Perspectives; Thoughts; Comments; Opinions; Discussions


By: REP. AUGUST PFLUGER on NAT DESK | Thursday, 23 January 2025 03:14 PM EST

Read more at https://www.newsmax.com/politics/hegseth-trump-cabinet/2025/01/23/id/1196270/

The U.S. Senate narrowly voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and military veteran, to be President Donald Trump’s secretary of defense, clearing the way for a vote on his confirmation later this week.

The tally was 51-49 in the 100-member Senate on a procedural measure to end debate.

ยฉ 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


By: Jonathan Turley | January 23, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/23/nazispolozza-the-lefts-third-reich-mania-collapses-into-comedy/

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Below is my column in the New York Post on the latest attack on Elon Musk from the left. There is a mania on the left in calling people with opposing views โ€œNazisโ€ and referencing the Third Reich. The left has jumped the Nazi shark in this rhetoric as the public tunes out these increasingly hysterical voices.

Here is the column:

One of the least successful efforts of the left and many in the media this election was to paint Republican voters as โ€œNazisโ€ hellbent on destroying democracy. While once verboten as a political comparison, liberal politicians and pundits have developed something of a Nazi fetish, where every statement and gesture is declared a return of the Third Reich. It seems like each news event presents a Rorschach test where every inkblot looks like a Nazi.

That mania reached absurd, even comedic, levels with the attack onย Elon Musk over an awkward gestureย during the inauguration celebration. An exuberant Musk told the crowd, โ€œMy heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.โ€ As he gave those words, he placed his right hand on his chest and stretched his arm outward, his palm facing the floor. He then repeated the gesture before putting his hand on his chest again. It was all done in a matter of seconds, but it was enough for the usual mob to erupt in faux outrage.

Pundits insisted that Musk had chosen the moment to come out as a Nazi on national television. The Washington Post breathlesslyย reportedย this week how the โ€œNazi-style saluteโ€ had โ€œinvigorated fans on the far right.โ€ The usual liberal professors were rolled out to offer a patina of authority to the ridiculous claim.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University,ย declared, โ€œHistorian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too.โ€

Mike Stuchberyย went on Xย (the company owned by the man heย now suggests is a Nazi reenactor) to declare, โ€œI studied the Nazis at university, taught the history of Nazi Germany on two continents and wrote for major newspapers about Nazi Germany. I am internet famous for fact-checking chuds [gross people] on the history, ideology and policy of Nazi Germany. That was a Nazi salute.โ€

Well, that settles it.

As the outrage continued, any doubt or dissent was denounced as evidence that you are obviously a Nazi as well. That became a bit embarrassing when the leading Jewish organization, the Anti-Defamation League, stated the obvious: This was not a Nazi salute but rather an โ€œawkward gesture.โ€

The core principle of liberal mob tactics is that there can be no divergence, even by a group like the ADL. The way to deal with opposing ideas or writings is by making someone persona non grata. If you do not cancel others, you will be canceled.

So, the ADL was effectivelyย declaredย soft on Nazis by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): โ€œJust to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity. People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.โ€

Weโ€™ve reached a level of absurdity where Jewish advocates are treated like they are virtual Nazi sympathizers.

This is not the first time the Democrats have labeled Trump and his supporters โ€œNazis.โ€

It started years ago as Democrats repeatedย analogies of Trump to Hitlerย and his followers toย brownshirted neo-Nazis.ย Defeating Trump has been compared toย stopping Hitlerย in 1933, and media personalities like Rachel Maddow went on the air with a hysterical claim that โ€œdeath squadsโ€ were authorizedย by the Supreme Court.

When Trump held a massive rally in New Yorkโ€™s Madison Square Garden before the election, the media were apoplectic and immediately declared it โ€ฆ you guessed it โ€ฆ akin to a Nazi rally. From theย Washington Postย to theย New York Times, the media formed an affinity group meeting to fret over โ€œechoes of 1939.โ€ย In case anyone missed the message,ย Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walzย emphasizedย โ€œa direct parallelโ€ with the Nazis.

Over atย the Nation, David Zirinย treatedย Madison Square Garden (known for everything fromย cage fightsย toย dog shows) as an almost Vatican-like space: โ€œWithย his fascist New York City rally, Donald Trump has befouled what many believe to be a sacred space: Madison Square Garden.โ€

So Trump is a Nazi. Musk is a Nazi. Half the country are Nazis. The problem is that, if you say everyone is a Nazi, then no one is a Nazi. It loses its meaning.

That includes Ocasio-Cortez, who appears to have joined the ranks of the Reich after critics posted her making a Musk-like gesture during a speech.

There was no torrent of media fretting about how the gesture reflected the extremism of AOCโ€™s questioning need for a Supreme Court, seeking to bar Trump and dozens of Republicans from ballots, or supporting censorship. AOC is a certified Nazi hunter, a license that seems only to be available to figures on the left.

Of course, labeling political opponents as diabolically evil fanatics and seeking to bar candidates from ballots sounds a lot like โ€ฆ well โ€ฆ it sounds familiar.

There is an alternative. We can put the rage rhetoric aside and have honest debates over differences on politics and laws. In other words, we can fight over policy โ€ฆ and leave the Nazis out of it.

Jonathan Turleyย is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University. He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.โ€


A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Kindred Spirit

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 23, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-kindred-spirit/

Tulsi Gabbard George Washington
A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

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A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ There is a huge reason the Deep State and the Military Industrial Complex donโ€™t want Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence: She doesnโ€™t want to play their multi-foreign war game. George Washington warned many years ago to beware of foreign entanglements.

Just as Trump Warned: Senate Democrats Secretly Move to Sabotage and Delay Tulsi Gabbard Confirmation

By Cristina Laila โ€“ The Gateway Pundit โ€“ Jan 9, 2025

Senate Democrats are quietly working to delay Tulsi Gabbardโ€™s confirmation hearing next week.
President Trump nominated Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence.
โ€œI am pleased to announce that former Congresswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, will serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans. As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties โ€“ She is now a proud Republican! I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spiritโ€ฆ READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons โ€“ Tips accepted and appreciated โ€“ $1.00 โ€“ $5.00 โ€“ $25.00 โ€“ $50.00 โ€“ it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco โ€“ THANK YOU!

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 โ€œThe Washington Post.โ€ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh Dโ€™Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.


Wednesday, January 22, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขSenate Democrats Block Bill to Stop Infanticide
โ€ขPro-Life Groups Ask Trump to Pardon 21 Pro-Life Americans
โ€ข Josh Hawley Urges Trump to Pardon Imprisoned Pro-Lifers
โ€ขTrump Issues Order That Confirms Life Begins at Conception
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Senate Democrats Block Bill to Stop Infanticide

Pro-Life Groups Ask Trump to Pardon 21 Pro-Life Americans

Josh Hawley Urges Trump to Pardon Imprisoned Pro-Lifers

Trump Issues Order That Confirms Life Begins at Conception

Trump Takes First Step to Overturn Bidenโ€™s Abortion Agenda

Senators Introduce New Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood

Indiana Gove Braun Signs Order to Enforce State Abortion Ban

144 Members of Congress Urge Trump to Roll Back Bidenโ€™s Abortion Agenda

MORE PRO-LIFE NEWS FROM TODAY

Planned Parenthood Should be Defunded

Every Democrat in Virginia Voted for Abortions Up to Birth

Thousands of Pro-Life Advocates Join Minnesota March for Life

Planned Parenthood Gets Record Taxpayer Funding in Pennsylvania

Trump Must Pardon the 21 Pro-Life Americans Biden Put in Prison

Comments orquestions? Email news@lifenews.com.
Copyright 2003-2025 LifeNews.com
For info on advertising or reprinting news, email us.


Tuesday, January 21, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขTrump Must Pardon 21 Pro-Life Americans Biden Put in Prison
โ€ขBevelyn Williamsโ€™ Husband Says She Has Not Been Pardoned
โ€ข Chip Roy Files Bill to Repeal FACE Law
โ€ขPete Hegseth Wants to End Military-Funded Abortion
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Trump Must Pardon the 21 Pro-Life Americans Biden Put in Prison

Bevelyn Williamsโ€™ Husband Says She Has Not Been Pardoned

Chip Roy Files Bill to Repeal FACE Law

Pete Hegseth Wants to End Military-Funded Abortion

Virginia Democrats Approve Measure for Abortions Up to Birth

Arkansas Gov. Sanders Will Mourn Babies Killed in Abortions

New Poll Shows 70% of Millennial Voters Want Abortion Limits

Will Democrats Vote for Infanticide Once Again?

MORE PRO-LIFE NEWS FROM TODAY

Planned Parenthood is Invading School Boards to Push Its Abortion Agenda

Pro-Life Accounts Restored on Facebook and Instagram

Leftists Expected 10,000 People to Rally Against Trump, Dozens Came

Pro-Life Advocate Hopes Trump Will be Fully Pro-Life

Trump Withdraws America From Pro-Abortion World Health Organization

Comments orquestions? Email news@lifenews.com.
Copyright 2003-2025 LifeNews.com
For info on advertising or reprinting news, email us.


A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Left in The Lurch

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 22, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-left-in-the-lurch/

No Pardons for Hillary
A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

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A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ It seems Biden has pardoned almost every criminal in Washington, DC, but missed one of the biggest of all, Hillary. She must be feeling left out and hung out to dry. Will she ever answer for her crimes? Benghazi, 30,000 missing emails, and the Russia collusion hoax come to mind.

LOATHSOME: Biden Regime Reportedly Considering Preemptive Pardons for Several of Trumpโ€™s Enemies Including Liz Cheney, Adam Schiff, and Anthony Fauci

By Cullen Linebarge โ€“ The Gateway Pundit โ€“ Dec 4, 2024

The lawless Biden regime is not satisfied with the White House occupantโ€™s pardon of his neโ€™er do well son Hunter and is looking to give even more of the political classโ€™s worst characters a complete pass on their crimes.
Politico on Wednesday dropped an explosive report that Bidenโ€™s handlers are strongly considering issuing preemptive several current and former government officials who they believe will be in the incoming Trump administrationโ€™s crosshairs.
The outlet notes that the Regime has become even more panicked since Trump announced he was picking MAGA hero Kash Patel to drain the Deep State swamp and ensure those who persecuted Trump do not escape punishment. READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons โ€“ Tips accepted and appreciated โ€“ $1.00 โ€“ $5.00 โ€“ $25.00 โ€“ $50.00 โ€“ it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco โ€“ THANK YOU!

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 โ€œThe Washington Post.โ€ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh Dโ€™Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.


January 22, 2025


Byย Peter Pinedoย Fox News | Publishedย January 21, 2025, 2:52pm EST

Read more at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/president-trump-urged-pardon-76-year-old-grandmother-others-prison-pro-life-activism

Conservative law firm calls on Trump to pardon 21 pro-life activists prosecuted by Biden DOJ

Amid newly inaugurated President Donald Trumpโ€™s pardon of nearly 1,500 January 6 protesters, anti-abortion groups are calling on the president to pardon a 76-year-old grandmother and 20 others who were imprisoned and prosecuted for pro-life protests under the Biden Department of Justice.

One group, the Thomas More Society, a law firm specializing in pro-life cases, filed a petition to the new president in which it laid out the legal grounds for him to issue pardons and pointed out how President Joe Biden abused the justice system to target these pro-life activists.

Steve Crampton, a senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, told Fox News Digital that it is “absolutely vital” these activists be pardoned to restore equality under the law.ย ย 

“We hope by President Trump’s actions here that he will restore some sanity and rule of law to the approach of the Department of Justice and the FBI, but also help move this culture back toward a culture of life rather than one of death,” said Crampton. “This small act on his part would, in fact, serve to kind of ignite a momentous movement toward restoring a respect for life in this nation that’s so desperately needed.”

WHITE HOUSE HINTS AT ‘MASSIVE’ ANNOUNCEMENT FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP ON FIRST FULL DAY IN OFFICE

Donald Trump signs pardons for January 6 defendants in the Oval Office
President Trump signs pardons for Jan. 6 defendants in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025.ย (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

Trump indicated several times during his campaign that he is open to issuing pardons for some of these pro-lifers who were prosecuted under a federal law called theย Freedom of Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The activists were convicted of FACE Act violations for participating in various “sit-in” protests inside abortion clinics in Washington, D.C., Nashville, Detroit, Long Island and Manhattan.

According to the Thomas More Society, Bidenโ€™s Department of Justice used the FACE Act to increase sentences for crimes that would otherwise have been simple trespassing charges. The group says Biden sought to make examples of these pro-lifers, prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law, despite their sit-in protests inside abortion clinics being entirely peaceful and with no threat of violence or intimidation.

Now that Trump is back in the White House, the Thomas More Society believes he can restore justice for these 21 activists and, in so doing, help restore confidence and trust in the justice system among the American people.

“In my lifetime, I’ve never seen a president honor his campaign promises the way this president has,” said Crampton. “So, we’re very hopeful that he will do so again in this case. And for these people who are really just salt of the earth, the best kind of folks that ought to be in their communities doing good rather than behind bars.”ย 

TRUMP PARDONS NEARLY EVERY JAN 6 DEFENDANT BUT SAYS HE’S JUST GETTING STARTED

Abortion activist sentenced
Lauren Handy, director of activism for Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, in Washington, D.C. on April 2, 2022. (Eric Lee for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Of the 21 activists prosecuted under theย Biden administrationโ€™sย use of the FACE Act, nine are currently in prison. Several of those in prison are elderly, with three, Jean Marshall, Paullette Harlow and Joan Andrews Bell, in their 70s. The eldest is Bell, who, at 76, has seven adult children and seven grandchildren. She was sentenced to over two years in prison. One activist, Heather Idoni, 59, who was sentenced to two years, has undergone serious health difficulties and suffered a minor stroke while in prison.

The longest prison sentence went to 31-year-old Lauren Handy, who is currently serving a nearly five-year sentence for her role in organizing a 2020 sit-in protest at the Washington, D.C., Surgi-Clinic run by Dr. Cesare Santangelo.

Also facing prison time is 89-year-old Eva Edl, a survivor of a communist concentration camp, who has been active in the pro-life movement for decades.

LEADERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD REACT TO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE RETURN

SUPREME-COURT-ABORTION-PROTESTERS
Anti-abortion demonstrators in front of the Supreme Court building, on the day justices heard arguments in the Mississippi abortion rights case, in Washington, Dec. 1, 2021.ย (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

“Down is up and up is down in this case,” said Crampton. “These people are folks who, some of them, have adopted several special-needs children from places like Ukraine. Some are missionaries to China and Ukraine and the worst places on the planet, going out of their way to do good to people that are in desperate need. These are folks that ought to be receiving those citizenship medals that President Biden is handing out to the likes ofย George Soros, who is trying to destroy our nation.”ย ย 

“We must restore the rule of law,” he went on. “The questioning of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet appointees this past week, ironically enough, from the left, points again and again, back to the need not to single out political opponents for prosecution and so forth.”

“We have recently undertaken a disrespect for the rule of law that has undermined any respect for authority in general, let alone the law in particular,” he said. “So, I really think that this also is a small step back to restoring that absolutely essential respect for the rule of law that we must have if America is to survive.”

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.


By: Jonathan Turley | January 21, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/21/the-end-of-shock-and-awe-how-the-justice-department-against-the-case-for-the-j6-pardons/

Below is my column in the New York Post on the pardoning of the January 6th defendants by President Donald Trump. The scope of the pardon appears broader than some had hoped. What is clear is that any such relief should not extend to violent actors, particularly those who attacked police officers.  However, the Justice Department itself may have made the strongest case for presidential pardons.

Here is the column:

On January 20, 2025, the โ€œshock and aweโ€ campaign of the Justice Department came to an end as President Donald Trump pardoned 1,500 January 6th defendants.

Four years ago, the Justice Department set out to send a chilling message to the nation. In anย interviewย with CBS News a year later, Justice Department official Michael Sherwin indicated that they wanted to send a message withย the harshย treatment of defendants. Sherwin explained that โ€œour office wanted to ensure that there was shock and awe โ€ฆ it worked because we saw through media posts that people were afraid to come back to D.C. because theyโ€™re, like, โ€˜If we go there, weโ€™re gonna get charged.โ€™ โ€ฆ We wanted to take out those individuals that essentially were thumbing their noses at the public for what they did.โ€

The awe is gone but the shock remains at the Justice Department. If Sherwin and his colleagues hoped to โ€œTrump proofโ€ the nation, they failed in spectacular fashion. While there was ample basis for criminal charges, the excessive treatment of some of the January 6th defendants undermined the credibility of their prosecutions for many.

That is no easy feat.

Most of us denounced the January 6th riot as aย desecration of our constitutional process. Those who engaged in the rioting, and most importantly the violence, needed to be punished. However, what followed left many increasingly uneasy. The Justice Department rounded up hundreds and, even though most were charged with relatively minor crimes of unlawful entry or trespass, the Justice Department opposed the release of many from jail and sought absurdly long sentences in some cases. It also sought restrictions on defendants that raisedย troubling first amendment concerns.

In my recent book, โ€œIndispensable Right,โ€ I discuss these cases and their troubling elements.

A good example is the handling of the most well-known case of the so-called QAnon Shaman. Bare-chested, wearing an animal headdress, horns, and red-white-and-blue face paint, Jake Angeli Chansley became the iconic image of the riot.

Seeking to make examples of these defendants, the Justice Department took special measures in hammering Chansley. He was held in solitary confinement and denied bail.

Chansley was treated more harshly because of his visibility. It was his costume, not his conduct, that seemed to drive the sentencing. In the hearing, Judge Royce Lamberth noted, โ€œHe made himself the image of the riot, didnโ€™t he? For good or bad, he made himself the very image of this whole event.โ€

Lamberth hit Chansley with a heavy 41-month sentence for โ€œobstructing a federal proceeding.โ€

However, long withheld footage, showed recently that Chansley (like hundreds of people that day) simply walked into the Capitol past police officers and was then escorted by officers through the Capitol. At one point, two officers not only appear to guide him to the floor but actually try to open locked doors for him. Chansley is shown walking unimpeded through a large number of armed officers with his four-foot flag-draped spear and horned Viking helmet on his way to the Senate floor.

Does that make Chansleyโ€™s actions acceptable, let alone commendable? Of course not. He deserved to be arrested and punished. However, what many saw was a troubled individual being made an example for others.

In my book, I discuss how, in history, โ€œrage rhetoricโ€ was allowed to become โ€œstate rage.โ€ This is one such case.

Trump ran on the promise to pardon these defendants and secured not just the White House but the popular vote. It was not just the public that rejected the narrative of January 6th as an โ€œinsurrection.โ€

In the recent Supreme Court decision in Fischer v. U.S. to reject hundreds of charges in January 6th cases for the obstruction of legal proceedings, the Court left most cases as simply a mass trespass and unlawful entry.

The shock may be gone for these defendants, but it may only be beginning for the Justice Department and the FBI.

  • When the campaign of Hillary Clintonย secretly fundedย the infamous Steele Dossier to launch the Russian conspiracy investigation, it was the Justice Department that was not just the willing but eager partner.
  • The โ€œinsurance policyโ€ described by former FBI official Peter Strzok was redeemed in investigations that derailed much of Trumpโ€™s first term.
  • Later, it was the Justice Department again that pursued a no-holds-barred effort to convict Trump before the election.

The Justice Department is the hardest of silos in Washington to reform. Unlike most departments, it is largely homogenous, with thousands of lawyers who share professional and cultural ties. It is a department composed of people who are by their very definition, litigious.

Trump insisted on selecting an Attorney General, nominee Pam Bondi, who has no past ties or identification with the department. For the Justice Department, it must feel like the Visigoths arriving at the gates of Rome . . . only to be let in by the citizens.

According toย polling, the public ultimately found the โ€œbarbariansโ€ less threatening than those who have insisted that Rome would fall. That must certainly be shocking for many in Washington, but the record of the Justice Department showed how the awe can become awful when officials feel the license of state rage.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.โ€


By: Jonathan Turley | January 21, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/21/the-sting-joe-biden-delivers-the-final-blow-to-mainstream-media/

Below is my column on the Biden family pardons in Fox.com. President Joe Biden merely confirmed the worst expectations of his critics. The true condemnation rests with those in the media who enabled the Biden influence-peddling operation.

Here is the column:

At 11:45 am, the media felt the final sting of the Biden scandal. It was delivered by President Joe Biden, who shattered any pretense of principle in pardoning family members allegedly implicated in the influence-peddling corruption scandal.

According to an old fable, a scorpion convinced a leery frog to carry him across a river, noting that he could not sting him since they would both drown. Halfway across, the scorpion struck and the frog asked why he would doom them both. The scorpion replied โ€œI am sorry, but I couldnโ€™t resist the urge. Itโ€™s in my nature.โ€

For those of us who have written about the corruption of the Biden family for decades, theย pardonsย were crushingly predictable. The President simply couldnโ€™t resist the urge. In a city where corruption is a cottage industry, theย Bidensย have long been in a league of their own, from nepotism to influence peddling to illicit lobbying. In the influence-peddling scandal, millions were generated from foreign sources in virtual plain view.

There were the luxury hotel rooms, a diamond, a sports car, and massive payments called โ€œloans. In the summer of 2019, one Chinese businessman wired Hunter Biden $250,000 using Joe Bidenโ€™s Delaware home as the beneficiary address.โ€

The sense of absolute impunity came out in shake-down communications. For example, there was the WhatsApp message to a Chinese businessman openly threatening the displeasure of Joe Biden if money was not forked over without delay. In the message, Hunter warned:

โ€œI am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the Chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.โ€

That sense of impunity was due to mainstream media forming a protective shell around the family. The media refused to pursue the scandal despite the Hunter Biden laptop and clear evidence of influence peddling.

In 2020, CBS Newsโ€™s Lesley Stahl literally laughed mockingly at then-President Donald Trump when he raised the Hunter Biden laptop and what it revealed about the Bidens. (Yet Stahl still recently expressed confusion and alarm that people were abandoning legacy media for new media.)

Reporters assured citizens that the laptop was presumptive โ€œRussian disinformation.โ€ Even after the media belatedly acknowledged that it was authentic, MSNBC and Washington Post analysts wereย still making the claimย last year.

After Republicans in the House detailed millions in payments, the media shifted to claiming that there was no real scandal unless it was shown that Joe Biden actually received money directly. It was a ridiculous claim since courts have long treated money going to family members as the same as going directly to a principal as criminal conduct.

The media continued to protect Biden, as evidence showed that Biden had repeatedly lied about not meeting with Hunterโ€™s clients or not having knowledge of his foreign dealings.

As the media narrative continued to collapse, it latched on the promise of Biden that he would never pardon his son โ€“ proof that the President was willing to let the criminal justice system run its course. Biden then was shown to be lying about theย pardonย promise. After he was forced out of the election, Biden signed a pardon for any crimes over a decade committed by his son.

The media gave muttered โ€œharrumphsโ€ and moved on. Many said that it was understandable for a father of a son who struggled with drugs.

Now, in the final minutes of his presidency, Biden pardoned his other allegedly implicated family members, including James Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John Owens, and Francis Biden. James Biden was previously referred for criminal charges for lying under oath to Congress as part of its investigation into the corruption scandal.

The pardons were clearly timed to avoid media scrutiny and questions. While he described the act as one of โ€œconscience,โ€ it was an almost mocking act of corruption.

In a strange way, it passed in Bidenworld as an honest moment. There were no claims of supporting an addicted son or dealing with a pending case. It was done in the final minutes because it was raw and obvious.  There is no pretense or apology. Just good old-fashioned corruption Biden-style.

It was as honest a moment as when Biden told a friend that โ€œno one f**ks with a Biden.โ€ There was nothing revealing in this about Biden. He could shrug and say, โ€œItโ€™s in my nature.โ€ The sting instead fell on the media, which trusted Biden not to demean it further with such an unethical and disgraceful final act.

The funny thing is that Biden made it across the river. He boarded his final flight with his family (and himself) protected by the misuse of his presidential authority. However, if he looked out the window, he could see his media allies slipping stunned beneath the waters.

Jonathan Turley is a Fox News Media contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University.ย He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rageโ€ (Simon & Schuster, June 18, 2024).


A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ End of an Error

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 20, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-end-of-an-error/

End of An Error
A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

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A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Biden is out, which is the end of an error. Trump will usher in new America First policies to correct the destructive policies of the last four years.

Trumpโ€™s Official Email as President Releases โ€˜America Firstโ€™ Agenda: A Comprehensive List of Priorities for the Nation

By Jim Hoft โ€“ The Gateway Pundit โ€“ Jan 20, 2025

Following President Trumpโ€™s swearing-in ceremony, the White House Press Secretary today released President Donald Trumpโ€™s comprehensive โ€˜America Firstโ€™ agenda.
The plan encompasses a series of executive orders and policy initiatives aimed at reshaping domestic and foreign policies to prioritize American interests.
These plans could potentially be enacted today through Trumpโ€™s executive orders.
The email readsโ€ฆ READ MORE

A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Shovel Back Better

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 21, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-shovel-back-better/

Shovel Back Better
A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco

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A.F. Branco Cartoonโ€”In Trumpโ€™s first term, he needed a bigger shovel to bring America back to greatness, and now he has one. Itโ€™s time to root out government corruption, burdensome regulations, and taxes.

President Trump Humiliates Democrats With Blistering Opening Lines of Inauguration Speechโ€”Destroys Crooked Joe Biden and His Dirty Shadow Regime [VIDEO]

By Patty McMurry โ€“ The Gateway Pundit โ€“ Jan 20, 2025

President Trump knocked it out of the ballpark with his second inaugural speech in front of millions, while Americaโ€™s most talented individuals were seated next behind him, ready to assume their top roles in his soon-to-be transformational administration.
Our newly-inaugurated 47th President of the United States didnโ€™t hold back in his powerful speech, as he outlined his โ€œGolden Age of Americaโ€ plan to bring prosperity and strength back to America while dismantling the woke nightmare caused by a very dark four years in American history led by a shadow government.
READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons โ€“ Tips accepted and appreciated โ€“ $1.00 โ€“ $5.00 โ€“ $25.00 โ€“ $50.00 โ€“ it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco โ€“ THANK YOU!

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 โ€œThe Washington Post.โ€ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh Dโ€™Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.


Monday, January 20, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขTrump Withdraws America From Pro-Abortion Who
โ€ขTrump Will Pardon Pro-Life Advocate Bevelyn Williams
โ€ข Trump Disables Biden Web Site That Promoted Abortion
โ€ขSenate Unanimously Approves  Rubio as Secretary of State
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Trump Withdraws America From Pro-Abortion Who

Trump Will Pardon Pro-Life Advocate Bevelyn Williams

Trump Disables Biden Web Site That Promoted Abortion

Senate Unanimously Approves Rubio as Secretary of State

Trump Becomes President: โ€œWe Will Put America Firstโ€

Former Planned Parenthood Prez Cecile Richards Dies

Trump Should Pardon All 21 Imprisoned Pro-Life Americans

5 Pro-Life Actions President Trump Can Take Now

MORE PRO-LIFE NEWS FROM TODAY

Joe Biden Illegally Funded Abortions That Killed at Least 21 Babies

Thank God Joe Bidenโ€™s Radical Pro-Abortion Administration is Finally Over

Memorial Service Will Mourn 3,000 Babies Killed in Abortions Every Day

Christians Pray for President Trump as He Leads America Again

Five Ways to Pray for President Donald Trump

Comments orquestions? Email us at news@lifenews.com.
Copyright 2003-2025 LifeNews.com. All rights reserved.
For info on advertising or reprinting news fromLifeNews.com, emailus.


Friday, January 17, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขBiden Broke Federal Law by Funding Abortions in Africa
โ€ขJoe Biden Pretends to Add 28th Amendment to Constitution
โ€ข Abortion Pill Sales Spike 966%
โ€ข15,000 People Died in Canada Because They Were Waiting for Health Care
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Biden Broke Federal Law by Funding Abortions in Africa

Joe Biden Pretends to Add 28th Amendment to Constitution

Abortion Pill Sales Spike 966% With Trump Becoming President

15,000 People Died in Canada Waiting for Health Care

Abortion Activist Pleads Guilty to Attacking Pro-Life Pregnancy Center

North Carolina Gov Josh Stein Issues Abortion Mandate

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Stockpiles Abortion Pills

Three Women Sue Tim Walz After They Were Forced to Have Abortions

MORE PRO-LIFE NEWS FROM TODAY

Judge Rules States Can Challenge FDA and Illegal Mail Order Abortion Pill Sales

Pro-Life Doctors Want Trumpโ€™s Nominees to Put Major Limits on Abortion Pills

Head of Hospital in Ireland Claims Killing Babies in Abortions Shows โ€œKindnessโ€

Euthanasia Doc Ordered Not to Euthanize Woman Who Has Bipolar Disorder

British Abortion Law Loophole Allows Grooming Gangs to Sexually Abuse Children

Comments orquestions? Email us at news@lifenews.com.
Copyright 2003-2025 LifeNews.com. All rights reserved.
For info on advertising or reprinting news fromLifeNews.com, email us.



A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Schiff for Brains

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 17, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-schiff-for-brains/

Schiff questions Bondi
A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

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A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Known liar Schiff, also censured in Congress for lying about Trump in the Russia collusion hoax impeachment hearings, is at it again with hisย pointedย attack on Pam Bondi during the confirmation hearings.

OUCH: Pam Bondi Blows Up Loathsome Senator Adam Schiff with a Pair of Devastating Responses When He Brings Up J6 and Liz Cheney (VIDEO)

By Cullen Linebarger โ€“ The Gateway Pundit โ€“ Jan 15, 2025

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi delivered a one-two punch during a recent televised confirmation hearing, dismantling Schiffโ€™s narrative on January 6 and his incessant praise for former Representative Liz Cheney.
As TGPโ€™s Jordan Conradson reported, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing questions from Senators this morning during a confirmation hearing for the U.S. Attorney General.
Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General, was nominated after Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name as Trumpโ€™s pick for AG.
As Conradson also noted, Trump Department of Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegsethโ€™s first confirmation hearing was held yesterday, and he passed the test with flying colors. Now, Bondi is shining as well. READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons โ€“ Tips accepted and appreciated โ€“ $1.00 โ€“ $5.00 โ€“ $25.00 โ€“ $50.00 โ€“ it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco โ€“ THANK YOU!

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 โ€œThe Washington Post.โ€ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh Dโ€™Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.


Thursday, January 16, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขRobert F. Kennedy Jr. Will Implement Trumpโ€™s Pro-Life Policies
โ€ขBorn-Alive Bill Introduced in Senate for Babies Who Survive Abortions
โ€ข Josh Hawley: Trump Should Overturn Bidenโ€™s Abortion Agenda
โ€ขCatholic Doctors File Lawsuit Against Biden Abortion Mandate
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Will Implement Trumpโ€™s Pro-Life Policies

Born-Alive Bill Introduced to Save Babies Who Survive Abortions

Josh Hawley: Trump Should Overturn Bidenโ€™s Abortion Agenda

Catholic Doctors File Lawsuit Against Biden Abortion Mandate

Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune Will Speak at March for Life

Canadians are Dying While on Waiting Lists for Health Care

Trumpโ€™s Nominee for HUD Secretary is a Pro-Life Pastor

Bondi: โ€œSending Informants Into Catholic Churches Must Stopโ€

MORE PRO-LIFE NEWS FROM TODAY

Missouri Planned Parenthoods Canโ€™t Kill Babies in Abortions Because They Canโ€™t Get Licenses

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Will Pick Pro-Life AG Ashley Moody to Fill Marco Rubioโ€™s Seat

Christian Employers File Suit Against Biden Mandate Forcing Them to Promote Abortion

Virginia Senate Democrats Pass Amendment for Abortions Up to Birth

Med Students Create AI Simulation to Pressure Women Into Having Abortions

Comments orquestions? Email us at news@lifenews.com.
Copyright 2003-2025 LifeNews.com. All rights reserved.
For info on advertising or reprinting news fromLifeNews.com, email us.


By: Kevin Jackson | January 16, 2025

ย Read more at https://theblacksphere.net/2025/01/the-quantum-mechanics-of-democrat-misinformation/

You need a quantum computer to keep up with all the lies Democrats tell. The people whose pictures are next to the dictionary definition of โ€œmisinformationโ€ continue claiming they want to prevent it. The irony could power a small city.

Before I explain Democratsโ€™ new strategy, letโ€™s revisit just a few of their lies.

Theyโ€™ve lied about COVID, vaccines, the 2020 election, January 6th, the border, Bidenโ€™s health, Kamala Harrisโ€™ popularity, and more. At this point, itโ€™s easier to compile a list of what they havenโ€™t lied aboutโ€”although that might be a very short article.

Take Bidenโ€™s health, for instance. According to the Left, Biden is a spry 81-year-old whose physical fitness rivals an Olympic decathlete. Forget the times heโ€™s needed directions to exit a stage or appeared to shake hands with invisible people. These are just โ€œRight-wing conspiracy theories,โ€ they assure us. Pay no attention to the fact that his press secretary has to fend off questions about cognitive tests as if she were playing dodgeball at a middle school gym.

But the lies donโ€™t stop there. Polls, the Holy Grail of Democrat propaganda, are another playground for their creativity.

Theyโ€™d have us believe that Kamala Harris is anย inspirational leaderโ€”a cross between Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Beyoncรฉ. Never mind her poll numbers, which are less popular than cold soup on a winter night. Itโ€™s not that people dislike her; itโ€™s that they โ€œdonโ€™t understand her brilliance,โ€ weโ€™re told. Apparently, Harrisโ€™ true genius is just too avant-garde for the unwashed masses.

When it comes to controlling the narrative, Democrats run their misinformation machine with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker. They use their iron grip on media and social platforms to determine whatโ€™s permissible to discuss. Donโ€™t believe Hunter Bidenโ€™s laptop is real? Good. Because until recently, they didnโ€™t want you to. Now that theyโ€™ve quietly admitted its authenticity, itโ€™s suddenly not a story. The Leftโ€™s motto? โ€œWhen caught lying, either double down or move on.โ€

COVID might be theirย magnum opus of deception. Remember โ€œtwo weeks to flatten the curveโ€? That turned into two years of lockdowns, masks, vaccine mandates, and lives disruptedโ€”all built on shifting narratives. When questioned about the science behind their mandates, they responded with a collective shrug and a mantra: โ€œTrust the experts.โ€ But their experts were often caught contradicting themselves. Masks worked until they didnโ€™t. Vaccines prevented transmission until they didnโ€™t. Yet, questioning any of this earned you a label: โ€œmisinformation spreader.โ€

And then thereโ€™sย the border. According to Democrats, itโ€™s โ€œsecure.โ€ To anyone with eyes, itโ€™s a humanitarian disaster. Footage of people streaming across the border like concertgoers at a music festival? Thatโ€™s just Right-wing fearmongering, they insist. Meanwhile, cities like New York and Chicago are collapsing under the weight of their sanctuary policies, but donโ€™t expect an admission of failure. For the Left, reality is just another obstacle to overcome with spin.

Speaking of spin, the 2020 election was a masterclass in narrative control.

Question the results? Youโ€™re a โ€œthreat to democracy.โ€ Ignore the irregularities, the last-minute rule changes, and the statistical anomaliesโ€”all โ€œperfectly normal,โ€ they assured us. Then came January 6th, which theyโ€™ve weaponized to such an extent that itโ€™s become the Leftโ€™s 9/11. To hear them tell it, the Capitol breach was an existential threat to the republic, second only to people questioning vaccine efficacy.

But perhaps the most brazen lie is their insistence that theyโ€™re the party of โ€œtruth.โ€ Theyโ€™ve launched a new version of Obamaโ€™s infamous โ€œAttack Watchโ€ย website, this time with a straight face. Itโ€™s a digital tattletale system designed to flag dissent and offer counter-narratives, which are really just rebranded talking points. Back in 2011, Attack Watch was mocked out of existence, but Democrats are banking on the fact that people have short memories.

โ€œBig Disinfoโ€ is their answer. A website dedicated to trying to debunk the truth.

And if youโ€™re wondering where all that extra money went that the Biden team gave to the NGOs to spend as quickly as possible, you guessed it. Big Disinfo promises to defend democracy the lies with fact-checking operations promised to patrol the boundaries of reality.

Their desperation to control the truth is a sign of how tenuous their grip on it has become. Theyโ€™re the snake oil salesmen of politics, peddling elixirs that donโ€™t work and hoping no one notices. But hereโ€™s the catch: the American people are noticing. Polls show increasing skepticism of the media, distrust of institutions, and disapproval of the Biden administrationโ€™s policies. The harder the Left tries to sell their version of reality; the more people question the product.

Democrats are trapped in a web of their own making.

Their lies have become so convoluted that even they canโ€™t keep them straight. Like a bad sitcom with too many plot twists, the audience is tuning out. And while theyโ€™ll undoubtedly try to spin this as another โ€œRight-wing conspiracy,โ€ the truth is catching up with them. Slowly, but inevitably.

As we head into 2025, expect the Leftโ€™s misinformation machine to go into overdrive. The lies will get bigger, the narratives more absurd, and the denials more emphatic. But remember: desperation smells a lot like a Democrat trying to convince you theyโ€™re telling the truth. And the stench is getting harder to ignore.


By: Kevin Jackson | January 16, 2025

Read more at https://theblacksphere.net/2025/01/scam-melting-under-the-heat-of-truth/

Add climate change to the list of overhyped catastrophes that are finally biting the dust in 2025.

For nearly three decades, Leftists have spun weather phenomena into a doomsday narrativeโ€”a lucrative grift disguised as concern for the planet. And who can forget Y2Kโ€™s poster boy for failed predictions, Al Gore? The man who swapped a marriage for a mansion and financed his newfound bachelor lifestyle on taxpayer dollars under the pretense of saving the Earth.

Itโ€™s bad enough weโ€™re forced to buy bottled water because of the toxins in the water supply weโ€™re already taxed for. But paying for air? That was my personal line in the sand. From the alleged melting of the polar ice caps to predictions that New York would be underwater by now, the climate change narrative has produced as much hot air as the โ€œscienceโ€ itโ€™s built upon.

Decade after decade, weโ€™ve been bombarded with predictions as credible as the Heavenโ€™s Gate cultโ€™s belief in salvation by alien spacecraft. At least those poor souls had the decency to only ruin their own lives. Climate alarmists, on the other hand, have turned fleecing the public into an art form.

Take the Heavenโ€™s Gate incident as an example of misplaced faith gone too far.

In 1997, 39 people tragically took their own lives, believing their bodies were mere โ€œcontainersโ€ to be abandoned for a spaceship trailing the Hale-Bopp comet. While tragic, their actions didnโ€™t involve imposing a global carbon tax. Climate crusaders, however, demand nothing less than a financial and behavioral overhaul of our entire way of life, all based on shaky science and apocalyptic forecasts that never come true.

As it turns out, 2025 is shaping up to be the year of the โ€œclimate deniersโ€โ€”also known as people who simply trust the science of meteorology over the politics of fearmongering. Americans are waking up to the con, and even CNNโ€™s Harry Enten has inadvertently highlighted this shift. As he pointed out, while Google searches for โ€œwildfiresโ€ have skyrocketed by 2,400%, searches for โ€œclimate changeโ€ have actually dropped by 9%.

โ€œSo, despite all these extreme weather events, Americans are really no more worried about climate change than they were, what is that, now nearly 35 years ago,โ€ Enten noted. โ€œI mean thereโ€™s just no real trend line here.โ€

The disconnect is clear. People are interested in learning about wildfires and other natural disasters, but theyโ€™re not buying the narrative that these events are tied to man-made climate change.

The recent California wildfires underscore this skepticism. Despite relentless Democratic hyperbole and their insistence that the sky is falling, the public took note of the inconvenient truth: many of these fires were manmadeโ€”and not in the way climate alarmists would like you to believe.

Take the Mauiย wildfire disasterย as a prime example. Initial cries of โ€œclimate changeโ€ were quickly drowned out by reports of human negligence and bureaucratic incompetence. From poorly maintained power lines to a stunning lack of preparedness, it became clear that these tragedies had less to do with carbon emissions and more to do with systemic mismanagement. In other words, it wasnโ€™t your SUVโ€™s fault.

This decline in climate change fervor is more than anecdotal. Itโ€™s part of a larger trend: the return to common sense. Americans are no longer swayed by Greta Thunbergโ€™s doomsday theatrics or John Kerryโ€™s jet-setting lectures on reducing carbon footprints. Theyโ€™re realizing that the Earthโ€™s climate has always been in flux, long before humans entered the equation.

Critics like Bjรธrn Lomborg, author of โ€œFalse Alarm,โ€ have been vocal about theย economic and scientific shortcomingsย of the climate change narrative. Lomborg argues that the costs of aggressive climate policies far outweigh their benefits, particularly for developing nations that canโ€™t afford to sacrifice economic growth for hypothetical gains in global temperature regulation. And heโ€™s not alone. Scientists like Judith Curry, once a darling of the climate establishment, have since turned whistleblowers, exposing the groupthink and funding biases that plague climate research.

The financial motivations behind climate alarmism are hard to ignore.

Al Goreโ€™s net worth skyrocketed after he left the vice presidency, thanks in no small part to his climate ventures. Meanwhile, organizations like the United Nations continue to push for trillions in climate reparations, conveniently ignoring the rampant corruption and inefficiency that characterize many of their initiatives.

Even Hollywoodโ€”typically a reliable cheerleader for leftist causesโ€”is losing its grip on the climate narrative. Recent box office flops with overtly environmentalist themes suggest that audiences are tired of being lectured. People want escapism, not guilt trips.

And then thereโ€™s the generational factor. Millennials and Gen Z, often portrayed as the foot soldiers of climate activism, are showing signs of disillusionment. Saddled with student debt and skyrocketing living costs, many are questioning the practicality of policies that prioritize abstract environmental goals over immediate economic realities.

In the end, the death of the climate change narrative isnโ€™t just about science. Itโ€™s about trust. Decades of failed predictions, exaggerated claims, and financial exploitation have eroded the credibility of climate alarmists. The public is no longer willing to sacrifice their livelihoods for a cause that increasingly resembles a scam.

As 2025 unfolds, expect to see more pushback against the climate industrial complex. The hysteria that once drove policy decisions is giving way to rational debate and evidence-based approaches. And while the Al Gores and Greta Thunbergs of the world may cling to their talking points, the rest of us can breathe a little easierโ€”both figuratively and literally. The air, after all, is still free.


By: Jonathan Turley | January 16, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/16/your-credibility-with-me-is-about-none-cnn-trial-goes-from-bad-to-worse/

In following the defamation trial against CNN by veteran Zachary Young, we have previously (here,ย here, andย here) marveled at how bad things were going for the network.ย  It appears that they are getting even worse. This has been a brutal week as CNN figures, including host Jake Tapper, took the stand. If โ€œthis is CNN,โ€ the judge (and possibly the jury) are not liking what they are seeing. The report at the heart of the case aired on CNNโ€™s โ€œThe Lead with Jake Tapperโ€ on Nov. 11, 2021, and was shared on social media and (a different version on) CNNโ€™s website. In the segment, Tapper told his audience ominously how CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt discovered that โ€œAfghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success.โ€ Marquardt piled on in the segment, claiming that โ€œdesperate Afghans are being exploitedโ€ and need to pay โ€œexorbitant, often impossible amountsโ€ to flee the country. He then named Young and his company as an example of that startling claim. The evidence included messages from Marquardt that he wanted to โ€œnail this Zachary Young mf**kerโ€ and thought the story would be Youngโ€™s โ€œfuneral.โ€ After promising to โ€œnailโ€ Young, CNN editor Matthew Philips responded: โ€œgonna hold you to that cowboy!โ€ Likewise, CNN senior editor Fuzz Hogan described Young as โ€œa shit.โ€ As is often done by media, CNN allegedly gave Young only two hours to respond before the story ran. It is a typical ploy of the press to claim that they waited for a response while giving the target the smallest possible window. In this case, Young was able to respond in the short time and Marquardt messaged a colleague, โ€œf**king Young just texted.โ€ In the last week, Tapper was seen on video by the jury and was mocked for claiming under oath that he โ€œdoesnโ€™t pay attention to ratings,โ€ a claim that could make him unique as a network host. While Tapper can argue that he was referencing the following of daily numbers, critics hammered him by showing repeated clips where he discussed ratings. However, the most damaging testimony may have come from top producers who told the jurors that theyย opposed the modest apologyย given to Young on air. Since Young seemed to do well before the jury, the testimony of senior editor Fuzz Hogan, CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt, CNN producer Michael Conte, CNNโ€™s executive vice president of editorial Virginia Moseley, and CNN supervising producer Michael Callahan undermined any effort to portray the network as seeking to amend a wrong or reduce damage to Young.

Arguably, the worst moment came with an argument by CNNโ€™s lead attorney, David Axelrod. Axelrod introduced a document that he claimed was a smoking gun and showed that Young was a liar. Pointing dramatically at Young and waiving the document in the air, Axelrod declared that he had the proof:

โ€œPlaintiffโ€™s entire case, sitting right there, is that after the publications, he couldnโ€™t get any workโ€ฆMr. Young knew, when he filed this lawsuit that he had entered into a new consulting agreement with a government contractor one month after CNNโ€™s publication. This entire lawsuit was a fraud on this court. It was a fraud on CNN. This man knew it. I donโ€™t know what they know. But when this came up in discovery, CNNโ€™s counsel asked Mr. Young about the Helios connection, and he completely lied in his deposition. Over and over again, he made up some incredible ruse that Helios just had his security clearance because it was a company that held security clearances. It makes no sense. He knew at that time that he had a consulting agreement with Helios Global and he didnโ€™t disclose it. It was an outright lie.โ€

However, it turned out that the document merely was Youngโ€™s application to maintain his security clearance.

Youngโ€™s attorney, Vel Freedman, later laid waste to CNN. He told the court that Young had lost his security clearance back in 2022 and that he hadnโ€™t been aware of that until he double-checked after his testimony in the case. Freedman asked for the right to present a witness who would testify on the issue and Axelrod objected. Judge Henry had had enough andย blew up at CNN. He read back Axelrodโ€™s comments and said โ€œYou called him a liar multiple times there.โ€ He told Axelrod thatย he owed anย apology to the plaintiff. After telling CNN that โ€œthis isnโ€™t Kindergarten,” he added โ€œRight now, your credibility with me, Mr. Axelrod, is about none.โ€

That is never a good thing to hear from a judge.

Axelrod apologized but the damage is clearly considerable.

The most chilling aspect from a litigation perspective? Axelrod replaced the earlier lead counsel who also imploded in court over ill-considered arguments.

None of this bodes well for the network. Alienating the judge is obviously never good, but it also could have a material impact if there is an award that CNN wants reduced by a order of remittitur. In addition, having top producers expressing a lack of regret and even opposition to the on-air apology could push such damages higher for a jury. Both sides are arguing that โ€œthis is CNN,โ€ but these moments are building a more negative view of what that is.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.โ€


Tuesday, January 14, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขPam Bondi: I Will Stop DOJ From Prosecuting Pro-Life Americans
โ€ขPro-Life Group Requests Trump Pardon 21 Pro-Life Americans
โ€ข Joe Biden Celebrates Four Years of Promoting Abortions Up to Birth
โ€ขMike Pence Urges Senate to Reject RFK Because Heโ€™s Pro-Abortion
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Pam Bondi Will Stop DOJ From Prosecuting Pro-Life Americans

Pro-Life Group Requests Trump Pardon 21 Pro-Life Americans

Joe Biden Celebrates Promoting Abortions Up to Birth

Mike Pence Urges Senate to Reject RFK Because Heโ€™s Pro-Abortion

Pam Bondi: I Will End Weaponization of DOJ

Biden Warns Americans: โ€œIโ€™m Not Going to be Out of Sightโ€

Aborted Babies Were Burned for Energy

Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Faces New Terrorist Threat

MORE PRO-LIFE NEWS FROM TODAY

Liberal Media Trashes Pro-Life Christians: Theyโ€™re Trying to Take Over the Country

Pam Bondi Will Stop the Liberal Lawfare That Has Targeted Americans

Virginia Democrats Approve Radical Measure for Abortions Up to Birth

Pro-Abortion Doctors Admit Late-Term Abortions are Not Medically Necessary

Abortion Canโ€™t be Pro-Woman When So Many Women Regret Their Abortions

Comments orquestions? Email us at news@lifenews.com.
Copyright 2003-2025 LifeNews.com. All rights reserved.
For info on advertising or reprinting news fromLifeNews.com, email us.


By:ย Jordan Boyd | January 15, 2025

Read more at https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/15/after-media-try-to-provoke-trump-rubio-rift-sec-of-state-nominee-pledges-loyalty-to-america-first/

Marco Rubio at his confirmation hearing
Rubio plans to follow through on President Trumpโ€™s promises to secure the homeland and re-stabilize the globe.

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Jordan Boyd

Visit on Twitter@jordanboydtx

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President Donald Trumpโ€™s pick for Secretary of State Sen. Marco Rubio doubled down on his commitment to the America First foreign policy agenda during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, despite a corporate media effort to cause a rift between him and the incoming president.

Politicoย published a piece one day before the hearing attempting to kiss Rubioโ€™s role as Secretary of State goodbye before it even begins. In the gossip column masquerading as an article, Politicoโ€™s Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Nahal Toosi uses the alleged analysis of a dozen unnamed โ€œcurrent and former U.S. and foreign officialsโ€ to claim that Rubio wonโ€™t last as Trumpโ€™s Secretary of State because โ€œthe odds are high that the two will differ on policy.โ€ Toosi also invokes Trump and Rubioโ€™s history as presidential primary rivals in 2016 as a potential problem for the pairโ€™s ability to strategize effectively.

The only way Rubio will survive leading the State Department, the author insists, โ€œmay be to take the punches from his internal rivals, suffer through whatever insults Trump lobs at him, stick to the lanes that are open, and simply let the State Department fade into irrelevance.โ€

While itโ€™s true that Rubio and Trump ran against each other and that the former used to take more of an interventionist and neocon approach to foreign policy than he does now, a lot has changed politically and globally in the last decade. The ongoing transformation of the Republican party from an arm of the establishment to a party of and for the people, paired with the rapid rise of Chinaโ€™s hegemony, has pushed Trump and Rubioโ€™s visions for the globe much closer together than they were nearly 10 years ago. Both care deeply about projecting U.S. strengthย to the world while keeping American tax dollars from funding endless wars.

Rubio spokesman Dan Holler told Politico that Rubio is far more focused on executing Trumpโ€™s โ€œambitious foreign policy agenda that will put Americans first and correct the failures of the past four yearsโ€ than devoting time to corporate mediaโ€™s โ€œsilly games or gossip.โ€ Rubio confirmed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that his new job will center on putting America first.

โ€œUnder President Trump, the top priority of the United States Department of State will be the United States,โ€ Rubio said in his opening statement. โ€œThe direction he has given for the conduct of our foreign policy is clear. Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, every policy we pursue, must be justified by the answer to one of three questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Or does it make America more prosperous?โ€

On Rubioโ€™s agenda is executing Trumpโ€™s vision to curb Chinaโ€™s global influence, end the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, and address the vast problems exacerbating the U.S. border invasion.

โ€œIn our very own hemisphere, narcoterrorists and dictators, and despots take advantage of open borders to drive mass migration, to traffic in women and children, and to flood our communities with deadly fentanyl and violent criminals,โ€ Rubioย said.

The biggest foreign threat facing the U.S. today, heย toldย senators, is the Communist Party of China, โ€œthe most potent and dangerous, near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.โ€

โ€œWe welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into the global order, and they took advantage of all of its benefits. And they ignored all of its obligations and responsibilities. Instead, they have repressed, and lied, and cheated, and hacked, and stolen their way into global superpower status. And they have done so at our expense and at the expense of the people of their own country,โ€ Rubio said.

When it comes to Eastern Europe, Rubio says he echoes Trumpโ€™s desire for โ€œpeople to stop dyingโ€ and for the U.S. to stop funding a conflict with no end in sight โ€” especially when its own border is compromised.

โ€œI think it should be the official position of the United States that this war should be brought to an end,โ€ Rubio said. โ€œMy differences with the Biden administration throughout this process, is that they never clearly delineated what the end goal of the conflict was โ€” what exactly were we funding? What exactly were we putting money towards? On many occasions, it sounded like however much it takes, for however long it takes โ€” that is not a realistic or prudent position.โ€

Corporate media outlets, anonymous foreign policy officials, and Americaโ€™s adversaries alike are trying to drive a stake between Rubio and the man who named him to be the face of the nationโ€™s foreign relations with hopes of hampering their effectiveness. Yet, Politicoโ€™s own pages admit that Trump and Rubio have successfully worked together to secure their foreign policy goals before.

Rubioโ€™s public commitment to following through on Trumpโ€™s promises to secure the homeland and restabilize the globe suggests that, if he is confirmed, productivity is the priority, not pretend personal strife.


Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and 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 X @jordanboydtx.


By: Fred Lucasย |ย January 15, 2025

Read more at https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/01/15/ag-nominee-bondi-clashes-with-democratic-senators-confirmation-hearing/

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday at her confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Attorney General-designateย Pam Bondiย vowed Wednesday that her focus, if confirmed, would be on restoring integrity to a politicized Justice Department and to โ€œmake America safe again,โ€ as she fended off criticism from Democratic senators.ย 

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing for Bondi, President-electย Donald Trumpโ€™sย nominee for attorney general.ย While Republicans on the panel talked about the weaponization of theย Justice Departmentย that has occurred in recent years, Democrats warned that Trump might seek to prosecute opponents.ย 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said that Bondi must be willing to say โ€œnoโ€ to Trump if the president-to-be were to order her to target political opponents.

โ€œYou have to be able to say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. You dodged that question. You have to be able to say the Jan. 6 insurrectionists who committed violence shouldnโ€™t be pardoned,โ€ Blumenthal said. โ€œYou have to be able to say that a nominee to be FBI director who says he has an enemies list โ€ฆ shouldnโ€™t be FBI director.โ€

Bondi responded that she didnโ€™t โ€œhaveโ€ to say anything.ย 

โ€œI need to clarify something that you said, that I have to sit up here and say these things,โ€ Bondi told Blumenthal. โ€œNo, I donโ€™t. I sit up here and speak the truth. Iโ€™m not going to sit up here and say anything that I need to say to get confirmed by this body. I donโ€™t have to say anything. I will answer the questions to the best of my ability and honestly.โ€

She also challenged the characterization of several Democratic senators that Trumpโ€™s nominee to be FBI director, Kash Patel, had an โ€œenemies list.โ€

During the hearing, Bondi told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., โ€œThere will never be an enemies list in the Department of Justice.โ€

Whitehouse asked whether Justice Department prosecutorsโ€”presumably referring to those who investigated Trumpโ€”will be prosecuted during the incoming Trump administration. 

โ€œWill everyone be held to an equal, fair system of justice? Absolutely. And no one is above the law,โ€ Bondi said, adding, โ€œYou find the facts of the case, apply the law in good faith, and treat everyone fairly.โ€

Whitehouse responded, โ€œIt would not be appropriate for a prosecutor to start with a name and look for a crime. Itโ€™s a prosecutorโ€™s job to look for a crime and start with aย  name. Would you agree?โ€

โ€œSenator, I think that is the whole problem of the weaponization we have seen the last four years and what has happened to Donald Trump. They targeted Donald Trump. They went after him. Back in 2016, they targeted his campaign.โ€

In another exchange, Sen.ย Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said, โ€œIโ€™m asking you, sitting here today, whether you are aware of any predicate to investigate Liz Cheney?โ€

Bondi replied, โ€œSenator, no one has asked me to investigate Liz Cheney,โ€ a Republican former member of Congress from Wyoming.

Schiff, who as a House member participated on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol uprising alongside Cheney, shot back, โ€œBut the president has called for it.โ€

โ€œYou are so worried about Liz Cheney, senator,โ€ Bondi replied. โ€œDo you know what we should worry about? The crime rate in California right now is through the roof. Your robberies are 87% higher than the national average. Thatโ€™s what I want to be focused on, Senator, as attorney general.โ€

Despite some of the drama, toward the end of the hearing, Schiffโ€™s fellow California Democrat, Sen. Alex Padilla, suggested it was clear that Bondi would be confirmed for the job by the full Senate.

โ€œI know how to count and know how to read tea leaves,โ€ Padilla said. โ€œIt seems to me you are very likely to be confirmed. โ€ฆ And I look forward to working with you.โ€

Bondi, the Florida state attorney general from 2011 to 2019, was Trumpโ€™s second choice for attorney general, after it became clear that then-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., lacked support in the Senate. Before her election to state office, Bondi was a state prosecutor in Hillsborough County, Florida. Bondi has been an ally of Trump, and was on his legal team for the first Senate impeachment trial as a lawyer for the White House counsel. 

Early in the hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairmanย Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, talked about โ€œthe rot infectingโ€ the Justice Department, which he described as โ€œcatastrophic.โ€ย Grassley noted that current Attorney General Merrick Garland did not respond to the Iowa senatorโ€™s letters of oversight inquiry.

โ€œIn short, Ms. Bondi is highly qualified, and of course as we all know, a change is desperately needed,โ€ Grassley said. โ€œThe Justice Department is infected with political decision making, while its leaders refuse to acknowledge that reality.โ€

Bondi told Grassley that transparency to Congress will be key to reforms. Unlike Garland, Bondi said she would respond to congressional oversight of the Justice Department, including Grassleyโ€™s letters.

โ€œSenator, either I or my top staff will personally review the letters and do everything we can to respond to you,โ€ the nominee said.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., raised the issue of attacks on religious freedom under the Biden-Harris administrationโ€™s Justice Department; specifically, an FBI field office seeking to investigate traditional Catholic churches. 

โ€œThis memo that calls for repeatedly targeting Catholic parishes repeatedly refers to an expert source as a group called the Southern Poverty Law Center,โ€ Hawley noted.ย  โ€œThe Southern Poverty Law Center has a long history as an anti-religious group that has repeatedly gone after conservative and religious organizations calling them โ€˜hate groups,โ€™ called โ€˜terrorist groups.โ€™ โ€ฆ Will you put a stop to the use of the SPLC as an official source for any Department of Justice memorandum or finding?โ€

Bondi replied, โ€œThat will be one of the first things we look at, Senator, and report back to you and the committee.โ€ย 

Also during the hearing, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., praised Bondi for the goal of restoring credibility to the Justice Department, but said the department shouldnโ€™t launch its own lawfare.

โ€œThere will be those who say, โ€˜Two wrongs donโ€™t make a right, but it does make it even,โ€™โ€ Kennedy said. โ€œResist that temptation. Help us restore legitimacy to the Department of Justice.โ€ย 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, similarly noted itโ€™s ironic that Democrats on the committee seemed worried about a weaponized Justice Department. 

โ€œI donโ€™t want a Republican Department of Justice. I donโ€™t want a Democratic Department of Justice. I want a Department of Justice that enforces the damned law,โ€ Cruz said.ย 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., brough up the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, or FACE Act, law that the Justice Department regularly uses to prosecute pro-life protesters at abortion clinics. 

โ€œWill you commit to continuing to enforce the FACE Act to address violence and threats against those providing reproductive health care?โ€ Klobuchar asked.ย 

Bondi responded that the law also protects pregnancy centers that donโ€™t focus on abortion. 

โ€œSenator, the FACE Act not only protects abortion clinics, but it protects pregnancy centers and people going for counseling,โ€ Bondi said. โ€œThe law should be applied evenhandedly.โ€

Several Democrats noted that Bondi also worked for Trump during the post-2020 election litigation. 

โ€œJoe Biden is the president of the United States,โ€ Bondi answered on several occasions.ย 

In response to a question from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, the committeeโ€™s ranking member, Bondi said: โ€œDo I accept the results? Of course,โ€ adding: โ€œNo one from either side of the aisle should want any issue with election integrity.โ€

Bondi added: โ€œWe should all want our elections to be free and fair.โ€ย 

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked if she becomes attorney general, whose lawyer would she be?

โ€œMy oath would be to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. My client would be the people of America. I would advise the president,โ€ Bondi replied.ย 

Coons followed with an unusual question: โ€œIs President Trump eligible to run for another term in 2028?โ€

Bondi replied, โ€œNo, Senator, not unless they change the Constitution.โ€ย 

Coons followed by asking what would happen if Trump asked her not to investigate a criminal defendant, or to do something illegal. 

โ€œIf I thought that would happen, I would not be sitting here today,โ€ Bondi said. โ€œEvery case will be prosecuted, and the law will be applied in good faith. โ€ฆ Politics has played a role for years and years and years, and it has to stop.โ€


By: Jonathan Turley | January 15, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/15/free-speake-music-professor-to-sue-over-cancel-campaign/

Martin Speake, a British jazz โ€œcomposer, saxophonist, academic and educatorโ€ is preparing a lawsuit againstย Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Danceย over a cancel campaign that targeted him after he criticized the schoolโ€™s โ€œBLM/anti-racist policies and initiativesโ€ and denied that there was โ€œsystemic racial inequality in the UK jazz scene.โ€ His case is strikingly similar to other targeted professors discussed in myย recent bookย on free speech.

The controversy began when Speake was asked to give feedback on the policies. As he later explained, he was immediately set upon by critics calling him a racist. He stressed his bona fides:

โ€œI hold a true and genuine belief in the equality and dignity of all human beings. I have been politically expressive about this and was even arrested in 1977 for protesting against the National Front. More recently, I co-organised the initiative โ€˜Long Tones for Peaceโ€™ in Londonโ€™s Union Chapel, with the aim of inspiring the peaceful co-existence of all people worldwide.โ€

They did not help.

Sometime later I forwarded this email to a student with whom I had had a stimulating conversation on the topic earlier that day. This student showed the email to some peers, but didnโ€™t forward it to anyone. Nevertheless, as some students heard about it, the email began to attract some discontent and speculation within the student body. TL [Trinity Laban] then halted my teaching and pressured me to consent to the circulation of my email to the entire jazz department.

Speake said that Trinity Laban โ€œthreatenedโ€ him with โ€œdisciplinary action,โ€ and he was subjected to the all-too-familiar cancel campaign, including a boycott of his classes.

Students complained that his view of the jazz community hadย โ€œaffected their mental healthโ€ and aย Change.orgย petitionย created by โ€œDistressed Studentโ€ complained of being โ€œdeeply affectedโ€ by Speakeโ€™s view and how it โ€œperpetuated harmful and defamatory narratives about black musicians in the jazz industry.โ€

Most disturbing may have been the knee-jerk reaction of the London Jazz Orchestra. Speake was the lead alto saxophonist for 15 years, but he was requested to take a leave of absence. So, the London Jazz Orchestra forced a musician to take leave after he exercised his free speech rights. He would not have faced such action if he had supported the policies. He had voiced a dissenting note on such policies, and the Orchestra tossed a fellow artist to the curb.

So, Speake is now persona non grata because, by offering his view of these policies, he allegedly showed a โ€œlack of sensitivityโ€ and โ€œcreated an uncomfortable and distressing learning environment.โ€

Speake later announced that โ€œwith a very heavy heart I had no choice but to resign from my post with [Trinity Laban] in November 2024 as my working environment had become unbearable.โ€ He has filed a complaint against Trinity Laban.

George Gershwin once said that โ€œlife is a lot like jazzโ€ฆ itโ€™s best when you improvise.โ€ However, Trinity Laban and the London Jazz Orchestra would add that musicians should not take such freedom beyond their music. Improvisation in speech is likely to get you canceled. When it comes to free speech, the jazz community isย perfectly Gregorian.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.โ€


By: Jonathan Turley | January 15, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/15/north-dakota-state-university/

This week, North Dakota State University is under fire for its statement of diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, including from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). The university issued a โ€œstatement of inclusivityโ€ that included a pledge to combat โ€œviolence in language or in action.โ€ The notion of โ€œviolent speechโ€ is a touchstone for the anti-free speech community, which treatsย the expression of viewpoints as akin to physical attacks on students.

While this is merely a university statement, the inclusion of combatting violent speech as a priority was concerning for many. As I have previously written in columns and my recent book on free speech, violent speech has long been a rallying cry in higher education.

The redefinition of opposing views as โ€œviolenceโ€ is a favorite excuse for violent groups like Antifa, which continue to physically assault speakers with pro-life and other disfavored views.ย ย As explained by Rutgers Professor Mark Bray in his โ€œAntifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,โ€ย the group believes that โ€œโ€˜free speechโ€™ as such is merely a bourgeois fantasy unworthy of consideration.โ€

As one Antifa member explained, free speech is a โ€œnonargumentโ€ฆyou have the right to speak but you also have the right to be shut up.โ€ When people criticized Antifa for its violent philosophy, MSNBCโ€™s Joy Reid responded to the critics thatย โ€œyou might be the fascist.โ€

The Pride Office website at the University of Colorado (Boulder)ย declaredย that misgendering people can be considered an โ€œact of violence.โ€

University of Michigan economics professor Justin Wolfersย declaredย that some of those boycotting the store Target over its line of Pride Month clothing were engaging in โ€œliteral terrorism.โ€ (He insists that he was referring to those confronting Target employees.)

The diversity, equity, and inclusionย statementย at North Dakota State University maintains that the College of Business aims to help students โ€œfeel safeโ€ and provide โ€œspace to be their own person.โ€ However, the question is how treating speech as violence provides a safe space for free speech on campus.

Blurring the line between speech and violence can lead to censorship and viewpoint intolerance at a university. Speech directed at individuals to threaten them is actionable and potentially criminal. However, sweeping claims that speech is violence are the mantra being used in higher education to rationalize speech codes and censorship. Free speech requires bright lines of protection to avoid the chilling effect of arbitrary or capricious enforcement.

North Dakota State University would be wise to revise its policy statement.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.โ€


A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ A Head Scratcher

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 15, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-a-head-scratcher/

02 MovingOut DT 1080
A Political Cartoon by A.F Branco 2025

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A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Democrat voters, seeing firsthand the disasterย their Democrat leadersโ€™ policies have brought to their neighborhood, will most likely continue to vote for them.

Powerful: Actress Justine Bateman Unloads on Californiaโ€™s โ€˜Uselessโ€™ Leaders Who Should โ€œResign Out of Shameโ€ (Video)

By Margaret Flavin โ€“ The Gateway Pundit โ€“ Jan 11, 2025

Gen Xerโ€™s grew up on the iconic show Family Ties. Actress Justine Bateman played the slightly ditzy but surprisingly deep sister Mallory opposite Michael J. Foxโ€™s briefcase-carrying tie-wearing Republican brother Alex.
While Batemanโ€™s acting career has continued over the years, she has also expanded her creative repertoire to include directing, producing, and writing.
Batemanโ€™s X account has become a must-follow for her straightforward take on the current political landscape.
On Friday, a justifiably angry Bateman joined Jesse Watters and unloaded on Californiaโ€™s useless leaders and their abject failure to protect their citizens. READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons โ€“ Tips accepted and appreciated โ€“ $1.00 โ€“ $5.00 โ€“ $25.00 โ€“ $50.00 โ€“ it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco โ€“ THANK YOU!

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 โ€œThe Washington Post.โ€ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh Dโ€™Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.


Tuesday, January 14, 2025


Top Stories

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โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

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As a Nurse, I Know a Fetus is an Unborn Baby With a Beating Heart

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By:ย Shawn Fleetwood | January 14, 2025

Read more at https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/14/pete-hegseth-makes-the-definitive-case-why-hes-qualified-to-be-trumps-defense-secretary/

Pete Hegseth testifying at his confirmation hearing.

During his Tuesday Senate confirmation hearing, Pete Hegseth provided his best case yet on why heโ€™s the perfect man to be President-elect Donald Trumpโ€™s defense secretary.

Speaking before the Armed Services Committee, the Army veteranย notedย how the โ€œthe primary chargeโ€ given to him by Trump was to โ€œbring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense.โ€ He subsequently detailed how he intends to make the Pentagon into an agency โ€œlaser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness.โ€

โ€œThe Defense Department under Donald Trump will achieve Peace Through Strength. And in pursuing these America First national security goals, we will remain patriotically a-political and stridently Constitutional,โ€ Hegseth said. โ€œUnlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans or Democrats โ€” we are American warriors. Our standards will be high, and they will be equal (not equitable, that is a very different word).โ€

Since coming to power nearly four years ago, the Biden-Harris Pentagon has made implementing neo-Marxist ideologies such as โ€œdiversity, equity, and inclusionโ€ (DEI) a top priority. These policies haveย underminedย military readiness andย contributedย to the serviceโ€™s ongoing recruiting crisis.

Hegseth stressed that the Defense Department must โ€œmake sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system, every pilot is fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership based purely on performance, readiness, and merit.โ€ He further noted how, โ€œLeaders โ€” at all levels โ€” will be held accountable,โ€ and that โ€œwarfighting and lethality โ€” and the readiness of the troops and their families โ€” will be our only focus.โ€

โ€œThat has been my focus ever since I first put on the uniform as a young Army ROTC cadet at Princeton University in 2001,โ€ Hegseth said. โ€œI joined the military because I love my country and felt an obligation to defend it. I served with incredible Americans in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the streets of Washington, DC โ€” many of which are here today. This includes enlisted soldiers I helped become American citizens, and Muslim allies I helped immigrate from Iraq and Afghanistan. And when I took off the uniform, my mission never stopped.โ€

[READ: โ€˜Peteโ€™s A Patriotโ€™: More Than 100 Veterans And Supporters Rally For Hegsethโ€™s Pentagon Nomination]

The former Fox News host described the three-prong approach he and Trump will take to restore lethality and efficiency to the military. Specifically, he noted that the incoming administration will focus on bringing back the militaryโ€™s โ€œwarrior ethos,โ€ rebuilding the serviceโ€™s broken infrastructure, and reestablishing โ€œdeterrenceโ€ to create peace on the world stage.

Hegseth also responded to Democrat allegations that heโ€™s not โ€œqualifiedโ€ to serve as defense secretary. The Army veteran acknowledged that he doesnโ€™t โ€œhave a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years,โ€ but noted, โ€œweโ€™ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly โ€˜the right credentialsโ€™ โ€” whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives โ€” and where has it gotten us?โ€

President-elect Trump โ€œbelieves, and I humbly agree, that itโ€™s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives,โ€ Hegseth said.

The Army veteran reaffirmed that his โ€œonly special interest is [Americaโ€™s] warfighter[s], [d]eterring wars, and if called upon, winning wars โ€” by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight.โ€ He further emphasized the importance of the military letting its troops โ€œwinโ€ and then โ€œbring[ing] them home.โ€

โ€œLike many of my generation, Iโ€™ve been there. Iโ€™ve led troops in combat, been on patrol
for days, pulled a trigger downrange, heard bullets whiz by, flex-cuffed insurgents, called
in close air support, led medevacs, dodged IEDs, pulled out dead bodies, and knelt before a battlefield cross,โ€
Hegseth said. โ€œ[T]his is not academic for me; this is my life. I led then, and I will lead now.โ€


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

Author Shawn Fleetwood profile

Shawn Fleetwood

Visit on Twitter@ShawnFleetwood

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Byย Elizabeth Elkindย Fox News | Publishedย January 14, 2025 2:49pm ESTย |ย Updatedย January 14, 2025

Read more at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/two-house-dems-join-gop-ban-biological-males-from-girls-school-sports

Two House Democrats have voted alongside Republican lawmakersย to ban athletes born maleย from participating on girls’ school sports teams. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, led by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., would amend federal law to specify that student athletes must participate in school sports teams that coincide with their gender at birth.ย 

Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas, were the lone Democrats to vote for the bill when it passed 218 to 206. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., voted “present.”

All three won re-election on razor-thin margins in districts that have trended redder over the years.

Senate Republicans have already signaled they are aiming to take up the bill soon.

TRANS VOLLEYBALL PLAYER ACCUSED OF PLAN TO HARM TEAMMATE AFTER TAKING SCHOLARSHIPS FROM FEMALE PLAYERS

Save Women's Sports sign held at the US Capitol
Republicans have been pushing to restrict transgender sports participation, particularly for girls’ teams.ย (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The change would apply to all federally funded schools from kindergarten through high school, as well as colleges and universities that receive federal dollars.

It comes after several Democrats spoke out against their own party’s laser focus on inclusivity and progressivism, arguing that the far-left did not leave any room for dissent on issues like transgender youth. Notably, however, some Democrats who raised such issues โ€“ like Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., and Seth Moulton, D-Mass. โ€“ voted against the bill.

Republicans have championed the bill as a bid to protect women and girls from unfair athletic standards.

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube
Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube first introduced the bill in the 118th Congress.ย (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., challenged Democrats on the bill during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

“Everyone’s talking about their children today. I’ve got two sons and two daughters, and we see the difference. Of course everyone does. And it’s kind of silly to deny it,” Johnson said. “The American people sent a clear message in November. They want us to return to common sense, and we’re going to see if Democrats have heard that message.”

Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., said duringย debate on the bill,ย “Why are we even having to discuss this? It’s amazing to me that the idea that we would have XY chromosome males competing and taking the place of women and girls in sports is just mind-blowing. Where are we in society that we’re doing this? Where are the feminists? Where are the people who fought so hard to get rights for women?” LaMalfa asked.

TRANSGENDER BILL BARRING MEN FROM WOMEN’S SPORTS TO GET FLOOR VOTE IN NEWLY GOP-LED SENATE

https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/01/2025-01-03-protection-of-women-and-girls-in-sports-act-text.pdf

But the majority of Democrats were vehemently opposed to the bill, with Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and others dubbing it “The GOP Child Predator Empowerment Act.”1

Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Ore., argued, “This bill sets an unfair playing field that any parent can raise a concern that a transgender girl is playing on a girls’ team,” while noting such cases were rare.

“These decisions should be left to parents, coaches, teachers, and families โ€“ not D.C. politicians. In addition, this bill could open the door to young girls experiencing intrusive questioning, or worse. I will not rubber stamp bad policy. Republicans should stop focusing on culture wars and start getting to work on lowering costs, investing in public education, and increasing access to affordable health care,” freshman Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., said after the bill passed.

The bill previously passed the House in 2023 in a 219 to 203 vote, but it was never taken up in the formerly Democratic-controlled Senate.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com


Tuesday, 14 January 2025 03:35 PM EST

Hamas OKs Draft Agreement of a Gaza Ceasefire, Release of Some Hostages
An Ultra-orthodox Jewish man walks past a graffiti that displays portraits of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, in Jerusalem, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Read more at https://www.newsmax.com/politics/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-01-14-2025/2025/01/14/id/1195054/

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators for the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.

โ€œI believe we will get a ceasefire,โ€ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a speech Tuesday, asserting it was up to Hamas. โ€œItโ€™s right on the brink. Itโ€™s closer than itโ€™s ever been before,โ€ and word could come within hours, or days.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the war and secure the release of dozens of hostages captured in Hamasโ€™ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. Nearly 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third are dead.

Any deal is expected to pause the fighting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and destructive war Israel and Hamas have ever fought, a conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests. It would bring relief to the hard-hit Gaza Strip, where Israel’s offensive has reduced large areas to rubble and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million, many at risk of famine.

If a deal is reached, it would not go into effect immediately. The plan would need approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuโ€™s Security Cabinet and then his full Cabinet. Both are dominated by Netanyahu allies and are likely to approve any proposal he presents.

Officials have expressed optimism before, only for negotiations to stall while the warring sides blamed each other. But they now suggest they can conclude an agreement ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose Mideast envoy has joined the negotiations.

Hamas said in a statement that negotiations had reached their โ€œfinal stage.”

In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250. Around half those hostages were freed during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Of those remaining, families say, two are children, 13 are women and 83 are men.

Israelโ€™s retaliatory offensive has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gazaโ€™s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants.

Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight and into Tuesday killed at least 18 Palestinians, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel says it only targets militants and accuses them of hiding among civilians.

The three-phase agreement โ€” based on a framework laid out by U.S. President Joe Biden and endorsed by the U.N. Security Council โ€” would begin with the release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women, children, older adults and wounded civilians in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.

Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each to be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 militants who are serving life sentences. The Israeli official said Israel assumes most of the 33 are alive.

During this 42-day phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from population centers, Palestinians could start returning to what remains of their homes in northern Gaza and there would be a surge of humanitarian aid, with some 600 trucks entering each day.

Details of the second phase still must be negotiated during the first. Those details remain difficult to resolve โ€” and the deal does not include written guarantees that the ceasefire will continue until a deal is reached. That means Israel could resume its military campaign after the first phase ends.

The Israeli official said โ€œdetailed negotiationsโ€ on the second phase will begin during the first. He said Israel will retain some โ€œassetsโ€ throughout negotiations, referring to a military presence, and would not leave the Gaza Strip until all hostages are home.

The three mediators have given Hamas verbal guarantees that negotiations will continue as planned and that they will press for a deal to implement the second and third phases before the end of the first, the Egyptian official said.

The deal would allow Israel throughout the first phase to remain in control of the Philadelphi corridor, the band of territory along Gazaโ€™s border with Egypt, which Hamas had initially demanded Israel withdraw from. Israel would withdraw from the Netzarim corridor, a belt across central Gaza where it had sought a mechanism for searching Palestinians for arms when they return to the territory’s north.

In the second phase, Hamas would release the remaining living captives, mainly male soldiers, in exchange for more prisoners and the โ€œcomplete withdrawalโ€ of Israeli forces from Gaza, according to the draft agreement.

Hamas has said it will not free the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal, while Netanyahu has vowed in the past to resume fighting until Hamasโ€™ military and governing capabilities are eliminated.

Unless an alternative government for Gaza is worked out in those talks, it could leave Hamas in charge of the territory.

In a third phase, the bodies of remaining hostages would be returned in exchange for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza under international supervision.

Blinken on Tuesday was making a last-minute case for a proposal for Gaza’s postwar reconstruction and governance that outlines how it could be run without Hamas in charge.

Israel and Hamas have come under renewed pressure to halt the war before Trump’s inauguration. Trump said late Monday a ceasefire was โ€œvery close.โ€

Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night in support of a deal they have long encouraged. โ€œThis is not about politics or strategy. Itโ€™s about humanity and the shared belief that no one should be left behind in darkness,โ€ said a hostage released earlier from Gaza, Moran Stella Yanai.

But in Jerusalem, hundreds of hardliners marched against a deal, some chanting, โ€œYou donโ€™t make a deal with the devil,โ€ a reference to Hamas.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, families of Palestinian prisoners gathered as well. โ€œI tell the mothers of the prisoners to put their trust in the almighty and that relief is near, God willing,โ€ said the mother of one prisoner, Intisar Bayoud.

And inside Gaza, an exhausted Oday al-Halimy expressed hope from a tent camp for the displaced. โ€œCertainly, Hamas will comply with the ceasefire, and Israel is not interested in opposing Trump or angering him,โ€ he said.

A child born in Gaza on the first day of the war, Massa Zaqout, sat in pink pajamas in another tent camp, playing with toys. โ€œWeโ€™re eagerly waiting for a truce to happen so we can live in safety and stability,โ€ her mother, Rola Saqer, said.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.


By: Kevin Jackson | January 11, 2025

Read more at https://theblacksphere.net/2025/01/inferno-of-insanity-la/

The City of Angels is ablaze, and the irony couldnโ€™t be more striking. LA burning to the ground has accomplished something rare: itโ€™s turned the national spotlight on the absurdity of Leftist governance.

Letโ€™s take stock of the players in this tragedy. At the top, we have a governor who could be the poster child for style over substance. Gavin Newsom is the guy youโ€™d hire to play โ€œconcerned politicianโ€ in a Netflix series, not someone youโ€™d trust to lead in an actual crisis. His brand? Smug photo-ops and buzzword-riddled speeches. Substance? Nonexistent.

And at the local level, it somehow gets worse. The leadership of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) reads like a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) experiment gone terribly wrong. The hiring and promotion process is more about checking identity boxes than finding people qualified to combat real-world disasters.

Then thereโ€™s the cause of the fires. Initially blamed on global climate change, the narrative quickly unraveled. Authorities discovered a literal flamethrower in the hands of a deranged individualโ€”one who, I might add, seemed more like a walking caricature of Leftist dysfunction than the embodiment of any conservative boogeyman. Five cell phones? A United Nations calling card? If the Devil had a child, theyโ€™d look like this guy, complete with chaos as their middle name.

So yes, climate change has a face, and itโ€™s a human beingโ€”though perhaps we should check which pronouns the arsonist prefers before proceeding further.

Democrats and the Politics of Chaos

Newsom wasted no time blaming climate change for the fires. Think about that for a moment: one of the most catastrophic fires in recent history was weaponized to perpetuate the climate change narrative. Yet the truth revealed that it was the work of one of Newsomโ€™s own citizens, not some freak weather phenomenon.

Itโ€™s a pattern, isnโ€™t it? Democrats thrive on chaos. If chaos doesnโ€™t exist, they manufacture it. Where chaos already exists, they stoke the flamesโ€”sometimes literally. This isnโ€™t hyperbole; itโ€™s a playbook.

Meanwhile, conservativesโ€”especially MAGA conservativesโ€”are problem solvers. We work to uphold the Constitutionโ€™s promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Democrats, on the other hand, torch the framework, then sell you on the lie that their arsonist tendencies are somehow virtuous.

Another Conspiracy Confirmed

Once again, what started as a wild conspiracy theory has been confirmed: Democrats are responsible for the fires. Whether by arsonist proxy or through failed policies that allow such lunatics to thrive, the result is the sameโ€”destruction disguised as progress.

In a particularly sardonic twist, local authorities describe the culprit as a โ€œsavvy arsonistโ€ familiar with wind patterns and fire science, targeting affluent areas. So much for the climate change fairy tale. Turns out, itโ€™s plain old arsonโ€”strategic, methodical, and painfully human.

When your neighborhood HOA newsletter contains more actionable intelligence than your elected officials, maybe itโ€™s time to admit we have a problem. And itโ€™s not climate change. Itโ€™s leadershipโ€”or rather, the lack thereof.

To showcase the real insanity of Leftism, even acts of kindness must be investigated by the California Gestapo:

This California city wanted to make sure it got tax revenue and perhaps a license fee if this man had been selling hot dogs to beleaguered firefighters.

California politicians need to reset their priorities. Because they couldnโ€™t be more out of touch.

Check out Part II of this article, where I discuss the players in this horrible saga.

Part II: Playing with Fire and How DEI Policies Let LA Burn

By: Kevin Jackson | January 11, 2025

https://theblacksphere.net/2025/01/part-ii-playing-with-fire-and-how-dei-policies-let-la-burn/

The United States is the land of plenty, yet when it comes to providing waterโ€”a basic necessity for lifeโ€”weโ€™re starting to look like a Third World country. Itโ€™s a surreal problem, given that one of our citizens has mastered feats like landing rockets back on Earth. So why canโ€™t we solve water crises in places like California? The truth is as simple as it is damning incompetence and greed.

California, with all its wealth and technological prowess, could solve its water issues if it wanted to. Areas of the country regularly flood while others face severe droughts. The solutionโ€”moving excess water to areas in needโ€”isnโ€™t rocket science. The same man who lands spaceships back to earth manufactures earth boring equipment. One would think we could dig tunnels from areas of high rain to areas of low rain and manage the water supply chain. But instead of solving the problem, California prioritizes political posturing over practicality.


DEI and the LA Fires

In case you were aware of how bad DEI is, understand that a Chinese spy who infiltrated New York Cityโ€™s government promoted it.

If our biggest enemy is promoting something, it stands to reason we should avoid it. But look at this statistic regarding probability of hiring 3 Lesbians in the LAFD:

The LA fire crisis exemplifies this deadly mix of incompetence and misplaced priorities. At its core, the issue isnโ€™t just about water; itโ€™s about the leadership managing these crisesโ€”or failing to manage them.

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is a case study in progressive politics gone awry. The departmentโ€™s leadership roster isnโ€™t filled with the most qualified individuals but instead boasts a trio of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) appointees:

  • Kristina Crowley: First LGBTQ Fire Chief of the LAFD, earning a staggering $439,722 annually.
  • Kristine Larson: First Black lesbian Equity Bureau Chief, with a salary of $399,000.
  • Kristina Kepner: First Lesbian Assistant Chief, making $264,468 per year.

Together, these three cost taxpayers over $1 million annually. But what are they delivering for that money?


Leadership or Liability?

Letโ€™s start with Assistant Chief Kristine Larson, who openly admits that some women may struggle to carry a man out of a fire. Her solution? Blame the victim. Larsonโ€™s words, paraphrased: โ€œHe shouldnโ€™t have gotten himself into that position in the first place.โ€ Imagine hearing that as your loved oneโ€™s life hangs in the balance.


The emphasis on DEI over competence has real consequences. Fires donโ€™t care about your race, gender, or sexual orientation. When your house is engulfed in flames, the only thing that matters is whether the person coming to your rescue is capable. DEI does nothing to ensure that. Instead, it undermines meritocracy, placing political agendas above public safety.


Beyond the LAFD: A National Crisis

The problem isnโ€™t confined to Los Angeles. This is a microcosm of whatโ€™s happening across the nation. DEI is infiltrating every sectorโ€”from the military to education to criminal justice. As meritocracy gives way to identity politics, the cost is measured in lives lost, homes destroyed, and dreams shattered.

The LA firesโ€”massive, deadly, and avoidableโ€”stand as a fiery indictment of this systemic failure. Water was available, but mismanagement and greed kept it from where it was needed most. DEI hires arenโ€™t solving these problems; theyโ€™re exacerbating them.


Political Fires Burn Hotter

While LA burned, leftists on social media cheered the destruction of conservative actor James Woodsโ€™ home. They ignored the fact that their neighborsโ€™ homes burned too. To them, the fire wasnโ€™t a tragedyโ€”it was a political statement. This kind of thinking exemplifies the broader issue: a society so divided by ideology that even disasters become partisan talking points.

We need leaders who are chosen for their ability to do the job, not their ability to check a diversity box. Until then, expect more fires, more failures, and more preventable tragedies.

Next, I will discuss the political leadership that allowed this clusterf*ck to occur.

Part III: California Leftists Leaders Fan the Flames of Incompetence

When Diversity Kills More Than It Saves

By: Kevin Jackson | January 12, 2025

https://theblacksphere.net/2025/01/part-iii-california-leftists-leaders-fan-the-flames-of-incompetence/

Los Angeles is in ashesโ€”both literally and figuratively. A combination of failed leadership, radical ideologies, and gross mismanagement has left the city devastated. The staggering toll includes $60 billion in property damage, lives lost, and neighborhoods destroyed. Whatโ€™s worse is that it didnโ€™t have to happen.

The culprit remains DEI. And we have more Leftist women to add to the list of Lesbians who actually allowed this massive fire to occur. But before we get to them, letโ€™s remove one boogeyman: the insurance companies.

Insurance Fallout and Fire Prevention Neglect

Leftists have tried to deflect blame of the fire to insurance companies. Democrats want people outraged by insurance companies dropping coverage. However, what they donโ€™t want known is why the insurance companies dropped coverage.

The reason points back to government incompetence. Because the state of California has consistently failed to perform basic fire prevention activities, such as clearing brush and maintaining firebreaks. These are the very measures that keep fires from spiraling into uncontrollable infernos. And this is just for starters.

Intentional Malfeasance?

Governor Gavin Newsom slashed CalFire budgets while vetoing a bill that would have retained thousands of seasonal firefighters, leaving critical positions unfilled. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cut $17 million from the fire department budget last year and, according to a leaked document obtained by the Daily Mail, requested an additional $49 million in cuts. The very departments tasked with protecting Angelenos from disasters are being gutted by leftist leaders who claim to champion public welfare.

Water Shortages: Janisse Quinones and LADWP

At the center of the fire response debacle is Janisse Quinones, head of LAโ€™s Department of Water and Power (LADWP). Appointed by Mayor Bass in May 2024, Quinones earns $750,000 annually, nearly double the salary of her male predecessor. Her appointment was a โ€œdiversity winโ€ for Bassโ€™s administration but has proven to be an operational disaster. Under her leadership, LA ran out of water for fighting fires, leaving firefighters unable to contain the blazes.


The failure to provide basic resources underscores a grim reality: DEI-driven appointments that prioritize symbolism over competence put lives at risk. The so-called โ€œpatriarchyโ€ may not be in vogue, but it certainly kept the water flowing when it mattered.

Leftist Ideology Over Lives

Instead of accepting responsibility, leftists have deflected blame by invoking their favorite scapegoat: climate change. Fires that result from neglected firebreaks, underfunded departments, and bureaucratic incompetence are framed as acts of nature. But thereโ€™s no denying the truth: these disasters are man-made, created by those in power.

Even as Oregon fire crews offered aid, their engines were delayed in Sacramento for DOT inspectionsโ€”bureaucracy over urgency. This red tape kept critical resources from reaching LA while fires raged unchecked, and is symbolic of how leftism works.

The Mediaโ€™s Complicity

Media outlets, ever eager to shield Democrats, have rushed to obfuscate the facts. CNNโ€™s Anderson Cooper absurdly suggested that the real issue wasnโ€™t government failure but homeowners โ€œhoarding waterโ€ to protect their properties. These homeowners, many of whom have been abandoned by insurers, were left to fend for themselves because government services failed.

As President Reagan famously said [pp]: โ€œThe most terrifying words in the English language are, Iโ€™m from the government, and Iโ€™m here to help.โ€

Gavin Newsom: Lies and Negligence

Governor Newsom, always quick to spin disasters into self-promotion, was caught lying about reaching out to President Biden for federal assistance. His office claimed he had made the call, but no such communication exists. This โ€œstyle over substanceโ€ governance is nothing new for Newsom, whose veto of critical fire-prevention funding set the stage for these catastrophes.


Worse yet, his broader policiesโ€”gutting fire budgets while championing costly green energy initiativesโ€”have made California more vulnerable to disasters. Newsomโ€™s failures are not just negligence; theyโ€™re malpractice.

Karen Bass: A Radical Agenda

Karen Bassโ€™s radical agenda has left LA vulnerable in more ways than one. From pushing โ€œDown With the Patriarchyโ€ rhetoric to dismantling functional systems in favor of ideological experiments, Bass has prioritized politics over public safety. The leaked document revealing her request for additional fire department budget cuts is a chilling reminder of her misplaced priorities.

DEI = DIE

The formula is clear: prioritizing diversity and ideology over competence and safety leads to disasters. The current crisis in Los Angeles is a case study in what happens when DEI policies replace proven systems. The people of LA are left with ashes, excuses, and a government that continues to fail them.

The Real Danger

As long as leftists hold power, they will continue to deflect responsibility and blame invisible boogeymen like โ€œclimate change.โ€ But the truth is clear: radical progressivism is the real dangerโ€”not just to California, but to the nation.


By: Jonathan Turley | January 14, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/14/smiths-supreme-obstruction-special-counsel-explains-how-he-was-planning-to-circumvent-the-supreme-court-decision-in-fischer/

The release of the first part of Jack Smithโ€™s report at midnight was the special counselโ€™s version of the Supreme Courtโ€™s Dobbs decision: we had seen it before. Putting aside the public filings where Smith fought to get this information out before the election, there was little new in the report. What the report did not contain is an explanation of how Smith destroyed his own cases against Trump. However, one notable element was Smithโ€™s reliance on a dubious concurrence by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the subject of a prior column on what would be an interpretation that was too clever by half.

Much of the report was vintage Smith in dismissing countervailing precedent and insisting that he could โ€œobtain and sustain a conviction at trial.โ€ He may be right about obtaining a conviction before a D.C. jury and a highly motivated judge against Trump.ย  However, he would not have been able to sustain any conviction โ€” and this report makes that abundantly clear.

Smith repeats the same conclusory evidence, such as citing how Trump said โ€œfightโ€ ten times in his January 6th speech. He minimized the immunity decision by removing some evidence but kept largely the original indictment. However, the treatment of the obstruction claims was the most telling and indicative of Smith, who has repeatedly lost cases due to overextending constitutional and statutory authority.

The Supreme Courtโ€™s decision in Fischer v. United States rejecting the use of obstruction of legal proceedings against January 6th defendants will potentially impact hundreds of cases. For some, it may lead to dismissals or, in the cases with multiple charges, resentencings. One of those cases that will be impacted is the pending prosecution of former president Donald Trump who is facing four charges, including two obstruction counts. It was not clear if Special Counsel Jack Smith would yield to the decision or possibly take the dubious path laid out by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in her concurrence.

However, Smith tended to push the law to the breaking point to bag defendants. That was the case when his conviction of former Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell was unanimously reversed as overextending another law.

As Iย wrote previouslyย after the decision, โ€œIt is doubtful that [Smith] will go quietly into the night after theย Fischerย decision.โ€ In most cases, a prosecutor would go back and secure a superseding indictment in light of the loss of the obstruction claims. Those claims were central to the narrative of the government under the Trump indictment. However, I wrote that it โ€œis not Smithโ€™s styleโ€ to yield to precedent and that he would likely โ€œtake a not-so-subtle hint from Jackson in her concurrence.โ€

Jackson supported the majority in finding that the obstruction provision, Section 1512(c), was enacted after the Enron case to address the destruction of documents and records.

Section 1512(c)(1) prohibits corruptly obstructing an official proceeding by altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing a record, document, or other object with the intent to impair the objectโ€™s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding. However, a second provision under subsection (c)(2) allowed for charges that would โ€œotherwiseโ€ obstruct, influence, or impede an official proceeding. The Court held that the obstruction cases under Section 1512(c)(2) must be tied to impairing the integrity or availability of evidence.

However, in a single justice concurrence, she added a way that Smith and other prosecutors might still be able to shoehorn January 6th into a Section 1512 offense:

โ€œThat official proceeding [Congressโ€™s certification of the Electoral College vote] plainly used certain records, documents, or objectsโ€”including, among others, those relating to the electoral votes themselves. And it might well be that Fischerโ€™s conduct, as alleged here, involved the impairment (or the attempted impairment) of the availability or integrity of things used during the January 6 proceeding โ€œin ways other than those specified in (c)(1).โ€ Ante, at 8. If so, then Fischerโ€™s prosecution under ยง1512(c)(2) can, and should, proceed. That issue remains available for the lower courts to determine on remand.โ€

Once again, no other justice joined Jackson in the concurrence.

Right on cue, Smith revealed that he was going to do precisely what I feared in taking a position supported by a single justice. In his report, Smith wrote:

โ€œMr.ย Trumpโ€™s and his co-conspiratorsโ€™ย obstructionย involved replacing valid elector certificatesย from the contested states with false ones they hadย manufactured-theย Office anticipated theย possibilityย ofย such a result inย Fischerย and confirmed that the evidence would proveย Mr.ย Trumpโ€™sย guilt beyond a reasonable doubt even under a narrow interpretationย ofย Section 1512(c)(2).โ€

Just saying that a proceeding involves โ€œcertain recordsโ€ is transparently artificial and forced. Even the submission of an alternative slate of electors is not the destruction of electors certified by the secretaries of state.

The federal law allows for challenges in Congress, which Democrats previously utilized without claims of insurrections or attacks on democracy. J6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), voted to challenge the certification of the 2004 results of President George W. Bushโ€™s reelection; committee member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sought to challenge Trumpโ€™s certification in 2016. Both did so under the very law that Trumpโ€™s congressional supporters used in 2020. And Pelosi and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) praised the challenge organized by then-Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in 2004.

Those challenges under the same loose theory could have been viewed as attempting to negate or destroy certifications from the states. It would have likely, in my view, result in another reversal. However, Smith is always about securing convictions more than sustaining appeals. That is why he filed the second case in D.C., where he was given the best possible judge for the prosecution, a judge viewed by many as predisposed against Trump.

In a sentencing hearing of a Jan. 6 rioter in 2022, Chutkan had said that the rioters โ€œwere there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man โ€” not to the Constitution.โ€ She added then, โ€œ[i]tโ€™s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.โ€ That โ€œone personโ€ was then brought to her for trial by Smith.

So Smith was going to proceed on the theory of a single justice with the help of a favorable jury and a motivated judge. Little has changed with Smith since his unanimous reversal in the McDonnell case, which seems much of the reason that he was appointed.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.โ€

This column also appeared on Fox.com


Monday, January 13, 2025


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Merchanโ€™s Monster: Judgeโ€™s Attempt to Calm the Townspeople Fails Spectacularly in Trump Trial

By: Jonathan Turley | January 13, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/11/merchans-monster-judges-attempt-to-calm-townspeople-fails-in-trump-trial/

Below is my column in the New York Post on the statement by Acting Justice Juan Merchan in the sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump. Merchanโ€™s effort to justify the handing of the case sounded like the second defense argument made in the hearing. It likely changed few minds in the court of public opinion.

Here is the column:

This week, the sentencing of President-Elect Donald Trump saw one of the most impassioned defense arguments given at such a hearing in years . . . from the judge himself. Acting Justice Juan Merchan admitted that the case was โ€œunique and remarkableโ€ but insisted that โ€œonce the courtroom doors were closed, the trial itself was no more special, unique, and extraordinary than the other 32 cases in this courthouse.โ€

If so, that is a chilling indictment of the entire New York court system. Merchan allowed a dead misdemeanor to be resuscitated by allowing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to effectively prosecute declined federal offenses. He allowed a jury to convict Trump without any agreement, let alone unanimity, on what actually occurred in the case. Merchan ruled that the jury did not have to agree on why Trump committed an alleged offense in describing settlement costs as legal costs. Neither the defendant nor the public will ever know what the jury ultimately found in its verdict.

Iย once describedย this case as a legal Frankenstein: โ€œIt is the ultimate gravedigger charge, where Bragg unearthed a case from 2016 and, through a series of novel steps, is seeking to bring it back to lifeโ€ฆBragg isย combining parts from both state and federal codes.โ€

Even liberal legal experts have denounced the case and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) recently called it total โ€œbโ€”sโ€“t.โ€

Now, Merchan seemed to assure this Frankenstein case that he was just like any other creature of the court. It did not matter that he was stitched together from dead cases and zapped into life through lawfare.

Merchan knows that there is a fair chance this monstrosity will finally die on appeal, and he was making the case for his own conduct. The verdict, however, is likely to last far longer than the Trump verdict. It is a judgment against not just Merchan but the New York legal system, which allowed itself to be weaponized against political opponents.

In the Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein says โ€œI am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.โ€

Trump can now appeal the case as a whole. Prior appeals in the New York court system were unsuccessful, and hopes are low that the system will redeem itself. However, Trump can eventually escape the vortex of the New York court system in search of jurists willing to see beyond the rage and bring reason to this case.

Notably, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass cited Chief Justice John Roberts in his argument before Merchan, noting that Roberts recently chastised those who attack the courts. (Roberts just the night before joined liberal justices and Justice Amy Coney Barrett in refusing to stay the sentencing). Steinglass portrayed Trump as an existential threat to the rule of law.

Roberts, however, is everything that Merchan is not. You can disagree with him, but he has repeatedly ruled against his own preferred outcomes in cases, including rulings against President Trump and his campaign and Administration. For his part, Trump declined to criticize the court and declared thatย โ€œThis is a long way from finished and I respect the courtโ€™s opinion.โ€

Indeed it is. Merchanโ€™s monster will now go on the road and work its way back to the Supreme Court. Outside of New York this freak attraction will likely be viewed as less thrilling than chilling.

The election had the feel of the townspeople coming to the castle in the movie. In this case, however, the townspeople were right about what they saw in the making of a creature that threatened their very existence. Lawfare is that monster. It threatens us all, even those who hate Trump and his supporters. Once released, it spreads panic among the public which can no longer rely on the guarantees of blind and fair justice. That includes businesses who view this case and the equally absurd civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James as creating a dangerous and even lawless environment. Many are saying โ€œbut for the grace of God go Iโ€ in a system that allows for selective prosecution.

In the sentencing proceeding, Merchan was downplaying his hand in creating this Frankenstein. However, the case is the fallen angel of the legal system. While heralded in court by Braggโ€™s office as the triumph of legal process, it is in fact the rawest and most grotesque form of lawfare. Many will be blamed as the creators of this monster but few will escape that blame, including Merchan himself.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rageโ€ (Simon & Schuster, June 18, 2024).


By: Jonathan Turley | January 13, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/13/how-jack-smith-destroyed-his-own-case-against-trump/

Below is my column in The Hill on the one thing that the forthcoming report of Special Counsel Jack Smith will not address: how he destroyed his own case against Donald Trump. Smith will be something of a tragic figure for future special counsels. The only thing missing is a shirt reading, โ€œI spent over two years and $50 million dollars and all I got was this lousy t-shirt (and a redacted report).โ€

Here is the column:

The expected release of Special Counsel Jack Smithโ€™s report will occur as early as this weekend, albeit without those sections dealing with the Florida documents case. (Other defendants are still facing prosecution in that case.) However, the most glaring omission will be arguably an explanation of how Smith lost this war without firing a single shot in a trial.

After more than two years, two separate cases and countless appeals (not to mentionย more than $50 million spent), Smithย leftย without presenting a single witness, let alone charge, at trial. It is an example of how a general can have the largest army and unlimited resources and yet defeat himself with a series of miscalculations.

History probably wonโ€™t be kind to Smith, whose record bespeaks a โ€œparade generalโ€ โ€” a prosecutor who offered more pretense than progress in the prosecution of an American president.

Indeed, this report will be one of Smithโ€™s last chances to display a case that notably never got close to an actual trial. One-sided and unfiltered, it will have all of the thrill of a Sousa march of a regiment in full dress. We know because we have seen much of this before. At every juncture, Smith has taken his case out on parade in the court of public opinion.

The Smith report will reportedly concern only the Washington case alleging crimes related to Jan. 6 and the 2020 election โ€” a case that was always a bridge too far for Smith.

When first appointed, Smith had a straightforward and relatively easy case to make against Trump over his removal and retention of presidential materials. The case was not without controversy. Some of us questioned the selective nature of the prosecution given past violations by other presidents, particularly as shown by the violations of President Biden going back decades found by another special counsel.

However, the case originally focused on the conspiracy and false statements during the federal investigation into the documents at Mar-a-Lago. Those are well-established crimes that Smith could have brought to trial quickly with a solid shot for conviction.

But Smithโ€™s undoing has always been his appetite. That was evident when he was unanimously reversed by the Supreme Court in his case against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R).

In Florida, Smith was in signature form. He took a simple case and loaded it up with press-grabbing charges regarding the retention of classified material. In so doing, he slowed the case to a crawl. As a defense lawyer who has handled classified documents cases, I said at the outset that I did not believe he could get this case to a jury before the 2024 election, and that after that election, Smith might not have a case to present. Smith had outmaneuvered himself.

Then came the Washington filing, the subject of this forthcoming report. It was another vintage Smith moment. Smith played to the public in a case that pushed both the Constitution and statutory provisions beyond the breaking point. He simply could not resist, and he was only encouraged after the assignment of Judge Tanya Chutkan, a judge viewed by many as predisposed against Trump.

In a sentencing hearing of a Jan. 6 rioter in 2022, Chutkan had said that the rioters โ€œwere there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man โ€” not to the Constitution.โ€ She added then, โ€œ[i]tโ€™s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.โ€ That โ€œone personโ€ was then brought to her for trial by Smith.

The D.C. case was doomed from the outset by both a prosecutor and judge who, in their zeal to bag Trump, yielded to every temptation. As time ticked away, Smith became almost apoplectic in demanding an expedited path to trial, including cutting short appeals. After refusing to recuse herself, Chutkan seemed to indulge Smith at every turn. But the Supreme Court failed to agree that speed should trump substance in such reviews.

With both cases slipping out of his grasp, Smith then threw a final Hail Mary. He asked Chutkan to let him file what was basically a 165-page summary of this report against Trump before the election. There was no apparent reason for the public release of the filing, except to influence the election โ€” a motivation long barred by Justice Department rules. Chutkan, of course, allowed it anyway, despite admitting that the request was โ€œprocedurally irregular.โ€ It did not work. Althoughย the press and pundits eagerly repeated the allegations in the filing, the public had long ago reached its own conclusion and rendered its own verdict in November.

In my view, Smithโ€™s D.C. case would never have been upheld, even if he had made it to a favorable jury in front of a motivated judge. As established by the court in Trump v. United States, Smith could not rely on much of his complaint due to violating constitutionally protected areas.

Smith responded to the immunity decision again in typical Smith fashion, largely keeping the same claims with minimal changes. His new indictment was to indictments what shrinkflation is to consumer products โ€” the same package with less content. As in the McDonnell case, Smith was going for conviction at all costs, despite a high likelihood of the case eventually being overturned.

Then the public effectively put an end to both cases by electing Trump.

The Smith investigation should be a case study for future prosecutors in what not to do. An abundance of appetite and arrogance can prove as deadly as a paucity of evidence and authority.

Ironically, Smith will not be the only special counsel offering such a cautionary tale. The report of Special Counsel David Weiss into the Hunter Biden controversy will also be released soon. Weiss was widely denounced for allowing major crimes to lapse against Hunter Biden and offering an embarrassing sweetheart plea deal that collapsed in open court. Notably, Weiss succeeded by minimizing his charges (for the wrong reason). In that way, Weiss has one claim that Smith does not: He made it to court and secured a conviction. Indeed, he was about to prosecute a second case when President Biden pardoned his son.

Weissโ€™s report will likely only increase questions over his failure to pursue Hunter more aggressively. For Smith, the question is whether he was too aggressive, to the detriment of his own prosecution.

Prosecutions are not the sole measure of success for a special prosecutor. At times, the report itself can be of equal, if not greater, importance to the public.

This is not one of those cases.

The public will be given Smithโ€™s detailed account of a case that was never brought and would likely never have held up. At more than $50 million, it is arguably the biggest flop sinceย โ€œThe Adventures of Pluto Nash.โ€œย The difference is that it did not take more than two years to watch Eddie Murphyโ€™s film disaster, and the actor did not then write up a report on how good the movie really was.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.โ€


By Jonathan Turley | January 13, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/13/how-jack-smith-destroyed-his-own-case-against-trump/

The New Hampshire Supreme Court just handed down a victory for free speech inย Attorney General v. Hood.ย As is often the case, defending free speech means supporting viewpoints that most of us find grotesque and hateful. However, the justices rejected the position of the Portsmouth Police Department that it could force the removal of a racist banner from an overpass. Such signs and flags are commonly allowed, but the police and prosecutors insisted that racist messages โ€œinterfered with the rightsโ€ of other citizens. The controversy began on July 30, 2022, when a group of roughly ten people with NSC-131, a โ€œpro-white, street-oriented fraternity dedicated to raising authentic resistance to the enemies of [its] people in the New England area,โ€ hung banners from the overpass, including one reading โ€œKEEP NEW ENGLAND WHITE.โ€

The police informed the leader, Christopher Hood, that they were violating a Portsmouth municipal ordinance that prohibited hanging banners from the overpass without a permit. While the group removed the banners, it later posted statements on the incident. The state responded by filing complaints against the defendants seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief for their alleged violation of RSA 354-B:1.

Notably, the state did not deny that groups routinely hang flags and signs from overpasses.ย  However, it claimed that hanging banners reading โ€œKeep New England Whiteโ€ was โ€œmotivated by race and interfered with the lawful activities of 2 others.โ€

N.H. Stats. 354-B:1 provides,

All persons have the right to engage in lawful activities and to exercise and enjoy the rights secured by the [constitutions and laws] without being subject to actual or threatened physical force or violence against them or any other person or by actual or threatened damage to or trespass on property when such actual or threatened conduct is motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disabilityโ€ฆ.

It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere or attempt to interfere with the rights secured by this chapter.

The justices held that the enforcement in this case violated the New Hampshire Constitutionโ€™s free speech provision:

[T]he State alleged that the defendants โ€œtrespassed upon the property of the State of New Hampshire and the City of Portsmouth when [they and other individuals] displayed banners reading โ€˜Keep New England Whiteโ€™ from the overpass without a permit.โ€ In objecting to Hoodโ€™s motion to dismiss, the State argued that โ€œ[t]he defendant displayed a banner upon the fencingโ€”causing a thing to enter upon land in possession of another, without any prior authorization from city or state authorities.โ€ Because the State alleged that the defendants intentionally invaded the property of another, and because โ€œ[t]he State, no less than a private owner of property, has power to preserve the property under its control for the use to which it is lawfully dedicated,โ€ we conclude that the Stateโ€™s complaints sufficiently alleged a civil trespass.

Nonetheless, we must next determine whether the Stateโ€™s proposed construction of the Act, applying the aforementioned definition of trespass, violates the defendantsโ€™ constitutional rights to free speechโ€ฆ

Government property generally falls into three categories โ€” traditional public forums, designated public forums, and limited public forums. Here, the trial court correctly reasoned that because โ€œapplication of the Civil Rights Act requires no consideration of the relevant forum or the nature of the underlying regulations as to that forum,โ€ it applies โ€œwith equal force in traditional public fora as it does in limited or nonpublic fora.โ€ We agree with the trial courtโ€™s assessment and proceed to the regulation at issue.

Government regulation of speech is content-based if a law applies to a particular type of speech because of the topic discussed or the idea or message expressed. The State argues that the Act โ€œdoes not become a content or viewpoint-based action because the State relies upon a defendantโ€™s speech.โ€ Rather, it maintains that โ€œ[c]onsidering an actorโ€™s motivation to assess whether that remedy may be warranted has no impact on the personโ€™s right to freedom of speech, even when proof of motivation relies upon evidence of the personโ€™s speech, because a personโ€™s motivation has always been a proper consideration.โ€ We disagree.

The Act prohibits threatened and actual conduct only when โ€œmotivated by race, color, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability.โ€ Thus, we agree with the trial courtโ€™s assessment that โ€œ[b]ecause the Civil Rights Actโ€™s additional sanctions apply only where a speaker is โ€˜motivated by raceโ€™ or another protected characteristic, it is โ€˜content-basedโ€™ in that it โ€˜applies to โ€ฆ particular speech because of the topic discussed or the idea or message expressed.’โ€

Content-based restrictions must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest. The State asserts that the requirement that a trespass be unprivileged or otherwise unlawful functions as a limitation sufficient to prevent its construction of the Act from being unconstitutionally overbroad. We are not persuaded. The trial court determined, and we agree, that although โ€œprohibiting or discouraging interference with the lawful rights of others by way of bias-motivated conduct (including actual trespass) is a compelling government interest,โ€ the Stateโ€™s construction of the Act โ€œis overly broad and not narrowly tailored to that end because, so construed, the Civil Rights Act applies in numerous circumstances which have no relation to this interest.โ€

The ruling is notable in part because of the position of various Democratic leaders that hate speech is not protected under the First Amendment. I have spent years contesting that false claim, including in my recent book โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.โ€

Democratic Vice Presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz repeatedly claimed that โ€œThereโ€™sย no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy.โ€

Ironically, this false claim, repeated by many Democrats, constitutes one of the most dangerous forms of disinformation. It is being used to convince a free people to give up some of their freedom with a โ€œnothing to see hereโ€ pitch.

In prior testimony before Congress on the censorship system under the Biden administration, I was taken aback when the committeeโ€™s ranking Democrat, Del.ย Stacey Plaskettย (D-Virgin Islands),ย declared, โ€œI hope that [all members] recognize that there is speech that is not constitutionally protected,โ€ and then referenced hate speech as an example.

That false claim has been echoed by others such as Sen.ย Ben Cardinย (D-Md.), who is a lawyer.ย โ€œIf you espouse hate,โ€ย he said,ย โ€œโ€ฆyouโ€™re not protected under the First Amendment.โ€ Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Deanย declaredย the identical position: โ€œHate speech is not protected by the First Amendment.โ€

Even someย dictionaries now espouse this false premise, defining โ€œhate speechโ€ as โ€œSpeech not protected by the First Amendment, because it is intended to foster hatred against individuals or groups based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, place of national origin, or other improper classification.โ€

The Supreme Court has consistently rejected Gov. Walzโ€™s claim. For example, in the 2016 Matal v. Tam decision, the court stressed that this precise position โ€œstrikes at the heart of the First Amendment. Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express โ€˜the thought that we hate.โ€™โ€

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rageโ€ (Simon & Schuster, June 18, 2024).

H/T Gene Volokh


A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ What Goes around

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 12, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-what-goes-around-4/

Blackwell Sues Alpha News
A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

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A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Katie Blackwellโ€™s lawsuit against Alph News may backfire. Dozens of Police officers claim Katie Blackwell perjured herself when testifying in the Chauvin Trial that MPD didnโ€™t train officers in the knee on the neck โ€˜Improvised Position.ย ย 33 former Minneapolis police officers and one current officer who have all sworn under oath that MPD actually trained the knee on the neck restraint.

Director of โ€˜The Fall of Minneapolisโ€™ responds to defamation lawsuit after bombshell court filings

By Liz Collin โ€“ AlphaNews.com โ€“ Jan 8, 2025

Dr. Chaix believes that in filing her lawsuit, Blackwell has unwittingly helped bring more of the truth to light.
For the first time, the director of โ€œThe Fall of Minneapolisโ€ responded to the defamation lawsuit filed by Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell. The suit names producer and reporter Liz Collin, Alpha News and director Dr. JC Chaix. Dr. Chaix believes that in filing her lawsuit, Blackwell has unwittingly helped bring more of the truth to light.
Blackwell has said Alpha News defamed her by using her sworn testimony during Derek Chauvinโ€™s trial when she testified that she did not recognize what she called an โ€œimprovised positionโ€ that the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) did not train. READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons โ€“ Tips accepted and appreciated โ€“ $1.00 โ€“ $5.00 โ€“ $25.00 โ€“ $50.00 โ€“ it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco โ€“ THANK YOU!

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 โ€œThe Washington Post.โ€ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh Dโ€™Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.

Now, on the Lighter Side


January 11, 2025


Saturday, January 11, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขSenate Will Vote on Bill to Protect Babies Who Survive Abortions
โ€ข2,500 Christian Doctors Challenge Biden Abortion Mandate
โ€ข Majority of Americans Say Biden Is Worst President Since Nixon
โ€ขZERO Doctors Have Been Prosecuted Under Texas Abortion Ban
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Senate Will Vote on Bill to Protect Babies Who Survive Abortions

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Majority of Americans Say Biden Is Worst President Since Nixon

ZERO Doctors Have Been Prosecuted Under Texas Abortion Ban

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Pro-Abortion Texas Medical Board Director Removed

 

Satanic Temple is Shipping Abortion Drugs to Women

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By:ย Chris Bray | January 10, 2025

Read more at https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/10/californias-dei-obsessed-anarchotyrants-threw-money-at-everything-but-water-and-firefighters/

California Palisades fire
California has enormously expensive and intrusive government thatย canโ€™t even provide firefighters or waterย when your neighborhood burns down.

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Chris Bray

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Astonishingly devastating fires are burning mostly unchecked in Los Angeles, destroying whole neighborhoods, and see if you can spot the problem in this Yahoo News update, I found in my inbox this week:

As of that report, thousands of acres of fire burning into (and then straight through) neighborhoods; 1,400 firefighters. In Pacific Palisades alone, where the biggest fire started first, weโ€™re below one firefighter per two acres of fire. Iโ€™ve spent most of my life in California, and a quite common experience is to be in way-Northern California, for example, and watch a line of fire engines go racing past from San Diego and Newport Beach, 500 miles from home. We deal with big fires with prompt statewide mutual aid, a well-practiced system.

I live near the Eaton fire, which is burning in the hills above Pasadena, and I listened all Tuesday night for the cavalry to arrive. The cavalry, bizarrely, did not seem to arrive. And so, I watched houses burn, on the news, with reporters present but no firefighters.

This is becoming a widespread problem, so serious and obvious that even the Los Angeles Times has noticed, writing:

As wildfires raged across Los Angeles on Tuesday, crews battling the Palisades blaze faced an additional burden: Scores of fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades had little to no water flowing out.

โ€œThe hydrants are down,โ€ said one firefighter in internal radio communications.

โ€œWater supply just dropped,โ€ said another.

By 3 a.m. Wednesday, all water storage tanks in the Palisades area โ€œwent dry,โ€ diminishing the flow of water from hydrants in higher elevations, said Janisse Quiรฑones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the cityโ€™s utility.

Where I live, in the western San Gabriel Valley, a large group of suburban fire departments has built an effective system of integrated and automatic mutual aid, the Verdugo system, run from a shared dispatch center in Glendale. I was listening to Verdugo dispatch Tuesday night, and the dispatchers gave up on dispatching. They broadcast calls in sets of 10 or 12, without assignments, so firefighters could hear what was happening, in case anyone could get to any of it: homes burning at the following addresses, brush burning at the following addresses, wires down at the following addressesโ€ฆ

The fire departments arenโ€™t the problem, and the firefighters on the ground are very much not the problem. A cluster of headlines this morning at the highly alert news aggregator Rantingly begins to get at the underlying reality:

The mayor of Los Angeles, having cut fire department funding to pay for social justice programs, was on a city-funded outreach trip to Ghana as her city burned. How important.

As a matter of symbolism, the destruction of Pacific Palisades (and, as we saw Wednesday morning, big stretches of Malibu) is a gut punch. These are the most comfortable places in Los Angeles, and one of the discussions on social media this week is about which celebrities have evacuated or lost their homes. (โ€œOh my God, Tom Hanks!โ€) The places that are burning are the Democrat Partyโ€™s ATM machine. One wonders if theyโ€™ll notice the meaning of the fires. Meanwhile:

So yes, the ability of leftists to miss the point appears to be infinite. California has enormously expensive and intrusive government that canโ€™t provide firefighters or water when your neighborhood burns down, which proves that Orange Man Bad.

Iโ€™m more than a mile from the edge of the nearest evacuation warning, so weโ€™ll be fine. But thatโ€™s because of the accident of our location relative to the fire, not because anything here actually works.

This article was originally published on the authorโ€™s Substack, โ€œTell Me How This Ends.โ€


Chris Bray is a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army, and has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles. He is the author of “Court-Martial: How Military Justice Has Shaped America from the Revolution to 9/11 and Beyond,” published last year by W.W. Norton.


Byย Andrew Mark Millerย Fox News | Publishedย January 10, 2025 1:09pm ESTย |ย Updatedย January 10, 2025

Read more at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/great-embarrassment-hear-trumps-courtroom-response-judge-merchans-political-witch-hunt-trial

โ€˜Great embarassmentโ€™: Hear Trump’s courtroom response to Judge Merchan’s ‘political witch hunt’ trial

The audio tape of President-elect Trumpโ€™s New York City sentencing hearing was released to the public on Friday, giving insight into the unprecedented conviction against a former president where Trump was ultimately sentenced to an unconditional discharge.

“This has been a very terrible experience,” Trump, who virtually attended the criminal trial sentencing hearing, told theย New York Cityย courtroom on Friday morning. “I think it’s been a tremendous setback for New York and the New York court system.”

“This is a case that Alvin Bragg did not want to bring. He thought it was, from what I read and from what I hear, inappropriately handled before he got there. And a gentleman from a law firm came in and acted as a district attorney,” the president-elect continued. “And that gentleman, from what I heard, was a criminal or almost criminal in what he did. It was very inappropriate. It was somebody involved with my political opponent.”ย 

“I think it’s an embarrassment to New York and New York has a lot of problems, but this is a great embarrassment,” he added.

DONALD TRUMP SENTENCED WITH NO PENALTY IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL, AS JUDGE WISHES HIM ‘GODSPEED’ IN 2ND TERM

Video

At one point, Trump, appearing virtually, leaned forward, looking at Judge Juan Merchan, and referenced the November election, suggesting that it represented a repudiation of this case.

“It’s been a political witch hunt,” Trump explained. “It was done to damage my reputation so that I’d lose the election. And obviously, that didn’t work. And the people of our country got to see this firsthand because they watched the case in your courtroom. They got to see this firsthand. And then they voted, and I won.”

Assistant District Attorney Josh Steinglass stated that there wasย “overwhelming evidence to support the jury’s verdict” and was critical of Trump, claiming the president-elect “has caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system and has placed officers of the court in harm’s way”ย with the comments he publicly made during the trial.

“I very, very much disagree with much of what the government just said about this case, about the legitimacy of what happened in this courtroom during the trial and about President Trump’s conduct fighting this case from before it was indicted, while it was indicted, to the jury’s verdict, and even to this day,” Trumpโ€™s attorney Todd Blanche said in response to the prosecution.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: SUPREME COURT ALLOWS TRUMP TO BE TAINTED AS A FELON. BUT THERE’S A CATCH

Former President Donald Trump appears in court for arraignment before Judge Juan Merchan following his surrender to New York authorities at the New York County Criminal Court. (Seth Wenig-Pool Photo via USA TODAY)
Former President Trump appears in court for arraignment before Judge Juan Merchan following his surrender to New York authorities at the New York County Criminal Court in April 2024.ย (Seth Wenig-Pool Photo via USA TODAY)

During the hearing, Merchan defended the actions he took along the way. 

“The imposition of sentence is one of the most difficult decisions that any criminal court judge is called to make,” Merchan said, noting the court “must consider the facts of the case along with any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.”

Merchan reflected on the case, saying that “never before has this court been presented with such a unique set of circumstances.” The judge said it was an “extraordinary case” with media interest and heightened security but said that once the courtroom doors were closed, the trial itself “was not any more unique or extraordinary” than any other case.

Merchan acknowledged that Trump is afforded significant legal protections but argued that “one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict.”

“Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume the second term in office,” Merchan said at the close of the hearing.

Justice Juan Merchan instructs the jury before deliberations as Donald Trump looks on
In this courtroom sketch, Justice Juan Merchan instructs the jury at Manhattan state court in New York City on May 29, 2024, before deliberations during former President Trump’s criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.ย (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)

Merchan’s unconditional discharge sentence means there is no punishment imposed: no jail time, fines or probation. The sentence also preserves Trump’s ability to appeal the conviction. 

“After careful analysis, this court determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction is an unconditional discharge,” Merchan said Friday. “At this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts.”ย 

Trumpโ€™s team said in court that they will appeal the conviction, and he will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 20. 

Fox News Digitalโ€™s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.


By: Jonathan Turley | January 10, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/10/with-the-trump-sentencing-the-verdict-is-in-for-the-new-york-legal-system/

Below is my column at Fox.com on the sentencing of President-Elect Donald Trump. The conviction should be overturned on appeal. However, the most lasting judgment will be against the New York court system itself in allowing this travesty of justice to occur.

Here is the column:

With the sentencing of Donald Trump Friday, the final verdict on the New York criminal trial of the president-elect is in. The verdict is not the one that led to no jail or probation for the incoming president. Acting Justice Juan Merchan has brought down the gavel on the New York legal system as a whole.

Once considered the premier legal system in the country, figures like New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Justices Arthur F. Engoron and Juan Merchan have caused the system to be weaponized for political purposes. Trump will walk away from this trial and into the White House in less than two weeks, but the New York system will walk into infamy after this day.

The case has long been denounced by objective legal observers, including intense Trump critics, as a legal absurdity. Even CNNโ€™s senior legal analyst Elie Honig denounced the case as legally flawed and unprecedented while Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., simply called it total โ€œbโ€”sโ€“t.โ€

It is a case based on a non-crime. Bragg took a long-dead misdemeanor and zapped it back into life with a novel and unfounded theory. By using federal violations that were never charged, let alone tried, Bragg turned a misdemeanor into dozens of felonies and essentially tried Trump for federal offenses.

Merchan not only allowed those charges to be brought to trial but then added layers of reversible errors in the effort to bag Trump at any cost.  For that, he was lionized by the liberal media and many New Yorkers. However, Trump still managed to pull in 3.6 million New York votes, or 42.7%, in the 2024 election. After all of the lawfare and every advantage (including a heavily biased media and a larger war chest), Vice President Kamala Harris lost hundreds of thousands of votes in 2024 in comparison to Joe Biden just four years earlier.

Many polls showed that the public saw the Manhattan criminal case for what it was: raw lawfare targeting a leading political opponent. The election itself felt like the largest verdict in history as citizens rejected the political, legal, and media establishments in one of our nationโ€™s most historic elections.

The New York court system will now have a chance to redeem itself, but few are holding their breath. The appellate court has still not ruled on an appeal of Attorney General Lettia Jamesโ€™s equally absurd civil lawsuit against Trump. Despite judges expressing skepticism over Engoronโ€™s use of a law to impose a grotesque $455 million in fines and interest, we are still waiting for a decision.

Most are waiting for this criminal case to escape the vortex of the New York court system. With this appeal, this peddlerโ€™s wagon of reversible errors will finally pull up in front of the Supreme Court itself.

With its ruling on Thursday night, the setting for a decision could not be better for Trump. Theย Supreme Courtย has again demonstrated that it has shown restraint and independence in these cases. In response to the ruling, Trump struck the perfect note Thursday night and declined to criticize the Court, stating that โ€œThis is a long way from finished and I respect the courtโ€™s opinion.โ€

The ultimate penalty on Friday morning fromย Judge Merchanย reflects the lack of seriousness in the case. It was more inflated than the Goodyear blimp, pumped up by hot rage and rhetoric. The sentence was the pinprick that showed the massive void within this case.

The verdict is in. The New York legal system has rendered it against itself.

Jonathan Turley is a Fox News Media contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University.ย He is the author of โ€œThe Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rageโ€ (Simon & Schuster, June 18, 2024).


By: American Patriot | January 8, 2025

Read more at https://libertyonenews.com/adam-schiff-signals-potential-for-new-trump-impeachment/

Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA)

Donald Trump is set to return to the White House as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, 2025, after securing both the Electoral College and the popular vote in a historic victory. For Republicans, this marks a turning point and a chance to advance their legislative agenda without the same gridlock that characterized much of Trumpโ€™s first term.

However, the former presidentโ€™s triumph also heralds a new chapter in the bitter partisan battles that have defined American politics in recent years. Leading the charge from the Democratic side is Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), who has already indicated his readiness to scrutinize Trumpโ€™s administrationโ€”and potentially impeach him again.

One of the key victories for Republicans in the 2024 election was retaking control of the Senate. This development provides a legislative stronghold to support Trumpโ€™s policy initiatives and block Democratic resistance. GOP leaders have emphasized that Senate control is vital not only to push forward Trumpโ€™s agenda but also to safeguard against Democratic attempts to stymie his administration through investigations or impeachment.

During his first term, Trump faced significant opposition from a divided Congress, which resulted in two impeachment trials. This time, with the Senate firmly in Republican hands, Trump enters office with a stronger foundation to implement his policies.

Despite Trumpโ€™s fortified position, Democrats are not backing down. Adam Schiff, who played a prominent role in Trumpโ€™s first impeachment trial, has already made his intentions clear. Speaking in a recent interview, Schiff declared: โ€œIf he abuses his office, we will vigorously push back, fight back, stand up to him as we had to do during his first term in office.โ€

Schiffโ€™s statement reflects a broader Democratic strategy to closely monitor Trumpโ€™s actions and hold him accountable for any perceived misconduct. However, what Democrats define as โ€œabusing his officeโ€ has often been a contentious issue. Critics argue that during Trumpโ€™s first term, ordinary executive actions were frequently portrayed as egregious oversteps, leading to constant investigations and political turmoil.

Unlike his first term, Trumpโ€™s return to the presidency comes with a clearer mandate. Winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College demonstrates a broad base of support, which could empower him to act with greater confidence.

For his supporters, this victory is a vindication of Trumpโ€™s leadership and policies. They see his second term as an opportunity to continue the work he began in his first administration, this time with fewer obstacles.

At the same time, Trumpโ€™s opponents, including Schiff, remain prepared to challenge his every move. Democrats have framed their vigilance as a defense of democracy, while Trumpโ€™s backers dismiss it as yet another round of obstructionism.

Trumpโ€™s first term was marked by relentless legal and political battles, many of which his supporters labeled as โ€œlawfare.โ€ Efforts to investigate and prosecute Trump through various means ultimately failed to derail his presidency or diminish his influence.


A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Where Thereโ€™s Smoke

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 10, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-where-theres-smoke-3/

Californis Fires Dems at Fault
A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

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A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ S. California fires all lay at the foot of the Democrats. Theyโ€™ve been so focused on DEI, LGBTQ, the Green Agenda scam, etc. They have failed to do the job of protecting their citizens.
Their poor forest management, DEI hiring, shortage of firefighters due to COVID firings, and lack of water in the reservoirs so they can protect the tiny smelt fish. To name a few.

WAYNE ROOT: Wildfire Alone Didnโ€™t Destroy Los Angeles. How the Dumb, Radical, Leftโ€™s 6 Favorite Obsessions Made the Fire Unstoppable- Woke DEI, Climate Extremism, Homelessness, Vaccines, Open Borders & Ukraine

By Assistant Editor  โ€“ The Gateway Pundit โ€“ Jan 9, 2025
I left Malibu, California 23 yrs ago because of high taxes and liberal morons. I just couldnโ€™t take the liberals and their crazy, radical, extreme ideas anymore. I moved to Las Vegas. It was the best move of my life.
In Las Vegas we have no taxes- no income tax, no business tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and among the lowest property taxes in America. Guns are legal. The sun is always out. And everyone I know is a conservative MAGA Trump supporter. You know what I call that? HEAVENโ€ฆ READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons โ€“ Tips accepted and appreciated โ€“ $1.00 โ€“ $5.00 โ€“ $25.00 โ€“ $50.00 โ€“ it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco โ€“ THANK YOU!

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 โ€œThe Washington Post.โ€ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh Dโ€™Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.


Thursday, January 9, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขFacebook and Instagram Ban LifeNews for Sharing Pro-Life Video
โ€ขGovernor Ron DeSantis Will Headline National March for Life
โ€ข Planned Parenthood Official Ousted From Texas Medical Board
โ€ขTennessee Abortions Drop 47% During First 6 Months of Abortion Ban
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Facebook and Instagram Ban LifeNews for Sharing Pro-Life Video

Governor Ron DeSantis Will Headline National March for Life

Planned Parenthood Official Ousted From Texas Medical Board

Tennessee Abortions Drop 47% During First Months of Abortion Ban

Joe Biden Leaves Office With His Approval Rating at Rock Bottom

After Biden’s Abortion Agenda, Trump Can Bring Pro-Life Change

 

Twins Born at 22 Weeks and Weighing 1 Pound Survive

Abortion Pill Reversal is Saving Thousands of Babies From Abortions

MORE PRO-LIFE NEWS FROM TODAY

Canada Killed Over 15,000 People Under MAiD Euthanasia Program

Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Illinois Law Censoring Pro-Life Speech

Virginians, Tell Your Legislators to Oppose Abortions Up to Birth

New Mexico Supreme Court Rules Cities and Counties Canโ€™t Ban Abortions

Comments orquestions? Email us at news@lifenews.com.
Copyright 2003-2025 LifeNews.com. All rights reserved.
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By ย Jimmy Parker | January 9, 2025

Read more at https://pagetraveler.com/dei-ets-fire-to-california-adam-carolla-exposes-discriminatory-firefighter-policies/

In recent years, there has been much debate over DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies and their destructive consequences. However, the truth is, this has been an ongoing issue for quite some time.

During a Congressional testimony several years ago, comedian Adam Carolla shared a shocking story from his own personal experience. He applied to become a firefighter in Los Angeles, a job that is known for its heroic efforts and selfless service. However, he was told that as a white male, he would have to wait years just to take the test.

This is a clear example of how DEI policies are damaging and counterproductive. Communities in California are facing devastating wildfires, yet the very policies that were put in place to promote diversity and fairness are the ones hindering the hiring of qualified individuals for these crucial roles.

Carolla recounted his experience, saying, โ€œGeez, I want to talk about my white privilege so badly. I graduated high school with a 1.7 GPA and couldnโ€™t find a job. I walked to a fire station and asked for a job, but was told I couldnโ€™t have one because I wasnโ€™t black, Hispanic, or a woman. They told me to come back in 7 years.โ€

Watch

He continued, โ€œI had a young woman of color standing behind me in line, and I asked her when she signed up to become a firefighter. She said, โ€˜Wednesday.โ€™ That is an example of my white privilege.โ€

Itโ€™s absurd to think that politics would take priority over creating the most efficient and effective firefighting force. Yet, this is exactly what is happening in Los Angeles.

The liberal media often pushes the narrative of โ€œsystemic racismโ€ and the need for diversity and inclusivity. But the reality is, these very policies are the root cause of the problems we face today. Carollaโ€™s story is just one of many examples of how these policies are not only discriminatory but also detrimental to society.

Enough is enough. Itโ€™s time for the truth to come to light and for these destructive policies to be replaced with fair and merit-based hiring practices. We cannot continue to let the liberal agenda ruin our communities and endanger our lives.


Thursday, 09 January 2025 04:23 PM EST

Read more at https://www.newsmax.com/us/transgender-title-ix-women/2025/01/09/id/1194490/

The Biden administration’s Title IX rules expanding regulationsย for LGBTQ+ students have been struck down nationwide after a federal judge in Kentucky found they overstepped the president’s authority. In a decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves scrapped the entire 1,500-page regulation after deciding it was “fatally” tainted by legal shortcomings. The rule had already been halted in 26 states after a wave of legal challenges by Republican states. President-elect Donald Trump previously promised to end the rules “on day one” and made anti-transgender themes a centerpiece of his campaign.

The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. In a statement, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called it a “victory for the protection of girls’ privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically accurate pronouns.”

The Education Department did not immediately comment on the decision.

The Biden administration ignited controversy when it finalized the new rules last year. The regulation expanded Title IX, a 1972 law forbidding discrimination based on sex in education, to also prevent discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. It also expanded the definition of harassment to include a broader range of misconduct.

Civil rights advocates hailed it as a victory, saying it gave LGBTQ+ students new recourse against discrimination. But it drew outrage from conservatives who said it could be used to protect transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

The rule didn’t explicitly address athletics and mostly detailed how schools and colleges were required to respond to cases of discrimination and sexual assault. A separate proposal dealing with transgender athletes in sports was put on the backburner and later revoked after it became a focal point of Trump’s campaign. In his decision, Reeves found the Education Department overstepped its authority by expanding the scope of Title IX.

There’s nothing in the 1972 law suggesting that it should cover any more than it has since Congress created it, Reeves wrote. He called it an “attempt to bypass the legislative process and completely transform Title IX.”

The judge also found that it violated free speech rights by requiring teachers to use pronouns aligning with a student’s gender identity.

“The First Amendment does not permit the government to chill speech or compel affirmance of a belief with which the speaker disagrees in this manner,” Reeves wrote.

Rather than carve out certain aspects of the rule, Reeves decided it was best to toss the regulation in its entirety and revert to a previous interpretation of Title IX. He said his decision will “simply โ€˜cause a return to the status quo’ that existed for more than 50 years prior to its effective date.”

Among the biggest critics of the rule was Betsy DeVos, former education secretary during Trump’s first term. On the social media site X, she wrote that the “radical, unfair, illegal, and absurd Biden Title IX rewrite is GONE.”

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.


By: Kevin Jackson | January 9, 2025

Read more at https://theblacksphere.net/2025/01/democrats-delusional-security-blanket/

For decades, Democrats have treated the popular vote as the ultimate barometer of legitimacy in presidential elections. Itโ€™s their comfort zone, their โ€œwinโ€ even when they lose.

And then came the election of 2024.

When Donald Trump not only secured the Electoral College but also crushed the popular vote in 2024, it was more than a mere political defeatโ€”it was an existential crisis. The Left had banked on retaining the moral high ground, even in a hypothetical but inevitable Kamala Harris loss. They planned on clutching their beloved โ€œpopular vote victoryโ€ narrative. Then, Trumpโ€™s decisive win kicked their ideological stool right out from under them.

The backlash was predictable: a masterclass in Leftism 101โ€”whine, bitch, rinse, repeat.

Election Denial, the Democrat Way

Letโ€™s address the elephantโ€”or donkey in this caseโ€”in the room. The same Democrats who incessantly accuse Republicans of being โ€œelection deniersโ€ have a rich history of refusing to accept election outcomes they donโ€™t like. Their hypocrisy was on full display in 2016 when Hillary Clinton and her supporters pushed the โ€œRussia collusionโ€ hoax to delegitimize Trumpโ€™s presidency. Fast forward to 2024, and theyโ€™ve simply swapped out the script but kept the act.

Among the Leftโ€™s most vocal election deniers is Michael Podhorzer, a former AFL-CIO operative and fellow at the Center for American Progress. Podhorzer absurdly claimed that Trump didnโ€™t really win the popular vote in 2024. His rationale? A convoluted cocktail of cherry-picked data and wishful thinking. Podhorzer isnโ€™t alone in his denialismโ€”he joins a long list of Leftist luminaries like Rick Wilson, James Carville, and Allan Lichtman, all of whom confidently predicted a Harris victory and were proven spectacularly wrong.

And letโ€™s not forget the โ€œRussia, Russia, Russiaโ€ chorus from 2016, starring Clinton herself, bolstered by Stacey Abrams, who to this day insists she won the Georgia governorโ€™s race in 2018. If denial were an Olympic sport, the Democratic Party would sweep the medals.

Trump: The Peopleโ€™s Choice

What truly terrifies the Left isnโ€™t just Trumpโ€™s winโ€”itโ€™s his growing popularity. Despite years of relentless demonization, Trump emerged as the most popular politician in American history, leaving even his critics scratching their heads. His ability to resonate with everyday Americans, even in the face of unprecedented media and institutional attacks, is nothing short of remarkable.

Democrats tried everything to suppress his 2024 bid. They slapped him with the โ€œfelonโ€ label, orchestrated smear campaigns, and unleashed their full propaganda machine. Yet Trumpโ€™s numbers soared. Imagine how overwhelming his victory might have been without the Leftโ€™s interference.

In states with voter ID laws, Trumpโ€™s dominance was undeniable. Harris clung to victory only in states where voter ID wasnโ€™t requiredโ€”a clear indicator of foul play. Without these dubious practices, Harris would have faced a landslide loss of epic proportions.

The Billionaire Betrayal

Adding salt to the wound, some of the wealthiest individuals in America, including Silicon Valley billionaires, have thrown their support behind Trump. The Left, once proud of its tech-savvy allies, now finds itself abandoned by many of the same figures who helped fuel their rise. This shift has left Democrats reeling, as their narrative of Trump being universally despised crumbles before their eyes.

The Leftโ€™s Desperate Clinging

In their desperation, Democrats now embrace figures like Podhorzer, who swim against the tide of reality to keep hope alive. These self-proclaimed โ€œdefenders of democracyโ€ cling to their denial like a lifeline, even as their arguments grow increasingly absurd. But the truth is inescapable: Trump won, and he won big.

Whatโ€™s next for the Left? More whining, more protests, and more finger-pointing. But as they flail in denial, the rest of the country moves forward, united behind a president who defied the odds and emerged as the undeniable choice of the American people.

Humorously, the Democratsโ€™ desperation brings to mind an old adage: โ€œIf you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.โ€ Instead, theyโ€™ve opted for dynamiteโ€”because why just dig when you can destroy the whole foundation of your argument?

As we watch this political theater unfold, one thing is clear: the Democratsโ€™ love affair with the popular vote has officially turned into a tragicomedy.


By: Jonathan Turley | January 9, 2025

Read more at https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/09/snail-darter-rip-the-species-that-shut-down-the-tellico-dam-may-not-actually-exist/

In the annals of environmental law, no creature is more famous than the Snail Darter, the endangered species that shut down completion of the Tellico Dam in the 1970s. It required congressional legislation to allow the dam to be finished after years in the courts where judges maintained that the species had to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. According to the New York Times., the species may turn out to be as mythical as a unicorn.

The controversy began in 1967 when the Tennessee Valley Authority started constructing a dam on the Little Tennessee River, roughly 20 miles outside Knoxville. Environmentalists and locals opposed the project and, in 1973, a zoologist at the University of Tennessee namedย David Etnierย went snorkeling with his students and found a possible solution. He spotted a small fish and called it a โ€œsnail darterโ€ because of its movements and eating habits. He reportedly announced,ย โ€œHereโ€™s a little fish that might save your farm.โ€

Dr. Zygmunt Plater, an environmental law professor at Boston College, represented the snail darter before the Supreme Court. He did an excellent job, and, in 1978, the Supreme Courtย ruledย that โ€œthe Endangered Species Act prohibits impoundment of the Little Tennessee River by the Tellico Damโ€ to protect the endangered snail darters.

That was then.

The Times now quotes Thomas Near, the curator of ichthyology at the Yale Peabody Museum who leads a fish biology lab at the university, that โ€œthere is, technically, no snail darter.โ€ Worse yet, it was actually just another member of the eastern population of Percina uranidea, or stargazing darters, which isย not considered endangered. Near and his colleagues have published the results inย Current Biology

In other words, years of litigation and millions of dollars were spent on what was a false claim, and the courts accepted the claims hook, line, and sinker.

Under the ESA, the snail darter was listed as protected and therefore triggered Section 7 of the Act barring federal agencies from undertaking actions that could jeopardize a speciesโ€™ survival or destroy any of its critical habitat.

Inย Tennessee Valley Auth. v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978), Chief Justice Warren Burger noted that the finding of this โ€œpreviously unknown species of perchโ€ changed everything on a legal level. He added:

โ€œUntil recently, the finding of a new species of animal life would hardly generate aย cause celebre.ย This is particularly so in the case of darters, of which there are approximately 130 known species, 8 to 10 of these having been identified only in the last five years. The moving force behind the snail darterโ€™s sudden fame came some four months after its discovery, when the Congress passed the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), 87 Stat. 884, 16 U.S.C. ยง 1531ย et seq.ย (1976 ed.).โ€

Plater insisted that Dr. Near is merely a โ€œlumperโ€ who tends to rely on genetics rather than being a โ€œsplitterโ€ who proliferates new species. Dr. Plater added that โ€œwhether he intends it or not, lumping is a great way to cut back on the Endangered Species Act.โ€

That was a particularly revealing point from the law professor since it suggests what could be an overwhelming motive could be legal and not scientific in declaring the new species โ€” the very objection raised in the litigation and denied by many advocates.

Roughly three years ago, the government declared victory in restoring the snail darter and the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing it from the ESA list of threatened species.


A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ New Flag, Eh?

A.F. Branco |ย onย January 9, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-new-flag-eh/

Canada 51st State?
A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

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A.F. Branco Cartoon โ€“ Thereโ€™s a lot of talk of Canada becoming a part of the United States. Is it just trolling, or is it a real feasible possibility? There are many Canadian citizens open to the idea after enduring the tyrannical rule of PM Justin Trudeau (Castro Jr).

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Finally Responds to Trumpโ€™s โ€˜Vowโ€™ to Make Canada the 51st State โ€“ Gets Roasted on X

Cullen Linebarger โ€“ The Gateway Pundit โ€“  Jan 7, 2025

As The Gateway Punditโ€™s Jordan Conradson reported, soon-to-be former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as leader of his Liberal Party Monday morning during a news conference. He will remain Liberal leader and prime minister until his replacement is chosen in March.
This came following Trumpโ€™s vow last month to impose a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico in response to the โ€œillegal alien invasion and โ€˜promisingโ€™ to โ€˜annexโ€™ Canada as the 51st state. While Trudeau traveled to Mar-a-Lago to bend the knee to Trump on tariffs, he had noticeably remained silent on whether Canada should become another star on the American flag. READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons โ€“ Tips accepted and appreciated โ€“ $1.00 โ€“ $5.00 โ€“ $25.00 โ€“ $50.00 โ€“ it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco โ€“ THANK YOU!

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 โ€œThe Washington Post.โ€ He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh Dโ€™Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Trump.


Wednesday, January 8, 2025


Top Stories

โ€ขSnowstorm Shuts Down Planned Parenthood, Saving Babies From Abortions
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โ€ข Canadian Doctors Want to Euthanize Patients to Harvest Their Organs
โ€ขHer Exposure of Planned Parenthood May Get it Defunded
โ€ขScroll Down for More Pro-Life News

Snowstorm Shuts Down Planned Parenthood, Saving Babies

This Husband Was Arrested While Saving Babies at Abortion Clinic

Canadian Doctors Want to Euthanize Patients to Harvest Organs

Her Exposure of Planned Parenthood May Defund It

Abortions Continued Killing and Injuring Women in 2024

Tens of Thousands Will Join West Coast Walk for Life

 

Texas Must Stop Sales of Illegal Abortion Pills

Pro-Life Group Launches Campaign in 26 States

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