A retired CIA leader coordinated a letter from former intelligence chiefs claiming that Hunter Biden‘s laptop was Russian disinformation because he wanted to help Joe Biden‘s presidential campaign.
Morell was a former acting CIA director, serving for two months in 2011 and four months from 2012 to 2013. He retired from the CIA in September 2013.
[…]
Joe Biden used the letter during the October 22 debate against Donald Trump, saying he thought the reporting around his son’s abandoned computer was the work of Russia.
Morell was thanked for his work in coordinating the letter, with Steve Ricchetti, chairman of the Biden campaign, telephoning him after the debate to say thank you.
He was then said to be in consideration for the role of CIA director – a job that ultimately went to William Burns.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is the ‘senior’ unnamed Biden administration official in the center of a new bombshell IRS whistleblower claim, a source familiar tells DailMail.com.
According to a letter Wednesday from attorney Mark Lytle, a man serving as a supervising agent on a ‘high-profile’ criminal tax probe has come forward seeking whistleblower protections while claiming politics are ‘improperly infecting decisions’ in an investigation.
The investigation referred to is reportedly examining matters related to President Biden’s son Hunter Biden.
The protected disclosures by the IRS whistleblower ‘contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee,’ the letter stated.
DailyMail.com has confirmed that the ‘senior political appointee’ is Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Progress. This is what innovation looks like. Trying. Learning. Trying again. Unfortunately, this is why NASA fell behind. Public and political pressure made them afraid to fail.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX company’s mammoth new rocket, Starship, has exploded on its maiden flight.
No-one was hurt in the uncrewed test that lifted off from Texas’ east coast on Thursday morning local time.
After two to three minutes into the flight, the rocket – the biggest ever developed – started to tumble out of control and was soon destroyed by onboard charges.
Mr Musk has said his company will try again in a couple of months.
SpaceX engineers still class Thursday’s mission as a success. They like to “test early and often” and are not afraid to break things. They will have gathered a mass of data to work towards the next flight. A second Starship is almost ready to take flight.
“Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months,” Mr Musk tweeted.
Racine Alderman John Tate II, who was forced last year to resign as Governor Evers’ Parole Commission director, has been charged with a felony for allegedly using his position to approve a new $100,000-per-year job that he himself then took. The Racine County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday filed a charge of Private interest in a Public Contract While Working in a Public Capacity, a Class I felony punishable by a maximum sentence of more than three years in prison.
According to a criminal complaint obtained exclusively by “The Dan O’Donnell Show,” Tate used his position as Racine’s Common Council President and member of the Finance and Personnel Committee to approve a grant creating a new city position of Violence Interruption Coordinator. The position, which was described as helping “to facilitate the process of creating a Racine version of a ‘Blueprint for Peace'” and would pay between $78,520.00 and $101,004.80 annually. There were 20 applicants for the position, which was advertised only from September 8-22, and Tate was one of only three to interview for the position.
On October 11, Tate accepted a positiion as the City of Madison’s Independent Police Monitor, but two days later the City of Racine offered him the position of Violence Interruption Coordinator. Tate used his new position in Madison as leverage with Racine and negotiated an annual salary of $101,698.05 (more than the advertised salary range for the position), four weeks of paid vacation, and offered an opportunity to take advantage of a $10,000 forgivable home loan program for City of Racine employees.
The Washington law would block the sale, distribution, manufacture and importation of more than 50 gun models, including AR-15s, AK-47s and similar style rifles. These guns fire one bullet per trigger pull and automatically reload for a subsequent shot. Some exemptions are included for sales to law enforcement agencies and the military in Washington. The measure does not bar the possession of the weapons by people who already have them.
The law would go into effect immediately once it’s signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who has long advocated for such a ban. When the bill passed the state House in March, Inslee said he’s believed it since 1994 when, as a member of the U.S. Congress, he voted to make the ban a federal law.
[…]
Another gun-control bill that passed in Washington this session would allow people whose family members die from gun violence to sue if a manufacturer or seller “is irresponsible in how they handle, store or sell those weapons.” Under the state’s consumer-protection act, the attorney general could file a lawsuit against manufacturers or sellers for negligently allowing their guns to be sold to minors, or to people buying guns legally in order to sell them to someone who can’t lawfully have them.
A second bill would require gun buyers to show they’ve taken safety training. It would also impose a 10-day waiting period for all gun purchases — something that’s already mandatory in Washington when buying a semi-automatic rifle.
In the six months after the Supreme Court ruling that ended the federal right to an abortion, there were about 32,000 fewer abortions than expected in the United States, according to a new analysis.
There were about 5,000 fewer legal abortions each month, on average, than there were in the months before the ruling – a drop of about 6%.
I thought the most interesting thing about the report was the before/after chart by state starting on page 9. Look at the “before” column and notice that the number of abortions is nowhere near linear by population. The states had different restrictions prior to Dobbs, but abortions were still generally available for most of the time for all pregnancies. The difference in abortion rates seems to be indicative of the varying cultural preferences in each state more so than the legal restrictions. Of course, those differing legal restrictions in each state were also reflective of the cultural variances in each state.
I guess it just confirms what we knew… liberals just really like to abort their babies much more than conservatives.
In the end, the decision was really about whether or not the county, and the county taxpayers, want to be in the business of running a long-term care facility. At one time there were over 100 county-run long-term facilities in Wisconsin. Now there are only 35. The private sector fills this care needs of elderly folks throughout the state and can leverage economies of scale that a single county cannot match.
For Washington County to continue to run Samaritan, they would need to figure out how to make the math work. They could try something like building out a private care facility in the unused space to subsidize the deficits, but that would put the county government in direct competition with several private care facilities in the county. Or the County Board could just accept that Samaritan would run at a loss and the county taxpayers would have to cover the difference in perpetuity. At a cost ranging into the tens of millions of dollars, this would be an expensive obligation that draws funds from other county obligations.
By voting to sell Samaritan, the County Board is seeking to protect county taxpayers from significant financial obligations while allowing a private company to bring significant resources to bear on behalf of the residents. All things considered, the County Board made the best choice.
(Bloomberg) — The Pentagon is sounding alarms over Biden administration plans to advance offshore wind projects along the central Atlantic US coast, warning that almost all of the new terrain eyed for development conflicts with military operations.
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The Pentagon has identified challenges operating around wind turbines that would be installed into the seabed in Atlantic waters near many of its operations and facilities, including North Carolina’s Dare County bombing range, used for training fighter jet crews, and a weapons station in Yorktown, Virginia. They are documented vividly on a map of Navy and Air Force concerns, dated Oct. 6, 2022, and circulated with industry and state stakeholders this month.
Four of six potential wind lease areas outlined by the ocean energy bureau last November are completely shaded red, including two deep-water parcels that might require floating turbines. The remaining two tracts, in yellow, are identified as requiring further study. The areas deemed highest priority by the Pentagon span a large portion of potential lease areas off the Maryland and North Carolina coasts.
The Defense Department official said the representations were designed to pinpoint areas that present the most challenges — generally where the Pentagon would be unable to continue its mission as currently conducted in the space. The focus going forward is on finding ways to accommodate wind development, including by adjusting operations to allow the activity, the official said. That could take the form of shifting the location of military exercises and other steps — such as optimizing radar processing systems — to minimize interference from turbines.
US prosecutors have arrested two men in New York for allegedly operating a Chinese “secret police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighbourhood.
Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, both New York City residents, face charges of conspiring to act as agents for China and obstruction of justice.
They are expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on Monday.
China has previously denied operating the stations, calling them “service centres” for nationals overseas.
Mr Lu of the Bronx and Mr Chen of Manhattan worked together to establish the first overseas police station in the United States on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security, the US Department of Justice alleged on Monday.
The outpost was closed in autumn of 2022, the department said, after those involved became aware of an FBI investigation into the station.
“This prosecution reveals the Chinese government’s flagrant violation of our nation’s sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City,” said Breon Pearce, the top prosecutor in Brooklyn.
[…]
According to prosecutors, Mr Lu was closely connected to Chinese law enforcement, and was enlisted to help China with “repressive activities” in the US beginning in 2015, including harassing Chinese dissidents.
In 2018, he allegedly participated in efforts to push a purported Chinese fugitive to return to China, including repeated harassment and threats to the individual and his family, living in China and the US. And prosecutors said he was also enlisted to locate a pro-democracy activist in China. Mr Lu denied these actions when confronted by US authorities.
OL3’s operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), which is owned by Finnish utility Fortum and a consortium of energy and industrial companies, has said the unit is expected to meet around 14% of Finland’s electricity demand, reducing the need for imports from Sweden and Norway.
The new reactor is expected to produce for at least 60 years, TVO said in a statement on Sunday after completing the transition from testing to regular output.
“The production of Olkiluoto 3 stabilises the price of electricity and plays an important role in the Finnish green transition,” TVO Chief Executive Jarmo Tanhua said in the statement.
Construction of the 1.6 gigawatt (GW) reactor, Finland’s first new nuclear plant in more than four decades and Europe’s first in 16 years, began in 2005. The plant was originally due to open four years later, but was plagued by technical issues.
CHICAGO – Hundreds of teenagers flooded into Downtown Chicago on Saturday night, smashing car windows, trying to get into Millennium Park, and prompting a major police response. At least one person in a car was attacked.
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A woman whose car was smashed by people jumping on the windshield said her husband was beaten as he sat in the driver’s seat. He’s been taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Two teens were wounded by gunfire in the crowds in the first block of East Washington Street. A 16 and 17-year-old boy were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition with gunshot wounds.
Police were escorting tourists and others back to their cars in the Millennium Park garage.
The crowd was trying to get into Millennium Park, but there are checkpoints around the perimeter and people under 21 are not allowed without an adult.
In February, a high-altitude balloon with surveillance capabilities connected to China flew over the continental US before being shot down over the Atlantic.
At the time, much about the balloon wasn’t known publicly, but a new trove of Pentagon documents leaked on Discord show it — and up to four other previously unknown spy balloons like it — could have had a feature known as “synthetic aperture radar” that can see through certain objects, the Washington Post reported.
US intelligence agencies believed this because the balloon, which officials named Killeen-23 in an apparent reference to 1940s mobster Donald Killeen, was equipped with the ability to generate up to 10,000 watts of solar power — enough to power a typical home — which could support such abilities.
“The amount of solar power generated by the panels on the Chinese stratospheric balloon that NSA named Killeen-23 is excessive for a weather balloon,” the document reads.
Synthetic aperture radar is the solution to the problem with real aperture radar, which cannot create high-resolution images without an impractically large antenna. SAR “synthesizes” a large antenna, but the concept is the same — it releases bursts of electromagnetic energy to an object on Earth, and a sensor then records the wavelength of energy it receives back, according to NASA. These sensor readings then allow the radar to create a reconstruction of whatever objects are below the energy beam.
Because SAR isn’t taking photos and is instead using electromagnetic data to create a high-resolution image, the technology can “see” in the dark, as well as through clouds, smoke, soil, and rain. It can also help with three-dimensional reconstructions, unlike cameras, which can only capture what is openly visible from above.
WASHINGTON COUNTY — The Washington County Board of Supervisors voted 13-8 to authorize Washington County to sell Samaritan Campus during their meeting in the Herbert J. Tennies Government Center on Wednesday night.
[…]
According to the Ad Hoc committee’s recommendation, their first choice was to renovate Samaritan, the second choice was to replace Samaritan with a new facility, the third choice was to sell Samaritan and the fourth ranked choice was to close (closing was not an option put before the board on Wednesday night).
Carroll presented updated cash flow, income and nursing bed demand projections with the board after Roback’s presentation.
According to Carroll, the cash flow projections from Wipfli showed Samaritan Campus operating with a positive cash flow balance at a projected average of about $670,000 per year over five years.
The bedding analysis showed that with Samaritan Campus operating at 48 skilled nursing facility (SNF) beds, which it would if renovation by the county had been approved, the county would be under-bedded, when combining all SNFs in the county, in 5 to 10 years due to increases in the 74-85-year-old population (a 9.9% increase) and 85 and up population (a 31.6% increase) in the county over that time, showing an increase in demand for nursing beds is coming. At the current SNF bed number for Samaritan, which is 131, the county would be over-bedded by about 50 beds in 5 to 10 years, according to Wipfli.
Whoever purchases the bed licenses for Samaritan from Washington County will have the option to continue to purchase all 131 licensed beds.
[…]
“The reason [I am voting in favor of selling Samaritan] is because I do believe it will take care of everyone [at Samaritan,]” said Kelling. “You are our obligation, we are here for you and we will take care of you. I don’t like when people have been using scare tactics against you saying that you will end up in the street. Legally that is not possible, and morally I would not stand for it.”
I wrote a few months ago about how intolerable it is that this decision has been put off for so long. We’ve known about the issues at Samaritan for years and the County Board has been kicking the can down the road. I’m glad that they have made a decision.
For the decision itself, I think it is the right one. Taxpayers can continue to fund the residents’ care without having to own and operate the means of providing that care. While renovating the campus would have been a fix for the next few years, the taxpayers would still own a facility that will need ongoing maintenance and care down the road. I’d much prefer that taxpayers’ dollars be focused on resident care instead of maintaining facilities.
I do think that the supervisors approached the issue with compassion. There were no easy or perfect choices, but they had to do something. Some direction is better than no direction.
Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News earlier this week.
There’s no need to sugarcoat it. The Supreme Court election result last week will have terrible consequences that are generational in scale. It has been 15 years since the Wisconsin Supreme Court had a leftist majority, and the leftists of today are far, far more radical than those of the past. We knew that this election was important, which is why it became the most expensive judicial campaign ever waged in the history of our nation. While the consequences will surely be the subject of future columns, we should first understand the past.
Although Supreme Court races are officially nonpartisan, they are really completely partisan. The increasing polarization of the two major parties has made the battleground for judicial races a bloody mess of ideological carnage instead of the staid legal philosophical debates of the past. Furthermore, the more leftist forces in our nation have put a concerted effort into electing radicals in judicial and prosecutor races in the last few years as a means to advance their ideology through the judicial branch when they fail in the legislative branch. Against this backdrop, Wisconsin’s Democrats were vocal and unapologetic about supporting Janet Protasiewicz. On the other side, the state Republicans were vocal and unapologetic about supporting Daniel Kelly. There was the faintest whisper to acknowledge the official nonpartisan nature of the race, but it was drowned out by the shouts of partisanship. As campaigners, Protasiewicz ran a campaign appealing to the political issues that strike an emotional chord with leftist voters. She continually implied, and sometimes outright stated, that she would be the deciding vote on issues like abortion, Act 10, political redistricting, and the like. Lost was any indication that she would respect the separation of powers and the role of the court. That was purposeful and it worked. Emotional political issues drive enthusiasm and turnout far more than a dry discussion of constitutional niceties. I wish that it were not so, but it is.
Daniel Kelly, on the other hand, ran a campaign that would have worked in the previous decade. It focused on a dry discussion of constitutional niceties and the appropriate role of a justice of the Supreme Court. While correct, it left his supporters in a rear-guard action trying to generate excitement with cries of what will be lost with an activist leftist court.
Beyond the candidates and their individual campaign strategies, the respective political parties waged entirely different battles. Truly, hats off to Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He is an organizational, messaging, and fundraising powerhouse. He has a knack for nationalizing state races to attract national money and for maintaining intramural discipline during primaries.
The Democrats also have an electoral structural advantage in that their voters are more concentrated. This makes it easier to concentrate resources to drive turnout. For example, the turnout in Dane County in recent years — a county whose voters vote 80% or more for leftists — has been phenomenal. Only 36% of Protasiewicz’s vote total came from Dane and Milwaukee Counties. By contrast, the top two counties for Kelly were just 19.3% of his vote total.
The Democrats have also been tremendous at turning out their key voting groups like college students. For example, the dorms at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse are in two wards. Turnout was over 54% in those wards last week compared to less than 20% in the previous spring election.
The Democrats have also taken full advantage of campaign finance and election laws. They funneled over $10 million to Protasiewicz’s campaign through the Democratic Party while Kelly eschewed any Republican Party money. The Democrats push hard for mail-in voting, early voting, ballot harvesting, and any other means to get people to vote who otherwise would not. Meanwhile, Republicans bicker over the appropriateness of these means and continue to lose elections.
Anecdotally, I also saw a marked difference in how each side was reaching out to voters. I received at least five texts from leftists for every one from righties urging me to vote or pushing an issue. Online, the ads were 10 to one in favor of leftists. Meanwhile, I received several mailers from righty groups and none from leftists. Democrats are putting their resources into reaching voters where they are while Republicans are spending their money and time on the campaign tactics of 2004.
Republicans have lost 14 of the last 17 statewide elections. On the issues, Wisconsin remains very evenly divided as evidenced by statewide referendum results, national election results, and general polling. But Republicans are getting blown out in statewide elections because of antiquated campaign strategies, bad candidates, intraparty squabbling, and terrible leadership. Wisconsin will continue to trend toward Illinois until the Republicans figure out how to match the Democrats’ campaigning prowess.
This is insane. EVs are perfectly fine for some people in some scenarios. I’d consider one as a second car, but I take too many road trips to make it sensible as a primary vehicle. Americans aren’t stupid. We know how to evaluate a new product and see if it will work for us. Americans are exceptional at adopting new things when we like them. Biden’s overlordship is just making cars inaccessible for the middle and lower classes.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled the toughest rules to date for automobile emissions in an effort to push more Americans to purchase expensive electric vehicles.
The strict new pollution limits would require 67% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2032 to be electric, which is about 10 times as many as are currently sold and is far above the president’s previous commitment to have EVs make up 50% of cars sold by 2030.
But Americans aren’t quite sold on the deal, according to a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday, citing the high cost of EVs as the main reason for not purchasing one.
And it’s worth noting that the EV car craze is a boon for China. They sure are getting a great return on their 10% for the big guy at our expense.
Beyond the candidates and their individual campaign strategies, the respective political parties waged entirely different battles. Truly, hats off to Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He is an organizational, messaging, and fundraising powerhouse. He has a knack for nationalizing state races to attract national money and for maintaining intramural discipline during primaries.
The Democrats also have an electoral structural advantage in that their voters are more concentrated. This makes it easier to concentrate resources to drive turnout. For example, the turnout in Dane County in recent years — a county whose voters vote 80% or more for leftists — has been phenomenal. Only 36% of Protasiewicz’s vote total came from Dane and Milwaukee Counties. By contrast, the top two counties for Kelly were just 19.3% of his vote total.
The Democrats have also been tremendous at turning out their key voting groups like college students. For example, the dorms at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse are in two wards. Turnout was over 54% in those wards last week compared to less than 20% in the previous spring election.
The Democrats have also taken full advantage of campaign finance and election laws. They funneled over $10 million to Protasiewicz’s campaign through the Democratic Party while Kelly eschewed any Republican Party money. The Democrats push hard for mail-in voting, early voting, ballot harvesting, and any other means to get people to vote who otherwise would not. Meanwhile, Republicans bicker over the appropriateness of these means and continue to lose elections.
Anecdotally, I also saw a marked difference in how each side was reaching out to voters. I received at least five texts from leftists for every one from righties urging me to vote or pushing an issue. Online, the ads were 10 to one in favor of leftists. Meanwhile, I received several mailers from righty groups and none from leftists. Democrats are putting their resources into reaching voters where they are while Republicans are spending their money and time on the campaign tactics of 2004.
The demographic trends are undeniable. There will be more to fall. What are our taxpayer-supported universities doing to adjust to the new realities?
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — The president of Cardinal Stritch University announced Monday that the university will be closing, effective May 22.
In a video message, Dr. Dan Scholz said, in part:
“I would prefer that I shared good news with you, but my message is profoundly sad. I am here to report that the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi have accepted the recommendation of the University’s Board of Trustees to suspend and cancel all educational services, activities and programs, effective May 22, 2023 and begin the winddown process of the university operations after the current spring semester.”
Dr. Scholz attributed the closure to “fiscal realities, downward enrollment trends, the pandemic, the need for more resources and the mounting operational and facility challenges.”
Rep. Scott Allen of Waukesha and Sen. Cory Tomczyk of Mosinee on Monday released a bill that would create an exception to the state’s law banning firearms on school grounds if the person holds a concealed carry license, is employed by the school, and the school board has adopted a policy that allows employees who are licensees to possess a firearm.
The proposal also waives for teachers the fees associated with obtaining a concealed carry license.
“School shootings are tragedies we hate to see. The reality is that schools are often soft targets for those looking to do harm. The knowledge that no one on the premise has the firepower to stop them emboldens bad actors,” Allen and Tomczyk wrote in a co-sponsorship memo to colleagues seeking support.
Classified documents that appeared online, with details ranging from Ukraine’s air defenses to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, have U.S. officials scrambling to identify the leak’s source, with some experts saying it could be an American.
Officials say the breadth of topics addressed in the documents, which touch on the war in Ukraine, China, the Middle East and Africa, suggest they may have been leaked by an American rather than an ally.
“The focus now is on this being a U.S. leak, as many of the documents were only in U.S. hands,” Michael Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official, told Reuters in an interview.
U.S. officials said the investigation is in its early stages and those running it have not ruled out the possibility that pro-Russian elements were behind the leak, which is seen as one of the most serious security breaches since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2013.
“We want the courts to overturn this reckless decision,” Xavier Becerra, President Joe Biden’s health secretary, told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We want, yes, that women continue to have access to a drug that’s proven itself safe. Millions of women have used this drug around the world.”
