Category: blaze media

Leftists have infamously fought for men infiltrating women’s spaces — including locker rooms and bathrooms — despite it making women feel unsafe.

And until now, most left-wing talking heads have maintained the talking point that transgender women, or biological men, deserve to share women’s spaces. And which woman broke the trans-positive trend on the topic is shocking, to say the least.

“There would be women walking around with their boobies dangling, swinging in the breeze. And it’s not even, like, perky boobies, just boobies drooping to their knees. They kicking their boobies down the street and then want to walk up and have a conversation with you,” ex-MSNBC host Joy Reid began on her show, “Reid This Reid That.”

“And I’m like, don’t walk up to me with no clothes on and talk to me. I don’t want to talk to you. I would be disturbed. I’m telling you, I would be alarmed. I’m alarmed enough when I see a woman with her dangling boobies,” she continued.

“If I saw a penis in the ladies’ locker room, I would freak out too,” she said.

“This is nothing against trans anybody. What it’s saying is, if I turn around and I see a pee-pee, a penis, in front of me, inside of the room, I would probably go to management and say, ‘Wait a minute,’” she added.

Reid pointed out that it would be concerning from a “safety standpoint” and a “privacy standpoint.”

“This is what we’ve said a million times,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray says, astonished. “Why are the women’s sensibilities completely discounted here? It doesn’t make any sense for people who purport to care about women. It’s unreal.”

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A pair of Virginia brothers are facing charges related to an alleged plot to attack U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as retaliation for their enforcement of the law.

Mark Bennett, 59, and his younger brother John Bennett, a 54-year-old assistant principal at Virginia Beach’s Kempsville High School, were arrested on Wednesday at Norfolk International Airport and each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit malicious wounding.

‘Our ICE law enforcement is now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them.’

While having lunch at a pho restaurant in Virginia Beach on Nov. 15, an off-duty Norfolk police officer allegedly overheard the brothers discussing “how ICE agents are kidnapping individuals and that they needed to do something about it,” said the criminal complaint obtained by WTKR-TV.

Mark Bennett allegedly indicated during the conversation that he was planning to link up with like-minded people in Las Vegas and return with “enforcement ideas and plans.” He also allegedly indicated that he recently purchased a so-called assault rifle because “it utilizes the explosive rounds that are needed to penetrate the vests.”

The complaint claims that John Bennett said that he wanted to “go hunting” and signaled interest in flying to Vegas with his older brother.

While detectives confirmed that Mark Bennett was scheduled to make the flight on the day of his arrest, it’s unclear whether his brother similarly had a ticket to fly.

RELATED: Ramming attacks on ICE spike, endangering agents as Democrats continue to spew hateful rhetoric

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

“These allegations of violence against law enforcement, the very ones who protect and serve our communities, are incredibly alarming,” Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said in a statement. “We are grateful this information was brought to our attention. VBPD was able to work with various law enforcement agencies to assess the credibility of the information, leading to today’s arrests, ensuring the safety of both our law enforcement community and the public at large.”

Neither ICE nor Kempsville High School responded to Blaze News’ requests for comment by deadline.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools told WTKR that Bennett has been with the district since 2009 and is currently on leave.

During the brothers’ bond hearing on Thursday, the Bennetts’ attorneys claimed that the conversation overheard at the restaurant amounted to hearsay, that they were just joking around, and that neither brother posed a threat to the community, reported WVEC-TV.

The attorneys suggested further that the purpose of Mark Bennett’s trip to Las Vegas was to attend a Formula 1 race with his two sons.

The Bennetts were granted $25,000 bond but are confined to their homes and barred from contacting each other or possessing firearms.

ICE agents have faced an alarming number of threats and attacks in recent months. In some case, such as the sniper shooting in September at a Dallas facility, the attacks have proven deadly.

The Department of Homeland Security revealed this week that since Jan. 20, there have been 71 vehicular attacks against Customs and Border Protection agents and 28 vehicular attacks against ICE, amounting to 58% and 1,300% increases, respectively, of such attacks over the same period last year.

“Our ICE law enforcement is now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them while they risk their lives every single day to remove the worst of the worst,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said late last month.

“From bounties placed on their heads for their murders, threats to their families, stalking, and doxxing online, our officers are experiencing an unprecedented level of violence and threats against them and their families,” continued McLaughlin. “Make no mistake, sanctuary politicians are contributing to the surge in violent threats and assaults of our officers through their repeated vilification and demonization tactics, including gross comparisons to the Nazi Gestapo.”

The agency noted that concerned citizens can report doxxing and harassment against ICE officers by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or by completing ICE’s online tip form.

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​Crime, Mark bennett, John bennett, Kempsville, Norfolk, Virginia, Virginia beach, Us immigration and customs enforcement, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Illegal aliens, Illegal immigration, Deportation, Ice, Politics 

An attack on a Texas federal facility has led to five people admitting to offering support for terrorism as members of an Antifa cell.

It is the first time that criminal suspects admitted to being involved in an Antifa cell, contradicting claims from many on the left that Antifa does not exist as an organization.

‘Antifa is a militant enterprise that advocates insurrection and violence to affect the policy and conduct of the US government by intimidation and coercion.’

Seth Sikes, Joy Abigail Gibson, Lynette Read Sharp, Nathan Baumann, and John Phillip Thomas each agreed that they had planned “to provide resources and personnel” before the July 4th attack intentionally knowing that “they would be used to carry out acts of terrorism.”

The agreement allows them to limit their possible prison time to 15 years rather than face decades of imprisonment.

An officer was shot in the neck in the attack at the Prairieland Detention Facility after confronting a suspicious individual who appeared to be carrying a firearm. “Multiple suspects” fired upon the officer, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

The officer was treated at a hospital and released.

The expansive investigation into the incident led to charges being filed against a total of 18 people. Gibson, Baumann, and Sikes were present the night of the attack, while Sharp and Thomas helped the accused shooter evade authorities.

Baumann agreed to stipulated facts about the plot in his plea deal.

“Baumann found that others who participated in the acts against Prairieland adhered to an Antifa, revolutionary anarchist or autonomous Marxist ideology that is anti-law enforcement, anti-immigration enforcement, and calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law,” the deal read. “Antifa is a militant enterprise that advocates insurrection and violence to affect the policy and conduct of the U.S. government by intimidation and coercion.”

The five who agreed to a plea deal are also facing state charges from Johnson County prosecutors. The rest of the 18 suspects are facing numerous local and federal charges.

“The charges the Grand Jury has leveled against these defendants, including material support for terrorists, address the vicious attack perpetrated by an anti-ICE, anti-law enforcement, anti-government, anarchist group,” said acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson in the press release.

RELATED: Anti-ICE messaging on bullets at shooting scene of ICE facility in Dallas

An attorney for another suspect named Elizabeth Soto said she pleaded not guilty and would contest the accusations in court.

Some of the defendants and their attorneys said that they intended to protest the immigration policies of the Trump administration but did not intend for shots to be fired.

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​Prairieland attack, Ice facility attack, Antifa terror convictions, Antifa cell plea deals, Politics 

It seems some male basketball players are tired of having their skill levels compared to WNBA players.

After a former NBA player said the 2025 WNBA champions could beat an NBA team, a group of ballers decided to set the record straight with brutal honesty about how a matchup between the two sets of pros would play out.

‘I wish this would stop being a conversation.’

NBA players Michael Porter Jr., Lonzo Ball, and former pro LiAngelo Ball brought up the comparison of NBA players versus WNBA players on a recent episode of the “Ball in the Family Podcast.”

In just the second episode of the show’s existence, Porter decided he would contribute to its newsworthiness by asking the panel if they had heard that WNBA star Paige Bueckers claimed she could beat an NBA player head-to-head.

“Did you see when she said that she would beat Josh Hart one-on-one?” Porter asked.

“No chance,” the panel unanimously agreed, stating there was too big of a skill gap between Hart, who has averaged more than 10 points per game in his career, and a female pro.

The group then discussed what the age-appropriate matchup between a male and female basketball player would be, prompting the panel to drop brutal truths.

“Probably eighth grade,” Porter theorized, revealing he had actual experience playing against female college players as a teen.

“My sisters went to University of Missouri, and I was still a young dude, and they had me playing on the scout team, and they had a few WNBA players on their team, like Sophie Cunningham and a couple others. I think I was in seventh or eighth grade,” Porter continued.

He noted that he did indeed crush his female competitors at that time.

“It’s just a difference. I wish this would stop being a conversation because it should be common sense. But like, it’s just not,” he said.

Any viewers who thought the other panel members would jump to the defense of female players at this point were sorely mistaken. Particularly Lonzo Ball pulled no punches.

RELATED: Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter banned from NBA for life after disclosing info to bettor for $1.1 million bet

“I mean this as respectfully as possible, but ninth-grade Lonzo Ball in the WNBA is going crazy,” he said, speaking in third person.

Ball then brought out the measuring stick:

“In ninth grade, I was over six feet and dunking. I’m coming through the lane. No girl in the WNBA is doing that. I’m going backdoor, ‘Throw it up!’ I’m looking like Jordan out there,” he said.

Ball is no slouch in the NBA, and his 11-points per-game career average gives him the basis to make these claims.

“I mean this so respectfully. Middle school [and] down,” he added.

Earlier in the podcast, Porter outed his pro team for having reprimanded him in the past for talking about the differences between male and female players.

He explained that even within the Brooklyn Nets organization, “We’ve had conversations. They would appreciate if I stayed clear of certain topics, you know what I mean? That’s why the WNBA thing, that’s just a topic that kind of — it’s so sensitive nowadays. So I try to be aware of that.”

According to OutKick, Porter had previously strongly implied that if the WNBA All-Star team or the women’s Team USA basketball squad played the best male high school basketball players in the country, the boys would easily beat the women.

“It’s one of them things, bro. You can’t dance around it. In high school, when I was in high school … if we played the WNBA All-Star team, that, no disrespect, bro. No disrespect. I’m not even gonna say it,” Porter reportedly said.

RELATED: ‘They’re all hot garbage’: Whitlock goes NUCLEAR on the WNBA

Las Vegas Aces holds up the championship trophy after winning Game Four of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs finals at Mortgage Matchup Center on October 10, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images

In early October, 12-year NBA veteran (now retired) Pat Beverley said in an X post that the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces could give an NBA team a run for their money on the court.

“Idk if it’s the [wine] but i really believe this Aces team could beat a NBA team,” Beverley wrote.

The recent podcast panel reacted strongly to that claim with multiple guests simply responding, “That’s crazy.”

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​Fearless, Wnba, Women’s sports, Battle of the sexes, Basketball, Nba, Men’s sports, Sports 

​Culture, Humor, Quick draw, Tucker carslon, Ben shapiro, Leftists, Politics, Culture war 

Despite numerous setbacks, President Donald Trump remains committed to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine — a war that has resulted in over a million casualties and turned much of Eastern Ukraine into drone-netted wasteland.

To this end, his administration has drafted a 28-point peace plan that would give both warring parties something they want: for Russia, concessions to much of the land it presently occupies in Eastern Ukraine; and for Ukraine, a NATO-style security guarantee from the United States.

‘We’re back to square one.’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially expressed a willingness to work with the administration on the plan, which was presented to him in writing on Thursday by U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, but he has since joined others in casting doubt on its workability.

The plan

Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted on Wednesday evening, “Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas. And achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions.”

“That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict,” Rubio added.

RELATED: Zelenskyy’s hold on power uncertain as criminal charges reach his inner circle

Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The following day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff “have been working on a plan quietly for about the last month.”

“They have been engaging with both sides, Russia and Ukraine equally, to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace,” Leavitt continued. “That’s how you get to a peace negotiation.”

The plan’s 28 points as of Thursday are as follows, according to Axios and Agence France-Presse:

Ukraine’s sovereignty will be affirmed.A comprehensive non-aggression agreement between Russia, Ukraine, and Europe will be established, thereby settling all ambiguities of the last 30 years.The expectations that Russia will not invade neighboring countries and that NATO will not continue its expansion will be codified.A U.S.-mediated dialogue will be scheduled between Russia and NATO in order “to resolve all security issues and create conditions for de-escalation in order to ensure global security and increase opportunities for cooperation and future economic development.”Ukraine will receive an explicit security guarantee — apparently from the United States.Ukraine’s military will be limited to 600,000 personnel.Ukraine will codify in its constitution a prohibition on its joining NATO, and NATO will agree to statutorily forbid Ukraine’s admission in the future.NATO will agree not to station troops in Ukraine.European fighter jets will be stationed in neighboring Poland.The U.S. will receive compensation for its guarantee; invalidate the guarantee if Ukraine invades Russia or fires a missile at Moscow or St. Petersburg without cause; and revoke recognition of the new territory and respond both militarily as well as with global sanctions if Russia invades.Ukraine will be eligible for membership to the European Union and enjoy special access to the European market in the meantime.The U.S. and other parties will help rebuild Ukraine.Russia will be reintegrated in the the global economy.Frozen Russian assets will be poured into American-led efforts to rebuild Ukraine — a venture from which the U.S. will receive 50% of profits.A U.S.-Russian working group on security issues will be established to ensure compliance with all provisions of the agreement.Russia will codify a policy of non-aggression toward Europe and Ukraine.The U.S. and Russia will “agree to extend the validity of treaties on the non-proliferation and control of nuclear weapons, including the START I Treaty.”Ukraine will agree not to acquire or develop nuclear bombs.The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will be launched under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and distribute electricity equally between Russia and Ukraine.In addition to both nations implementing educational anti-discrimination programs and guaranteeing the rights of Ukrainian and Russian media and education, Ukraine will deal with its Nazi infestation and adopt EU rules on religious tolerance and the protection of linguistic minorities.The U.S. will recognize Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk as de facto Russian; Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will be divided along the current line of contact; Russia will cede other territories under its control outside the five regions; and Ukrainian forces with abandon the part of Donetsk Oblast currently under their control, which will become a neutral demilitarized buffer zone.Once the territorial arrangements are settled, neither Russia nor Ukraine will attempt to change them by force.Russia will not prevent Ukraine from using the Dnieper River for commercial activities, and agreement will be made on the free transport of grain across the Black Sea.A humanitarian committee will be established to deal with prisoner exchanges as well as the return of remains, hostages, and civilian detainees. A family reunification program will also be implemented.Ukraine will hold elections in 100 days.All parties involved in the conflict will receive full amnesty for their actions during the war and agree not to consider any complaints in the future.The agreement will be legally binding, and sanctions will be imposed for violations.The ceasefire will take effect immediately after both sides retreat to agreed points and begin implementing the terms of the agreement.

Flies in the ointment

European diplomats and other establishmentarians immediately began clutching pearls over the plan, apparently convinced that there is yet a better way to resolve or win what is effectively an 11-year-old war.

“We’re back to square one,” one senior European official told the Financial Times.

Another European diplomat working on a response to Trump’s plan said, “It basically means capitulation [to Moscow].”

“For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board,” said European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. “We haven’t heard of any concessions on the Russian side.”

RELATED: Orbán emphasizes to Trump that Hungary survives today as Christian ‘island of difference in a liberal ocean’

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, “Peace cannot be a capitulation.”

‘Our red lines are clear and unwavering.’

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, for instance, suggested that the plan was a “surrender agreement,” adding that “Ukrainian courage and patriotism should not be betrayed by Americans growing tired of stopping evil.”

Douglas Murray, a gay neoconservative who complained last year that the West was “drunk on peace,” wrote in his New York Post column, “Perhaps this is just an opening gambit, but it must be clear to any observer that these are not terms that any Ukrainian government could agree to.”

The Institute for the Study of War said that “the stipulations of the reported 28-point Russia-U.S. peace plan amount to Ukraine’s full capitulation to Russia’s original war demands.”

Zelenskyy, whose presidential term officially ended 18 months ago, initially broke from the naysayers, tweeting on Thursday, “Our teams — of Ukraine and the United States — will work on the provisions of the plan to end the war. We are ready for constructive, honest and swift work.”

However, in a 10-minute address on Friday to his beleaguered nation, Zelenskyy framed the choice of accepting the peace plan in dire terms.

“Now the pressure on Ukraine is one of the most difficult. Now Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelenskyy said. “Either [Trump’s] 28 points or an extremely difficult winter, the most difficult and further risks — life without freedom, without dignity, without justice.”

The previous day, Zelenskyy stated, “It is important that the outcome be a dignified peace.”

Kristina Gayovishin, Ukraine’s deputy permanent representative to the U.N., effectively told the globalist body’s security council that concessions to Moscow and military reductions were off the table.

“While Ukraine stands ready to engage in meaningful negotiations to end this war, our red lines are clear and unwavering,” Gayovishin said. “There will never be any recognition, formal or otherwise, of Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as Russian. Our land is not for sale.”

“We will not accept any limits on our right to self-defense or on the size and capabilities of our armed force,” the Ukrainian diplomat continued. “Nor will we tolerate any infringement on our sovereignty, including our sovereign right to choose the alliances we want to join.”

Gayovishin added, “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. And nothing about Europe without Europe.”

American officials have emphasized that the 28-point peace plan is a working document and therefore prone to change.

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​Zelenskyy, Ukraine, Russia, War, Peace plan, President donald trump, Trump, Europe, Intervention, Forever war, Conflict, Politics 

A former Olympic snowboarder is on the FBI Most Wanted List for allegedly spearheading a multicultural trafficking organization.

Ryan James Wedding is a 44-year-old former snowboarder from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, who competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He took part in the men’s Parallel Giant Slalom for Canada, finishing 24th.

However, that would seemingly be the last time Wedding dealt with literal snow before becoming an accused cocaine trafficker.

‘Ryan Wedding controls one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in this world.’

According to Sporting News, Wedding’s first drug charges came six years after his Olympics appearance, when he was arrested in San Diego for cocaine trafficking and later convicted for conspiracy to possess and distribute.

Now, the FBI has placed Wedding on its top 10 most-wanted list and, working with the Department of Justice and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, has charged him with overseeing the operations of a criminal enterprise, engaging in witness intimidation, and profiting off of laundered drug money.

Wedding is believed to be in Mexico, where he is currently being sheltered by cartel associates.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “Ryan Wedding controls one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in this world and works closely with the Sinaloa Cartel.”

She added, “We will not rest until his name is taken off the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List, and his narco-trafficking organization lies dismantled.”

Details of Wedding’s witness intimidation came from the DOJ, which said he ordered a hit on a witness in a federal narcotics case.

RELATED: Police walked right past DNC pipe bomb to first look under a bush where bomber sat 17 hours earlier

Wedding allegedly placed a bounty on the head of a witness for a 2024 indictment and enlisted others to locate and kill him. The witness was shot to death in a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia.

Not only is Wedding said to have ordered the assassinations of others as well, but perhaps shockingly, it was allegedly Wedding’s lawyer who advised him to put out the hit on the 2024 witness.

Deepak Balwant Paradkar, a 62-year-old barrister residing in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, allegedly advised Wedding to murder the victim in order to avoid extradition to the United States from Mexico. Paradkar also improperly provided Wedding with court documents and access to members of his enterprise who had been arrested.

Wedding is charged with a multitude of crimes stemming from the 2024 indictment, including continuing criminal enterprise, assorted drug trafficking charges, and directing the murder of two members of a family from Caledon, Ontario, Canada, in November 2023.

Those killings were reportedly in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment in California. A third family member was also shot but survived the injuries.

RELATED: LeBron James’ closest allies now in the spotlight for shocking NBA gambling probe

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

“Ryan Wedding and his associates allegedly imported tons of cocaine each year from Colombia through Mexico and onto the streets of U.S. communities,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “His criminal activities and violent actions will not be tolerated, and this is a clear signal that the FBI will use our resources and expertise to find Ryan Wedding and bring him and his associates to justice.”

The diverse cast of characters involved in the case included Edwin Basora-Hernandez, a reggaeton musician from the Dominican Republic, who provided the contact information for the aforementioned witness, which helped assassins locate him.

Gursewak Singh Bal, co-founder of the Dirty News website, allegedly took money in exchange for not posting about Wedding, and instead posting a photograph of the aforementioned witness.

A $15 million reward for information leading to Wedding’s arrest or prosecution was issued by the U.S. government, with another $2 million in reward money offered for similar information on each of the assassins.

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​Fearless, Crime, Canada, Olympics, Snow boarding, Drugs, Trafficking, Cartel, Mexico, Colombia, Sports, Snowboarding 

A postal worker was arrested for allegedly helping a man briefly escape detention from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Long Island.

Tamara Mayorga-Wong, 57, was charged with obstructing a federal proceeding over the incident from Nov. 5 in front of a 7-Eleven convenience store next to a post office in Westhampton.

Mayorga-Wong scolded a bilingual deportation officer by asking in English as well as Spanish, ‘Why are you doing this to your people?’

Homeland Security Investigations said the man had been placed in the back of a police vehicle when Mayorga-Wong ran up and opened the door to let him escape. She was wearing her USPS uniform at the time.

HSI said she told them, “You can’t do this!”

The detention officers were able to nab the detained man again, and they went to put Mayorga-Wong into custody as well. She was trying to get into her personal vehicle and responded to the officers by kicking at them and flailing her arms.

The complaint says that Mayorga-Wong scolded a bilingual deportation officer by asking in English as well as Spanish, “Why are you doing this to your people?”

WABC-TV captured video of the woman leaving federal court in Central Islip on Thursday.

RELATED: Outrage ensues when 13-year-old is arrested by ICE — then DHS releases devastating accusations

She also allegedly asked the officers if they were from Mexico and if they had children.

“What are you going to tell your children about what you do?” she reportedly asked them.

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​Postal worker arrested, Tamara mayorga-wong, Ice detention operation, Ice deportations, Politics 

President Trump is right to turn his gaze toward the meatpacking industry. It’s one of the dirtiest businesses in America — not just in hygiene, but in habit. I grew up around beef cattle, familiar with the blood and bone that keep this machine alive.

What was once a farmer’s trade has become a monopoly’s empire. Four corporations now control nearly 85% of U.S. beef processing. They set the prices, squeeze the ranchers, and pass the pain to consumers — all while preaching “market efficiency,” that modern hymn for exploitation.

When the men who raise the cattle can’t afford to eat steak and the companies that kill them post record earnings, something stinks — and it isn’t the beef.

The transformation wasn’t sudden. It crept in, one merger at a time, one farm foreclosure after another. The local slaughterhouse — once a fixture of every rural county — vanished, replaced by sprawling steel citadels where flesh and spirit move down the same assembly line. The small family business that once sponsored Little League or donated to the parish fundraiser is gone, its name buried beneath a global brand logo. What remains is meat without meaning: shrink-wrapped, standardized, and severed from life.

Bled dry

The result is as dire as it is deliberate. Independent ranchers are being bled dry. Farmers sell out not because they want to, but because the alternative is bankruptcy. When four conglomerates dictate what you earn, what you buy, and what you eat, the free market ceases to be free — it becomes feudal. The serfs still wear denim and drive pickups, but they serve the same masters: corporate overlords with billion-dollar appetites and offshore addresses.

Consumers don’t fare much better. They pay more for lesser cuts, duped into believing the illusion of abundance. The supermarket shelves are full of choice, but the choice has already been made. The labels may differ, but the profits lead to the same boardrooms. When the men who raise the cattle can’t afford to eat steak and the companies that kill them post record earnings, something stinks — and it isn’t the beef.

RELATED: ‘Farmer’ George Clooney wouldn’t last a minute with my family’s sheep

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Andia/Getty Images

Corporate cleavers

The story is no different across the Atlantic. In Europe, the meat trade has been quietly butchered by the same corporate cleavers. Small abattoirs — the lifeblood of rural France, Ireland, and Spain — have disappeared beneath the weight of regulation and consolidation. What used to be an honest trade of handshakes and hanging carcasses is now ruled by faceless conglomerates answering to Brussels and shareholders in Frankfurt. The European Union speaks loftily of “sustainability,” but its policies have done more to sustain monopolies than livelihoods.

Ask a French farmer about EU policy, and you’ll get a shrug somewhere between despair and disgust. In Ireland, cattle farmers — men like my father, who once fed nations through famine and war — now feed debt. In Germany, abattoir workers live in company dorms, shipped in from Eastern Europe to keep costs down. The romance of the pastoral has been replaced by the cold arithmetic of the spreadsheet.

From beef to bugs

Meanwhile, consumers are told to eat less meat “for the planet.” How convenient for the corporations that now sell the alternatives — lab-grown patties and insect protein, neatly packaged in recyclable guilt. They’ve found a way to profit from both sides of the moral ledger: first by monopolizing real meat, then by marketing its replacement. It’s a master class in hypocrisy and a catastrophe for the working class.

Trump’s decision to investigate the industry won’t fix a century of collusion overnight, but it is a long-overdue reckoning. For decades, Democrats and Republicans alike treated Big Meat as too big to question. The lobbyists wrote the laws, the lawyers buried the lawsuits, and the bureaucrats looked away. The result is a landscape where cattle ranchers depend on corporations that despise them and consumers rely on supply chains that could snap at any moment.

Food, the most basic human need, has become another instrument of control. When you own the meat, you own the man. Farmers used to raise herds; now they herd invoices and inspectors.

It’s tempting to believe that this system is simply broken. It isn’t. It works exactly as designed — to enrich the few and exhaust the many. The old rural ideal of self-reliance has been slaughtered on the altar of efficiency. What we are left with is a parody of plenty: full shelves, empty towns, and even emptier pockets..

Trump’s probe may not slay the beast, but at least someone is willing to pull back the curtain and show the nation what’s really being carved up. For decades, the Big Four packers have sliced the market to ribbons, fixing prices while farmers starved and consumers paid the bill. Now, for the first time in generations, there’s a man in power with the will to carve them up instead. Call it poetic justice: The butchers may finally find themselves on the block.

​Lifestyle, Meatpacking industry, Donald trump, Big business, Monopolizing meat, Fake meat, Insect burger, Beefs 

Infamous YouTube prankster Jack Doherty faces serious jail time after a run-in with police in Miami Beach last weekend.

The charges — which include possession of a controlled substance, possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana, and resisting an officer without violence — could get the baby-faced boor up to seven years in prison.

‘After we duel, sir.’

After going viral with his “flipping” videos as a teen, Doherty has amassed a huge following — and a reputation for obnoxious public behavior — over the last decade.

Doherty was filming content for his over 15 million YouTube subscribers while parked in the middle of the street in Miami when local police asked him to move. That’s when the trouble began.

In a video uploaded to TikTok, Doherty is heard responding to the request by telling police, “I challenge y’all to a duel,” as he plays a gambling app on his phone. Repeated requests by the police were met with the same response. “After we duel, sir.”

Fed-up cops placed Doherty under arrest, before conducting a search that led to a string of charges.

RELATED: ‘The Naked Gun’ creator David Zucker bashes ‘frightened’ Hollywood elites

YouTuber Jack Doherty Arrested While Filming Content On Miami Street

“Chill, chill, chill,” Doherty said as an officer placed his hands in cuffs.

In bodycam footage from Miami Beach Police, an officer searched Doherty’s pockets and found a pill before placing him in the back seat of a patrol car.

While it isn’t clear what the pill was, “Inside Edition” reported that Doherty was later charged with possession of cannabis, a misdemeanor, as well as possession of a controlled substance, a felony. Another misdemeanor, resisting an officer without violence, was also charged.

The Populist Times reported, however, that Doherty was charged with possession of amphetamines and cited another video where police were visibly upset with the young male.

“You think you’re funny?” a uniformed officer asked Doherty. “If you’re gonna be funny, get out of the f**king street. I don’t know who the f**k you think you are, bro,” the officer added.

RELATED: Fat chance! Obese immigrants make America sicker.

Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images

Doherty was reportedly booked into a Miami-Dade County facility just before 9 a.m., alleging that he was released after about 10 hours.

Doherty said in a subsequent video that he “waited in a cell for five hours” before getting fingerprints and mug shots. “Then I chilled in there for another five-plus hours, maybe more,” he explained.

He was later released on $500 bond, according to “Inside Edition,” with an arraignment set for January.

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​Crime, Align, Miami, Florida, Police, Youtube, Content creator, Entertainment 

As more candidates throw their hats in the ring ahead of the 2026 midterms, yet another Democrat has joined the fray to succeed one of the most infamous governors in America.

Anti-Trump Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell announced on Thursday that he will be running for governor of California in 2026.

‘I love California. It’s the greatest country in the world.’

Swalwell, who spearheaded Trump’s second impeachment, made the announcement on a segment of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” a show for which President Trump has repeatedly expressed his distaste.

Earlier this month, Trump’s director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, sent a criminal referral for Swalwell to the Department of Justice, alleging that Swalwell may have committed mortgage fraud. Swalwell responded by claiming to be a victim of politically motivated prosecution.

“I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world,” he said.

“I will not stop speaking out against the president and speaking up for Californians.”

RELATED: Eric Swalwell finally answers Chinese spy allegations: ‘I would hope that would be enough’

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Swalwell says California needs a “fighter and protector” on his X profile page.

“I’m ready to bring this fight home. So I came here tonight, Jimmy, to tell you and your audience that I’m running to be the next governor of California,” Swalwell announced to Kimmel.

During his remarks, Swalwell also referred to California as a “country.” “I love California,” he said. “It’s the greatest country in the world.”

Even Kimmel appeared confused, repeating, “Country?!” followed by a laugh.

Kimmel joked that Swalwell will have to “figure out the beard,” suggesting a full prospector look: “You’re either going to have to go more beard or less beard, because you’re in a beard nether region right now that we can’t have.”

Swalwell’s campaign video starts by saying the governor of California will have two jobs: “One, keep the worst president in our history out of our homes, out of our streets, and out of our lives.”

The second is to “bring us a new California,” a variation of one of his campaign slogans.

Swalwell joins an already crowded gubernatorial race. Other Democrats include Rep. Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and state Superintendent Tony Thurmond.

Blaze News reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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​Politics, Eric swalwell, Jimmy kimmel, Jimmy kimmel live, Katie porter, Gavin newsom, Democrats, Trump, President trump, California, California governor 

President Donald Trump has offered a preview of his highly anticipated meeting with New York City’s newly elected socialist mayor.

Trump’s meeting with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) in the Oval Office Friday afternoon is proving to be one of the most highly anticipated sit-downs of his second term. Trump described Mamdani, a staunch progressive and outspoken critic of the president, as “a little bit different” but remained optimistic about the meeting.

‘I give him a lot of credit.’

“He’s got a different philosophy,” Trump told Brian Kilmeade Friday. “He’s a little bit different.”

One of the focal points of Mamdani’s campaign was affordability, an issue that has also been a pillar of Trump’s administration. Although their respective solutions to address affordability are at odds, Trump maintained that the two New Yorkers are ultimately “looking for the same thing.”

RELATED: Is Trump meddling with Mamdani’s candidacy?

Photo by BG048/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

“I give him a lot of credit for the run. He did a successful run, and we all know that runs are not easy,” Trump said. “But I think we’ll get along fine. Look, we’re looking for the same thing. We want to make New York strong.”

Since his decisive victory in early November, Mamdani has continued to rail against Trump and his administration. During his victory speech, Mamdani infamously told Trump to “turn the volume up.” In response, Trump issued Mamdani a warning but commended his campaign nonetheless.

RELATED: Zohran Mamdani becomes first openly socialist mayor of New York City

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

“Well, I was hitting him a little hard too, in all fairness,” Trump said. “It’s hard to be totally friendly to the opponent, you know. … He had some interesting opponents. But he ran a good race. I don’t know exactly what he means by ‘turn the volume up’ because ‘turn the volume up,’ he has to be careful when he says that to me.”

“I think it’s going to be quite civil. You’ll find out.”

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​Zohran mamdani, Donald trump, Trump administration, White house, New york city, New york city mayoral race, Curtis sliwa, Andrew cuomo, Nyc mayor, Eric adams, Affordability, Brian kilmeade, Politics 

The Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota appears to be for women in name only.

The league, which touts itself as the largest women’s hockey league in the world, follows USA Hockey guidelines, which allow for the participation of men.

‘Pretending it’s OK for men to play in a women’s league insults women’s sports.’

USA Hockey allows athletes to “participate on a team that is consistent with their gender identity” in order to allegedly “help maintain a fair and safe environment.”

The policy, issued in 2021, adds that “gender identity” refers to one’s “internal psychological identification as a male or female, both, neither, or anywhere along the gender spectrum.”

Adhering to these guidelines, the WHAM has allowed at least seven different males to play among its teams, including four on a single squad.

According to Reduxx, a team in the league’s A-division called the Robins had four active male players in 2024. Kayley (Kody) Misialek, Rhea (Brady) Turner, Diana (Chris) Sulmone, and Paige (Dylan) Rainer were all listed on the team’s official roster. The team finished in second place in their division last season.

RELATED: Fathers step up to defend girls’ sports after liberal state defies President Trump — and biology

Reduxx further reported on the playing history of each of the four players, alleging that last year marked Turner’s first season competing as a female; at six feet tall, he has also played on a transgender hockey team.

Misialek has reportedly been playing women’s hockey since 2022, as has Sulmone.

Rainer allegedly played for a boys’ high school team before transitioning to co-ed teams. He also reportedly switched to the women’s league for the 2024-2025 season.

In cooperation with HeCheated.Org, the report named three more men playing in the women’s hockey league under girls’ names. This included one male who was alleged to run a venue that is labeled a “dyke and queer” bar.

RELATED: Olympics committee expected to reverse course on men in women’s sports

Two women have spoken out against WHAM’s inclusion of male players. Kelley Grotting said in February that playing against the men “feels unsafe” and is “not fun.”

“I am not a transphobe. To each his or her own, but pretending it’s OK for men to play in a women’s league insults women’s sports and creates safety issues,” she added, per Alpha News.

In October, a former college women’s hockey player said she was leaving hockey forever because men are allowed in the league in which she has played for 20 years.

“I am left to believe they do not care about my safety or the sanctity of the sport,” she explained. “I can no longer participate in a league that does not care about me.”

In response to criticisms about the league, a petition was filed in support of men in women’s athletics, started by a sports bar that exclusively shows women’s sports on its screens.

The petition said that the “safe and inclusive nature” of the league was being challenged, and therefore the community must “rally behind each individual’s right to sport, regardless of gender identity.”

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​Fearless, Transgenderism, Hockey, Minnesota, Women’s sports, Nonbinary, Sports 

On September 11, 2001, three New York firefighters raised an American flag above the wreckage of the World Trade Center. That moment was more than an image. It was a declaration that the country had buckled but not broken. That flag rallied millions, inspired enlistments, and stiffened a nation’s resolve mere hours after the most devastating attack in modern U.S. history.

In 2025, the opposite message is taking root in some of America’s cities. In Boise, Idaho, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, local leaders elevate symbolic banners that compete with, sidestep, or openly contradict the national and state standards that define shared civic space.

If we want unity, we must lead with the symbols that foster it. Because if we don’t plant our flags, someone else will.

In Boise, a blue island in a bright red state, Mayor Lauren McLean (D) kept the Pride flag flying over City Hall despite Idaho’s HB 96, a law restricting public property to the U.S. and state flags. After Attorney General Raúl Labrador (R) issued a cease-and-desist, McLean responded with a letter threatening legal action and framed her stance as “standing with my community.” The city council followed with a 5-1 vote to adopt the Pride flag as an official city emblem to get around the law.

In Minneapolis, state Sen. Omar Fateh (D) waved a Somali regional flag at an October campaign rally. Supporters defended the gesture as cultural outreach to the city’s large Somali population. Opponents saw something else: a political statement that placed clan or regional identity ahead of shared civic loyalty.

At first glance, these acts look harmless. But historians — and anyone who has studied conflict or national movements — know that flags communicate power. A flag marks territory, signals allegiance, and announces who intends to lead.

A banner raised in a civic space says something about the future of that space. It’s a symbol of conquest — in this case, conquest without firing a shot.

Minneapolis illustrates the stakes. Somali-Americans represent a large and active community, and political leaders court their votes aggressively. But clan politics from Somalia’s fractured landscape often follow families to the United States.

Analysts noted that Minneapolis’ recent mayoral race reflected clan splits, with blocs supporting or opposing Somali candidates not on ideology but lineage. That tension influences local elections and creates new pressures on civic life.

Political imagery matters when communities already navigate competing loyalties. A foreign regional flag held aloft at a campaign rally isn’t a neutral gesture; it’s an invitation to organize political power around identities that do not map cleanly onto American civic culture.

History amplifies that point. For centuries, flags have signaled triumph or defeat long before a treaty forced anyone’s hand. At Fort McHenry in 1814, the sight of the American flag still flying after a night of bombardment, energized defenders and inspired the poem that became our national anthem. At Iwo Jima in 1945, Marines raised the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, transforming a brutal fight into a symbol of American resolve and shifting the morale of both sides.

Flags shape memory. They mark identity. They tell people who stands firm and who gives ground.

RELATED: The real danger isn’t immigration — it’s the refusal to become American

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

That is why the flags flown on public property matter now. McLean’s use of the Pride flag isn’t just about “love is love.” It supplants the symbol that binds Idahoans across differences. Fateh’s regional Somali flag isn’t simply cultural pride; it injects external political identities into municipal politics and signals a shift in who claims influence over public life.

Americans can shrug at this trend or take it seriously. Civic symbols either unite a people or divide them. A city hall flagpole should unify, not segment communities into competing camps. A political rally should appeal to voters as Americans, not as factions drawn from overseas allegiances.

The answer is not outrage or retaliation. The answer is clarity: reclaim civic symbols that express shared loyalty to a shared country. Fly the U.S. flag. Fly state flags. Encourage communities to celebrate their heritage while affirming the nation that binds them together.

A nation confident in itself does not surrender its symbols. It presents them proudly — on porches, at city halls, and at the center of public life. America’s strength begins with the values and commitments those flags represent.

If we want unity, we must lead with the symbols that foster it. Because if we don’t plant our flags, someone else will.

​Opinion & analysis, Flags, Pride flag, Boise, Boise pride, Boise mayor lauren mclean, Leftism, Conquest, Tribalism, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Omar fateh, Somalia, Somali flags, National anthem, Old glory, 9/11 

Before Republican lawmakers passed their funding bill to reopen the government last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) slipped in a provision that paved the way for senators — and only senators — targeted by the Biden FBI’s Arctic Frost operation to squeeze the government for taxpayer cash.

Lawmakers in the House, some of whom were also victims of the previous administration’s lawfare, unanimously rejected the provision, taking steps to repeal it earlier this week.

‘What did I do wrong?’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), among the senators eligible to sue for a payday of at least $500,000, stopped the repeal in its tracks on Thursday, prompting chatter about personal enrichment among some of his colleagues.

The provision

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) published damning documents last month revealing that in its years-long campaign to find “anything they could to hook on Trump, put Trump in prison,” the Biden FBI not only subpoenaed records for over 400 Republican individuals and entities but secretly obtained the private phone records of numerous Republican lawmakers.

Thune introduced a provision into the continuing resolution that reopened the government to enable senators whose phone records were “acquired, subpoenaed, searched, accessed or disclosed” without his or her knowledge to file a civil lawsuit against the government inside the next five years for at least $500,000 plus legal fees for each instance of a violation.

Senators would be able to take legal action if at the time their records were seized, they were a target of a criminal investigation; a federal judge issued an order authorizing a delay of notice to the senator in question; the government complied with the judge’s order; and the subpoena was faithfully executed.

The backlash

The provision caused bipartisan outrage in the House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he was “very angry” about the provision, stressing that it had been slipped in at the last minute without his knowledge.

RELATED: A payout scheme for senators deepens the gap between DC and the rest of us

Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images

“We’re striking the provision as fast as we can, and we expect the Senate to move it,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told CNN. “We believe there’s a fairly sizeable growing majority over there that believes that they should strike it.”

Democrat Rep. Joe Morelle (N.Y.) said that this kind of “one-sided get-rich scheme at the expense of taxpayers is why Americans are so disgusted with this Congress.”

Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who indicated that the provision was “probably the most self-centered, self-serving piece of language” he had ever seen, introduced a resolution to appeal the provision on Nov. 12.

“Nobody in the House supported this language,” Scott said on Wednesday ahead of the vote on his resolution. “This language did not go through any committee in the Senate, did not go through any committee in the House, and could never be passed and signed into law if it was discussed openly.”

“For the people who are saying it’s $500,000, I want the American citizens to know this: It’s not $500,000. It’s $500,000 per account per occurrence,” continued Scott. “We have one senator — one — who maintains that this provision is good and is currently saying that he is going to sue for tens of millions of dollars.”

Scott appears to have been referring to Sen. Graham, who said in a recent Fox News interview that he would sue “the hell out of these people” for “tens of millions of dollars.”

Scott added that it was right to open up the government but wrong to put “language in the bill that would make themselves individually wealthy.”

The House passed the Georgia Republican’s resolution in a unanimous 426-0 vote.

Graham’s blockage

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) requested unanimous consent on Thursday for the Senate to follow suit, claiming the provision was “unprecedented in American history.”

Others across the aisle were reportedly warming to the idea of killing the legislation, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley — among those whose communications were targeted by the Biden FBI — who stated, “I had my phone tapped, so I’m all for accountability, don’t get me wrong, but I just, I think taking taxpayer money is not the way to do it. The way to do it is tough oversight.”

Desperate to protect the provision, Graham blocked the motion.

“What did I do wrong?” said Graham, who argued that the surveillance of his communications was unlawful and that he deserved a right to have his day in court. “What did I do to allow the government to seize my personal phone and my official phone when I was Senate Judiciary chairman?”

According to reports, federal investigators accessed Graham’s phone records. No allegations to date indicate that investigators appropriated Graham’s phones.

While Democrat senators attempted to paint the taxpayer-funded payback as unsanctioned by their leadership, Graham reportedly extracted from Thune an admission that the provision had been discussed with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

“So this wasn’t Republicans doing this,” said Graham. “This was people in the Senate believing what happened to the Senate need never happen again.”

In hopes of alleviating concerns about self-enrichment, Thune proposed on Thursday changing the provision such that any damages awarded under the law would be forfeited to the U.S. Treasury. His corresponding resolution was blocked by Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

Graham underscored on Thursday, “I’m going to sue.”

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A female accused of tossing a cup of hot coffee on the manager of a Michigan McDonald’s earlier this month finally gave herself up and appeared before a judge.

Casharra T. Brown, 48, of Saginaw surrendered to police last Friday on an outstanding warrant authorities had issued for her nine days earlier, MLive.com reported.

‘F**k you, b***h! Catch that hot-a** coffee!’

That same Friday, Brown appeared before Saginaw County District Judge M. Randall Jurrens for arraignment on one count of assault and battery, the outlet noted.

The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine, MLive reported. The outlet previously reported that police submitted paperwork to the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office requesting a felonious assault charge against the suspect.

Jurrens freed Brown on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, the outlet said; one bond condition is that she’s barred from entering McDonald’s restaurants.

On the morning of Nov. 4 at the McDonald’s at 3700 Dixie Highway in Buena Vista Township, Brown wanted a refund for two sandwiches after placing an online order, Buena Vista Township Police Detective Russ Pahssen told MLive.

The outlet said the McDonald’s manager gave Brown a coffee and tried to de-escalate the situation while Brown claimed she had been there for more than an hour. The interaction reached an impasse, MLive said, and the manager told Brown to have a great day as she turned and walked away from the counter.

The female customer removed the lid from the coffee cup, threw the contents at the manager, and yelled, “F**k you, b***h! Catch that hot-a** coffee!” as she exited the restaurant, according to video of the encounter without redacted audio. The manager can be heard screaming after the hot coffee struck her body.

The following video report aired before Brown surrendered to authorities.

RELATED: Woman allegedly tossed coffee at mom and her infant over dog leash dispute — and is now facing deportation

Pahssen shared video of the assault on Facebook to gain the public’s help in identifying the assailant, MLive said, adding that the detective said Brown was identified as the culprit within minutes.

While Pahssen at the time told MLive that the manager suffered minor burns, the outlet said Pahssen later indicated that the McDonald’s manager was wearing enough layers to prevent her skin from being burned.

MLive said it contacted defense attorney Paul M. Purcell about the case, but he declined to comment.

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​Mcdonald’s, Michigan, Buena vista township, Hot coffee, Arraignment, Misdemeanor, Assault and battery charge, Freed, Viral video, Crime 

Did Donald Trump secretly plan this fight over the Jeffrey Epstein files to lure Democrats into another political trap? No. I don’t believe he did. I know people close to the president who were frustrated over the summer when he abruptly shifted from promising the files’ release to calling it a “distraction” and a “hoax.” I said at the time on my show that the switch was the first major misstep of Trump 2.0.

But I understand why the 4D-chess theory is so tempting now. It looks like a setup. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) spent months attacking Trump over Epstein. Then we learned that Jeffries may have accepted donor requests from Epstein after Epstein’s first sex-offense conviction. And a Democrat from the Virgin Islands — Epstein’s district — was literally taking dictation from Epstein on what questions to ask in a congressional hearing.

The 2026 midterms are coming fast. If the GOP wants to avoid another preventable disaster, it had better stop rehearsing the same script.

Those are facts, not theories.

The deeper truth, though, has nothing to do with strategy. American politics follows two patterns, and both showed up again this week.

First, Republicans pre-emptively surrender. Always.

Watch Democrats tell soldiers to ignore orders while Trump follows every instruction a federal judge hands him. His restraint isn’t Romney-level, but the Republicans around him shrink the space for any real fight. That’s why Attorney General Pam Bondi is developing a well-deserved reputation for overpromising and under-delivering.

RELATED: The right message: Justice. The wrong messenger: Pam Bondi.

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Second, Democrats always overreach when Republicans fold.

We saw it in 2018 when Republicans gave up on repealing Obamacare and lost 40 House seats for their cowardice. The pattern continued in 2020, as Democrats pushed their false god evangelism into insane absolutism — on “fortifying” elections, on arresting Trump, on forcing people into taking the poisonous jab, on transitioning kids. It was mark of the beast stuff, and voters wanted no part of it.

The latest example came this week, when Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) answered a question from a friendly reporter about why Democrats never pursued the Epstein files when they had the chance by snapping, “What is [Trump] hiding?” The Senate had just voted almost unanimously to release those files, and instead of revealing Trump, former Bill Clinton hack Lawrence Summers stood exposed for his ties to the sex offender, seeking his counsel as “wingman” in an effort to seduce the daughter of a high Chinese Communist Party official.

RELATED: ‘Swamp protects itself’: Republicans shield Epstein-texting Democrat — allegedly to save Cory Mills’ hide

Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Both parties cling to their worst instincts. Republicans surrender too easily. Democrats push too far. And no politician in modern history has been buoyed more by his opponents’ excesses than Donald Trump.

So once again, Republicans hold the advantage on the Epstein files — at least for the moment. But early signs suggest they may squander it. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Pam Bondi appear ready to narrow or redact the release into something the base will see as betrayal. If that happens, Democrats won’t need to win the argument. Republicans will beat themselves.

The 2026 midterms are coming fast. If the GOP wants to avoid another preventable disaster, it had better stop rehearsing the same script.

A little discipline — and a little courage — would go a long way.

​Opinion & analysis, Jeffrey epstein, Epstein files, Congress, Republicans, Democrats, 2026 midterms, Donald trump, Pam bondi, Chuck schumer, Hakeem jeffries, Stacey plaskett, Lawrence summers, Mike johnson, Courage, Justice department, Transparency 

The search for truth has always required something very much in short supply these days: honesty. Not performative questions, not scripted outrage, not whatever happens to be trending on TikTok, but real curiosity.

Some issues, often focused on foreign aid, AIPAC, or Israel, have become hotbeds of debate and disagreement. Before we jump into those debates, however, we must return to a simpler, more important issue: honest questioning. Without it, nothing in these debates matters.

Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

The phrase “just asking questions” has re-entered the zeitgeist, and that’s fine. We should always question power. But too many of those questions feel preloaded with someone else’s answer. If the goal is truth, then the questions should come from a sincere desire to understand, not from a hunt for a villain.

Honest desire for truth is the only foundation that can support a real conversation about these issues.

Truth-seeking is real work

Right now, plenty of people are not seeking the truth at all. They are repeating something they heard from a politician on cable news or from a stranger on TikTok who has never opened a history book. That is not a search for answers. That is simply outsourcing your own thought.

If you want the truth, you need to work for it. You cannot treat the world like a Marvel movie where the good guy appears in a cape and the villain hisses on command. Real life does not give you a neat script with the moral wrapped up in two hours.

But that is how people are approaching politics now. They want the oppressed and the oppressor, the heroic underdog and the cartoon villain. They embrace this fantastical framing because it is easier than wrestling with reality.

This framing took root in the 1960s when the left rebuilt its worldview around colonizers and the colonized. Overnight, Zionism was recast as imperialism. Suddenly, every conflict had to fit the same script. Today’s young activists are just recycling the same narrative with updated graphics. Everything becomes a morality play. No nuance, no context, just the comforting clarity of heroes and villains.

Bad-faith questions

This same mindset is fueling the sudden obsession with Israel, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in particular. You hear it from members of Congress and activists alike: AIPAC pulls the strings, AIPAC controls the government, AIPAC should register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The questions are dramatic, but are they being asked in good faith?

FARA is clear. The standard is whether an individual or group acts under the direction or control of a foreign government. AIPAC simply does not qualify.

Here is a detail conveniently left out of these arguments: Dozens of domestic organizations — Armenian, Cuban, Irish, Turkish — lobby Congress on behalf of other countries. None of them registers under FARA because — like AIPAC — they are independent, domestic organizations.

If someone has a sincere problem with the structure of foreign lobbying, fair enough. Let us have that conversation. But singling out AIPAC alone is not a search for truth. It is bias dressed up as bravery.

RELATED: Antifa burns, the media spin, and truth takes the hits

Photo by Philip Pacheco/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

If someone wants to question foreign aid to Israel, fine. Let’s have that debate. But let’s ask the right questions. The issue is not the size of the package but whether the aid advances our interests. What does the United States gain? Does the investment strengthen our position in the region? How does it compare to what we give other nations? And do we examine those countries with the same intensity?

The real target

These questions reflect good-faith scrutiny. But narrowing the entire argument to one country or one dollar amount misses the larger problem. If someone objects to the way America handles foreign aid, the target is not Israel. The target is the system itself — an entrenched bureaucracy, poor transparency, and decades-old commitments that have never been re-examined. Those problems run through programs around the world.

If you want answers, you need to broaden the lens. You have to be willing to put aside the movie script and confront reality. You have to hold yourself to a simple rule: Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

That is the only way this country ever gets clarity on foreign aid, influence, alliances, and our place in the world. Questioning is not just allowed. It is essential. But only if it is honest.

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​Aipac, Israel, Foreign aid, Truth seeking, Debate, Opinion & analysis, American israel public affairs committee, Truth, Good faith, Bad faith 

Boo-hoo, Lucy Liu.

The veteran actress is in the awards season mix for “Rosemead,” the tale of an immigrant grappling with a troubled teenage son. That means she’s working the press circuit, talking to as many media outlets as she can to promote a possible Best Actress nomination.

No more peeks at Erivo’s extended, Freddy Krueger-like nails or Grande waving away a helicopter overhead as if it were about to swoop down on them.

If you think political campaigns are cynical, you haven’t seen an actor push for a golden statuette. That may explain why Liu shared her victimhood story with the Hollywood Reporter.

Turns out the chronically employed star (123 acting credits, according to IMDB.com) hasn’t been employed enough, by her standards.

I remember being like, “Why isn’t there more happening?” … I didn’t want to participate in anything where I felt like they weren’t even taking me seriously. How am I being given these offers that are less than when I started in this business? It was a sign of disrespect to me, and I didn’t really want that. I didn’t want to acquiesce to that … I cannot turn myself into somebody who looks Caucasian, but if I could, I would’ve had so many more opportunities.

Liu has had the kind of career most actors would kill to duplicate. That doesn’t play on the identity politics guilt of her peers though. Nor is it fodder for a “woe is me” awards speech …

Rest for the ‘Wicked’

That’s a wrap!

The “Wicked: For Good” press push got the heave-ho earlier this week when star Cynthia Erivo reportedly lost her voice. Co-star Ariana Grande pulled out of her appearances in solidarity.

Yup. Not remotely suspicious.

The duo made way too many headlines last year during their initial “Wicked” press tour. Why? It was just … weird. Odd. Creepy. The stars’ emaciated appearance didn’t help, but their kooky, collective affect was off-putting, to be kind.

Even the Free Press called out the duo’s sadly emaciated state.

They trotted out more of the same for round two, and someone had the good sense to yank them off the stage before the bulletproof sequel hit theaters Nov. 21.

No more peeks at Erivo’s extended, Freddy Krueger-like nails or Grande waving away a helicopter overhead as if it were about to swoop down on them.

Any publicity is good publicity, right? Not when it’s wickedly cringe …

RELATED: ‘Last Days’ brings empathy to doomed Sentinel Island missionary’s story

Vertical

Face for radio

John Oliver thinks it’s 1985.

HBO’s far-left lip flapper is furious that the Trump administration stripped NPR of its federal funding. Who will ignore senile presidents and laptop scandals without our hard-earned dollars?

Think of the children!

Never mind that Americans have endless ways to access news, from AM radio to TV, satellite, cable, and streaming options. Heck, just pick up a $20 set of rabbit ears, and you’ll get a crush of local TV stations in many swathes of the country.

You have to live in a bunker a hundred feet below the earth to avoid the news.

Oliver, to his credit, put his money where his mouth is. Or at least, your money. He set up a public auction to raise cash for NPR stations.

Why? Because we’re all going to croak without it. That’s assuming you didn’t die following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the lack of net neutrality.

“Public radio saves lives. The emergency broadcast system. Without it, people would die.”

A second-rate satirist might have a field day with anyone pushing the “you’ll die without X, Y, or Z” card. Alas Oliver doesn’t warrant that ranking …

‘Running’ on empty

Rising star status ain’t what it used to be.

Glen Powell seemed like the next Tom Cruise for a hot minute. Handsome. Affable. Unwilling to insult half the country. He stole a few moments during “Top Gun: Maverick” and powered a mediocre rom-com — 2023’s “Anyone but You” — into a $220 million global hit.

So when Hollywood handed him the keys to the “Running Man” remake, the industry assumed he had finally arrived. Give him his “I’m on the A-List” smoking jacket.

That’s until the remake’s opening weekend numbers came in. Or rather trickled in. That $16 million-plus haul just won’t cut it.

Now Powell’s next film is under the microscope. The project dubbed “Huntington” just got a last-minute name change to “How to Make a Killing.” The film follows Powell’s character as he tries to ensure he’ll inherit millions from his uber-wealthy family. That’s despite getting cast out of the clan’s good graces.

The movie now has a Feb. 20 release date, hardly a key window for an A-lister like Powell.

Then again, his time on the A-list may have already expired.

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During the final hours of the shutdown fight earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) slipped a toxic provision into the continuing resolution that reopened the government. The clause created a special pathway for select senators to sue the federal government, bypass its usual legal defenses, and claim large payouts if their records were subpoenaed during the Arctic Frost investigation.

The result? About eight senators could demand $500,000 for every “instance” of seized data. Those instances could stack, pushing potential payouts into the tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. That is not an exaggeration. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has all but celebrated the prospect.

Graham said he wanted ‘tens of millions of dollars’ for seized records while victims of weaponization still face shattered lives.

No one else would qualify for compensation. Only senators. Anyone who spent years helping victims of political weaponization — often pro bono, while prestige law firms chased billable hours — can see the corruption in plain view. The message this provision sends on the central Trump-era promise of accountability could not be weaker: screw the people, pay the pols.

The surveillance of senators was wrong. It should never have happened. But senators did not face what ordinary Americans endured. Senators maintain large campaign accounts to hire top lawyers. They operate out of official offices, armed with constitutional protections such as the Speech and Debate Clause. They do not lose their homes, jobs, savings, or businesses. Thousands of Americans did. Many still face legal bills, ruined livelihoods, and ongoing cases. They deserve restitution — not the politicians who failed them.

Graham helped push this provision forward. As public criticism grew, he defended it. On Sean Hannity’s show the other day, he said: “My phone records were seized. I’m not going to put up with this crap. I’m going to sue.” Hannity asked how much. Graham replied: “Tens of millions of dollars.”

Democrats will replay that clip across every battleground in the country going into an uphill midterm battle in 2026.

Graham embodies the worst messenger for this fight. He helped fuel weaponization long before he claimed victimhood. He urged the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to pass the Steele dossier to the FBI. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he did nothing to slow the Justice Department and FBI as they pursued political targets. He even supported many of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees who later embraced aggressive lawfare tactics. If anyone owed restitution to victims, Graham sits high on the list.

RELATED: Trump’s pardons expose the left’s vast lawfare machine

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Fortunately, enough Republicans recognize the political and moral disaster of funneling taxpayer funds to senators while real victims remain abandoned. The House advanced a measure today to repeal the provision. Led by Reps. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), the House forced the Senate to address in public what it attempted to smuggle through in private.

Thune defended the measure in comments to Axios. He argued that only senators suffered statutory violations and said the provision was crafted to avoid covering House members. He did not explain why any House member who was illegally surveilled should receive no remedy.

The Senate leader also claimed the financial penalty would deter a future Justice Department from targeting lawmakers, citing the actions of special counsel Jack Smith. His emphasis on “future” misconduct glossed over a critical fact: The provision is retroactive and would cover past abuses.

That defense cannot survive daylight. Repeal requires 60 Senate votes, and not a single Democrat will fight to preserve a payout for Graham. Republicans should not try either. Efforts to strike the measure need to begin immediately. Senators — especially Thune — should commit to an up-or-down vote. If they want to send tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to Graham, they should do it in public, with the country watching.

Washington already reeks of grift and self-dealing this year. If senators protect this provision, that smell will spread nationwide.

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