AMERICA – This Is Our Country

Newsletter | July 13, 2023

“They’re not coming after me,” former President and front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination Donald Trump often tells crowds at his massive rallies. “They’re coming after you, and I’m just in the way.”

That’s all true. But it’s also true that they really are coming after Trump, too. And the American people have stood in the way.

It started in 2016. Stepping into political life made Trump political enemies. The Republican candidate for President went from being a real estate magnate and beloved celebrity with a long-running and chart-topping TV show to the most hated man in public life. It wasn’t enough to smear him for his perceived personal flaws, his Democratic party rival called him a Russian spy, so did the media — all while the FBI was unlawfully investigating his campaign.

His supporters didn’t believe Russiagate, not because they’re brain-washed fanatics but because their common sense told them the story was nonsense. So they stuck by Trump and became even more suspicious of his adversaries, the same people coming after them, too.

Even as it got worse, they stuck by him. They knew the impeachment was a set-up. They saw that COVID was being used to destroy the economy that Trump enabled and that they themselves built through their hard work and inspiration. By tying his second impeachment to the January 6 protests, Trump’s adversaries signaled they were targeting his supporters, too. So his supporters stuck up for themselves and stood by Trump.

The raid on Mar-a-Lago, the arraignment on criminal charges in a Manhattan courtroom, the civil case in a New York court, the federal indictment on classified documents, the continuing federal investigation, and the investigation in Georgia have all been designed to push Trump out of politics and into jail. And it’s all meant to send a message to his supporters: no one can help you now — if we can do it to him, we can do it to you. Surrender.

But it’s not working. And that’s because Trump’s hunters misunderstand the character of our great country.

They thought they could cut off Trump from the rest of the nation because they come from a part of America where loyalty and love count for little. For people like that, relationships are strictly transactional, they’re about what you can do for me now. These are the kind of friends who take flight at the first sign of trouble. And these are the people who imagined that those who believe Trump represents not only their interests but also their values saw the world the same way. They couldn’t have been more wrong.

For the majority of our great nation, you make a good name for yourself not by getting it in the newspapers, but by keeping your word. You make a living to support your family through hard work, not through Ivy League networks and insider trading. And when family and friends are going through a hard time, you stick by them, you rally around them, and remind them why they’re loved and respected. These are the people you want to be around; these are the people who make our nation great.

So when the corrupt political faction that is destroying our country and laying waste to our constitutional order came for Trump, they found America standing in the way. What a people, what a nation — wise, courageous, and resilient. And to our opponents, we say: Do your worst. We can take it. We’re still here. It’s our country.

Please participate in our Reader’s Survey. Your insights and thoughts are important as we learn what is on the minds and in the hearts of our fellow Americans. We read them all and share some of them Mondays at 9 a.m. during America’s Future live broadcasts with our Executive Director Mary O’Neill on America’s Mondays With Mary. Thank You!

Miranda Devine is the author of Laptop From Hell: Hunter Biden, Big Tech, and the Dirty Secrets the President Tried to Hide, the bestselling chronicle of corruption at the highest levels of U.S. politics. A columnist for the New York Post and Fox News contributor, she also works for the Australian media as a Daily Telegraph columnist and a Sky News contributor. Born in Queens, New York, she grew up in Tokyo and Sydney, and attended Northwestern University in Chicago, and now makes her home in New York. We spoke with Miranda recently about her thoughts on what’s ailing our country right now and how to heal it.

Were you surprised that Hunter Biden only got a slap on the wrist from the Justice Department?

I was not shocked. He’s been protected by powerful people from the consequences of his action much of his life. However, I was surprised by the trail they left of blatant obstruction and political interference as catalogued by two IRS whistleblowers embedded in the investigation in Delaware, one as the supervisory special agent and the other as the case agent who had been there since its inception in 2018. A lot of people have risked their careers and reputations covering up for the Bidens. Clearly these resources are not being wasted on a middle-aged crackhead. They’re protecting the President and the people who have been covering up for him.

You’ve covered politics for a long time, in Australia as well as America, are you surprised by the level of political corruption, starting at the very top of the US government?

Yes. I think America is in denial about the serious corruption problem in Washington DC. It’s bipartisan, flagrant and long-running. There are not even adequate laws or mechanisms to curtail it.

A big problem is that the DOJ and FBI seem unaccountable, so if they go rogue nothing can be done to stop them abusing their enormous powers, including against an elected President. There is no effective way to punish prosecutorial wrongdoing. There is no way to protect FBI whistleblowers from retaliation. James Comer at the House Oversight Committee is talking about legislation and Chuck Grassley in the Senate has made it his life’s work to protect whistleblowers, but it’s hard going.

Of all the alleged crimes that Hunter’s laptop gives evidence of, which is the worst?

– Getting into bed with CEFC, the capitalist arm of Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, using the Biden name in the last two years of his Vice Presidency to assure countries around the world that whatever overtures China was making was backed by the US government.

– Hunter and his uncle Jim were bumbling around trying to shake down CEFC while it was buying a $9 billion stake in Russia’s state-owned energy company Rosneft – a deal that collapsed when Hunter’s pal the CEFC chairman was arrested in China in 2018.

– Maybe not a crime, but the evidence on the laptop that shows Joe Biden meeting Hunter’s overseas business partners is damaging to the President.

Do you think the FBI will be trying to censor information damaging to the Democratic presidential candidate in the 2024 election, too?

Yes, and polls show the majority of Americans share those concerns. But maybe the July 4 injunction by Judge Terry Doughty in the landmark free speech lawsuit by Missouri and Louisiana, if it holds, could protect us from the worst censorship abuses.

What is your prayer for America?

That a good, brave, and strong man wins the 2024 election and sets the country back on track.

Editor’s Note: To read more interviews with our featured American patriots, please click here.

America’s Future Files SCOTUS Brief to Safeguard Against Tyranny

On Monday, July 13, 2023, America’s Future filed an Amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, et al. v Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited, et al., SCOTUS Dkt. No. 22-448. The case focuses on the emboldened regulatory and administrative agencies running afoul of America’s prized Separation of Powers principles. Two other nonprofit organizations joined the brief. The public docket for this case is located here.

The SCOTUS is tasked to resolve whether the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and/or its funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution, thereby contravening our nation’s Separation of Powers doctrine.

The issue in this case is of great import to our nation because it centers on America’s fundamental notion that ultimate power is vested in the people through Separation of Powers, a system of checks and balances.

This case springs out of the creation and structure of the CFPB, a regulatory agency created by Congress in response to the 2007-2008 financial and housing crisis. When Congress enacted the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the CFPB was created as an independent regulatory agency housed within the Federal Reserve, funded directly by the Federal Reserve instead of Congress, and administered outside the purview of elected representatives. Minimal, if any, controls were placed on the CFPB from the start.

The CFPB, as explained in our brief, was vested by Congress with “executive, legislative, and quasi-judicial powers.” Congress’ proclivity of granting federal agencies with nearly limitless regulatory powers is not unusual, however, as we explain, “the CFPB is unique because its funding mechanism is not controlled by Congress. It is not funded with periodic congressional appropriations. Instead, the Bureau receives funding directly from the Federal Reserve.” And therein lies the problem. There is an utter and intolerable lack of transparency and oversight when it comes to the CFBP and the regulations they create, implement, enforce, and adjudicate.

This case presents the SCOTUS with an opportunity to stave off further federal government overreach by affirming the October 19, 2022 judgment of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against the CFPB. Writing for the majority in the Fifth Circuit panel decision, the Hon Cory T. Wilson explained,

Congress’s decision to abdicate its appropriations power under the Constitution, i.e., to cede its power of the purse to the Bureau, violates the Constitution’s structural separation of powers.

The Appropriations Clause of the Constitution is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to Congressional oversight of the executive branch. As a reminder, when the Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives following the 2022 midterm elections, much of the national conversation focused on a renewed effort to rein in the federal government through the House’s authority to control the purse strings and, therefore, manage the disposition of taxpayer funds. Congressional power to determine how taxpayer money is spent by the federal government is one of the most powerful tools America has to fight tyranny.

The Appropriations Clause of the Constitution is found in Article I, Section 9. It is the primary source of authority when it comes to funding or defunding administrative agencies, blocking implementation of bureaucratic red tape, and staving off corrupt executive branch overreach. The CFPB, as it stands, answers to no one and receives funding without proper controls in place. The taxpayers of this country deserve far greater protection from government overreach. America’s Future urges the SCOTUS to affirm the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judgment.

Editor’s Note: To read all of our Amicus briefs, please visit our Law & Policy page.

Children Hold The Promise Of The Future

There is nothing more brilliant than when children smile with the freedom to see the wonderment of the world around them. The promise of the future is in their eyes, their dreams…and ours. Yet, these precious lives are in danger by child predators and traffickers. Thousands of children in America are preyed upon, kidnapped, and sold for sex and slavery every day. This must end.

To help prevent and eradicate child exploitation and trafficking, America’s Future is taking a lead in the battle to raise awareness and educate citizens in states across the country with its Get In The Fight campaign. The nationwide campaign is part of its Project Defend & Protect Our Children (PDPC) program and will kick off its first summit and series of training programs for parents and professionals in the State of Florida on August 17, 2023, in Sarasota.

Hundreds of people are registered for the Summit, and we want you to join America’s Future Board Chair, General Mike Flynn, and our entire team at the event. Register now for the GET IN THE FIGHT – Florida Summit and sign-up for one or more of the series of training sessions scheduled through the fall.

The summit features award-winning, investigative journalist Lara Logan, America’s Future Board Director and member of the PDPC Advisory Board as moderator. Panelists include other Advisory Board members Tara Lee Rodas, HHS whistleblower who exposed government-sponsored, taxpayer-funded child trafficking at the southern border, Bazzel Baz, founder and president of the Association for the Recovery of Children (ARC), Tina Baz, ARC Human Trafficking Program Director, and Silvia Almond, President of S.O.A.P. (Save Our Adolescents From Prostitution).

A post-summit networking opportunity is also planned for attendees to have a chance to ask questions and gain more knowledge from other experts in the prevention, rescue, and recovery of victims with our PDPC advisors, Liz Crokin, investigative journalist, author, and producer, Lynze Piper-Loomis, overcomer and author of I Am Silent No More, Mike Smith, film producer and director of Out of Shadows,, Brian Gamble, CIO of O’Keefe Media Group, and Attorneys Ben Moore, Alicia Kutzer, and William “Bill” J. Olson.

The summit and training programs are all being held at the Sarasota Fairgrounds, located at 3000 Ringling Blvd. If you or an organization you are affiliated with is interested in coordinating a Get In The Fight campaign in your state, please email Lisa MacDonald, Director of Strategic Planning and Development, at [email protected].

Using Appropriations Bills to Cut Spending Under “Continuing Resolutions”

This is the twelfth entry in our IN FOCUS section highlighting some of the most abusive and oppressive federal agencies and programs that House Republicans should target for ending. Readers will find the previous articles of the series here.

The Constitution’s Appropriations Clause provides: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law….” This text clearly requires the enactment of a “law” — which requires the cooperation of the House, Senate, and President — to spend federal money. However, beyond that, the Constitution leaves to Congress how that appropriations process actually works.

The traditional method of appropriating funds was by passing separate “appropriations bills” to fund different sectors of government. Sadly, Congress has all but abandoned that historic practice in favor of adopting “Continuing Resolutions” (CRs). This change is one of the reasons that congressional spending has been and still is out of control.

First, here’s how it’s supposed to work — by using a process often referred to as “regular order.” The President is supposed to submit a budget proposal for the entire government in April of each year. Then, each of the 12 subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees is supposed to draft an appropriations bill covering the sector of the federal budget for which they are responsible.

The 12 appropriations bills Congress is supposed to address separately are: Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA; Commerce, Justice, and Science; the Department of Defense; Energy and Water Development; Financial Services and General Government; Department of Homeland Security; Department of the Interior and Environment; Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; the Legislative Branch; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Department of State and Foreign Operations; Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

At least in theory, each Senator and Representative then would have time to read each appropriations bill. (Yes, we realize that they really don’t actually read the bills.) Then, each appropriations bill is supposed to be separately debated on the floor of the House and Senate and then voted on separately. All 12 bills are supposed to be passed and signed into law by October 1 — which is the first day of the government’s new fiscal year. That system worked well for decades, but it has largely been abandoned by both parties.

In recent years, “regular order” never actually happens. Only once has Congress actually done its appropriating work on time since 1996, and only four times since 1977. To cover this failure, Congress has for decades passed CRs that include all government spending in one bill. Sometimes a CR just kicks the can down the road for a few weeks or months, but they can completely substitute for appropriations bills, which then are never separately considered. These CRs are massive, bloated “omnibus” bills that no one could possibly read, and in which Congressmen and Senators are able to hide endless pork barrel spending no one has time to notice. Congressmen are forced to vote for many and sometimes all 12 spending bills as a block.

In a year where none of the Appropriations bills are passed, Congress is then faced with either voting for the CR, or being blamed for shutting down the government. This has happened so often that there are rules in place which operate when there is a “shutdown,” which ensure that certain spending never stops. However, the media hypes the claims about the horrible consequences of a shutdown made by big-spending Democrats, and the pressure builds to vote “YES” no matter what is in the bill. Thus, “[t]he current annual appropriations system is … particularly disastrous for fiscal conservatives. Lawmakers wary of shutdowns … inevitably reach rushed agreements that almost always raise government spending. As a result, discretionary spending, and thus annual deficits and the national debt, continue to rise.”

The most recent CR was a December 2022 “omnibus” bill, passed with the support of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, only days before the newly elected Republican majority took over the House when they could have stopped it. This one bill brought the national debt to over $31 trillion. “This omnibus spending bill is a prime example of Washington at its absolute worst,” said Brandon Arnold, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union.

Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) blasted “weak and compromised [Senate] Republicans.” “[T]he American people are getting a bad backroom deal that is a Christmas present only the special interests in Washington will love,” Good said. “The omnibus bill pumps over $1.7 trillion out of American wallets, with $15 billion going directly into more than 7,200 pet projects for Congressmen known as earmarks. In New York, there is $3 million allocated to fund an LGBTQ+ museum. There is $3.6 million for the ‘Michelle Obama Trail.’”

Good noted that the omnibus included “massive funding [of] ‘antiracist’ initiatives, giving more to ‘green’ infrastructure … pouring millions of dollars into broken government agencies such as the FBI that have caved to extreme ideology, and giving more money to the abortion mill, Planned Parenthood.”

The bill was a massive 4,155 pages. Infuriatingly, it included $410 million for border security in Middle Eastern Arab states Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman, while leaving our southern border wide open.

The CR was supported by 18 “Republican” Senators: Roy Blunt (MO), John Boozman (AR), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Susan Collins (ME), John Cornyn (TX), Tom Cotton (AR), Lindsey Graham (SC), Jim Inhofe (OK), Mitch McConnell (KY), Jerry Moran (KS), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Robert Portman (OH), Mitt Romney (UT), Mike Rounds (SD), Richard Shelby (AL), John Thune (SD), Roger Wicker (MS) and Todd Young (IN).

“I never want to hear any of the Republicans who voted for this monstrosity pretend that they’re for fiscal sanity or border security ever again,” said Congressman Dan Bishop (R-NC).

In January 2023, Congressmen Good, Bishop, and 18 others battled for 15 historic rounds of voting, refusing to allow Kevin McCarthy to be elected as Speaker of the House – at least until he agreed to certain reforms. One of those reforms was a promise to consider the 12 appropriations bills individually, to give representatives at least 72 hours to read them, and to allow more amendments from the floor.

It’s time to end the farce. No more CRs. End the insanity. Shut down the government, if you need to. Before the nation goes careening off a cliff, we have one more chance this summer to see if the McCarthy promises are kept. If not, our supposed “leaders” will again fail to do their job, using CRs to bankrupt us and future generations as well.

To read the articles in this series, please click here.

Reminders & Updates

Join America’s Future Champions For America and be a part of the growing community fighting to protect our individual rights and freedom. Click here for details and become a champion member today.

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: Now you can tune in every week on Spotify to America’s Mondays With Mary and listen to our Executive Director Mary O’Neill’s report on the comments and insights we receive from our fellow Americans to our weekly Reader’s Survey. Listen and learn what’s on their minds and in their hearts and get the latest news about America’s Future activities and updates.

PEOPLE ARE TALKING: Thousands of our newsletter readers tell us that our articles are thought-provoking, increase their knowledge about the history and traditions of America, and keep them informed about the current state of affairs. If you missed one of our weekly newsletters or want to revisit a past edition, you can access them here.

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AMERICA’S MONDAYS WITH MARY: Tune in every Monday morning at 9 a.m. (ET) to watch our Executive Director Mary O’Neill report out on the comments and insights submitted via our weekly Reader Survey and listen to updates about America’s Future activities and what’s ahead at America’s Mondays With Mary.

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