'this extraordinary piece of Americana'

This development comes as Biden’s performance is being widely panned on both the left and the right

'I'm not versed in my pronouns'

Over the past two years, auto insurance prices have surged by an average of 27% nationally. That’s an increase from $127 a month in 2022 to $161 a month by the end of 2023. The increase in insurance premiums far outpaces the overall average inflation rate of 12% over the same time period. These price hikes strain the budgets of all American motorists, especially those who depend on their cars for work, grocery shopping, or picking up their kids from school. Four main factors are driving up auto insurance rates: increasing vehicle thefts, soft-on-crime district attorneys, burdensome regulatory policies, and the broader impact of inflation on the car industry. In 2023, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported more than 1 million auto thefts in America, levels not seen since 2007. For example, Washington, D.C., saw a staggering 64% increase in vehicle thefts in 2023. Consequently, insurance rates in the nation’s capital rose by 30% between 2022 to 2023. Nevada endured an 18% increase in motor vehicle theft, and insurance rates climbed 35% in the Silver State. The increase in vehicle thefts force companies to raise prices for consumers to cover their growing losses. Unfortunately, many district attorneys are increasingly lenient on crime. For example, the District of Columbia’s Attorney General, Brian Schwalb, has stated that the District cannot “prosecute or arrest our way” out of surging crime. Meanwhile, Schwalb has declined to prosecute minors arrested for carjacking. Instead, he has decided to focus his efforts on cracking down on the supposed “health hazards” of gas stoves. However, auto insurance rates in California seem to be an outlier from this national trend. Auto insurance prices have increased only 13% since 2022, despite cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco leading the nation with more than 70,000 and 40,000 automobile thefts annually, respectively. The truth is, the Golden State’s regulations prevent insurers from raising rates adequately, causing insurance companies to leave the state. Since October 2023, Californians have lost at least six insurance companies. The largest company to leave is Tokio Marine Co., which wrote nearly a trillion dollars in auto insurance premiums across the U.S. last year. Big insurance brands are scaling back their efforts as well. In 2022, Geico closed all of its offices in California. Progressive has stopped advertising there, and State Farm now only offers quotes in person. Since these insurance companies recoup their financial losses by charging higher prices in safer areas, customers in other states are forced to subsidize companies still operating in California. Instead of stabilizing the auto insurance market by keeping car prices down, the Biden administration has introduced new regulations that will increase vehicle prices and, thereby, exacerbate insurance issues. The Department of Transportation announced new vehicle efficiency requirements that will jack up future car prices. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency mandated that 70% of all passenger cars sold by 2032 must effectively be all-electric or plug-in hybrid. Because more expensive cars have higher premiums, these regulations will only further inflate premiums. From 2021 to 2022, new vehicle prices rose 13%, while used car prices soared 40%. Although the prices of new and used vehicles have cooled from all-time highs in recent months, consumers still feel the pain of lagging insurance adjustments. Moreover, the price of manufacturing materials for automobiles has increased, leading to inflating vehicle prices. As vehicle prices, repair costs, and insurance claim costs skyrocket, premiums will inevitably catch up to cover those expenses. These additional costs intensify the financial burden on middle- and working-class Americans. To cool the auto insurance market and bring prices down, policymakers must enforce the rule of law and remove price control measures that cause market instability. By enacting these crime and regulatory policy reforms, Americans can worry less about their cars being stolen and about affording their next auto insurance payment. The post Are Soft-on-Crime Policies Jacking Up Car Insurance Premiums? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A watchdog agency that has called out many of the Biden administration’s failures at the border has faced an onslaught of frivolous and time-consuming investigations, the agency’s top lawyer alleges in a new federal lawsuit.  James Read, chief counsel to Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, filed suit Monday against the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency, as well as its Integrity Committee, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Read sued in his personal capacity. A similar lawsuit brought last year by Cuffari and his senior staff against the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency, or CIGIE, was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Read’s new lawsuit is different in that it specifically alleges that the council of government watchdogs is itself secretive and violates federal law, namely the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which governs the required transparency of executive branch committees.  Cuffari, appointed by then-President Donald Trump, reported corruption by employees of his office to CIGIE shortly after taking office. The earlier lawsuit that was dismissed alleged retaliation by the employees.  The new lawsuit also challenges the constitutionality of the council of inspectors general and its integrity panel, arguing that  many of its members aren’t presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed.  The federal complaint notes that CIGIE includes 34 presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed members and another 31 appointed by heads of executive agencies. The complaint notes that five members are inspectors general of quasi-federal agencies,which Read asserts aren’t part of the federal government.  “[N]ot all of their members are employed by the federal government, and they do not follow FACA-mandated procedures designed to promote transparency and public participation in their activities,” Read’s complaint says, referring to the inspectors general council and the Federal Advisory Committee Act.  The lawsuit says “CIGIE has allowed a private citizen to assume executive power” and provided personal information to its integrity panel “in violation of the Privacy Act,” the complaint adds. It argues that the court should declare the council and its committee to be in violation of the two U.S. laws and the Constitution.  Those identified as “private citizens,” not federal employees, are the inspectors general of the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Denali Commission, the Legal Services Corporation, and the Smithsonian Institution.  CIGIE’s Integrity Committee may recommend discipline up to and including firing. Some inspectors general may be fired only by the president upon notifying Congress; others may be fired by the board of directors of a particular agency.  “The president is too smart of a political player to fire the one person in his administration who has made efforts to improve security at the border,” the employee told The Daily Signal.  In May and June, the DHS Office of Inspector General issued findings showing that two of the department’s subagencies, Customs and Border Protection as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, don’t have an effective process for detaining and removing illegal immigrants at airports.  Another report found that ICE lacked the capacity to consistently prevent the release of high-risk individuals from custody. One inspector general’s audit concluded that the Department of Homeland Security should improve screening and vetting of asylum-seekers at the border. The council of inspectors general didn’t have an immediate response to the new litigation. “CIGIE is aware of the complaint and has no comment at this time,” spokesperson Juan Lara told The Daily Signal. The Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency already has come under scrutiny for alleged cronyism and retaliation.  Last month, nine House Republicans led by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., inquired about alleged wrongdoing there and why CIGIE had declined so far to investigate the report from Cuffari about its staff. Biggs wrote: In October and November 2019, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) referred allegations against three senior DHS OIG employees to the Integrity Committee. The allegations included incidents of fraud, misconduct, retaliation, and abuse of authority on the part of the three employees. Yet, in November 2019, the Integrity Committee informed DHS OIG that it would take no further action on the allegations, leaving the matter in the hands of DHS OIG. The DHS inspector general’s office contracted with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, also known as WilmerHale, to conduct an independent investigation of the three office employees, which substantiated most of the allegations. CIGIE still declined to take action, however.  Meanwhile, strife has broken out among other inspectors general.  Gail Ennis resigned May 31 as inspector general of the Social Security Administration amid an inquiry by CIGIE’s Integrity Committee. Ennis was nominated by Trump in 2019 and confirmed by the Senate. Her departure occurred just weeks after Railroad Retirement Board Inspector General Martin Dickman was fired after being in the role for 30 years.  Read’s lawsuit says the Integrity Committee notified him in June 2021 that he was being scrutinized and did so again in May 2022. After he responded in a total of nine hours of interviews, the investigations were closed.  Read’s federal complaint doesn’t specify the allegations of wrongdoing against him.  But National Public Radio reported that Brian Volsky, then director of the Whistleblower Protection Unit at the DHS Office of Inspector General, made a complaint to CIGIE in April 2021. Volsky alleged that Cuffari and other top officials, including Read, were guilty of “gross mismanagement” and slow-walked a probe of retaliation against a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower.  Read’s lawsuit calls for the court to do this: “Set aside and declare unlawful any report, recommendations, best practice, proposal, or other matter that was formulated or approved by CIGIE or CIGIE’s Integrity Committee in violation of FACA.” His complaint alleges that failure to follow the Federal Advisory Committee Act led to secrecy among other inspectors general, as well as a violation of his rights as an “interested person” in proceedings. “An advisory committee subject to FACA is required to open its meetings to the public,” Read’s lawsuit says. It adds: “An advisory committee subject to FACA must open its records for public inspection and copying. CIGIE and CIGIE’s Integrity Committee do not open their records for public inspection and copying.” Read’s lawsuit adds:  Plaintiff believes that inspectors general are a cornerstone to good government and that the inspector general corp must operate in accordance with the foundational principles of objectivity, competence and nonpartisanship. Plaintiff is therefore an ‘interested person’ within the meaning of FACA, who has been deprived of his statutory right to attend meetings of, appear before, and file statements with CIGIE. EMBED LAWSUIT HERE The post Inspectors General Clash in Federal Lawsuit Alleging Secrecy, Illegality appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Feel-Good Friday: A Christmas Movie About the Kansas City Chiefs

Did a Little Early Morning Front Page Post-Debate 'Lying Liars Who Lie' Survey

Virginia police caught another alleged online predator using social media to sexually assault minors. The Fairfax County Police Department said in a press release that detectives of the McLean District Station received a tip on June 7 at about 7 p.m. about a man having inappropriate contact with a child on the internet. 'Parents are encouraged to know what applications their children are using and have an open dialog about the dangers they may pose.' He was identified as 41-year-old Gerry Frank Burde from Herndon. Police said they were later able to locate Burde in Tysons Corner while he was allegedly trying to meet a minor to potentially abuse. Investigators say they were able to gather “evidence corroborating the incident" to justify his arrest. Burde was arrested and booked at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. He was charged with attempted forcible intercourse with a victim under 13 years old, use of communication systems to solicit a minor, and indecent liberties with a child under 15. Investigators said that Burde was seeking underage victims on Snapchat under the screen name "drunkslovepunch" and on another platform called Whisper under the screen name "Tempo_Ex." One of Burde's neighbors told WRC-TV they were very concerned about the allegations because they live near an elementary school and there's always children in the area. The FCPD says they believe there may be other victims and officers are asking the public to contact investigators whether they have information about Burde's alleged crimes. “This case is something that is very concerning, and we want to bring awareness to the community about it,” said Fairfax County police Capt. Kent Bailey. The police department issued a warning to parents about predators gaining access to their children via social media apps and other online platforms. "Parents are urged to closely monitor their children’s online activities and use available security settings to prevent the use of inappropriate sites or platforms. Children should be encouraged to report any person engaging in inappropriate conversations or trying to coerce them into providing sexually explicit images of themselves," police said. Police recommended that parents find more information about protecting their children at the website for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "There are many applications predators use to solicit victims," police continued. "Parents are encouraged to know what applications their children are using and have an open dialog about the dangers they may pose." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Campaign Staff Shut Down Voter Interviews Critical of Biden at Kamala's Nevada Rally

Someone Get These Rakes Out of His Way! Biden Flops Trying to Shame Trump with Pres Hoover Jab