This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Joe Biden is under attack from all sides these days, including many Democrats.
It's because of his declining mental abilities, and the fact those factors have been on public display in recent days, with the disastrous presidential debate performance and his news conference blunders where he said GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump was his "vice president."
He also misidentified the president of Ukraine as president "Putin."
Other factors have appeared, too, and even Democrats now, at least some of them, are trying to push Biden off the Democrat party ticket.
Slow down, warns President Trump.
In a Truth Social media statement, he offered Biden, "He shouldn't allow complete losers like George Clooney, under the total auspices and control of Barack Hussein Obama, to push him out of office. That must be his decision, and his decision alone. Good luck Joe!"
Trump, who is leading Biden in most polls assessing the November presidential election, explained, "They're blaming all of Crooked Joe Biden's problems on me, including his really bad performance in the Debate. Some say that I was not respectful of him, and he just plain 'choked.' Actually, I tried being as nice as possible considering that this is the man who has systematically destroyed our Country, and the man who has WEAPONIZED his Justice Department, doing everything possible to put his Political Opponent, me, in jail. Why should I be 'nice' to him?"
He continued, "He said he 'just had a bad night,' and I hope, for the good of the Country, that he is right. But his performance since that very eventful Debate evening has not exactly been stellar."
Even so, Trump said, Biden needs to make his own decisions.
Of course influencing Trump's comments could be the fact that the polls show him defeating Biden in the election. Polls also show he'd defeat alternatives, like Kamala Harris, vice president, but her name in the race would be a new factor to be assessed.
Trump also encouraged Biden to "immediately take a cognitive test."
Further, "And I will go with him, and take one also. For the first time we'll be a team, and do it for the good of the country."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A new report details how deep the People’s Republic of China has embedded itself within the U.S. supply chain, especially for military machinery. While U.S. lawmakers have been calling for an end to this for some years, China's domination continues unabated.
According to the report, China's presence in the U.S. supply chain has been steadily rising for the better part of almost 20 years. From 2005 to 2023, Chinese manufacturers in the U.S. supply chain have grown from around 12,000 to almost 45,000.
The use of forced labor and dangerous working conditions gives China the ability to quickly churn out products, while keeping cost savings at a premium.
Between 2014 and 2023, the data presents a concerning trend of China outpacing U.S. supply chains across almost all industries, by 1,800% in some instances – including electronics, transportation, materials and chemicals, and industrial equipment.
A large number of Chinese semiconductors are used in critical military platforms, accounting for around 40% of all U.S. Department of Defense weapons systems and infrastructure, and are further linked to military supply chains such as Patriot air-defense missiles and B-2 bombers.
For example, a Lockheed Martin missile factory situated in Alabama produces Javelin anti-tank weapons which use more than 200 semiconductors in each weapon. This equates to thousands of Chinese-made semiconductors within U.S. weaponry.
"U.S. companies at the bottom of the supply chain pyramid often source these parts from China in open market transactions. As a result, many essential components in sensitive U.S. military systems now come from China. Countless major weapons platforms are vulnerable," the report states.
U.S. air-launched armament supply chains also relied heavily on Chinese suppliers in 2023, according to the data. Long range anti-ship missiles, joint air-to-surface standoff missiles, naval strike missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles all used Chinese made components.
The report notes China now has a larger naval force than the U.S., with 340 new warships, and is on track to reach 400 by 2025, and 440 by 2030. Currently, U.S. Navy has under 300 warships.
Furthermore, China tops the U.S. in shipbuilding capabilities, with 17 naval shipyards in China having the ability to produce new warships, compared with five naval shipyards in the U.S.
To alleviate this, the report points out the U.S. could use its allies – which would include Japan and South Korea – to open shipyards to assist with ship production, bringing vital technology and techniques with them. However, the report states the U.S. government is reluctant to invest more funding into ship manufacturing.
Some state leaders are fighting back against this trend. In January, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the Sunshine State will invest over $380 million into semiconductor manufacturing. Over $100 million will be focused on developing Florida's semiconductor "talent-pipeline" with significant investment into state colleges and universities, including the University of Florida’s Semiconductor Institute.
"Industries like semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging support our national security and create economic opportunities in our state," DeSantis said in a statement from his office.
WND contacted GOP members of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about the report on Chinese made military components, but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In a time when the world is on fire and a crucial American presidential election is fast approaching, what do members of Congress actually do?
Apparently, their own do.
As in hairdo.
Case in point is U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who spent a full 26 seconds on the air Tuesday night fussing with her coiffure during a live interview about the election with CNN's Abby Phillip.
"Like a moth drawn to a flame, she seemed unable to resist the allure of fixing her 'mostly peaceful' wig," Hoft added.
"She wasn't even paying attention to the question. The result? A comedy of errors that could give any 'SNL' skit a run for its money."
This is not the first time Waters' hairstyle has made national headlines.
As WND reported in 2017, then-Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly mocked Waters' bob during an appearance on "Fox & Friends," saying she was wearing a "James Brown wig."
He later apologized, calling the remark "dumb."
O'Reilly was commenting on a Waters' speech on the House floor in which she questioned the patriotism of President Trump's supporters.
"I love her. Maxine Waters should have her own sitcom," O'Reilly clowned. "People get angry with Maxine Waters. I want more of it."
O'Reilly was shown a clip of Waters saying Trump supporters "turned a blind eye to the destruction" the president was "about to cause the country."
African-Americans "fight against this president, and we point out how dangerous he is for this society and for this country, we're fighting for the democracy," Waters stated. "We're saying to those who say they're patriotic but they've turned a blind eye to the destruction that he's about to cause this country, 'You're not nearly as patriotic as we are.'"
"I didn't hear a word she said," O'Reilly said of Waters. "I was looking at the James Brown wig. If we have a picture of James Brown, it's the same wig!"
Watch the video:
"It's the same one," co-host Brian Kilmeade interjected. "And he's not using it anymore. They just, they finally buried him."
Brown, the legendary singer known as the "Godfather of Soul," died on Christmas Day in 2006.
There was some instant pushback, as Ainsley Earhardt, the lone female on the set, noted: "I have to defend her on that. You can't go after a woman's looks. I think she's very attractive."
"I didn't say she wasn't attractive," O'Reilly responded. "I love James Brown. But it's the same hair!"
O'Reilly also called Waters a "sincere individual," explaining she should be praised for speaking her mind.
"Whatever she says she believes," he said. "She's not a phony, and that's old school."
Later the same day, O'Reilly issued an apology for his remarks.
"As I have said many times, I respect Congresswoman Maxine Waters for being sincere in her beliefs," he said. "I said that again today on 'Fox & Friends' calling her 'old school.' Unfortunately, I also made a jest about her hair, which was dumb. I apologize."
During an interview on MSNBC, Waters refused to accept O'Reilly's apology.
"I'm a strong black woman," she said. "I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined. I cannot be thought to be afraid of Bill O'Reilly or anybody. I'd like to say to women out there everywhere: Don't allow these right-wing talking heads, these dishonorable people, to intimidate you or scare you. Be who you are! Do what you do! And let us get on with discussing the real issues of this country!"
Waters said O'Reilly and former Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes "have no credibility" because they've been sued by women "for harassment and other kinds of things."
"When a woman stands up and speaks truth to power, there will be an attempt to put her down," Waters said. "I'm not going to be put down. I'm not going to go anywhere. I'm going to stay on the issues."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
That Joe Biden has been exhibiting signs of some loss of mental and physical abilities isn't a question any longer. He is, after all, 81 years old going at full throttle to 82 in just a few months.
Already, it was a federal special counsel, Robert Hur, who concluded Biden did, in fact, keep government secrets to which was not entitled in violation of federal law. But Hur recommended against filing charges, which would be felonies, because a jury would see Biden as an old man with diminished memory.
Mike Towle's book, "Biden Time," notes back in 2006 he demanded, "You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent … I'm not kidding!"
In 2009 he said, "Now, people when I say that look at me and say, 'What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?' The answer is yes, that's what I'm telling you."
Further, he called out a "friend" as a "butt buddy." And he bragged about knowing three presidents "intimately."
His penchant for sniffing girls' hair came out verbally, too. He said, to a 15-year-old, "How old are you? Fifteen? I hope mom has a big fence" and "You've got some eyes, Isabel, I tell you."
And he's made himself an expert on weapons: "So you want to keep people away in an earthquake? Buy some shotgun shells."
But there were indicators of issues, despite the best efforts by his circle of family and friends to hide them.
A nonscientific polling in 2020 revealed that 98%, 362 votes, to 2%, 9 votes) said he has "lost his mind."
After all, he said he "got to the Senate" "180 years ago."
He's sometimes interrupted his own teleprompter speeches with, "What am I doing here?"
He's warned about an "invasion of Hispanics."
Mishmash numbers
He complained of "one trillion, 640 billion" loopholes in the tax code.
He was talking about the costs of a program: "740 million billion dollars."
That would actually be 740 sextillion, a word that fortunately has not made it into the federal budget. Yet.
He called someone who didn't give him the answered he liked a "Lying, dog-faced pony soldier," whatever that means in his octogenarian mind.
Confronted with the irrefutable fact of Biden's' decline, the White House suddenly started claiming all such videos were "cheap fakes," a takeoff on the "deep fakes" that are manipulated with tech devices.
But these were not manipulated, only presented to Americans.
At a G7 summit, he turned his back on other leaders and started walking away. He's wandered across the White House lawn. He's tried to shake hands with people who weren't there.
Heritage Foundation tech researcher Jake Denton said what's going on is clear.
"They're trying to push a new term underneath the school of misinformation to try and pressure social media companies to take action on videos of this nature."
A full election cycle back in the 2020 presidential campaign, advertisements openly questioned his mental stability.
Questions begin
"Does Joe Biden have the mental capacity to keep America safe?" asked a narrator in one spot, titled "Lost His Mind."
He continues, "In a world losing its mind, we don’t need a president who’s already lost his."
At one point he called the Jan. 6, 2021, protesters who viewed his presidential election as fraudulent as "erectionists."
And he sometimes is barely able to move about, getting on and off stages and in and out of vehicles.
Besides putting Americans in the natural fear for their lives should their president lose control of his words during a confrontation with an enemy, Biden's mental failings already were creating a threat,
It was because his White House made a "social media misstep that exposed special operators" and could put the lives of those servicemen at risk.
Biden did that by posting an image, shortly later deleted, that showed him in a meeting with special forces in Israel that exposed their faces, and identities.
A spokesman explained, "The risk is high. These guys that got pictured, it could ruin their careers. They could put their families in danger. It could put them in danger."
Calling on the dead
Then his reputation further was skewered when he called on a member of Congress who had died a month before.
During a news briefing he called on Rep. Jackie Walorski, who was killed in a car crash weeks before.
Then Biden's spokeswoman, Karine Jean Pierre, claimed Biden didn't forget Walorski was dead.
He's also claimed to have had discussions with several world leaders during time periods that came after those leaders died.
He once claimed to have cancer.
And he once left more than one reporter with pencil suspended when he said, "I'll lead an effective strategy to mobilize truinnerashuvaduprezure, isolate and punish China."
Jill Biden demanded at one point that the media simply quit mentioning her husband's blunders.
"You can not even go there," the first lady demanded.
The protection racket
Why, or how, did someone with failing faculties get to be president? His circle worked desperately to conceal the truth, and Jill Biden pushed him into a scenario from which he could not mentally emerge successful.
Commentator Megyn Kelly explained:
And an example of Jill Biden's pushing was on video after his disastrous debate, when she told him, like a small child, that he "knew the answers!!!"
It was Jill Biden's first husband, Bill Stevenson, who ripped Jill Biden, to whom he was married 1970-1975, for insisting that Joe Biden stay in the election.
Stevenson, of Delaware, is an ardent Trump supporter who married the first lady when she was still a college student. He supported Biden when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1972 and when Biden ran as vice president with Barack Obama. He has since been vocal with his contempt for what he has at times called "the Biden crime family."
"I just don't understand why she is so adamant about defending him and keeping him in the race since it appears that he's struggling," Stevenson said.
He added, "She's always been very driven. People say she's the one who wants to be president now."
Earlier, when Joe Biden was named the Democratic nominee in 2020, Stevenson charged Jill and Joe Biden's relationship began as an affair.
"It makes me cringe every time he calls Trump a liar because I'm telling you right now, there is no better liar than President Biden," Stevenson said. "He's just a bad person. I'm probably one of the few people outside his family who has known him for 50 years."
The Daily Mail described how members of the Biden "inner circle" "have been working for years to conceal the aging commander-in-chief's cognitive decline from the public."
Those "gatekeepers" were listed as senior advisers Anita Dunn, Steve Ricchetti, Mike Donilon, Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal.
"The group uses a range of tactics, including scheduling only early meetings, not taking unvetted questions in public forums and declining high profile interviews with respected journalists," the report said. "The group's worries are not just over Biden's mental abilities but also physical. A mooted plan to make a cross country journey to promote an infrastructure bill was nixed over concerns regarding his physical stamina."
Biden's circle also limits media interviews, scripts meetings with donors, put up physical barriers to stop journalists from being close enough to ask Biden questions, and fitted him with sneakers that have a better grip, following his infamous fall on stage at the Air Force Academy.
Biden also has insisted:
Such a collection does not include Biden's near expulsion from Syracuse University's College of Law over a plagiarism scandal. In a letter to the faculty, Biden pleaded, "If I had intended to cheat, would I have been so stupid?" Nor does it include Biden's plagiarism, during the 1988 presidential campaign, of a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock, a scandal that helped torpedo that campaign.
As time went on, his stumbles more and more became … silence.
Or "Uhm, Uh, Uh, Anyway."
Of late, sometimes he has simply stood, with a vacant stare in his eyes, without moving.
Why hasn't there been more of an outcry over a president who likely is unable to comprehend the complexities of America's modern world challenges?
Well, for one thing, there's that concerted coverup. A coverup that includes his family, his White House, his associates, the Democrats, even news reporters.
The coverup
One published report confirmed press members at the White House, mostly diehard liberals and leftists, admitted they were "turned off" from exposing his mental failings because those "right-wing media" WERE reporting on it.
The debate performance, described as catastrophic and shocking, prompted questions about why reports, often seeing the president daily, did nothing to expose the dramatic change.
Some revealed they "didn't want to feed into the 'right-wing talking point' about 81-year-old Biden," the report said. "Biden’s age was also a right-wing talking point for years, something the White House was quick to point out to reporters, which may have inadvertently turned off any serious investigation."
The New York Post confirmed "the media" have seen Biden's decline for years.
Carl Bernstein, of Watergate fame, confirmed "he knew of 15 or 20 occasions in the past 18 months when Joe Biden’s brain has malfunctioned as it did during last week’s debate."
But no mentions.
"Several people “who are very close to President Biden ... are adamant that what we saw the other night, the Joe Biden we saw, is not a one-off ... In the last six months particularly there has been a marked incidence of cognitive decline," he confirmed.
The White House has claimed Biden does not have dementia or Alzheimer's. And reporters who ask about that issue are questioned about whether they've asked the "other guy" the same questions.
Extremists in the Democrat party, like ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who orchestrated two failed impeach-and-remove campaigns against Trump and then created an off-the-rules House committee to blame the protest turned riot on Jan. 6, 2021, on Trump, have wildly claimed that it is Trump who has dementia.
She cited unidentified experts for her opinion.
Bill Ackman, Pershing Square CEO, explained that he no longer blamed Biden for not stepping away.
"He no longer as the mental acuity to make important judgments about himself. It is becoming increasingly clear however that the fault lies with @FLOTUS."
That would be Jill Biden, who has faced complaints of "elder abuse" for pushing her husband into situations he clearly is unable to handle.
"Jill Biden becomes irrelevant the moment her husband is no longer president. No more Air Force One. No more glamorous life. No more White House dinners for dignitaries. No more being treated like a queen when traveling the world. I am sorry to be harsh, but what has become entirely clear is that the first lady values what is best for herself over her husband’s health and the safety and security of the country at large," he wrote.
He added, "Her power has clearly grown as he gets weaker. And she likes the feeling of power. She speaks for the president when he can’t or when he is napping. She tells his team and staff when he is available, and when he is not. She likes being in control. We all do. Which begs the question, how many decisions of the president are actually made by the FL? "
It was a columnist from the Washington Examiner that wrote Jill Biden "should be held responsible for 'elder abuse.'"
Trump's former campaign press secretary said, "The majority of the American public agree with that. Jill Biden doesn’t because, I guess, she doesn’t want to be a loving wife and go take care of her husband in Delaware, which is what she should be doing,"
The statement continued, "And I think the media, it’s time for them to finally step up after they’ve been complicit in this cover-up by the Democrat Party over the last four years and ask really tough questions of Jill Biden and of the Biden family about what they know about our president’s state. Clearly, Jill Biden obviously knows her husband better than anyone else in this country, in this world, and she too continues to lie to the American people. It really is shameful. She’s been engaging in elder abuse, and she should be held accountable for that."
At Newsweek, Laura Rosen Cohen wrote, "Elder Abuse Is a Crime. We're All Watching It Happen to Joe Biden."
"Recent reports confirm what's obvious to everyone on the planet: President Joe Biden is a frail 81-year old who requires physiotherapy daily for his increasingly stiff gait and must wear slip proof sneakers to prevent frequent falls. Staff reportedly can only schedule important meetings for him from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, because that is when he is most lucid," she said.
"This is a pattern in keeping with many dementia patients, as are other symptoms: Rarely does a day go by without video of Biden looking completely confused. He also frequently shouts angrily at reporters and confuses things, like Mexico and Egypt, or the names of dead leaders with current ones.
"It's increasingly alarming, and the general consensus in America and around the world is that Biden is both too old for the job and not well."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Physicians who were threatened and abused by various tyrannical credentialing boards that sought to suppress anything but the official government story line about COVID-19 have been given the go-ahead by the courts to sue.
The case was brought by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Education Foundation against the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Board of Family Medicine and the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security over various situations in which those organizations threatened or actually acted against doctors because of what they said about COVID.
Their medical opinions essentially contradicted the government's talking points about taking various experimental shots, which evidence now shows have been extremely damaging to thousands of people.
The challenge focused on the coordinated campaigns to "censor and chill the speech of physicians," with special targeting of those who criticized the unfounded positions taken by White House adviser Anthony Fauci, lockdowns, masks and more.
A district judge had claimed that the AAPS "lacked standing," but a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has reversed that dismissal.
It's headed back to the lower courts for discovery, and potentially a full trial.
A report in the Federalist documented the ruling.
"The AAPS Educational Foundation brought the case because of a series of physicians who were being threatened with loss of their board certification because they had made comments that were either critical of the COVID0 vaccines or that advocated for early treatment with repurposed drugs," explained AAPS chief Jane Orient.
"Particularly bad were the three defendants of the internal board who were also engaged in threatening physicians who supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade or had anything to say about abortion and its side effects."
The case also cited the egregious censorship schemes that were being developed by Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board which, Orient explained, "was devoted to seeking out and finding ‘disinformation,’ ‘malinformation,’ and, or pressuring people, including those on specialty boards and social media companies, to take action."
Public outrage that the government would assemble such a force prompted that particular coalition to be disbanded, but that doesn't mean that scheme has been abandoned.
When physicians made public comments, press comments, testified in hearings – and their statements did not align with the Biden administration's political agenda – they were threatened with loss of their credentials, which in many cases could mean the loss of their income.
The power structure simply labeled, without evidence, dissenting opinions as "misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation," the case charged.
One facing punishment was Dr. Peter McCullough, a professor of medicine for decades, who was forced into independent practice over his views after those in "academic practice" refused to allow him free speech.
He questioned, during a state legislative hearing, the experimental shots, and the ABIM later adopted a rule about "misinformation" and retroactively applied it to him, the report said.
McCullough confirmed to The Federalist he provided documentation and evidence regarding his opinions on COVID, but the organization refused to accept it.
The power structure lined up against the dissenting doctors including those credentialing agencies as well as insurance companies that would refuse to provide compensation for treatment if the doctor's opinion differed from theirs.
Lawyer Andrew Schlafly, litigating for AAPS, said, "Viewpoint-based censorship of freedom of speech is one of the most important issues today, and essential to the future of both our country and the ability of patients to obtain quality medical care. It is vital that we restore freedom of speech and end improper interference with it. Physicians must be able to speak candidly about issues of public concern without fear of retaliation."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – Sunday morning brought more Hezbollah rocket fire aimed at Israel's north, as Iran's Shia proxy responded to the IDF targeting and eliminating a senior military figure on Saturday.
This latest barrage, thought to have been at least some 60 projectiles over the course of the day, including drones, followed a much larger attack last week, in response to the IDF killing Abu Ali Nasser, commander of Hezbollah's Aziz Unit.
Incoming rocket alert sirens sounded across Sde Ilan (Ilan's Fields), some 21 miles from the Lebanese border. It was the deepest into Israeli territory that Hezbollah has attempted to penetrate with rockets since it started firing projectiles Oct 8. The terrorists have sent drones further into Israel's interior, though.
Four people were wounded in the missile barrages, including two seriously, one of whom was struck by molten shrapnel. In the first incident this morning, paramedics arrived on the scene quickly and rushed the man to Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Tiberias.
Altaar's elimination was somewhat unusual in that the drone strike taking him down occurred in the Bekaa Valley, some 60 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border.
Israel has strongly intimated that the continued Hezbollah presence on its border, in addition to the constant rocket, missile and drone attacks, are intolerable, as well as the 60,00-100,000 residents of northern towns, cities and kibbutzim who cannot return home – and military action is being weighed.
In the interim, while no firm decision has been officially made, the IDF has continued to target high-ranking Hezbollah commanders who have been responsible for either carrying out or coordinating attacks against Israel.
Since October, the Shiite terrorist group has acknowledged more than 350 of its fighters have been killed; the majority in Lebanon, although others have been targeted in Syria – parts of which are also home to pro-Iranian terrorist groups, as the mullahs in Tehran attempt to complete the "ring of fire" to encircle Israel.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A spokeswoman for President Joe Biden has reassured Americans their president is up to the job the Constitution requires him to do.
"365 days a week."
The questions have been raised because of Biden's catastrophic debate failures, in which a cognitive decline was apparent to shocked voters.
It is spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre who made the comment while aboard Air Force One.
"He is human, just like we all are," she said. "It is a 24-7 job, it is 365 days a week. That doesn't change."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A homeowner fighting a Seattle law that demands $75,000 for permission to build a home for one family is vowing to continue the battle.
The promise comes from Anita Adams, who sued over the city's "Mandatory Housing Affordability" scheme that could set her back a huge sum just for a permit.
A lower court dismissed her case, but she says it's not over.
The Institute for Justice is helping her.
"Despite its name, Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability law does the opposite of what it intended—it makes it unaffordable for people like Anita to build housing on their own property," explained Suranjan Sen, of the IJ.
"At a time when Seattle faces a housing crisis it boggles the mind that the city would impose fees on someone who is doing her best to build affordable housing for her family. While frustrating, today’s decision is not the last word on the constitutionality of the law. We firmly believe that Seattle’s MHA program violates the constitutional rights of homeowners and small developers and we are appealing this decision to ensure justice for Anita and others like her."
The IJ reported, "Adams grew up and raised her family in the city's Central District. With Seattle's housing costs frustratingly high, Anita’s family members were forced out of their neighborhoods. That didn’t sit right with her, so she started to dream about building an addition to her property with room for her two kids and father-in-law. But when she started to research the process, she determined that although the city’s zoning code made her plans permissible, the MHA effectively made it too expensive to build her addition: the law could force her to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fees just to get a building permit. That made Anita’s dream unattainable."
William Maurer, of IJ's Washington office, pointed out, "The court’s decision today is very limited, holding that there may be circumstances in which the city may apply the law constitutionally, and that Anita needed to seek a waiver of the MHA conditions and be rejected before she could sue."
He said, "The court’s decision does not lift the specter of unconstitutionality from this law. It simply holds that any challenger to the law must first go through the city’s waiver process before she may file suit. That is incorrect, as the waiver process itself is often prohibitively expensive, as it was for Anita. We expect that the Ninth Circuit will recognize that forcing property owners to undergo—in the name of affordability—a long and expensive waiver process to avoid an unconstitutional condition just to build on their own property is a real harm."
The lawsuit challenged the city based on the Fifth Amendment's limitations on government takings." That requires "just compensation" when a government takes property, or imposes regulations that deprive the owner of the effective use and value of a property.