History Lessons

Heeding the words of James Monroe:

James Monroe, who was born in April 1758, emphasized, “In a representative republic, the education of our children must be of the utmost importance!” Fortunately, the Trump administration seems to agree and is working to eradicate DEI, CRT, transgender ideology, and more pernicious Marxism from schools. Nearly 40 pro-Hamas Johns Hopkins students just lost their visas thanks to the Trump administration. But the corruption is so deep and so entrenched that it will take the efforts of all of us patriots from the ground up and the top down to address the educational crisis. It would be valuable if we made the model of education that Booker T. Washington espoused our goal, teaching young people a mixture of practical skills like carpentry and sewing, along with the academic classics of Western civilization.

Civilization still matters...

Fraud Savers

California wants to save its fraud:

Smallwood-Cuevas just introduced SB560, also known as the Legalized Welfare Fraud Bill, or at least it should be. According to L.A.-based Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, SB560 "would decriminalize welfare fraud below an amount of $25,000." What's stealing a measly $24,999 among friends? Honestly, it could happen to anyone, and, if SB560 becomes law, it probably will. If I'm being completely honest, almost anyone could have come up with legalizing five-figure welfare fraud. But Smallwood-Cuevas is a particularly hardworking and creative Democrat, so she didn't end things there. Under SB560, prosecutions for attempted welfare fraud would be prohibited, and it would also become illegal to prosecute someone for perjury if they accidentally got charged for welfare fraud and then lied to prosecutors about it. "Sorry you didn't get away with your welfare fraud this time, Bucko, but that was a real nice story you made up and better luck next time," isn't how DAs approach these things in the rest of the country, but this is California we're talking about. SB560 essentially provides one of those personal force fields from "Dune" to protect welfare cheats from pretty much anything except for slow-moving knives and laser blasts. Not that I'm advocating stabbing or laser-blasting welfare cheats. Or at least not yet.

Fraud shields up...

Imperial Idiot

Rome was too white, or something:

"We're a nation of the strongest parts of each community on Earth. If you take that away and try to distill us just down to white folks, we'll be like Europe, an aging, slowly dying former empire," Reid said. "The Roman Empire didn't survive because it didn't have enough strength in its diversity. It suppressed its diversity, and it died. If the U.S. wants to be the Roman Empire, keep voting the way you voting, y’all," she added. "Keep voting for people like [President Donald] Trump, because we can be the Roman Empire.The Roman Empire had a high, and then baby it fell. The end."

I'd rather be Roman, than ridiculous...

Blogging In The Years: 1992

Henry Kissinger says it's coming:

Boomer Bust

It's not all their fault:

It’s useful to attempt to categorize generations when you’re trying to make sense out of how our culture has evolved and how people born in different eras faced different challenges. But their utility dwindles the moment we forget that all of these classifications are arbitrary. It’s fair enough to select 1946 as the year to commence a new generation. A horrific war had just ended, and returning veterans came home to marry and start families. They had a lot of children in those years immediately following the war. Babies born in 1946 are going to turn 80 next year, and right behind them are approximately 75 million more boomers. The youngest among them turned 60 last year. And these impressive numbers seem to lie at the crux of the beef with boomers. There are too many of them, they had easy lives, they dominate politics, and now they’re old and hanging on to all the wealth and entitlements. And, by the way, they gave us the national debt and climate change, among other catastrophes. The problem I have with Gibney’s book is not his dry humor, which I appreciate, nor his opportunistic decision to develop a polarizing argument in order to sell more books. The problem is that he picked the safest target in the world. Gibney could have written a book, rich with data and unambiguous in its condemnation of any other group, and he would have been castigated and ignored. If his target had been blacks, transsexuals, Muslims, or Jews, he would have committed career suicide. But boomers, who are old and overwhelmingly white, are fair game. But this is still playing with fire. It validates anti-white racism, pairs it with generational resentment, and encourages further polarization. It paves the way for escalating scapegoating, particularly if the economy falters. If Americans are ever reduced to truly desperate conditions, it will provide intellectual ammunition for much worse. An easily forgettable but all-too-accurate counterargument to Gibney’s boomer bashing is that the challenges facing America’s younger generations are both nobody’s fault and everybody’s fault. The causes are circumstantial, driven by an economic and cultural historical momentum that individuals and groups, and generations can influence but can’t possibly stop.

Generation gaps breed their own form of contempt...

MAHA Spirit

Pepsi gets the message:

On an April 24 conference call, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta announced that the company has already begun reducing artificial ingredients across its products. “We’ve been leading the transformation of the industry now for a long time on sodium reduction, sugar reduction, and better fats,” Laguarta said. Now, under pressure from a public fed up with chemicals in their food, PepsiCo is finally moving faster toward cleaning up its act — a clear sign that the Make America Healthy Again movement is already having a powerful impact. "Sixty percent-plus of our (portfolio) today doesn't have any artificial colors," Laguarta added, indicating that the company is "undergoing that transition." Fox News Digital has more. Laguarta cited examples such as Lay's and Tostitos, which "will be out of artificial colors by the end of this year." He added, "So, we're well underway." RFK Jr. and Dr. Martin Makary, U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner, announced a ban on petroleum-based synthetic dyes from America's food supply last Tuesday. As the HHS noted in its news release, among the steps to be taken are "establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives." "Initiating the process to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings — Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B — within the coming months; and working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes — FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2 — from the food supply by the end of next year." Certified nutritionist and Make America Healthy Again supporter Liana Werner-Gray celebrated PepsiCo’s move as a major step forward. “This is a huge win for public health and long overdue,” she told Fox News Digital.

The choice of a healthy generation...

Blue Anger

Do they actually have anything else?

What else have they got?https://t.co/Zi9gOBJGUp

— West Virginia Rebel (@WestVirginiaReb) April 30, 2025

Poor Corps

The Corps doesn't really pay:

The Job Corps pays teenage runaways, high school dropouts, and twentysomething ex-cons to live in dormitories and receive their GEDs and vocational training. The national cost per graduate was $188,000, with the average graduate staying 13.5 months. Of more than 110 campuses, the 10 least efficient averaged a cost of $385,000 per graduate. Job Corps participants earn $16,695 per year on average after leaving the program, according to new government data. Nearly $2 billion in federal taxpayer money is spent annually on residential Job Corps campuses, a boon for the for-profit contractors who run them. But the dismal statistics about the program’s efficacy have never been fully public until the Trump administration released a “Transparency Report” last week. The Job Corps has only a 32% graduation rate, though statistics have typically been calculated using a misleading definition of “graduate,” which bumped the number up slightly to 39%. Of about 30,000 enrollees in the 2023-24 school year, roughly 10,000 were expelled for misconduct, 5,000 were booted for absconding, and 5,000 dropped out for other reasons. The average cost per enrollee, including those who dropped out or were expelled, was $50,000, with an average stay of 7.5 months, working out to $80,000 per year.

More pay, less work...

Legally Lost

Letitia James' troubles continue:

The AFL complaint filed last week adds to the recent woes for James, who's also facing a criminal referral from the Trump administration related to accusations of mortgage fraud. "For a state prosecutor who has maligned the President of the United States for political gain, public accountability will serve as a cure to Letitia James’ endless lawfare and abuse of power," AFL Vice President Dan Epstein said in a statement to Fox News Digital. The complaint was filed with the New York State Unified Court System's Committee on Professional Standards, the state-level entity that handles discipline matters for attorneys whose principal office is in the Albany region. The complaint requests that the attorney grievance committee open an investigation into James over accusations of mortgage fraud levied against her earlier this month by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Those accusations were published in a criminal referral sent earlier this month to the Department of Justice by FHFA Director William Pulte. In the referral, Pulte accused James of falsifying mortgage records to obtain more favorable loans. "If what Director Pulte uncovered is true, then we have a sitting state Attorney General who made false certifications to the United States in return for federal benefits," Epstein said. James' actions violate the New York State Bar Association's rules of professional conduct, according to AFL's complaint. Those rules prohibit lawyers from engaging in "illegal conduct" that can adversely impact the lawyer's honesty and trustworthiness. It also bars conduct that may not be deemed "illegal," but that involves dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.

Fraud and Democrats seem to go hand in hand...

Male Mania

Shut them up, they said:

Dr. Kay Coghill, during a conversation at the conference, advocated for silencing those who hold conservative or Republican views. “I think a solution that will really disrupt capitalism, honestly, is deplatforming people and deplatforming people and making specific websites, forums, whatever, illegal and actually having consequences, material consequences,” she said. Coghill further insisted that after deplatforming her political opponents, they should keep them banned instead of “being like Elon Musk and letting Trump and Milo Yiannopoulos get back on Twitter now that he owns it.” She further highlighted the importance of “making sure people do not have access to these social media websites and forums that allow them to perpetuate and push this information in digital spaces, because that’s where the youth is getting this information from.” Patrick Hermansson from Hope Not Hate chimed in, agreeing with Coghill’s sentiments. “I spent my whole career doing deplatforming. It’s like the core strategy we do,” he said. “But even I’m getting more and more skeptical of it because they have their own platforms and … it’s very hard to control them.”

Darn that free speech...

Hero Time

The hero who could save Marvel:

Walker's popularity is quiet, but it's there. Comics surrounding U.S. Agent skyrocketed after Wyatt Russell's portrayal of Walker, merch sales also went up, with action figure releases, and even Funko Pop! models were flying from shelves. Forums and Reddit posts popped up discussing the character in positive terms. And I tend to agree with a lot of what I see. Walker is so interesting because he's the most believably written character, with believable flaws, and believable motivations. While other characters are either riding out past glories, trailing already trodden paths, or are just plain boring for one reason or another, Walker's character is the most relatable. .... If Marvel were to turn their eyes to Walker, and focus in on him, I really think they could build something fantastic. They're so busy trying to wow people with big names like the Fantastic 4 and reintroduce nostalgia bait that they're not looking at what potential they could have if they would just embrace what's great about what they have. But as it stands, it seems Marvel is still caught up in an age that they should have left a while back, and some of its more interesting characters may stay in the shadows, relegated to side-roles while more politically correct, name-brand characters give people a less relatable, mediocre, but safe time. We'll see if Thunderbolts gives the people something meaty to chew on. Seeing as how both Walker and Barnes are featured in it, it's the only showing from Marvel that looks remotely interesting, for me at least. Once it releases on May 2, I'll go see it and let you know if it's worth the ticket price. But this is Disney/Marvel. I wouldn't get my hopes up.

They've been dashed before...

English Escape

Britain's wealthy are leaving:

The latest such incident involves the United Kingdom's tax policy - and how high-earning Brits (by high-earning, we mean productive) are fleeing to greener, lower-tax pastures. Fresh figures this week showed that the British Government is having to borrow more than expected, as tax income typically paid by the wealthiest has disappointed since the start of the year. Lower capital gains taxes, levies on self-assessed income and a weak growth in financial services bonuses have also contributed to the dire picture for (Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel) Reeves. Now, this first bit here should come as no surprise to anyone with any knowledge of economics who didn't attend Boston University. Lower capital gains taxes generally have the opposite effect as claimed; what you tax, you get less of, and if you tax capital gains at an excessive level (as in, above zero), it has a chilling effect on business development. But here's the real problem the UK faces. The list of wealthy non-doms and British business owners fleeing the UK is also growing longer by the day, with places such as Dubai, Italy and Greece mopping up Britain’s richest émigrés. Last week, Goldman Sachs’ most senior banker outside the US, Richard Gnodde, and British billionaire brothers Ian and Richard Livingstone became the latest to shift their tax domicile outside the UK. They join Egypt’s richest man, Nassef Sawiris, who co-owns Aston Villa Football Club. And steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, whose family is worth £15bn, is expected to follow. The outflow of the productive from Britain is remarkable; one would almost think it's California.

Blue is as blue does...

Truck Talk

Trucking in our language:

According to document, per Breitbart: President Trump believes that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers, as they should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel, and provide and receive feedback and directions in English. Totally. And those 800-number "helpers?" Under the president's order, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will be directed “to rescind and replace guidance to strengthen inspection procedures for compliance with English proficiency requirements,” according to the White House document.

Don't speak, don't drive...

Reading Rules

California teachers' unions aren't happy about actually aving to teach kids:

Last year, a new bill was introduced to force more school districts in the state to embrace phonics, but even at the time it was clear that teachers unions and special interest groups were likely to oppose it. AB 2222, introduced by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, a Democrat from West Covina, is backed by Marshall Tuck, who ran for California superintendent of public instruction in 2018. Tuck is now the chief executive officer of EdVoice, an education policy organization. It’s also backed by the advocacy groups Decoding Dyslexia California and Families in Schools... Although research is clear that phonics is a more effective approach to literacy, the so-called “reading wars” are far from over. Advocates for English learners have sometimes been reluctant to embrace phonics — which focuses on sounding out words, rather than sight memorization — because it may not take into account English learners’ unique language needs and skills... Teachers unions also have a history of opposing legislation that requires specific teaching methods, particularly related to literacy. Teachers, they have argued, should have the freedom to use whatever approaches work best with their students. That's true even though recent evidence shows that some of the poorest states in the US are now outperforming California on literacy (largely because those states embraced phonics). Data shown above from Stanford and Harvard universities’ Education Recovery Scorecard reveals the stark contrast. Mississippi’s students were below California’s in 2016, and half a year behind the national average in reading. Mississippi made steady progress until 2019, but both states suffered similar-sized learning losses during the pandemic. Their paths to recovery have diverged sharply: Mississippi students now read above average while California students are worse off than those in 2016. A student in Jackson now reads a quarter of a school year ahead of a similar student in Sacramento. This is the result not of a short-term fix but from a decade of intensive focus on reading throughout the state. California policymakers may be angered by the comparison, but they can’t ignore or dismiss the data. California policymakers should not be able to ignore or dismiss the data and yet, when the unions tell them to block the bill on phonics that's what lawmakers do. In fact, as anticipated, they killed the phonics bill without even a hearing. California Democrats silently killed a bipartisan bill to mandate the science of reading, refusing to even discuss the topic publicly. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, and Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi, D-Rolling Hills Estates (Los Angeles County), who leads the Assembly Education Committee (and is running for state superintendent of public instruction next year) tabled the bill without a hearing amid fierce opposition from influential interest groups — including the California Teachers Association and Californians Together, which advocates for English language learners. Yes, you read that correctly — ensuring California kids receive the most effective reading lessons didn’t even merit a discussion among Democrats in the face of union opposition... Leslie Littman, vice president of the California Teachers Association, argued the bill would weaken local control over education. “Teacher input, teacher voice, in the decision-making process with the curriculum and the development of that are vitally important,” she said. Littman also said the bill doesn’t come with funding — though Rubio told the editorial board there’s money for curriculum development and teacher training in Newsom’s proposed budget. Supporters of the bill were understandably angry. Lori DePole, co-state director of Decoding Dyslexia CA, one of the supporters of the bill, expressed frustration Thursday evening over the decision to table it. “It is shameful that when more than half of CA kids aren’t reading at grade level that our legislators are okay with the status quo, and they have killed this literacy legislation without even allowing it to be heard,” she said in a statement. “… CA kids’ futures are too important to allow backroom politics to silence this issue. We will no longer accept lip service in addressing our literacy crisis. It is time for action, and we aren’t going away.” The SF Chronicle editorial board is similarly at a loss to explain how this can even be controversial in a state that has fallen behind Mississippi in reading. "Isn’t California ranking far below Mississippi for early childhood literacy enough of a wake-up call?" the editorial asks.

Maybe not, but if the unions have their way, they might be...

Wiki Woes

No more free propaganda:

Shortly after putting woke medical journals that receive funding from the National Institutes of Health on blast over their alleged bias, Edward Martin Jr., the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced an investigation into Wikipedia. Martin noted in an April 24 letter obtained by the Free Press that "Wikipedia, which operates via its fiscal sponsor, the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., is engaging in a series of activities that could violate its obligations under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code." The statute cited by Martin holds that tax-exempt organizations must be: organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. The IRS law notes further that tax-exempt organizations are not to "carry on" propaganda, attempt to influence legislation, or "participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."

Time to pay up or close up...

Tax Review

President trump promises permanent tax relief:

In a Sunday morning message posted on Truth Social, Trump made a forecast about the impact of his tariffs on foreign goods. “When Tariffs cut in, many people’s Income Taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated,” Trump stated. “Focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year. “Also, massive numbers of jobs are already being created, with new plants and factories currently being built or planned. It will be a BONANZA FOR AMERICA!!! THE EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IS HAPPENING!!!”

And the Infernal Revenue Serevice is dying...

Their Generation

The kids are rebelling:

Brett Cooper, who hosts “The Brett Cooper Show,” believes that many people of her generation believe that the Democrat Party no longer reflects their values. “Democrats are completely out of touch with their voter base,” she said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” “They are aging out. We do not want them in Congress anymore on the left and the right.” She highlighted the aging Senators and representatives, including Sen. Dick Durbin who announced his retirement last week, as examples. “You see members of Congress like Dick [Durbin] who are so old,” she said. “Young people feel unrepresented, and they are fed up.” .... A poll that was just released by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics backs her claims. The poll showed that approval of congressional Democrats among young voters cratered to 23 percent, down from 42 percent in early 2017. Republicans do slightly better with an approval of 29 percent, which is higher than in recent years among a demographic that does not traditionally vote Republican. President Donald Trump’s approval rating in the poll is at 31 percent, which is a virtual tie with his rating during his first term.

Democrats ignore the next generation at their own peril...

Star Bores

Always go with the classics:

I think it's become pretty clear that much of the anger around Star Wars isn't toward Star Wars itself, but toward Disney's treatment of it. The fans are still there, waiting for something great to come along and revive the love around the franchise. When given the opportunity, these fans will come out and celebrate the greatness that it used to be. Disney's treatment of Star Wars has been plagued with everything from bad storytelling to social justice controversy. Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy is considered a villain among the vast majority of Star Wars fans for her gross mishandling of the franchise. Nowadays, much of Lucasfilm's offerings are dead on arrival, with shows like The Acolyte being horribly received and garnering few eyeballs, while being cancelled after the first season. But it's clear that people still remember a time when Star Wars was a cultural force that had a wide and excited fan base. Hopefully, one day the franchise can be rescued by people who truly love and appreciate it, and we can have that feeling back again.

Learn from the originals, they must...

Fish Story

Trump saves American sea food:

Right now, 90% of the shrimp consumed in the United States comes from other countries, but Richburg and other commercial fishermen in Georgia believe that will change this year when shrimping season begins in May or June, thanks to Trump's tariffs and other policies. Shrimp is also the most popular seafood in the U.S. "We know that plump, sweet [wild-caught] shrimp is superior [to pond-raised shrimp]... It might take a while, but we’re hopeful we’re going to gain back the business," he told the AJC. But that's not all the president is doing to help our country's seafood industry. About 11 days ago, he signed an executive order called "Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness." The EO states: The United States controls one of the largest and most abundant ocean resources in the world, with over 4 million square miles of prime fishing grounds. With this vast resource and centuries of hard work from American fishermen, our Nation has the greatest seafood in the world. Most American fish stocks are healthy and have viable markets. Despite these opportunities, seafood is one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the United States. Federal overregulation has restricted fishermen from productively harvesting American seafood including through restrictive catch limits, selling our fishing grounds to foreign offshore wind companies, inaccurate and outdated fisheries data, and delayed adoption of modern technology. The United States should be the world’s dominant seafood leader. But in addition to overregulation, unfair trade practices have put our seafood markets at a competitive disadvantage. Nearly 90 percent of seafood on our shelves is now imported, and the seafood trade deficit stands at over $20 billion. The erosion of American seafood competitiveness at the hands of unfair foreign trade practices must end. Part of that included opening the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) to commercial fishing and allowing U.S.-flagged vessels to fish commercially within 50 to 200 nautical miles of the PRIMNM’s boundaries. George W. Bush created the PRIMNM in 2009, and Barack Obama expanded upon it. The goal was to save certain fish populations from overfishing, but Trump says it did very little to help and actually hurt American Samoa, where the commercial fishing industry is a major part of the local economy. American Samoa is home to the only Buy American-compliant tuna processing facility for U.S. military rations and school lunch programs. This cannery is the largest employer on the island, providing about 5,000 jobs. In fact, the cannery accounts for 99.5% of American Samoa’s exports and 84% of the private employment in the territory. Samoan fishermen were forced to take their boats much further offshore into international waters "to compete against poorly regulated and highly subsidized foreign fleets, most notably from China." On the day that Trump signed the EO, he was surrounded by Samoan representatives in the Oval Office who told their stories. "Thank you, Mr. President, for this great announcement, and thank you so much for your awesome leadership and giving back to American Samoa what had been taken away from us without even consulting with our leaders and people at that time," one of them said.

Making fishing great again...

Dark Continent

Europe goes dark:

The blackouts are "widespread and pervasive," according to Ars Technica, and "trains are not running, airports are unable to operate, and businesses and schools have closed." Battery backups have kept cellular networks operating for the time being, so at least people can live-tweet the situation. It's a very 21st-century European situation when the local trains can't run, but everybody has their "Designed in California" iPhones in their hands. Spain hasn't gone cashless yet, but this report indicates that while a majority of older shoppers still use cash, younger shoppers rely on contactless payments. Sucks to be them with a cart full of groceries and no way to pay. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said today, “We have no answers, and we aren’t ruling out any hypothesis regarding the blackout." Cybersecurity reporter Ryan Gallagher was quoted on Bluesky saying that a cyberattack has been ruled out, and the problem is likely technical. Red Electrica operates Spain's grid and says the outage is due to "grid oscillation," caused by various power sources coming on and offline. Solar and wind power are more prone to causing or amplifying grid oscillations compared to traditional energy sources like coal, natural gas, or nuclear.

Going green has turned out the lights...

Openly Close

Soros was well paid:

MRC discovered that the State Department and USAID committed $11,091,856 collectively in grant money split from 2007-2014 between the Open Society Institute and the Alliance for Open Society International (AOSI), the “legal operating name” for Open Society Institute-Baltimore, which was later announced to be shuttering in 2023. Over $8 million of that figure was from the State Department to OSI for the purpose of administering the Edmund S. Muskie/FREEDOM Support Act Graduate Fellowship Program on behalf of the agency. “MUSKIE GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM GRANT TO THE OPEN SOCIETY INST,” the grant’s description stated. It's unclear exactly how much of the funding was physically outlayed to date, but OSF's deception is palpable. An archived version of the State Department website, noted the specifics of the relationship between Soros and the State Department’s Muskie program: The Muskie/FSA Program, administered on behalf of ECA by the American Councils for International Education and the Open Society Institute, is part of the Department of State's public diplomacy effort to foster mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through educational and training programs. American "public diplomacy" clearly included collaboration with radical-left foundations.

The money had to be spread around...

Adam's Rob

Even he admits:

Blue Anger

Another "peaceful" Democrat:

Democrat Rep. Frederica Wilson is instructing people to "threaten" Republicans while also demanding an "uprising" because criminal illegal aliens are being deported from the country.

Sounds a little insurrectiony to me pic.twitter.com/tjGtDoSV8q

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 24, 2025

Round Three

Maybe he deserves one after all:

does Trump legally deserve a third term? No. The Constitution is clear on that point. But if the Supreme Court doesn’t step in soon to rein in the growing lawlessness of the lower courts, I’m going to end up ordering one of those Trump 2028 hats myself. At some point, we have to be honest: if district court judges can endlessly hamstring a sitting president’s ability to govern, then the presidency itself becomes little more than a ceremonial position. And if this weaponized judicial activism isn’t stopped now, you can be sure the next Democratic president will face the exact same treatment. It’s not a matter of if—it’s when. I may not like Trump’s rhetoric about a third term, but the underlying frustration—that he was elected to lead, only to be tied down at every turn by activist courts—is completely understandable. The real danger isn’t Trump’s words; it’s a system that increasingly allows unelected judges to override the will of the American people. If the courts continue functioning as a de facto veto on executive authority, the argument for taking extraordinary measures only gets stronger.

Something will have to be done...

Come Canada

The Great American North?

You've talked about acquiring Greenland, taking control of the Panama Canal, making Canada the 51st state. Maybe you're trolling a little bit on that one. I don't know. Actually, no, I’m not. Well, do you want to grow the American empire? Well, it depends as an empire, it wasn't, these are not things that we had before, so I'd view it a little bit differently if we had the right opportunity. Yeah, I think Greenland would be very well off if they I think it's important for us for national security and even international security. I think Canada, what you said that, “Well, that one, I might be trolling.” But I'm really not trolling. Canada is an interesting case. We lose $200 to $250 billion a year supporting Canada. And I asked a man who I called Governor Trudeau. I said, ”Why? Why do you think we're losing so much money supporting you? Do you think that's right? Do you think that's appropriate for another country to make it possible, for a country to sustain and he was unable to give me an answer, but it costs us over $200 billion a year to take care of Canada?” We’re taking care of their military. We're taking care of every aspect of their lives, and we don't need them to make cars for us. In fact, we don't want them to make cars for us. We want to make our own cars. We don't need their lumber. We don't need their energy. We don't need anything from Canada. And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state. Steven Cheung: We’re coming up on time, about 10 minutes. Okay, we'll move quickly then. Last note: Do you want to be remembered as a president who expanded American territory? Wouldn’t mind.

It's our world, Canada just lives in it...

Suit Hoot

President Trump wore the wrong suit, or something:

Although every other mourner appeared to be sporting black in line with Catholic customs, as it is seen as a sign of respect, Trump opted to wear a blue suit. His colour pallette has managed to attract attention for all the wrong reasons, as a host of people tuning into the live coverage of Pope Francis' funeral have taken to social media to accuse him of having 'no class'. One person wrote in a post on X: "Any reason why Donald Trump is in a blue suit and not wearing traditional black for a funeral?" Another said: "I see that Trump’s wearing a blue suit to the Pope’s funeral so that he stands out. T**ser!" A third commented: "Watching the funeral on BBC News. Trump is in a blue suit when everyone else is in black. No class."

Neither does the media...

Green Abandon

The climate change agenda is dead:

Trump is doing everything from stopping wildlife-killing solar farms, taking America out of the Paris Climate Accords, disengaging economically from China’s fake green energy economy, getting rid of ineffective bans and forced use of paper straws and prioritizing healthy forest management. Most importantly, Trump’s central economic policy revolves around unleashing American energy. “By supporting cutting-edge technologies like carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy, and next-generation geothermal, the Trump Administration is ensuring America leads in both energy production and environmental innovation — producing the cleanest energy in the world. Moreover, by ending the Biden-era pause on liquefied natural gas export approvals, the U.S. is sharing cleaner energy with allies, reducing global emissions, and creating American jobs — building on President Trump’s first-term successes, where the U.S. led the world in greenhouse gas emission reductions,” the White House recently touted. The era of energy weaponization and control by the federal government is over. As a result, Americans can expect more freedom, choice, lower prices and broad economic growth fueled by a bright energy future.

The lights are coming back on...

Snap Off

Make SNAP healthy again:

There are obvious ways to fix SNAP, but for years, the government has been too lazy to act. Special interest money often dampens small sparks of awareness. The government’s slow, clumsy operations let a few profit from ineptitude. Now, we’re at a crossroads, with enough sparks to ignite change. The MAHA movement, driven by advocates like Calley Means and RFK Jr., has exposed the dark influence of big food and soda on government spending and our collective health. Change is now a mandate. A few leaders have taken this mandate to the floor, facing fierce opposition. Critics argue SNAP restrictions limit choice, but they miss the point. Junk food isn’t a “choice” when it’s cheap, addictive, and heavily marketed. True freedom comes from access to quality ingredients and the knowledge to use them. Pairing restrictions with nutrition education and incentives, like matching dollars for produce, can amplify SNAP’s impact. There’s no nuance here. This isn’t about freedom—it’s about health. SNAP is a financial transaction between taxpayers and those in need, with the government as the middleman. Too often, they subcontract their responsibility to soulless companies that profit by addicting kids and adults to nutrient-free products. Food and soda companies get rich, the public gets sick, and Big Pharma steps in with a lifetime of medicine. Healthcare costs rise, taxes increase, government grows, and corporations profit. It’s a perfect pyramid scheme.

And not the food pyramid kind, either...

Working Generation

They seem to like working for a living after all:

1. 56% of Gen Z would rather turn a wrench than type in a spreadsheet.

They see:
• Insane college costs
• Rising pay of blue-collar jobs
• Less stigma on working with your hands

The Wall Street Journal calls them the 'Toolbelt Generation.' It's easy to see why: pic.twitter.com/C7kvPyNtu4

— Codie Sanchez (@Codie_Sanchez) May 18, 2024

No Argument

They're literally clueless:

Jail Time

Send them to jail:

CNN’s @DavidJUrban SCHOOLS the leftist meltdowns over the arrest of a Wisconsin judge on allegations of obstructing ICE:

“I hear these people chanting ‘no justice, no peace.’ Let's not forget. This — this person, Mr. Rees, committed two crimes. He entered the United States… pic.twitter.com/l8TZgV7qsx

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 25, 2025

Son Shade

He's not helping:

Soros drew strong criticism on social media over the photo with Walz in his penthouse standing next to a vice presidential candidate who had been labeled as someone who would resonate with rural and working-class voters. "This guy goes around saying he's a small town midwestern guy who understands the struggles of the middle class and then goes to hang out at the floating home in the sky of the world's biggest billionaire nepo baby," digital strategist Greg Price wrote on X at the time. "A post like this does nothing to help Kamala Harris & Tim Walz win — if anything, it hurts them," journalist Jerry Dunleavy posted on X at the time. "So why would Soros post something like this? To publicly signal his power & influence within the next would-be presidential administration."

The rotten apple didn't fall very far from the tree...

Democratic Dismissal

Democrats don't seem to care that much about democracy after all:

The poll by the Napolitan Institute found that just over three-quarters, or 76%, of Democrat-voting federal employees who voted for Harris said they will “resist” the Trump administration for the next four years – seemingly for no reason except perhaps their political beliefs. The poll asked, “Looking ahead to the next four years, will your political efforts be primarily to support the Trump administration or resist the Trump administration?” Among Kamala-voting federal bureaucrats, 41% said they will “strongly resist,” while 35% said they will “somehow resist,” bringing the total number to 76%. Similarly, when tasked with the responsibility of implementing a federal policy they disagreed with, a whopping 75% of Kamala-voting federal bureaucrats said they would disobey lawful orders and “do what they thought was best.” That survey question asked, “Suppose that President Trump gave you an order that was legal, but you believed was bad policy. Would you follow the president’s order or do what you thought was best?” In contrast, 80% of Republican-voting bureaucrats said they would obey, while 18% said they would disobey and do what they believed was best. Additionally, the number of Kamala-voting federal bureaucrats who said they would resist Trump’s lawful orders increased since the transition period in December 2024, when only 69% said they would disobey.

Obey the laws you choose to...

Court Date

Conservatives finally get their day in court:

The American Freedom Law Center brought three claims against Nessel and Arbulu: violation of free speech rights under the First Amendment, violation of expressive association rights under the First Amendment, and violation of equal protection as guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment. (James White, the current director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, has replaced Arbulu as the defendant representing the department.) The case proceeded in 2019, leading to depositions and discovery until both the center and the defendants filed dueling motions for “summary judgment”—asking the court to resolve the case in their favor—in January 2021. The case remained in limbo for four years, delayed in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, until March. “On March 3, 2025, I filed a notice with the court, as I have done several other times, informing the court that our motion for summary judgment has been pending for four years and is ripe for a decision,” Muise told The Daily Signal. “In response, the court finally granted a hearing, which is scheduled for June 2.”

Hopefully justice will finally be served...

Dial Down

Tone it down, they said:

While the chyrons still blare the blow-by-blow of every move made by President Donald Trump, behind the scenes, staffers say they are operating with limited information about the future of their programming. Maddow, for example, is exhausted herself, insiders say, and at the conclusion of Trump’s first 100 days she plans to step back from her nightly one-hour program and begin to boost her stops along the late-night TV circuit where she has occasionally appeared on “Late Night with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and other friendly turfs. The rotation will see Jen Psaki put into a more prominent role as the “guinea pig” tasked with keeping MSNBC’s flagging rates above water without Maddow’s assistance. Making the job tougher are new rules being handed down by MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler, a protegé of CNN’s Jeff Zucker. “Fantastic leader,” one rival TV exec told Politico. “Knows how to move fast and is unafraid to break things,” said a former colleague. Kutler is believed to be the driving force behind pushing out Joy Reid after several Comcast executives rolled their eyes at some of her most bombastic on-air rants. When Reid failed to take the hint after a salary cut, it was Kutler who swung the axe and “DOGE’d” the staff, most of whom either lost their jobs or were forced to reapply for positions with the network. “For a long time, talent had a lot of power here and now they don’t,” one MSNBC staffer said.

The power trips are over...

Medicaid Madness

How California's Medicaid program went broke:

CalMatters.org reveals that the federal government is cracking down on Medi-Cal and other Medicaid providers that have been using money to support “rent assistance” and “medically tailored meals”:

In 2022, California made sweeping changes to its Medi-Cal program that reimagined what health care could look like for some of the state’s poorest and sickest residents by covering services from housing to healthy food. But the future of that program, known as CalAIM, could be at risk under the Trump administration. … The moves align with a narrower vision of Medicaid espoused by newly confirmed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services head Dr. Mehmet Oz, who said during his swearing-in ceremony that Medicaid spending was crowding out spending on education and other services in states with the federal government “paying most of the bill.” “This one really bothers me. There are states who are using Medicaid — Medicaid dollars for people who are vulnerable — for services that are not medical,” Oz said.

President Joe Biden allowed California and other states to “experiment” with Medicaid funding — and California spent itself into near-insolvency.

Waste now, need not...

Judgement Time

There goes the judge:

A veteran Wisconsin judge was arrested Friday on charges of helping a Mexican illegal migrant evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in her courtroom. Judge Hannah Dugan, who has been on the Milwaukee County bench for nearly a decade, is accused of obstruction of justice and concealing Eduardo Flores-Ruiz from arrest following a pre-trial hearing last week. Dugan appeared briefly in Milwaukee federal court Friday morning before being released after prosecutors said they would not ask for her detention before trial. Her arraignment has been set for May 15. She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted on both counts. It was not immediately clear whether Dugan would be placed on leave during her case.

Case dismissed...

Final Mission

The mission is over:

The Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), a radically progressive denomination, is shutting down the vast majority of its global missionary operations. Greg Garrison reported last week at AL.com: The office of Presbyterian World Mission closed at the end of March after the Presbyterian Mission Agency merged with the Office of General Assembly into the Interim Unified Agency. These moves essentially ended a 200-year tradition of sending foreign missionaries, more recently called mission “co-workers,” to spread the faith in other countries, according to denominational sources. The Presbyterian World Mission is laying off 54 of its 60 missionaries and is assigning 30 office staff to serve as “global ecumenical advisors” in the new organization, which weirdly sounds like a government agency. The PCUSA has seen a drop of over 10% in membership between 2020 and 2023, and the ensuing drop in tithes and offerings necessitated the change, in part. Other concerns include missionaries serving in dangerous areas. “The denomination, due to budget cuts and changes in emphasis, now expects Christian work to be done mostly by indigenous leaders around the globe, rather than by U.S. missionaries sent to foreign countries,” Garrison reported. Parachurch organizations will take up some of the slack as well.

The propaganda business isn't what it used to be...

Bye George

George Santos is going away:

The disgraced former congressman was handed the 87-month sentence on Friday in a New York court by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, who also ordered him to serve two years of supervised release and pay more than $373,000 in restitution, the New York Times‘ Michael Gold reported: Santos reportedly “covered his face and was sobbing as the sentence was read, and will have to report to federal prison on July 25, three months from his sentencing date. Prosecutors wrote a fiery sentencing memorandum, asking Seybert to slap him with the hefty sentence. “From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives,” the sentencing memorandum, obtained by NBC News, reads.

Fake life, real consequences...

Flag Stealers

Take back the flag, or something:

Slotkin will apparently take a hard stance when it comes to her fellow Democrats as the party’s brand has apparently collapsed after President Trump won the presidency for a second time. The Politico article continued: In the first of a series of speeches about the Democratic Party’s path out of the wilderness, the Michigan senator said she will span everything from strategy to tactics and tone, acknowledging public perception of the party as “weak and woke” needs to change. She is urging Democrats to “f***g retake the flag” with appeals to voters’ sense of patriotism, to adopt “the goddamn Alpha energy” of Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell and to embrace an “airing out” of potential 2028 presidential candidates in a broadly contested primary. Slotkin apparently wants Democrats thinking about running for president in 2028 to get a head start, and the Politico article also noted, “An aide described her forthcoming remarks as a part buck-up, part come-to-Jesus speech.”

I don't think Jesus would come to their meeting...

Burger Bust

Fake burgers don't sell:

Neat Burger has been forced to close all its outlets in the UK after six troubled years in business since it was thrust into the public domain by the pair back in 2019, the Sun reports. The outlet notes the chain has confirmed its British stores are now shutting down with the potential loss of around 150 jobs after Sir Lewis, 40, who turned vegan in 2017, argued meat is not only cruel to animals but also contributes to global warming. The Sun report details what happened next as consumers quickly came to reject its hyper-processed, plant-based offerings: He set up a string of Neat Burger eateries in London as well as a branch in Milan and New York. The latter closed last summer. But despite its food receiving praise after its launch, in 2023 the company posted substantial losses and confirmed half of its eight outlets in the capital would close. At the time, a company spokesman said: “We are concentrating our efforts on our best performing restaurants — we believe that sometimes taking a step back is necessary to make a bigger leap forward.” A spokesperson for the business since added: “We have no further comment at this time, other than to confirm that the business has taken the difficult decision to close its UK restaurants.”

It's hard out there for a vegan...

Yard Sale

Pay your fair share:

Sun Blockers

Britain has a new plan for the Sun:

The new plan comes with a host of possible climate control options pending government approval, The Telegraph reported. These options include injecting aerosols into the atmosphere and brightening clouds to reflect sunlight back into space. ARIA, the government’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency, has £50 million set aside for projects, which will be announced in the coming weeks. Prof. Mark Symes, the program director for ARIA, confirmed there will be “small controlled outdoor experiments on particular approaches.” “We will be announcing who we have given funding to in a few weeks and when we do so we will be making clear when any outdoor experiments might be taking place,” he said. “One of the missing pieces in this debate was physical data from the real world. Models can only tell us so much,” he continued. “Everything we do is going to be safe by design. We’re absolutely committed to responsible research, including responsible outdoor research.”

There goes the sun...

Tacky Talk

Welcome to the King's castle:

Miranda argues that Trump’s penchant for Rococo design reflects “an aesthetic that connotes absolute rule” and says “Trump’s gilded gewgaws” are “intimately connected” with “our growing authoritarian state.” Personally, I thought it was pretty authoritarian for the Biden administration to censor Americans’ speech online, round up pro-lifers in armed raids, and brand parents with the language of “domestic terrorism” for raising concerns at school board meetings. But Biden’s taste is more New England elitist than Palm Beach, so I guess that makes it OK? Miranda even compares Trump’s deportation of illegally present aliens and suspected gang members to Louis XIV throwing Frenchmen into the Bastille. Because the expulsion of foreign lawbreakers, not the Biden administration’s actual attempt to imprison its political opposition, is obviously the most analogous example to draw from here! She’s not the first columnist to try to turn Trump’s decorating style into something sinister. Last week, the Guardian’s technology reporter Julia Carrie Wong declared gold to be “a perfect emblem for Trump” because the “violence and displacement, suffering and grief that have accompanied the quest for gold” make its legacy “garish, useless, drenched in blood.” That’s a lot to read into a mantel and a few knick-knacks. CNN found an unnamed “former White House official” to describe Trump’s decor as “weirdly un-presidential” and “king-like.” New York Magazine called it “the Emperor’s New Oval Office.”

All hail King Donald...

No Bull

Green whackos strike again:

These inane anti-capitalist cultist activists painted the phrase “Greed = Death” and their group’s emblem on the bronze sculpture, which is a well-known symbol of Wall Street and the surging stock market. “Good morning from the resistance. We came to Wall Street to call out the bulls—,” the activist group said on social media site X. “Bulls— told by the 1% who gamble with our futures. Bulls– to bailouts for those who wrecked our economy.” One protester, who climbed up and sat on the neck of the bull, was told to dismount by a New York City police officer. Later Tuesday, the group of activists cleaned the green paint off the bull after their demonstration. Another meaningless virtue-signaling display🤡 Environmental activists spray-painted the Wall Street Bull with the message “Greed = Death” to protest the NYSE on National Earth Day.#EarthDay #EarthDay2025 pic.twitter.com/g4uWnGjTPl — Steve Gruber (@stevegrubershow) April 22, 2025 It seems these protesters take American cops more seriously than they do with the police in other countries. They swiftly wiped it all off when they spotted cops nearby.

They don't take any bull...

Remember When

That time they liked Adolf

Pulitzer Prize-winning “journalist” Anne O’Hare McCormick traveled to Berlin to become the first reporter from an American news outlet to interview the new chancellor, and she turned out to be an intriguing choice for the Times editors to make to conduct this interview, for she appears to have been something of a Hitler fan. In the presence of this man whose name has become today synonymous with evil, she was decidedly starry-eyed: “At first sight,” McCormick gushed, “the dictator of Germany seems a rather shy and simple man, younger than one expects, more robust, taller. His sun-browned face is full and is the mobile face of an orator. A shock of straight hair falls over his forehead.” Oh, brother. And as if that weren’t enough, she continues like a smitten schoolgirl. Oh, the Führer’s eyes! “His eyes,” she told the world, “are almost the color of the blue larkspur in a vase behind him, curiously childlike and candid. He appears untired and unworried. His voice is as quiet as his black tie and his double-breasted black suit.” Hitler speaks “slowly and solemnly but when he smiles—and he smiled frequently in the course of the interview—and especially when he loses himself and forgets his listener in a flood of speech, it’s easy to see how he sways multitudes.” What’s more, “Herr Hitler has the sensitive hand of the artist.” He tells McCormick coyly: “Ah! Women! Why, women have always been among my stanchest [sic] supporters. They feel that my victory is their victory.” Cue the romantic music, as the German dictator and the New York Times reporter stare at each other significantly in the candlelit room.

They liked their dictators back then...

Bard Review

The man behind the words:

Shakespeare, the son of a tradesman/bailiff, did not receive a university education, and he was reportedly once arrested for poaching (a story America’s own Washington Irving delighted in relating). Elitists of both our day and his day looked down upon him. But the undereducated tradesman’s son was such a genius that he became one of the, if not the, most quoted author in the English language, and justly so; his characters leap forth from the printed page as living, breathing creations, each unique and unforgettable, more startlingly real to us now as to his audiences hundreds of years ago than many an actual historical figure. If all the world’s a stage, Shakespeare was the consummate director and performer. And indeed, part of Shakespeare’s enduring appeal is not only his brilliance but his ability to see beyond the prejudices and stereotypes of his own time. Some of his most intelligent characters are women, one of his greatest tragic heroes is an African, and he knew that Jews and Christians have all the same members and affections. He wrote plays during the harsh anti-Catholic persecutions of Elizabeth I, yet many of his plays are thoroughly Catholic. He wrote about monarchs and emperors, yet he always portrayed the perspective of the common man and affirmed that the king is but a man, as any ordinary soldier.

He was the peoples' playwright...

Mothers Talk

Whoopie balks over money for moms:

Making Bank

Take care of business, he said:

Speaking at the Institute of International Finance during the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, Bessent said that “America First does not mean America alone.” He argued that the Trump administration is not looking to abandon international institutions or the global financial system built with American leadership, but rather is making a renewed commitment to U.S. leadership within it. “Far from stepping back, ‘America First’ seeks to expand U.S. leadership in international institutions like the IMF and World Bank,” Bessent said. The speech marked Bessent’s most comprehensive statement to date on the Trump administration’s global economic strategy, calling for a “rebalancing” of the international financial system that includes trade realignment, a reassessment of IMF and World Bank priorities, and a stronger role for the U.S. in shaping institutional governance. ‘Make the IMF the IMF Again’ Bessent called on global leaders to “make the IMF the IMF again,” singling out the IMF’s increased focus on climate change, gender equity, and social policy as distractions from its original purpose. “The IMF was once unwavering in its mission of promoting global monetary cooperation and financial stability,” he said. “Now it devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender, and social issues. These issues are not the IMF’s mission.”

The business of business is business...

Fact Finder

Just the facts, please:

Speaking to TheWrap, Redstone insisted that the media has an important role in America and it isn’t merely to indulge its “free speech.” “There is nothing controversial about telling the truth,” Redstone explained. “There’s nothing controversial about getting the real story out there. And I think companies have not only an opportunity, but a tremendous responsibility, to use the resources that they have to tell these stories and to get them to as many audiences, let people decide how they feel about something and how they react to something, but give them the facts.” She also said that “freedom of the press” can be misused by partisans who only tell one side of a story. “I don’t think there’s ever a time you have to compromise what it is that you say and do, but freedom of the press involves telling both sides of the story, giving the facts, not giving opinions. And I think that’s our responsibility as a media company,” she continued. Redstone also said that the media seemed to be better in the days of Walter Cronkite. “The days of Walter Cronkite, where, whatever it is, people believed in the truth, people really crave the information they need to be independent and make their own judgments. That’s what freedom of speech is,” she insisted.

Unfortunately for the modern media those days are long gone...

Payment Due

Reparations the right way:

Over the years, the debate has ignited strong emotions from the left that believe children of former slaves were entitled to reparations based on race alone. U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass) even sponsored House Bill H.R. 40, dubbed the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act. However, Miller threw a new wrench in the works by making a strong case for reparations for all Americans who have endured the negative effects of uncontrolled illegal immigration, whose harms, he said, could take more than a lifetime to enumerate. Appearing on Newsmax, Miller responded to arguments that the deported alleged MS-13 gang member, Kilmer Abrego Garcia, should receive $1 million in daily compensation for each day he spent in his home country of El Salvador after Trump’s deportation. “Where is compensation for Americans… where do they go to get their reparations?” Miller asked.

Don't ask the Democrats...

Sun Kings

There goes the sun:

The new plan comes with a host of possible climate control options pending government approval, The Telegraph reported. These options include injecting aerosols into the atmosphere and brightening clouds to reflect sunlight back into space. ARIA, the government’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency, has £50 million set aside for projects, which will be announced in the coming weeks. Prof. Mark Symes, the program director for ARIA, confirmed there will be “small controlled outdoor experiments on particular approaches.” “We will be announcing who we have given funding to in a few weeks and when we do so we will be making clear when any outdoor experiments might be taking place,” he said. “One of the missing pieces in this debate was physical data from the real world. Models can only tell us so much,” he continued.

Leave the Sun alone...

Dye Off

No more food dyes:

Blue Control

The people behind the curtain:

The multinational private equity firm Apax Partners acquired the parent company of NGP VAN — the Democrat Party’s comprehensive voter database — in 2021 and subsequently placed it under subsidiary Bonterra. Just before that, in 2020, a subsidiary of the Financial Investment Corporation had purchased majority ownership of the infamous Arabella Advisors — which controls the American left’s dark money empire. In doing so, Financial Investment Corporation and Apax Partners gained a chokehold on the Democrat Party. “They’ve seen the houses that the grifters can buy, and they realize how much money there is in lefty political organizing,” Parker Thayer, an investigative researcher at the Capital Research Center, told The Federalist. “This is an enormous industry, a multibillion-dollar-per-year industry. So, of course, private equity is going to come in and try to get a piece of it.” If these companies hypothetically wanted to secure policies to boost their incomes, Thayer said, they could simply pull the rug out from under Democrats ahead of an election. “The Democrats are absolutely, completely reliant on that stuff,” Thayer said. “If they wanted to, they could make all kinds of bets on oil companies, and then sabotage the Democrats right before midterms.”

They run the show...

Media Mania

It's the media's fault, he said:

“I think the message coming from the Democratic Party is a good message,” Clyburn said. “The problem we’ve got is that we have to depend upon the media to deliver it.” Host Ali Velshi responded that there are “valid criticisms out there about the fact that there is not a cohesive message coming from the Democratic Party.” “There were people who said the [2024] protest movement didn’t have the energy that it did after the 2016 election of Donald Trump,” he said. But the desperate Dem rejected that assessment – instead accusing mainstream media of chasing clicks, with some “caving” to Trump’s influence.

The medium wasn't the message...

California Purge

A California mayor has a rather unique suggestion for the homeless:

Certainly, the idea of handing out fentanyl to wipe out a population is more than alarming, even if it is made in jest or as a sarcastic policy underscore. After all, Christ did command us to minister to the "least of these." If we are serious in our contention that life is precious, such a conviction applies to the homeless and addicted as well as the unborn. But what does one do when "the least of these" is not interested in improving their lot? The mentally ill are a different story, but what about someone who has chosen the transient lifestyle, perhaps one that involves fentanyl or heroin? People have a right to be transient if they so choose. But other people have the right to be safe on the streets and in parks. They should be able to step out into the open air without worrying about being accosted, assaulted with a pair of scissors, or having to navigate garbage and human waste. And Parris did go to lengths to say he was talking about the criminal element that refuses help.

No help wanted, no help given...

The Gamblers

Some people will literally bet on anything:

“Immediately after the death of Pope Francis was announced, Google searches for “bet on new pope” spiked to nearly an all-time high, with the previous high coming back in September 2011 amidst the filing of a formal complaint to the International Criminal Court accusing then-Pope Benedict of crimes against humanity for their roles in the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic church,” reports the culture site Whiskey Riff. .... Whiskey Riff points out that there’s a reason why people are looking to bet on the next pontiff: Of course sports gambling has become a massive industry in the United States since being legalized back in 2018, with 30 states allowing online sports betting and over $121 billion reportedly being wagered in 2023. But sports bettors are kind of in a slow season right now. There’s the NBA and the NHL playoffs, and of course MLB, but with March Madness wrapping up a couple weeks ago and no football, it seems bettors are anxious to find something else to throw their money on – including the papal conclave. On some level, I get it. Gamblers want their “fix,” and they want their chance to win big money. But we’re talking about someone who died in the early morning hours. Regardless of what you think of Pope Francis — and I’ve seen enough ugliness in our normally civil and thoughtful comments section to know that the opinions are strong — doesn’t it come across as disrespectful to bet on his successor when the ink is barely dry on his death certificate?

Never let good taste get in the way of a bet...

Free Information

Americans prefer free speech:

Support for curbing false information had reached its zenith in 2023, with 55 percent of American adults saying that the U.S. government should limit false information, and 65 percent said that tech companies should do the same. Conversely, only 42 percent of Americans said in 2023 that freedom of information should be protected even if it meant false information could be published, and 32 percent said the same about tech companies protecting free expression online. Now, 51 percent of Americans said that the government should restrict false information online, a four-percent dip from two years ago, and 60 percent say tech platforms should restrict false information, representing a five-percent drop. Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents are much more likely to support restricting false information than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

No censorship for them...

Lady Liberty

Protecting the rights that matter:

Trump’s executive orders that aim to protect women’s and girls’ rights in sports and target gender ideology, anti-Semitism, and “unconstitutional and discriminatory behavior at America’s top institutions of higher learning” indicate a few focal points for the civil rights division, she said. “Those are our top civil rights priorities, and I don’t think anyone will be surprised to learn that,” she said. “I’m pretty sure I was selected for this role because of the background in civil rights on a number of aligned issues that we have done at the Center for American Liberty ... as well as my private practice and the Dhillon Law Group.” The DOJ’s civil rights division is the nation’s primary defender of religious liberties, which are protected by the First Amendment and many federal statutes, “so you can expect that to be a priority of this administration,” she said.

It's about time they were...

Homeward Bound

Illegal aliens are going home:

Celeste traveled from Peru to the U.S. two decades ago, then a young woman of 19, and overstayed her tourist visa… So, Celeste has made a tough decision: She will continue cleaning offices and saving money for just a few more months, and return to Peru by year’s end. About 100 miles southeast, Maria, also an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, said that after 30 years in the Coachella Valley, she, too, plans to return to her home country and try to forge a new life in the western state of Michoacán. Luz Gallegos, executive director of TODEC Legal Center in the Inland Empire, said her staff members talk “daily” with folks who are considering leaving. “What comes up a lot in the sessions is, ‘Prefiero irme con algo, que irme sin nada,’” Gallegos said. “I’d rather leave with something than leave with nothing.”

With five acres of land she doesn't seem to have exactly nothing...

College Cashout

No more free ride:

For decades, American institutions of higher education have benefited from extraordinary taxpayer largesse. Federal government grants and other forms of direct taxpayer subsidizations of universities are legion. The federal government itself also has a near-monopoly on the market for economically ruinous student loans -- the very loans that are themselves disproportionately responsible for abetting the modern four-year college's misbegotten status as a necessary rite of passage to achieve the American dream. Capital gains of major university endowments are also taxed at the miniscule rate of 1.4% -- a fraction of the taxation rate to which the endowments would be subject were they operating as any other type of business or investment fund. This favorable governmental treatment of higher education is the backend "quo." But policymakers predicated that "quo," long ago, on the corresponding "quid": American universities, in educating young Americans and instilling in them a love of their families, congregations, nation and God Almighty, conduce to the common good and therefore deserve direct public support. The basic problem with this argument, in the year 2025, is that -- quite simply -- it is indescribably and laughably out of touch with reality.

Time for higher education to literally pay for itself...

Payment Plan

The Mann has to pay:

Because sometimes, the science isn’t settled—but the bill is due. After more than a decade of legal proceedings, climate scientist and courtroom hobbyist Dr. Michael E. Mann has been ordered to pay $530,000+ in legal fees to National Review and Mark Steyn. Now, Dr. Mann faces his greatest existential threat yet—not rising temperatures, but rising legal bills. It’s time to Help a Mann Out. Fundraiser Goals $531,000 — Covers court-mandated payments and leaves just enough left over to commission a new graph. $750,000 — Includes overhead, paper shredding, and rebranding the phrase “academic integrity.” $1,000,000 — Unlocks a new round of litigation and enough surplus for a small Himalayan glacier-naming ceremony.

Time to Mann up...

Spanking Views

Spanking the American way:

People in the United States generally accept spanking as part of raising children: 56% of U.S. adults strongly agree or agree that “… it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking.” This view has been slowly changing since 1986, when 83% of adults agreed with that statement. The laws worldwide that protect children from being hit usually begin by disallowing nonparental adults to hit children. This is happening in the U.S. too, where 31 states have banned paddling in schools. At a national level, efforts have been made to end physical punishment in schools. However, 19 states still allow spanking of children in public schools, which was upheld by a 1977 Supreme Court case. With the slow but steady drop of parents who believe that sometimes children need a good hard spanking, as well as the ban of paddling in schools in 31 states, one could argue that the U.S. is moving toward a reduction in spanking.

It does seem that some of today's grown kids could definitely use one...

Judging Judges

The era of leftist judges trying to tell President Trump what to do may be ending soon:

John Yoo, a law professor at UC Berkeley and former Justice Department official, broke down the issue during an appearance on Fox News, where he explained the gravity of the situation and why the Supreme Court is now stepping in. “This is about who controls all those… and there’s about 675 federal trial judges spread out all over the country,” Yoo said. “And some of them have been bringing the federal government, bringing President Trump’s agenda to a screeching halt, even though they don’t have anybody, say, who works for the government or any of the illegal aliens or any of the spending in their own courtrooms.” In recent years, liberal activists have filed lawsuits in strategically chosen jurisdictions where they know they’ll find a sympathetic judge. The result? Leftist district judges, with no direct connection to the underlying policy or parties involved, have been able to issue injunctions blocking Trump administration directives nationwide—from immigration enforcement to federal spending priorities. Recommended: Tom Homan Schools Joe Scarborough on Border Security, and it Was Epic! “What’s going on here, I think it’s important to understand, is that the Supreme Court is already signaling that they’re very sympathetic to the Trump administration,” Yoo said. “The Supreme Court scheduled oral argument for May 15th.” That date raised eyebrows among legal observers, as the Court typically stops hearing arguments by April and shifts to issuing decisions in pending cases. The fact that the justices have called for arguments in May suggests the urgency and significance of the issue. “It never hears cases in May,” Yoo explained. “Usually, they’d be done their business and they’d be sending out opinions by now. They’ve called basically a special session in order to hear President Trump’s claims that there should not be unlimited nationwide injunctions, but that they should be under the control of the Supreme Court.”

The judges may find themselves overruled...

Anger Mis-Management

She really needs help:

The Post reports that Cohen has had a private counselling practice working with children, adolescents, and their families for more than two decades. In 2015, she also worked with the Kings County Re-Entry Task Force along with the Bureau of Youth Diversion and Initiatives to place offenders in diversion programs. Diversion is a criminal court practice where an offender is put on probation and — if he or she successfully completes probation without re-offending — has charges dismissed and avoids a permanent criminal record. An online profile states, “Carrie Cohen, MSW, LCSW,” has advanced training in maternal mental health. “MSW” and “LCSW” denote that Cohen is licensed in clinical social work. She also sells therapy worksheets and resources online for children with ADHD, body dysmorphia issues, and anxiety. Attempts to get Cohen to comment on her defense against the criminal charges have been unsuccessful. According to the Post: Cohen, who also goes by Carrie, was spotted outside her luxury Kensington apartment building on Tuesday, wearing sunglasses and an oversized hoodie. She tried ducking Post cameras as she and her teen son shuffled inside the building — where apartments are priced between $780,000 and $1.1 million and feature spacious patios and private backyards.

Therapist, heal thyself...

Trans Rage

Trans activists take out their anger on familiar targets:

n an “emergency demonstration”, thousands of radical gender ideologues took to the streets of the UK capital, calling for “trans liberation”. Participants carried placards reading “trans women are real women” and “biology is not binary”. The protest, which culminated in Parliament Square, was supported by groups such as Pride in Labour, the Front for the Liberation of Intersex Non-binary and Transgender people (Flint), TransActual, and Trans Kids Deserve Better, the Daily Mail reported. According to the paper, at least two statues outside of Parliament were vandalised during the demo, including one honouring suffragette and feminist icon Millicent Fawcett, upon which someone scrawled “fag rights”. Meanwhile, the statue of former South African military leader Jan Christian Smuts was defaced with the message “trans rights are human rights”. The leftist LGBTQ+ demonstrators were also mocked for apparently chanting “one struggle, one fight, Palestine, trans rights” given the opposition to homosexuality by Islamist groups like Gaza-ruling Hamas.

Fake women attack the real thing...

Coal Country

King Coal is back:

On April 8, the president signed an executive order aimed at reinvigorating domestic coal production and rolling back environmental regulations implemented during the previous administration. The executive action includes immediate exemptions for nearly 70 coal-fired power plants from a series of Biden-era pollution rules, which the Trump administration says had contributed to higher utility costs and growing concerns about grid reliability. “The integrity and expansion of our Nation’s energy infrastructure is an immediate and pressing priority for the protection of the United States’ national and economic security,” President Trump said, declaring a national energy emergency shortly after returning to the White House. The White House says the new directive will increase the nation’s base power capacity and help ensure that energy remains affordable and reliable as demand continues to rise. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright reinforced the administration’s position, stating on April 9, “The American people need more energy, and the Department of Energy is helping to meet this demand by unleashing supply of affordable, reliable, secure energy sources – including coal.” “Coal is essential for generating 24/7 electricity,” Wright added.

The Sun and Wind Kings are dead, long live King Coal...

Round Four

Oakland tries again:

The liberal-run city has had four different mayors in a four-month period after Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled this November and subsequently indicted on eight counts of bribery. Oakland has been without a clear leader this year as the city continues to grapple with ongoing crises. Taylor's campaign to finish out Thao's term was aimed at shaking up the political "status quo" and restoring Oaklanders' faith in their politicians after months of uncertainty. Taylor's policy platform highlighted public safety initiatives, budget stabilization to avoid bankruptcy, anti-corruption and increased efficiency at City Hall, tackling homelessness and boosting the local economy. There were 5,490 homeless people in Oakland in 2024, a 9% increase since 2022, according to Alameda County Health's January 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) report. While the Oakland Police Department reported a decrease in violent crime in 2024, 2025 began with a crime surge, including five recorded homicides within a 48-hour period. By Jan. 3, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Oakland's third homicide of the year and seventh since Dec. 30, 2024. Oakland's staggering $129.8 million budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2024-25 forced some Oakland firehouses to close their doors earlier this year, but the City Council was able to pass a resolution to reopen those firehouses earlier this year. "Oaklanders are frustrated," Taylor told Fox News Digital in an interview ahead of the special election. "We are upset that we have not been getting what we deserve, what we should be getting from our local government. The status quo continues to fail us when we see crime rates rising out of control, we see homelessness still growing when it's shrinking in neighboring cities, we see our city facing the largest fiscal budget deficit in our history – a number of failures that show that what we have is not working."

But they keep trying the same old thing anyway...

Northern Blight

Canadians don't seem to care:

As Action4Canada reminds us, Canadians don’t seem to care that Carney is an unrepentant globalist, a member of an oligarchic class that has “been contriving to create a dystopian future through fearmongering, misinformation, unscientific data, and manipulation.” Climate change must be fought, goes the mantra, even if it means the de-industrialization and impoverishment of the market-dominated economy. The Carneyesque project entails measures such as the six-year UN/WEF plan to reduce Annual meat consumption from 16kg of meat to zero Annual dairy/milk from 90kg of milk to zero Number of clothing purchase/per person/per year from 8 items and then down to 3 items Car ownership from 190 vehicles per 1000 people down to zero vehicles That is the future that Carney is planning for Canada, which must reduce its comparatively miniscule emissions to zero even at the expense of its prosperity and possibly of its survival as a viable country. Obviously, the likelihood of planetary salvation is pitched too far into the future to provide a scintilla of evidence for the validity of the policy. But if the world were to be saved tomorrow according to Carney’s intention, Canada will have ceased to exist. The problem is that Canada’s sacrifice on the altar of Gaia would yield no demonstrable result.

Canadians have cooked their own goose...

Court Review

There go the judges:

John Yoo: SCOTUS Signals Support for Trump

"The Supreme Court is already signaling that they are very sympathetic to the Trump administration... They've called, basically, a special session in order to hear president Trump's claims that there should not be unlimited nationwide… pic.twitter.com/TBKEkx5nba

— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) April 19, 2025

No Resistance

Resistance is futile:

The survey asked respondents, “Do you think Democrats should oppose everything that Trump is doing or should they take more of a wait-and-see attitude towards his actions?” Most respondents, 62 percent, believe they should take more of a wait-and-see attitude rather than immediately oppose the Trump agenda. This is compared to 39 percent who believe Democrats should “oppose everything Trump is doing.” Predictably, most Democrats, 64 percent, believe Democrats should oppose everything Trump is doing. Thirty-nine percent of independents and 15 percent of Republicans agree with them. Most Republicans, 84 percent, and independents, 61 percent, believe Democrats should take a wait-and-see attitude as well rather than displaying blind opposition. The survey asked respondents a more specific question, gauging if they believe Democrats should oppose Trump on tariffs and trade policy or see how his initiative plays out in the coming weeks. While the margins are tighter, 52 percent believe Democrats should “see how tariffs play out.” Another 48 percent said Democrats should oppose.

All in favor...

Tax Time

No more free ride for them:

The administration’s initial letter warned that $9 billion in grants and contracts would be reviewed. After some back-and-forth between the two sides, federal agencies announced April 14 that a quarter of that amount is now frozen due to the university’s inaction on the ultimatum. Harvard President Alan Garber announced on April 14 that he would not surrender his school’s “independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.” President Donald Trump posted on April 15 on Truth Social that perhaps Harvard should “be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’” “Remember, Tax Exempt status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” In response to reports that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is looking to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status, White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told The Epoch Times that “investigations into any institution’s violations of its tax status were initiated prior to” Trump’s social media post. He added that any IRS probe will be conducted independently of the president.

But it would be nice to know what they've been wasting it on...

History And Taxes

Taxes are literally as old as time:

When archaeologists recently uncovered a 2,000-year-old pyramid-shaped structure in the Judean Desert—believed to be a Ptolemaic tax collector’s post—they weren’t just digging up the past. They were brushing dust off a blueprint of ancient governance. “Most governments were quite highly motivated to extract as much revenue as possible within perceived political constraints,” says Taisu Zhang, a professor of law at Yale Law School. What remains today, such as stone inscriptions, clay tablets and bamboo records, tells a story far beyond administration. These tax relics reveal how early states governed, what they valued and how they balanced power with the burden on taxpayers. From Sumer to China, civilizations devised ingenious, and sometimes bizarre, ways to track, collect and enforce taxes, leaving behind vivid clues of how they funded their ambitions—and proved that even in the Bronze Age, nothing was certain but death and taxes.

Even then, one outlasted the other...

Blue Democracy

It's democracy's fault, or something:

Hogg: "We go out there all the time as Democrats and say 'democracy is the most important thing'... Democracy is what put us through school shooter drills and school shootings. It's what's put us through the climate crisis."pic.twitter.com/eZZmcFN0M4

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 18, 2025