DOGE cuts mucho dinero from US African Development Foundation

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been sniffing out some serious government waste, and they're not afraid to take a bite out of it. In their latest announcement on X, DOGE revealed they've slashed $51 million from the U.S. African Development Foundation's budget, and the details are juicier than a pineapple in Benin.

Apparently, our tax dollars were being used to fund some real head-scratchers, like $229,296 to market "100% organic shea butter in Burkina Faso" and $239,738 for "marketing pineapple juice in Benin." 

I mean, I love a good smoothie as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure why American taxpayers need to foot the bill for it. And don't get me started on the $246,217 spent on "mango drying facilities in the Ivory Coast" – sounds like a real tropical boondoggle.

But wait, there's more! There's always more.

DOGE also uncovered $99,566 spent on "increasing yogurt production in Uganda," $84,059 for "a business incubator for spa and wellness entrepreneurs in Nigeria," $50,000 to "train farmers how to grow dragon fruit in Senegal," and $48,406 for "a WhatsApp marketing chatbot in Kenya." 

I don't know about you, but I feel so much better knowing my hard-earned money is going toward dragon fruit and WhatsApp bots.

Led by Elon Musk, DOGE is a temporary White House group created by executive order earlier this year. President Trump gave them 18 months to whip the federal government into shape, and they're clearly not messing around. Just last month, they axed 113 contracts worth a cool $4.7 billion, including a $145,000 USDA consulting gig for "Peru climate change activities." 

Adios, amigos!

But the cuts didn't stop there – DOGE also nixed $10 million for "gender equity in the Mexican workplace," $12.2 million for "worker empowerment in South America," and $6.25 million for "improving respect for workers' rights in agricultural supply chains" in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Oh, and they've been busy canceling DEI initiatives, consulting contracts, leases for empty federal buildings, and redundant agencies left and right.

As of Monday, DOGE is claiming they've saved us $140 billion – that's about $870 per taxpayer. Not too shabby for a group that's only been around for a few months. Keep sniffing out that waste, DOGE – we salute you! And keep protesting the DOGE's efforts to eliminate waste and fraud--the GOP appreciates your willingness to lose the trust of the normal American people.

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Jihad is still a thing: 53 Burkina security forces killed in suspected jihadist attack

BURKINA FASO -- The 22nd anniversary of 911 went by on Monday and even our alleged President didn't seem interested in coming to New York as the tradition had warranted. Instead, Joe Biden went to Alaska and told his audience that he had gone to Ground Zero the day after the attack back in 2001. He lied.

But it also looks like the American public has lost interest in what has been going on in the whacky world of Islamic jihad. Journalists don't seem interested, so the general public remains clueless.

The Religion of Peace shared that “53 members of Burkina security forces killed in suspected jihadist attack,” Africa News, September 5, 2023. 

The attack was launched on Monday in northern Burkina Faso in which 17 soldiers and 36 civilian volunteers for the army were slaughtered trying to repel an "attack" the army general staff said in a written statement.

The unit had been deployed in the town of Koumbri in Yatenga province to help the resettlement of residents forced out of the area by Islamic jihadists more than two years ago, the report said.

There were also 30 injuries among the security forces while several attackers had been "neutralized" in a counter-operation and their combat equipment destroyed as operations continue in the area.

There had been two military coups in Burkina Faso last year due to failures to counter jihadist insurgency which triggered hostility among the military.

Since 2015, over 16,000 civilians, troops and police have died in jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, according to a count by an NGO monitor called the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), and more than 5,000 have been killed so far this year.

We need to pay attention and get our eyes on the ball, not on our phones.

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Two jihad attacks kill 18 in Burkina Faso

West Africa -- Two jihadist attacks killed at least 18 people, including 16 auxiliaries supporting the army in Burkina Faso, according to sources on Friday. The attacks were carried out on Thursday, initially targeting members of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP), killing seven people.

The jihadis then ambushed a VDP and soldier-escorted convoy in northwest Nayala province which killed a civilian and ten volunteers.

Jihadist conflicts have been going on for seven years in this area, one of the poorest and most volatile in the world. Since 2015, it has been dealing with an insurgency led by jihadis affiliated with Islamic State and Al-Qaeda. Since its beginning in the region, tens of thousands have been killed and about 2 million people have been displaced.

Thursday's "first attack targeted an advance party of Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) in Rakoegtenga," a town in the northern province of Bam, a VDP official said. Six auxiliaries and a woman were killed in the attack and about 10 people were wounded and "evacuated to Ouagadougou for appropriate care," the official said.

In the second attack, about 10 auxiliaries and a person in Nayala province were slaughtered when they were ambushed on the Siena-Saran road.

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Free Market terrorism, Islamic style

Terrorist groups are like free markets when it comes to terrorism. They are in competition with each other and do their best to out-terrorize their competition in order to increase recruitment. It's now a case of ISIS versus Al Qaeda versus Taliban versus Al Shabaab.

That should tell you a lot about who the lunatics are that join these organizations of death. 

At present count, there are 23 dead after Al Qaeda-linked militants attack upscale Burkina Faso hotel in the capital of Ouagadougou. The group Al Qaeda of Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the carnage. 

And no, Burkinas aren't little burkas.

"Couldn't you find a bigger car?"

Internal Affairs Minister Simon Compaore announced the end of the seige that finally freed 126 hostages, and he said that 3 Muslim jihadists were killed as the government regained control of the Splendid Hotel. He added that at least ten dead were found in the Cappuccino Cafe located just next door to the hotel.

A fourth gunperson (PC alert) had been killed later and two of the Islamic jihadist extremist terrorists were of the "softer, more gentler sex" [my words]. 

In an Arabic message on the militants' "Muslim Africa" Telegram account, it said that fighters had "broke into a restaurant of one of the biggest hotels in the capital of Burkina Faso, and are now entrenched and the clashes are continuing with the enemies of the religion."

Muslim jihadist extremist terrorist spoke by phone later "asserted the fall of many dead Crusaders," AQIM reported.

But liberals throughout the land who have never read Islamic scripture, know that these "extremist" attacks have nothing to do with Islam. They just know it because, hey, Islam is a religion and because it is, it can't be all that bad.

The Pentagon followed the incident closely and said that all Defense officials were accounted for. "We have about 75 U.S. military personnel in Burkina Faso," the official said. "We currently know of one U.S. military member who's embedded with French forces providing advice and assistance to French forces at the hotel."

One witness, a man named Gilbert, said that when the Burkinabe security forces first arrived on scene, when they realized they might get hurt, they headed in the opposite direction rather than get involved in the action.

President Obama would be proud of those security forces and give them a hearty "Inshallah!"

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