Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker on Friday during internal voting, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump. Jordan, of Ohio, will now try to unite colleagues from the deeply divided House GOP majority around his bid ahead of a floor vote, which could push to next week.
Frustrated House Republicans have been fighting bitterly over whom they should elect to replace the speaker they ousted, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, and the future direction of their party. The stalemate, now in its second week, has thrown the House into chaos, grinding all other business to a halt.
โI think Jordan would do a great job,โ McCarthy said ahead of the vote. โWe got to get this back on track.โ
Attention swiftly turned to Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman and founder of the hard-line Freedom Caucus, as the next potential candidate after Majority Leader Steve Scalise abruptly ended his bid when it became clear holdouts would refuse to back him.
But not all Republicans want to see Jordan as speaker, second in line to the presidency. Overwhelmed and exhausted, anxious GOP lawmakers worry their House majority is being frittered away to countless rounds of infighting and some don’t want to reward Jordan’s wing, which sparked the turmoil.
โIf weโre going to be the majority party, we have to act like the majority party,โ said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., who posed a last-ditch challenge to Jordan.
While the firebrand Jordan has a long list of detractors who started making their opposition known, Jordanโs supporters said voting against the Trump ally during a public vote on the House floor would be tougher since he is so popular and well known among more conservative GOP voters.
Heading into a morning meeting, Jordan said, โI feel real good.โ
Other potential speaker choices were also being floated. Some Republicans proposed simply giving Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who was appointed interim speaker pro tempore, greater authority to lead the House for some time.
The House, without a speaker, is essentially unable to function during a time of turmoil in the U.S. and wars overseas. The political pressure increasingly is on Republicans to reverse course, reassert majority control and govern in Congress.
With the House narrowly split 221-212, with two vacancies, any nominee can lose just a few Republicans before they fail to reach the 217 majority needed in the face of opposition from Democrats, who will most certainly back their own leader, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
Absences heading into the weekend could lower the majority threshold needed, and Republicans said they were down about a dozen lawmakers as of midday Friday. No floor votes were scheduled as attendance thinned before the weekend.
In announcing his decision to withdraw from the nomination, Scalise said late Thursday the Republican majority still has to come together and โopen up the House again. But clearly not everybody is there.โ
Asked if he would throw his support behind Jordan, Scalise said, โItโs got to be people that arenโt doing it for themselves and their own personal interest.โ
But Jordan’s allies swung into high gear at a chance for the hard-right leader to seize the gavel.
โMake him the speaker. Do it tonight,โ said Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind. โHeโs the only one who can unite our party.โ
Jordan also received an important nod Friday from the Republican partyโs campaign chairman, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., who made an attempt to unify the fighting factions.
โRemoving Speaker Kevin McCarthy was a mistake,โ Hudson wrote on social media, saying the party found itself at a crossroads also blocking Scalise. โWe must unite around one leader.โ
Earlier in the week, Jordan had nominally dropped out of the race he initially lost to Scalise, 113-99, during internal balloting.
Scalise had been laboring to peel off more than 100 votes, mostly from those who backed Jordan. But many hard-liners taking their cues from Trump have dug in for a prolonged fight to replace McCarthy after his historic ouster from the job.
The holdouts argued that as majority leader, Scalise was no better choice, that he should be focusing on his health as he battles cancer and that he was not the leader they would support.
Handfuls of Republicans announced they were sticking with Jordan, McCarthy or someone other than Scalise โ including Trump, the former president. The position as House speaker does not need to go to a member of Congress.
Trump, the early front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, repeatedly discussed Scaliseโs health during a radio interview that aired Thursday.
Scalise has been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma and is being treated, but he has also said he was definitely up for the speaker’s job.
On Friday, another California Republican, Rep. Tom McClintock, had introduced a motion to reinstate McCarthy during the morning meeting, but it was shelved.
โI just told them, no, letโs not do that,โ McCarthy said afterward. โLetโs walk through this and have an election.โ
The situation is not fully different from the start of the year, when McCarthy faced a similar backlash from a different group of far-right holdouts who ultimately gave their votes to elect him speaker, then engineered his historic downfall.
But the math this time is even more daunting, and the problematic political dynamic is only worsening.
Exasperated Democrats, who have been waiting for the Republican majority to recover from McCarthyโs ouster, urged them to figure it out.
โThe House Democrats have continued to make clear that we are ready, willing and able to find a bipartisan path forward,โ Jeffries said, including doing away with the rule that allows a single lawmaker to force a vote against the speaker. โBut we need traditional Republicans to break from the extremists and partner with us.โ
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
At a Palestine rally at @UNC, radical left students threaten a man who they perceive to be an Israel supporter. Campus police lead the man away, apparently for his own safety. The leftist rally was promoted with a flyer featuring a Hamas terrorist. pic.twitter.com/8r2iB9Pq3Z
We will not allow terrorists to prevent Floridians from going about their daily lives or exercising their freedom to worship.
FHP and FDLE will continue providing increased security, and I expect universities to fully enforce all antisemitism laws on campus. https://t.co/ezfPmkM9Ml
AOC is a sickening Marxist antisemite who hates America and Israel, and I am fed up with her BS, the media promoting her, and ashamed that this two-faced hater is anywhere near the floor of the House of Representatives. You think my words are tough? Well, go back and look atโฆ
It's noteworthy that not a single Arab country has offered to accept Gaza Palestinians. Not one. And they are silent about Egypt keeping closed the main passageway for the Gaza Palestinians to leave Gaza, because Egypt doesn't want Gaza Palestinians coming into their country.โฆ
Ep. 30 What's happening at the southern border isnโt just an invasion, but a crime. The politicians and NGOs responsible for it are criminals, who should be punished accordingly. pic.twitter.com/cbkTSUyogC
NEW: Harvard students are freaking out after a truck is driving around the school, displaying names of students who allegedly signed a letter blaming Israel for Hamasโ terror attacks.
A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country in various news outlets, including NewsMax, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and โThe Washington Post.โ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh DโSouza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.
The Biden administration is deporting a Christian family from Germany who legitimately fears persecution and should qualify for asylum, while allowing 99 percent of illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S., most of whom likely do not qualify for asylum.
Uwe and Hannelore Romeike reportedly fled Germany in 2008 because they were threatened with prosecution and $9,000 fines for homeschooling their five children. The couple and their family have lived in Tennessee and filed for asylum. The family has thrived in the U.S., including having two children who are American citizens and two other children who married American citizens. Unfortunately, the U.S. authorities denied their asylum claim in 2013. After the Obama administration intervened, the family had been able to stay in the U.S. under an โindefinite deferred action status.โ
But last month the Biden administration told the family they must return to Germany. Since Germany hasnโt changed its law regarding homeschooling, the family has legitimate concerns that if they go back to Germany, they will face the same prosecution that drove them away in the first place.
While the Biden administration is determined to deport this Christian family, it has done next to nothing to remove millions of illegal immigrants who came into the U.S. through our nationโs southern border, according to a new report from House Republicans.
The Biden administration and its Democrat allies have insisted for more than two years that the U.S.-Mexico border wasnโt open, there is no border crisis, and the administration has enforced immigration laws. But the data gathered by the House Judiciary Committee paints a very different picture: that the Biden administration has failed to deport, through immigration court proceedings, more than 99 percent of illegal immigrants between Jan. 20, 2021, and March 31, 2023.
After pressure from the committee to release basic statistics, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported more than 5 million illegal immigrant encounters in that same period (not including unknown numbers of illegal โgetawaysโ). Most of them sought to claim asylum but were disqualified under asylumโs legal definition. Yet fewer than 6,000 illegal immigrants were placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge and actually removed from the United States during this time.
Meanwhile, nearly half of the 5 million illegal immigrants โhad no confirmed departure from the United States.โ DHS โreleased at least 2,148,738 illegal aliens into the United Statesโ during the same period, and only 6 percent of them โwere even screened for fear of prosecution for the purpose of asylum.โ
An Impeachable Offense?
According to Jeffrey H. Anderson, president of the American Main Street Initiative think tank, U.S. immigration law โrequires that those entering the U.S. without proper documentation be continuously detained until their claim can be adjudicated.โ The Biden administration has obviously failed to comply with U.S. immigration law, a failure that Anderson regards as President Biden having committed an impeachable offense.
Despite complaints from Democratic mayors, such as New York Cityโs Eric Adams, about their cities being overwhelmed with illegal immigrants, the Biden administration recently doubled down on its open border policy by granting work permits to close to half a million illegal immigrants from Venezuela without congressional authorization.
The Biden administrationโs reluctance to enforce existing laws and its willingness to offer amnesty have created an incentive for even more illegal border crossings. The GOP report estimates 1.2 million illegal migrant encounters between April and September this year. Last month, within 24 hours, more than 10,000 illegal migrants were โencounteredโ at the U.S.-Mexico border. Unsurprisingly, most came from Venezuela because they regard Bidenโs amnesty to Venezuelans as an open invitation to the United States.
Additionally, our nationโs southern border has become a gate for the illicit drug trade, directly contributing to Americaโs opioid epidemic. The United Nations calls the U.S.-Mexico border โthe deadliest land routeโ for human trafficking, especially the trafficking of children, many of whom have become enslaved workers in the U.S. Whatโs even more outrageous is that citizen journalists caught U.S. government officials facilitating child trafficking at taxpayersโ expense.
About-Face on Border Wall
In an about-face move, the Biden administration recently announced it would expedite the construction of a border wall, despite calling the wall construction under the Trump administration โjust one example of the prior administrationโs misplaced priorities and failure to manage migration in a safe, orderly, and humane way.โ White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tried to justify the administrationโs embarrassing policy reversal by insisting Biden hasnโt changed his opposition to a border wall. Still, his DHS โis complying by the lawโ to build a border wall because โthat appropriation came from fiscal year 2019 under the last administration, Republican leadership.โ
The Biden administrationโs claim of โcomplying with the lawโ is rich. The alarming statistics from the House GOPโs report demonstrate that the Biden administration, starting with President Biden, has surrendered one of the governmentโs most fundamental responsibilities: to enforce laws and keep America safe. Not to mention that the Biden administrationโs approach to immigration laws is so upside down and illogical that it insists on deporting a Christian family facing persecution in their home country while welcoming with open arms illegal migrants who are disqualified for asylum.
President Biden certainly believes he deserves another term. American voters, however, should remember the disastrous results of Bidenโs policies and never again elect as president someone who refuses to enforce the laws of the United States.
After the slaughter of more than a thousand Jews in Israel, among them beheaded infants and impaired elderly women burned alive, President Joe Biden delivered a righteousย speechย defending Israel and condemning the antisemitism of Hamas as โpure, unadulterated evil.โ We should expect this kind of sentiment from any leader of a nation of civilized people after the single worst act of butchery against Jews since the Holocaust. And, earnestly, the moral clarity was nice to hear after listening to the degeneracy of Hamas allies and theย fellow travelersย that infest the American left these days. ย
Democrats whoโve spent years defending the likes of Rashida Tlaib or Ben Rhodes or BLM or CAIR or whomever else are now feigning surprise that Soviet-style โanti-Zionistsโ are in their midst. And these arenโt members of some fringe groups dressing up like a bunch of Nazis in front of Disney World. Theyโre celebrated and educated and deeply embedded in left-wing intellectual circles, in major universities, in bureaucracies, in Congress, in establishment publications, and in cable news channels.
Some on the center-left have spoken out. Most leaders have not. Iโm not suggesting censoring anyone. But if youโre too much of a coward to denounce these people at this point, when will you?
So, anyway, Bidenโs speech was nice. But what are Democrats going to do? It is likely that the United States is providing Israel with intelligence assistance. One hopes weโll provide diplomatic cover rather than engage in the Obama-era machinations that treated the Jewish State as if it were barely an ally. All that is also appreciated.
When, however, will the administration rescind the $6 billion waiver it gave the Iranian mullahs, who have spent decades murdering and kidnapping American citizens, in addition to fueling war against our allies in the Middle East? There is no plausible way that Hamas could launch an attack of this scope without the logistical and monetary assistance of Iran. The Biden administration has allowed somewhere around $40 billion in waivers to flow to Iran over the past few years, not only six. Some of that was likely to keep world supplies up and prices domestically down (of course, we could drill here instead.) Sanctions exist to pressure regimes to engage in normal behavior. Will that change, or will Biden continue to employ pernicious Obama-style placation of the terror regime?
What is Biden going to do about Qatar โ where Hamas leaders are welcome to celebrate the murder of Jews and Americans while sipping spring water in upscale hotel rooms in Doha? The Department of Justice has designated Hamas as a terror organization. Qatar is ostensibly an ally. There is no reason we should not be able to extradite the architects of violence against American citizens.
What is Joe Biden doing about the hundreds of millions of U.S. tax dollars that continue to flow to Palestinian governments every year in direct aid and through the United Nations? Will we fund groups that divert fungible assets to launch terror attacks and pay stipends to the families of those who murder Jewish civilians? Should we be funding regimes that work to instill and propel (generational) hate and violence?
Only months ago, Fatah was in talks to form a unity government with Hamas, the organization that executed 260 young people at a music festival. (Though, to be fair, Hamas could probably win a majority support from the Congressional Progressive Caucus or the Harvard student body, as well.) For over a decade, there havenโt been elections in the โWest Bankโ because Hamas, or similarly fanatical parties, would prevail. The only group that can make Fatah look moderate is Hamas. Does that sound like the type of place deserving of U.S. aid? Or moral support? Or a state?
The president has said all the right things. Itโs appreciated. But his administration hasnโt done many of them. Not yet.
Hundreds of U.S. families are stranded in Israel without a safe way home after most major airlines canceled routes out of the country and U.S.-bound flights remain unavailable following Hamas’ vicious terrorist attack in the region.
Several thousand Americans traveled to Israel in late September to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, which spans over several days and has become a popular time for Jewish families to visit the Holy Land. For many in Jerusalem, the holiday celebrations were interrupted by air raid sirens signaling incoming missiles in the region, forcing them to take refuge in designated bomb shelters in their hotels or apartments.
Orthodox Jews there had been off electronics, including their cell phones, and had not known the extent of the bloodshed in southern Israel until Sunday evening when the holiday concluded.That’s when they learned the harrowing details of Hamas’ massacre on Israeli civilians and were informed that their flights home had been canceled indefinitely.
They spent the next several hours scrambling for alternative flights to no avail. Many of them were forced to accept the dreaded reality: They were now stuck in a region bracing for war.
Israeli firefighters extinguish fire at a site struck by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Monday.ย (AP/Tsafrir Abayov)
“This whole ordeal has been unimaginably stressful,” Moshe K., a resident of New Jersey who was visiting Jerusalem with 10 family members, told Fox News Digital. “I’m embarrassed of how the State Department has done nothing thus far to get us home other than collecting tens of thousands of names of stranded Americans who can’t get a flight out.”
Moshe was scheduled to return home on October 9, two days after Hamas launched its brutal attack in southern Israel, murdering over 700 civilians. He said he fears his family will be stuck in Israel for several more days if the U.S. State Department doesn’t intervene.
When he’s not frantically searching for flights home, Moshe and his family, including his children, elderly parents and young grandchildren, have been spending the past three days in and out of bomb shelters in their rented Jerusalem condo as air raid sirens continue blaring across the country.
Moshe said he was told that Switzerland, Poland, Brazil and other European countries have sent charter planes to evacuate their citizens from the war-torn territory, but Americans have received no word from the consulate about an evacuation plan. U.S. families and individuals have been instructed to fill out an online form requesting help from the State Department, but most of them have not heard back.
“While I fully understand that the State Department also has to sadly deal with killed and captured Americans, they have sufficient manpower to assign people to handle that aspect as well as the evacuation plan. The fact that 80 hours later, absolutely no word has come out as to what that plan is or concrete steps being taken to evacuate thousands who are stranded, is absolutely appalling,” Moshe said.
“Not a word about their ‘evacuation plan’, that at this point looks like it could take a week or so. They should be ashamed,” the worried father said on Monday.
Many other stranded Americans expressed a similar sentiment.
A resident of Clifton, N.J., who asked to be identified only as Rivkie, traveled to Israel with her family at eight months pregnant for the holidays. Her doctor cleared her for international travel because she was scheduled to return home before the start of her ninth month, but with no available return flights or assurances from the U.S. government, Rivkie fears she will be forced to remain in Israel and deliver her baby in a hospital already overwhelmed with wounded war victims.
“This has been so hard on my family, I’m pregnant and I’m slowly running out of days to fly home,” she said. “Why isn’t the U.S. government doing more to help us? European airlines are working to bring their citizens home.”
Rivkie said she’s worried how her young toddlers are processing the chaos, anxiety and deep sadness in the air.
“I’m worried about my kids. This has been traumatic. I took them outside today, and they asked if there will be another โboom boomโ soon. They cry every time we have to run into a shelter,” she added.
โIโm worried about my kids. This has been traumatic. They cry every time we have to run into a shelter.”โ Rivkie, Fox News Digital
Many Americans trapped in Israel have been glued to their phones and computers in the hopes of a return flight opening up. If anything does become available, they are booking several flights at a time only for them to be canceled hours later. Some Americans have managed to leave the country with flights headed to Europe and then booked a connecting flight to the U.S. from there.
Chana Rowe, a resident of Queens, N.Y., told Fox News Digital that she has been staying at a hotel in Jerusalem with her family since her flight to JFK this week was canceled. They have been advised not to leave the hotel unless necessary and have spent most of their days holed up in their rooms desperately searching for connecting European flights or private charters to bring them home.
“The past few days have been a nightmare, in so many ways,” Rowe said. “We’ve had to run into the shelter multiple times. It is scary to think that it could be several days before we can leave as the airlines continue to cancel most flights.”
“We are all changed forever. I can’t fathom going back to normal life.”โ Chana Rowe, Fox News Digital
“My family and I will never forget this time. We are all traumatized to say the least. There are young children with us who cannot fully grasp what is going on but the devastation, horror and fear in the air is palpable. We are terrified to go outside but we don’t feel completely safe in the hotel either. We are not sure where it is safest,” she added.
Rowe said her family has received no support or communication from the U.S. consulate.
“The U.S. government has not provided any means of support for the Americans that are stuck here,” she told Fox.
For some Americans stranded in the region, there is a deep sense of guilt felt by those trying to leave while their relatives, many of them residents of Israel, stay behind to face the war. The conflicting feelings among the Jewish Americans there โ a longing to remain in Israel to support the Jewish State, while fearing for their own safety โ has been weighing heavily on them.
The Albrechts were supposed to travel home from Israel this week. As war has broken out since the Hamas terrorist attack, they have endured fear but also felt pride for Israeli tenacity.
“Seeing what Hamas is doing to our fellow Jews is absolutely horrific. Anyone who doesnโt view these actions as acts of pure evil and hatred is inhumane,” Rowe said. “We are all changed forever. I canโt fathom going back to normal life once we do return to New York. I can’t stop thinking about the lives that were taken, those kidnapped, the women and teenagers that were raped, held hostage, for being Jewish. The whole world should be supporting Israel and should be helping out in any way they could.”
“We’re scared, we don’t know what to expect every time we run into a bomb shelter,” she added, “and at the same time, we are filled with deep sadness and feel sick to our stomach for our brothers and sisters just a few hours away who were brutally murdered or are grieving the loss of loved ones.”
Shai Albrecht, a personal trainer and Instagram fitness influencer from Maryland, traveled to Israel for the holidays with her husband and three children, ages five, seven and nine with a scheduled return flight on Monday. Her flight with United Airlines was canceled indefinitely. Albrecht and her children have been using their unplanned time in Israel to support the IDF soldiers who’ve been deployed, buying meals and fundraising for them when they’re not rushing into a bomb shelter.
“We have now had to go into the shelters many times. We have heard about this as American Jews, but to experience it is completely different,” Albrecht said. “There is a fear and sense of insecurity all the time, even when the sirens were not going off. I never realized that I could be so nervous using the bathroom. I keep thinking, if the siren goes off now, will I be able toโฆ grab my kids and get them all in the shelter in 30 seconds? My son seems most impacted, he constantly wants to check the Red Alert App and look outside for missiles,” she told Fox News Digital.
Like Rowe and others, Albrecht said she too has been grappling with conflicting feelings of guilt, fear and trepidation.
“This may be a war-torn country, but it is also my country as a Jew,” she told Fox. “But, Iโm also scared. I simultaneously want to run home to my quiet farm in the U.S., but also stay and support my family – literally and figuratively, in Israel. I have a lot of deeply conflicting feelings of fear, guilt, and trepidation for what may come tomorrow.”
“I simultaneously want to run home to my quiet farm in the U.S., but also stay and support my family.”โ Shai Albrecht, Fox News Digital
Albrecht said she trusts that the U.S. government will assist “if it gets to the point that our lives are in danger. Depending on how tonight and tomorrow are, I fear that this may get much worse,” she told Fox.
“Again, I am deeply conflicted, I know that I have the privilege to leave in a way my Israeli cousins do not, but also know that the kids school started today and they are missing their home, their friends, and their sense of normalcy. This has given us all a newfound sense of appreciation for the tenacity and dedication of Israelis,” she added.
Until they can return home, Albrecht said she and her family will do their “best to support the Israeli people and show our children that in times of national crisis each of us, no matter where we are located, must step up to help.”
A source familiar with the situation told Fox News that the State Department is working on arranging flights to bring stranded Americans home as soon as possible. The Department is “acutely aware of the currently limited capacity on commercial flights and the high demand from U.S. citizens wanting to depart,” a department spokesperson told Fox News.
“The State Department has teams communicating 24/7 with U.S. citizens and providing them assistance through phone calls, an online form, and the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program,” their statement reads. “Our goal is to assist U.S citizens who want to leave Israel with a safe means of doing so,” they said.
At this time, the State Department encouraged U.S. citizens to “take advantage” of commercial flights that involve transiting a third country if they are unable to book a direct flight to the United States.
“In order to meet high demand for flights, we are also exploring other contract options by air, land, and sea to nearby countries,” the department said, adding that they will continue to provide updates to U.S. citizens who have registered via their online form as information becomes available.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.ย ((Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images))
The statement comes a day afterย members of Congressย urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to do everything possible to evacuate Americans out of Israel. Included in the request to Blinken was a push to charter flights out of Israel, as airlines have canceled most flights out of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.
“As the number of casualties continue to rise, our constituents who remain in Israel fear for their lives,” the letter to Blinken reads. “We ask that you consider charter flights and military options for evacuation, simultaneously. At this harrowing moment in Israelโs history, it is more important than ever that every American who is looking to return home has the opportunity to do so.”
Hamas-led forcesย poured over the Israel-Gaza border on Saturday while residents were sleeping, dragging people, including women and children into the streets, taking some hostage while beheading and brutally murdering others. More than 700 Israelis, including men, women, children and the elderly, were indiscriminately killed in one day โ the largest terror attack in a single day in Israelโs history. Two days later, Israelโs military discovered many scenes of unspeakable bloodshed perpetrated by Hamas. ย
The Hamas attack shocked Israel and the global community and has sparked a war on the Palestinian terrorist organization. More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, and 25 Americans have been confirmed dead, with others still missing.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem told Fox News Digital that U.S. citizens seeking to be in touch with the U.S. Embassy in Israel should visit the website cacms.state.gov/s/crisis-intake or call +1-833-890-9595 and +1-606-641-0131. Any notifications from the Embassy can be found at https://il.usembassy.gov/category/alert/.
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media.
Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to yael.halon@fox.com.
EXCLUSIVE โ Denver’s homeless problem is so bad that one resident resorted to dumping human excrement left by his office on the steps of City Hall to convey his frustration.
Mike Johnston, the Democratic mayor of Denver, may be on the other side of the aisle, but he understood where libertarian think tank owner Jon Caldara was coming from with his viral stunt.
“I’ve known Jon Caldara for a long time, so we’ve had more than our handful of discussions, but I think he and I share the same goal, which is what we want is be able to get people housed and be able to get back clean, safe public spaces that everyone can access,” Johnston told Fox News Digital. “We know one of the reasons that happens is when folks are living out in tents and encampments, they don’t have access to public bathrooms. They don’t have access to trash pick-up. And so often they have no place else to drop trash and no place else to go to the bathroom, and so that’s one of the reasons why we know it’s not the right solution. It’s inhumane, it’s not good for the city.”
While a Democrat, Johnston calls himself a nonpartisan mayor for Denver. The deep-blue city โ President Biden took nearly 80% of the vote there in 2020 โ is one of many throughout the country struggling with skyrocketing living costs and accompanying homelessness.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston took office in July and declared a public emergency on the city’s homeless crisis.ย (Getty Images)
“One of the things I love about this job as a nonpartisan mayor and about this task is people from all ends of the spectrum care deeply about this and getting it done,” he said, calling his plan “so ambitious.” “We were able to bring together really diverse coalitions to work on this.”ย
According to the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report released late last year, Denver had the 10th-largest homeless population among American cities in 2022 at nearly 7,000, and was fourth-worst among cities outside California. Johnston said he hears constantly from city businesses that have lost foot traffic and revenues, and even had to close down, because their downtown locations were beset by the various consequences of homeless people. To illustrate, Caldara shared photos of used needles, human waste and broken glass around his think tank office.
Johnston, who took office in July, immediately declared homelessness a public emergency and released a $50 million plan to get 1,000 people into transitional or semi-permanent housing by year’s end, according to CBS Denver. He then hopes to keep homeless encampments that have marred city streets closed for good.
“We now have one of the highest commercial vacancy rates of any city in America,” Johnston said. “We’re tied with San Francisco, which also has a very significant homeless population. So we know this is one of the major drivers that changes how people feel about their downtown. It affects visitors, affects tourists, affects who wants to work downtown, affects who wants to keep their businesses downtown.”
Johnston said the city has seen a 300% increase in homelessness in just the past five years, accompanied by more deaths of residents on the streets, and called it the top issue for voters and for his administration.
“We view that as a crisis on all fronts,” he said. “That also means more encampments. It means more businesses who have people living or sleeping in front of their business, or in front of their home, or in their public parks.”
Jon Caldara dumps human excrement on the steps of Denver’s City Hall in protest of the city’s homelessness policies.ย (Tracie Smith / Independence Institute)
Johnston acknowledged drug use, particularly from the fentanyl epidemic gripping the country, and mental health issues were contributing factors to homelessness, but said primarily the issue was the high cost of living in Denver.
“We believe you stabilize people in the same way that they got destabilized,” he said. “We first got them back into housing. We provide wraparound services on mental health, addiction treatment, workforce training and these are meant to be transitional units. So what we’re doing is bringing on hotels we’ve converted into micro units. We have open half-acre, acre vacant lots where we put up tiny home villagesโฆ The goal is these are transitional spots where people will come three, six months, get their lives back together, get a job, get some savings, be able to move into their own place, so they can pay rent and get back up on their feet.‘
“If we can get all those folks that are currently unsheltered into housing and can close those encampments and keep them closed and reactivate the city, we will have done what most other cities have struggled to do, which is actually to get people into housing and to get back vibrant, joyful, safe downtowns and no longer have encampments in them,” Johnston added.
He hopes Denver can be a model for the rest of the country in that regard.
Homeless people gather belongings as crews work to clean up a homeless camp in the RiNo neighborhood near the Platte River in Denver on May 17, 2022.ย (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images))
Reached for comment on Johnston’s approach, Caldara scoffed.
“Another โhousing firstโ plan throwing $ at the homeless,” he wrote in a text message, suggesting instead, “Enforce the camping ban. Arrest people. Clean up streets.”
Caldara shared a column he wrote about how Denver should look to Colorado Springs, the second-largest city in the state after the capital, as a model on how to deal with the issue. He derided Johnston’s approach as “adorable” and said the housing units were effectively a safe place for the homeless “to lay down their heads at the end of a responsibility-free day of criminal activity.”
Colorado Springs, Caldara said, enforces its laws against drug use, theft, assault and public defecation in a way Denver fails to do.
“People should be able to walk around and go to work without stepping over bottles, puddles of urine and vomit. And human feces,” he told Fox News Digital last month.
Asked to respond to claims Denver doesn’t enforce the law, Johnston spokeswoman Jordan Fuja said he was committed to enforcing the law for everyone.
“But we know that law enforcement doesnโt have the capacity to respond to the cityโs volume of 911 calls. Thatโs why hisย 2024 budgetย includes funding for the largest police recruit class since 2005, which will put us on the path to meet the full authorized strength of the police department,” she said in a statement.
Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed raised eyebrows among some progressives with a plan requiring anyone receiving welfare to submit to mandatory drug testing and treatment programs, but Johnston’s office said there would be no such requirements to live in one of the “micro-communities.”
“There will not be sobriety requirements to enter one of the micro-communities. Each community will be operated by service providers who create and maintain community rules that must be followed by those living in the community,” Fuja said.
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media
David Rutz is a senior editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @davidrutz.
Bipartisan members of the Senate Armed Services Committeeย sent a letterย to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday requesting more Iron Dome batteries for Israel. The letter was Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Rick Scott, R-S.C., Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Sen. Michaelย Rounds, R-S.D.
The letter read: “While we appreciate the Department of Defense has announced that it will rapidly provide Israel with equipment and munitions, and that discussions are underway to resupply Israel with Iron Dome interceptors, we also understand that Israel may urgently require additional missile defense capacity to protect its citizens and territory, including new Iron Dome batteries.
“As you know, the United States Army is currently in possession of two Iron Dome batteries that have not been deployed and have no operational use inside the United States where they are currently stored.”
The committee members said that transferring these two batteries to Israel, in addition to other “defensive assets,” would provide “tangible, life-saving, and sustained support” to prevent Israel from being “overwhelmed” by rocket and missile salvos from Hamas in Gaza.
“I’ve joined a bipartisan letter with [Sens. Rosen, Scott, and Rounds] to Secretary Austin requesting that the Department of Defense transfer two Iron Dome batteries to Israel, as well as additional unused military assets,” Gillibrand said in a social media post including the letter on Wednesday.
The Washington Examiner reported Thursdayย that the anti-missile system has been heavily used since the massive Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that has launched thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel and killed more than 1,000 Israelis and at least 22 Americans. Hamas forces have also kidnapped more than 100 Israelis and other civilians, possibly including Americans to be used as hostages, the report said.
In the letter, the Senators asked Austin to respond to the request by Friday.
Newser reported Wednesdayย that Israel currently has 10 Iron Dome batteries scattered throughout the country to take out incoming rockets and missiles. According to the report, the system uses radar to estimate an incoming missile’s speed and trajectory to fire an interceptor missile to destroy it in the sky. Each individual battery contains three or fourย launchers, each holding up to 20 interceptor missiles.
The report said that the massive amount of rockets launched at Israel could be designed to use up their current interceptor missile inventory, leaving them vulnerable for future attacks if the munitions are not replenished.
Byย John GizziThursday, 12 October 2023 11:06 AM EDT Currentย |ย Bioย |ย Archive
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., will not secure the 217 votes needed to become the chamber’s speaker, according to sources. The House conference has been delaying bringing the nomination to the floor for a full vote, as several members tell me Scalise cannot win.
“There are as many as 30 members opposing Scalise,” one source said, noting almost all are “Jordan and McCarthy supporters,” referring to Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who lost to Scalise on a secret ballot for nomination to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Reports say Jordan is supporting Scalise, but privately he told GOP conference members he would back Scalise only if he were to attain the 217 votes. Jordan, sources say, will reenter the race as soon as Scalise withdraws.
Scaliseโs office told Newsmax Thursday he had no plans to withdraw.
House GOP Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., are also discussing plans to enter the speaker’s race after Scalise exits. Both are also preparing to challenge Jordan. Jordan lost the vote to Scalise among House Republicans Tuesday, 113-99.
Jordan then pushed for a motion that the House GOP’s nominee must win 217 votes before the matter is brought to the floor. That motion was rejected by the conference.
Hern appears to be the sleeper candidate. He’s solidly conservative, supports former President Donald Trump, and is liked by moderates who won’t back Jordan.
Emmer, meanwhile, is a moderate opposed by Trump, which likely would doom his bid for the leadership position.
The U.S. reportedly already has a “quiet understanding” with Qatar to hold the $6 billion in sanctioned Iranian oil money. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats about this “quiet agreement” and the $6 billion “isn’t going anywhere anytime so on,”ย Punchbowl News first reportedย Thursday. Three sources confirmed the report toย The Washington Post.
Iran’s Nournews had said Thursday that Tehran had full access to its funds that were transferred to Qatari banks last month under a prisoner swap deal with the U.S., despite some reports that Washington and Doha have agreed to stop Iran from tapping the $6 billion.
“There has been no change in Iran’s access to its foreign funds in Qatari banks, and the existing agreement remains in effect,” said the news website, affiliated with Iran’s top security body.
But that is now shelved under pressure from American lawmakers, according to the Post.
“It is perplexing why the Biden administration refuses to crack down on Iran and issue a formal decision to freeze the $6 billion ransom payment,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote in a statement provided to Newsmax. “Instead, the administration is selectively leaking parts of their backdoor deal with Qatar to the media.
“We need to ensure the Biden administration will not release another dollar to Iran โ even when the media attention on Israel dissipates. We must send the message that America does not reward terrorism or the arbitrary detention of our citizens abroad.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in Qatar on Friday to discuss with its prime minister developments in the Israel-Hamas conflict, ways to de-escalate it and the protection of civilians, the Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said.
“The senators in question and the U.S. government are all acutely aware that they can NOT renege on the agreement,” Iran sources told the Post in a statement.
“The money rightfully belongs to the people of Iran, earmarked for the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to facilitate the acquisition of all essential and non-sanctioned requisites for the Iranians.”
The prisoner swap has already been completely, so refusing Iran’s money now will have a deleterious effect on the Biden administration’s hopes for diplomatic reset with Iran.
“If this step is taken, that status quo falls apart โ and it will have a very detrimental effect on the internal discussions in Iran, within the regime,” Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s Trita Parsi told the Post. “If there is no prospect of a deal with the U.S., it will likely tilt Iran toward building a bomb โ and that would be an extremely dangerous situation.”
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country in various news outlets, including NewsMax, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and โThe Washington Post.โ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh DโSouza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) admitted in a September report that foreign terrorists are exploiting the Biden-manufactured border crisis to illegally enter the United States.
Released last month by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, the โHomeland Threat Assessmentโ for fiscal year 2024 includes an admission by the agency that international terrorists are looking to capitalize on the Biden administrationโs open border policies and the resulting influx of illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border to enter the American homeland. Under the section titled, โBorder and Immigration Security,โ the report specifically noted how โ[t]errorists and criminal actors may exploit the elevated flow and increasingly complex security environment to enter the United States.โ
The agency further acknowledged โindividuals with potential terrorism connectionsโ are actively attempting to enter the U.S. thanks to the ongoing crisis. Months before the 2023 fiscal year ended, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had already encountered approximately 160 individuals on the Terrorist Screening Data Set (TSDS), or โwatchlistโ โ more than the 100 or so encountered in the entirety of the 2022 fiscal year. According to the report, โInclusion in the TSDS ranges from known associates of watchlisted individuals, such as family members, to individuals directly engaged in terrorist activity.โ
Despite proclaiming support for a โsecureโ border, President Joe Biden and his administration have routinely dismantled policies that helped stymie the ongoing crisis. In addition to auctioning off border wall construction materials, Biden moved to gut the Trump administrationโs โRemain in Mexicoโ policy shortly after taking office. That policy required illegal border crossers seeking asylum to stay in the Latin American country until their court hearing.
Itโs estimated that nearly 7 million illegal immigrants have been โencounteredโ at the U.S.-Mexico border since Biden took office, according to the New York Post. And that doesnโt even include the potentially millions of โgotawaysโ who evaded capture by CBP agents.
Last monthโs DHS assessment was issued weeks before Hamas โ an Iranian-backed terrorist organization operating out of Gaza โ launched a series of unprovoked and barbaric attacks against Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The attacks have since prompted concerns that foreign-based terrorist organizations could exploit Americaโs open border to illegally enter the U.S. and launch similar operations.
In response to possible threats, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the stateโs public safety division to coordinate with local and federal law enforcement on โheightened public safety measures,โ with a particular focus on raising awareness of possible threats against the stateโs Jewish community by Iranian-backed terrorist groups.
In its new threat assessment, DHS specifically highlighted Iran โ the worldโs leading state-sponsor of terrorism โ and its โintent to plot attacks against current and former US government officials.โ
โIran relies on individuals with pre-existing access to the United States for surveillance and lethal plottingโusing dual nationals, members of criminal networks, and private investigators,โ the report reads, adding that Tehran has even attempted to carry out plots โthat do not require international travel for operatives.โ
The report also listed Hezbollah โ another Iranian-backed terrorist group operating out of Lebanon โ as another source of potential foreign terror threats.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
Weโre hearing a lot about what President Biden said in Tuesdayโs address on Hamasโs outrageous attack on Israel. Whatโs missing, though, is โฆ well, what was missing. For while he was careful to denounce this brutal, inexcusable act of terrorism, Biden ignored the key role played by his own disastrous policies, and left Americans largely clueless as to how his administration would respond to this major test of U.S. leadership.
Letโs recap what we didnโt hear:
1. Ghosting on Iran
It is common knowledge that Biden was trying to buy the Iranians off with a massive payout for hostages. Add to this gaps in sanctions big enough for the biggest oil tankers to sail through, and virtual silence on Iranโs human-rights record, support for terrorism, and destabilizing activities in the region and Latin America.
Biden had hoped that Iran would keep a low profile, at least until after the 2024 elections. Tehranโs payback to the U.S. and Biden was not only to cheerlead as Hamas terrorists decapitated babies, but to likely assist in supporting and planning the terror campaign.
The president could not even bring himself to mention Iran in his speech on Tuesday. Thatโs a clear signal the administration is clueless what to do now that itโs been hit with irrefutable evidence that its Iran policy has utterly and completely failed.
2. Ignoring Russia
Russia has declared itself all in for Hamas, a marked shift in Moscow policy. Further, there are reports that Russian mercenaries may have assisted in training and preparing Hamasโs shock troops. And there are additional reports Russians smuggled captured arms to the Hamas and then spread a false-flag that these arms were sold by Ukrainians to Hamas on the black market.
Both Russia and Iran clearly believe that a spiraling war in the Middle East will overstretch and distract the United States. Meanwhile, Biden, who has never articulated a clear strategy for Ukraine, now gives us a “no plan” plan for dealing with a dual global crisis.
All we have from the White House is that Ukraine can expect a blank check for as long as it takes. For Israel, we get finger-wagging at Israel not to over-react. The signal this sends to both Moscow and Tehran is that Washington is just making this up as it goes along.
Itโs Amateur Night writ large at a time when we need true professionals at work.
3. Gaslighting on the Border
Israel gets hammered with Pearl Harbor from Gaza with virtually no warning. Meanwhile, the U.S. has the most open border on earth. Millions of illegals have poured into the U.S. without even being observed by border agents, let alone vetted.
We know that this flood includes people from all over the world. We know it includes people on terrorist watchlists. We know this because in recent months we have culled unprecedented numbers of them at the border. The odds that theyโre the only ones are less than zero. Yet in his speech Tuesday, the president had nothing to reassure Americans that heโs prepared to safeguard Americans from the next 9/11.
4. Antisemitism Gets a Pass
A long list of yahoos, from the “Squad” in Congress to BLM to radicals at Ivy League universities, have reacted to Hamasโs atrocities by attacking Israel. The president has a deep, insidious, and pernicious problem with antisemitism in his own party. Tuesdayโs speech presented a perfect opportunity for him to call them out and declare it unacceptable. He didnโt take it.
The White House staff is probably proud that Biden could muster the energy, after hosting a BBQ, to deliver what was largely a boilerplate speech. But Americans looking for real leadership canโt help being disappointed by a president who appears to be going through the motions at a uniquely critical time.
Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday nominated Steve Scalise to serve as speaker following last week’s ouster of Kevin McCarthy, though it was unclear whether he had enough support to win a vote of the full chamber. Scalise, now No. 2 on the Republican leadership ladder, must still win approval from the full House before he can claim the speaker’s gavel. Republicans can afford only a handful of defections as they control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 majority and Democrats are not expected to vote for any Republican candidate.
Lawmakers said they had been told to expect a vote at 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), but the House did not take action at that time and CNN reported that no speaker vote would take place on Wednesday.
“We’re working hard to get unified. We need to get unified because the world is not waiting,” Scalise, 58, told reporters. “Obviously we still have work to do.”
Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry told reporters a vote “could be as early as today.” At least four Republicans said they would not support Scalise in a floor vote.
“It’s not over yet. That was the inside race. Now the outside race starts,” said Rep.ย Thomas Massie, one of the Republican lawmakers who had backed House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan in a secret ballot behind closed doors.
The tally was 113 for Scalise and 99 for Jordan, lawmakers said.
Massie said he expected to meet privately with Scalise before a floor vote.
Jordan plans to vote for Scalise on the floor and is encouraging his colleagues to do the same, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity. But it remained to be seen whether his backers would support Scalise when his nomination comes up for a vote in the full House. McCarthy in January had to endure 15 rounds of voting before clinching the speakership.
Before selecting Scalise, Republicans rejected a proposal that would have required their nominee to secure 217 of their 221 votes. That allowed Scalise to win the nomination quickly, but left open the question of whether he would face a repeat of the battle in January for the role of speaker, which played out over four days.
Republican Rep. Kat Cammack predicted the floor vote would be a “bloodbath … a continuation of the chaos that has plagued the House.”
Republicans say they need to quickly resolve a leadership vacuum that has prevented the House from addressing the war in Israel, approving more aid to Ukraine and passing spending bills before current government funding runs out on Nov. 17.
Scalise said his first action as speaker would be to schedule a vote on a resolution making clear that the United States stands with Israel in its war with Hamas militants in Gaza.
It took only eight Republicans to oust McCarthy last week, a fact that could make leading the caucus a challenge for any new speaker.
While McCarthy was the first speaker in U.S. history to be removed in a formal vote, the last two Republicans to hold the job wound up leaving under pressure from party hardliners.
Americans appear to have flagging confidence in Congress’ ability to overcome its partisan differences – and the Republican infighting that led to McCarthy’s ouster on Oct. 3. Some 64% of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week said they did not believe Washington politicians could put aside partisan disagreements for the good of the nation.
George Washington Universityโs Students for Justice in Palestine chapter gathered on campus in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10 “for a vigil in honor of our [Hamas] martyrs” who attacked Israel days earlier. Organizers encouraged students to wear masks to hide their faces. (Photo: The Daily Signal)
WASHINGTON โ George Washington University students held a โVigil for the Martyrs of Palestineโ on Tuesday evening where they mourned theย Hamas terroristsย killedย attacking Israel. The Students for Justice in Palestine chapter gathered in Kogan Plaza as dusk fell on Washington, D.C., โfor a vigil in honor of our martyrs.โ Organizersย encouragedย the students to bring posters, flowers, flags, and a mask or keffiyeh (Palestinian headdress) to hide their faces.
Video footage captured byย The Daily Signalย team shows the leader of the group chanting various pro-Palestine and anti-Israel slogans into a megaphone, including โZionism has got to go,โ โIntifada! Intifada!โ (Arabic for uprising or rebellion), and โFrom the river to the sea, Palestine will soon be free.โ
As of February 2023, student Lance Lokas was the president of George Washington Universityโs Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. Lokas was named in a federal civil rights complaint filed with the Department of Educationโs Office for Civil Rights accusing the university of perpetuating anti-Palestinian racism.
His allegations against the university were related to a pro-Palestine protest that the university said โappeared targeted to members of our community based on their Jewish faith or their affiliation with Hillelโ with signs and slogans such as โDECOLONIZE PALESTINEโ and โSETTLERS Fโ OFF. STOP THE ANNEXATION OF PALESTINE.โ
โWe were trying to disrupt the event to make clear that we donโt support war criminals and Israeli military leadership on our campus,โ Lokas told Jewish Currents earlier this year.
Students attending Tuesday eveningโs events largely covered their faces with medical face masks, apparently to obscure their identities. One young woman who attended the vigil with her hair and face covered told The Daily Signal that the masking would make it more difficult for authorities to track any attendees down.
George Washington University has not responded to requests for comment from The Daily Signal regarding the protest or a controversial statement put out by Students for Justice in Palestine.
โThis past weekend, we witnessed them break free, tearing down the prison walls and making it known to the world: WE WILL BE CAGED NO LONGER,โ said a statement from the student group aligning itself with Hamas. That statement praises the invasion as โhistory in the makingโ and โthe beginning of a new era in our struggle.โ
โGW Students for Justice in Palestine maintains unwavering support for our peopleโs resistance, in all its forms,โ the statement said. โEvery single act of resistance moves us closer to the liberation of our homeland. We will never capitulate to the colonizer or his sympathizers, and we stand firm and steadfast in support of our peopleโs right to resist. We call upon all our people and those in solidarity with us to join us in this struggle.โ
After the Palestine Vigil concluded at George Washington U, @MaryMargOlohan and I tried to ask the leaders if they would explain why their bullhorn had a โprideโ flag when you would be killed for being LGBT in Palestine.
Additionally, a toolkit released by the national Students for Justice in Palestine organization calls for the student movement to organize a national day of resistance on college campuses across the U.S. and Canada. The organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
โWe as Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement,โ the toolkit messaging says in bold. โThis is a moment of mobilization for all Palestinians. We must act as part of this movement. All of our efforts continue the work and resistance of Palestinians on the ground.โ
At least six chapters of the student group have already announced such events for Oct. 12, according to the Anti-Defamation League: Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Butler Universityin Indiana, University of Louisville in Kentucky, University of Binghamton in New York, and the University of Virginia.
โWe must continue to resist directly, through dismantling Zionism and wielding the political power that our organizations hold on our campuses and in our communities,โ the toolkit says. โWe are asking chapters to host demonstrations on campus/in their community in support of our resistance in Palestine and the national liberation struggleโone which they play a critical role in actualizing.โ
If a protest is not possible, the national Students for Justice in Palestine encourages other forms of engagement, such as a sit-in, โdisruption,โ or โeducational event.โ
The Anti-Defamation Leagueย expressed concernsย about such tactics: โAlthough these are all nonviolent tactics, they raise the real possibility of creating a hostile environment for Jewish students, and the confrontational spirit that permeates the toolkit raises the concern that these actions could lead to acts of harassment or vandalism targeting Jewish students and organizations.โ
A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country in various news outlets, including NewsMax, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and โThe Washington Post.โ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh DโSouza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.
The barbaric attack on Israeli civilians over the weekend by Hamas terrorists has left people wondering, as we often do after mass tragedies: How did no one see this coming? As a surprisingly sophisticated, coordinated surprise attack left nearly 1,000 people dead and countless more innocents wounded or kidnapped, anyone can recognize the massive intelligence failure without calling into question who is morally culpable for the invasion. Iran-backed militants attacked civilians from multiple points of entry, hang-gliding into a music festival and dragging the bodies of murdered women through the streets, all effectively livestreamed on the internet.
It wasnโt just an intel failure on Israelโs part โ as a close ally with an intelligence presence all over the world, the United States also failed to foresee the attack. A senior U.S. military official admitted to NBC News that โWe were not tracking this.โ CIA counterterrorism veteran Marc Polymeropoulos told the outlet he was โstunnedโ that American intel agencies were caught off guard.
Intelligence operatives are fallible, yes. But instead of identifying the threat from Hamas terrorists, the Biden administration was busy sending money to their state sponsors in Iran and employing Iranian conspirators at the Pentagon.
Thereโs another task thatโs been keeping Americaโs so-called โcounterterrorismโ apparatus busy lately, though. Instead of focusing their efforts on actual terrorists โ those abroad and those doubtless infiltrating our porous southern border โ the Biden administration has continued, and escalated, the trend of turning our post-9/11 surveillance state against Americans, smearing them as โterroristsโ for their political beliefs.
Just last week, Newsweekย reportedย that the FBI is targeting Trump supporters as โdomestic terroristsโ ahead of the 2024 election. The universal line from the Biden administration is that โdomestic terrorismโ and its aliases โ all of which are used as code for political right-wingers โ are the No. 1 threat to national security. The effort to make an example out of Trump supporters who demonstrated at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is only one of numerous instances in which Democrats within and beyond intelligence agencies are working to equate โdomestic terrorismโ with their political opponents.
Two years ago, Bidenโs Education Department infamouslyย plantedย a letter from the National School Boards Association to Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging him to target concerned parents who showed up at school board meetings to protest Democratsโ Covid policies and their racialist and sexually graphic curricula in public schools. The letter smeared those parents as domestic terror threats and urged the Department of Justice to wield counterterrorism laws against them, and Garland happily acted on the suggestion.
A few months later, the politicized Department of Justiceย announcedย a new โdomestic terrorism unitโ to deal with โan elevated threat from domestic violence extremists,โ including โthose who ascribe to extremist anti-government and anti-authority ideologies.โย (Who knew the Founding Fathers were domestic terrorists?)
Taking things, a step further, disgraced former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabeย claimedย that targeting the โfringes of the right-wing movementโ was insufficient to โcatch this threat,โ and instead called for federal suspicion of โmainstreamโ conservatives.
In June 2021, the Biden administration released a โNational Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.โ Itย proposedย to โcounter domestic terrorism by addressing underlying racism and bigotryโ โ and they werenโt talking about the racism that led Hamas militants to slaughter Israeli civilians this past weekend and has driven violence against Israel in the region for decades. A National Terrorism Advisory Systemย bulletinย issued the same year lumped โconspiracy theories on perceived election fraudโ and โresponses to anticipated restrictions relating to the increasing COVID casesโ in the same sentence as โdomestic violent extremist ideologies.โ
Our intelligence apparatus expends resources on things like telling Big Tech companies which free-thinking Americansโ social media posts to censor, as we discovered via the โTwitter Filesโ and Missouri v. Biden. Itโs actively researching how to most efficiently surveil what you say online. The FBI has been putting its resources to work targeting โ and likely โinfiltratingโ โ traditional Catholic congregations, and terrorizing peaceful pro-lifers like Mark Houck, a pastor who was dragged away in a surprise raid at his home in front of his family.
Itโs not just domestic intel agencies being wielded against Americans; the CIA did its part to help Twitter censor speech, and even solicited signatures to help falsely smear damaging reporting about the Biden family as disinformation ahead of the 2020 election. (For some reason, none of those involved are being arrested for โconspiracy against voting rights.โ)
Across the board, weโve seen the people we elected, and countless bureaucrats we did not, weaponizing supposedly counterterror laws like the Patriot Act against Americansโ First and Fourth Amendment freedoms (at least).
Imagine if those resources were redirected away from targeting ordinary, law-abiding Americans for their political views and aimed at stopping actual terrorists who seek to harm us and our allies. Contrary to the pretense that surveilling Americans as walking national security threats is for our own protection, our world would be a lot safer.
Elle Purnell is an assistant editor at The Federalist, and received her B.A. in government from Patrick Henry College with a minor in journalism. Follow her work on Twitter @_etreynolds.
We can no more count on Biden to defend our border than to assist Israel. That means states and local communities must take their fates into their own hands.
โSuch is the nature of Evil. Out there in the vast ignorance of the world it festers and spreads. A Shadow that grows in the dark. A sleepless malice as black as the oncoming wall of night. So, it ever was, so it always will be.โ
These words from the movie adaptation ofย The Hobbitย were quoted by my colleague Dr. David Wurmser, who is presently in Israel reporting as he can between rocket attacks and shelter-in-place orders.
Only Tolkienโs stories of the changeless sweeping malevolence of evil across the ages seem appropriate to encapsulate the tremendous paradigm shift represented by the horrific massacre perpetrated by Hamas over the weekend. The losses suffered, perhaps as many as 1,000 dead and many thousands more wounded, are of such a horrific scale in light of Israelโs small population that regardless of how the fight proceeds now, Israeli society is likely to be changed forever. The attack, in which as many as 1,000 Hamas jihadists crossed the Gaza border under the cover of a massive rocket barrage and drone attacks, seized control of towns in Southern Israel and went from door to door to rape, torture, and murder every Jew they could find, all on video, instantly evoked horrors known to most of us only from black and white newsreels in previous centuries.
As the perpetrators have openly admitted, the massacre was planned and prepared with the help of Iran, whose other terrorist proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq, and Houthi terrorists in Yemen, remain at the ready to expand the fight on Tehranโs orders.
A New Age, A Timeless Evil
The likely purpose of the attack from Iranโs perspective was to undermine peace efforts between Israel and Arab states, most especially Saudi Arabia. Not coincidentally, this has also been a major effort of the Biden Administration, which has sought to undermine the historic Abraham Accords achieved under President Trump by injecting the Palestinian issue into the center of the Arab-Israel conflict, even while pretending to seek an agreement.
The Biden Administration hasย released $6 billion dollarsย to Iran, currently stored at a bank in Hamas-friendly Qatar. It has provided funds to Gazaย which they admitted wouldย result in arming Hamas, andย pillaged stockpiles of U.S. arms stored in Israel as part of a long-standing agreement, and sent them to Ukraine.
Like the conniving Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings, the Biden administration, as the Obama administration before it, has at every turn counseled Israel to maximize restraint and complacency in the face of a growing peril, all while professing friendship.
Here at home, the Democratic Socialists of America, a group that consists of numerous Democrat politicians at the local, state, and federal level, hosted the largest Pro-Hamas rally thus far, in New York City replete with open calls in support of terrorist violence. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group with close ties to Hamas, has called for a National Day of Resistance and a โUnity Intifadaโ in solidarity with the Hamas attack for Thursday, Oct. 12.
In the face of this reality, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley saying the attack represents โan attack on America,โ or Qatar-friendly Sen. Lindsay Graham issuing threats against Iran is mere fecklessness and bravado. The truth is that as it is currently constituted, the U.S. government, especially the State Department and intelligence agencies, are unlikely to do anything but deliberately hamper Israelโs attempts to defend itself and seek ways to further bolster Iran and its proxies behind the scenes.
Americans should demand the American government keep out of meddling with Israelโs response and allow it to defend its citizens as it sees fit. Certainly, the U.S. should honor existing agreements and obligations (refilling drained stockpiles for instance) but over-the-top or performative action will likely only amount to interference.
The Invasion on Our Own Border
Meanwhile, we should tend urgently to our own border and security. Israelโs border with Gaza was one of the most heavily surveilled and monitored borders in the world. As events have shown, surveillance is not enough. U.S. border doves for years promised that a border can be protected by a mere โvirtual fenceโ of cameras and sensors. The reality is that only real physical barriers, like walls, watched over by sufficient numbers of properly armed and trained men constitute a secure border. Anything else is theater. On the other side of that border are barbaric criminal cartels and narco-insurgents every bit as murderous as Hamas and Hezbollah. In fact, Hezbollah has extensive ties with various drug cartels, which it has used to try and conduct attacks inside the United States. Hundreds of individuals already named on the terrorist watchlist have crossed into the country.
Israeli awareness of the situation in Gaza now being criticized as insufficient, is undoubtedly far superior to our own understanding of the threats on the other side of our own border.
The Biden administration continues to facilitate an invasion, consisting of as much as an entire infantry division a day, mostly of military aged males across the Southern border. They come from all over the world, including places rife with jihadist terrorists, and increasingly from hostile adversaries like China. Some, likely working with the cartels, cross the border wearing camouflage and carrying firearms.
Iranโs parliament is chanting โDeath to Israel! Death to America!
This would not be happening under Trump! Joe Biden just gave them 6 Billion Dollars.
We can no more count on the Biden Administration to defend our border than to assist Israel. That means states and local communities must take their fates into their own hands.
In the wake of the attack from Gaza, Israel immediately loosened its otherwise quite strict gun laws to increase the number of prepared citizens able to defend themselves from terrorists. The reality is that no government force can respond quickly enough against such overwhelming violence to prevent tragedy. Americans should strongly oppose any efforts to restrain our own Second Amendment and take advantage of the ability to possess and train with firearms for their own defense whenever and wherever possible.
Bolster Law Enforcement
Local communities in Israel were quickly overwhelmed by the coordinated terrorist attack, and local police were not equal to the onslaught. It has been reported that over 30 Israeli police were trapped in a police station that came under siege by Hamas gunmen. Many fought bravely and lost their lives.
In America, both urban and rural areas are struggling to recruit, train, and outfit sufficient law enforcement officers following the leftโs assault upon policing in 2020. Many local agencies are hundreds of officers below their required needs. Cities continue to attempt to replace armed law enforcement with mere social workers.
Americans everywhere should endeavor to support and bolster the morale of their local law enforcement, most especially their elected Sheriff. Encourage your community to provide the necessary funding to train, recruit, and equip the best possible local law enforcement, without relying upon fickle and restrictive federal grants. Law enforcement leaders should consider ways to augment smaller or struggling police forces with citizen auxiliaries, properly vetted and trained. States should look at ways to bolster their National Guard and State Defense Forces and prepare them for the kinds of violence we know are possible.
Things will get worse before they get better. The attack on Israel is an unmistakable sign that we have entered a dangerous and trying time. The forces of evil fester and spread, not just in the Middle East, but here at home.
First and foremost, we should, as Tolkien wrote, set ourselves to โuprooting evil in the fields that we knowโ and encourage our friends abroad to do the same.ย
Kyle Shideler is senior analyst for Homeland Security at the Center for Security Policy.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., attacked Israel’s response to an unprecedented assault by Hamas in an extensive thread on social media Monday. Omar, a longtime critic of Israel and advocate for Palestinians, seemed to equate the Israeli victimsย killed by Hamas terroristsย this weekend and Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli response.
“Just as we honor the humanity of the hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and 9 Americans who were killed this weekend, we must honor the humanity of the innocent Palestinian civilians who have been killed and whose lives are upended,” she wrote.
Omar went on to highlight the hardships ofย living in Gaza,ย accusing Israel of operating an “apartheid” state in an attempt to explain violence by Hamas.
“Palestinian residents of the West Bank have scarcely better lives than Gazans โ with the routine destruction of their ancestral homes, destruction of their crops, and violent attacks by Israeli settlers,” Omar wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., attacked Israel’s response to an unprecedented assault by Hamas in an extensive thread on social media Monday.ย (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)
“Palestinians have few recourses for justice and accountability. Attacks by the IDF and settlers against Palestinians are regularly met with impunity. Efforts to seek justice in international courts are stonewalled by the Israeli government, with U.S. support,” she added. “As the world is condemning Hamasโs attacks, we must also oppose an Israeli military response that has already taken the lives of hundreds of Palestinians, including nearly two dozen children.”
Omar’s officeย did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital asking her to elaborate on the thread.
The congresswoman did not clarify how she believed Israel should have responded to Saturday’s attack, which has since left at least 1,000 Israelis dead and 2,700 more wounded. The Minnesota Democrat’s only suggestion for a “solution to this horror” was “a negotiated peace โ with Israelis and Palestinians enjoying equal rights and security guarantees.”
If you’re not familiar with the history of Israel, and how The Palestinians (Hamas and Hezbollah are terrorist arms of Palestinians), you need to do that. Basically, when Mohammad was sweeping the middle east with his war, Israel as a people were displaced. Great Britton gained control of the territory, and, on their own, decided to move the Palestinians (these were people that rose up against the leadership of Saudi Arabia) into part of what was Israel’s land, given them by God The Father, thousands of years earlier. They DO NOT belong there. It never has been their territory. They have no legal claim.
Rep. Ilhan Omar went on to say that the world should “oppose” Israel’s ongoing military response against Hamas, saying it has cost the lives of hundreds of Palestinians. She did not clarify how she believed Israel should have responded to Saturday’s attack, which has since left at least 1,000 Israelis dead and 2,700 more woundedย (AP Photo)
Later in the thread, Omar said that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had called all Palestinians “human animals” in comments earlier this week, though his full statement made clear that he was referring only to Hamas terrorists.
“We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything will be closed,” Gallant said. “We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”
Smoke rises amid Israeli missile strikes on Gaza City.ย (AP)
Israeli forces have deployed tens of thousands of troops to the area around Gaza City, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested a ground invasion may be imminent.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday said the United States “has Israel’s back” and will ensure that Israel can “defend itself” in light of the Hamas terrorist attack during the weekend. In a speech from the White House,ย Biden said American citizens were among those held by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas after its weekend attack on Israel that left hundreds dead. He said 14 U.S. citizens had been killed by the terrorists.
The White House later said the State Department had been in contact with the families of those Americans killed.
Biden also said the U.S. would surge additional equipment to Israel, including interceptor missiles for the Iron Dome system.
Biden said U.S. law enforcement agencies were taking steps to disrupt any domestic threat that may emerge after Hamas’ attack.
The FBI said earlier it was “closely monitoring unfolding events” but added it “does not have specific and credible intelligence indicating a threat to the United States stemming from the Hamas attacks in Israel.”
Earlier Tuesday, Biden said he discussed support for Israel in his call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday after meeting with U.S. national security teams “to direct next steps.”
“We connected with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss coordination to support Israel, deter hostile actors, and protect innocent people,” Biden said inย a social media postย before making public remarks on the situation in Israel.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone with Netanyahu to discuss the situation on the ground.
Biden, in his previous public remarks and statements since Hamas launched its attacks, has repeatedly emphasized his shock over the breadth and brutality of the Hamas assault โ a blitz by land, sea and air that surprised Israeli and U.S. intelligence and that has killed hundreds Israelis and left even more wounded.
Retaliatory strikes by Israel on the Gaza Strip have also left hundreds of dead and wounded Palestinians in the blockaded 141-square mile area, one the poorest patches of territory in the world. The death toll was expected to grow as Israel pummeled Gaza with airstrikes and sent tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing into U.N. shelters.
The White House on Monday confirmed that it has already begun delivering critically needed munitions and military equipment to Israel, and the Pentagon was reviewing its inventories to see what else can be sent quickly to boost its ally in the war against Hamas.
The U.S. Ford carrier strike group has arrived in the far Eastern Mediterranean, within range to provide a host of air support or long-range strike options for Israel if requested, but also to surge U.S. military presence there to prevent the war from spilling over into a more dangerous regional conflict, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the arrival ahead of an announcement.
The Pentagon has said that the U.S. warplanes, destroyers and cruisers that sailed with the Ford will conduct maritime and air operations which could include intelligence collection, interdictions and long-range strikes.
Along with the Ford, the U.S. is sending the cruiser USS Normandy and destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt, and the U.S. is augmenting Air Force F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.
Biden on Monday in a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak underscored the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people” and their decades-long push for sovereignty. But the leaders also sought to separate the Palestinians’ aspirations from the “appalling acts of terrorism” by Hamas.
Americans have had a gloomy outlook on Bidenโs performance on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Six in 10 Americans (61%) disapproved of how Biden was handling the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to an August poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About one-third (35%) of U.S. adults approved, which was slightly lower than Bidenโs overall approval rating of 42% in the same poll.
Four in 10 Americans (44%) said the U.S. gives about the right amount of support to Israel in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say the U.S. should offer more support to Israel. Four in 10 Americans (42%) said the correct amount of support is given to the Palestinians. Democrats and Independents were more likely than Republicans to say the Palestinians should receive more support.
The current crisis seems certain to further test public sentiment about Biden’s Mideast foreign policy approach.
The Biden White House has pointed to its handling of the last conflict between Israel and Gaza in 2021 as playing a crucial part in limiting the length and loss of life in a war that stretched over 11 days and killed at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
During the 2021 conflict, Biden limited his public commentary while pressing Netanyahu in private to end the conflict. His behind-the-scenes effort played out even as some of the presidentโs fellow Democrats pressured him to speak out against the Israelis as the death toll climbed in Gaza and as tens of thousands of Palestinians were displaced by the aerial bombardment, White House officials said at the time.
But this conflict is unlikely to end so quickly. Domestic and international pressure could quickly mount on Biden to pressure Netanyahu to wind down operations to prevent the suffering of innocent Gazans.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
An Israeli Defense Force commander told journalists that soldiers founded babies beheaded in the wake of Hamas terrorists’ assault on Israel. The IDF showed journalists around Kfar Aza, a town near Gaza, on Oct. 10. Pictured: A view of a house left in ruins after an attack by Hamas militants on this kibbutz days earlier when dozens of civilians were killed near the border with Gaza. Oct. 10 in Kfar Aza, Israel. (Photo: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Israeli soldiers reportย finding the bodies of babies, some of them decapitated, in the ruins of a town ravaged by Hamas terrorists in their surprise attack on Saturday. Israeli Defense Force soldiers took dozens of foreign journalists Tuesday to Kfar Aza, a town about 1.5 miles southeast of the Gaza border. Journalists surveyed the devastation, with explosions and artillery fire occurring in the background.
โItโs not a war,โ Gen. Itai Veruv, head of the IDFโs Depth Command, told reporters. โItโs not a battlefield. You see the babies, the mothers, the fathers in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms, and how the terrorists kill them.โ
โItโs not a war โฆ itโs a massacre,โ Veruv added.
'It's not a war, it's not a battle. It's a massacre'
Journalists are let into Kfar Aza for the first time, four days after the community came under the shock attack by Hamas terrorists
IDF Major General Itai Veruv describes the scene of brutal violence, where whole familiesโฆ pic.twitter.com/HJzoMKj2Ta
Nicole Zedek, an i24 News reporter, said that an IDF commander told her they found the bodies of some 40 babies, some of whom had been beheaded.
i24NEWS Correspondent @Nicole_Zedek reports from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a quarter-mile from the Gaza border, and recounts the atrocities that were committed in the small community which remains an active scene as soldiers clear booby traps and recover the bodies of dozens of victims pic.twitter.com/J4ZfWZQYHp
Earlier Tuesday, the IDF reported having regained control over the border with the Gaza Strip, roughly 72 hours after Hamas terrorists blew through sections of the barrier and launched the invasion early Saturday morning, The Times of Israel reported.
Hamas militants attacked Israel on the last day of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, as well as the Sabbath day of rest and the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. The terrorists slaughtered over 900 Israelis, including about 250 at a music festival, and kidnapped more than 100.
โThis morning, on Shabbat and a holiday, Hamas invaded Israeli territory and murdered innocent citizens, including children and the elderly,โ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday. โHamas has started a brutal and evil war.โ
โThey didnโt go for military targetsโthey went for civilians, they went for grandmothers, children, babies,โ Israeli Defense Forcesโ international spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said in a video message Sunday. โThe numbers are unprecedented.โ
โThe style of attack is barbaric,โ Hecht added. โIn a way, this is our 9/11.โ
He explained that the Hamas fighters attacked a party near the Gaza strip and kidnapped a grandmother. โEverybody, nearly, in Israel is affected by this.โ
Hamas militants shot civilians at bus stops, on roads, and in their cars, photos show, according to Israeli experts who spoke to the Times of Israel. Videos reportedly show Israeli civilians, including women and children, getting abducted and taken to Gaza. Two videos raise concerns of sexual assault or rape.
Operational update with IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht. https://t.co/9d9JeiUYFG
An estimated 2.8 million illegal aliens either have been released officially into the U.S. or successfully evaded the Border Patrol to enter the country since Joe Biden became president. Pictured: Illegal aliens cross the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 30. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
The number ofย illegal aliensย who have entered the interior of the U.S. under the Biden administration now is greater than the population of at least 22 states as well as the District of Columbia.ย ย Data released Monday by theย House Judiciary Committeeย reveals that at least 3.8ย million illegal aliens either have been released into the nationโs interior or successfully evaded the Border Patrol toย enter the country sinceย President Joe Bidenย took office Jan. 20, 2021. ย The new data and other information reveal that theย Biden administrationย has โfailed to remove, through immigration court removal proceedings, over 99% of those illegal aliens who have been released into the countryโ since Biden became president, the committeeโs interim staff report concludes.
Judiciary Chairmanย Jim Jordanย and Rep. Tom McClintock, chairman of Judiciaryโsย immigration subcommittee,ย said they obtained nonpublic data from the Department of Homeland Security that provides previously unknown official numbers.ย Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, part of DHS, reports that over 5 millionย illegal aliensย were encountered at Americaโs southern border between the start of the Biden administration and this past March 31. Of those 5 million illegal aliens, at least 2.46 million โhad no confirmed departure from the United States,โ the report found. ย
During the first 26 months of Bidenโs presidency, DHS released โat least 2,148,738 illegal aliens into the United States,โ according to the Judiciary Committeeโs report. The committee found that only 5,993 of those encountered at the southern border were placed in removal proceedings.
โIn other words, of the at least 2.1 million aliens released into the United States since January 20, 2021, the Biden administration has failed to remove, through immigration court removal proceedings, roughly 99.7% of those illegal aliens,โ the report says.
The report notes that an additional 1.7 million โknown โgotawaysโโ successfully evaded Border Patrol agents and entered the United States, bringing the total estimated number of illegal aliens who arrived and stayed under the Biden administration to 3.8 million. That population exceeds the number of residents of 22 different states and the District of Columbia.
These states all have a population below 3.8 million:
Connecticut: 3,626,205
Utah: 3,380,800
Iowa: 3,200,517
Nevada: 3,177,772
Arkansas: 3,045,637
Mississippi: 2,940,057
Kansas: 2,937,150
New Mexico: 2,113,344
Nebraska: 1,967,923
Idaho: 1,939,033
West Virginia: 1,775,156
Hawaii: 1,440,196
New Hampshire : 1,395,231
Maine: 1,385,340
Montana: 1,122,867
Rhode Island: 1,093,734
Delaware: 1,018,396
South Dakota: 909,824
North Dakota: 779,261
Alaska: 733,583
District of Columbia: 671,803
Vermont: 647,064
Wyoming: 581,381
The Judiciary Committeeโs report doesnโt include illegal aliens paroled into the U.S. since April 1, meaning that the total number likely exceeds 3.8 million.
Since the start of the Biden administration, over 7 millionย illegal aliensย have been encountered on Americaโs borders, both at official ports of entry and between them. An unknown number of illegal aliens successfully evaded Border Patrol to enter the interior of the country.ย ย ย CBP saidย it encountered more illegal aliens at the borders, including ports of entry, in August than in any other single month on record. Initial reporting indicates that Septemberโs official numbers, when released, will exceed those from August. CBP reported encountering 304,162ย illegal aliens,in August, surpassing the previous record high in December 2022 by nearly 2,000. ย ย
Amid the record number of border crossings, news broke Thursday that the Biden administration will resume building 17 miles of border wall in South Texas, a move that drew support from both the political Left and Right. Upon his inauguration, Biden had stopped predecessor Donald Trumpโs construction of a wall.
โFor years, they were adamant that walls do not work and are antiquated and not worth another dollar,โ Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., told The Daily Signal, referring to Biden administration officials. โFinally, to see them coming around to the fact that border walls do work is showing the difference that Republicans are making. Biden is slowly realizing the negative impact an open border has had across our country.โ
Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, told The Hill on Friday that he supports the administrationโs action resuming wall construction.
โThis is a necessary step to help Texasโ overwhelmed border communities deal with this current surge of migrants,โ Allred said, adding that โphysical barriers have a role to play in securing our border at high traffic areas, but this is only a partial solution.โ
Biden maintained Thursday that walls donโt work, also telling reporters that he sought to have Congress redirect funds appropriated for the wall under the Trump administration, but โthey wouldnโt.โ
โAnd in the meantime, thereโs nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I canโt stop that,โ Biden said.
The Biden administration also announced Thursday that it would begin deporting illegal border crossers from Venezuela. In August, more than 37,000 Venezuelans were encountered on Americaโs borders, according to CBP.
A Biden administration official said that resuming deportations of Venezuelans will โshow how we are committed to imposing consequences on those who cross the border unlawfully,โย NPR reported.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in support of the Palestinian people during a rally for Gaza at the Consulate General of Israel on Sunday in New York City. (Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
A national pro-Palestine student organization is calling for a โday of resistanceโ on college campuses Thursday in support of brutal terrorist attacks on Israel, emphasizing that they are not only in solidarity with Palestine, they are โPART of this movement.โ
A toolkit released by the national Students for Justice in Palestine calls for the student movement for โPalestine liberationโ to organize a national day of resistance on college campuses across the U.S. and Canada. The organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
โWe as Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement,โ the toolkit messaging says in bold. โThis is a moment of mobilization for all Palestinians. We must act as part of this movement. All of our efforts continue the work and resistance of Palestinians on the ground.โ
At least six chapters have already announced such events for Oct. 12, according to the Anti-Defamation League: Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Butler Universityin Indiana, University of Louisville in Kentucky, University of Binghamton in New York and the University of Virginia.
โWe must continue to resist directly, through dismantling Zionism and wielding the political power that our organizations hold on our campuses and in our communities,โ the Students for Justice in Palestine toolkit says. โWe are asking chapters to host demonstrations on campus/in their community in support of our resistance in Palestine and the national liberation struggleโone which they play a critical role in actualizing.โ
Israeli soldiers on Monday remove the body of a civilian killed days earlier in an attack by Palestinian terroists on this kibbutz near the border with Gaza in Kfar Aza, Israel. (Photo: Amir Levy/Getty Images)
If a protest is not possible, the national Students for Justice in Palestine encourages other forms of engagement, such as a sit-in, โdisruptionโ or โeducational event.โ
The Anti-Defamation League expressed concerns about such tactics: โAlthough these are all nonviolent tactics, they raise the real possibility of creating a hostile environment for Jewish students, and the confrontational spirit that permeates the toolkit raises the concern that these actions could lead to acts of harassment or vandalism targeting Jewish students and organizations.โ
Victoria Coates, vice president of The Heritage Foundationโs Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, told The Daily Signal on Tuesday that โthe corrosive antisemitism that infects American higher education today has been on ugly display since the terrorist attacks against Israel over the weekend.โ
โInstead of denouncing the genocidal Hamas terrorists who hunted, tortured, murdered and took Jews hostage, all too many in academia have come out in favor of their depraved and savage rampage as if it were somehow legitimate because the victims were Jews,โ Coates said. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
She added: โThis bigoted response stands in stark contrast with the wave of support for Ukraine after [Russian President] Vladimir Putinโs invasion in 2022, when the same campuses that will host these anti-Israel rallies flew Ukrainian flags in solidarity with the victims of Putinโs attack.โ
The calls for demonstrations come after the terrorist group Hamas infiltrated Israel over the weekend, firing more than 4,500 rockets and slaughtering more than 1,000 people, including many women, children, and babies.
Media reports continue to describe unspeakable atrocities committed by Hamas. An Israeli Defense Forces spokesman said Tuesday that Israeli soldiers had found beheaded corpses of babies in a town near Gaza.
โItโs not a war, itโs not a battlefield. You see the babies, the mother, the father, in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms, and how the terrorists killed them,โ IDF Maj. Gen. Itai Veruv said as reported by Fox News. โItโs a massacre.โ
But the national Students for Justice in Palestine messaging states that โwhen people are occupied, resistance is justified.โ
โNormalize the resistance,โ the messaging says, urging students to describe the current events as a โstruggle for national liberation,โ rather than a war or a conflict.
The invasion shows that โIsrael is fragile,โ the messaging continues. โThe Zionist entity is fragile, and Palestinian resistance is alive.โ
George Washington University Students for Justice in Palestine weigh in on the devastation in Israel: "WE WILL BE CAGED NO LONGER."
Meanwhile, pro-Palestine groups at universities such as George Washington University in Washington, D.C., are expressing support for Palestine without acknowledging the atrocities that the terrorists have committed in Israel.
โThis past weekend we witnessed them break free, tearing down the prison walls, and making it known to the world: WE WILL BE CAGED NO LONGER,โ says a statement from GW Students for Justice in Palestine. That statement praises the invasion as โhistory in the makingโ and โthe beginning of a new era in our struggle.โ
โGW Students for Justice in Palestine maintains unwavering support for our peopleโs resistance, in all its forms,โ the statement says. โEvery single act of resistance moves us closer to the liberation of our homeland. We will never capitulate to the colonizer or his sympathizers, and we stand firm and steadfast in support of our peopleโs right to resist. We call upon all our people and those in solidarity with us to join us in this struggle.โ
Jewish Insider editor-in-chief Josh Kraushaar reacted to the student statement by calling it a โlook at the intellectual/moral climate on top college campuses.โ
Lawyer and commentator Erielle Davidson tweeted: โMy skin is crawling at the thought that American universities allow bloodthirsty freaks to carry their degrees. GW has a high Jewish population. Despicable.โ
And Israeli television anchor Lidar Grave-Lazi said in a social media post that โthe world is finally opening its eyes to see the true face of the โPro-Palestinianโ movement.โ
โIt is not about human rights,โ she said. โIt is about brutality, barbarism, hatred and the annihilation of Israel. Unfortunately, they have infiltrated college campuses across the U.S. and not enough is being done to counter their hatred. Just look to @Harvardโs deafening silence. Anyone who is civilized and has a shred of humanity should condemn such statements and call them out for what they truly are.โ
George Washington University did not immediately respond to requests for comment as to what steps it is taking to ensure the safety of its Jewish students.
A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country in various news outlets, including NewsMax, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and โThe Washington Post.โ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh DโSouza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.
Top Stories โข Thousands March in Ohio Against Issue 1, Which Allows Abortions Up to Birth โข Abortions Drop 43% in Kentucky as Abortion Ban Saves Thousands of Babies โข Joe Biden Sends $16 Million to Planned Parenthoods That Kill Babies in Abortions โข Catholic Archbishop: โAbortion is the Child Sacrifice of Our Timeโ
More Pro-Life News โข House Stops Joe Biden From Using PEPFAR to Make Americans Fund Abortions โข Ohio Issue 1 Would Kill Babies in Abortions Up to Birth and Mutilate Kids Without Parental Consent โข Katie Hobbs: Killing Babies in Abortions is โFreedomโ โข Pro-Life Advocates Fight in Court to Protect Moms, Babies From Dangerous Abortion Pill
โข Scroll Down for Several More Pro-Life News Stories
Looking for an inspiring and motivating speaker for your pro-life event? Don’t have much to spend on a high-priced speaker costing several thousand dollars? Contact news@lifenews.com about having LifeNews Editor Steven Ertelt speak at your event.
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NEW: Denver Colorado, which is a proud 'Sanctuary City,' is now begging Texas to not send migrants to their city by urging border towns to hand out flyers to migrants, encouraging them to stay away.
This is the most disturbing video you will see all day. Director of education for HiTops, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit focused on bringing queer theory and gender ideology into schools, says that the most critical time to get in the classroom are grades 5-8, to โcatch kids when theyโreโฆ pic.twitter.com/TUxFPrzhn7
This is a man wearing high heels and a diaper in the food court at the U of A.
A freshman girl on campus reached out and told me that this man had been walking into several girlโs dorm rooms unannounced the first two weeks of school.
Failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton believes half of the country needs to be forcibly re-educated to abandon the ideology that led them to vote for former President Donald Trump.
In aย sitdown interview with CNNย on Thursday, Clinton โ who infamouslyย saidย in 2016 that half of Trumpโs supporters belonged in a โbasket of deplorablesโ โ alleged that โMAGA extremistsโ who only โtake their marching orders from Donald Trumpโ deserve to be brainwashed.
โWhen do they break with him?โ Clinton pondered aloud. โBecause at some point, maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members. But something needs to happen.โ
CNNโs Christiane Amanpour, who conducted the interview, nodded in response.
Hillary Clinton calls for Trump Supporters to be reeducated: "At some point maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members." pic.twitter.com/ao3foysSL4
The longtime sore loser implied that sheโs used to partisan โbitter battlesโ over issues like โgun control and climate change and the economy and taxes.โ When it comes to engaging with the GOP under Trump, however, she canโt stomach it without suggesting mass indoctrination.
โThere wasnโt this little tail of extremism waving, you know, wagging the dog of the Republican Party as it is today,โ Clinton insisted.
The former secretary of state not only accused GOP politicians and voters of saying and doing things that โthey know better than to say or do,โ but suggested those who dissent from Democratsโ preferred narrative should face consequences.
โIt will require us defeating those most extreme measures and the people who promote them in order to try to get to some common ground where people can, again, work together,โ Clinton said.
Clinton claimed Trump voters โdonโt like migrants, maybe they donโt like gay people or black people or the woman who got the promotion at workโ and that they are being emotionally and psychologically manipulated by the top Republican.
โItโs a classic tale of an authoritarian, populist, who really has a grip on the emotional, psychological needs and desires of a portion of the population,โ Clinton said. โAnd the base of the Republican Party, for whatever combination of reasons โ and it is emotional and psychological โ sees in him someone who speaks for them.โ
Clinton said propelling Biden to victory in 2024 and returning power to old-guard, establishment pawns, โthe right people inside the Republican Party,โ are the only ways to quell Trump-era populism.
โIt is like a cult and somebody has to break that momentum. And thatโs why I believe Joe Biden will defeat him and hopefully then, that will be the end and the fever will break,โ Clinton said.
Removing Trump from the equation, Clinton assured Amanpour, will get Republicans โto get back to fighting about issues among themselves and electing people who are least responsible and accountable.โ
Long before Clinton complained about Trump voters to CNN, members of the current regime includingย President Joe Biden, hisย White House,ย Democrats in Congress,ย Attorney General Merrick Garland,ย FBI Director Christopher Wray, andย other officialsย named Trump voters and โdomestic extremismโ or other coded words used to disparage them as the nationโs biggest threat. Their collective campaign against what they deemed Republican wrongthink has manifested in the political prosecution of their No. 1 political opponent and his supporters.
A newย report from Newsweekย alleges that the FBI is singling out supporters of Republican frontrunner former President Donald Trump as domestic extremists. FBI data reviewed by the publication specifically suggests โnearly two-thirdsย of the FBIโs current investigations are focused on Trump supporters and others suspected of violating what the FBI calls โanti-riotโ laws.โ
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and co-producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @jordanboydtx.
A group of nearly four dozen House Republicans is demanding a dramatic overhaul to the chamber rules after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthyโs historic ouster.
“The injustice we all witnessed cannot go unaddressed โ lest we bear responsibility for the consequences that follow. Our Conference must address fundamental changes to the structure of our majority to ensure success for the American people,” 45 House GOP lawmakers said in a letter to colleagues on Thursday.
McCarthy, R-Calif., had the speakerโs gavel taken away on Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called for a procedure known as a motion to vacate the chair on Monday night. Under terms McCarthy hashed out to secure the speakership in January, just one lawmaker can call for the motion to vacate, setting up a mandatory vote within 48 hours.
Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy, left, and Matt Gaetz. (Win McNamee/Getty Images | Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
The lawmakers said they were “ashamed and embarrassed” by the episode, according to the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Earlier this week, eight Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined in an alliance with 208 Democrats to adopt a motion to vacate the Speaker of the House,” they wrote.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 25, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“That translates to less than 4 percent of our Republican Conference joining with all Democrats to override the will of the remaining 96 percent of House Republicans on one of the most consequential votes the House has taken in over a century.”
They lauded McCarthy as “one of the most accomplished speakers in modern history.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is seen after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Ashamed and embarrassed by what happened on the Floor this week, we refuse to allow the eight members who abandoned and undermined our Conference to dictate every outcome in policy and personnel for the remainder of this Congress, including the upcoming selection of the Speaker of the House,” the letter said.
Intraparty tensions have boiled over in the wake of McCarthyโs ouster. It has made the motion to vacate rule a lightning rod in the current speakership race, with some GOP hardliners insisting it remain, while a majority of the conference have called for its threshold to be hiked above just one member โ and others have floated scrapping it altogether.
“It is our responsibility to identify the right person at this moment to lead us into the future to achieve the conservative policy objectives that we and the American people all share,” the letter said.
“We cannot allow our majority to be dictated to by the alliance between the chaos caucus and the minority party that will do nothing more than guarantee the failure of our next Speaker,” it continued.
Signatories include Reps. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D.; Jen Kiggans, R-Va.; Anthony DโEsposito, R-N.Y.; and Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., as well as Main Street Caucus leaders Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., and Stephanie Bice, R-Okla.
Elizabeth Elkind is a reporter for Fox News Digital focused on Congress as well as the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and politics. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
From 8 million illegal immigrants to the fall of Afghanistan to the failure of Bidenomics, weโre told everything is just fine, nothing to see here. Pictured: From left, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Vice President Kamala Harris laugh in a meeting. President Joe Biden is on a screen behind them. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
One common denominator that explains why previously successful societies implode is their descent into fantasies. A collective denial prevents even discussion of existential threats and their solutions. Something like that is happening in the United States. Eight millionย illegal immigrantsย have entered the United States by the deliberate erasure of theย southern border. Apparently, the Biden administration sees some unstated advantage in destroying U.S. immigration law and welcoming in would-be new constituents.
NEW: Denver Colorado, which is a proud 'Sanctuary City,' is now begging Texas to not send migrants to their city by urging border towns to hand out flyers to migrants, encouraging them to stay away.
Yet, the more the millions arrive, the moreย President Joe Bidenย and his Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, flat out lie that โthe border is secure.โ They both live in a world of make-believe, passed off to the American people as reality. And the more the Americans are lied to that the border is secure, the more they pollโcurrently 77%โthat it is not.
Biden apparently has reversed course and begun using the former pejorative โBidenomicsโ as a term of pride. He now praises this three-year effort to borrow $6-7 trillion, and spike interest rates threefold to 7% on home mortgagesโeven as prices on essentials like food and fuel have spiked 25-30% since he entered office. The more that Biden brags about what he did to the economy, the more people pollโover 60%โdissatisfaction with his alternate reality of โBidenomics.โ
Do we remember the humiliation in August 2021 in Afghanistan? The more retired Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Biden assured that theย American militaryย presence was stable, the more swiftly it crumbled and descended into the worst mass flight of an American army sinceย Vietnam.
Considerย natural gas and oil. The Biden administration waged war on both by canceling pipelines, drilling on federal lands, and entire oil fields. When the price soared and the 2022 midterms neared, Biden suddenly begged formerly shunned illiberal regimes like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela to pump all the hated oil they could to lower the price. A desperate Biden drained much of the strategic petroleum reserveโhe has yet to refill itโsimply to lower the price of gasoline and thus win voters back to the Democratic Party. When the midterms passed, Biden resumed his attack on once bad, then good, and now bad again fossil fuelsโat least until the 2024 election.
Stranger still is the denial of the current crime wave in our major cities. Predators and thugs have turned once iconic downtowns into either war zones or ghost towns or both. Smash-and-grab swarming of stores and matter-of-fact shoplifting are destroying commerce in our major cities. Unsustainable stores either leave or shut down. Communities that vote for politicians who defund the police blame the stores for leavingโbut not the criminals whose brazen thefts made it impossible to do business in the inner city.
Now modern-day pirates with impunity storm, sink, and rob boats of all kinds in the Oakland, California, marina and estuary. Left-wing journalists and activists, and even Democratic politicians, who all supported defunding the police, now cannot escape the resulting street violence and unleashed murderous predations. Everyone knows the culprit is the post-George Floyd effortโwith Biden administration complicityโto defund the police, end cash bail, institutionalize catch-and-release of criminals, and show more sympathy toward victimizers than victims. Yet neither state nor local officials nor Biden himself even admits to a crime wave. The more the public is attacked and avoids major downtowns, the more it polls furor over the crime wave.
The more our officials, in gaslighting style, claim such alarm is all in our collective heads, the more they themselves are attacked by the very criminals their policies empowered.
Sometimes the fantasies extend to the trivial. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., for months has dressed like an utter slob while on the Senate floor. As a gesture of approval, Democrats junked the dress code so he could wear his sloppy cut-offs and hoodie. Americans were to assume his slovenly costume was normal apparelโand they were hypercritical for thinking otherwise.
Recently, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., pulled a fire alarm to disrupt and delay a vote on continuing
the funding of the government. But he got caught on a Capitol surveillance video committing the crime. Bowman whined that he got confused. He preposterously claimed that by pulling the alarm, he thought he was opening a door to go vote. All of that was pure fantasy. The alarm was clearly marked. A sign in front of the door warned not to enter. And the door itself was placarded with cautions that any attempt to open it would set off emergency alarms. No matter. Bowman assumed by calling his critics โNazisโ and using the race card, he could invent a virtual reality.
Despite our epidemic of fantasy, there remains reality. And we will soon rediscover it all too soon.
Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and author of the book “The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won.” You can reach him by e-mailing authorvdh@gmail.com.
Top Stories โข Donald Trump Endorses Pro-Life Congressman Jim Jordan for House Speaker โข Supreme Court Will Decide Abortion Pill Case That Could Protect Women, Save 140,000 Babies From Abortions โข Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Selling Transgender Hormones to Mutilate Kids After Just a 30 Minute Visit โข Hereโs the Pro-Life Candidates Who Need Your Support This Year. Vote Pro-Life!
More Pro-Life News โข Doctor Booked Woman for Abortion Without Her Permission Even After She Refused It โข Abortion Bans Will Not Increase Maternal Mortality or Hurt Womenโs Health. Hereโs Why โข Indiana Abortions Decline, Saving Hundreds of Babies. Abortion Ban Will Save Thousands More โข Ohio Abortions Drop as Heartbeat Law Saves Thousands of Babies โข Scroll Down for Several More Pro-Life News Stories
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A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country in various news outlets, including NewsMax, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and โThe Washington Post.โ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh DโSouza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.
President Joe Bidenโs White House repeatedly insists that the invasion at the U.S. Southern border is โnot a crisisโ but waived 26 federal laws this week so that it can resume construction of former President Donald Trumpโs border wall and curb the millions of illegal migrants inundating border officials.
Mere weeks after the Department of Defense was caught โquietlyโauctioning off millions of dollars of barrier parts, Bidenโs Department of Homeland Security announced plans to rebuild a portion of the fortification separating the U.S. and Mexico.
The border wall project, assigned to DHS in a 2019 appropriations bill, is expected to cover 17 miles in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas where many illegal border crossings occur.
The Biden administrationโs decision to simply waive more than two dozen laws without scrutiny is a slap in the face to Republicans like Trump who had to jump through judiciary hoops every time he tried to secure the Southern border.
Itโs also yet another major flip-flop for Biden who, even before he was elected, swore off of physical barriers as an effective illegal immigration deterrent.
โThere will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration, No. 1,โ heย told NPRย in August 2020.
On day one in the Oval Office, Biden scaled back several Trump-era border protections and halted Southern border wall construction. By April 2021, Bidenโs DOD canceled the border wall construction contracts completely and diverted the funds to other Pentagon pet projects.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas previously told the House Homeland Security Committee under oath that he supported Bidenโs decision to halt construction of the wall.
Interesting news considering Secretary Mayorkas told this Committee under oath that he supported Biden's decision to end border wall construction.๐ค https://t.co/YyCZ15ZRd8pic.twitter.com/WjOdqqypBL
Millions of record-breaking illegal border crossings later, Mayorkas has changed his tune.
โThere is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States,โ Mayorkasย wroteย in his announcement waiving federal laws to restart barrier building.
The โacute and immediate needโ Mayorkas refers to is the influx of illegal border crossers who have spent the last two years flooding underequipped regions and crowding already overpopulated cities.
Migrants rushed to the U.S.-Mexico border shortly after Biden was elected because he promised to abandon the border wall, ditch Trumpโs โRemain in Mexicoโ program, and scale back ICE arrests and deportations.
August alone yielded 232,972 illegal border crosser arrests. Another surge in September means 2023 apprehensions are on track to outpace the nearly 2.4 million illegal border crossers arrested in the 2022 fiscal year. Those numbers donโt even include the estimated tens of thousands more โgotawaysโ who evade arrest every month.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and co-producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @jordanboydtx.
Itโs no secret by now that Democrats love rigging elections in their favor.
During the 2016 contest, agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI willingly partook in a Hillary Clinton campaign-funded operation to convince the American public that Donald Trump colluded with Vladimir Putin and the Russian government to steal the election. The FBI didnโt just launch an investigation into Trump based on โuncorroborated intelligenceโ; it used the Clinton-funded Steele dossier to obtain a FISA warrant to spy on his campaign.
These kinds of nefarious activities continued into the 2020 election, in which these agencies (along with the CIA) worked overtime to discredit damaging reporting about then-candidate Joe Biden. These departments even went so far as to pressure Big Tech platforms in the months leading up to the election to censor information like the Hunter Biden laptop story when it became public. Like clockwork, these companiesacquiesced.
And who could forget Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose โZuckbucksโ flooded local election offices in key battleground states to change how elections were administered and effectively fund a Democrat get-out-the-vote operation?
Now, as the country hurtles towards another intense presidential election, Democrats are once again putting their feet on the electoral scale to rig the 2024 contest in their favor.
1. FBI Targeting of Conservatives
Another facet of so-called โlaw enforcementโ agenciesโ election interference is their blatant targeting of conservatives. Within the past few years, the FBI has been caught directing its fire at parents attending school board meetings, Catholics who attend Latin Mass, and innocent pro-lifers, to name a few.
Given these actions, it wasnโt shocking when Newsweek reported on Wednesday that the agency is gearing up to single out supporters of former President Donald Trump as โdomestic terroristsโ ahead of the 2024 contest. As The Federalistโs Jordan Boyd reported, โTestimony from more than a โdozen current or former government officials who specialize in terrorismโ to Newsweek confirmed that this increase in targeting was born out of the FBIโs decision to lump Trump supporters into its expanded definition of โdomestic extremism.’โ
2. Protecting Joe Biden
Former business associates, IRS and FBI whistleblowers, bank records, text messages, emails, reporting from a โhighly credibleโ informant, and even President Joe Biden himself have all corroborated different aspects of the latterโs involvement in his familyโs corrupt foreign business ventures. But according to Democrats and their legacy media allies, this is just evidence of a fatherโs love for his son.
From the moment mountains of evidence began piling up, implicating Biden in playing a major role in his familyโs international influence-peddling scheme, Democrats have done all they can to hide, excuse, and obfuscate the massive scandal surrounding the sitting president. With help from the DOJ โ which almost got away with offering Bidenโs son, Hunter, a sweetheart plea agreement to evade future criminal charges and hasroutinelyhinderedinvestigative efforts into the Bidens โ these acts represent a clear attempt by Democrats to hide damning information about the sitting president from the American public ahead of the 2024 election.
3. Trump Indictments
Who needs free and fair elections when you can just throw your political opponents behind bars ahead of a major election? Spanningfourseparatecases and 91 felony counts, the DOJ and leftist prosecutorsโ seemingly coordinated efforts to imprison Trump could not represent a more obvious attempt to interfere in the election process.
4. Zuckbucks 2.0
While 25 states passed legislation banning or restricting the use of โZuckbucksโ in elections, that hasnโt stopped nonprofits like the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) โ one of the Zuckerberg-funded groups that meddled in the 2020 election โ from attempting to replicate their 2020 strategy for future elections.
Last year, CTCL and other left-wing groups launched the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, an $80 million venture designed to โsystematically influence every aspect of election administrationโ and advance Democrat-backed voting policies in local election offices. Through the use of โscholarshipsโ and low entrance fees, the coalition seeks to make the 2020 private hijacking of election offices look like childโs play.
5. Big Tech Censorship
Itโs not surprising the same agencies that pushed Big Tech platforms to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election would continue their censorship practices years later. As indicated in severalfederal court rulings, the Biden administration has been actively colluding with social media giants like Facebook to suppress commentary and facts posted online that it claims are examples of โmisinformation.โ Equally alarming is that in spite of these rulings barring such authoritarian behavior, the administration has continued to appeal the decisions to regain the power to stifle speech online.
And these actions donโt even include the efforts undertaken by left-wing groups such as Vote.org, which have pressured Big Tech platforms to adopt plans to combat so-called โelection disinformation.โ
6. Passing Lax Election Laws
Sometimes the only way to win the game is to change the rules in your favor โ and thatโs exactly what Democrats have been doing to Americaโs election laws.
After expanding insecure voting practices such as mass unsupervised mail-in voting and the use of ballot drop boxes during the 2020 election, Democrat-controlled state legislatures have sought to enshrine these policies into law across the country. States such as New Mexico, Minnesota, and Michigan have all adopted sloppy election procedures under the guise of โdemocracyโ and so-called โvoting rights.โ
7. Lawfare Against Election Integrity Laws
Meanwhile, in states where Democrats donโt hold power, the DOJ and leftist lawyers have stepped in to launch dishonest lawsuits against Republican-backed election integrity laws. For example, the DOJ launched a lawsuit against a Georgia election integrity law requiring voter ID in June 2021, in which the agency parroted the lie that Georgiaโs law was designed to โdeny[] or abridg[e]โ nonwhite Americansโ right to vote.
8. Partisan Voter Registration Paid for by U.S. Taxpayers
Shortly after taking office, Biden took the unprecedented step of ordering hundreds of federal agencies to interfere in state and local election administration. Executive Order 14019 mandated all departments use U.S. taxpayer money to boost voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities. Agencies were also instructed to develop โa strategic planโ explaining how they intended to fulfill this directive.
While the Biden administration has routinely stonewalledefforts by good government groups to acquire these plans, available information reveals an apparently partisan venture aimed at registering voters who are likely to support Democrats. Recent reporting from The Daily Signal indicates agencies such as the Indian Health Service are collaborating with leftist groups like Demos and the ACLU to โregister and turn out votersโ under Executive Order 14019.
9. Media Attacks on Election Oversight
The Biden bribery scandal isnโt the only subject legacy media continue to lie about. In the months leading up to and after the 2022 midterms, media propagandists launched a full-scale attack on GOP voters seeking to legally observe the elections process. Despite their repeated insistence of a widespread conspiracy of Republicans threatening election officials, there is no evidence to suggest such an assertion is true. In fact, Bidenโs own DOJ all but admitted as much last year.
The corporate pressโs goals in regurgitating this false narrative are to both cast their political opponents as extremists and dissuade conservatives who have legitimate concerns about election integrity from partaking in legal forms of electoral oversight (such as poll watching).
10. Left-wing Nonprofit Voter Registration Ops
While federal law prohibits tax-exempt 501(c)(3) groups from engaging in partisan voter registration, that hasnโt stopped left-wing nonprofits from skirting the legal system by targeting voting demographics favorable to Democrats.
Organizations such as Restoration of America and Capital Research Center have issued reports in recent months detailing how leftist billionaires bankroll nonprofit groups to register likely-Democrat voters. Instead of explicitly stating theyโre registering voters for the Democrat Party, groups like the Voter Registration Project target โpeople of color,โ women, and young people. In other words, they specifically aim to register demographics likely to vote for Democrats.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
The following is a transcript of remarks I delivered at the American Political Science Associationโs annual meeting on Sept. 1. Panelists were asked to review the โNational Conservatismโ and โFreedom Conservatismโ statements of principles.
Itโs true that both the National Conservative Statement of Principles โ which I signed โ and the Freedom Conservative Statement of Principles are useful distillations of the so-called New Right and the Old Right. I say that as someone with a foot in both camps, working for the organization founded by the Sharon Statement and a group founded by its author Stan Evans. FreeCons cite the statement as their inspiration. Iโve spoken at NatCon as well. Like Michael Brendan Dougherty, as a NatCon signer, I have quibbles with both statements but could basically sign both of them as well.
That sentiment is certainly not shared by everyone on the right, new and old, but it reveals an essential point: The primary disagreement between NatCons and FreeCons is their priorities. This is not to minimize that disagreement. It is significant. With certain old conservative institutions run by stalwart defenders of the old agenda, it will be unworkable. But with Republican voters and average Americans, it will not.
Take, for example, the tax bill Donald Trump signed in 2017. Here was a standard bearer of the New Right expending immense political capital behind fiscal conservatism. It became the legislative highlight of his entire presidency, and not merely because Democrats after 2018 declined to cooperate with his administration, but also because the president and people who staffed his administration genuinely wanted to do tax reform and pushed the reconciliation effort hard.
Today, virtually no person in the national conservative camp will argue that was the right move. Importantly, though, virtually no person in the national conservative camp would in theory argue against a more competitive corporate tax rate that helps onshore jobs, or tax relief for overburdened American families increasingly getting less for their money.
Again, this is not true of everyone in the national conservative camp, because it includes a handful of integralist thinkers and heterodox voices who offer provocative dissents. Generally, though, national conservatism believes in free markets, just with the prioritization of families and communities as their moral end. Freedom Conservatives donโt disagree with that, perhaps with the exception of some hardcore libertarians.
But this conflict over priorities amounts to a major gulf in policy and tone: When the market fails to provide a living wage for single moms, is the priority to go after government barriers that may burden businesses with costs that cut into wages? Is it to create new cash benefits for parents? Is it to do both?
What about tone? Should conservatives be extolling the virtues of the business whose CEO is pushing ESG and hiking his own salary beyond previously conceivable limits? Should they be supporting the union that might score a win for the single mom? (Even Ben Shapiro has made the conservative case for collective bargaining in the private sector, though critically itโs nobodyโs pet issue.) Should they be focused on that motherโs inability to send her child to a public school that successfully educates kids, and does so without pushing politically charged policies on sex and race?
Politics aside, what is the most moral way to prioritize family and freedom and flourishing under a set of economic and cultural conditions that threaten all those ideals? Do the free markets we all support need more or less intervention? Do families and individuals need more or less freedom?
Hereโs the NatCon statement on free markets, which some of us on the New Right might balk at in another context if it came from a FreeCon: โWe believe that an economy based on private property and free enterprise is best suited to promoting the prosperity of the nation and accords with traditions of individual liberty that are central to the Anglo-American political tradition. We reject the socialist principle, which supposes that the economic activity of the nation can be conducted in accordance with a rational plan dictated by the state.โ
Hereโs the FreeCon statement on the same: โMost individuals are happiest in loving families, and within stable and prosperous communities in which parents are free to engage in meaningful work, and to raise and educate their children according to their values. The free enterprise system is the foundation of prosperity. Americans can only prosper in an economy in which they can afford the basics of everyday life: food, shelter, health care, and energy. A corrosive combination of government intervention and private cronyism is making these basics unaffordable to many Americans.โ
Letโs turn to foreign affairs. There are few genuine doves in either the FreeCon or NatCon camp. Note most of the NatCon opposition to war policy in Ukraine is explicitly predicated on the need to prioritize China. Many, if not most, NatCons are willing to support a more militaristic approach to Mexican cartels as well.
If we return to the issue of tax reform, most people on the New Right โ myself included โ would say Republicans who reeled at the cultural chaos of 2020 expended vast amounts of political capital on a lower priority (without even doing it very well), when they could have met the moment and tackled the corruption of higher education and K-12 or immigration reform, they could have dealt with cronyism in housing and health care, they could have seriously reigned in Big Tech.
Many ostensible disagreements are rooted more in rhetoric and priority disagreements than ideology. Hereโs a broad but not at all exhaustive list of basic, fundamental points of agreement:
Strong borders and the benefits of a sensible immigration system
Peace through strength
Minimizing political censorship
Eliminating crony capitalism (explicit in both statements)
Free markets
Corruption and decline of the educational system
Corruption and decline of media
Corruption and growth of the administrative state
Primacy of marriage and family
Federalism
Independent judiciary
The excesses of environmental extremism
Nationalism (with some quibbles over the definition and application)
Sanctity of unborn life
Importance of the Second Amendment
National debt
There are some genuine divides among many members of both camps, including:
Free trade
Domestic spying
Public religion
Civil rights law (although this is unclear as the FreeCons havenโt fully reckoned with it in recent years)
This question of priorities is the biggest development to conservative political thought because it does change the calculus when decisions have to be made on policies like the tax code, labor, trade, education, and then rhetoric.
The Sharon Statement was a perfect articulation of conservative priorities for 1960. That really has not changed. If anything, contra the FreeCons, it should be used to unite these disparate factions, not as a wedge. The central threat is an ever-expanding federal bureaucracy that seeks, in cooperation with global institutions, to impose progressive ideological ends on individuals, families, schools, and employers by encroaching on personal and corporate freedoms.
These disagreements on rhetoric and priority are not to be minimized. They are significant. Still, itโs worth considering when internecine squabbles on the right boil over if the apparent divide โ which often looks and feels very bitter โ puts the two camps in different ballparks or different sections of the same one. The most important development in conservative thought โ to continue torturing this metaphor โ is that people on the right now realize where their tickets are.
Emily Jashinsky is culture editor at The Federalist and host of Federalist Radio Hour. She previously covered politics as a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner. Prior to joining the Examiner, Emily was the spokeswoman for Young Americaโs Foundation. Sheโs interviewed leading politicians and entertainers and appeared regularly as a guest on major television news programs, including โFox News Sunday,โ โMedia Buzz,โ and โThe McLaughlin Group.โ Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Real Clear Politics, and more. Emily also serves as director of the National Journalism Center, co-host of the weekly news show โCounter Points: Fridayโ and a visiting fellow at Independent Women’s Forum. Originally from Wisconsin, she is a graduate of George Washington University.
Crossmark CIO Bob Doll joins โMornings with Mariaโ to discuss a number of investment topics including slowing Treasury yields and the Federal Reserve’s inflation fight.
As the White House continues to tout the alleged achievements of the presidentโs “Bidenomics” agenda, a growing amount of data indicates that a gigantic economic crisis could be right around the corner.
Most disturbingly, one important economic indicator thatโs currently flashing hasnโt appeared since the 1930s, during the height of the Great Depression. If the White House and Congress do not cut inflation-causing government spending soon, the results could be catastrophic.
President Biden speaks about inflation in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec 13, 2022. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
Historical Context
In 2020, during the height of the coronavirus government lockdowns, President Donald Trump and the Democratic-led Congress spent vast amounts of money to keep the economy, financial system and stock market afloat. Trillions of dollars in additional government spending occurred, all of which was financed with debt and money printing.
The never-before-seen levels of money creation were fueled by policies set by the Federal Reserve, which encouraged Congress to spend more money and kept interest rates extremely low, despite warnings from economists about the threat of future inflation.
When President Biden entered the White House in January 2021, it appeared that the economic crisis caused by the pandemic lockdowns would end soon. A COVID-19 vaccine had been developed, and many states had already started reopening or preparing to reopen their economies.
‘Varney & Co.’ host Stuart Varney argues House Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz moved spending and budget policy backward. But rather than return spending to normal levels, Biden and congressional Democrats โ with theย blessing of the Federal Reserveย โ opted to keep government expenditures significantly higher than they had been prior to the pandemic.
The decision to continue high levels of government spending, coupled with the Fedโs choice to keep interest rates low and the fallout from the crisis in Ukraine, caused inflation to soar to levels not experienced in four decades. Prices for nearly all consumer items, from eggs and milk to gasoline, skyrocketed.
Not Since the Great Depression
In an effort to fix its mistakes and curb out-of-control inflation, the Fed started dramatically increasing interest rates in 2022, a policy that has continued thus far in 2023.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, center, watches his inaugural parade in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 1933. FDR was elected in a landslide in 1932 amid the Great Depression. (AP Photo, File)
Meanwhile, the Biden administration and Congress have kept government spending much higher than pre-pandemic levels.
As a result of these policies, the inflation rate has dropped, but not enough to deflate prices. Most consumer goods and services, as well as rent and housing prices, remain much higher than they were before the pandemic started.
Incredibly, however, the money supply โ the amount of cash, checkable deposits and bank savings accounts โ has substantially decreased. That means even though prices are still going up, the amount of money available is continuing to drop, putting an unprecedented strain on American families.
Sandbox Financial Partners Director of Investments and VP Blake Millard provides insight on the recession countdown clock on ‘Making Money.’ The latest economic data shows the annual M2 money supply growth rate has beenย negativeย for the past three quarters, meaning the amount of money available is shrinking rapidly. In the past 110 years, the only other time Americans have seen the money supply drop this sharply was in the early 1930s, during the height of the Great Depression.
There is a significant difference this time around, however. In the ’30s, when the money supply annual rate turned negative, prices dropped as well. In our current situation, prices are still going up despite the collapse in the money supply. To the extent we’re seeing it today, this has never occurred before.
Panelists Carol Roth and Nancy Tengler provide insight on the state of the U.S. economy on ‘The Evening Edit.’
Household Savings
The reduced availability of money caused by the Fedโs policies and the Biden administrationโs inflationary spending has created a dire situation for American families. Increasingly more people are eating into their savings and going into debt to cover basic living expenses, like food, utilities and housing.
Survey data from the Federal Reserve shows the bottom 80% of income earners, representing the vast majority of Americans, now have less in real household savings than they did prior to the pandemic. And savings for top income earners will likely fall below pre-2020 levels within the next 12 months.
The combination of higher prices and reduced availability of money has caused people to depend on credit cards and other forms of consumer debt at higher numbers than weโve ever seen. In the spring, Americansโ collective credit card debt topped $1 trillion for the first time in history.
Circle Squared Alternative Investments founder Jeff Sica explains why consumer spending will dramatically decline before the holidays on ‘Varney & Co.’ Higher prices, more government spending and debt, and lower levels of household savings โ thatโs whatย Bidenomics actually looks like.
Congress and the Biden administration are currently in the midst of a battle over spending. If a deal isnโt completed soon, the government could shut down temporarily. Now is the time to reduce spending and bring fiscal sanity back to Washington, D.C. โ before itโs too late.
The U.S. economy is walking on thin ice. If prices and inflation donโt come down soon, something that can only occur if Congress and the White House reduce spending, then the U.S. is soon going to find itself in yet another massive economic crisis.
If that occurs, I hope Americans remember who deserves the blame.
Bidenโs Energy Department is banning cheaper, less-efficient furnaces based on the premise of conserving energy, yet with Americaโs energy abundance, the new standards canโt be justified. Pictured: Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on June 22, 2022. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
In an attempt to force Americans to conserve energy, the Department of Energy is banning a whole class of popular furnaces, eventually raising heating costs and reducing product choices for families and businesses alike. And it is using an outdated law to give itself the authority to do so.
While the DOE did recognize many of the comments that I submitted arguing against its attempt to regulate gas furnaces, it did little more than brush them off. Unfortunately, higher costs and less choice wonโt be so easy for American families and businesses to ignore.
Furthermore, the DOE relied on outdated congressional authority to devise its final rule, and the law itself doesnโt require the department to tighten standards for gas furnaces when there is no good reason for it to do so (and there isnโt).
The new rule does not simply alter standards; it would effectively remove a technology from the marketplace and reduce competition. This is antithetical to Congressโ wishes expressed in the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which makes clear that maintaining a competitive market for products the law covers is an essential element of the cost-benefit calculation. Yet ultimately, the rule would have a tremendous effect on the furnace market by eliminating an entire technology, namely noncondensing gas furnaces.
While the DOE determined that noncondensing furnaces do not constitute a separate marketplace offering relative to condensing models, which it prefers, its conclusion is based on an overly narrow definition of separate product categories. Essentially, the department concluded that because both technologies are used to heat homes, they are not competitors and thus should not be considered separate product categories for regulatory purposes.
While both condensing and noncondensing furnaces heat homes, they have different costs, perform differently, and have different installation requirements. Condensing furnaces cost more and entail installation expenses that can be significant.
These differences matter to consumers, and this is why both technologies are sold in the marketplace. Indeed, the DOE estimated that noncondensing furnaces would represent 42% of furnace shipments in 2029, prior to its proposed rule taking effect, demonstrating the enduring value that American consumers find in noncondensing furnaces.
Congress, right or wrong, sought to improve consumer product efficiency when it passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act nearly 50 years ago, but it was not seeking to empower the DOE to in effect ban a product that, according to the departmentโs own estimate, represents 42% of the market.
Congress also expressed a deep concern with ensuring that any conservation measure be supported by an underlying need for energy conservation. In fact, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking specified when the โDOE may not prescribe a standard.โ Among other factors that the notice stated the secretary must consider is โthe need for energy and water conservation.โ
Indeed, the value, if not the underlying legitimacy, of government imposing its will on the American consumer when considering this conservation factor could only be relevant when there is a current and pressing problem concerning conservation. Such a scenario does not exist now, and, in fact, there is energy abundance, even though much remains untapped largely due to government constraints.
According to the Energy Information Agency, in 2020, the United States held over 373 billion barrels of technically recoverable crude oil reserves, which would provide the U.S. with over 50 years of supply. The same is true for natural gas. The agency also estimated in 2020 that the U.S. held more than 2,925 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas. At current consumption levels, that equates to nearly 100 years of supply.
Of course, new discoveries are always occurring that would expand this supply over time, which is demonstrated by the growing availability of unconventional sources like oil shale. According to the Energy Information Agency, the U.S. currently holds an additional 195.5 billion barrels of crude oil and 1,712 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in unconventional reserves. According to the Institute for Energy Research, conventional and unconventional reserves combine to provide nearly 300 years of energy supply at current consumption levels.
These energy resources do not even account for uranium deposits, which are widely spread throughout the U.S., nor for advancements in other energy-generating technologies.
This era of energy abundance is different from the early 1970s when the Energy Policy and Conservation Act was passed.
Given that the relevant context of any imposed energy efficiency mandate is, at a minimum, some demonstrable condition of energy scarcity and that the U.S. obviously does not meet that condition, the justification for this or nearly any other efficiency rule is clearly weakened.
Further, within the context of establishing the need for energy conservation, the DOEโs underlying analysis for the rule attempted to justify it based on alleged emissions benefits.
But according to the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. air quality has been improving for decades. The EPA reports that nationally, air pollutant concentration levels have declined significantly since 1990, including levels of carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur, and particulate matter.
By almost any measure, Americaโs air quality is clean and getting cleaner. Thus, to argue that this regulatory actionโs alleged air quality benefits outweigh the substantial costs to American consumers is weak.
The legitimacy of any policy, especially those that restrict Americansโ ability to pursue their own happiness, requires policymakers to balance all of the costs and benefits of a particular action. Thus, a reasonable assessment of the impact on consumer choice, family finances, and broad inconvenience weighed against the alleged air quality benefits should have provided the secretary of Energy adequate information to stop this regulation in its tracks.
The 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act was borne out of time of perceived energy scarcity. In justifying the policies that the act ultimately set in place, President Gerald Ford laid out three broad policy objectives. These included reducing oil imports, ending American vulnerability to economic disruption by foreign suppliers, and developing energy technology and resources to supply a significant share of the free worldโs energy needs.
In each case, the United States has achieved Fordโs objectives. In 1975, net imports of crude oil exceeded 5 million barrels per day. By 2020, the United States had become a net exporter. Additionally, American technologies like fracking and commercial nuclear reactors are helping to power modern economies around the world.
Geopolitical shocks and cartels, specifically the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, which produces about 40% of the worldโs crude oil, can still have a near-term impact on American energy prices. But due to the large amount of energy produced in America and traded on global markets, energy disruptions do not present the sort of systemic threat that policymakers feared in the 1970s. The extent to which the United States economy remains vulnerable is purely a function of energy restriction policies created by our own government and have nothing to do with energy efficiency.
Thus, while efficiency certainly remains an important piece of the energy calculation for American consumers, it is no longer something that needs to be imposed at the systemic level.
Though the 1975 act clearly authorizes the DOE to place restrictions on industry and consumer choice at the behest of the secretary of Energy, the department should recognize that the environment that gave rise to the act has changed drastically, given advances in technology and energy discovery. While this does not diminish the authority of the secretary to impose standards, it does dramatically diminish the impact of those standards relative to the overall purpose of the act, which is to secure adequate energy resources for the American economy.
In other words, saving a slice of a small pie has much more impact than saving the same size slice of a much larger pie. As detailed above, the United States has hundreds of years of known energy reserves, and new technology is allowing for new discoveries and more efficient use of existing reserves all the time.
Further, appliances of all sorts, including furnaces, are becoming more efficient. While the consuming public considers many attributes of the purchases they make, including capability and upfront cost, efficiency is clearly something the American consumer values. Indeed, as energy becomes more expensive, the value of the efficiency in a free market will most assuredly increase.
Put succinctly, the value proposition for energy efficiency has shifted dramatically since 1975 due the broad availability of energy. Thus, forcing Americans to purchase certain products based on efficiency within an environment of energy abundance no longer has the same impact on energy availability as it did during times of perceived energy scarcity. The new standards do not meaningfully advance the intent of Energy Policy and Conservation Act and do not justify the restrictions the rule will impose on American consumersโ choices.
If you drive by one of the billboards promoting “Dead Name,” a documentary about the toll of transgenderism, you might wonder what befell the unnamed child in the message looming over the traffic. Pictured: One of four double-sided electronic billboards promoting “Dead Name” in Ohio and Pennsylvania. (Photo: Broken Hearted Films)
In the 2017 movie โThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,โ the character Mildred Hayes, played by the always-gripping Frances McDormand, is a driven mother seeking justice for her slain daughter. Feeling ignored, and with no arrests after seven months, Mildred puts up three roadside signs to prod Ebbingโs police chief to find her daughterโs killer.
As the makers of โDead Name,โ a new documentary film about the gender ideology targeting our children, weโve taken a page from Mildred by using four two-sided digital billboards in Pennsylvania and Ohio to promote our movie through yearโs end.
Why? Because we want to be heard. We want to prod ordinary folks to do a double take when they see this bold question along the roadside: โHas This Happened to Your Child?โ Next come the words โDead Nameโ and the URL deadnamedocumentary.com.
We know a little bit about being silenced. โDead Nameโ was first released late last year on the streaming platform Vimeo. Thirty-five days in,ย Vimeo dropped the documentary, caving to those who donโt want to foster a conversation about parents who are suffering because their children are caught up in the transgender movement.
โDead Nameโ rebounded on a private viewing platform and the censorship helped to spread the word about the film, but this never should have happened. Our film has been covered widely by conservative media via online publications and podcasts. Thoughtful journalists and hosts have examined the issue, using a compassionate lens to dissect an issue that is kidnapping a generation and destroying families. But mainstream media is too hard-boiled to treat the subject with nuance or open-mindedness. Theyโre not allowed.
The transgender generation is a wonderful thing, a true expression of human rights, the legacy media outlets all seem to collectively believe. No need to delve deeper or ask critical questions or analyze what weโre doing medically to a generation. Nope, nothing to look at there.
So, weโve had to get creative about how to be heardโand seen. In Pennsylvania, the electronic billboards promoting โDead Nameโ are in Harrisburg as well as Castle Shannon, a borough near Pittsburgh. In Ohio, the billboards are in Lorain County, near Cleveland, and in the city of Findlay.
In Lorain, motorists passing the billboard are on their way to stores, restaurants, hotels, Mercy Health-Lorain Hospital, Lorain Community College, and the Cleveland Clinicโs Family Health Center. The billboard in Findlay is situated in a busy area near Flag City Station shopping mall and close to the University of Findlay, Blanchard Valley Hospital, Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation, and the Childrenโs Museum of Findlay. We expect that will snap a few heads.
The billboard in Harrisburg is located less than 3 miles from the steps of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, where the issue is already under discussion among legislators. The Castle Shannon billboard sits in the heart of Allegheny County, amid stores, restaurants, pubs, and other businesses.
We chose these locations because they are in the heartland of our great nation, a laboratory for public opinion. In the film โDead Name,โ Amyโone of three parents who tells their intimate and heartbreaking storiesโsays that if itโs not your child, you have no idea how it feels.
That may be true, but the transgender issue is spreading its tentacles. More of us are becoming aware that weโre grappling with something big, incomprehensible, and irreversible for our children.
If youโre driving by one of our billboards, you might at least wonder what has befallen the unnamed child to whom we allude in the message looming over the traffic.
It may not be your child, but it may be your niece or nephew or a friendโs child who has been absorbed into gender dysphoria confusion. And not because that child really believes he or she has been born in the wrong body, but because that child is suffering from body image issues or sexual trauma or other anxiety disorders that grip us when weโre going through the delicate stages of puberty and adolescence.
What weโre hoping is that drivers will motor pass these provocative signs and ask: โWhat the heck is that all about?โ if they donโt already know.
If they find their way to our film, they will meet Amy, Helen, and Bill, parents who were blindsided when their children became caught up in the trans movement. The three have very different stories, but none of them saw it coming. And all three, for different reasons, continue to live with the fallout. But even if they donโt watch โDead Name,โ weโre hoping the phrase โdead nameโ is enough for folks to wonder aloud to family and friends.
At the very least, weโre hoping people will ask questions, seek clarity, scratch their heads, wonder what it is they donโt know. We are living through a unique time, where children are overly influenced online.
Parents know theyโve lost agency over their children. Previous generations raised their kids knowing that being a parent included the authority to protect a child. Somehow this societal structure, long relied upon, has spun out of control. A teacher or guidance counselor or therapist goes along with a childโs new name or gender, often without parental knowledge or consent.
So, weโre asking, โHas this happened to your child?โ We do so because weโre hoping parents will be better prepared for and more educated about this scourge that erases a childโs identity, leaving him or her with a โdead nameโ and relatives and other loved ones with broken hearts.
Taylor Reece is the director and co-producer of โDead Name,โ a documentary from Broken Hearted Films in which parents give voice to the devastating impact of the transgender movement on their children and families.
A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country in various news outlets, including NewsMax, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and โThe Washington Post.โ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh DโSouza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.
As the Biden familyโs corruption scandals tumble out into the open, corporate media badly want you to think the only story here is about Hunter Biden, a struggling drug addict who may have made some unwise decisions while grieving the loss of his brother. The more evidence โ from whistleblower testimony to documentation โ of President Joe Bidenโs involvement arises, the more frantically they shout โno evidence!โ and insist the elder Biden was only involved to the extent that he loves his son and talks with his wealthy foreign friends about the weather.
But setting aside the evidence of Joe Bidenโs involvement in the access-for-sale scheme โ of which there is an abundance โ thereโs another central figure in the operation. The participation of James Biden, Hunterโs uncle and Joeโs brother, shows just how much of a family affair the scandal is, with Joe Biden, the familyโs โonly asset,โ at the top.
So what exactly do we know about James Bidenโs involvement?
Payments from CCP-Linked Energy Firm
Chinese energy company CEFC, a state-backed firm that is โeffectively an arm of the Chinese Government,โ paid the Biden family and their associates millions โ presumably for โaccessโ to Joe Biden โ funneling the cash through Robinson Walker LLC, an account run by Biden family associate Rob Walker. After receiving a $3 million payout from CEFC, Robinson Walker LLC wired two $50,000 payments to an account belonging to James Biden on April 3, 2017, another $120,000 on April 20, $125,000 on April 24, and $15,000 on May 18, bringing James Bidenโs total receipt from CEFC in that exchange to $360,000.
Later, James also received money via his consulting firm, Lion Hall Group. โBetween Aug. 14, 2017 and Aug. 3, 2018, [Hunter Bidenโs company] Owasco sent 20 wires totaling $1,398,999 to the Lion Hall Group, a consulting firm that lists James Biden and his wife, Sara Biden, on the bank account,โ Sens. Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley reported in 2020. The transfers started days after CEFC wired millions to Hudson West III, a joint venture between Hunter Biden and CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming, which began sending money to Owasco. After the transaction into the Lion Hall Group account was flagged โfor potential criminal financial activity,โ the bank โsubmitted the account for closure.โ
In August 2017, around the time those payments started, James Biden was made a manager at Hudson West III, to be paid $65,000 a month.
Hudson West III also sent a total of $76,746 directly to Lion Hall Group in 2018.
On top of that, James, his wife Sara, and Hunter went on a $101,291 spending spree with credit cards opened by Hunter and Kevin Dong, who โserved as โChairman Ye[โs] CEFC emissaryโ in the United States.โ The three Bidens purchased โextravagant items, including airline tickets and multiple items at Apple Inc. stores, pharmacies, hotels and restaurants.โ
Two years later, The Washington Post confirmed Johnson and Grassleyโs discoveries, admitting โthe Chinese energy conglomerate and its executives paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter Biden and his uncle.โ
On Thursday, House investigators subpoenaed bank records for both Hunter and James Biden after additional records revealed โthe Bidens and their associates have received over $20 million in payments from foreign entities.โ
Meetings and Communication with Hunter Bidenโs Foreign Associates
Documents released by the House Ways and Means Committee last week show dozens of WhatsApp communications involving James Biden, including direct communications between Hunter and James, as well as group messages between Hunter, James, and associates like Tony Bobulinski, Rob Walker, and James Gilliar, and group messages between Hunter, James, Kevin Dong, and Mervyn Yan, whom IRS investigators described as one of the โU.S. managers for CEFC related to the Hudson West entitiesโ along with Dong.
On Aug. 27, 2017, Hunter Biden discussed a luncheon with Kevin Dong, telling him that James would be bringing Joe Biden along for an appearance. โMy uncle will be here with his BROTHER who would like to say hello to the Chairman,โ Hunter wrote.
On Sept. 27, 2017, James Biden messaged Hunter, Yan, and Dong that a meeting between them was โsetโ at โThe Carlyle Hotel Madison Ave at 76th.โ โWe will meet you in the room, Iโm here โฆ Hunter will be arriving shortly,โ James wrote. The following day, he sent details for a meeting at a Ritz Carlton in Atlanta to the same group.
In an interview with IRS investigators, James Biden admitted to attending a luncheon in Romania with Hunter, Walker, and Gilliar โ a luncheon which James โunderstood โฆ to be a side deal.โ
He also told the IRS he had met with Chairman Ye Jianming of CEFC โonce,โ along with โthe Directorโ (presumably CEFC Director Bo Zhang), in New York City at Hunter Bidenโs request. James even showed Yeโs wife around the city, taking her to private schools where she might enroll her children, he told investigators.
Furthermore, when Patrick Ho โ whom Hunter had described as the โspy chief of Chinaโ โ was arrested by the DOJ for โhis role in a multi-year, multimillion-dollar scheme to bribe top officials of Chad and Uganda in exchange for business advantages for CEFC,โ James Biden was his first call. (James claims to believe Ho was actually looking for Hunter.)
Jamesโ Role in the โ10 Held By H for the Big Guyโ Email
In October 2020, the New York Post published a May 2017 email that was sent to Hunter Biden discussing โremuneration packagesโ that included a provision of โ10 held by H for the big guy?โ โ whom involved parties have confirmed is Joe Biden.
The email described a โprovisional agreementโ splitting up โequityโ in an unnamed venture, with numbers indicating percentages. Twenty percent each would go to people identified as H, RW, JG, and TB โ abbreviations that correspond, the Post noted, to the names in the email thread: Hunter, Rob Walker, James Gilliar, and Tony Bobulinski. In addition to the โ10 held by Hunter for the big guy,โ another 10 would go to โJim,โ which almost certainly referred to James Biden.
James and Hunter Discuss Money, โProtecting Dad,โ and Getting โHelpโ From Joe
Despite telling the IRS โthat he recalled not being involved with anything beyond 2017,โ James Biden sent a message to Hunter in February 2018 that he was โin a near panicโ because โwe got nothing in Feb! โฆ Did K [likely Kevin Dong] cut us off in Feb? I thought you had said that $ were wired into your account , 82.5 was on its way. We canโt find any record that was sent. Did I miss something?โ
James continued to frantically try to reach Hunter for answers, texting weeks later that โI also have something at stake as well.โ
In March 2018, Hunter asked James to let him know in writing if James โno longer [wished] to be involvedโ and expressed regret that โyouโve been drawn into something purely for the purpose of protecting Dadโ:
If YOU NO LONGER [W]ISH TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS VENTURE REGARDLESS of how tangentially I need it in writing. Because [as] you have pointed out over and over again- you cannot be my uncle or my protector and counsel if you donโt have all the information. โฆ we can talk later but youโve been drawn into something purely for the purpose of protecting Dad- and I know any of the BS money is mine ultimately- Well youโve done your job and he f-cking but only is true to form but even more so why be so horribly angry over nothing g but being duped. You both ha[v]e said itโs bigger than me a family โฆ
โI am no dupe for anyone. If you see me as an agent for my brother, there is something seriously wrong,โ James Biden responded later, before continuing to talk business.
Nearly a year later, after Hunter Biden sent James a message on Dec. 29, 2018, complaining that โI canโt pay alimony w/o Dad or tuitions or for food and gas,โ James wrote back, โThis can work, you need a safe harbor. I can work with you father alone!! We as usual just need several months of his help for this to work.โ
A History of Financial Wheeling-and-Dealing
Unrelated to his role in international influence-peddling, James Biden is โunder ongoing investigation by federal authorities in Western Pennsylvania over a series of hospital deals struck under Americore Health,โ a scandal The Federalistโs Mark Hemingway reported on in 2020. Americoreโs former CEO Grant White accused James Biden of fraud and racketeering, in documents prepared for a lawsuit that was eventually settled.
James also has a history of leveraging the Biden name to get private loans, and even left-wing outlet ProPublica admitted that โon occasion, as Jim pursued opportunities, Joe met with his potential clients or partners, at Jimโs request.โ
Elle Purnell is an assistant editor at The Federalist, and received her B.A. in government from Patrick Henry College with a minor in journalism. Follow her work on Twitter @_etreynolds.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisโseen here speaking In Long Beach, California, on Sundayโannounced on Tuesday evening that Florida’s new law permitting the death penalty for pedophiles went into effect this week. (Photo: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
Floridaโs new law permitting the death penalty for pedophiles went into effect this week, the stateโs governor announced Tuesday evening.
โFloridaโs law allowing the death penalty for child rapists is now in effect,โ Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a post on social media. โThe minimum sentence is life in prison without parole. In Florida, anyone who harms children in such a horrific way will never walk free.โ
DeSantis signed HB 1297 in May, and the statute took effect on Sunday. The law states that โa person who commits a sexual battery upon, or in an attempt to commit sexual battery injures the sexual organs of, a person less than 12 years of age carries a great risk of death and danger to vulnerable members of this state.โ
โSuch crimes destroy the innocence of a young child and violate all standards of decency held by civilized society,โ the statute says, noting that the Florida Legislature determined that both Buford v. State of Florida and Kennedy v. Louisiana, cases in which the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court held that the death penalty for child rape was cruel and unusual, were โwrongly decided and an egregious infringement of the statesโ power to punish the most heinous of crimes.โ
Floridaโs law allowing the death penalty for child rapists is now in effect.
The minimum sentence is life in prison without parole. In Florida, anyone who harms children in such a horrific way will never walk free.
DeSantis said in May that he thinks the U.S. Supreme Courtโs 2008 ruling on capital punishment was โwrong,โ suggesting that Floridaโs new law may enable the justices to reconsider the ruling on the matter.
โThis bill sets up a procedure to be able to challenge that precedent and to be able to say that, in Florida, we think that the worst of the worst crimes deserve the worst of the worst punishment,โ he said at the time.
Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern of Oklahoma are privately gauging support for potential speakership bids. Pictured: Scalise speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 27, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Update: Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has officially announced heโs running to be the next House speaker.
The Houseย votedย to remove McCarthy from his leadership position afterย Florida Rep.ย Matt Gaetzย filed a motion to vacateย the speakerย following last weekโs spending fight that resulted in a 47-day continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown.
Scalise and Hern have been floated as possible replacements for McCarthy, including by Gaetz, and the two top House Republicans are meeting with Texasโ congressional delegation Wednesday to gauge support, according to the person familiar.
A spokesperson for Hern confirmed the meeting to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Scalise did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Texasโ congressional delegation is comprised of 25 members, which could be a key voting bloc during the speakership election. GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas already threw his support behind Scalise in a tweet Tuesday evening, just hours after McCarthy was removed.
For a time such as thisโฆSteve is the right man to lead our country ๐บ๐ธ pic.twitter.com/5hOQmTdBrC
The House GOP will hold a candidate forum next Tuesday ahead of the speaker election on Wednesday, according to multiple reports. Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina was named speaker pro tempore, and McCarthy announced he wonโt run for the position again.
Eight Republicans joined with 208 Democrats to remove McCarthy, including Gaetz, Matt Rosendale of Montana, Ken Buck of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, and Bob Good of Virginia, according to the House Clerk.
Several McCarthy allies who voted against the motion to vacate slammed Gaetz and the other conservatives for the move, criticizing them of ousting the speaker for personal reasons, with some hinting at expelling the Florida congressman.
Jesus Jara, school superintendent for Clark County, Nevada, signed a Defense of Democracy pledge supporting “educators” over parents when it comes to class and library materials. Defense of Democracy has demonized the parental rights group Moms for Liberty. Pictured: Jara speaks at a fundraiser for St. Jude’s Ranch for Children in Boulder City, Nevada. (Photo: Clark County School District)
Asย Moms for Liberty galvanizedย concerned parents across the country, a left-leaning group called Defense of Democracy sprouted up to oppose the growing parental rights movement. Now, a Nevada superintendent has become the first top school district leader to sign this new organizationโs pledge to put โeducation professionalsโ ahead of parents when it comes to class materials.
โWe serve all families and all kids from all walks of life,โ Jara, who leads the fifth-largest school district in the country with more than 300,000 enrolled students, said uponย signing the pledge.
The pledge doesnโt explicitly oppose parental rights groups, but Defense of Democracy, the organization behind it, has compared Moms for Liberty to the Ku Klux Klan. A member of the Clark County school board also has condemned Moms for Liberty as a โcancer.โ
Jara didnโt respond to The Daily Signalโs multiple requests for comment on the pledge, Defense of Democracy, and Moms for Liberty.
The pledge opensย with a declaration of diversity and states: โI recognize that our LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and families of color [sic] face significant threats from extremist groups. I pledge to represent and protect the civil rights ofย allย members of my constituencyโ [emphasis original].
The pledge emphasizes that an โexcellent public education systemโ is the โcornerstone of a fully functioning societyโ and declares support for โteachers, librarians, and other educators.โ
It notes that โparentsย shouldย be involved in and have input regardingย their ownย childโs education,โ but insists that parental input โdoes not extend toย otherย children within the school systemโ [emphasis original].
โBy signing this pledge I acknowledge that our education professionals are best qualified to make decisions regarding materials included in their classrooms and libraries,โ the pledge concludes.
Parents across the country have raised the alarm about sexually explicit books in school libraries. Although Defense of Democracy doesnโt take a position on a specific book, its prioritizing of โeducation professionalsโ over parents when it comes to educational materials suggests a stance aligned with groups such as PEN America and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Those left-leaning organizations claim books have been โbannedโ in schools over their racial or LGBTQ+ content, even though a Heritage Foundation report found that the books in question remain widely available in schools. (The Daily Signal is The Heritage Foundationโs news outlet.)
Karen Svoboda, president and CEO of Defense of Democracy, told The Daily Signal that her organization โdoes not endorse candidates.โ
โOur Pledge to Protect our Public Schools is a promise that any candidate or elected official should be comfortable making, as it is simply a promise to give a voice to every constituent in their district, regardless of race, gender, religion, or political party,โ Svoboda said. โWe are grateful to everyone who has made this promise.โ
Defense of Democracyโs โStatement of Beliefsโ stipulates that although the group โdoes not take stands regarding specific books,โ it does stand with โeducators who are trained to decide which books are appropriate for their classrooms.โ The group also states that โinformation about the human experienceโincluding gender identity, differing spiritual beliefs, and accurate historical factsโshould be part of all levels of education.โ
According to the โAboutโ page on its website, Defense of Democracy launched as a response to Moms for Liberty, which the organization brands a โhate group.โ
Last month, the organization shared a meme comparing Moms for Liberty to the Ku Klux Klan.
Karen Svoboda, president and CEO of Defense of Democracy, cited the Southern Poverty Law Centerโs decision to brand Moms for Liberty an โanti-government extremistโ group.
โIn June 2023,ย Momsย forย Libertyย was declared an โanti-government extremist organizationโ by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Defense of Democracy agrees with this assessment,โ Svoboda said, linking to the SPLCโs website.
As I explain in my book โMaking Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center,โ the SPLC took the program it has used to bankrupt organizations associated with the Ku Klux Klan and weaponized it against conservative groups, partially to scare its donors into ponying up cash and partially to silence ideological opponents.
In 2019, amid a racial discrimination and sexual harassment scandal that led the SPLC to fire its co-founder, a former employee came forward to call the organizationโs โhateโ accusations a โhighly profitable scam.โ
Seven years earlier, in 2012, a terrorist with a gun used the โhate mapโ to target a Christian nonprofit in Washington, D.C. Although the SPLC condemned the attack, it kept the organization targeted by the gunman on its โhate map.โ
The SPLC put parental rights groups such as Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education on its โhate mapโ in June, condemning them as part of an โanti-student inclusion movement.โ This attack built on a previous article in which an SPLC analyst compared the parental rights movement to theย โuptown Klansโ of white southernersย who supported segregation after the Supreme Courtโs 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation of schools is unconstitutional.
FOR THE RECORD. The Ku Klux Klan was formed by slave owning democrats in the South in rebellion over Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Not only did Jara sign Defense of Democracyโs pledge, but Clark County school board member Linda Cavazos also demonized Moms for Liberty. Cavazos shared an article about Moms for Liberty online, commenting: โFounded in Floridaโwhat a surprise. They will not win here.โ
โTheir hateful comments about our gender diverse students and our educators will not be tolerated here,โ the school board member added. โThey are a cancer that we absolutely will not allow to spread in our community.โ
Founded in Florida-what a surprise. They will not win here. Their hateful comments about our gender diverse students and our educators will not be tolerated here. They are a cancer that we absolutely will not allow to spread in our community. pic.twitter.com/rVaxfJCSDP
Neither Cavazos nor the other six members of the school board responded to The Daily Signalโs request for comment by publication time.
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice defended her organization from these attacks and questioned the motives of Defense of Democracy.
โIn the fight for the protection of parental rights there will always be those who choose to call names and point fingers,โ Justice told The Daily Signal. โWe will continue to stand up for the rights of parents and the protection of our children.โ
She drew attention to Moms for Libertyโs own pledge advancing parental rights:
I pledge to honor the fundamental rights of parents including, but not limited to the right to direct the education, medical care, and moral upbringing of their children. I pledge to advance policies that strengthen parental involvement and decision-making, increase transparency, defend against government overreach, and secure parental rights at all levels of government.
โOur parental pledge is focused on supporting and protecting children and parents, and we will continue to encourage our elected officials to sign our pledge,โ Justice added. โWe will not stand down in this fight. We do not coparent with the government.โ
โWhy are the teachers unions and Defense of Democracy opposing parental rights?โ she asked.
The Defense of Democracy pledge in full (emphasis original):
I acknowledge that my constituency is made up of individuals from all religions, cultural backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, and walks of life. I recognize that our LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and families of color face significant threats from extremist groups. I pledge to represent and protect the civil rights ofย allย members of my constituency.
I acknowledge that an excellent public education systemโincluding access to informationโis the cornerstone of a fully functioning society. I pledge to support and, when necessary, advocate for teachers, librarians, and other educators within my public school system.
Parentsย shouldย be involved in and have input regardingย their ownย childโs education. However, this right does not extend toย otherย children within the school system. By signing this pledge I acknowledge that our education professionals are best qualified to make decisions regarding materials included in their classrooms and libraries.
The complete Moms for Liberty pledge:
I pledge to honor the fundamental rights of parents including, but not limited to, the right to direct the education, medical care, and moral upbringing of their children. I pledge to advance policies that strengthen parental involvement and decision-making, increase transparency, defend against government overreach, and secure parental rights at all levels of government.
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A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country in various news outlets, including NewsMax, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and โThe Washington Post.โ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh DโSouza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.
Editorโs note: This is the first of a two-part series on the legal travails of Blaze Media contributor Steve Baker and his reporting surrounding the events of January 6, 2021.
Iโve been under federal investigation for the better part of two years. Last Wednesday morning, my attorney spoke with FBI Special Agent Craig Noyes, one of the lead investigators in my case. He confirmed that the Department of Justice is continuing its probe into my journalistic activities on January 6, 2021.
Like many other reporters and photojournalists โ both independents and those working directly for established media companies โ I followed the story that day where it went. And it happened to be inside the Capitol Building. Depending on who is doing the counting, between 100 and 200 journalists were either already inside the Capitol, covering the event from restricted grounds, or followed the crowd inside.
The left-wing Sedition Hunters compiled a rather impressive spreadsheet of all types of journalists, with designations of โInterior (Breach),โ โInterior (Press Corps),โ and โRestricted Groundsโ assigned to 160 different โconfirmedโ journalists, and an additional spreadsheet tab listing 45 โunconfirmedโ reporters and videographers.
When I first looked up the Sedition Hunters’ spreadsheet over a year ago, I wasnโt listed. So I contacted them and asked to be added. They didnโt respond to me directly. Instead, they blocked me from their Twitter page. A more recent search shows they added my name, along with my Locals blog link, my Twitter handle, and my Rumble page, with the โInterior (Breach)โ designation under the โconfirmedโ tab.
(My journalistic activities on January 6 took place before I became a Blaze Media contributor.)
I made no effort to hide what I was doing on January 6. I did two different interviews that same day with WUSA, a CBS News affiliate in Washington, D.C. I also uploaded a short YouTube video commentary later that same evening.
Upon returning to my home in Raleigh, North Carolina, I socked myself away for five days, doing a frame-by-frame analysis of my own videos. I then wrote and published on January 13, 2021, a 9,500-word opus to my blog detailing what I experienced that day, titled, โWhat I Saw on January 6th in Washington, D.C.โ
That piece, and a February 24, 2021, follow-up, โWho was โUp the Chainโ on January 6?โ has been viewed and read by hundreds of thousands of readers on my blog and various social media pages.
I always expected that I would be contacted by the FBI at some point, at the very least to acquire my videos for the bureau’s investigations. I did no violence or property destruction on January 6, and I certainly did not interfere with the election certification, as I didnโt enter the Capitol Building until well after both the Senate and House of Representatives had been evacuated.
Several months passed. Finally, around 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 22, 2021, I received a call from someone who introduced himself as FBI Special Agent Gerrit Doss.
My immediate response: โWhat took you so long?โ
Doss told me he knew I was scheduled to speak at a Libertarian Party meet-up in Leesburg, Virginia, the next evening and asked if I might have time earlier in the afternoon to meet with a couple of agents. (Thus tipping me to the fact that the FBI had been watching me and tracking my activities.)
I politely informed Doss that I would be in Leesburg earlier in the day. Unfortunately, my attorney would not be with me, so I would be unable to speak with him.
โOh, oh … I understand,โ Doss replied. โIs there a good time when you can meet with us, along with your attorney?โ
I asked the agent for his contact number and told him Iโd have my attorney reach out to him as soon as possible.
Through my attorney, we agreed to a voluntary meeting at the FBIโs Cary, North Carolina, office on August 5, 2021. Upon arrival at the FBI office that morning, Agents Doss and Craig Noyes greeted us and informed my attorney and me that they โmay notโ be able to conduct an interview that day after all. They invited us to have a seat in the lobby and said that they would return โin about 10 minutes.โ
Doss and Noyes re-emerged from behind closed doors about 30 minutes later to let us know that they couldnโt conduct the interview without โspecial permissionโ because of my โpressโ status.
According to the Code of Federal Regulations, a federal investigative agency must first secure โauthorization by a United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney Generalโ before conducting an interview with a member of the media.
My lawyer and the U.S. attorneyโs office then negotiated a proffer agreement for my voluntary interview, which said in effect that nothing I said in the interview could be used against me should I be charged with a crime unless I perjured myself. Keep that in mind.
The FBI was quite accommodating of my travel and work schedule, and my attorney and I ultimately reappeared at the Cary, N.C., FBI office for that interview with Doss and Noyes on October 18, 2021.
The interview lasted for exactly two hours and began with both agents thanking me for not doing violence against law enforcement on January 6. The only really contentious moment in an otherwise cordial meeting was my request to record the interview for my own benefit, which the agents rejected. With my agreement, we proceeded.
At the conclusion of the interview, we volunteered to turn over my videos from January 6. Again, I had nothing to hide. My attorney even asked that in exchange for the videos, I might receive immunity from prosecution. (No such luck.)
Under the circumstances, itโs never a good feeling when you see your attorneyโs name pop up on caller ID. On November 17, I got the call I had been dreading.
โIโve got bad news,โ he told me. โI just received an email from Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve, which says you can expect to be โcharged within the week.โโ
โWith what?โ I asked.
โWell, thatโs the weird part,โ my attorney continued. โAccording to the criminal statutes she sent โ 18 USC 1952 (a)(1)-(2) and 40 USC 5104 (e)(2)(d) and (g) โ youโre being charged with interstate racketeering and property damage.โ
โWhat?!โ
To the first charge, the only thing we could surmise is that during the FBI interview, I had been asked how much money I had made from the licensing of my January 6 videos. Several of my video clips had been used in January 6 documentaries produced by HBO and the New York Times, as well as by news services all over the world.
Was the federal government really trying to claim that I had traveled from Raleigh, N.C., to Washington, D.C., with the foreknowledge of a criminal event and conspired with others to profit from it?
All I could do was laugh.
As to the second charge, Iโd informed the agents during the interview that at one point while inside the Capitol, I stood on a bench to get above the crowd to get a better camera angle on the crowd’s activities. Agent Noyes asked, โYou stood on a bench?โ He then feverishly wrote something on his notepad.
According to federal law, โA person may not step or climb on, remove, or in any way injure any statue, seat, wall, fountain, or other erection or architectural feature, or any tree, shrub, plant, or turf, in the [Capitol] Grounds.โ
Good grief. Iโd damaged nothing! But, yes, I stood on a bench.
Anita Eveโs notification arrived on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving week in 2021. I was on the road, traveling for the holiday. My attorney and I immediately went on offense. On Monday morning of Thanksgiving week, we sent out over 200 copies of a press release notifying media organizations large and small that an independent journalist was being prosecuted for his coverage of January 6.
Right away, I began receiving interview requests from radio hosts, podcasters, and print journalists. At 1:47 p.m. that day, my attorney received an email from Eve, with an attached copy of the press release.
โIโm not thrilled with this press release that was forwarded to me today,โ she wrote.
My attorney responded: โMr. Baker is obviously feeling threatened by the charges and is using his First Amendment right to garner support. … Are you suggesting that he refrain from making further statements? … He has nothing to hide. But he does have a right to speak truthfully about his experiences and share his opinions. … Itโs not fair to ask him to be silent while he endures federal prosecution.โ
In that same email, my attorney again offered that I would voluntarily provide the government with my videos from January 6.
โI have absolutely no objection to Mr. Baker exercising his First Amendment rights,โ Eve answered. โHe can continue that as often as he so desires. My concern is what impact this will have with the Judge who gets assigned to his case. Also, I may make use of his commentary at some future proceeding.โ
An assistant U.S. attorney looking for notches in her career-advancement gun belt is concerned about what a judge may think about my actions? I wasnโt buying it.
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I received a message from a dear friend telling me that Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) wanted me to call him. Heโd been forwarded my press release. So I did.
โHello, this is Ron,โ a man answered.
โIs this Senator Johnson?โ I asked.
โThis is Ron.โ
And so it went. Without pretense of any kind, here was a U.S. senator from a state where I was not a constituent, and to whom Iโd never made a campaign contribution, asking how he could help me. After about a 15-minute chat, Senator Johnson gave me the phone number of his chief January 6 investigator, with whom I had a rather lengthy call the next week.
The governmentโs prosecutor and FBI agents then went silent. Despite the assistant U.S. attorney warning that I would be โcharged within the week,โ we didnโt hear from her office again until 20 months later.
In part two of this series, Baker explains what happened next and the current status of the federal investigation into his January 6 reporting.
The right has a problem. It is not merely a Mitch McConnell or Kevin McCarthy problem. Itโs a Republican Party problem. Conservatives will never have leverage to fight the issues that matter in any meaningful way until we find a new home. That is the stone-cold truth.
Before we can move forward, we must face this inconvenient reality.
No, a government shutdown has not been โaverted,โ because we now face the ultimate government shutdown โ indefinitely โ with no strategy or political vehicle to end it.
Republicans began this year with the most auspicious potential to block Joe Bidenโs agenda. They had the twin leverage points of the debt ceiling and the budget deadline, whereby they could have refused to grant Biden any more funding for his harmful policies without serious concessions. In many respects, Republicans had more leverage than ever before because they could theoretically govern with a simple majority in the House while Democrats need 60 votes to use their majority in the Senate. Moreover, unlike during the tenures of Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, Democrats are saddled with an unpopular and inarticulate Democrat president who would not be able to command the bully pulpit during a shutdown fight.
So what happened?
Republicans in June gave Biden a blank check for the remainder of his term by suspending the debt ceiling until 2025 โ more time than he had asked for. The debt has grown quicker than ever as a result.
The GOPโs final leverage point was the budget, and the intensification of the border invasion gave congressional Republicans the perfect mandate to fight through a government shutdown. Yet with both of these leverage points, Republican leaders showed that there is no degree of danger in which Biden can place this country that would prompt them to engage in brinksmanship. They wouldnโt even go up to the line and allow a lapse in funding at least for Sunday, when most government facilities are closed anyway. They fear one minute of a temporary funding lapse more than they fear crushing inflation, trillions in debt, millions of illegal aliens, and the FBI picking off political opponents.
I shudder to think exactly what it would take to shift Republican leadersโ attention away from the old paradigm. Everything we have been through these past few years was evidently not enough. Itโs also shocking how Republicans had no problem shutting down the whole country for months, yet they zealously clamor to avoid one minute of a partial federal furlough over a weekend.
Whatโs clear is that nothing has changed about this party since the era of Trump began โ not among leadership and not among the overwhelming majority of rank-and-file members. If they canโt fight even for a few days into a government shutdown over such popular issues and against such unpopular Democrat opponents, they will never ever fight for us.
We will now suffer through endless inflation, invasion, war on our energy and freedoms, and political persecution with zero backstop in sight. There is quite literally nothing Democrats can do that would elicit a unified, righteous response from the Republican Party. Itโs not that they donโt have values โ they certainly care deeply about funding Ukrainian oligarchs โ itโs just that you and I are not part of their value system.
Not that we can even wait until 2025 to redress the aforementioned crises, but nothing will change then either โ even if Republicans win all three branches. With such a maniacal degree of fear of a debt ceiling or budget funding lapse, Republicans will never have leverage to fulfil a single campaign promise, assuming any of those promises are even a little sincere. Democrats will always have enough votes in the Senate to filibuster any GOP budget bill. GOP leaders have made it clear that they will never allow the government to shut down for even one day. By definition, that means Democrats will always win a budget fight 100% of the time.
We need not speculate about the future when in fact this is what occurred when Republicans controlled the trifecta of government with Donald Trump as president, McConnell as Senate majority leader, and Paul Ryan as speaker of the House. As I noted earlier this year, Kevin McCarthy was House majority leader and shepherded nearly every budget bill through the floor with more support from Democrats than Republicans. Nothing has changed, and nothing will.
But itโs worse than the political math at the federal level.ย In more than 20 states, Republicans enjoy control of all three branchesย withย filibuster-proof majorities. Why is it that we can barely find Republicans outside Florida willing to fight on issues such as โgreenโ energy and illegal immigration? They wield dominant majorities โ in some states to the point where there arenโt enough Democrats to populate all the committees! Yet Republicans still betray us. At some point we have to face the music that the obstacle to reform has nothing to do with the media or the Democrats. The Republican Party is the problem.
Now that Congress has funded the federal government for the next month and a half, the White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are hard at work looking for ways to pour more U.S. taxpayer money into Ukraineโs forever war with Russia.
During a White House press briefing on Monday, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fretted that the administration is running out of the money needed to bankroll its continuing proxy war with Moscow. Government officials estimate there is approximately $6 billion remaining in military funds for Ukraine.
โIt is enough to โ for us to meet the โ meet Ukraineโs urgent battlefield needs for a bit โ for a bit longer,โ Jean-Pierreย toldย reporters.
Even though a majority of Americans oppose continued U.S. funding for Ukraine, congressional Democrats spent a significant portion of this past weekendโs spending fight arguing that more aid be shipped to the Eastern European nation. It was thanks to House Republicans and a handful of GOP senators that Congress ultimately approved a 45-day continuing resolution devoid of such funding.
Of course, this hasnโt stopped President Joe Biden or congressional leadership from professing their support for shipping more U.S. tax dollars to Ukraine. While discussing the spending fight, Biden suggested heโd reached an agreement with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to continue funding the conflict. Despite pushing back on the presidentโs insinuation that a deal had been made, McCarthy did proclaim to reporters on Monday that heโs โalways supported arming Ukraineโ and โbelieve[s] Ukraine is very important.โ
Congress and the Biden administration committed more than $113 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars to Ukraine in 2022, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
But while Washington overzealously focuses on Ukraineโs military, concerns affecting Americaโs own armed forces have gone by the wayside. On Thursday, the U.S. Marine Corpsย announcedย it is lowering its uniform standards to compensate for a shortage of camouflage attire typically worn by service members. According to Commandant Gen. Eric Smith, local battalions are โauthorizedโ to wear alternate attire contrary to Marine regulations to โmitigateโ an ongoing manufacturing shortfall thatโs left service members struggling to acquire woodland-patterned โcammies.โ
โWhat we cannot have is a situation where a Marine is wearing unserviceable cammies, because that looks bad for the Corps, and we canโt have a situation where that Marine is being given a hard time about those unserviceable cammies. Weโre going to get this fixed, Marines, but itโs going to take a little patience,โ Smith said, adding that the problem wonโt be fixed until the fall of 2024.
According to the Marine Corps Times, service members normally receive โthree sets of woodland cammies and two sets of desert cammies.โ Due to the ongoing shortage, however, the service has been providing Marines โtwo woodland sets and one desert set.โ Meanwhile, new enlistees have reportedly been forced to undergo โentry-level training in flame-resistant organizational gear,โ which are โtypically reserved for deployments,โ to compensate for the shortages.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
The Department of Justice directed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss not to respond to congressional inquiries, according to an email provided exclusively to The Federalist. That same email stressed that under DOJ policy, only its Office of Legislative Affairs, or OLA, can respond to requests from the legislative branch.
Yet Weiss would later sign and dispatch a letter to the House Judiciary Committee in response to an inquiry sent directly to Attorney General Merrick Garland. And in that letter, Weiss misleadingly claimed he had โbeen granted ultimate authority overโ the Hunter Biden investigation. The DOJโs disregard of its own policy provides further proof that both Garland and Weiss intended to obfuscate the reality that Weiss never held the reins of the Hunter Biden investigation.
On May 9, 2022, Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin wrote to Delaware U.S. Attorney Weiss inquiring about several aspects of the Hunter Biden investigation. After the senators sent a follow-up email to the Delaware U.S. attorneyโs office requesting a response by weekโs end, Delawareโs First Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Hanson asked the DOJ about protocol and then updated Weiss, stating in an email:
Consistent with my conversation with [redacted] last night, we are supposed to forward this and any other correspondence to OLA. Per DOJ policy, only OLA can respond on behalf of the Department to a request from the legislative branch.
On June 9, 2022, the OLA, as provided for in the DOJโs policy, responded to Grassley and Johnsonโs letter. The following month, Grassley and Johnson dispatched a second letter to Weiss, as well as Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray. In an email reviewed by The Federalist, the Office of Legislative Affairs told Weissโs office it would โtake the lead on drafting a responseโ to Grassley and Johnsonโs letter.
The Heritage Foundationโs Oversight Project obtained these emails and the most recent one revealing the DOJโs policy that only the โOLA can respond on behalf of the Department to a request from the legislative branch,โ after its Director Mike Howell filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the DOJ. The email to Weiss summarizing the DOJ policy contained in this latest batch of court-ordered disclosures proves huge given the sequence of events that occurred earlier this year.
On May 25, 2023, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan sent aย letterย to Attorney General Merrick Garland questioning him about the removal of the IRS whistleblowers from the Hunter Biden investigation. Although Jordan directed his inquiry to Garland, on June 7, 2023, Weiss dispatched a letter to the House Judiciary chair, noting in his opening: โYour May 25th letter to Attorney General Garland was forwarded to me, with a request that I respond on behalf of the Department.โ
Weiss then stated, as Garland had previously indicated, that he (Weiss) had โbeen granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges and for making decisions necessary to preserve the integrity of the prosecutionโฆโ
That Weiss would respond on behalf of Garland raised eyebrows at the time. Jordan noted โthe unusual nature of your response on behalf of Attorney General Garland,โ and asked for information concerning the names of individuals who drafted or assisted in drafting the June 7 letter, as well as details concerning the drafting and dispatching of the letter.
But now we know it wasnโt merely โunusualโ for Weiss to respond on behalf of the attorney general โ it was in apparent violation of the DOJ policy that only the OLA would respond to legislative inquiries. And it was that same policy that prevented Weiss from responding to the earlier questions posed by Johnson and Grassley directly to the Delaware U.S. attorney.
The content of Weissโs June 7 letter provides a pretty clear answer for why the DOJ ignored its own policy and enlisted the Delaware U.S. attorney to respond to Jordan: Garland needed Weiss to verify what the attorney general had previously told Grassley during a March 1, 2023, hearing. During that hearing, Garland expressly stated that โthe U.S. attorney in Delaware has been advised that he has full authority โฆ to bring cases in other jurisdictions if he feels itโs necessary.โ Weissโs assertion in the June 7 letter that he had โbeen granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges and for making decisions necessary to preserve the integrity of the prosecutionโฆโ seemingly confirmed Garlandโs testimony.
Of course, as informed Americans now know, the release of the IRS whistleblowerโs testimony โ that Weiss claimed he was not the ultimate decisionmaker โ forced the Delaware U.S. attorney to pen a follow-up letter to Jordan. In that June 30, 2023 sequel, Weiss, while purporting to stand by what he had previously written, contradicted his earlier representation that he had โbeen granted ultimate authority.โ Instead, Weiss explained he had โbeen assuredโ that โif necessary,โ he would be granted authority to charge Hunter Biden in any other district.
Having ultimate authority and being assured that you would be given ultimate authority if necessary are clearly two different things, yet Weiss gave cover for Garland in his June letters. Now we have further proof that the DOJ was behind those letters โ otherwise, Weiss would be in violation of the departmentโs policy.
The DOJ did not respond to The Federalistโs request for comment on Weissโs apparent violation of the departmentโs policy.
Margot Cleveland is an investigative journalist and legal analyst and serves as The Federalistโs senior legal correspondent. Margotโs work has been published at The Wall Street Journal, The American Spectator, the New Criterion (forthcoming), National Review Online, Townhall.com, the Daily Signal, USA Today, and the Detroit Free Press. She is also a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio programs and on Fox News, Fox Business, and Newsmax. Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Priveโthe law schoolโs highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. Cleveland is also of counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland where you can read more about her greatest accomplishmentsโher dear husband and dear son. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.
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American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
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Spiritual
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
Bible Gateway
The Bible Gateway is a tool for reading and researching scripture online โ all in the language or translation of your choice! It provides advanced searching capabilities, which allow readers to find and compare particular passages in scripture based on
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