Bummer: NC HHS To Cut 80 Jobs After Losing $100 Million In Federal Funding

That’s not a lot of jobs for $100 million

NC Health and Human Services Department to cut 80 jobs, lose $100 million in federal funding

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is planning to cut 80 jobs and will lose more than $100 million in funding.

The reductions are due to the federal government’s “abrupt and immediate termination of several federal grants,” a department spokesperson said in a statement. (snip)

The $100 million North Carolina is losing in funding directly contributes to the “health, safety and wellbeing of the people we serve,” the NCDHHS spokesperson wrote.

Specifically, the federal grant funding impacts several areas of work, including immunization efforts, funding for the new NC Immunization Registry, infectious disease monitoring and response, behavioral health, substance use disorder services and more. Some of the impacted funding supports work that is done by local health departments, universities, hospitals and local departments of social services.

The NCDHHS is also putting impacted vendors on notice to pause work supported by the funding.

Maybe Democrats will finally figure out that it is not the best thing to rely on Los Federales funding so much? That the entire system of US government was meant for the feds to deal with specific issues authorized by the Constitution, and the states and cities deal with everything else? That it is not that wise to be send so much tax money to the feds, where a new admin can do something different? And, really, all that federal money means states can play the waste, fraud, and idiotic spending game. And, it’s a bad idea to rely so damned much on private companies to do the work.

Meanwhile

Trump administration says it will pull back billions in COVID funding from local health departments

Federal health officials said Tuesday they are pulling back $11.4 billion in COVID-19-related funds for state and local public health departments and other health organizations throughout the nation.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

The statement said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to recover the money beginning 30 days after termination notices, which began being sent out on Monday.

Yeah, they are doing this about 6 months early, but, come on, the pandemic is over, time to stop pissing away this money which just puts lots of money in people’s pockets for nothing.

In a related move, more than two dozen COVID-related research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health have been canceled. Earlier this month, the Trump administration shut down ordering from covidtest.gov, the site where Americans could have COVID-19 tests delivered to their mailboxes for no charge.

That’ll make the loons still wearing masks in their cars very upset.

At this point, it’s unclear exactly how health departments will be affected by the pullback of funds. But some were starting to look at what it might mean for them. In Washington state, for example, health officials were notified that more than $125 million in COVID-related funding has been immediately terminated. They are “assessing the impact” of the actions, they said.

In Los Angeles County, health officials said they could lose more than $80 million in core funding for vaccinations and other services. “Much of this funding supports disease surveillance, public health lab services, outbreak investigations, infection control activities at healthcare facilities and data transparency,” a department official wrote in an email.

Let them spend their own money on their Wuhan flu crazy. COVID is over. It’s essentially the flu at this point. Maybe states shouldn’t rely so much on federal money.

Read: Bummer: NC HHS To Cut 80 Jobs After Losing $100 Million In Federal Funding »

If All You See…

…are trees that will soon die from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Jihad Watch, with a post on visas for terrorists.

Read: If All You See… »

Wackos Plan “Tesla Takedown” Day For Saturday

I sure hope law enforcement is out in force , watching for vandalism and violence

What is the ‘TeslaTakedown’ movement? What to know ahead of planned ‘day of action’

As the Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk continues to make deep cuts into the federal government, the TeslaTakedown movement is urging protesters to sell their Tesla vehicles, dump their stock and join the picket lines. (snip)

With protests planned across the U.S., in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands and more, here’s what you need to know about the TeslaTakedown movement.

According to the movement’s website, March 29 is planned as a “global day of action.”

“Elon Musk is destroying our democracy, and he’s using the fortune he built at Tesla to do it. We are taking action at Tesla to stop Musk’s illegal coup,” the site says. “Tesla Takedown is a peaceful protest movement. We oppose violence, vandalism and destruction of property.”

As part of the movement, the website calls for people to sell their Tesla vehicles as well as dump their stock and join picket lines in front of more than 500 Tesla locations around the world.

So, let me get this straight: they want to protest a guy who’s rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse in government. FWB that takes money away from the people it is appropriated to help. He’s getting rid of employees that do not help the system. Reducing costs which can go to helping the people agencies are supposed to help. They’re protesting for massive government which is dictatorial in its bureaucratic setup.

And they can say they oppose violence, vandalism, and destruction of property, but, that’s what these people have been doing. How does it help the people working at Tesla dealerships? Seems like the wackos want to get them all fired. Musk only owns about 12% of Tesla, so, it won’t hurt him.

This is your guy, Democrat. Do you really want to do this to “save Democracy” by keeping fraud, waste, and abuse?

Read: Wackos Plan “Tesla Takedown” Day For Saturday »

EPA Looking To Erase Social Cost Of Carbon And Endangerment Finding

This headline sure makes it look like this is a religion, eh? A state run one

EPA Puts “Holy Grail” of Climate Change in Crosshairs by Reconsidering Endangerment Finding and Other Regulations

The Situation: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced an agenda to revisit numerous regulations addressing the emission of greenhouse gases (“GHGs”).

The Result: The Endangerment Finding and the social cost of carbon (“SCC”) are under active consideration and revisions of these could potentially impact many, if not all, climate change regulations on their own. In addition, specific rules addressing GHG emissions from motor vehicles, power plants, refrigeration units, and oil and gas wells are under consideration along with GHG reporting requirements.

Looking Ahead: EPA rulemaking should be monitored to determine the current status of GHG regulation.

On March 12, 2025, the EPA announced numerous actions aimed at reconsidering regulations, with a special focus on climate change regulations. While EPA targeted some climate change rules individually, the announced reconsideration of the Endangerment Finding and the SCC may compromise the legal underpinnings of all GHG regulation.

EPA’s Administrator Lee Zeldin took particular aim at the 2009 Endangerment Finding, saying, “I’ve been told the Endangerment Finding is considered the Holy Grail of the climate change religion.” The Endangerment Finding stems from the Supreme Court’s holding in Massachusetts v. EPA. The Court concluded that GHGs fall under the Clean Air Act’s definition of “air pollutant,” and that EPA “offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether [GHGs] cause or contribute to climate change.” The Court noted that the Clean Air Act requires regulation of air pollutants that in EPA’s “judgment cause, or contribute to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.” In 2009, EPA found that GHG emissions do endanger public health and welfare. This finding, called the Endangerment Finding, allows EPA to regulate GHGs.

They just magically found this without input from the duly elected Legislative Branch. Just created it out of thin air. Here’s hoping Zeldin can shitcan these two things, though, you know the climate cult will file lawsuit after lawsuit, and find like minded judges, so, it’s going to have to end up at the Supreme Court. But, really, if one admin can get this through, why can’t another kill it?

Read: EPA Looking To Erase Social Cost Of Carbon And Endangerment Finding »

LA City Council Looks To Protect Illegal Aliens

I mean, who else is going to clean the toilets and do the lawns of the LA big wigs?

LA City Council passes package of motions aimed at protecting immigrant communities

The Los Angeles City Council passed four motions to further protect immigrants’ rights and communities throughout the city Wednesday morning.

The motions included efforts for know your rights campaigns, notification of ICE enforcement, support for state legislation and funding for legal services.

The city council voted to pass the motion, which will explore ways to have businesses report ICE activity to the city. The purpose of this motion, written by Soto-Martínez and Padilla, is to inform businesses, employers and workers of their rights ahead of potential immigration enforcement.

So, would this include when ICE comes for these guys since Trump took office?

ICE raids: Latest round of arrests in Southern California

On March 11, an unidentified “Mexican citizen illegally present in the U.S.” was arrested. He had prior aggravated felony convictions and was previously removed from the country, HSI Los Angeles tweeted.

On March 5, Juan Corona Covarrubias was taken into custody and removed, according to ERO Los Angeles. He is a “Mexican national wanted in his home country for aggravated robbery, aggravated homicide, and aggravated bodily injuries.”

Also on March 5, HSI Los Angeles officers partnering with ERO Los Angeles arrested an unnamed Taiwanese citizen, “illegally present in the U.S.” and “wanted in Taiwan for sexual assault.”

And there are more at that article

Illegal Alien Who Threatened ICE Agent’s Life Arrested in Connection With Human Smuggling Ring, Deaths of 7

An illegal alien from Guatemala was arrested on a four-count indictment alleging he led one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the United States. The ring allegedly smuggled approximately 20,000 illegal immigrants from Guatemala to destinations nationwide over a five-year span. The defendant held some victims in stash houses as hostages and is responsible for the deaths of seven illegal immigrants — including a 4-year-old child — who were killed in a November 2023 car accident in Oklahoma. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Inglewood Police Department are investigating the matter.

“These arrests illuminate the dangers and victimization associated with aliens attempting to unlawfully enter our country,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles acting Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco. “Every day, similar human smuggling organizations put profits ahead of safety in these reckless and illegal endeavors. ICE Los Angeles and our partners are committed to continue identifying and dismantling these organizations so no further lives are lost and our borders are secure.”

Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul aka Turko, 51, of the Westlake neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles, was arrested Feb. 28 with his alleged right-hand man, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, 49, also of the Westlake neighborhood. The defendants were arraigned the same day and ordered to stand trial April 22. A federal magistrate judge also ordered them jailed without bond.

Does LA want to protect them?

ERO Los Angeles arrests 26 noncitizens with pending charges or convictions for murder, homicide and assault against children during nationwide operation

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers apprehended 26 unlawfully present noncitizens with pending charges or convictions for murder, homicide and assault against children during a nationwide law enforcement effort that ran from January 16 to 28.

There’s some overlap between the first story of arrests and the above ICE one. Are these the people the LA city council wants to protect? To have citizens call in to warn about ICE in the area? Have them “know their rights”? Give them legal council?

They all want to come to LA!

Read: LA City Council Looks To Protect Illegal Aliens »

Great News: DOGE Slashed US Funding For Peruvian Climate Scam Programs

Look, it’s bad enough that the U.S. spends money on the scam here at home: why in the blankety blank are we pissing away taxpayer money for Peru to Do Something?

DOGE slashes billions more in expenses for programs like Peruvian climate change and gender equity in Mexico

climate cowThe Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced it had terminated 113 contracts valued at $4.7 billion Tuesday, including a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) consulting contract for Peru’s climate change activities.

“[Tuesday] agencies terminated 113 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $4.7B and savings of $3.3B, including a $145K USDA consulting contract for ‘Peru climate change activities,'” the department posted on X.

Sure, as they say, it’s just $145K (do most Americans think of that as a pittance?), but, every penny adds up. Let Peru find the money for it.

DOGE also announced the Department of Labor had canceled $577 million in “America Last” grants, totaling $237 million in savings.

The funding that was canceled included $10 million for “gender equity in the Mexican workplace,” $12.2 million for “worker empowerment in South America” and $6.25 million for “improving respect for workers’ rights in agricultural supply chains” in the countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Also eliminated was $5 million to elevate women’s participation in the workplace in West Africa, $4.3 million to assist foreign migrant workers in Malaysia, $3 million to enhance Social Security access and worker protection for internal migrant workers in Bangladesh and $3 million for safe and inclusive work environments in the southern African country of Lesotho.

What I would love for them to do is audit programs where the money has already been spent, see what happened to it. See how much actually made it for the projects and how much went into the pockets of NGOs, private companies, big wigs in those countries, and the pockets of the US government workers. Then start with the criminal charges. Maybe then all these agencies and employees wouldn’t feel empowered to just do whatever the hell the want with taxpayer money.

Read: Great News: DOGE Slashed US Funding For Peruvian Climate Scam Programs »

If All You See…

…is land turning to desert from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Green Jihad, with a post on the Net Zero shutdown of Heathrow.

Read: If All You See… »

NY Times Freaks Out Over Signal Kerfuffle, Links To Defeating The Houthis

But, first, going back to the John Kass article “HOW THE NEW YORK TIMES IS KILLING AMERICA“, which I mentioned the other day

Far from its carefully nurtured Hollywood image as the fearless speaker of “truth to power,” the old gray lady is the newspaper of the Deep State and the American Kemalists who control and feed the Deep State.

But now, following abuses of journalism that have finally reached critical mass in the public consciousness, the New York Times has yet again become the object of ridicule by recently publishing a pathetic defense of its COVID coverage, misleading readers even as it bleats “We Were Badly Misled.”

This is the same NY Times which, among others, started worrying more about Islamic jihadids in the wake of 9/11, who blew off Benghazi and provided cover for Clinton and Obama, who blew off Obama ignoring the Arab Spring and called ISIS the “JV Team”, provided cover for Obama when Russia took over Crimea, covering for Hillary over her blatantly illegal use of private email (when they weren’t ignoring it), blew off the aforementioned COVID, refusing to do any investigation and branding any who opposed as Wrongthingers, and provided cover for Biden’s Afghanistan misadventure, among others

The Signal thing was minor, but, 4 articles and a topline linkathon

Signal Leak Exposed When Bombs Would Fall in Yemen. But Defeating Houthis Won’t Be Easy.

The bombshell publication of a group chat involving Trump administration officials discussing U.S. battle plans revealed in unusually stark fashion what the Trump administration hopes to achieve with airstrikes this month against the Houthi militia in Yemen.

The attacks, some of the chat’s participants said, were meant to deter the Houthis from attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea and reopen shipping lanes to the Suez Canal.

“Whether it’s now or several weeks from now, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes,” said a participant identified as Michael Waltz, President Trump’s national security adviser.

But the high-level hopes expressed in the Signal chat, which became public after The Atlantic’s editor in chief was inadvertently added to it, could collide with reality.

“Could”? Who is the Times rooting for?

Middle East experts said the Iran-backed Houthis won’t be easily beaten. Few wars have been won with air power alone, and some military experts say it will be no different with the Houthis. The biggest shipping companies also have little appetite for returning to the Red Sea. They have found a workaround that, while inconvenient and costly, allows them to avoid those lanes and deliver goods on time.

James R. Holmes, the J.C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, said that even during the U.S. war to remove Iraq from Kuwait in 1991, when air power was at its apex, a land invasion was necessary — and defeating the Houthis might require an occupation.

“You have to control turf to win,” Mr. Holmes said. “Aircraft cannot occupy territory, however valuable a supporting capability they are for armies and Marines.”

Wild how the NY Times didn’t care about Biden launching air raids during his time in office, eh?

The Houthis may even use the U.S. military strikes, analysts say, to bolster their position in Yemen and farther afield as other Iranian proxies, like the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, have suffered heavy losses at the hands of Israel.

Did the NY Times say the same thing while Biden was president? Here it almost looks like the Times is rooting for the Houthis and other jihadis because Orange Man is in office.

The latest U.S. strikes are a “direct answer to the Houthi prayers to have a war with the U.S.,” said Farea Al-Muslimi, a Yemeni research fellow at Chatham House, a research institute based in London. He said the group “wants to drag the U.S. into a larger regional escalation.”

So, the NY Times wants Trump to not attack? Where was this during the Biden admin? Anyhow, how many days will the NY Times beat the drum over this minor Signal thing?

Read: NY Times Freaks Out Over Signal Kerfuffle, Links To Defeating The Houthis »

Bummer: NIH Shuts Down Crystal Ball For Climate (scam) Health Impacts

This is the same NIH which was funding gain of function research at the shady and lax Wuhan Institute of Health on COVID

NIH Ends Future Funding to Study the Health Effects of Climate Change

The National Institutes of Health will no longer be funding work on the health effects of climate change, according to internal records reviewed by ProPublica.

The guidance, which was distributed to several staffers last week, comes on the back of multiple new directives to cut off NIH funding to grants that are focused on subjects that are viewed as conflicting with the Trump administration’s priorities, such as gender identityLGBTQ+ issuesvaccine hesitancy, and diversity, equity and inclusion.

It shouldn’t be funding or studying any of that stuff. If private researchers want to do it, go for it. This shouldn’t be something the taxpayers are funding, and government employees should be looking at real issues, not political ones.

While it’s unclear whether the climate guidance will impact active grants and lead to funding terminations, the directive appears to halt opportunities for future funding of studies or academic programs focused on the health effects of climate change.

“This is an administration where industry voices rule and prevail,” said Dr. Lisa Patel, executive director of The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, a coalition of medical professionals that raises awareness about the health effects of climate change. “This is an agenda item for the fossil fuel industry, and this administration is doing what the fossil fuel industry wants.”

She called the new guidance “catastrophic” and said it would have a “devastating” impact on much-needed research.

I don’t see that many Warmists giving up their own use of petroleum, and, they can ask private companies for funding. They rely on Los Federales way too much, because it’s easy money for which there is little to no oversight.

Read: Bummer: NIH Shuts Down Crystal Ball For Climate (scam) Health Impacts »

WWIII Watch: Macron Yammers About EU Troops Deployed To Ukraine “Responding” If Provoked

If you send you troops into a war zone what do you think is going to happen?

Ukraine-Russia war latest: European troops deployed to Ukraine will ‘respond’ if attacked by Moscow, Macron warns

European troops deployed to Ukraine would respond to a Russian attack, French president Emmanuel Macron warned.

After a meeting in Paris, France, between Mr Macron and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, he said European troops would fight Putin’s troops if attacked by them after any ceasefire agreement.

“If there was again a generalised aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would be under attack and then it’s our usual framework of engagement,” he said.

It comes after senior Zelensky aide ZIgor Zhovkva said British troops must be ready to fight Vladimir Putin’s forces to defend Ukraine.

Mr Zhovkva said European soldiers should be prepared to fight Russia and defend Ukraine if deployed to the country after any ceasefire agreement.

So, wait, they’re now talking about a ceasefire? Isn’t that what Trump wanted? Of course, just a few hours earlier Reuters reported

Europe’s talks on Ukraine security shift from sending troops

European efforts to create security arrangements for Ukraine are shifting from sending troops to other alternatives as they face political and logistical constraints, and the prospect of Russia and the United States opposing their plans, officials said.

France, which has been working closely with Britain to come up with options, will host 30 leaders and delegations from around 30 countries on Thursday, part of what has become a “coalition of the willing” to try and flesh out some ideas.

But while London and Paris have been working for weeks on a plan to send thousands of troops to Ukraine to help safeguard a future ceasefire, diplomats say there is growing acceptance that sending such a force is not the likeliest outcome.

“They are taking a step back from ground troops and trying to re-dimension what they were doing to something that could be more sensible,” said one European diplomat.

Here’s a reality: Russia has nuclear weapons. France and the UK do have some, 290 and 225 respectively, mostly as deterrents to Russia. Five other NATO nations host US nuclear weapons. These same people tell us Putin is nuts. Is that who you want to push? For Ukraine? Do you want to risk a large scale war involving NATO nations and Russia, and the potential for nuclear escalation? Oh, and let’s not forget how many European NATO nations get fossil fuels from Russia. Germany, France, Italy, and several others gets energy from Russia, mostly natural gas. How’s that going to go?

Of course, putting any “peacekeeping” troops in Ukraine is way ahead of the curve, since the EU hasn’t been quite on the same page as Trump in trying to get a ceasefire to start with.

Read: WWIII Watch: Macron Yammers About EU Troops Deployed To Ukraine “Responding” If Provoked »

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