KOMMONSENTSJANE – This Is a Must Read on How the Democrats Wasted Our Tax Money.

12/29/2024

Is this called brain rot?

ttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/key-takeaways-from-rand-paul-s-report-on-gov-t-waste/ss-AA1wDxmf?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=ef5eef7f1c4b4abf8e1617df044f1e8d&ei=17#image=2

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-president-musk-strategy-wasn-t-subtle-but-it-worked/ar-AA1wqH6U

ttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-president-musk-strategy-wasn-t-subtle-but-it-worked/ar-AA1wqH6U

President Trump brought Musk/Vivek on board as part of his team and the left is so bent out of shape because President Trump has these two people who pull out the weeds and expose the truth. And, these same Democrats instead of working together are continuing to cause trouble rather than working these bills.

With the reports of Democrats and the wasted money in the attached report it tells you they don’t know how to spend money for sure and then they try to make fun of the Republicans/President Trump/Musk/Vivek. What JOKERS they are.

12/24/2024

ttps://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/FESTIVUS-REPORT-2024.pdf

Rand Paul’s 2024 ‘Festivus Report’: Border security for Paraguay, cocaine rats, and drag queen ice-skating

Today is Dec. 23, affectionately known as “Festivus,” a secular celebration that started in the 1960s, but made popular by the sitcom Seinfeld in the 1990s. It was created as a societal counter to the commercialism associated with the Christmas season. 

However, it’s also become synonymous with wasteful government spending, particularly the millions of dollars in taxpayer money exposed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in his annual – and appropriately named—Festivus Report. The senator discovered over a trillion dollars in government waste in this year’s report, including funding for projects focused on ice-skating dragqueens, the construction of pickleball complexes, cocaine rats, and Ukrainian influencers, among others. 

And while the fiscal responsibility Paul highlights is arguably quite tragic, for those clamoring for a return to financial stability and ending reckless government spending, Paul’s efforts and public revelations in his report are a joyous occasion. To quote (and tweak) a classic and beloved Christmas song: 

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year. 

With holiday greetings,

and fiscal responsibility pleadings,

from Sen. Rand Paul, 

It’s the hap-happiest day of all.”

“Last Festivus, we bemoaned the national debt nearing $34 trillion. In just a year, Washington’s career politicians and bureaucrats have managed to push it beyond $36 trillion—unsurprisingly, with hardly a second thought,” Paul wrote in his introduction for ‘The Festivus Report 2024.’ “Who’s to blame for our crushing national debt? Everybody. This year, members of both political parties in Congress voted for massive spending bills, filled with subsidies for underperforming industries, continued military aid to Ukraine, and controversial climate initiatives. As Congress spends to reward its favored pet projects, the American taxpayers are forced to pay through high prices and crippling interest rates.”Related video: Rand Paul: We can repeal detrimental regulations (Fox Business

Fox Business

Rand Paul: We can repeal detrimental regulations

Paul details the country’s looming fiscal doom if government spending is not significantly reduced. The senator highlights shocking facts regarding spending, including predictions from the Congressional Budget Office that the country will add “over $6.4 billion of debt every single day for the next ten years, borrowing over $268 million every hour, $4.5 million every minute, and over $74,401 every second.” It will culminate with the country adding “$2.1 trillion in debt annually for the next decade.”

Paul’s discovery of over a trillion dollars in government wasteful spending features many projects that accomplished little to nothing of significant importance. Here are some of the most egregious examples of reckless government spending in “The Festivus Report 2024.”Ice-skating drag queens for climate change

Paul revealed that the government provided funds for a drag queen ice-skating performance about the dangers of climate change. The National Endowment for the Arts gave the Bearded Ladies Cabaret in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, $10,000 for its  “Beard on Ice” performance to promote climate change alarmism. The artistic director for the self-described “queer cabaret arts organization” provided the following statement regarding the performance: 

“It’s so impossible, the issue of climate change and climate anxiety right now — almost as impossible as drag queens learning how to ice skate. So if we can get these drag queens to ice skate, maybe, just maybe, we can solve the climate crisis.”

The production was forced to cancel its opening-night performance due to poor ice conditions at the ice rink in which it was being held, according to reports. Using pandemic relief funds to buy an island

The report identified the misdeeds of a Florida businessman who reportedly used COVID-19 relief funds to purchase Sweetheart Island off the coast of Florida. An investigation into the purchase found that the swindler used funds obtained from pandemic assistance to “help finance the island purchase,” according to reports. 

The person who tried to buy the island fraudulently received $7.8 million in emergency pandemic aid by submitting over 30 deceitful applications. He was eventually busted, convicted for his crimes, and sentenced to over five and a half years in federal prison, and agreed to return the $7.8 million in aid he received.  3 Cards Charging 0% Interest until 2026

Millions of dollars spent on a pickleball court in Las Vegas

The “Festivus Report of 2024” discovered that the Department of the Interior spent $12 million to build a 30-court pickleball complex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The city hoped to eventually use these courts to host high-profile tournaments and put Vegas on the “global pickleball map.”Billions of dollars spent on nearly-empty office buildings

Paul’s “Festivus Report” identified the significant waste of billions of dollars. A report from the Government Accountability Office revealed the government needlessly spends $10 billion on underutilized office buildings nationwide. The report highlighted that the government spends $5 billion on leases for these buildings and another $2 billion on yearly maintenance costs. 

The GAO report discovered that “these buildings are just oversized, expensive storage units for empty desks.” The waste of cash includes millions spent on furniture and office equipment in buildings where “offices largely remain empty,” according to the “Festivus Report.” A previous version of a waste report by Paul revealed that “the government spent $1.7 billion on 77,000 empty, unused properties.”Millions of dollars on border security – for Paraguay

The “Festivus Report” found that the State Department spent $2.1 million on border security—for Paraguay. At a time when illegal immigrants hit a historical record high, the U.S. government was providing millions of dollars to another country’s border security while ignoring failures and problems along the U.S. border. U.S. taxpayer dollars went to the South American country to help ensure people were not entering it illegally, while a record number of people were entering the U.S. illegally. Over $7 million on different projects studying magic

Abracadabra! 

Sen. Paul found that the U.S. government spent taxpayer funds studying multiple government projects involving magic. Part of this “magical” spending included over $6 million from the Department of Defense on a “Magic City Discovery Center,” according to the “Festivus Report.” Other projects included $250,000 in funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services to modernize its “Magic Lantern Shows and Nickelodeons” exhibition. Other acts of astonishment given significant funding grants included $94,006 to the National Science Foundation to study The Magic School Bus and $388,863 to assess and analyze the podcast “Magic in the United States.”Millions of dollars in advancing fertilizer use in Pakistan and Vietnam

It’s no secret that the country’s farmers are experiencing significant economic hardships in recent years. Yet, despite these challenges, our country, which is trillions of dollars in debt, opted to provide $20 million to foreign countries such as Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil, and Colombia for different programs with a broad scope of objectives, including boosting the income of farmers in Vietnam—not the U.S. 

Paul cites many other programs in which the government wastes an exorbitant amount of money for what appears to be no legitimately beneficial reason. These include studying lonely, cocaine-addicted rats, spending nearly $5 million on foreign social media influencers, and spending $2 million to study children looking at food ads on Facebook, among many other shocking examples. These egregious acts of fiscal irresponsibility must stop. They are detrimental to the country and directly threaten the nation’s economic sustainability.

To see the numerous other examples of reckless government spending and waste, you can access Sen. Rand Paul’s “The Festivus Report” here.

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KOMMONSENTSJANE – Guatemalan Deported in 2018 Burned Woman to Death on NYC Subway.

12/24/2024

Time to finish the border fence that Biden failed to finish and proceed to return immigrants to their home country. In the meantime, the Justice Department needs to do their job in connection with the person who did this inhuman act.

*****

Guatemalan Deported in 2018 Burned Woman to Death on NYC Subway

ttps://libertyonenews.com/guatemalan-deported-in-2018-burned-woman-to-death-on-nyc-subway/

In a horrifying incident that has shocked New Yorkers and reignited debates on immigration policies, a Guatemalan national who was deported by the Trump administration in 2018 reentered the United States illegally and committed a heinous act of violence. The perpetrator, identified as Sebastian Zapeta, is accused of setting a woman on fire aboard a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn.

The attack occurred around 7:30 a.m. in a quiet subway car. Witnesses reported that the victim appeared to be asleep when Zapeta, unprovoked, approached her and ignited her clothing using a lighter. Initial investigations suggest that Zapeta sat across from the woman, tossed a lit match at her, and watched as flames engulfed her body.

Adding to the gruesome nature of the crime, new footage shows Zapeta remaining at the station after the attack. He was seen sitting on a bench and even exacerbating the situation by fanning the flames as the woman burned. Nearby, liquor bottles were scattered around the victim, though their role in the incident remains unclear.

Adding insult to injury, a transit police officer was caught on video walking past the blazing scene, appearing to speak on a radio but failing to render immediate assistance or intervene with the suspect. The lack of immediate action has drawn sharp criticism from the public and local officials.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that Zapeta is an illegal immigrant who was deported by the Trump administration in June 2018. He originally entered the U.S. illegally in Arizona on June 1, 2018, and was promptly deported on June 7, 2018.

However, under the Biden administration, Zapeta reentered the country as a “gotaway” — a term used to describe individuals who cross the border undetected and evade immigration enforcement. DHS sources indicate that Zapeta’s reentry occurred at an unknown time and location. He had been living freely in the U.S., evading authorities until his arrest for this violent crime.

The incident has reignited debates over border security and immigration policies, with critics arguing that lax enforcement under the Biden administration has allowed dangerous individuals to reenter the country. The fact that Zapeta, a previously deported individual, could cross the border undetected and commit such a heinous act has drawn sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators.

Bill Melugin, a Fox News correspondent who covers border security, highlighted the case on social media, saying:

“Per DHS sources, the suspect accused of burning a woman to death on a NYC subway is a Guatemalan illegal alien who was previously deported by the Trump administration and re-entered the U.S. illegally as a gotaway.”

This revelation has intensified scrutiny of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, with many calling for stricter measures to prevent similar incidents.

*****

Time for President Trumps plan to return all immigrants to their home country.

kommonsentsjane

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KOMMONSENTSJANE – Biden’s Inflation Misstep Was a Warning Sign All Along..

12/24/2024

Too funny for words. Maddow is fudging the truth – again.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maddow-blog-trump-has-reason-to-thank-biden-for-leaving-him-a-healthy-economy/ar-AA1wnyZf?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=29676c0df03f4a17bc9149dc5b5d9aef&ei=43

ttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maddow-blog-trump-has-reason-to-thank-biden-for-leaving-him-a-healthy-economy/ar-AA1wnyZf?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=29676c0df03f4a17bc9149dc5b5d9aef&ei=43

How could this go on knowing what was happening to our country? Why aren’t those people/media who allowed this held accountable?

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2024/12/23/breitbart-business-digest-bidens-inflation-misstep-was-a-warning-sign-all-along/

ttps://www.breitbart.com/economy/2024/12/23/breitbart-business-digest-bidens-inflation-misstep-was-a-warning-sign-all-along/

Breitbart Business Digest: Biden’s Inflation Misstep Was a Warning Sign All Along

4

President Joe Biden speaks at Tioga Marine Terminal on October 13, 2023 in Philadelphia, P
Mark Makela/Getty Images

John Carney

Biden’s Inflation Crisis Was a Competency Crisis

Joe Biden’s presidency has always had a whiff of improvisation, a tendency to sidestep reality for the sake of convenience. But rarely was this more evident than in July 2021, when he assured the nation that “no serious economist” was worried about inflation spiraling out of control. It was a statement as false as it was revealing, encapsulating the administration’s mix of arrogance, economic mismanagement, and wishful thinking.

In hindsight, this moment offers more than a clue to Biden’s broader failures—it serves as Exhibit A in the case that his presidency was, at its core, marked by incompetence and denial.

Biden’s dismissal of inflation concerns wasn’t just a verbal misstep. It was a bizarre signal that Biden wasn’t in touch with the policy discussion going on across the country.

Larry Summers, a Democrat and former Treasury Secretary, had been sounding the alarm since February of 2021, warning that Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan risked overheating the economy. Olivier Blanchard, an equally esteemed economist, echoed those concerns. Even Federal Reserve officials, publicly clinging to the term “transitory,” were privately grappling with the possibility of persistent inflation.

At the time, we saw Biden’s claim that such warnings didn’t exist as a deliberate untruth. Now it seems more likely that Biden was just kept away from Democrat critics of his policies.

As time went on, it was clear that the Biden administration’s blind spot on inflation wasn’t just about inflation. It was about the Biden administration’s broader inability—or unwillingness—to confront hard truths. Time and again, the administration doubled down on policies that worsened the very crises it sought to manage:

  • Spending Overdrive: The American Rescue Plan wasn’t just unnecessary—it was reckless. The economy was already rebounding from the pandemic, with trillions in unspent stimulus still sloshing around. Injecting another nearly $2 trillion into the system was a surefire way to overheat demand.
  • Energy Myopia: Biden’s early hostility to fossil fuels, from canceling pipelines to restricting domestic drilling, exacerbated energy price shocks when global supply chains faltered. Inflation wasn’t imported—it was built in Washington.
  • Shifting Blame: When inflation finally reared its ugly head, the administration resorted to distractions, pinning the problem on corporate greed, shipping bottlenecks, and eventually the war in Ukraine. This scattershot blame game might have fooled partisans, but it didn’t fool voters.

The result? Inflation reached a 40-year high by mid-2022, crushing real wages and eroding household wealth. Whatever progress the administration might claim in reducing unemployment or passing legislation was drowned out by the palpable economic pain of everyday Americans.

What’s striking about Biden’s false inflation assurances is how they fit into a broader pattern of denial. This wasn’t the only issue where the administration seemed more interested in managing optics than tackling substance:

  • Afghanistan: The chaotic withdrawal was defended as unavoidable, even as military experts had long warned that a hasty exit would create a vacuum of chaos.
  • The Border: Record-breaking illegal crossings were dismissed as seasonal or overstated until the problem became too glaring to ignore.
  • Crime: Rising violence in cities across the country was initially waved away, only for Democratic mayors to later plead for more policing.

In every case, warnings were ignored until reality became impossible to deny—and by then, the damage was done.

Incompetence All Along

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted Biden’s mental decline, suggesting that his diminished capacity was an open secret among his inner circle. This would go a long way toward explaining the administration’s repeated missteps. But even absent that explanation, Biden’s presidency has been defined by a lack of curiosity and accountability—qualities essential for effective leadership.

The inflation debacle is a case study in how this administration operated: deny problems exist, deflect blame when they arise, and delay action until the damage becomes irreversible. Inflation wasn’t just an economic crisis. It was a political one that shattered trust in Biden’s competence and set the stage for his presidency’s eventual unraveling.

****

COMMENTS:

  • DDarkDog3 hours agoSadly every lie and dishonest proclamation was covered up by the MSM. The media gaslighted Americans as much or more than Joe Biden himself. The reward for this treachery demands nothing less than their complete and total economic destruction. 7 0Reply
  • BBill Birch2 hours agoI told my lib sister well before the election he will raise gas price and wreck the economy. Didn’t care anything but orange she said.
    Safeway reg gas in my Oregon town was 1.89 Jan 20, 2021 day Biden took office. Made note as I shopped that day thinking it won’t be that again. It peaked 5.50 to a trough of 3.11 back to nearly 4 now back down to 3.05 lowest yet. Still not 1.89. That and print money. 5 out of the 6 bad economies since 1973 was high oil beginning with Nixon giving tanks to Israel.
    Opec reduced output aka Oil Weapon doubling gas price crashing the US economy then again under Carter now interest rates through the roof and its playing out all over again. Joe Biden became senator 1973. He knows this. Had high gas under Obama too. Biden pulled the pin on the oil weapon chucking it into the gears of the US economy knowing it would wreck it. Print money, high oil and he did it with all that experience. 6 0Reply
    • NatureBoy Bill Birch2 hours agoI have a friend who is a Lib. Ordinarily, he’s a pleasant and articulate guy. Politically, he’s a moron. 3 0Reply
      • Reld NatureBoy2 hours ago…and they all had this smug confidence that they are totally in the right. As it turns out…now they are silent for the most part as it is starting to dawn on them what a complete moronic catostrophe Biden really was. 4 0Reply
    • katdogguy Bill Birch43 minutes agoMany OPEC countries realized in the 80’s and later on they were shooting themselves in the foot with the policy of Pan-Arabism tied to OPEC oil policies that they really derived no benefit from and only saddled them with political policies that held them back economically in dealing with the rest of the world as an indepenent countries. Now OPEC is used as an economic leveling device between richer and poorer oil countries but not so much as a political device anymore.
      That aside Democrats always act like economic results are not tied to political policies and that the aims of political policy are more important than the economic health of the nation as a whole. The past is present and future with them always repeating the same mistakes. 0 0Reply
  • Libtardologist3 hours agoFJB and Democrats didn’t make any mistakes in creating massive price inflation and wrecking the economy. They did it intentionally. The Democrat vote harvesting plan is impoverish tens of millions of people, get them on Big Government welfare, terrify them into submission and dependency on Big Government, and expect them to perpetually for vote Democrats.This is also the standard plan for all Leftist\Marxist\Pluralist\Communist Big Governments. The UKSSR’s and EUSSR’s central governments are infested with subservient Globalist puppets. They are transitioning the places into a 99% poor, 1% wealthy PinkoDonkey Economic Model, just like in the USSR, Cuba, NK, Columbian, Venezuela, Viet Nam.FJB 5 0Reply
  • BBubbles03an hour agoPeople who don’t have to worry about what bills to pay every month could never appreciate what the effects of 9% annual inflation, compounded to 20% over three years, has on a regular American family. Even those with two earners. 2 0Reply
  • FFoxtrot_Juliet_Bravoan hour agoMissteps aren’t deliberate. 1 0Reply
  • Frank Ellis18 minutes agoHe was always too arrogant to listen to anyone but now he’s just too dumb to listen. 0 0Reply
  • katdogguy42 minutes agoIn hindsight, this moment offers more than a clue to Biden’s broader failures—it serves as Exhibit A in the case that “his life” was, at its core, marked by incompetence and denial. There, FIFY. 0 0Reply
  • chinesePatriotJoean hour agoDuh ! 0 0Reply

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KOMMONSENTSJANE – A minefield of its own making’: New investigation of USAA reveals ‘fundamental breakdown’ with repeat compliance issues as profits vanish.

12/23/2024

Where were the bank regulators all of this time? Who is being held accountable for this fiasco? It is hard to believe this is happening to our military of all people. The people who keep us safe?

ttps://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/a-minefield-of-its-own-making-new-investigation-of-usaa-reveals-fundamental-breakdown-with-repeat-compliance-issues-as-profits-vanish/ar-AA1wmG0D?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=5dbb1867519446b4ade766331723358f&ei=29

It is time for the bank to clean their house.

Is USAA experiencing a ‘fundamental breakdown’?

Is USAA experiencing a ‘fundamental breakdown’?© Tada Images/Shutterstock

Although USAA has been a respected financial institution for decades, serving members of the military, veterans and their families, it has landed in hot water with regulators and customers in recent times.

A new joint investigation by American Banker and the San Antonio Current details the organization’s many problems and how the bank and insurer is currently “navigating a minefield of its own making.”

For instance, it’s been punished for charging military members more interest than federal law allows. For this and other violations, regulators failed it twice in a row in the Community Reinvestment Act exam that measures how well banks serve communities.

This is an exam most banks pass easily, and these failures in 2020 and 2023 point to “a fundamental breakdown” at USAA, said Adam Rust, the director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America, in the article. “What’s especially shameful about it is that they’re serving service members who deserve better.”

Even more alarmingly, this year customers reported losing thousands of dollars of their hard-earned money due to mysterious deposits and withdrawals, according to a report from News 4 San Antonio. Some say they were even asked to cover negative balances on their accounts after their money was stolen.

Here’s what you should know about what’s happening at USAA and what you can do if you have issues with your bank.

Significant issues abound at USAA

Overall, it appears USAA did not make sufficient investments in safeguards as it grew to keep in good graces with their longstanding customers and with regulators. It has also been struggling to turn a profit in recent years, reporting a pretax loss of $398 million in 2023.

Three former compliance employees who spoke on condition of anonymity to American Banker and the San Antonio Current complained about the department struggling under pressure, with a lack of cohesiveness, little openness to making processes more efficient and initiatives that “were either falling through the cracks or just getting roadblocked.”

In 2023, customers filed 417 complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the bank’s checking and savings accounts, a dramatic increase from 150 in 2018.

Starting in 2019, USAA has also faced a number of fines — $3.5 million over customer-related violations, $85 million over compliance and management issues and $140 million over weak protections against money laundering.

USAA also paid out $64 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to overcharging military members who were entitled to certain protections.

Then there’s the many changes higher up. It’s not only USAA CEO Wayne Peacock who is leaving (he’s planning on retiring in 2025). The past year has seen several leaders part ways with the company, including Bank President Paul Vincent, Chief Audit Executive Gilbert Gitichie, Chief Risk Officer Neeraj Singh and Chief Security Officer Jason Witty.

Experts say that there may be a significant breakdown at USAA.

“Independently, these various violations could be understood, but collectively, they show a pattern that raises concerns,” said Mark Williams, a Boston University finance professor and a former bank supervisor at the Federal Reserve, to American Banker and the San Antonio Current. “There’s something more fundamental.”

Customers interviewed for the article said they felt the quality of customer service they received had fallen and they wished there was more transparency about security issues.

Handling issues with your bank

If you’re facing issues with your bank and don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere speaking with customer representatives, there are other alternatives. When making attempts to solve any issues, make sure to document any interactions you have.

You can take to social media to draw attention to your problem and air out your grievances or you can send a direct message to the company’s social media profile stating your concerns.

Speaking to someone from the CEO’s office may convey how serious you are and the need to get your concerns heard. Look up the bank’s main telephone number and request to speak with somebody who works at the CEO’s office. State your situation and politely explain your frustrations as your goal is to be heard and hopefully the person on the other line is willing to help you.

If you feel you’ve been discriminated against, or the bank has been harmful or misleading in any way, consider filing a complaint with regulators. The Federal Reserve has a consumer complaint form you can fill out online, or you can call their consumer helpline. Here’s where all your documentation about your issue comes in handy.

You can also submit a complaint about financial products and services to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and be sure to provide as many details as possible. The agency will either forward the complaint to the company to help you get a response, or forward it to another agency it feels may be better suited to assist.

You may also submit a complaint to the Better Business Bureau if you’re upset about poor customer service. Keep in mind banks may not offer a response.

As a consumer, you have more agency than you may realize. If you’re not satisfied with your bank, you should seriously consider switching to another.

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