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Entitled: Zelensky Says He Won’t Hold Elections Unless Americans Pay For Them

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that taxpayers in the United States and European Union send the country even more aid if the West wishes for elections to be held next year.

In an interview published by the president’s office on Sunday evening, Zelensky said that he would be willing to hold elections despite the ongoing martial law amid the war with Russia, so long as the U.S. and EU bankroll the voting process.

The Ukrainian leader said that elections during peacetime typically cost around 5 billion hryvnia ($135 million) but did not speculate as to how much more they would cost during a war, though presumably it would be much higher.

Zelensky said that he discussed the topic of funding for the 2024 elections with U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been one of the staunchest supporters of sending more aid to Ukraine on Capitol Hill.

“I told [Sen. Graham]: If the United States and Europe give us financial support… I’m sorry, I will not hold elections on credit, I will not take money from weapons and give it to elections either. But if you give me this financial support, if the parliamentarians realize that we need to do this, then let’s quickly change the legislation and, most importantly, let’s take risks together,” Zelensky said. (Read more from “Entitled: Zelensky Says He Won’t Hold Elections Unless Americans Pay For Them” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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A $300,000 Salary Feels Like $100,000 in These Three Expensive Cities, Analysis Finds

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Residents of several cities in the United States require a salary much higher than $100,000 to feel as if they are earning six figures due to elevated costs of living and aggressive taxes, according to a recent analysis from SmartAsset.

The financial technology company found that residents of Honolulu, New York City, and San Francisco require salaries between $310,000 and $312,000 to earn the equivalent of $100,000 in an average part of the country since high earners in the three cities face tax rates above 40% and living expenses more than 80% above the national average.

“Those with a $100,000 salary earn more than double the median individual income for 2021, which might imply financial comfort on first glance. But when accounting for taxes and cost of living in America’s largest cities, those six figures will feel much smaller,” SmartAsset said in the analysis. “Ultimately, to have the purchasing power of $100,000, you will have to earn a substantially higher salary.”

Oakland, Los Angeles, and Long Beach followed the other cities with respect to the gross income needed to “feel like” one takes home $100,000. Residents of the cities see costs of living roughly 50% greater than the national average, partially due to expensive real estate, while income taxes approach 40% in Oakland and nearly 38% in Los Angeles and Long Beach. “California cities require the highest gross incomes of any state,” SmartAsset noted. (Read more from “A $300,000 Salary Feels Like $100,000 in These Three Expensive Cities, Analysis Finds” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Vladimir Putin’s Spiritual Missile Damns America

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During his state of the nation address early Tuesday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin fired a spiritual missile at the United States.

American corporate media framed the 100-minute speech as a defensive rant justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threatening nuclear war against the West.

That all may be true. But that’s not what I heard. Nuclear missiles don’t scare me. Spiritual missiles do. What Putin said about Western civilization and America spooked me. It caused me to rethink the agenda behind the Russia hoax, the debunked left-wing conspiracy theory that alleged former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election from Hillary Clinton.

Corporate media desperately wants us to believe Trump and Putin are disciples of Satan, the worst international leaders to walk the planet since Adolf Hitler. After yesterday’s speech, I now understand why Putin is dangerous.

He at least pretends to care about God’s will. He called out the West for abandoning biblical values.

“They’re waging increasingly aggressive information attacks,” he said. “First of all targeting the young generations. Lying on every step, distorting historical truth, attacking our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religious institutions in our country.

“Look at what they’re doing with their own people. They’re destroying the institution of family, their cultural historical identity. And various perversions with regard to children, up to pedophilia, are accepted as the new norm. And priests are forced to recognize and officiate same-sex weddings.”

American politicians, whether Democrat or Republican, refuse to speak the kind of unvarnished truth Putin did on Tuesday. The assault on biblical values goes unchallenged here by elected officials. The new normal here demonizes traditional Christian beliefs. Joe Biden, a self-described Catholic, would never say what Putin did. Democrats would run Biden out of office with the full support of the Republican Party. (Read more from “Vladimir Putin’s Spiritual Missile Damns America” HERE)

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Civil War? Two-Thirds of Republicans in the South Want To Secede, Nearly Half of West Coast Dems Ready to Break Away From Union

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An alarming poll was released this week that highlights the concerning and growing divide in the United States. Two-thirds of Republicans in the South and nearly half of Democrats on the West Coast want to secede from the union, according to a new poll.

Bright Line Watch, a self-described “initiative to monitor democratic practices in the U.S. and call attention to threats to American democracy,” and YouGov conducted a survey of 2,650 American adults between June 26 and July 2, 2021. For the poll, participants were presented with a hypothetical separation of the United States into five regional unions. Respondents were asked, “Would you support or oppose [your state] seceding from the United States to join a new union with [list of states in new union]?”

The region and political affiliation most welcoming seceding from the United States were Republicans from the South, where 66% said they would want to break off into a new country. Half of the independent voters were also ready to form a new country, which would include 13 Southern states: Texas, Florida, Virginia, Tennesee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Kentucky.

The poll found that 47% of Democrats in the Pacific region, which includes California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska, were ready to break away from the union.

The survey said 43% of independents were ready to secede in the Heartland region: Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska. (Read more from “Civil War? Two-Thirds of Republicans in the South Want To Secede, Nearly Half of West Coast Dems Ready to Break Away From Union” HERE)

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Poll: Young Americans Believe Other Countries Are Better Than the U.S.

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A new survey by Pew Research Center asked 9,895 people a series of questions about America. Most Americans polled agreed that the United States “stands above all other countries” (24%) or that it is “one of the greatest countries, along with some others” (55%).

More than one-fifth (21%), though, said “there are other countries that are better than the U.S.”

And that number soared when the survey group was limited to young liberal Americans, aged 19-29. In that age group, 47% of Democrat and Democrat-leaning people preferred other countries over the U.S, while just 19% of Republicans within the same age group agreed. The poll also showed that 36% of this age group say other countries are greater than the U.S. . .

The percentage of Democrats agreeing that there are other countries better than America is “higher than at any point since the question was first asked by Pew Research Center in 2011.”

“Views of how the U.S. compares with other countries have long been divided along partisan lines,” Pew wrote in its poll findings. “But these differences have widened in recent years as Democrats have become more likely to say there are other countries that are better than the U.S. In telephone surveys, the share of Democrats saying this is higher than at any point since the question was first asked by Pew Research Center in 2011, and there has been a corresponding decline in the share saying the U.S. stands above other nations.” (Read more from “Poll: Young Americans Believe Other Countries Are Better Than the U.S.” HERE)

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Politicians Are Trying to Create 51st State

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A group of state Republican lawmakers recently signed on to legislation proposing the nation’s third-largest city become the 51st state.

“It’s more of a frustration of the policies than the true belief that Chicago and Illinois would be better off as separate states,” Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer told the State Journal-Register. “I don’t believe that Chicago and the state of Illinois should be separated. Our relationship is mutually beneficial.” . . .

“The reality is the city of Chicago is competing with New York City and L.A. and San Francisco, and (downstate is) competing against rural Indiana and rural Missouri,” he told the State Journal-Register. “The policies that come down from Chicago are actually pushing our economic opportunity away.” . . .

The bill, HR0101, was introduced in February by state Rep. Brad Halbrook, who said he supports removing the city of 2.7 million people from Illinois because of differing views on issues such as abortion and gun rights. . .

Halbrook co-sponsored a similar resolution filed last year that failed. This year’s attempt has even less of a chance of succeeding and getting out of the Rules Committee in the Democratic-controlled legislature as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the leaders of the state House and Senate are all Democrats from Chicago. (Read more from “Politicians Are Trying to Create 51st State” HERE)

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Uh-Oh: Here’s How Many People Say They’re Extremely Proud of Being American

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According to Gallup, which has asked the question of Americans since 2003, the number of Americans who are “extremely proud” or “proud” of being American has hit a record low.

The poll says that 47 percent of people are “extremely proud” of being American. Another 25 percent say they are “very proud” of being American. . .

The decline is due at least in part to many Democrats changing their opinion about their pride in being American. Last year, 43 percent of Democrats said they were “extremely proud” of being American, but that percentage dropped by 11 points to 32 percent this year. . .

Whether Democrats’ recent dip in pride has something to do with President Donald Trump, it isn’t hurting his personal approval rating. A different Gallup poll shows that 45 percent of the public approves of the president, tying for the highest percentage of his term thus far.

Another poll showed that more than two thirds of Americans found the policy of family separation at the border “unacceptable.” Trump ended the policy soon after the poll was published. (Read more from “Here’s How Many People Say They’re Extremely Proud of Being American” HERE)

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New State Rankings Are In: Best and Worst State in America Revealed

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A popular travel site rank ordered all 50 states in the U.S. and at least one Florida reporter is not happy with where the Sunshine State fell.

Thrillist, which has over 4.8 million followers on Facebook and nearly 400,000 on Instagram, ranked Florida dead last in its “The Definitive and Final Ranking of All 50 States.”

The criteria used by site editors Kevin Alexander and Matt Lynch to reach their findings included, “their contributions to America, so think inventions, food/drink, somewhat productive famous people, unique physical beauty, etc.”

The writers added they expect disagreements, but after the two of them hashed out the merits and demerits of each state, the chips fell as they did.

As for the continental U.S.’s most tropical state, Alexander and Lynch wrote, “When putting together a list such as this, there can be some temptation to defy popular expectations, and go against the grain. However, Florida’s awfulness resume is so staggeringly impressive that it couldn’t go any other way. You were born for this. Embrace it.”

Among the other bottom dwellers were Delaware, Ohio, Arizona, Utah, Mississippi, Connecticut, North Dakota, Missouri, and Nevada.

At the other end of the spectrum, Thrillist’s surprising pick for “best state” was Michigan, followed by Maine, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Hawaii, Minnesota, Washington, California and Colorado.

“Far too much of the Michigan narrative centers on Detroit and its many issues,” explained Alexander and Lynch. “The Motor City’s become a scrappily rising underdog you can’t help but root for, but Michigan’s greatest strengths lie in the state as a whole.”

“Did you know Michigan has more coastline than any state other than Alaska?” they added. “Did you know it has such an embarrassment of beer riches that you can easily hit Bell’s and Founders in the same afternoon?”

“Did you know the UP (Upper Peninsula) is so remote and uniquely beautiful that it almost feels like a secret 51st state where they inexplicably love British meat pies?”

However, Miami Herald reporter Howard Cohen took exception to Thrillist’s rankings.

“Florida ranks dead last when it comes to rating the best states in the nation,” Cohen wrote. “Michigan ranks No. 1, the very best state in the union.”

He continued, “Let that sink in for awhile. Michigan, the state that gave us the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock (the poor man’s Ted Nugent), is 49 states better than Florida.”

Cohen noted that food and drink seemed to weigh heavily in the ordering.

Thrillist mentioned Alaska’s salmon, but Cohen counted, “We have Joe’s Stone Crab in South Beach.”

As to Michigan and Alaska’s (ranked 16) long coastlines, Cohen wrote, “So have you had the desire to go swimming in Michigan — or Alaska lately?” (For more from the author of “New State Rankings Are In: Best and Worst State in America Revealed” please click HERE)

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Call for an Assembly of the States in May 2016

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It is time for states to undertake specific steps to re-assert their 10th amendment rights against the usurpations of the federal government.

We are, after all, the United States of America, not the United Federal Government of America.

Here’s my proposal for a starting point:

One state legislature can pass an act for it to host an “Assembly of the States” whose purpose will be to identify and share best practices for the assertion by the states of their 10th amendment rights among the several states.

The proposed Assembly of the States is not an Article V Convention of the States as recommended by conservative author Mark Levin, but there would be no restriction upon the Assembly discussing proposed constitutional amendments for the consideration of any future Convention of the States. (Read more from “Call for an Assembly of the States in May 2016” HERE)

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Senior NATO Officer: West Will Likely Be at War this Summer, Lucky if it’s not Nuclear

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Photo Credit: AP Is the world going mad? Military posturing is quietly reaching new extremes in Europe, the Mediterranean and the South China Sea. And the provocative bluster has just reached new heights.

The source was anonymous. But the mouthpiece has a measure of credibility. High profile military analyst and former US Naval War College lecturer John Schindler tweeted last week: “Said a senior NATO (non-US) GOFO to me today: ‘We’ll probably be at war this summer. If we’re lucky it won’t be nuclear.’ Let that sink in” . . .

The warning comes as Europe engages in some of its biggest ever war games — right on Russia’s front door. It’s a deliberate ploy, intended to remind Moscow of the consequences of its duplicitous invasion of Ukraine.

Half a world away, the “w” word was mentioned again yesterday. This time in an editorial by a Chinese state controlled paper. Said the Global Times: “If the United States’ bottom line is that China has to halt its activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China Sea.”

It came as China’s government effectively declared a “no fly zone” over the disputed waterway after warning the US over its “provocative” aerial reconnaissance of several islands. (Read more from “The ‘War’ Word Is Being Increasingly Heard as Europe, Russia, China and the United States Adopt Provocative Postures” HERE)

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