Category: blaze media

In response to widespread rioting and domestic disorder in Los Angeles, President Trump ordered the deployment of National Guard units. More than 700 U.S. Marines from the Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms were also mobilized on Monday to protect federal property around the city.

As expected, critics pounced. They claim Trump’s orders violate American tradition — calling them anti-constitutional, anti-federal, and an authoritarian misuse of executive power. They say Trump is turning the military into a domestic police force.

In moments like this, the republic must defend itself.

But that argument isn’t just wrong — it’s nonsense on stilts.

The U.S. Army Historical Center has published three comprehensive volumes documenting the repeated and lawful use of federal military forces in domestic affairs since the founding of the republic. From the Whiskey Rebellion to civil rights enforcement, history shows that federal troops have long been a constitutional backstop when local authorities fail to maintain order.

Certainly, the use of military forces within U.S. borders must be limited and considered carefully. But the Constitution explicitly grants this authority. Article IV, Section 4 states: “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.”

That clause isn’t a suggestion — it’s a command. A republican government exists to safeguard life, liberty, and property. The First Amendment protects the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government, but it does not shield acts of arson, looting, or assault. When rioters threaten the public, federal intervention becomes not just permissible but, in this instance, necessary.

Article II empowers the president, as commander in chief of the Army, Navy, and National Guard (when called into federal service), to act decisively against both foreign and domestic threats. That includes quelling insurrections when state leaders fail to uphold public order.

The National Guard is not the “militia” the founders discussed. That distinction was settled with the passage of the Dick Act in 1903, which clarified the Guard’s federal identity in relation to state control. Since then, the Guard has operated under dual federal and state authority — with federal control taking precedence when activated. Once federalized, the National Guard becomes an extension of the U.S. military.

Congress codified this authority in 1807 with the Insurrection Act. It authorizes the president to use military force when ordinary judicial proceedings fail. This provision enabled presidents throughout history to deploy troops against domestic unrest. During the 1950s and ’60s, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy used it to enforce desegregation orders in the South.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush relied on the same statute to deploy Army and Marine forces alongside the California National Guard during the L.A. riots following the Rodney King trial verdict. That was done without sparking cries of dictatorship.

RELATED: Why Trump had to do what Gavin Newsom refused to do

Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Those accusing Trump of violating norms by acting over a governor’s objection should revisit 1957. After Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus (D) defied federal orders to desegregate Little Rock Central High School, President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent in the 101st Airborne Division. Democratic Sen. Richard Russell of Georgia decried the move, comparing the troops to Hitler’s storm troopers — a reminder that hysterical analogies are nothing new.

Americans have sought to limit military involvement in domestic life. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was designed to do just that — restrict the use of federal troops in civil law enforcement without explicit authorization. But even that law has historical nuance.

The concept of “posse comitatus” comes from English common law. It refers to the authority of sheriffs to summon local citizens to restore order. In early American history, federal troops often supported U.S. Marshals. They enforced the Fugitive Slave Act, stanched the bleeding in Kansas, and helped capture John Brown at Harpers Ferry.

After the Civil War, the Army played a key role in enforcing Reconstruction and suppressing the Ku Klux Klan under the Force Acts. Southern Democrats opposed this use of federal power. But by the 1870s, even Northern lawmakers grew uneasy when soldiers were ordered to suppress railroad strikes under direction of state and local officials.

The Army eventually welcomed Posse Comitatus. Being placed under local political control compromised military professionalism and exposed troops to partisan misuse. Officers feared that domestic policing would corrupt the armed forces.

I’ve long argued for restraint in using military power within U.S. borders. That principle still matters. But lawlessness, when left unchecked, can and will destroy republican government. And when local leaders fail to act — or worse, encourage disorder — the federal government must step in.

President Trump has both the constitutional and statutory authority to deploy troops in response to the violence unfolding in Los Angeles. Whether he should do so depends on prudence and necessity. But the idea that such action is unprecedented or somehow illegal has no basis in law or history.

If mayors and governors abdicate their duty, Washington must not. The defense of law-abiding citizens cannot hinge on the whims of ideologues or the cowardice of local officials. And in moments like this, the republic must defend itself.

​Opinion & analysis, National guard, Donald trump, Dwight d. eisenhower, Thomas jefferson, Marines, Los angeles, Authoritarian, Constitution, Life, Liberty, Property, Insurrection act, California, Riots, Gavin newsom, Rodney king, Orval faubus, Little rock, Bleeding kansas, Ku klux klan, Posse comitatus, Military, Adolf hitler, Army, Navy, Governor, Blue states, Illegal immigration, Ice, Immigration and customs enforcement, Federal law 

Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee abruptly announced Monday that he will be resigning from Congress, narrowing an already slim GOP majority.

Green said he will be ending his 40-year-long career in public service to pursue a role in the private sector, which he says “was too exciting to pass up.” His resignation will take place after he votes on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which barely made it through the House in May and is currently making its way through the Senate.

Once Green officially resigns, Republicans will hold 219 seats and Democrats will hold 212 seats.

Although Green is not the first Republican member to leave this Congress, his resignation has raised some eyebrows.

RELATED: Republicans clash with Democratic lawmakers defending violent anti-ICE rioters

Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from Congress,” Green said in a statement Monday. “Recently, I was offered an opportunity in the private sector that was too exciting to pass up. As a result, today I notified the Speaker and the House of Representatives that I will resign from Congress as soon as the House votes once again on the reconciliation package.”

Although Green is not the first Republican member to leave Congress since the 2024 election, his resignation has raised some eyebrows.

Former Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz of Florida both left Congress after President Donald Trump nominated them for attorney general and national security adviser. Gaetz’s nomination was eventually withdrawn, and he was replaced with Republican Rep. Jimmy Patronis. Waltz went on to serve in the administration and was later replaced by Republican Rep. Randy Fine.

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York was also set to serve in the administration as ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik was midway through her Senate confirmation before her nomination was also pulled due to the narrow House majority.

While Stefanik’s nomination was withdrawn due to the slim majority, Green’s resignation went unopposed.

RELATED: Democrats overwhelmingly vote against resolution condemning anti-Semitic Boulder attack, while lone Republican votes present

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A key difference between the two is that Green’s seat is in a safe Republican district. Although Stefanik comfortably won re-election, the blue state of New York would have been responsible for holding a special election for her seat.

Stefanik was also set to leave before the reconciliation vote, which barely made it through the House in May with a 215-214 vote. Because of the thin margin, Green said he will remain in Congress until the landmark legislation is sent back from the Senate and passes the House for a second time.

House Republican leadership staff confirmed to Blaze News that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was made aware of Green’s imminent resignation before his announcement on Monday, allowing for a smooth transition.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee now must set the date for a special election. Tennessee law requires the governor to order a special election within 10 days of Green’s resignation and to schedule a primary election within 55 to 60 days from the resignation and a subsequent general election within 100 to 107 days.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​House republicans, House democrats, Donald trump, Mark green, Mike johnson, Congress, Tennessee, Matt gaetz, Mike waltz, Elise stefanik, Jimmy patronis, Randy fine, Senate republicans, Senate democrats, House majority, Politics 

Today marks the fifth day of Los Angeles’ anti-ICE riots. The media continues to orchestrate a BLM Summer of Rage 2.0 cover-up campaign by painting a picture of “mostly peaceful” grassroots-led protests. Video footage of violence and fiery terror at the hands of organized rioters with professionally printed signs, however, tells a vastly different story.

The truth is that these riots were funded and meticulously calculated. On this episode of “The Liz Wheeler Show,” Liz breaks down seven potential people and groups behind the L.A. riots.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — a “political warlord” who served as a “top-ranking official” in the National Endowment for Democracy, a USAID-funded NGO with a stated mission of “fomenting color revolutions abroad” — “might be one of the leaders” behind the violent riots, “at least in a political sense,” Liz speculates.

But these riots, Liz explains, “take cash,” so who’s funneling the money?

Citing an investigative X thread from DataRepublican, Liz says that of a “number of NGOs [that] have been implicated, foremost is Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights [of Los Angeles], or CHIRLA.”

According to DataRepublican, “$34 million of [CHIRLA’s] reported $45 million in revenue are from government grants,” meaning taxpayer dollars are being used to pay the people who are setting fire to cop cars and hurling concrete slabs at federal agents.

During the Biden administration specifically, CHIRLA’s revenue “jumped from $12 million to $34 million in government grants.”

“The Joe Biden administration knew exactly who they wanted to give money to in order to set up situations like these riots in California,” says Liz.

Further, the group that printed and paid for several of the rioters’ signs is the “Party for Socialism and Liberation,” “a communist political party in the United States” that advocates for a socialist revolution to dismantle capitalism and establish a socialist system. PSL has close organizational and financial ties to the ANSWER Coalition, a “United States-based protest umbrella group of many anti-war and civil rights organizations.”

In other words, ANSWER is essentially a group that offers “protesters for hire,” says Liz.

DataRepublican also pointed to a New York Post article claiming that the PSL and ANSWER are both funded by “socialist multi-millionaire Neville Singham,” who “became a billionaire by pushing Chinese propaganda worldwide.”

Other organizations involved include the Service Employees International Union California — whose president, David Huerta, was arrested on June 6 during the L.A. protests for deliberately obstructing federal agents — as well as the Million Voters Project, which aims to mobilize a million new and infrequent voters to strengthen democracy and advocate for equity and inclusion.

“So these are not organic [protests]. This is not real,” says Liz. “It’s being paid for by communists, operated by communists.”

To hear more about the dark underbelly of the riots in Los Angeles, watch the episode above.

Want more from Liz Wheeler?

To enjoy more of Liz’s based commentary, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The liz wheeler show, Liz wheeler, Neville roy singham, Blazetv, Blaze media, Los angeles, Karen bass, La protests, La riots, Chirla, Psl, Party for socialism and liberation 

A Minnesota state representative confessed her own apparently unlawful immigration to the United States to persuade her fellow lawmakers to support allowing illegal immigrants to continue receiving public health care benefits.

On the state House floor on Monday, Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party member, admitted that she is illegally in the country, claiming that her father misrepresented familiar relations on federal documents.

Her’s confession quickly went viral among conservative political commentators and media outlets, prompting her to recant the admission during a Monday interview with the Minnesota Reformer.

‘My family was just smarter in how we illegally came here.’

Her’s comments come amid violent riots in Los Angeles and escalating tensions in New York City over President Donald Trump’s efforts to solve the country’s illegal immigration crisis.

RELATED: Murderers, rapists, gang members: ICE busts 12 of LA’s ‘worst’ illegal alien criminals amid riots

Rioters confront National Guardsmen outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025, amid anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests. Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

Her, who was born in Laos, made the confession while advocating for illegal immigrants receiving the state’s public health care, MinnesotaCare.

During her speech on the House floor, Her became emotional, discussing her personal relationships with representatives across the aisle.

“This is not about impugning anybody’s motives, but I would like for you to put a face to the name,” Her told Republicans.

She explained how her father, who worked at the U.S. consulate, brought her family from Laos to America at the end of the Vietnam War by falsifying immigration paperwork.

Her stated that her uncle had worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development and was immediately eligible to come to the U.S. because of his government work, while her immediate family did not qualify for the same expedited pipelines. However, her uncle’s mother had passed away, so Her’s father claimed their grandmother was their mother on federal documents to circumvent their ineligibility.

In his role at the U.S. consulate, Her’s father was responsible for filing paperwork for refugees immigrating to America.

“My father, as the one processing the paperwork, put my grandmother down as his mother,” Her stated.

“And so, I am illegal in this country,” she declared. “My parents are illegal here in this country.”

RELATED: Republicans clash with Democratic lawmakers defending violent anti-ICE rioters

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

“I tell you this story because I want you to think about who it is that you’re calling ‘illegal.’ My family was just smarter in how we illegally came here,” Her added. “My family broke the law to come here.”

She encouraged her fellow lawmakers to support public health care for illegal aliens, stating that she has “paid more into this country than it has ever given to me.”

Her’s emotional testimony did not appear to sway Republicans, who voted to strip public health care coverage for illegal aliens.

Illegal immigrants residing in Minnesota were allowed to enroll for the state’s public health care beginning in January following Democratic-backed legislation that passed in 2023. Over 20,000 individuals enrolled. Those illegal aliens will be removed from the MinnesotaCare program at the end of 2025 if Monday’s measure passes the Senate.

— (@)

Her attempted to rescind the illegal entry confession during a Monday interview with the Reformer, explaining that she and her family are now U.S. citizens.

However, her efforts to clarify the situation uncovered further incriminating details about her family’s unlawful entry.

Again, Her admitted that her father broke the law by falsifying the family’s immigration paperwork and that he used his role at the U.S. consulate to expedite processing.

Further, according to the Reformer, Her’s “uncle” was not actually a familial relative but a family friend. The illegitimate uncle’s position at the USAID allowed him prioritized entry into the U.S., which Her’s family would not have qualified for without misleadingly claiming him as a relative.

“Her said her father technically broke the law when he filled out paperwork for the family to come to the U.S. as refugees. He did so to expedite the process to come to the U.S., though they would have come to America anyway,” the Reformer stated.

Her claimed her family would have been eligible to come to the U.S. but that her father’s unlawful actions allowed them to speed up the process.

“Technically, you would say my father broke the law, right? But we would have come anyway,” she stated.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, Minnesota, Kaohly vang her, Illegal immigration crisis, Immigration crisis, Immigration, Illegal immigration, Deportations, Health care, Public health care, Politics 

NFL player Jake McQuaide stood up during a church service and demanded answers following accusations that a priest looked at pornography on a parish computer.

Local reports said a whistleblower came forward with troubling allegations about a laptop “located in the parish office operated by a priest.”

A churchgoer from Our Lady of the Visitation in Green Township, Ohio, told WKEF-TV that the whistleblower sent him and his wife “disturbing images” in March that came directly from the laptop.

‘Did the priest use our parish computer to look at pornography?’

Thumbnails to “porn sites” and “links to virtual reality role-playing sites involving sexual assault, rape, and occult themes” were found on the laptop, according to parishioner Todd Zureick, who filed a formal complaint with the archdiocese in April.

The accusations prompted a visit to Our Lady of the Visitation from Jason Williams, chancellor of the Cincinnati Archdiocese. During Mass on Saturday, Williams read a letter from Archbishop Robert Casey regarding investigations into the claims.

“Several concerns have been brought to the attention of the archdiocese. These have been investigated, and no wrongdoing — either criminally or ecclesiastically — has been substantiated. … Consequently, like gossip, the spreading of rumors is sinful, and we should all work to overcome this tendency of our fallen human nature,” the letter stated.

It was at that point that former Miami Dolphins player McQuaide spoke up, and the moment was captured on video during the church’s livestream.

RELATED: The FBI was completely correct to keep an eye on Catholics

“Please take a second. We want to put these rumors to rest. Can you answer this for me … fact or fiction?” McQuaide is heard saying on video.

“This is not the time for this,” Williams appeared to reply from the alter.

“I’m sorry, sir, this is the time and the place. I will stand up,” McQuaide insisted. “Did the priest use our parish computer to look at pornography? … True or false?!”

Unsatisfied with the chancellor, and as other parishioners approached him, McQuaide persisted.

“You can look at pornography at your house, but you cannot do it here.”

The football player claimed he had seen the images in question and felt it was indeed the time to raise the issue.

By this point, police who were already at the parish approached the two-time Pro Bowl player. One officer grabbed McQuaide by the wrist and took him down the aisle.

Blaze News reached out to Green Township Police to learn why they were there in the first place.

RELATED: How Joe Rogan dismantled the Big Bang with one sentence — and made atheists squirm

Photo by Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images

“Officers were present at the service at the request of the church,” Captain Mitch Hill told Blaze News.

Officers were there for “general security,” Hill continued, adding that church operators were “concerned about disruptions.”

Furthermore, WKEF reported that officers were hired by the church to handle disruptions that were “anticipated.”

Regarding whether or not McQuaide was trespassed or barred from the property, Hill explained to Blaze News that the football player “was not charged with a crime” and the removal was “temporary and the church permitted him to return.”

Allegations against the priest have not affected his standing in the church; the archdiocese said he is still “in good standing” with no investigations being conducted. According to the letter, the priest in question will soon go on a “previously planned sabbatical” beginning in July.

As for possible crimes, Green Township police told WCPO-TV that they were “not provided any complaints from parishioners.”

Captain Hill added that “absent an aggravating factor,” viewing pornography in and of itself would not be considered illegal, nor would it be cause for a criminal investigation.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati told WKEF the priest “did not use a parish-owned computer to view pornography.”

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Catholic, Nfl, Football, Ohio, Archdiocese, Faith 

The majority of House Democrats voted against a congressional resolution condemning the recent anti-Semitic attack that took place in Boulder, Colorado.

The resolution passed with the support of 205 Republicans and 75 Democrats, while 113 Democrats voted against it. Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia as well as Democratic Reps. Sarah McBride of Delaware, Johnny Olszewski of Maryland, Dina Titus of Nevada, Shomari Figures of Alabama, and Herb Conaway of New Jersey voted present.

Notably, the House passed a similar resolution the same night condemning anti-Semitism, except it passed in a near-unanimous 400-2 vote. Greene again voted present as well as Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

‘Congress never votes on hate crimes committed against white people, Christians, men, the homeless, or countless others.’

RELATED: Republicans clash with Democratic lawmakers defending violent anti-ICE rioters

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Although the resolutions are similar, Democrats overwhelmingly disapproved of the first resolution because it noted the immigration status of the suspected attacker, Mohammed Sabry Soliman. Soliman seemingly violated the terms of his tourist visa when he “failed to depart the United States prior to the expiration of his authorized period of stay,” according to the resolution.

“The case of Mohammed Sabry Soliman highlights the need to aggressively vet aliens who apply for visas to determine whether they endorse, espouse, promote, or support anti-Semitic terrorism or engage in other anti-Semitic or anti-American activity,” the resolution reads.

Greene, who was the only Republican who voted present for both resolutions, said she condemned the anti-Semitic attack but argued that other groups who are victims of violence are being overlooked.

“Anti-Semitic hate crimes are wrong but so are all hate crimes,” Greene said in a statement Monday. “Yet, Congress never votes on hate crimes committed against white people, Christians, men, the homeless, or countless others.”

RELATED: Congress quietly pulls bill criminalizing anti-Israeli boycotts following GOP backlash

Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

“Tonight, the House passed two more anti-Semitism-related resolutions, the 20th and 21st I’ve voted for since taking office,” Greene said. “Meanwhile, Americans from every background are being murdered — even in the womb — and Congress stays silent. We don’t vote on endless resolutions defending them.”

Greene argued that “prioritizing” anti-Semitic attacks over other acts of violence proliferates the very feelings of resentment that lead to these hate crimes.

“Prioritizing one group of Americans and/or one foreign country above our own people is fueling resentment and actually driving more division, including anti-Semitism,” Greene said. “These crimes are horrific and easy for me to denounce. But because of the reasons I stated above, I voted present.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Marjorie taylor greene, Rashida tlaib, Sarah mcbride, Johnny olszewski, Dina titus, Shomari figures, Herb conaway, House democrats, House republicans, Antisemitism, Boulder colorado attack, Terrorist attack, Hate crime, Israel, Palestine, Mohammed sabry soliman, Anit-american, Politics 

Veterans of the United States military are struggling, and they have been for a long time.

“Many of them are taking their own life,” U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on “The Glenn Beck Program.” “We’ve got to try something differently here, because we’re not moving the needle.”

“Since 2008, the suicide number has not changed in this country, and yet we’re spending $588 million or more every year to quote, ‘prevent it.’ But yet, in our services, we’re still treating it many times with medicine,” he continues.

However, as America starts on the path to making itself healthy again, the VA is beginning to look at alternative forms of medicine to help veterans who otherwise feel forgotten.

“We’re looking at alternative medicines. We’re looking at hyperbaric chambers, we’re looking at possible use of psychedelics along with counseling, anything we can to get them the help that they need so they don’t feel like the VA is not listening to them or they’re just getting handed a bottle of pills,” Collins explains.

Glenn believes this is a good direction to head in, especially considering how much energy is put into preparing veterans for war — but not what they’ll be facing when they come home.

“We train our people to be able to go in and pull the trigger when they have to, but is it fair to say we spend all that money doing that, but when they come home, we don’t spend enough money and enough time to try to deprogram that, to bring them back into our society,” Glenn says.

The Department of Defense is responsible for the transition of veterans back into society, which Collins has made clear needs reworking to the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

“This is why the secretary of defense and I are on an unprecedented level,” Collins tells Glenn. “So I just told Pete, I said, ‘We’ve got to fix this, we’ve got to start working on this. You may own it, but I’m getting blamed for it. And I’m not going to get blamed for something I can’t do.’”

“So right now, we’re working on getting that transition better,” he continues, adding, “So that we have a warm handoff, especially for those who are hurting already.”

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Free, Video, Sharing, Camera phone, Video phone, Upload, Youtube.com, The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Us department of veterans affairs, Doug collins, Veteran suicide rates, Veterans, United states military, Alternative medicine, Psychedelics medicine, Hyperbaric therapy 

Numerous Democratic politicians have in recent days returned to their summer 2020 strategy of characterizing violent leftist riots as peaceful protest and President Donald Trump’s desire to restore order as both escalatory and authoritarian.

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, among the standouts in his party who previously refused to join progressives in attacking Israel in the wake of the 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks, proved willing once again to call out his colleagues for their radical approach.

The trend

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents executed a number of lawful operations last week in California. Democrats were quick to demonize the federal agents and frame their operations as illegitimate.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for instance, accused ICE agents of sowing “terror” and stressed that the city would “not stand for this.”

California U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla followed suit, stating that the “ICE raids across Los Angeles today are a continuation of a disturbing pattern of extreme and cruel immigration enforcement operations across the country” and demanding “accountability for today’s actions.”

‘This is a wake up call for many Democrats.’

While Democrats vilified ICE, similarly minded radicals took to the streets, attacking police and federal agents, blockading major thoroughfares, setting fires across the city, and looting downtown businesses.

RELATED: VIDEO: Blaze News reporter on scene as tensions escalate in Los Angeles for 4th night

Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images

At the outset, Fetterman’s comrades were largely silent on the matter, even as police were being brutalized by foreign flag-waving radicals. However, when President Donald Trump called up the National Guard on Saturday and deemed the rioters “troublemakers and insurrectionists,” Democrats decided chaos was, actually, a problem — but a problem attributable primarily to Trump.

Bass, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey were among the Democrats who blamed Trump and his administration for the violence and unrest.

The exception

Fetterman suggested in a message on Monday that Democrats’ failure to condemn the violent and destructive acts committed by the rioters in Los Angeles was not only immoral but a self-own.

“I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration — but this is not that,” wrote Fetterman in a message accompanying a photograph of a rioter standing atop a destroyed car and waving a Mexican flag while nearby other wrecks burned. “This is anarchy and true chaos.”

“My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement,” added Fetterman.

While poorly received by unhinged partisans like podcaster Keith Olbermann, Republicans welcomed the insight.

RELATED: White House warns radicals now massing in Boston, elsewhere in wake of LA riots: ‘Think twice’

Anti-ICE protesters in LA on June 8. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

“Well said,” responded Alabama Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R).

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wrote, “It’s hard to preach hard truths to your own side. I respect this.”

Elon Musk responded with an American flag emoji.

Deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich seized upon Fetterman’s tweet as a strong indicator to similarly sensible Democrats that their party may have left them behind.

“This is a wake up call for many Democrats: there is no room for you in the party of @GavinNewsom and @KamalaHarris,” wrote Budowich. “Their self-obsessed pursuits of power are blind to you and your concerns. They defend chaos, reject biology, and are unbothered by the invasion of our nation.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Democrat, Democratic, Senate, Senator, La riots, Los angeles, Riot, Riots, Immigration, Illegal immigration, John fetterman, Fetterman, Pennsylvania, California, Newsom, Politics 

On June 3, University of South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley appeared on the “Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay” podcast, where she said that the Gamecocks’ semifinal loss to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament made her temporarily question God.

While she didn’t doubt God’s existence, she needed to know “why” the loss happened.

“The answer to the why happened a year later,” she said, referring to South Carolina’s 2024 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes to win the NCAA national championship.

“God left me on the why and then followed it up, and I had no words besides it’s uncommon favor,” she added.

Jason Whitlock translates the meaning behind Staley’s words: “She saw the original Iowa versus South Carolina game as a race war — that she lost to these evil white people … and God’s going to show the world that it’s black women that dominate college basketball.”

“Fearless” guest Steve Kim says Staley is a prime example of “perpetual victimhood.” Given that South Carolina was clearly the superior team in 2023, she “should not question God” but rather her “own coaching ability,” he says.

Jason agrees, arguing that Staley “can’t really coach” and “wins with talent.” Her loss to Iowa, he speculates, might have been divine intervention “to show her the penalty for her bigotry.”

Before their 2023 semifinal matchup, University of Iowa coach Lisa Bluder described rebounding against South Carolina as akin to going to “a bar fight” due to the players’ physicality, which Staley took as a racial insult against her predominantly black team. After the loss, Staley used Bluder’s comment to criticize what she perceived as racist media narratives around her team.

“She wrapped her team and herself in this racial conflict. She thinks team black is better than team white and that team black was going to prevail, and so her whole understanding of religious faith just got blown up,” says Jason.

The WNBA, however, thrives on these kinds of racial narratives. That’s likely why the league chose Staley and Renee Montgomery, who has labeled Caitlin Clark fans as racists, to be analysts for CBS Sports’ new “WNBA Tip Off” pregame show, which debuted on June 7, ahead of the Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game.

The WNBA has “this influx of Caitlin Clark and women’s basketball fans, and we want to have our tip-off show built around two women that have a problem with Caitlin Clark and her fans. Could you be any dumber than the WNBA and CBS?” sighs Jason.

To hear more of the conversation, watch the video above.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Fearless, Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Dawn staley, Caitlin clark, Wnba, Cbs, Blazetv, Blaze media, Iowa hawkeyes, South carolina 

What triggered the American Civil War were state officials who refused to honor federal law and instead boasted of their open defiance of Washington.

That precedent appears to be the incendiary model for the increasingly erratic behavior of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

Has Newsom accepted the polls and decided to end his political career in a blaze of ideological glory?

He now backs the often-violent protesters in Los Angeles resisting federal enforcement of immigration laws. Newsom labeled President Trump’s use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain those here illegally “reckless,” “chaotic,” and “eroding trust.”

Does he imagine that this rhetoric is calming the situation or building public trust? Or is he consciously following the model of Confederate President Jefferson Davis?

Does Newsom also support the defiance of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who nearly called for official resistance to federal law, declaring, “We will not stand for this”?

— (@)

Bass — who was junketing in Ghana as large swaths of Los Angeles burned in January — used the term “we.” Does she mean the entire city? The LAPD? Will Bass direct city police to block federal officers lawfully enforcing federal immigration statutes?

Does the governor understand that his reckless rhetoric about “states’ rights” empowers violent protesters who torch vehicles, assault civilians, and attack officers?

Consider fellow California Democrat Rep. Norma Torres. She issued a vulgar message to federal immigration officers: “Get the f**k out of L.A.”

Does Torres now believe Los Angeles should become the 21st-century South Carolina, circa 1861, defying the federal government outright?

Is she echoing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who recently boasted he would “identify” endangered ICE agents and publicize their personal information? His words: “Every single one of them, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, will of course be identified.”

— (@)

Does Torres view ICE officers — outnumbered, undermanned, and increasingly under siege — as modern-day incarnations of the federal troops cornered at Fort Sumter?

Newsom didn’t stop at siding with street protesters who resist federal authority. He also lashed out again at the Trump administration for warning California that it must comply with federal Title IX executive orders prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s sports.

Trump, in this case, followed the precedent set by the Obama administration, which also threatened to cut off funding from schools to schools that refused to follow its Title IX interpretations.

Here’s how Newsom responded: “Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back. Maybe it’s time to cut that off.”

— (@)

Cut that off?

Has Newsom read the Constitution?

Is he actually calling for Californians to stop paying federal taxes? Does he understand he just implicitly endorsed felony tax evasion under 18 USC Section 2?

States have no legal authority to withhold federal income taxes from their citizens. In 1861, rhetoric like that nearly destroyed the Union.

RELATED: Lies, flags, and firebombs: Just another ‘mostly peaceful’ riot in LA

Photo by BLAKE FAGAN/AFP via Getty Images

And does Newsom really believe that California’s supposed $80 billion “contribution” somehow bankrolls the federal government? That surplus amounts to just 1.5% of the $5.5 trillion in federal revenue this fiscal year. Hardly enough to “pay the bills.”

California taxpayers are American citizens first, Californians second. Newsom, with his history of championing sanctuary cities and nullifying federal law, increasingly resembles a modern-day George Wallace.

But Newsom, Bass, and Torres aren’t just echoing Confederate-style defiance. They’re also swimming against public opinion.

Despite media theatrics and left-wing outrage, even CBS’ own polling found that 54% of Americans support deportation as a legitimate enforcement tool.

Meanwhile, Newsom’s political stock continues to plummet. Just 2% of Democrats in one recent poll want him as their 2028 nominee. In a broader average of 30 polls, only 27% of Americans view him favorably.

So does Newsom think violent lawbreakers — some burning the American flag while waving foreign ones — are winning over the American public?

Does he understand that 97% of Americans in a Pew Research survey said they favor deporting violent criminal aliens like those seen sowing chaos on the streets of Los Angeles?

Or has he accepted the polls — and decided to end his political career in a blaze of ideological glory?

Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally on X.

​Opinion & analysis, California, Gavin newsom, Los angeles, Karen bass, National guard, Illegal immigration, Riots, Ice, Immigration and customs enforcement, Criminal aliens, Mass deportations, Lapd, Nullification, Civil war, Jefferson davis, Fort sumter, Taxes, Secession, Calexit, Violence, Cities 

America is on fire — again. But this time, it’s not just cities burning — it’s our identity.

In Los Angeles, mobs of masked agitators — many waving the Mexican flag, others clutching Palestinian flags, and some burning the American flag — have taken to the streets, firing guns into the air, hurling rocks at ICE vehicles, blocking traffic, and setting fires.

America doesn’t need a savior. It needs a reckoning.

Where is the outrage from the media? Where are the helicopters? The FBI raids? The solitary confinement cells? When a handful of peaceful Americans entered the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a great many politely walking between velvet ropes, they were branded “insurrectionists.” Grandmothers were hunted down. Veterans were jailed without bail. But in Los Angeles, when foreign nationals tear through city streets waving foreign flags, they’re “demonstrators.”

Give me a break.

Illegal alien anarchy

What we saw in California over the weekend was the result of an illegal invasion. And it isn’t new. These aren’t “immigrants.” A great many are illegal aliens — a term defined by law — who have broken federal immigration law, ignored due process, and poured over our borders with the help of a regime that has openly defied the Constitution.

I personally know families who have tried for years to bring a spouse or child to America the legal way. They wait. They pay. They follow the rules. But if you’re an educated Christian refugee from Africa or a skilled engineer from India, you’re told to stand in line. Meanwhile, if you’re a cartel mule from Honduras or a “gotaway” with a gang affiliation, you get flown around the country on the taxpayers’ dime.

We’ve abandoned every principle that once defined American immigration: Learn English. Pledge allegiance. Assimilate. Respect the flag.

Instead, we have mobs chanting slogans that would have triggered national security alerts a decade ago. Now they trigger hashtags. And while President Trump is calling out the National Guard, California’s “leaders” stall, the courts shrug, and citizens remain unprotected.

This isn’t incompetence. It’s sabotage.

Our rights usurped

And the most dangerous part? We’ve been living under a kind of soft martial law for decades.

Since 1938, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure quietly restructured the judiciary under a corporate framework that operates outside the Constitution. These rules merged law and equity courts, nullifying constitutional guarantees and opening the door for administrative tyranny in family courts, juvenile courts, and beyond.

Don’t believe me? Try asserting your First, Fourth, or Fifth Amendment rights in a family court. You’ll be laughed out of the room — if your children haven’t already been taken based on an anonymous tip and a judge’s rubber stamp.

If martial law is officially declared, the Constitution is suspended. That’s not conjecture — that’s legal doctrine. Read Ex parte Milligan (1866), in which the Supreme Court ruled that martial law cannot be imposed where civilian courts are open. Guess what? They’re not “open” any more — they’re rigged, corrupt, and run by private bar guilds with no accountability to the people.

RELATED: The culture war isn’t a distraction — it’s the main front

Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images

It’s an old tactic. In 1933, Adolf Hitler used the Reichstag fire to suspend civil liberties and pass the Enabling Act. In 1992, Peru’s President Alberto Fujimori used a wave of urban chaos and domestic terrorism to declare martial law and dissolve the legislature. In post-9/11 America, we got the Patriot Act, a surveillance dragnet sold to us under the guise of “security.” Now we’re watching the same script play out again — engineered chaos followed by calls for federalized control and, eventually, constitutional suspension under the banner of “safety.”

Welcome to the final phase of the coup.

While MAGA people wait for Trump to ride in on a white horse, they miss the point: He’s not going to save us. He can’t. No one man can reverse decades of infiltration, judicial fraud, and corporatist collusion.

And note to MAGA: Trump gave immunity to the creators of the COVID-19 vaccine, and his “one big, beautiful bill” is fraught with overspending and a government AI takeover, in which all participants have been granted immunity for wrongdoing for a decade.

We’re done being silent

America doesn’t need a savior. It needs a reckoning.

It needs state nullification, legal rebellion, and mass resistance.

If waving a Mexican or Palestinian flag while burning the Stars and Stripes makes you feel at home, then I’ve got a simple solution: Go home.

Because this isn’t your country. You didn’t build it. You’re not assimilating. You’re here to take, not contribute.

And to my liberal neighbors still crying about how “un-American” it is not to allow these criminals to stay: What’s un-American is letting our Constitution be shredded. What’s un-American is flooding our cities with criminals while veterans sleep under bridges.

What’s un-American is weaponizing immigration to collapse a sovereign nation.

We’re not xenophobes. We’re patriots, and we’re done being silent.

​Opinion & analysis, Illegal immigration, Mass deportations, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Los angeles, Riots, Gavin newsom, Karen bass, American flag, Mexico, Palestine, Leftists, January 6, Prison, Due process, Constitution, The courts, Resistance, One big beautiful bill, Liberals, Democrats, Law and order 

While California Army National Guard troops handle lawless protests sparked by legal immigration enforcement, the California Air National Guard faces a far more dangerous vulnerability — one that demands immediate attention from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

It’s time to remember January 12, 1981. That day, Puerto Rican independence militants breached Muñoz Marin International Airport in Carolina, cut through the fence, and destroyed nearly $50 million worth of A-7 Corsair and F-104 Starfighter jets. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $162 million. Boom! Gone just like that.

Security forces could stop ground-based attacks, sure. But drones? Not a chance.

Jump ahead four decades to Los Angeles, where supposedly “spontaneous” mass protests feature factory-made signs in English and Spanish, freshly printed six-foot Mexican flags, and crowds of anonymous demonstrators. No IDs. No accountability.

Where does the funding for these instant flash mobs originate? According to a dynamite report by Jennifer Van Laar at Red State, much of the money appears to come from our own tax dollars! But let’s not rule out the Mexican cartels whose trafficking and smuggling operations Trump’s policies have severely disrupted. If so, what’s to stop them — or their proxies — from lashing out at the National Guard next?

What’s to prevent a replay of the Macheteros’ sabotage in 1981 — or something far worse?

Soft target in plain sight

Consider Moffett Field near Palo Alto. One side of its perimeter sits flush against Highway 101. Any outsider with a drone and a grudge has a clear shot.

Air Guard security might intercept intruders with enough warning. But drones don’t need to sneak past a gate. They can launch from a public park and cross 200 yards in seconds. For $500 and a payload of cheap explosives, a first-person-view drone could obliterate a $77 million HC-130J.

No active defense exists for drone attacks in densely populated urban areas. The U.S. Air Force knows this. Just ask about the 17-day drone overflight in 2023 — uninterrupted, unchallenged, and deeply embarrassing.

Federal law restricts counter-drone actions except over designated “sensitive” areas. But what happens if a missile interception sends debris raining onto adjacent neighborhoods? What if an electromagnetic pulse knocks out every pacemaker, microwave, and computer within a mile?

Wide open in Fresno, too

At the Air National Guard base in Fresno, things look just as bad. F-15s sit beneath open-sided shelters only 75 yards from the highway.

Security forces could stop ground-based attacks, sure. But drones? Not a chance. The only current defense is a few warning signs nailed to perimeter fences. That’s not security — that’s wishful thinking.

What’s the Air Guard’s plan to intercept drones without endangering civilians across the street? Paintball guns? Slingshots? Hula hoops?

Rethinking drone defense before it’s too late

The solution isn’t to ban drones or launch missiles over neighborhoods. It’s to rethink how to disrupt their precision.

RELATED: Dark thoughts about the New Jersey drones

Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Drones don’t rely on brute force. They rely on pinpoint accuracy — what the military calls “circular error probable.” In World War II, a B-17 had a CEP of 1,200 feet. Today’s FPV drones, guided by first-person cameras, hit tank hatches with a CEP of just one foot.

That’s the bad news.

The good news? You don’t need to shoot down a drone to neutralize it. You just need to disrupt its accuracy.

Drones are fragile. A baseball bat will shatter one. Their video cameras bloom under bright light. Their inertial sensors lose calibration under unpredictable aerodynamic stress. Their rotors must stay perfectly balanced, or else guidance systems wobble and fail.

By attacking the CEP instead of the drone itself, the Air Guard can protect its assets without risking civilian casualties.

Cheap insurance, massive payoff

Practical countermeasures exist — right now, off the shelf. Iso-luminescent light sources. Targeted atmospheric aerosols. Forced inertial failures. Even decoys.

These aren’t billion-dollar Pentagon programs. They’re cheap insurance policies against an increasingly likely airborne threat.

If protest organizers or cartel affiliates can rent drones and buy fireworks, what’s stopping them from mounting small explosive charges? Nothing — unless the Air Guard rethinks its strategy.

Failing to prepare for the next wave of attacks is no longer an option. If the military won’t defend its own runways, someone else will take the shot.

​Opinion & analysis, Terrorism, California air national guard, National guard, National security, Drone attack, Pete hegseth, Puerto rico, Militants, Explosives, Los angeles, Illegal immigration, Ice, Immigration and customs enforcement, Mass deportations, Riots, Soft targets, Missiles, Decoys 

Germany’s first chancellor Otto von Bismarck famously said, “Laws are like sausages. It is best not to see them being made.” That description fits President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — with one major exception.

Unlike most legislation, the OBBB deserves a close look. But the media would rather focus on headline fodder like the SALT deduction fight and proposed Medicaid work requirements. What the media has mostly ignored is far more significant: the dismantling of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act’s climate spending, or what Trump rightly calls the “Green New Scam.”

The OBBB isn’t perfect — but it’s the best shot conservatives have to kill the Green New Scam, lock in Trump’s tax cuts, and put America’s fiscal house on firmer ground.

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) recently claimed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the OBBB rolls back “the most reckless parts of the engorged climate spending,” reclaiming $6.5 billion in unspent funds. But that figure barely scratches the surface.

Goldman Sachs estimated the total value of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate spending at a whopping $1.2 trillion. According to Grok, X’s artificial intelligence tool, the initial OBBB version would have left most of it intact.

Roughly $140 billion of that $1.2 trillion had already been spent in 2024 — much of it used to grease the palms of red-state politicians, as I’ve discussed elsewhere. Another $140 billion has been committed but not yet disbursed. The Trump administration is currently fighting in court to block that money from being spent.

But here’s the kicker: Grok’s analysis projected that between $700 billion and $900 billion of the Green New Scam funds would remain untouched under the original OBBB draft. That’s not a rounding error. That’s two orders of magnitude away from Guthrie’s $6.5 billion figure.

Fortunately, the House Freedom Caucus didn’t back down.

Led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), the caucus demanded a bill that honored Trump’s campaign pledge to kill the Green New Scam. Roy wrote on X, “Rather than just subsidizing $350B for states with high taxes — we should pass a OBBB that FULLY terminates the Green New Scam and FULLY ends the Medicaid money laundering scam abused to hurt the vulnerable.”

He followed with this: “Writing a deficit-backed blank check (SALT) is easier than cutting spending (DOGE, Green New Scam, Post-COVID spending). Congress/swamp will always choose the easy route, but we can’t afford it.”

Roy was right. And though not completely successful, the Freedom Caucus scored a major win.

The House passed the OBBB on May 22 by a single vote, 215-214. Thanks to the Freedom Caucus, the bill cuts about $500 billion in wasteful Green New Scam spending. Half of the unspent funds have now been stripped out. The bill is now with the Senate, where its fate remains unclear.

RELATED: The Senate’s Romney-Ryan tax ideas collide with a Trump-Vance world

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

One strategic advantage of the OBBB lies in how it’s being passed. Like the Inflation Reduction Act before it, the OBBB uses budget reconciliation — a tool that bypasses the filibuster and requires only a simple majority. In this case, what was once a Democrat-only spending spree may now be repealed with a Republican-only rollback.

Call it poetic justice. Call it the only viable option. Either way, reconciliation makes this repeal possible — despite the fondness many subsidy-happy Republicans still have for the Green New Scam.

But the most important part of the OBBB isn’t about repealing waste. It’s about preserving growth.

The bill makes Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent. That alone carries a projected value of $4 trillion over the next decade and prevents a $1,700 annual tax hike on the average American family.

Republicans who block the OBBB over narrow interests risk handing Democrats a tax increase — and possibly their own walking papers in the 2026 midterms. That includes swing-district moderates who demand Green New Scam subsidies and fiscal hawks who balk at anything short of a full repeal.

The key difference? The pro-subsidy Republicans didn’t vote for those climate programs in the first place. Yet, now they’re willing to tank the whole bill to preserve them.

One Freedom Caucus member told me he remains hopeful the Senate can claw back more of the Green New Scam funds. Maybe so. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

Which brings us back to Bismarck. Lawmaking may resemble sausage-making, but at least sausages leave a good taste behind. When done right, so can legislation.

The OBBB isn’t perfect — but it’s the best shot conservatives have to kill the Green New Scam, lock in Trump’s tax cuts, and put America’s fiscal house on firmer ground.

​Opinion & analysis, Congress, Big beautiful bill, One big beautiful bill, Green new deal, Green new scam, Chip roy, Donald trump, Inflation reduction act, Freedom caucus, Doge, Tax cuts and jobs act, Otto von bismarck 

Fifteen years ago, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) slipped an amendment into law that handed a $90 billion windfall to mega-retailers like Walmart and Target — while forcing everyday Americans to foot the bill.

Now he’s trying to do it again. This time, he’s recruited Republican help.

President Trump has made his priorities clear. He wants America to dominate in financial tech — not hand the future to China.

As a former chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises — and as a proud Trump ally — I’m alarmed that Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) has teamed up with Durbin to hijack one of the most important bills of the year: the Genius Act.

This legislation, backed by President Trump, would establish the first federal framework for stablecoins — digital dollars backed by U.S. currency and issued by trusted financial institutions. It’s the cornerstone of America’s entry into 21st-century digital payments and a key to ensuring that we — not China — lead the future of global finance.

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance have made the bill a top priority. “We’re optimistic that the Senate is able to move quickly on passing a clean Genius Act and for the House to follow up and do the same,” Vance told attendees at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Nashville.

But that momentum will vanish if Marshall and Durbin succeed in attaching their so-called Credit Card Competition Act. This isn’t reform — it’s the Durbin Amendment 2.0, and we’ve already seen how that story ends.

In 2010, despite widespread opposition, Durbin passed his original amendment, shifting the cost of payment processing from big-box retailers onto credit card companies. He promised that consumers would benefit when retailers passed along those savings.

They didn’t.

A Federal Reserve-backed study later found that only 1% of merchants passed savings on to customers. Meanwhile, 22% raised prices. Card companies — forced to absorb the new costs — cut back on free checking accounts and slashed debit card rewards programs. The number of cardholders earning rewards dropped 30%.

Main Street lost. Big box stores cashed in. Even the left-leaning Progressive Policy Institute now admits the amendment failed and has urged Congress to “rethink” the policy.

The Credit Card Competition Act would repeat the mistake, but with credit cards. It would force every credit card to operate on at least two payment networks, letting mega-retailers route transactions through the cheapest — and often least secure — option. They’d pocket the savings. Consumers wouldn’t see a dime.

RELATED: Trump’s Bitcoin masterstroke puts America ahead in digital assets

Photo by IAN MAULE/AFP via Getty Images

Under the current system, consumers choose the networks by picking the cards they want to carry. Merchants choose which cards to accept. That’s the free market. The CCCA would dismantle that system and take away the rewards — cash back, airline miles, travel perks — that millions of Americans rely on.

Amazon, Walmart, and Target would benefit. Rural consumers, community banks, and small businesses would lose.

If this poison-pill amendment gets attached to the Genius Act, the bill’s broad bipartisan support will vanish. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has already warned he’ll withdraw support if Durbin 2.0 gets jammed into the final package.

Congress must not let backroom deals or crony carve-outs derail this legislation. The Genius Act should be an easy win for consumers, tech innovation, and U.S. leadership in digital finance.

President Trump has made his priorities clear. He wants America to dominate in financial technology — not hand the future to China. His administration supports clear, commonsense rules that unlock innovation, protect consumers, and safeguard the dollar’s global status.

The Genius Act achieves all of that — if lawmakers pass it clean.

Republicans can’t claim to support Trump’s economic agenda while carrying water for woke corporations and their favorite Democrat senator. They need to decide: Stand with Main Street or sell out to K Street. Back American innovation or stick with the same tired crony playbook.

The country doesn’t need another Durbin amendment. It needs leadership.

​Opinion & analysis, Donald trump, Cryptocurrency, Stablecoins, Bitcoin, Congress, Genius act, Dick durbin, Credit card, Consumers, Durbin amendment, Jd vance, China 

Ghost stories are all fun and games until they’re not.

Years ago, when Calvin “Speedy” Wilburn, Rick Burgess’ longtime co-host and producer, traveled around the country visiting haunted sites for a popular October series on the now-retired “Rick and Bubba Show,” he had no idea he’d encounter actual demons.

Dubbed “13 Days of Horror,” the well-intentioned Halloween series was supposed to be a lighthearted way to enjoy October festivities. Rick describes it as a “Scooby-Doo … Ghostbusters kind of thing.”

But it wasn’t long before the crew discovered that there’s no such thing as lighthearted horror.

On this episode of “Strange Encounters,” Speedy shares the harrowing story of a demonic encounter that shook him so deeply, the team shut down the series forever.

“13 Days of Horror” focused primarily on visiting purportedly haunted historical landmarks. Speedy and the camera crew often teamed up with paranormal groups armed with infrared cameras and EMF meters to venture into the country’s dark corners.

However, one “very cold Alabama night,” the team broke with tradition when, instead of visiting another landmark, they met up with a lady and her young daughter at their house, which they claimed was haunted.

The crew immediately knew they were dealing with something different when the child showed them bloody scratches on her body where a demon had allegedly attacked her in her sleep. The mother told bone-chilling stories of her daughter waking up with braids in her hair that weren’t there before she went to sleep and candles being blown out en masse around the house.

Speedy recounts how upon entering the home, he could feel that “the vibe was different.” There was a “heaviness” and a “darkness” that “weighted on [his] shoulders.”

The paranormal hunters they were with then began “asking questions for the spirit to appear.” They even had the young girl, who was “horrified,” ask her spiritual tormentor questions about why it was attacking her.

That’s when Speedy and the team shut it down and left the house, knowing that what they were involved with was no laughing matter.

On the car ride back, one of the staff members who had been taking pictures in the home pulled out his camera to look over the images.

The photos he had taken were completely black except for numerous “orbs” hovering everywhere.

That’s when the crew knew for certain that what they had experienced was “not a spooky, funny, let’s go have a good time, Mystery Machine, Scooby-Doo, bring back a funny bit for the show” situation.

“This was a demonic heaviness, a serious situation we were in, and looking back on it and knowing what we were doing and what we were asking, you just feel so foolish,” Speedy tells Rick.

While that experience shut down the series permanently, there had already been other experiences that had made the crew wary about their “13 Days of Horror” segment. There was another time when the crew was left quaking in their boots after visiting the children’s wing of an abandoned mental institution.

Speedy also shares wild stories from his dad’s days of going door-to-door sharing the gospel that will make your blood run cold. From a woman who “roared like a lion” at the sound of Jesus’ name to a sick patient who spoke in a voice that was not her own, these moments confronted Speedy with a spiritual reality far beyond the playful scares the crew had set out to chase.

To hear the details of each harrowing demonic encounter and Rick’s biblical response, watch the episode above.

Want more from Rick Burgess?

To enjoy more bold talk and big laughs, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Rick burgess, Calvin speedy wilburn, Demonic, Demons, Demonic encounters, Blazetv, Blaze media, Haunted house, Horror, Halloween, The rick burgess show 

Video from the fourth day of the anti-ICE rioting captured protesters verbally abusing and making obscene gestures at law enforcement officers.

Blaze Media reporter Julio Rosas documented the protesters’ ire as they marched in front of Los Angeles City Hall and the federal building downtown.

One protester holds up a sign reading, ‘ICE of out LA!’ and another sign reads, ‘Fascism must go!’

In one video, protesters at the federal building chant at the officers, which Rosas says are Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as well as California National Guard troops.

“National Guard, out of LA!” they chant while waving flags of various countries, including that of Mexico.

One protest sign reads, “F**K ICE!” while another reads, “No human is illegal!”

— (@)

President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard out to the riots to bring the city back to order, and on Monday, Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth ordered Marines from Twentynine Palms to deploy to the scene. Democrats have already criticized the decision.

The video outside of city hall shows protesters screaming at the officers as they stand guard at the gates. Many of them are chanting, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” as they march by.

— (@)

One protester holds up a sign reading, “ICE of out LA!” and another sign reads, “Fascism must go!”

At the tail end of the video, one protester tries to get people to chant, “Join us!” to encourage the officers to join the protest, but that suggestion is very much rejected by others who curse at the officers instead.

RELATED: Officer slams door in Rep. Maxine Waters’ face when she tries to check in on union president arrested in ICE rioting

Image Source: Julio Rosas X video screenshot

“We don’t need them! F**k you! F**k you!” says one man in a black Lakers T-shirt.

Rosas described the situation as something akin to a Mexican standoff, as the tensions increase again.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Julio rosas exclusive video, Anti-ice protesters, Los angeles ice rioting, Trump sends national guard, Politics 

Former President Joe Biden has finally addressed the autopen controversy, but it hasn’t quite set the American people at ease.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” Biden said in a statement to ABC News. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

“Nothing to see here,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.” “I don’t know what medium this was given to ABC News.”

“That was written by the autopen,” jokes Jaco Booyens, host of “The Bottom Line.”

“Hold on, guys,” Gonzales continues. “You guys were just accused of covering for the mental decline of a president and hiding him, and instead of letting him speak for himself, you’re just releasing statements to news organizations. That seems suspicious.”

“If I knew there was no scandal to be had, I probably wouldn’t even address it. So, it seems weird to me that they are trying to cover, just as President Trump is issuing a memo for the DOJ to formally investigate Joe Biden’s use of autopens and who was that shadow cabal behind the autopen,” she adds.

And after reviewing some video footage of President Biden’s public appearances from the last four and a half years, Gonzales and her panel don’t find his most recent statement very believable.

“Sharpest, most brilliant president ever, right there,” BlazeTV contributor Matthew Marsden says, adding, “This is unbelievable.”

“There’s no scandal here,” Gonzales laughs.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Video, Video phone, Sharing, Upload, Camera phone, Free, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Jaco booyens, Matthew marsden, Biden, President joe biden, The biden administration, Karine jean pierre, Autopen, Biden autopen scandal, President trump, The trump administration 

As Democrats continue to stand on the sidelines while one of their most beloved cities burns at the hands of anti-ICE activists, President Trump has been taking action. Instead of supporting the president’s decisive actions, those same Democrats questioned his motives and even blamed him for the situation.

Video evidence began to emerge showing just how violent the “protests” were becoming, but the president’s critics would not budge. Their rhetoric continues to rise as fast as the on-the-ground tensions.

The war of words began on Saturday as President Trump issued a memorandum permitting 2,000 National Guard troops to reinforce the ICE operations for up to 60 days. The memorandum invoked the presidential powers of 10 U.S.C. 12406 “to temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.”

Trump repeatedly criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, on his Truth Social account over the weekend.

“If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” he wrote.

‘Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary there, so the president stepped in. That’s real leadership, and he has the authority and the responsibility to do it.’

On Sunday night, Trump issued more directives from his Truth Social account, specifically calling for the arrest of those protesters wearing face masks.

“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” the president posted Sunday night.

“ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!” he said in another.

Bass has repeatedly insisted on the right to protest as long as it is peaceful. She wrote in a statement: “But the most important thing right now is that our city be peaceful, and so protests and expressing your … fears, your beliefs, is appropriate to do, but it is just not appropriate for there to be violence. And I don’t want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration, completely unnecessarily.”

RELATED: Anti-ICE rioters destroy fleet of autonomous cars during Los Angeles riot

Bass finished her written statement with a focus on the “chaos” that the administration was allegedly fomenting: “It is clear that the Administration is pushing an agenda — there is clearly no plan other than chaos.”

Bass issued another statement on Sunday calling the deployment of “federalized troops … a chaotic escalation.”

Governor Newsom announced that he would be suing the Trump administration over the deployment of the National Guard. In his formal statement, he called Trump’s orders “a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation.”

— (@)

Newsom likewise called out Trump on Sunday night with a post on X. He said that Trump was “inciting and provoking violence,” “creating mass chaos,” “militarizing cities,” and “arresting opponents.” His post included a clip of Trump saying, “If officials stand in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges.”

“These are the acts of a dictator, not a President,” Newsom added.

Investigative journalist and Blaze News opinion contributor Steve Baker replied to Newsom’s post, saying, “Oh, Gav, Gav, Gav. Shutting down entire cities and states because of a virus with a 99.75% survival rate was the act of dictators. (No, we will not forget.) Defending property from looters and vandals, keeping highways open, and protecting CITIZENS from foreign invaders is not.”

RELATED: Trump stops to answer question about arresting Newsom — and his answer will enrage humorless liberals: ‘I would do it’

In another post Sunday night, Newsom cautioned against a “trap,” presumably one set by law enforcement in the engagement with the protesters: “Los Angeles: Remain peaceful. Don’t fall into the trap that extremists are hoping for.”

At 7:31 p.m. Eastern time Sunday night, former Vice President Kamala Harris posted her statement on X in support of the protests and the Democrat response. She criticized the Trump administration for “stoking fear.”

“And like so many Americans, I am appalled at what we are witnessing on the streets of our city. Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos. … It is part of the Trump administration’s cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division,” Harris wrote.

Harris’ statement then reiterated the “peaceful” nature of these protests: “And as the LAPD, Mayor, and Governor have noted, demonstrations in defense of our immigrant neighbors have been overwhelmingly peaceful.”

— (@)

At roughly the same time as these statements were being made Sunday evening, a crowd reportedly gathered around an American flag, lit it on fire, and spit on it.

“This is not just a gesture, this is something we need to make real. We need to take down this empire once and for all,” one protester reportedly yelled into a bullhorn at the crowd.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), on the other hand, defended the president’s decision to send in federal troops, citing the governor’s “inability or unwillingness” to properly deal with the violence on the streets of Los Angeles.

“I think the president did exactly what he needed to do. These are federal laws and we have to maintain the rule of law, and that is not what is happening. Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary there, so the president stepped in. That’s real leadership, and he has the authority and the responsibility to do it,” Johnson told ABC host Jonathan Karl.

RELATED: LA news anchor pummeled for outlandish take on riots that may eclipse media’s infamous ‘mostly peaceful’ spin

According to a press release on Sunday, U.S. Northern Command announced that close to 2,000 California Army National Guard soldiers had been placed under federal command. Close to 300 members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were deployed in Los Angeles, Paramount, and Compton, California. About 500 Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, are “in a prepared to deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support the DOD’s protection of federal property and personnel efforts.”

On Monday morning, Trump defended his decision to send the National Guard to California and seemingly gave a suggested script for Newsom and Bass to read:

We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California. If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated. The very incompetent “Governor,” Gavin Newscum, and “Mayor,” Karen Bass, should be saying, “THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.” Instead, they choose to lie to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are “peaceful protests.” Just one look at the pictures and videos of the Violence and Destruction tells you all you have to know. We will always do what is needed to keep our Citizens SAFE, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

The riots reached their peak on Sunday when the reinforcements clashed with protesters. The standoff between Trump and the California leadership continues as threats of lawfare run rampant.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Gavin newsom, Karen bass, President trump, La riots, Ice, Protests, Mostly peaceful protests, Chaos, National guard, Marines, Politics 

Last weekend, Los Angeles went up in flames as violent anti-ICE protests erupted across the city, prompting President Trump to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops. Like deja vu, the mainstream media is orchestrating a Summer of Rage 2.0 cover-up campaign, claiming the protests are “mostly peaceful,” even as cars are set ablaze and concrete slabs are hurled at police officers and federal agents.

On the latest episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Glenn reacted to the media’s whitewashing and shared the truth about what’s really going on in L.A.

Comparing footage of the protests to “an audition reel for ‘Mad Max Fury Road,’” Glenn recounts “a guy in black block gear just yeeting a concrete slab at federal agents,” “a dude in a Che Guevara crop top trying to set a police car on fire,” and a “cloud of tear gas” engulfing the crowd.

He compares the media’s “mostly peaceful” narrative to saying, “The Titanic mostly floated except for that little part at the end when it didn’t.”

The media is also claiming that the protests are “spontaneous and grassroots” when protesters’ professionally printed signs that read “printed” and “paid for by” the Party for Socialism and Liberation tell a wildly different story. And even though rioters wave flags from all the “dirt bag communist countries that are failing and the terrorist states,” news anchors continue to portray them as “terrified everyday Americans.”

The truth?

“Seventy-five percent of the spontaneous rage fest [was] funded by tax dollars.”

“All the politicians [who] are cheering” for these L.A. protests” are “the same people that spent the summer of 2020 letting your city burn down,” “while everybody on CNN was talking about hope and healing,” says Glenn. “This is communism. This is somebody trying to overthrow the United States of America.”

“This all started apparently because we were going after these poor illegals that are here just because they’re poor and they’re just looking for a better life,” says Glenn sarcastically.

Except ICE’s list of arrests paints a different picture.

Of the 100+ people arrested during the immigration raids in Los Angeles over the weekend, the majority had criminal records. Take Rolando Enriquez, a 55-year-old Filipino national, as an example. His criminal history includes California convictions for theft, assault, burglary, and rape, specifically for sexual penetration with a foreign object and assault to commit rape.

There’s also Jose Gregorio Medranda Ortiz, the Ecuadorian national, whose criminal history includes a conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.

Victor Mendoza-Aguilar, a 32-year-old Mexican national with convictions in Pasadena, California, for possessing unlawful paraphernalia, possessing controlled substances, assault with a deadly weapon, and obstructing a public officer, was another who was arrested in the raids.

The list of illegal immigrants with egregious criminal records nabbed by ICE over the weekend goes on and on.

And yet, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is “deeply angered” by the arrests.

“These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. My Office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this,” she said in a statement released on June 6.

“You’ve just taken the rapists off the streets … but no, no, no, that’s sowing terror in the streets,” scoffs Glenn.

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s response was equally pathetic. Yesterday, he posted the following to X:

— (@)

The idea of “staying peaceful,” however, is laughable when you consider the video footage that’s emerged capturing protesters hurtling rocks at law enforcement and setting vehicles on fire.

To see the footage and hear more of Glenn’s analysis, watch the video above.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Gavin newsom, Karen bass, Los angeles, Ice raid, La ice, Ice raids la, Blazetv, Blaze media, Anti ice protests 

The Trump administration is sending about 700 U.S. Marines to bring Los Angeles back to order after four days of rioting by anti-deportation protesters.

President Donald Trump had already ordered 2,000 National Guard troops into the fray, but Defense Dept. Sec. Pete Hegseth had warned that they would send Marines if local officials didn’t restore order.

‘I think it would have been a very bad situation. It was heading in the wrong direction. It’s now heading in the right direction.’

A U.S. official confirmed Monday to ABC News that the Marines were being activated out of their base in Twentynine Palms, about 145 miles away, and sent to the rioting.

CNN reported that the Marines cannot legally conduct “law enforcement activity like making arrests” until the president has invoked the Insurrection Act, which many people are calling him to do.

Hegseth had said Saturday that Marines at Camp Pendleton near San Diego had been alerted.

“The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK,” he wrote on social media.

He added, “And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert.”

Rep. Mike Levin (D) of California had issued a letter opposing the order even before it was announced.

“I found your threat to deploy Marines to Los Angeles for the purpose of law enforcement to be extremely disturbing. Our Marines are trained to be lethal; they are not trained for law enforcement. Your decision to mobilize them in an act of political theater runs counter to their training. Doing so would also undermine the apolitical nature of our Armed Forces, dealing a serious blow to the very fabric of our great nation,” he wrote to Hegseth.

RELATED: Officer slams door in Rep. Maxine Waters’ face when she tries to check in on union president arrested in ICE rioting

Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

“They’re trained to defend our country, not police our communities. We shouldn’t be deploying warfighters to American cities, full stop. Our generals know it and Hegseth should too,” he added.

Just before news of the deployment broke, the president had responded to questions from reporters about the possibility.

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

“I mean, I think we have it very well under control,” he added. “I think it would have been a very bad situation. It was heading in the wrong direction. It’s now heading in the right direction.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, have called for protesters to avoid violence, but they have also accused Trump of provoking violence by ordering the deportations and then sending National Guard troops.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Hegseth orders marines, Marines to la riots, Anti-ice rioting, Trump sends marines, Politics