by | Mar 28, 2024 | Aggregate
Scrumshus, Wikimedia Commons
This story originally was published by Real Clear WireBy Newt Gingrich
Real Clear Wire
It’s no secret that the American people are more concerned about crime and safety than almost any point in the last 30 years. Headlines are dominated by acts of violence and lawlessness, instilling fear, panic, and anger in the hearts of many hardworking citizens.
The leftwing defund the police battle cry has been totally destructive. However, those of us who really want public safety should not pretend all our policing strategies are perfect.
Our nation’s public safety systems are not immune from the bloat, waste, and ineffectiveness that naturally grows in massive government operations.
The federal supervised release system is a glaring example of such government bloat. Originally conceived as a mechanism to ensure accountability of individuals exiting federal prison – and guide their safe reintegration into society – this system has followed the typical trajectory of government programs. It has ballooned to triple its size over the last quarter-century. It now drains $500 million from taxpayers each year.
Our public safety return on this colossal investment is a system that squanders resources monitoring those who pose no threat – and neglects keeping a close eye on high-risk individuals. It also destabilizes communities and leaves them exposed to crime. In fact, the federal supervised release system doesn’t work for anyone – those under supervision, officers, the economy, or law-abiding citizens.
Hard data supports this disappointing picture. Long supervision sentences often lead to poorer public safety outcomes. This leaves us all more vulnerable. Something must change.
The bipartisan Safer Supervision Act is one solution. This legislation is a crucial step towards reducing the size of government, safeguarding economic freedom, and enhancing public safety – all of which are core conservative principles.
Consider this real-life example from the current broken system. Almost two decades ago, Daniel Lynn Brown was convicted of drug charges. He served 15 years and was released under the First Step Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law. He was placed on 10-year federal supervision, which began in April of 2020.
Nearly four years later, Brown has committed zero violations. He’s also maintained full-time employment as a project manager at a construction company, purchased two homes, and been a devoted father to his five children.
Yet, Brown remains under federal supervision. He’s not allowed to travel without approval from his probation officer – which has led him to turn down numerous work opportunities, including a “dream job” helping ex-prisoners turn their lives around. Random drug testing and check-ins with his probation officer take him away from work and family obligations. Despite posing no public safety risk, Brown remains trapped in an ever-expanding government bureaucracy.
Browns’ experience flies in the face of basic conservative values. The government exists to keep us safe and protect our rights. Keeping Brown on needless federal supervision does neither. Instead, it wastes our tax dollars and keeps him from reaching his full potential.
Under the Safer Supervision Act, Daniel would have a clear path off of supervision at the halfway point of his term. He would receive guidance on how to request early termination, whether he qualified for presumptive early termination based on his good conduct and compliance, the factors weighed by the court, and the ability to request legal counsel, if needed.
This streamlined process, with clear standards for, or against, early termination, would better safeguard law enforcement resources and reduce wasteful spending – all while incentivizing good behavior, compliance with conditions, and rehabilitation.
Moreover, under the Safer Supervision Act, courts would conduct individualized assessments for each person placed on federal supervision. This would ensure that the government only imposes this sentence when a legitimate public safety interest is served and with conditions that keep communities protected. This would help shift compliance toward a meaningful measure of rehabilitation and success, rather than simply an exercise in arbitrary and complex rule-following.
As President Ronald Reagan said in his 1985 State of the Union address, “Every dollar the federal government does not take from us, every decision it does not make for us will make our economy stronger, our lives more abundant, our future more free.” President Reagan was right then and now. I’d add to his remarks that every dollar we don’t throw away supervising people such as Brown is a dollar that could be spent protecting Americans from real danger.
This is why the Safer Supervision Act has earned the endorsement of the Federal Law Enforcement Officer Association. Unlike Department of Justice bureaucrats, these men and women are focused on protecting crime victims, encouraging rehabilitation, and seeing that people become productive, law-abiding members of society. These officers’ caseloads can sometimes exceed 100 cases per officer – about 50 percent higher than recommended. They know better than anyone how the current system wastes time and resources.
Across the country, conservative leaders have been fighting for commonsense reforms that keep the peace and rein in big government. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation that helped low-risk, nonviolent offenders find paths to rehabilitation. The result was a 29 percent drop in crime and a more than $2 billion-savings in prison costs. Oklahoma and Missouri both shrunk their prison populations by creating similar pathways to redemption for low-risk offenders.
It’s little wonder that conservative leaders at the federal level are champions for the Safer Supervision Act. Congressmen Wesley Hunt, Burgess Owens, and Byron Daniels; Sens. John Cornyn and Mike Lee; and more support this bill.
With a national election on the horizon, passing the Safer Supervision Act would send a clear message: When it comes to keeping Americans safe and cutting government waste, conservatives mean business.
I urge you to contact your Senators and Member of Congress and tell them to pass the Safer Supervision Act.
For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.
The post Congress Must Pass the Safer Supervision Act appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Mar 28, 2024 | Aggregate
The top US intelligence agency sent out a list recently of banned terms that may be offensive to some Americans.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is responsible for handling the country’s spy apparatus.
The list released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) includes terms like “jihadists” and “radical Islamists” that may be offensive to all Muslims… Wait, what?
So this is the type of crap our government is promoting? What then is the proper term for an Islamist who shoots innocent men, women and children in a theater? …Or raids a dance party and slaughters 370 innocent young adults and kids dancing at a rave?
Muslim member of the Islamic Jihad group.
Adam Kredo at The Washington Free Beacon reported:
The United States’ top intelligence agency wants to ban its spies from using “biased language,” including the terms “radical Islamists” and “jihadist,” saying these words “are hurtful to Muslim-Americans and detrimentally impact our efforts as they bolster extremist rhetoric,” according to a language guide published internally.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which is responsible for handling the country’s spy apparatus, seeks to ban a range of common terms because it says they offend Muslims and foment racism against employees. In addition to terms describing Islamic terrorists, ODNI instructs employees to avoid phrases such as “blacklisted,” “cakewalk,” “brown bag,” “grandfathered,” and “sanity check.”
“Blacklisted,” for instance, “implies black is bad and white is good,” while “cakewalk” is said to refer “to a dance performed by slaves for slave owners on plantation grounds.” “Brown bag,” a term most often used to describe a paper bag that holds one’s lunch, actually “refers to the ‘brown bag’ test practices in the 20th century within the African American community,” according to ODNI, which outlined these terms in an internal magazine produced by the agency’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.
The document, which was first reported by the Daily Wire is the latest example of how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives inside the American government are reshaping how employees speak to one another and perform their national security jobs. Critics describe these programs as part of a “woke” cultural shift promoted by far-left activists and their allies in the Biden administration. Republicans in Congress are looking to strip millions in federal funding for DEI programs across the military and other agencies, arguing they fundamentally harm the country’s national security operations across the globe.
The post US Intel Agency Bans Use of Terms “Radical Islamists” and “Jihadists” Because It May Be Hurtful to All Muslims appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Mar 28, 2024 | Aggregate
Far left Judge Juan Manuel Merchan
A spokesperson for the New York Office of Court Administration said President Trump lashed out at Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter based on a social media account that no longer belongs to her.
President Trump on Wednesday said the daughter of the far-left judge who just hit him with a gag order in the Stormy Daniels ‘hush payment’ case posted a photo of him behind bars.
Trump called on NY Judge Juan Merchan to recuse himself after his daughter who represents “Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, and other Radical Liberals,” posted a picture of him in jail.
An X account that Trump alleged belonged to Loren Merchan (The Gateway Pundit was unable to confirmed it was her account) posted a photo of Trump behind bars. The photo has since been changed to a picture of Kamala Harris.
Trump’s lawyers previously moved to force Judge Merchan to recuse himself after it was revealed his daughter Loren Merchan worked with the Biden-Harris campaign.
On Wednesday Trump went off on the judge in a series of Truth Social posts and called for him to recuse himself from the case after accusing his daughter of posting a photo of him in jail.
“Judge Juan Merchan, who is suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (whose daughter represents Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, and other Radical Liberals, has just posted a picture of me behind bars, her obvious goal, and makes it completely impossible for me to get a fair trial) has now issued another illegal, un-American, unConstitutional “order,” as he continues to try and take away my Rights. This Judge, by issuing a vicious “Gag Order,” is wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement, including the fact that Crooked Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and their Hacks and Thugs are tracking and following me all across the Country, obsessively trying to persecute me, while everyone knows I have done nothing wrong!” Trump said on Wednesday.
In a bizarre twist, a spokesperson for the court said the X account no longer belongs to Juan Merchan’s daughter.
So who is running the account?
“The X, formerly Twitter, account being attributed to Judge Merchan’s daughter no longer belongs to her since she deleted it approximately a year ago,” state OCA spokesperson Al Baker said in a statement to The Hill on Thursday.
“It is not linked to her email address, nor has she posted under that screenname since she deleted the account,” Baker continued. “Rather, it represents the reconstitution, last April, and manipulation of an account she long ago abandoned.”
According to The Spectator, analysis of the Twitter ID reveals Loren Merchan changed her Twitter name.
“Analysis of the Twitter ID associated with the account shows that Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter Loren’s known Twitter account, that she has used since 2016, had its name changed and was set private at some point last spring,” The Spectator reported.
“The same Twitter ID associated with Loren Merchan’s original Twitter account name, @LorenM426, is now attached to a new name, @LorenM0604, that has a profile picture of Loren Merchan, the same number of followers and posts as the account created in 2016, viewable in archives of the account. It is unclear who runs this account.” The Spectator said.
It is unclear why Loren Merchan changed her Twitter name.
It is also unclear who runs the new X account that used to belong to Loren Merchan.
The post Who’s Behind The Account? Court Claims Trump Attacked Judge Merchan’s Daughter Based on Social Media Account That No Longer Belongs to Her appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Mar 28, 2024 | Aggregate
Shortly after the 2016 election, one name was constantly on the headlines and in the news – Stormy Daniels. But after raking Trump across the coals for YEARS regarding his alleged dealings with her, is it possible there’s MORE to the story – more that the general population wasn’t told in order to misalign Trump? Elijah Schaffer discusses more on today’s Beyond the Headlines!
The post Beyond the Headlines with Elijah Schaffer: SHOCKING New Details in Trump and Stormy Daniels Case REVEALED (Video) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Mar 28, 2024 | Aggregate
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday notified Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that the House will deliver the articles of impeachment against DHS Chief Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10.
“Together with the 11 House impeachment managers, I sent a letter to Senator Schumer telling him we’ll deliver the articles of Secretary Mayorkas’ impeachment to the Senate on April 10th and that he must hold a full trial,” Speaker Johnson said.
“The American people deserve accountability,” he added.
Together with the 11 House impeachment managers, I sent a letter to Senator Schumer telling him we’ll deliver the articles of Secretary Mayorkas’ impeachment to the Senate on April 10th and that he must hold a full trial.
The American people deserve accountability. pic.twitter.com/HHchkcnJO9
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 28, 2024
The American people demanded that Congress hold Mayorkas accountable for violating immigration laws and his oath.
The resolution, H. Res. 863, accused Secretary Mayorkas of high crimes and misdemeanors, setting the stage for a contentious vote in the House of Representatives.
Specifically, the two articles contained in the resolution accuse Mayorkas of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” in enforcing border policy and “breach of public trust.”
Last month Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached in the House of Representatives by a vote of 214 to 213. Mayorkas was the first cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly 150 years and the first sitting cabinet secretary in history to be impeached.
More than 11 million illegals – mainly military-age males – have invaded the US on Joe Biden’s open border invitation.
As Mayorkas faced impeachment for overseeing the invasion, he blamed Climate Change for the flood of illegals.
BREAKING: Video from a contact on the ground in Eagle Pass, TX right now shows a mass of thousands of migrants waiting to be processed by Border Patrol after they crossed illegally today. I’ve spent hundreds of days there over the last 2+ years and I’ve never seen it like this. pic.twitter.com/JPNYY7sPxI
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 19, 2023
Instead of protecting the US border and instructing agents to stop the invasion, Mayorkas was too busy warning them to be ‘respectful’ and ask the illegals their preferred pronouns.
The post Speaker Johnson to Deliver Impeachment Articles Against Mayorkas to Senate on April 10 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
