{"id":63215,"date":"2025-02-28T19:37:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T01:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/?p=63215"},"modified":"2025-02-28T19:37:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T01:37:27","slug":"linkswarm-for-february-28-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/?p=63215","title":{"rendered":"LinkSwarm for February 28, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pinkslipapalooza in BureaucratLand, more DOGE savings, the deportation machine gets cranked up, Apple invests in America. Plus some depths of human depravity. <\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the Friday LinkSwarm!<\/p>\n<li>&#8220;Federal Judge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/federal-judge-rules-favor-trump-government-layoffs\">Rules In Favor Of Trump Government Layoffs<\/a>.&#8221; &#8220;U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who was appointed by Barack Obama, ruled that the labor unions which filed the lawsuit against the government layoffs had to take their case before the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) rather than a federal court.&#8221;\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/usaid-funneled-122-million-to-charities-tied-to-designated-terrorists-congressional-testimony-reveals\/?bypass_key=bGRxVmZ3OGdOZjBRY25IbTBIbkVDZz09OjpNSEpZTXl0a2FXMVRaMVpaY0M5dVpUSlZia0pLZHowOQ%3D%3D?utm_source%3Demail&#038;utm_medium=breaking&#038;utm_campaign=newstrack&#038;utm_term=38786792&#038;utm_source=Sailthru\">USAID Funneled $122 Million to Charities Tied to Designated Terrorists<\/a>.&#8221;<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>The now-shuttered U.S. Agency for International Development has funneled at least $122 million in approved grants to terror-tied aid charities, including an evangelical Christian group that in 2014 facilitated a $125,000 sub-grant to a Sudanese terrorist organization linked to al-Qaeda\u2019s Osama bin Laden.<\/p>\n<p>USAID has long been complicit in funding humanitarian aid groups associated with designated terrorists, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. This is just one egregious example of the waste, fraud, and abuse within USAID that the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency are working to uncover.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a fox loose in the henhouse of our foreign aid system\u2014a system intended to uplift lives abroad that instead has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to radical and terrorist-linked organizations,\u201d Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, said in his testimony before House Oversight\u2019s DOGE Subcommittee on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The Middle East Forum published these findings in a years-long study earlier this month, as DOGE head Elon Musk started targeting USAID and its wasteful, often ideologically-driven spending.<\/p>\n<p>One organization, World Vision, was given $200,000 in taxpayer funding to direct toward the Islamic Relief Agency a decade ago. Of those funds, a $125,000 sub-grant was approved by the Obama administration. A whistleblower came forward to reveal the improper relationship between the two groups.<\/p>\n<p>The evangelical non-governmental organization claimed in 2018 it had no knowledge of the al-Qaeda affiliate\u2019s terrorism ties. In 2010, two members of Islamic Relief\u2019s U.S. branch pleaded guilty to money-laundering, theft of public funds, conspiracy, and other charges. Six years earlier, the Treasury Department designated Islamic Relief as a terror-financing organization.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the scandal, World Vision obtained $200 million in approved grants from USAID last year. It has received an estimated $2 billion since 2008.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Helping Hand for Relief and Development received a $78,000 USAID grant in 2023 even after USAID\u2019s inspector general launched an investigation into a prior grant. The group held ties to Pakistan\u2019s Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, a designated terrorist organization that played a role in the 2008 Mumbai massacre.<\/p>\n<p>Helping Hand is partnered with the Unlimited Friends Association, a charity affiliated with Hamas and known for promoting violent antisemitism.<\/p>\n<p>Another Hamas-tied group, Bayader Association for Environment and Development, received its last USAID grant on October 1, 2023, just before the October 7 terror attack on Israel. Bayader previously featured senior Hamas officials, including the son of the late Ismail Haniyeh, who orchestrated the October 7 massacre.<\/p>\n<p>Other examples of aid groups involved in funding terrorists, sometimes knowingly, include the American Near East Refugee Agency, Palestine Children\u2019s Relief Fund, and Tides Foundation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Is there no evil in the world George Soros doesn&#8217;t have his fingerprints on? <\/p>\n<li>Surprise! Trump&#8217;s policies are <a href=\"https:\/\/notthebee.com\/article\/new-harvardharris-poll-shows-even-more-of-america-supports-trumps-policies-that-i-thought-?utm_source=Not+The+Bee+Newsletter&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=02252025\">hugely popular<\/a>&#8230;even among Democrats.<br \/>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>81% of Americans, including 70% of Democrats and 80% of Independents, support deporting illegal aliens who have committed crimes.\n<li>76% of Americans support a &#8220;full-scale effort&#8221; to eliminate government fraud and waste.\n<li>76% of Americans want to close the border and add extra security.\n<li>69% of Americans, including half of all Democrats, want to ban men from women&#8217;s sports &#8211; and a similar number want the government to declare that there are only two sexes.<\/ul>\n<p>And yet the Left has spent the last month railing against ICE arrests and DOGE audits while stumping for the right to castrate kids and let boys in girls&#8217; restrooms.<\/p>\n<p>Some more key findings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>70% of Americans said government should hire people &#8220;strictly on the basis of merit and objective evaluations.&#8221;\n<li>79% of Americans said the government should make sure that categories &#8220;like race, gender, and religion&#8221; are not used to discriminate against applicants.\n<li>66% of Americans, including more than a third of Democrats, think Democrats shouldn&#8217;t oppose everything Trump is doing out of the gate and help Trump eliminate government waste.\n<li>58% of Americans say Trump is doing a better job than Biden.<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<li>How republicans have been so successful with getting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/were-so-far-ahead-senator-reveals-how-republicans-have-quickly-confirmed-trumps-cabinet-picks?utm_medium=email&#038;utm_source=cnemail&#038;seyid=53068\">Trump&#8217;s cabinet picks confirmed<\/a>.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) told Morning Wire that the Senate GOP \u201chas not let up the pressure at all\u201d on Democrats as Republicans ram President Donald Trump\u2019s cabinet appointments through their confirmations.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Republicans, with their 53-47 majority, have cleared nearly all of the president\u2019s most controversial picks after Kash Patel was confirmed to be the next FBI director in a 51-49 vote on Thursday. Mullin, who has gone to bat for each of Trump\u2019s cabinet picks, told Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley that the confirmation process had gone smoothly thanks to Republican leadership that is laser-focused on supporting Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat you\u2019ve seen is a new leader in the Senate with Leader [John] Thune. He is just 100 percent grinding the Democrats down from the get-go,\u201d Mullin told Morning Wire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd so once the president got confirmed and sworn into office on the 20th, what we did is we immediately started the clock on these nominees, and [we] haven\u2019t stopped,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The Republican senator from Oklahoma explained that the party didn\u2019t wait for Trump to be sworn in on January 20 to push his nominees through the confirmation process. Since the new Republican-controlled Senate began on January 3, the GOP immediately went to work putting pressure on Democrats to speed up confirmations.<\/p>\n<p>Mullin said that Thune \u201chas literally kept that clock running 24\/7, seven days a week\u201d on cabinet confirmations.<\/p>\n<p>After a cabinet nominee gets reported out of committee, \u201cthere\u2019s a 24-hour soak,\u201d followed by a 30-hour debate, he explained, adding, \u201cOn directors, like Kash Patel, when you invoke cloture on them, you have a two-hour debate. So while you still have a 24-hour soak, you only have two hours of debate on that person. So you can move those faster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when we\u2019re not here, the Democrats will negotiate and say, \u2018If you don\u2019t make us stay over on the weekend, we\u2019ll allow the clocks to run consecutively, even though we\u2019re not here.\u2019 So we\u2019ll go ahead and invoke cloture on the next person,\u201d Mullin told Morning Wire. \u201cSo when we get back here on Monday, we can confirm two people at once. That\u2019s why we\u2019re so far ahead \u2014 because Leader Thune has not let up the pressure at all, not one bit on the Democrats.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sounds like Thune is a vast improvement over Cocaine Mitch&#8230;<\/p>\n<li>&#8220;DOGE and EPA Work to <a href=\"https:\/\/amgreatness.com\/2025\/02\/25\/doge-and-epa-work-to-reclaim-67m-in-environmental-justice-grants\/\">Reclaim $67M in \u2018Environmental Justice\u2019 Grants<\/a>.&#8221;<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working with the newly-established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cancel over $67 million in grants that had been issued by the Biden Administration.<\/p>\n<p>According to Fox News, the EPA is focusing on $77.1 million in spending that was earmarked by the Biden-era EPA for \u201cenvironmental justice\u201d grants, distributed to 20 different recipients. Although approximately $10 million has already been spent and is irretrievable, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the agency was able to successfully cancel $67.4 million in planned funding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will make sure every penny spent by EPA goes towards protecting human health and the environment, and Powering the Great American Comeback,\u201d said Zeldin. \u201cI am proud to partner with DOGE to restore fiscal responsibility and accountability in our government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In response, the official X account for DOGE lauded the EPA cuts as \u201cgood work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the canceled grants was a $4.2 million grant to San Diego State University Foundation, which planned to use the money to bring \u201cenvironmental justice\u201d to \u201ctribal, indigenous, and Pacific Island communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under Zeldin, the EPA has revealed that the previous administration\u2019s EPA was freely giving at least $20 billion in taxpayer dollars, with the spending being determined solely by eight agency entities \u201cat their discretion.\u201d Among this spending was a $2 billion grant sent to Power Forward Communities, a far-left non-profit with ties to failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>We&#8217;re very fortunate that those on the left were too greedy and incompetent to keep rigging elections&#8230;<\/p>\n<li>Tiffany Henyard, the crooked, free-spending mayor of Dolton, Illinois, got <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsfirings.com\/?p=29923\">slaughtered in a Democratic primary this week<\/a>. &#8220;[Jason] House won the primary with 3,896 votes (87.91%), compared to Henyard\u2019s 536 votes (12.09%).&#8221;\n<li>&#8220;Whistleblower: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.city-journal.org\/article\/nsa-whistleblower-trans-gender-ideology-dei\">There\u2019s a Trans Cult Inside the NSA<\/a>.&#8221;<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>Christopher Rufo: Tell me about this culture and how it\u2019s been spreading through the NSA. And talk to me about what it was like, even a year ago or a few months ago, before Trump reentered the White House.<\/p>\n<p>NSA Whistleblower: About ten years ago, they started doing the \u201cemployee resource groups\u201d: African-American, veterans, Pride. It was just a meeting here and there, almost like a potluck\u2014culture, food, a speech. Then it started to get more and more. Instead of just one day a month, it was one week a month, or the whole month. You could be hired as a mathematician, a staff officer, or system engineer, but you would spend your time going to these events and having meetings all day about it. They got themselves into position to help craft policy and started pushing the idea that if you want to get promoted, you have to participate in these events.<\/p>\n<p>And then everything became Pride. You would go to a training, and it would be about \u201cprivilege\u201d and \u201chow to be a better ally.\u201d A lady would give classes on how to talk \u201cgender-neutral\u201d to people. You had analysts that didn\u2019t want to do the reporting they were supposed to be doing because they were going to have to report on somebody\u2019s \u201cdead name.\u201d They were having this crisis of conscience about reporting the adversary\u2019s actual name because they thought it was their \u201cdead name,\u201d and they didn\u2019t want to disrespect the person. It was like a cult that was hellbent on pushing gender ideology.<\/p>\n<p>Rufo: It seems like this is a clique of very activist male-to-female transgender agents. Tell me about this community.<\/p>\n<p>Whistleblower: There is a very small number of them, but they wield an enormous amount of power. And outside of the sick stuff, you also see a prevalent Marxist philosophy going on with these people in their chat rooms. They hate capitalism. They hate Christians. They\u2019re always espousing socialist and Marxist beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>I know several people at the agency brought that up, like, \u201cHey, we\u2019re here to fight for the U.S.A. and go after the adversaries.\u201d And they just got hammered. They would just start coming out with \u201ctransphobe\u201d and \u201chomophobe\u201d right away or calling you a \u201cracist.\u201d And that\u2019s why a lot of folks are still hesitant to say anything, because you still have people at these agencies in those key spots. It infected everything.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If this is true, intelligence head Tulsi Gabbard needs to purge the Puzzle Palace of all transculters and commies with a pink slip machine gun. (Hat tip: <a href=\"https:\/\/ace.mu.nu\/archives\/413855.php\">Ace of Spades HQ<\/a>. )<\/p>\n<li>Bill Clinton advisors saying Democrats are screwed is nothing new, but this time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysun.com\/article\/democrats-need-changes-president-clintons-former-advisor-says-to-land-a-glove-on-trump?lctg=1452637459&#038;recognized_email=lawrenceperson%40gmail.com&#038;utm_source=MG&#038;utm_medium=email-newsletter&#038;utm_campaign=Morning%20Sun%20%202025-02-27\">it&#8217;s not James Carville<\/a>.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIt\u2019s very hard to be optimistic about the Democrats,\u201d the advisor to President Clinton\u2019s 1996 reelection campaign, Douglas Schoen, tells The New York Sun. The party is \u201ctotally off base.\u201d Lacking a message, strategy, or leader, the pollster says President Trump may defy expectations in next year\u2019s midterms.<\/p>\n<p>In a telephone interview, Mr. Schoen likened Mr. Trump to the boxing legend, Mohammed Ali, at his peak. He\u2019s \u201cmoving so quickly, he has the Democrats totally unnerved,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can\u2019t hit him. They can\u2019t find him. He\u2019s way ahead of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Schoen, \u201cexaggerating\u201d for illustration, said the Ukraine War \u201ccould be settled and resolved before the Democrats develop a coherent position.\u201d They\u2019re \u201cMIA,\u201d with \u201cno interesting voice.\u201d He suggests governors take the lead, rather than Senator Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is nobody making policy,\u201d Mr. Schoen said. \u201cThere is nobody with an overarching strategy.\u201d That weakness is reflected in his Schoen Cooperman Research surveys. It \u201csort of tells you how off base the Democrats are\u201d that their favorability is 31 percent versus Mr. Trump\u2019s 53 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Democrats spent $2 billion on Kamala Harris,\u201d Mr. Schoen said, \u201cand her percentage was lower than where she started. It\u2019s an inescapable conclusion that $2 billion bought Democrats nothing at all.\u201d Mr. Trump dodged every uppercut, jab, and haymaker.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Schoen said that Mr. Trump \u201cgets the public mood\u201d that \u201cpeople are frustrated with government and angry about immigration.\u201d The president also gets that Americans \u201cwant plain speaking and somebody outside the system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democrats, in Mr. Schoen\u2019s view, aren\u2019t counterpunching against these strengths. He sees them as \u201coff-putting and scolding,\u201d whereas on the other side, \u201cpeople love\u201d Mr. Trump. \u201cHis rallies and his approach were entertaining \u2014 and, in their own way, positive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Schoen cites as another misfire the way Democrats went after Mr. Trump\u2019s cabinet nominees on \u201cpersonal stuff rather than policy.\u201d He adds: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t, \u2018We disagree with you on this,\u2019 etc. It was all, \u2018You had an affair, you were drunk, etc.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a flip from Mr. Schoen\u2019s time in the Clinton White House, voters now judge Democrats, not Republicans, as focusing too much on \u201csocial issues\u201d and personal lives. \u201cAbortion,\u201d Mr. Schoen said, \u201cmay be good in a midterm. It\u2019s not going to win a presidential election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even modest gains next year could give Democrats control of one or both chambers of Congress, but Mr. Schoen has doubts. \u201cI worry about 2026,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause I don\u2019t see a message, a strategy at all \u2014 and the Republicans have a message and a strategy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<li>&#8220;Apocalyptic environmentalism by Maryland&#8217;s far-left Democratic leadership in Annapolis has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/commodities\/maryland-democrats-spark-power-bill-crisis-backfiring-extremist-green-policies\">plunged the state into a severe energy crisis<\/a>, with power bills doubling in some cases and 20% of households in Central Maryland now behind on payments.&#8221;\n<li>Soros DAs seem to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/nyc-suspected-migrant-gang-members-arrested-gun-charges-released-reduced-charges\">love illegal alien criminals a whole lot more than they hate &#8220;gun violence<\/a>.&#8221; &#8220;Two men arrested in a Feb. 5 gun and drug raid at a New York City auto repair shop were later released on reduced charges that may not lead to prosecution, according to police and court records &#8211; despite being suspected members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, which has been spreading violence across the country. Jose Tamaronis-Caldera, 27, and Richard Garcia, 33, were taken into custody after authorities seized a Glock handgun, two imitation pistols, and a significant amount of drugs.&#8221;\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/amgreatness.com\/2025\/02\/25\/rep-jim-jordan-obama-irs-targeted-conservatives-biden-irs-leaked-taxpayer-data\/\">Obama IRS Targeted Conservatives, Biden IRS Leaked Taxpayer Data<\/a>.&#8221; Of course they did.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>A new disclosure by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to the House Judiciary Committee reveals that, under the Biden administration, the IRS leaked the taxpayer information of more than 405,000 Americans\u2013including President Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, began an inquiry into the leaks last year and with this latest disclosure has found that the scope of the leak was much larger than the Biden administration initially led the public to believe.<\/p>\n<p>The scandal began in late 2019 when an IRS contract worker named Charles (Chaz) Littlejohn, illegally accessed and stole tax returns and return information for President Trump and other wealthy Americans and then leaked that information to news outlets.<\/p>\n<p>Littlejohn pled guilty to the unauthorized disclosure in Oct 2023 and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>In April 2024, the IRS issued letters of notification to victims whose data had been leaked but the notifications prompted deeper questions into how many people\u2019s data may have actually been disclosed.<\/p>\n<p>One month later, an IRS spokesman stated that \u201cmore than 70,000\u201d taxpayers had been affected by the leak.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<li>Turns out that when you put warfighters in charge of the Pentagon rather than social justice weasels, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/with-trump-back-in-office-the-military-is-getting-its-mojo-back-and-the-recruiting-numbers-prove-it\/\">recruiting problems disappear<\/a>.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>After years of struggling recruitment numbers \u2014 in 2022, the Army faced a shortfall of 15,000 recruits \u2014 the service celebrated record-breaking enlistment in December 2024 with nearly 5,877 recruits joining up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c@USArmy: @USAREC had their most productive December in 15 years by enlisting 346 Soldiers daily into the World\u2019s greatest #USArmy!\u201d Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote in a post on X.<\/p>\n<p>A Navy spokesperson tells National Review the service has contracted 4,000 more sailors and shipped 5,000 more sailors to boot camp at this point in the fiscal year, which began in October, than the year prior. (Navy officials said last month it will take three years of meeting recruiting goals to recover from the Navy\u2019s current 20,000 operational gaps at sea.)<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth and Senator Tom Cotton praised the \u201cTrump effect\u201d for the rise in recruiting numbers, though the trend does pre-date Trump\u2019s election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArmy\u2019s recruiting started getting better much earlier. We really started seeing the numbers, the monthly numbers, go up in February of 2024,\u201d former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told Fox News. \u201cWe were seeing sort of in the high 5000 contracts per month, and that accelerated, you know, into the spring all the way into August, when the Army really hit a peak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, the record-setting December is nothing to sneeze at, and regardless of who would go on to win the 2024 election, the boost began as Biden prepared to exit the White House.<\/p>\n<p>Veterans tell National Review they feel confident the recruitment wave is here to stay, with prospective service members feeling more confident in our current commander in chief.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<li>Hegseth is also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/pentagon-gives-military-branches-30-days-to-identify-trans-service-members-for-removal\/?utm_source=email&#038;utm_medium=breaking&#038;utm_campaign=newstrack&#038;utm_term=38806589\">purging the tranny lunacy from the ranks<\/a>.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>The Department of Defense is giving the military branches 30 days to identify service members who identify as transgender in order to remove them from the armed forces.<\/p>\n<p>Pentagon senior leadership were notified in a Wednesday memo that they must begin setting up mechanisms for finding troops with gender dysphoria by March 26th to comply with President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order barring transgender-identifying people from the military.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service,\u201d defense undersecretary for personnel Darin Selnick said in the memo&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Defense recognizes the two sexes, male and female, and will only allow service members to be subject to standards based on their biological sex. Pronoun usage and access to facilities will be determined by biological sex, ensuring that males will not be allowed into female spaces for sleeping, changing, or bathing, the memo clarifies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Were it not for social justice madness, these essential truths wouldn&#8217;t even need to be explicated&#8230;<\/p>\n<li>&#8220;Trump tops <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-14444831\/trump-arrests-fugitive-aliens-two-decades-federal-data.html\">50,000 migrant removals<\/a> including fugitives who evaded justice for 20 years.&#8221;<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>When immigration agents were first ordered to deport Ivan Oramas and Santos Maradiaga-Villalta, President George W. Bush was in the White House and the iPhone was a distant dream.<\/p>\n<p>That was over two decades ago\u2014yet both men were arrested this week, according to federal data reviewed by DailyMail.com. <\/p>\n<p>They were among over 50,000 illegal immigrants removed so far, a Department of Homeland Security official revealed to DailyMail.com.<\/p>\n<p>News of their arrest was circulated Thursday in an internal immigration memo noting recent enforcement actions made by President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration. <\/p>\n<p>Oramas, 61, is a citizen of Cuba with a rap sheet including convictions for sexual battery and aggravated assault.<\/p>\n<p>His sexual battery case caused serious injury, according to his charges in the file. <\/p>\n<p>ICE Houston nabbed Oramas this week, enforcing a deportation order first handed down in October 2003\u201421 years overdue. <\/p>\n<p>Maradiaga-Villalta, a 40-year-old alien from Honduras, has convictions for smuggling aliens into the U.S. He was arrested recently by ICE in Phoenix. His first deportation order dates back to January 2006, a 19-year lapse in action.  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Hat tip: <a href=\"https:\/\/instapundit.com\/705545\/#disqus_thread\">Stephen Green at Instapundit<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/almost-half-seattles-homeless-population-not-seattle\">Democratic Policies At Work<\/a>: &#8216;Almost Half&#8217; Of Seattle&#8217;s Homeless Population Is Not From Seattle.&#8221;<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>A new study from the Discovery Institute\u2019s Fix Homelessness reveals the devastating consequences of Seattle\u2019s failed policies, which have not only failed to address homelessness but have actively worsened the crisis, according to 770 KTTH.<\/p>\n<p>Driven by progressive ideology rather than practical solutions, city leaders have fostered a system that attracts homeless individuals from outside the region while keeping them trapped in cycles of addiction, crime, and dependency.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than tackling the root causes, these policies have invited more homelessness, turning the issue into a manufactured disaster rather than a problem to be solved.<\/p>\n<p>The study reveals that nearly half of the city\u2019s homeless population became homeless outside of Seattle or King County, drawn in by the city\u2019s permissive policies\u2014free tents, open-air drug use, and a refusal to enforce encampment laws. An overwhelming 86.6% were born elsewhere, and 80.2% didn\u2019t even attend high school in the area.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As in Austin, homeless programs in Seattle are not designed to solve the homeless problem, they&#8217;re designed to provide conduits of graft to the far left. <\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3xxh82eXd6A\">First drone intercepted with a laser in Russo-Ukrainian War<\/a>.\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/texasscorecard.com\/state\/texas-joins-coalition-lawsuit-against-new-yorks-climate-change-superfund-act\/\">Texas Joins Coalition Lawsuit Against New York\u2019s Climate Change Superfund Act<\/a>. The New York law seeks to penalize energy producers for emissions dating back to 2000.&#8221;<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with a coalition of 22 states and several industry groups, has initiated legal action against New York over its Climate Change Superfund Act. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew York\u2019s law is nothing more than an unconstitutional shakedown of vital American energy industries that form the bedrock of our national economic independence,\u201d said Paxton.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the act, which seeks to impose significant financial burdens on energy producers for past greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n<p>New York\u2019s Climate Change Superfund Act, signed into law in December 2024, aims to collect approximately $75 billion over the next 25 years from oil and gas companies to fund \u201cclimate change adaptation\u201d and infrastructure projects within the state. It retroactively holds energy producers accountable for emissions dating back to 2000, regardless of whether the companies operate within New York.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>New York is quite ambitiously stupid to cram two different unconstitutional provisions into a single law, adding a lack of jurisdiction cherry on top of an <i>ex post facto<\/i> sundae&#8230;<\/p>\n<li>Transsexual madness is <a href=\"https:\/\/notthebee.com\/article\/wisconsin-gov-tony-evers-supports-bill-to-replace-word-mother-with-inseminated-person?utm_source=Not+The+Bee+Newsletter&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=02232025\">alive and well in the Democratic Party<\/a>. &#8220;Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers introduces budget recommendation that replaces &#8216;mother&#8217; with &#8216;inseminated person.'&#8221;\n<li>Jeff Bezos made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/bezos-shakes-up-washington-post-opinion-page-shifts-to-defense-of-personal-liberties-and-free-markets\/?utm_source=email&#038;utm_medium=breaking&#038;utm_campaign=newstrack&#038;utm_term=38773888\">liberal heads explode<\/a> with an editorial shift at the <i>Waswhington Post<\/i>.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is overhauling the paper\u2019s opinion section and shifting its editorial stance towards defending personal freedom and free markets.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos emailed Washington Post employees Wednesday morning to inform them of the dramatic change and told them contrary opinions could be found elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages,\u201d Bezos wrote. \u201cWe are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We\u2019ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars can be left to be published by others,\u201d Bezos added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader\u2019s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bezos\u2019s announcement, which he posted on X after emailing it to Post staffers, also revealed that opinion editor David Shipley opted against staying on in the role given the section\u2019s new direction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I think Bezos has figured out that <i>WaPo<\/i> has a bad infestation of social justice, and the cheapest way to get rid of it is to publically announce policy changes that encourage the SJW termite to quit&#8230;<\/p>\n<li>Apple to invest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/technology\/apple-goes-maga-announces-500-billion-investment-america-plans-20000-new-jobs\">$500 billion in America<\/a>.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>The latest onshoring trend, spurred by President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs on Chinese imports, has led to a major announcement from Apple. The company has embraced &#8220;Make America Great Again&#8221; with plans to hire 20,000 US workers to manufacture high-tech AI servers in the Heartland and invest hundreds of billions of dollars in new factories. <\/p>\n<p>Bloomberg reports Apple plans to unleash a tsunami of investments in the US, upwards of $500 billion over the next four years, including a new AI server manufacturing plant in Houston, Texas, and a supplier academy in Michigan. <\/p>\n<p>This disclosure comes just days after President Trump announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook plans to relocate manufacturing operations from Mexico to the US. <\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s investing hundreds of billions of dollars,&#8221; Trump said after his meeting with Cook at the end of last week, adding that the executive is ramping up US investments because he wants to avoid tariffs. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, Trump imposed a 10% US levy on Chinese imports, where Apple manufactures most of its iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other products. In a tit-for-tat effort, Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods shortly after. <\/p>\n<p>Apple&#8217;s $500 billion investment and promise to add 20,000 new US jobs over Trump&#8217;s second term is more evidence that corporate America is more willing to participate in onshoring efforts this time. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I live less than a mile away from Apple&#8217;s Austin campus, so it would be nice if they could open some technical writer recs there&#8230;<\/p>\n<li>On the other hand, somebody on Apple&#8217;s programming team <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wND_BqWWoFY\">needs firing for their shenanigans<\/a>.\n<li>Connecticut puts <a href=\"https:\/\/legalinsurrection.com\/2025\/02\/ct-man-accused-of-eating-brain-of-murder-victim-granted-conditional-release\/\">a cannibal back on the streets<\/a>.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>A man accused of cannibalism and murder has been granted conditional release, according to the Connecticut Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB).<\/p>\n<p>The board granted Tyree Smith\u2019s release after a careful review of his clinical progress, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s currently at Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. Smith is accused of hacking a man to death with an axe in Bridgeport and eating part of the victim\u2019s brain and an eyeball&#8230;.Smith stood trial for the murder of Angel Gonzalez with an axe and consumed parts of the victim\u2019s brain and eyeball in 2011. He was found not guilty because of insanity in 2013 and ordered confined to Whiting Forensic Hospital for 60 years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I apologize if you find this story&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>( \u2022_\u2022)<br \/>\n( \u2022_\u2022)>\u2310\u25a0-\u25a0<br \/>\n(\u2310\u25a0_\u25a0)<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<i>unappetizing<\/i>. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/CSIMiamiyeah.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"281\" height=\"179\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-63246\" \/><\/p>\n<li>&#8220;East Texas Teacher Charged With <a href=\"https:\/\/texasscorecard.com\/local\/east-texas-teacher-charged-with-child-porn-and-bestiality\/\">Child Porn and Bestiality<\/a>.&#8221;<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>An East Texas teacher and her boyfriend have been arrested on child pornography charges.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities allege the couple had child sexual abuse images and video of her performing a sexual act on a male dog on their phones.<\/p>\n<p>Hillary Danielle Williams, 33, was arrested Saturday in Lufkin and charged with bestiality and possession with intent to promote child pornography.<\/p>\n<p>Her partner, 37-year-old Michael Scott McCary, was charged with possession of child pornography.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Texas public schools seem to have let some real filthy degenerates teach kids&#8230;<\/p>\n<li>&#8220;New Caney ISD Teacher, Coach Sentenced to <a href=\"https:\/\/texasscorecard.com\/local\/new-caney-isd-teacher-coach-sentenced-to-4-years-in-prison-for-sex-with-student\/\">4 Years in Prison for Sex With Student<\/a>. Samantha Cummings had sex with a 17-year-old female student at New Caney High School.&#8221;\n<li>Liberals are staging a <a href=\"https:\/\/notthebee.com\/article\/you-literally-spend-zero-dollars-liberals-are-staging-a-total-economic-blackout-boycott-this-friday-to-protest-donald-trump?utm_source=Not+The+Bee+Newsletter&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=02282025\">boycott<\/a> today in a vain attempt to prove they matter, so now would be a good day to buy something from Amazon or Walmart. In fact, today I went to Walmart for the first time in, I don&#8217;t know, probably over a year&#8230;\n<li>What happens when a Detroit water main breaks during a deep freeze? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GDKSdSXbV0E\">This<\/a>.\n<li>The difficulty of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uQwQRFLFDd8\">restoring <b>Se7en<\/b><\/a>.\n<li>A drag race between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5BBTghKXjDE\">a Koenigsegg Jesko and a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport<\/a>. Just in case you were wondering which multi-million dollar hypercar you should buy&#8230;\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/notthebee.com\/article\/a-gator-waltzed-onto-billy-horschels-back-9-and-he-was-not-having-it\">Golfer 1, Gator 0<\/a>.\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/federal-judge-declares-constitution-unconstitutional?utm_source=The%20Babylon%20Bee%20Newsletter&#038;utm_medium=email\">Federal Judge Declares Constitution Unconstitutional<\/a>.&#8221;\n<li>&#8220;Congressional Gridlock After <a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/capitol-gridlock-after-doge-fires-only-govt-employee-who-knows-how-to-print-a-pdf?utm_source=The%20Babylon%20Bee%20Newsletter&#038;utm_medium=email\">DOGE Fires Only Government Employee With Key To Capitol<\/a>.&#8221;\n<li>&#8220;Trump Claimed, Without Evidence, That <a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/trump-claimed-without-evidence-that-22-makes-4-not-so-fast-experts-say?utm_source=The%20Babylon%20Bee%20Newsletter&#038;utm_medium=email\">2+2 Makes 4. Not So Fast, Experts Say<\/a>.&#8221;\n<li>Gobble, gobble\/Gobble, gobble\/We accept you!\/One of us!<br \/>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This lamb gets accepted by this dogs so cute <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nmG6h72zMN\">pic.twitter.com\/nmG6h72zMN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Puppies \ud83d\udc36 (@PuppiesIover) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PuppiesIover\/status\/1894890691324506162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/p>\n<p>(Hat tip: <a href=\"https:\/\/ace.mu.nu\/archives\/413838.php\">Ace of Spades HQ<\/a>.)\n<\/li>\n<p>I&#8217;m between jobs again. Feel free to hit the tip jar if you&#8217;re so inclined. <\/p>\n<form action=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr\" method=\"post\" target=\"_top\">\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"cmd\" value=\"_s-xclick\" \/><br \/>\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"hosted_button_id\" value=\"4VP8R2FMYW2ZL\" \/><br \/>\n<input type=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/btn\/btn_donateCC_LG.gif\" border=\"0\" name=\"submit\" title=\"PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!\" alt=\"Donate with PayPal button\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><br \/>\n<\/form>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pinkslipapalooza in BureaucratLand, more DOGE savings, the deportation machine gets cranked up, Apple invests in America. Plus some depths of human depravity. It&#8217;s the Friday LinkSwarm! &#8220;Federal Judge Rules In Favor Of Trump Government Layoffs.&#8221; &#8220;U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who was appointed by Barack Obama, ruled that the labor unions which filed the lawsuit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":5,"footnotes":""},"categories":[351,422,102,17,49,31,11,194,1335,18,2463,12,65,232],"tags":[588,3092,11604,6725,5023,11603,354,11592,3875,2183,11608,6811,11614,604,2872,2864,3646,11337,1875,482,11609,3699,3379,477,491,11601,2870,1330,2399,2868,73,11600,11596,1363,2056,353,3869,9137,1501,11599,11612,11617,2012,2867,4437,9512,11606,798,11593,4469,55,8816,484,11615,2058,2860,11597,2874,251,448,11595,492,1943,2880,97,11605,2670,11310,90,11611,11607,131,8362,11594,11616,11613,11591,3123,501,2881,5167,4274,1674,2861,6872,11610,6025,6826,2175,9917,4921,11618,339,11602,11518,427,78,2875,740,11598],"class_list":["post-63215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-border-control","category-budget","category-crime","category-democrats","category-foreign-policy","category-jihad","category-media-watch","category-military","category-obama-scandals","category-republicans","category-social-justice-warriors","category-texas","category-waste-and-fraud","category-welfare-state","tag-al-qaeda","tag-alligator","tag-american-near-east-refugee-agency","tag-apple","tag-babylon-bee","tag-bayader-association-for-environment-and-development","tag-border-controls","tag-bugatti","tag-cannibalism","tag-cars","tag-charles-chaz-littlejohn","tag-chris-rufo","tag-christopher-cooper","tag-corrupt-scumbags","tag-crime","tag-democrats","tag-department-of-defense","tag-department-of-government-efficiency-doge","tag-detroit","tag-dogs","tag-douglas-schoen","tag-drone","tag-elon-musk","tag-environmentalism","tag-epa","tag-falah-e-insaniat-foundation","tag-foreign-policy","tag-george-soros","tag-golf","tag-guns","tag-hamas","tag-helping-hand-for-relief-and-development","tag-hillary-danielle-williams","tag-hollywood","tag-homeless","tag-illegal-aliens","tag-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-iphone","tag-irs","tag-islamic-relief-agency","tag-ivan-oramas","tag-jason-house","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-jihad","tag-jim-jordan","tag-john-thune","tag-jose-tamaronis-caldera","tag-ken-paxton","tag-koenigsegg","tag-laser","tag-lawsuit","tag-lee-zeldin","tag-linkswarm","tag-markwayne-mullin","tag-maryland","tag-media-watch","tag-michael-scott-mccary","tag-military","tag-movies","tag-new-caney","tag-new-caney-isd","tag-new-york","tag-nsa","tag-obama-scandals","tag-pakistan","tag-palestine-childrens-relief-fund","tag-pedophilia","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-polls","tag-power-forward-communities","tag-richard-garcia","tag-russia","tag-russo-ukrainian-war","tag-samantha-cummings","tag-san-diego-state-university","tag-santos-maradiaga-villalta","tag-se7en","tag-seattle","tag-sex-offender","tag-social-justice-warriors","tag-stacey-abrams","tag-sudan","tag-terrorism","tag-texas","tag-tides-foundation","tag-tiffany-henyard","tag-tom-cotton","tag-tony-evers","tag-transexual","tag-tren-de-aragua","tag-tulsi-gabbard","tag-tyree-smith","tag-ukraine","tag-unlimited-friends-association","tag-usaid","tag-washington-post","tag-waste","tag-welfare-state","tag-wisconsin","tag-world-vision"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63215"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63281,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63215\/revisions\/63281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleswarmblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}