Virgin Australia Boeing 737 Makes Emergency Landing in New Zealand After Engine Fire (VIDEO)

Credit: Wikimedia Common

A Virgin Australia Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing at New Zealand’s Invercargill Airport on Monday.

The Boeing 737-800, en route from Queenstown to Melbourne, was reportedly seen with fire spouting from one of its engines.

The Virgin Australia flight departed from Queenstown for Melbourne at 6pm, but was soon seen circling off the coast of Bluff, according to FlightRadar per 1 News.

Eyewitnesses on the ground reported loud noises emanating from the plane and flames visible from one of the engines.

WATCH:

#BREAKING #AUSTRALIA #NewZEALAND #Aviation #Aviacion #Boeing737 #Accident #Accidente

NEW ZEALAND : EMERGENCY LANDING IN NZ AFTER ENGINE FIRE

A Virgin AUSTRALIA Boeing 737-800 bound for MELBOURNE made an emergency landing in Invercargill, NZ due to an engine fire,… pic.twitter.com/KQjhWnWZwK

— LW World News (@LoveWorld_Peopl) June 17, 2024

Virgin Australia’s Chief Operations Officer, Stuart Aggs, confirmed that all passengers safely disembarked the aircraft, VA148, which landed at Invercargill Airport. At the time of the incident, there were 67 guests and six crew members on board.

Aggs stated that emergency services were present at the scene, but thankfully no physical injuries to guests or crew were reported. “Our efforts are now focused on providing support for our guests and crew,” he said. “We are also working on transporting and accommodating guests in Invercargill this evening and arranging for their earliest onward travel to Australia.”

Reports suggest that a bird strike might be the cause, although this has not yet been confirmed.

1 News reported:

The person on board the flight said at 7pm that the captain had confirmed it was a bird strike, and the passengers were sitting on the plane on the tarmac waiting to disembark.

The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand said it is aware of the incident involving a Virgin Australia aircraft which took off from Queenstown and diverted to Invercargill.

“It was unofficially reported that there was an engine fire on climb-out as a result of a suspected bird strike. At 18:50 the aircraft landed safely in Invercargill. It’s currently too early for us to comment on the specifics and in the coming days we will work to understand the situation and next steps.”

Also this month, a United Airbus A320 engine caught fire just before takeoff at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on Monday.

Video taken from a passenger showed smoke coming from the wing of the plane.

“I felt the impact on my window. As I looked, the engine was on fire and smoke was coming out,” passenger Ivan Paloalto told ABC 7 Chicago.

Earlier this month, a terrifying event was caught on camera: fire was seen shooting from an Air Canada Boeing jet during takeoff, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that a severe and potentially catastrophic flaw has been identified in nearly 300 Boeing 777 jets operated by major airlines, including United and American Airlines.

This flaw, rooted in an electrical issue, poses a risk of causing the aircraft’s wing fuel tanks to ignite and explode, an investigation by Daily Mail has disclosed.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted this concern in a notice issued on March 25, 2024, which revealed that an “electrostatic discharge” near the center-wing fuel tanks could act as an ignition source, leading to a possible fire or explosion.

Critical Safety Alert: 300 Boeing Jets Flown by United and American Airlines Have Potential to Explode Mid-Air Due to Fatal Fault

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Just In: Ecuadorian Illegal In NYPD Custody After Alleged Sexual Assault of 13-Year-Old Girl in NYC Park

Ecuadorian illegal arrested for the sexual assault of a child. Image: Fox News

Last week, a 13-year-old girl was attacked in broad daylight by an illegal from Ecuador wielding a “machete-style” knife.

The attacker grabbed the child and her male friend, who were walking home from school through Kissena Park in Flushing Meadows, and forced them into a secluded area at around  3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

He tied the two children by the wrists with a shoelace and then sexually assaulted the young girl.

After the attack, he allegedly stole their cell phones, told them not to do anything for 20 minutes, and then fled.

The two children then returned to their school to report the attack.

During the search for the suspect, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said in a post on X, “New Yorkers, we need your help in tracking down this monster who held a child at knife point and sexually assaulted her in Kissena Park.”

New Yorkers, we need your help in tracking down this monster who held a child at knife point and sexually assaulted her in Kissena Park. If you know him, if you see him, call the NYPD at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) and help put him where he belongs, behind bars. All calls are… pic.twitter.com/iptbEjCG4x

— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) June 17, 2024

A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for any information leading to the apprehension of the individual responsible for a heinous crime that occurred in Kissena Park on 6/13/24.

A male suspect, described as Hispanic, approximately 5’ 5” with curly hair, in his 20s, and… pic.twitter.com/r50jwJoZYP

— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) June 14, 2024

Videos released by the NYPD showing the alleged attacker riding a bike on a sidewalk led to his arrest after neighbors living in the same Queens shelter recognized him from the wanted poster and held him down before calling the police.

An Ecuadorian illegal was arrested Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a child in a NYC park. Image: DCPI

The New York Post reports that the illegal, who sources believe entered the country in 2021 through Joe Biden’s broken border, was taken into police custody early Tuesday.

According to Fox News, the suspect had been previously charged with “several low-level prior offenses, including subway fare jumping and drinking in public.”

The post Just In: Ecuadorian Illegal In NYPD Custody After Alleged Sexual Assault of 13-Year-Old Girl in NYC Park appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Corrupt DOJ Leaks Steve Bannon’s Prison Arrangements to CNN – Will Serve Alongside Sex Offenders and Violent Criminals

The corrupt Department of Justice has leaked details of how the political prisoner Steve Bannon will serve his sentence to its close media ally CNN.

Bannon, a former Trump strategist turned popular radio host, is expected to report to prison on July 1st to start a four-month sentence after refusing to testify before Liz Cheney’s sham January 6 Committee.

While Bannon’s lawyers had hoped to get him in the most comfortable prison facility, known as Club Fed, sources at the DOJ told CNN that it will make him serve his time in a low-security facility instead.

CNN reported:

When former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon goes to prison, he won’t be serving time at what’s known as a “Club Fed,” the most comfortable type of facility in the federal system, as he had wanted, according to people familiar with the arrangements.

Instead of a minimum-security prison camp, where many nonviolent offenders serve their time, Bannon – now a right-wing podcaster with a following of loyal Trump supporters – is set to report next month to the low-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, one of the sources told CNN.

A federal judge ruled recently that Bannon must turn himself in by July 1 to begin serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress even as he appeals the case. His attorneys initially thought he may be able to do his time at a camp, the sources said.

The “sources” who spoke with CNN also confirmed that Bannon is likely to serve alongside violent criminals and sex offenders, although the majority of the prison population will comprise of white-collar criminals:

The prison in Connecticut where Bannon will live houses a large number of white-collar criminals, but it also may house violent and sex offenders in its men’s population.

It doesn’t have cells, and instead houses its inmates in open pods. Yet it does have a noticeable barrier — referred to colloquially as “the wall” — between the prison facility and the outside world, which prison camps don’t have.

More than 1,000 male prisoners are in the Danbury facility. Its much smaller adjacent prison camp for women was immortalized in a former prisoner’s memoir that inspired the TV show “Orange is the New Black.”

In an interview with Tucker Carlson last week, Bannon indicated his prison sentence was a small price to pay for winning the political revolution against the Biden regime.

“Hey, I served my country on a Navy ship, I’ll serve my country as a political prisoner, in a federal prison for a misdemeanor,” he said at the time. “I don’t bat one eye. I’ll do whatever, whatever it takes to win this revolution, whatever we have to do.”

The post Corrupt DOJ Leaks Steve Bannon’s Prison Arrangements to CNN – Will Serve Alongside Sex Offenders and Violent Criminals appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

More Blatant Democrat Collusion: Mark Elias, a Leftist Org., Secretary of State Hobbs, King and Thurston County Auditors and a Leftist Judge – Gee, What Could Go Wrong?

This is a follow-up to a June 12 article by Who Counts The Votes – “Washington’s 30 Day Residency Requirement for Voters Was Quietly Demolished.”

Thank you to Who Counts The Votes via a Public Record Request to help expose Democrat Secretary of State (SoS) Steve Hobbs’s disregard for state law, as the SoS deleted the 30 day residency requirement from the voter registration form. This action is despite RCW 29A.08.230 – Oath of Applicant.

SUMMARY:

November 20, 2023, the leftist Organization Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans via the leftist Elias Law Group filed a 22-page Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in US District Court, Western District of Washington, against the Dem WA SoS and two leftist county auditors in King and Thurston Counties.

Among other things, the carefully crafted complaint targets the homeless, illegals, newcomers, etc., who may arrive in Washington within 30 days of an election, and reads:

The Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) prohibits states from preventing otherwise eligible voters from voting for president and vice president based on how long they have resided in the state before election day. And the United States Constitution prohibits such requirements in all elections. Section 202 of the VRA is explicit: “No citizen of the United States who is otherwise qualified to vote in any election for President and Vice President shall be denied the right to vote . . . in such election because of the failure of such citizen to comply with any durational residency requirement of such State or political subdivision.” 52 U.S.C. § 10502(c).”

Washington’s Durational Residency Requirement denies otherwise eligible Washington voters their right to participate in elections in their new domicile and have a voice in selecting the elected officials who will represent them going forward.

Washington law also requires voters to attest under penalty of perjury that they have resided at their current address for at least 30 days before the date of the election. See RCW 29A.08.230 (requiring voters to attest to meeting the state’s durational residency requirement on their voter registration form); WAC 434-230 015 (requiring voters to re-attest to meeting the state’s durational residency requirements on the ballot). And Washington law includes no exception for presidential or other federal elections.

THEN LO AND BEHOLD…

On March 15, 2024, a mutually agreed court order granting the joint motion for entry of consent judgment and decree, which states:

To resolve the litigation, Defendants have agreed to entry of the consent decree, under which “registrants will no longer be required to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they have resided at their Washington address for at least 30 days immediately before the next election.” The consent decree sets out changes Defendants have agreed to make to Washington’s voter registration forms, computerized voter registration applications, and printed and online guidance on voter eligibility and registration.

The sham (agreed) order was clear collaborated collusion and is easy to see right through – Yeah… Most obviously orchestrated by both the “Plaintiff” (a biased 501(c)(4) Non-Profit Organization) Via Leftist Elias Law Group and Leftist “Defendants” SoS, King County Auditor Julie Wise and Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall…Then rubber-stamped by a Leftist Judge. It makes one wonder if un-lucky #13 AG Ferguson knew, or perhaps it was his idea…

Hmm…More Democrat contrived lawfare. This is how courts are being used to destroy the integrity of voting systems across the country. A Leftist is (s)elected, invites a suit, “settles it,” and claims to have changed the law.

How very convenient for all the Democrat Operatives involved in this agreement to create and allow more cheating in our elections. Encouraging more illegitimate voters and fostering more illegitimate Democrat beneficiaries and bureaucrats.

The order violates state law RCW 29A.08.230 – Oath of Applicant. And, of course, they know this…Or even worse, they blindly assume it violates state law and the State Constitution, which it DOES NOT!

SEE WA STATE CONSTITUTION: Art VI, Section 1 Qualifications of Electors. All persons of the age of eighteen years or over who are citizens of the United States and who have lived in the state, county, and precinct thirty days immediately preceding the election at which they offer to vote…

Get a clue. The RCW 29A.08.230 Statute and Oath is State Law and says:

For all voter registrations, the registrant shall sign the following oath:

“I declare that the facts on this voter registration form are true. I am a citizen of the United States, I will have lived at this address in Washington for at least thirty days immediately before the next election at which I vote, and I am at least sixteen years old. I am not disqualified from voting due to a court order, and I am not currently serving a sentence of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections for a Washington felony conviction, and I am not currently incarcerated for a federal or out-of-state felony conviction.”

THE DEMS ARE MIS-REPRESENTING THE RCW, which properly says: “I will have lived at this address in Washington State for at least thirty days immediately before the next election at which I vote.”

HERE IS THE Old SoS “Pre-Deleted” Verbiage on the Voter Registration Form:

I declare that the facts on this voter registration form are true. I am a citizen of the United States, I will have lived at this address in Washington for at least thirty days immediately before the next election at which I vote, and I am at least sixteen years old. I am not disqualified from voting due to a court order, and I am not currently serving a sentence of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections for a Washington felony conviction, and I am not currently incarcerated for a federal or out-of-state felony conviction.

HERE IS THE New SoS “Post-Deleted” Verbiage on the Form:

I declare that the facts on this voter registration form are true. I am a citizen of the United States, I am a Washington state resident, and I am at least sixteen years old. I am not disqualified from voting due to a court order, and I am not currently serving a sentence of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections for a Washington felony conviction, and I am not currently incarcerated for a federal or out-of-state felony conviction.

Why are Democrats resorting to such tactics?

It now appears that Dem SoS Hobbs has violated state law by removing the residency language from the voter registration form.

Hobbs could have implemented an easy remedy: Create a special federal ballot for people moving from another state to Washington within 30 days of an election, containing only the presidential race. This would comply with the State Constitution Art VI Sec. 1 and RCW 29A.08.230.

Other states impose registration deadlines to confirm voter eligibility for good reasons, including helping to eliminate fraud.

This Democratic collusion now makes it impossible to confirm eligibility if there is no residency requirement or registration deadline for anyone wishing to vote in a Washington election. Now, anyone can come to Washington on election day and register and vote in our elections. With no time or way to verify the voter’s identity, what a great way to vote phantom ballots…

It is quite evident to anyone with a working brain and who has done the research that if Leftists quit cheating in our elections, Republicans and Conservatives will begin winning elections and flipping seats. For the few legitimate Democrat officeholders (yes, there are some), their winning margins will shrink unless their cheating continues…

This fact led The Democratic National Committee to announce it’s giving $2 million to state parties in 11 non-battleground states months before the November elections. The DNC says this spending in Maryland, Texas, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington are “first-of-its-kind investments.”

This is just the beginning, and their strategy is very clear. We are seeing what former Democrat Operative David Spring said will happen in WA State coming to fruition – See my interview and article Exposing the DNC Plan to Rig the 2024 Election – Former WA State Democrat Operative Blows the Whistle on Dems.

Another way the Democrats are cheating in our Washington State elections is with Blatant Gerrymandering. Recently Leftist Judge Robert Lasnik, of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington, ordered the adoption of a massively Democrat-favored redistricting map that adversely impacts twelve Republicans and one Democrat. The adopted map redistricts out several current Republican lawmakers ahead of the 2024 general election.

After serving in the State Legislature for nearly a decade, GOP State Rep. Gina Mosbrucker (Goldendale) announced that she will not seek re-election in the fall. Why? Dem Operatives managed to redistrict LD 14 to favor Dems. Gina: “If you look at the map, there’s these nice blocks in this puzzle. But there is this very intentional claw like an arm with a claw on it that literally grabs around my house and pulls me down into the 17th instead of the 14th.”

Democrat blatant lawfare and collusion have abused the courts, undermined the integrity of our election process and our Democracy, and made it impossible to create and maintain accurate voter roll lists! But of course, that is their goal.

SOLUTION:

WA State needs an orderly voting registration process. Our goal is to have state legislators pass meaningful election reform laws requiring all counties to stop using imaging/scanning and tabulating machines for counting votes and return us to the TRUE “gold standard” of counting votes: Same-day, In-person voting with I.D., Hand-counting at local polling locations before paper ballots are allowed to leave the premises, and making voting by mail the exception, not the rule.

Another step in taking back our government is eliminating corruption and electing better people (True Conservatives) who will put their egos aside, be team players, and truly obey the U.S. and State Constitutions. This starts with quality candidates WHO ARE QUALIFIED FOR THE POSITION. The candidate also MUST WORK HARD and have a realistic ability to win the race.

PLEASE VOTE in the upcoming August 6, 2024, Primary Election and the November 5, 2024, General Election. Civilization depends on it!

Bill Bruch is the WA State GOP Election Integrity Chairman, WAGOP Executive Board Member, 4-Term Skagit County GOP Chairman, Citizen Journalist, Blogger, Business Owner, “2021 Citizen Activist of the Year” award by the Olympic Conference, 2020 WA State House Representative Candidate, Former Council Member, and WA State 2016/24 RNC National Convention Delegate.

Related Articles and Links:

Washington’s 30 Day Residency Requirement for Voters Was Quietly Demolished

DNC Invests $2M in 11 non-battleground state parties, targeting down-ballot races – DNC Says the Investment is the First-of-its-kind

 

The post More Blatant Democrat Collusion: Mark Elias, a Leftist Org., Secretary of State Hobbs, King and Thurston County Auditors and a Leftist Judge – Gee, What Could Go Wrong? appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Piers Morgan Asserts Obama/Biden Arm-Grab Incident Reveals More Than a Senior Moment — It Exposes a President Unfit for Office

Credit: X

In a scathing opinion piece for the New York Post, media personality Piers Morgan has highlighted a recent incident involving Joe Biden that many are citing as proof that he is unfit for the Oval Office.

The incident, caught on video at a high-profile Democratic fundraiser, shows Obama assisting old, feeble Joe after freezing up. This is the third video from last week that shows Biden appearing frozen or disoriented.

Chris Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter shared the viral video with the caption, “That’s a wrap on record-setting Democratic fundraiser for Joe Biden’s reelection campaign (netting $28M),” highlighting the moment when “Obama then grabs Biden’s hand to lead him offstage after a 40-minute conversation with Jimmy Kimmel.”

Morgan, in his piece, did not mince words: “The Obama/Biden arm-grab wasn’t just a senior moment — it was the moment everyone realized the president’s not fit for office.”

So embarrassing.
The Democrats can’t let this go on, surely? pic.twitter.com/ptCtWBbFfh

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 16, 2024

According to Morgan, the issue isn’t incompetence but rather Biden’s physical and mental capacity to function at the level required to lead not just the United States, but also the free world.

He suggests that when a former President has to guide the current one offstage due to an apparent “senior moment” and “appears to be paralyzed like a statue on stage,” it should serve as an urgent wake-up call for the party.

Morgan contends that “there is not a snowball’s chance in hell that he can possibly get through another four-year term of presidency — and everyone knows it,” with only five months left until the 2024 general election.

He questions why nobody has advised him to step aside for the good of the party and country.

“Biden is supposed to be America’s commander-in-chief but, at what is a very dangerous time for the world, I wouldn’t trust him now to order a restaurant meal let alone a military strike. So why is he still running?” he said.

Morgan also criticizes high-profile Democrats for trying to convince the public that Biden is still fully competent. He points out that even some long-time Democrat supporters are expressing doubts.

One such supporter is billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who responded to Morgan’s post:

“I have been criticized by some for sharing these [President] Biden videos which appear almost every day. I have read numerous articles which somehow suggest that the camera angle, the duration of the clip or some form of right wing manipulation explains Biden’s behavior on camera.

Some people are old at 81 and others are sharp, vigorous, and impressive. Compare Warren Buffett at 93 and Biden at 81. Biden is an old 81 who can’t find his way off a stage or stay present and focused at a G7 conference. Is that who should be the leader of the free world for the next five years?

A president should not have to be led off stage by hand or with an arm wrapped around him. That is the not the image of strength and leadership we need as a country.

Look at what is going on in the world. The perception of weak leadership in the United States has led to global chaos. The reality of weak leadership is a long-term serious and continued threat to our country.

The Democratic Party is destroying itself by advancing Biden for a second term. This is the Emperor’s New Clothes in real life. But it is not a children’s book or a joke. The world is at great risk, and a Biden second term is a grave threat to global security and prosperity.”

Morgan concluded his piece by saying, “If Joe Biden is still the Democrat candidate, Donald Trump will be re-elected.”

The post Piers Morgan Asserts Obama/Biden Arm-Grab Incident Reveals More Than a Senior Moment — It Exposes a President Unfit for Office appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Colorado On The Brink: How The Republican Primary For Lauren Boebert’s Former District Is Shaping Up To Be A Race Between A Pro-Trump Warrior And An Establishment Favorite – Its Outcome Can Determine Not Just The Fate Of Colorado, But Of The Nation

So much attention this year has been deservedly placed on this November’s all-important presidential contest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.  But there are countless other critical races for House and Senate seats whose outcomes are every bit as important because they will decide how easily President Trump can begin implementing his agenda from the get-go.

Enter Colorado: a pivotal state that can decide the makeup of the House this year.

In particular, the third congressional district.  CD-3 was formerly Rep. Lauren Boebert’s old haunt before redistricting, where she is now running in CD-4.  The CD-3 Republican primary race is shaping up to be a significant one for Colorado – and by extension, can prove pivotal in tilting the scales for either party in the House of Representatives come January 2025.

The district primary, which includes the luxurious skiing town Aspen, is set for June 25th, a week from today.  The presumptive Democratic nominee is Adam Frisch, a far-left longtime member of the Aspen City Council whom Boebert narrowly defeated in 2022.

The Republican field boasts at least six other candidates, though everyone has their sights on two people: Jeffrey Hurd and Ron Hanks.  As in any congressional race, there is the preferred candidate of the GOP establishment: here, it is Jeffrey Hurd, who was backed by former Colorado Representative (among a laundry list of other establishment politicians) Scott Tipton, the same man who was defeated by MAGA firebrand Lauren Boebert just four years ago.

At the time, Boebert’s victory was considered a huge upset and a major wrench thrown in the Colorado and national GOP machine.  But with redistricting now sending Boebert into CD-4, the district is ripe for takeover by Tipton’s surrogate, Jeffrey Hurd, who is attempting to sliver into the desired seat.

Hurd has received major establishment backing: over a million dollars have been poured into his primary race so far, which is a ton of money, especially considering that the primary field is jam packed with candidates.  Among the special interests that have contributed to Hurd’s effort include Never Trump organizations like Americans For Prosperity and Koch Industries, both of which have donated tens of thousands of dollars collectively to Hurd’s campaign, according to FEC reports.

By sharp contrast, much like President Trump’s own national campaign, Ron Hanks, the MAGA candidate, has waged a grassroots crusade.  His campaign is run on the backs of hundreds of small money donors, not the big-money special interests that fuel establishment favorites like Jeffrey Hurd.

Explaining why he entered the race, Hanks told a local newspaper back in December that: “The danger [for Democratic subversion in Congress] is real, and it revived the enlisted man in me: I cannot sit idly by when a threat alarm sounds. I’ve stood in the line of fire of an unhinged leftist media and their puppet masters in the Democrat Party before, and I will stand in the fight for CD3 and our common conservative values.”

The Colorado Uniparty has one of the worst track records in the country.  Thanks to it, the once prolific Centennial State is now, tragically, on life support.

For starters, the economy has been brought to near-ruin by the Green New Deal, which has virtually annihilated Colorado’s once robust energy sector that included some of the largest coal, natural gas, and oil reserves in America.

Rather than shift to sensible pro-energy policies that would make Colorado, once one of the largest producers of natural gas in the United States, energy independent – its policymakers have gone the opposite way.  Instead, they have pushed destructive measures that have made it impossible to allow for hydraulic fracking or coal mining.

The Left, which is enabled and abetted by establishment Republicans like Tipton and his handpicked lackey, Jeffrey Hurd, have wrought havoc on Colorado’s energy sector in the name of environmentalism – even though Colorado harbors some of the cleanest coal reserves in the world.

Policies that tapped into the state’s own reserves would be better, in the long run, for both economy and environment.  But these commonsense solutions have been prohibited by members of both parties.

At the same time, Tipton supported Colorado’s radical far-left Governor Jared Polis in backing programs that have replaced fracking with pernicious wind turbines and solar energy.  Rather than improve the environment, these programs have of course had the complete opposite effect.

They have also proven to be a colossal waste of money because wind turbines, much like electric vehicles, require as much if not even more energy than oil and coal to keep operating.

The costs associated with powering and maintaining alternative energy programs fall ultimately on the Colorado taxpayer.  Coloradans bear the heavy burden of paying more on their already skyrocketing taxes to transport oil and coal from out-of-state to power Green New Deal energy programs because of the absurd environmental regulations supported by the State Uniparty.

Adding insult to injury, the Colorado Uniparty has introduced Northwestern wolves, a non-native species, into the state to combat emissions from cattle and other livestock, as part of their crazed “Green” agenda.

Unsurprisingly, these suicidal “policies” have done far more damage to Colorado’s once picturesque landscape, which went from being the envy of the world to another casualty of “Green” policies all just within a very short period of time.

But the damage wrought by Colorado’s Uniparty on the environment is just the tip of the spear: Colorado’s Governor, Jared Polis, is a far-left extremist whose policies take clear inspiration from Karl Marx and the World Economic Forum.

Under his administration, Colorado has passed the most radical abortion laws of any state in the country, even outpacing states like New York and California, with no gestation bans and no exceptions.  This would theoretically allow abortions up to and potentially past birth, something that New York does not even allow.

Polis’ extremism has also infused schoolrooms across the state: the Colorado State Uniparty has launched an all-out war on children and the First Amendment by passing draconian policies that would actually jail teachers who dare to misgender or misname a transgender student.  Polis and the Uniparty have also put parental rights on the chopping block.

The Governor has promoted laws that advance the hyper-sexualization of children, starting at kindergarten age and sometimes even younger.  In the process, he has waged an onslaught on parental rights by denying – and even punishing – parents who do not want their children groomed and poisoned by extremist LGBT ideologies.

As Tipton and other Colorado Republicans allowed these insidious policies to take hold, Ron Hanks has been a lone voice crying out in the wilderness.  Hanks is one of just a handful of Colorado lawmakers to have taken the charge directly to the Uniparty.

A 32-year military veteran, he is known by the moniker “raging Ron” by his peers for debating Colorado’s horrific abortion laws at one point for 24 hours straight from the floor of the Colorado State Legislature, where he served as a member from 2021-2023.

“Raging” Ron Hanks has his MAGA bona-fides.  A veteran of the United States Air Force, Hanks is an America First patriot with a wealth of experience in both politics and as an entrepreneur.

His military experience resulted in tours of duty in Iraq, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates, where he served as an intelligence officer before retiring in 2017.  When home, he worked fracking in the oilfields of North Dakota.

While in the Colorado state legislature, Hanks fought tirelessly against the Colorado Uniparty’s program of managed decline that has decimated its once great energy reserves, poisoned the schools with wokeism, stripped Coloradans of their speech and gun rights, and turned the once serene Centennial State landscape into a dumping ground for illegal aliens.

Hanks’ populist campaign is driven by his loyalties to the Constitution and blue-collar Coloradans.  As a state legislator, he stood firmly for parental rights and was vocally opposed to vaccine and mask mandates.  He, like so many of his fellow Coloradans, has been horrified by Colorado’s descent into Third Worldism once it officially became a Sanctuary State – which has allowed human trafficking and illegal drug use, including the extraordinarily lethal fentanyl trade — to explode beyond comprehension.

Hanks was on Capitol Hill last week and met with members of the Freedom Caucus, including Rep. Boebert, to acquaint them with his policies and reaffirm his unwavering commitment to President Donald Trump.

Ron Hanks has also made election integrity a cornerstone of his congressional platform – knowing full well that we cannot have a free country without fair elections.  Hanks supports policies that would require in-person and same-day voting, as well as voter ID.  He has also pledged to outlaw Dominion Voting Systems and other electronic voting machines that make fraud all but inevitable.

These policies are very important in a state like Colorado run by far left lunatics like Jared Polis and Colorado’s Marxist Secretary of State, Jena Griswold.  The latter unforgettably launched a failed and illegal campaign to remove President Trump’s name from the ballot just this year.  Although this action was thankfully struck down by the Supreme Court, other subversive actions by Colorado Democrats are in the works.

These harsh realities, more than anything else, underscore the need for America First candidates, like Ron Hanks, to be elected to Congress who can offer much-needed political protection for President Trump once he gets reelected.

Ron Hanks has stood constantly by President Trump’s side through thick and thin.  He has strongly condemned Biden’s weaponization of the Justice Department to wage an unprecedented attack on the 45th President as a last-ditch attempt to interfere with this year’s presidential race.

Ron Hanks is opposed to weaponized lawfare in every form and has been a stalwart defender of its targets – such as the J6 political prisoners as well as every law-abiding American who has been scapegoated, labeled a domestic terrorist, and in some cases raided and indicted by Joe Biden and Merrick Garland over the past four years.

For standing on America First principles, Ron Hanks has been ostracized by Colorado’s Uniparty.  But that has not deterred him from boldly pushing forward, despite the tremendous opposition he faces from party elites (and their financial backers) on both sides of the aisle.  At the end of the day, he knows he has the people of Colorado on his side — which is all that matters.

Ron Hanks is unwavering in his pro-Trump, Colorado and America First commitments.  Once elected to Congress, he pledges to join Lauren Boebert as a staunch ally and defender in Congress of President Trump’s from Colorado.  He will work tirelessly to break the chains of tyranny imposed on Coloradans by Jared Polis and the State Uniparty.  He will work nonstop to lead a radical course correction for the once great Centennial State.

You can help Ron Hanks, a self-described “pro-Trump warrior,” by visiting his campaign website here.

Consider making a contribution to help Ron Hanks in his efforts to make Colorado – and America – great again.  The primary is scheduled to take place on June 25th.   Your support goes a long way to help liberate Colorado from the snares of Woke Communism of the State Uniparty.

The post Colorado On The Brink: How The Republican Primary For Lauren Boebert’s Former District Is Shaping Up To Be A Race Between A Pro-Trump Warrior And An Establishment Favorite – Its Outcome Can Determine Not Just The Fate Of Colorado, But Of The Nation appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Democrat Insiders Reveal Clinton, Obama, Pelosi, Schumer’s Secret Plot to Replace Feeble Joe Biden

Credit: Getty Images

Democrat insiders have blown the whistle on a secret plan to replace feeble Joe Biden if he falters in his initial debate with Trump or if his poll ratings continue to decline, the Daily Mail first reported.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says she is “hearing on Capitol Hill” that Joe Biden will ”likely” be replaced as the Democratic presidential nominee by November.

Luna discussed the matter during an appearance on Thursday’s episode of Jesse Watters Primetime.

The congresswoman told Watters, “A lot of people realize that Joe Biden’s likely not going to be the nominee, which is from what we’re hearing on Capitol Hill, Jesse. You know, Representative Kiley had reported that Kamala Harris is actually eyeing a run for California governor because of it.”

There have long been rumors and rumblings that California Gov. Gavin Newsom will replace Biden, but he has maintained that is not his plan.

“So you are hearing also in DC that Joe Biden isn’t going to be the Democrat nominee?” Watters asked.

“Correct,” Luna replied.

“It appears that our colleagues are trying to put guardrails on a 2024 presidential election with President Trump,” Luna said. “And also what you’re seeing is, according to our polling, you know, Jesse, as well as I do, that they’ve been trying to really paint Republicans as anti-woman, and they’re trying to push an abortion, crisis right now with the election. And I don’t think that that’s the case.”

Luna continued, “A lot of the American people know that really. This is a state rights decision. And so I think that they know that they’re losing. It’s very evident at this point.”

Now, it appears that there may be a secret plot brewing within the Democratic Party to replace Joe Biden. The plan is allegedly being orchestrated by influential figures, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Daily Mail reported:

According to Democratic bigwig, Obama campaign guru David Axelrod, the Biden team scheduled one of the earliest presidential debates in history (June 27 on CNN) to prove to naysayers that Joe’s not going anywhere.

But the gambit carries tremendous risk.

While an efficient debate performance by Biden could help rally Democrats behind him – a significant misstep would only stoke more replacement chatter.

Former Clinton advisor and polling expert Mark Penn suggested the CNN debate will be Biden’s last chance to reassure voters he’s fit for the job.

Now DailyMail.com has learned that if Joe stumbles in that first face-off with Trump or if his polling numbers keep falling, it’ll take a united front of the liberal grandees to make Joe throw in the towel.

‘The only people who could force him out would be Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer,’ one Democratic strategist told DailyMail.com. ‘It would have to be the four of them collectively.’

And the process would be high risk.

However, there is another potential complication. Biden could stubbornly refuse to step down and continue his campaign until Election Day.

If Biden refuses to step down, it would put the Democratic Party in a difficult position. They would have to contend not only with a stubborn incumbent but also with potential backlash from progressives if Kamala Harris is passed over for the nomination.

“That person would not be Vice President Kamala Harris, according to sources, who observed that Harris has already had to fend off a push to replace her on the ticket,” Daily Mail reported.

“Strategists theorize that Democrats would have to hold a public event to symbolically transfer power to the new candidate.  Biden, Obama, Clinton, Schumer, and Pelosi would publicly introduce and endorse the anointed nominee,” the news outlet added.

You can read more here.

The post Democrat Insiders Reveal Clinton, Obama, Pelosi, Schumer’s Secret Plot to Replace Feeble Joe Biden appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The Bottom 20% Do Almost No Work, and You Pay for Them: How the Low-Income Bracket Drains Taxpayer Dollars

Americans overtaxed, Courtesy of Antonio Graceffo

When you pay taxes, remember that the bottom 20% of income earners do almost no work, do not pay taxes, and receive government aid. The next lowest 20% pay minimal taxes but also receive government support.

Considering credits, the bottom half effectively pay about $667 per year. In contrast, the top 1% of income earners contribute roughly 38.8% of all federal income taxes, and the top 10% pay about 70% of the total federal income taxes. Most of the rest is paid by the Middle-income earners.

Households in the bottom 20% of income often pay little to no federal income taxes due to low taxable income and tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). According to the Tax Policy Center, about 44% of U.S. households pay no federal income tax, largely because of these credits and deductions.

Many low-income households receive transfer payments from government programs like Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and housing assistance.

In 2023, about 70.6 million Americans received benefits from programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), including Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Additionally, millions more benefit from other social safety net programs. For example, in the 2022 fiscal year, approximately 41.2 million people received SNAP benefits.

There is a claim that while low-income households may not contribute significantly to federal income taxes, they do contribute to other forms of taxation such as payroll taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes on their homes. However, these arguments are easily refuted.

The Social Security contributions of the low-income group are minimal because they earn less money and work less frequently. Middle-income and high-income groups pay more into Social Security, with the maximum contribution occurring at an income of $168,000.

Additionally, low-income workers can receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a needs-based program that provides cash assistance to disabled adults and children with limited income and resources. SSI is not dependent on work history or contributions to Social Security.

The property tax argument falls apart because the poor are less likely to own a home. Property taxes are used to fund public schools, so people who do not pay property tax can still send their children to schools funded by other people’s property taxes under Title I.

A counter-argument is that renters indirectly pay property taxes through their rent payments, which landlords use to cover property taxes. However, in the old tenement system, there was a building owner who paid property taxes.

In the new system of projects and state housing, the government is the owner, and no property taxes are paid. Therefore, all the funding for local schools must come from other taxpayers in other neighborhoods.

Middle- and high-income earners contribute significantly to payroll taxes, which fund Social Security and Medicare. Self-employed individuals pay both the employer and employee portions of these taxes, effectively paying double.

Middle- and high-income individuals often own businesses and create jobs, contributing to the economy and generating employment opportunities, while also paying the employer’s share of payroll taxes. This entrepreneurial activity supports economic growth and can lead to increased tax revenues.

Another cost that taxpayers must bear is crime. Evidence shows that higher crime rates are associated with lower-income areas. Property crimes and other criminal activities impose significant costs on taxpayers due to law enforcement, judicial processes, and correctional services.

Addressing crime and its social costs involves substantial public expenditure. However, individuals living in high-crime areas tend to pay little or no income tax. As a result, the cost of policing these areas falls on taxpayers in other neighborhoods, diverting money from public services in taxpaying areas to the policing of non-paying areas.

Research from the Center for Poverty and Inequality Research at UC Davis suggests that a significant portion of children who grow up in poverty and receive public assistance continue to rely on these programs into adulthood.

Approximately one-third to one-half of children who experience poverty for a substantial part of their childhood remain poor as adults. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that welfare receipt among parents significantly increases the likelihood of welfare participation among their children. This intergenerational correlation suggests that welfare use is, to some extent, a learned behavior, perpetuating the cycle of dependency.

In short, nearly the bottom half of the population is either paying no taxes, very little taxes, and/or receiving benefits. Every new social program for the non-payers represents a forced transfer of wealth from the working to the non-working and a transfer of government services from the taxpaying to the non-taxpaying.

The post The Bottom 20% Do Almost No Work, and You Pay for Them: How the Low-Income Bracket Drains Taxpayer Dollars appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

GANDALF HAS FALLEN: 85 Year-Old Lord of the Rings Star Ian McKellen Falls From Stage During Fight Scene Just Weeks after Bashing Trump

In The Lord of the Rings, when Gandalf the Wizard falls in the Moriah dark pit during his battle with the Ancient Balrog Demon, it takes him months to reappear in the story, and in his mind, ages flew by as he transformed from the Grey Wizard into his reincarnation as Gandalf the White.

As for celebrated actor Sir Ian McKellen, it has arisen that he was rushed to hospital after falling off stage during a fight scene at the Noël Coward theatre in London.

A fight scene? Yes! Elderly Sir Ian was circling a battle scene involving two other characters in Shakespeare’s Henry IV adaptation, when he fell from the front of the stage.

Express reported:

“The Lord of the Rings star, 85, had been acting in a performance of Player Kings, which allows audiences to see William Shakespeare’s Henry IV Parts one and two back to back. Sir Ian lost his footing and fell during the performance and that the star subsequently required medical attention.”

Sir Ian plays Falstaff in the well-received adaptation of Shakespear’s Henry IV.

While looking increasingly frail, Sir Ian is playing John Shakespeare’s Falstaff in the very well-received west-end production at the Noel Coward Theatre.

He was involved in a fight scene when he lost his footing and fell from the stage during Monday evening’s performance.

When the house lights came up, the star could be heard ‘crying out in pain’ as staff rushed to help him. The evening show was cancelled and the audience was evacuated from the theatre.

Gandalf was away for months after his fall, but Sir Ian is to be back on Wednesday!

“Thankfully, tonight it was confirmed Sir Ian is expected to make a swift recovery and was said to be ‘in good spirits’.

A theatre spokesperson said: ‘Thank you to our audience and the general public for their well wishes following Ian’s fall during this evening’s performance of Player Kings. Following a scan, the brilliant NHS team have assured us that he will make a speedy and full recovery and Ian is in good spirits’.”

It may surprise us to know that Tuesday’s performance was obviously cancelled – but Sir Ian is expected to come back to work on Wednesday.

That’s how real-life heroes are – he may be 85 years old, but his ‘flame of Anor’ is still burning bright.

Read more:

Legendary ‘Lord of the Rings’ Actor Takes Bizarre Shot at Donald Trump

The post GANDALF HAS FALLEN: 85 Year-Old Lord of the Rings Star Ian McKellen Falls From Stage During Fight Scene Just Weeks after Bashing Trump appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

New Prigozhin Biography Leaves Enigma Intact

New Prigozhin Biography Leaves Enigma Intact

The chef-turned-warlord was truly, as Putin put it, “a man of a difficult fate.”

(Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

Downfall: Prigozhin, Putin, and the New Fight for the Future of Russia, Mark Galeotti and Anna Arutunyan, Ebury Press, 262 pages

Nobody knows for sure whether Yevgeny Prigozhin is really dead. Many observers, including Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, believe he might have gone into hiding after faking his death in a plane crash on August 23, 2023. Ten bodies were found in the wreckage, and DNA tests by Russian officials reportedly confirm that Prigozhin was among the dead. But the man’s career was so outrageous, so utterly larger than life, that no one would be surprised if he walked out of the jungles of the Central African Republic tomorrow carrying the decapitated head of Joseph Kony.

Assuming he really is dead, now is the right time to publish a biography of one of the most colorful characters to grace the world stage in the 21st century. At least four books on Prigozhin and his mercenary firm, the Wagner Group, are scheduled for publication in the upcoming year. The first to hit shelves is Downfall: Prigozhin, Putin, and the New Fight for the Future of Russia, by Mark Galeotti and Anna Arutunyan. 

No such books were published while Prigozhin was still alive, partly because he threatened any journalist who started sniffing around. One journalist was told her car would be run off the road if she investigated him. In 2018, three Russian documentarians working on a film about Wagner’s activities in Africa were killed in the jungle outside Bangui, so perhaps these threats were not idle.

The bald thug behind these stories started out wanting to be a cross-country skier. His stepfather was a ski instructor who arranged to have little Zhenya enrolled in the elite Leningrad Sports Boarding School No. 62. Prigozhin washed out of the program and fell into a life of petty crime. He spent nine years in prison for thieving. When he got out in 1990, he started a hot dog stand, which turned out to be surprisingly lucrative. 

He graduated to brick-and-mortar restaurants in 1995, and soon his establishments were favored by the St. Petersburg elite, including Vladimir Putin. Putin’s grandfather Spiridon was a personal chef to Lenin and Stalin, which perhaps disposed him to recognize his favorite restaurateur as a man of potential. In any event, Putin brought Prigozhin along with him when he became president and hired him to cater state events for foreign dignitaries. Prigozhin’s resume at one time listed 70 such leaders, including Prince Charles, Silvio Berlusconi, and King Salman. Putin also gave Prigozhin’s firms government contracts to supply food to schools and the military.

In 2014, Prigozhin added a private military company to his growing business empire. The first known record of the Wagner Group was in the Donbas region, where, according to Galeotti and Arutunyan, it “was less of a frontline fighting element so much as a ‘mop up’ force.” The “half-drunk, half-feral assortment of amateur militias” that had sprung up in the breakaway regions needed to be reined in before they became an embarrassment to the pro-Russian side. Wagner reportedly assassinated several of these warlords. 

Syria was Wagner’s chance to shine, and at its peak it had 2,500 fighters deployed there. At first, Wagner worked in cooperation with regular Russian forces. By 2017, that relationship had soured due to differences in pay—“a Wagner fighter could be paid twice as much as an experienced Spetsnaz,” according to Galeotti and Arutunyan—and Prigozhin’s boasting about his boys’ performance. “It was us, not you, that took Palmyra!” he reportedly told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to his face. Eventually the Russian military stopped providing Wagner with supplies and looked the other way as American forces killed dozens of Wagner fighters near the town of Khasham in February 2018. 

The feud between Shoigu and Prigozhin explains much of Wagner’s shifting fortunes during the ongoing Ukraine war, including the eventual mutiny of June 2023. Prigozhin complained constantly that his forces (now numbering 85,000) were being starved of supplies by the corrupt Ministry of Defense. “Shoigu’s main complaint against Prigozhin,” says one Wagner officer quoted in the book, “was that the [Wagner] money did not go through the Defense Ministry. He had no contact with this money and couldn’t take a cut.” During the mutiny, Prigozhin was heard on film saying that his fighters “were just after Shoigu and [General Valery] Gerasimov.”  

The mutiny was still too great an insult to Putin for the president to bear. Galeotti and Arutunyan are in no doubt that the Kremlin had Prigozhin killed as punishment for the mutiny. The official Kremlin line is that the explosion on board the plane was caused by the passengers horsing around with live grenades. Putin himself offered this obituary when an interviewer asked him about Prigozhin two months after the crash:

I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, since the early 1990s. He was a man of a difficult fate. He made serious mistakes in his life. And he achieved the results he needed, both for himself and, when I asked him about it, for the common cause, as in these last months. He was a talented person, a talented businessman, he worked not only in our country, but also abroad, in Africa in particular.

It will be left to future books to describe in detail how Wagner performed in battles such as Bakhmut. Downfall is more about Yevgeny Prigozhin the man. The book ends with a provocative comparison between Prigozhin and dissident Alexei Navalny. Both took aim at the ruling regime, Galeotti and Arutunyan argue, with the difference that Navalny’s supporters were in the small, Western-aligned elite whereas Prigozhin “highlighted the regime’s betrayal of the ‘guys’ on whom it depended.” 

“One thing Putin’s regime has not faced is a serious and unified blue-collar challenge,” Galeotti and Arutunyan write. The reason Putin probably did order Prigozhin’s death, and probably did not order Navalny’s, is that he posed a much greater threat.

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