Samantha Aschieris helpfully catalogs some hard questions following the flight of a Chinese spy balloon over the United States. Except for the matter of whether the overflight was somehow an “error,” these all deserve serious attention. As investigators should understand, the five queries do not exhaust the mysteries about this balloon.
Questions flew Thursday as the Chinese spy balloon that floated last week above the U.S. was the subject of a hearing by a Senate subcommittee.
History has always produced masterful rogues who seek riches by swindling others. During the 18th century Scotsman, John Law, a gambler who killed a man in a duel over a married woman, escaped from prison, and in 1716 wound up in France and established the Banque Royale that could print money to pay government expenses. Law created the Mississippi Company that issued shares with proceeds going directly to the French government to pay down debt. Throughout Law got a cut of the action that allowed him to buy estates, mansions, and diamonds and declare himself, “the richest man who’s ever been.”
President Biden has given his 2023 State of the Union Address. In it, he failed to even mention the nation’s biggest fiscal problem—the skyrocketing cost of the national debt occurring on his watch.
Recent rainstorms caused flooding and power outages across northern California but also helped replenish the state’s water supply. On the other hand, as many Californians learned, storms can also reveal government incompetence.
The recent incident involving Tyre Nichols received national attention and sparked discussions about systemic racism. But the Nichols case did not have the typical ingredients to fit into the narrative of systematic racism. Nichols was black, but all five officers involved in his arrest were black too—there was no Derek Chauvin figure.
Eighteen percent of U.S. workers are bound by noncompete clauses in their employment contracts, according to a story by Dave Michaels and Ryan Tracy on p. A4 of June 9th’s Wall Street Journal. Lina Khan, the anti-Big Tech chairperson of the Federal Trade Commission, says that she wants the FTC to take steps to restrict private businesses’ use of such contractual provisions on the grounds that they “can stifle competition for talent.”
The federal government has plans for a new headquarters complex for the FBI on three sites in Virginia of 58, 61, and 80 acres. That amounts to twice the size of the Pentagon building, which accounts for 29 acres plus a five-acre courtyard. The new FBI headquarters would also surpass the Russian Kremlin, which contains government offices, the presidential residence, auditoriums, an arsenal, a museum, and several churches, all in slightly more than 66 acres.
The Federal Reserve System (Fed), established in 1913, was designed to operate independently of the federal government. The Fed is overseen by a seven-member Board of Governors who are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate for 14-year terms. The terms are staggered so that one Governor’s term expires every two years. Once their terms expire, Board members cannot be reappointed (although if they were appointed to a partial term because their predecessor left early, they could be).
So, what sort of judges is President Biden nominating to the federal courts? If Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren is a baseline, we are in trouble.
