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Posts tagged ‘Hawaii’

Op-ed: Biden’s Misguided Priorities: Ukraine, Illegal Aliens vs. Hawaii


Armstrong Williams @Arightside / August 17, 2023

Read more at https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/08/17/bidens-misguided-priorities-ukraine-illegal-aliens-vs-hawaii/

This isn’t a scene from wartorn Ukraine after an attack by Russian forces. It’s the result of the wildfire in Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui, seen here on Monday. (Photo: Yang Pingjun/Xinhua/Getty Images)

Hawaii, once a symbol of nature’s grace, now lies devastated, a chilling semblance of a war zone. At least 100 lives have been lost to the flames of a devastating wildfire, with hundreds of homes obliterated and families shattered.

But in the face of this profound tragedy, President Joe Biden has responded with a suggestion that borders on the absurd. If you thought his disregard for the American people had reached its lowest point, think again. While the embers of destruction still glow in Hawaii, Biden has made a jarring proposal to Congress: Provide an additional $24 billion in aid to Ukraine.

Underneath America’s leadership, a perpetually angry and misguided segment of left-wing Americans has eroded our nation’s priorities. They argue that America should always be second to the needs of others. But this is not the America that the majority yearn for. It’s the America that those who resent our nation’s principles desire.

Our nation stands at a crossroads, grappling with a complex web of challenges that stretch far beyond typical crime and poverty. Among those challenges are the haunting problems of human trafficking and the trafficking of drugs and firearms. Yet, the threats we face are not limited to these insidious enterprises. Thousands of Americans fall victim to criminals every year through crimes such as carjackings and robberies.

When will the American people receive the attention and care that Ukraine gets? When will the homeless veterans, who once fought bravely for their nation only to be left in the cold, the needy families struggling to make ends meet, single mothers laboring to provide for their children, and the helpless, poor families waiting for a glimmer of hope receive the same level of commitment and assistance that Biden offers to a foreign nation?

The concern doesn’t end at Ukraine. We can cast our eyes to our own cities, like New York City, now facing a migrant crisis unparalleled in its history. It’s reminiscent of the European migration crisis of 2015, when open borders led to more than 1 million migrants entering the European Union. New York’s far-left City Council and state politicians are now grappling with the aftermath of such policies. Tens of thousands of migrants are now dispersed across New York’s cities, burdening communities large and small with both actual and unrealized fears.

Will those who feign righteousness, those who boldly fly the Ukrainian flag outside their homes, who offer to take migrants into their homes, who march in protests in support of Ukraine and who decry the Right for simply asking that we take care of our own first also fly the flag of Hawaii?

Of course they won’t, and we all know why. It’s because there’s a prevailing yet misguided doctrine that America is so powerful and mighty that when its own people are harmed, we can conveniently ignore them, treating them as though they are privileged and unworthy of attention.

Pay no mind to the stark contrast between images of overindulgence and peaceful streets in many Ukrainian cities under threat of conflict and the devastation on the ground in Hawaii. This selective empathy is obvious. It’s hypocrisy at its finest, and it clearly shows that those who stand for righteousness falter when their own countrymen are in need.

While my heart aches for the Ukrainians affected by this war, and I vehemently believe in halting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression, America cannot turn a blind eye to its internal struggles. America’s families are faced with choosing which meals to skip, struggling to pay rent, or managing unexpected expenses.

I ask you, Joe Biden, when will these families receive the same assistance you provide to everyone else?

So, what shall we do for the displaced people from Hawaii? Will we abandon them? No. We must treat them better than we treat everyone else, for any expense spared is a blot on our national honor.

I urge our government to welcome displaced Hawaiians with more than just open arms. They deserve five-star hotel accommodations, luxurious meals, free health care and child care. Why? Because that’s how we should treat Americans. And yet, it’s how we’re currently treating the migrants.

“America First” has been wrongly maligned due to the Left’s deliberate misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the principle. It’s about preserving a nation’s dignity, offering help and utilizing resources wisely, without exhausting them.

The American people’s welfare must not be sacrificed for Ukraine or for the migrants crossing our borders. Perhaps time will tell whether we will be able to provide them assistance. But, until that day comes, America must first care for its own.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

COMMENTARY BY

Armstrong Williams@Arightside

Armstrong Williams is a columnist for The Daily Signal and host of “The Armstrong Williams Show,” a nationally syndicated TV program.

The Left’s 2020 ‘Fake Electors’ Narrative Is Fake News


BY: MARGOT CLEVELAND | MAY 15, 2023

Read more at https://thefederalist.com/2023/05/15/the-lefts-2020-fake-electors-narrative-is-fake-news/

JFK and Richard Nixon in 1960

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Headlines recently proclaimed that eight of Trump’s “fake” electors accepted immunity deals. Of course, in reporting the news, the corporate outlets all missed the real story — that the electors’ testimony failed to incriminate anyone, including Trump, and that the county prosecutors engaged in massive misconduct. Equally appalling, however, was the corrupt media’s continued peddling of the “fake electors” narrative. 

There were no “fake” electors. There were contingent Republican electors named consistent with legal precedent to preserve the still ongoing legal challenges to the validity of Georgia’s certified vote. 

Nor was appointing an alternative slate of electors some cockamamie plan devised by Trump lawyers. On the contrary, Trump’s election lawyers and the contingent electors followed the precise approach Democrats successfully used when the date Congress established for certifying an election came before the legal challenges John F. Kennedy had brought in Hawaii were decided. And that approach allowed Kennedy to be certified the winner of Hawaii’s three electoral votes on Jan. 6, 1961, even though the Aloha State had originally certified Richard Nixon the victor.

The Hawaii scenario in 1960 mirrors in every material respect the facts on the ground in Georgia on Dec. 14, 2020 — the date both the Democrat and Republican presidential electors met and cast their 16 electoral votes for Joe Biden and Donald Trump respectively. 

Here’s What Happened in Hawaii Six-0 

Election day in 1960 fell on Nov. 8 and pitted Kennedy, a Democrat, against Republican Richard Nixon. The outcome remained unknown for some time, with a total of 93 electoral votes from eight different states undecided in the days following the election. Hawaii was one of those states. 

By Dec. 9 of that year, Kennedy had accumulated enough electoral votes to win the White House, but Hawaii’s winner was still in question. While the presidency did not depend on Hawaii’s three electoral votes, Democrats there had challenged the initial returns that gave Nixon a 141-vote edge, or 0.08 percent margin of victory.

Based on the original count in favor of Nixon, the acting governor of Hawaii, Republican James Kealoha, certified the Republican electors on Nov. 28, 1960. On Dec. 13, over the objections of the state attorney general, state circuit court Judge Ronald Jamieson ordered a recount. Then, on Dec. 19, both the Nixon and Kennedy electors met, “cast their votes for President and Vice President, and certified their own meeting and votes.” 

In casting their electoral ballots for Kennedy, the three Hawaiian Democrats certified they were the “duly and legally qualified and appointed” electors for president and vice president for the state of Hawaii and that they had been “certified (as such) by the Executive.” The Hawaii electors further attested: “We hereby certify that the lists of all the votes of the state of Hawaii given for President, and of all the votes given for Vice President, are contained herein.”

Two of the three Democrat electors were retired federal judges, William Heen and Delbert Metzger, and Heen personally mailed the Democrat electoral votes to Congress on Dec. 20. In fact, the envelope containing the certificates, further attested: “We hereby certify that the lists of all the votes of the state of Hawaii given for president … are contained herein.”

Ten days later, on Dec. 30, 1960, Judge Jamieson held that Kennedy had won the election. In so holding, Jamieson stressed the importance of the Democrat electors having met on Dec. 19, as prescribed by the Electoral Count Act, to cast their ballots in favor of Kennedy. That step allowed the Hawaii governor to then certify Kennedy as the winner of Hawaii’s three electoral votes and, in turn, Congress to count Hawaii’s electoral votes in favor of Kennedy.

The Peach State Repeat

The Georgia situation in 2020 mirrored the events of 60 years ago in Hawaii. 

Election day in 2020 fell on Nov. 3, although by then many ballots had already been cast, given the adoption of mass mail-in and early voting. Trump held a lead in Georgia until the morning of Friday, Nov. 6, when Biden overtook the incumbent. With the margin remaining tight, on Nov. 11, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced a statewide audit. 

Following the audit, Biden remained in the lead by approximately 12,000 votes, leading Raffensperger to certify the election results on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Republic Gov. Brian Kemp signed the certification the same day. Then on Nov. 21, Trump requested a recount, as allowed under Georgia law given the closeness of the count.

On Dec. 4, 2020, then-President Trump and Republican elector David Shafer filed suit in a Fulton County state court against Raffensperger, arguing tens of thousands of votes counted in the presidential election had been cast in violation of Georgia law. While Trump’s lawsuit was still pending, on Dec. 7, 2020, based on the recount, Raffensperger recertified Biden as the winner of Georgia’s 16 electoral votes by a margin of 11,779. 

Trump and Shafer’s Fulton County lawsuit contesting the election results remained pending on Dec. 14, 2020, the date the presidential electors were required by federal law to meet. Thus, while the Democrat electors met and cast their ballots for Joe Biden, the Republican electors met separately and cast their 16 votes for Trump. 

At that time, Shafer made clear the Trump electors had met and cast their votes to ensure Trump’s legal battle in court remained viable. Nonetheless, following Biden’s election, Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis targeted the Republican electors as part of her criminal special purpose grand jury investigation.

While the grand jury has since issued a report and been disbanded, Willis agreed to grant immunity to eight of the electors, likely to push them to implicate the other electors. However, their lawyer confirmed in a court filing that none of the electors implicated anyone in criminal activity. 

Since then, Shafer’s attorneys, Holly Pierson and Craig Gillen, wrote Willis a detailed letter reviewing the Hawaii precedent. The attorneys noted they had made three prior written requests to meet “to discuss the factual and legal issues” relevant to Shafer’s role as a contingent Trump elector but had “not yet received any response to those requests.” 

The 11-page, single-spaced letter then proceeded to detail both the Hawaii precedent for Shafer’s actions following the 2020 election and the legal advice the Republican elector received that “he and the other contingent presidential electors should meet at the state capitol building on December 14, 2020, and perform the duties of a presidential elector to preserve potential remedies in the event Trump et al. v. Raffensperger, et al. was successful.” 

In addition to detailing the Hawaii precedent from 1960, Shafer’s lawyers highlighted the fact that in contesting the 2000 election, lawyers for then-Democrat presidential candidate Al Gore cited that very precedent to support his position that two elector slates could be appointed. In fact, Democrat Rep. Patsy Mink of Hawaii suggested the 2000 Florida electoral dispute be resolved based on that Hawaii precedent too. And three Supreme Court justices in Bush v. Gore cited the Hawaii precedent as a basis for allowing the Florida recount to proceed. 

As the letter and Hawaii precedent make clear, Shafer and the other Trump electors not only did nothing wrong, but they acted prudentially to ensure that if the state court lawsuit resolved in the president’s favor, Georgia’s electoral votes would be properly counted on Jan. 6, 2020.

Here we see one of the only differences between Trump’s legal challenge and Kennedy’s: The Hawaii state court promptly resolved the merits of Kennedy’s legal challenge, while in violation of the Georgia Election Code that requires lawsuits contesting elections to be heard within 20 days, the Fulton County court delayed assigning a judge to hear Trump’s election dispute and then delayed the first scheduled hearing until Jan. 8, 2021 — two days after Congress certified Biden the winner of the 2020 election. 

Now you know the rest of the story. There were no fake electors. The question now is whether Willis will charge Shafer and others with fake crimes.


Margot Cleveland is The Federalist’s senior legal correspondent. She is also a contributor to National Review Online, the Washington Examiner, Aleteia, and Townhall.com, and has been published in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Prize—the law school’s highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. As a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of a young son with cystic fibrosis, Cleveland frequently writes on cultural issues related to parenting and special-needs children. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.

Trish Reagan Intel. Three Articles of Importance


Illegal Migrants Hotel Bill at $86 Million For Only 1,239 Beds

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has signed a short-term contract with the non-profit division of Endeavors to provide temporary shelter and processing services for families who have not been expelled and are therefore placed in immigration proceedings for their removal from the United States,”said in a statement the ICE acting Director Tae D. Johnson.

“The $86.9 million contract provides 1,239 beds and other necessary services. The families will receive a comprehensive health assessment that includes COVID-19 testing.”

Endeavors is a non-profit organization which provides direct care, migrant wellness support, case management, home study and post-release services, staffing, and holistic programming for unaccompanied migrant children and families. Endeavors has served migrants since 2012.

“Our border is not open. The majority of individuals continue to be expelled under the Centers for Disease Control’s public health authority,”continued ICE acting Director in his statement.

Project Veritas Exclusive Photos From Inside Texas CBP Facility Show Horrific Border Crisis

Posted By Staff Writer | March 22, 2021

In a stunning revelation of how horrific conditions at the border have become, Project Veritas released exclusive photos Monday from reportedly inside one of the border’s detention facilities.

The never-before-seen photos are said to have been taken from inside a Customs and Border Patrol facility in Donna, Texas. In the images (scroll down for more) you can see asylum seekers in tight spaces wrapped in space blankets, lying shoulder to shoulder on the floor.

Courtesy: https://projectveritas.com
Courtesy: Project Veritas
Courtesy: Project Veritas

The facility currently houses thousands of immigrants that travel illegally across the border and is beyond its capacity. Indeed, according to the Project Veritas source that provided the photos, “there are eight pods with eight cells each in the facility. At any given moment,” the source explained, “an average of 3,000 people in custody here.”

In addition, the source tells Project Veritas that the immigrants are “separated by age or physical size depending on room. Fifty were Covid positive in these cells over the last few days. There have been multiple sexual assaults, normal assaults and daily medical emergencies.”

Courtesy: Project Veritas

Axios also reported horrible conditions at the same facility. In a report Monday, Axios quoted Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX) who recently toured the Donna facility and described the conditions as “terrible for the children.” The Congressman added that Border Patrol agents are “doing the best they can under the circumstances” but are “not equipped to care for kids” and “need help from the administration.”

A reported 15,500 children are now in federal custody at the border.

Though Representative Cuellar was unable to take pictures, he was able to gain a tour of the facility. But he’s one of the few to have seen the conditions directly. Indeed, there has been what appears to be a deliberate and coordinated effort to keep journalists out of the facilities.

Project Veritas founder and CEO James O’Keefe visited the detention facility in Donna, Texas late last week and was asked to leave the location by staff members at the facility. You can watch the video here.

Meanwhile, an attorney representing migrant youth in the custody of the U.S. government was recently denied a tour of the Donna, Texas facility. Naha Desai told CBS News, that she interviewed children who said they were hungry and never saw the sun. “Some of the boys said that conditions were so overcrowded that they had to take turns sleeping on the floor,” she explained.

On March 2nd, the Donna complex was said to be holding more than 1,800 people — 729% of its pandemic-era capacity, which is designed for 250 migrants, according to CBS. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security head is calling on volunteers to assist CBP at these facilities complaining that the most number of migrants in 20 years have arrived.

A report over the weekend on ABC News showcased an interview with an asylum seeker in which he explained President Biden is one of the main reasons he made the journey to the border.

Biden Tax Hike Would Make Some States’ Rates Near 70% – Among Highest in World

New York, California, and numerous other states could soon become some of the highest tax places in the world if the Biden Administration gets its way. The Biden tax plan that Congress is debating this week would raise the top income tax rate to 39.6% from its current 37% today.

And that’s not all…

Biden wants to place a new payroll tax of 15% on earnings over $400,000 (or $200,000 each for a married couple.) This combined payroll and income tax hike would bring the marginal tax rate on an additional hour of work to 54%.

State and city taxes can no longer be deducted from federal returns. As such, high-tax states like New York, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Oregon, Iowa, Arizona and New Jersey would all see marginal tax rates approaching 70%.

Meanwhile, if California and New York get their way, taxes could go even higher. Both states are discussing ways to shore up their disastrous finances. In California, the General Assembly is considering raising the state income tax to 16.5%. And, in New York, the embattled Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed a two percentage point hike. This would raise income taxes in New York City to 15.5%.

As economists at the Committee to Unleash Prosperity point out, if New York and California are successful with their tax hikes, they will officially become home to some of the highest tax places in the world. 

Hey, who needs Bernie Sanders when President Joe Biden is willing to go so far left and turn us into a socialist state?

To be clear — higher taxes is not a sustainable path forward for America. Instead, we need pro-growth policies that will generate more wealth for the country as a whole, instead of onerous taxation that will discourage prosperity.

The Biden tax hikes, the largest since 1993, should not be approved.

More Politically INCORRECT Cartoons for Today, January 19, 2018


Hawaii’s $205 Million Obamacare Exchange Implodes


waving flagPosted by Alexander Hendrie on Tuesday, May 12th, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: https://www.atr.org/hawaii-s-205-million-obamacare-exchange-implodes

Complete Message

Despite over $205 million in federal taxpayer funding, Hawaii’s Obamacare exchange website will soon shut down.  Since its implementation, the exchange has somehow failed to become financially viable because of lower than expected Obamacare enrollment figures. With the state legislature rejecting a $28 million bailout, the website will now be unable to operate past this year.

According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the Hawaii Health Connector will stop taking new enrollees on Friday and plans to begin migrating to the federally run Healthcare.gov. Outreach services will end by May 31, all technology will be transferred to the state by September 30, and its workforce will be eliminated by February 28.

While the exchange has struggled since its creation, it is not for lack of funding. Since 2011 Hawaii has received a total of $205,342,270 in federal grant money from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In total, HHS provided nearly $4.5 billion to Hawaii and other state exchanges, with little federal oversight and virtually no strings attached.Picture2

Complete MessageDespite this generous funding, the exchange has underperformed from day one. In its first year, Hawaii enrolled only 8,592 individuals – meaning it spent almost $23,899 on its website for each individual enrolled. Currently over 37,000 individuals are enrolled in Hawaii’s exchange – well below the estimated 70,000 enrollees that is required to make the website financially viable. Unfortunately, taxpayers will have to hand out an additional $30 million so that Hawaii can migrate to the federal system.Picture3

This is not the first time that a state exchange has failed, and taken millions of dollars in federal funds down with it. Earlier this year, Oregon’s state exchange was officially abolished at an estimated cost of $41 million. Cover Oregon, as it used to be known received $305 million in funds from HHS but failed to produce a workable website months after the 2013 November deadline. The debacle has promoted numerous federal agencies and organizations to investigate allegations of inappropriate political interference from then Governor Kitzhaber’s 2014 reelection campaign.Complete Message

Hawaii now joins Oregon, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, New Mexico, and Nevada as cautionary tales in government central planning. With so many failed state exchanges, questions need to be asked about the haphazard allocation of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds and the complete lack of oversight.Liberalism a mental disorder 2

Photo Credit: Charles Fettinger
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Video of the Day from Joe the Plumber


http://joeforamerica.com/2014/06/votd-6-24-14/

surf

Trigger the Vote

Click on image to see movie trailer and more

Click on image to see movie trailer and more

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