The border won’t be secured this year‚ after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) proposed a deal that breaks border security off from the little leverage Republicans had‚ leaving it to drift into the void. Republican leadership’s plan is to pass funding for Ukraine's and Israel’s wars‚ as well as a bill forcing TikTok to divest from its Chinese owner‚ a bill to seize Russian bank assets‚ and other foreign aid and sanctions‚ bundling them all together to send to the Democrat-controlled Senate. The War Party gets what it wants‚ the appropriators spend what they want‚ the latest tax bill always passes. Oh‚ and the Rules Committee‚ Johnson said in his Wednesday statement‚ will “also be posting text on a border security bill that includes the core components of HR 2‚ under a separate rule that will allow for amendments.” The process for the first vote maneuver‚ nicknamed “MIRV‚” is complex. But it comes down to combining Washington hawks’ and the administration’s national security wish list before sending it to the upper chamber as one package. The process for the second maneuver is less complex: It’s a simple betrayal of popular demands for a secure border‚ combined with what one senior GOP aide called “a pat on the head.” The problem is that Democrats don’t want to pass border security. While the White House knows the southern invasion is a serious political liability‚ the administration is more afraid of the left-wing activists in the party than of the regular voters. That means the only way for Republicans to protect the border was to attach it to other top concerns — a strategy that is dead‚ thanks to Johnson’s deal. Why Johnson ditched his promises This is not the way it was supposed to play out. We were told border security was the number-one priority for the new speaker. In a White House Situation Room meeting with administration officials‚ for example‚ Johnson presented “two essential prerequisites: security at our border‚ and critical answers regarding the funds requested.” We know this because he wrote it down in a December 5 letter reiterating Republicans’ position to one of the October meeting participants. Border security as a prerequisite for aid to foreign countries was among the speaker’s first promises and was repeated throughout his first few months in office. Border security is also among the Republican Party’s top pledges‚ repeated by candidates and politicians from the Rio Grande to Montana. More than that‚ in poll after poll‚ from New Mexico to Massachusetts‚ illegal immigration is voters’ top concern. In Washington‚ D.C.‚ however‚ it can get in the back of the line‚ behind Ukraine‚ Israel‚ Gaza‚ Sudan‚ and all the other places scheduled for the $95 billion in taxpayer funds Johnson is proposing to send abroad. So what changed&;#63; For one thing‚ Iran’s attack on Israel. Though part of a broader back-and-forth‚ and resulting in no deaths‚ the boldness of Iran itself responding (instead of using its many proxies) gave ammunition to Republican hawks eager to untie their war funds from U.S. security‚ while also giving cover to Democrat politicians targeted by anti-Israel and pro-Hamas activists. For another‚ continued Russian pressure on Ukraine frightened nervous members of both parties. “I think we’re already seeing things on the battlefield begin to shift a bit in terms of in Russia’s favor‚” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told the defense appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday. The Russians are beating the Ukrainians in terms of “munitions ... vehicles [and] ... platforms‚&;quot; Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Q. Brown agreed. Panic in the SCIF And finally‚ there’s the SCIF‚ or “Sensitive Compartmentalized Intelligence Facility‚” where the American intel community shares secret information with lawmakers‚ who can neither confirm it nor repeat it outside the SCIF. On Tuesday‚ the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and his Democrat colleague issued a joint statement citing secret briefings that convinced them of the imminent need to send money to Ukraine‚ even at the cost of losing all leverage over the administration to secure the border. “Today‚ in a classified briefing‚” they wrote‚ “our committee was informed of the critical need to provide Ukraine military aid this week.&;quot; It wasn’t the first time a secret briefing had sent Intel Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) spinning. In February‚ he caused a brief panic about a new Russian secret weapon after leaving the SCIF in such a tizzy that it took statements from the White House and his Senate counterparts to calm everyone down. Johnson has been known to dabble in the SCIF as well. “When I became speaker‚” he told reporters April 10‚ “I went to the SCIF and got the confidential briefing from sort of the other perspective on that‚ to understand the necessity of Section 702 of FISA and how important it is for national security. And it gave me a different perspective.” Those sorts of meetings are almost certainly responsible for the speaker’s flip-flop on more taxpayer aid to Ukraine’s war. “Every person who's spent any time in D.C. knows the ... classified intel briefing in the SCIF is merely a leash‚” Tucker Carlson said in a post last week. “It’s a collar around your neck attached to a chain‚ and at the other hand is your handler ... telling you that if you don’t go along with the program‚ Americans will die.” Funny how the pressure works up so often for wars abroad and so rarely for deaths at home. But in Washington that pressure is relentless — and one-sided. And we see the results play out the same way‚ time and time again: The War Party gets what it wants‚ the appropriators spend what they want‚ the latest tax bill always passes. But the concerns of the American people&;#63; The invasion of our southern border&;#63; Take a number and get in line. Maybe next year. (But probably not.)

By now‚ it must be overwhelmingly apparent to every American that what candidate Barack Obama promised on the campaign trail in 2008 has come to pass. Obama touted a “fundamental transformation of America” if elected president‚ and‚ once elected‚ he proceeded to accomplish that one huge goal.It can certainly be argued that the country experienced a slow boiling of the frog during the eight years of Obama's presidency and that‚ during that period‚ the pot neither got to boil too long nor did the frog feel the heat intensely enough to hop out. Hillary Clinton was anointed by the Democrats to follow Obama to continue the unraveling of America's constitutional republic‚ replacing it with their own interpretation of “democracy.”Good men and women need to be ever vigilant. This year’s election may be our final wake-up call.But somehow out of nowhere‚ a wrecking ball named Donald J. Trump collided with the original fundamental-transformation plan. As we all experienced‚ however‚ that was only a temporary setback. Once the 2020 election was successfully rigged and stolen and a hand puppet-Biden government was installed‚ Obama and his global handlers continued stirring and reheating the pot to the required boiling point.As it turned out‚ this time around turning up the heat also necessitated putting a lid on the pot because there was a real chance that the frog might finally catch on and attempt to jump out.So‚ where are we now&;#63;The pot continues to frantically boil with the frog finally awakening to its fate — but trapped inside the pot. And the only one capable of removing the lid is that same old why-won’t-he-just-go-away-already Trump. Even with the onslaught of tactics straight out of the Jussie Smollett playbook (i.e.‚ if you can’t find a crime‚ make one up) resulting in New York- and D.C.-style “fair” trials and verdicts‚ Trump continues to generate his own heat resulting in the heads of Democrats boiling — and sometimes even exploding.What is it about Trump and‚ more importantly‚ the movement that he has inspired&;#63;One could say that the MAGA movement is the Tea Party supercharged. The Tea Party was pushback against Obama’s early years in office‚ a sizable portion of the country saying we see what “fundamental transformation&;quot; really means — pitting poor against rich‚ black against white‚ women against men‚ children against parents. We said these were not the ideals upon which our country was founded nor for which it fought.Can anyone stand in a cemetery and thoughtfully observe rows upon rows of simple‚ small‚ white crosses heading hundreds of graves that mark fallen soldiers and not reflect upon their noble sacrifices&;#63; Did these overwhelmingly young men and women not go off to war to fight tyranny overseas to preserve the God-given freedoms we peacefully enjoy here at home&;#63; What would any of them say today about their sacrifices&;#63; Would they really have gone off to fight to preserve the unraveled‚ fundamentally transformed country in which we now find ourselves&;#63; A country of:Wide-open borders allowing an overwhelming influx of unvetted foreigners‚ along with human traffickers‚ drug-pushers‚ killer gangs‚ dangerous diseases;Males claiming to be females to win swimming meets and track races against girls;Graphic sex literature being made available to kindergarteners and young elementary-age school children;Boys and girls being told they can medically and surgically change their sex if it “feels right‚” even without parental consent;Election Day becoming Election Month where one party can keep counting ballots until it has manufactured its desired outcome; andVilifying‚ even jailing‚ the opposition party with whom your party disagrees.Whenever Democrats and the left in general talk about Trump supporters‚ they always sneer when saying the name “MAGA.” But they never say the words for which the letters refer. Why not&;#63; They do not want people to hear that the opposition to their leftism comes from people who want to “make America great again.”If you love this country‚ why would you not want to see it great‚ now and in the future&;#63; And the opposite is also true. If you do not love this country‚ why would you not want to change it or progress in an entirely different direction‚ thus the need to manufacture a transformation&;#63;When you marry someone‚ after you say‚ “I do‚” you don’t then say‚ “Now that I have you‚ I want you to transform‚ to be a totally different person. I don't love you‚ per se‚ I love the person I can now turn you into.”If you don’t love this country‚ and you don’t want to leave it‚ you would stay and fundamentally transform it. And to do so‚ you would need to unravel the very foundations upon which the country was built. Unravel the unity of We the People; unravel the belief of Nature and Nature's God; unravel limited government — since these three principles alone are key to the true freedom made possible within self-government.This year’s election may be our final wakeup call.Good men and women need to be ever vigilant. We must ensure the Democrats‚ the deep state‚ the RINOs‚ and the globalists do not have even the slightest chance to solidify their scheme to fundamentally transform this great nation by completely unraveling its foundations.Editor’s note: A version of this article originally appeared at the American Thinker.

How do you increase your Manor Lords population&;#63; The prospect of building a functional‚ pleasant‚ and busy town can be quite daunting with each new round of Manor Lords. You’re initially awarded few families with which to work and must figure out the best way to utilize them - increasing your population will also increase your workforce‚ but how do you do it&;#63; The village-builder‚ Manor Lords‚ is out now‚ and players are knee-deep in mud trying to figure out the best way of increasing their Manor Lords approval rating‚ and how to attract more families in the building game. We’ve built big and built small‚ and have figured out a few tips for increasing your population in Manor Lords. Continue reading How to increase your Manor Lords population MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best city builders‚ Best PC strategy games

GPU prices are continuing to fall‚ and that’s good news for gamers‚ with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT price now dropping to just $395 in this graphics card deal. That’s the cheapest price we’ve ever seen for this mid-range gaming GPU‚ making it a much better option than the similarly priced Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB. Continue reading AMD’s Radeon RX 7700 XT GPU is now at its lowest ever price MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review‚ Best gaming CPU‚ Radeon RX 7800 XT review

Launching a game can be a perilous business. We often talk about the issues surrounding a game if it doesn't perform well‚ but what about the risks when a game's popular&;#63; Manor Lords is one game that's incredibly eagerly awaited with over two million wishlists on Steam and counting. Ahead of its upcoming launch into Steam Early Access‚ developer Slavic Games has put out a new statement‚ trying to head off some of the issues it foresees might arrive when a game this anticipated finally gets into people's hands. It's not Age of Empires‚ an RPG‚ or a Total War rival‚ the creator says. This is something else. Continue reading Manor Lords dev downplays hype ahead of early access launch MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best city builders‚ Best PC strategy games

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