Congress Is Committing an $11 Billion Fraud on American Public

• The national debt is now an eye-popping $32.5 trillion (roughly $250,000 per household), and out-of-control deficit spending is one of the main reasons why families are struggling with inflation.
• In May, Congress passed a bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for reforms that would supposedly reduce spending levels.
• Rather than simply living with lower spending levels, Congress is going to extreme lengths to hide spending within the limits. Not only does this reduce the amount of inflation-fighting deficit reduction, but it could ultimately mean more spending when this year’s appropriations process is done.
• The best example of that is an obscure, strangely worded provision tucked into the debt limit deal that provides $11 billion for a “Nonrecurring Expenses Fund” within the Department of Commerce.
• Fraud on this scale should be a national embarrassment and a political scandal rather than just another day in the swamp. Sadly, it’s par for the course in Washington.

Schedule an Interview: David Ditch and Richard Stern

Prioritizing Ukraine Aid Threatens Deterrence By Denial In The Pacific 

• Since war broke out in February 2022, advocates for increased support of Ukraine have argued that a Ukrainian victory over Russia is critically important for deterring China. 
• The truth is much simpler: Deterring China has far less to do with the war in Ukraine than it does with convincing Xi Jinping that U.S. and Taiwanese forces will be able to soundly defeat a Chinese assault. 
• Prioritizing Ukraine at the expense of U.S. and Taiwanese forces in the Pacific has not only detracted from America’s ability to do just that. It may also cause Beijing to doubt America’s commitment to Taiwan’s defense.
• The United States should rely on deterrence by denial, or convincing Chinese leaders—Xi Jinping, in particular—that any attempt to invade Taiwan will fail. Implementing such a strategy urgently requires the United States to disperse and harden operating locations in the Western Pacific, increase munition stockpiles, and develop a persistent targeting-quality common operating picture.  

Schedule an Interview: Alex Velez-Green  

Harvard Law Professor Forgets Why Judicial Review Exists  

• Havard Law professor Mark Tushnet published a letter to President Joe Biden demanding that the president simply ignore any decisions of the “MAGA” Supreme Court. Out with judicial review, in with a term-limited King of America. 
• America’s founders and the early Supreme Court prescribed how judicial power should be exercised and spoke clearly about its proper scope and limits. 
• There are lots of good reasons to oppose Tushnet’s proposal: It would make the president a temporary dictator; it’s subjective and undemocratic; Republican presidents could do the same thing; etc. 
• What the Founders knew, and Tushnet has forgotten, is that power is like an angry bull—once you set it free, you can’t control the direction it charges. Judicial review is the fence that keeps that bull from doing any harm. Within its space, the bull is free to point wherever it wants, but it cannot get out into the town and visit a china shop.

Schedule an Interview: GianCarlo Canaparo