Welcome to Sterling Cooper, Inc.
  • CALL US: +1-866-285-6572
  • CALL US: +1-866-285-6572
LOGO
  • INCREASE YOUR REVENUES
    50%-100% - FREE EVALUATION
  • WEF 2025 GLOBAL
    RISKS REPORT
  • CAPITAL GAINS
    TAX DEFERRED
  • INCORPORATE
    NOW FOR $39
  • RESEARCH
    REPORTS
  • ENGULF &
    DEVOUR
  • Home
  • Services
    • Selling a Business
    • Buying a Business
    • Public Relation
    • Cooper consulting
    • Advertising
    • Publishing
    • Web and IT Services
    • Loans
  • Seller
  • buyer
  • Advertising
  • Publishing
  • M&A Due Diligence
  • Blog
  • Contact
LOGO

Category Archives: Government

BRITISH GOVERNMENT STIFLES THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE, GIVES UNPRECEDENTED RIGHTS TO MIGRANT HORDES WHO INVADED ENGLAND-IS FRANCE AND GERMANY NEXT?

1.2 million illegals in the UKIt Still Doesn’t Matter: Now the Entire British Establishment Is against the British People, Things Will Only Get Worse

by Raw Egg Nationalist August 30th, 2025 1:26 PM

This week, the British people were told again, “It doesn’t matter:” their views on the government’s immigration policies, and their desire to be safe in their own communities, are simply irrelevant

It Still Doesn’t Matter: Now the Entire British Establishment Is against the British People, Things Will Only Get Worse Image Credit: CARLOS JASSO / Contributor / Getty Images
SHARE

It doesn’t matter.

That was the message—those precise words, blunt, unequivocal, brooking no dissent—that Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered to the British people last summer in the aftermath of the brutal murder of three little girls at a dance class, in Southport. Six more were left in critical condition with stab wounds, as well as two teachers.

Decades of anger at the effects of the multicultural experiment, an experiment conducted without the approval of the British public and which tens of millions have voted to bring to an end at multiple elections, suddenly boiled over. Britain was convulsed by protests.

The country was on a knife-edge.

Although initial rumours that the perpetrator of this heinous crime was a Muslim immigrant were quickly shown to be wrong—and it was hardly an unjustified assumption—they were nevertheless directionally true. The killer was not an Englishman or, indeed, as the media tried to suggest, a swarthy Welshman like me. The killer was Axel Rudakubana, the anthracite-black son of a Rwandan immigrant.

It was later revealed that Rudakubana had bragged at school about bringing a new Rwandan Genocide to the UK and had downloaded ISIS atrocity manuals; though these facts were conveniently made to disappear. Other pertinent facts, like why Rudakubana’s family left Rwanda during the Genocide and the role of Keir Starmer himself in granting them asylum, may never see the light of day.

As unrest spread across the nation, Starmer took to the podium and addressed the British people, telling them in no uncertain terms, though his voice wavered, that the protestors were “far right,” participants in “violent thuggery;” their protests were not protests at all; their grievances, no grievances; and that they would face the “full force of the law,” whether they had participated “directly” or by “whipping up this action online and then running away themselves.”

Among those caught in the dragnet was Lucy Connolly, the wife of a Conservative councillor. She sent an angry Tweet about burning down migrant accommodation and swiftly deleted it a few hours later. Days after Starmer’s speech, she was arrested, railroaded through the “justice system” and sentenced to 31 months in prison, despite being told that if she pleaded “not guilty” she would not be made an example of. A Labour councillor who told a baying mob that the “far right” protestors should have their “throats cut” walked away from court a free man.

The protests, and the British government’s extraordinary heavy-handed response drew outrage at home and abroad. When the State Department issued its annual global human-rights report this month, Britain was singled out as a nation where individual liberty is in full, headlong retreat. The President and Vice President have both voiced their concerns about Britain on multiple occasions, including during official visits. Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy were both made to squirm exquisitely as they were forced to deny that active censorship and persecution is taking place, but their determination to continue that censorship and persecution has remained undiminished.

This week, the British people were told again, “It doesn’t matter.”

It still doesn’t matter.

On Friday, three judges at the Court of Appeals voted in favour of the government and overturned a High Court injunction against the owners of the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex that prevented them from continuing to house asylum seekers. The Bell Hotel has been at the epicenter of renewed nationwide protests against the government’s insane immigration policies, following the sexual assault of a 14-year-old British girl by an Ethiopian man being housed there. The injunction would almost certainly have led to further local injunctions against the policy of housing asylum seekers in hotels and other private accommodation.

For a moment, it seemed as if the rights of the British people to be safe in their own communities would triumph—or if not triumph, at least secure a rare, temporary, win.

Those hopes have now been dashed.

The three Appeal Court judges ruled the initial injunction had been “seriously flawed” and contained “several errors in principle.”

They said that upholding the High Court order could lead to further disorder by showing that protests—legal protests that were, for the most part, free from violence and lawbreaking, despite the strength of feeling—could actually achieve something. And that couldn’t possibly be allowed.

Lord Justice Bean: “If an outbreak of protests enhances the case for a planning injunction, this runs the risk of acting as an impetus or incentive for further protests—some of which may be disorderly—around asylum accommodation. At its worst, if even unlawful protests are to be treated as relevant, there is a risk of encouraging further lawlessness.”

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, had this to say in response to the decision: “Keir Starmer has shown that he puts the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of British people who just want to feel safe in their towns and communities.”

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, agreed: “Illegal migrants have more rights than the British people under Starmer.”

The protests have continued. The police, emboldened by the decision, have adopted a more aggressive approach. At least three men were arrested outside the Bell Hotel on Friday.

Protestors are now predicting serious civil unrest.

One group conspicuously involved in the protests has been the “Pink Ladies,” ordinary British women who’ve donned pink t-shirts and taken to the frontlines to raise their voices for the rights of British girls and women not to be assaulted and raped by foreign men who shouldn’t even be in their communities in the first place.

Carmen, a member of the Pink Ladies, spoke to The Guardian. “We come every week—march, protest,” she said, “and today’s ruling is just devastating, absolutely devastating. It will probably cause civil unrest.”

This is a conclusion that’s hard to resist. The level of popular anger is simply unprecedented. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime. The tension is palpable, even in small towns and villages far from the unrest. Ordinary people are freely giving voice to opinions that would have seemed outlandish and extreme, beyond the pale, just years or even months ago—about immigration and the legitimacy of a government that ignores the will of the people as a matter of policy, about what it actually means to be British.

Despite its pretensions to total control, the British government is not in control. Nowhere is this more in evidence than on social media, and especially X, whose owner Elon Musk declared nothing short of a holy war against Keir Starmer and his cronies on Friday.

Musk accused the British government of “treason against its own people.”

“A nation with a government against its own people shall perish from the earth!” he Tweeted, before warning that, “The nightmare happening to Epping and hundreds of other towns in Britain and Ireland will come to your town too, unless it is stopped by the people.”

The Trump administration has made the promotion of free speech abroad one of its flagship policies. European attempts to bully and bring Elon Musk to heel have not gone over well.

During the election campaign, the EU’s intimidation caused JD Vance to threaten that the US might even leave NATO if the EU didn’t back off. The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires proactive censorship by social-media companies at the algorithmic level if they are to avoid punitive fines, is actively infringing the First Amendment rights of Americans, and the Trump administration knows this.

Some have asked how soon until Starmer bans X in Britain. The British government’s loathsome new Online Safety Act, which was intended to protect children from exposure to harmful content, has already been used to censor footage of the protests in the UK. 4Chan and Kiwifarms have now filed a US lawsuit against Ofcom, the British media regulator, claiming the Act is limiting the fundamental rights of Americans, just like the DSA, and of course they’re right. 4Chan has already been threatened with fines for refusing to cooperate with Ofcom.

Starmer’s government may indeed go further in its quest to silence the British people and their cries for freedom, but if it does, it will surely face harder pushback from the Trump administration.

I won’t make any predictions at this point. Predictions make fools of us all. But one thing is clear: The fight is not over.

It’s just beginning.

THIS IS WHAT FAT MAN GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS WANTS FOR THE STATE OF ILLINOIS..EVERYTHING FREE TO ILLEGAL ALIENS AND FOR THEM TO VOTE ASAP. NO THEY ARE NOT MIGRANTS!!!! THEY ARE ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO VIOLATED THE LAW. 

IF AN AMERICAN IS CAUGHT IN MEXICO WITHOUT A VALID VISA,,,IT IS VERY SERIOUS JAIL TIME IN THE THE WORST PRISONS YOU CAN IMAGINE…

This entry was posted in Government on August 31, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

ALASKA SUMMIT MEETING NOTES “ACCIDENTALLY” LEFT BEHIND ON A PUBLIC PRINTER AT THE HOTEL BY STATE DEPARTMENT DUMMY!

Government papers found in an Alaskan hotel reveal new details of Trump-Putin summit

  President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrive for a joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025.

President Donald Trump, right, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin arrive for a joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Papers with U.S. State Department markings, found Friday morning in the business center of an Alaskan hotel, revealed previously undisclosed and potentially sensitive details about the Aug. 15 meetings between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in Anchorage.

Eight pages, that appear to have been produced by U.S. staff and left behind accidentally, shared precise locations and meeting times of the summit and phone numbers of U.S. government employees.

At around 9 a.m. on Friday, three guests at Hotel Captain Cook, a four-star hotel located 20 minutes from the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage where leaders from the U.S. and Russia convened, found the documents left behind in one of the hotel’s public printers. NPR reviewed photos of the documents taken by one of the guests, who NPR agreed not to identify because the guest said they feared retaliation.

The White House and the U.S. Department of State did not respond to requests for comment about the documents.

Pictures of two documents about the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska that were found in a public hotel printer in Anchorage.

Pictures of two documents about the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska that were found in a public hotel printer in Anchorage.

The first page in the printed packet disclosed the sequence of meetings for August 15, including the specific names of the rooms inside the base in Anchorage where they would take place. It also revealed that Trump intended to give Putin a ceremonial present.

“POTUS to President Putin,” the document states, “American Bald Eagle Desk Statue.”

Pages 2 through 5 listed the names and phone numbers of three U.S. staff members as well as the names of 13 U.S. and Russian state leaders. The list provided phonetic pronouncers for all the Russian men expected at the summit, including “Mr. President POO-tihn.”

Pages 6 and 7 in the packet described how lunch at the summit would be served, and for whom. A menu included in the documents indicated that the luncheon was to be held “in honor of his excellency Vladimir Putin.”

A seating chart shows that Putin and Trump were supposed to sit across from each other during the luncheon. Trump would be flanked by six officials: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to his right, and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff to his left. Putin would be seated immediately next to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, and his Aide to the President for Foreign Policy, Yuri Ushakov.

During the summit Friday, lunch was apparently cancelled. But it was intended to be a simple, three-course meal, the documents showed. After a green salad, the world leaders would dine on filet mignon and halibut olympia. Crème brûlée would be served for dessert.

This entry was posted in Government on August 16, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

DON’T MAKE D.C. A STATE-IT MAKES NO SENSE FOR THAT DANGEROUS SLUM TO BE A STATE!

DC was established by Congress under the Residence Act of 1790, allowing President George Washington to select a site for the federal capital along the Potomac River, not exceeding 10 miles square (100 square miles).

Land was ceded by both Maryland (about 69 square miles) and Virginia (about 31 square miles) to form this diamond-shaped district that we now call D.C..

The cessions were formalized; Virginia transferred its portion in 1790, and Maryland followed in 1791.

This included areas like Georgetown (from MD) and Alexandria (from VA).

By the 1840s, many residents in the Virginia portion of DC felt neglected by Congress, faced economic stagnation, and believed slavery would soon be abolished in D.C.

In 1846, Congress passed legislation retroceding the Virginia portion—now Arlington County and the City of Alexandria—back to Virginia.

President James K. Polk signed it into law

That law reduced D.C. from 100 square miles to about 68, establishing retrocession as a viable, constitutional path.

Virginia’s land was returned without issue, and it thrives today as part of Virginia, not D.C..

In spite of that precedent, some argue that D.C. should now become a state.

But D.C. alone (rather than as part of Maryland) doesn’t meet the criteria we’ve historically applied to statehood.

Although the Constitution doesn’t specify minimum population or geographic size, our states have been admitted as territories with balanced economies—agriculture, industry, and diverse resources.

We have “never” admitted a state that consists of just a single, geographically compact, urban enclave—whether heavily dependent on the federal government (as D.C. is) or otherwise.

D.C. lacks anything close to the industries, natural resources, opportunities for growth, and amenities found in literally every other state.

It’s just a city—one city—and therefore can’t be accorded the status of a sovereign state using the time-honored criteria.

More importantly, the Founders quite intentionally created D.C. as a “neutral” federal district to serve as the seat of the U.S. government under Article I, Section 8.

They did so specifically to prevent any one state from wielding undue influence over the national government.

Making DC a state would subject the seat of the U.S. government to a state, entangling the capital city in that state’s politics.

It’s not about partisanship. It’s about preserving the constitutional design and preventing our nation’s capital from becoming subject to one state.

To give D.C. residents representation in Congress, we could instead follow the Virginia precedent. Retrocede most of D.C. to Maryland, excepting a small corridor—just a few blocks stretching from the White House to the Capitol and the Supreme Court.

This small federal enclave would remain under congressional control—allowing the centers of power in Washington to remain under exclusively federal control—while the rest of D.C.’s residents would gain full voting rights and representation as Marylanders.

This solution would give D.C. residents what they deserve—state-level representation—without upending the Constitution or creating an anomalous micro-state.

This approach would be practical, historical, and fair.

Maryland ceded the land that’s now D.C. at the dawn of our constitutional republic. It can absorb it back again, just as Virginia absorbed its previously ceded territory in the 1940s.

Let’s prioritize the Founders’ vision over political power grabs.

D.C. should either remain a federal district or revert back to Maryland. But it’s not a state, and shouldn’t be considered for statehood (unless it’s to be part of Maryland again).

This entry was posted in Government on August 10, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

TRUMP TRAITOR BILL BARR IS UNVEILED IN HOW HE ATTEMPTED TO STOP TRUMP’S COMEBACK WITH DIRTY TRICKS

Former Attorney General Bill Barr Bill Barr Held Secret Meetings to Plot Prosecutions of Trump Block His Political Comeback

Key Quotes: Patrícia Lélis, Whistleblower, Former Journalist at Howard Stirk Holdings:

  • “Bill Barr was like, ‘We should bring RICO because it’s a very difficult type of charge to defend.’”
  • “I have notes of every single meeting. One meeting can be about visa for someone, or another meeting can be about January 6th, or RICO case [against Trump].”

A whistleblower, currently under indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice and granted political asylum in an undisclosed foreign country, has provided Project Veritas with explosive evidence alleging secret meetings orchestrated by former U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr, media figure Armstrong Williams, and other prominent Washington, D.C., insiders to plan the prosecution of President Donald Trump, his allies, and January 6 defendants.

Video Thumbnail Loop

Patrícia Lélis, hired in 2021 by Armstrong Williams’ media company, Howard Stirk Holdings, claims she attended dozens of meetings where Barr and others devised legal strategies to target Trump supporters and block his political comeback. She provided Project Veritas with extensive handwritten notes and photos documenting these secret discussions which took place from 2021-2023.

Lélis detailed a September 13, 2021, meeting involving herself, Armstrong Williams, CNN Commentator Shermichael Singleton, and former Attorney General William P. Barr, which focused on strategizing for the newly formed January 6th Committee. “The investigation will be focused on people close to Trump and make efforts to formally prosecute these people,” Lélis wrote.

September 13, 2021 Meeting
September 13, 2021 Meeting Discussion about January 6 Prosecutions. Attendees: Between Former AG Bill Barr, HSH CEO Armstrong Williams, CNN Commentator Shermichael Singleton

Her notes reveal that Barr provided a list of targets, including Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Stewart Rhodes, Enrique Tarrio, Jeffrey Clark, Oath Keepers, and Proud Boys. Following this meeting, many of these individuals were subsequently subpoenaed to testify before the January 6 Committee or faced charges related to January 6th or the 2020 election, demonstrating Barr’s apparent influence in driving the legal actions against them.

Project Veritas examined photos dated March 15, 2022, of Armstrong Williams and Bill Barr, alongside Lélis’ corresponding notes from a meeting at Sinclair Broadcast Group. The notes detail discussions revealing Barr was in talks with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Jack Smith about planning prosecutions in Florida, Georgia, and New York. Lélis recorded that Barr predicted an FBI raid on Trump’s home would occur “soon.” Five months later, the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago.

March 15, 2022 Meeting
“RICO.” March 15, 2022 Meeting with Former Attorney General Bill Barr and Armstrong Williams

Project Veritas also verified a January 19, 2023, text from Williams to Lélis confirming a planned meeting between Bill Barr and Fani Willis. Notes from February 27, 2023, confirm the meeting took place, with Barr advising Willis to pursue RICO charges against Donald Trump. Lelis stated, “Bill Barr was like, we should bring RICO because it’s a very difficult type of charge to defend,” noting Barr described the charge as broad and challenging to counter under U.S. law.

AW Admits Barr Meetings
A January 19, 2023 text from Armstrong Williams to Patrícia Lélis confirms the date of the next meeting with Bill Barr and Fani Willis. Notes from February 27, 2023, confirm the meeting took place, with Barr advising Willis to pursue RICO charges against Donald Trump.

Lélis claims the overarching goal in all the meetings was to block Trump’s return to power. “One thing that I understood very well is like Bill Barr and Armstrong and all the politicians too, they’re very focused like in how they go to stop Trump,” she said.

February 27, 2023 Meeting
February 27, 2023 Meeting between Former AG Bill Barr, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, NY Assemblyman Clyde Vanel. Project Veritas confirmed the address listed is the personal address of Willis.

In their efforts to oppose Trump’s reelection efforts, Williams’ team began talks with Facebook to develop “anti-Trump” social media content. December 2021 meeting notes and texts from Danielle Kersey, the Government and Politics Manager, indicate Meta was creating content focusing on claims that “Trump destroyed democracy.” The strategy, as outlined in the notes taken by Lélis, was to “alter the algorithm” to persuade Republicans to reject Trump and show he does not represent the Republican Party.

Facebook Meeting Notes
A December 2021 meeting with Danielle Kersey, the Government and Politics Manager at Facebook, strategize on how to alter the social media algorithm to persuade Republicans to reject Trump
Danielle Facebook
Texts from Danielle Kersey, Facebook’s Government and Politics Manager, appear to indicate Meta was creating “anti-Trump” content for Armstrong Williams.

Lélis reported Armstrong Williams and Bill Barr to the FBI in June 2023 for their secret meetings and the visa fraud scheme exposed in Project Veritas’ Part 1. Text messages reveal panic from Williams and his associates upon learning of the FBI report. Lélis faced a barrage of threats and demands to return meeting notes and other documents she recorded during her employment, suggesting their authenticity and a frantic effort to conceal these covert meetings.

“You had a chance to be part of my team, to build something big, make money…and you threw it all away. You took my documents and phones and never returned them. Now you think you can move against me? Let me be clear, your time is running out… Letting you live was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made. If I could, I’d have my hands around your throat right now.” – Armstrong Williams, CEO, HSH

Armstrong Williams Threats

It’s critical to highlight that Project Veritas was first tipped off to this story by Department of Justice officials troubled by an apparent DOJ cover-up to pin Barr’s actions on Lélis. A Trump DOJ official stated, “Barr has put the entire FBI after this woman to get the documents she has.”

Original Tip - DOJ

Charged in January 2024, Lélis faces accusations of masterminding the visa scheme at Howard Stirk Holdings, while no charges have been filed against Williams or his employees.

In forthcoming series, Project Veritas will expose further irregularities in the government’s case against Lélis, including threats from government prosecutors, as well as additional corruption she observed at Howard Stirk Holdings, such as covert messages sent to government officials via burner phones and cash and bribes exchanged for favors through illegal lobbying with foreign governments. Stay tuned.

This entry was posted in Government on August 9, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

PUTIN (VLAD) IS DESTROYING RUSSIA’S AND UKRAINE’S MEN NEEDLESSLY!

The epically blundering Putin is alienating even Trump

The invasion of Ukraine has been a disaster.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a military parade in St. Petersburg in 2021. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump has announced himself “disappointed.” He had such high hopes for Vladimir Putin.

Putin’s response to Trump’s 50-day ultimatum — to agree to “a deal” by Sept. 3 or face severe economic consequences — was intensified attacks on Ukraine’s population centers. Trump’s subsequent 10-day ultimatum, expiring Friday, seems to have been equally unavailing. Putin aims to get not to negotiations but to Kyiv, because only extinguishing Ukraine’s nationhood can redeem his epochal blunder.

Although Putin has been certified a “genius” (by Trump; Putin has not reciprocated), not since Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union 84 summers ago has a military undertaking been as comprehensively counterproductive for its initiator as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The results so far:NATO, the bane of Putin’s existence, has been enlarged, with the addition of Sweden and Finland making the alliance contiguous with an additional 800 miles of Russia’s border. NATO members, awakened from their slumbers, have committed to spending 3.5 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Lord Hastings Lionel Ismay, NATO’s first secretary general, famously said the alliance was created in 1949 to “keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” The Soviet Union is gone, American forces are still in Europe, and Germany is rising militarily. With the European Union’s largest economy and a GDP more than twice as large as Russia’s, Germany now has a defense budget larger than Britain’s, and it soon could be twice as large. One small expenditure underscores Putin’s big miscalculation: A German brigade (4,800 troops by the end of 2027) is stationed in Lithuania, on Putin’s border.

Opinions on Vladimir Putin
Opinion

George F. Will
Putin is an open book. U.S. leaders have refused to read it.

Putin is an open book. U.S. leaders have refused to read it.

June 6, 2025
Opinion

George F. Will
Behold, the artful dealmaker Trump working his magic on Putin

Behold, the artful dealmaker Trump working his magic on Putin

May 7, 2025
Opinion

David Ignatius
A week in the life of Vladimir Putin

A week in the life of Vladimir Putin

December 5, 2022
Opinion

Mikhail Khodorkovsky
A warning to the West: Appease Putin, and you will lose your freedom

A warning to the West: Appease Putin, and you will lose your freedom

December 21, 2023
Opinion

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
For democracy to return to Belarus, it will need U.S. help

For democracy to return to Belarus, it will need U.S. help

December 4, 2023
Opinion

Lee Hockstader
For Putin, a very good October

For Putin, a very good October

November 2, 2023
Opinion

Hugh Hewitt
Here’s one big reason (among many) for continued U.S. support of Ukraine

Here’s one big reason (among many) for continued U.S. support of Ukraine

October 8, 2023
Opinion

Hugh Hewitt
Given his barbarity so far, what if a vengeful Putin wins in Ukraine?

Given his barbarity so far, what if a vengeful Putin wins in Ukraine?

July 12, 2023
Opinion

Michael Ramirez
Stabbed in the back

Stabbed in the back

June 26, 2023
Opinion

Editorial Board
Putin’s humiliation means new dangers for Russia — and the world

Putin’s humiliation means new dangers for Russia — and the world

June 25, 2023
Opinion

David Ignatius
Putin looked into the abyss Saturday — and blinked

Putin looked into the abyss Saturday — and blinked

June 24, 2023
Opinion

Max Boot
Putin finally learns the lesson all tyrants learn

Putin finally learns the lesson all tyrants learn

June 24, 2023
Opinion

Vladimir Kara-Murza
Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine makes a mockery of law

Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine makes a mockery of law

July 31, 2023
Opinion

Josh Rogin
The survivors of Putin’s atrocities have a warning for us

The survivors of Putin’s atrocities have a warning for us

May 17, 2023
Opinion

Anna Nemtsova
I’ve never seen the Kremlin so rattled

I’ve never seen the Kremlin so rattled

May 17, 2023
Opinion

Natan Sharansky
Why Putin’s repression is worse than what I endured under the Soviets

Why Putin’s repression is worse than what I endured under the Soviets

May 8, 2023
Opinion

Ann Telnaes
How Vladimir Putin deals with his critics

How Vladimir Putin deals with his critics

April 17, 2023
Opinion

Max Boot
Russia’s population crisis is making Putin more dangerous

Russia’s population crisis is making Putin more dangerous

March 14, 2023
Opinion

Vladimir Kara-Murza
Putin is planning a Soviet-style punishment for his critics

Putin is planning a Soviet-style punishment for his critics

March 13, 2023

A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that Russia has suffered nearly 1 million troops killed or wounded as the price of seizing about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. (Ukraine’s dead and wounded are estimated to be 400,000.) Putin instructed his invading troops, who were given only five days’ provisions, to pack their dress uniforms for a victory parade in Kyiv. Three years later, Russia has resorted to its first conscription since World War II, and has enlisted felons and debtors.

A recent Wall Street Journal article told of a Russian soldier who joined the army when the enlistment bonus reached 2 million rubles, 22 times his monthly salary. Three weeks later, after two weeks of shooting practice and basic first-aid instruction, he was on the front lines in Ukraine, fighting Europe’s — actually, the world’s — most combat-seasoned army. Five months ago, a report from the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence declared that Russia had the “upper hand” in Ukraine. Remember, however, that when the war began, U.S. intelligence was as pessimistic as Putin was optimistic. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, had to spurn a U.S. offer to fly him to safety. He reportedly said, “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

The most important consequence of Putin’s war has been to awaken the United States to how unprepared its defense industrial base is to produce the munitions, from artillery shells to missiles, required for protracted, high-intensity combat. Hence the limited relevance to U.S. overall security of the B-2 bombers’ impressive power projection against Iran.

“The history of failure in war,” said Gen. Douglas MacArthur, “can almost always be summed up in two words: ‘Too late.’ Too late in comprehending the deadly purpose of a potential enemy. Too late in realizing the mortal danger. Too late in preparedness. Too late in uniting all possible forces for resistance.” Because of the European and U.S. blowback against Putin’s blunder, it is not too late to win the war by preserving Ukraine. Defeat is not an inevitability; it would be a choice.

In February, as Russia’s aggression entered its fourth year, Trump, who has said Ukraine “started” the war, resisted including in a Group of Seven statement the fact that Russia was the aggressor. He has compared Europe’s largest war since 1945 to “two young children fighting like crazy,” and to a hockey game in which the referees allow the players to brawl for a while.

But, having slight ballast of convictions, he moves where winds, whims and whisperers take him. Putin’s culminating blunder — he has disappointed the president — might drive Trump to Ukraine’s side. This will unleash fury in MAGAdom’s MAGABMIMLH faction (Make America Great Again By Making It More Like Hungary). But to govern is to choose, which always makes some factions unhappy.

In this instance, it might be good that Trump takes everything personally. This is the importance of his being disappointed.

This entry was posted in Government on August 8, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

MERIT HIRING FINALLY BY USA GOVERNMENT, END OF HIRING ANY ONE THAT WALKS IN THE DOOR!

After 46 years, DOJ ruling restores merit-based hiring by federal agencies

The Department of Justice on Friday terminated a Carter Administration rule that hamstrung federal agencies from conducting merit-based hiring.

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon / DOJ photo

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division ended a Carter era decree that required federal agencies to get permission before implementing testing of job applicants to determine who was the best person for the position.

“For over four decades, this decree has hampered the federal government from hiring the top talent of our nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “Today, the Justice Department removed that barrier and reopened federal employment opportunities based on merit — not race.”

A DOJ press release noted that, in Luevano v. Ezell, the Court dismissed a consent decree based on a lawsuit initially brought by interest groups representing federal employees in 1979.

“The decree entered in 1981 imposed draconian test review and implementation procedures on the Office of Personnel Management — and consequently all other federal agencies — requiring them to receive permission prior to using any tests for potential federal employees, in an attempt to require equal testing outcomes among all races of test-takers,” the DOJ said.

President Donald Trump challenged the decree when he took office in January, which forced the reopening of the case.

The Trump Administration argued that, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision against affirmative action, it was likely that the decree was no longer considered to be constitutionally valid. Luevano, who is still living though the original judge is not, agreed to terminate the decree.

“It’s simple, competence and merit are the standards by which we should all be judged; nothing more and nothing less,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “It’s about time people are judged, not by their identity, but instead by the content of their character.”

FINALLY WE WILL HAVE TO STOP MAKING FUM OF GOVERNMENT “”WORKERS?


This entry was posted in Government on August 5, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

FORCED INDOCTRINATION IN LIBERAL IDEAS COURT APPROVED!

Creeping collectivism’: Appeals court upholds ideological mandate on doctors to keep licenses

Dr. Azadeh Khatibi’s lawyers warn “there is little to stop governments around the country from compelling continuing education instructors in any trade or profession to profess all manner of controversial state-endorsed topics.”

The legal doctrine of government speech, which inhibits individual First Amendment rights, got a massive expansion from the Pacific to the Rockies thanks to a federal appeals court that upheld ideological requirements for ongoing professional licensing rules, according to lawyers for a California doctor challenging her state’s rules.

The Pacific Legal Foundation told Just the News it will file a petition for rehearing by the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals following a three-judge panel’s ruling Friday that deemed the Golden State’s mandatory “implicit bias” training in accredited continuing medical education, of which doctors must complete 50 hours every two years, government speech.

Beyond California, the ruling blesses current or potential ideological requirements in CME in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and Hawaii. The panel was nominated by presidents Clinton, Obama and Biden, all Democrats.

The logic of the ruling means “there is little to stop governments around the country from compelling continuing education instructors in any trade or profession to profess all manner of controversial state-endorsed topics,” said PLF lead attorney Caleb Trotter.

It’s a “dangerous misuse” of government speech prohibited by the Supreme Court’s 2017 Matal ruling against a statutory ban on “disparag[ing]” trademarks including for the Asian-American rock band The Slants, Trotter said, quoting Matal.

A Florida Christian high school, supported by football greats including Tim Tebow, is trying to get SCOTUS to review a similar 11th Circuit ruling, binding on Florida, Georgia and Alabama, that upheld a ban on prayer over the public address system by religious teams at games in taxpayer-funded venues, deeming them government speech.

PLF sued California two years ago on behalf of ophthalmologist Azadeh Khatibi, a peer-reviewed researcher who treats infectious diseases and teaches CME courses, and medical advocacy group Do No Harm, which has CME-teaching members.

The group argued AB 241 requires doctors to be taught “white individuals are naturally racist” as a condition of their licensing but lost at the district court a year ago. This spring PLF sued to block even broader Michigan rules on behalf of Grand Rapids dentist Kent Wildern, arguing the scientific rigor behind implicit bias has been questioned since at least 2009.

The conservative Young America’s Foundation and Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and libertarian Cato Institute supported Khatibi in friend-of-the-court briefs. Khatibi’s co-plaintiff and CME instructor Mary Singleton, an early black female physician who blasted the mandate as racist in The Washington Post, died before oral argument.

A childhood immigrant from Iran, Khatibi obtained a preliminary injunction against another California law banning so-called medical misinformation, prompting the Legislature to revoke the law before it could be struck down. Khatibi, then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others sued again months later, claiming California was still threatening doctors.

“Dr. Khatibi never imagined that she would escape the oppression of her childhood only to face creeping collectivism and unfree speech in America,” PLF says on the case page. “Regardless of its relevance in her CME courses, she must replace some of her instruction with a discussion of implicit bias.”

Like congressionally ‘mandatory funding of beef commercials’ 

Governments routinely invoke their own speech rights to defeat First Amendment litigation, such as the Biden administration’s pressure on social media companies to suppress disfavored narratives, New York’s pressure on banks and insurance companies to dump the National Rifle Association as a client and a school district’s promotion of Black Lives Matter.

The 9th Circuit portrayed the dispute over AB 241 as simple to resolve, claiming CME courses are clearly government speech because California “has a longstanding tradition of regulating the medical profession,” the public would “tend to” attribute course content to the government and it “imposes several restrictions” on the “form and delivery” of course content.

It dismissed the scientific question over implicit bias as irrelevant to the case while acknowledging the parties and their supporters sharply disagree on “the existence of implicit bias in medicine generally” and how the training would affect it, if at all.

Applying the 2022 unanimous SCOTUS ruling in Shurtleff, which found the city of Boston’s flag-raising program was not government speech and hence it discriminated by viewpoint against a “Christian flag,” the panel conducted a “holistic inquiry” to determine “whether the government intends to speak for itself or to regulate private expression.”

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch rejected the majority’s three-part test, however, saying the question should be “whether the government is actually expressing its own views or the real speaker is a private party and the government is surreptitiously engaged in the ‘regulation of private speech.'”

California “from beginning to end dictates, controls, and approves the provider, form, purpose, and content of CMEs,” Judge Jacqueline Nguyen’s opinion says, comparing it to congressionally “mandatory funding of beef commercials by private cattle merchants,” privately funded monuments in public parks and specialty license plates.

She distinguished CME content from the trademarks at issue in Matal, since the latter “have not traditionally been used to convey a Government message,” are not created or meaningfully reviewed by public officials and the government explicitly denies that registration means it approves of the mark.

Similarly, Boston waited until a religious group sought to raise its own flag before reviewing or controlling the content of any previous applicant’s flag, making its “control over the physical premises” or flag-raising schedule “insufficient” to demonstrate government speech.

Not like Apple, Burger King slogans

States have regulated medicine “from time immemorial,” Nguyen wrote, quoting with emphasis an 1889 Supreme Court ruling, which the high court reaffirmed 21 years later in upholding the police power over medicine as “too well settled to require discussion.”

The California Medical Board has “specifically and continually” adopted and administered CME requirements since 1980, and the Legislature has repeatedly added content requirements since 1992, such as ordering all physicians to complete CMEs on pain management and terminally-ill treatment since 2001 and “cultural and linguistic competence” since 2006.

Khatibi claimed that “CMEs have never been used to convey messages to the public,” in Nguyen’s paraphrase, that California is comparable to the Patent and Trademark Office and that it’s “myopic” to review the long regulatory history of CMEs.

“It would be a serious affront to the Constitution if regulatory history alone were sufficient to immunize speech from First Amendment scrutiny,” Nguyen responded, noting the Medical Board’s origin in combating “quack doctors in the decades following the Gold Rush.”

“Just as we cannot equate something to monuments and conclude it is government speech, we cannot simply deem CMEs distinct from monuments and license plates, conclude they are nontraditional forms for government expression, and then terminate the inquiry,” she said.

Khatibi’s assertion that California has not been “dreaming up” CME content “has no footing in law or logic,” with repeated regulatory and legislative requirements, while the PTO never told Apple how to come up with its early motto “Think Different” or “ordered the noble patrons of Burger King to rate its motto of ‘Have it your way,'” Nguyen wrote.

This entry was posted in Government on July 30, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

THE PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE IS QUITE A SPECTACLE OF PROTECTION!

The Fascinating Anatomy of the Presidential Motorcade

Going inside the safest and most dangerous place on the road.

photo illustration of motorcade

Photo by Mallory Short / Mark Elias/ Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

The Presidential Motorcade is both the safest and seemingly the riskiest convoy on the planet. This globe-trotting fleet of vehicles is basically a rolling, armored White House, complete with its own contingency response force, communications office, press corps and medical facilities.

33.jpg

The Presidential Motorcade readly to roll. Photo by AP

The Presidential Motorcade is built from a fleet of both custom and sometimes rented vehicles. A finite amount of Presidential limousines exist, with between 16 and 20 being an estimate. Careful planning and a logistical symphony has to take place in order to pre-position the most capable (and usually newest) vehicles based on the threat level and operating environment at each destination.

It is not uncommon of for the President to visit three separate cities during a single day, especially during campaign season. That means three separate motorcade detachments need to be forward deployed to those cities. This is done via USAF heavy-transports such as C-17s, or on some occasions, a single C-5 Galaxy.

555.jpg

A pair of Presidential Limos are loaded onto a C-17 Globemaster III. Photo by USAF

In addition to the Presidential Motorcade being forward deployed to where the President is heading, it is now usually customary to deploy a pair of Presidential Airlift helicopters to the destination regardless of if they are used or not. These could be either a pair of “Marine One” VH-3D Sea Kings or VH-60N Black Hawks belonging to Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, otherwise known as HMX-1. The unit is located along the Potomac River in Quantico, Virginia. Like the motorcade, these choppers usually arrive via USAF heavy transport and they are often not seen outside of a local orientation and maintenance check flight that occurs days before the President arrives.

1123.jpg

Marine One VH-3D and support MV-22s, all belonging to HMX-1, as well as the “The Beast,” seen during a Presidential visit to Manhattan. Photo by Reuters

Their main mission is to offer the White House and the Secret Service a contingency presidential transport solution in an any number of types of emergency or special circumstance.

Multiple USAF heavy transports are required to facilitate a single presidential visit, and those flights come at a steep cost.

5565.jpg

“The Beast” rolls across the apron with C-5 Galaxy transports in the background. Photo by AP

The Presidential Motorcade consists of a wide variety of vehicles. The exact configuration changes depending on the mission and the assets at hand, but the basic layout diagrammed in this story is fairly customary. Sometimes extra cars are added in different positions, and just because the Presidential limousines are in motion, the President isn’t necessarily inside one of them. The protective detail of the Secret Service are masters of what they do, and they know how to optimize their capabilities against a potential enemy’s weaknesses and strengths.

Generally the Presidential Motorcade is made up of the following components:

motorcade_vector_inline.jpg

The key components of the Presidential Motorcade.  Photo by The Drive

Route Car & Pilot Car

The Route Car runs minutes ahead of the Presidential Motorcade, presumably checking the route and providing guidance for inbound “sweepers” [see below] while also providing intelligence to the entire motorcade. The Pilot Car does the same but runs a minute or even just seconds in front of the motorcade. It may be accompanied by motorcycle police to cut off key intersections and highway overpasses.

Sweepers

These are usually throngs of police on motorcycles and in patrol cars as part of a Presidential Motorcade. They deploy in front of the motorcade, clearing the way so that the motorcade’s speed can remain as consistent.

Lead Car

The lead of the core of the Presidential Motorcade formation. It works as a guide and a buffer for what lies ahead. It can be a Secret Service Suburban, a local marked police car, or really any car the Secret Service chooses—such as the BMW pictured.

ap_838718767385.jpg

A BMW lead car with the Presidential Limo in tow makes its way through tight streets in the UK.  Photo by AP

Presidential Limousine: Code Name “Stagecoach” or “Spare”

The Presidential limousine rides at the very center of the motorcade “package.” What appears to be a very heavy Cadillac is really an extremely survivable and luxurious armored car. “The Beast” as latest addition to Presidential limo history is known, is outfitted with a plethora of unique capabilities and countermeasures, each one aimed at keeping the President safe and allowing him to rapidly evade danger during an attack, whether direct (ambush) or indirect (gassing a city, etc).

dadaddcca.jpg

A pair of 2005 DTS style Presidential limousines in the motorcade. Photo by Paul Carter

The Beast’s defense capabilities include top-level ballistic armoring, night vision/infrared driving systems, a sealed cabin with an independent air supply capable of enduring a nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) attack, and even a supply of the President’s blood type. Other rumored features include infrared smoke-screen and oil slick deployment capability, as well as tear gas dispensers, and, frankly, just about anything you or Tom Clancy can think of. All of this is in addition to a state-of-the-art communications connectivity system, including internet and secure telephone communications.

ezgif-29161549c03a43.jpg

“The Beast” at the Capital steps. The type was introduced in 2009. Photo by AP

“The Beast,” which was introduced in 2009 during President Obama’s inauguration, has an imposing stance, and looks like the offspring of a Cadillac STS and an MRAP. For all its obvious benefits, this cool-looking Presidential hauler has its detractors. The limousine is more of an armored assault truck than a car, yet it does not benefit from an assault truck’s ground clearance. It can be tricky to maneuver on tight city streets, is said to be extremely heavy, and has broken down while on high-profile missions. To be fair, the older model was not immune to breaking down either.

ezgif-80cf7da1290088.jpg

A secret service agent dusts off The Beast while on a mission. Photo by AP

There are a finite number of these new “Beast” cars and oftentimes the President will be seen riding in a 2005 Cadillac DTS inspired Presidential limousine, or even one of the Secret Service’s up-armored Suburbans that are regularly used to move the Vice President and other VVIPs around.

ezgif-80b84a27824055.jpg

One of the Secret Service’s armored Suburbans. Photo by AP

In fact, when traveling overseas to especially dangerous locales with questionable road conditions, armored Suburbans can make up almost the entire Presidential Motorcade. This was the case in Iraq, where up-armored Humvees were used as ‘sweepers.’ The sticks attached to the top of the Suburbans in the picture below are the aerials for improvised explosive device jamming equipment.

ezgif-86ed736c4b9def.jpg

Obama heads to Camp Victory in Baghdad. Photo by White House

The ‘Stagecoach,’ the name for whatever car the President is in, is the whole focus of Presidential Motorcade. Everything is centered on making sure that car makes it to its destination. In addition to ‘Stagecoach,’ at least one identical car always accompanies it, and sometimes many more. These cars, known as ‘Spares,’ are used as a backup and blocking vehicle should POTUS’s vehicle have a mechanical issue or is attacked, as well a serving as decoys.

While the motorcade is in motion, highly trained Secret Service drivers execute a classic roving ‘shell game,’ weaving Stagecoach and Spare, or Spares, in and out among each other so that a would-be attacker would have a tough time picking the car actually containing the President. The Presidential limousines even have identical plates.

ezgif-82d96ce584b88a.jpg

A pair of “Beasts” act as Stagecoach and Spare. Photo by AP

The Secret Service agents that drive the Presidential limousines are among the best and most trusted personnel in the institution. They go through constant drills at the Secret Service’s sprawling James J. Rowley training complex, including defensive and offensive driving courses, as well as elaborate life-like tactical scenarios that bring all the elements of the motorcade together to defeat or evade a whole slew of possible threats.

ezgif-6428c24ccba126.jpg

President & First Lady seen in “The Beast.” Photo by White House

Currently [this article was written in 2016], the Secret Service is working on a new Presidential limo that should be ready for the 2017 Inauguration, and will likely replace the 2005 DTS-style armored limousines that will be over a decade old.

ezgif-6423b9f1e925f9.jpg

President making a call in a Secret Service heavily armored VVIP Suburban. Photo by White House

Presidential Security Detail SUV: Code Named “Halfback”

Halfback is the following car for Stagecoach and Spare(s), and it carries the President’s Secret Service protective detail. Usually this vehicle is a specially outfitted Chevrolet Suburban with police lights mounted on a light bar, in the interior windows, and in the grill. This is basically the President’s first line of backup should something occur while en route, and it will follow a pre-planned set of defensive driving and VIP protection tactics based on a long list of contingencies. Rear-facing third row seating usually has at least one overtly armed Secret Service Agent sitting with the window or tailgate open.

ezgif-5b9b32d97af3c8.jpg

The President’s security detail riding in Halfback. Photo by Paul Carter

Electronic Countermeasures Vehicle Code Name: “Watchtower”

This vehicle has large vertical aerials and domes on its spine and actively jams communications and remote detonating devices. In some configurations, it may also work at detecting incoming projectiles and small unmanned aircraft via short-wave radar.

This vehicle, along with others in the motorcade, may also provide laser warning (used by some anti-tank guided missiles) and radar warning for the convoy. If a threat is detected, such as one using a laser for designation and ranging, or if a threat radar were detected, IR smoke, chaff and targeted jamming could be deployed, disrupting such an attack.

ezgif-5aa52e053ec147.jpg

Electronics countermeasure vehicle with its unique profile. Photo by Paul Carter

Counter-improvised explosive device (IED) and communications selective and barrage jamming technology have come a long way after almost a decade and half of counter-insurgency warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the height of both wars, remotely detonated IEDs were the leading cause of casualties among deployed forces. Systems such as the CREW Duke have likely saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives overseas. Even more advanced technology has been deployed across Afghanistan and Iraq on MRAPs, APCs and armored cars during the latter half of the last decade, much of which is also likely deployed on this life-saving support vehicle.

Control Vehicle & Support Vehicles

Support Vehicles usually transport high-value staff, such as parts of the President’s cabinet and their security detail, as well as additional security personnel and the President’s doctor.

The Control Vehicle carries a top military aid with the highest level of clearance, who would assist the Commander-in-Chief during a major military incident, giving operational guidance, and if need be, activating the Nuclear Football. These vehicles are usually modified SUVs, such as Chevrolet Suburbans with enhanced communications and low-profile police lighting, or rented vans.

ezgif-58a6c754c7e5e2.jpg

The Presidential Motorcade makes its way through traffic on a rain-soaked highway.Photo by AP

Counter Assault Team Vehicles: Nicknamed “Hawkeye Renegade”

These vehicles are also usually black Suburbans or some other large SUV, with police lights, rails and running boards for external transport of agents, and they always have their rear gates ajar with a heavily armed and armored commando hanging out of the back, assault rifle at the ready.

The Secret Service’s Counter Assault Team, known as the ‘CAT,’ gives the Presidential Motorcade its heavy hitting combat punch. These elite Secret Service operators, selected from a tiny fraction of those who apply, carry state-of-the-art arms, including assault rifles, night vision goggles, expendables like flash bangs and concussion grenades, and sometimes heavy body armor.

ezgif-5a46b88ff8cb0d.jpg

The heavily-armed CAT riding in one of the motorcade’s Suburbans.Photo by AP

The CAT is the direct action unit that rapidly counter-attacks if the convoy is ambushed, or it sets up a defensive buffer if the convoy were about to be attacked. Meanwhile, the President’s Security Detail would work to rapidly evacuate the President from the scene.

Imagine an advancing, overwhelming, wall-like onslaught of suppressive fire and you get the picture of what these highly trained operators are all about. If they can’t vanquish a threat as it emerges or immediately extinguish an attack as it is initiated, they buy the President’s security detail time and space.

ezgif-58cc543099eb1b.jpg

The CAT on the move during a mission.Photo by AP

Intelligence Division Vehicle: The “ID Car”

This vehicle works as a ‘big picture’ intelligence node, communicating with over-watch and surveillance units, local police, and other intelligence sources about possible threats or obstacles along the motorcade’s route. The agents in this car try to identify problems before they occur.

Hazard Materials Mitigation Unit

This black work truck carries sensors to detect, and gear to respond to, nuclear, biological or chemical (NBC) weapons attacks that threaten the Motorcade. It also works as a roving storage vehicle, carrying supplies and other classified capabilities.

ezgif-55b7cb459fd8c9.jpg

The HAZMAT Mitigation Unit on the roll.Photo by Paul Carter

Press Vans

These vehicles are usually large vans that carry the White House Press Corps in the motorcade. Obviously, this space is reserved for major news outlets and the White House media team. This includes a camera, wire and general press vans.

The White House Communications Agency Vehicle: Code Name “Roadrunner”

Roadrunner, also known as the Mobile Command and Control Vehicle, is one of the most conspicuous vehicles in Motorcade. A beefed-up Suburban, it houses a large satellite communications array and posts an antenna farm along its roof-line.

ezgif-55fbf1e43755d2.jpg

White House Communivation Agency vehicle code named Road Runner.Photo by Paul Carter

This vehicle keeps the President and White House officials securely connected to the world, providing encrypted voice, internet and video communications via the Pentagon’s constellation of hardened communications satellites. This vehicle may also be able to handle communications for nuclear arms release.

Roadrunner also helps facilitate secure communications within the Motorcade itself. Think of it as a big rolling data encryption center, wifi hotspot, radio repeater and doomsday communications control center.

Ambulance

An ambulance is a constant feature at the rear of the Presidential Motorcade. It is there to treat injuries that may occur following an attack, a wreck or an unexpected biological event. This resource is primarily reserved for the President.

ezgif-5bdf7da0ef96a5.jpg

An ambulance is always in tow. Photo by Paul Carter

Rear Guard

This is usually a phalanx of local police vehicles, such as motorcycles and marked patrol cars. Their job is to provide early warning and a defensive buffer for the rear of the motorcade.

ezgif-51be7a24c97335.jpg

A brace of police motorcycle officers makes up the Rear Guard. Photo by AP

Overwatch

When the President travels, the Secret Service gets access to a Department of Homeland Security helicopter that provides intelligence, planning and over-watch for presidential movements. Depending on where the President is headed, this mission can be executed using a Coast Guard, Border Patrol, US Customs or other federal government chopper.

ezgif-5580ead691a4e9.jpg

A Secret Service agent peers out the side of a USCG MH-60T.Photo by Paul Carter

Ground Force One

Although rarely deployed in Presidential travel, a pair of heavily modified and thickly armored buses were procured by the Secret Service around the turn of the decade. The joint project between Prevost Car and Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, known as the model X3-45 VIP 3, allows the President to travel more efficiently by road in rural areas when many stops are on the schedule.

ezgif-5a98a00d2fd603.jpg

The blacked-out Ground Force One sits at the ready.Photo by AP

Once delivered, these roving White Houses were painted gloss black and had advance communications installed to interconnect them with Roadrunner and the world beyond, as well as other improvements similar to what you would find in the Presidential limousine. Both limo buses were used leading up to the 2012 election, with President Obama using them to campaign across America’s heartland.

ezgif-518dbb327341c9.jpg

Obama waving from the entry of Ground Force One.Photo by AP

So there you have it: the real anatomy of the Presidential Motorcade. On a personal note, I have had the pleasure to see the whole motorcade, Air Force One, Marine One, Secret Service ballet multiple times with my own eyes. It is an absolutely amazing spectacle to watch.

The incredible focus and professionalism of everyone involved, and the way they balance time and risk, is mind boggling. When you think of the term ‘well-oiled machine,’ this is the picture that should pop into your head. There is an absolutely astonishing amount of moving parts that go into each and every Presidential movement.

ezgif-5dfebafe293d2a.jpg

The Presidential Motorcade touring Jordan’s historical sites.Photo by White House

The times I’ve had the privilege to watch Air Force One’s arrival and departure, the motorcade moved into formation almost magically, zooming up to the President at the exact moment and speeding triumphantly across the tarmac in a wheel-like formation when he returned. Once stopped at the steps of Air Force One—just as its jet engines were spooling up—the President got out of his limousine, ran up the stairs and waved goodbye, the cabin door shutting after he entered. At that exact moment, the iconic 747 was rolling down the apron. Meanwhile the motorcade was ripping off back across the tarmac to prepare for transport. It is a single fluid and perfectly-timed set of movements.

I had never seen anything like it in my life and it plays far different in person than on television.

What I took away from these experiences, including observing the throngs of sharp shooters and heavily armed men and women staring at virtually everything behind tinted sunglasses, is this is not only a critical mission, but it is also an art form and a showcase of what we are capable of as a nation.

ezgif-53a3600bdbba0d.jpg

The Presidential Motorcade speeds across the tarmac after leaving Air Force One.Photo by AP

I have seen this in the military before—to varying degrees, and especially in top tier units, where it is not just about schedules or procedures, but also about nailing it exactly the same way every time and making it look easy. Of course, it’s anything but easy, and the Secret Service has to get it right every time.

All the technology that goes into protecting the President is amazing, and frankly, so is the price tag. But there is a reason why this incredible traveling show, perhaps the most expensive in the world, rarely makes news beyond the objective of the mission itself. That is because the people orchestrating it are absolutely the best at what they do and they go about their business knowing that the world is watching.

ezgif-5ce91eae103d55.jpg

The Presidential Motorcade moves along Highway 101.Photo by AP

Sure there have been recent controversies, but the White House arm of the Secret Service is a national treasure. They have a mind blowingly difficult job and they deserve much more recognition than they will ever receive. The fact that the most powerful and targeted man on earth can drive around where he wants to go on a regular basis, and it all seems normal and uneventful, is just a reminder of that.

This entry was posted in Government on July 8, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

BIDEN’S ADMINISTRATION WASTED BILLIONS TO CRONIES FOR CLEAN ENERGY IN FINAL DAYS !

Despite Warnings, Biden’s Energy Department Disbursed $42 Billion In Its Final Hours

In its last two working days, the Biden administration’s Energy Department signed off on nearly $42 billion for green energy projects – a sum that exceeded the total amount its Loan Programs Office (LPO) had put out in the past decade.

The frenzied activity on Jan. 16 and 17, 2025, capped a spending binge that saw the LPO approve at least $93 billion in current and future disbursements after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election in November, according to documents provided by the department to RealClearInvestigations. It appears that Biden officials were rushing to deploy billions in approved funding in anticipation that the incoming Trump administration would seek to redirect uncommitted money away from clean energy projects.

The agreements were made despite a warning from the department’s inspector general, urging the loan office to suspend operations in December over concerns that post-election loans could present conflicts of interest.

In just a few months, some of the deals have already become dicey, leading to fears that the Biden administration has created multiple Solyndras, the green energy company that went bankrupt after the Obama administration gave it $570 million. These deals include:

  • Sunnova, a rooftop solar outfit that thus far had $382 million of its $3.3 billion loan guaranteed, filed for bankruptcy this month. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
  • Li-Cycle, a battery recycling facility, had a $445 million loan approved in November, but since then, the company was put up for sale and has filed for bankruptcy. The Energy Department said no money has been disbursed on that deal. Li-Cycle did not respond to a request for comment.
  • A $705 million loan was approved on Jan. 17 for Zum Energy, an electric school bus company in California, and its “Project Marigold.” At $350,000 and more, electric school buses currently cost more than twice as much as their diesel counterparts. So far, Zum has received $21.7 million from the government, according to usaspending.gov. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
  • A $9.63 billion Blue Oval SK loan on Jan. 16 was the second largest post-election deal, topped only by a $15 billion loan the next day to Pacific Gas & Electric, with most of that for renewables. The Blue Oval project in Kentucky – a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and a South Korean entity – has been dealing with numerous workplace complaints, and construction of a second EV battery manufacturing plant there has been delayed. More than $7 billion has been obligated on that deal, according to the Energy Department. Blue Oval did not respond to a request for comment.

The money and the hasty way in which it was earmarked have drawn the attention of the Trump administration. “It is extremely concerning how many dozens of billions of dollars were rushed out the door without proper due diligence in the final days of the Biden administration,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement to RCI. “DOE is undertaking a thorough review of financial assistance that identifies waste of taxpayer dollars.”

The enormous sums came from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which injected $400 billion into the LPO, a previously sleepy Energy Department branch originally intended to spur nuclear energy projects. That total represented more than 10 times the amount the LPO had ever committed in any fiscal year of its existence. Prior to the post-election blowout, the office’s biggest fiscal year was 2024, when it committed $34.8 billion, records show.

Even with the rush to push billions out the door in its last months, close to $300 billion of the Inflation Reduction Act money remains uncommitted by the LPO. Trump administration officials have already nixed some smaller deals. Secretary Wright recently urged Congress to keep the money in place as the LPO now aims to use it to further the Trump administration’s energy policy, particularly with nuclear projects.

That unprecedented gusher of cash from the LPO echoes the efforts of the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency to push $20 billion out the door before it left office. As RCI has previously reported, the EPA – which had never been a consequential grant-making operation – was tasked with awarding $27 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and Solar For All programs. It did so in less than six months in 2024, including an unorthodox arrangement in which Biden officials parked some $20 billion outside the Treasury’s control. That money was earmarked for a handful of nonprofits, some of which had skimpy assets and were linked with politically connected directors.

The LPO’s post-election bonanza was put together in even less time. The Energy Department deals, however, involve mostly for-profit enterprises, which raises questions about whether the Biden administration was propping up companies that would not have survived in the private marketplace. Should any of the companies hit it big in the future, shareholders could get rich, while taxpayers will receive only the interest on the loan.

“The loan office should not be in the virtual venture business,” said Mark Mills, executive director of the National Center on Energy Analytics. “But in a few cases, it could make sense to serve as a catalyst or backstop for viable and important projects from a national security or policy perspective.”

RCI spoke with several Trump administration officials who declined to comment on the record, given the extensive ongoing review of both the LPO’s post-election arrangements and other Energy Department projects linked to Biden’s climate agenda.

“They wanted to get the billions to companies that probably wouldn’t exist unless they could get money from the government,” one current official said. “The business plans, such as they were, were ‘how do we secure capital from the government?’”

During Biden’s tenure, the office was run by Jigar Shah, who on June 17 was named to the board of directors of the nonprofit Center for Sustainable Energy. Bloomberg News reported last month that Shah “helped select roughly 400 companies with development plans to receive grants and loans upwards of $100 million each.” In response to the Trump administration’s pushback on green subsidies, Bloomberg reported that Shah is working to help some of the companies he bankrolled shift operations to Europe.

The Center relies chiefly on government contracts instead of donations, and it saw that revenue jump from $274.1 million in 2023 to more than $500 million in 2024, according to tax records. The center did not respond to a request to speak with Shah.

Thus far, no entity has received the entire amount of the deals the Biden administration struck since last November, according to the Energy Department and usaspending.gov. In a handful of cases, companies have come to the current administration and opted out of the deals.

Still, millions of taxpayer dollars have already been distributed, in some instances, to deals the department listed as “conditional commitments.”  Wright has said there are “reasons to be worried and suspicious” about the post-election binge, and vowed some of the deals will be scrubbed.

In 2023, the Biden administration made subtle changes to the LPO’s regulations, cutting strings and stipulations that traditionally attach to loans. Consequently, the office cut deals after the election on terms more favorable to the recipient than the taxpayer, and in several cases, making a “conditional commitment” the same as a loan, according to Trump officials. The changes also moved money that a later administration could have cut into “obligated” silos, making the deals harder to cancel, according to the current Energy Department.

“Essentially, they had the Loan Program Office operating like a graveyard energy venture capital fund,” one Trump official told RCI. “This was all tied to the religious fervor for any green energy project in the prior administration, and the goal was not to get the government repaid but to advance the ‘green new deal.’”

The $93 billion under review represents a separate “green bank” from smaller Biden administration deals that the Energy Department has already canceled. Last month, the Government Accounting Office said the department was not on track to “issue loans and guarantees before billions of dollars of new funding expires.”

As part of the review, Wright issued policy guidelines in May that he said offer more protection to taxpayers. The department may now require significantly more information from loan recipients and applicants, such as “a project’s financial health, a project’s technological and engineering viability, market conditions, compliance with award terms and conditions and compliance with legal requirements, including those related to national security.”

The department declined to provide the terms of specific deals, again citing the ongoing review. Trump administration officials claim the business plans for many of these deals were threadbare, that term sheets were essentially tossed out, and the entire process could be described, in the words of a Biden EPA official in December, as “throwing gold bars” off the Titanic “as an insurance policy against Trump winning.”

Despite these dubious outcomes and the alleged removal of taxpayer protections that accompanied the deals, Trump administration officials said they remain committed to the LPO. The office has a valuable role to play in fulfilling energy policy goals, which include nuclear projects, strengthening the nation’s power grid, and limiting the U.S. reliance on Chinese supply chains for key minerals and elements.

“It’s as if you went away and the kids threw a rager in the house,” one official told RCI. “You may need some new furniture and the like, but it’s still a really nice home. The Office can be a critical resource for the manufacturing base of this country, and our goal is not to end the LPO but to improve it.”

The Trump administration could face some of the same financial issues if it rejiggers the LPO along lines that support its energy policy goals, particularly within the nuclear industry. Projects there have been marred by unprofitable plants and massive cost overruns and delays in construction, making federal loans to the section inherently risky.

Prominent voices – and investors –  like Bill Gates have also encouraged the government to back new sources of energy and minerals. Geothermal projects are one such field, and there appears to be bipartisan support in Washington for capital that will shore up U.S. energy independence. On Jan. 15, the Biden administration approved a $1.2 billion “conditional commitment” with a subsidiary of EnergySource Minerals LLC (ESM), which hopes to extract lithium from geothermal brine.

A deal with ioneer Ltd. appears to match some of the professed goals of the Trump administration, but it has also been plagued by financial setbacks since Biden’s LPO approved it in its final days. The company’s deal grew from an original $700 million “conditional commitment” in 2023, to the $996 million approved on Jan. 17, 2025.”

The Rhyolite Ridge project is a mining and manufacturing center in Nevada to produce lithium and boron. Those elements have implications for defense and national security in addition to energy, according to ioneer Vice President Chad Yeftich.

“Ioneer believes government policy should encourage projects if we want critical minerals developed domestically,” Yeftich said. “Time is the key risk for development as China continues to provide financial support to its critical minerals industry and dump critical minerals into the market thereby depressing the price.”

Yeftich noted Rhyolite Ridge has secured $200 million in private capital, but in February, its chief private equity partner broke ties with the project. Finance professionals familiar with big deals told RCI that such a rupture so close in timing to the loan would likely deep-six the arrangement, but Trump officials said Biden’s LPO stripped such boilerplate language from many of the post-election deals.

Secretary Wright told RCI that these maneuvers suggested the previous administration was more interested in disbursing funds than protecting taxpayers. “Any reputable business would have a process in place for evaluating spending and investments before money goes out the door, and the American people deserve no less from their federal government.”

This entry was posted in Government on July 2, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

LAVISH PALACES WHERE AUTHORITARIAN RULERS LIVE

share

share

What do Ukraine’s Mezhyhirya Residence, Turkmenistan’s Oguzhan Palace, and Turkey’s Presidential Complex have in common? All were built at enormous expense, flaunting lavish amenities and sprawling grounds — monuments to the wealth and power of authoritarian rule.

Here’s a look at some of the world’s grandest presidential residences, where opulence meets political might.

UKRAINE, Novi Petrivtsi: Mezhyhirya Residence

Mezhyhirya was Viktor Yanukovych’s residence during his time as Ukraine’s prime minister and president until he fled amid the 2014 Maidan Revolution. Now a “museum of corruption,” it boasts a car museum, golf course, zoo, fountains, helicopter pad, and even a church — showcasing the former leader’s lavish lifestyle.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, Abu Dhabi: Qasr Al-Watan

Qasr Al-Watan, the presidential palace of the United Arab Emirates, was completed in 2017 and opened to the public in 2019. Built at a cost of $490 million, this predominantly white palace houses historical artifacts and manuscripts while also displaying diplomatic gifts received by the U.A.E.

TURKEY, Ankara: Presidential Complex

The Presidential Palace in Ankara, also known as Ak Saray (White Palace), was completed in 2014 for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Built on former forest land, it boasts over 1,100 rooms and officially cost around $615 million, though critics say the true price was much higher. The complex includes a mosque with a capacity of around 3,000 and Turkey’s largest library, with a collection of more than 4 million books.

RUSSIA, Gelendzhik: ‘Putin’s Palace’

This palace complex on the Black Sea coast near Gelendzhik is rumored to be Vladimir Putin’s residence, with speculation about its existence dating back to 2010. In 2021, the late Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny released an investigative documentary claiming the palace was built for the Russian president at a cost of around $1.4 billion. According to the investigation, the complex features an underground hockey stadium, a theater, a vineyard, and a church. It also has a no-fly zone, and boats passing must give it a wide berth. Putin has denied ownership, while Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg claims the palace is his.

RUSSIA, Moscow Region: Novo-Ogaryovo

Novo-Ogaryovo is Vladimir Putin’s state residence located outside Moscow. Originally constructed in the 1950s, the estate underwent extensive renovations under Putin’s direction after 2000. According to some reports, areas have been added to the compound recently, including a recreational facility belonging to Russia’s Federal Protection Service (FSO), heliports, and even air-defense systems. There might also be a tunnel leading from the FSO facility to Putin’s residence.

TAJIKISTAN, Dushanbe: Palace Of The Nation

The Palace of the Nation, completed in 2008, is the official residence of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. To make space for the palace, a 100-year-old synagogue and other buildings in the neighborhood were controversially demolished. Built for $300 million, the palace is surrounded by parks, fountains, and other notable landmarks, including the Independence Monument and the Dushanbe Flagpole, which rises to a height of 165 meters and was once the tallest in the world.

TURKMENISTAN, Ashgabat: Oguzhan Presidential Palace

The Oguzhan complex is the official residence and workplace of Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhammedov. Named after an ancient Turkmen tribal leader, it has been home to the country’s presidents since the 1990s. In 2011, a new palace and additional facilities were added at a cost of approximately $350 million. A state reception house and a square for parades and other state events are currently under construction in front of the palace.

This entry was posted in Government on June 30, 2025 by sterlingcooper.

Post navigation

← Older posts

Recent Posts

  • ISLAMIZATION OF HOUSTON TEXAS-ANY BODY NOTICING?
  • WHAT DOES LAUREN SANCHEZ-BEZOS BUY WITH HER MONEY?
  • $1 TRILLION PAY PACKAGE FOR MUSK!!!!
  • WALL STREET LOVES THE CORPORATE BREAK UP, TIME FOR BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY ALSO?
  • PALESTINE IS A BEGGAR TERRORIST STATE GETTING WAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION, AND WHY???

Sterling Cooper, Inc. © 2023,  Privacy Policy