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FIRST ON FOX: Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Dan Bishop of North Carolina, as well as Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance, spoke about the consequences of record-high inflation and NATO weaknesses during the "Up from Chaos" conference hosted by American Moment, a conservative nonprofit, and The American Conservative magazine.

The Republicans expressed their constituents' concerns about paying higher prices in the grocery store and in the gas pump, as well as President Biden's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and NATO's purpose three decades after the end of the Cold War.

"My constituents are feeling the maleffects of inflation. The price of food and the price of fuel is going up. Its permanent. Its not going to go back down, and Im worried that its going to get worse," Massie told Fox News Digital in an interview at the conference Thursday.

"Im worried that Joe Biden may try to push through this Democratic congress another stimulus package or COVID packages, and Americans cant afford another one of those COVID packages."

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., at the "Up from Chaos" conference hosted by the American Moment nonprofit and The American Conservative magazine. (Fox News Digital)

Vance, the Senate candidate from Ohio and author of "Hillbilly Elegy," similarly told Fox News Digital that inflation is one issue he hears "most about on the campaign trail."

RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES

"Inflation is very bad. Its one of the things I hear most about on the campaign trail. The way that I think about it is: youve got a lot of grandparents in Ohio, who, like my grandparents, took care of me. Theyre taking care of grandkids they werent expecting to take care of because the opioid problem is raging in Ohio, theyre living on a fixed income, and now, inflation is making it harder for them to put food on the table for their grandkids," he said.

"And that, at the end of the day middle-class people in Ohio are finding it harder to pay for basic things, and that is a huge, huge tragedy. And unfortunately, its one of those things thats forced by very bad policy from the Biden administration."

Vance also suggested that President Biden's $5.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2023 which would raise taxes by $2.5 trillion, largely be borne by Wall Street and the top sliver of U.S. households would make inflation worse.

Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance at the "Up from Chaos" conference hosted by the American Moment nonprofit and The American Conservative magazine. (Fox News Digital)

"One of the reasons we have an inflation problem is because were spending money that we dont have," he said. "And so, if you say were not going to tax middle-class people, but then you propose a budget that causes inflation to go up by 10%, well, you are taxing middle-class people. Youre just doing it through inflation."

Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said that while the "American people are greatly sympathetic to the people of Ukraine," their "lives are being turned upside-down by crisis after crisis," including the border crisis and inflation.

WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER PRESSED ON BUDGET PLEDGE: IS INFLATION NOT A TAX ON FAMILIES?

"[G]as prices are $4 or $5 in some places and likely to get up into $6, $7, $8. We are crippling American energy production. Just terrible decisions on every front, and the American people are ready to make a change," he said.

Wednesday's conference featured speeches from several Republican members of Congress, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as well as panelists from various Washington, D.C., publications and think tanks, centered around American security as it relates to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Speakers and panelists discussed a wide range of subjects from U.S. sanctions against Russia; the mainstream media's reaction to Russia's invasion; U.S. border security; and the purpose of NATO after the Cold War.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks at the "Up from Chaos" conference hosted by the American Moment nonprofit and The American Conservative magazine. (Fox News)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental, military-political alliance between the United States, Canada and a number of European countries. NATO was founded after World War II in 1949 in an effort to protect NATO countries against threats from Russia then the Soviet Union.

Ukraine is not part of NATO, which plays no formal role in Russia's war with Ukraine, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy has called on NATO officials to enact a no-fly zone over his country to stop Russian missile attacks. Most NATO officials have thus far denied those requests, citing concerns of a third world war against Russia.

END UKRAINE SLAUGHTER AND STAND UP TO RUSSIA, AMERICANS TELL BIDEN IN NEW POLL

Some panelists argued that NATO is not serving its purpose to defend the West from Russian aggression and has instead provoked Russia as NATO allies expand further East.

"I dont want to suggest that NATO is weak or should be weak or that we should abandon it in any way. But the way for it to be strengthened is for Europe to know that defending the integrity of Europe is primarily a European responsibility," Bishop told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., at the "Up from Chaos" conference hosted by the American Moment nonprofit and The American Conservative magazine. (Fox News Digital)

Bishop and Vance pointed to former President Trump's demands that NATO countries commit to putting 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) toward NATO defense.

"One way in which [Trump] really affected American thinking was about the NATO alliance and what should happen to it. The NATO alliance is very important to Western security, but Europe needs to be responsible financially for itself and, frankly, ought to be a very leading force in NATO rather than be dependent upon the United States," Bishop said.

Vance said that while the United States is "still a global power," but that could change if the government keeps "making very bad decisions, especially here at home."

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"Part of being a global power is having a safe and strong country at home. Right now, we dont have either, and so, eventually that global power starts to fade," he said. "I think about Donald Trump, who went to NATO and said, If you guys want to have an effective alliance, you need to keep your end of the bargain, versus Bidensometimes is babying NATO into weakness. If its going to be an alliance, the allies have to keep their end of the bargain."

Massie argued that the United States "should immediately reverse our policy of expanding NATO to every country that we can."

"Even if NATO were relevant and had a place in a post-Cold War era, it wouldnt make sense to include smaller countries that really dont benefit us in a mutual defense agreement," he said.

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Republicans discuss impact of rising inflation, NATO weaknesses at American security conference - Fox News

By Chan Kung*

Politicians in Europe are now waiting for Ukraines popularity to wane, so that they can get back to how things were in the past. Their current reluctant support for Ukraine is after all, a result of mass pressure. In the United States, Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, expressed concern that the bill to halt normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus has not been introduced. Although President Joe Biden has just visited new European countries, it remains to be seen how much role can the enthusiasm for Ukraine play in American politics and in the Democratic Partys election.

For this reason, Senator Mike Crapo, the ranking Republican on the panel, said to CNN that, I wish we had been able to move last week. But as you know, in the Senate, we have to get unanimous consent or spend a week or more on a filibuster battle. Weve been working really hard to get it put together and weve been making some progress. And my hope is that well be able to move soon.

What he was saying was that President Biden has previously proposed suspending normal trade relations with Russia and banning imports of seafood, vodka and diamonds from Russia to increase economic pressure on it for invading Ukraine. The move however, requires approval from Congress. The House passed the bill on March 17, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an emotional appeal in a virtual address to Congress. Now the legislation has moved to the Senate, which requires consent of all 100 senators. If there is any objection, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer might take time consuming procedural steps to overcome it, assuming he gets 60 votes. Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul objected to a quick vote, and demanded changes to the bills sanctions language, worrying that it would be too broad and could be potentially abused by the U.S. government. Nonetheless, Schumer refused to take more time to overcome this objection.

In political language, these twists and turns are attempted negotiations to reach consensus, but as for now nothing has been produced.

The problems in the U.S. may be a little more complicated than this, but in any case its enthusiasm in Ukraine is cooling down, and people are increasingly considering about real issues. With more considerations, there is less room for real actions. In the end, the support for Ukraine will become perfunctory, and any act taken would be constrained by the bureaucracy. The zeal for Ukraine cannot be underestimated, as it is related to a series of adjustments such as political bottom line, principles, and resources. How Ukraine responds to this is related to information warfare. Time factor is crucial in any form of passion; the longer the time, the lower the enthusiasm will become.

I think Ukraine now needs more new materials to sustain such enthusiasm. Unless Zelenskyy and his team can do this, the zeal of various countries for Ukraine will gradually dwindle. We will hear more impatient voices from the governments, the Congress, the refugees and from elsewhere. Such is the reality for information warfare. Ukraine can choose to wait for everything to pass, but of course the condition for this would be that it could still hold on. Russia too, may opt for this strategy to deal with information warfare.

The test for Zelenskyy and his PR team has come.

*Chan Kung, Founder of ANBOUND Think Tank (established in 1993), Mr. Chan Kung is one of Chinas renowned experts in information analysis. Most of Chan Kungs outstanding academic research activities are in economic information analysis, particularly in the area of public policy.

See more here:
Ukraine In The Predicament Of Information Warfare OpEd - Eurasia Review

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wrote an opinion piece about Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Medical ... [+] Advisor and Director of the NIAID for FOX News. (Photo by GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

With Russia attacking Ukraine right now, whom did Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) call a dictator in chief in his March 14 Opinion piece for FOX News? Well it didnt seem to be the Russian dictator, invading a foreign country, that U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned in his State of the Union Address on March 1. Nope, Pauls opinion piece was about, surprise, surprise, Anthony Fauci, MD, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Yep, as the Covid-19 coronavirus continues to claim over 1,200 lives each day and Russia threatens Ukraines sovereignty, it looks like Paul is continuing to focus on one of his fellow humans and Americans: Fauci. Pauls piece bore the headline: Covid lockdown lessons learned Fauci amendment would mean no more health 'dictator in chief.' And beneath this headline was the following subhead: My amendment would eliminate Dr. Faucis position as NIAID director, divide his power into 3 separate institutes. He didnt specify in the article as to why specifically he chose the number three. But many good things do come in threes such as Stooges, little pigs, French hens, and the members of the musical group Hansen.

Pauls Senate office also released a press release re-iterating what he wrote in the FOX News piece. In the article, Paul wrote, Weve learned a lot over the past two years, but one lesson in particular is that no one person should be deemed dictator in chief. No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans. Indeed, many would probably agree that the U.S. shouldnt have a dictator in chief. For example, who would want a President who wasnt actually elected by the American people? So what was Pauls solution? Making sure that every American has equal access to voting? Putting in safeguards to prevent an election from being overturned?

Not exactly. The next sentence in Pauls piece read: To ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again, I will introduce an amendment to eliminate Dr. Anthony Faucis position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and divide his power into three separate new institutes. Umm, how exactly could Fauci have been a dictator in chief when ultimately it was the U.S. President who has had the final word followed by the Vice-President, Congress, and a number of other Presidential appointees?

Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Medical Advisor and Director of the NIAID, shows a screen grab ... [+] of a campaign website for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) while answering his questions at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on January 11, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)

Speaking of dictators, throughout history dictators have seized power by first controlling anyone who may offer dissent such as scientists and the media. Thats why its usually a good idea to keep people like scientific leaders and the media separate from the control of political leaders. Doing so could prevent a wannabe dictator from having undue influence on what scientists and the media say. Yet, Paul proposed the following: Each of these three institutes will be led by a director who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a five-year term.

Imagine what might have happened over the past several years had the President had even more control over Faucis position. Remember when Fauci pushed back on Trumps assertion that the pandemic had rounded the corner in September 2020? Or how about later that month when Fauci contradicted Trumps claim that the the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affects nobody young during a CNN interview:

Then, there was Fauci dissenting again with Trump the next month after the latter had stated that was only as deadly as the flu, as Corky Siemaszko reported for NBC News. Imagine what could have happened had Trump been able to readily appoint and dismiss someone in Faucis position? At times, it seemed like Fauci was the only one appearing at the White House press briefings in 2020 who offered any disagreements with Trumps statements about the pandemic. So when Paul argued in his piece that No one person should have the sole authority to dictate science, especially when that one person wasnt ever following the science, how exactly would having a non-scientist having even greater control over Faucis position prevent this?

Pauls use of the words dictator in chief was interesting, since its not even clear how much power Fauci even wielded with the Trump Administration calling the shots. Most of the public health guidance in 2020 came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which was being run by Trump appointee Robert Redfield, MD. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which was guided by Trump appointee Stephen Hahn, MD, determined which Covid-19 vaccines and treatments would get authorized and approved. And throughout 2020, Trump brought in people of his choosing such as Scott Atlas, MD, to guide the Covid-19 response and seemed to increasingly sideline Fauci.

In his piece, Paul didnt really point too many specifics about what Fauci did wrong. Paul did write that When Dr. Fauci said that cloth masks worked, I was truly concerned because thats not what the science demonstrated. While medical grade face masks like N95 respirators are certainly more effective than cloth masks at blocking the SARS-CoV-2, it is not necessarily accurate to say that cloth masks dont do anything. Scientific studies have suggested that wearing a cloth mask may reduce the amount of virus that an infected spews out into the air. Paul also cited a report from a group of researchers at Johns Hopkins University. He didnt specifically name that report but I covered for Forbes a report that was not peer-reviewed and co-authored by a professor from Johns Hopkins University that made claims that didnt seem to match the evidence provided. Of note, YouTube did suspend Paul in August 2021 after the ophthalmologist posted a video claiming that most masks dont work against the Covid-19 coronavirus, as Joe Walsh reported for Forbes back then.

Paul concluded his Opinion piece with The biggest lesson we have learned over the last two years is that no one person should have this much unchecked power. And my amendment, which will get a vote this week, will finally force accountability and fire Dr. Fauci.

Its probably safe to say that Paul and Fauci are not BFFs. During a Senate Committee hearing in January of this year, Fauci told Paul,You keep distorting the truth. It is stunning that you do that, as covered by Ta Kvetenadze for Forbes and as you can see in this C-SPAN video:

Pauls continued attacks of Fauci do show the importance of maintaining and even creating more scientific leadership positions that are more independent of the U.S. President and Congress. This would better allow science rather than politics determine public health policy. Keep in mind that Fauci first became the Director of the NIAID under a Republican President, Ronald Reagan. He then continued to serve in that role under two more Presidents (George H.W. Bush and George Bush) interspersed with two Democratic Presidents (Bill Clinton and Barack Obama) before Trump reached the White House. It is important, especially during a public health emergency such as the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, to have leaders who follow the science rather than what specifically any political party wants to see. Otherwise, the U.S. could very well end up with a Dictator-in-Chief.

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Rand Paul Will Try To Fire Fauci By Introducing New Amendment - Forbes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:March 14, 2022Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator and physician Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an amendment to eliminate Dr. Anthony Faucis position as the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and replace it with three separate national research institutes.

Weve learned a lot over the past two years, but one lesson in particular is that no one person should be deemed dictator-in-chief. No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans, said Dr. Paul. To ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again, Ive introduced this amendment to eliminate Dr. Anthony Faucis position as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and divide his power into three separate new institutes. This will create accountability and oversight into a taxpayer funded position that has largely abused its power, and has been responsible for many failures and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background:

As recently as 2012, Congress passed a law that eliminated the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) and reassigned some of its programs to a new National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), and assigned other NCRR functions to other institutes within NIH.

Dr. Pauls amendment would keep with this precedent of reorganization, and would immediately eliminate Dr. Faucis position and replace it with three new directors of the following new institutes:

Each of these three institutes will be led by a director who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a 5-year term.

This amendment also aligns with NIAIDs existing mission statement, which begins by saying: NIAID conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.

You can read Dr. Pauls amendment HERE.

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Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Amendment to Eliminate Dr. Fauci's Position as Director of NIAID | Senator Rand Paul - Senator Rand Paul

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:March 15, 2022Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator and physician Rand Paul (R-KY) forced a vote on his resolution to repeal travel mask mandates on public transportation, the Senate passed the resolution with bipartisan support voting 57-40.Today, the Senate said enough is enough, and sent a message to unelected government bureaucrats to stop the anti-science, nanny state requirement of travel mask mandates, said Dr. Paul. Since March 2020, unelected bureaucrats have incessantly declared that we should follow the science. But the same bureaucrats continue to defy science by imposing an ineffective and restrictive mask mandate for individuals travelling on public transit and airplanes. As the entire world is learning to live with COVID, the federal government still uses fear mongering to stubbornly perpetuate its mandates, rather than giving clear-eyed, rational advice on how to best protect yourself from illness. That is why, I forced this vote, and I applaud the Senate for rejecting this nonsense.This vote comes on the heels of last Thursdays announcement from the TSA that mask mandates on air plane travel would be extended another month. The resolution will now head to the House of Representatives for consideration.Dr. Paul has been a leading advocate against mask mandates. He previously introduced the Travel Mask Mandate Repeal Act of 2021, and continues to be outspoken against mandates.You can read Dr. Pauls resolution to repeal travel mask mandates on public transportation HERE and watch Dr. Pauls floor remarks HERE.

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Senate Passes Dr. Rand Paul's Resolution to Repeal Travel Mask Mandates | Senator Rand Paul - Senator Rand Paul