North Carolina – Genesis Wealth Defense https://genesiswealthdefense.com There's a thin line between ringing alarm bells and fearmongering. Mon, 25 Nov 2024 07:08:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://genesiswealthdefense.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/cropped-Money-32x32.jpg North Carolina – Genesis Wealth Defense https://genesiswealthdefense.com 32 32 237551656 Major Cold Blast to Hit Helene-Ravaged North Carolina With Families Living in Tents and Cars Amid FEMA Disaster https://genesiswealthdefense.com/major-cold-blast-to-hit-helene-ravaged-north-carolina-with-families-living-in-tents-and-cars-amid-fema-disaster/ https://genesiswealthdefense.com/major-cold-blast-to-hit-helene-ravaged-north-carolina-with-families-living-in-tents-and-cars-amid-fema-disaster/#respond Mon, 25 Nov 2024 07:08:53 +0000 https://genesiswealthdefense.com/major-cold-blast-to-hit-helene-ravaged-north-carolina-with-families-living-in-tents-and-cars-amid-fema-disaster/ (Zero Hedge)—Nearly two months after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, the controversies surrounding FEMA’s botched response could have been avoided if the federal agency had apolitical managers overseeing operations and had not diverted funds for illegal aliens. With winter looming over the Appalachian region, at least a thousand people—some of them children—are still living in temporary housing, such as tents.

“Attention Joe Biden or whoever is running this country  its 24/7 all hands on deck this week for  Helene ravaged areas to make sure people are sheltered properly for the coming cold.  The blundering so far has been inexcusable, You have a chance to finish strong here,” Meteorologist Joe Bastardi wrote on X.

Bastardi’s weather models forecast that a cold blast will descend into the region next week.

The incoming cold weather coincides with a report from local media outlet WLOS stating that “hundreds of local families are left with nowhere to go” in Western North Carolina, adding, “Now some of these children are living in tents and cars…”

Bloomberg data shows temps across Asheville are expected to crash to sub-freezing levels through the end of the month into early December.

This is shocking, as WLOS provides new figures:

The Buncombe County Family Resource Center tells News 13 that they’ve identified 878 new homeless students since the storm. That is in addition to the 274 students identified in Buncombe County as homeless before Helene. It totals 1,152 kids without permanent homes, some living in tents, cars and campers.

Scenes on the ground show “tent cities” in Swannanoa, North Carolina…

Whole families live in tents with children. These people need help.

“Do you realize that it’s gonna be below freezing in Asheville, North Carolina tonight? And in some parts of North Carolina it’s already below freezing. Do you realize how many people are living in tents? . @fema workers (who aren’t doing anything) are hanging out in heated trailers. While at the same time, we’re housing illegal immigrants in luxury hotels,” one X user said.

Meanwhile, the controversies at FEMA are piling up for the American people to see:

FEMA ran out of money promoting “equity.”

Pushing free money to illegal aliens for luxury hotels and food.

Yet residents of storm-ravaged North Carolina received??

What a sh**show. And now a humanitarian crisis as winter approaches.

]]> https://genesiswealthdefense.com/major-cold-blast-to-hit-helene-ravaged-north-carolina-with-families-living-in-tents-and-cars-amid-fema-disaster/feed/ 0 227758 Republicans Are Dominating Democrats With Early Voting in Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina https://genesiswealthdefense.com/republicans-are-dominating-democrats-with-early-voting-in-arizona-nevada-and-north-carolina/ https://genesiswealthdefense.com/republicans-are-dominating-democrats-with-early-voting-in-arizona-nevada-and-north-carolina/#respond Tue, 29 Oct 2024 05:33:11 +0000 https://genesiswealthdefense.com/republicans-are-dominating-democrats-with-early-voting-in-arizona-nevada-and-north-carolina/ (The Epoch Times)—With just over a week to go before the Nov. 5 presidential election, more than 40 million people have cast early ballots so far.

As of Sunday afternoon, data provided by the University of Florida’s Election Lab shows 41.2 million voted by mail or early in person in the vast majority of states, with only a few states not reporting data.

Compared with four years ago, Republicans are returning more mail-in ballots and voting early in-person. Party affiliation does not mean that voters cast ballot for their party’s nominated candidate, meaning there is no way to definitively know what presidential candidate is ahead.

In states that report votes by party, registered Democrats have a 3.8 percent lead over registered Republicans, with 40 percent to 36.2 percent, respectively. Independent or minor party voters make up about 23.8 percent of the remainder, according to data provided by the lab.

Republicans have a 9-point advantage over Democrats during in-person early voting, while Democrats have a more than 11-point lead over Republicans for mail-in ballot returns, the data show.

As of Oct. 25, only 24.5 percent of mail-in ballots returned were from Republicans, while about 52.3 percent of Democrats did so, according to the Election Lab. Some 22.6 percent of returned mail ballots were from independents or those registered with minor parties.

Republicans in 2020 also had a smaller lead voting in-person early, the data show. At the time, some 40.2 percent of Republicans voted in-person early, while 37.5 percent were Democrats.

States that have reported no data so far include New York, Alabama, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma.

Swing-State Breakdown

In Nevada, Republicans have a 5.1 percent early voting lead—or 31,000 votes—over Democrats, the Election Lab’s data show. That state was called for President Joe Biden over Trump in 2020.

Meanwhile, Republicans have a 6.9-percent advantage over Democrats in Arizona, a state that only reports mail-in ballots. Biden was also certified the victor in Arizona by a slim, 10,000-vote margin four years ago.

Voting by mail is extremely popular in Arizona, with nearly 90 percent of voters having cast their ballots early, most by mail, in 2020. Election officials in Arizona can begin processing and tabulating mail ballots upon receipt, but results cannot be released until one hour after polls close.

Late last week, Republicans pulled ahead in North Carolina, a state won by former President Donald Trump in 2020. By Sunday, the lead increased marginally to about 1.1 percent, or about 30,000 votes, over Democrats, data show.

Earlier this month, Trump visited areas in North Carolina that were ravaged by Hurricane Helene, saying that some Americans in the region “felt helpless and abandoned and left behind by their government.”

“In North Carolina’s hour of desperation, the American people answered the call much more so than your federal government,” he said.

And in mid-October, Vice President Kamala Harris held a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, and told a crowd that she wants to “fight for the ideals of our country and to fight to realize the promise of America.”

Pennsylvania has only reported mail-in ballots as of Oct. 27, showing that Democrats have taken a more than 330,000-vote lead over Republicans. However, Democrats’ lead has narrowed in recent days, down about 19,000 votes since Oct. 24, data show.

Pennsylvania did not have a clear winner in 2020 for four days after Election Day, as officials sifted through a huge backlog of mail ballots. The state is among only a handful that do not permit election workers to process or tabulate mail ballots until 7 a.m. ET on Election Day, which means it will likely again take days before the outcome is known.

Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin do not report party affiliation via the Election Lab website.

Reuters contributed to this report.

]]> https://genesiswealthdefense.com/republicans-are-dominating-democrats-with-early-voting-in-arizona-nevada-and-north-carolina/feed/ 0 227055 While FEMA Fumbles the Ball, Patriots Are Working Together to Save Countless Lives in North Carolina https://genesiswealthdefense.com/while-fema-fumbles-the-ball-patriots-are-working-together-to-save-countless-lives-in-north-carolina/ https://genesiswealthdefense.com/while-fema-fumbles-the-ball-patriots-are-working-together-to-save-countless-lives-in-north-carolina/#respond Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:00:39 +0000 https://genesiswealthdefense.com/while-fema-fumbles-the-ball-patriots-are-working-together-to-save-countless-lives-in-north-carolina/ (End of the American Dream)—What we are witnessing in the mountains of North Carolina says a lot about where we are as a nation.  The federal response to Hurricane Helene has been absolutely abysmal, and hardly anyone is really surprised by this because the federal government can’t seem to do anything right these days.  But the good news is that help is getting to the people that need it.

That help is being provided by teams of patriots that are working around the clock to get food, generators and supplies where they need to be.  In many cases, life-saving assistance is arriving just in time.  I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if everyone had just sat back and waited for the federal government to come riding to the rescue.

According to the New York Post, a massive rescue and supply operation that has enlisted the help of “hundreds of special operations personnel” is being run out of a Harley-Davidson dealership…

Hundreds of special operations personnel in North Carolina have formed their own homegrown rescue and supply operation in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene after they grew tired of waiting for the federal government to get its act together.

The Post found an all-volunteer operation being run out of a Harley-Davidson dealership with ruthless efficiency and military precision.

“Who’s FEMA?” ex-Green Beret Adam Smith derisively responded when asked about the agency’s presence on the ground since the deadly storm ravaged the rural western part of the state.

When is the last time that you saw the phrases “ruthless efficiency” and “military precision” used to describe an operation being run by the federal government?

While FEMA fumbles the ball, these men are stepping up and getting the job done. It is being reported that they have put together a fleet of 35 helicopters…

This Harley-Davidson dealership has become a forward operating base, complete with a fleet of 35 helicopters that have flown hundreds of rescue, reconnaissance and resupply sorties.

Organizers were calling the effort the “Savage Freedoms Relief Operation,” but Smith says they’ve proudly adopted an alternate moniker — “the Redneck Air Force.”

The dealership teems with current and former soldiers decked out in camo pants and army boots with handguns strapped to their chests and hips. Crop duster pilots, helicopter tour guides and special operations pilots — most of them off-duty or retired military — have answered the call from Smith and others in North Carolina’s extensive military community.

I was so encouraged to hear about what they are doing.

Of course they aren’t the only ones that have stepped up to the plate.

Dr. Phil McGraw says that Samaritan’s Purse is doing an absolutely amazing job of getting desperately needed aid to victims of the storm…

Dr. Phil McGraw praised the work that Franklin Graham’s relief organization Samaritan’s Purse is doing to help the victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

It is putting the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s work to shame.

“Let me tell you, these [Samaritan’s Purse] guys don’t have meetings to fill out forms to plan a meeting to get something going. They have verbs in their sentences. They have springs in their step, and they’re out making things happen,” McGraw said.

“FEMA, all these other people are talking, thinking. No, not Samaritan’s Purse. They’re out doing things,” he added.

A video of Dr. Phil discussing what Samaritan’s Purse has been doing has been getting a lot of attention.

Over the years, Samaritan’s Purse has helped millions of people all over the globe when disaster has struck, and once again they are showing why they are so highly regarded.

Why can’t our federal government be more like Samaritan’s Purse?

According to one patriot that is involved in private relief efforts in a very remote part of North Carolina, the only government donation that has shown up in his area so far are pallets of electric chainsaws…

We are on the mountaintop in Little Switzerland collecting airlifted donations and distributing them to homes that have no power or are inaccessible. The community is self organizing incredibly well

This is the only federal government response I’ve seen so far. Almost all the pallets we have received are donations coming in from citizens and orgs.
Feds usually don’t come this far up into the mountains

This has been the government donation: pallets of electric chainsaws to communities that have no power

There are a lot of homes and communities that still don’t have power, cell service, or water. There are teams going out to these communities, and are still finding people who haven’t yet made contact since the storm.

Our little project involves receiving airlifted donations and distributing them both to the ATV teams, as well as directly to houses we can access via road.

The electric chainsaws would help if there was actually power in the region.

But for communities that have no power, electric chainsaws are essentially worthless right now.

FEMA gets a ton of funding, but I don’t know what they are doing with it.

According to the New York Times, only 1,217 FEMA employees are “available to respond to Hurricane Milton and other disasters as of Monday”…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is currently stretched thin on manpower even as an incoming category 5 hurricane moves toward the U.S.

Just 1,217 FEMA workers, which is less than 10% of their personnel, were available to respond to Hurricane Milton and other disasters as of Monday, according to The New York Times.

It appears that Hurricane Milton could be one of the most destructive hurricanes in the entire history of our nation.

Will the federal response to Hurricane Milton be as pathetic as the federal response to Hurricane Helene was?

I have been watching so many videos that have absolutely horrified me.

There have even been instances where the feds appear to be doing far more harm than good.

In one case, a mysterious helicopter was actually “caught on video destroying a volunteer donation site for hurricane victims”…

An unmarked military-style helicopter was caught on video destroying a volunteer donation site for hurricane victims in Burnsville, North Carolina on Sunday.

The helicopter was seen swooping in low over the distribution staging area and performing a “rotor-wash” maneuver that used the powerful downward gust forces to blow away supplies and canopy tents.

One of the individuals who recorded the incident claimed the area was established as a “no fly no drop” zone, and claimed the “ghost” helicopter pilots wore masks, suggesting they were special forces or government contractors.

“They could clearly see the supply setup, blue tents etc and see this was NOT a clear landing zone,” they captioned in the video.

In the old days, our government could be counted on to exhibit at least a minimal level of competence.

Sadly, those days are long gone.

When everything hits the fan, don’t count on the government to save you.

During the very difficult times that are approaching, local communities will have to be united and we are all going to have to learn to work together, because there is no other option.

Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

]]> https://genesiswealthdefense.com/while-fema-fumbles-the-ball-patriots-are-working-together-to-save-countless-lives-in-north-carolina/feed/ 0 226547 Will Battleground North Carolina Voters Overcome Hurricane Helene Challenges? https://genesiswealthdefense.com/will-battleground-north-carolina-voters-overcome-hurricane-helene-challenges/ https://genesiswealthdefense.com/will-battleground-north-carolina-voters-overcome-hurricane-helene-challenges/#respond Tue, 08 Oct 2024 16:03:47 +0000 https://genesiswealthdefense.com/will-battleground-north-carolina-voters-overcome-hurricane-helene-challenges/ The North Carolina State Board of Elections unanimously passed measures attempting to address concerns about hurricane-ravaged western counties leading up to the Nov. 5 presidential election.

With the notable exception of the more metropolitan Asheville, county seat of Buncombe County, most of the hardest-hit North Carolina counties in the path of Hurricane Helene are rural and lean Republican.

But the state election board for the fiercely contested battleground state—former President Donald Trump is neck and neck with Vice President Kamala Harris—has a 3-2 Democratic majority.

Harris and Trump are polling less than 1% with one another, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, and past presidential contests have been tight in the state.

The election board unanimously voted Monday to allow 13 counties most affected by the storm to make changes in election procedures, so long as there is a bipartisan majority to do so.

The process would include changing or adding voting sites and notifying voters by mail and through local media about such changes as quickly as possible. The resolution adopted by the state board allows the chairman of local election boards to appoint replacement members if someone is unable to carry out his or her duties.

“These measures were put in place to ensure the victims of Helene can vote in the upcoming election and provide election officials in the hardest-hit areas the tools they need to conduct a secure election under extraordinarily difficult conditions,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said Monday during a teleconference with reporters.

“While several of North Carolina’s neighboring states have moved to implement those lessons, North Carolina’s Gov. Cooper has been shockingly inactive, as have his allies on the state board,” he said.

The Tar Heel State has become a major battleground for the 2024 presidential election. In 2020, incumbent Republican Trump carried the state against Democratic challenger Joe Biden by just 1.3%. In 2016, Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in North Carolina by less than 4% of the vote.

In-person early voting begins Oct. 17. Mail-in voting began Sept. 21, after a brief delay to accommodate a court ruling to remove independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name from the ballot.

“We have every intention of starting early voting as scheduled on Thursday, Oct. 17, in all 100 counties,” Bell, the state election board’s executive director, said.

“While several of North Carolina’s neighboring states have moved to implement those lessons, North Carolina’s Gov. Cooper has been shockingly inactive, as have his allies on the state board,” he said.

The Tar Heel State has become a major battleground for the 2024 presidential election. In 2020, incumbent Republican Trump carried the state against Democratic challenger Joe Biden by just 1.3%. In 2016, Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in North Carolina by less than 4% of the vote.

In-person early voting begins Oct. 17. Mail-in voting began Sept. 21, after a brief delay to accommodate a court ruling to remove independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name from the ballot.

“We have every intention of starting early voting as scheduled on Thursday, Oct. 17, in all 100 counties,” Bell, the state election board’s executive director, said.

Hurricane Helene made landfall first in Florida, then swept through parts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama, killing more than 220 and leaving catastrophic property damage. Of these states, North Carolina sustained the worse beating.

Cuccinelli’s Election Transparency Initiative noted one reported concern that relocated nursing home residents won’t be able to vote.

The elections watchdog group also noted that it’s still unknown which preapproved polling sites are unserviceable in the 22 counties affected by Helene. North Carolina law requires the election board to approve alternate sites.

Also, suspension of deliveries by the U.S. Postal Service in the state’s western counties disrupted mail-in voting.

Cuccinelli said Cooper and the elections board should “stop stalling and start working to ensure that those communities already devastated by Helene at least have their voice through their votes.”

Cuccinelli, also a former Virginia attorney general, specified two top North Carolina Republicans who could do this.

“To the extent Gov. Cooper refuses to make immediate adjustments, when the General Assembly convenes next week we urge swift action from House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader [Phil] Berger to maintain the integrity of the upcoming election across the western counties of North Carolina—ensuring it proceeds securely and fairly without compromising the democratic process,” Cuccinelli said.

Cooper’s office did not respond to inquiries from The Daily Signal by publication time.

Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, referred The Daily Signal’s request for comment to the governor’s office, but also sent an email statement from the board arguing that criticism of the state is “uninformed.”

“The State Board of Elections is committed to ensuring every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot, regardless of their circumstances following the disaster,” the board’s statement said, adding:

The affected counties and their staffs are working around the clock to guarantee their neighbors their right to vote. Criticism like this is simply uninformed. It’s also a slap in the face for the dozens of election workers, especially those who are themselves victims of the disaster, who are putting in long hours under trying circumstances to serve their voters.

The board provided increased flexibility to these 13 counties: Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey.

The board’s Democratic chairman is Alan Hirsch, president of the North Carolina Healthcare Quality Alliance, a nonprofit focused on rural treatment of opioid addiction and prevention as well as on mental health issues.

Hirsch has donated thousands of dollars to Democrat campaigns, including the state’s Democratic Party, then-President Barack Obama, and Cooper, the sitting governor, according to Open Secrets.

Bell has been executive director of the North Carolina Board of Elections since 2019. She is listed on the board’s website as the state’s “chief elections official.”

Bell previously was the election board’s deputy director beginning in 2015. She oversees 100 county election boards.

Bell has worked in administrative roles for county and state elections since 2006. From 2011 to 2015, she directed the election board in Transylvania County, which is heavily Republican-leaning. Before that, she was a district elections technician for the state board.

In a Monday op-ed in Townhall, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a Republican, noted that about 40,000 mail-in ballots were sent to voters in Helene-affected counties and that only 1,000 were returned.

“These hard-hit counties, which supported Donald Trump with 61% of the vote in 2020, are now grappling with slow recovery efforts, unreliable communications, and an inadequate federal response,” Blackwell wrote. “As citizens in rural, heavily Republican regions seek to participate in the democratic process, the state’s electoral integrity is on the line, especially as concerns about political maneuvering grow in the aftermath of the storm.”

Blackwell also warned against sweeping statewide changes that could undermine confidence in the Nov. 5 election.

“Expanding voting measures across the entire state, including areas that were not affected by the hurricane, could open the door to accusations of partisanship,” he wrote. “It’s important that we help the residents of these rural, counties without altering the broader electoral landscape in a way that might be seen as tipping the scales.”

Tim Kennedy contributed to this report. 

]]> https://genesiswealthdefense.com/will-battleground-north-carolina-voters-overcome-hurricane-helene-challenges/feed/ 0 226498 The “Modern Economy Rests on Single Road” in North Carolina Where Hurricane Helene Collapsed Bridges https://genesiswealthdefense.com/the-modern-economy-rests-on-single-road-in-north-carolina-where-hurricane-helene-collapsed-bridges/ https://genesiswealthdefense.com/the-modern-economy-rests-on-single-road-in-north-carolina-where-hurricane-helene-collapsed-bridges/#respond Tue, 01 Oct 2024 11:27:19 +0000 https://genesiswealthdefense.com/the-modern-economy-rests-on-single-road-in-north-carolina-where-hurricane-helene-collapsed-bridges/ (ZeroHedge)—In March, a Wharton professor who studies artificial intelligence and start-ups claimed on X, “The modern economy rests on a single road in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The road runs to the two mines that are the sole supplier of the quartz required to make the crucibles needed to refine silicon wafers.”

Ethan Mollick noted at the time, “There are no alternative sources known” if supply disruptions were seen in Spruce Pines.

Fast-forward to this past weekend across the Western North Carolina area, where a major disaster continues to unfold after tropical system Helene dumped torrential rains and unleashed devastating floods that pulverized entire towns, destroyed roads, highways, and bridges, and left tens of thousands without power.

Back to Mollick. He shared with his followers a detailed list of the top miners in Spruce Pine, highlighting Sibelco North America, known for producing ultra-high-purity quartz used in refined silicon wafers.

As of Monday morning, Mollick’s worst fears could be realized as Google Traffic data shows road closures around the Sibelco mining facilities and across the entire region.

A 2018 note from Wired shows just how critical Spruce Pines area mines are for semiconductor production: “A fire in 2008 at one of the main quartz facilities in Spruce Pine for a time all but shut off the supply of high‑purity quartz to the world market, sending shivers through the industry.”

Earlier this year, Tom’s Hardware cited Mollick’s X posts, saying the Wharton professor “provides an excerpt from Conway’s Material World, which discusses the probable “end of computer chip manufacture as we know it,” should something untoward happen at Spruce Pine or in the skies above it.”

Here’s what folks on X are saying about Spruce Pines…

There has been no confirmation from the miner about any disruption. Well, not as of Monday morning.

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