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President Donald Trump characterized Operation Epic Fury as a successful military operation that is “nearing completion” in his address to the nation on Wednesday evening.

Although he struck a celebratory tone — lauding, for instance, American armed forces’ “swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield” — Trump suggested that the increasingly unpopular conflict will continue for at least two or three more weeks, during which time the U.S. will purportedly “bring [Iran] back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”

‘Hollywood delusions have so poisoned your minds.’

While well-received by some in America — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), for instance, said that it was “the best speech I could’ve hoped for” — remnants of the Iranian regime were less receptive to Trump’s remarks.

Tasnim News Agency, a state media outfit associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Amir Hatami, the commander in chief of the Iranian Regular Armed Forces, advised his subordinates to “monitor enemy movements and actions with maximum vigilance, analyzing them moment by moment, and to implement countermeasures against enemy assaults at the appropriate time.”

Hatami reportedly noted further that in the event of a ground invasion into Iran, “not a single individual should survive.”

RELATED: Trump says Iran asked for a ceasefire — but the US has one major condition

Explosion in Tehran. Contributor/Getty Images

In addition to vowing counterattacks, Hatami framed Trump’s speech as confirmation that the U.S. and Israel intend to “erase Iran’s name and existence.”

Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, shared a statement on X stressing that Iranians “give everything — everything we’ve got — for the land we love.”

“We are not warmongers,” continued Ghalibaf. “But when the time comes to defend our homeland, every last one of us becomes a soldier.”

The speaker claimed that roughly seven million Iranians have committed to picking up arms in defense of their country. He then concluded with the challenge, “Bring it on.”

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters — the outfit that coordinates Iran’s joint military operations — said in a video statement on Thursday that American and Israeli intelligence about Iranian military might “is incomplete” and that their alleged faulty assumptions “will only deepen the quagmire in which you have trapped yourselves.”

Zolfaghari suggested further that “this war will continue until your humiliation, disgrace, permanent regret, definite defeat, and surrender.”

Seyed Majid Moosavi, an Iranian military commander presently running the IRGC Aerospace Force, said in response to War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s echo of Trump’s “Stone Age” threat, “It is you who are taking your soldiers to their graves, not Iran, whom you seek to drag back to the Stone Age. Hollywood delusions have so poisoned your minds that, with your paltry 250-year history, you threaten a civilization over 6,000 years old.”

While Iranian regimists responded especially poorly to Trump’s speech, oil prices and the markets also reacted in an unfavorable manner.

Brent crude oil was trading at under $100 per barrel on Wednesday prior to the president’s remarks. It shot up afterward in intraday trading to over $108 per barrel and remained over $107 on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reportedly dropped by 1.3% on Thursday; the S&P 500 dropped 1.2%; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.7%.

As promised, the U.S. continued its aerial attack on Iran in the wake of Trump’s speech, allegedly wounding former Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharazi — an adviser to the government whom the New York Times reported was apparently helping to facilitate peace talks between Vice President JD Vance and Iranian authorities.

Iran, in turn, launched numerous missiles at Israel and neighboring Arab states on Thursday.

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​War, Iran, Conflict, Foreign entanglement, Interventionism, Tehran, Military, Stone ages, Donald trump, Trump, Politics 

For decades, the abortion debate has revolved around a single question: When does life begin? Scientists are asked to answer it. Legislators argue over it. Courts try to define it. Activists debate heartbeats, brain waves, viability, and development.

But while this question is important, it is not the most important question. The real question is what gives human life value.

The abortion debate will never be settled by science, politics, or emotional arguments. It is ultimately about where human value comes from.

If human life has no intrinsic value, then it does not really matter when life begins. And if human life does have intrinsic value, then the moment a human life exists, it must be protected. The entire issue hinges not on biology, but on value.

Biology shows life, not value

Modern science has made one fact undeniable: from the moment of conception, a new human organism exists. This is basic embryology. A distinct human life begins at fertilization with its own DNA, its own development, and its own biological trajectory.

Science is very good at describing life. It can measure heartbeats, detect brain activity, and observe development in remarkable detail. But science has a limitation: It can describe life, but it cannot assign value to it.

A microscope cannot tell us that murder is wrong. DNA cannot tell us that humans have rights. A heartbeat cannot tell us that a life is sacred.

Science describes what is. It cannot tell us what ought to be. Value, morality, and justice must come from somewhere else.

The image of God

The Bible answers the value question in the very first chapter. Genesis 1:27 says that God created man in His own image. This is one of the most important statements in all of Scripture, because it explains why human life has value at all.

Human beings are not valuable because they are intelligent, strong, independent, or useful. Human beings are valuable because they are made in the image of God.

This is not poetry. It is ontology — a statement about what man is. The image of God is the foundation of human dignity, human rights, and justice itself. Remove the image of God, and there is no objective reason why humans should be treated differently from animals. Rights become preferences, and justice becomes power.

The image of God is what makes human life sacred.

RELATED: We must resist a culture that redefines death as dignity

Mininyx Doodle/Getty Images

Value comes from what something is

One of the great errors of modern thinking is the idea that human value comes from ability or development. Our culture often assigns value based on intelligence, awareness, or productivity. But abilities exist on a spectrum. Some humans are more intelligent than others. Some are stronger than others. Some are more developed than others.

If value comes from ability, then human rights belong only to the strong, the intelligent, and the capable. But justice requires something far more stable than ability. Justice requires that human value be tied to what a human is, not what a human can do.

And what is man? Man is the creature made in the image of God.

The image of God does not grow over time. It is not earned by development. It is not granted by government. It does not appear at birth or increase with intelligence. It is inherent to what man is from the moment he exists.

If a human exists, the image of God exists

Once we understand that human value comes from the image of God, the abortion debate becomes much clearer. The question is no longer about heartbeats or brain waves or viability. It becomes much simpler: When does a human begin to exist?

And the answer to that question is at conception. All things begin at their beginning.

We do not say a tree begins halfway through its growth or that a river begins miles downstream. Things are defined by their beginning, not by later stages of development.

From the moment a human exists, the image of God exists, human value exists, and justice demands protection for that human life.

The issue is not development, location, or independence. The only issue is what the child is: a human being made in the image and likeness of God.

RELATED: James Talarico found a verse — and twisted the meaning

Danielle Villasana/Getty Images

The debate is about value

This is why the abortion debate will never be settled by science, politics, or emotional arguments. It is ultimately about where human value comes from.

If value comes from society, then society can decide who has value and who does not. If value comes from ability, then the strong will always rule over the weak. If value comes from preference, then power decides everything.

But if value comes from God, then every human life — born or unborn, strong or weak, wanted or unwanted — has equal worth because every human bears the image of the Creator.

Once we understand that human value comes from the image of God, the conclusion becomes unavoidable. To destroy that life is not merely to end a biological process — it is to destroy a human being who reflects the Creator Himself.

The doctrine of the imago Dei does not allow for partial justice, developmental value, or conditional protection. The image of God demands that every human life be treated with equal justice from the moment that life begins.

Because human value does not come from development, ability, or location. Human value comes from God.

​Pro life, Abortion, Roe v wade, Dobbs v. jackson, Image of god, Imago dei, Human life, Conception, Human rights, Opinion & analysis 

The New Democratic Party of Canada recently held a leadership convention in Winnipeg, which took a series of chaotic turns as delegates clashed over pronouns, privilege rules, accessibility issues, and speaking rights.

“That’s the far left. They’ve never had someone attain the level of, say, prime minister. They’ve been around since the ’60s. So they’ve been out there, and they’re just an entertaining lot when they gather to get official business done at the National Democrat Party,” Malinak explains.

And clips from the convention do not disappoint.

The clips reveal the use of “equity cards,” which were handed out to delegates based on identity categories like gender, race, sexuality, and indigenous status. Delegates who had said “equity cards” were allowed to jump the line to ensure equal representation in debates.

As the clips reveal, however, the delegates did not debate on issues like cost of living or crime — but rather why they deserved to be holding one of the equity cards.

“I’m sorry, just real quick point of personal privilege,” one transgender delegate said. “I understand there’s very little time for delegates to speak, but … it’s hard as a racialized and transgender delegate to sometimes use this card and speak to somebody in front of me in line and ask, ‘Hey, this pertains to multiple intersecting parts of my lived experience. I’d like to speak.’”

“I was rejected when I talked, and it’s frustrating when these are my rights being directly under attack right now in Alberta and that a cisgender woman had spoken over me, and I understand her rights are important too, this pertains to her too, but I don’t know,” the transgender “woman” continued.

“I hope that in the future, the federal NDP will also have a broader interpretation of the equity cards for speakers,” he added.

“These people,” Gray comments, “if they were left to their own devices, they’d be dead because they have so many rules and so many things that offend them and so much stuff that you can’t do around them or say to them.”

“That is mental illness on display,” Malinak adds.

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Pat gray unleashed, Pat gray, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, New democratic party of canada, Pronouns, Equity cards, Trans activism, Lgbtqia, Equity and inclusion, Keith malinak 

Democrats have spoken out of both sides of their mouths on the matter of redistricting.

Proposed changes to congressional maps that would boost Democrats’ chances in elections are, on the one hand, purportedly a means to “help level the playing field,” a way to “restore fairness,” and — in the words of Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger — a “response to what we’re seeing in other states that have taken extreme measures to undermine democratic norms.”

‘Gerrymandering is when politicians manipulate the maps in order to predetermine the outcome.’

When faced with proposed changes to congressional maps that threaten their power, Democrats have alternatively likened redistricting efforts to the Holocaust, called them “a threat to democracy,” and characterized them as “authoritarian.”

This hypocrisy has proven to be an issue for proponents of Virginia’s proposed constitutional amendment, which is on the ballot in the April 21 special election.

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee — a supporter of voting “yes” in the gerrymandering referendum that would all but ensure that 10 out of the state’s 11 congressional seats go to Democrats — complained on Thursday about opponents of the proposed amendment turning to former President Barack Obama for support.

“A MAGA-aligned dark money group is trying to fool Virginia voters with a dishonest mailer that features an unauthorized photo of President Barack Obama and lies about his position on the Virginia referendum,” the NDRC said.

“The ‘No’ campaign and its allied MAGA-funded dark money groups are so terrified of the voters that they are resorting to desperate, deceptive tactics like this one to spread misinformation and lies,” said John Bisognano, president of the NDRC. “There is no confusion. President Obama endorses voting YES to stop Trump and his MAGA allies from rigging our elections and to protect the rights and voting power of the American people ahead of the midterms.”

One of the mailers features an image of Obama along with the quote, “For too long, gerrymandering has contributed to stalled progress and warped our representative government,” reported the Virginia Mercury.

While characterized by the NDRC and the NAACP Virginia State Conference as so-called misinformation, the Obama quote is indeed genuine — and its context is damning.

RELATED: Red-state inaction is the soft underbelly of border politics

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Obama wrote in a July 8, 2020, post on X, “For too long, gerrymandering has contributed to stalled progress and warped our representative government. Redistricting begins next year — let’s all do our part to protect and restore our democracy.”

Obama then urged Americans to join him “in the fight for fair maps” — specifically to support a possible constitutional amendment that would curb gerrymandering.

In the video accompanying the former president’s 2020 post, Obama states, “Gerrymandering is a sneaky way for politicians to consolidate as much power as they can.”

Another activist featured in the video adds, “Gerrymandering is when politicians manipulate the maps in order to predetermine the outcome so that it benefits one side over the other.”

‘Barack Obama, Abigail Spanberger, and others have already spoken against this kind of gerrymandering.’

Eric Holder, former President Obama’s scandal-plagued attorney general, notes in the video that “you see the greatest amount of voter suppression when you see the greatest amount of gerrymandering.”

Desperate to secure a majority in the U.S. House in the midterm elections, Obama and Democrats have jettisoned their supposedly principled stance from yesteryear and are now speaking out of the other side of their mouths.

Obama, specifically, is supporting the “yes” campaign.

In addition to featuring in a video championing Democrat gerrymandering, he stated last month, “Several Republican-controlled states have redrawn their congressional maps to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterm elections. Now Virginia has a chance to help level the playing field.”

The mailer that highlighted Obama’s hypocrisy and urged voters to “Protect Minority Representation” was sent to Virginia voters last week by the Justice for Democracy PAC, reported the Virginia Independent News.

A similar graphic was reportedly texted to Virginia voters by the Democracy and Justice PAC — which, like Justice for Democracy, is chaired by former Virginia Del. A.C. Cordoza (R) — along with the following message, “President Barack Obama says ‘For too long gerrymandering has contributed to our stalled progress and warped our representative government.’ That’s why it’s important next month to vote NO against Virginia’s redistricting effort.”

As proponents of the gerrymandering initiative melted down over the sight of Obama in the opposition mailers, Cordoza said in a statement to CNN, “No one can refute the accuracy of the quotes we’re presenting. Barack Obama, Abigail Spanberger, and others have already spoken against this kind of gerrymandering — I’m simply reminding voters where they stood.”

A Tazewell County judge ruled on Jan. 27 that the proposed constitutional amendment was unlawful. The Virginia Supreme Court then ruled last month that Virginians can still vote for it in the statewide April referendum, though the commonwealth high court may yet uphold the lower court’s injunction.

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​Gerrymander, Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistrict, Spanberger, Barack obama, Obama, Democrat, Democratic, Hypocrisy, Congress, Midterm, Elections, Politics 

Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez (D) recently said the quiet part out loud: If Democrats regain power, they intend to “melt ICE” and “dismantle the Department of Homeland Security.”

Not reform. Not recalibrate. Dismantle.

At this point, no one should be surprised, but everyone should be paying attention.

The window for aligned federal action is limited, and states must be prepared to carry that work forward regardless of what happens in Washington.

Over the past several years, we have seen what a serious approach to border security can look like. Under President Donald Trump, the federal government has taken long overdue steps to restore enforcement at the border, disrupt cartel operations that extend into American communities, and reassert the basic principle that immigration law should be enforced.

But the job is nowhere near finished.

Cartel networks are still heavily embedded in trafficking routes, financial systems, and communities across the country. Interior enforcement remains inconsistent. Local and state cooperation is uneven at best. And despite real progress, the broader homeland defense framework is still fragile — dependent on political will, which can shift overnight.

That fragility is exactly what Ramirez’s comments expose. We are not debating hypotheticals; we are being explicitly told what will happen when the balance of power shifts.

The same agencies tasked with protecting the homeland would be targeted for dismantlement, the enforcement tools that have begun to regain ground would be stripped away, and the limited progress made in confronting transnational criminal networks would be reversed.

This threat is not just rhetoric from some far-left politician. Polling trends are already pointing toward a potential shift in power in the 2026 midterms. That means the window for aligned federal action is limited, and states must be prepared to carry that work forward regardless of what happens in Washington.

RELATED: My message to President Trump: Don’t mess with Texas politics

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Key legislation like the SAVE America Act remains stalled, and DHS is still not fully funded to meet the scale of the challenge, caught in the middle of ongoing congressional budget standoffs. Structural reforms that would lock in enforcement gains for the long-term have yet to materialize. In other words, even with unified control, the system is struggling to deliver the level of security the country requires.

So what happens when that control goes away? We don’t have to guess — we’ve been told.

Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D) has said that under Democratic control, officials carrying out deportations could face mass prosecutions, while taxpayers would be expected to fund reparations for the “trauma” inflicted on foreign nationals.

The largest deportation effort in American history would be halted. Federal enforcement would be curtailed. The focus of immigration policy would shift away from American communities and toward accommodating foreign nationals.

And once that signal is sent from Washington, it will cascade downward — into statehouses, city councils, and law enforcement agencies across America.

This fight cannot be viewed as strictly federal. As I’ve written before, it starts at home. It depends on governors willing to lead, legislatures willing to fund enforcement, and local law enforcement willing to uphold the law consistently and without apology.

Sheriffs, police chiefs, and county officials are not peripheral actors in this system; they are fundamental to whether it succeeds or fails.

That responsibility is especially urgent in red states. And right now, Texas has an opportunity to lead.

RELATED: Senate Republicans tried to cave on Trump’s agenda

Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Texas Legislature has already laid the groundwork with its 2026 Interim Charges, taking on everything from hostile foreign networks operating inside our state to strengthening and equipping the new Texas Division of Homeland Security. But our interim work only matters if it turns into action.

As we head into the 90th Legislature, and while there is still alignment in the White House, Texas has an opportunity to go further — building a real, state-led homeland defense framework that doesn’t depend on shifting priorities in Washington. That means passing laws with teeth, funding enforcement, closing loopholes, and making it clear that in Texas, the rule of law is not optional.

Because when the political winds shift, and they always do, the difference between a secure nation and a vulnerable one will come down to what was built beforehand. The left’s intentions are no longer implied, they are explicit. The time for debate about what might happen is over. The only question now is whether we have the will to act before those promises become policy.

​Border states, Texas, Trump, Dhs, Ice, Democrats, Immigration, Illegal immigrants, Border security, Red states, Opinion & analysis 

WhatsApp is the most widely used messaging platform in the world, boasting three billion active monthly users as of 2025. With widespread adoption, Meta’s communication juggernaut delivers 100 billion messages per day brimming with terabytes of data that, up until recently, were believed to be safely encrypted to keep prying eyes at bay. Allegedly, that’s not the case: A new lawsuit claims WhatsApp’s encryption technology is merely a façade that hides Meta’s broad backdoor access.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Meta “categorically” denies the claims. But while the most recent turn in the drama involved a judge tossing out a suit from WhatsApp’s former cybersecurity chief alleging the company fired him for blowing the whistle, the larger global class-action suit against Meta rolls on.

Why people love WhatsApp

WhatsApp is hugely popular for several reasons.

A full trial and an investigation will need to be conducted before the truth comes to light.

First, it’s not tied to any specific phone platform or service. Unlike Apple’s proprietary iMessage, or perhaps Blackberry Message of the past, WhatsApp works on most devices, including Apple products, Android phones, desktop computers, and more. It’s ubiquitous, making it an easy choice for users who just want to connect with their family and friends, wherever they are and whatever device they use.

Second, WhatsApp features end-to-end encryption built on Signal Protocol — the same encryption technology found in the Signal app. That means your messages, photos, videos, and other files sent through the app are private so that only you and the person you’re talking to can view them. Don’t take my word for it though. Here’s what Meta says:

When you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us. End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private — sort of like a face-to-face conversation.

With end-to-end encryption, you can be sure that your messages are safe and sound from prying eyes who wish to monetize your information or worse, right? At least, that’s what it’s supposed to mean.

The lawsuit

The new lawsuit alleges that WhatsApp isn’t as encrypted as everyone believed. Filed at the U.S. District Court by a band of whistleblowers from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa, the suit claims that WhatsApp’s encryption technology can be easily thwarted by the right people within Meta’s own hallowed halls — including content moderators working through Accenture, which has been added as a defendant in the case.

Before we jump too far down the rabbit hole, the suit admits that WhatsApp doesn’t make the source code behind its encryption implementation available to the public or third-party auditors. Therefore it’s impossible to prove (or even disprove) that its encryption system is set up correctly, with no backdoor access or vulnerabilities. The public simply has to trust Meta to be honest here.

RELATED: Meta drops stunning news about its $77 BILLION VR world

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images (L), Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto/Getty Images (BG)

So how do the whistleblowers allegedly know that users’ encrypted messages are easily accessible? They claim that a Meta engineer can simply file a request within their internal system to view a user’s ID and chat history for work purposes. Worse, they claim some celebrities, politicians, and even Meta employees are closely “tracked” by staff for “investigation.” Lastly, the suit claims that Meta tried to prevent this information from reaching the public by isolating workers into specialized groups and forcing them to sign NDAs that threatened legal action should they speak out.

If true, this would mean that practically anyone’s WhatsApp data is viewable by a limited but notable group of people within Meta and, perhaps, some moderators working through Accenture. This data could also theoretically be copied and shared with other groups outside of the company, including advertisers, bad actors, or the government. Note that there is no proof so far that Meta shared users’ information outside of the company, but its sheer accessibility would throw a spotlight on Meta’s promise that no one — including Meta itself — can see your messages.

Naturally, Meta disputes the charges laid out in the lawsuit: “Any claim that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd,” the company says. “WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade. This lawsuit is a frivolous work of fiction and we will pursue sanctions against plaintiffs’ counsel.”

Should you abandon WhatsApp?

Just like individual people, in the court of law, companies are innocent until proven guilty. A full trial and an investigation into Meta’s encryption practices will need to be conducted before the truth comes to light. Erring on the side of caution, however, open source apps that are subject to public scrutiny and security audits are the only ones that can be tested and proven to do what they promise to do. Whether or not you wish to move away from WhatsApp is a personal choice.

That said, both public-facing apps from Signal and Telegram are open source, and they’re built with security protocols that are publicly verifiable. Signal comes with end-to-end encryption enabled from the start. Telegram requires the user to enable end-to-end encryption by starting a Secret Chat. That makes either of these options stronger on private messages and data.

​Meta, Whatsapp, Privacy, Tech 

A mother and father of a 15-month-old child who died have been arrested after an investigation determined the child died from ingesting methamphetamine.

Pennsylvania state police responded to a call on Feb. 12, 2025, at the Mt. Pleasant Township residence of 34-year-old Michael Thomas Blaesser and 31-year-old Ashley Amber Makarsky.

Another child at the home, who was 3 years old, tested positive for fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

Police found the unresponsive boy and transported him to the Independence Health Frick Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The living conditions at the residence were described as “beyond deplorable” by officers.

“There was no food in the house that we saw that was edible,” Trooper Steve Limani said. “The temperatures were below freezing within the home. The only heat source for the house was a kerosene heater that emitted fumes that you could strongly smell … along with fecal matter and garbage.”

There was no running water or electricity, the roof had holes in it, and the temperature inside was 28 degrees. A mattress appeared to have mold growing on it.

Limani says the boy was likely exposed to methamphetamine through drinking the mother’s toxic breast milk.

An investigation discovered that the parents had a history of drug abuse and had been involved in two other cases where children where exposed to drug-laced breast milk, according to Limani.

The three alleged incidents provided enough evidence for the parents to be charged with third-degree murder. They may also be charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.

Another child at the home, who was 3 years old, tested positive for fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, according to police.

RELATED: Arizona mother charged with child abuse after her 2-year-old daughter tests positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine

“There is a pattern set forth about where a person should know and understand the consequences of taking illicit substances and then using your body to … sustain life for your child — you’re feeding it drugs and potentially going to kill your child,” Limani said. “And that’s what took place.”

The pair were each given a $1 million bond. An attorney for Makarsky said the mother is “gutted” by the accusations and said it was the first time she’d gotten into trouble as far as the attorney knew.

A TribLIVE report said that court papers did not reference breast milk as the reason the child died.

“Those were the results of their horrific neglect and absolute disregard for trying to take care of a [child] that relied solely on these two individuals,” Limani added.

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​15 month old boy dies, Toxic drugs in breast milk, Blaesser makarsky charged murder, Mt pleasant township baby murder, Crime 

What if the radical feminism shaping your daughter’s identity isn’t coming from culture but from a school “mental health” session?

My organization, Courage Is a Habit, investigated and unveiled that the American School Counselor Association is promoting Lean In Girls, a program developed by the Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation, as a tier 2 intervention for girls as young as 11.

They are grooming the next generation of activists to carry out a political agenda.

We released a bombshell report showing that this program is marketed as confidence-building, but it introduces controversial ideas about identity, power, and gender under the umbrella of mental health, often in settings where parents may have limited visibility.

Its connection to radical feminist Sheryl Sandberg, who has recently re-entered the cultural spotlight, raises broader questions about how these ideas are reaching students. At a minimum, this debate points to a simple question: When schools say “mental health,” what are children actually being taught — and do parents know?

For decades, the school counselor’s office served as a sanctuary for student wellness and academic guidance. However, the ASCA continues peddling radical feminist curriculum into the lives of young girls in their most formative years.

Silencing dissent

Sheryl Sandberg, the architect of this curriculum, brings a troubling record from her time as Meta’s chief operating officer. Under her leadership, the platform weaponized “fact-checking” systems to silence conservative voices and fuel and create a stifling, hypersensitive environment.

This era of aggressive content moderation suppressed COVID skepticism and gender-critical opinions while hiding the Hunter Biden laptop story. Now that same culture, which Mark Zuckerberg later admitted “neutered” his company, has been repackaged as a mental health tool for young girls.

The erasure of biological reality

The most alarming aspect of Lean In Girls is its assault on the definition of a “girl.” The program openly invites biological males, described as “nonbinary teens who identify with the girlhood experience,” to participate in these sessions.

Facilitators are directed to use “gender-neutral language,” avoiding the words “girls” or “guys” in favor of “folks” or “leaders.” They are coached to swap “they/them” pronouns into scenarios and apologize if they make a mistake with a student’s preferred name or pronouns. All of this is funded by taxpayer-backed school resources.

Beyond gender ideology, the curriculum utilizes the divisive tactics of critical race theory. Facilitators are directed to rank themselves and their students on an intersectional “hierarchy of oppression.” This exercise divides children by race, sexuality, and perceived victim status.

Instead of teaching girls to lead with character, it teaches them to view every interaction through the lens of power and systemic bias.

RELATED: Why do state schools bankroll people who despise the state?

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Bypassing the parents

ASCA is positioning this program as a tier 2 intervention for students flagged as needing targeted behavioral or mental health support. This allows schools to target students for radicalization, often without explicit parental notification, under the fraudulent banner of wellness.

By framing activism as mental health support, school districts are attempting to bypass parental rights protections affirmed in cases like Mahmoud v. Taylor. They are grooming the next generation of activists to carry out a political agenda, similar to the radical figures Sandberg’s previous platforms once protected from criticism.

A call to action

The “Lean In” philosophy has moved from the corporate boardroom to the middle school hallway, bringing the full weight of DEI compliance and radical gender ideology with it. Parents must realize that many school counselors have become activists in residence. It is time to demand transparency.

Parents should take an active role in understanding what their children are being exposed to in school. Start by asking whether programs like Lean In Girls are being used and request access to the full curriculum.

It’s also important to insist on clear, written confirmation that parental consent will be obtained before any child is placed in these types of groups. And if concerns remain, parents have the option to opt out, ensuring their daughters are not placed in programs that conflict with their values or understanding of identity.

Our daughters deserve a future built on truth and genuine confidence, not a life of miserable marches, constant screaming, and insufferable activism.

​Woke ideology, Left wing activists, Courage is a habit, Lean in girls, Radical feminism, Lgbtq, Dei, American school counselor association, Opinion & analysis 

Leslie Jones is not happy with the institution of marriage, and she made that clear in a recent interview with YouTuber Ziwe — where she likened marriage to “legalized slavery.”

When pressed on her stance, Jones doubled down, warning young people against getting married and comparing traditional expectations of wives to oppression.

“I think marriage is legalized slavery,” Jones told Ziwe.

When the interviewer pushed back, Jones responded, “If he is expecting you to be a trad wife, he might as well pull out a whip and a chain.”

“There are young people watching who might be wanting to get married. What would you say to them?” the interviewer then asked.

“Don’t,” Jones replied.

Shemeka Michelle tells BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock on “Jason Whitlock Harmony” that Jones’ position is not born of a healthy mindset.

“I think this is silly. She’s 58 years old, and it really bothers me when we have old women who are just bitter and angry and never been married, alone. She never had children. She wants this same bitterness and anger for young people, saying, ‘Never get married,’” Michelle says.

“How can you even liken marriage to slavery? Marriage is something that God ordained. It’s why he created woman, because man wasn’t supposed to be alone. The fact that she likens it to slavery is just her own bitterness,” she continues.

“She has some residual bitterness for not being chosen,” she adds.

Whitlock couldn’t agree with Michelle more.

“Calling marriage slavery when it’s actually the greatest tool in the pursuit of holiness, that’s what really bothers me,” he agrees.

Michelle points out that Jones’ view of marriage is based on those who enter marriage for the wrong reasons.

“For Leslie to say that, I just feel like she’s never really stepped back and taken a look at herself beyond her physical appearance. But to say, ‘How can I change? How can I be a good wife?’ Because there are a lot of women who just enter marriage for the wrong reason,” Michelle explains.

“They want the big wedding. They want the nice ring. They want to be able to think that they’ll just get to sit on the couch and eat bonbons. They’re not looking at it from an act of service and how I can be a good wife. There are a lot of women who want to get married, but there aren’t a lot who want to be wives,” she continues.

“And this is clear from the way she likens it to slavery. She just has the wrong mindset about it,” she adds.

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The Supreme Court just heard arguments in a case (Trump v. Barbara) to determine whether we are a sovereign nation or whether any invaders can trespass in our nation and unilaterally assert jurisdiction to grab citizenship for their children.

Shockingly, there is no legal scholar alive who believes we have five votes against the maniacal theory that the 14th Amendment codifies anchor-baby citizenship of illegal aliens.

To eliminate the ability of the people to even debate the future membership of their society will spell the end of our country as a sovereign entity.

Rather than submitting to the Supreme Court, Trump must stake his presidency on the notion that Congress, not SCOTUS, has the final say on citizenship, and every fiber of his messaging and political capital should be expended toward shaming Republicans into passing a clarification of the law.

President Trump has already shown that he is willing to focus his attention singularly on one issue with his push for the SAVE Act. However, to the extent that we can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, fixing the debasement of citizenship itself is exponentially more important than preventing noncitizens from voting.

Although voting by noncitizens does unfortunately occur, it is relatively small compared to those who are given citizenship and vote legally when they should be disqualified.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, there were 225,000 to 250,000 births to illegal immigrants just in 2023. That is close to 7% of all births in the country and could account for several million new citizens over a decade. In addition, the CIS estimates that roughly 500,000 kids were born to temporary visa-holders over the past decade. Thus, fake citizens voting “legally” is a much graver concern than noncitizen voting.

This loophole is a sovereignty and security problem. The Chinese espionage machine exploits this loophole to bring in pregnant women, drop a baby, and grab citizenship on behalf of an enemy nation. Would we allow invading armies to bring their wives along for the ride and obtain citizenship too?

Whenever I challenge some friends to make broader immigration reform more important than the SAVE Act, which the right has chosen as its final hill to die on, the retort I get is that SAVE has simplicity of messaging. However, nothing beats the message that illegal invaders should not be able to come here against the national will and steal citizenship from the nation.

An immigration reform bill to stop granting citizenship to those here illegally and those born to temporary visa-holders should be coupled with a bill to ensure that illegal aliens are not counted in the Census. Some estimates project that counting noncitizens in the Census has shifted 17 House seats.

This is a much more consequential form of voter fraud. And unlike voter registration, it’s fully under federal control. I’m all for the SAVE Act, but let’s be honest: Blue states will not enforce it in the long run, especially under a Democrat president.

So what should the president do? He must preemptively build the case that even to the extent one agrees with the Wong Kim Ark decision on birthright citizenship, it can only apply to those domiciled here on a permanent basis, not illegal aliens or temporary visitors. And to the extent that there is a dispute, it is up to Congress, not SCOTUS, to decide.

It’s important to remember that the 14th Amendment itself, under Section 5, grants Congress the power to enforce the provisions of the amendment. To interpret it in a superfluous fashion that would void an entire enumerated power is absurd in light of the power of Congress to interpret the amendment itself.

Certainly, in any case of ambiguity, we must err on the side of caution not to strip the consent to citizenship away from the society and its representatives.

Congress clearly has the authority to interpret the scope of jurisdiction any given class of immigrants have and can pass laws clarifying in which instances their children are entitled to citizenship. After all, Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress plenary power over naturalizations.

RELATED: My friend survived the Global War on Terror. Leftist immigration policies got him killed.

Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Unless there would be no way to read the plain language of the 14th Amendment other than a mandate based upon territorial jurisdiction instead of political jurisdiction (before 1898, nobody read it this way), it is simply imprudent to interpret it in the most stringent way. Doing so would have the effect of almost completely voiding an enumerated power of the people’s representatives.

If Congress is powerless to prevent people from coming here and stealing citizenship, that would mean Congress does not control the power over naturalization.

The operative paragraph of the Ark opinion establishing birthright citizenship for children born to immigrant parents qualifies that they “are entitled to the protection of, and owe allegiance to, the United States,” but only “so long as they are permitted by the United States to reside here.” If they are not permitted to reside here, which is the subject addressed in Trump’s birthright order, then all bets are off.

We will always have social disagreements on immigration as a matter of policy, but to eliminate the ability of the people to even debate the future membership of their society will spell the end of our country as a sovereign entity. To create an affirmative right to immigrate and remain in the country against the national will represents that most profound usurpation of a nation’s sovereignty.

During the debate over the 14th Amendment in 1866, Rep. James F. Wilson (R-Iowa) emphasized that the amendment was “establishing no new right, declaring no new principle.” He reiterated, “It is not the object of this bill to establish new rights, but to protect and enforce those which belong to every citizen.” How tragic for us to now create the ultimate novel right for foreigners that strips the sovereignty from every citizen.

​Birthright citizenship, Supreme court, Trump, Immigration, Illegal immigrants, Trump v barbara, Wong kim ark, Elections, Fourteenth amendment, Scotus, Opinion & analysis 

President Donald Trump has announced that Operation Epic Fury is “nearing completion” as the military operation against Iran approaches its fifth week.

During his address to the nation Wednesday night, Trump recapped the United States’ progress in the region, aiming to reassure Americans that the conflict would soon draw to a close. Notably, Trump did not indicate whether the United States would put boots on the ground in the region.

‘The hard part is done.’

Trump reiterated the objectives of the operation, including destroying Iran’s air force and navy, debilitating its missile capabilities, and preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons.

“Tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” Trump said. “As we celebrate this progress, we think especially of the 13 American warriors who have laid down their lives in this fight to prevent our children from ever having to face a nuclear Iran.”

RELATED: Trump says Iran asked for a ceasefire — but the US has one major condition

Trump also echoed the updates he provided throughout the week, urging European allies burdened by the oil crisis to buy American oil and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz themselves.

“The hard part is done, so it should be easy,” Trump said. “And in any event, when this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally.”

Although it is still unclear who in Iran the United States is negotiating with and the status of those negotiations, Trump said that he is on track to “get rid of a cancer that has long simmered.”

“It’s known as the nuclear Iran,” Trump said. “And they didn’t know what was coming. They never imagined it.”

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Wisconsin police released video of a suspect in the stabbing death of a woman at her Kenosha home on Wednesday.

Kenosha police said they were called to the home near 75th Street and 22nd Avenue for a welfare check on a woman. Her friend told police that her estranged husband had been getting physical with her.

‘I never would have thought nothing of it. He seemed like a cool dude, held the door, he came in with his kids.’

The man identified as Marckus Plaza was seen by police dragging a body in the home.

When they spoke to Plaza, he gave them a fake name, and after they gained entry into the home, he was seen hopping a fence to escape.

The woman was found in the basement stabbed to death, according to police. They also found a phone that was bent in half.

Inside the home were her two children.

Police said Plaza escaped on foot and is looking to find transportation to flee from the area. They described him as a black man weighing about 190 pounds with a height of 5’6″. When last seen, he was wearing dark-colored sweatpants and a white tank top.

They also released a video of the man hopping a fence into what appears to be a neighbor’s yard to escape police.

WDJT-TV reported that court documents indicated the woman had obtained a restraining order against Plaza.

He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide using a dangerous weapon.

RELATED: Suspect in ‘horrific, gruesome’ murder of family in Alabama is Salvadoran gang member and had been deported, police say

A resident of the area said he had encountered Plaza before the incident.

“I’ve seen him at the gas station before,” Bobby Johnson said. “I never would have thought nothing of it. He seemed like a cool dude, held the door, he came in with his kids.”

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​Kenosha killer marckus plaza, Man stabs wife to death, Man seen dragging body, Man hops fence to escape cops, Crime 

When conservative mother Isabel Brown spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, she used the platform to champion having more children — a cause BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey of “Relatable” can easily get behind.

However, not everyone appreciated Brown’s stance, particularly the women of “The View.”

“I think it’s just really reckless to be suggesting that people should have children when you now know, in this country, there’s this affordability crisis. And for a two-person household, a married household, you need over $400,000 for child care,” Sunny Hostin explained to the panel.

Hostin went on to claim that Brown was “advocating for people to be born into poverty,” where those children will not be educated, housed, or fed.

“At the same time … this government is cutting all of the services that would allow people to have families and big families,” she added.

Stuckey calls Hostin’s statement “over-the-top, inaccurate, and absurd.”

“No one said that having children comes without sacrifices and comes without some form of what people may call inconvenience. But the idea that you have to be making almost half a million dollars a year to be able to just survive with children is absurd,” she says.

“It’s not true today. It has never been true in all of history,” she adds.

But Hostin wasn’t the only one on the panel who criticized Brown’s statement.

“I gave our girl Isabel a little Google,” Whitney Cummings said. “She has a baby. She has a 1-year-old. Of course, she thinks everyone should have a lot of kids. She has a 1-year-old that sleeps all day.”

“I also was like, ‘I’m going to have a bunch more kids.’ Wait till your kid is up and walking and you spend most of your day trying to get its shoes on. You’re probably going to rethink how many kids you have,” Cummings added.

“I must be doing motherhood wrong because, see, my 1-year-olds were awake all day, and they took a nap for a couple hours in the afternoon, but they were awake. Are you thinking about a 1-month-old? A 1-year-old is a toddler,” Stuckey responds.

“Having a 1-year-old is, like, one of the most challenging times because they’re so mobile, they’re so energetic, and yet they can’t just sit there and be entertained by a book for very long. And so, that’s crazy,” she continues.

Stuckey, who has three children of her own, believes that Hostin and Cummings are actually just placing convenience and luxury over children — much like other women in the “child-free movement.”

Stuckey plays a clip one woman posted on TikTok of herself discussing how wonderful it is to lie around all day and prioritize her own needs instead of having children.

“That’s such a superficial and selfish reason not to have kids,” she says.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement is urging Dallas County to honor a detainer request lodged against an illegal alien accused of possessing child pornography, according to a press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.

Orvin Bayardo Fuentes Borjas, 24, was arrested by the Irving Police Department and booked into the Dallas County jail system on March 6 after he was charged with possession of child pornography — over 50 visual depictions, a first-degree felony.

‘Every single day, ICE is working to remove criminal illegal aliens like this sicko arrested for possession of 50 child pornography images.’

Fuentes Borjas’ bond was set at $100,000.

The Irving Journal, a local news outlet, reported that a tip about Fuentes Borjas’ alleged online activity led to his arrest.

A press release from the Department of Homeland Security revealed that ICE issued an arrest detainer against Fuentes Borjas. ICE is urging Dallas County not to release the suspect from local custody to allow agents time to transfer him to federal custody.

RELATED: Heroic ICE agent miraculously saves unresponsive child in TSA line

Orvin Bayardo Fuentes Borjas. Image source: Dallas County

The DHS described Fuentes Borjas as an illegal alien from Honduras.

“He was booked into Dallas County Jail, where he will remain until ICE takes him into custody,” the agency wrote.

The DHS claimed that the suspect previously failed to show up for his immigration hearing and was issued a final order of removal on February 3, 2020.

RELATED: Why I support ICE as the son of an immigrant

Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg/Getty Images

“Every single day, ICE is working to remove criminal illegal aliens like this sicko arrested for possession of 50 child pornography images. ICE asked Dallas to not release this pedophile from jail back into Texas communities,” DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.

Bis stated that under President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s leadership, “ICE law enforcement will not allow criminal illegal aliens to prey on innocent children.”

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office does not participate in ICE’s 287(g) partnership program, according to ICE’s website. However, Texas law requires law enforcement agencies to comply with ICE detainer requests.

“To keep predators like these out of our communities, it is imperative that local law enforcement works with ICE — Irving did its job here, but more must be done to ramp up removals. Municipalities across the board participating in the 287(g) Task Force program would be the surest way to make that a reality,” Irving City Council member Luis Canosa told Blaze News.

The Irving Police Department declined to comment. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

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​News, Dallas county jail, Dallas county, Dallas county sheriff’s office, 287(g), 287(g) program, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Immigration enforcement, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Irving texas, Texas, Irving, Irving police department, Politics 

A woman tasked with the mission to defend human rights in San Francisco was stealing funds from a nonprofit for her personal enrichment, according to prosecutors.

Sheryl Davis. 57, was charged with 17 felony counts that included conflict of interest in a government contract, perjury, and misappropriating public funds.

Prosecutors said she misappropriated funds from a charity meant to benefit homeless children that received $3.5 million of city funds.

Authorities were tipped off by a whistleblower to Davis’ alleged illegal activities, according to a press release from San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

Davis was in charge of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from the Dream Keeper Initiative but allegedly funneled the cash to companies where she could personally benefit. The program was meant to invest in the African-American community after the rioting over the death of George Floyd.

Prosecutors said she misappropriated funds from a charity meant to benefit homeless children that received $3.5 million of city funds. The organization paid Davis’ son about $140,000, which was “deposited into a bank account Ms. Davis jointly owned and controlled.”

Other numerous schemes were outlined by prosecutors in which Davis and 65-year-old James Spingola, a co-conspirator who ran a San Francisco nonprofit, allegedly misappropriated funds for their own benefit.

Spingola was charged with four felony counts of aiding and abetting Davis’ conflict of interest in four contracts with the city.

Both Davis and Spingola were arrested on Monday and were booked into the San Francisco County Jail and given a $50,000 bond each.

Davis was fired in 2024 after it was discovered that she was living with Spingola without disclosing the relationship with the grant recipient. She was also accused of misusing funds at that time. The job paid $350,000 a year when she was fired.

RELATED: BLM activist named ‘Bostonian of the Year’ ordered to repay money she embezzled from taxpayers and nonprofit

“These are not routine charges,” Jenkins said. “But I want to be clear: These are allegations that will ultimately be proven or disproven in court.”

Prosecutors say Davis may face additional charges. The investigation into her alleged misconduct involved more than 50 search warrants and spanned over 18 months.

“We have charged what we believe we had the evidence to prove,” Jenkins added.

Davis posted an odd message after the arrest on her social media account.

“Where are my encouraging and supportive sisters?” she asked.

Her attorney denied that she was guilty of any felonious conduct.

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Democrat Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada took to social media earlier this week to post an ill-tempered tirade filled with profanity.

Lee let out a flurry of F-words in response to an article detailing President Donald Trump’s plans to attend the Supreme Court’s oral arguments on a landmark birthright citizenship case. Notably, Lee’s profile banner on X brands her as “America’ #1 Most Bipartisan Member of Congress.”

‘Clearly my language touched a nerve.’

“So f**king f**ked up,” Lee said in a now-deleted post with a timestamp of 1:03 a.m. Wednesday. “I’ll pray they f**k him to his face. Sorry, I say f**k a lot these days.”

Rather than apologizing for her low impulse control, Lee doubled down and defended her incoherent rant, claiming Trump has violated the Constitution and its separation of powers.

RELATED: SCOTUS asks pointed questions as fate of Trump’s birthright citizenship order hangs in the balance

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

“Clearly my language touched a nerve — my nerve was touched by the attacks on our Constitution and its separation of powers,” Lee said in a post later that morning. “I took an oath to protect and defend it.”

Administration officials and allies of the president mocked Lee’s lack of professionalism, insinuating she has a drinking problem that contributed to her lack of online inhibition.

Brandon Herrera, a Republican congressional candidate from Texas, piled on to the ratio on Lee’s childish follow-up post.

“I’m gonna need you to take an oath to stop swearing until you get good at it,” Herrera said in a post on X. “Currently you sound like a 9 year old trying to impress the older kids.”

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​Susie lee, Donald trump, Supreme court, Scotus, Birthright citizenship, Oral arguments, Brandon herrera, Trump adminstration, Constitution, Separation of powers, James blair, White house, Politics 

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham may not be able to find the time to vote for the SAVE America Act, but according to newly circulating viral photos, he’s apparently more than happy to rush off to Disney World.

The photos show him hanging out at the Magic Kingdom — holding a bubble wand — during the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

“Why are you there? Lindsey Graham, why are you there? You hate us, it seems, actually,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” disturbed.

“Senator Lindsey Graham has not been able to find the time to just stay and vote on the SAVE America Act … we allegedly have a majority, so it shouldn’t be hard to get it through. And by the way, 80% of Americans will thank you because this is a very bipartisan agreement that we all say you should have to prove that you are who you say you are before you vote,” she continues.

While Graham being at Disney World during this shutdown would seem bad enough even if he had a family and children, the truth is that he doesn’t.

“I just have to tell you guys, for those who are following at home, in case you’re not familiar with this weirdo, he doesn’t have a wife, he doesn’t have kids, he doesn’t have grandkids. Which, by the way, is probably why he wants us to go to war so much. It’s not his family who has to die,” Gonzales says.

“You’re by yourself, you’re buying bubble wands, you’re walking around. What are you doing?” she asks. “Are you using the bubble wand to try to entice the children? Is this like the f**ked up Lindsey Graham version of the man in the van with the candy?”

“And by the way, I did also read that he skipped the line. He skipped the Space Mountain line. Everyone else was waiting, and apparently nobody was important enough as Lady Graham,” she adds.

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​Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Lindsey graham, Government shutdown, Disney world, Magic kingdom, Lindsey graham bubble wand, Save act, Save america act 

Multiple sources have claimed that the Chinese government is suspiciously repositioning its military assets, signaling possible future activity around Taiwan.

The reports come from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, which tracks Chinese military might and defense systems.

‘We are concerned by the increased pressure from Beijing, including military activity around Taiwan.’

The China Airpower Tracker reportedly showed lines of typically retired Chinese fighter jets, which have drawn suspicion from experts. The J-6 fighter (also known as the Shenyang J-6) was first developed in the late 1950s.

China retired the line of jets in the late 1990s, but now, experts say, China is retrofitting the old fighters to serve as unmanned craft and staging them at six air bases close to the Taiwan Strait. Mitchell Institute senior fellow J. Michael Dahm told Reuters that approximately 200 obsolete fighters were being converted to drones.

The drones could be used to “attack Taiwan, U.S., or allied targets in large numbers, effectively overwhelming air defenses,” Dahm claimed.

At the same time, the Mitchell Institute is not the only source noticing some of China’s militaristic anomalies.

RELATED: I saw the sky light up over Dubai. The real shock came next.

MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

In a March 17 report, Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies noticed “small swept-wing aircraft parked on the same apron” as the newer J-16 multi-role fighter at Zhangzhou’s Longtian Airport, “presumed to be a J-6 fighter (equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks).”

The NIDS concluded that “there is no immediately apparent rational explanation for the presence of J-6s at forward airfields. The co-existence of state-of-the-art multi-role fighters and obsolete fighters cannot be explained simply by a fleet modernization program,” the report continued. “Rather, it suggests that they may be assigned different missions.”

Noting that the J-6 is no longer capable of enduring modern air-to-air battles, the report said it is “not technically implausible” that it could be recommissioned into service following a conversion to an “unmanned configuration.”

RELATED: The only Iran plan that doesn’t end with a 20-year hangover

Photo DigitalGlobe/Getty Images

“We are concerned by the increased pressure from Beijing, including military activity around Taiwan that raises the risk of miscalculation,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a recent Taiwan briefing.

Taiwanese Deputy Minister Hsu Szu-chien said he hoped the United States would soon expedite a process for arm sales to his country.

“This would greatly facilitate our efforts to secure funding for the special defense budget,” said Szu-chien.

Reuters also reported that the U.S. is preparing an arm sales package to Taiwan worth $14 billion.

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President Donald Trump has taken action to implement new policies to shut down mail-in voting fraud, and Democrats have wasted no time in announcing efforts to oppose it.

Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that directs the secretary of Homeland Security, with the aid of the Social Security Administration, to compile a list of U.S. citizens in each state who are eligible to vote.

‘The American people sent him back to the White House because they overwhelmingly supported his commonsense election integrity agenda.’

The order further asks the U.S. Postal Service to adjust its rules and send ballots only to people on the voter list for each state and that all mail-in ballots be sent in secure envelopes that include a unique tracking barcode.

Each state will receive a list of the eligible voters no fewer than 60 days prior to each regularly scheduled federal election. The order also directs the U.S. attorney general to prioritize investigating and possibly prosecuting anyone — including state and local officials, public and private entities, and individuals — involved in sending ballots to ineligible voters.

Democrats immediately accused the president of infringing on Americans’ right to vote with the order as well as the right of states to run their elections.

“This is another desperate, illegal power grab that shows a total lack of respect for the American people and our Constitution,” read a statement from Oregon State Secretary Tobias Read.

“The Constitution is clear: states run elections. Oregon’s gold standard vote-by-mail elections are secure, fair, and accurate,” he added. “We don’t need decrees from Washington, D.C. My message to the president: We’ll see you in court.”

“This Executive Order is a disgusting overreach from the federal government and shows how little the Trump administration understands about election administration,” said Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D). Fontes likewise pledged to take Trump to court over the EO.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson released a statement to the Daily Caller about the order.

“Election integrity has always been a top priority for President Trump, and the American people sent him back to the White House because they overwhelmingly supported his commonsense election integrity agenda,” she said.

Congress is currently debating the SAVE Act, also called the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Democrats have promised to vehemently oppose the bill’s passage.

“The president will do everything in his power to defend the safety and security of American elections and to ensure that only American citizens are voting in them,” Jackson added. “Congress should also expeditiously pass President Trump’s SAVE America Act to protect elections for generations to come.”

RELATED: ‘Dead on arrival’: Chuck Schumer says Dems will ‘go all out’ to defeat voter ID bill

The president has threatened to veto any other bill the Congress passes until the SAVE Act is passed.

“It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else,” he wrote on social media earlier this month.

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​Trump against mail in voting, Mail in voting executive order, Trump executive orders, Voter fraud, Politics 

For a brief moment, X stopped reading like a machine built to aggravate, divide, and degrade the people using it. Instead of the usual sludge of foreign bots and demoralizing propaganda, American users found themselves, thanks to a new auto-translation feature, staring at something unexpected: a flood of posts from Japan celebrating the United States. Monster trucks, backyard barbecue, Old West revolvers, bluegrass music, country songs, and all the rowdy symbols of American life that our own elites often treat as embarrassing were suddenly being admired from abroad.

It reminded Americans that our culture is not only real, but vivid enough that another people can see its beauty even when we have been taught to sneer at it ourselves. If Americans and Japanese are to continue to enjoy our distinct cultures, we must fight to maintain the true diversity that makes a civilization worth preserving.

Status in the U.S. and many other Western nations is acquired by looking down on the folkways of the average American.

Most Americans know that there is a strong current of appreciation for Japanese culture in the U.S. Americans eat Japanese food, watch anime, read manga, practice karate, and revere samurai movies. While we were once in a brutal war, Americans have come to respect the noble and beautiful traditions of the Japanese. What many Americans did not know is that the Japanese also have a robust subculture of appreciation for American culture.

Americans are constantly told that they have no culture, or that what they do have is shallow, vulgar, and unworthy of defense. In much of elite life, status comes from mocking the tastes and traditions of ordinary Americans. Status in the U.S. and many other Western nations is acquired by looking down on the folkways of the average American.

It is not just that the Japanese love American culture, but that they seem to focus specifically on rural Southern and Western archetypes. Banjos playing “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” barbeques grilling comically large steaks, monster trucks crushing everything below them. The Japanese love and celebrate everything that American elites have trained the population at large to sneer at.

Recently, many people have been asking the question “What is an American?” But the Japanese seem to know right away. There is no confusion, no debate. The answer is obvious and plays itself out in the memes, re-enactments, and celebrations the Japanese enjoy while honoring American culture. Sometimes another people can identify your defining traits more clearly than you can, especially after your own institutions have spent years trying to dissolve them.

In a period when many people in the United States feel estranged from their own inheritance, it was oddly heartening to see ourselves reflected in a nation we admire. If the Japanese know who Americans are, then the least we can do is be proud to act like the Americans the Japanese love.

This sudden outburst of cultural appreciation also puts to bed the idea that Americans are xenophobes who hate other countries. Japan’s love for the U.S. is reciprocated with great fervor by Americans. But why are Americans so willing to appreciate and embrace the Japanese while being dismissive of so many other countries? The answer is simple: The Japanese are worthy of admiration. Not all cultures are equal, and the Japanese have emerged from the devastation of war to rebuild a high-trust society on a foundation of rich history and honorable conduct. It turns out that Americans don’t hate other cultures; they simply save their appreciation for those that deserve it.

The social media cultural exchange also highlighted the importance of real diversity and the need to protect distinct cultures. Both the Americans and Japanese hold reciprocal appreciation for each other’s civilizations and want to see them continue into the future. Americans want our grandchildren to be able to visit Japan in 100 years and experience what we celebrate now, and the Japanese feel the same about the U.S. An island called Japan that had the same borders and topography but was filled with Indians, Palestinians, and Somalians would not be the same. If the island chain of Japan were full of Haitians, it would not be Japan; it would be Haiti with some cherry blossoms.

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That is the point that modern ideology cannot admit. A nation is not just a market, a legal zone, or a patch of land inside a set of borders. It is the Japanese people, their way of life, and the culture they create that define the nation. Japan has been better than most modern nations in protecting its identity, but the country is under immense pressure to open its borders. Like much of the modern world, Japan is experiencing a massive decline in birth rates and is struggling to care for its elderly population while replacing its workforce. After dabbling in increased immigration to bolster its workforce, the nation has elected a right-wing government to reimpose restrictions. A civilization can survive low birth rates for a time; it cannot survive replacement.

Americans are beginning to understand the same truth about themselves. If Japan would cease to be Japan after demographic replacement, then the United States would cease to be the United States under the same conditions. America is a real, distinct culture with traditions, folkways, and history that are worthy of pride. America is not just an economy or an administrative zone attached to a flag. We need to stop being shamed into rejecting our culture or treating it as the banal background for a global empire. Japan is beautiful because the Japanese have built a civilization worth preserving. America is beautiful because Americans built a distinct culture worth preserving. That culture deserves more than ironic detachment or ritual embarrassment. It deserves loyalty. The Japanese, in their odd and affectionate way, reminded Americans of something many had forgotten: This country is real, its inheritance is beautiful, and it is worth preserving.

​Japan, Maga, Auron macintyre, Auron, Japanese, Opinion & analysis