstream

"As violent crime spikes nationwide, conservative Republicans are pushing back against soft-on-crime policies advanced by progressive district attorneys, prosecutors and circuit attorneys.

 

"On Thursday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) fired Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner (D) after she refused to step down amid controversy stemming from policies that allowed a repeat offender to commit a violent crime.

"The offender, Daniel Riley, was reportedly free on bond though officials were aware of multiple violations of his bond terms.". . .

. . ."The collision resulted in 16-year-old Janae Edmondson being pinned by Riley’s vehicle. Edmondson sustained significant injuries requiring the amputation of both legs.  

"Local reports note that Edmondson’s father provided emergency triage care, which likely saved the life of the young volleyball player. Janae remains in a hospital in critical condition.". . .

Democrat smirks

Giggly GA jury forewoman rushes to media to discuss Trump trial   "After a nearly eight-month investigation, a Fulton County special grand jury recommended on Tuesday that multiple people be indicted for allegedly interfering with Georgia’s 2020 presidential elections, and the national media had Donald Trump on their collection brain.

"The jury forewoman, Emily Kohrs, was a sudden media darling over the possibility of Trump being among those being indicted and she was downright giddy over all the attention she was getting, but her explanation of why she wanted to hear from the former president was enough to give one pause, regardless of their political affiliation.

" 'I wanted to hear from the former president, but honestly I kinda wanted to subpoena the former president because I got to swear everybody in and so I thought it would be really cool to get 60 seconds with President Trump, of me looking at him and being like, ‘Do you solemnly swear… I just thought that would be an awesome moment,” Kohrs said during an appearance on MSNBC.". . .

https://twitter.com/i/status/1628270518074761217

 https://twitter.com/i/status/1628270518074761217

pic.twitter.com/ZI4KDgPZXZ

— fernandø (@fernofalltrades) February 22, 2023

https://twitter.com/i/status/1628270518074761217

 Strzok, stroke, smirk

Updated: Joe's on his way back; on to East Palestine now? Oh...ok.

 Report: Buttigieg Will Visit Ohio Train Disaster Site on Thursday

East Palestine Mayor Calls Biden's Trip to Ukraine 'A Slap in the Face'

Buttigieg Finally Makes It to East Palestine, Did it go well or not?    . . .Buttigieg came with a hard hat and an attitude, at 7 a.m. in the morning.

Reporters tried to ask him questions but he blew them off and his press secretary got up in their faces. She said she didn’t want to have a conversation on camera for a public appearance with her boss, and that asking that she do so was “aggressive.”

Buttigieg: I Should Have ‘Spoken Sooner About How Strongly I Felt’ About East Palestine Derailment  . . ."Host Caitlin Huey-Burns asked, “I just have to ask, because it did take you a couple of days to respond publicly — or several days to respond publicly to this particular incident. Do you wish you would have spoken out sooner?”

"Buttigieg responded, “Yes. I was focused on just making sure that our folks on the ground were all set. But could have spoken sooner about how strongly I felt about this incident, and that’s a lesson learned for me.' ”. . .

*

Trump brought goodwill to East Palestine, Ohio while the Biden administration sniped at him  "Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio on Wednesday. He brought pallets of “Trump water”, food, and cleaning supplies. The residents of the small town were appreciative that Trump came and assured them that they were not forgotten.

"Details of Trump’s visit were not released to the public, no doubt for security reasons, yet there were Trump supporters who stood out in the rain along the street waiting to wave to him as his vehicle drove by. Trump was accompanied by Donald Trump, Jr., Senator J.D. Vance, Rep. Bill Johnson, and East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway,

"Trump met briefly with local leaders and first responders and the media at the local fire station. Though he did toss out a reference to fake news, Trump praised the media for covering the train derailment story and keeping it in front of the public. He told them he is donating thousands of bottles of cleaning supplies and pallets of bottled water that were collected through his Trump organizations.

"Trump was complimentary of Norfolk Southern. He tried to reassure the residents of its commitment to the town.". . .

UPDATE:Trump brought goodwill to East Palestine, Ohio while the Biden administration sniped at him  "Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio on Wednesday. He brought pallets of “Trump water”, food, and cleaning supplies. The residents of the small town were appreciative that Trump came and assured them that they were not forgotten.

"Details of Trump’s visit were not released to the public, no doubt for security reasons, yet there were Trump supporters who stood out in the rain along the street waiting to wave to him as his vehicle drove by. Trump was accompanied by Donald Trump, Jr., Senator J.D. Vance, Rep. Bill Johnson, and East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway,

"Trump met briefly with local leaders and first responders and the media at the local fire station. Though he did toss out a reference to fake news, Trump praised the media for covering the train derailment story and keeping it in front of the public. He told them he is donating thousands of bottles of cleaning supplies and pallets of bottled water that were collected through his Trump organizations.

"Trump was complimentary of Norfolk Southern. He tried to reassure the residents of its commitment to the town.

“It means that the affected communities beyond the borders of East Palestine are going to be taken care of, and they’ve said so. They’ve said it loud and clear and I think they probably mean it,” Trump said.

"Whether you are a Trump supporter or not, this is something that Trump does well – he gets out there and mingles with those who feel forgotten by their government, especially in crises. In contrast, Scranton Joe who campaigned as a friend to the working man is nowhere to be found. He was flying back from Poland as Trump was in East Palestine. Where is all that Biden empathy?". . .

Sanity From a Surprising Place—French and Dutch Publishers Pointedly Refuse to Censor Roald Dahl

 RedState

"The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.

"As RedState’s Becca Lower reported on Saturday, British publishing house Puffin made the audacious (and utterly obnoxious) decision to change some of the prose in the works of one of the all-time-great children’s book authors, Roald Dahl, who penned such classics as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and Matilda.

"For me, the decision was a personal affront, as the effort seemed designed to take away some of my favorite memories—and prevent new kids from ever having them.

"Thankfully, some sanity has prevailed in an unlikely place: the European continent. French and Dutch publishers are pointedly refusing to censor Dahl, with one executive saying that Dahl’s stories “lose all their power” when his words are changed.". . .

I think calling some European countries "surrender monkeys" is all played out since Biden deserted our allies in Afghanistan leaving billions of dollars of lethal equipment as a gift to America's enemies for over the past two decades. Now they won't need to hijack airplanes to do us harm; tthey can use what we left them. TD

Open borders; stupid is as stupid does

 Speaking for our family, we now pay taxes to Texas instead of California. TD

California's Gavin Newsom notices his pockets are empty for illegals   "California is depopulating, with some 500,000 taxpayers fleeing the one-party socialist state in search of lower taxes, less onerous business regulations, and a friendlier government that views them as assets and not ATMs.

"So not surprisingly, the state has found itself in a $22-billion hole. 

"This doesn't seem to bother the state's insular ruling class, which blames the pandemic, President Trump, and a host of other factors for the flight, secure in the sense that those taxpayers can always be replaced by newcomers.

"Illegal aliens fit that bill nicely, given the massive benefit packages the state doles out to court them.

"Now reality is biting.". . .

It did seem that that ridiculous denial may have been premised on not having much money left in its coffers.  If FEMA has been shelling out for illegals in these past months, as five million surged across the border, suddenly things are pretty clear as to what's going on here.

Another hysterical gem from CNN stalwart Don Lemon

 Ethel C. Fenig  ". . .Granted, Lemon has a point — a very small one, that Haley should be careful.  But Lemon's very broad sexist and ageist generalizations did not go over well with his co-hosts.  With his program's staff.  With CNN executives.  And most importantly, with his television audience.  And so Lemon disappeared from CNN for a few days to learn politicial correctness — uhm, for "formal training."  

He learned.  Something.  Yesterday, prior to his reappearance, he tweeted: 

I appreciate the opportunity to be back on @CNNThisMorning today. To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience — I’m sorry. I’ve heard you, I’m learning from you, and I’m committed to doing better.
See you soon.

— Don Lemon (@donlemon) February 22, 2023

 "So Lemon is back.  But for how long?  And really, who cares?  CNN in general, CNN's morning show — all suffer from lack of viewers.  This headline-grabbing incident might bring in a temporary, additional audience, curious to see what the teapot tempest was about.  But unless CNN can take advantage of this — which it probably can't — the newcomers, after satisfying their minimal curiosity, will probably once again mostly tune out.

"And then?  Who cares?

"Certainly not forever "prime" me."

The word of a Biden; world leader

Fact check: A look at Biden's first year in false claims | CNN Politics

Twitter users piled on President Biden Tuesday after he boasted growing up in a Polish community while visiting the country.   . . ."For those who haven't been paying attention, Biden is half half Puerto Rican, half black, half Jewish, half Republican, half Polish, half Italian, and half coal miner," Grabien founder Tom Elliot tweeted."

  

i

Biden hit for boasting of growing up in Polish community during Poland visit: 'I thought he was Puerto Rican'

Idaho House Approves Talks To Annex Oregon Counties

 The Federalist

"The Idaho House passed a resolution on Wednesday to begin talks with the Oregon Legislature about potentially expanding the Idaho border into eastern Oregon.

"Such a resolution has its roots in the Greater Idaho movement, which seeks to absorb 11 Oregon counties, or 63 percent of the state’s landmass, into Idaho. The rationale for such a move is that the leftist residents of northwest Oregon — Portland, Salem, Eugene — control the politics of the state, and therefore rural, conservative residents in eastern and southern Oregon are effectively silenced on matters of state governance.

“ 'The aspirations of Portland-area and northwestern Oregon voters force the state government toward a direction that happens to be incompatible with the values and livelihoods of my town and many in eastern and southern Oregon,” Mike McCarter, president of Citizens for Greater Idaho wrote in an op-ed for Oregon Live.

"Rural, conservative Oregonians would feel well-represented in the Idaho legislature, which is overwhelmingly Republican. Idaho politics bleed red; the state has not backed a Democrat for President since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

"Idaho Rep. Judy Boyle supports the expansion because she wants to crack down on drugs pouring into her state. Boyle represents a border district, and because Oregon has moved to decriminalize most drugs, there’s been an influx of drugs into the region. She told the Idaho Press she voted to extend her state’s border to “get those drugs away from us.”. . .

Here’s The Full List Of Every Lie Joe Biden Has Told As President: 223 And Counting

Remember when columnist William Safire called Hillary "a congenital liar"? It runs in Democrat dna.

 The Federalist Staff

"Updated Feb. 7, 2023. Two hundred twenty-three lies and counting. 

More than two years into President Joe Biden’s time in the White House and the end to his lies is nowhere in sight. Here is part three of The Federalist’s rigorous coverage keeping the Biden administration accountable with substantive fact-checking throughout the president’s tenure. 

You can find part two of “The Full List Of Every Lie Joe Biden Has Told As President” here. 

The column closes with this: "The truth is, Biden has done nothing but sabotage the U.S. oil and gas industry and replaced it with his green energy policy agenda. The president used his first year in office to wreck domestic production by suspending oil and gas leases, axing projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, canceling Arctic drilling leases, and pushing a cascade of taxes and regulation on the industry.

"As a result, domestic gas prices were rising dramatically well before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Painful prices at the pump have quickly become a sore spot for Americans, many of whom have indicated they’re looking for a change in the November midterms.". . .

Twitter users piled on President Biden Tuesday after he boasted growing up in a Polish community while visiting the country.   . . ."For those who haven't been paying attention, Biden is half half Puerto Rican, half black, half Jewish, half Republican, half Polish, half Italian, and half coal miner," Grabien founder Tom Elliot tweeted."

Biden hit for boasting of growing up in Polish community during Poland visit: 'I thought he was Puerto Rican'

January 6 Prisoners and Their Families Petition Speaker McCarthy to Release the 41,000 Hours of Capital Video to The Gateway Pundit Investigative Team and J6 Families

 Jim Hoft

"On Monday, Axios reported that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had given Fox News’ Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 protests.

"Since January 2021, The Gateway Pundit has shared the plight of the January 6 political prisoners, while the mainstream media has ignored the plight of these men and women, stalked their families and homes, smeared their good name, and repeatedly lied about the events on January 6, 2021.

"Many of these prisoners had their homes raided by the FBI, lost their livelihoods, have been separated from their friends and families and had their reputations ruined by entrenched politicians on both sides of the aisle. Dozens still sit in prison without a trial. Several were convicted and sent to prison for walking into an open door of the US Capitol and leaving minutes later when asked.

"Chris Wray is STILL hunting down Trump supporters who stood outside the US Capitol that day. The DC prosecutors are STILL hiding evidence from the families and prisoners in their DC kangaroo court trials.

"The Gateway Pundit has been with these men and women from the beginning. TGP told their stories and helped their families. TGP has published hundreds of reports, shared letters from the prisoners, released audio and video, spoke with their families and told THEIR SIDE of the story. We told the truth.

"The Gateway Pundit helped raised nearly $2 million to help these fellow Americans feed their families and fight the trumped-up allegations in the DC Kangaroo courts. Even leftist Rolling Stone magazine was forced to admit the impact we have had"...

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/january-6-prisoners-and-their-families-petition-speaker-mccarthy-to-release-the-41000-hours-of-capital-video-to-the-gateway-pundit-investigative-team-and-j6-families/Signers of the request

The Toxic Racialist Obsessions of Joe Biden

  Victor Davis Hanson

Somehow Biden has transferred his own checkered history of racial disparagement onto the white working class. 

"Joe Biden ran on “unity,” which is critical in a multiracial America. He vowed to heal the divisions supposedly sown by Donald Trump. Instead, he is proving to be the most polarizing president in modern memory. Often his racialist rhetoric and condescension have proven demeaning to both blacks and whites. In a volatile multiracial democracy that demands tolerance and restraint, a highly unpopular Biden, for cheap political advantage, continually proves incendiary and reckless. 

"Last week Joe Biden snarked after watching a White House screening of Till:

Lynched for simply being black, nothing more. With white crowds, white families gathered to celebrate the spectacle, taking pictures of the bodies and mailing them as postcards. Hard to believe, but that’s what was done. And some people still want to do that. 

 

" Exactly who are these “some people”? Who fits Biden’s innuendos of contemporary “some people” who, he alleges in 2023, still wish, as “white crowds, white families” of the past, to mail celebratory postcards after they lynch black people? The Ultra-MAGA villains of his recent Phantom of the Opera speech? Have his current targets ever echoed anything like Biden’s own racist past warning that busing would force people to “grow up in a racial jungle”?

"What current data might support Biden’s absurd charges? Is Biden referring to federal interracial crime and hate crime statistics charting violent white propensities against blacks? None exist. In fact, they continually reveal that so-called whites are underrepresented as perpetrators in both categories, while overrepresented as victims in interracial crimes—dramatically so in the case of black-on-white violent crime.

"In our sensationalist YouTube world, are we suffering an epidemic of Internet-fed, white-on-black incendiary crimes that might have prompted the president’s demagogic accusations? Not at all. Most of the most recent publicized interracial violence—a woman in a gym fighting off a would-be rapist, a bicyclist doctor stabbed to death in an intersection as his attacker spewed racial hatred, a 26-year-old mother lethally shot in the back in front of her children in front of her children in a parking lot over a minor argument, a young boy violently choked on a bus, a small girl on a bus beaten repeatedly by two teenage boys—have involved black perpetrators and apparent white victims. So, what contemporary evidence or widely publicized anecdotes prompt Biden’s recent charges of “white rage”-fueled violence?". . .