This is what happens when bureaucrats who have never run a business make rules for the rest of us

Jack Hellner 

"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a bureaucracy created out of thin air by socialist Elizabeth Warren. Democrats pretend the bureau is just there to protect consumers which is B.S." . . .

. . ."Writing bad checks is also a crime, either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the amount of the checks. Of course, Democrats don’t seem to care about crimes. They are anti-business.

Free checking accounts will be taken away from other customers who don’t write bad checks, but these CFPB bureaucrats and Biden administration officials don’t care. They got their talking points out that they are saving customers $5 billion per year, and this will save the typical household $225 per year. That is obviously not true. The typical household does not write bad checks, so it will save them zero—but it’s likely to cost them if they’re now suddenly paying for the services for which banks typically don't charge.

The CFPB, under Obama, also had a slush fund where it shook down corporations and gave some amounts back to political supporters instead of victims. There were also slush funds at EPA and the Justice Department.

JPMorgan Chase warned the CFPB and Biden administration that they would start charging for services that were previously free if this rule went through, and that these fees will hurt the poor and middle class the most (people about whom the Democrats only pretend to care). From a Wall Street Journal article:

[Marianne] Lake said Chase is planning to pass on the costs of higher regulation and charge customers for a number of now-free services, including checking accounts and wealth-management tools, if the rules become law in their current form. She expects her peers in the industry will follow suit.

‘The changes will be broad, sweeping and significant,’ Lake said. ‘The people who will be most impacted are the ones who can least afford to be, and access to credit will be harder to get.’

It is a true shame that most people posing as journalists just repeat what they are told instead of doing independent thinking and research, no matter what the subject is.

Blame Barack: Obama’s lost mystique marks the end of a political era

 NY Post  

. . ."And then, the disappointed former community organizer suddenly disappeared — pondering to which of his own four mansions his private jet would fly him home to commiserate." . . .

Former President Barack Obama had long been rumored as the catalyst for the 2020 Joe Biden nomination — and thereafter played the whispering puppeteer behind the subsequent lost Biden administration years.

As such, he and his coterie proved the virtual architects of the Biden administration, one of the most unpopular and failed presidencies in American history.

Recall earlier that after a flailing candidate Biden lost the first three 2020 primaries and caucuses, his inert campaign was headed nowhere.

"Obama and fellow Democratic insiders abruptly engineered the withdrawal of his rival 2020 presidential candidates: hard left but likely sure-loser candidates including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg.

"The Obamas ignored or withheld from the public their own firsthand knowledge that Biden was suffering from signs of dementia.

"Instead, they found Biden’s cognitive decline and his former concocted reputation as workingman’s Joe useful as a veneer for a veritable Obama third-term, “phone it in” administration. Or, as wistful Obama once conditioned his dream of a third term: “If I could make an arrangement where I had a stand-in, a front man or front woman, and they had an earpiece in . . .”

"The Obamaites then got their wish for four years of enacted hard-left directives that they could only have dreamed of while in actual power.

"But their radical menu since 2021 had divided and nearly wrecked the nation — hyperinflation, 12 million illegal aliens, a ruined border, spiraling crime, a shattered foreign policy of appeasement, the popular backlash against DEI/woke/trans chauvinism, partisan lawfare and weaponization of the government." . . .

West Point Apologizes, Confirms It Accepted Trump Nominee Pete Hegseth to the Academy

The Epoch Times  

“Officials at the U.S. Military Academy should not be feeding lies to left-wing reporters about President Trump’s nominees,” Cotton said. “West Point needs to thoroughly investigate this egregiously bad judgement and potential violation of the Privacy Act immediately.”

"The U.S. Military Academy has apologized for falsely saying President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, Peter Hegseth, was never accepted into the school, known as West Point.

“A review of our records indicates Peter Hegseth was offered admission to West Point in 1999 but did not attend. An incorrect statement involving Hegseth’s admission to the U.S. Military Academy was released by an employee on Dec. 10, 2024,” a spokesperson for West Point told The Epoch Times in an email.

“ 'Upon further review of an archived database, employees realized this statement was in error. Hegseth was offered acceptance to West Point as a prospective member of the Class of 2003. The academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this administrative error.”

"The statement came after Hegseth on Dec. 11 shared his letter of acceptance, dated Jan. 5, 1999, on the social media platform X.

"Hegseth said he had come to learn that ProPublica was planning to publish an article alleging he had not been accepted by West Point.

"ProPublica editor Jesse Eisinger said in response that two spokespersons for West Point told ProPublica that Hegseth had not been admitted. One said he did not even apply for admission. That prompted ProPublica to go to Hegseth." . . .

Looks like ABC has become MSNBC

TRUMP WINS Defamation Suit, ABC and Stephanopoulos Have to Fork Over $15 Million   

"The far-left hate network will also chip in a million bucks for Trump’s attorney fees. May this be the first of many such victories against the left’s relentless propaganda machine."  Robert Spencer

"Ah, sweet justice. Donald Trump has just won a massive victory against the far-left propaganda factory that masquerades as the news media, and patriots all across the land can hope, for the sake of our freedom and our future, that this is just the first victory of many. Will this herald an end to the left’s relentless efforts to mischaracterize, misrepresent, and misreport the words and deeds of patriots, so as to get as many people as possible to turn against them? That’s unlikely in the extreme. But it sure helps.

"Technically it's a settlement, but it's very clear which side came out on top. Fox News Digital, which broke this story first, reported Saturday that “ABC News and their top anchor George Stephanopoulos have reached a settlement with Donald Trump in his defamation suit, which will result in the news network paying the president-elect $15 million.” This settlement precludes Trump’s suit from going to trial, which shows that ABC’s top dogs understood how weak their case really was: they’re happy to fork over $15 million to make this thing go away rather than have a trial reveal just how far from actual journalism they have allowed themselves to stray.

"And so now “Stephanopoulos and ABC News will issue statements of ‘regret’ as an editor's note at the bottom of a March 10, 2024, online article, about comments made earlier this year that prompted Trump to file a defamation lawsuit.” The statement says: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.' ” . . .  More here...

Jimmy Kimmel FINALLY Goes Too Far for Disney: Criminal "Praise" May END Late Night Career!  From the comments to this post:

"Lets remember that Kimmel cried because Trump won in a well deserved landslide. This dude's mind couldn't be more lost than it already is.

"Ok boycotting the sponsors didn’t work. Time to boycott ABC, HULU and everything Disney.

"I miss the old days. Late night used to be actually funny. This isn't new. Him and so many like him have been corrupting people's minds for years. He's nothing more than a mouth piece for the insane left. Disney is beyond redemption. They all need to go." . . .

Andrea Widburg: ABC and George Stephanopoulos settle with Trump for big bucks

. . .Even though [E. Jean] Carroll’s rape claim couldn’t pass muster in a civil case, that didn’t stop George Stephanopoulos, an ABC employee, from claiming that Trump had been “found liable for rape.” . . .

ABC News Apologizes to Trump, Pays Large Settlement in Defamation Suit

RedState

. . ."Perhaps this will serve as some kind of deterrent to news networks letting their political biases get in the way of truthful reporting." . . .

ABC News, George Stephanopoulos agree to apologize to Trump

"Donald Trump has won again. ABC News and George Stephanopoulos have settled the defamation lawsuit brought by the incoming president, with the news network agreeing to pay  $15 million in damages while also issuing an apology.

"The lawsuit was first filed after Stephanopoulos claimed as a matter of fact that Trump had “raped” E. Jean Carroll. The comment came during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace. 

"Of course, the issue was that Trump has never been charged or convicted of rape criminally nor has he been found liable for rape in any civil suit. Stephanopoulos made it up in an attempt to bait Mace, and it ended up being the basis of the now-settled civil suit against he and ABC News. 

"The apology issued as part of the settlement was tepid, but an apology nonetheless.

"ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024," the statement reads. 

"Aside from the $15 million, ABC News will also pay $1 million worth of Trump’s legal fees." . . .

Hamas relented in cease-fire talks under Trump pressure, official says

From the home of MSNBC and Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow, Ali Velshi, and many others. TD

 NBC News, of all sources!   "The president-elect's warning that he wants to see a deal before he takes office was “a big factor” in recent concessions, the source tells NBC News"

Pressure from President-elect Donald Trump was a major factor in Hamas relenting on two key issues during cease-fire and hostage-release talks with Israel, a senior administration official told NBC News on Friday.

New hope for an agreement had senior Biden administration officials fanning out across the Middle East this week with the goal of closing on a critical pact by the end of 2024. 

. . ."Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' political wing, told NBC News that he was not aware that the group had recently made concessions during negotiations.

"This month, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire world, in the Middle East — but it’s all talk, and no action!”

“ 'If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity,” he added..

"According to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media, Hamas has now agreed to Israeli forces staying in the Gaza Strip temporarily after fighting ends and to provide a complete list of hostages, including Americans, who will be released. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the concessions Hamas was prepared to make." . . .

UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin seems to be Mr. December in the Democrat calendar. . .

...and Hamas killers had all the other months. TD

 Murder most arousing?  "Sickeningly, there are apparently many fanboys and fangirls of…murder and/or murderers. To wit: Jimmy Kimmel and his staff appear to be over the moon for the man suspected of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. On a recent edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the alleged comedian stated, “Many women and men are going nuts over how good-looking this killer is, and there’s a huge wave of horny washing over us, like… It’s like when one of the guys you work with says he— I had a dream about you last night.' ” . . .

Jimmy didn't cry?

The unintentional consequences of Luigi Mangione   . . ."There will be a quick rush of CEOs demanding – and getting – teams of bodyguards. 

"They will think – not without a certain logic – as the fan base of Mangione groupies will likely spawn at least a few other Mangione clones.  These sick sycophants will seek their own brand if “justice” against some aggrieved corporation.  If it can happen to a health insurance CEO – the others in that industry will swiftly move to get the best security guards money can buy.  They will rightly see themselves as targets, because a lot of people hate insurance companies. 

"But soon it will spread." . . .

Florida Woman Charged for Threatening Insurance Company: ‘You People are Next”  Briana Boston, 42, of Lakeland, FL, faces jail time after she allegedly threatened the people of BlueCross BlueShield.

"Authorities charged her “with threats to conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.”

In a recorded call, Boston said, “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.”

"The words “delay, deny, depose” were on the bullet casings that killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson." . . .

Joe Biden & Co. are doing as much damage to the US as they can before they leave

 NY Post  Donald Trump has a lot of cleanup work to do once he takes office. Good thing America’s with him on that. 

"Joe Biden and the Dem apparat around him have made it plain: They are going to do as much damage to America as they can on the way out the door. 

"Last week brought a record number of presidential pardons, including 1,500 commutations of the sentences of “nonviolent” felons, most of whom were already serving their sentences at home after being sprung from prison during COVID.

"Except the White House upped the count by overlooking some truly heinous offenses: a Pennsylvania judge who took bribes to send kids to a for-profit “detention” center; an Illinois clerk who embezzled over $53 million from a town of just 15,000 people; a Massachusetts woman convicted for a fentanyl-trafficking conspiracy." . . .

. . .And what a pardon it was: not just getting him off the hook for the crimes he’d pled guilty to, but an unprecedented blanket amnesty for anything and everything Hunter might have done over an 11-year span. 

"And this after the prez swearing up and down the public square that he’d never even think of doing such a thing. 

"If there’s a more direct way of announcing to America that all their suspicions about elite self-dealing are true — that rules and regulations and laws don’t matter if you have enough cash and clout — we’d love to hear about it. 

"Small wonder that a meager 22% of Americans back the pardon and tons of Biden’s fellow Dems, like Sen. Amy Klobuchar, primary challenger Rep. Dean Phillips, Colo. Gov. Jared Polis and even his own former top aide Anita Dunn all have cried foul.

"But doing favors for his family isn’t the admin’s only focus.

"The staffers and operators around our senile president are ramming through a laundry list of progressive demands, all spitting in the face of average Americans.

"They have Joe promising to do one more round of his student-debt giveaways, after he’s stuck the taxpayers with more than $175 billion." . . . 

From the comments to the above: "Make no mistake, this is being done by people in the shadows, Obama, Jarrett, holder and company. Every single one of their security clearances MUST be revoked immediately. Obama and Biden should not receive any information whatsoever."

Biden Commutes Sentence of Woman Who Conspired to Manufacture, Distribute Fentanyl   "President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of a woman who was sentenced to 15 years in prison over conspiring to manufacture and distribute an altered and more potent version of fentanyl." . . . 

The Historic Failure of the Biden Administration

James E. Fanell and Bradley A. Thayer  

"The Biden administration will be remembered as a failure, marked by economic decline, open borders, energy insecurity, and weakened U.S. global standing."

 "Whether American presidents are successes or failures is measured by their major foreign and domestic actions. That has been the historical standard by which they are weighed and which defines their legacy. Some presidents are outstanding in every respect. Washington defined the American presidency. Lincoln saved the Union and kept foreign powers, most importantly Great Britain, from intervening to aid the South. Most presidents are heavily mixed; Buchanan employed the Army to suppress the Mormon Rebellion, but his monumental failure was that he did not act to stop the Civil War. Lyndon Johnson’s failure in Vietnam defined his presidency. Richard Nixon had many successes in foreign policy, but Watergate was his demise. Jimmy Carter failed abroad and at home.

"With just over 40 days left, Americans are nearing the end of the Biden administration, and so it is fitting to provide an assessment of it and to place it in historical context. By any metric from American history and by any objective standard used to measure his predecessors in the White House, the Biden administration has been a catastrophic failure for the American people. Were that it was otherwise. An old man suffering from the horrors of dementia is a tragedy. Biden is not only a dementia patient but also President of the United States. It is clear that now he is more dementia victim than he is president. He cannot stay awake at international meetings and other fora, and he seems to willingly accept the deliberate snubs. Accordingly, as hard as it is to acknowledge, given that he is the President of the United States, world leaders, and Americans know that he has no business being in the nation’s highest office. This impacts all Americans and U.S. national security, and it is important to recognize facts that impact national security as they are, rather than as we would desire them to be.

"In the years to come, the fiasco of the Biden administration will be explained by multiple factors. We may certainly anticipate that presidential historians will argue that his dementia was debilitating and precluded him from effective leadership, or that his presidency was just a Potemkin Village. Others may assess that Barack Hussein Obama was actually in control through his direct intervention and via surrogates like Susan Rice—who overreached in pushing a radical Marxist agenda. At this point, no matter the causes, it is essential to document the Biden administration’s failures and to learn from them as a cautionary tale about the disastrous impacts of the worst president in American history. Of course, we note that his greatest catastrophes may be yet to come." . . .Full article...

Biden Quietly Commuted Sentences Of Chinese Spies   . . ."The three commutations were reportedly part of a prisoner swap in exchange for Mark Sweden, Kai Li, and John Leung, according to Financial Times.

"But prisoner swaps are typically hailed by the president and the media. When basketball player Brittney Griner was released from Russia (in exchange for the man known as “Merchant of Death”), Biden held a press conference at the White House celebrating Griner’s return.

"Biden similarly held another event when Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released.

"So why was Biden and his administration so quiet about this Chinese swap?"

Drone Sightings, Reports of Crashes, Continue to Alarm and Befuddle New Jersey Residents

Debra Heine; American Greatness  

"Mayorkas suggested that people are just mistaking the UFOs for small planes or drones bought at “convenience stores.' ”  Well, that settles it.

 . . ."While New Jersey has been a hotspot for the UFO activity, drone sightings have also been reported in multiple other states across the nation in recent weeks, including Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Missouri, Florida, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Delaware, Texas, New York, Minnesota, Louisiana, Georgia, Maryland and Tennessee." . . .

. . ."White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby downplayed the drone sightings, claiming Thursday that none of the reported sightings—which can be seen in hundreds of videos posted online since the sightings started on Nov. 18—have been corroborated by state or federal law enforcement.  He also said that upon further review, none of the aircraft in question were seen in restricted air space and many had turned out to be “lawfully operated manned aircraft.”

"Kirby also reiterated that there is no evidence that the reported drones pose a national security or public safety threat.

"Kirby, it should be noted, does not have a reliable track record of an arbiter of the truth.

"After the Biden regime allowed a Chinese spy balloon to enter United States airspace and traverse the entire country, Kirby falsely claimed that three spy balloons were allowed to enter US airspace without detection during President-Elect Trump’s first term.

"The balloon hovered over a “number of sensitive sites” from Alaska past the Carolinas in early January, late February 2023,  collecting information on US communication systems and radars, before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.

"Kirby falsely claimed that the objects may have been “benign” and “tied to commercial or research entities.”

"As the Pentagon’s press secretary from December 2013 to February 2015 and the Department of State’s spokesman from May 13, 2015 to January 20, 2017 under former President Barack Obama, Kirby perfected the art of dissembling, confidently helping the Obama regime weather multiple foreign policies blunders.  From his perches at the Pentagon, and State Dept., Kirby talked his way through the Bowe Bergdahl scandal, Benghazi scandal, and fake ISIS intel scandal, in which the Obama administration cooked the books to give the false impression that the U.S. was winning the battle against the Islamic State.

"In December of 2015, Kirby also proudly touted the Obama White House’s appalling summit on “Countering Violent Extremism” (CVE), which downplayed the Islamic terrorist activity that was menacing the world at the time, and focused instead on alleged Christian terrorism and so-called white supremacy, calling the CVE event one of the Obama regime’s “most pivotal foreign policy moments.” . . .

Martha MacCallum Can’t Believe John Kirby’s Outrageous Response to Her Question: ‘Why Not Just Take One Down and Figure Out What’s Going On?’  

. . ."Kirby couldn’t even look at the photographic evidence presented during the interview as he conveniently turned off his monitor to avoid distractions. MacCallum called out the absurdity of the situation, asking how a former admiral and current top White House official could dismiss clear visuals of the drones." . . .

"That's How Real Journalism Works:" Leaked Emails Show How ProPublica Tried to Manufacture a Smear Against Pete Hegseth

 Daily Caller  

"The Daily Caller reached out to West Point to ask how the false information was relayed, if there was any further communication between the school and ProPublica, and if the officials who shared the false information were being disciplined. They did not answer the questions and refused to accept a phone call to discuss the story further."

"After a West Point spokesperson falsely claimed that Pete Hegseth had not even applied to the institution, much less been accepted, journalism outfit ProPublica reached out to Hegseth’s lawyer, asserting that the Secretary of Defense nominee had lied and gave him a one hour deadline to respond.

"Hegseth posted on Wednesday morning a photo of his acceptance to West Point and said ProPublica was planning on posting “a knowingly false report” that he was not accepted to the school in 1999. ProPublica editor Jesse Eisinger then responded with a Twitter thread, explaining that the outlet had done “real journalism” and determined something they heard was not true and that they would not be posting their story. Eisinger wrote that journalists must give the subject of a story a “fair chance to respond to all of the salient facts in the story.”

We understand that ProPublica (the Left Wing hack group) is planning to publish a knowingly false report that I was not accepted to West Point in 1999.

Here’s my letter of acceptance signed by West Point Superintendent, Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, US Army. pic.twitter.com/UOhOVZSfhJ

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) December 11, 2024

"However, emails and apparent phone transcripts obtained by the Caller reveal that ProPublica themselves did not do that in pursuit of the Hegseth story." . . .

Seven GOP Senators Most Likely To Stand Between Trump And His Dream Cabinet

"I guarantee it will be the biggest mistake of their lives for even a single Republican Senator to hesitate in confirming every Cabinet appointee. We, the middle class working voters, overwhelming selected Donald Trump to do for us exactly what he has promised. We did not vote for these elitist Senators, nor do we care about their unimportant opinions. Their only response needs to be, "Yes, sir." If these insignificant Senators suddenly become self-important legends in their own minds, those of us who supported President Trump will do everything in our power to make sure these Senators become among the unemployed, and that their remaining time in office is miserable." (Comment to the above post.)

'The Trump Effect' in Foreign Policy is Real and It's Growing

Rick Moran  

"This is the eleventh presidential administration in my adult life, and I cannot recall any president-elect having such an extraordinary effect on events, both directly and indirectly, before he enters office. Part of that is the incredible time we live in. Trump is going to be riding the wave of this change, unable to control it, but hopefully able to influence events to America's advantage."

"Donald Trump isn't president yet, but he may as well be. The rest of the world thinks that he's president. That has already started a shuffling of the deck and is forcing reassessments from friends and foes alike.

"Early this month, Trump took to Truth Social to issue a warning to the terrorist group Hamas — what's left of it, anyway.  

“ 'If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

"The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that for the first time since October 7, 2023, Hamas has agreed to allow Israeli troops to remain in Gaza after a ceasefire is agreed to. More importantly, the terrorists handed over a list of living hostages that would be released when the fighting ended.

Progress toward a deal comes after an Egyptian delegation visited Israel in late November, and after President-elect Donald Trump said on Truth Social earlier this month that there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if the hostages aren’t released before he assumes office in January.

As part of the latest proposal, Israel and Hamas are considering a 60-day cease-fire period that would see the release of up to 30 hostages being held in Gaza, including U.S. citizens, according to the mediators. In exchange, Israel would set free Palestinian prisoners and allow greater humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, they said.

"Hamas is giving way in Gaza, Syria's Bashar Assad is just another exiled tyrant, Europe's elites are faltering as governments in Berlin and Paris fall, and conservatives are on the march.  

"It's not all Trump's doing, of course. But Trump's election, quite unexpectedly, has changed the power dynamic in some places that allows change to happen. The uncertainty about what Trump might do has caused massive reassessments of the strategic situation for U.S. allies and enemies." . . .