For several years we have witnessed school boards, teachers and school administrators attempt to impose hyper-sexualized class materials, anti-White class materials, allow boys into girls’ sports programs, restrooms and lockers and lowered overall learning standards. Concerned parents have rallied and attended school board meetings to object to this harmful and deceitful propaganda. Rather than listen to parents and their concerns, the teachers and schools instead attacked the parents, had them removed from meetings, arrested and even asked the Department of Justice to label upset parents as domestic terrorists. In response, Republicans just did something about this.
This week, Congress passed H.R. 5, legislation giving parents more say and insight about what is being taught to their children in public schools. Every parent has a right to make decisions for their children. Unfortunately, many public-school districts today have been ignoring the wishes of parents while the powerful, woke Teachers’ Union, working in concert with the Department of Justice, tries to criminalize free speech and put parents in jail.
The Parents Bill of Rights affirms:
Parents have the right to know what their children are being taught;
Parents have the right to be heard;
Parents have the right to see the school budget and spending;
Parents have the right to protect their child’s privacy;
Parents have the right to keep their children safe.
I believe that parents should be able to know what their children are learning, how their tax dollars are being spent and whether their children are safe in school and that is why I joined nearly all my Republican colleagues in voting in favor of the Parents Bill of Rights.
20 Year Anniversary of the Start of the Iraq War
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the United States unprovoked invasion of Iraq. At that time, Iraq had not committed any hostile act towards the United States. However, members of the Bush administration lied to the American public and claimed that Iraq had nuclear weapons or was building nuclear weapons. For that reason, it was stated, we needed to invade the country and kill their people. After lying repeatedly to the American people and media, and scaring Americans with the prospect of being nuked by Iraq, we invaded, and destroyed their country and killed their political class. Since that time, no evidence of nuclear weapons or other so-called weapons of mass destruction were ever found.
To this day, Iraq has not recovered. President Obama withdrew our primary military forces in 2011, but not until we lost 4,431 soldiers and suffered 31,994 wounded soldiers, according to the Department of Defense in a report in July 2021. In addition, we spent $2.4 trillion on the war effort. Depending on the organization making the report, between 110,000 and 600,000 Iraqis (mainly civilians) were killed. The lives lost are irreplaceable and tragic. The $2.4 trillion wasted could have been used in the United States for Social Security, schools, roads, ports, railroad improvements, airports, hospitals, and other expenses and investments that would have directly benefited Americans.
The consensus is that we failed to achieve any political goal. While our troops and military fight very well, and can win any battle we send them to, there was no political goal achieved by using military forces. Because we failed to achieve any political objective, the war is generally considered a waste of money and lives.
According to a report this week by the Pew Research Center, Iraq is now a war that two in three American adults—and U.S. veterans—say was “not worth fighting,” according to the think tank survey by Defense Priorities. I grieve for the families that lost a loved-ones in this unnecessary war. I would like to think we learned our lesson not to go around the world and engage in war but looking at the Biden regime today and its lust for war in Ukraine, I have no confidence any lesson was learned.
Police Attempt to Steal $40,000 From Business Owner
Recently, the Arizona Court of Appeals told airport police that they have to give back the $40,000 they stole from a trucker, Jerry Johnson. It took Jerry, and his legal team at the Institute of Justice, two and a half years, but they won.
How and why can the police steal money? They use a technique called “civil asset forfeiture” that basically allows them to take any property they want, without evidence, without a trial and without a court order, if they merely think the property could be the result of an illegal activity. In Mr. Johnson’s case, he owned a small trucking company and flew into Phoenix to attend a truck auction to buy a new semi-truck. He brought with him $39,500 in cash.
But isn’t traveling with cash illegal, you might ask? No. Absolutely not. You can stuff your suitcase with as much cash as you want. It is not illegal.
In Mr. Johnson’s case, his purpose was to buy a new truck and there is nothing illegal about that or how he saved his money. The police saw the cash and wanted it. There was no evidence of a crime. There was no evidence the money was illegal. He was never charged with any crime. They had no right to steal, nevertheless, they did, and it took two years to get it back.
I’ll note that I have longed called for civil asset forfeiture reform. Before the government can simply take your property, there must be a trial and a court order. If they prove your property was the result of illegal activities, fine. But no bureaucrat should be able to simply claim the property arbitrarily for their own purposes.
Biden Administration and Democrats Are Trying to Harm Medicare Advantage
Currently there are 31 million Americans who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage programs. For those enrolled, this is a key program and it must remain affordable to be useful and utilized. Inexplicitly, the Biden administration, with support from democrats, is seeking a dramatic increase in Medicare premiums, higher out of pocket costs, in addition to cuts to key programs such as Alzheimer’s treatment. Republicans are inquiring into this matter as the Biden plan will negatively impact the timeliness, and quality, of health care.
The Biden regime has been attacking seniors on all fronts. With their plan to reduce Social Security benefits, reduce Medicare Advantage programs and increase premiums, plus the rampant and out of control inflation created by Biden’s reckless and incompetent administration, seniors are under attack by the democrats. I have joined my colleagues to oppose these harmful policies and I have also filed legislation to increase Social Security benefits and eliminate taxes on such benefits.
Biden’s Incompetence Threatens Our Currency Value
One of the things we take for granted in America is the fact that most countries try to do business using U.S. dollars. Our dollar has historically been seen as stable, reliable and useful. This benefits our nation greatly.
Our financial dominance is now under threat due to the Biden regime’s incompetent war mongering and interventionism. An article this weekhighlighted countries like Russia, China and India are now looking at using other currencies because Biden has abused our currency and banking system by unilaterally imposing unjust banking sanction.
If our currency continues to suffer from rampant inflation, and your wealth and retirement become less and less valuable, you can thank Zelenskyy and Biden for dragging us in to a conflict we have no business being in.
Pray for peace.
General Milley Pushes Chemical Castration and Surgical Mutilation of Children of Military Families
In another bizarre move by General Milley, who has made it a point to lose wars but remove conservative officers and soldiers while promoting transsexualism in the military, including drag shows on ships, he has ordered the military physicians to adopt chemical castration and surgical mutilation of children.
In a recent article, the Department of Defense (DOD) physicians stated their views that the children of military dependents should be chemically castrated or surgically mutilated, if they want, at military hospitals. This is gross malpractice and a threat to the nation’s military unity and family harmony. To make matters worse, these same military doctors claim talking to children about not being gay or transsexual is “illegal.”
It is no wonder our country cannot win any conflict. The humiliating Afghanistan retreat, where Milley and Biden caused 13 soldiers to get killed, left behind thousands of Americans, and abandoned $80 billion in military equipment to the Taliban, is the result of General Milley’s incompetence. We cannot win conflicts with clowns like this in the Pentagon.
The DOD article states:
“In an article that appeared in the latest edition of the American Journal of Public Health, a team made up of medical professionals and clinical psychologists advocated that kids “have an inherent ability and right to consent” to surgical interventions.
Biden’s Efforts to Kill More Americans Is Paying Off
Readers of my newsletter know that Mr. Biden opened the borders in February 2021 as soon as he took office. Over six million illegal aliens pranced across the border since then, including hundreds on the terrorist watch list who got caught. Hundreds more terrorists likely got away.
The data is in on drugs, and it is just getting worse. The year that Biden opened our borders, the drug fentanyl came across in record amounts, since the drug cartels now control our borders. No one crosses into the United States without paying the cartels and the average price is about $10,000. So, the Biden regime has made billions of dollars for the cartels, not including the drug sales.
What is the leading cause of death for Americans 18-45?
COVID? No. The COVID vaccine? No. Car accidents? No. Work accidents? No. Military conflict? No. Cancer? No.
It is fentanyl. Fentanyl is killing our young adults and is the number one cause of death, and it is all due to the open borders where illegal aliens and drugs simply walk across into our country where Biden’s border patrol welcomes them with gifts of money, food, medicine, housing and transportation, using our tax money.
It is no coincidence that more Americans died from fentanyl poisoning in 2021 than were killed in Vietnam, Korea, Somalia, Panama, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Here is the grim truth about Biden and the democrats lust for more American citizens to die:
This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before the Senate and admitted:
Illicit drugs are flowing into the country at an alarming rate, with only 5 to 10% being intercepted as border officials struggle to contain the smuggling.
In a stinging rebuke to the incompetent Biden regime, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (“AMLO”) dropped some truth bombs on Mr. Biden that undeniably hit its target. This comment is particularly notable because of the massive deaths inflicted on Americans due to Mr. Biden’s malignant administration:
“Why is a cartel, or several cartels, allowed to operate in the United States, freely distributing the fentanyl that does so much harm to young people in that country?” AMLO added.
You can read President Obrador’s entire interview by clicking here.
It’s Mail Time!
I have received nearly 5,000 letters this month! Here’s a small sample of the letters I received just this week:
Mary C. from Bullhead City writes:
Please do whatever you are able to secure enough support in the House to stop Biden from sending any more money, equipment, or aid of any kind to the very corrupt Ukraine. We have absolutely no idea of where all the funds already sent have gone, nor will we ever know. My guess is that a lot of those funds have been backchanneled to pockets here in the United States. I am so grateful that you are my representative in the House. Why aren’t there more of you constitutional conservatives in our federal government. But, then again, why is our federal government so bloated, corrupt, illegal and useless? I pray the conservative members of the GOP take control of Washington, D.C. soon and put the federal level of our government back to what it should have been for a long time. God bless you, sir.
Dear Mary, for the last decade Ukraine was ranked in the top three most corrupt countries in the world. I think we can rest assured that at least half the money and material we send will be stolen, diverted or otherwise misappropriated. On top of the fact that we have known for over a decade that Ukraine openly embraces, encourages and funds Nazi troops and militias. Ukraine is the only country in the world with an active Nazi militia that is government supported. Now the United States supports them. I never would have thought we would see the day where America joined Nazi’s in fighting Russia – the opposite of World War 2. This is shameful and disgraceful for our nation.
As you may know, I recently joined a group of House Republicans and introduced H. Res. 1482, a resolution to audit the funds appropriated by Congress to Ukraine. This important resolution demands that Joe Biden, along with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State, provide the House of Representatives copies of all documents and any financial statements detailing purchases, recipients, and government expenditures related to congressionally appropriated funds given to Ukraine. Joe Biden and Congress have already wasted more than $100 billion American taxpayer dollars funding a proxy war in Ukraine. I have repeatedly said that we should not send another dime to Ukraine and we should audit the money already sent there.
Patricia K. from Buckeye shares:
I am concerned with the recent bank failures in Silicon Valley in California. I hope that it doesn’t lead to other banks failing and effecting the whole economy. I see where some people in Congress have called for more authority to claw back executive compensation from the people who ran these banks. I am for that. I don’t feel that any executive who makes outlandish sums of money should be able to get off Scott-free from the poor decisions they made that caused the bank to fail. I don’t care what their contract says. In fact, I think it should apply to all corporations. I remember when K-Mart failed, and the executives still got their compensation plus bonuses. If executives knew that their own compensation was in jeopardy, then they would make better decisions for their shareholders and customers. So, I urge you to do something for the little people in this country and hold these executives accountable. Please support regulations to claw back executive compensation when the company they run is ruined.
Dear Patricia, first thanks for the note. Biden has spent $14 trillion in two years and added $4 trillion already to our $31 trillion deficit. All this spending created massive inflation, which forced the Federal Reserve to increase rates. When rates rise, the price of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities created in prior years falls–meaning the value of bank’s assets falls, creating a liquidity crunch.
Moreover, while the price of necessities like food and energy spikes, the stock market has seen anemic growth during Biden’s presidency. Reckless banks rely on inflated stocks for profit, and when high interest rates bring the party to a halt, banks are left with little cash on hand to pay depositors. Instead of making prudent financial decisions, woke executives, like those at Silicon Valley Bank, have been too busy giving funding to racial hate groups like Black Lives Matter and other divisive leftist organizations to the tune of $73.5 million.
Capitalism only works when failure is an option. If a bad actor knows Big Brother is always willing to intervene, there is no consequence for terrible decisions, and the terrible decisions will continue–especially if they make you rich. For that reason, I am leery of bailout culture.
Shah I. needed some help from my office with his passport and shares this good news:
I apologize for the delayed reply. I was going to email you on Friday, but then got busy with some family stuff. YES!!! I have received both my passport book and card last week. I was also able to do my DHS/CBP Global Entry interview on time on Friday – so everything worked out GREAT!
I wanted to thank you (and your team) for helping me out on this. You have no idea how frustrated and desperate I was because of this new pilot program (online passport renewal). I was on hold one day was 6 hours and 20 minutes. I spent almost 25 hours on hold before getting to anybody and still nobody could give me an answer.
I am really grateful and proud that my representative’s office was able to help me out. I have already shared this experience with my co-workers, friends and neighbors – that my government/representative actually went to work for me.
Thank you so much!
Ken C. also needs some assistance with his passports and wrote this thoughtful note:
As I am confident you know, Penny Pew is a gem in your office. We had extreme difficulties in receiving our renewed passports timely for travel. Thanks to Penny’s intervention, they arrived today! Please share my thanks and gratitude with Penny.
Lee A. shared his gratitude this week:
We would like to thank you for your diligent efforts for getting my C-file. It just arrived. I received a disk containing over 4,000 pages of my history since enlisting in 1967. It took quite a while to scroll through. I served my country proudly and my wife and I are pleased with your service in Congress. We thank you very much.
Dear Shah, Ken and Lee, I am very pleased that my team was able to assist you with the difficulties you were experiencing with our federal bureaucracy. I’m quite certain I have the best staff in Congress and I am happy to know each of you received the assistance needed to resolve your issues favorably.
If you or anyone ever needs helps with a federal agency, please email my District Director, Penny Pew, at penny.pew@mail.house.gov, a real gem, indeed!
Tweet of the Week:
Photo of the Week:
This picture of some hungry hogs was sent in by Jim Bokan from Seligman, Arizona. These hogs really love Jim – he has watched them grow and they run to him when he calls out their names. Very cool shot, Jim. Thanks for sharing!
Now, who is next!? Do you have photography skills? Do you want the chance for your photograph to be featured as our “Picture of the Week?” If so, send your best shots of our great state toAnthony.foti@mail.house.gov. Remember to include your name and where you live. We have a beautiful state, let’s show her off!
