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corruption in washington?

friday, february 21th, 2024

How many Americans had even heard of the U.S. Agency for International Development just a month ago? Now in the third week of the second Trump administration, the country is learning that USAID apparently has been running a racket that has propped up the Democratic political machine, which includes the usual big-media players, with tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars.

[FULL TITLE: "Wait, You Mean There’s Corruption In Washington?"]

As political scandals go, this one could be the grubbiest of all.

Democrats are already reeling. Polls show they have become as popular as a pineapple on a pizza. This country would be well served if the party collapsed and the remaining reasonable and sane voters Democratic formed a new group.

The Democratic Party of the 21st century has revealed itself through its radical, nonsensical positions to be a party that no longer can be stomached by most of America. A recent Quinnipiac University survey found that 57% of voters have an unfavorable opinion of Democrats, “the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question.”

Meanwhile, The New York Times’ own polling shows that Americans feel that Democrats are out of touch, and don’t see the party “as an appealing alternative.”

Hastening the downfall might be the scandal that is roiling the waters of the Potomac right now. A nest of corruption, it seems, has been rooted out. And those who have relied on its success are squealing the loudest and longest.

Ostensibly an agency that shuttles financial and other resources for humanitarian reasons, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, looks and acts more like a political slush fund that has kept the political left rich with taxpayers’ dollars than a global development agency.

Earlier this week, stories broke claiming various media outlets, all more defenders of the Democratic Party and the federal administrative state than true journalistic institutions, had received millions of dollars from USAID. The New York Times, Associated Press and Politico, all hostile to the political right, were named as benefactors.

Whoa, said the fact-checkers. These payments were for subscriptions, not for favorable coverage, and the payments weren’t just from USAID, but also from other federal departments and agencies.

Maybe so. Could be that all those subscriptions added up to the millions in question. But that doesn’t fully clear up the issue.

One, did these offices also subscribe to media that dissent from the Washington narrative, which is consistent with the Democratic Party’s agenda, if not perfectly in line with it? Where are the millions in subscription payments to the New York Post, Washington Times, City Journal, Reason, National Review or … Issues & Insights?

As for I&I, we sure didn’t get any. And if we did, we’d be sure to hear about it from the very same people who’ve been squealing about the president shutting down USAID.

Also consider that federal workers are feeding their biases reading the New York Times, Politico the AP and other similar material. They’re living in a bubble in which members serve themselves at the expense of those outside the bubble – you know, the others, the deplorables, the semi-fascists, the bitter clingers, the garbage people.

That few or no federal workers are reading the New York Post, Washington Times, City Journal, Reason and others that would open up new avenues of thinking for them and challenge their political bigotry is disturbing.

Equally disturbing, however, is the strong likelihood that those “news” outlets tailored their coverage to perpetuate and grow the administrative state — and to aid the one major U.S. political party for whom that same administrative state is sacrosanct (hint: It isn’t the Republican Party).

Two, we don’t think we’re being unreasonable to say the subscription arrangement is not an innocent routine because it feels too much like a good way to funnel money to favored and friendly media outfits to get solid propaganda in return. After all, we know that Reuters raked in $300 million from taxpayers to attack Elon Musk because he dared to back Donald Trump.

But, hey, all that money we’ve heard about this week was just for subscriptions, nothing to see here. But what do those outlets provide federal workers that they couldn’t get free on the internet – and maybe by paying attention to their jobs, staying informed about the activities of other departments and agencies, and searching through federal databases? Why does the phrase “money laundering” come to mind?

As events continue to unfold, it appears USAID lavished money not just on media, but on all the right organizations. For instance, author John Ringo has tweeted that the Tides Foundation, “the Soros ‘charity’ that funded much of the Antifa BLM protests in 2020,” has been one of USAID’s primary beneficiaries.

Surprised?

We’ve also heard from Mike Benz, the former State Department official who blew the whistle on the Reuters arrangement. He tweeted earlier this week that “USAID grantee NGOs (non-governmental organizations) literally take their USAID money then turn around and lobby all key members of Congress to give more and more US taxpayer money to USAID each year in the budget. USAID buys an army of lobbyists with your tax dollars to give it more of your money.”

In response, Elon Musk, who has become a villain to the left, called USAID “a criminal organization.” It is, he said, “time for it to die.”

According to DataRepublican (small r), who says she’s cracked the code of the government’s byzantine funding of nonprofits, the scam goes this way:

• Gov-funded NGO gets a USAID grant for something vague like “strengthening education.”
• That NGO dumps millions into a DAF (Donor-Advised Fund).
• The DAF isn’t required to disclose what the NGO told them to do with the money.
• But somehow, every hyperpolitical nonprofit with a sketchy agenda ends up getting funded.

DataRepublican identifies one of those nonprofits as Defending Democracy, a never-Trump run in part by the Trump-hating Bill Kristol, as “an indirect beneficiary of USAID through Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.”

She also pointed out the millions going to nonprofits organizations provide “immigration-related services,” which is likely a euphemism for groups that help illegal immigrants skirt the law.

We are seeing, as well, accusations that USAID channels have funded outside terrorists, reports that the agency itself was involved in the 2019 Trump impeachment, and research that concluded that the Biden administration weaponized it to establish “foreign aid programs to fund abortion, gender and identity ideology, and climate alarmism.”

It’s still early. Scandals can take any number of turns and some messy situations end up not being scandals at all. But we have questions. We hope the legacy media does, too, and will dig for the story rather than reflexively protect their own. This is a huge story, possibly involving misconduct by elected officials and fraud on a massive scale. There’s no reason not to get all the facts out in the open. Maybe some media outlet that didn’t get federal dollars will give the effort a fair shot.

© 1.07.2025 by I & I Editorial Board, "Issues & Insights".

A Day In The Life.

Up at 8a on Friday, a cold 30°F, I went thru my finger stick to check my BSL (Blood Sugar Level) and recorded it on my Diabetes 2 chart, made coffee and delayed breakfast, skipped the two 50mg Tramadol and a 300mg Gabapentin for various pains -- took a Bayer 250mg Aspirin -- fired-up the Win-7 Pentium HP Desktop to let 32 million lines of code load, had a couple smokes in the garage, checked the leftover errands list, the news headlines and weather forecast.

Aw crap, here we go with another Winter ICE Storm -- "Garnett" --, with another to follow on Tuesday, and a third on Thursday:

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★★★ WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ★★★

• WHAT: Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow, sleet and freezing rain accumulations up to two inches and ice accumulations between one tenth and two tenths of an inch.

• WHEN: From 01:00pm EST, Saturday Feb 08 2025 until 3:00am EST, Sunday, Feb 09 2025.

• WHERE: Lower Susquehanna Valley and Western Poconos in Pennsylvania.

• IMPACTS: Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous. Travel could be very difficult.

• ADDITIONAL DETAILS: A small variation in storm track could result in significant changes in expected Ice amounts.

• PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS: If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.

• IF TRAVELING: Persons should delay all travel if possible. If travel is absolutely necessary, drive with extreme caution and be prepared for sudden changes in visibility. Leave plenty of room between you and the motorist ahead of you, and allow extra time to reach your destination. Avoid sudden braking or acceleration, and be especially cautious on hills or when making turns. Make sure your car is winterized and in good working order.

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Sherry stopped by around 2p, and we had 3hrs together to visit; a real nice lead-in to the weekend. After she headed for home, around 4:45p, I closed the condo, checked the weather maps and scanned the news headlines. The 3rd air disaster in 10 days, after DC and Philly. RIP, once again.

I heated-up some of Sis' Homemade Pot Roast Stew, watched the news, switched to History's "Ancient Aliens" until midnight, and unplugged.

Up at 8:30a on Saturday, to a heavily overcast, cold 29° morning, so I upped the heat, made coffee and had a couple smokes in the garage, and fed the squirrels and birds. I can't "see" the storm that's forecast to hit this area; the big ice storm is south of us, and the big snow is to the north. We're "clear", as of 10a. I had breakfast, got ready for the day and w/ no errands to do, planned to stay inside and wait for the coming ice/snow/sleet.

I have to keep remembering: While both sleet and freezing rain involve precipitation that partially or fully melts in a warm air layer before refreezing, the key difference is that sleet forms when the snowflakes only partially melt and then refreeze into small ice pellets before hitting the ground, while freezing rain occurs when the snowflakes fully melt into liquid raindrops that freeze upon contact with a cold surface; essentially, sleet is a solid ice pellet that bounces when it lands, while freezing rain creates a smooth, icy glaze on surfaces due to the liquid water freezing on contact.

I had paperwork to finish-off, a couple condo chores and cleaned-out the garage of peanut shell debris, blown back in from feeding the critters. The snow/rain/sleet/freezing rain finally arrived just after dark, around 5:30p, and for periods until 10p, it was heavy, leaving up to 1" of snow/ice everywhere. Nice if you're not going out or driving, which I'm not. After dinner, I watched the news, switched to Discovery's "Expedition Unknown" and bagged it around 1:30a.

You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death, my right to say it.

Up at 9a on Sunday, a sunny, 36°, very windy morning. After firing-up the furnace, I made coffee, had a smoke in the garage, fed the squirrels, scanned the weather and news, it looks like another Winter Snow Storm is due here on Tuesday. February is a busy month for Winter weather; heh. Hey, it's Winter!

No, I don't plan to watch Stupor Bowel LIX; I can proudly say that I haven't watched any of them for the past 35+ years. I have other things to do. I'll watch a highlight reel of the ads, but that's all. The rest of it's garbage, crap, trash, sewage and junk.

Looks like NJ & NY got the ice/snow storm results much worse than we did. Enjoy, folks.

Hells bells, we've got another Winter Storm ("Iliana") coming Tuesday & Wednesday -- and for days afterward -- but I'll be finished with my errands before that craps sets-in. Swell. I did laundry, called Sherry, had a YUGE salad and Pot Roast Stew for dinner, and watched History's "Ancient Aliens" until almost 1;30a; lights out.

Up at 7:30a on Monday, a cloudy, cold 29° I fired-up the furnace, made Kona Coffee, had a smoke in the cold garage, fed the squirrels and other critters, and fired-up the HP Desktop to scan the weather forecasts and news headlines. As usual, the Stupor Bowel 59 was a joke, I tuned into the "CS Show LIVE" and reviewed the day's errands and to-do list. More snow coming, tomorrow afternoon and evening, with some ice; BFD. It's Winter.

I left for my 4 errands in Southern York County, around 1p. The Jeep isn't running well, and I didn't have time to stop at the Jeep dealership in Red Lion, to get it looked at, but will on Wednesday or Thursday, snow/ice permitting. Back by 3:30, I unloaded, grabbed a quick 90min nap on the LR couch, had dinner and scanned the news and weather. Another ***WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY*** was posted for 1-3" on snow/ice, for tomorrow and Wednesday. Crap. I watched the evening news, and switched to Motor Trend's "Iron Resurrection" until 12:30a, and unplugged.

I slept-in until 10a on Tuesday, a heavily overcast, 31° morning. I made coffee, tuned into the "CP Show LIVE", had a smoke in the garage and scanned the weather maps and various news websites. An updated ***WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY*** was posted everywhere, so I checked the maps. With much of the morning already gone, I lounged around until 1p, and finally got ready for the day. After a very filling 'brunch', I listened to the "Dan Bongino Show LIVE", re-checked the weather maps, did some condo chores and made a Valentines Day card for Sherry. I use the old MS-Publisher, and have made my own cards for all occasions, for the past 35yrs.

By 2:45p, light snow -- from Winter Storm #1 (ILiana) -- was already overspreading the York area, and the front coming SSW was Y-U-G-E and we'll get a "dose" of it. 90% of it was south of us, in DC, Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee; we barely caught the northern edge, and maybe got an inch by 12 midnight. I watched the evening news, had a light dinner, switched to History's "Curse of Oak Island" until midnight. Lights out.

Awake at 4a, and up at 4:30 on Wednesday, a 27° morning, ZERO DARK THIRTY morning, and a warmed 33° day forecast. I upped the heat, made the first carafe of the new Kona Coffee, from a new Hawaiian coffee co, tuned into the news, and checked the weather maps. We had 3-4" by 7a, but I'd wait until 7:30 daylight or so, to get a better handle on the storm totals, so far. Hells bells, another ice storm ("Jett") coming on Saturday, but 2 days in between then and now, of decent weather.

I did a last load of laundry, scanned the news headlines, finished-up a small pile of paperwork, grabbed a 2hr snooze on the LR couch, closed the condo and had more homemade Pot Roast for dinner. The rain started around 6:320p -- thankfully it wasn't more snow -- and continued thru the night. I watched the evening news, and switched to Discovery's "Expedition X" until 12:30a. Lights out.

Up at 8:15a on Thursday, an overcast, rainy, cold 36° morning, I upped the heat, made coffee, fed the squirrels and bluejays, tuned into the "CP Show LIVE", and relaxed. The news headlines were bleak: corruption, waste, graft, fraud, theft, islamist(SPIT!) funding, and terrorist attacks... and more. Much more. Trump & Musk will "fix" it. After breakfast, I got ready for the day, ran a few errands, had a light lunch, and grabbed a 90min nap on the LR couch.

After dinner, I watched the news, and switched back to History's "American Pickers", which I'd watched on-and-off all afternoon. Lights out at 12:30a.

Tomorrow starts a new week here in the "Journal" and it's clear, except for my morning PCP's Dr's app't. And I need to get the Jeep into the dealership down south in Red Lion, to have them diagnose what's causing the rough idle and seeming loss of power. Otherqise, life is still good.

Now We Know Who was Running the Country for Joe Biden (video).

Have you noticed how leftists are losing their minds over Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to expose rampant waste and corruption? As Musk uncovers shocking levels of mismanagement and even actions aiding America’s enemies, critics have launched coordinated attacks on him, implying that he’s the one who is actually running the White House.

“No one voted for Elon Musk!” they say.

Time Magazine’s latest issue has joined the fray, featuring Musk seated confidently at the Resolute Desk—a symbolic jab suggesting he's really the one in charge. The outrage is ironic, considering the same voices now wailing about Musk’s alleged control were silent while Joe Biden spent four years clearly not running the White House. 

Why does this matter? Well, we now have fresh allegations from Lindy Li, a former Democratic National Committee (DNC) insider, about who was running the White House for Joe Biden.

And it’s quite terrifying.

Once a proud fundraiser for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Li has turned into an insider spilling the Democratic Party's most closely held secrets—and, boy, does she have stories. 

Her revelations pull back the curtain on what has been described as a chaotic and delusional 2024 campaign for the Democrats, which spectacularly collapsed under the weight of its own hubris. Li has revealed intriguing insider details about how Joe Biden was ultimately ousted, and what Pelosi and Obama really think of Kamala. Back in December, she revealed new dirt on Joe Biden’s mental decline. “The president has not been cognitively fit to assume the duties of the Oval Office for a number of years now,” she told Fox News. "And it breaks my heart because I know President Biden and I love the man, but he is in no shape or form able to carry out the duties that the Commander in Chief requires, and it's just devastating.”

But it’s her revelations about what happened in the White House in the aftermath of Biden’s devastating performance in his June debate on CNN with Trump that are truly jaw-dropping. 

Related: Joe Biden’s Fake Job Numbers Scandal Just Got Worse

According to Li, Joe Biden, already staggering from public scrutiny, effectively lost control of the White House after that fateful debate. The event reportedly prompted an audacious power shuffle at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—one spearheaded by none other than Hunter Biden.  

Li alleges that, following Biden’s disastrous debate drubbing, Hunter essentially took over White House operations. Speaking with podcaster Shawn Ryan, she painted a picture of dysfunction at the highest levels of government: “After the [CNN] debate, Hunter basically commandeered the White House. He sat in on all of the White House top-level meetings. We had a former cocaine addict sitting in on the most sensitive meetings of the most consequential and most important government in world history. Does that sit right with you?"  

Ryan’s immediate reaction—“No”—reflected what many are surely thinking.

“Without security clearance mind you,” Li added. 

The idea that Hunter Biden, with no security clearance, was allegedly dictating the flow of information to his father is a much bigger deal than Elon Musk going after government waste, don’t you think?

“That's who was basically running the show. So Hunter basically battened down the hatches after the debate to make sure his father would only receive intel he pre-approved.”

The media's and the Democrats’ hypocrisy is glaring. They attack Elon Musk for exposing waste, accusing him of having too much power without having been elected, while their lack of scrutiny during the Biden presidency allowed for an unelected crack addict to run the country.

© 2.08.2025 by Matt Martgolis, "PJMedia".

BOMBSHELL: Michael Shellenberger Exposes Shocking USAID and CIA Connections to Trump’s Impeachment.

In a stunning exposé released on his Substack, investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger sheds light on the covert operations by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that have influenced the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump in 2019.

According to Shellenberger, a nexus between USAID-funded research and a whistleblower from the CIA sparked the impeachment.

The foundation of the impeachment, as per the House of Representatives on December 18, 2019, was a whistleblower’s accusation stating President Trump misused his presidential powers.

The whistleblower, who was a CIA analyst appointed during the Obama era and claimed that President Donald Trump coerced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into probing Joe Biden and his son Hunter by leveraging military aid, is Eric Ciaramella.

Ciaramella was NOT on Trump’s July 25 phone call with Zelensky, yet he filed a whistleblower complaint based on hearsay from a ‘source’—The Gateway Pundit reported that his primary ‘source’ was Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

Further digging by Shellenberger and associated investigative reporters suggests that Ciaramella relied heavily on reports by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

This organization, though marketed as independent, has been found to operate under the financial and operational oversight of USAID—a fact confirmed by a USAID official in a recently unearthed documentary produced by German broadcaster NDR.