40 sounds big and it really is big. Being married for 40 years and still madly, deeply in love is something a person can only dream about. With the decline in the number of people getting married, people getting married later in life and the emergence of no-fault divorce, it is a number that becomes even larger.

When people hear you were engaged after only 19 days from your first date, they look at you like you are telling them a fish story. No, it isn’t a fish story. None of our friends or family even knew we were dating. The Beautiful Wife had mentioned me to her eventually maid of honor and that was it. When her mother heard of the engagement, she thought it would not last. She has been proven wildly wrong.

By the 19^th day, things had advanced pretty far in our relationship and we had big plans for Saturday night. It was Friday, the night before.

During a time when people get engaged at football stadiums this was completely the opposite. I was at a business meeting close to her apartment. I called to ask her if she had plans. I came over and we went to dinner. For some reason, she chooses a sushi restaurant. I say that because to this day the woman still doesn’t know how to really eat sushi. We sat at the sushi bar and discussed all the big picture things about life. I mean big.

We returned to her apartment. We were sitting on the couch furthering our discussion when I looked at her and said, “We really don’t have anything else to discuss.” She looked at me oddly. She later told me she was thinking I am invested in this guy and is he dumping me? Quite the opposite. I said something that I had not thought of saying to anyone before or even until that moment, “We have discussed everything important, will you marry.” She looked at me quite shocked and said, “Are you serious.” My answer was yes and more importantly so was hers.

I had just asked a woman to marry me who did not care about my three primary interests outside of work – music, baseball and politics. She became very interested in politics and has been to the White House many times. Thanks to Kirk Gibson, she became a Dodger fan. She has seen baseball in all the current stadiums and in five countries. Unfortunately, her musical tastes have still not gotten there, but our kids have thankfully.

We didn’t get married for another eight months as we both wanted a big wedding and I wanted a formal one. We went to dinner the next night as planned after spending the day euphorically informing some of our friends, but not our families. I wanted to formally ask her parents for her hand in marriage. Since we were engaged on Friday, December 13^th (so much for Friday the 13^th being a bad day) we would be walking into seasonal parties, and we decided to tell people in person at the events.

At dinner, I told her I understood we would not be officially married for some time as we both wanted that big wedding. Despite that, as far as I was concerned what we had done the night before made us married. Then I told her, “You have two ways of getting out of this – “you die or I kill you.” I made it clear to her that I was here for the long haul.

Have we had challenges over the last forty years? Yes, everybody does. In that regard, we have been blessed that whatever those challenges, we were able to overcome them and move forward. They never challenged our commitment to each other.

We succeeded because we worked at it. Do we fight? Please, we yell at each other every day. We never let it last. We never go to bed mad. We talk it out and move on. What we do is we always want to share our lives with each other. We talk during the day regularly and we always want to share thoughts and important matters when they occur. When I get home, she is always happy to see me walk in the door as I am when she does. We always kiss goodbye and good night.

We succeeded because we put one foot forward and then the next one and never stopped. We bought our first home and then the one where we have lived for the past 36 years which the crazed wife has updated over and over and over again.

We raised our two wonderful children, Sam and Hannah, there and gave them stability. Hannah can come back to her bedroom, Sam can’t. That was turned into a den.

Last 4^th of July, Sam brought a young lady to dinner at the house. We had not met her before. She absorbed some of the successes we had including my being a presidential appointee. She asked me a question I had never been asked before. What do you attribute your success to? I immediately responded because to me it is clear – getting married and staying married.

We are not having a party for this one, in a very uncharacteristic Bialosky manner. We are going to Chicago for a couple of days tomorrow. We will have some delicious food including deep dish pizza and attend a Cubbie game. We will have a party for the 50^th which we are counting on being around for and hopefully you will be also.

We realize we are blessed as people and as a couple and we are grateful. Our family and friends are a blessing. Most importantly, we have each other. Yes, and I have The Beautiful Wife. How great life is!

Raising taxes and forcing the closure of refineries are their tools to punish drivers who are just trying to get to work or to the grocery store.

Now the Trump administration has stepped in to provide some relief to Californians and their wallets.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has announced that starting on Sept. 1, hand-in-hand with the Department of Energy (DOE), he will issue a temporary emergency waiver of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The waiver will allow what is known as E10 to be blended differently.

Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature are trying everything they can to increase the cost of gas at the pump for Californians. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Now the Trump administration has stepped in to provide some relief to Californians and their wallets.

E10 is gasoline blended with 10% ethanol. The EPA’s waiver will allow E10 to be blended at a higher Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP), meaning that the process will use less gasoline. The effect will be to increase the gasoline supply and lower gasoline prices.

Ethanol is in common use across America. Many people are not aware there are two different blends, a summer and winter blend. The summer blend burns faster, using more fuel. This waiver issued by the EPA will allow for an earlier conversion to the winter blend — again, saving gas.

Normally, the summer blend ends on Sept. 15 for most of the country. Not in California, where the summer blend (without the waiver) has to be produced for much longer, only ending on Oct. 31.

The EPA’s new waiver could mean that Californians will have additional two months of a form of gasoline that lasts far longer in their gas tank and costs less to produce.

E10 is gasoline blended with 10% ethanol. The EPA’s waiver will allow E10 to be blended at a higher Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP), meaning that the process will use less gasoline. The effect will be to increase the gasoline supply and lower gasoline prices.

We know that the environmental lobby will howl at this change; it opposes almost everything the Trump administration does. But the waiver appears to have been reviewed properly by the EPA and DOE, according to powers of discretion that were written into law by Congress.

Until now, California officials have also done everything they can to resist efforts by the Trump administration to increase fuel supplies and lower prices. They are fighting his effort to develop offshore oil and gas production, for example. Notably, these same officials ignored President Joe Biden’s attempts to lower gas prices with interventions that were actually damaging to the country’s long-term interests, such as draining the strategic petroleum reserves. If Trump does it, it must be wrong, even if it helps California drivers and the California economy generally.

Here’s the thing: California is running out of alternatives. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright made the point that the Trump administration’s strategy is focused on increasing the available supply of gasoline. Gov. Newsom has done the opposite during his two terms in office. Three oil refineries closed in California during the first six years of Newsom’s tenure. Two more are scheduled to close, which currently account for 18% of the state’s refining capacity.

We know that the environmental lobby will howl at this change; it opposes almost everything the Trump administration does.

Those closures will limit the positive impact in California of what Zeldin and Wright are doing. So will the fact that California blends most of its gasoline within its own borders, because it has imposed stricter environmental requirements on fuel. So any changes to the national blend will have fewer benefits for the Golden State.

Meanwhile, California has become a cartoon image of America in the 1970s — totally dependent on shipments of oil from the Middle East, as if half a century of diversification and domestic production had never happened.

While the state is fighting the oil industry, and Trump on all fronts, California drivers are suffering at the pump. At least the Trump administration is making an effort to help Californians, even if their elected officials and bureaucrats don’t seem to care.

From the day Mamdani won the mayoral primary, which virtually assured his election, I told people we would hear about him every day henceforth. And so we have. Most of what we have heard is horrible public policy.

Raman will bring those policies to California — and if she doesn’t, she will face pressure from fellow socialists nationwide, who demand no less.

LA Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman speaks at a press conference on Friday, July 24, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Jonathan Alcorn)for CA Post

New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani speaks to a constituent at the National Night Out Against Crime in the confines of the 79 Precinct in New York City on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.

Raman has tried to stay away from discussions of her actual policies throughout the campaign. During the primary, she was overshadowed by her two opponents, Spencer Pratt and Mayor Karen Bass.

It was a no-risk race for her, as she has another two years in her current term, and one more four-year term available.

With the latest homeless count showing that the problem is getting worse, LA voters face a choice between two incumbents who promised to deal with the problem, but failed.

And so the biggest political issue is which one of these two horrible choices to vote for in November.

The election could easily turn on Pratt voters. Though many would like to sit this one out, that is not an option. As pathetic as Bass has been as mayor, having Raman take the helm of the city would be many times worse.

Let’s just refer to her guiding light and brother-in-arms, Mamdani.

Mamdani has damaged not only the image of NYC, but of the nation, by inserting himself into national policy discussions and international issues.

His threat to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he has no authority to do so was remarkably childish and apparently driven by antisemitism. Mamdani was embarrassed and finally backed down. But he made a video attacking Netanyahu that drew tens of millions of views.

Raman saw that she would have carte blanche to execute similar dangerous actions, with no political price paid.

Then there is Mamdani’s atrocious behavior over his new tax on unoccupied second homes.

While the tax was supposed to apply to some 10,000 residences, Mamdani published a list of nearly 1 million names and addresses. He put property owners in danger and made clear that the city intends to go after properties worth much less than the original $5 million threshold.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani leads the Annual Ecuadorian Independence Day Parade on Northern Blvd. in Woodside, Queens, on Sunday, August 2, 2026. Thousands of spectators filled both sides of the route along the way.

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LA Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman speaks at a press conference on Friday, July 24, 2026, in Los Angeles, California

Mayoral candidate and city council member Nithya Raman talks to organizers during a funeral procession and vigil from Los Angeles City Hall to Olvera Street as part of the nationwide ‘Justice for Lorenzo. Justice for Johan. Justice for All. Abolish ICE Day of Action’ in downtown Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. The event called for accountability following the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Guerrero during encounters with ICE agents.

People are starting to sell their properties. Many who live elsewhere in the city are looking to leave a place they love — where they already pay taxes, support local businesses, and employ locals to maintain their homes.

Who knows what schemes Raman might produce when armed with Mamdani’s example? Would-be governor Xavier Becerra would be no more effective at stopping her than Kathy Hochul has been at stopping Mamdani in New York.

Then there are Mamdani’s government-run grocery stores.

One major reason there is a lack of grocery stores in New York City is that the city imposes restrictive, socialist policies that keep willing competitors from operating within the city limits. Those grocery stories that comply with the restrictions typically have high costs, and therefore charge higher prices.

In the five boroughs of NYC, there are no Walmarts and only five Costcos. With a comparative population, LA County has 28 Costco stores and 30 Walmarts.

Socialists typically create a problem, then offer “solutions” that make the problem worse. Thus Mamdani is promising prices 30% below the competition — but with no explanation. The only way is to exempt the government-run stores from rent and taxes. He will then bury the financial losses in his multibillion-dollar city budget. Those who suffer most will be small business owners who operate bodegas on tiny margins to support their families.

Raman might not operate failing grocery stores. But Mamdani’s example could inspire her to buy even more hotels than California has already bought, and turn them into perpetual homes for drug-addicted homeless people living off the largesse of local taxpayers.

Whatever one thinks of Karen Bass, having socialists control the two largest cities in America would be extremely risky — for LA, for California, and for America.

Bruce L. Bialosky

Los Angeles Jewish Journal

A political earthquake hit America recently when 104 members of Congress (including 103 Democrats) voted to defund Israel of military and economic aid. It is stunning that they are prepared to abandon one of America’s closest allies in the middle of a conflict where the United States has many shared military and intelligence efforts against an enemy hellbent on destroying both countries. But it goes much deeper than that. They are accusing Israel of a crime of historical proportions.

The current attack is that Israel is guilty of the same kind of crime against humanity that was previously committed against the Jewish people.

The Holocaust is regarded as the worst crime against humanity in history. Generically speaking it was a “genocide.” The word was coined in 1944 by a Polish Jew, Raphael Lemkin. It combines the Greek word “genos” meaning race, tribe or nation, with a Latin suffix, “cide,” meaning to kill. The 6 million Jews murdered during World War II is the largest by number, but not the only attempt to wipe out a group of people. The Armenian Genocide during WWI resulted in the deaths of 1.3-1.5 million by the Ottoman Empire. The Rwandan Genocide in 1994 had between 500,000 and one million Tutsis murdered by the Hutu.

Accusers ignorantly banter around the word “genocide” against Israel. Of the Congress members who voted to defund Israel, 28 of the 104 have charged the Israelis with the crime of genocide. Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), the second-ranking leader in their caucus, withdrew her statement that Israel was guilty of a genocide. However, she did say, “We should not provide a blank check for military aid to any country that does not comply with U.S. law, interests and values.” But she did not cite any American laws Israel has broken or the interests with which they don’t comply.

The victims of the three 20th-century genocides were murdered en masse in attempts to eradicate their entire populations.

Since Gaza was abandoned in 2005 by Israel, the Palestinian population tally tells a completely different story. Gaza had a population at that time of between 1.3 and 1.4 million people. In 2025, the population had grown by 50% to 2.1 million. If the Israelis were hellbent on committing genocide in Gaza, it’s one of the most epic failures in military history.

Similar story in the West Bank. In 2005, the West Bank had a population of 2.4 million Palestinians. By 2025, it had grown to 3.43 million.

Brad Lander, a Jew who defeated incumbent Dan Goldman to assure his election to Congress from New York, has stated he believes Israel is conducting a genocide. Maybe he was following the J Street leader who stated that “international courts will one day find that Israel has broken the international genocide convention.”

Or Lander could be channeling the eight Jews who voted to defund Israel. But as bad as the action was by these members of Congress, it pales in comparison to the people accusing Israel of a genocide.

Accusing a group of people who were the victims of the most heinous genocide in history of then committing the same crime is a total perversion of history and anyone subscribing to this thinking is devoid of knowledge of facts on the ground.

LA’s local government bodies ignore infrastructure because they fail to prioritize the needs of local residents. Nothing has changed since the massive negligence that caused the horrific Pacific Palisades Fire last year. Clearly, the decay runs deep — deeper than a burst water main.

Earlier this month, burst pipes caused three sinkholes in three different part of the city. One of them was on Sunset Boulevard, arguably the most famous street in LA. The exact area of that leak happened to be in the city of West Hollywood, but the whole area shares a common infrastructure.

These sinkholes occurred because rather than prioritizing responsible maintenance in their communities, city leaders have been spending their money on other “priorities.”

One of those priorities is homelessness. Everyone agrees that it is an urgent problem. But Mayor Karen Bass believes that the solution is simply to pay for hotel and motel rooms, and urge street-dwellers to move indoors. The city spends billions of dollars on this “Inside Safe” approach.

Despite that massive spending, homelessness actually grew over the last year, rather than falling, according to figures released last week.

Many residents think that Los Angeles has a large homeless population because of the beautiful warm weather that makes it easier to survive a winter outside. But another major draw is the fact that LA offers homeless people significant benefits that allow them to maintain their homeless status.

And another reason is that LA’s elected officials don’t confront the two principal issues causing people to become homeless in the first place: drug use and mental illness.

While encampments spread on the streets above ground, the city’s infrastructure crumbles below.

The main water pipe disaster was due to an aged line that was 110 years old. That’s an extreme example of a nationwide problem, of which LA is the epicenter.

The American Society of Civil Engineers reports that about 20% of water mains in the US and Canada have exceeded their useful life. In their estimation, this amounts to 450,000 miles of pipe, a large portion of which is in LA.

The water main debacle is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are three other things that are not properly maintained by City Council members whose annual salary is $244,727 apiece, plus a fat benefit package.

Last year, LA roads were resurfaced to cover only between 60 to 100 lane miles after an eight-month hiatus. This followed maintenance of 312 lane miles in the prior year.

In addition, the Bureau of Street Services stopped doing curb-to-curb resurfacing, leaving large strips of asphalt unrepaired.

The useful life of main roads is deemed to be 15-20 years, and 25-30 years for residential streets. There are an estimated 23,000 lane miles in LA, and by that standard, about 920 miles should be resurfaced every year. You can plainly see the city is not even close to doing its job.

That isn’t even the worst part of LA’s infrastructure calamity. The sidewalks are an unmitigated disaster. You take your life in your hands walking them, on their frequently treacherous and uneven surfaces.

I have been to nearly 100 countries and an untold number of cities. Across the world, I have not encountered any city that compares with the despicably dangerous sidewalks of LA. There are 9,000-11,000 miles of sidewalks and the city maintains no record of how many are repaired on an annual basis. City officials also don’t maintain a record of how much is paid out in lawsuit settlements from slip-and-fall cases. Nor do we have calculations of how much residents pay for medical bills for injuries caused by LA pavement.

And another aspect of the city is almost never addressed: alleys. To city leaders, they don’t seem to exist. And yet, these are the means by which our businesses receive the goods that we buy and the food we eat. Some residential areas also feature alleys. There is a total disregard for this part of the infrastructure. God knows how much damage is being done to vehicles and people from this neglected part of our city street grid.

Imagine what could be done if we weren’t wasting billions of dollars a year paying for freeloaders taking advantage of our city.

The mayor and city council need to focus on the needs of the taxpaying residents and businesses to maintain our water mains, streets, sidewalks and alleys.

And to the voters: Wake up, and stop putting these “ne’er-do-wells” into office.

Thank you

Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), recently asserted in a press conference that there are six million fraudulent participants in the Obamacare exchanges. That is quite a hefty number, and we need to find out his source for that.

Paragon Health Institute is a group formed by Dr. Brian Blasé, a PhD in Economics. He formed Paragon in November 2021 after leaving the first Trump Administration. His assembled team came forward with a simple concept. There are people enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid. Why don’t we assess how many people are eligible against Census Bureau data by state. It is such a simple concept that it is stunning no one had previously thought of it.

The federal government provides subsidies up to the full health care coverage for people with incomes between 100-150 percent of the federal poverty line. It is easy to determine the approximate number of eligible people from Census Bureau data. Paragon started this comparison in 2024 when they found 5,110.884 or 24% of enrollees did not meet the guidelines. Of course, no one in the Biden Administration cared because they wanted everyone to be getting government run healthcare coverage. In 2026 the estimated improper enrollees amount accelerated to 6,215,204 or 27%.

If you are wondering how fraud works, it is easy. Many times, people contact an agent who suggests that the potential enrollee underestimate their income, thus qualifying for the benefits. Or the intermediaries may sign up people without their knowledge. The brokers are making substantial fees from people signed up on the website and don’t care that Paragon estimated the annual improper enrollments costs $25 billion.

There are many fascinating aspects of this fraud. When someone is enrolled for Obamacare, at the end of the year they will receive a form, 1095-A. The credits you receive are delineated and must be reported on your tax return. The IRS knows if you are part of the network and likewise knows you cannot file your tax return without that information being provided.

Then the question becomes why these people are not assessed huge amounts on their tax returns if their income is so high. Hidden in the American Rescue Act of 2021, the Biden team suspended any amount to be assessed on tax returns if your income was too high causing no excess credits to be repaid for 2020. The original law authorizing Obamacare capped the repayments. The rationale was it was difficult to predict your income a year in advance. Maybe they assumed that all people would report their income properly or unscrupulous intermediaries would not manipulate the system to make extra commissions.

That all changed with the “One Big Beautiful Bill” which eliminates any limitations on repayment of excess credits for the tax years 2026 and beyond. People who have serially been underreporting their income when signing up for Obamacare are in for a significant shock when filing their 2026 tax returns.

The people at Paragon told me the greatest amount of suspected improper enrollment came in five Republican states (Florida, Texas, North and South Carolina, and Georgia). They stated that the states which had expanded Medicaid coverage were less likely to have improper enrollment on the website. They asserted that even though these five red states were more attuned to lower taxes, the cost of the Obamacare credits are 100% paid by the federal government -- thus there is little motivation to control the improper enrollees. Paragon did state Florida has been actively pursuing some of the fraudulent intermediaries.

When it was suggested that it seemed nonsensical that states like California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois would not be the prime states for fraud, Paragon stated they believe these states are hiding the fraud in the Medicaid supplements which Paragon is beginning to analyze. They believe there is substantial fraud there as well.

There is a simple solution that I proposed to the people at Paragon. The CMS is already providing information directly to the IRS so that when someone files their taxes the IRS knows whether that person has been receiving Obamacare. If the CMS matched its computer database with the IRS when someone applies for benefits, they would know the person exists and what their actual income was on their last return (and not some made-up number). This would substantially eliminate any chance of fraud through the ACA website.

As proven by Paragon, a simple analysis can determine if there is fraudulent activity. A simple solution is available to remedy it. All elected officials need is the will to do it.

Bruce L. Bialosky

July 10, 2026

Hezbolla supporters with photos and portraits of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and fighters killed during the war are seen during a ceremony paying tribute to the late Khamenei on July 8, 2026 in Beirut, Lebanon.

While the United States and Israel attempt to civilize the uncivilized portion of the Middle East there remains particularly three main groups that present a challenge. All three are funded and armed by Iran and those groups need to be disarmed or there will be no peace. The question remains who will do the job?

Israel has had an on again, off again running battle for decades with two of these groups. Hezbollah and Hamas are funded principally by a regime whose primary purpose other than self-survival is the destruction of Israel, which is Iran.

Since President Trump began his second term, he has set out to solve the puzzle of Iran and its surrogates. He first stepped into the Israel-Gaza mess. He wants to end the destruction of Gaza brought on by Hamas’ barbarous attack of October 7^th. In the aftermath, Trump negotiated a 20-point Gaza Peace Plan in September 2025. The first phase moved along fine, but the second phase stalled.

The second phase includes deployment of an International Peace Force and disarming Hamas. This is where there is a stalemate because Hamas doesn’t want to disarm and as of this time no country wants to place their troops into this madhouse. Hamas has a history of using civilians as shields then complaining about it when those civilians are murdered especially children. The international force would have to be prepared to go toe-to-toe with Hamas which has given every indication they are willing to fight to the death. None of these forces are trained in urban warfare. The best choice is Egypt, but their forces are only trained for desert fighting not rooting people out of tunnels.

Which country would be willing to assume this task especially when there is a legion of people in Europe and America willing to make them international pariahs for cleaning the place out of Hamas with the commensurate civilian casualties which by international analysis would all be innocent women and children. Only Israel is willing and able to take on the task of disarming Hamas.

From the time President Trump buried Iran’s nuclear assets deeply under a pile of rubble there was a question of the next move to deter the leading promulgator of terrorism in the world. The mass murder of thousands of Iranian protesters led to the annihilation of the Ayatollah and many of his top leadership brought discussions surrounding the possibility of change occurring. It was believed the regime was ripe to fall.

We are still here four months later without a change in government. It is believed by some President Trump should pursue a more aggressive military policy. Some believe the Iranian regime is on the way to military, economic and political collapse. That may seem so, but there is the challenge of what to do about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that number between 150,000 and 190,000. They are a radical military group exhibiting greater control than the current lay leadership and the military in Iran. It is clear that these fanatics are for the most part willing to fight to the death especially someone else’s. They are the major stumbling block to peace and a change of government. President Trump is criticized for not finishing the job, but who is going to take on this huge force which most likely needs to be killed. The U.S. is not going to. If it were anyone it would be Israel.

Hezbollah is a special case as it operates as a separate militia within a country which has a duly elected parliament, a president and a prime minister. They hide amongst a civilian population and revel in the times when innocent people are killed when Israel counters the brutal attacks across their border intently aimed at their civilian populations.

Even though they are largely funded by Iran, Hezbollah has created their own source of revenue, the international drug trade and money laundering. Though they deny it, their involvement has been well-documented not only by U.S. sources by European sources also.

Iran has such a high interest in protecting this murderous group it asserts that Israel counterattacking Hezbollah to protect its sovereignty is an elemental aspect of peace negotiations with the U.S. Iran has asserted heavy pressure on the Trump Administration to link any negotiations between the two countries despite Lebanon having their own leaders. This came at a time where some Israeli leaders like Defense Minister Israel Katz believed that Hezbollah was on the verge of collapse as its funds and armaments were running on empty due to the pressure the U.S. had asserted on Iran.

Hezbollah has exhibited that their leaders and members are willing to fight Israel to their death because of their single-minded mission of destroying Israel. There appears to be only one means of resolving the Hezbollah issue and only source to accomplish that – Israel.

Experts, real and armchair, are making claims against President Trump for not finishing the job. There appears to be only one solution to dealing with these messianic armed forces and one possible source to do that. No one else is willing to pay the price except Israel which understands its survival depends on it.

Bruce L. Bialosky is a former presidential appointee to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

A protester in National City, Calif., on Jan. 31, 2025. (Carlos Moreno/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Leftists like to claim that virtually no benefit money is given to noncitizens. A recent analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) argues that this is false. Households headed by noncitizens are not only receiving government benefits, but they are receiving them at higher rates than citizen households.

Steven Camarota, director of research for CIS, recently released Welfare Use by Non-Citizens Across States in the U.S. This study is a devastating statement of how our country attracts people and then funds them to stay here.

The pivotal paragraph is this: “Of households headed by non-citizens, 47 percent use one or more traditional welfare programs, 19 percentage points higher than the 28 percent for U.S.-born households. The non-citizen rate rises to 57 percent when eligibility for the EITC or ACTC is added, compared to 34 percent for the U.S.-born.”

The programs under discussion are Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; Supplemental Security Income; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; free school meals; Medicaid; and Section 8 housing. If there is a worker in the household, then it can additionally receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), which are refundable tax credits beyond any taxes paid.

Noncitizens considered include both legal permanent residents and illegal immigrants. In an interview, Camarota said that children are the anchor for benefits for illegal immigrants and for those permanent residents who have not been here long enough to qualify for programs. Illegal immigrants alone have 4.5 million U.S. born children under 18 years old. As U.S. citizens, these dependent children have full welfare eligibility from birth.

The two principal means of noncitizens receiving benefits are DACA and the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs. About 800,000 people have been approved for DACA since 2012. Approved DACA participants can live, study, and work in the U.S. They can receive a Social Security number and driver’s license. They receive benefits even though they are noncitizens.

While most new legal immigrants and all illegal immigrants are barred from using most programs, these restrictions do not stop a large fraction of noncitizens from accessing programs. Camarota points out, “restrictions on welfare eligibility have a modest impact on noncitizen overall use rates primarily because: 1) noncitizens, including illegal immigrants, receive benefits on behalf of their U.S.-born children; 2) some states provide welfare to ineligible immigrants on their own; and 3) most legal immigrants have lived here long enough to qualify for welfare.”

Camarota stated that each state sets its own criteria, even though most funds are provided by the federal government. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Illinois have the most lenient requirements for benefits. Florida and several other red states have the most restrictive benefit requirements.

The bigger program allowing noncitizens is TPS. Camarota said that presidents have used the program to various degrees, but “the Biden administration used it on steroids.”

TPS is a U.S. humanitarian immigration program that allows foreign nationals already inside the country to stay and work legally if conditions in their home nations become too dangerous for them to return. The people in the program can legally work and not be removed as long as the designation exists. Camarota said that between 10-11 million people have been provided with Social Security numbers under the program since it was established in 1990.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that President Donald Trump or his successors can remove people’s TPS designation when a country of origin is determined not to be dangerous.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of CIS, has argued that the Biden border crisis could be replicated unless Congress acts. TPS needs to be reformed, or the next Democrat in the White House will have the opportunity to open the floodgates once again to allow quasi-legal individuals into the country—and provide them with extensive taxpayer-funded benefits.

The time has come to unify all these benefits in one central place. There are essentially three types of benefits people are receiving: food, housing, and medical care. Applicants should be processed through a single database, which could be tied to IRS and Immigration databases. The information in said database would be used to determine who is eligible for what benefits, based on requirements established by Congress.

This would save taxpayer money on duplicative departmental staffing, and it would help minimize the possibility of fraud. Although CIS did not directly address the issue of fraud in these programs, it is a subject that also deserves scrutiny.

It is stunning how many noncitizens and illegal immigrants are foraging through our bureaucracy and living off the hard work of American taxpayers. It is no wonder we have such a large national debt.

The answer is: It depends on what state and local governments decide to do.

With California comprising a vast share of the US housing market, the state has an outsized interest in the new federal legislation. Combine that with the fact that home ownership remains unaffordable for the average California resident, and no state will be more affected by the changes the bill makes to the housing market.

The legislative process was constructive, with participation from both political parties. It gathered enough support in a deeply divided Congress to pass and to arrive at President Donald Trump‘s desk for signature (delayed, for now, because he wants his SAVE America Act on voting integrity to pass first).

The question is whether the housing bill will provide any significant benefit to the American people, or if it was just “virtue signaling.”

There are a multitude of compromises and many aspects to this bill, which the authors are touting as the “most significant housing bill in 50 years.” Let’s take a look.

The bill caps the number of single-family homes that major investors — “Wall Street money” — can buy at 350. But the bill declines to force investment companies to sell what they already own, to avoid fracturing the housing market.

Possibly the biggest win in the bill its the way it revises how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) impacts local development projects.

The act streamlines NEPA reviews, and in many cases exempts projects from NEPA review altogether. Most projects are exempted if they are built or modified on urban “infill sites” (vacant or underutilized lots in developed areas).

Another huge advance concerns manufactured housing. Most people still see manufactured housing as mobile home parks, but the industry has advanced far beyond that. The bill eliminates an ancient rule requiring manufactured housing to be built on a permanent steel chassis.

Other than saving up to $10,000 per unit, this change will enable the easy building of multi-story homes onsite, making it much easier to integrate manufactured housing into urban sites.

The cost savings of manufactured housing could dramatically lower housing costs, expanding the availability of entry-level housing without diminishing the quality. This is a big win.

There are many minor changes that may have a major impact. The bill updates maximum loan limits for FHA mortgage insurance to recognize current housing prices and to adjust for inflation.

One of the weakest parts of the bill pertains to local permitting and zoning barriers. These are controlled by thousands of local, county and state governments, and are a major impediment to new housing construction.

The bill provides economic incentives to encourage the loosening of development restrictions, and creates a $200 million annual Innovation Fund to prod local governments to streamline permitting.

Also, the massive Community Development Block Grant program will require communities to report on permitting barriers and other regulations that slow down local housing construction.

Still, permitting and zoning remain in the hands of state and local governments, which may limit the significant benefits the bill hopes to achieve with these provisions.

The biggest financial element of the bill is a set of changes to banking rules to increase private investment in affordable housing. The bill also increases funds available through Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs and other federal programs.

All of this, put together, will still fall short of solving the significant national housing shortage. The 2026 Economic Report of the President estimates the country’s shortage at 10 million homes.

The bill could begin to make progress in the limited ways that the federal government can intervene. But it leaves much to state and local government.

If California wants to build more homes, and make home ownership more affordable, it will have to lead from the bottom up.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is already at odds with many local governments in California over his housing policy, which emphasizes increasing urban density and building more “affordable” units for the poor and the homeless.

If California can move beyond these ideologically-charged debates to a discussion about how to build homes of all kinds, then the new federal bill should be a great asset — if and when Trump signs it.

Bruce Bialosky, a former presidential appointee, is a certified public accountant specializing in taxes.

Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer. “

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her and guide her

Thru the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America, My home sweet home.

June 24, 2026

People participate during a demonstration and march to demand that Israel end its war in Gaza and agree to a cease-fire on March 02, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Some would think that Hamas has failed in what it supposedly intended by its surprise murderous terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas said they wished to anchor a force teamed with other Iranian-backed militias – Hezbollah, Houthis and Syrian gangs – supported by Iran itself to permanently destroy Israel and take over the region “from the river to the sea.” They may not have reached that goal, but did they accomplish another goal just as destructive to Israel’s future?

It did not take long for the Israel haters to turn on Israel for defending itself against the many attacks by the Iranian surrogates. We would expect supporters of Israel to step up and defend its right to self-defense. Israel was under attack from the day they vacated Gaza and turned it over to the residents for self-rule in 2005. The Israel detractors forget the “innocent” Palestinians voted to put in charge the group called “Hamas” whose reason to exist is annihilating the Jewish state.

The laundry list of Jew-hating organizations continued their lines of attack. It is the quasi-supportive groups that are changing this dynamic. The Democratic Party was formerly solidly in support of Israel, but no longer. They hide behind the claim they don’t like the government headed by Bibi Netanyahu. Would any other government act differently with terrorism against their citizens?

Is it possible they have succeeded in turning one principal American political party against Israel? In April, 40 of 47 Democratic senators voted to block arms to Israel led by 10 Jewish senators. When elected Jews are voting to disarm Israel, you can argue Hamas has a major win by dividing Israel’s closest ally.

They receive cover from groups like J Street, ostensibly a Jewish supporter of Israel. They recently issued a statement that counters the vote to stop arms sales to Israel, claiming it does more harm than good. They stated: “J Street continues to believe that joint cooperative tech programs must have proper guardrails similar to those for the sales of weapons to ensure weapons provided are used in a manner consistent with U.S. law, international law and U.S. policy goals.” They assert again that Israel needs to follow U.S. laws, implying they haven’t been for the past 50-plus years. Adding that “Israel should be in compliance with international law” smacks of anti-Semitism, since every international body (starting with the United Nations) harbors deep antagonism towards Israel and Jews.

This is evidenced by William Galston’s column in The Wall Street Journal, “Netanyahu Has Lost Middle America.” Galston comes from the “nonpartisan” Brookings Institute but has a long history of affiliation with Democratic administrations. He cites that 61% of Americans believe Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.

That is no surprise when they hear a constant drumbeat of lies about supposed Israeli government activities like withholding food supplies from Gazans despite ample photo evidence of well-fed Gazans. The recent blood libel in The New York Times perpetrated by Nicholas Kristof stating Israelis forced Palestinian prisoners into sex with dogs has been proven impossible by animal experts.

Israel will apparently be having elections this fall. I have advocated for a change in the top leadership because of my adherence to the George Washington principle that people should step aside in a democracy as no leader is or should be indispensable. Yet, I don’t envision a sea change from the Democrats and their cohorts in the press.

Unless Israel simply stops defending itself, the people who blame Netanyahu will argue against the next government as well — as if the Palestinian people controlled by Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran will abandon their desire to destroy the Jewish homeland.

Maybe the American people will see that the false information for which they have fallen since Oct. 7 is just using Netanyahu as a straw man. In the meantime, the Hamas supporters have managed at least for now to turn American elected officials and a large portion of the American population against one of its foremost allies. We may conclude that although Hamas lost the war, they will have won the peace.

Bruce L. Bialosky is a former presidential appointee to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council

Bruce Bialosky

• June 20, 2026

As published in the Daily Signal

California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the District of Columbia on May 20, 2026. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

While some problems caused by California’s one-party government get significant press, there’s one major issue that’s virtually ignored: The state’s 911 system is dangerously outdated, and the attempt to update it has already cost taxpayers $502 million with little to show for it.

California has an analog emergency warning system from the 1970s. There is broad agreement that the current system puts Californians at risk. Gov. Gavin Newsom proudly announced in 2019 that California would update its system.

In a 2019 press release, Newsom’s office explained some of the failures of the current system. At the time, there were 13 system outages a month on average. Newsom’s office said federal regulators estimated that speeding up average emergency response times by a single minute could save 10,000 lives each year.

The project is clearly necessary, but its cost has been astronomical, and progress has been sluggish. In 2019, Newsom asserted that the project would be completed by 2022 and cost approximately $132 million. He also explained that the project would be managed by a little-known governmental entity called the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). With a name like that, Newsom cannot duck responsibility for the failure that has followed.

The contractors initially decided to implement regional systems, with the first place to enjoy the new service being Tuolumne County. This county has a relatively small population, around 53,000 at the time. Thus, minor kinks in the system could be worked out on a small scale.

However, the system had far more than just some minor kinks. It fell flat on its face, being unable to process many incoming calls, and it could not reliably identify locations or even callers’ phone numbers.

The failure in Tuolumne caused Cal OES to abandon the regional approach. But by then, Newsom was too busy trying to jump-start a run for president to respond effectively. It took years to pull the plug on the regional system. Of course, Newsom and his team blamed the contractors, but failures like this always start at the top.

Today, the statewide 911 system teeters on the brink of disaster. The state’s taxpayers have now spent $502 million and still don’t have a solution.

Cal OES put in place a bridge contract until the new system is up and running. The current backup provider will be paid $80 million a year for 30 months to operate the decrepit old system.

A representative of Cal OES told me, “Transitioning to a statewide NG [Next Generation] 911 system is a complex, multi-year effort. The bridge contract ensures Californians continue to receive reliable 911 service and allows for additional deployment of NG 911, particularly in high-priority areas like Los Angeles ahead of the 2028 Olympics.”

You can now sleep comfortably knowing they have matters under control.

The reason the public is largely unaware of this disaster is because its funding comes from designated fees on California residents’ telephone bills. The money collected goes directly to a secluded fund, and the state legislature has no control over the expenditure.

“California’s 911 system is funded through the State Emergency Telephone Number Account (SETNA) fee, and any costs do not impact the state’s general fund,” a member of the Cal OES team told me. “SETNA is a surcharge on telephone lines in California and is among the lowest in the nation.”

We finally found a low tax in California. The problem is it is being largely wasted.

A representative of Cal OES also told me that the office spent $138 million in 2025 from this secluded fund on NG 911. And the governor increased the amount for 2026 to $141.9 million “as a one-time increase in SETNA funds for 2026-27 to accelerate the statewide transition to NG 911.”

Cal OES is now hoping for full implementation of the system by 2030. Time will tell if that occurs.

The project—which was scheduled for completion in three years—will now be completed after 12 years. The project—which we were told would cost $132 million—will cost about $1.4 billion.

Based on the failure of the original regional plan, we can only pray this one will work.

A state’s 911 system has real consequences. People’s lives often hang in the balance. Given how blatant the failure to modernize the system has become, I’m not sure why people keep voting to keep the same clowns in charge of our state.

For the last 25 years, The Beautiful Wife and I have traveled internationally just after April 15, the conclusion of round two of the American tax season. People start asking as early as November what our destinations are for the year. This year I paused before telling them we were starting our trip in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait. After February 28^th, the typical reaction was, are you nuts? We forged on.

Because of the military actions going on between the U.S. and Iran we did have to modify our trip and cancel Kuwait. Our contacts in the area had advised us that there wasn’t much to see there. I stated Kuwait has 13,500 of our troops and the Kuwaitis would be particularly friendly to us since we saved them from being gobbled up by Saddam Hussein. Flights were canceled because of the hostilities, and the Kuwaiti government canceled our visas. We will have to visit this country another time.

At the end of this trip, we will have traveled to 98 countries. We are often asked where we would not go. I used to say anywhere I can get kidnapped. After this trip I added another caveat – where I can get bombed. We were extremely comfortable that would not occur in either Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. We found things even better than we expected.

Many Americans have a negative impression of Arab countries. Ever since Jimmy Carter let the Ayatollah take over Iran, we have been in conflicts in this area of the world. We were in a hot war with Iraq after they attacked Kuwait and we have been in a running conflict with Iran for 47 years after they took over our embassy and held Americans as hostages. The Arab world has changed significantly, and we experienced that with a 2016 trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are thoroughly modern countries. Their leadership (much like the United Arab Emirates) realizes their oil wealth will only last so long and they are actively diversifying their economies and modernizing their lives. Even though many men wear Thobes (full length robe-type), they accessorize with smart phones in hand while walking through their very modern malls with a broad array of American style shops. Most residents dress in western style clothing.

We went to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia which is nestled next to the Red Sea. We were told Riyadh was even more modern. Jeddah has not been subjected to any Iranian attacks as it is over 500 miles east of Riyadh. But it is the main jumping off point for Mecca and Medina, the center of the creation of Islam. We cannot go to Mecca because that is still restricted only to Muslims, but we were able to tour Medina.

Our guide told us she was an associate professor. What she then shared has become a great travel happenstance, i.e., akin to a small world. She was educated at Cal State Northridge (CSUN) which is in the San Fernando Valley close to our Studio City home. She understood our lives while we were trying to understand hers. She proved to be one of our great guides telling us of ancient times in Saudi Arabia while sharing the changes going on modernizing life in her country, particularly for women.

Medina is the third largest city in Saudi Arabia and the second holiest site for the Muslim world. It is where Mohammad is buried. It also has the Prophet’s Mosque which can hold more than one million worshippers. When we were there, it was virtually deserted because of the crazy Iranians. We found out the tourism to Medina and Mecca is the second biggest business in Saudi Arabia next to their oil revenue.

They had an estimated 32 million international tourists in 2025. Not all are there for the Hajj which occurs at a specific time and will be May 24-29 in 2026. The decline of tourists first because of COVID and then the attacks by Iran has significantly impacted the economy in Western Saudi Arabia.

It did afford us a wonderful tour with our excellent guide without hordes of people wherever she took us.

When we moved on to Bahrain, we had to fly to Damman in Saudi Arabia and be driven to our destination in Bahrain. All the highways in both countries are extremely modern and well maintained. Driving allowed us the opportunity to see the terrain in the eastern part of the country and experience a border crossing. The buildings were not those clunky old buildings commonly seen at other border crossings. These were high tech modules that gave you the feel for where these countries are heading. The entire process was extremely modern.

Our driver told us even though there were no lines now on a typical Sunday there could be a three hour wait to cross into Bahrain. We inquired why and his answer was “It is freer in Bahrain.” Though the crown prince has been moving things forward in Saudi Arabia they have a way to go compared to Bahrain. We were anxious to experience that.

It was obvious at our first Bahraini meal when we saw tables of women eating without a man to be seen. This is something we did not experience across the border. Women have had full rights in Bahrain since 2002.

Another thing we found out about Bahrain is that its second biggest industry after oil is pearling. They have been searching for pearls in this country off the Persia gulf for 7,000 years. They even have a museum dedicated to the history of pearling. The guide we had for our tour, another excellent female, has a husband who runs a pearling business.

During our tour we visited a Jewish synagogue call The House of the Ten Commandments in the heart of a commercial district. It has been there since 1930 and was renovated in 2021. In 2019 Jared Kushner (yes, that one) provided the congregation with a new Torah. The community has shrunk from 900 people to 36 today, but they still have weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.

If you are wondering about visiting these countries, you will experience modern societies. We were able to Uber in each country, and they were prompt and they were inexpensive. These countries are an architect’s dream. They are building a lot of originally designed buildings unlike the boxy, nondescript buildings in the United States. There are construction cranes everywhere. Every time I gave someone fist bumps their eyes lit up as if they were now welcomed into American culture. I have photobombed people all over the world and they always love it, but I have never seen people so happy as here.

We experienced no disruptions while traveling from the war while traveling through these countries.

What we experienced was love for America because we are helping to free them from the tyranny of Iran. Though these countries are suffering economically due to the dispute going on across the Strait of Hormuz, they are totally behind what we are doing. They want us to finish the job. They want the regime in Iran gone.

More countries in the Arab world are becoming modernized cultures. They are taking their place in the modern world. As I said in a prior column while in Dubai, President Trump sees this and that is why he wants to solve the Iran problem after the U.S. tolerating their mayhem for almost half a century. These countries want to be leaders in the modern world and our allies, and we have seen and felt it first-hand. You should as well.

• June 6, 2026

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on May 28, 2026, in the District of Columbia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

We have known for some time that our federal employees have cushy lives compared to the people for whom they work (us). What is particularly infuriating is that so many of them either don’t pay their taxes or are seriously delinquent on what they owe their employer—the federal government.

Recently, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found in a new report showing that 6.9% of federal employees are delinquent on their IRS taxes. That amounts to about 215,000 employees. This is a marked increase in three short years from 4.9%. It is appalling that the rate was previously as high as it was, but it has now hit crisis level, seemingly with little or no consequences. This is in contrast to a 5% delinquency rate among the general population.

The number of delinquents exploded during the Biden administration, which was lax on enforcing anything for favored groups. We can only speculate as to why federal employees felt they had the right to forgo paying their taxes. It might be Biden allowing so many people to go without repaying their student loans that encouraged the government’s employees to skip payments.

The fascinating aspect of this is that these employees are W-2 wage earners who have withholding taken out of their paychecks. The government can easily enforce additional withholding to make sure its employees are in compliance. The feds can easily garnish workers’ wages, as they certainly know where they work. Indeed, the feds do this all the time to ordinary citizens.

Worse, about 2,000 of these culprits work for the IRS. It is estimated that their back debt is $50 million. As of 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, there are about 50 employees who have been delinquent for more than five years. Yet these people still work for the agency collecting taxes from the public. There have only been 20 employees terminated for nonpayment in recent years.

Nongovernmental professionals who help American citizens comply with the maze of tax laws to properly file their personal returns have significant requirements to stay current on their tax filings and payments.

The broadest manner in which the feds control tax preparers is through the Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). These numbers became mandatory in 2010. It allows the feds to track anyone who is a preparer. The preparer must renew annually and must attest to the fact that he or she is current on tax filing and payments. If the preparer is not current, the preparer’s right to file taxes will be suspended.

Of course, we know it is illegal to lie to the federal government in these situations. As usual, government likes to punish people with penalties. If someone files a return without a valid PTIN, there is a $530 penalty per return.

There is another mandatory number tax professionals receive to be able to file tax returns electronically. That number is an Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN). The IRS conducts continuous surveillance of tax preparers to monitor their compliance with tax laws and, if someone is not current, they will suspend the tax professional’s right to file.

There is an even higher standard for CPAs and tax attorneys. The IRS issues a document called Circular 230 for code of conduct for tax professionals. I once asked if there was a similar document for conduct of IRS employees. Not surprisingly, the answer was no. The failure to file or pay taxes can permanently disbar these professionals from representing clients or signing tax returns.

This is the way the government treats ordinary Americans regarding tax filings or delinquencies. It is an understatement to say that dealing with the IRS can be very harsh and incomprehensible. It would be nice to know if our federal employees delinquent on their taxes were receiving similarly harsh treatment for their errant liabilities.

When American citizens are working hard and complying with the tax laws, they should have no tolerance for their federal employees failing to file and pay their taxes on time. It seems natural that, in order to work for the federal government, employees should be current on their taxes, just like tax professionals must.

The federal government needs to institute a system of annual certification for all employees that they have filed their returns and paid their taxes. The IRS needs to track these employees and match the federal government’s employment files to the IRS files to assure compliance. Anyone who is currently delinquent must be on a payment program and have their wages garnished. If they have inadequate withholding to meet their annual tax obligation, they should be counseled and required to adjust their withholding to meet their annual liability.

Working for the government is a privilege, not a right. To maintain that privilege, employees should be required to file and pay their taxes on time. Lax enforcement of this standard must end. The American people should demand this.

Bruce L. Bialosky

May 21, 2026

Since 1945, there has been a consensus that the Holocaust was the ultimate act of antisemitism. However, recently, it may have to be reassessed as to what constitutes the “Ultimate Act.” If successful, history may find that the disarming of Israel while fighting a constant war on seven fronts since Oct. 7, 2023, may turn out to be the Ultimate Act. Despite that many Democrats are pushing this effort forward with complicity from Jewish members of Congress.

I was recently confronted with this issue when a long-time friend (a staunch Democrat and supporter of Israel) sent me a column from Foreign Affairs by Raphael BenLevi, “America Should Be Israel’s Partner, Not Its Patron.” In response to the column he stated, “It’s time for the U.S. to stop subsidizing (directly paying for) arms for Israel. Israel can pay for them by themselves (if they follow U.S. law when using them).”

For a long time, I have written and espoused that Israel should gradually reduce the amount of money received to subsidize their government whether for military or nonmilitary purposes. My argument has been that Israel is one of the most advanced societies in the world with an extremely high per capita income (in the top 20). It is also one of the few countries that has arms sales to the United States. It is one of our very strongest allies who never asks our military to shoulder the burden they are doing themselves. Discontinuing the payments would alleviate one of the arguments made by the antisemites about our government subsidizing Jews.

What concerns me is the caveat “as long as they follow U.S. law when using them.” What does that really mean? We make sales of armaments to over 100 countries throughout the world. We sell 42% of all international armaments. People have objected to armament sales to certain countries (Saudi Arabia or Turkey, for example), but they have not spoken of the sales exactly in that manner.

When countries buy armaments through the Foreign Military Sales program, they sign a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA). The buyer must use the weapons for the stated purposes, which is typically for internal security or self-defense. Nor can they resell the weapons without U.S. approval.

There are agencies of the Departments of Defense and State that enforce the agreements.

The countries restricted from buying U.S. weapons are the likely suspects: Cuba, Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Venezuela. Others may have partial restrictions and/or be under U.N. embargo. The antisemites are looking to add Israel to that list.

If there are sales agreements, we can wonder if there are agreements when there are grants. The answer is yes, there are, and those rules are tighter than when they are sold to a country. Since Israel is being provided some of these weapons through American-funded programs, they are already under stricter scrutiny than they would be if they paid for them.

Why is Israel being questioned when they are already spending massive sums on their own defense? Before the massacre of 0ct 7, 2023, they were spending 5.4% of their budget on defense. That number has grown to between 17-20% of their budget since that date. That is between $37-46 billion per year.

Not only are they paying their fair share, but the Israelis are also providing unique benefits. They have adapted American F-35 fighter planes in significant ways that have enhanced operations. The U.S. is adopting many of these enhancements and treating Israeli usage as a “live-fire laboratory” that is allowing the manufacturers to improve operational status for America’s F-35.

With 100 countries in the world buying or obtaining U.S. military armaments, does anyone really believe they are all being used for righteous purposes? Both India and Pakistan are using U.S. goods in their perpetual border dispute. Obviously, neither are using them for defensive purposes. No one is talking about those countries using them in compliance with U. S. law.

Which leads to the question, Why now question the legality of usage? Because it is about Israel and the Jews. This is another way to attack Israel and put them under a unique microscope. Then, when asked why the activists are requiring this proviso, they will fall back on the fact that they are simply asking Israel to comply with the same rules as everyone else. But they will not be following the same rules because every act that Israel takes will be scrutinized while the acts of others will be ignored.

There are currently two pieces of legislation (in addition to joint resolutions) that are aimed toward stripping Israel of American military arms. Every military action Israel takes is under interpretation for legality. That is despite them battling a multi-front attack.

Without U.S. arms and support, Israel’s defensive capabilities will be significantly limited and open to attacks that would make Oct. 7 look like a minor skirmish. A defenseless Israel is the ultimate goal of this unique treatment by their enemies in America. While for the most part the Germans hid their mass slaughtering of Jews, this would be out in the open with aid from useful idiots.

That is why it would be the ultimate act of antisemitism.

Bruce L. Bialosky is a former member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

Harvard Business School graduates in Boston on May 29, 2014. (Rick Friedman/rickfriedman.com/Corbis / Getty Images)

The Left believes there is a contrived war on higher education. However, recent analysis counters that claim by showing that there is an economic disadvantage for many Americans taking on the cost of an advanced degree. The analysis has now landed firmly on the conclusion that much advanced education is a rigged game.

This is not news to my family. In 2008, our son attended the University of Kansas. He wanted to pursue a career in sports administration and had obtained a position at the university working for legendary athletic director Lew Perkins.

As Sam considered his next step, we researched master’s degrees in sports administration. There were about 150 programs in the discipline across the country with about half offering master’s degrees. Because of the multitude of programs, I had already concluded that getting any degree in the specialty would at best guarantee the degree holder a job at a Foot Locker store.

We asked Lew about the degree’s value. He said, “If you want to work for me, get an MBA.” Here was a top-level person in the business telling us those degrees were worthless.

That analysis is not just true of sports administration but applies across the spectrum of degrees.

The number of master’s degrees has exploded over the past 15 years. This proliferation may be attributed to the fact that there are more degrees offered online, making it more convenient for students to enroll in the degrees, many of whom work full-time. Profiteering colleges see money flow in from these programs, particularly due to college loan access.

The problem is that few of these degrees provide entrée to a profession that requires the related degrees. A medical or law degree is needed to get through the door professionally. While those degrees continue to offer a strong correlation to employment, every other department’s degree offers only the hope of creating an advantage. When the supply of degrees explodes, the chances of making it into your chosen career plummet.

The Postsecondary Education & Economics Research Center recently published a study, “Do Graduate Degrees Pay Off? ” Researchers analyzed 121 different advanced degrees. Not only did they look at the increased earnings from obtaining a degree, but they also analyzed the net financial benefit after the effects of the cost for obtaining the degrees and potential earnings the candidate forgoes.

The study determined overall effects for a broad array of disciplines. It found that the economic benefits are better for women and people attending more highly rated programs for JD and MBA degrees.

Interestingly, economic benefits were relatively low for part-time students. That means the people taking part in more convenient, flexible schedules and online classes are not receiving the same benefits as those who attend full time programs.

The degrees that produced the most cost-adjusted returns for the cost were M.D., J.D., and pharmacy degrees. Surprisingly, the next best is not an MBA, but an MPA (Master of Public Administration). The authors say the value of an MPA is greater than an engineering degree because engineers get less of an income bump out a master’s due to their base earnings being higher before the degree.

Four areas of study that have a net negative benefit from the cost of a master’s degree are psychology, social work, clinical psychology, and education. That means they are not just a waste of money, but economically harmful.

The study I reviewed did not address the cost of degrees in women’s studies, African studies, or similar such degrees. These advanced degrees provide the most benefit when someone goes deeper into debt and obtains a Ph.D. so he or she can obtain a position at a university. These degrees may have creditability for some nonprofit organizations, but they have little value in private industry.

Over 400 colleges in 2025 were ranked best for obtaining a master’s in psychology. It is estimated that 38,000 people graduate annually with that degree. That is more than the number of medical doctors—at about 30,000. Tuition costs for a two-year degree can exceed $100,000, and that is before considering additional fees and foregone income to obtain the degree.

The Trump administration has restricted borrowing for these the college loan programs. It understands that the greater the availability of loans, the more colleges will charge and the more they will try to rope in additional degree candidates.

It might be worth considering requiring a briefing for every student on the realcosts and benefits of these degrees.

Colleges bamboozle naïve students into beginning their careers burdened with outrageous levels of student debt. Many elected Democrats and others running for office campaign on writing off these loans and burdening Americans with the debt.

Given the results of PEER’s recent study, much of the advanced degree granting seems less like education and more like legalized theft.

Bruce Bialosky

Published May 28, 2026, 8:35 p.m. PT

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Some ideas are better on paper than in reality. That’s the case with state-subsidized home health care performed by relatives.

In principle, it saves money to pay relatives for providing basic care that would be more expensive for the government in a hospital or nursing home. In practice, the policy has become riddled with fraud, almost everywhere it has been tried. The only solution may be to end it.

Ever since the pandemic, when California suffered upward of $30 billion of fraud in the unemployment benefits program, it was obvious the real story of fraud in the state was much bigger.

(California borrowed that money from the feds, and is the only state that hasn’t paid back the borrowed funds. On top of that, Gov. Gavin Newsom stuck California employers with the long-term bill.)

When it comes to Medicaid, which is a federally-subsidized program providing health care to low-income families, states typically pay only 31% to 35% of the costs, with the feds picking up the rest of the tab.

Obamacare requires states to revalidate all of their Medicaid providers at least once every five years. This is a ridiculously long period, and should be decreased to every two years, with a thorough review.

States are required to check their providers against a federal blacklist of providers that have committed crimes, gross negligence, fraud, or patient abuse.

States also have to inspect providers deemed a high fraud risk.

Any state that does not show it is in full compliance, and fails to provide information to the national database, should be suspended from receiving any benefits until it is in full compliance.

California knew that it had a problem. A 2022 California state audit found that more than 150 hospice and home health agencies were licensed at a single building in Los Angeles.

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But the dubious practices continued, with few consequences, until recently.

Into this mess came a policy, in many states, of having relatives care for their family members in a home setting instead of moving them to nursing care. Once instituted, the program spread like wildfire, due to the fact that people found they could get paid for sitting at home with grandma.

The levels of controls on this program have been seemingly nonexistent.

In California, the program is called In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). There are currently about 500,000 enrolled caregivers, with about 370,000 of those being family members.

It has been noted that California has some of the most lenient requirements in the nation. Almost any member of a family — including a niece, nephew, or cousin — can qualify.

The state restricts payments to 283 hours per month. The national average is 125 hours.

Compare that to a full-time public sector job that is typically about 172 hours per month.

IHSS wages are a minimum of $16 per hour, with some counties — like Los Angeles — paying up to $21 per hour.

And here is an amazing aspect of the program: The payments are totally tax-free for federal and state income taxes, if you live in the same home as the patient.

The counties do an initial check on the provider and the recipient of the care, but there appears to be little review of the process once established.

Outside providers must check in and out electronically each day, but no one appears to be monitoring that.

Family members just have to submit weekly time sheets. And once they show they supposedly live with the patient, who checks again to make sure?

The expenditure for the program is rising significantly, with the amount during 2025-26 being $29.9 billion, an 11.5% increase from the prior year.

And why would people not participate in this program? They can stay home and collect tax-free money for supposedly taking care of a relative, with little or no supervision.

In fact, social media is riddled with pitches like “How to get paid for staying home,” or “Did you know California will pay you $20+ an hour just to look after mom?”

The federal government recently announced the suspension of $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California.

By

Bruce Bialosky

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Gavin Newsom released a revised budget last week — the last of his governorship — and boasted that it is “balanced” for the next two years.

Based on what he is proposing, he appears to be using some uniquely hallucinatory drugs.

Newsom “balanced” the budget by drawing on some $20 billion in the state’s reserve funds — even as revenues rose more than projected, due to spending.

It’s like pulling out your retirement savings when what you really need is to stop using your credit card.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office says California has a long-term, “structural” deficit.

Newsom’s budget does nothing about that — quite the opposite.

Newsom’s proposal comes after the 2022 fiscal year established a surplus of $97.5 billion from President Joe Biden’s coronavirus spending (which was also borrowed money).

That surplus evaporated into permanent expenditures, and an admitted revenue error of $165 billion, causing the following four years to have a collective deficit of $125 billion.

Those deficits somehow disappeared in the perpetual “smoke and mirrors” deployed to satisfy the requirement that the state maintain an annual fiscal balanced budget.

Despite that, Newsom wants us to believe that he is leaving California in good fiscal shape as he goes out the gubernatorial door.

There are many facets of the budget, but the main one is the general fund. The expenditure in his budget rises by 7.5%, even though inflation is much lower than that, and the state’s population is contracting.

One would think that to balance the budget he would have some significant expenditure reductions. If he does, they are hard to find.

The only mentioned proposed cut is in health care for illegal immigrants through Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicad program.

As for new ways of raising revenues, Newsom proposed a tax increase on software products sold electronically. Talk about a stealth tax people will never know they are paying when they renew their software agreements.

Newsom also proposed limiting tax credits for companies, setting a maximum at $5 million, or 50% of their California tax liability. But that won’t raise much, for two reasons. First, there just aren’t many companies big enough to qualify. Second, this is a severely stupid idea, because it removes tax incentives for companies to invest in socially useful projects, like low-income housing.

The really fascinating aspect of Newsom’s budget is that it includes a projected $16.5 billion in revenue from tech people selling stock in AI companies. God knows who dreamed up that projected windfall and how they contrived that amount.

The budget does not address the projected annual shortfall as a result of people leaving the state due to the proposed “billionaire tax.” Perhaps a trillion dollars of wealth has left, and probably significantly more. We know that the top 1% of earners contribute 40% to 50% of individual income tax revenue in any given year. That means there is lost revenue of at least $15 billion that is not accounted for in the budget.

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With the overall reduced population, and the fact that so many wealthy and middle-class people are departing the state, how did Newsom’s team derive these revenue projections?

The projected general fund budget has an additional 6% of funding. The total budget enacted for this year was $297.9 billion, while the proposed budget for the coming year is $349.6. That is with a population that decreased over the past year.

This is a classic Newsom head fake. He makes the claim that he is leaving California with a balanced budget, and goes on a media victory lap. When reality hits the fan and the new governor (whether Republican or Democrat) must tackle the inevitable budget disaster, Newsom will be long gone. He will also blame his all-purpose demon, President Donald Trump.

But as Newsom sets up his campaign to be the 48th president, Californians will be stuck with the bill.

Bruce Bialosky, a former presidential appointee, is a certified public accountant specializing in taxes.