🇺🇸The Taxman Cometh

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Good morning and happy Friday! A New Yorker is cycling across the country. He says this is the nation’s friendliest state…

Plus, America’s third-largest airline just made a major down payment on this emerging technology…

Also, grab this Flag Find and you can cross one back-to-school shopping item off the list.

FLAG POLLS

📉 President Biden Job Approval: Approve 45, Disapprove 54 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐴 Generic Congress Vote: Republicans 38, Democrats 44 (Economist/YouGov)

🐴 Generic Congress Vote: Republicans 43, Democrats 44 (Politico/Morning Consult)

TRENDING

Right: Hunter Biden computer repairman rails against FBI's 'blatant double standard' (Washington Examiner)

Right: Biden claims his economic plan is 'working' despite historically high inflation (Blaze)

Right: Democrats Inch Ahead of Republicans on Generic Congressional Ballot (Breitbart)

Left: Democrats see glimmers of hope as the Senate battlefield takes shape (CNN)

Left: Why The Trumpified GOP Feels So Hapless At Governing (Huffington Post)

Left: Medical Boards That Can Strip Abortion Providers of Licenses Are Stacked With Republican Donors (Mother Jones)

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QUICK CLICKS

Trump Pleads the 5th, Iranian Assassination Plot, New Virus in China

US: Former federal attorney suggests Trump is guilty because he invoked 5th Amendment rights. The backlash is bipartisan. (The Blaze)

World: US Justice Department charges Iranian with trying to assassinate John Bolton (CNN)

World: China warns of new Langya virus that has sickened 35 people (NY Post)

US: Elon Musk Teases Part 3 Release of Tesla's Mankind-Saving 'Master Plan' (Newsmax)

World: Children aged 1 to 9 in London to be offered polio vaccine as rare infection spreads (The Independent)

US: Congress left with more questions than answers on missing Jan. 6 texts (The Hill)

US: Olivia Wilde Reportedly Called Out Jason Sudeikis for the ‘Aggressive’ Way He Served Her With Custody Papers (Glamour)

World: Satellite images show war dangerously near key parts of Ukraine nuclear plant (NPR)

Sports: Ex-NFL star Frank Gore dragged naked woman by hair across Atlantic City hotel hallway: report (Fox News)

US: ‘People will die waiting’: America’s system for the disabled is nearing collapse (POLITICO)

US: Pumpkin spice season starting earlier than ever (Axios)

LEGISLATION

Burn Pit Bill

Earlier this week President Biden signed the PACT Act into law. It contains funding for military veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

News Coverage from the Left: Biden signs 'burn pits' help for vets; a personal win, too (AP)

News Coverage from the Right: Biden signs PACT Act, securing health care benefits for veterans (Deseret News)

From The Flag: Service members and their families say many claims tied to burn pits have been denied because it’s difficult to link some health conditions to those specific toxins. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Caring for Vets is Vital, But This Bill Is Poorly Designed

• Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania consistently opposed the legislation because he feels it allows for government spending with little oversight and no guarantee it will go toward veterans care.

• Republicans did not opposed this legislation because they hate veterans or don’t want them to get care, but rather the structure of the bill is faulty and lacks accountability.

• Many veterans deal with chronic respiratory issues, migraines, and worse after being exposed to toxic burn pits – and they feel betrayed by Republicans who voted against the bill.

“Sen. Pat Toomey Created A Firestorm. Dems, The Media Crowed. But Who’s Telling The Truth?” Michael Ginsberg, Daily Caller: “Comedian Jon Stewart, a prominent supporter of the legislation, accused Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania of ‘rally[ing] the forces of misinformation’ alongside their ‘band of merry monsters.’ Toomey, who voted against the legislation in June, introduced an amendment that would convert mandatory spending into discretionary spending, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York did not allow a vote on the proposal. … Without the amendment, the Honoring Our PACT Act would add $396 billion in mandatory spending to the federal deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Toomey’s office claimed that the mandatory $396 billion “likely will be filled with spending totally unrelated to veterans. … ‘It’s wrong to use a veterans bill to hide a $400 billion unrelated slush fund…’ Toomey said in a statement.

“The PACT Attack” Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review: “The issue is complicated, and not everyone who has been talking about it in public has seemed to be in command of the facts. Here’s what the Republican objectors, led by Senator Pat Toomey (Pa.), have right: The bill, as written, effectively loosens the caps on discretionary spending by $390 billion. The Congressional Budget Office said so shortly before the June vote. That means it would be easier procedurally to spend an additional $390 billion — not on veterans’ health care, not even on a ‘VA slush fund’ that has entered this confused debate, but on anything. Adopting Toomey’s amendment, as he has repeatedly explained, would not cut veterans’ benefits by one dollar. Here’s what the Democrats have right: This objection applied to the June bill, too, and most Republicans — thinking, at the time, that it would be moving quickly to the president’s desk — voted for it anyway.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: I was exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq; Republicans turned their backs on veterans like me Lucas Kunce, Fox News Opinion

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Vets Get Needed Support, Republican Senators Disgraced Themselves

• Veterans and their advocates succeeded in getting this legislation passed, but the shamefully politicized delay shouldn’t be swept under the rug.

• Republicans chose to oppose this bill as it approached the finish line due to anger over the Democrat’s climate change, tax, and health care spending bill.

• Comedian Jon Stewart successfully held Republicans’ feet to the fire on this issue by rightfully pointing out they were playing a political game by opposing certain aspects of the legislation.

“Celebrate the Pact Act’s passing. Mourn what it took to get here.” Editorial Board, Washington Post: “That the Pact Act passed with broad bipartisan support is a testament to the relentless work of veterans, military families and advocacy groups. That it was delayed at the last minute, and used to score political points, is an outrage. … During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military would often dispose of waste by combusting products in open-air ‘burn pits.’ … An estimated 3.5 million U.S. veterans — about 1 in 5 — have been exposed to contaminants and hazardous pollutants. Yet more than 70 percent of disability claims related to burn pits are denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs, because it is difficult to prove a direct link between exposure and individual conditions. The Pact Act reduces that burden of proof… veterans… who had flown to D.C. to celebrate the act’s passage instead campaigned day and night …it is shameful such efforts were necessary.”

“Blunt, Hawley, Marshall betray sick veterans because they’re mad at tax, climate bill” Editorial Board, The Kansas City Star: “Three of the region’s four U.S. senators decided Wednesday to hold sick veterans hostage to their own anger. It’s appalling and childish. … Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Roger Marshall of Kansas — voted against blocking a filibuster of the PACT Act, a measure designed to provide funding to treat veterans exposed to toxins and burn pits. … It would cost about $30 billion annually, a pittance in a multitrillion-dollar federal budget. But the cost is less important than the cause: The nation has promised to help sick veterans… (but) Senate Republicans were furious at a budget deal… between Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. … If you need a precise picture of why Congress is broken, (this) is as good as any: In a fit of pique over an unrelated compromise, Senate Republicans punished veterans struggling to breathe.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: There's a good reason Jon Stewart is angry at Ted Cruz Dean Obeidallah, CNN Opinion

FLAG THIS

Sending Military Members for a Checkup

According to research published last month the majority of military families (45%) report their family’s health condition as “moderate.” Meanwhile, 41% say their family’s health is “excellent” and around 14% describe it as “poor.”

The study determined enlisted members of a lower rank are more likely to be among those who report “poor” health (Military Family Advisory Network).

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Largest T-Rex, Breadcrumbing, Army Extras

On August 12, 1990, fossil hunter Susan Hendrickson discovered three huge bones jutting out of a cliff near Faith, South Dakota. They turn out to be part of the largest-ever Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever discovered, a 65 million-year-old specimen dubbed Sue, after its discoverer. Above is Sue originally mounted in Chicago's Field Museum.

Stylist: How to Tell if You’re Being Breadcrumbed in a Relationship, Friendship or at Work

ZDNet: Why you should really stop charging your phone overnight

CNN: What the 'golden age' of flying was really like

Today I Learned the New Zealand army helped in making the Lord of The Rings films by filling as soldiers and Orcs.