China is Coming for Our Kids

(#6: Seven things You Can't Say about China - Senator Tom Cotton)

Let's start with Tik Tok, the hugely popular social media platform whose parent company, Byte Dance, is located in Beijing. Make no mistake the Reds control Tik Tok. The Party has "superuser" credentials, board seats and day-to-day involvement. Even if a US company buys the US version, I'd bet any amount the CCP keeps backdoor access.

So how does the Xi use Tik Tok to further China's aims? Three ways - at least. They gain access to massive amounts of data about its users. Primarily our kids. They spew out manipulative, obscene and dangerous materials. On topics like pornography, eating disorders and teen suicide. They promote Chinese propaganda while extinguishing any dialogue that reflects poorly on the Party. Mention of genocide and persecution are excluded. The plight of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Hong and other Chinese atrocities are scrupulously censored.

Think about it. Tik Tok is so dangerous Congress voted on a bi-partisan basis to force Byte Dance to divest. When is the last time the Republicans and Democrats agreed on anything?

Then there's our schools. China sends thousands of students to study here. But study is not all they're here to do. 500 Confucius Institutes were established on campuses from grade school up but especially in US colleges. They helped shape everything from curriculum to budgets. The Chinese partnered with the College Board. Yes that one, who oversees the SATs. They sent 1650 teachers whose main goal was to steer discussion away from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet and all the other human rights violations of Chinese behavior. Conversely, they were mandated to preach the One China policy.. They even designed the Advance Placement Test for Chinese Language using a version popularized by Mao.

Finally, there's Fentanyl. The leading cause of deaths among 18-45 year olds. 50X stronger than heroin. Two milligrams can kill you. Without Chinese-made chemicals the Fentanyl trade would grind to a halt. 80% of the methamphetamine precursors come from China, where producers are given subsidies, grants, even awards. China promised Obama, Trump and Biden to crack down but there has not been one criminal prosecution.

And guess what - there's a pipeline. Reportedly there are drugs "on the drawing board" that are 25X more potent than Fentanyl, which now accounts for over 80% of overdose deaths among adolescents. These new drugs are so strong Narcan can't reverse. 100,000 die from Fentanyl each year. More coming.

Next - #7. China Can Win.

Anybody's Dog that'll Take Him Huntin'.

Now we all know that Eric Adams, former Democrat, former accused embezzler and current Mayor of NY will do and say anything to protect his status. Look up flip flop in Webster's and you'll find a picture of ol' Eric.

Still, he has been on the inside of the Deep State machine and so his views are worth a listen.

Adams admitted during a podcast on Wednesday that he believes the "deep state" is real. 

"I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but there's a permanent government," Adams told Andrew Schulz on his "Flagrant" podcast. "There are people that see presidents and mayors come and go. Their attitude is, ‘We’ll wait you out.'" 

Adams, who said on Monday that he is leaving the Democratic Party to run as an independent in his reelection campaign, praised FBI director Kash Patel’s 2023 book, "Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy." 

"Kash was in the [Department of Defense]. He was in the FBI. He prosecuted terrorists. So he comes with this wealth of knowledge, and the way he breaks it down, it's just unbelievable. What this ‘deep state’ is about and why it's so important for Americans that we do not allow the weaponizing of our prosecutorial powers," Adams said. 

After Schulz said the term "deep state" is used too much, Adams told him, "It's not used too much. It's real, brother." 

Ever Wonder...

why the countries with the highest tariffs have the strongest growing GDP?

Rats Scurrying

In the wake of Trump's November mandate, LSM and libs are racing to abandon the Biden ship. Countless anecdotes have been shared of Biden's ludicrous incompetence. From tape on the floor to where he should stand to teleprompters for a handful of donors.

Now that paradigm of journalistic integrity, the NYT has come out 41/2 years later.

"A full 4½ years after The Post’s bombshell series on Hunter Biden’s influence-peddling schemes, The New York Times has deigned to take an interest in the former First Son’s corruption," the New York Post's editorial board wrote in a piece last week slamming the New York Times for reporting on Biden corruption allegations years after other outlets had already uncovered reported details. 

The New York Times declared in an article published on Friday that former first son Hunter Biden "sought support from the State Department" to aid his former employer, Ukrainian energy company Burisma, while his father served as vice president. Hunter Biden leveraged his last name and father's political status in the U.S. for influence-peddling purposes through Burisma.  

On another deception...

The New York Times ran a column last month claiming the scientific community "badly misled" the public in an effort to suppress the theory that COVID-19 originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, even after the Times's own science writer called the theory "racist." 

"We Were Badly Misled About the Event That Changed Our Lives," the March 16 piece published by NYT columnist and Princeton sociology professor Zeynep Tufekci, argued that the scientific community long suspected COVID-19 originated in a Wuhan lab, but purposefully "hid or understated crucial facts," to mislead the public about the lab’s "terrifyingly lax" safety precautions

Previously the New York Times defended that it had reported on the lab leak theory multiple times across the years, including in 2021, when approached for comment by Fox News Digital on the recent articles on both Hunter Biden and the lab leak theory. 

Quote: "The New York Times has intensely pursued every theory and lead on the origins of Covid-19, documented the political debate, funding, influence, and shifts in thinking among the scientific community, and reported on China’s censorship campaign that has stifled the search for truth. The Times has helped readers navigate the coronavirus pandemic through independent, verified reporting, and any insinuation that we have not thoroughly pursued leads is false." (a NYT spokesperson)  Pure unadulterated RUBBISH. All the News that's Unfit to Print.

Let's see. What's good name for this? Errr...Fake News?

In the same dishonest vein...

A newly released book by longtime D.C. reporters Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, investigates Biden's mental decline in the lead-up to the general election, calling him a "shell of himself."

Who in Biden's inner circle is most to blame? "All of them," Parnes told Vanity Fair for covering up his mental decline when he was in office. "It’s pretty remarkable how they kept him very closed off. He was a shell of himself. When he entered the White House, he was so, so different from the man who I covered as vice president, a guy who would hold court in the Naval Observatory with reporters until the wee hours."

"We’d been watching Biden’s decline for a long period of time and, honestly, thought he'd really lost his fastball when he was running in 2020. It was so shocking to see the leader of the free world so bereft of coherent thought," Allen added of Biden's mental decline. 

Another rat...

Ex-NBC anchor Chuck Todd admitted on Wednesday that the media was afraid to cover questions about former President Joe Biden's mental acuity during the 2024 race, believing that doing so would benefit his opponent, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Their goal - only goal - was to de-platform Trump and used the relentless references to January 6 as the primary weapon.

During an appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored," the British host asked Todd why the media seemed "reluctant" to push "much harder" on Biden's age at the time, particularly when "everyone was seeing [it] with their own eyes."

Todd defended the media at first, saying that the American public was able to come to its own conclusions about Biden because of the media's coverage, which he said drew attention to Biden's decline without being overt about it. (They sure didn't allow us to draw our conclusions on Donald Trump. They poisoned the well at every turn.)

It's one thing if you're out there peddling pool deck repairs, it's quite another if your finger's on the button!

Only thing the Dems did right in four years of power was (finally) pitch Biden to the curb. Too bad for them they picked Word Salad as his stand in.

Europe is a Mess

The EU's open door policy has transformed the UK, France and Germany into crime-ridden, no growth economies. Especially the UK. Scotland is now #1 on assaults per citizen (1487/100,000). England is third. Germany is in its third straight year of recession. Only Italy, Hungary and Poland seem to be on the right track.

Vance was right. These countries need to get their act straightened out. Just like we are.

So Do Blue States

• In 2022, the highest average state income taxes per person were in New York ($4,461), California ($3,735), and Massachusetts ($3,475).  

  
  

• The lowest averages among states that tax wages were in North Dakota ($605), Mississippi ($863), and Louisiana ($975). But you could say the lowest averages were truly in the nine states that didn’t collect any state income tax. As of 2025, they were Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.  (New Hampshire and Tennessee collected small amounts in 2022 as they phase out income tax laws). 

  
  

Corollary? Guess which states have biggest debt by any measure.

Yup. NY, CA, MA, HA, CT, DC, IL. The outlier is AK, but that's 'cause they have no people I think.

Same old tune. Spend more, borrow more, tax more. And the voters still swallow it. Amazing.

Get ready. Sooner or later, we, the taxpayers in Red States will be asked to bail out Blue.

New Cali Tactic Taking Hold

Called Dine and Dash. Bolting after eating and before paying check. Colorado seeing a spate too. Okay, okay - it's not that new. But seems to be the latest strategy for taking advantage of lax prosecutions.

Tariffs - as expected...

(written prior to Wednesday's policy grace period)

are proving thorny. Of course libs and LSM are dancing in the streets over the stock selloff. Never mind what's good for the country. As long as they can impugn Trump that's all that matters.

Still, not sure this thing couldn't have been handled in a less grandiose, all-inclusive fashion. Like going to each country who's been ripping us off separately and saying quietly...we need a new deal. A new deal or else.

And on top of that Trump' raison d'etre for tariffs has been far from crystal. Investors hate uncertainty. Bad new, good news - it doesn't matter as long as they think they know what's coming next. This has not been the case. Trump, as we know, doesn't always like to show his cards. His ultimate plans for this "level the playing field" trade gambit are confusing people. Long term, short term? Ultimate objective? Abandoning free markets?

Then there's the issue of "reshoring" which is the term talking heads use for bringing jobs back to America. Well, turns out that's a bit thorny as well. It's all fine and dandy for Apple, Hyundai and others to promise to build factories here. But what if all the components they need to be successful are sourced abroad? And tariffed to the moon, so they are no longer affordable. Doesn't do much good to have an I-phone or Kia factory and not be able to afford the components you need to produce them profitably.

Seems to me Trump needs to find an off ramp and start making some quick deals with "our friends" before this turns into a political holocaust. Don't get me wrong still think it's vital we level the playing field and stop the rip-offs.

OOPS, Spoke Too Soon - Update (4 pm Wednesday)

The Dealmaker strikes again. After getting the world, Wall Street and especially the lefties in a HUGE kafuffle, Trump switches tactics. Delays tariff increase 90 days for everybody but China. Market responds with one day biggest gain in history. Almost 3000 points. Like Benjamin Graham said...In the short term the markets are a voting machine. In the long term they are a weighing machine.

Just when the LSM was overjoyed at excoriating him over wrecking everyone's 401K and alleging this was an intentional tank of the markets so Trump's billionaire buddies could buy more, he pulls the rug out from under them all. Especially China - now isolated.

They'll just never learn. Donald J. Trump is a pragmatist. He is going to do the right thing - for us all. Even if things take a few unexpected, unpleasant, even terrifying twists and turns along the way.

So why was there so much much mixed messaging about objectives and strategy? Both from Trump himself and his lieutenants. Well, I reckon for a couple of reasons. The first term taught him you can't trust anybody. Anyone will leak. Second, he is great believer in two things. Don't show all your cards. Be nimble on your feet.

Once he saw some 70+ nations called the Administration wanting to talk deals, he knew his hand was flush.

Told you this was gonna be a wild ride.

Aside: Despite all the hoopla and doomsayers, imports are still less than 16% of US GDP. Jus' sayin.

See - All You Have to Do Is Ask Nicely.

Thousands leave country voluntarily amid Trump self-deport push, DHS says. The 'credible threat of enforcement' from the Trump administration is spurring self-deportations

On a somewhat related note - looks like Timmy ain't got much sway any more.

A group of five Minnesota sheriff’s offices inked cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE), taking a strikingly different approach to immigration enforcement in a state known for its widespread sanctuary policies.

Keep in Mind - It Ain't Over Until It's Over

No, I'm not quoting the Lenny Kravitz song (which I never heard). I'm referring to the famous yogism about the 1973 National League pennant race (baseball). For those young'uns out there, Yogi Berra was a Hall of Fame catcher for the NY Yankees. He had a penchant for saying the craziest things. Like when he commented on a popular NYC restaurant... "Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded." Huh? Or..."when you come to a fork in the road, take it." Or..."you can observe a lot by watching." How about..."We've made too many wrong mistakes." Or my ATF - "It's deja vu all over again."

Okay, enough of that, my point is we all should be careful (especially yours truly) when tempted to criticize or offer contrary opinions about President Trump's actions or comments. This guy is the epitome of "there's a method to the madness". I'm convinced he is always coming from the right place and that's the most important thing. He truly cares for the country and us. He may screw up - heck, he will screw up. But he always has an off ramp and really doesn't give a hoot what the lefties say about him as long as he gets it right in the end.

Investment Tip of the Year!

Lawyers. We are in the early stages of an unprecedented boom as the whole world is suing the Trump Administration.

Career of the Year!

If you have a relative with relatively low talent and little ambition but who still craves self enrichment by all means encourage a career in politics. It's stealing without threat of incarceration.

To wit:

Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority leader, entered politics $40,000 in debt. He now was a stock portfolio worth $40 million. No doubt Nancy introduced him to her "broker".

Ayana Pressley lived on welfare before Congress and now lives is a $25 million Manhattan penthouse. Can't have her slumming it now can we?

Adam Schiff-ty has increased his net worth by $105 million in 8 years.

Forget about the NBA or inventing the I-phone. Just get elected to something - anything. Then start peddling that influence.

Here's a Beaut.

Kamala Harris is considering starting an Institute for Policy & Ideas. One pundit likened it to the Kardashians opening a think tank. Another joked the institute would be called, "The Kamala D. Harris Institute for Examining the Importance of Understanding What Needs to Be Done." Or maybe The Coconut Tree Institute. Amazing.

It's Official

Trump has answered nearly 20 times more press questions at 3 Cabinet meetings than Biden did in 4 years. Surprised? Not in the least.