Well, it would appear that China has decided the best way to penetrate our government is by saddling up to Democrats.
If you recall, it was not that long ago to that Rep. Swalwell (D-CA) was caught playing footsie with a Chinese operative.
Now we are learning that another operative penetrated the administration of New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Let Them In
Reports broke this week that Linda Sun, a former staffer of both Hochul and former Governor Cuomo, is a Chinese spy.
Her home had been raided by the FBI several weeks prior to the arrest of Sun.
According to the Politico report, some of the benefits she received from the Chinese were:
“A $3.6 million home in a ritzy Manhasset, a $1.9 million vacation home in Hawaii, a Ferrari, a Range Rover, event tickets, travel benefits — and even specially delivered Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a Chinese government official’s personal chef.”
Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, stated, “The defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP.”
Hochul stated that she had been alerted to Sun’s conduct and had already terminated her employment.
Hochul’s office stated, “We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process.”
Republicans are up in arms, but nobody is truly expecting much to be made of this because it is the Democrat Party, and not the Republicans.
In fact, the story disappeared almost as quickly as it surfaced, with very little coverage on mainstream media and cable news.
If you recall, the media did the same thing when Swalwell was honey-potted by a Chinese spy.
I cannot wait to see how the media decides to play Putin saying that he would love to see Harris win, and it appears he is a bit smitten with her to boot.
Animal Rights Advocates Equate Animals with Man to Extinguish Mankind
Animal rights activists never stop trying to establish the notion of equality among men and animals. To them, animals must be considered as persons, even though they do not have the rational and cognizant faculties of humans. They are instinct-driven and thus do not have the light of reason from which rights are derived.
One way around the dilemma of how animals should be treated is by creating a category called “non-human persons.” By turning animals into quasi-persons, activists hope to create some kind of legal rights for them out of thin air.
One such case involves a group of elephants. Activists have presented oral arguments before the Colorado Supreme Court, pitting the NonHuman Rights Project against the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, home to elephants named Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo.
The animal rights group argues that intelligent and social animals deserve the legal right to challenge their captivity, as would prisoners challenging their detention. The animals would be released to a sanctuary—which is only a bigger restricted place of detention for animals.
The NonHuman Rights Project claims that Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo are “autonomous and extraordinarily cognitively complex beings languishing in a wholly unnatural environment, unable to flourish and have their complex physical and psychological needs met.”
Exactly how the elephants communicated their plight to the NonHuman Rights Project members is still unclear. There is no evidence of abuse by zoo keepers. The animals are protected from danger, provided with food and receive attention from the public. They will be safer than if they were left to the forces of nature in the wild.
This new case is similar to the case of Happy the Elephant at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Former Colorado attorney general John Suthers, who represented the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, cited a ruling where the judges said the right to seek freedom from detention is unique to humans because humans can be held responsible under the law; animals cannot.
Indeed, no one has ever explained how animals will know and exercise their newfound rights, stay within the law and respect the rights of others. Animals live in ecosystems where species live off the lives of others without regard for their “right to life.” Thus, only humanity would be held accountable for the treatment of other animals since all other animals are governed by violent instincts.
A high-profile favorable rule in the elephants’ case could then be used to question the treatment of any animal, whether in a zoo, a pet or farmed for food. Conceivably, this protection could include insects, rodents, worms and maybe bacteria since they also have life. If animal rights enthusiasts achieve their goals, humans will be reduced to pacifist gatherers in a global ecosystem.
Indeed, many animal rights activists harbor a special hatred toward humanity for its exalted place in creation. Some go so far as to desire human extinction as a kind of reparation for all past domination and a means to “restore” the earth’s natural ecosystem.
The National Animal Interest Alliance, for example, lists hundreds of quotes revealing this hatred toward humanity and a desire for human extinction. Here are a few examples.
“If you haven’t given voluntary human extinction much thought before, the idea of a world with no people in it may seem strange. But, if you give it a chance, I think you might agree that the extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species … Phasing out the human race will solve every problem on earth, social and environmental.” (Les U. Knight, a pseudonym, “Voluntary Human Extinction,” Wild Earth, Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer 1991, p. 72).
“The life of an ant and that of my child should be granted equal consideration.” (Michael W. Fox, Scientific Director and former Vice President, The Humane Society of the United States, The Inhumane Society, New York, 1990)
“Deep down, I truly hope that oppression, torture and murder return to each uncaring human tenfold! I hope that fathers accidentally shoot their sons on hunting excursions, while carnivores suffer heart attacks that kill them slowly.” (Gary Yourofsky, PeTA Humane Education Lecturer, quoted in the University of Southern Indiana Student Newspaper, The Shield, January 24, 2008).
Thus, one senses that the focus of this hatred against man is not about rights or the abuse of rights toward animals. The target is much higher.
The radical animal rights activists resent the position of mankind in creation. Humanity’s rationality and ordering abilities put man in a position of governance and stewardship. The earth and all living creatures benefit from human existence and progress when men practice virtue.
The real target of these radical activists is their hatred of inequality and natural hierarchy; therefore, God’s plan for creation and man’s place as the highest creature in the material universe.
So, it was in the beginning. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” [Gen 1:26-28].
It was the most memorable Veterans Day of my life.
As many recognized the sacrifices made by the living I paid my respects to someone who sacrificed it all. His name was Sgt. Daniel Shaw of West Seneca N.Y. I was doing home visits with the pilgrim statue of our Lady of Fatima in Western New York when the area was shocked by the news of his untimely death. Although I did not know Sgt. Shaw, I felt that paying my last respects to a young man who died for his country was the best way I could spend Veterans Day.
“The Angels Must be Watching Over Me”
As I entered the room where he was laid out, I saw his flag-draped coffin with two soldiers on either side, in impeccably pressed uniforms and black patent leather shoes. Every half hour, they would change in a military fashion which added a refreshing and solemn note of ceremony.
In front of the coffin was Sgt. Shaw’s uniform neatly arranged on a display easel. On the shoulder of his jacket was a crest with the words “Keep up the Fire.” Behind his coffin were several dozen red roses, white baby’s breath and an appropriate blue ribbon to give the national colors.
In the next room were poster boards with pictures of Sgt. Shaw along with childhood mementos. Among them was a religious drawing done by the fallen soldier when he was only 10 years old. It was a picture of Our Lord agonizing in the Garden of Olives with a simple caption written in the block letters of a child that said: “Jesus is my Shepherd.” Underneath was a picture of the handsome little boy who would grow up to be a proud soldier.
The Shaws are a Catholic family and the religious side of their son was evident after he suffered an earlier injury from an RPG which exploded close to him. He was sprayed by shrapnel but spared serious injury by his Kevlar vest. “The angels must be watching over me,” he told his mother, “keeping me safe.” His mother recounted how this incident did not shake his commitment and he remained upbeat and motivated.
“He wanted to be a soldier,” his father, Ronald Shaw, told me. “He wanted to make a difference, to make the world a better, safer place.”
America’s Son
As I sat there in the funeral home parlor, I had plenty of time to absorb the scene before me. I reflected long and hard on the fact that Sgt. Shaw, like all of our soldiers in the Middle East, was not drafted. He voluntarily joined the army knowing that he would be sent into harm’s way. It seemed to me that if he gave his life for us, the least I could do was spend time thinking about what it all meant.
Brig. Gen. Thomas Cole.
As friends of the family approached the bier, I could not help but notice how they all seemed to be dwarfed in the presence of his flag-draped coffin. This was partly due to the imposing, somewhat intimidating, presence of soldiers standing at attention on either side, but there was something else. It seemed to me that this regular hometown boy was somehow transformed by having given everything. This became evident when Brig. Gen. Thomas Cole, the highest-ranking officer, approached. After clicking his heels in front of the coffin he slowly and ceremoniously brought his right hand up in a solemn salute. After a brief prayer, he made another solemn salute before doing an about-face and walking away.
It was then that the thought occurred to me how a man such as Sgt. Daniel Shaw is not just the son of a grief-stricken father and broken-hearted mother. The sacrifice he made somehow makes him America’s son. The nation cannot help but embrace him as its own. I was a total stranger, for example, visiting from out- of-state, yet I felt welcome as if I too were a member of the Shaw family as did the many other strangers who filed past the flag-draped coffin offering condolences to his family.
Sgt. Raleigh Heekin
Before leaving the funeral home on that memorable Veterans Day, I had the chance to speak with Sgt. Raleigh Heekin, from Denver, Colo., who served in the 9th Infantry Regiment with Sgt. Shaw. The task of escorting the body from Dover, Del. to Buffalo, NY fell heavily on his shoulders.
“It was the hardest thing I have ever done in the Army,” he said. “It is easier to be shot at than to do that.” I was deeply impressed by the calm and serious demeanor of Sgt. Heekin, especially after hearing his combat stories from Iraq. He was seriously wounded when an IED exploded under a jeep he was riding in.
“The percussion was so violent,” he said, “it blew my body armor off and left two of my men dead.” In spite of what he has been through, he admits that he wants to go back.
Sgt. Heekin also proudly wears the crest which I had seen on Sgt. Shaw’s uniform. He explained the meaning of their motto, “Keep up the Fire.” It actually goes all the way back to the Boxer Rebellion of 1899. At that time, Lt. Col. Lipscomb, another member of the 9th Regiment, while fighting in that conflict, was mortally wounded. With his dying breath, he encouraged his men to “Keep up the fire.”
As I watched Sgt. Heekin explain the history of the century-old-motto with such pride, I realized that Sgt. Daniel Shaw did not die in vain. On this Veterans Day, it became very clear that many others have what it takes to “keep up the fire.”
Having followed politics for as long as I can remember, I would have to look hard and for a long time to find someone as generally crooked as Maxine Waters.
Maxine Waters is embroiled in yet another scandal that multiple outlets have jumped on reporting. The California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters paid her daughter over $1.2 million in total over the last decade. However, the scandal is that the system is so rigged that it’s all been done legally.
Nepotism has no party as both Democrats and Republicans have made politics a family business. However, Republicans are aiming to ban lawmakers from putting family members on the campaign payroll. This is after many prominent Democrats have been called out over the practice in the last few years.
Republican Texas Rep. Pat Fallon has introduced legislation called the Family Integrity to Reform Elections Act. Fallon’s legislation would prevent campaign funds from going to a candidate’s immediate family. If passed the bill would make the candidate themselves directly responsible for knowingly violating the provision.
“The Family Integrity to Reform Elections (FIRE) Act is a critical step to reducing nepotistic practices in American campaigns. Allowing direct family members to be on the take of campaigns must come to an end. For example, Maxine Waters, the worst perpetrator, has given her daughter over $1.1 million in campaign funds. This is utterly egregious, and I will not stand by as the integrity of our elections is further diminished,” Fallon said in an interview with the Daily Caller.
The bill would not be good for Waters and many prominent politicians like her.
“Waters’ campaign shelled out $8,000 in September to Karen Waters, a surplus to the over $1 million her daughter has raked in from the campaign since 2003, according to Federal Election Commission filings. But scrutiny over lawmakers paying family members with campaign money has heightened as of late, with some Republicans aiming to bar the practice through legislation,” the Washinton Examiner reported.
“The over $1 million given to Karen Waters, including the $8,000, has been for slate-mailer operations. Karen Waters has also been paid for things such as “administrative services,” “fundraising,” and “rally expenses,” according to filings. Waters came under fire a few months ago for paying daughter another $24,000 in campaign cash during the most recent quarter,” the Examiner report continued.
“Karen Waters, who has been organizing slate-mailing operations to bolster her mother’s re-election for nearly two decades, and her company, Progressive Connections, have received more than $1.2 million since 2003 for campaign services, including ‘slate mailer management’ fees and ‘campaign managing services,’” reported right-leaning Fox News.
“A Citizens for Waters campaign committee filing from earlier this week shows that the younger Waters received $24,000 from the committee between January and March 2022. Slate-mailing is an uncommon practice in federal elections, where a consulting firm is hired to create a pamphlet of sorts that contains a list of candidates or policy measures and advises voters on how to cast their ballots,” Fox News added.
At this time it is legal for federal lawmakers to employ family members on campaigns. However, the practice has been frowned upon by ethics experts for decades.
It was the most memorable Veterans Day of my life.
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