Lew Rockwell Institute

It was known as the “Timber Famine” in 18th-century Great Britain. And it was no exaggeration to say that it was a national crisis: Britain was running out of wood.

The first major reason was population growth; wood was the major material and fuel source of the era, used for cooking, heating, and construction. And Britain’s booming population growth created insatiable demand for timber.

The second reason was technological advancement. New machines like steam engines needed a reliable fuel source to generate heat… causing demand for wood to skyrocket.

Soon timber demand outstripped supply. Loggers cleared out entire forests, and timber prices shot up dramatically. British writer Malachy Postlethwayt lamented in 1747, “So great is the scarcity of wood. . . that where cord wood had been sold at six and seven shillings per cord, it is now sold for upwards of fifteen and twenty shillings; and in some places is all consumed.”

But Britain’s timber famine wasn’t just an economic problem—it was a matter of national security.

The domestic iron industry needed wood to fuel its fires. And with the timber shortage came a major risk of having to rely on foreign imports. Moreover, the timber famine also jeopardized the ability for the Royal Navy and merchant fleets to build new ships and repair existing ones.

The solution was clear: Britain needed to switch to a well-known alternative fuel source: coal.

But it didn’t happen without serious resistance.

Those profiting from the timber trade formed a powerful lobby, and the politicians in their pocket made ridiculous, specious arguments against coal.

Coal critics even went as far as arguing that the smell of wood smoke was preferable to coal smoke, and cleverly labeled coal “the devil’s excrement.”

Another criticism was that coal production was too dangerous (compared to logging). But technology fixed that too. Inventions like water pumps and safety lamps dramatically improved conditions in coal mines.

In the end, coal overcame the criticism and became the primary fuel of the Industrial Revolution; and the world became vastly more prosperous as a result of the combination of cheaper, more efficient energy, combined with groundbreaking productive technology (like the steam engine).

The world faces a similar choice today.

Like Britain throughout the 1700s, significant population growth has increased demand for electricity around the world, including in the US. And while there’s no “timber famine” today, there are major challenges in the production of electricity.

Much of this is self-inflicted. Years of climate fanaticism have pushed power companies to shut down coal-fired plants and replace them with inefficient wind and solar facilities.

Look, I like a clean environment as much as anyone. But the reality is that wind and solar simply aren’t as clean as the mainstream narrative would have you believe.

The mining of key input materials like germanium, cobalt, etc. is incredibly filthy. Batteries are filthy. The manufacturing process is filthy. And that doesn’t even get into child labor issues.

Plus, with wind and solar, you have to build in all sorts of extra redundancy for times when the wind doesn’t blow. Or, you know, night time, when the sun doesn’t shine. And all that extra redundancy increases the environmental waste even more.

Despite the costs and limitations, however, the share of wind and solar powering America’s grid is higher than ever before. This is a major reason why the electrical grid is struggling to keep up with surging demand.

Aside from population growth, another key driver of demand is new technology. Similar to Britain in the late 1700s, it’s well known now that our modern technology (AI) consumes massive quantities of electricity.

The net result of this supply and demand imbalance is a major concern for looming electricity shortages.

Elon Musk predicted last March that “the world will face supply crunches in electricity” this year. He’s far from alone.

One of the ventures that I’ve invested in (along with many of our Total Access members) is a technology company that focuses on specialized microchips. And the head of sales told me he was in the Washington DC area last week meeting with various government officials who are prospective customers.

One of the major concerns they expressed to him was that there simply wasn’t going to be enough electricity to meet their needs (hence their interest in our technology, which is designed to consume less power).

They recognize that there isn’t enough electrical production capacity coming on line to match demand. They also understand that demand for electricity can (and likely will) grow much faster than supply.

And it was extraordinary that even government officials were complaining about the intense, bureaucratic regulation at the local, state, and federal level to bring new power plants online. God forbid you have to displace a bird’s nest, which might set you back several years.

In Britain’s timber famine, they solved their supply shortage by turning to a better technology: coal.

Today there is also a vastly superior technology, and that’s nuclear.

We’ve written about this before— the idea that a single rock can power a small city is nothing short of astonishing. But like coal in Britain’s industrial age, nuclear power today has plenty of detractors.

But the latest emerging technology— small scale reactors— dispenses with virtually all criticism. It’s safer, cleaner, and cuts down on 90% of the waste. It’s also cheaper and faster to build, requiring 80% less energy to construct than traditional reactors.

And it has the potential to drive widespread prosperity throughout the world— something cheap energy has always been able to do.

A lot of countries have already woken up to this idea, which is why places like China, India, and even Russia have been rapidly building their own nuclear reactors.

Europe has naturally been shutting theirs down, but those governments are clearly insane. And if you have a problem with their self-destructive decisions then you’re a far-right fascist. Those people are in serious need of psychiatric care.

The US is now waking up from its green fantasy. And as America often does, it’s starting this race from behind… but will probably catch up quickly.

All of this makes uranium, i.e. the fuel source for most nuclear reactors, one of the most critical resources in the world.

Yet the supply chain for uranium is fragile, and the market is painfully underdeveloped. Decades of disinterest in nuclear have kept uranium exploration and production at a standstill, even as global demand is poised to soar.

The US government is acutely aware of this risk. In 2020, Congress established the US Uranium Reserve, allocating $75 million to buy domestically-produced uranium.

But $75 million is nothing. Even with this program, domestic production is expected to fall far short of what’s needed to fuel the next generation of reactors.

Meanwhile, the uranium market is taking notice. Prices have more than doubled since 2021, but they remain well below the levels needed to incentivize new production.

The few publicly traded uranium miners and developers have seen their stocks surge. Yet most investors remain unaware of just how critical this resource will become.

Uranium is also a quintessential real asset— a critical resource that is vital to economic prosperity and new technology.

Yet, again, uranium is in a deficit. Demand already outpaces supply, and that imbalance is only set to worsen.

That likely means skyrocketing uranium prices. And massive profits for the few producers left— many still trading at quite modest valuations.

This originally appeared on Dustfinger62.

The post Even the US Government is Worried There Won’t Be Enough Electricity appeared first on LewRockwell.

The golden age of organized crime may seem like a thing of the past in this era of surveillance. Law enforcement officers have technology and profiling capabilities now that they never had in the past. But make no mistake: Gangs are alive and thriving. They’ve simply evolved with the times. And we’re not just talking about low-level street gangs, either. Complicated, cunning, and cryptic multinational gangs still control the underworld in our modern age.

While some manage to outmaneuver the law, others receive tacit support from governments. A few have become so deeply entrenched in society that they function as de facto governments. Today, we’ll shine a spotlight on ten of the most influential and formidable gangs. These groups have amassed significant wealth, boast large memberships, and operate on a global scale. Their power and influence are undeniable in the criminal underworld—and beyond.

In my opinion, I think the most powerful criminal organization in the world is the various Italian organized crime groups known as the Italian Mafia. These include Cosa Nostra, ‘Ndrangheta, Camorra, Sacra Corona Unita, La Stidda, Mafia Capitale, Basilischi and more.

First of all, from all of the research I have done, the Cosa Nostra, ‘Ndrangheta, Camorra, and Sacra Corona Unita make a combined $170-$180 billion per year. That is more than any other criminal organization that I have heard of. This would make them the 19th highest earning “company” in the world when compared to legitimate corporations. Remember, those are the 4 most powerful of the Italian groups, that figure does not include the other various groups. Money means power, they are able to buy vast amounts of weapons, vehicles, and whatever else they need for their operations. Not to mention, they can also buy many politicians and law enforcers.

Martyn V. Halm (Combat Pragmatist) cited a 2014 article in Fortune which is factually incorrect, their “estimates” are way off when it comes to the annual revenue of these organizations. In the article, it claims the ‘Ndrangheta makes $4.5 billion/year, this is not the case, as they make $72 billion/year according to various European and American law enforcement agencies.

They are one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. Combined, they have around 300,000 members and associates spread across various countries. There is strength in numbers is a statement which is often true.

They are very widespread, they operate in many places such as North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Russia, and Australia. This gives them the advantage of having a global reach and being able to call on support/flee to anywhere in the world. This global support gives on-the-run mobsters places to hide, ability to call for help, and better business opportunities, as ethnically-similar crime groups often do business with each other because

a) They trust each other more

b) They often share a similar history

Alliances, Italian organized crime groups (OCGs) have been known to cooperate with each other on many occasions. Sure, many other criminal groups work together as well, but Italians seem to have the best relationship with each other and seem to have the most peace among themselves as opposed to other ethnic criminal groups. Sure, they fight, they are criminals, but they seem to fight the least among each other. This re-enforces the past two points I made, and is a huge advantage for them.

Money-making versatility, this also goes for other criminal organizations such as the Bratva (Russian Mafia) but being involved in a dozens of different criminal operations allows them to fall back on something if one operation goes awry. It also gives them an opportunity to increase and spread their power and influence in a given area. Such as Cosa Nostra controlling labor unions to control entire ports, and sometimes even entire industries.

Legitimate businesses. Again, other OCGs own legitimate businesses too, but Italian OCGs seem to be most heavily involved in legit businesses in comparison to other groups. As I mentioned above, they are involved in unions, they own construction companies, various restaurants, they own real estate (‘Ndrangheta owns almost entire neighborhoods in Germany and Brussels as a form of investment.)

To recap:

1.Italian OCGs make the most money.

2. Italian OCGs are larger in numbers.

3. They are one of the most, if not the most widespread.

4. Great internal relationships.

5. Money-making versatility.

6. Involvement in legitimate enterprises.

Time for some counterarguments (I am going to name a powerful global OCG that others may have mentioned but I will explain why I believe they are not as powerful as the Italian OCGs globally)

Russian Mafia (Bratva): You could say that they traffic nuclear weapons, but this is simply a different money-making opportunity. They are not going to actually use them, as this would bring down heat from every law enforcement agency within 2000 miles of them. You could say they have submarines, but Italian groups have submarines bringing drugs from Colombia and Mexico as well. Italian OCGs (Camorra in this case) also find sunken WWII ships and retrieve weapons and bombs from them.

Mexican Drug Cartels: You could say that they control a large part of the world’s drug trade, they do, but they are not nearly as wide spread as other groups such as the Italian or Russian OCGs. They are mainly in Mexico and the US, they also operate in Canada, but not as heavily as in the US. They send over drugs to Europe but it is then controlled by Italian OCGs. (‘Ndrangheta controls 80% of Europe’s cocaine, and that is 1 of many Italian OCGs.) The Mexican cartels also make less money from their businesses than Italian OCGs do, cartels make around $40-$60 billion/year. Which isn’t shabby, but it doesn’t match up against $170-$180 billion/year. They are not as widespread, either. They do have people operating in other countries, but they are usually under the control of other criminal groups, and are their mainly to assist in the reception of drugs or they are on the run there. Most likely and most often the former.

Yakuza: I saw a few people mention this. Lets start with the Fortune article. They say the Yakuza makes $80 billion/year. Whether this is true or not, it is hard to believe because of their mistake on the annual revenue of the ‘Ndrangheta (they were off by $67.5 billion.) They also claimed that the Camorra makes more than the ‘Ndrangheta, which it doesn’t. While I have heard from >1 sources that they make an annual revenue of $13 billion. That is a lot, but not enough to compare to the Italian OCGs. I have seen $80 billion/year on other websites, but they are referring to what the Fortune article said, or they cited it. The Yakuza is not as large as the Italian groups, the Yakuza have an estimated 100,000-120,000 members across the world, most of them being in Japan. This does not compare with nearly 300,000 that the Italian OCGs have. The Yakuza are not as widespread as well. They operate mainly in Japan, Asia, and North America. That is only 2 continents, maybe another country on a 3rd continent. But the Italian OCGs operate on basically every continent except Antarctica.

Read the Whole Article

The post 5 Quietly Deadly Gangs Causing Huge Havoc Worldwide appeared first on LewRockwell.

Watching the receipts pouring in from Elon Musk’s DOGE – as well as from other places – one gets that sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach. Confronted with the hard evidence, the suspicion that has long been germinating is suddenly turned into a painful realization.

The realization is this: The U.S. federal government has turned into something akin to a vast criminal syndicate that routinely commits grave crimes against its own population as well as against those abroad.

Here are just some examples, in no particular order:

• Sponsoring illegal bioresearch in the Wuhan Laboratory
• Waging wars – direct, clandestine, and by proxy – based on brazen lies and false premises (Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, etc.)
• Conducting covert regime change operations around the globe, often against populist, democratically elected governments
• “Financially or logistically supporting narcotics networks in every major region they spring, from the Golden Crescent to the Golden Triangle to South America” see here
• Sending hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars to organizations that facilitate illegal immigration into the U.S.
• Bankrupting our national finances by contracting unpayable debts and destroying the value of the U.S. dollar
• Funneling hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars into organizations that censor free speech of American citizens as well as citizens of other countries
• Weaponizing the law, federal agencies, and the justice system for political purposes
• Lying about the origins of Covid and imposing destructive lockdowns
• Keeping a senile demented man in the highest office of the land
• Forcing Americans to take dangerous and ineffective Covid mRNA injections
• Inserting men in skirts into high government positions
• Allowing men to defeat and physically abuse women in sporting events
• Allowing men access to women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and private spaces
• Lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop and refusing to investigate the crimes of the Biden family
• Waging lawfare against President Trump and his followers
• Rigging elections both at home and abroad
• Maintaining biolabs in Ukraine
• Illegally surveilling U.S. citizens on a mass scale through the NSA and such
• Imposing LGBT and transgender ideology on children both at home and abroad
• Forwarding Americans’ tax money to liberal media outlets
• Channeling financial support to BLM and its rioters

The damage of these crimes and their costs are breathtaking by any metric.

The staggering depth and scale of wrongdoing, criminality and corruption within the U.S. government that are being exposed even as we speak is almost impossible to digest.

As the heroic Kari Lake aptly observed, “I think Washington, D.C. is a crime scene right now with what they’re uncovering with everything that our federal government has been up to.”

The Establishment and the Democratic Party are – predictably enough – trying to do everything they can to stop the expose.

“Elon Musk and DOGE are hacking the government,” reads an NBC News headline written by establishment courtier David Ingram.

It is most revealing that something that most normal people call an audit the Establishment alleges to be “hacking.”

Hoping to limit disclosure, the Democrat Senate Leader Chuck Schumer stepped out from the U.S. Capitol to publicly protest Elon Musk’s effort to conduct an audit of our corrupt government.

Once outside, he broke into an unconvincing chant “We will win! We will win! We won’t rest! We won’t rest!”

Schumer’s performance was so lamentable that even the left-leaning Independent ran a piece headlined: “Top Democrat rips Chuck Schumer for ‘depressing’ video of him chanting during Musk protest.”

The article quoted Tim Ryan, a Democrat and a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who said:

“I just don’t even know what to say anymore when I see this kind of stuff. Is it Saturday Night Live or real life?”

Photo 1: Chuck Schumer protesting audit of the Treasury by DOGE

One almost feels sorry for Chuck Schumer. He strikes a tragicomic figure as he desperately tries to defend the indefensible. In a way he is the right man for the role, since his visage and manner seem to be a perfect fit for that which he seeks to safeguard: a thoroughly corrupt enterprise.

Schumer’s efforts notwithstanding – with all that has come out – it has now become quite clear that with a yearly budget of more than six trillion dollars and backed by unprecedented military might, the U.S. government runs the largest and most dangerous con in history.

There used to be a time when most of the world looked to America as the good guys, the bearers of freedom, prosperity, free speech, and democracy. Alas, this is no longer the case. Now we do the opposite: we impose censorship, export inflation and transgender ideology, undermine and overthrow democratically elected governments, and baselessly attack and destroy countries that pose no threat to the American people.

Painful as it may be to admit, our government is becoming that which we fought against in the past: the Evil Empire.

We have an extensive track record to show for. Mayhem, chaos, and destruction are the fruit of our works: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria… the list goes on. We can now add to that list Ukraine whose destruction we have provoked, sponsored, and abetted. And let’s not forget that we have also bankrolled the ruination of Gaza, which President Trump correctly described as a “demolition site” in a recent press conference.

On the positive side, President Trump seems to be trying his best to expose and rein in the corruption. Given the scope of wrongdoing and the resistance he faces, his is truly a gargantuan task. Predictably, he is getting little help from the Democrats.

Barely two weeks into his presidency, Congressman Al Green proposed articles of impeachment against Trump. Taking the House floor, the Texas congressman announced:

“I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”

This is what happens in Washington, D.C. when one attempts to expose wrongs and bring some accountability. Too bad it has not occurred to Congressman Green to bring articles of impeachment against the Establishment itself, given its long list of dark deeds.

Kari Lake has got it right: With all the facts that are coming out, it does seem that Washington, D.C. is one large crime scene. It apparently has been so for quite some time.

Would only that President Trump succeed in cleaning the place up. This should not be a partisan effort. All honest people of goodwill should support this enterprise.

The post Receipts Reveal U.S. Government Presides Over a Colossal Globe-Spanning Racket appeared first on LewRockwell.

As anyone who has read my series called The Amtrak Vignettes knows, I’ve been on a train across the United States a time or two.

Recently, a loudmouth from Brooklyn was on the train. He was about 6 foot, 5 inches, about 300 pounds, a man’s man, from Williamsburg when it was still Williamsburg.  He was wearing his bright yellow “Don’t tread on me” t-shirt.

We were on a train headed for the San Francisco Bay Area, so lots of liberals on this one. And this guy spoke his mind with a resonant voice and loudly. I loved it.

You would be able to hear the liberal sphincters snapping shut all around with every increasingly politically incorrect statement from him, if it were not for the fact that he spoke those inconvenient facts at however many decibels an aircraft engine is.

The man’s man had a collection of foreign exchange students around him as he held court, seemingly taking in his every word. He had gathered these disciples over the course of the train trip. It was something to behold. He had an Indian, a Chinese, and a French, though certainly others like me were also enjoying the colorful take on the affairs of the world.

During one of the few pauses, I said “Hey, I like that shirt,” and asked him, “But where’s that accent from? Montauk or something?”

Montauk is at the absolute end of Long Island, sticking all the way out into the Atlantic.

He said, “Aww man. There is no bigger insult you can give a guy from Brooklyn than to say he’s from Long Island.”

To which I said, “Well, actually Brooklyn is on the same island you know.”

If you look at a map, Brooklyn and Queens, both east of the East River, are part of that same geographic island. They are quite literally ON Long Island.

He was not having it, “Yeah, but it’s not the same!”

It’s fun to give a guy the razz.

A little later, another guy comes up and says, “I like your shirt.”

You could feel the weakness being exuded by this guy, especially when standing right next to man’s man. I did not like it. I did not like the exuded weakness. He is the kind of guy who finally found a spine in life the morning after Trump was inaugurated for the second time, after he heard Rachel Maddow, followed by his wife both mournfully acknowledge the inauguration as legitimate. Only then did he find his spine.

This scene took place about a week after that.

The formerly spineless man added about the t-shirt, “I guess you can finally wear it now!”

You see, Trump had just been inaugurated the week before, so the weak man who was new in the conversation was saying, “Now that someone has been inaugurated, we allegedly free Americans are now allowed to wear shirts that speak our minds as long as they agree generally with the man in the Oval Office.”

What a weak and pathetic man. Even if you thought it, why would you admit that weakness by actually speaking it aloud to another man?

The 8,000 decibel Brooklyn baritone wasn’t having it, “Never stopped wearing it.”

That’s right brother. That’s right.

Never stopped wearing it, you wuss. He omitted verbally speaking the, “You wuss” part, but when you speak openly to some people it is hard to miss the “you wuss” part that exists to anyone attentively listening. Your devotion to the truth is an affront to anyone who does not have the same devotion. That can be inspiring to those who do not have that courage. But the more likely response is to perceive a courageous person operating in your presence as effrontery. That is okay. Just keep being courageous. It is contagious. Also, those who are too weak presently to be encouraged by your courage, will feel the sting of shame. You will be doing the person a favor.

I do not care if I agree with the loudmouth. I do not care if I disagree with the loudmouth. Freedom of speech is perpetuated and secured and expanded by opinions being voiced. It has nothing to do with who is the US President. It has nothing to do with court rulings. It has everything to do with courage.

This piece you are reading is from my latest book, entitled Do Not Apologize For The Words You Use: A Call To Poets And Authors Of Our Era, and which you, dear reader, can get for free above for the next week until the book is released in print.

The harder it is to say something, often the more necessary it is to say that thing. The more unpopular an opinion, the more effective that hint of truth can be, even if it is just a little squeak. Even if you can only squeak the truth, just speak it. Though, to be honest, an obnoxious and proud Brooklyn baritone is even better.

It is necessary to speak truth. With it, you encourage the remnant of believers around you. With it, you encourage yourself. And with it, you melt the hearts of your opponent.

It is so very easy to just speak the unpopular truth. Unless of course you do not want to encourage your allies, uplift yourself, and melt the heart of your opponent.

That would, of course, just make you weak if you chose that option. And it would make you determined to have such little seriousness about your values, that it troubles you not that you have no potency to win victory on behalf of your values.

Victory for your values should matter to you. Otherwise, are they really deeply held principles at all? Or are they just lightly appreciated preferences?

Such a man, I cannot stand to be around. The more I grow in faith, the more I grow in values, the more I recognize the price I have paid for such treasures in life, the less I can appreciate a man who has no such treasures.

And I really do mean that these are some of the greatest treasures in life — the hard fought, hard won values.

Of course there are treasures the weak man, too, can claim as his own, but that is not saying much. When evaluating the uniqueness of one’s treasures in life, one must recognize that in the most prosperous county on the planet even the guy who just crawled across the border from Honduras and the guy who has spent the last two decades on the street both have treasures to their name that the middle class could not have imagined just a half century ago.

Those really are not that precious of treasures.

There are treasures of value. And then there are “treasures” that even a weak man can own. But they are not the same. And sometimes the more flashy the “treasure,” the less impressive the person, though that of course has its limits.

You and I, both, likely, know plenty of upstanding men and women who have flashy treasures. They are those who stood by dedicated values along the entire path that they earned those flashy values.

Nonetheless, contained in concepts like values and the faith are their real treasures. Those are the treasures that took the most work to come upon. Some weak men can not tell you that, because they do not get it. Others get it all too well, and it is a grievous pain to them, as are you when you insist on speaking the truth and standing openly by your values.

Courage is contagious, and cowardice too is contagious. The ancient Israelite generals like Joshua, the right-hand man of Moses, were given instruction by Moses. There were certain men who were not allowed to march into battle. The instructions about the cowardly were clear. One such man was the coward. Why? Because his cowardice was understood to be contagious.

Check out this excerpt from a pre-battle pep talk, or at least instructions for a pre-battle pep talk.

“And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.” (Deuteronomy 20:8)

That’s the “Coward Go Home!” clause of the pre-battle pep talk. Cowards go home. We do not even want you around us. Sure you may help us win a minor skirmish or two. You may cause us to look more formidable in number. You may help us get the job done better.

But you know what, we do not want you around the rest of us because the risk is too great. You may spread your contagious cowardice. You may convince others of being people of preferences rather than people of principles. You may espouse desire for treasures that are no treasure at all. It was so important of a concept that the cowards be separated from the real men on the battlefield that Moses included this as some of his final guidance before he left them and the Israelites crossed over into the promised land.

Now in a civil society, we must understand something. Every single interaction with every single individual is a battle of values and one of those values is freedom. Your silence is compliance with evil.

Where there are lies in your midst, just call them out. It does not matter what anyone thinks of you. Just speak the truth and only allow the truth to be spoken by you. Just speak the truth and only allow the truth to be spoken unchallenged in your presence.

Get my latest book on why writers need to always speak their mind, no matter how offensive it is, for free here for the next week. Do Not Apologize For The Words You Use: A Call To Poets And Authors Of Our Era. And that does not just go for writers. It goes for all of us. In this era of supreme deceit, we need to know our values, we need to speak our values, no matter how “offensive” we may think those to be. Seldom is the penalty for that as bad as we actually think it is going to be, but even if there is a penalty that should not stop us. Since when was the truth determined by plebiscite? Never. Since when was a deeply held value determined by plebiscite? Never.

The upside of speaking truthfully, openly, and clearly is so great. It is so great as to be immeasurable. Have that vision for the potential of what freedom means. Have that vision and do not forsake that birthright, especially not because you were worried what someone with less vision, less courage, and less principled resolve would think of it.

Speak. Speak now. Speak boldly.

The post You Must Speak Your Mind — Freedom Depends On It — Even When You Are Being Blatantly Offensive appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Rick Rozoff.

Musk claims US Treasury annually pays $100 bln to unidentified individuals

He noted that the DOGE team and the US Department of the Treasury had agreed to require “that all outgoing government payments have a payment categorization code, which is necessary in order to pass financial audits”

“Yesterday, I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious,” he wrote on his page on the X social network.

WASHINGTON, February 9. /TASS/. Entrepreneur Elon Musk who is in charge of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said that the US Department of the Treasury has been paying out $100 billion to unidentified individuals annually.

“Yesterday, I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious,” he wrote on his page on the X social network.

“When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!! This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately,” Musk emphasized.

That said, he noted that the DOGE team and the US Department of the Treasury had agreed to require “that all outgoing government payments have a payment categorization code, which is necessary in order to pass financial audits.” Additionally, “all payments must also include a rationale for the payment in the comment field.” Musk also noted that the Department of the Treasury will maintain and regularly update a list including “entities known to be fraudulent or people who are dead or are probable fronts for terrorist organizations or do not match Congressional appropriations.”.

The post Treasury Department pays $100 billion annually to unidentified individuals appeared first on LewRockwell.

Click Here:

John Leake

The post USAID Gave $472 Million to “Internews Network” NGO appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, David Krall. 

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Writes Gail Appel:

Hi Lew,

I just watched a stupendous interview of Tulsi by Michael Savage on NewsMax. He was one of her most vocal supporters.

When he asked what drove her to come out publicly and vehemently against the Democrat Party, she immediately expressed dismay with the dissolution of civil liberties, deep rooted corruption and waking up to the fact that the party was fraudulent and the realization was devastating. To which Savage responded with explosive laughter. Because Savage, formerly a leftist, found out long ago he’d been sucker punched.  Adding they are in no way remotely liberal in the classical sense .

He went on to say she was the true definition of a patriot who put country over special interests and self , unlike both parties, particularly the Republicans echoing “ America First” and the moment they’re out of earshot, working with the Dems to sabotage everything Trump attempted to implement, everything the American people voted for and dragged their asses over the finish line with.

They discussed the wars and interventions that have been tremendously destructive in destabilizing the globe and America’s national security, productivity and sacrificed our youth.  They also discussed her religious beliefs and tenets, Hawaii’s history, her family . It was beautiful.

The interview ended with Savage expressing his desire to inaugurate “ President Gabbard” in the very near future. I wholly agree. She’s the real thing.

Ergo both parties hate her as much as they do Trump, Elon, RFK Jr , Kash Patel , Ric Grenell and Jay Bhattacharaya. Because “We The People” have awakened, know what we want and it’s not what we’ve been forced to accept. The Only duplicitous, corrupt duopolous blob.

The post Tulsi Gabbard / Michael Savage interview appeared first on LewRockwell.

Gail Appel writes:

Bill Gates made an open threat that if Trump continues cutting USAID, expect the emergence of a new virus.

Bill Gates is the disease. He must be eradicated.

See this.

The post Bill Gates Threatens Trump appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Rick Rozoff.

At the 10:18 mark

The post George Soros’ prophetic prediction…. appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thinks, Gail Appel.

Decensored News

The post Jimmy Carter: Non-Outsider From The Trilateral Commission appeared first on LewRockwell.

Writes Johnny Kramer:

Of course, it’d be better to address the legalized counterfeiting that has made the penny worth less than it costs to produce.

See here.

The post Trump ENDS Production of Pennies appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Johnny Kramer. 

Gateway Pundit

The post Birdbrained Crockett Blasts Trump Jobs Report, Goes Silent When It Turns Out They Were Biden’s Numbers Instead appeared first on LewRockwell.

Writes Ginny Garner:

Lew,

“DoD doesn’t have the backbone business systems that collect data in a way that can allow you to pass an audit.” – Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks to activist and comedian Jon Stewart. This admission starts with Stewart’s question at 36:00 in this video. 

The event was sponsored by a non profit called The War Horse which Stewart represented as unbiased but a quick look at their web site and financials indicate they are left leaning. Link: 

The post DoD Lacks Business Systems To lPass an Audit appeared first on LewRockwell.

He of course was NOT referring to the Israeli mass murder of tens or hundreds of thousands of Palestinian women, children, and babies in Gaza.  Trump’s nominee as ambassador to Israel is only concerned to bad things that happen to Israelis.  He has also said that there is no such thing as a Palestinian, thereby defining out of existence the thousands of civilian victims of the American/Israeli Middle East War Crime Machine.

Here you have a Christian minister literally sanctifying the massacre of many Christian Palestinian women and children.  His real “god” is Netanyahoo.

The post Mike Huckabee Condemns “The Massacre of Women and Children” on Fox News on Sunday appeared first on LewRockwell.

Writes Ginny Garner:

Lew,

Excellent article posted on X explaining how Elon Musk’s team is bypassing the administrative state and implementing President Trump’s plan by using laptops, algorithms and AI to map federal bureaucratic money systems, deploy aligned personnel, expose networks and restructure systems.

See here.

The post Inside the Revolution Rewiring American Power appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Saleh Abdullah.

The post Bill Binney – How To Fix Government Crime appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, John Smith. 

The Cradle

The post Ex-Israeli war chief confirms issuing Hannibal Directive to kill own civilians, soldiers on 7 Oct appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, John Smith. 

Palestine Chronicle

The post German Police Halt Pro-Palestine Rally, Cite Arabic Language Ban appeared first on LewRockwell.