This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
While she and Kamala Harris both were in the race for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, just before Harris dropped out without ever getting a single vote, now-former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who represented Hawaii for years, took Harris' record apart.
On stage and in public.
Now Gabbard has endorsed President Donald Trump, who is looking to defeat Democrat candidate Harris and return to the White House.
A New York Post report explains Gabbard "unleashed a blistering attack on the then-California senator's record as top prosecutor in the Golden State."
Gabbard now is helping Trump prepare for a coming debate with Harris.
And during an appearance at the National Guard Convention, endorsed him.
A Trump campaign spokeswoman explained Trump doesn't do a lot of traditional debate prep, but is meeting with people like Gabbard, who "pilloried" Harris at the time.
At that July 2019 event, Gabbard explained, "There are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana."
Harris, debating Gabbard and others, also "charged that Gabbard's foreign policy views and criticisms of the Democratic Party establishment made her unfit to seek the party's nomination for president. "
Gabbard shot back, "Our Democratic Party, unfortunately, is not the party that is of, by and for the people," because of the influence of Hillary Clinton and others in the "foreign policy establishment."
Her endorsement is the second from an individual who used to be Democrat in just days. Late last week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with a decades-long family link to the Democrat party but running as an independent this year because Democrats worked to kill his campaign, dropped his 2024 candidacy and endorsed Trump.
Fox News quoted Gabbard: "We as Americans must stand together to reject this anti-freedom culture of political retaliation and abuse of power. We can't allow our country to be destroyed by politicians who will put their own power ahead of the interests of the American people, our freedom, and our future."
She continued, "I am proud to stand here before you today, whether you're a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent. If you love our country, as I do, if you cherish peace and freedom as we do, I invite you to join me in doing all that we can to save our country and elect President Donald J. Trump and send him back to the White House to do the tough work of saving our country and serving the people."
She representative Hawaii's 2nd district in Congress from 2013 to 2021, but left the Democrat party in 2022 after calling it an "elitist cabal of warmongers."
Those elitists just recently shoved Joe Biden under the bus and hand-picked Harris as their top-of-the-ticket for the 2024 race.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday, they had secured the arrest of a prolific human smuggler in Guatemala, thanks to a successful investigative collaboration between the DOJ and Guatemalan authorities.
Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco was arrested by Guatemalan authorities at the request of the U.S., and has been indicted in the Western District of Texas in connection to the investigation.
Miranda-Orozco was part of an extensive human smuggling network based in Guatemala. Six other individuals were also arrested by Guatemalan law enforcement, and will be charged for their part in the operation.
According to the DOJ, in June of 2022 the network smuggled people over the southern border in a tractor–trailer near San Antonio, Texas, in sweltering heat which resulted in the deaths of 53 migrants, including 21 Guatemalan nationals. Children and pregnant women were among the dead.
The investigation was part of Joint Task Force Alpha, created in June 2021 by Attorney General Merrick Garland, and executed through the Department of Homeland Security.
Miranda-Orozco allegedly conspired with other human smugglers to facilitate the journey of four migrants from Guatemala through Mexico, and into the U.S. He was paid up to $15,000 for each migrant. Three of the four migrants perished in the tractor-trailer, and the other had serious injuries.
Garland said in the news release, the DOJ and Guatemalan authorities have arrested 14 people connected with the human smuggling network.
"Over the past two years, the Justice Department has worked methodically to hold accountable those responsible for the horrific tragedy in San Antonio that killed 53 people who had been preyed on by human smugglers. With these arrests, the Justice Department and our partners in Guatemala have now arrested a total of 14 people for their alleged involvement in this tragedy. We are committed to continuing to work with our partners both in the United States and abroad to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, and Panama," Garland said in a statement.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said in the news release the deaths of the migrants in the tractor-trailer should be a warning to those who want to smuggle people, and those considering entering the U.S. illegally.
"As alleged in the indictment, Miranda-Orozco recruited some of the migrants who died in the back of a tractor-trailer near San Antonio, Texas, in June 2022, and worked with a network of smugglers to transport them from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States. This tragedy is a dire warning of the dangers that human smugglers cause by exposing migrants to life-threatening conditions for the smugglers' financial gain. Dismantling human smuggling networks is a critical priority for the Criminal Division, and we will continue to work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these cases, no matter where the offenders may be found," Argentieri said in the statement.
According to a May 2024 report from the House Committee on Homeland Security, it is projected there will be around 10 million illegal migrant encounters in total since January 2021 when President Biden took office, and the end of 2024's fiscal year.
In December 2023, the committee published another report detailing how Mexican cartels are making historic profits, collecting $13 billion in 2021 alone, further noting the migrant crisis has escalated in the subsequent years since then.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Tim Walz, the leftist Minnesota governor now campaigning as Kamala Harris pick to be No. 2 on the Democrat presidential ticket this year, has revealed some hidden depths already.
For example, his repeated claims to be a retired "command sergeant major" when he never actually earned the requirements to claim that rank in retirement.
And his various claims about carrying weapons of war in war, when his military duty sent him to Italy, as a lawyer, not a combat zone.
Then there are the details of that drunken driving arrest record in Nebraska.
And his leftist ideologies, shepherding into law in his state a provision for social workers to take custody of children if their parents don't adequately push for their transgenderism.
Now there's another factor, spotted as he was walking on stage at the Democrat National Convention this week with his family, including son Gus.
He appears to jerk his son's arm, and in a not too friendly way.
See for yourself:
Social media commenters explained Walz's apparent actions with, "That's the universal grab saying 'Shut up and pretend that you're happy!" and "Definitely a non-verbal reaction fueled by some sort of rage."
Other comments:
"Not a good look."
"Seems like a moment of intense frustration and impatience."
"The real Tim showed up in that moment."
The Twitchy site, editorially, said, "Last night as the joyful Democratic National Convention where joyful Kamala Harris and joyful Democrats joyfully babbled on about how much they hate everyone who doesn't joyfully unify with them came to a joyful end, Americans were privy to something from Tim Walz that didn't look at all joyful. In fact, it looked angry and even cruel. He clearly didn't think we'd see it but someone caught this interaction … and it's honestly a little scary."
It continued, "Please note, we are in no way attacking or picking on Gus Walz, it's not his fault his dad grabbed his arm and yanked him into place in that way. We had to watch the video more than once to truly see Walz's face as he yanked his son around on that stage. … He was angry. He was maybe even enraged."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
"Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics and limited monarchies derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates," Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, the Pennsylvania Gazette.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." – The Constitution of the United States of America.
The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is nose–diving into authoritarianism after a plethora of anti-free speech laws, geared towards citizens with opposing political beliefs, is putting dissidents into prison, while degenerates and pedophiles who partake in child pornography are set free.
In 2022, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a new "bill of rights," which was presented to the public in such a way to make it appear to protect the free speech of British citizens. However, the bill contained a clause – the laws created by ministers would be exempt, it would not protect the people from threats posed by the government, and would in actual fact, extinguish government accountability.
Online threats of violence, encouraging self–harm, and transmitting deep fake pornography became illegal in 2023, when the U.K. government passed another controversial law, the "Online Safety Act," which was pitched as a way to protect children from pornography, cyberbullying, and harassment.
Both laws ride on the back of the Public Order Act 1986, which is "an act to abolish the common law offenses of riot, rout, unlawful assembly and affray and certain statutory offenses relating to public order; to create new offenses relating to public order; to control public processions and assemblies; to control the stirring up of racial hatred."
According to a report from the National Review, Britain is in the grip of two–tier policing, and a two–tier justice system.
Online "right-wing" social media users accused of "publishing online material intended to stir racial hatred," have been sentenced to prison terms of three years. Meanwhile, a man who murdered a 14-year-old boy with a machete, received a 6-month sentence.
The report published dozens of examples of depraved criminals – whose crimes include sharing thousands of images of children being abused – being dismissed from their cases or handed lenient, short sentences; while the smallest internet infractions that are perceived as "inciting violence," are being punished severely.
In late July, an unprovoked knife attack that killed three young girls and injured eight others at a dance class in Southport, England, sparked riots against immigration, which resulted in the arrest of over 1,000 people. According to the BBC, 139 individuals received an immediate sentence, with an average prison term of two years.
While the guise of public safety has been used in the passing of these laws, underneath they are designed to silence dissent, squash freedom of expression, and eliminate those who might complain about anything the government does, including the Islamic takeover which has become prevalent over the past decade in the U.K., and Europe.
The "rioters" have already been threatened with violence by Islamic gangs within the prison system.
The police do not show up when Islamists in Britain are protesting en masse, brandishing weapons, calling for violence against Israel, disrupting traffic, and burning the British flag.
Even Muslims are tired of the Islamists who move to the U.K. and refuse to integrate or assimilate.
Activist Tommy Robinson has spent years exposing the Islamic pedophile grooming gangs – who trafficked over 1,400 young English girls into sex slavery. Robinson was issued a gag order, bankrupted by the courts, and threatened with solitary confinement three years ago for a documentary he made about the situation with Islamist migrants, and the mainstream media's lies.
In his new documentary titled "Silenced," Robinson explains how a school–yard incident between two 15–year–old boys was overblown into an alleged racist attack, when the media found out the boy being accosted with a bottle of water was a Syrian refugee. The news became so big, former British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke about the incident at the G20 Summit.
Robinson exposed the story for what it was – fake outrage, and nothing more than a spat between two boys that was being used to push an agenda to further squash free speech. School staff and witnesses alleged the Syrian boy was actually a known bully, and further alleged he had assaulted girls on more than one occasion.
Secretly interviewing the head teacher, along with other staff, it was disclosed the local council (headed by the relative of a well-known Mufti) had forced them to sign non–disclosure agreements, and it was confirmed by Kirklees Council's own documents, they had spent close to 275,000 pounds in taxpayer money, to keep people silent. The head teacher ultimately lost his teaching position.
"They've spent money silencing everybody, so nobody can ever, this is forever once you sign that agreement, no one can ever tell the truth. While they push this manufactured lie, that destroyed lives, schools, communities, everyone's life," Robinson states in his documentary.
English school students who dare question classroom lessons about Islam, are labeled as racists, and are being suspended from school.
The full video of London protests, in which the demonstrators were labeled "Far–Right" by the BBC, shows the growing dissatisfaction of British citizens with their government, and the continuous gaslighting it engages in.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Liberty Counsel has announced it is bringing a free speech fight to the Idaho Army National Guard demanding the organization "restore" the career of an infantry officer who was removed from command and illegally pressured to resign because of a soldier's complaints about the officer's statements regarding his personal Christian beliefs.
The statements were made as the officer explained on his private social media his perspectives on gender ideology and the sexualization of children. The officer argued against graphic and obscene children's books in a library, "drag" events in libraries and schools and said "no child is born in the wrong body."
He also objected to "the medical mutilation of gender-confused children."
The comments upset a "subordinate senior enlisted man" who promptly complained about being offended.
"I feel like I have been discriminated against because of my sexual orientation and that is [sic] has caused a hostile work environment. The purpose of this complaint is to bring to your attention several instances in which I believe I have faced discriminatory treatment based on my sexual orientation. I am deeply concerned about the hostile and prejudiced behavior I have experienced, which has adversely affected my well-being, work performance, and overall sense of belonging within the workplace/organization," the complaint claimed.
The subordinate, who "claims to be homosexual," prompted the National Guard's negative actions against the officer, Liberty Counsel said.
Liberty Counsel's first intervention in the case has been to notify Gov. Brad Little of the free speech violations.
"In this instance, the Idaho Army National Guard has violated the First Amendment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Idaho Constitution, and the Free Exercise of Religious Protection Act. In addition, it has become evident that this military branch seeks to implement a policy of discrimination against the religious beliefs of enlisted personnel," the legal team explained.
The solution, it said, is for the "Idaho Army National Guard must 'unsubstantiate' the discriminatory investigating officer's findings and recommendations; reject the discriminatory policy regarding religious speech; dismiss the frivolous subordinate senior enlisted man's complaint and restore the officer's career."
The subordinate's complaint also said, "I must emphasize that this has created an uncomfortable, unsafe, and a hostile work environment, making it increasingly challenging for me to perform my duties effectively. With the active ties to the extremist/hate group, it makes me feel threatened and unsafe. All the posts on his social media and how public he is about his hate towards individuals like me and my family. Not just for me but for my husband and my child."
The legal team explained as a Christian, the officer "believes all people are made in God's image and have inherent dignity and are worthy of respect. He is committed to serving those under his command, regardless of political or religious disagreements, and would give his life in defense of his state and nation."
The National Guard removed him from command because of the feelings of offense expressed by the subordinate.
Then officials pressured him to quit, and shortly after launched a formal investigation "based on the unconstitutional complaint."
It took a year, but that resulted in a recommendation he be permanently barred from command. Further, the investigating officer revealed his perspective of enlisted personnel "who hold traditional moral values" are "extremists."
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "Gov. Brad Little must ensure that the Idaho Army National Guard uphold federal and state law and protect the free speech of enlisted personnel. This discrimination against an officer based on a frivolous complaint must be addressed and his record cleared and career restored."
The names of the case participants were not immediately released.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Voters in Arizona can be told about an "unborn human" in an election campaign about the state's abortion laws, according to a court ruling.
The decision from the state Supreme Court said lawmakers can use that term in place of "fetus" in a pamphlet describing an abortion proposal on the election ballot.
Terminology long has been a huge issue for the abortion industry, as disposing of a "clump of cells" or "tissue" is far less objectionable to people than the truth, which is that the industry routinely tears apart the bodies of unborn infants to complete an abortion, sometimes using a vacuum to suck out the brains.
A report at Courthouse News notes the new development in which five of the seven justices on the high court overturned a lower court's decision that using the phrase is partisan.
The Supreme Court reverse that decision based on the fact that the phrase is, in fact, found elsewhere in Arizona law.
"We conclude that the analysis provides the information required by A.R.S. § 19–124(C) and 'substantially complies' with the statute's impartiality requirement," the justices wrote in their initial opinion, which will be followed by a full legal analysis soon.
An organization promoting abortion claimed that the phrase is "a watchword for anti-abortion advocates" and it actually has "no basis in medicine or science."
The fight erupted over plans to have on the ballot this fall a plan to have virtually unlimited abortion access in the state.
The report said, "Before they cast their ballots, voters will have the chance to review a publicity pamphlet with detailed descriptions of each race and ballot initiative they'll vote on. Written by a committee of state lawmakers called the Legislative Council, ballot initiative descriptions must be impartial."
Abortion industry promoters sued the Legislative Council after it finished its description of the plan because it uses "unborn human being."
The members of the council said that the language is impartial because it's factually true, and it also appears in Arizona's current abortion law.
Ben Toma, the state House speaker and chief of the council, said, "The ballot analysis prepared by the legislative council is intended to help voters understand current law. Arizona's 15-week law protects unborn children, while the abortion initiative essentially allows unrestricted abortions up until birth. It's really that simple. The Arizona Supreme Court's ruling is correct."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A congressional report, just as Democrats were starting meetings aimed as formally removing him from the party's 2024 presidential ticket amid riot fears in Chicago, has dealt the outgoing Joe Biden a massive blow: a determination that he is impeachable.
"First and foremost, overwhelming evidence demonstrates that President Biden participated in a conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family. Among other aspects of this conspiracy, the Biden family and their business associates received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden," said the report.
"As Vice President, President Biden actively participated in this conspiracy by, among other things, attending dinners with his family's foreign business partners and speaking to them by phone, often when being placed on speakerphone by Hunter Biden. For example, in 2014, Vice President Biden attended a dinner for Hunter Biden with Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina. Following the dinner, Baturina wired $3.5 million to Rosemont Seneca Thornton, a firm associated with Hunter Biden. Then, months later, as Hunter Biden and his business associates continued to solicit more money from Baturina, Vice President Biden participated in a phone call with Baturina and Hunter Biden where Vice President Biden told Baturina, 'you be good to my boy.' Moreover, President Biden knowingly participated in this conspiracy. Based on the totality of the evidence, it is inconceivable that President Biden did not understand that he was taking part in an effort to enrich his family by abusing his office of public trust."
However, the House report left it unclear whether or when they would push for an impeachment vote for Biden, who already has been encouraged to walk away from the office amid his publicly recognizable issues with cognitive decline.
The report, 291 pages, was assembled by three House committees that charged Biden profited from an influence-peddling scheme to enrich not just himself but also members of his family through foreign business dealings beginning in 2014.
"The committees present this information to the House of Representatives for its evaluation and consideration of appropriate next steps," the report said.
Democrats, who staged multiple – and failed – impeach and remove attempts against President Donald Trump, including one when he already was out of office, have criticize the investigation of evidence of real crimes.
According to Reuters, "The House investigators say that Biden used his influence to benefit the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, with partners from Ukraine, China, Russia and other countries. Hunter Biden has been convicted on charges that he lied about his illegal drug use to buy a gun and is awaiting trial on charges of tax evasion, including an allegation that he accepted payments from a Romanian businessman who sought to influence U.S. government agencies in connection with a criminal probe in Romania."
The committees who contributed to the fact-finding about Biden's pay-for-play operations included the Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability. Their report concluded Biden "committed impeachable offenses."
The report details evidence to establish President Biden abused his office and violated his oaths of office as Vice President by engaging in a conspiracy to peddle influence to enrich his family. "As President, Joe Biden and the Biden-Harris Administration obstructed the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry and the criminal investigation of President Biden's son," the report states.
"Our impeachment inquiry shows conclusively that Joe Biden abused his public office for the private financial benefit of the Biden family and Biden business associates. The facts speak for themselves, and Democrats can no longer stretch the truth to cover for President Biden. As Democrats celebrate Joe Biden and crown Kamala Harris as his heir apparent this week, Americans should remember the reality of the Biden-Harris Administration: crime, chaos, and corruption," said House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chief of Oversight, added, "President Biden's legacy is marked by abuse of public office, corruption, and obstruction. The evidence produced by our impeachment inquiry is the strongest case for impeachment of a sitting president the House of Representatives has ever investigated. Americans now know Joe Biden was 'the brand' the Bidens sold around the world to enrich the Biden family, and Joe Biden knew of, benefitted from, and participated in his family's influence peddling schemes. The entire Biden influence peddling model relied on Joe Biden's presence—at meetings, on the phone, or at dinners—to demonstrate his family members' influence over him, and he repeatedly provided it. Throughout our impeachment inquiry of President Biden, the Biden-Harris Administration has sought to obstruct us every step of the way. Despite this obstruction, we have exposed the truth to the American people, and they now know the extent of President Biden's corruption."
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chief of Ways and Means, continued, "The Biden-Harris Administration has lied to the American people time and again to cover up and obstruct the investigation into tax crimes committed by a Biden family business enterprise that capitalized on political power. The American people have been shocked to learn the magnitude of the scheme going back to the President's time as Vice President, when Biden family members were allowed to use Air Force Two as their own private business jet. None of this would have come to light had it not been for the two IRS whistleblowers who were tired of watching their investigation into the President's son become obstructed, delayed, and denied the ability to move forward as the pursuit of truth demanded. Their testimony in the face of political interference has stood up under scrutiny at every step. House Republicans' efforts have been thorough and exhaustive, uncovering reams of information that otherwise would not have seen the light of day, and ensuring that a sweetheart plea deal for the president's son never went forward. We will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice, one for the wealthy and politically connected, and one for everyone else."
Key findings included:
From 2014 to the present, as part of a conspiracy to monetize Joe Biden's office of public trust to enrich the Biden family, Biden family members and their associates received over $27 million from foreign individuals or entities. In order to obscure the source of these funds, the Biden family and their associates set up shell companies to conceal these payments from scrutiny. The Biden family used proceeds from these business activities to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to Joe Biden—including thousands of dollars that are directly traceable to China. While Jim Biden claimed he gave this money to Joe Biden to repay personal loans, Jim Biden did not provide any evidence to support this claim. The Biden family's receipt of millions of dollars required Joe Biden's knowing participation in this conspiracy, including while he served as Vice President.
The Biden wealth apparently came from Russian, Romanian, Chinese, Kazakhstani, and Ukrainian individuals and companies.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A court fight has erupted in Indiana because police there, inspecting a package routed by FedEx through its hub there, opened it up, found $42,000 in cash, and decided to keep it.
Even though they could not identify any law that may have been broken by those sending the payment to the owners of a jewelry distribution company that was owed the money.
It's the Institute for Justice that has brought the case in Indiana state court on behalf of Henry and Minh Cheng, who crisscross the nation selling jewelry to small business.
"They have never done business in Indiana. Yet today they are fighting in Indiana state court to get back more than $42,000 seized from their company's parcel that was routed through the FedEx shipping hub in Indianapolis," the IJ said.
The background includes allegations that police routinely "for years" have made a practice of examining FedEx packages and taking cash when they find it.
"It's a profitable practice. Since 2022 alone, Indiana has begun proceedings to forfeit more than $2.5 million from in-transit parcels, and the state has already raked in approximately $1 million from those parcels."
It's the prosecutor in Marion County that claims, in court, that there's a taint to the cash. In this case, the allegation is that it was involved in some violation of a law.
But the process forces cash owners to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to Indiana and then prove their ownership.
"The Indiana government cannot take money from people just because a shipping company routes it through Indiana," said IJ Attorney Marie Miller. "Henry and Minh have never been to Indiana or done business in Indiana, but now they have to defend against a forfeiture action in Indiana, without the state bothering to identify an Indiana crime that it can allege the money is linked to."
This situation developed because one of the company's customers, in Virginia, was slow to pay. Then suddenly the retailer said a cash payment would be possible, and they accepted.
The payment was shipped via FedEx, which routed it through Indiana, and when a dog "alerted," an officer opened the package and took the cash.
"The government can't even identify a crime that would allow them to keep the money that we need to run our business," said Henry. "We were shocked when we found out what was going on in Indianapolis and we want to put a stop to it."
"This scheme is one of the most predatory we have seen, and it's past time to put a stop to it," said IJ Senior Attorney Sam Gedge. "It's illegal and unconstitutional for Indiana to forfeit in-transit money whose only connection to Indiana is the happenstance of FedEx's shipping practices."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Throughout the Biden-Harris administration, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been thrown at the military for the promotion of controversial and divisive ideologies based on identity politics.
Recently, the Daily Wire published a story showcasing information first obtained by the nonpartisan Functional Government Initiative. According to the report, "The Biden-Harris Defense Department paid outside organizations millions of taxpayer dollars to advance diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including race-based career advancement programs, in the U.S. military."
In one example, the University of Missouri-Kansas City received $760,000 from the Department of the Navy to develop a program that would result in preferential treatment for non-white students and women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs applying for Defense Department jobs. In another, Cornell University was awarded approximately $202,000 "to provide Diversity training that is mission imperative to ensure readiness and addressing discriminatory behavior from a cognitive perspective." Shockingly, between 2022 and 2024, nearly $270 million in "taxpayer funds" was used to bolster the DEI agenda of the Pentagon.
WorldNetDaily interviewed Tom Burbage, a Naval Academy graduate, former Navy test pilot and Aerospace and Defense industry leader. He retired in 2013 and today serves as president of the Calvert Task Group, an organization that stands against divisive ideologies and identity politics found within the nation's armed forces – with a particular emphasis on the U.S. Navy and Naval Academy.
Burbage admitted that he is "not surprised" by the Defense Department's use of taxpayer funds to provide "diversity training" and more. "Over the last 10 years," Burbage told WND, "increasing levels of government funding has incentivized the growth of what is today a multi-billion-dollar DEI market."
"This has been an ongoing effort to change government institutions to support this ideology," he argued, adding, "In our opinion, and in the opinion of most veterans who have served in our armed forces, the military should be the last bastion of the government that's affected by money being directed to promote identity politics in a warrior ethos founded on creating unity."
"DEI is the antithesis to the culture of the military," he said. "Unsurprisingly and unfortunately, these financial incentives, further supported by evolving promotion criteria, have taken deep roots."
"It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it," Burbage said, quoting famed novelist and social reformer Upton Sinclair. "Contrast that with the evolution of the same movement within the corporate world." Once incentivized by regulatory agencies and annual report cards, he said, corporations are now moving away from the ideology movement.
"Shareholders see the clear consumption of resources without adding value, [and] they are forcing companies to take a hard look," he explained. "The result is many companies retreating and walking away."
However, in government, Burbage said, "the money is still buried within various pockets of the budget to support the ideology because there's no such thing as shareholder incentive in the government." Unfortunately, he added, "the push for DEI ideology has contributed significantly to the massive shortfalls in recruiting and readiness issues that our military is experiencing today."
He places the blame squarely at the feet of senior military leadership. Over a decade ago, he said, there was "a purge of military leadership." With the purge, he said, "leadership promotion began to focus on people who were willing carry a message like DEI forward."
Burbage suggested, "Given the very high risk of military action in the world today, the importance of understanding the cause and effect of policies supporting anything other than recruiting, retention, readiness and lethality is paramount." Furthermore, he told WND, "More and more people in military operations and military careers are realizing how detrimental DEI is to the world we live in today – a world that's more dangerous than it ever was."
For all these reasons, Tom Burbage is hopeful the increasingly divisive and unpopular DEI campaign dominating America's military institutions will begin to "flame out" sooner, rather than later.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Under the administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, girls' and women's sports in America have taken a huge hit: They essentially are being ordered to open up their competitions to men.
These are men who say they are women, and they may have even had chemical and surgical alterations to make them look like women, but since being male or female is embedded in the human body down to the DNA level, they remain male.
Now the ADF, a legal organization that fights for civil, personal and constitutional rights, says a coalition – of "multiple states, women's sports advocacy groups, businesses, and other organizations" – wants the U.S. Supreme Court to hear two cases over state laws that protect women's sports.
Those states are West Virginia and Idaho.
The ADF explained, "In B.P.J. v West Virginia State Board of Education, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and ADF attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to hear their case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled to undermine West Virginia's ability to protect fairness in women's sports."
ADF is representing former college soccer player Lainey Armistead.
Then in the other case, Hecox v. Little, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and ADF attorneys are asking for affirmation of the state's Fairness in Women's Sports Act after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit stopped the law from going into effect.
There, ADF represents former college track and field athletes Madison Kenyon and Mary Kate Marshall.
"Back in April, the Fourth Circuit handed down a 2-1 ruling that reversed an earlier decision upholding the West Virginia's Save Women's Sports Act. I promised back then that I would keep fighting for the safety, wellbeing and fairness in women's sports, and I'm keeping that promise. I am thankful for the support coming from Alliance Defending Freedom and my many colleagues in other states," Morrisey explained in a prepared statement released by the ADF.
And Labrador added, "While we've been fighting for fair and equal athletic competition, activists have been pushing a radical agenda that will ultimately sideline women and girls from sports. Many athletic associations around the world have seen the obvious truth that men and women are biologically different and allowing men in women's sports would create a dangerous, unfair environment for women to showcase their incredible talent in sports. These voices from different backgrounds have joined us as we ask the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold our law and ensure that women and girls get the opportunities they deserve."
ADF lawyer John Bursch explained, "Women and girls deserve to compete on a level playing field, but activists continue their quest to erase differences between men and women by forcing women's sports leagues to allow men to compete. This contradicts biological reality and common sense. We should be seeking to protect women's sports and equal opportunities, and West Virginia's and Idaho's women's sports laws accomplish just that. Lainey, Madison, Mary Kate, and millions of girls across the country deserve to compete on a level playing field with other women. The wide range of backgrounds from these groups petitioning the court proves that this isn't political or partisan—it's basic fairness."
The West Virginia case was triggered by a male athlete competing on a girls track team who finished ahead of almost 300 girls in three years of various events.
The court filing said, "Neither Title IX nor the Equal Protection Clause compels West Virginia to classify biological males as girls."
Yet, it states, that's what the Fourth Circuit is demanding.
In the Idaho case, Kenyon and Marshall participated in track at Idaho State University and, when forced to compete against males, moved down in the rankings.
There are testimonies in the case from more than 100 female athletes, coaches, sports officials and parents, including those women who were forced to compete against Lia Thomas, a male who was an also-ran among male swingers in college, but suddenly rose in the rankings when he started competing with women.
