The Pain Isn’t Goin’ Away: Inflation Cost Households an Extra $10K

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Inflation is over, the administration crows, even as Congress works to pass another massive spending bill — this time, $1.7 trillion.

But struggling families know not to pop the cork yet.

The consumer price index rose just 0.1% last month, bringing the 12-month rate to 7.1% — still higher than any year since the disco days of 1981. Politicians have downplayed inflation ever since President Biden ignored economist warnings in early 2021 that it would be economic malpractice to throw a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill at a supply-constrained economy. Then we were told that inflation was “transitory,” a relic of corporate price gouging and “Putin’s price hike.” . . .

Since President Biden took office, the cumulative 13.8% inflation is roughly 10% higher than the baseline rate. This has cost the typical household approximately $10,000 over two years.

Those household costs will continue rising even if the inflation rate normalizes. That is because this recent extra 10% inflation will remain embedded in prices moving forward. Inflation rates may return to 2% or 3%, but they will be applied to a permanently elevated price level. And with wage growth notably slower than price growth over the past two years — producing the steepest decline in real wages in decades — most families will remain behind. (Read more from “The Pain Isn’t Goin’ Away: Inflation Cost Households an Extra $10K” HERE)

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Identical Twins, Raised in US, Foreign Country, Guess Which One Had a Much Higher IQ

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A pair of identical twins who were raised in separate countries have displayed unexpectedly large disparities in cognitive abilities while exhibiting highly similar personality traits. A comparison of the monozygotic sibling’s characteristics sheds new light on the age-old nature/nurture debate.

Growing up stateside, the adopted twin was unaware that she even had any siblings until she submitted her DNA to South Korea’s program for reuniting family members in 2018. Two years later, she received word that she not only had an identical twin, but an older brother and sister too.

Having been reunited, the twins then completed a series of tests designed to assess their intelligence, personality profiles, mental health, and medical history. Somewhat surprisingly, results revealed that the IQ of the twin raised in the US was 16 points lower than that of the Korean-raised sibling.

The finding, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, contradicts previous studies on monozygotic twins, which have indicated an average IQ difference of no more than seven points. Commenting on the unexpectedly large gulf between the two sisters, the study authors write that “it is striking that the twins showed substantial differences in cognitive abilities that have been linked to strong genetic influence.” . . .

“Notable is that both twins are distinctively high on Conscientiousness, indicating that both are purposeful, well-organized, dutiful, and achievement-striving.” That these similarities persisted despite the sisters’ contrasting life experiences and home environments is interesting, and highlights the role that genetics play in determining a person’s temperament. (Read more from “Identical Twins, Raised in US, Foreign Country, Guess Which One Had a Much Higher IQ” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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The Trump Rule: House Passes Bill Requiring Yearly Audit of President’s Taxes

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The House of Representatives passed a bill mandating annual reviews of a president’s tax returns Thursday, following the move to publicly disclose of former President Donald Trump’s elusive tax returns earlier in the week. (Read more from “The Trump Rule: House Passes Bill Requiring Yearly Audit of President’s Taxes” HERE)

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‘Furious’ Biden Dropped F-Bombs Over Border Crisis, Book Claims

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The surge in illegal immigration at the southern border in the first months of Joe Biden’s presidency enraged the commander-in-chief, who was frustrated over what he saw as a “lack of solutions,” a forthcoming book claims.

Author Chris Whipple claims in “The Fight of His Life,” out Jan. 17, that Biden became “furious” as the number of migrant encounters at the US-Mexico frontier spiked almost immediately after he took office in January 2021.

“Aides had rarely seen him so angry,” Whipple writes, according to Fox News. “From all over the West Wing, you could hear the president cursing, dropping f-bombs (he’d always apologize when women were present).”

“It’s like, ‘How would you feel if you were me and these were the solutions you had?’ It’s the weight of the presidency, right?’” one of the now 80-year-old president’s advisers told Whipple. . .

“Early in his term he had reserved the f-bomb mostly for discussions of the southern border, but lately he was using it more often,” Whipple goes on. (Read more from “‘Furious’ Biden Dropped F-Bombs Over Border Crisis, Book Claims” HERE)

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Swamp Miracle: Schumer Announces Agreement To Pass Omnibus Bill Before Christmas

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday morning announced an agreement to advance the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill before Christmas weekend.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Democrats have been working to pass the omnibus bill before a self-imposed deadline of Thursday to avoid a shutdown at midnight on Friday. But negotiations become sticky after Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) Title 42 amendment threw a wrench in the Senate process. As a result, many critics of the deal were hopeful Congress would be forced to pass a short-term spending resolution (CR) to keep the government open, pending a continued standoff between Democrats on Lee’s amendment.

If Congress passed a short-term CR to keep the government open until February, conservative House Republicans would receive a significant victory. Defeating the omnibus bill would improve House Republicans’ position in the new Congress to gut many of the proposals in the massive spending bill. One of those proposals to cut would presumably have been the $45 billion worth of aid to Ukraine. The $45 billion is in addition to the $66 billion Congress already approved for Ukraine.

But Schumer has come up with a procedural tactic to circumvent Lee’s amendment and avoid failing to pass the massive bill before Christmas. According to Punchbowl News, Schumer has drafted a side-by-side amendment on Title 42, which is crafted to cancel Lee’s amendment by giving Democrats and Republicans each a vote.

(Read more from “Swamp Miracle: Schumer Announces Agreement To Pass Omnibus Bill Before Christmas” HERE)

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The FBI’s Response to the Twitter Files Is Not Going Over Well

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. . .[T]he FBI responded to revelations from the Twitter files that the federal law enforcement agency worked with the social media platform to categorize Hunter Biden’s laptop as “Russian disinformation” by hurling accusations about “conspiracy theorists.”

(Read more from “The FBI’s Response to the Twitter Files Is Not Going Over Well” HERE)

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The Marine Corps Goes Woke

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In a world where everything that was once normal is now woke, it’s no surprise that the Marine Corps has also turned the tide.

A newly released academic report from the University of Pittsburgh recommended that the U.S. Marine Corps drop the words “sir” and “ma’am” used to address senior officers to avoid “misgendering” drill instructors despite there only being 14,000 females in the Marine Corps, which makes up of only 7 percent of the branch.

Instead of using the words “sir” and “ma’am,” recruits in the military services refer to their drill instructors using their ranks or roles followed by their last names.

The 738-page report highlights a $2 million study that was conducted to examine gender-integrated recruit training, which claimed that the change would make both genders feel more comfortable when being addressed by peers. (Read more from “Ukraine War Could Drag On for Years, Former Ambassador Says” HERE)

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Ukraine War Could Drag On for Years, Former Ambassador Says

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Almost 10 months after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine, a former ambassador to the U.S. is warning that the war could drag on for years.

Ukrainian diplomat Valeriy Chaly, who was Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States from 2015 to 2019, warned that the newly promised Patriot advanced missile system from the U.S. won’t be enough, and that Ukraine needs more weapons to win the war.

Ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s stop in Washington on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled a $1.85 billion military package for Kyiv that included a Patriot missile system.

The Ukrainian leader has for months been asking the U.S. for stronger weapons to shoot down Russian missiles, as Putin’s forces have been bombarding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing blackouts across the country. (Read more from “Ukraine War Could Drag On for Years, Former Ambassador Says” HERE)

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‘A Recipe for Tyranny’: Here’s Why an Alaska Lawmaker Faces Removal From Office Under the State’s ‘Disloyalty Clause’

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Editor’s note: Restoring Liberty’s Joe Miller is the trial attorney for the Alaska lawmaker discussed below.
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By Daily Caller. An Alaska state representative faces potential removal from office due to his affiliation with a group accused of partaking in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, despite the fact that he was not accused of entering the building.

Republican State Rep. David Eastman, who was re-elected for a fourth term during the midterm election by nearly 25 points, is currently on trial after an Alaskan resident accused him of violating the state’s “disloyalty clause” for his affiliation with the “constitutional service” group the Oath Keepers, according to court documents. The clause, found in Alaska’s constitution, states that anyone who advocates for the overthrow of the government cannot hold a public office. . .

Eastman attended former President Donald Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, but did not enter the restricted areas of the Capitol grounds, Alaska Public Media reported. However, two Oath Keeper members, including founder Stewart Rhodes, were convicted last month of “seditious conspiracy” for their actions on Jan. 6, according to AP.

“This trial is proceeding as though the 1st Amendment had already been repealed,” Eastman told the DCNF. “That is a terrifying reality for the voters in my district. It is a fundamental American right that your vote will be counted. This lawsuit was filed to ensure that the voters in my district would not have their votes counted.” . . .

“The judge in this case has decided that the state now has a legal obligation to determine whether or not each candidate is sufficiently loyal to those in government before their name may be placed on the ballot in the future,” Eastman said. “Where is the America of my birth?” (Read more from “‘A Recipe for Tyranny’: Here’s Why an Alaska Lawmaker Faces Removal From Office Under the State’s ‘Disloyalty Clause’” HERE)

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Oath Keepers Founder Testifies His Group Was Acting in ‘Counter-revolution’

By Fox News 28. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, testified to an Alaskan judge on Tuesday that efforts to postpone the certification of the 2020 presidential election were a “counter-revolution,” not an insurrection.

“My perspective is that we’re preserving the Constitution, and it’s — I wouldn’t even call it insurrection, I would call it a counter-revolution against an insurrection. … I consider the left to be an insurrection,” Rhodes said. . .

Rhodes’ testimony came as a defense witness for Alaska state Rep. David Eastman, a Wasilla Republican who is defending against a lawsuit that claims Eastman’s life membership in the Oath Keepers violates the disloyalty clause of the Alaska Constitution. The lawsuit was filed in July by Randall Kowalke, a Matanuska-Susitna Borough resident. . .

After Rhodes, Miller called attorney John Eastman to testify. On Monday, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection recommended the U.S. Justice Department bring criminal charges against Eastman, a legal expert who advised former President Trump.

Eastman, unrelated to David Eastman, said he believes Rhodes’ words and actions fall short of the standard needed to rule speech illegal under the protections offered by the First Amendment. (Read more from “Oath Keepers Founder Testifies His Group Was Acting in ‘Counter-revolution’” HERE)

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Mayor Bans Kids From Attending ‘A Drag Queen Christmas’

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A concert venue in the suburbs of St. Louis has barred children from attending an all ages Christmas drag show, as states have moved to restrict cross-dressing public displays.

The Factory in Chesterfield announced hours before “A Drag Queen Christmas” that no ticket holders under 18 would be allowed to attend. The production is touring 18 states with performers from the reality television show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

“We specifically in the City of Chesterfield have ordinances. Protecting minors and not allow[ing] minors to be exposed to certain types of entertainment of a sexual orientation, etc.,” Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation told news outlet KMOV on Wednesday.

The cancellation comes amid a growing backlash against the production and other “family friendly” drag shows, which critics argue sexualize young children.

Drag events advertising themselves as “family friendly” have sparked 141 protests in 47 states this year, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reported Friday. (Read more from “Mayor Bans Kids From Attending ‘A Drag Queen Christmas’” HERE)

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