Since the 1950s, every effort to reduce the size and scope of government has been bulldozed by a political establishment more concerned with furthering its own interests than those of the American people. Between sacred cows and special interest groups, we’re always told why nothing can get cut. With the exception of Social Security, there is no bigger scared cow than the Department of Defense. Of course, defense policy is a legitimate function of government — a textbook example of a public good. It’s hard, though not impossible, to imagine national security being provided privately. However, it doesn’t follow that every dollar spent on defense is effective or even legitimate. It’s often the reverse. Sacred-cow status grants relative immunity to the Pentagon’s waste and poor strategic spending. This is why, despite the chaos caused by the Department of Government Efficiency and its often questionable approach, I for one welcome the chance to have a national conversation about Pentagon spending. In a Feb. 22 post on X, DOGE announced that it held a preliminary meeting with the Defense Department and that it looks forward to “working together to safely save taxpayer dollars and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.” Heaven knows the DOD needs such supervision. Since Congress began requiring annual audits in 2018, it has never passed a single full audit. As of late 2024, it had failed for the seventh year in a row, unable to fully account for an $824 billion annual budget. Pause and think about that: Much of the nation’s single largest chunk of discretionary spending can’t be completely tracked. Let’s hope the DOD is better at protecting us from foreign enemies than tracking its own expenses. One Pentagon official dryly noted that “things are showing progress, but it’s not enough” and a “clean” audit is still years away. Imagine a taxpayer offering this answer to an IRS auditor. In addition to not knowing where the money is going, a big problem with the department is the defense procurement system. Its issues go beyond simple waste or mismanagement. The system’s core challenges stem from its painfully slow acquisition timeline, inefficient cost structures, and barriers to innovation. As a result, when major systems reach deployment, their technologies are often outdated and their costs prohibitive. Nowhere is the dysfunction more visible than in the development of the F-35 fighter jet program. According to the Government Accountability Office, after nearly 25 years of development and $1.7 trillion in spending — the most expensive defense program ever — only 55 percent of F-35s are mission capable.  The jet’s troubled history of cost overruns and unfulfilled promises reflects a broader pattern within the Pentagon: Shouts of “national security!” discourage necessary attention toward wasteful programs and less-wasteful alternatives. The DOD’s acquisition timeline represents perhaps the most pressing challenge. Major weapons systems typically take eight to 10 years from concept to delivery. The Navy’s Ford-class aircraft carrier program illustrates this perfectly. The lead ship’s construction began in 2005, and it was originally scheduled to deploy in 2018. Yet it was deployed for a test in 2022 and finally ready for battle in 2023, with new technologies not yet integrated. The cost, $13.3 billion, was 30 percent higher than the original estimate. During the extended development period, threats evolve, requirements change, and technology advances, yet the procurement system remains largely locked into initial specifications. Cost structures create another fundamental problem. The prevalence of “cost-plus” contracts, under which contractors receive guaranteed profits regardless of performance, reduces incentives to do the work efficiently. The Army’s Future Combat Systems program operated under such arrangements, with little incentive to control costs or meet schedules. It was canceled in 2009 only after spending $18 billion. Mix in the many political pressures — such as pushes to include as much technology with each weapon as possible — and the many regulations that frustrate potential innovators who might offer something better or more affordable, and you’ve got quite a mess. DOGE may succeed at shrinking the administrative leviathan that has long stifled innovation and burdened taxpayers. The Pentagon’s practices demand a parallel reckoning. That can’t realistically happen without Congress’s help and buy-in from the Pentagon, but DOGE can use its enormous megaphone to jumpstart the conversation. The road to genuine reform is rarely straightforward. It requires both innovative measures that challenge the status quo and the courage to question even the most deeply entrenched powers. It’s time to illuminate the dark corridors of unchecked power at every government agency and department. Investigating the Pentagon is a critical step in this journey. Veronique de Rugy is the George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. To find out more about Veronique de Rugy and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM READ MORE: Grappling With DOGE: Why Cutting Waste and Fixing Entitlements Are Both Essential Trump Needs Congress to Deliver on Lower Prices The Unserious New Republican Budget Plan The post Will Defense Spending Avoid the Scalpel Again? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

from Sputnik News: Britain’s intelligence establishment reportedly started “rationing” what info to pass on to the US after Trump’s election, and his thrashing of Zelensky at the White House last month has sparked talk of a ‘breakaway’ ‘Four Eyes’ intel-sharing pact. Sputnik reached out to a leading US military intel specialist for details on what […]

by Cristina Laila, The Gateway Pundit: The Biden Autopen scandal is growing by the day. The Oversight Project released new analysis of Biden’s pardons for family members, Dr. Tony Fauci, General Milley, J6 Committee members and Gerald Lundergan. On January 19, 2025, just one day before Trump was set to be sworn in as the […]

She's thrilled about her budding modeling career. Continue reading…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of millions of Americans are waking up to the truth:  big pharma isn’t interested in your health, they are only interested in their bottom line. It’s why the biopharmaceutical complex and the medical establishment worked so hard to suppress COVID-19 treatments like Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine. They knew that an experimental vaccine, no matter how dangerous, would mean massive profits for the pharmaceutical companies. It’s not just COVID-19 where big pharma and the medical establishment are working together to dissuade Americans from easily accessible and absolutely safe alternative treatments. Recently, on the Joe Rogan Experience, actor and noted medical freedom advocate Mel Gibson spoke extensively about a potential treatment for cancer. According to the Economic Times, In a candid conversation on comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast, the Braveheart star revealed that two of his close friends, who had been battling stage 4 cancer, experienced remarkable recoveries after using ivermectin and fenbendazole—drugs commonly employed to treat parasitic infections like roundworms and threadworms.  Gibson went on to make a bold statement, claiming that all three friends who tried these medications “don’t have cancer right now.” He emphatically added, “This stuff works, man.” While these claims have sparked interest, experts urge caution, as scientific evidence supporting the use of these drugs for cancer treatment remains in its infancy. Some preliminary studies hint at potential benefits. For instance, ivermectin, when combined with other therapies, has been found to shrink tumors in early research, though such findings are yet to be validated by larger clinical trials. Similarly, fenbendazole—marketed under brand names such as Panacur and Safe-Guard—has shown promise in laboratory studies by halting the growth of certain aggressive cancer cells. While studies are scarce, ivermectin and mebendazole (the FDA-approved version of fenbendazole) have long shown that they are highly effective in treating parasites. You can get compounded Ivermectin + Mebendazole TODAY – and that’s where The Wellness Company comes in! Ivermectin and Mebendazole combine dual-action forces to effectively and quickly treat parasitic infections. 90 Oral Capsules, each containing 25mg Ivermectin + 250mg Mebendazole. The Gold Standardof safety and efficacy for eradicating parasitic infections when taken as directed by a TWC licensed provider. Medication You Can Trust from a Trusted Source The medical experts at The Wellness Company – like Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Kelly Victory – were leaders in the efforts to provide the public with accurate medical information during COVID. These experts have repeatedly shown that they prioritized the health and welfare of their patients over the bottom line of the big pharmaceutical companies. Now, The Wellness Company is the only company in the world to prescribe compounded Ivermectin + Mebendazole, in a high-dose 90-day supply: Ivermectin – Backed by science and honored with a Nobel Prize, Ivermectin delivers precise treatment against parasitic infections, ensuring effective care and well-being for your family with trusted precision. Mebendazole – Trusted by healthcare professionals, Mebendazole targets and eliminates intestinal parasites with precision, ensuring your family’s health and well-being with proven efficacy and safety. MYTHS & FACTS Not surprisingly, big pharma is doing everything they can to demonize Ivermectin (just like they did during COVID) and Mebendazole. Here are the truths: Ivermectin is not a horse paste. Ivermectin has won the Nobel Prize for parasitic eradication in humans and is widely used in mammals. Mebendazole is for human use. Just like with Ivermectin, the biopharmaceutical complex has attempted to scare people in believing the Mebendazole isn’t safe for human use – that is absolutely not true. While Fenbendazole is only approved for pets and livestock, the FDA has approved Mebendazole for human use. What Cancer Experts are Saying The use of Ivermectin and Mebendazole is being advocated by global cancer experts like Dr. William Makis. Dr. Makis, who is one of the most influential cancer experts and medical freedom fighter, routinely treats cancer patients with Ivermectin and Mebendazole. Indeed, Dr. Makis’ Substack is chock full of success stories directly attributed to this combination! Head over to The Wellness Company today to order a 90-day supply of the ultimate parasite cleanse – Ivermectin + Mebendazole. Simply fill out the 2-minute intake questionnaire after checkout to complete your prescription request. Order Ivermectin and Mebendazole from The Wellness Company today! When you hit Checkout, look for this Box: Type in WLT and hit Enter and you’ll see it will instantly take 10% off your purchase price. Who loves ya baby? (Note: The information provided is intended for generalized informational purposes only and should not be considered personal medical advice or used as a substitute for professional healthcare guidance. It is your responsibility to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines regarding the purchase, possession, and use of prescription medications. Thank you for supporting businesses like the one presenting a sponsored message in this article and ordering through the links provided, which benefits WLTReport. We appreciate your support and the opportunity to keep you SAFE and HEALTY!) Here’s more…. INVESTIGATION: Can You OVERDOSE On Ivermectin? So…is Ivermectin DANGEROUS? Is it “horse paste” that could very well kill you? The Ivermectin Freak Out by our Government reminds me of the “War on Drugs” trying to convince you you’d surely die from marijuana — despite there never being a single confirmed case. Same goes for Ivermectin. They claimed it was “horse dewormer” that could “put you in a coma” or even kill you! How dangerous! Except….that wasn’t true. Not even remotely. In fact, it is one of the safest and most effective medicines we have. What a combo, right? SAFE + EFFECTIVE. You usually get one but not both. IF YOU WANT TO PURCHASE SAFE AND LEGAL IVERMECTIN, KEEP READING BELOW! Watch this short clip from the Greg Hunter Show, posted to Rumble by The Vigilant Fox, where Dr. Pierre Kory makes it very clear how stunningly safe Ivermectin is: Safer that aspirin! VigilantNews had more (I put my favorite part in bold): But first, a quick look at his impressive credentials. “Pr. Jacques Descotes, MD, PharmD, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Claude Bernard University of Lyon (France), [is] a world-known toxicologist with a 40-year track [record] as an independent consultant for the pharmaceutical industry as well as an advisor to regulatory bodies worldwide,” BusinessWire wrote. In March 2021, he conducted a review of Ivermectin’s safety profile based on over 350 articles – plus accessible web sources. Here are his conclusions: “Ivermectin has been administered orally to hundreds of millions of people throughout the world in the past three decades. The assessment of reported adverse events temporally associated with Ivermectin exposure shows that Ivermectin-induced adverse effects have so far been infrequent and usually mild to moderate. “It is noteworthy that no deaths have seemingly ever been reported after an accidental or suicidal overdose of Ivermectin. No greater toxicity of Ivermectin has been substantiated in elderly people despite repeated assertions that an ageing blood-brain barrier might lead to increased Ivermectin toxicity level. The positive clinical experience accumulated with Ivermectin administration led many medical experts to break away from early adamant contra-indications in pregnant women. Finally, several national pharmacovigilance networks around the world released information and opinions to ascertain Ivermectin safety in human subjects. So far, there are no critical safety limitations to Ivermectin prescription in current indications. I also want to point out that no severe adverse event has been reported in dozens of completed or ongoing studies involving thousands of participants worldwide to evaluate the efficacy of Ivermectin against COVID-19.” Astonishing. So what would it take to overdose on Ivermectin? “In order to overdose from Ivermectin, you have to take either a hundred or a thousand times the standard dose,” declared Dr. Kory. “And there have been accidental poisonings where people have taken large amounts. But you know what happens every time? When they take these massive amounts of Ivermectin, it tends to affect them neurologically. They’ll get confused. They might be stumbling — uncoordinated. They go to the hospital, and there’s no treatment required. But within days, the patients return to normal. So, there’s been no life-ending injuries. No deaths reported with Ivermectin. So, that shows you why it’s one of the safest drugs in history, even at massive overdoses. LOL…..100x and you MIGHT overdose? Wow. If you took 100x the normal glass of water, that too could kill you. Literally, that’s true. No, I’m serious….the normal glass of water is 8 ounces, right? 8 x 100 = 800 oz. What would happen if you drank 800 oz of water? It would be life-threatening, according to ChatGPT: Ok, so…to recap: Ivermectin is SAFER than Aspirin and SAFER or on par with Water. AND effective. Incredible. The only thing it isn’t?  Profitable for BigPharma Ahhhh, now you see why they hated it so much. Safe and effective? NOT liked by the FDA: Have you figured out yet that Government is NOT here to protect you? The SEC… The FDA… Pick whatever agency you want — they exist to protect Big Banks (SEC), BigPharma (FDA), and on and on and on…. Now back to Dr. Kory, here is the full interview if you wanted to see it: Pretty powerful stuff! Want some? Keep reading: Need LEGAL and SAFE Ivermectin? Read This! We just reported yesterday that a new leaked report says airlines are looking to BRING BACK MASKS in October. Yes, really. I fully expect a new “planned-demic” will show up right in time for the 2024 election. Oh they might not call it “COVID” again and probably they won’t. But I fully expect a new one to hit. And I’m going to be prepared this time. Whether it comes in the form of a bioweapon or something much more mundane like a tick bite or a Bill Gates’ mosquito – you and your family need to be prepared. That’s where The Wellness Company comes in. You know the Wellness Company and their great doctors – like Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Jim Thorp – are regularly in the media speaking out against the broken medical establishment. Dr. Thorp, one of the nation’s leading critics of the corrupting influence of big pharma, believes that now – more than ever – people should be prepared for the next pandemic. “I’ve strongly recommended “stock piling” critical medications including antibiotics since the turn of the century. This has been an incredible investment as many friends, family and patients have benefited.  Now, in summer of 2023, this recommendation is even more crucial.” – Dr. Jim Thorp The Wellness Company and their doctors are medical professionals that you can trust and their new medical emergency kits are the gold standard when it comes to keeping you safe and healthy. Be ready for anything, this medical emergency kit contains an assortment of live-saving medications – including ivermectin and Z-pak. The medical emergency kit provides a guidebook to aid in the safe use of all of these life-saving medications. From anthrax to tick bites to COVID and even to a bioweapon like the plague – the Wellness Company’s Medical Emergency kit is exactly what you need to have on hand to be prepared. Rest assured knowing that you have emergency antibiotics, antivirals and anti-parasitics on hand to help keep you and your family safe from whatever the globalists throw at us next! The Wellness Company Medical Emergency Kit includes:  Amoxicillin-Clavulanate (generic Augmentin) 875/125 mg – 28 tablets Azithromycin (generic Z-Pak) 250 mg – 12 tablets Doxycycline Hyclate 100 mg – 60 capsules Metronidazole (generic Flagyl) 500 mg – 30 tablets Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (generic Bactrim) 800/160 mg – 28 tablets Ivermectin 18mg – 7 compounded capsules Fluconazole (generic Diflucan) 150 mg – 2 tablets Ondansetron (generic Zofran) 4mg – 6 tablets 1 virtual consult from a doctor you can trust 1 Emergency Medication Guidebook written by our Chief Medical Board for safe use. The Wellness Company Medical Emergency Kit treats: Anthrax Bacterial Vaginosis Bite Wounds Bronchitis Chlamydia Clostridioides difficile Colitis COVID – 19 Gonorrhea Giardiasis Lice Nausea & Vomiting Pharyngitis Pinworms Plague (bioterror) Pneumonia Rickettsial Infections Scabies Shigella Infection Sinusitis Skin Infection Strep Throat Syphilis Tetanus Tick Exposure Tonsillitis Traveler’s Diarrhea Trichomoniasis Tularemia (bioterror) Urinary Tract Infection Vaginal Candidiasis Viral Upper Respiratory Infection Don’t be caught unprepared. Don’t be reliant on the broken and corrupt medical industrial complex. Don’t regret not acting today. Order The Wellness Company’s Medical Emergency Kits today!

Deftones will play an additional 14 dates in Canada and the US in August and September of this year