Business
Rand Paul Releases Report Detailing $1,000,000,000,000 In Gov’t Waste. Here Are The Worst Offenders
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Ireland Owens
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released a report on Monday outlining more than $1 trillion in government waste from the past year.
The 2024 “Festivus” report highlighted various instances of wasteful government spending from the federal government, including a pickleball complex in Las Vegas and a cabaret show on ice. This year marks Paul’s 10th annual report.
“This year, I am highlighting a whopping $1,008,313,329,626.12,” Paul wrote in the report. “That’s over $1 trillion in government waste, including things like ice-skating drag queens, a $12 Million Las Vegas pickleball complex, $4,840,082 on Ukrainian influencers, and more! No matter how much money the government has wasted, politicians keep demanding even more.”
The Department of the Interior (DOI) spent $12 million on a Las Vegas Pickleball Complex, according to the report. The DOI also spent $720,479 on wetland conservation projects for ducks in Mexico.
“I have a lot of problems with federal spending, and now it’s time to hear all about them,” Paul wrote in the report.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded the Bearded Ladies Cabaret a $10,000 grant to support a cabaret show on ice skates focused on climate change, according to the report. The NEA also spent $365,000 to promote circuses in city parks, the report states.
The State Department spent $500,000 to expand the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia’s #USInvestsInEthiopians social media campaign to a larger national public relations campaign, according to the report. The State Department also sent $253,653 to Bosnia to fight “misinformation,” spent $2.1 million for Paraguayan Border Security, and spent $3 million for ‘Girl-Centered Climate Action’ in Brazil, according to the report.
The Department of Health and Human Services spent $419,470 to determine if lonely rats seek cocaine more than happy rats, the report states.
The National Science Foundation spent $288,563 to ensure bird watching groups have safe spaces, also known as “Affinity Groups,” according to the report.
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Nov. 12 that he had picked Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to co-chair a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at cutting down on wasteful government spending.
“As always, taking the path to fiscal responsibility is often a lonely journey, but I’ve been fighting government waste like DOGE before DOGE was cool, Paul wrote in the report. “And I will continue my fight against government waste this holiday season.”
Many Americans have faced steep costs amid high inflation throughout President Joe Biden’s term, with inflation hitting a peak of 9.1% in June 2022. While inflation rates have eased some since June 2022, prices still remain high, with the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of the price of everyday goods, experiencing a year-over-year increase of 2.7% in November, according to a Dec. 11 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some experts have attributed massive government spending under the Biden-Harris administration to fueling inflation rates. The national debt was at $36.16 trillion as of Tuesday, according to U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data.
A spokesperson for Rand Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
armed forces
Canadian military deployed ‘gender advisors’ to Ukraine, Haiti at taxpayers’ expense
From LifeSiteNews
The Canadian Armed Forces has been pushing a radical LGBT agenda under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with the latest example being ‘Task Force Gender Advisors’ deployed in war-hit nations, such as Haiti and Ukraine.
Canada’s military has been actively pushing a woke pro-LGBT agenda on the world stage, with the latest example being its deployment of “task force gender advisors” internationally in war-hit nations, such as Haiti and Ukraine.
The “gender advisors” initiative is noted in the 2024 Departmental Report of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). This has resulted in it drawing a sharp rebuke from veterans who wonder why the military is spending money on pushing the LGBT agenda abroad.
The CAF report notes how in Poland, for instance, the “Task Force Gender Advisor was involved in all aspects of this training mission and supported the local Defence Attaché in connecting with local and Ukraine-based non-governmental organizations and interested parties.”
The report noted how the “gender advisor” as well as “gender focal points” were sent to military missions in Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Poland, and Latvia throughout 2023.
In war-torn Haiti, “intersectional factors (were) being applied towards stabilization and humanitarian efforts,” via an “Operations HORIZON and PROJECTION” initiative.
This initiative is part of the third “National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security for 2023-2029.” This is a program that looks to advance pro-LGBT ideology, such as concepts of different “genders,” in all military operations.
Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the CAF, as well as all government departments, have pushed an ever-increasing woke agenda, as well as a host of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in place.
The military’s action plan notes how there are no less than three full-time “gender advisors” who are in the CAF at all levels.
“A Gender Advisor is a full-time position, usually a military position, and a Gender Focal Point is a part-time position; these exist to support Commanders in the application of GBA+ and gender perspectives in both the institutional and operational realms. Gender Focal Points are positioned throughout CAF. In-theatre, there is a minimum of one GFP on all named missions,” notes a Department of National Defence report.
The president of Veterans for Freedom, Andrew MacGillivray, blasted the woke DEI policies, saying the program has morphed into a “useless overbearing policy that has infiltrated every aspect of the Canadian Armed Forces.”
He noted that war-torn nations most likely don’t care “about gender nonsense being pushed by Canada when they are struggling to keep people alive.”
Since Trudeau became PM, the CAF has become increasingly woke and has been forcing LGBT ideology on many of its personnel. It has also seen recruitment plummet to all-time lows.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, earlier this year, Canada’s first “transgender” military chaplain was suspended for alleged sexual harassment, after he reportedly sought to grope a male soldier at the Royal Military College while drunk.
Canada’s military has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on pro-DEI polls, along with guest speakers, presentations, and workshops, as well as LGBT flags. The workshops covered topics including “the gendered nature of security,” while one talk discussed “integrating gender and diversity perspectives.”
In 2021, the defence department revealed that it has two separate committees and eight programs that worked to appoint homosexual advisors to “innovate” religious instruction and gender-neutral uniforms.
In June of 2023, the Canadian military was criticized for “raising the pride flag” in honor of the so-called “2SLGBTQI+ communities.”
Business
Taxpayers release Naughty and Nice List
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
CBC President and CEO Catherine Tait tops the Taxpayer Naughty List for dishing out executive bonuses that cost more than the average Canadian worker makes in a year.
“Santa doesn’t like it when girls and boys are greedy, and forcing struggling taxpayers to pay for Santa-sized executive bonuses is as greedy as it gets,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “And Canadian diplomats are on the Naughty List too because Santa likes eggnog as much as the next guy, but even he knows Global Affairs Canada is sipping on a little too much Christmas spirit.
“For billing taxpayers $51,000 a month on booze, Global Affairs Canada bureaucrats find themselves on Santa’s Naughty List.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the Taxpayer Naughty List for extending political welfare after promising to scrap it. And for breaking his promise to cap property tax increases, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham is also on the Naughty List.
For resigning over wasteful spending and saving taxpayers’ money in the process, former Kensington mayor Rowan Caseley tops the Taxpayer Nice List. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey also made the Nice List for cutting gas taxes and fighting the federal carbon tax.
“Santa is getting hammered by carbon tax bills on his reindeer barn, so Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lands on the Naughty List for making everything more expensive with his carbon tax,” said Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director. “Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe made Santa’s good books for taking action against Trudeau’s carbon tax.”
You can find the entire 2024 Taxpayer Naughty and Nice List here.
Taxpayer Naughty List:
- CBC President & CEO Catherine Tait
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford
- Global Affairs Canada
- Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham
- The entire federal bureaucracy
Taxpayer Nice List:
- Former Kensington Mayor Rowan Caseley
- Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe
- Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
- Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux
-
Alberta2 days ago
Federal taxes increasing for Albertans in 2025: Report
-
COVID-192 days ago
Children who got COVID shots more likely to catch the virus than those who didn’t, study finds
-
Artificial Intelligence2 days ago
World’s largest AI chip builder Taiwan wants Canadian LNG
-
Business15 hours ago
Senator Introduces Bill To Send One-Third Of Federal Workforce Packing Out Of DC
-
MAiD14 hours ago
Nearly half of non-terminally ill Canadians who choose euthanasia say they are lonely
-
Business2 days ago
The gun ban and buyback still isn’t worth it for taxpayers
-
National2 days ago
Canadian gov’t budget report targets charitable status of pro-life groups, churches
-
Business2 days ago
For the record—former finance minister did not keep Canada’s ‘fiscal powder dry’