Oh God Again, Oh God It’s Happening Again, How Far Can This Go?
A report from NBC Washington DC. “A viral social media post that appears to show hundreds of homes hitting the market in the D.C. area after federal worker layoffs is bogus, real estate experts confirmed to News4. The post shows dozens of new houses on the market in the areas of Arlington County and Falls Church, Virginia. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said the Beltway bubble hasn’t popped and likely won’t any time soon because direct federal government employees make up just 9% of the region’s workforce. Ashleigh Wehmeyer, a real estate agent with Compass Realty, said the viral post is bogus and real estate professionals are scrambling to set the story straight. ‘Some realtors have been posting because they’ve been getting calls from clients saying ‘What’s going on? Is this true? Should I put my house on the market right now?’ she said. The largest increase in new home listings was in Loudoun County, which saw 24% more compared to that two-week period in 2024. ‘In Loudoun you are seeing that, but you have the new builds, the new construction, but you also have people who have been ordered to return to work and so they’re looking at maybe we should come back in and be closer now,’ she said. Bottom line: Experts say homeowners shouldn’t panic sell.”
From Michigan Live. “Clareeta Burton worked for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for 28 years. The VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System officer was four years from retirement. Now she’s out of a job along with a handful of federal employees for the Ann Arbor health system. As President Donald Trump’s administration cuts more than 1,000 federal employees from the VA nationwide, local workers like Burton are shocked from losing their jobs. ‘I’m kind of scrambling,’ the 52-year-old U.S. Army veteran said. She and her husband bought a new house recently and had been doing remodels, which they have put on hold due to ‘the uncertainty,’ she said. ‘Unfortunately, I had a double-edged sword, being DEI and probationary.'”
From WFLX. “Seniors from Lake Clarke Gardens, near Lake Worth Beach, are taking their concerns over the rise in condo costs into their own hands. Fees that are hitting many of their budgets as condo owners throughout Florida are being forced to pay thousands to cover the costs. ‘I thought this was going to be my forever home when I retired from up north,’ said Betty Uveges. She has lived in Lake Clarke Gardens for over eight years and said her fees went from $293 to $1,150 in less than two years. She worries she may have to move like many of her neighbors. ‘I love it here at Lake Clarke Gardens. It’s kept quite beautifully, and we have a lot of amenities, but the cost when you run out of money, you run out of money,’ said Uveges. ‘I don’t have another place to go. I think it’s very unnecessary to be paying for the future. When this is the present and many people have to leave here, because they did not have the money to continue on living here and that’s sad.'”
Maui Now in Hawaii. “A Maui County Council plan to contract its own study of the economic impacts of Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of Maui County vacation rentals has fallen to the wayside, and Council legislative analysts will conduct research in-house instead. Committee Vice Chair Tom Cook said the study’s goals and objectives should be clear. ‘My understanding is to free up as much housing for our local residents that they can afford, and that also is suitable,’ he said. ‘I think, you know, saddling local residents with a 30- or 40-year-old building that needs a lot of maintenance isn’t a good idea.'”
“A downward trend of condo sales volume first became evident in August 2024 after the May 2 bill announcement and falling numbers of closed sales in May, June and July of that year. Condo median sales prices held steady for about half a year. Then, in November 2024, median sales prices fell 19.7% from $890,000 to $715,000 in and dropped 15.6% from $800,000 to $675,000 in January 2025. The last time condo median prices were in the mid $600,000s was in January 2023, and before that, prices were in that range during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Condo owners who bought units at recent, high prices may find themselves ‘under water’ if they owe more money on their units than they’re worth for sale at current market values.”
From WGME. “Maine has nearly 2,000 community associations made up of homeowner associations, condominiums and co-ops, according to the Community Associations Institute, which estimates those residents pay $278 million a year to maintain their properties. An anonymous viewer asked the CBS13 I-Team: ‘I think you guys should start looking into monthly maintenance/HOA fees for condos in the Portland-area. They vary so widely and some are incredibly expensive. Is this regulated at all?’ Two attorneys specializing in Maine condo law say the answer is no. The I-Team looked at condos listed for sale in Portland and found monthly dues ranging from $285 to well over $1,000. Attorney Chris Neagle says well run condo associations also put monthly assessments toward ‘reserve funds’ to pay for major repairs and replacements like paving, painting and new roofs.”
Cowboy State Daily in Wyoming. “Local residents Bill Lembke and Susie Degner are going through insurance hell for something completely out of their control. The couple are rebuilding their home after a truck crashed into it during a freak accident last October, leaving a huge hole in the side of their house and at least $30,000 in damage. The event happened when a pickup hopped the curb and smashed into their central Cheyenne house. Now, they’re about to lose their home insurance coverage over what happened. Lembke had originally expected the damage from the crash to be covered by the insurance company covering the driver who crashed into their home, but since that driver was not at fault for causing the accident, that company has refused to cover the home damage. The driver who was at fault in the accident is a transient with no known home address, so State Farm didn’t want to pursue having to get money from that unlikely source, Lembke said.”
“State Farm Insurance has informed the couple it will drop their home insurance coverage once it expires April 1, but will still pay out the property damages related to the car crash. It will also cover the losses Lembke filed on a separate claim when his work trailer was broken into before the crash in August. ‘You can pay them, but if you use it (insurance), that’s a no-no,’ Lembke said. Lembke said it was communicated to him that since he had made two claims in the same year, State Farm was dropping him because the quality of his policy was deteriorating for the company. ‘It doesn’t make sense,’ he said. ‘They (State Farm) should be forced to carry you until the claim is closed because they know they wouldn’t do it themselves. State Farm wouldn’t accept you as a client if you had an open claim on your house. They full-well know they’re screwing me.'”
“He now worries the only insurance he’ll be able to get for his home to avoid a coverage gap is force-placed insurance, which tends to be more expensive than standard home insurance. Force-placed insurance also only covers the property itself, so if the couple’s home were to burn down in the future, only the physical property and none of the possessions inside would be covered for damage. In addition, in that event, only the mortgage company would be reimbursed for the loss of property. ‘I would walk away with zero dollars and no home,’ Lembke said. He expects his home mortgage company is going to ‘flip their lid’ when it finds out about his insurance dilemma.”
Silicon Valley in California. “Less than a year after Concord adopted a hard-won residential tenant protection program that outpaced similar state and local housing laws, some of its most strict regulations have reignited debate. Concord’s complex set of regulations for renters took effect in April, increasing ‘just cause’ eviction protections to most of the city’s tenants, establishing rent stabilization for roughly half its rental stock and generally dictating what landlords can do with their units and how renters can respond. For example, property owners cannot increase rents by more than 3% or 60% of current inflation index rates, whichever is lower. Rami Kahlon, an immigrant and 51-year resident of Concord, was one of many ‘mom and pop’ landlords who outright rejected claims that opposition to the city’s current tenant protections is based on anything besides a mathematical equation.”
“He said that it’s become more difficult for rental property owners — particularly retirees like him who rely on rental income — to cover increasingly high bills for a insurance, sewer, water, garbage, utilities and building maintenance. ‘You want me to subsidize increased costs, but (the rent cap) does not cover those expenses,’ Kahlon said. He argued that Concord’s limit of 3% or 60% of CPI, whichever is lower, is prohibitively strict compared to rules approved in Richmond and Berkeley, which more closely align with the 2019 California law that limited rent hikes to 5% plus CPI or 10% annually. ‘Basically, my retirement income will decrease each year, and I’ll keep deferring capital improvements like paint, roofs and concrete. There won’t be enough money left over. You have a chance to fix this policy mistake.'”
CBC News in Canada. “Sam Biasucci walks around the brand new three-bedroom house pointing to en suite bathrooms and tall basement ceilings like a real estate agent. But he actually owns the company— Sault Ste. Marie-based SalDan Developments— that built this home in the Hanmer area of Greater Sudbury that’s about to be listed for $600,000. He says that of that $600,000, his company will get around $30,000 in profit. ‘People think builders make out like bandits and that’s not the case,’ he said. ‘If you look at the risk that it takes and the longevity that it takes to take a raw piece of land to having keys for a house, sometimes I wonder if there’s a better way to make a living.’ He says a housing lot goes for about $160,000 and building the actual house runs about $400,000; costs that have climbed steadily in the past few years as ‘the pandemic was the best excuse I’ve seen in 45 years to raise the prices and unfortunately we all know income hasn’t kept up.'”
Insauga in Canada. “Video released by police appears to show the moment two houses were deliberately set ablaze in an Ontario town north of Toronto over the weekend. York Regional Police said it happened early Saturday in the Township of King. At around 6:30 a.m., officers responded to a new-build residential area near 15th Sideroad and Charles Baker Drive, east of Keele Street, police said. Two homes were engulfed in flames when officers arrived. Both houses were under construction and unoccupied at the time, police said. No injuries were reported.”
From BBC News. “House prices in a county where the council has introduced measures to crack down on second homes have fallen by more than 12% year-on-year, according to new figures. The local authority in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, recently introduced a requirement to obtain planning permission to turn residential properties into second homes or holiday lets. Tom Williams and his family, who live in Lancashire, are struggling to sell the second home they own in Morfa Nefyn, Gwynedd. Mr Williams and his wife put the house on the market in April 2024 but said they had had little interest from potential buyers, despite dropping the price by £40,000. ‘I put it down to all the other properties in the village that are up for sale at the moment,’ he said. ‘I’ve spoken to a lot of families who have had homes there for generations and they’re saying the same thing – how can we carry on with this?’ said Mr Williams.”
The Birmingham Mail. “Majorca has issued a warning to ‘rich’ foreign property buyers – demanding they: ‘Go to Hell.’ The Osborne Bull, situated between Algaida and Montuïri, has been used for a fresh political and social message as tension over overtourism increases in the Balearic Islands. The bull has been used to voice opposition to the overcrowding of the island and the ongoing housing crisis in Majorca. On Monday, the bull was found with graffiti that read: ‘Rich foreign property buyers go to hell.’ The slogan has sparked significant attention, with some social groups, like SOS Residents, applauding the message. One social media user asked: ‘And who is selling these houses to them?’ A second added: ‘Greedy Mallorcan sellers, you could also go to hell!'”
Domain News in Australia. “Northcote home owner Emmanuella Grace bought her forever home close to the peak of the market, and has been feeling the pressure of interest rate rises. She welcomes the Reserve Bank’s decision on Tuesday to cut the cash rate to 4.1 per cent, and says even a small reduction in her mortgage will help her family. But she’s concerned the savings won’t make up for other rising expenses. Grace, a singer and communication consultant, and her financier husband bought in February 2022; they took on a large loan to buy a large house on a big block that needed to be renovated to meet their needs.”
“‘We really put all the eggs in this basket,’ Grace said. ‘I remembered every week or so we’d get a letter [which said repayments were increasing] … you kind of just go: ‘Oh god again, oh god it’s happening again, and how far can this go?’ Modelling from loan comparison platform Canstar shows an owner-occupier who took out a $500,000 home loan in April 2022 would be paying back $3190 a month by now. That’s $1238 more a month than when they took out a loan. One rate cut will save them $77.”
“Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said stressed borrowers would take any savings they can and either pay it off their mortgage or bring it back into their household budget. ‘In the context of things, it’s literally a drop in the ocean, when you put it against how far the monthly mortgage repayments have risen,’ she said.”
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You will own nothing.
‘Bottom line: Experts say homeowners shouldn’t panic sell’
That’s my policy here at HBB too Larry. I tell loanowners: just because you have some equity, don’t screw up the comps, we’re all in this together!
Experts?
“Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said the Beltway bubble hasn’t popped and likely won’t any time soon because direct federal government employees make up just 9% of the region’s workforce”
What expert thinks 9% isn’t a significant number?
Experts = realtors are liars.
This isn’t about the 9% direct Federal workers. This is about the CONTRACTS. How many those $50 billions that were rinsed at USAID found their way into a well-appointed home in Chantilly, or an all-white kitchen in Georgetown? How many more DOD and DHS billions will be found in the new builds in Pimmit Hills or off River Road in Potomac?
I’m not as worried about the other side of DC — anything east of Rock Creek. That’s where the peons live. Well, except Takoma Park. That’s like a Little Portland. Bet they got some USAID too.
‘Burton worked for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for 28 years. The VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System officer was four years from retirement. Now she’s out of a job along with a handful of federal employees for the Ann Arbor health system. As President Donald Trump’s administration cuts more than 1,000 federal employees from the VA nationwide, local workers like Burton are shocked from losing their jobs. ‘I’m kind of scrambling,’ the 52-year-old U.S. Army veteran said. She and her husband bought a new house recently and had been doing remodels, which they have put on hold due to ‘the uncertainty’
A new shack in Ann Arbor isn’t too expensive, is it Clareeta? Plus you almost certainly used a VA loan. No money down!
From the article:
———–
Burton wasn’t new to the VA. But she had recently been promoted, which made her a probationary employee.
“Unfortunately, I had a double-edged sword, being DEI and probationary,” she said.
She took a promotion to run the DEI office for the Ann Arbor VA last year. She had been a human resources lead.
———–
Something here is weird. Taking a promotion doesn’t make you probationary. Even if you change Agencies, you can “reinstate” your years at your old Agency, so that you’re not probationary in the first year of your new Agency. It must have been her DEI position. I’m hoping that the VA is able to offer her VERA (voluntary early retirement). She’s eligible for it.
‘I love it here at Lake Clarke Gardens. It’s kept quite beautifully, and we have a lot of amenities, but the cost when you run out of money, you run out of money,’ said Uveges. ‘I don’t have another place to go. I think it’s very unnecessary to be paying for the future. When this is the present and many people have to leave here, because they did not have the money to continue on living here and that’s sad’
I want to thank Betty for today’s HBB Pitfalls of Commie Urban Living™.
Florida is finished sweetheart
‘We really put all the eggs in this basket,’ Grace said. ‘I remembered every week or so we’d get a letter [which said repayments were increasing] … you kind of just go: ‘Oh god again, oh god it’s happening again, and how far can this go?’
I don’t know how you do things in yer sh$thole Emma but here in the states it’s usually 30 years. It’ll past in an instant. No eating though!
Which one of you Damn Yankees left the freezer door open? Jeebus the wind chill is 15 below right now!
“Jeebus the wind chill is 15 below right now!”
And yet the Polar Bears can’t find an iceberg to sleep on.
“Jeebus the wind chill is 15 below right now!”
We had -5 degrees F with a 25 mph wind, gusting to 40 mph with tiny flecks of dry snow about ten days ago. I took Ruby out for 15 min to run around and poop, and I could feel that wind cutting through my heavy wool clothing. Fortunately, those cold snaps only last a few days around the Columbia Basin.
Raise taxes to change the weather.
you Damn Yankees
It was the Canadians.
They got even with us
“Condo owners who bought units at recent, high prices may find themselves ‘under water’ if they owe more money on their units than they’re worth for sale at current market values.”
And if any of you are rate daters guess what? No soup for you! No refi in your future. Not unless you can bring a lot of money to closing to get your LTV down.
10YR@ 4.552%
No refi for you!
Ask Eli: The internet is wrong, the DC market is not crashing
Question: I have seen multiple posts online that the D.C. area market is getting flooded with inventory and is crashing, is that accurate?
The post screenshot below kicked off the frenzy (11M views in 36 hours) of people-on-the-internet making false claims of a D.C. area market crash/inventory flood. One would think that somebody by the name of Darth Powell (64,000 followers) whose bio states they are a “housing market savant” would surely know what they’re talking about, right? Sadly, no.
What Darth Powell is suggesting is that the visual of so many listings in Coming Soon status suggests that everybody is suddenly putting their home up for sale.
For context, the reason a seller would enter their home into the MLS in Coming Soon status is because they get the benefits of massive marketing exposure (reaches all agents in the MLS and syndicates to all consumer-facing sites like Zillow) without accruing “days on market” before they are ready to “go Active” and start showing the home and hosting Open Houses (note: the MLS restricts and enforces a ban on showings while in Coming Soon status).
Here are just a handful of reasons why the post is (very) inaccurate:
“Since DOGE Began… median home price in Washington, D.C. has Fallen by $139,000”
This post was made by The Kobeissi Letter account on X (over 8M views in 24 hours), an account with 737,000+ followers claiming to be “an industry leading commentary on the global capital markets” yet somehow doesn’t understand basic statistics or how to do simple research. If you follow them for financial/investment guidance, reconsider.
https://www.arlnow.com/2025/02/18/ask-eli-the-internet-is-wrong-the-dc-market-is-not-crashing-eli1/
Todd Sachs, a rare straight-shooter realtor in that area, went over the data yesterday for those interested. Note: I did not watch this segment.
Roughly 20 minutes long.
I watched the clip. Here’s some of the data he presented:
Coming soon for used houses used to be limited to those that would go active within 21 days. Now there’s no time limit.
Houses $200,000+
DC
-Sept/Now
-Coming Soon ? / 104
-Active 1512 / 1943
-Price Reduced 42% / 35.9%
Now
Montgomery / Howard / Prince George’s
-Coming Soon 163 / 57 / 157
-Active 728 / 148 / 918
-Price Reduced 29.8% / 27% / 37.7%
Fairfax / Loudon
-Coming Soon 256 / 94
-Active 625 / 334
-Price Reduced 24.8% / 34.1%
He also presented data for five other counties. They all had ratios of active to coming soon ranging from 10:1 (Charles County, MD) to about 4:1 (Frederick County, MD).
Elon Musk on his vax experience (from X posted this morning):
—————
J&J vaccine hurt my arm, but otherwise nothing.
But the mRNA booster hit extremely hard. Massive chest pain. Felt like I got hit by a truck. Almost went to hospital.
That said, mRNA has a lot of potential to cure cancer and other diseases. Research should continue.
————–
This story checks out. In the fall of October 2021, the experts began recommending boosters. They were pushing the mRNA boosters because they supposedly worked better. Instead I chose to boost with a second identical J&J. Even if J&J left me vulnerable to a mild case of COVID, I figured that was better than the mRNA side effects. And I did it as soon as I could, before they disallowed J&J and left mRNA as the only option. Soon after that, sure enough, J&J was yanked.
If I had J&J, which was a traditional adenovirus-vector vaccine, does that make me a pureblood?
Nope, J&J is still gene therapy, just via a different means. Still has a bunch of the unanswered questions surrounding long term effects, sane as the mRNA jabs
Agreed.
mRNA has a lot of potential to cure cancer
A patent cure when we don’t understand what causes cancer?
There’s been a recent shift towards evidence-based medicine, which is a fancy way saying that you throw everything at the wall to see what sticks, based on anecdotal evidence. This is especially great for looking for new uses for existing drugs, as you can save time in the research process since the safety trials were already done.
It’s not just drugs. As a long aside, evidence medicine is how they discovered fasting as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes. There was a lot of anecdotal evidence that gastric bypass surgery also “cured” diabetes, but they didn’t know how. A nephrologist (kidney doctor) in Toronto made a logical leap that people with gastric bypass had to severely limit their food and skip meals, and maybe that was helping to lower blood sugar. So he started his patients on a fasting regimen, and lo and behold, not only did their blood sugar moderate, but they lost weight too, and didn’t need surgery at all.
And then a lot more doctors put together a whole host of other anecdotes about sugars, butter, Paleolithic teeth, and epileptic kids from ~1910, and ultimately arrived at carnivore diet. All evidence-based, and RFKJ is on top of it.
Cures aren’t nearly as profitable as ongoing treatments that often require additional drugs to manage the side effects from those treatments. Did chemo lower your white blood cell counts? Here’s Neulasta or Neupogen to help with that. And since those cause bone pain, here’s Claritin.
“Nothing is more profitable than a sick child.” — RFK Jr.
That said, mRNA has a lot of potential to cure cancer and other diseases. Research should continue.
Just don’t kill the kid too quickly.
mRNA has a lot of potential to cure cancer and other diseases. Research should continue.
https://nitter.poast.org/Jikkyleaks/status/1892294245932782055#m:
mRNA based gene therapy can’t “cure cancer” because most cancers are a cellular problem not an antigen problem.
But let’s try this.
Prosecute those who created COVID and committed fraud over the vaccines and remove liability shields.
Then see what happens
https://nitter.poast.org/Jikkyleaks/status/1892309435835465739#m:
Cancer is a hugely diverse biological entity so thinking you can cure it with mRNA gene therapy is naive.
siRNA could play a limited role in some cancers, but we aren’t talking about that
It was Elon who talk about mRNA curing cancer, not me.
I’m biting my tongue on your addendum.
Over 20 million people , adding up to 522 billion a year were over 100 collecting Social Security.
That’s not including the Medicare fraud.
Speaker of House suggests that they make people over 100 reapply and confirm they are alive.
“Speaker of House suggests that they make people over 100 reapply and confirm they are alive.”
I’m Not Dead (yet)!
https://youtu.be/EfOW9QrLs0o?si=tpZU_SCXTMcePTo0
over 100 collecting Social Security.
I’m not sure they were actually getting checks.
If they were, follow the checks to who has been cashing them. That would be entertaining.
“If they were, follow the checks to who has been cashing them. That would be entertaining.”
Probably someone tapping the same account using a debit card from a foreign country.
Multiple accounts
Vax Pushers Getting Owned, Ep. 287:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-02-19/executive-order-trump-cuts-funding-universities-still-mandate-covid-shots
I delivered some material for a remodel in an upscale neighborhood this morning. Pulling in I locked eyes with a good looking 40 something housewife walking her dog who looked good, knew it and had a big tease smile on her face as I drove by.
Being that I knew she would be walking by the house we are working on when I parked to have the boys unload the material I rolled my windows down and cranked this tune up for her as she passed. 🙂
https://youtu.be/sL9ZwmkooBA?si=TKa-d2GPgS-OStqr
She wasn’t born when that came out.
That’s ok I’m too old to be bothered with even if she knew the song and it’s meaning. 🙂
California’s FAIR Plan Goes Broke—Now Homeowners Are Forced to Pay the price. 23 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvTbYbb1S74
https://calmatters.org/economy/2025/02/homeowners-insurance-costs-rising-in-california-fair-plan/
At what point will banks stop lending for properties that can only be insured by the CA FAIR Plan?
I’ve seen on Twitter that difference in conditions (DIC) insurers are leaving too.
At what point will banks stop lending for properties that can only be insured by the CA FAIR Plan?
My best guess is only when Freddie/Fannie quit buying them. If they sell to Fannie/Freddie a lot of the potential risk goes away.
‘I’m heartbroken’ | CDC employees express feeling ‘under attack’ after recent federal job cuts
Some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees impacted by the recent probationary cuts joined community members in a rally on Tuesday.
The first employee said they felt “under attack.”
“My biggest fear is that people don’t understand the effects these cuts and these indiscriminate changes are going to have on them,” said the worker. “It will be slow, but when it comes, there will be no denying the cost of cutting grants indiscriminately cutting jobs.
The worker said working at the CDC was a dream job of hers before the recent changes impacted the federal workforce.
“I am here in this job because I care about the results,” she said. “I actually get to work on things that make people’s lives better. That’s a dream come true for me, and it’s a dream many other people share, people who have been thrown out of those jobs.”
Another employee said she is worried about the country’s health.
“I’m scared about the future of our country, that public health is being dismantled, and that unfortunately, Americans health is going to suffer,” she said.
She added that she still struggles to accept that she no longer works at the CDC.
“I’m heartbroken. I cried a lot this weekend. I’m also feeling like I’m in denial because I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve just been doing my job, and I want to keep doing my job,” she said. “I don’t want to work for someone else. I don’t want to look for another job. I want to keep working at CDC and serving my country. So yeah, it’s just very sad and heartbreaking.”
Sandra Lee Williams, the president of the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council, also spoke with 11Alive on Tuesday. The council organized the rally outside the CDC.
“We have to stand up and take a stance against what’s going on with our federal government,” she said. “We have employees here that have been here for years. Some are probationary, but they certainly have had experience, possibly in other areas, and they are being terminated with no cause.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/im-heartbroken-cdc-employees-express-feeling-under-attack-after-recent-federal-job-cuts/ar-AA1zjQrL
I don’t want to work for someone else. I don’t want to look for another job.
Good luck, maybe you can get a job at big pharma
and they are being terminated with no cause
That has happened to me three times in my career. No one from the press wrote a sob story about my plight. I picked myself up and found another job. And even though I have been at the current gig for almost 15 years I harbor no delusions about job security. Those who work in the private sector know that there is no such thing.
That has happened to me three times in my career. No one from the press wrote a sob story about my plight. I picked myself up and found another job.
+1 Ditto.
CDC is lucky they are only getting fired. They should have a nice trial followed by a nice hanging in the morning.
“I don’t want to work for someone else. I don’t want to look for another job.
The rest of us should all pay for what you want, not.
They have no idea of how entitled they sound
They sound like….Democrats.
Protests over federal layoffs, Trump administration policies take to DC streets
The grounds outside the U.S. Capitol were packed Monday with thousands of demonstrators including Bryan Smalls.
“It’s insane to me at this point,” he said. “I’m pleading with the American people to wake up and realize that we’re at a level of craziness that should just not be.”
“He is putting out a lot of things that look good in the headlines but when you read deeper into the stories about abolishing the Department of Education, taking away womens’ and minority rights,” Smalls said.
Sue Miller and Ann Claxton also came out to Monday’s rally. “I’ve been protesting , this is existential, this is really important,” said Miller. I’m self-employed. No one can fire me, I have the luxury to be out here to do this so I’m going to do it.”
The two met while doing humanitarian work in Senegal.
“This is like one step forward, 60 years back, women’s rights LGBTQ rights, our work around the world,” she said.
At noon, hundreds of federal workers gathered at the Capitol Reflecting Pool for a “No Kings Day” protest. Community members will call for action against his recent federal appointments, his recent layoffs of thousands of federal probationary workers, and his anti-LGBT+ and anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, according to a statement.
https://wjla.com/news/local/presidents-day-protests-dc-federal-layoffs-funding-policies-workers-community-naacp-aclu-donald-trump-administration-seperation-checks-balances-rally-what-to-know-activism-metropolitan
He is putting out a lot of things that look good in the headlines but when you read deeper into the stories about abolishing the Department of Education
Bryan, this might be news to you, but this is what we voted for.
Oregon workers fired amid Trump administration cuts to federal spending
Some Oregonians received a tough blow over the weekend as they joined thousands of probationary federal workers nationwide that received the pink slip from the Trump administration.
“The letter basically said that because of performance, I was being let go,” said Jillian Hochstrasser in tears.
The former Southern Oregon-based Forest Service technician said her boss had told her despite the letter’s verbiage, her performance had nothing to do with her firing.
“As far as I know, every single one of us got the exact same letter,” she said. “I literally had to go in and turn in the rest of my stuff today! It’s like really (expletive deleted). I got a cash award last year for performance, and my supervisor today even said it’s not because of me.”
Hochstrasser said despite her supervisor’s words, the letter felt like a slap in the face.
“We’re all really passionate about the work that we do, we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t, and so it sucks. It’s really tough,” she said.
Alongside direct firing of federal workers, the Trump administration’s freeze of nearly all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) grants are also prompting layoffs within the nonprofit sector.
“One of my main clients is located in Portland. It’s an organization that just recently received funding from USAID to implement work with orphans and foster children in three countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to support those kids who don’t have livelihoods, don’t have family systems and try to get them into the kind of support system that they should be thriving in,” said Michael Chapman a former direct foreign aid worker who now consults for nonprofits.
He said the grant of roughly $10 million for a five-year period was three months underway when it was dissolved as a result of the USAID funding freeze.
“We had hired staff, including myself, but a bunch of staff in the countries where we were working and it was halted overnight,” noting that the grant supported local organizations to recruit and pay foster families in Zambia, Malawi and Uganda to care for children so that they could be removed from orphanages and reintegrated into the community and family environments.
Chapman said after dedicating his entire life and career to foreign aid, he is now forced to look to the private sector for work. As a contractor, he will not be eligible for unemployment.
“It would be nice to say, ‘Oh, I can just look for work in the career I’ve had my whole life,’ which is international development and humanitarian work, but I know this is not a short-term problem. Even if things get reversed, the industry has been really shaken up and a lot more people are on the job market,” Chapman said. “I’m looking immediately to private sector, corporate work, maybe local government.”
He said the messages coming from the Trump administration about U.S. aid abroad is one of the hardest parts about the situation.
“There’s this idea that there’s just these lunatics, that it’s all corrupt, is the things that you hear in the news about USAID or the programs we fund and that’s extremely frustrating,” he said. “It makes me very angry on most days. It leaves me with a feeling of helplessness to know how to try to counter that, but also, you know, wake up, and what am I going to do, and where is my next job going to come from?”
https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-workers-fired-amid-trump-administration-cuts-to-federal-spending
From the comments:
Private industry will right size as economic conditions warrant. Many Federal workers believe a Fed position is a ‘guaranteed for life’ job (and from what I have heard from government acquaintances, once past the probationary period, that is accurate until your MRA). These probationary employees need to hit the pavement and quit crying to the press and politicians. If your skills are that valuable ‘delivering food supplies to fire camps and tracking inventory and financial spending on fire programs’ some private company will hire you.
About the USAID discussion, there may have been some programs worthwhile, however the overall unchecked spending at USAID overshadowed the beneficial. USAID was out of control and it appears none of the directors/managers/supervisors were doing their job reviewing those shadow payouts to dubious programs. Rather than send excess commodities overseas or helping orphans in foreign countries, turn those resources inward and help with the countless hungry and children who need help in the US.
Starting in Appalachia, some of the worst poverty is right here in the US in our own back yard. Hard working people, too.
“Safe” government jobs are just socialism. Oh, and they aren’t safe. The government does not produce anything, so by definition, if you “work” for the government, you are a non-productive worker. Unsustainable.
I fought forest fires for the USFS for three summers while I was going to college and there were plenty of these “lazy girl” jobs counting salamanders and cabling logs in streams to improve trout habitat etc. Just useless busy work and yet when it was wildfire season they were nowhere to be found.
GOOD… Sorry but there are way too many waste of money government job’s.. Now let’s fix our debt take out the Democrat corruption and fraud drill baby drill start making a profit then we can start talking about these pet project half jobs.. Not saying the people doing the job’s are worthless but the job at this point is if it’s being cut.
Ironically, none of these liberals voted for Trump anyway. I’d say that’s darn funny karma. LOL
Ba bye bloated govt. Ya wont be missed.
$10 million for a five-year period
Sure sounds like a lot of money, but after paying for your “execs” salaries, how much of that $2M per year goes to the poor children?
I’m old enough to remember when people who ran charities did it pro bono.
It’s become a YUGE grift.
Perhaps, similar to NGOs, they are NGCs.
US Catholic bishops sue Trump administration for halt in funding for refugee settlement
Catholic bishops sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its abrupt halt to funding of refugee resettlement, calling the action unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees and to the nation’s largest private resettlement program.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says the administration, by withholding millions even for reimbursements of costs incurred before the sudden cut-off of funding, violates various laws as well as the constitutional provision giving the power of the purse to Congress, which already approved the funding.
The conference’s Migration and Refugee Services has sent layoff notices to 50 workers, more than half its staff, with additional cuts expected in local Catholic Charities offices that partner with the national office, the lawsuit said.
“The Catholic Church always works to uphold the common good of all and promote the dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable among us,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the USCCB. “That includes the unborn, the poor, the stranger, the elderly and infirm, and migrants.” The funding suspension prevents the church from doing so, he said.
“The conference suddenly finds itself unable to sustain its work to care for the thousands of refugees who were welcomed into our country and assigned to the care of the USCCB by the government after being granted legal status,” Broglio said.
The conference is trying to keep the program going, but it’s “financially unsustainable,” he said, adding that it’s trying to hold the U.S. government to its “moral and legal commitments.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, notes that the resettlement program isn’t even foreign aid. It’s a domestic program to help newly arrived refugees — who arrive legally after being vetted overseas — meet initial needs such as housing and job placement.
“USCCB spends more on refugee resettlement each year than it receives in funding from the federal government, but it cannot sustain its programs without the millions in federal funding that provide the foundation of this private-public partnership,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit said the government is attempting to “pull the rug out” from under the program, causing it longstanding damage.
Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, recently accused the bishops conference for resettling “illegal immigrants” in order to get millions in federal funding — an apparent reference to the resettlement program, which involves legally approved refugees. The lawsuit noted that federal reimbursements don’t cover the entire cost of the program and that in 2023 the conference paid $4 million more than it received, while additional donors supported resettlement efforts by local Catholic Charities and other recipients.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-catholic-bishops-sue-trump-administration-for-halt-in-funding-for-refugee-settlement/ar-AA1zjS5L
I guess those refugees will need to get jobs. And those that aren’t really refugees will eventually be sent home.
I also think that there is a “your mileage may vary” aspect depending on which diocese you look at. I’ve never heard of any refugee programs around here. We’ll see if I do now that the free money is gone. I’ve never received a request for donations from Catholic Charities, which is not surprising since it appears they never needed my money. Most charity requests I get are for helping people in the third world.
The Catholic Church always works to uphold the common good
I never realized that this church was shaking down the government to pay for their charity work. Far from voluntary tithes and offerings.
It is disappointing to see the Bishops go to bat for Catholic Charities, an organization which I have long considered to be leftist and rogue, and which in many cases would defy the local Bishop.
You might find these interesting:
Liz Yore On The Coup In The Vatican: “McCarrick Was Uniquely Involved In Toppling Benedict” (4m31s)
INSURMOUNTABLE EVIL: Mike McCormick Details How Obama’s Deep State Defiled The Catholic Church (14m31s)
I haven’t given a nickel to the church since being kicked out of Mass for refusing to wear a mask. Every begging letter goes into the trash unopened.
‘It’s crazy!’: Miami Beach shooting victim speaks out after man shoots at their car, described them as ‘2 Palestinians’
One of the two victims hospitalized after a shooting in Miami Beach is describing the scary ordeal that unfolded Saturday night.
Ari Rabi and his father are lucky to be alive after they narrowly escaped death while on vacation in Miami Beach from Israel.
“It’s crazy, it’s crazy,” said Rabi.
Rabi said he and his father were driving on Pine Tree Drive on Saturday night when they saw a man, identified as 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, stop in front of them, get out of the car, and begin firing gunshots at them.
“He shot the bullets, like 17 bullets in the car, it’s crazy,” said Rabi’s uncle, Max Gurlovsky, who was helping translate for the two victims.
The uncle that was translating told 7News the duo quickly drove off from the scene as the car continued getting pierced by a barrage of bullets.
The shots striking Rabi in the shoulder and his father, Yaron, was grazed on his forearm.
Brafman was taken into custody. While speaking to detectives, the arrest report revealed “the defendant spontaneously stated that while he was driving his truck, he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both. The victims and the defendant do not know each other.”
However, Rabi said he and his father are Jewish, not Palestinian, but regardless of their ethnicity, they want to know why Brafman opened fire against them.
“They feel…also, a lot scared,” said Gurlovsky. “It doesn’t matter who you are. Palestinian, Israeli. Why you taking the gun and trying to kill us?”
Brafman has previously appeared on 7News when he called for unity after an Israeli flag was vandalized at a Miami Beach bagel shop.
Now, over a year later, he is facing two counts of attempted murder.
https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/its-crazy-miami-beach-shooting-victim-speaks-out-after-man-shoots-at-their-car-described-them-as-2-palestinians/
Here’s the video:
A 27-year-old Jewish man living in Miami Beach, Florida, was arrested on Sunday after shooting at two men he believed to be Palestinians.
The culprit, Mordechai Brafman, is being charged with two counts of attempted murder for opening fire at the duo who ended up being Israeli Jews on vacation in the United States.
Upon being arrested, the suspect reportedly told police, “I saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.”
The victims, Ari Rabi and his father, were in their car on Saturday when Brafman parked in front of them, exited his vehicle and started shooting.
Brafman fired 17 shots at the men as they sped away, fleeing for their lives.
Ari was hit in the shoulder and his dad was grazed in the ear, but they both made it out alive.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/M8VN2NaATt8e
1:40.
The war against DEI will cost us all
Elon Musk has declared DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) a “cancer” and “just another word for racism.”
Mark Zuckerberg is calling for more “masculine energy” in technology.
Donald Trump is promising to yank government contracts from companies that maintain DEI policies.
And then last week, for 24 hours – an eternity online – Shopify Inc. powered Kanye West’s swastika shop, turbocharged by a Super Bowl ad. The site sold nothing but T-shirts of the symbol, and despite knowing, Shopify said nothing publicly and told its staff to do the same. When it finally took the site down, it cited technicalities, avoiding any mention of a potential hate speech policy violation.
This isn’t just a series of disconnected headlines; it’s a tide turning. What was once a fringe backlash against diversity has seeped into corporate boardrooms, government policies and even everyday shopping experiences, gaining mainstream acceptance.
So many of us are asking: What is going on? And for Canadian companies, the real question is even more urgent: What do we stand for?
DEI is somehow becoming a dirty word, a radical ideology. After the Potomac River crash, Mr. Trump baselessly blamed DEI, claiming it put unqualified people in safety roles. This isn’t analysis; it’s propaganda that pushes the false idea that inclusivity and competence can’t co-exist.
We need to remind ourselves, over and over, because some people seem to forget that DEI is just fairness. It’s decency. That’s it.
Now, more than ever, Canada’s core values of fairness and decency are on the line, and leadership means taking responsibility – not erasing history or ignoring harm. Will today’s leaders build a future that moves us forward, or one we’ll be apologizing for decades from now?
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-the-war-against-dei-will-cost-us-all/
Trump’s lurking assault on Canada rests on endless lies and irrational populism
United States President Donald Trump has temporarily put his trade war against Canada and Mexico on hold after vowing to slap 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports, although he’s imposed tariffs on all steel and aluminum, including from Canada.
He has also upped the ante by threatening to increase tariffs should Canada carry through on its own threat of retaliatory tariffs, with the possibility of further sanctions in the spring following a U.S. government study investigating ways to address the country’s trade deficits.
This is nothing less than an attempt at the economic subordination of Canada by its giant and — until very recently — friendly neighbour and ally. But what makes Trump’s impending trade war even more absurd is that it is based on a series of lies.
So why such lies? I suggest that we need to look to nationalist populism for an explanation. A deep, often irrational, emotional bond underpins this form of populism.
Just as was the case in his 2016 election campaign, Trump’s 2024 campaign successfully tapped into people’s frustrations and anxieties over everything from high food prices to the housing crisis and rising precarious employment as he promised once more to “make America great again.”
Trump’s populism is therefore built on irrational, if not dangerous, sentiments: blind fear, pridefulness, xenophobia, transphobia, racism and aggression.
In the longer term, then, no one stands to win as a consequence of Trump’s irrational populist policy-making. In the meantime, expect not much else from Trump’s administration than more unpredictability, brinkmanship, intimidation … and, yes, lies.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/trump-s-lurking-assault-on-canada-rests-on-endless-lies-and-irrational-populism/ar-AA1zihKY
Trump’s lurking assault on Canada rests on endless lies and irrational populism
Because Globalism has worked out so well for us.
Trump’s populism is therefore built on irrational, if not dangerous, sentiments: blind fear, pridefulness, xenophobia, transphobia, racism and aggression.
They still refuse to understand that supporting all that, and especially coming for the kids and pushing pervs into the girls locker rooms was a huge mistake.
Were any of the tariffs ever imposed by Canada upon US imports virtuous?
Something comes to mind about two wrongs not making a right.
BOB WAKEHAM: NL cabinet minister’s Florida vacation bad look amid Trump tariff threats
You have to wonder whether Fred Hutton wished the other day he was on the other side of the microphone — the journalistic side he occupied for decades before crossing over to the fishbowl of politics — as he attempted to justify his questionable decision to take a vacation to the sunny beaches of Florida at the same time his boss, Andrew Furey, was preaching a strong (and commendable) local only policy to combat the antics of Demonic Donald.
Because, as it turned out, Hutton’s explanation to his former colleagues — those intrusive, dirt-seeking members of the Fourth Estate — was mighty lame.
And its feebleness was a conclusion he would have probably reached himself if he was still among the reportorial horde demanding accountability from a cabinet minister who foolishly vacationed in the U.S. while his province and his country were embroiled in a war of words with an unpredictable, dangerous bully who has gone tariff crazy and seems to think — think being a misnomer in his case — Canada would be absolutely delighted to become the 51st state and join a country immersed in the most dysfunctional domestic mess since its Civil War.
Hutton, according to the media coverage I was able to grasp, offered not so much as a hint of retrospective second thoughts on his poorly-timed trip southward, and defended his Florida venture with a pocketbook explanation — an ironic rationalization, given the economic weaponry being used by Furey and company — i n which he shamelessly declared that his trip was booked before anyone could have “foreseen what Trump was gonna do.”
Well, then, welcome to the Big Boy, Big Girl world of politics, Mr. Hutton, sir, Minister of the Crown.
A principled politician, especially one answering to a premier who has declared this unprecedented crisis to be an “historic existential threat” to the province and the country, would have absorbed the financial hit and scrubbed his flight to the beaches of Florida immediately.
Cancellation insurance would have obviously helped, but even without that advantage, Hutton should have done the honourable thing in light of these extraordinary circumstances, suffered the loss, bit the proverbial bullet, and instead — oh, I don’t know — perhaps tented a cabin on some Central Newfoundland pond and gone ice fishing for a few freeze-your-arse-off days.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/travel/news/bob-wakeham-nl-cabinet-ministers-florida-vacation-bad-look-amid-trump-tariff-threats/ar-AA1zi6X7
Canada would be absolutely delighted to become the 51st state and join a country immersed in the most dysfunctional domestic mess since its Civil War
If anyplace is a dysfunctional domestic mess, it’s Canada. They are overrun with immigrants, have an insane carbon tax, have a cost of living crisis far worse than the one FJB imposed on us and their currency is at an all time low.
So why do we want to annex them again?
The only thing I can think of is access to natural resources. But I would put them on probation as a territory and not a state, for a very long time.
Defining the Chinese Threat in the Arctic
https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/defining-the-chinese-threat-in-the-arctic/
What Canadians are telling the Tampa Bay Times
After last week’s column, a lot of Canadians reached out. Many wanted to add their 2 cents to the tariffs and trade wars debate. A few — very politely — called me a nincompoop.
Several asked the same thing: You know that Florida isn’t the only sunny place in the winter?
A few said they had already decided not to visit the United States.
“My wife and I have stopped going to Florida for the winter after 12 straight years,” wrote Ellis Webber of New Brunswick. “The Mediterranean countries want us, respect us and treat us with dignity.”
“There is only one reason Canadians have soured on Florida,” Webber said. “Donald Trump!”
Ed Dumas said Canadians don’t want a tariff war, especially with a longtime ally.
“But threatening another nation’s sovereign right to exist is unforgivable,” said Dumas, who lives in British Columbia. “This is the real source of Canadian anger right now, and Canadians have long memories.”
Toronto resident Larry Millson said he would not return to Florida this year.
“Americans might not realize the depth and intensity of the anger up here,” he wrote. “I love Dunedin, but I’m not going there this year and maybe never again.”
Doug Pierce said he would not return, either.
“You just touched the surface of the animosity that I see building in Canada,” said the Vancouver resident. “Tariffs are one thing that can be effectively countered, but the 51st state comment crossed the line. It is an insult to Canadians.”
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/politics/government/what-canadians-are-telling-the-tampa-bay-times/ar-AA1zj9E9
“The Mediterranean countries want us, respect us and treat us with dignity.”
Last I read, those countries, at least the locals, are fed up with tourists, and want them to stay away.
said he would not return to Florida this year
Let’s not mention that most Canadians can not afford to snowbird after years of radical Liberal government.
Realistically, Canadians are just invaders from the north. We won’t miss any of them.
Why the hate for Canadians all of a sudden? Canadians visiting Florida can’t possibly be on our top 100 list of problems here.
It’s just their turn. We are sick of everyone who invades, loots, and then complains. They are free to go elsewhere.
Canadians vacationing in Florida are invading and looting and complaining? Why have I never heard about this on the HBB or from any politician or anyone ever before?
It’s not true.
Hey Canadians, Florida won’t miss you. Now put your shack on the market and take your loss.
See above. Pretty sure there are cultural and economic benefits from Canadian tourism.
Joly says she rebuked U.S. senators who joked about Canada becoming the 51st state
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she told off a bipartisan group of U.S. senators after they cracked jokes about Canada becoming the 51st state.
Ms. Joly met with a group of U.S. senators, led by Republican Lindsey Graham, at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend to discuss possible U.S. tariffs against Canada, as well as the war in Ukraine and international security issues.
In the course of the conversation, some senators – whom Ms. Joly did not name – joked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s talk of Canada becoming the 51st state.
“What I said to the American delegation, when some senators were making jokes about it, I said it’s not funny. This is a question of respect of our country, respect of our leaders and respect of our people,” she told reporters in a video conference call Tuesday.
She said she told them that Canada will always be the best neighbour and ally, but “we will never be a state. We will never be a colony.”
When she was asked why so few of Canada’s allies have come to its defence as Mr. Trump keeps pushing the idea of the United States swallowing up Canada, she said that, in her conversations with European leaders, few of them were aware of Mr. Trump’s desire to take over Canada. He has made similar comments about Greenland.
“It was a wake-up call for Europe to hear what we are going through,” she said. “It was necessary for me to, in Europe, to tell them exactly what is going on.”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-joly-says-she-rebuked-us-senators-who-joked-about-canada-becoming-the/
From what I have read, a lot of folks in Saskatchewan and Alberta are open to the idea of seceding from Canada and joining the US, though I doubt they would be immediately admitted as states and instead would be territories, possibly for decades.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she told off a bipartisan group of U.S. senators after they cracked jokes about Canada becoming the 51st state.
They sure ae butt hurt. Meanwhile, I keep seeing ads on streaming services for Ontario, which tell me that they are our “friends and partners”.
Asylum-seekers: ‘The American dream is over’
JUAREZ, Mexico (Border Report) – Fabiola Guzman washes clothes over a communal sink at a Juarez shelter and ponders what’s next after President Donald Trump shut down asylum options for her family.
The Venezuelan mom, her husband and kindergarten-aged son were on their way to the border when the Trump administration declared a national immigration emergency and canceled appointments on the CBP One app.
That leaves her family few options. One of them is to go back to Venezuela. “The American dream is over. It is gone,” Guzman said. “Some made it, some did not. All you can do is keep fighting for the things you want wherever you end up – here or there.”
Guzman said she and her husband are trying to get Mexican work permits so they can save money for a return trip to South America that involves travel over seven countries.
She is not alone. The Rev. Juan Fierro, director of Good Samaritan migrant shelter, said several families from South and Central America have left the refuge since Trump took office on Jan. 20.
In fact, the shelter’s occupancy has fallen 20% in the past three weeks.
“As soon as they canceled CBP One some people said, ‘I’m tired, I’m going back home,’ and they went back to their place of origin. However, many have said, ‘I’m leaving,’ but they just go to another border city or look for ways to cross into the U.S. without authorization.”
Christian Moncada had an asylum appointment in El Paso on Jan. 21. He and his family were turned back at the Paso del Norte port of entry a day after Trump canceled all appointments.
“They told us they would not be receiving anyone and that we should go back the way we came. We missed it by one day,” the migrant from Honduras said.
Moncada said his only hope is that the Trump administration ends the emergency and restores asylum, or that the U.S. courts force him to do so.
Otherwise, “we will go back. It’s expensive because we already paid a lot to come here,” he said. “We may turn ourselves in to (U.S.) immigration and see if they send us back.”
Humberto Martinez, a Mexican citizen who has stayed at Good Samaritan for several months, said he has seen entire families leave the shelter and travel back to their countries in recent days.
He has also learned of others who went to the border wall in El Paso with the intent of being apprehended and flown back because they did not have money for a return trip.
Deportation flights from the El Paso area to South and Central America – and at least one to Guantanamo naval base in Cuba – have been documented in the past two weeks.
But the bulk of the deportations from El Paso to Juarez have involved Mexican citizens that Mexico is obligated by its own laws to accept.
Martinez, who came to Juarez fleeing drug cartel violence in Michoacan, said he will not go back to danger nor risk being sent back to Mexico by the U.S. with a spot on his immigration record.
For him, waiting in Juarez or settling somewhere else in Mexico are his only alternatives.
That is also an option many migrants at Juarez shelters are pondering, Fierro said.
“Some went back to Mexico City because there is more work there. Others went to Tapachula because they stayed there several months when they came to Mexico,” he said.
He described the current situation on the U.S.-Mexico border as being on “pause.”
“People are not coming because there is no path to asylum. Trump said MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols) would be back, but it is not,” Fierro said. “What most people want is not MPP but something like CBP One that will let them in immediately. Being called and then made to wait in Mexico is not very favorable for them. As soon as we have that, we will see the flow (of migrants) we were expecting.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/asylum-seekers-the-american-dream-is-over/ar-AA1zlOjC
‘He has also learned of others who went to the border wall in El Paso with the intent of being apprehended and flown back because they did not have money for a return trip’
Thieving scum right up until the end.
+1
And what would have been their economic contribution after crossing the border broke and allowed to stay?
They might be semi-illiterate and have no marketable skills, but if there is one thing they know how to do is game the system to their advantage. Had they been allowed to stay they would have become permanent fixtures in the Free Sh!t Army, driving a nice “troka” while collecting section 8 and EBT.
“The American dream is over. It is gone,” Guzman said. “Some made it, some did not.
Don’t be envious, Fabiola. A lot of those people, who you think “made it” will eventually be sent home.
Trump says cartels run Mexico as CIA expands drone flights
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that drug cartels are running the US’s southern neighbor amid a report that the CIA is expanding its drone operations in Mexico.
Asked by a reporter about whether the increased drone activity signals a new stage in the war against the cartels, Trump said: “Well, we’re going to see.”
The reporter asked a follow-up question about whether the US aircraft have the authority to take lethal action, to which Trump demurred.
“Mexico has allowed a tremendous number of people to go through their country and to ours, and even people coming from Mexico, and illegals, totally illegal,” he said.
“I will say this: we’re dealing with Mexico. I have a very good relationship with Mexico, but I think Mexico is largely run by the cartels, and that’s a sad thing to say. If they wanted help with that, we’d give them help. But Mexico, if you look at what’s gone on with Mexico for years now, but now, especially, it’s run by the cartels, and they’ve allowed millions of people to come into our country from jails and prisons of other countries, from all over the world, not just South America — Africa, Asia, all over, a lot from the Congo in Africa,” he added.
The New York Times newspaper earlier reported that the CIA increased its drone activities over Mexico to hunt for illicit fentanyl factories, a previously secret policy that began under the Biden administration, but expanded by Trump. Anonymous officials told the Times that the aircraft have not been granted authorization to take lethal action. The officials said they do not envision the authority to conduct airstrikes being granted.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/trump-says-cartels-run-mexico-as-cia-expands-drone-flights/3486160#
I took a peak at the Mexican media and they are losing their minds over this. One headline was something like “Elon Musk says drones can conduct airstrikes on cartels”
Mecxicans are already worried about getting stuck with all the central and south Americans. Another article details how Venezuelans are choosing to stay in Mexico, saying “there’s no going back”
Trump to sign more executive orders today; president launches fresh attacks on Zelensky
President Donald Trump lashed out angrily at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after he accused him of living in a Russian “disinformation space.”
The president called Zelensky a “dictator” and “modestly successful comedian” who has done a “terrible job” in leading his country through the fight while receiving billions of dollars in aid in a Truth Social post Wednesday.
Here’s the president’s angry Truth Social response to his Ukrainian counterpart after he accused him of being taken in by Russian “disinformation” earlier, in which he even goes so far as to refer to him as a “dictator” and accuse him of presiding over a corrupt regime embezzling defense donations:
“Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle. The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us — We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation. On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..”
The president further dismissed Ukrainian anger over its being denied a seat at the table at talks between U.S. and Russian negotiators in Saudi Arabia.
“I hear they’re upset about not having a seat. Well, they’ve had a seat for three years,” Trump said, also deriding his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky’s poll ratings and suggesting he “may” meet Putin before the end of February.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-signs-executive-order-expanding-ivf-access-ahead-of-joint-hannity-interview-with-musk-live-updates/ar-AA1yZWhw
“Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle.”
I’m sure there was encouragement from more than a few retired Generals with sinecure jobs at U.S. defense companies who are supplying Ukraine with weapons.
A lot of rich and powerful people no doubt had their snout in that trough,
Snout?
They look more like beaks to me. Arced, curving beaks, with large nostrils to inhale cocaine and the background incense of burning U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Charles Darwin studied beaks, and wrote some books about the beaks he observed out in the wild. And the inherant intra-species advantage of having a specifically evolved beak.
People are concerned about the loss of Government jobs.
But, I can’t help but think about AI/Robots replacing 50% of the jobs in the next 10 years. AI /Robots don’t eat, take vacations, buy products, pay taxes, take vacations, need health care, or pay for Medicare or social security.
So, you tell me who are going to be the customers for the business that is replaced with AI. Apparently AI and Robots need a lot of energy that they seem to want to deny humans.
So, all this production capacity by AI and Robots, with humans with no jobs or income to be other than wards of the welfare state. But, the State not getting tax revenue by the replacement AI to pay for the displaced workers.
So , the humans replaced will become useless eaters, not contributing to health insurance, Medicare payments, fed or state taxes, or able to buy consumer products.
So, why would Big Business want to create a situation where AI/Robots would replace the humans as their customer base and defund the taxes and other government programs that employed humans are currently paying?
It doesn’t make sense that a business model of bankrupting your customers and tax coffers by AI and Robot replacement is a viable business model.
So, could it be that there is another reason for AI and Robot replacement that is somewhat more like warfare to usher in a enslaved population, maybe a dead population .
Add to this gain of function global Panademics, Climate Change Doomsday , UN Sustainable Earth Agenda , and none of this looks like anything but Powers forcing a World that humans wouldn’t want.
But, I can’t help but think about AI/Robots replacing 50% of the jobs in the next 10 years. AI /Robots don’t eat, take vacations, buy products, pay taxes, take vacations, need health care, or pay for Medicare or social security.
They do use a lot of energy and require maintenance. Not to mention IT staffs to keep them up and running. But they will replace some menial jobs. I could see an AI flipping burgers and making fries, though they still seem to have trouble taking orders in drive throughs.
AI is already replacing 1000’s of contact center agents. I’ve used ChatGPT for marketing copywriting and saved a ton by not having to pay for that. Flipping burgers is for robots.
So, why would Big Business want to create a situation where AI/Robots would replace the humans as their customer base and defund the taxes and other government programs that employed humans are currently paying?
Automation has been replacing workers for decades. Remember when businesses had typist pools and armies of secretaries? Now only the big bosses have “admins”. And there is no one to talk to in HR anymore, if you need something done, you just do it yourself on the intranets website. Change your W4? Online. Change you address? Online. The only time you might speak face to face with an HR person is when you’re fired and maybe not even then.
Bass is history…Bass responded, “I don’t know. I think that that’s one of the things we need to look at.”..
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/02/19/bass-there-were-warnings-about-fire-i-wasnt-aware-of/
She’ll finish her term as mayor, and then be replaced by someone equally as useless.
Newsom proposes $125-million mortgage relief package to help fire, other disaster victims.
[Translation: Newsome wants to bail out the banks.]
https://archive.ph/mOVcI#selection-2423.0-2423.89
[snip]
Such money could be critical for many in Los Angeles County. Last month’s fires destroyed or seriously damaged more than 12,000 homes, but didn’t wipe away the obligation homeowners have to pay their mortgages.
As a result, many people are on the hook for not just a mortgage on a destroyed home, but rent for temporary housing.
Buying a house you couldn’t pay for with a promise to pay someday far in the future by what means you couldn’t know, might not have been wise.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/gcdn/authoring/2008/12/21/NSHT/ghows-LK-4a204a09-c2f9-4ccb-b743-b025e6ee27b7-80f917ae.jpeg
“How did we get here?” —Dubya
Saw this on twitter:
‘Wehmeyer, a real estate agent with Compass Realty, said the viral post is bogus and real estate professionals are scrambling to set the story straight. ‘Some realtors have been posting because they’ve been getting calls from clients saying ‘What’s going on? Is this true? Should I put my house on the market right now?’ she said. The largest increase in new home listings was in Loudoun County, which saw 24% more compared to that two-week period in 2024. ‘In Loudoun you are seeing that, but you have the new builds, the new construction, but you also have people who have been ordered to return to work and so they’re looking at maybe we should come back in and be closer now’
So Loudoun is fooked, got it Ashleigh.
‘I think, you know, saddling local residents with a 30- or 40-year-old building that needs a lot of maintenance isn’t a good idea’
It’s never worked out anywhere Tom. It’s Commie Urban Living™.
‘A downward trend of condo sales volume first became evident in August 2024 after the May 2 bill announcement and falling numbers of closed sales in May, June and July of that year. Condo median sales prices held steady for about half a year. Then, in November 2024, median sales prices fell 19.7% from $890,000 to $715,000 in and dropped 15.6% from $800,000 to $675,000 in January 2025’
It’s a good thing every body put 30% down!
‘I think you guys should start looking into monthly maintenance/HOA fees for condos in the Portland-area. They vary so widely and some are incredibly expensive. Is this regulated at all?’ Two attorneys specializing in Maine condo law say the answer is no. The I-Team looked at condos listed for sale in Portland and found monthly dues ranging from $285 to well over $1,000. Attorney Chris Neagle says well run condo associations also put monthly assessments toward ‘reserve funds’ to pay for major repairs and replacements like paving, painting and new roofs’
So the monthly cash out go can vary wildly Chris. Sound lending!
another one bites the dust…….
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/ev-maker-nikola-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy-protection
‘You want me to subsidize increased costs, but (the rent cap) does not cover those expenses,’ Kahlon said. He argued that Concord’s limit of 3% or 60% of CPI, whichever is lower, is prohibitively strict compared to rules approved in Richmond and Berkeley, which more closely align with the 2019 California law that limited rent hikes to 5% plus CPI or 10% annually. ‘Basically, my retirement income will decrease each year, and I’ll keep deferring capital improvements like paint, roofs and concrete. There won’t be enough money left over’
In your case Rami, we have the unusual circumstance where it might be cheaper to rent than to be a winnah!
‘He says that of that $600,000, his company will get around $30,000 in profit. ‘People think builders make out like bandits and that’s not the case,’ he said. ‘If you look at the risk that it takes and the longevity that it takes to take a raw piece of land to having keys for a house, sometimes I wonder if there’s a better way to make a living’
You paid too much fer the land Sam.
Yet every builder and tradesman I know has a huge house, a super duper truck for him and a Lexus for the little lady, plus boats, motorcycles, RV’s, etc.
It must be related to gold mines or something like that in Colorado as that is not the case for tradesmen in Florida. People who successfully own and run a contracting business do fairly well but the tradesmen are living like, . .well tradesmen!
I spent 50+ years in the business from union apprentice electrician to electrical engineer and union contractor business owner so I have seen a lot.
‘You can pay them, but if you use it (insurance), that’s a no-no’
Insurance doesn’t work if they have to pay out Bill.
‘Video released by police appears to show the moment two houses were deliberately set ablaze in an Ontario town north of Toronto over the weekend. York Regional Police said it happened early Saturday in the Township of King. At around 6:30 a.m., officers responded to a new-build residential area near 15th Sideroad and Charles Baker Drive, east of Keele Street, police said. Two homes were engulfed in flames when officers arrived. Both houses were under construction and unoccupied at the time’
They don’t openly talk about what’s going on in K-da. I find these dry police reports, but obviously some fooked speculators are burning down their igloos. It’s been happening for well over a year. The lenders and insurance companies don’t have anything to say?
‘Williams and his family, who live in Lancashire, are struggling to sell the second home they own in Morfa Nefyn, Gwynedd. Mr Williams and his wife put the house on the market in April 2024 but said they had had little interest from potential buyers, despite dropping the price by £40,000. ‘I put it down to all the other properties in the village that are up for sale at the moment,’ he said. ‘I’ve spoken to a lot of families who have had homes there for generations and they’re saying the same thing – how can we carry on with this?’
It’s just 12% a year Tom, yer sweet equity will double that, easy.
‘Majorca has issued a warning to ‘rich’ foreign property buyers – demanding they: ‘Go to Hell.’ The Osborne Bull, situated between Algaida and Montuïri, has been used for a fresh political and social message as tension over overtourism increases in the Balearic Islands. The bull has been used to voice opposition to the overcrowding of the island and the ongoing housing crisis in Majorca. On Monday, the bull was found with graffiti that read: ‘Rich foreign property buyers go to hell.’ The slogan has sparked significant attention, with some social groups, like SOS Residents, applauding the message. One social media user asked: ‘And who is selling these houses to them?’ A second added: ‘Greedy Mallorcan sellers, you could also go to hell!’
The Osborne Bull:
https://franciscogarvi.com/wp-content/gallery/toro-de-osborne-algaida-montuiri-mallorca/1_mg_1253.jpg
https://franciscogarvi.com/wp-content/gallery/toro-de-osborne-algaida-montuiri-mallorca/1_IMG_0371.jpg
Osborne is a major brandy seller in Spain, and the bull is their symbol. They pronounce it “oss bohr neh”
These Condos Are Just Not Worth The Headache (GTA Condo Real Estate Market Update)
Team Sessa Real Estate
30 minutes ago TORONTO
This episode looks at the current GTA Condo Markets – Toronto, York Region & Peel Region for the week ending Feb 12, 2025. We also discuss how tenanted condo units are becoming less and less appealing as more vacant and owner-occupied units hit the market.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APyV6hu2i9A
10:49.
New Documentary called “Decoding Cancer” out on Feb 22 for free on Mike Adams Natural News.
Basically this Documentary is suppose to show that light therapy combined with a few ingredients kills cancer .
Modern civilization took away life with sun. You look at plants and how they thrive in the sun.
I remember at the beginning of Covid a number of people were saying that UV lights would kill Covid. In hospitals they are using this technology to kill germs and bacterium.
Using sun block is the medical recommendation, eating toxic foods, and Bill Gates thinks blocking out the Sun and eating bugs and chemical fake food and dozens of MRNA vaccines yearly is “Health”.
Crazy ideas like machines that suck up Co2 emissions, and machines attached to cows to suck up cow farts.
But, don’t look at the dismal unsustainable state of chronic disease in the USA as evidence of failure. Big Pharmaceutical listed as third cause of death in US.
Just keep the party going with a straight face , and double down on insanity,
CNBC — U.S. housing market could lose nearly $1.5 trillion in value due to rising costs of climate change (2/19/2025):
“By 2055, 84% of all U.S. homes may see some drop in value, totaling $1.47 trillion in losses, according to an analysis by First Street, a climate-risk firm.
In the next five years, at least 20% of U.S. homes will be devalued in some way by the effects of climate change, Burt said.
“In the past, insurers have not increased prices because of these increasing weather events,” he said. “That’s all falling apart now because of the fragility of the system and some of the insurance market failures that we’ve seen in just the last few years.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/19/us-housing-market-could-take-1point5-trillion-hit-due-to-climate-change.html