by | May 27, 2024 | Aggregate
Stop Wage Theft, All Profit is Murder, image courtesy of Antonio Graceffo
Socialists claim that wages are being stolen and that all profits constitute theft. They argue that wages themselves are a form of theft and that capitalism inherently involves exploitation. The only solution, they contend, is government intervention, including the provision of a universal basic wage and/or mandating companies to pay a high minimum wage. Additionally, they demand that the government enforce fair hiring practices, dictate scheduling according to their standards, and prevent companies from laying off employees even when business performance declines.
To their point, if companies were not allowed to earn a profit, it would be impossible to determine whether a company was performing well and thus no justification for laying off employees. However, without the ability to earn a profit, there would be no companies, and no jobs. So, our current system seems much better than socialism.
There are headlines, Tweets, and Instagram posts from socialist sources all over the internet regarding the concept of wage theft. Wage theft is indeed a real issue, with some employers illegally cutting corners through various nefarious means, such as having employees come in before work to “set up” or stay late to “clean up” without pay. However, socialists have expanded their definition of wage theft to an exaggerated and preposterous level.
One source wrote, “A system of profit and wage labor is a system of theft.” They believe that the workers are the ones generating the profits, and they should thus be allowed to keep them. In some extreme wage theft camps, if firm XYZ earned $200 million in profit, they claim that the company stole $200 million from the workers, equating the entire profit to wage theft.
In These Times, a socialist news media outlet, stated, “Immigrant rights are worker rights,” suggesting that companies were engaging in wage theft when they paid undocumented workers lower wages. By demanding that undocumented workers be paid the same as everyone else, socialists inadvertently confirm the conservative argument that undocumented workers take jobs and drive down wages. If the socialists win and undocumented workers must be paid the same as everyone else, companies will have no incentive to hire them. They will lose their jobs and wages will rise.
Another example of alleged wage theft is “manipulating hours,” but isn’t that just called scheduling, and isn’t it up to the employer rather than the state to decide when and for how many hours each employee works? Another complaint is that some employers find ways to evade employment laws through various tactics such as “misclassifying” employees as independent contractors or paying off the books. Paying off the books is already illegal, as is intentionally misclassifying workers as contractors. However, if the classification meets the legal definition, then employers are not in violation. And if working as a contractor with no benefits doesn’t suit them, the employees are free to leave the company and get another job.
Hiring contractors is an important tool used by companies, particularly those with seasonal or dramatically varying labor demands. Legislation preventing the hiring of contractors would not only jeopardize many companies but also eliminate jobs for people who prefer to work as contractors.
Wage theft, from the perspective of socialists and extreme liberals, is often seen as part of a broader condemnation of the capitalist system, which they believe exploits workers. This viewpoint is reflected in headlines and posts such as “Only Socialism Can Put an End to Exploitation,” “Workers Should Demand Higher Wages Right Now,” and my personal favorites, “All Capitalism is Wage Theft” and “Why Profit is Theft.” One of the articles provided an example of how “wealth extraction” works: “Let’s say a worker does 8 hours of work to produce $160 in value for the company. If everyone was paid the full value of their work, this person would get paid $160. Instead, this worker is paid $8 an hour and receives $64, while the other $96 goes to the owners.”
This incredibly simplistic take on how business works is very instructive in that it helps us understand why this person is a low-paid worker rather than an owner. The author of this example believes that all of the “value” should go to “the worker.” But what about all of the other employees in the chain of production, delivery, and distribution? What about the administrators, salespeople, marketing, and operating expenses? If all of the value went to the employee, the firm would have a value of zero. How would a firm with a value of zero obtain financing? What investor would buy shares in a company that earns no profits and whose value will remain zero forever?
All of this discussion is tied to the fact that there are high inflation and high housing prices right now, and the job market is competitive, so people with no skills or degrees in useless fields cannot find work. Consequently, they blame the entire system with headlines like “Capitalism Can’t Give Us Affordable Housing.” They miss the point that capitalism provides houses at the market price and pays workers the market wage. If they feel housing prices are too high, they are permitted, in a capitalist system, to sell houses for less. If they want a higher wage, they are welcome to pursue degrees in the medical field, STEM, or other high-demand areas to earn more. They are also free to start companies and give all of the profits to the workers.
The post The Myth of Wage Theft and the Evils of Profit appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | May 27, 2024 | Aggregate
DEI hir Pete has moved on from attributing racism to roads and bridges, to now blaming airplane turbulence on climate change. (Screenshot: CBS Face the Nation)
In an almost satirical twist to the ongoing climate change narrative, mainstream media and some ‘experts’ are now pointing fingers at climate change as the culprit behind the recent ‘extreme turbulence’ that forced a Singapore Airlines flight to make an emergency landing.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that at least one person has died, and dozens more have been hospitalized after a Singapore Airlines flight was hit by “severe turbulence” last week.
The flight from London to Singapore was forced to divert to Bangkok after rapidly descending 7,000 feet in just six minutes, sending some passengers flying into the ceiling.
A spokesperson for the Chilean airline LATAM told news outlets that the issue was caused by a “technical problem” and would be thoroughly investigated.
However, so-called experts and media wasted no time in attributing the “extreme turbulence” to climate change that forced a Singapore Airlines flight to make an emergency landing.
The Conversation reported:
Climate change is expected to boost the chances of air turbulence, and make it more intense. In fact, some research indicates turbulence has already worsened over the past few decades.
[…]
Another kind of turbulence that occurs at higher altitudes is harder to predict or avoid. So-called “clear-air turbulence” is invisible, as the name suggests. It is often caused by warmer air rising into cooler air, and is generally expected to get worse due to climate change.
[…]
How will climate change affect the future of aviation?
A study published last year found evidence of large increases in clear-air turbulence between 1979 and 2020. In some locations severe turbulence increased by as much as 55%.
In 2017, a different study used climate modelling to project that clear-air turbulence may be four times as common as it used to be by 2050, under some climate change scenarios.
During an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation, Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg blamed airplane turbulence on “the effects of climate change.“
“The reality is the effects of climate change are already upon us in terms of our transportation,” said Buttigieg.
“We’ve seen that in the form of everything from heat waves that shouldn’t statistically even be possible, threatening to melt the cables of transit systems in the Pacific Northwest, to hurricane seasons becoming more and more extreme, and indications that turbulence is up by about 15%.”
Tony Shaffer immediately blasted Buttigieg on his false claim, saying, “As an actual credentialed expert on climate ([Wright State University] 86 BA in Environmental Studies) I can state with 100% certainty that turbulence is not caused by ‘climate change’ & that Pete Buttigieg is a Marxist moron…”
WATCH:
Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg blames airplane turbulence on “the effects of climate change” pic.twitter.com/ieIoMnzDww
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 26, 2024
The post The Latest Absurdity in Alarmist Agenda: ‘Experts’ Now Blame Air Turbulence on Climate Change appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | May 27, 2024 | Aggregate
The Second Annual Ashli Babbitt Freedom March will be held today in Washington DC.
The march will start at 3:30 PM ET starting at the Peace Monument and ending at the DC Gulag.
Via Midnight Rider.
Join the peaceful Ashli Babbitt Freedom March today in remembrance of Ashli Babbitt and others who gave all in service to this great country.
Here is today’s route.
Today’s march is sponsored by 4ashli.com and other groups:
AmericanPatriotreliefe.com
StopHate.com
AmericanProject.com
The Gateway Pundit reportedin January, one day before the third anniversary of Jan. 6, that Judicial Watch filed a $30 million wrongful death suit against the federal government for the Capitol Police shooting of Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt.
Judicial Watch Files $30 Million Wrongful Death Suit Over Jan. 6 Protester Ashli Babbitt’s Death
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court Southern District of California.
“Ashli loved her country and wanted to show her support for President Trump’s America First policies and to see and hear the president speak live while he remained in office. Ashli did not go to Washington as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose. She was there to exercise what she believed were her God-given, American liberties and freedoms,” reads the complaint.
The filing continues, “After demonstrators filled the hallway outside the lobby, two individuals in the crowded, tightly packed hallway struck and dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors and the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd, who is a USCP commander and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli on sight as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female. Ashli was unarmed. Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby.“
BREAKING: @JudicialWatch Files $30 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit against U.S. Government on Behalf of Ashli Babbitt’s Husband and Estatehttps://t.co/o7asveoVYf pic.twitter.com/5zrd94EQ2r
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) January 5, 2024
The Washington Examiner reported that the suit was filed on behalf of Babbitt’s estate and her husband, Aaron Babbitt, and claims the officer who shot Babbitt was “incompetent” and “dangerous” and should have recognized Babbitt posed no threat to Congress when she entered the House speaker’s lobby.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton shared on X, “We just filed an important lawsuit, a $30 million wrongful death action against the United States government on behalf of Ashli Babbitt’s husband and her estate. Ashli Babbit was killed for no good reason that day. Shot and killed by Lt. Michael Byrd.”
“Judicial Watch is seeking accountability from the United States government, that is responsible for that awful and unjustified shooting death.”
“Remember, the only homicide on January 6 was the unlawful shooting death, as our lawsuit alleges, of poor Ashli Babbitt. She deserves justice. She deserves accountability. And I tell you, Judicial Watch, and I know all of our supporters, are honored to be able to pursue this lawsuit to get justice for Ashli.”
JUSTICE! Judicial Watch Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Ashli Babbitt Killing!@TomFittonhttps://t.co/3bjPFl65EN pic.twitter.com/SzHIUKkhHq
— Judicial Watch (@JudicialWatch) January 5, 2024
Washington Examiner reports,
“The only homicide on January 6 was the unlawful shooting death of Ashli Babbitt. Her homicide by Lt. [Michael] Byrd is a scandal beyond belief. This historic lawsuit seeks a measure of justice and government accountability for Ashli’s wrongful death,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
The suit claims that Babbitt was not a threat to lawmakers and that Byrd had a soiled record of gunplay.
For example, it claimed that Byrd once left his Glock 22, used to shoot Babbitt, in a public bathroom. It also claimed that Byrd shot into a car allegedly stolen by teenagers.
The suit shared with Secrets also said he had his police powers suspended in the past for “failing to meet or complete semiannual firearms qualification requirements,” adding, “Lt. Byrd had a reputation among peers for not being a good shot.”
More from Judicial Watch and the court filing:
The lawsuit argues that, based on prior incidents involving Lt. Byrd, the Capitol Police, Capitol Police Board, and ultimately Congress, as Lt. Byrd’s employer, “knew or should have known that Lt. Byrd was prone to behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner:”
Less than two years before January 6, 2021, on or about February 25, 2019, Lt. Byrd left his loaded Glock 22 – the same firearm he used to shoot and kill Ashli Babbitt – in a bathroom in the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) complex. Lt. Byrd’s loaded Glock was discovered during a routine security sweep later the same day. Approximately 15,00 to 20,000 people pass through the CVC, which serves as the main entrance for visitors to the U.S. Capitol, daily during peak season (March-July). Lawmakers and staff charged with oversight of the USCP were not made aware of the incident until contacted by a reporter.
Lt. Byrd’s police powers had been revoked on more than one occasion prior to January 6, 2021, for failing to meet or complete semiannual firearms qualification requirements. In fact, Lt. Byrd had a reputation among peers for not being a good shot. Under USCP’s range management system, an officer who fails to meet firearm qualification requirements is given one week of remedial training. If the officer still fails to qualify after remedial training, police powers are then revoked until the officer qualifies.
Lt. Byrd’s police powers also were revoked for a prior off-duty shooting into a stolen, moving vehicle in which the occupants were teenagers or juveniles. The stolen vehicle was Lt. Byrd’s car. Lt. Byrd fired multiple shots at the fleeing vehicle in a suburban area. Stray bullets from Lt. Byrd’s firearm struck the sides of homes nearby. An official investigation found that Lt. Byrd’s use of force was not justified.
Previously, Judicial Watch received a memo on the Jan. 6 shooting “recommending ‘that the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia decline for criminal prosecution the fatal shooting of Ashli McEntee [Babbitt],’ also noting that the shooter, U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd, ‘did not create a police report or documents’ related to the shooting of Babbitt,” the watchdog reported.
Instead of accountability for this dirty cop, the Biden Regime and the US Air Force reportedly spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to House Michael Byrd in a “distinguished visitor suite” from July 8, 2021, through January 28, 2022, after he murdered Ashli Babbitt in cold blood, Judicial Watch also discovered. Byrd was later promoted to Captain in the Capitol Police Department.
Read the full lawsuit below:
Complaint Final 240104 10pm by Washington Examiner
Hope you can join the march today!
The post Second Annual Ashli Babbitt Freedom March Today in Washington DC – Starting at 3:30 PM ET appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | May 27, 2024 | Aggregate
In 2006, Navy SEAL Michael Monsoor, aged 25, gave his life for our country.
The Medal of Honor
citation describes how insurgents hurled a grenade onto the rooftop where the Americans were positioned. There was enough time for Michael to look at a teammate before he made the decision—to throw himself down, smother the blast, give up his own life so two others could live.
After the deployment,
George Monsoor invited his son’s teammates to Thanksgiving dinner. He listened to their stories; he wanted the truth. Initially, he’d questioned the official narrative, knowing the military had finessed incidents of friendly fire or other wartime mistakes to create a hero story instead. But everything checked out – it happened just as reported.
Michael had been in Ramadi for six months, surrounded by his brothers-in-arms but cut off from his blood family. The last call he made to his parents went to voicemail on George’s phone.
“Hello? Mom? Dad? You’ll be sorry you missed me,” Michael said into the recording.
Now, on a Memorial Day nearly 20 years later, I wonder how we should honor the memory of a man who chose to die for his friends and for his country, rather than return home to his family.
After Hector is killed in Homer’s
Iliad, his mother remembers how he brought the Trojans “so much glory.” She
ignores the fact that before his death Hector trembled in fear and ran from Achilles, his foe. She speaks only of the man admired by all, preferring the heroic version to the truth. Hector’s wife is ambivalent; she thinks of his glory, but also the shock of his sudden absence from the world. “Hector, my life is over,” she sings in lamentation, predicting the ruin his death will bring to her family and city.
George Monsoor’s reaction was more of a piece with Hector’s wife than his mother.
“Our family is strong, but there’s emptiness,” George said.
He mentioned the holidays and family reunions his son has missed in the years since his death.
“We’re still good, but there’s a void … something that’s not there.”
The country gained a hero, but for a father what lingers is the absence.
“I’m still waiting to hear him.”
Today, little remains of that spontaneous act of courage, as beautiful as it was destructive. The wars ended. Normal life resumed. A new generation of Americans entered adulthood without experiencing the trauma of 9/11, without the compulsion to defend their country, to gamble their lives on a mission eventually abandoned. I’m old enough to remember the feeling of solidarity brought about by 9/11, how “the Nation” became so real and so urgent as to inspire acts of courage from ordinary people.
But unlike the destruction of Troy that followed Hector’s death, America thrived in the years following Iraq and Afghanistan.
GDP has doubled since American troops fought in the streets of Ramadi. While becoming more prosperous, however, Americans also have become more self-absorbed, more aimless in our pursuit of happiness.
We listen to
politicians speak about the necessity of war but know that very few have been shaped by war, either personally or through a loved one’s journey. We encourage people in Ukraine and Gaza to take chances we can’t imagine taking ourselves. For Americans, war has become mostly a spectacle, a dangerous game played by others in faraway places.
In a culture where so
few are willing to sacrifice, we forget that our country’s story is written by ordinary people who make a difference in the lives of others, when making a difference means life or death.
In one of their last telephone conversations, Michael told his father, “I’ll decide if I die over here.” Those with Michael on the roof that September day confirmed he looked his teammate in the eyes a moment before hurling himself at the ground. For anyone doubting how much more he can give or what difference it could make, Michael’s heroic spirit ripples forward through time, giving life to a power that beats inside the heart of every American.
John J. Waters is the author of the postwar novel River City One (Simon and Schuster). He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a Marine in Afghanistan and Iraq.
This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.
The post Remembering a Death in Battle appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | May 27, 2024 | Aggregate
Violent True Believers,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 2011
The U.S. Treasury Department could be one of the most effective tools in the fight against terrorist organizations and drug cartels. Through its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI), the Treasury can impose economic sanctions on these groups and their supporters, including freezing or seizing bank accounts and other assets.
By holding Mexican politicians, military, and law enforcement accountable, the Treasury could effectively combat terrorism, drug trafficking, and illegal immigration. Unfortunately, politics often gets in the way.
According to the US Treasury Department’s 2024 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment (NTFRA), “the primary terrorism threat to the homeland comes from individuals in the United States who are inspired by Al-Qa’ida (AQ), ISIS, or domestic violent extremist (DVE) ideologies and who seek to carry out deadly attacks without direction from a terrorist group.”
Many of these individuals are naturalized citizens, green card holders, or illegal immigrants who entered through the Southern Border. Each year, thousands of individuals on the US terrorist watch list are entering the country illegally through Mexico, alongside cartel members and gang members affiliated with cartels. These individuals engage in illegal businesses or fundraising activities in the U.S., with the proceeds flowing back to the cartels and/or terrorist organizations.
Both terrorist organizations and drug cartels rely on a wide variety of illegal funding sources, ranging from drug and human trafficking, arms trafficking, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, and other crimes.
They are also increasingly branching into legitimate businesses, although they conduct these businesses in illegitimate ways, through extortion and corruption. Mexican cartels now dominate the avocado industry and are cornering the market in tortillas.
Meanwhile, Hamas, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and other terrorist organizations are now controlling the construction sector, property investment, and municipal building projects in their home countries, with the proceeds flowing through international financial networks open to Treasury sanctions.
Terrorist organizations also receive donations from high-ranking or wealthy individuals who support their causes. Some groups, including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), have even used crowdfunding.
Exploiting fake charitable organizations and manipulating international aid channels are other common tactics to funnel money into their networks. In recent years, the rise of cybercrime, including hacking, online fraud, and the use of cryptocurrencies, has provided terrorists with new ways to secure funding.
“Individuals and networks providing various forms of support for Hamas have been active in America for decades.” In the 1960s, individuals within the United States began collecting money for the Muslim Brotherhood of Palestine, which eventually became Hamas.
Groups within the U.S. used donor money to engage in activities such as funding, lobbying, education, and dissemination of propaganda in favor of terrorist organizations.
Terrorism funding received a tremendous boost in the 1980s when many charitable and service organizations, serving as fronts for international terrorist groups, were initially set up to raise funds and recruit fighters for the mujahideen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. Factions of the mujahideen later transformed into al-Qaeda.
Other terrorist organizations which have been funded by charities include al-Shabab, whose key leader, Hassan Afgooye ran fundraising activities and operated sham charities to funnel money to the group’s operations.
For his efforts, Hassan Afgooye, has been designated by the Treasury Department, however, al-Shabab continues to receive funding to the tune of $100 million per year which they earn through extortion and from contributions by businesspeople who support their activities. “Al-Shabaab’s revenues are disbursed to other al-Qa’ida-supported groups worldwide and help fund al-Qa’ida’s global ambitions.”
The Hamas Charter states that Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which claimed to be a benevolent society. Before his death in 2022, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi had been the Qatari link to the Muslim Brotherhood emerging as a most important spiritual authority in the international Muslim Brotherhood movement and the supreme religious authority for the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch, Hamas.
He supported Hamas suicide bombings against the US and Israel, through his fatwas, published on Hamas’ website, He established the Union of Good a global charity which was designated by the US Treasury Department for supporting terrorism.
With increased revenues, cartels like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel have significantly boosted their firepower. They purchase high-powered arms, including automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and anti-personnel mines.
More money also allows these cartels to buy political influence, enabling their operations. The U.S. Treasury could intervene by preventing drug revenues from flowing back to Mexico and seizing the accounts of politicians aiding the cartels, as well as those allowing terrorists and cartel members to enter the U.S.
Similarly, international funding for Hamas, ISIS, and other Islamic extremist groups has enabled them to purchase advanced weaponry. Many extremist groups receive funding from Iran, but Hamas is unique among terrorist organizations because it is viewed favorably by some American liberals who, wittingly or unwittingly, contribute money through U.S.-based fundraising activities and international charities.
The Treasury Department is hamstrung by politics. The U.S. government hesitates to impose Treasury sanctions on drug cartels for fear of damaging relations with Mexico.
Similarly, in the fight against Islamic extremist terrorism, there are accusations of racial profiling, as well as Biden’s concerns about losing the votes of U.S. Muslims and the support of undocumented Muslims entering through the Southern Border.
Interestingly, this highlights the need to secure the southern border and sanction Mexican officials who enable both drug cartels and Islamic extremist groups.
The Treasury Department could target these individuals financially without endangering U.S. service members or incurring the high costs of war. Financial sanctions are cheaper for taxpayers, and the seized funds could be used for border security.
The post Treasury Department Could be America’s Best Weapon Against Cartels and Terrorists appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
