Category: blaze media

Donald Trump’s base has reached a clear conclusion: The entire importation of white-collar workers from India was a scam. It replaced American workers, fueled outsourcing to India, and boosted its economy at the expense of our own.

The labor market is so weak that even legal visa programs should be suspended under Trump’s 212(f) authority. Yet the H-1B and L visa pipelines remain open, and worse, the Trump Justice Department is defending one of Obama’s most lawless expansions: the H-4 spousal work program.

Defending Obama’s H-4 visa scheme undermines both the law and the American workforce.

Save Jobs USA, representing American workers, has sued the government for continuing Obama’s program that grants work permits to H-1B spouses on H-4 visas. Congress authorized the H-4 visa, but it never authorized work permits. Obama simply created them in 2015 by executive fiat.

Because the program is untethered from statutory limits, it has no cap. While the U.S. still issues around 120,000 H-1B visas each year — including under Trump — hundreds of thousands of spouses now work illegally in the same industries, displacing Americans. Most are funneled into the tech sector, overwhelmingly from India.

This lawsuit has been winding through the courts for nearly a decade. It began after Southern California Edison fired American workers and replaced them with H-1B visa holders. Both district and appellate courts in D.C. sided with the government. Now, as the case reaches the Supreme Court, Trump’s Justice Department filed a brief — signed off by Pam Bondi — arguing that plaintiffs lack standing to sue.

“Petitioner did not identify a single member who is ‘suffering immediate or threatened injury’ that is fairly traceable to the 2015 rule,” government lawyers wrote last month.

Even if one debates the technicalities of standing, why would Bondi waste resources defending a program that is plainly illegal and harmful to American workers — the opposite of what Trump promised in 2015?

A broader failure on foreign labor

Seven months into the new administration, the broader picture looks grim. The White House has failed to slow worker visa programs outside of narrow national security concerns. Trump has not invoked his 212(f) authority to halt needless foreign labor. Instead, he has floated the idea of importing 600,000 Chinese students — an economic and national security risk rolled into one.

This is the worst possible time to flood the market with foreign workers. The economy has averaged just 35,000 new jobs a month, the weakest pace since the Great Recession. Entry-level job listings are down 15% while applications are up 30%. The class of 2024 is still struggling: 41% underemployed, 58% still searching.

Tech companies, meanwhile, continue layoffs by the tens of thousands this year even as they lobby for more H-1Bs:

Intel: 21,000Panasonic: 10,000Meta: 3,600Hewlett-Packard: 2,000Hewlett Packard Enterprise: 2,500IBM: 8,000PayPal: 2,500Dell: 12,500TCS: 12,000

Why would they seek more visas in the middle of layoffs? Because nearly half of H-1Bs go to outsourcing and staffing firms, which feed India’s tech industry while hollowing out our own. Each expansion of the visa pipeline means more outsourcing, not more prosperity for Americans.

RELATED: American universities should be for Americans

Blaze Media illustration

The corporate capture

The deeper problem is the growing partnership between this administration and multinational tech giants. The government even owns a 10% equity stake in Intel. Palantir, which holds sensitive defense and health databases, has been allowed to staff up with foreign workers who now handle American taxpayers’ critical data.

Against this backdrop, Bondi’s defense of Obama’s illegal spousal work program looks less like a legal technicality and more like a political signal: This administration is drifting from Trump’s 2015 America First promises and closer to the “America Last” priorities of multinational corporations.

Back to 2015’s warning

The case against foreign workers is even stronger now than when Trump rode down that golden escalator a decade ago. The economy is weaker, the job market tighter, and the outsourcing racket more blatant. Defending Obama’s H-4 visa scheme undermines both the law and the American workforce.

The administration needs to remember what brought Trump to power in the first place. Stop importing foreign labor. Shut down lawless programs. Put American workers first.

​Opinion & analysis, H-1b visas, H-4 visas, Legal immigration, Ban, Immigration, Outsourcing, Jobs, Technology, Big tech, Donald trump, Pam bondi, Lawsuit, Save jobs usa, Barack obama, India, Intel, Panasonic, Meta, Hewlett packard enterprise, Ibm, Paypal, Dell, Tcs, Southern california edison, Scam 

Police in Frisco, Texas, said they responded on Aug. 16 to a hospital and learned that earlier that day a 27-year-old mother arrived at her place of employment around 2 p.m.

Detectives believe the mother at that time “intentionally left her 15-month-old child for over two hours in a vehicle she knew did not have working air conditioning with an outside temperature of at least 95 degrees,” police said.

Police said Esquivel’s bond was set at $250,000.

Based on information gathered during the investigation, police said Frisco detectives believe probable cause existed that Vanessa Esquivel committed murder since “intentionally leaving the child in the car caused injury/endangered the child, which is a felony.”

Police added that the suspect’s actions resulted in the child’s death and met the statutory requirements of murder.

Police said detectives obtained a warrant for her arrest, and Dallas police on Aug. 20 took Esquivel into custody and transferred her that same day to Frisco officers’ custody.

RELATED: 3-year-old boy dies after woman working for Alabama state agency left him in car that may have reached 140 degrees: Attorney

Police said Esquivel later was transferred to the Collin County Jail; its records on Tuesday indicate Esquivel was charged with murder.

Police said Esquivel’s bond was set at $250,000, adding that the offense in this case is a first-degree felony that carries a punishment of five years to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

RELATED: Dad visits ‘the Adult Shoppe’ while his kids sit in 125-degree car for almost an hour, cops say

Vanessa Esquivel. Image source: Frisco (Texas) Police

Esquivel’s attorney listed in jail records — Katheryn H. Haywood — on Tuesday told Blaze News that she was appointed Saturday but that Esquivel’s family hired another attorney. Blaze News on Tuesday afternoon left a message with the office of the new attorney, Kenneth Onyenah of Dallas. The office confirmed to Blaze News that Onyenah is indeed Esquivel’s new attorney but added that he wasn’t available for comment at the time about the case.

Police said those with information about the case are asked to contact the Frisco Police Department’s non-emergency number — 972-292-6010 — or submit a tip using Tip411 (text FRISCOPD and the tip to 847411).

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​Murder charge, Mother, Texas, Frisco, Hot car, Toddler dies, Arrest, Crime 

The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee said that some “persons of interest” in the Jeffrey Epstein case had been named by victims during a meeting Monday.

The members met with the six victims for over two hours in a closed-door meeting, according to Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky. Afterward, he told reporters that they had “learned of some additional names today.”

‘There was outrage. It was both — I would describe it as heartbreaking and infuriating.’

A representative for the committee said the people identified “possess information” about Epstein or those who allegedly participated in his sex trafficking ring.

“Some of the ladies have shared these stories publicly before, but at least two of the women had never told their stories before, one for the very first time in the room, and so there were tears in the room,” said Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

“There was outrage. It was both — I would describe it as heartbreaking and infuriating,” he added. “That justice has been delayed so long.”

Also on Monday, the committee released a trove of 33,295 pages from the Epstein files, though it was unclear what percentage of the release was new material.

“DOJ has indicated it will continue producing records while ensuring the redaction of victim identities & child abuse material,” Comer said on social media.

RELATED: Trump denies report of letter and drawing sent to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday, threatens to sue Wall Street Journal

“It was as bipartisan as anything I’ve seen in the nine years I’ve been here,” Comer added about the meeting with victims.

“Some of the women in the room began to be groomed by Epstein and his accomplices, Ghislaine Maxwell and the others, 30 years ago,” Johnson added.

“Some of them began civil litigation against Epstein and the Epstein evils and everything associated with it 20 years ago,” he continued. “This has gone on for a long, long time, and they, they shared their stories.”

President Donald Trump has lashed out at his supporters who continue to demand more information about the Epstein case and accused them of falling for a Democratic scheme.

“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bulls**t,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump said in July. “They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.”

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​Epstein victims meet with congress, Persons of interest epstein, Epstein files, Epstein controversy, Politics 

Today, Blaze Media’s own Dave Landau, known for his biting wit on “Normal World,” joined podcasting titan Joe Rogan on “The Joe Rogan Experience” to share the raw and unfiltered story of his addiction, recovery, and redemption.

The duo reflect on last week’s devastating school shooting in Minneapolis, where a transgender-identifying male opened fire during a Catholic school Mass, killing two children and injuring several others.

“Seven [school shootings] in a row have been trans, except one was nonbinary, which is just diet trans,” Rogan says.

“The problem is, some people get to a certain point in their life, and they have no friends and no community and no identity and no life, and they’re not successful, and they feel like s**t, and then they have gender dysphoria on top of that, and then they’re probably on a bunch of SSRIs,” he speculates, pointing to the undeniable “connection between mass shootings and psychiatric drugs.”

“Everyone knows [they’re connected], and it’s just this dirty secret that no one talks about because all the media is paid off by the pharmaceutical drug companies, and nobody wants to make this correlation/connection because you also risk the wrath of all these people that are on them,” he adds.

Dave, who knows a thing or two about psychiatric drugs, shares that he’s currently in the throes of getting off Zoloft — one of the most common SSRIs on the market — after using it for 10 years. Even though he’s told his doctors that the medication is worsening his depression, they’ve insisted he stay on it.

But Dave, having detoxed from several substances over the years, is bent on getting clean.

“I took myself off of them for five days, and I felt good. And then I got really queasy and really nauseous, like my brain started kind of misfiring, so now I’m weaning it off a little more correctly as opposed to just going cold turkey,” he tells Rogan.

“I already feel better being on less, but I was told for the last 10 years that that’s what I should be on, and I think it’s had a very negative effect [on] me.”

Rogan then inquires about what led Dave to start taking SSRIs in the first place.

Dave shares that his mother’s suicide was the catalyst that sent him to the psychiatrist. But even though his mother, who was bipolar, was on antidepressants when she killed herself, his doctor insisted that medication was the best option for him too.

But life had already been hard long before the tragic loss of his mother. When Dave was a child, his father, a Vietnam veteran, developed soft tissue sarcoma due to exposure to Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

“The VA was great. They did nothing for our family. They denied both of my mom’s claims. My dad lost all of his money,” Dave says, noting that his father died when he was just 18 years old.

The trauma of Dave’s family’s struggles and a genetic predisposition toward mental health struggles drove him to self-medicate as a teen.

From recreational and prescription drugs to cigarettes and alcohol, Dave tells Rogan the wild stories of how he overcame a range of addictions, starting in high school. At one point, he was even institutionalized because his behavior was so erratic from drugs and drinking. He shares the darkly humorous story of being attacked by his roommate, who believed he was a werewolf.

“He’s jumping on top of me, and I grabbed a lamp to hit him with it, but it was f**king glued down because it’s a mental hospital. … And he’s on top trying to bite me, and I’m, like, holding him back. And that’s when [hospital staff] came in. … They hit him with the syringe,” he laughs.

When Dave was nearing high school graduation, an intuitive teacher saw the comedic potential behind his classroom disruptions and urged him to pursue comedy. With his parents’ support, Dave enrolled in Second City — a renowned improvisational comedy theater and training center in Detroit.

Comedy proved to be a sanctuary from his depression and the perfect way to make light of his hardships. “When I finally found that outlet, it was wonderful, dude,” he says.

Unfortunately, addiction followed him into the field, especially during his days as a road comic. “I’m going into these bars and nightclubs. I’m like, ‘Hey, do you have a phone jack I could use for a few minutes?’ … I got this ankle monitor, and I got to plug it in somewhere to a phone jack so they can download to make sure I’m not drinking,” Dave recalls.

Salvation from substance abuse finally came in 2009. After 13 arrests, four DUIs, and the threat of prison looming, Dave decided he would get sober. It was a tough journey that involved using a breathalyzer to start his car and staying vigilant to avoid relapse. But eventually, he conquered his addictions.

Today, Dave, now 43, co-hosts Blaze Media’s comedy show “Normal World,” where he channels the wild tales of his past and his skepticism of Big Pharma into biting comedy that resonates with those who crave his unique blend of raw truth and dark humor. Dave’s book, “Party of One: A Fuzzy Memoir,” chronicles his journey from addiction to redemption. Living with his wife and young son, Dave finds stability in family and making wholesome memories.

To hear his full interview with Rogan — covering Detroit’s decline, organized crime, corporate job loss, and wildlife issues — check out the video below.

​Normal world, Blazetv, Blaze media, Dave landau, Joe rogan, The joe rogan experience, Addiction, Depression, Ssris 

A congressional committee has released more than 33,000 pages from the Jeffrey Epstein files after some members of Congress had a private meeting with Epstein victims.

The billionaire financier was convicted of state-level prostitution charges in 2008 but was later arrested and charged with much more serious human trafficking charges after a public outcry. He died by his own hand in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial, leading many to suspect a conspiracy to protect his wealthy and powerful alleged accomplices.

‘I feel the immense pain of how hard all victims are fighting for themselves.’

On Monday, 17 years after his first conviction, a trove of documents from Epstein’s case were released to the public. The 33,295 pages were posted to the Oversight Committee’s website.

“DOJ has indicated it will continue producing records while ensuring the redaction of victim identities & child abuse material,” wrote Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky.

Some Democrats took credit for the meeting with the Epstein victims.

“House Oversight is convening a private roundtable with survivors of Epstein’s abuse,” wrote Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. “This is a testament to our pressure. I look forward to hearing from survivors & won’t stop pushing for a full, public hearing so their stories are documented in the Congressional Record.”

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina said she had to leave the meeting early.

“Since it’s already being reported — Yes I left the Oversight briefing with Epstein victims early. As a recent survivor (not 2 years in), I had a very difficult time listening to their stories,” she posted.

“Full blown panic attack. Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking,” she added. “I can’t breathe. I feel the immense pain of how hard all victims are fighting for themselves because we know absolutely no one will fight for us. GOD BLESS ALL SURVIVORS.”

RELATED: Kash Patel, Dan Bongino say Jeffrey Epstein DID commit suicide: ‘I’ve seen the whole file’

FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino angered some when they denied in May that there had been any conspiracy involved in the death of Epstein.

“As someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor who’s been in that prison system, who’s been in the metropolitan detention center, who’s been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one, and that’s what that was,” Patel said.

“He killed himself,” Bongino added. “Again, I’ve seen the whole file. He killed himself.”

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​Epstein files release, Epstein files controversy, Congressional oversight committee, Epstein victims, Politics 

A federal judge said that the president’s deployment of military troops to Los Angeles was illegal even as the administration plans to send more troops to other cities.

President Donald Trump said that the military action was necessary to quell anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement violence and crime, but his critics say that the real goal is the militarization of the streets to intimidate dissenters and critics.

Breyer said Trump was trying to create ‘a national police force with the president as its chief.’

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled against the Trump administration to prohibit the Pentagon from using National Guard troops and U.S. Marines for police actions. He said in the 52-page ruling that the president had violated the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prohibits the use of the military in domestic law enforcement.

Breyer said Trump was trying to create “a national police force with the president as its chief.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta had vehemently opposed the troop surge in Los Angeles.

“The president is looking for any pretense to place military forces on American streets to intimidate and quiet those who disagree with him. It’s not just immoral — It’s illegal and dangerous,” said Bonta in June. “Local law enforcement, not the military, enforce the law within our borders.”

The president has since then sent troops into Washington, D.C., to help suppress crime. His actions were met with angry denunciations from liberal lawmakers, but Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser admitted that the troops were helping.

“We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what [the D.C. Municipal Police Department] has been able to do in this city,” said Bowser. “This surge has been important to us.”

RELATED: DC Dems are furious at Mayor Bowser for admitting Trump’s troops are lowering crime

Trump was dismissive of the order when a reporter asked him about it at the White House.

“It was a radical left judge,” said the president, who pointed out that the administration was allowed to keep 300 troops in Los Angeles.

Breyer was appointed by former President Bill Clinton and is the brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

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​Breyer vs trump, Trump posse comitatus, Trump military order, Military into los angeles, Politics 

The arrest of an illegal alien influencer has turned into a circus after a tow truck driver towed away a vehicle used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during the operation, but officials got the last laugh.

The incident from Aug. 18 unfolded on numerous videos, including the live stream of influencer Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, a 24-year-old illegal alien from Colombia. Critics of the administration say she was targeted because she was using her platform to warn illegal immigrants about the presence of ICE officials.

‘Now he can laugh behind bars while he faces justice.’

In one recording, the officers run after the vehicle as it is towed away while Mafla-Martinez is detained on the ground.

On Monday, acting U.S. Attorney General Bill Essayli said on social media that the tow truck driver, identified as Bobby Nunez, had been arrested.

“Bobby Nunez is now under arrest for brazenly towing an ICE vehicle. He is charged with theft of government property,” said Essayli.

“Apparently he thought it would be funny to interfere with our immigration enforcement operations,” he added. “Now he can laugh behind bars while he faces justice. Nunez is looking at up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.”

Essayli included the video of the vehicle being towed away as well as a video of the arrest of Nunez.

The vehicle had a gun in a gun safe when it was towed away, according to the criminal complaint. Prosecutors said that Nunez was laughing as he towed the car and was live streaming himself. Investigators were able to track him down through his TikTok account.

RELATED: Online outrage erupts over video of illegal alien’s arrest in DC — then the horrific charges against him are revealed

An attorney for Mafla-Martinez said that she did not cooperate with the officers’ commands because they had refused to present the warrant for her arrest.

“The reason she didn’t come out is, these are, these are masked men, and they said they had a warrant. She just wanted them to display it, ‘Show me the warrant,’ and they never displayed anything,” said her attorney Carlos Jurado.

A spokesperson for the White House said she had been arrested over a prior DUI conviction. Her attorney did not deny the conviction but claimed the real motivation for the arrest was her online activism against ICE.

“We believe, at this point, based on things that have been said to her, is that, because she was out filming ICE activities, she was targeted,” Jurado added. “There has been nothing that’s been stated to her by the arresting officers that stated that it was because of the DUI.”

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​Ice vehicle towed, Anti-ice tow truck driver, Tatiana mafla-martinez arrest, Ice influencer arrest, Politics 

For months, Americans were warned by the media about a global economic trade war that would begin in the wake of President Trump’s tariffs — but it hasn’t happened.

“All the fearmongering was totally wrong,” the Heartland Institute’s Justin T. Haskins tells BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler on “The Liz Wheeler Show.” “It was just totally and completely wrong.”

“As of right now, the data that we have clearly shows that the tariffs that have gone into effect have not dramatically increased prices for consumers. We obviously are not in the midst of an economic catastrophe or something like that,” he continues.

Haskins also points out that “revenues are up” and “tax revenues are up.”

“That’s a good thing because we have a gigantic deficit problem in this country and a gigantic government debt problem long-term, and this could be a potential solution to that,” he explains, though he notes that the mainstream media is not reporting any of the good.

“If you just were to Google this story and look around the internet, you’ll see people say that the tariffs are causing lots of inflation. You’ll see it in headlines all over the place, and I just want to give real data from the government that proves that that’s not the case,” Haskins says.

Haskins points to the CPI inflation rate, which is the standard used for measuring inflation.

“In July, the 12-month inflation rate from July 2024-2025, 2.7%, is basically the same as in June. That’s less than what it was in December and in January before Trump was even president. So at that point it was around 3%,” Haskins explains.

“So the inflation has actually gone down over the past eight months, if you’re just comparing it in that way. If you start looking at individual numbers, parts of the economy prices, CPI prices in specific parts of the economy where you would expect to see tariffs causing inflation, if tariffs do cause inflation, you’re not seeing it,” he says.

One example Haskins uses is with clothing, of which, he explains 97% is not made in the United States.

“We are seeing prices actually go down … so if tariffs are causing inflation, then you would think that would be one area where you’d expect to see prices soaring, and we’re not seeing that.”

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.

​Video, Camera phone, Sharing, Upload, Video phone, Free, Youtube.com, The liz wheeler show, Liz wheeler, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Inflation, Trump tariffs, Tariffs, Trade war, Justin haskins, Justin haskins blazetv, Inflation rate, Lowering inflation, Taxes, Taxpayer money 

Heritage Foundation president Dr. Kevin Roberts emphasized in his Tuesday speech at the National Conservatism conference in Washington, D.C., that America’s true source of greatness is the family and that conservatives unapologetically oppose that which serves to weaken it — even if championed by fair-weather friends within the Trump coalition — and defend that which serves to strengthen it.

Roberts, whose organization’s so-called Project 2025 caused so much consternation on the left last year, further stressed the need for conservatives both to get “uncomfortably honest about our present crisis” and to reject the “temptation to separate the personal from the political, to believe that our private lives are of no concern to our public work,” as “that separation is a lie.”

‘The family’s decline is not a law of nature; nor is it an unstoppable force.’

Roberts, among the first speakers at this year’s NatCon, noted at the outset of his speech that whereas the stability of the great empires of yesteryear’s Europe rested on the monarchs’ bloodlines and on the strength of their thrones, America “bet her future on something humbler yet infinitely stronger” — “on what Chesterton called ‘the most extraordinary thing in the world’: an ordinary man and an ordinary woman bound in covenant love, passing on their faith and virtue to ordinary children.”

“We staked it all on the American family,” continued Roberts. “The family is the seedbed and safeguard of our grand experiment in ordered liberty — the source and summit of our political order, the true origin of our exceptionalism.”

Roberts noted that whereas America’s political architecture is still outwardly intact — “the Constitution that gives our body politic its structure remains in its glass case at the National Archives” — “the American family, the spiritual heart and soul that animates that Constitution, has grown weak, fractured, and hollow.”

RELATED: Family or fallout — experts assess the threats now facing the nuclear family

Photo by Lambert/Getty Images

The Heritage Foundation president noted that the weakening of American families — evidenced by a declining marriage rate, delayed marriages, an all-time low fertility rate, a staggeringly high number of abortions, and crushing loneliness among young Americans — was no accident but rather “the result of a deliberate campaign to uproot the most fundamental institution of human life.”

“You can call this campaign liberalism or enlightenment, rationalism or modernity — the name doesn’t matter,” said Roberts. “What matters is realizing that our current crisis has been centuries in the making.”

Roberts indicated that American conservatives are now in a position to do something about this crisis, which was brought about with the help of radical feminists and industrialists who dragged the mother out of the home; eugenicists like Margaret Sanger who promoted the notion that “children are a burden”; and educational activists like John Dewey who “shifted children’s formation from home and church to state institutions.”

“The family’s decline is not a law of nature; nor is it an unstoppable force,” said Roberts. “It’s the product of human choices — and human choices can change.”

“The American people have entrusted us with the power of government. They are asking us to make America great again. They are urging us to usher in a new golden age in American life. To honor their request, we have one clear task,” said Roberts. “We must do intentionally what the founders did instinctively: stake our future on virtuous and ordinary mothers and fathers.”

‘[Prudence] demands that we ask of every policy, every proposal: Will this strengthen the American family?’

Roberts suggested that it’s not enough to seek an end to DEI and Pride flags; to combat the “uniparty” interventionists’ prioritization of the “family of nations” over the families of Americans; and to rethink policies that work on the assumption that “maximizing GDP is an overriding and unspoken goal.”

Conservatives must take back their homes and live by example — entering into marriage, embracing its commitments, and remaining faithful through its trials; welcoming children into the home and giving them the love, discipline, and kitchen-table education they need to prosper; and ruling with prudence, which Roberts noted is the “opposite of ideology.”

Roberts noted that prudence “recognizes that the interest of the family and the national interest are not merely aligned — they are one and the same. [Prudence] demands that we ask of every policy, every proposal: Will this strengthen the American family? Will it advance the common good of the American people? Will it cultivate the virtues without which liberty cannot endure?”

RELATED: ‘Woke right’ smear weaponized by liberal interlopers against MAGA conservatives, populists — and Arby’s?

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

“If the answer is no,” continued Roberts, “even if the proposal aligns with some past ideological commitment, prudence requires that we reject it.”

‘Prudence is not a retreat from conviction.’

Tariffs, for example, may have been imprudent years ago but, based on the needs of the family today, may be prudent now, suggested Roberts. He suggested further that conservatives ruling with prudence may simultaneously demand the deregulation of certain industries such as construction — in the interest of helping young couples afford homes — but greater regulation of other industries, such as pornography, sports betting, and social media, which adversely impact children and the family.

“Prudence is not a retreat from conviction. It’s the application of conviction to reality,” stressed Roberts. “In this moment, conviction and reality both tell us the same thing: The surest test of any policy, any law, any reform is whether it fortifies the institution upon which the future of our nation stands.”

Roberts’ apparent willingness to upset libertarians and strike at the liberal status quo is par for the course at the National Conservatism conference, a project of the Edmund Burke Foundation chaired by Israeli-American philosopher Yoram Hazony.

The project defines “national conservatism” as “a movement of public figures, journalists, scholars, and students who understand that the past and future of conservatism are inextricably tied to the idea of the nation, to the principle of national independence, and to the revival of the unique national traditions that alone have the power to bind a people together and bring about their flourishing.”‘

There have been several NatCon conferences in recent years both at home and abroad. Past guests and speakers include Vice President JD Vance, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.), Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), elements of Blaze Media, and a host of international leaders of various political stripes.

The momentum and influence enjoyed by elements of the national conservatism movement have not gone unnoticed by liberals, who have lashed out in various ways, some more forceful than others.

Last year, for example, police stormed the NatCon conference in Brussels on the orders of a leftist mayor who appeared eager to shut down the event.

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​National conservatism, Natcon, Natcon 5, Kevin roberts, Heritage, Heritage foundation, Conservatism, Conservatives, Coalition, Maga, Trump, Donald trump, Jd vance, Politics 

A recently discovered medieval document is being hailed as the earliest written mention of the Shroud of Turin. Its author, Nicole Oresme, the learned Bishop of Lisieux, writing around 1370, claims the Shroud is a forgery. Some have rushed to seize on this fragment as if it were a fatal blow to the Shroud’s authenticity.

But is it?

To treat this new discovery as proof that the Shroud is a forgery means ignoring the massive wealth of evidence that indicates its authenticity.

Historian Nicolas Sarzeaud’s recent article uses Oresme’s passage as basis for rejecting the Shroud. However, the facts reveal more fallacy than forgery.

In the ongoing debate about the Shroud’s authenticity, the question is what this discovery actually means. Imagine a set of scales. On one side rests the enormous weight of historical, scientific, and forensic evidence pointing to the Shroud’s authenticity. On the other side, we now place this solitary note from a skeptical medieval bishop.

So does this new discovery tip the balance? The answer is a resounding no — and here’s why.

Reason 1: The inexplicable image

Picture yourself in 1370. You live in a pre-scientific, pre-photographic world, and your thoughtful approach to faith makes you skeptical of the mania for relics at that time. You hear reports of a mysterious cloth bearing the image of a crucified man, said to be Jesus.

What would you think? Most likely, your first reaction would be, “Someone must have painted it.” And as a product of his time, that is exactly what Oresme assumed.

But Oresme had no access to modern science — or to the groundbreaking work of the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project.

After an exhaustive investigation, STURP concluded that the image was not created by pigment, stain, dye, paint, or any known artistic method. In fact, the image itself isn’t made of any substance that rests on top or is embedded in the weave of the cloth — it is a discoloration of the linen fibers themselves. When the Shroud is backlit, the image disappears, something no painting could replicate. Even more remarkably, the image is not the result of brush strokes; it is a photographic-negative-like image encoded with three-dimensional information.

This means that whatever makes the image was not deposited on the cloth and that the image was not made by contact with a body, statue, or brush.

Oresme had no framework for scientific thought and how to interpret such a phenomenon. In his world, images came only from the hand of an artist. The Shroud has revealed itself as an exception to the rule. In our world, the Shroud has defied every artistic or technological explanation. What seemed “obvious” in the 14th century has proven scientifically untenable today.

And for historian Sarzeaud, the use of Oresme’s comments strikes me as strained, particularly when they are presented as if they were direct references to the Shroud itself. The move from a general critique of relics to the assumption that he meant the Shroud is more conjecture than evidence.

Just as telling is Sarzeaud’s reliance on a modern interpretive framework while failing to engage seriously with the textile, historical, and iconographic data that challenge his conclusions.

Reason 2: Corrupt corroboration

In Sarzeaud’s assertion that the Shroud is a forgery, he relies heavily on the previously oldest known mention of the Shroud, which is known as the d’Arcis Memorandum, written around 1390, in which Pierre d’Arcis, Bishop of Troyes, claimed the Shroud was painted. He includes the entire memo as evidence that the Shroud was considered a forgery as soon as it was first exhibited 35 years earlier. Although this is corroboration, Sarzeaud presents the memo without mentioning the controversy surrounding it.

Sarzeaud fails as a historian and treats this as if it were a straightforward confirmation of Oresme’s skepticism. But the reality is far murkier.

RELATED: Shroud of Turin debunked? Not even close — here’s the truth

claudiodivizia/iStock/Getty Images Plus

First, there isn’t just one memo. Calling it “the memo” is misleading, since there are two surviving drafts that differ in tone and detail. The French scholar Ulysse Chevalier, who published the d’Arcis memo in the early 20th century, conflated the two versions into a single document — and then asserted, without proof, that it had been sent to Pope Clement VII. No such record exists in the Vatican archives, and there is no evidence that it was ever sent to the pope.

Second, even within the memorandum, d’Arcis admits that his charge was based on hearsay: His predecessor supposedly knew the name of the forger but never revealed it. Modern scholarship has highlighted these inconsistencies, but Sarzeaud neglects to mention them. In other words, what he presents as solid corroboration rests on fragile ground.

As historians, we must do better and not overreach in presenting the evidence as Sarzeaud has done.

Reason 3: Earlier does not equal better

We share Oresme’s skepticism of relics. I’ve visited the Saxony hometown of Johann Tetzel (1465-1519), the Dominican friar infamous for selling indulgences in the early 16th century. He was commissioned to raise money for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Tetzel became notorious for a jingle he reportedly used in his preaching to stir people to buy indulgences: “As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”

Orsme was thinking, writing, and standing firm for Christian truth in a time rife with spiritual manipulation, and this influenced his overreaction to the Shroud. By the 14th century, Europe was rife with dubious relics. Skeptical observers like Oresme often dismissed any new devotional object as fraudulent.

But what Oresme lacked — and what we now possess — is the benefit of centuries of scientific progress.

It is true that Oresme’s fragment pushes the written record of the Shroud back to around 1370. And yes, having a mention of the Shroud so close to when it first appeared in Europe is noteworthy. But it doesn’t mean it carries more weight than other evidence.

In fact, given the advent of the age of science and the technological advances since Oresme’s day, there is far more and far better evidence now than there was then.

Think of it this way: Knowledge accumulates like compound interest. Every decade of careful research into the Shroud — microscopy, spectroscopy, blood chemistry, pollen analysis, and digital imaging — adds layers of data. To elevate a lone medieval opinion over the wealth of evidence gathered since 1978 is to confuse proximity with authority. Oresme’s comment is historically interesting, but evidentially it is a footnote, not a verdict.

Sarzeaud does appeal to the 1988 radiocarbon test that dated the Shroud to 1260-1380 to support the claim that the Shroud is medieval. Once again, however, he does not mention the fierce debate surrounding the results or the work done since then that casts serious doubt on its validity.

The very latest state of the evidence is the richest; we only gain more knowledge. To treat this new discovery as proof that the Shroud is a forgery means ignoring the massive wealth of evidence that indicates its authenticity. The new find only has force when isolated from the overwhelming contextual evidence.

Reason 4: The ‘forgery’ claim falls apart

The fatal flaw in relying on this new document and the d’Arcis Memorandum as proof that the Shroud is a forgery is that the dots don’t connect.

If the Shroud were obviously painted, as Oresme assumed, then why have the best scientists in the world — equipped with electron microscopes, chemical analysis, and cutting-edge imaging technology — failed to detect any paint, pigment, or dye responsible for the image?

RELATED: New evidence indicates Shroud of Turin shows EXACT moment of resurrection

Stefano Guidi/Getty Images

Dr. John Jackson, physicist and leader of the STURP team, cataloged 17 unique characteristics of the image on the Shroud — features that any genuine explanation must account for. Countless attempts to reproduce the image have fallen short. Photographs, paintings, and scorchings may imitate some features, but none replicate them all.

The Shroud’s image remains, scientifically speaking, an unsolved phenomenon.

This is the Achilles’ heel of the forgery theory: What was “obvious” to a 14th-century skeptic has been thoroughly disproven by modern analysis. The image is not a painting. The claim collapses under scrutiny.

Weighing the evidence

Nicole Oresme was right about one thing: Popular religious claims should be subjected to rigorous testing. As Sarzeaud himself quotes, Oresme insisted that such claims be examined through Scripture, credible testimony, and reason.

Sarzeaud concludes, “For Oresme, popular beliefs must be critically examined through methodical analysis, using Scriptural authorities, credible testimonies, and arguments grounded in reason, with significant weight being given to the latter.”

Yet in holding Sarzeaud to his own standard, his argument and conclusion fail. He has failed to critically examine the new Oresme passage with methodical analysis by ignoring the problems with the d’Arcis Memorandum. He has ignored the credible testimony of the scientific evidence and the compelling historical evidence of the Shroud’s existence in history prior to appearing in Europe. He has overlooked the historical evidence placing the Shroud well before the 14th century.

When all the evidence is placed on the scales, this newly found fragment does not tip the balance. Instead, it reminds us of an enduring truth: Skepticism is not new.

From the beginning, voices have attempted to dismiss the Shroud as forgery or fabrication. But 2,000 years of history and a century of scientific inquiry testify otherwise. And by appealing only to selective evidence that agrees with his premise, Sarzeaud fails to ground his arguments in reason, but rather commits the fallacy of special pleading.

The one thing Sarzeaud succeeds in is generating headlines by making something from nothing. Sarzeaud’s article may generate headlines, but it does not overturn the evidence.

In the end, the Shroud continues to confront us with the same, unyielding mystery: the image of a crucified man, unlike any other in human history — a discovery that refuses to be explained away.

​Shroud of turin, Jeremiah johnston, Christianity, Christians, Jesus, Jesus christ, Nicole oresme, Nicolas sarzeaud, Faith 

Witnesses have given conflicting stories surrounding the axe-wielding Scottish girl whose story has captured headlines.

After a 12-year-old Scottish girl was charged with weapons possession, rumors swirled that she was fending off the pursuit of an unruly migrant, forcing her to wield both an axe and a large knife.

Now, the accused immigrant has spoken out and provided a conflicting account that seemingly reveals one side is not telling the truth.

‘She has a severe concussion and swelling inside of her head.’

“I never touched her. I didn’t hit her, I swear on my life, I have a baby now. I would never hurt someone,” Fatos Ali Dumana told the Daily Mail.

Dumana, a 21-year-old Bulgarian immigrant, wondered why the 12-year-old girl was “messing” with him while possessing weapons.

“If I did hurt the girl, why didn’t the police arrest me? They have done nothing to me,” Dumana insisted. “They saw from the CCTV cameras from Farmfoods [supermarket] that she was stopping me go on my way to the shop.”

Dumana also alleged that another bystander witnessed him being attacked and labeled a “f***ing migrant.”

“I did not hit them; I am a human not an animal,” he added.

Police Scotland had previously told Blaze News through spokeswoman Lisa Smith that “no adults” were “arrested or charged” in relation to the same incident.

However, a reporter claiming to have spoken to the 12-year-old girl’s family, as well as another alleged independent witness, has provided an incredibly contradictory take on what happened that day.

RELATED: Scottish police blame axe-wielding girl for altercation, reveal nationality of migrant

An X user who goes by the name Aesthetica claimed to have spoken to and worked directly with the family in order to set up a fundraiser for to pay for the hospital bills of one of the girls allegedly present at the scene.

According to the story attached to the fundraiser, the 12-year-old in question is named Lola and was accompanied by her sister Ruby, 13, and friend Mayah, 13. The story describes “foreign nationals” directing “inappropriate sexual remarks at Lola.”

After telling the “migrants” to leave them alone, one of the girls was “viciously attacked” by an adult female, the story alleged, who pulled her to the ground by her hair as “both migrants proceeded to kick Ruby in the head on the ground.”

It was at this point Lola allegedly retrieved an axe and knife to scare off the attackers, prompting the “foreign national” to film the aftermath.

Ruby was allegedly hospitalized after the attack with a “severe concussion,” but the migrants were not arrested, even though Lola was, leaving her as the alleged 12-year-old girl who was charged by Scottish police.

Days later, a young girl purporting to be Mayah posted videos on TikTok corroborating the story from the fundraiser.

RELATED: 14-year-old girl charged in UK after allegedly defending herself from migrant harasser

— (@)

TikTok user Mayah Anderson said she, Ruby, and Lola were present when a man made inappropriate remarks toward the 12-year-old. They told the man to stop, as he was speaking to a minor.

As the altercation escalated, the alleged witness said that the man’s sister attacked Ruby, allegedly causing head injuries.

“This is his sister. For everybody saying his wife, it’s not his wife,” the young girl claimed. “His sister then grabs my friend Ruby from behind, and both of them, the male and the female, jump on my friend, start kicking her in the head, punching her in the face. And she actually had to get sent to hospital. She has a severe concussion and swelling inside of her head.”

The girl claimed that the man told police and stated on social media that the woman is his sister.

Anderson said that after she called police, Lola pulled out her weapons — which she had, unbeknownst to the group — and soon fled.

The teen also alleged that the man in question acted violently while in police custody and even spit on them.

X user Aesthetica told Blaze News that the family, including mother Elaine Thomson, has received threats and now fears speaking out publicly. The family has also run into problems obtaining hospital records, Aesthetica claims.

Blaze News has reached out to Scottish police and asked about the claims regarding a man assaulting police and the child’s alleged hospitalization, as well as access to any CCTV footage.

Police Scotland had previously told Blaze News that revealing any information from the police report would violate Scottish law.

Blaze News also attempted to contact Mayah Anderson, but the messages were not deliverable through social media.

The fundraiser has reached over $115,000 USD at the time of this writing.

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The transgender Minneapolis shooter may have had anti-Semitic writing as well as a threat to “kill” President Trump scrawled all over his weapons — but ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon isn’t letting that stop him from believing the shooter could be conservative.

“The Minneapolis shooter is reportedly trans, and now the right, MAGA, is losing their minds over it, making it a big deal, an issue. Here’s where the ignorance comes in. They’re so ignorant, because trans people can be of any different, many different political persuasions,” Lemon said in a selfie video uploaded to social media.

“We need sensible gun legislation in this country that goes along with mental health issues. You can be a trans person and have mental health issues just like you can be a straight white man, who it usually is doing these things, and have mental health issues as well.”

“Trans people can also be conservative. Could be trans and it could be a trans conservative person. I actually know trans conservative people, I have interviewed one,” Lemon continued, before showing a video of him interviewing a transgender woman who claimed to be a Trump supporter.

“It’s a safe bet to say that the trans person is probably a Democrat,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray argues on “Pat Gray Unleashed. “Especially when it had ‘kill Trump’ on the rifle and ‘Jews’ that he used.”

“Come on. That’s not a Republican. I mean, have you even looked into the Don?” he adds.

Lemon’s proof that the shooter could be conservative came in the form of a man-on-the-street-style video he did once where he interviewed a transgender conservative.

“I walked away from the Democrat plantation. I had to. Just ‘cause I’m transgender doesn’t mean I need to be a Democrat,” the man told Lemon.

“She absolutely played him,” Jeffy comments.

“Absolutely,” Gray adds.

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With the 2026 midterms looming on the horizon, one Republican senator has announced she will not be seeking re-election.

On Tuesday, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) confirmed the rumors that have been swirling for months and officially announced that she will not seek a third term. She made the announcement in a video posted to X.

‘Protecting life and the most vulnerable among us is the most important measure of any society.’

“It has been an honor to dedicate my life to the service of our great state and country. Having been raised in a family who has given me so much love and support, now as our family ages and grows, it’s my time for me to give back to them,” Ernst said in the video.

The Senate Leadership Fund quickly responded to the news. “We want to express our gratitude to Senator Joni Ernst for her dedicated service to our nation and the people of Iowa, both in the U.S. Senate and serving in the armed forces,” executive director Alex Latcham said in a statement obtained by Blaze News. “Senator Ernst has been a steadfast conservative leader throughout her time in office, and we wish her the very best in her retirement. We are confident that Iowans will once again choose a strong fighter to represent them in the U.S. Senate next fall.”

RELATED: Liberal media spins Sen. Ernst’s town hall death reminder while Iowa Democrats make their play

— (@)

Ernst, 55, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014, making her the first woman ever elected to federal office from the state of Iowa.

Since then, she has been a reliable Republican vote. As an Iraq War veteran, Ernst has advocated for servicemen and women. She even ruffled feathers in her own party after President Donald Trump’s re-election win last fall when she initially lobbied against the nomination of Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense following allegations of sexual misconduct. However, she ultimately voted to confirm him.

She has also been a staunch supporter of the pro-life movement, voting for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act and to defund Planned Parenthood. “Protecting life and the most vulnerable among us is the most important measure of any society,” she says on her website.

While Iowa has some of the strongest restrictions on abortion in the country, a recent Des Moines Register poll indicated that a solid majority of Iowans, 64%, say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

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The families of the murdered and injured in the heinous Minneapolis Catholic church shooting can rest well knowing that NBC News is going the extra distance to avoid “misgendering” the deceased murderer.

Investigators say that 23-year-old Robin Westman fired at children and others praying inside Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, killing two and injuring 17. Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the church.

‘Children were slaughtered. … But NBC made sure the pronouns were right.’

Investigators say that Westman identified as a transgender person, and the messages he left behind have provided some insight into his possible motivation for the shooting. Westman also expressed regret for becoming transgender in one post.

NBC issued the correction after using male pronouns when referring to Westman.

“A previous version of this article used the wrong pronoun for the shooter. She used female pronouns,” it read.

Many on social media excoriated NBC News for taking care to observe the preferred pronouns of a heinous murderer of children.

“Children were slaughtered. Catholics targeted. But NBC made sure the pronouns were right,” responded communications strategist Erica Knight.

“Ahh, the sickness of all these people is so deep in the media that at some point after these kids get murdered maybe we the majority will turn them off and watch the sponsors pull their hair out. We need another brand of news outlet over the air waves,” read one response.

“In an evil premeditated way, this beast plotted and tracked elementary school age kids, trapped them in a room and shot them with automatic weapons. NBC is worried about his pronouns?…How about a pronoun for NBC… A**holes!…Can’t hate them enough!” read another response.

RELATED: Catholic schools begged Tim Walz to increase security before horrific shooting — he did nothing

“The lame stream media, corrects pronouns for a savage killer of innocent children who is now dead,” said one detractor.

“I don’t think the main stream media in this country is even trying to be unbiased anymore. It’s all out in the open,” replied writer Clara Winslow.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that investigators are trying to determine whether transitioning drugs possibly taken by the shooter might have been at least partly to blame for the attack.

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A federal judge appointed by President Biden said conflicting stories have given her no choice but to block a round of deportation orders.

A lawsuit was filed after 1 a.m. on Sunday by the legal activist group National Immigration Law Center. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan said she received notice of the complaint at 2 a.m. and subsequently called the U.S. attorney’s office and left a voice message at 3:43 a.m.

The judge left word with federal authorities asking for a hearing before she issued an emergency motion that halted the deportation of a group of 76 illegal immigrants. She even moved the hearing up by three hours when she discovered the deportations were already under way.

‘I have conflicting narratives from both sides here.’

The issue, however, was that these illegal immigrants were minors who were set to be reunified with their families in Guatemala.

“The Court ORDERS that [Homeland Security] cease any ongoing efforts to transfer, repatriate, remove, or otherwise facilitate the transport of any Plaintiff or member of the putative class from the United States,” Sooknanan wrote, per ABC News.

Sooknanan also called it “surprising” that the government was “attempting to remove minor children from the country in the wee hours of the morning on a holiday weekend.”

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign claimed the illegal minors are actually undergoing a repatriation process and that “all of these children have parents or guardians in Guatemala who have requested their return,” according to Fox News.

However, the judge claimed that she has been receiving conflicting stories that have forced her hand.

RELATED: Tom Homan says Trump administration has located 23,000 of the 300,000 migrant children lost under Biden administration

“I have conflicting narratives from both sides here on whether what is happening here is an attempt to reunite these children with their parents or just return these children to Guatemala where they face harm,” the judge stated.

Sooknanan said that in the court filings, the children themselves claimed that they were “afraid of going back to Guatemala” over a fear of abuse or neglect from their family members. One child also allegedly said their parents received a “strange phone call” about being deported back to Guatemala along with other minors.

Ensign’s explanation was far more simple, claiming that the government of Guatemala had requested the return of the children, all of whom have “parents or guardians in Guatemala who are requesting” that they be brought back.

“[The] United States government is trying to facilitate the return of these children to their parents or guardians from whom they have been separated,” Ensign said.

RELATED: Trump prepares massive immigration enforcement in sanctuary city

In a post on X, Dept. of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the judge’s order “disgusting and immoral,” while oppositely, the NILC’s Efrén Olivares called it a “dark and dangerous moment when our government chooses to target orphaned 10-year-olds.”

After some of the children had already boarded planes or had arrived to the planes on buses in Harlingen and El Paso, Texas — ready for deportation — they are now in custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

In total, the judge’s order blocks the deportation of about 700 Guatemalan minors.

Homeland Security did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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On Saturday, August 30, the Florida State Seminoles, who finished last season with a dismal 2-10 record, pulled off a shocking victory against No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide. The underdogs dominated with a revamped offense led by new quarterback Tommy Castellanos, who accounted for 230 total yards and a touchdown, and a defense that stifled Alabama’s running game, limiting the team to 74 rushing yards.

The Seminoles’ triumph sent shock waves through college football, marking a stunning start to the season.

Furious Alabama fans are venting over head coach Kalen DeBoer’s performance, with some speculating about raising nearly $70 million to cover the buyout of his $87 million contract. Amid this unrest, rumors have swirled about legendary former coach Nick Saban returning to the sidelines or former NFL coach Jon Gruden being considered as a replacement.

“Kalen DeBoer may need to go. Nick Saban probably would be an upgrade. … Josh Gruden would be a significant upgrade and an incredible story,” Jason Whitlock agrees.

But Alabama’s woes go way deeper than a “coaching problem,” he says.

The Crimson Tide’s biggest issue is something mainstream media would never dare address: Its obsession with LGBTQ+ activism overshadows winning football games.

“The BLM LGBTQIA+ silent P alphabet mafia is ruining sports,” Jason says.

Wide receiver Ryan Williams, the Tide’s best player, he says, is an “alphabet soldier” who’s driving the culture at Alabama.

Not only does Williams regularly don painted fingernails, but he entered the Seminoles’ Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday carrying a stuffed T. rex, which is some kind of “anxiety doll.”

“And you’re wondering why the team is soft,” Jason scoffs.

“When your sexual identity and your desire to show off your feminine side, your womanly side, your alternative lifestyle side becomes the agenda, you got a problem that will affect the entire locker room,” he says.

“The head coach has to walk around on eggshells. He can’t talk the way that he used to talk because the best player might be offended.”

“Feminine energy doesn’t win football games. … Toxic masculinity and energy — that’s what wins football games,” he says.

As long as Alabama allows its “soft” culture to fester, its football will be subpar, he argues.

To hear more of his commentary, watch the video above.

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U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg, an Obama-appointed federal judge who has been working ardently to block the MAGA agenda, ordered the release last week of a woman accused of repeatedly threatening President Donald Trump’s life.

Nathalie Rose Jones of Lafayette, Indiana, was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 16 and charged with threatening to take the life of, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon the president and with transmitting threats across state lines.

‘Any threat to the president’s life should be taken incredibly seriously.’

“Threatening the life of the president is one of the most serious crimes and one that will be met with swift and unwavering prosecution. Make no mistake — justice will be served,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement.

According to the Justice Department, members of the U.S. Secret Service observed a series of increasingly concerning posts made on Instagram and Facebook between Aug. 2 and Aug. 15 by a user with the handle “nath.jones.”

The user started off parroting Democrat and liberal media talking points, allegedly labeling the president a terrorist and referring to his administration as a dictatorship.

However, on Aug. 6, “Nath.Jones” allegedly wrote in a Facebook post directed at the FBI, “I am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea with Liz Cheney and all The Affirmation present.”

RELATED: If ‘words are violence,’ why won’t the left own theirs?

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The same user followed up the apparent death threat with an Aug. 14 post directed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in which she allegedly wrote, “Please arrange the arrest and removal ceremony of POTUS Trump as a terrorist on the American People from 10-2pm at the White House on Saturday, August 16th, 2025.”

The U.S. Secret Service met with Jones on Aug. 15 and conducted a voluntary interview during which she allegedly called Trump a “terrorist” and a “Nazi” and allegedly said that if afforded the opportunity, she would kill the president.

The DOJ noted further that Jones said she “would take the president’s life and would kill him at ‘the compound’ if she had to, that she had a ‘bladed object,’ which she said was the weapon she would use to ‘carry out her mission of killing’ the president, and that she wanted to ‘avenge all the lives lost during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ which she attributed to President Trump’s administration and its position on vaccinations.”

The day after her interview, Jones took part in a protest outside the White House, during which she told NewsNation, “This regime has to go, the whole administration.”

Jones added, “We will not exist in this authoritarian regime. We will not accept fascism.”

The U.S. Secret Service interviewed Jones a second time after the protest. Jones allegedly admitted to the USSS that she threatened Trump’s life during their previous interview.

Jones appears to be among the many American liberals who think that violence against their political opponents, Trump in particular, is justified.

A survey conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab revealed in April that 55% of respondents who identified as left of center said that assassinating President Trump would be at least somewhat justified.

RELATED: Trump and the left join forces to herd Democrats into a 2028 disaster

Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/Washington Post via Getty Images

A poll conducted by Scott Rasmussen’s RMG Research immediately following the alleged September 2024 attempt on Trump’s life at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, found that 28% of Democrats said it would have been better for the president to have been slaughtered on the green.

Jones was arrested after her second interview with the USSS and apparently confirmed that she had made the threatening statements as “Nath Jones” on social media.

“Special Agents from New York and Washington, D.C., working in close coordination with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, acted swiftly and decisively to neutralize this alleged threat before it could escalate,” said Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office.

Boasberg, whom Attorney General Pam Bondi slapped in July with a misconduct complaint “for making improper public comments about President Trump and his administration,” ordered Jones’ release on Wednesday.

Boasberg remanded Jones to the custody of her defense investigator, Tyrees Smith, and told her to “drive directly to New York City, taking only reasonable rests along the way and arriving in New York City to meet with her psychiatrist prior to 5 p.m. on August 27, 2025.”

When pressed for comment about Jones’ release, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Blaze News, “Any threat to the president’s life should be taken incredibly seriously — now more than ever considering President Trump has survived not one, but two, attempts on his life.”

“This should be common sense for anyone dealing with deranged individuals who make these types of threats,” added Jackson.

The Obama judge’s decision to cut Jones loose comes just weeks after a federal appeals court threw out Boasberg’s bid to pursue criminal contempt for Trump administration officials who deported illegal aliens to El Salvador.

Liz Wheeler of “The Liz Wheeler Show” noted earlier this year that Boasberg was a member of the “FISA court that rubber-stamped the illegal spy warrants against Trump during the Russiagate hoax. Boasberg was one of those judges signing off on it. ‘You go ahead and spy on Trump.'”

Boasberg also kept Kevin Clinesmith — the former FBI attorney who, according to the DOJ, fabricated evidence to support a surveillance application to the same FISA court, lying about Carter Page’s past cooperation with the CIA — out of jail.

The Obama judge gave Clinesmith only 12 months of probation and 400 hours of community service.

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A Democrat commissioner in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, was one of nearly two dozen suspects arrested in connection with a “massive drug investigation” that spanned several years — and several states.

On Thursday, members of the Lehigh County Drug Task Force, with assistance from the Bethlehem Police Department and other agencies, arrested Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi at Bethlehem City Hall, where he worked as an open records officer. Cole-Borghi was charged with possession of marijuana and possession with the intent to deliver a pound of marijuana. He paid $50,000 bond and was released.

‘A wide-ranging conspiracy.’

Cole-Borghi, a first-term commissioner who won the Democratic primary for District 3 unopposed earlier this year, was just one of 22 individuals arrested in connection with this case. Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan claimed the investigation into the alleged drug ring began three years ago and extended all the way to Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin.

“This is a wide-ranging, as I said, multi-jurisdictional investigation, which included people yesterday who were arrested in the City of Chicago and the State of Wisconsin,” Holihan said at a press conference on Friday, according to lehighvalleylive.com. “And there are warrants for people in multiple counties in Pennsylvania, as well as the state of New York, I believe the state of New Jersey, Philadelphia — so a wide-ranging conspiracy.”

Holihan also noted that law enforcement officers had seized a massive haul of evidence related to the case.

“To date, some of the items seized include well over $100,000 in cash, crypto accounts, more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana, large quantities of THC, liquid cocaine, and MDMA pills. Additionally, at least 25 firearms were seized yesterday, including semi-automatic rifles and ghost guns. As part of the operation, two clandestine labs were discovered manufacturing illegal THC products. Those labs were discovered and dismantled by the PA State Police Clandestine Laboratory Team,” he said.

Bethlehem Human Resources Director Michelle Cichocki confirmed on Friday that Cole-Borghi no longer works for the city.

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Althom/Getty Images

The extent of Cole-Borghi’s alleged participation in drug trafficking is unclear, and during the press conference, Holihan declined questions about the commissioner’s alleged involvement, citing the ongoing grand jury investigation.

However, several of Cole-Borghi’s colleagues have weighed in. Bethlehem City Council member Bryan Callahan called Cole-Borghi’s arrest “distressing news,” while Council member Grace Crampsie Smith described it as “disheartening,” according to WFMZ.

Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong confirmed that Cole-Borghi has not resigned his seat on the board of commissioners. Lehighvalleynews.com further reported that without an order from a judge, Cole-Borghi’s name cannot be removed from the November ballot at this point since the deadlines to withdraw and for parties to name a replacement already passed.

Cole-Borghi’s Republican opponent, Jacqueline Rivera, issued a statement following his arrest: “As community leaders, we are entrusted with a responsibility to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and service. The people of Lehigh County deserve representatives they can trust — leaders who will put families, neighborhoods, and the well-being of our community first.”

Cole-Borghi’s name and picture remain on the county commissioners’ website, though as of Tuesday morning, he has no accompanying biographical information listed there. Instead, the website claims his “profile information” will be “coming soon.”

Executive Armstrong said, “The residents of Lehigh County should know that we are monitoring the situation closely, and at the first opportunity, we will speak with all relevant parties. We hope to have a more substantial statement after we have had the opportunity to gather the facts.”

Cole-Borghi did not respond to a request for comment from lehighvalleylive.com.

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As lawmakers return from their five-week recess, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is wasting no time to address the Epstein files.

Just as Republicans managed to drown out much of the Epstein drama, Massie is reigniting the fight for transparency surrounding the files.

‘Massie promptly pushed back on the move, calling it a “meaningless vote.”‘

Massie announced he will file a discharge petition as soon as the House is back in session on Monday, which would force a vote in the House to release the Epstein files, so long as he collects at least 218 signatures from his colleagues. If all 212 Democrats sign on, he will need signatures from at least six more Republican lawmakers.

“I pray Speaker Johnson will listen to the pleas of these victims for justice and quit trying to block a vote on our legislation to release the Epstein files,” Massie said in a post on X.

RELATED: Democrat lawmaker pounces on Epstein drama, calls for congressional vote

Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Massie’s bill, which is being co-led by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, requires all Epstein-related materials in the DOJ, FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices to be made publicly available within 30 days of the bill’s passage.

The legislation would also require Attorney General Pam Bondi to submit a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees listing all the categories of the records that were released and withheld, a summary and legal justification of all the redactions made, and a list of government officials and “politically exposed persons” named in the materials “with no redactions permitted.”

With respect to redactions, the bill clarifies no information may be withheld for purposes of “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”

The bill does allow for redactions for any content that violates the privacy of any victims involved; for child sexual abuse materials; if it jeopardizes an ongoing federal investigation or depicts death, abuse, or injury of a person; or if it is in the interest of national defense.

RELATED: FBI, DOJ Epstein memo sparks right-wing outrage: ‘Nobody is believing this’

Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Court Accountability

While Massie and Khanna continue their push for transparency, the House leadership also scheduled their own vote on a bill that would direct the House Oversight Committee to “continue its ongoing investigation” into the government’s “possible mismanagement” of the Epstein case.

Massie promptly pushed back on the move, calling it a “meaningless vote” that simply provides “political cover” for members who don’t support his bipartisan legislation. Massie and Khanna are also set to hold a joint press conference on Wednesday with 10 of Epstein’s victims to raise awareness and bring attention to their bill.

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A Western Michigan player’s jersey is grabbing the attention of fans instead of his play after the college football kickoff last weekend.

A rivalry game between Michigan State University and Western Michigan University saw the Spartans win 23-6 at home, but one Broncos player stood out among the crowd in the losing effort.

‘This is still America right.’

Along with wearing the somewhat unique No. 0, it was not Mustafi Al-Garawi‘s two tackles that viewers took note of, but rather that the nameplate on his jersey was written in Arabic.

An East Tennessee State transfer, the senior defensive tackle submitted a request to Western Michigan in the summer asking if he could play his final season with Arabic writing on the back of his jersey.

According to Detroit News, Al-Garawi was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after his father was granted U.S. citizenship for rebelling against his own country (Iraq) during Saddam Hussein’s rule. Rashid Al-Garawi allegedly assisted U.S. forces in the Second Gulf War.

RELATED: Are MLB umpires getting worse? Fans say yes, but the stats might disagree

Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor and school officials approved the Arabic writing, seemingly following an NCAA rule that allows players to “celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes, subject to school and/or conference approval,” according to CBS Sports in 2020.

The messages can vary from player to player.

After a college football fan page with 150,000 followers posted an image of Al-Garawi’s jersey, it was met with mostly negative reactions from fans.

“That’s awful,” one Texan wrote on X.

“Why is that cool. This is America. Nobody can read it,” another user said.

“This is still America right,” another fan replied.

At least a half-dozen X users called for Al-Garawi’s deportation, while some other fans even called the writing “gay.”

REALTED: English alone won’t cut it in a global economy

Charles Du’s #49 jersey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Photo by CFP/Getty Images

While this may be the first time a player name has been written in Arabic in an NCAA football game, there have already been two players who have had their names written in Chinese.

First, Arizona State University’s He Peizhang, aka Jackson He, had his name written in Chinese in 2020. He came to the U.S. from Guangdong, China, at 17 years old, according to South China Morning Post.

In 2025, Charles Du of Notre Dame grabbed headlines and social media attention when he had his name written in Chinese during the Sugar Bowl on January 2.

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