Boots & Sabers

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Tech support

Trump and Business Leaders Announce Massive Investment in AI

Wow.

President Donald Trump announced a joint venture Tuesday with OpenAIOracle and Softbank to invest billions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.

 

The project, dubbed Stargate, was unveiled at the White House by Trump, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

 

The executives committed to invest an initial $100 billion and up to $500 billion over the next four years in the project, which will be set up as a separate company.

 

“What we want to do is we want to keep it in this country,” Trump said of AI, noting that China is a major competitor in the nascent industry.

 

Stargate’s first joint venture will be to construct data centers in Texas — an effort that is already underway, Ellison said in the Roosevelt Room.

 

OpenAI later said in an X post that the project “will not only support the re-industrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies.”

 

Softbank’s Son will be the chairman of Stargate, while semiconductor company Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI will be “the key initial technology partners,” OpenAI said in the post.

Trump is Cleaning House

We voted for change. Change is what we’re getting. Keep it up.

President Donald Trump moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday, firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up and eliminated all the members of a key aviation security advisory group.

 

Trump’s immigration policy changes drew the most attention at DHS, but he is also making changes at the rest of the massive agency.

Border App Turned Off

Excellent

A stunned migrant woman wailed in anguish at the southern border after President Trump shuttered an app that made it easier for migrants to cross into the US.

 

Margelis Tinoco, a Colombian woman awaiting entry to the US, was overcome with emotion after the president axed the CBP One app moments after he was sworn-in.

 

She had been hoping to cross into El Paso from the neighboring Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez when the app suddenly went dark, leaving her stuck.

 

[…]

 

Every outstanding appointment on the app was effectively canceled when Trump took office, causing panic among those wanting to get into the U.S.

 

CBP One was used by the Biden administration to help expedite migrants entry into the US and was used by an estimated one million people since being created.

 

The app could be used to create appointments for asylum seekers – and was also popular among tourists by helping them speed their way through airport customs.

Harden your hearts. The media is going to show every crying woman and child. This is necessary and would not be nearly as painful had the Biden Administration not allowed millions of illegals into our nation.

Biden Crime Family Pardoned by… Biden

What a wretched man.

In the final minutes of his presidency, Joe Biden pre-emptively pardoned several family members, including his brothers James, Francis and Frank Biden, and sister Valerie Biden Owens.

 

Biden said the pardons were intended to shield his family from politically motivated attacks and should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment of any wrongdoing.

I would like to see someone challenge preemptive and blanket pardons. It doesn’t seem Constitutional to pardon people for unnamed crimes for which they have not been charged.

Foreign Leaders Attend Swearing In Ceremony

TBH, I’m surprised that this has never happened before.

For the first time in U.S. history, a president-elect will welcome foreign leaders for one of the most American political traditions — the peaceful transfer of power.

 

President-elect Donald Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and conservative world leaders such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni to the inauguration. Xi sent his vice president as his representative.

 

No heads of state have previously made an official visit to the U.S. for the inauguration. Some of them, such as Milei and Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña, were special guests Saturday night at the Hispanic Inaugural Ball, where several of Trump’s nominees for key Cabinet positions made appearances. That included U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, chosen to lead the State Department, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tapped to head the Health and Human Services Department.

One More F.U. From Biden

We all knew this was coming, but that doesn’t make it any more acceptable.

Joe Biden has pre-emptively pardoned Covid response chief Anthony Fauci and the members of the 6 January riot investigation to prevent what he called “unjustified… politically motivated prosecutions”.

 

[…]

 

Biden also issued a pre-emptive pardon to Mark Milley, a former chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, who last year described Trump as “fascist to the core”.

Biden’s statement said that the pardons should “not be mistaken as an acknowledgment” that any of those covered “engaged in any wrongdoing”.

 

Democrats had warned the outgoing president against such action. Adam Schiff, a Senator for California, said Biden could set a “precedent” for “each president hereafter on their way out the door giving out a broad category of pardons”.

 

[…]

 

Biden’s pardons cover all members of the House Select Committee investigating the 6 January riot, as well as their staff members and the officers who testified.

Biden is setting a terrible precedent for our nation by robbing our country of accountability and undermining our justice system. If these people have not done anything wrong, then they would not have anything to worry about if we trust our justice system to work correctly. If these people are guilty of wrongs (I believe they are), then Biden has thwarted the ability of the American People to hold them accountable. The result is an unaccountable government where people can no longer believe that anyone will ever be held to account.

Biden’s action was not about protecting innocent people from undue prosecutions. His action was about protecting guilty people from his criminal regime from being held accountable.

TikTok is Down

Just a public service announcement. TikTok is down. lol

A new US law banning TikTok has come into effect, hours after the popular app stopped working across the country.

 

Late on Saturday a message appearing on the TikTok for US users said a law banning TikTok had been enacted, meaning “you can’t use TikTok for now”.

 

The video-sharing app was banned over concerns about its links to the Chinese government. It was given until 19 January to be sold to an approved US buyer to avert the ban.

 

President Joe Biden had said he would leave the issue to his successor, Donald Trump. The president-elect has said he will “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a ban once he takes office on Monday.

China is a hostile nation that is infiltrating us on every front. TikTok is merely a visible one. The pandemic made me more pessimistic about my fellow American’s ability to process and respond to threats in a rational way. The reaction to the TikTok ban reinforces my pessimism.

Biden Declares the Constitution Amended

On the law, this is a complete farce. The law, the Constitution, and all legal precedence is clear. The deadline to ratify the Equal right Amendment expired over forty years ago. This is not a grey area of the law. It is black and white. Clear? Crystal. The fact that Biden declared it means nothing.

What is disturbing here is how many purported weighty institutions and people are going along with Biden’s delusion. From Georgetown University to sitting politicians to traditional media outlets, allegedly serious and smart people are utterly beclowning themselves by pretending that Biden’s words are law. Every one of them is an affront to the Rule of Law and our Constitutional government and should never be trusted again. I mean… really… Biden is senile, but what excuse do these people have?

While the president’s statement is sure to be welcomed by advocates. senior administration officials could not say what, if anything, Biden will do beyond making the statement itself.

Because Biden’s statement is just a statement and not an order, proclamation or other presidential action, it carries absolutely zero legal force.

In order for the ERA to be actually considered part of the constitution, the Archivist of the United States would have to publish it officially as the 28th Amendment. A senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity said the president was not directing the archivist to publish the amendment.

[…]

Instead, the official repeatedly told reporters that it’s Biden’s view that the amendment has been ratified since 2020, when Virginia’s state legislature became the 38th to approve it.

“He’s using his power of the presidency to make it clear that he believes and he agrees with leading constitutional scholars and the American Bar Association, not that it should be but that it is the 28th amendment of the constitution,” said the official.

Yet Biden’s newfound view on the ERA contradicts his administration’s legal work over the last four years. During numerous legal cases in which the federal government participated, not a single Department of Justice attorney ever argued that the amendment’s prohibition against sex discrimination should be recognized as part of the constitution.

The official could not explain the discrepancy between Biden’s claim that Virginia’s 2020 ratification put the amendment in force and the administration’s inaction during his term. They also said the president’s statement was influenced by the ABA’s recent opinion on the ERA as well as opinions of “leading constitutional scholars” who have said the amendment “has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution.

The Massive Coverup of Biden’s Mental Incapacity

This is a massive scandal. Americans have been denied their right to representative government by everyone who allowed Biden to be a corrupt, incompetent, figurehead as unelected minions ran the country. Everyone who was complicit in this needs to be removed to held to account. Mike Johnson is not a hero here. He is an accomplice.

Everyone from Mike Johnson to members of Joe Biden‘s own staff are commenting on the 82-year-old president’s noticeable decline in the last days of his presidency.

 

Johnson, who will retain his position as Speaker of the House, said that Biden bewilderingly told him in a January 2024 meeting that he ‘didn’t do’ an executive order that he had signed months earlier.

 

The order, announced on January 26 and still available on the White House website, placed a temporary pause on pending approvals of liquefied natural gas exports.

 

Johnson told The Free Press he asked Biden: ‘Sir, why did you pause LNG exports to Europe? Liquefied natural gas is in great demand by our allies. Why would you do that?’

 

Biden was surprised and said he didn’t, leaving Johnson stunned.

 

‘He genuinely didn’t know what he had signed and I walked out of that meeting with fear and loathing because I thought, ‘We are in serious trouble – who is running the country?’ Like, I don’t know who put the paper in front of him, but he didn’t know.’

 

[…]

 

Johnson, who will retain his position as Speaker of the House, said that Biden bewilderingly told him in a January 2024 meeting that he ‘didn’t do’ an executive order that he had signed months earlier.

 

The order, announced on January 26 and still available on the White House website, placed a temporary pause on pending approvals of liquefied natural gas exports.

 

Johnson told The Free Press he asked Biden: ‘Sir, why did you pause LNG exports to Europe? Liquefied natural gas is in great demand by our allies. Why would you do that?’

 

Biden was surprised and said he didn’t, leaving Johnson stunned.

 

‘He genuinely didn’t know what he had signed and I walked out of that meeting with fear and loathing because I thought, ‘We are in serious trouble – who is running the country?’ Like, I don’t know who put the paper in front of him, but he didn’t know.’

Mass Deportations to Begin Forthwith

Excellent. The People voted for change and reversing Biden’s traitorous dissolution of our national borders is Job #1.

Trump said his administration is planning on executing mass deportations on undocumented immigrants “very quickly” after he takes office, reiterating his desire to “get the criminals out of our country.”

“It’ll begin very early, very quickly,” he told NBC News. “I can’t say which cities because things are evolving.”

 

“We have to get the criminals out of our country,” he added.

 

Trump has long previewed plans for mass deportations of immigrants. CNN previously reported the incoming Trump administration will focus at first on deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds in major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Denver and Washington, DC.

Joe Biden’s Farewell Address

I watched so you won’t have to. I have regrets about that decision. Just a few thoughts…

When I watched this several hours after it happened, there were only 138,000 views on YouTube. America has tuned him out.

Superficially, his delivery was as expected – halting, uneven, and poor. The content was also as expected – lies, arrogance, and condescension. It was full of the same old disproven and wrong tropes that have littered his comments for years. I really think he believes his own BS. It did strike me that the speech itself – the wording, tone, rhythm, etc. – was… not good. His speech writers are just not good at their jobs.

On his message, it was… whatever. He attempted to offer purported wisdom and advice from a man who has been in DC for 50 years, but it’s clear that his lifelong proximity to power has made him too distant and insulated to speak to the common man. The world that he thinks exists is not real and the problems he prioritizes are not the same as ours. His fears are not our fears. His wins were not our wins. He is, and has always been, a creature of the fetid Washington swamp and our country is worse for him having “served.”

I am glad to be done with this awful man and awful president. The damage he has wrought on our nation will take generations to undo.

 

Ceasefire Near in Gaza

Even though Biden did a victory lap (that press conference was ridiculous), it looks like this deal isn’t quite done yet.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

Israel

The three-phase ceasefire deal promises the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and to allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It would also flood desperately needed humanitarian aid into the territory ravaged by 15 months of war, mediators said.

 

The prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the ceasefire would go into effect Sunday and that its success would depend on Israel and Hamas “acting in good faith in order to ensure that this agreement does not collapse.” He spoke in the Qatari capital of Doha, the site of weeks of painstaking negotiations.

 

U.S. President Joe Biden touted the deal from Washington, saying the ceasefire would stay in place as long as Israel and Hamas remain at the negotiating table over a long-term truce. Biden credited months of “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy” for landing the deal, noting that his administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team had been “speaking as one” in the latest negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Wednesday that the ceasefire agreement with Hamas was still not complete and final details were being worked out.

 

An Israeli official familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity said those details center on confirming the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed. Any agreement must be approved by Netanyahu’s Cabinet.

 

Netanyahu thanked Trump and Biden for “advancing” the ceasefire agreement, but did not explicitly say whether he has accepted it, saying he would issue a formal response only “after the final details of the agreement, which are currently being worked on, are completed.”

Biden Packs Up Documents. Classified Ones? Who Knows?

Given the history of the Biden Crime Family, I’m worried about what he’s taking and how much he will sell them for.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time Joe Biden packed up and left office, he took with him thousands of papers from his decades in public service — including some classified documents that should have gone to the National Archives for safekeeping.

 

That move spawned a federal investigation into whether Biden had knowingly broken the law and a damaging Justice Department report that referred to Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” igniting public concerns over his mental acuity that eventually led Biden to drop out of the race.

 

The discovery also watered down the significance of the criminal case against President-elect Donald Trump, who had been accused of purposefully hoarding top secret documents at his Florida estate — and it helped fuel Trump’s claims of unfair political persecution.

 

The moving trucks are at the White House again, and Biden’s staff is loading documents and items for storage as he prepares to depart next week. The administration has promised a new, more secure protocol to review and separate out classified information. But with just a week left to go, there’s no word yet on recommendations from a federal task force formed at Biden’s behest to develop best practices for transitions.

MN Dems Boycott as GOP Elects First Black Woman Speaker

If you’re not following the shenanigans in the Minnesota legislature, you’re missing out. It’s a hoot.

The short version is that the GOP holds a temporary majority in the House after one of the Democrats was found to be ineligible because he didn’t live in the district. It’s a Democratic district, so it will likely lead to a tie in the House once a special election can be held. But for the time being, the Republicans have a majority and are trying to start the session.

The Democrats are refusing to even enter the building. The had an illegal fake swearing in ceremony at the library and they did not show up to the first day of work. Then this happened.

The unprecedented start of the legislative session went on with the usual pomp and formality of years prior. As if the Democratic half of the chamber weren’t empty, and the rules on how to proceed not the source of vehement dispute.

 

Secretary of State Steve Simon, as the statutorily mandated presiding officer, shook House GOP leader Lisa Demuth’s hand on his way to the rostrum at the front of the ornate chamber. He gaveled three times to start the session. A chaplain said a prayer calling for unity. The members said the Pledge of Allegiance. Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, called the roll, pausing on each Democrat’s name to allow for silence to note their absence. And the members present took the oath of office.

 

Then, Simon called the roll again and, as he informed Republican leaders in the days leading up to the session, declared that 67 members were not enough to fulfill a quorum. He said the House may not conduct any further business, declared the body adjourned with a bang of the gavel, and took a seat to the left of the rostrum.

 

Democrats’ boycott had worked, at least for the moment. They prevented Republicans from using their temporary, 1-seat advantage — sure to end after a Jan. 28 special election in a heavily DFL district — to elect a GOP speaker of the House.

 

The problem became evident moments later: Who would enforce Simon’s ruling?

 

Republican Rep. Harry Niska, ready on the microphone, quickly moved to overturn Simon’s ruling — interjecting as Simon closed the session. Niska called the oldest member present  — Rep. Paul Anderson — to serve as presiding officer.

 

After learning how to turn on the microphone from the rostrum, Anderson took the role again and declared a quorum present.

 

House Republicans then nominated and voted unanimously for Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, to serve as House speaker, to applause.

The Minnesota Republicans have elected the first black woman to every serve as Speaker of the House in that state and the Democrats were hiding and boycotting the vote. That speaks volumes.

Michelle Obama to Skip Inauguration

Classy, as always.

Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, her office confirmed to ABC News.

 

“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama said in a statement.

 

This is the second presidential event in two weeks that the former first lady will have missed. She was noticeably absent from former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday, Jan. 9, at Washington National Cathedral, where she would have been assigned to sit next to Trump.

Read the Weiss Report

I encourage you to go read the Weiss Report regarding the investigation and prosecution of Hunter Biden in full. The media is fixating on hoe Weiss claps back at President Biden for slandering the investigators and prosecutors. You get gems like this:

The Constitution provides the President 8 with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United 9 States, U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President 10 the authority to rewrite history.

But what really sticks out is the sleazy, illegal lifestyle Hunter was leading while spending millions of dollars. Where did these millions come from? Hunter didn’t hold down an actual job. He wasn’t running an enterprise. His lifestyle didn’t allow any time to conduct legitimate business. How was he able to obtain and spend millions of dollars without owning anything or working?

It’s clear as day. He was selling policy and access while kicking up a percentage to the Big Guy. This criminal enterprise makes Gotti look like a lightweight. Not to mention the fact that he did all of this while refusing to pay millions of dollars in taxes. When Joe Biden rails against millionaires not paying their fair share (whatever that means), he’s talking about his own son, and, probably, himself.

The Bidens might be the most corrupt family to ever reach the height of political power in America.

Greenland PM Ready to Work with U.S. for Security

This could be a mutually fruitful partnership.

Greenland wants to work more closely with the US on defence and exploring its mining resources, its prime minister said on Monday.

 

Mute Egede said his government was looking for ways to work with President-elect Donald Trump, who has in recent weeks shown renewed interest in taking control of the territory – without ruling out using military or economic force to do so.

 

Also on Monday, Denmark’s foreign minister said it was ready to work with Greenland to “continue talks” with Trump “to ensure legitimate American interests” in the Arctic.

 

Greenland, a largely autonomous Danish territory, lies on the shortest route from North America to Europe, making it strategically important for the US.

Spain Imposes 100% Tax for Non-EU Home Buyers

This is something US communities should consider.

Spain is planning to impose a tax of up to 100% on properties bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU, such as the UK.

 

Announcing the move, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the “unprecedented” measure was necessary to meet the country’s housing emergency.

 

“The West faces a decisive challenge: To not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants,” he said.

 

Non-EU residents bought 27,000 properties in Spain in 2023, he told an economic forum in Madrid, “not to live in” but “to make money from them”.

Greenland for the Greenlanders

Like many, I suspect that Trump’s end goal with Greenland is not so much to make it an American territory, but to spur independence and move it into the American sphere of influence. This would allow America to have more influence and security with this land than sits athwart vital shipping lanes and imbued with tremendous natural resources. Judging by the comments of many of the Greenlanders, it’s time.

The Greenland question is a delicate one for Denmark, whose prime minister officially apologised only recently for spearheading a 1950s social experiment which saw Inuit children removed from their families to be re-educated as “model Danes”.

 

Last week, Greenland’s leader said the territory should free itself from “the shackles of colonialism.”

 

By doing so he tapped into growing nationalist sentiment, fuelled by interest among Greenland’s younger generations in the indigenous culture and history of the Inuit.

 

Most commentators now expect a successful independence referendum in the near future. While for many it would be seen as a victory, it could also usher in a new set of problems, as 60% of Greenland’s economy is dependent on Denmark.

 

An independent Greenland “would need to make choices,” said Karsten Honge. The Green Left MP now fears his preferred option of a new Commonwealth-style pact “based on equality and democracy” is unlikely to come about.

 

[…]

 

Opposition MP Jarlov argues that while there is no point in forcing Greenland to be part of Denmark, “it is very close to being an independent country already”.

 

Its capital Nuuk is self-governed, but relies on Copenhagen for management of currency, foreign relations and defence – as well as substantial subsidies.

 

“Greenland today has more independence than Denmark has from the EU,” Jarlov added. “So I hope they think things through.”

 

As Mette Frederiksen has the awkward task of responding firmly while not offending Greenland or the US, the staunchest rebuttal to Trump’s comments so far has come from outside Denmark.

New Federal Rule to Hide Debt from Lenders to Falsify Credit Scores

This is yet another feel-good idea that will have negative consequences. The entire point of a credit score is to help lenders gauge the amount of risk a person has and the person’s ability to pay off a new debt. Medical debt is still debt that a person must pay. By hiding the medical debt, it is giving the lenders the false impression that the borrower has a greater ability to pay than they actually do. The result is that lenders will lend money to more people who can’t actually afford it. When they can’t pay it back, both the lender and the borrower will be the worse for it. This is harmful policy.

Live within your means and pay cash. Then you don’t have to worry about your credit score.

In a major change that could affect millions of Americans’ credit scores, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday finalized a rule to remove medical debt from consumer credit reports.

The rule would erase an estimated $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of roughly 15 million Americans, the CFPB said.

 

That could help boost those borrowers’ credit scores by an average of 20 points, helping them qualify for mortgages and other loans.

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