From the Trenches World Report

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican tax plan will deliver a swift adrenaline shot to the economy that will send hundreds of billions pouring into federal tax coffers, the Trump administration asserts in a new analysis. But nonpartisan analysts make a less rosy projection of new revenue from the tax legislation now before Congress.

House and Senate negotiators are rushing to finalize the tax legislation and deliver the promised measure to President Donald Trump before Christmas. Trump will try on Wednesday to sell the American people on a GOP tax overhaul that is unpopular with many. His pitch: the plan will lift all economic boats, bringing a brighter future for taxpayers and their families, according to spokeswoman Lindsay Walters.  Continue reading “Admin says big revenue from GOP tax plan; analysts less rosy”

MSN

Every year, Brooke Richardson, who teaches English as a second language to mostly low-income Hispanic students in Atlanta, turns to her own pocketbook to help her students. She has lost track of how many pencils, markers, notebooks and glue sticks she buys a year.

Then there are the marshmallows and cotton balls for hands-on projects. And then there are the extra books so they have something to read on the weekend and during holiday breaks, and peanut butter and jelly so kids who don’t have enough to eat have at least some food at Christmas. Every year she also has had to replace headphones or other classroom technology because something always malfunctions, and there’s rarely enough money in the budget to fix it. She prides herself as a master discount shopper, but so many little purchases add up.   Continue reading “House Republicans have a little-known plan to raise taxes on teachers by $2 billion”

Orrazz

America may be the land of 2,600-square-foot starter homes with massive walk-in closets, but many people living in the United States will go to sleep tonight without a roof over their heads. Although the total homeless population has fallen almost 14% since 2010, there are still close to 550,000 people in the U.S. who don’t have a fixed abode, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Unsurprisingly, larger metros, such as New York and Los Angeles, had bigger populations of homeless people than smaller cities, but homelessness is a problem in towns of all sizes. In Honolulu, with a population of less than 400,000, there were nearly 5,000 homeless. Orange County, California; Nassau and Suffolk Counties on New York’s Long Island; and Monterey, California, all had homeless populations above 3,000. In Wyoming, the state with the smallest population, there are 857 homeless men and women.   Continue reading “Poverty: 10 Cities With the Most Homeless People”

RT

North Korea has declared a political and military victory over the US as it accused Washington of trying to deflect attention from its Pyongyang failures by peddling “non-existent” human rights abuses at the UN.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) discussed the human rights situation in the reclusive country Monday at the request of the US, UK and France along with six other non-permanent member states. The session was convened despite objections from Russia and China. Beijing argued that the timing of the meeting will further inflame tensions in the region.   Continue reading “N. Korea declares political & military victory over US while UN targets its human rights record”

The Organic Prepper

Have you ever thought about what an SHTF Christmas would be like after an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it event? I’m not talking about a minor issue that just affects a few people, but a full-on disaster that changes everything.

Today, we have a first-hand look at what a post-collapse holiday is really like. I interviewed my friend Selco, of SHTF School, and his answers are really food for thought.  I have learned more about long-term survival from Selco than probably anybody else and have based a lot of my own plans on things I’ve learned from him. For most of us who write about preparedness, it’s research and theory. For Selco, it’s real life.   Continue reading “Stories from an SHTF Christmas: An Interview with Selco”

The Guardian – by Antony Loewenstein

William Binney is one of the highest-level whistleblowers to ever emerge from the NSA. He was a leading code-breaker against the Soviet Union during the Cold War but resigned soon after September 11, disgusted by Washington’s move towards mass surveillance.

On 5 July he spoke at a conference in London organised by the Centre for Investigative Journalism and revealed the extent of the surveillance programs unleashed by the Bush and Obama administrations.   Continue reading “The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control”

The Hill – by James Bovard

Politifact delivered a “pants on fire” slam to Fox News on Friday because one of its commentators asserted that the Federal Bureau of Investigation “has become America’s secret police.” The FBI has legions of new champions nowadays among liberals and Democrats who hope that its probes will end Donald Trump’s presidency. This is a stunning reversal that may have J. Edgar Hoover spinning in his grave.

In order to boost the credibility of the FBI’s investigations of the Trump team, much of the media is whitewashing the bureau’s entire history. But the FBI has been out of control almost since its birth.   Continue reading “Yes, the FBI is America’s secret police”

Fox News

An illegal immigrant from Vietnam faces life in prison after being convicted Monday in the 2012 hammer-killing of a family of five after losing money at a casino earlier in the evening.

Binh Thai Luc, who had a violent criminal history and was supposed to be deported in 2006, was found guilty in the murders of a family of Chinese immigrants. He was also found guilty of five counts of attempted robbery and two counts of burglary.   Continue reading “Illegal immigrant found guilty in murder of family of five in San Francisco”

US News

Continue reading “U.S. Judge Warns of Mistrial in Nevada Rancher Bundy’s Trial”

Anti-Media – by Carey Wedler

The National Rifle Association (NRA), which fancies itself a champion of the Second Amendment and gun rights, is nowhere to be found as state governments are moving to confiscate firearms from medical marijuana patients.

Police in Honolulu, Hawaii, recently sent out a letter to 30 medical cannabis patients warning them they had 30 days to hand over their guns. When medical cannabis becomes legal in Ohio in 2018, patients will not be permitted to own or possess firearms. Similar restrictions have been imposed in California and Oregon despite state policy, and they are not new.   Continue reading “NRA Silent as States, Feds Ban Gun Sales to Medical Marijuana Patients”

Reuters

Transgender recruits will be able to join the U.S. military as of Jan. 1 after a federal judge on Monday denied a request by President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce his ban on transgender troops while the government appeals an order blocking it.

In a ruling, with which the Pentagon said it would comply, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington refused to lift part of her Oct. 30 order stopping the ban from taking effect until the case is resolved, saying it likely violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law.   Continue reading “U.S. military must accept transgender recruits by Jan. 1, judge rules”