Category: blaze media

Last week, Jason Whitlock made a bet that Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes will lose two of their last three games of the season. If he is proved wrong, however, Jason promised he would fly himself to a bowl game and cheer on Sanders’ team decked out in Buffaloes gear.

After the Buffaloes’ 49-24 victory over the Utah Utes last weekend, it looks like Whitlock might be packing his bags soon.

“I’m being inundated over the weekend with people suggesting I owe Deion Sanders an apology,” he says.

While he’s willing to admit that he was “wrong about what their record would be this year,” Jason is not willing to apologize.

“I am going to be transparent and say I’m wrong, but I’m not apologizing,” he says.

“After they lost to Nebraska, after they should have lost to Baylor, I was real confident that the wheels were going to fall off, and the wheels did not fall off. This team has improved throughout the course of the season,” he admits. “Hats off to Deion; hats off to Colorado.”

However, Jason still doesn’t “respect the way Deion has gone about” running his football program and never has.

From the gold chains he wears and the rappers he brings into the locker room to the flagrant materialism he promotes and his lack of humility — “none of it’s consistent with my values; none of it’s consistent with Christian values,” says Whitlock.

He also doesn’t approve of the media’s celebration of Sanders when it’s not deserved.

“You went 4-8 last year, and Sports Illustrated named you Sportsman of the Year; you were in last place in the Pack 12 last year, and Sports Illustrated called you Sportsman of the Year; ‘60 Minutes’ did two features on you in a year’s span,” Jason criticizes.

On top of that, players like Travis Hunter begin to take on an “egomaniacal” demeanor under Deion’s leadership.

“Travis Hunter has started to mimic Deion’s attitude and Deion’s lack of humility,” says Jason.

Even still — if the Buffaloes win another game, Jason will keep true to his word and cheer on the Buffaloes at a bowl game this year. Next weekend when the team takes on the Kansas Jayhawks, Jason will know whether or not he’ll be ordering Colorado gear.

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​Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Fearless, Deion sanders, Colorado buffaloes, Travis hunter, Blazetv, Blaze media, Colorado boulder 

Conservative CNN contributor Scott Jennings mocked chief media correspondent Brian Stelter’s reporting that offered a new explanation for why “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with President-elect Donald Trump after years of unhinged criticisms against their former friend.

Stelter reported that according to “two sources,” Scarborough and Brzezinski wanted to meet with Trump because they were “credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment from the incoming Trump administration.”

As Stelter talked about his reporting, Jennings chuckled at the reasoning offered by the unnamed sources. Jennings pointed out the two hosts did not say that fear was the reason for the meeting when they revealed what happened at at Mar-a-Lago.

‘So there is an environment, Scott, where there are understandable concerns.’

“If that’s what happened and if that’s what they truly believed, why didn’t they go on TV and say that? ‘We went down there to meet with the president to tell him that, hey, anyone who’s been critical of you, you know, you should treat us like journalists and not like the enemy,'” Jennings said.

“They didn’t go on TV and say that. They went on TV and portrayed it much differently. So what I hear you saying in your reporting is they had a motive that they weren’t willing to disclose to their audience, which I think should get them more scorn today than they were already getting to begin with,” he continued.

“I understand some people might think this is paranoia inside MSNBC, for example. There are some people who think these fears I’m describing are way overblown. But then there’s others who are worried about prosecution. So there’s a wide range of concerns right now,” Stelter explained.

When Jennings asked what exactly people in the media industry are so afraid of, Stelter said, “Last week, Steve Bannon said, ‘Lawyer up, you MSNBC producers.’ So there is an environment, Scott, where there are understandable concerns.”

Scarborough and Brzezinski’s sit-down with Trump at his South Florida estate has been met with laughter from MAGA supporters and intense criticism from the liberal camp. For years, especially in the days leading up to the election, both hosts used their program to claim Trump was very dangerous for the country.

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​Politics, Media 

In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, the Los Angeles City Council rushed to approve a “sanctuary city” ordinance on Tuesday.

The city council passed the measure in a unanimous vote, with council member Hugo Soto-Martinez (D) calling it “a very clear message” that the city refuses to “cooperate with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] in any way.”

‘That’s not in the interest of public safety in Los Angeles or California.’

“We want people to feel protected and be able to have faith in their government and that women can report domestic violence, crimes,” Soto-Martinez said.

Before the ordinance is enacted, the city council will vote on it one last time. Mayor Karen Bass (D) has the authority to veto the measure but has already been vocal about her support, the Associated Press reported.

“This moment demands urgency. Immigrant protections make our communities stronger and our city better,” Bass said.

The news outlet noted that it remains to be seen whether the newly passed ordinance will have any significant impact, given that the Los Angeles Police Department has for decades adhered to Special Order 40, a policy that prevents officers from asking about immigration status or making arrests based on an individual’s immigration status.

Additionally, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell has vowed to protect illegal aliens. He told KTTV this week that he can guarantee that his department will not be working with ICE to detain foreign nationals who are unlawfully in the country.

“That’s not in our interest to do that. That’s not in the interest of public safety in Los Angeles or California,” McDonnell claimed.

The state also has sanctuary policies in place to shield illegal immigrants from deportation efforts.

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) stated last week that he and other state leaders are working to “Trump-proof” the state.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “I can promise to the undocumented immigrant community in California that I and my team have been thinking about you for months and the harm that might come from the Trump administration 2.0. We’ll do everything in our power and use the full authority of our office to defend you.”

Tom Homan, the incoming border czar for the Trump administration, has committed to deploying additional ICE agents to sanctuary jurisdictions, aiming to expedite the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants with or without local authorities’ cooperation.

“If they’re not gonna help us, then we’ll just double the manpower in those cities. They don’t want ICE agents in their neighborhoods, but they don’t let ICE agents in the jail. They don’t understand, if you let us in the jail, that’d be less agents in your neighborhood,” Homan told “Fox News Live” on Saturday.

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​News, Immigration, Illegal immigration, Open borders, Donald trump, Trump, Los angeles, California, Gavin newsom, Los angeles city council, Karen bass, Jim mcdonnell, Los angeles police department, Lapd, Rob bonta, Tom homan, Sanctuary cities, Sanctuary jurisdictions, Politics 

Lorie Smith is the owner of 303 Creative, a graphic design firm based in Colorado.

While generally happy to produce work for any paying customer, Smith
wanted to offer wedding-related services exclusively to straight couples because complicity in the celebration of homosexual unions would otherwise “compromise [her] Christian witness.” Since Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act would have forced her to do just that, she took the Democrat-run state to court — and won.

Months after the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled 6-3 in Smith’s favor and a federal circuit court barred the state from enforcing the CADA’s communication and accommodation clauses against the designer, Colorado officials have come to a settlement, agreeing Tuesday to pay a hefty sum to the guarantors of their defeat.

“As the Supreme Court said, I’m free to create art consistent with my beliefs without fear of Colorado punishing me anymore,” Smith
said in a statement. “This is a win not just for me but for all Americans — for those who share my beliefs and for those who hold different views.”

Smith’s
original complaint filed in 2016 claimed that Colorado law stripped her and her organization “of the freedom to choose what messages to create and to convey in the marriage context.”

‘The First Amendment’s protections belong to all, not just to speakers whose motives the government finds worthy.’

The complaint cited a
section of the CADA that prohibits a person to refuse, withhold from, or deny the “full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations of a place of public accommodation” to an individual on the basis of sexual preference, “gender identity,” and “gender expression.” Another clause in the CADA prohibits individuals from advertising that refusal.

The lawsuit asked the U.S. District Court to restore the constitutional freedoms of Smith and 303 Creative “to speak their beliefs and not be compelled to speak messages contrary to those beliefs, and to ensure that other creative professionals in Colorado have the same freedoms.”

The case ultimately got kicked up the Supreme Court, which decided in June 2023 that the First Amendment bars Colorado from coercing a website designer to create content with which she disagrees.

Justice Neil Gorsuch noted in the high court’s majority opinion, “The First Amendment’s protections belong to all, not just to speakers whose motives the government finds worthy. In this case, Colorado seeks to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance.”

“All manner of speech — from ‘pictures, films, paintings, drawings, and engravings,’ to ‘oral utterance and the printed word’ — qualify for the First Amendment’s protections; no less can hold true when it comes to speech like Ms. Smith’s conveyed over the Internet,” wrote the conservative justice.

“Consistent with the First Amendment, the Nation’s answer is tolerance, not coercion,” added Gorsuch.

‘No government has the right to silence individuals for expressing these ideas.’

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting opinion for the leftist minority that the ruling was “profoundly wrong” and will “mark gays and lesbians for second-class status.”

Other social liberals similarly bemoaned the court’s affirmation of free speech, including CNN talking head Van Jones, who
said, “If you care about inclusion and equal opportunity and care about folks who don’t have much and are trying to make it today, this is a tragedy.”

Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser, who unsuccessfully represented the state,
said at the time that the ruling was “far out of step with the will of the American people and American values.”

According to Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal group that represented Smith, the Supreme Court’s decision has already been cited nearly 1,000 times in court opinions, briefs, and various legal publications.

Colorado’s Civil Rights Division agreed this week to pick up the bill for the CADA’s defanging, covering over $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees.

Weiser’s office
confirmed to the Denver Gazette the settlement over the fees but declined to comment.

Kristen Waggoner, the CEO and president of Alliance Defending Freedom, stated, “The government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe, and Colorado officials have paid and will continue to pay a high price when they violate this foundational freedom.”

“For the past 12 years, Colorado has targeted people of faith and forced them to express messages that violate their conscience and that advance the government’s preferred ideology. First Amendment protections are non-negotiable,” continued Waggoner. “Billions of people around the world believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman and that men and women are biologically distinct. No government has the right to silence individuals for expressing these ideas or to punish those who decline to express different views.”

Smith expressed hope that “that everyone will celebrate the court’s decision upholding this right for each of us to speak freely.”

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​Faith, Religion, Freedom, Colorado, Democrat, Coercion, Supreme court, 303 creative, Lorie smith, Court, Adl, Alliance defending liberty, Politics 

President-elect Donald Trump has begun applying pressure to Republican senators in an attempt to ensure his Cabinet picks get confirmed.

In the past two weeks, Trump has announced over a dozen nominations to various Cabinet and federal positions, most notably tapping Republican former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida for attorney general. Although his candidates have the wholehearted support of the president-elect, the Trump transition team is doing the legwork to ensure Gaetz gets confirmed.

‘They want someone who’s gonna shake up Washington, D.C.’

Republicans took back the Senate majority this election cycle, flipping seats in West Virginia, Montana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. If Trump’s nominees were to be confirmed during the next Congress, they would be able to afford to lose only three Republican votes, assuming that Vice President-elect JD Vance would also weigh in.

This leaves little wiggle room for nominees like Gaetz, prompting Trump’s pressure campaign to secure GOP Senate votes.

Several senators have already expressed skepticism about Gaetz. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said Gaetz was not a “serious nomination” and said she was “shocked” by the pick.

There has been a mounting effort, particularly from Vance, to persuade GOP senators who may have reservations about Trump’s nominees. Earlier on Wednesday, Vance was spotted ushering Gaetz and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida around Capitol Hill, making their pitch to senators in the form of phone calls and closed-door meetings. Trump has reportedly even placed some of these calls himself to ensure Gaetz is confirmed.

These efforts have paid off in some respects. Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma came out in support of Gaetz despite historically being a critic of the nominee.

“I think the president wants a hammer at the DOJ, and he sees Matt Gaetz as a hammer,” Mullin said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday.

“His picks have been maybe unconventional, but we hired an unconventional president,” Mullin continued. “The American people wanted that. They don’t want politics as usual. They want someone who’s gonna shake up Washington, D.C.”

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, a Trump ally, warned his own conference about voting against nominees like Gaetz.

“Republicans: If you’re not on the team, get out of the way,” Tuberville said following Gaetz’s nomination.

“If you want to get in the way, fine,” Tuberville continued. “But we’re gonna try to get you out of the Senate too if you try to do that.”

The Trump transition team is facing an uphill battle with some of its nominees, but that has not deterred the president-elect.

Trump was asked by a reporter at Tuesday’s SpaceX launch in Texas about whether he was reconsidering Gaetz’s nomination.

Trump’s one-word answer was, “No.”

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​Matt gaetz, Donald trump, Cabinet picks, Jd vance, Trump cabinet, Trump administration, Lisa murkowski, Markwayne mullin, Marco rubio, Tommy tuberville, Spacex, Attorney general, Senate, Senate republicans, Politics 

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) announced on Tuesday that another whistleblower has come forward to accuse the Federal Emergency Management Agency of political discrimination.

The new development followed a House Transportation and Infrastructure hearing where Congress members grilled FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about a now-terminated hurricane relief supervisor who admitted to ordering workers to avoid homes with signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump.

In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, then-supervisor Marn’i Washington gave the directive to her team while administering aid in Lake Placid, Florida. She claimed the instruction was in accordance with FEMA’s “avoidance” and “de-escalation” tactics to avoid “politically hostile” homes.

“This is not isolated,” Washington stated, adding that the avoidance doctrine was also deployed outside Florida.

During Tuesday’s congressional hearing, Criswell rejected Washington’s claims, insisting that the incident was isolated to the single rogue employee. She noted that an ongoing internal investigation had not found any evidence of a culture of political discrimination.

“I do not believe that this employee’s actions are indicative of any widespread cultural problems at FEMA. FEMA, however, has taken appropriate action to ensure that this matter is fully investigated, and I am committed to ensuring that nothing like this ever happens again,” Criswell told the committee.

“We are working with the inspector general to determine whether or not this is broader than this, but the evidence that I have seen so far shows that this was an isolated incident, and it has not gone beyond what this one employee did,” she stated.

However, after the hearing, Comer revealed that a second whistleblower had stepped forward with similar accusations.

Comer shared the development in a post on X, writing, “My staff just made contact with a new whistleblower who provided a credible account that a FEMA contractor visited the home of an elderly disabled veteran’s family around October 10.”

“While there, he recommended that the family remove Trump campaign materials and signs from their house and yard, stating that his FEMA supervisors view Trump supporters as domestic terrorists,” Comer continued. “The elderly homeowners were so frightened by this and afraid that they would not recover their loss that they removed the signs. Nevertheless, FEMA has not returned to their residence.”

He noted that the alleged incident took place in Georgia, not Florida.

FEMA did not respond to a request for comment from the New York Post.

— (@)

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​News, Federal emergency management agency, Fema, James comer, Donald trump, Trump, Hurricane, Hurricane milton, Hurricane helene, Deanne criswell, Politics 

Just days before the anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination on Nov. 23, 1963, Americans are no closer to knowing the whole truth about what happened at Dealey Plaza in Dallas that day. In fact, the Biden administration is taking steps to ensure that the truth may never be known.

On Friday, Oct. 18, Joe Biden’s Justice Department took further action to block the release of secret records related to the assassination. The government filed a summary judgment motion to assert control over congressional records related to JFK’s murder. This marks the latest effort by the Biden administration, which has moved since 2021 to prevent the release of remaining assassination documents held by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Each time the government attempts to conceal or restrict critical information about the assassination, it sparks a massive and visceral public reaction.

The Justice Department’s moves contradict the 1992 John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which explicitly prohibits the president from exercising authority over congressional and non-executive branch records. The JFK Records Act also mandated the full public disclosure of all assassination records by Oct. 26, 2017.

On Oct. 19, 2022, the nonprofit Mary Ferrell Foundation, a privately operated archive specializing in records related to the Kennedy assassination and other major events of the 1960s and 1970s, filed a lawsuit against Biden and the National Archives. The lawsuit demands the release of all assassination records in compliance with the 2017 statutory deadline. The suit also seeks court orders requiring the National Archives to maintain a complete public directory of assassination record identification forms and fulfill other responsibilities mandated by law.

The idea for the lawsuit emerged after two successive presidential administrations missed the deadline to release all assassination records. However, it was President Biden’s actions after 2021 that triggered the lawsuit. Biden’s decisions effectively dismantled the standards set by the JFK Records Act, allowing executive agencies like the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service to withhold records. These agencies, which have long resisted releasing assassination documents, have even admitted to destroying some of the records.

The Justice Department’s motion for summary judgment would undermine the intent of the JFK Records Act. The law aimed to strip executive agencies of their authority over assassination records and establish an accountable, enforceable process for reviewing and releasing these documents. From 1994 to 1998, the Assassination Records Review Board, an independent agency established under the law, issued legally binding orders to review, postpone, or release millions of documents. These decisions ensured that postponements adhered strictly to the limited criteria outlined in section 6 of the law.

The Justice Department’s attempt to assert presidential control over congressional records is especially baffling. Multiple sections of the JFK Records Act explicitly state that the president’s authority applies only to executive branch records. Section 9(d)(1) clearly limits presidential power, underscoring that it does not extend to congressional assassination records.

Section 7(l) of the JFK Records Act explicitly states that the House and Senate Oversight Committees retain ongoing control and oversight over the management of assassination records, even after the ARRB concluded its work.

When Congress passed the JFK Records Act 32 years ago, lawmakers expressed deep concerns that executive branch agencies, with their history of obstructing investigations into the assassination, would continue to block the release of records. The Senate unanimously ratified the Act and filed a report emphasizing its intent, providing an interpretive guide for courts to refer to in cases involving the Act. The Senate’s apprehension about presidential control over congressional records leaves no room for misinterpretation.

Since Kennedy’s assassination 61 years ago, federal agencies have aggressively collected and locked away documents and evidence related to his murder. Each time the government attempts to conceal or restrict critical information about the assassination, it sparks a massive and visceral public reaction. This occurred when the infamous Zapruder film was first broadcast in 1975, 12 years after the assassination, and again after Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning 1991 film brought public attention to the government’s secret troves of JFK assassination records.

“The JFK Assassination Chokeholds” chronicles over 60 years of government obstruction surrounding the Kennedy assassination. It details how recent presidential orders have effectively sealed thousands of records from public disclosure, directly violating the unanimous will of Congress and the expressed desires of the American people.

​John f kennedy assassination, John f kennedy files, Joe biden, Cia, Fbi, Congress, Jfk records act, Justice department, Conspiracy, Opinion & analysis 

Putin has been clear: If Ukraine fires long-range missiles into Russia, the country will consider the missile-supplier, as well as other NATO countries, its enemies in its war against Ukraine.

“If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the United States, and European countries, in the war in Ukraine,” he said back in September.

And now America finds herself on that precarious edge of what many are saying will be the next world war, as President Biden has authorized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch ATACMS missiles deeper into Russian territory following a major shift in policy that occurred over the weekend.

The Ukrainian government has been persistent in urging Washington to approve ATACMS for a while now, but Biden has remained reluctant to greenlight the initiative to avoid more U.S. involvement in the war.

But now that that’s changed, there are two burning questions we’re all asking: What does it look like for Russia to consider the United States its enemy in the war? And why would President Biden do this?

Glenn Beck and his head writer and researcher Jason Buttrill explore the possibilities.

– YouTube

www.youtube.com

World War III?

“Biden has put us at the brink of World War III,” says Glenn.

“The threat of that is obviously a lot higher,” agrees Jason, who’s a former Department of Defense intelligence analyst.

However, “I think Putin’s response will probably be to take out those missiles as quickly as possible.” Even though “the threat of a nuclear weapon is there,” the chances are, “Putin is not going to nuke a city.”

“The biggest threat will be a tactical nuclear weapon,” which is “a low yield weapon made specifically for the battlefield,” Jason predicts.

“Let’s say there’s some ATACMS surrounded by several battalions of Ukrainian troops. Well, the only way to be sure that they take it out is to use a tactical low yield nuclear weapon that will take out that entire battle space, including the ATACMS,” he explains, adding that is “the more likely scenario.”

Even though this wouldn’t be the kind of nuclear warfare everyone fears, it “would still be a big international faux pas if [Russia] did something like that,” and it would certainly “be escalatory.”

Undoubtedly, it would put the United States in a precarious position.

“Do we allow them to press the button on it and fire that missile, or do we send actual U.S. assets in to take out the areas inside Russia so they don’t even have time to press the button?” asks Jason.

If the latter happens, “Then it escalates to a completely different level.”

Why now?

“Why would we do this?” asks Glenn.

Jason’s theory is “regime survival.”

When it comes to “the DOD-security-military complex … I think that they are terrified of any change in the status quo with the Trump administration,” he says. “I think that they would love to see us push to a point of no return, where we can’t do the things that Trump said that he was going to do.”

“I think they are driving us to a point of no return, where Trump and his Cabinet have no choice but to continue,” he adds. “That’s the only reason that makes sense two months before they take power.”

To hear more of the conversation, including whether or not Russia wants the U.S. more involved in the war, what’s going on with the undersea communications cables in the Baltic Sea that were suddenly cut on Monday, and British Airways losing communications with its aircraft following a major IT outage, watch the clip above.

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​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Blazetv, Blaze media, Ukraine russia, Russia ukraine war, Atacms, Atacms missiles, President biden, Trump administration, Putin, Zelenskyy 

Over the weekend, Vivek Ramaswamy, who is poised to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk, met with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo to elucidate their plans to slash federal agencies regardless of Deep State opposition.

Dave Rubin plays the clip of their conversation.

“Are you expecting to close down entire agencies?” Bartiromo asked, referring to Trump’s claims that he intends to shut down the Department of Education.

“We expect mass reductions; we expect certain agencies to be deleted outright; we expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated; we expect massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are over-billing the federal government — so yes,” was Ramaswamy’s blunt answer.

Bartiromo’s next question was how he plans to get around “the Deep State.”

“Didn’t President Biden put in plans to ensure that you’re not going to be able to fire those people at all? How do you get around that?” she asked.

“President Biden has made a lot of changes trying to entrench the administrative state,” Ramaswamy confirmed, noting that the “Supreme Court has slapped them on the wrist numerous times” for this.

However, granted that we have “a president of the United States like Donald Trump elected with the mandate he’s been given, both chambers of Congress belong to Republicans, a 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court,” he’s hopeful that major change will happen.

“If we don’t downsize the federal government now, it’s never going to happen in the future,” he told Bartiromo, adding that “the key is to move quickly, to move effectively.”

“Have you thought about moving some of these departments or agencies out of Washington?” Bartiromo asked next.

“Yes,” Ramaswamy stated, noting that they should be able to drastically cut federal agents by simply requiring employees to report to work in person.

“A lot of them won’t want to do that,” he said.

Further, they intend to “move many of [the agencies] out to be where they’re more accountable to the people.”

While the plan sounds brutal, Ramaswamy said that their intention “is not to be cruel.”

“Most of them … are individually good people, and we want to be compassionate and generous in how we handle this transition, but the real issue is there’s just too many of them,” he explained. “We shouldn’t have 4 million civil servants who aren’t even elected or can’t be removed from their positions. It’s anti-democratic.”

Dave can’t wait to see Ramaswamy and Musk “find all the missing money and the ridiculous inefficiencies.”

“Not only will businesses really start flourishing, but you will have more money in your pocket,” he says.

Further, the DOGE plans to be 100% transparent in weeding out unnecessary agencies. In a recent tweet, Elon Musk outlined the DOGE’s plans to be transparent.

“All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency. Any time the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know! We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining.”

“This is what we’ve all wanted!” says Dave.

To hear more about the plans for the DOGE, watch the clip above.

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​The rubin report, Dave rubin, Doge, Elon musk, Vivek ramaswamy, Federal government, Slashing government agencies, Blazetv, Blaze media 

While blue cities and states across America vow to protect illegal aliens from deportation in President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, Texas now stands apart, having offered a large swath of land to help facilitate such deportations.

On Tuesday, Dawn Buckingham, a medical doctor and the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, sent Trump a letter, offering just over 1,400 acres of land along the U.S.-Mexico border in Starr County, Texas, “to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.”

According to the letter, they recently secured Fronton Island, the largest island in the Rio Grande and a hotbed for human trafficking and cartel violence.

Buckingham claimed that the state purchased the property just a few weeks ago to build another mile and a half of Trump’s wall. She also noted that the previous owner was hostile to efforts by law enforcement to secure the border.

“Her actions enabled cartel members and violent criminals to sexually abuse migrant women and children on this land for some time,” Buckingham wrote.

Buckingham told Fox News, the first outlet to report the letter, that she fully supports the MAGA agenda regarding illegal immigrants, especially those who have gone on to commit other crimes in the U.S.

“I am 100% on board with the Trump administration’s pledge to get these criminals out of our country, and we are more than happy to offer our resources to facilitate those deportations of these violent criminals.”

According to Buckingham, the land in Starr County is particularly well-suited to a holding facility since it’s mostly flat and therefore “easy to build on.” She also noted that it is conveniently located near the Rio Grande and international airports.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment from the Texas Tribune.

Regardless of whether Trump accepts the offer, Buckingham and other Texas officials have already made major strides in protecting the U.S. border. According to the letter, they recently secured Fronton Island, the largest island in the Rio Grande and a hotbed for human trafficking and cartel violence.

While clearing the island of brush and vegetation and installing razor wire along the river, officials discovered evidence of “weapon caches and even improvised explosive devices,” Buckingham wrote.

Since that initiative to secure Fronton Island, “All cartel-related activity has dropped to zero,” she said.

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​Mass deportations, Illegal aliens, Illegal immigration, Border security, Trump, Rio grande, Texas, Dawn buckingham, Politics 

Bucks County Board of Commissioners Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia (D) is backpedaling on her pledge to count illegal ballots in the Senate election between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick.

While multiple news outlets declared McCormick the winner, Casey has refused to concede the race, instead demanding a recount since the results were within the 0.5% margin that could trigger such a review.

‘Misinterpretation of [an] inartfully worded statement on my part.’

The recount has sparked concerns about election integrity after Ellis-Marseglia basically admitted she planned to defy the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s order not to count undated or misdated mail ballots.

“People violate laws any time they want,” Ellis-Marseglia stated. “So, for me, if I violate this law it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.”

Again, on Monday, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that undated and misdated ballots cannot be counted.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley accused Democrats of “brazenly trying to break the law by attempting to count illegal ballots” to “steal the seat” from the Republican candidate.

“The RNC has filed four lawsuits over this already and will fight for as long as necessary,” Whatley said. “This is the exact kind of left-wing election interference that undermines voter confidence.”

On Monday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) broke his silence on the matter, claiming that there was “a lack of legal clarity surrounding undated mail-in ballots that caused significant confusion and put counties in a challenging legal position.”

He stated that county officials “were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t — likely facing legal action no matter which decision they made on counting.”

“As we move forward, I want to be clear: any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage the faith in our electoral process,” Shapiro stated, presumably referring to Ellis-Marseglia’s previous statement.

“The rule of law matters in this Commonwealth, and as I have always said, it is critical for counties and officials in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions,” he added.

Whatley called Shapiro’s statement “better late than never.”

“Heartening to see. Once Democrats came to the conclusion that even ignoring the Pennsylvania Supreme Court can’t scrape up enough ballots to win … Governor Shapiro suddenly discovers that he stands with the rule of law,” Whatley said.

Later that day, Ellis-Marseglia appeared to backpedal on her previous comments, according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

She blamed a “misinterpretation of [an] inartfully worded statement on my part.”

“I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused,” she said.

Ellis-Marseglia claimed that the court’s reaffirmed ruling on Monday provided some much-needed clarity.

“This is exactly what I was hoping for, for the court to weigh in and give us clarity,” she said. “We were under a stay, and now we have full clarity.”

Blaze News reached out to Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn to determine whether her office plans to open an investigation into the matter. However, Schorn did not respond to a request for comment.

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Before relinquishing power in January, President Joe Biden may turn America’s proxy war with Russia into a direct nuclear conflict.

Elements of the Biden administration, various lawmakers from both major parties, Ukrainian officials, and others appear convinced that attacks on Russia using American long-range missiles might put Kyiv in a
better bargaining position should the Eastern nations ever sit down to negotiate an end to the war, which has lasted over 1,000 days and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Critics have suggested not only that the move might protract the war, which the
majority of Ukrainians now want to end with immediate negotiations, but that it might trigger a nuclear holocaust or at the very least prevent — by design — President-elect Donald Trump from brokering peace upon taking office.

Missiles fired

After authorizing Ukraine’s use of long-range missile systems against targets in Russia — a move long resisted by U.S. officials concerned about escalation and identified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a trigger for war between Washington and Moscow — Kyiv launched six U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System missiles Tuesday morning at a weapons depot in Karachev, a Russian city 70 miles inside the country, in the Bryansk region.

‘We must not fear doing more now.’

According to CNN, Russian air defenses allegedly shot down five of the ATACMS supersonic missiles, and the sixth was damaged. Pieces of the damaged missile rained down near a military facility, causing a fire but resulting in neither death nor damage.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the attempted missile strikes and suggested that these and subsequent long-range missile strikes would be interpreted as U.S. military actions.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said in a statement, “The [Russian] president mentioned this several times. If long-range missiles are going to be applied from Ukraine into Russian territory, it will also mean that they are operated by American experts, military experts, and we will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and will react accordingly.”

In his Tuesday address to the European Parliament, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “We must not fear doing more now.”

“While some European leaders think about, you know, some elections or something like this at Ukraine’s expense, Putin is focused on winning this war. He will not stop on his own. The more time he has, the worse the conditions become,” said Zelenskyy.

The Institute for the Study of War indicated that as of June, Putin had captured roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, with Russian forces occupying 75% of the total area of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts.

“Today is the best moment to push Russia harder, and it’s clear without certain key factors Russia will lack real motivation to engage in meaningful negotiation,” added Zelenskyy.

Hours later, Russia reportedly conducted missile strikes on Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernihiv, and Sumy, as well as drone attacks inside Ukraine.

The U.S. embassy in Kyiv announced Wednesday morning that it was shutting its doors, citing the potential of a “significant air attack.”

Nuclear, mine policies updated

Russian state media indicated that Moscow revised its nuclear doctrine this week in hopes of “making conventional warfare unachievable,” qualifying attacks by a non-nuclear state in conjunction with the support of a nuclear state as a joint attack, satisfying the need for for nuclear deterrence.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Russian Federation’s security council, noted on X, “Russia’s new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia. Russia could retaliate with WMD against Kiev and key NATO facilities, wherever they’re located. That means World War III.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled that he would also respond with nukes to conventional attacks on Russia or Belarus. Russia has over 5,000 nuclear warheads and boasts a supersonic missile with a range of 625 miles.

Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, claimed that the West realizes “the revisions Putin outlined have largely undermined the attempts by the United States and NATO to achieve a strategic defeat of our nation. Furthermore, the expanded criteria for using nuclear weapons essentially rule out the possibility of defeating the Russian Armed Forces on the battlefield.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told the Associated Press, “I’m unfortunately not surprised by the comments the Kremlin has made around the publication of this new, revised document,” adding that Russia has routinely sought to “coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behavior.”

The U.K. and other NATO members condemned the “irresponsible rhetoric” and reiterated their support for Ukraine.

The Biden administration had a policy update of its own.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Washington Post reported that Biden authorized the provision of antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine.

“When they’re used in concert with the other munitions that we already are providing Ukraine, the intent is that they will contribute to a more effective defense,” said one of the officials.

While the U.S. is not one of the 164 parties to the Ottawa Convention, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, Biden reportedly resurrected an Obama-era policy in 2022 banning the transfer and use of American antipersonnel land minds outside Korea.

Reactions

Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck suggested that the Biden administration is painting Russian President Vladimir Putin “into a corner.”

“A man who is a bloodthirsty killer — you don’t keep backing him into a corner, or what happens? Eventually he says, ‘I’ll have absolutely no credibility’ [with] his people who have just been bombed with U.S. missiles, which he just said two days ago will be an act of war,” said Beck. “We have entered a moment of madness. What Joe Biden did is impeachable.”

‘Americans do not want World War III.’

A day prior to the ATACMS strikes, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
insisted that Biden had committed “an unconstitutional Act of War” that qualified as an impeachable offense.

— (@)

Texas Rep. Keith Self (R)
penned a letter to Biden Tuesday, challenging his decision to authorize Ukraine’s use of ATACMS against Russia.

While Self suggested the missile systems might have proved strategically useful earlier in the conflict, at this stage in the war, their use is “counter-productive to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s stated goal towards a negotiated peace.”

‘This is the faceless power of failing experts in action.’

“If this desperate move by your administration represents an attempt by deep-state operatives to hamstring the incoming Trump presidency, it’s a dangerous miscalculation,” wrote Self. “I am very concerned that this miscalculation could have catastrophic results. Americans do not want World War III.”

“January 20 can’t get here fast enough,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)
told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. “It looks like a green light for escalation on the part of Ukraine. … What would happen if Russia would launch and retaliate missiles into the territory of a NATO member? Then our treaty obligations would be triggered. Then we’re talking about a full-scale war.”

Hawley noted further that the man who authorized the use of the long-range missiles against a nuclear power was considered too decrepit by his own party to stay in the presidential race earlier this year.

Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson
stressed that “what is happening in regard to Russia and Ukraine while we have no functional President is one of the last, most reckless and outrageous acts from the supposed ‘adults in the room’ who have consistently driven our nation towards the cliff the last four disastrous years.”

“This is not ‘democracy,'” continued Peterson. “This is the faceless power of failing experts in action: thwarting the will of the people in the midst of the final ‘lame duck’ period of an aging dementia patient of a President. This is a form of masochistic, suicidal recklessness enacted by weak men.”

Peterson added on “Blaze News Tonight,” “There is really something that I think that is despicable about the self-assured foreign policy expert in this country. Of all the different sectors of
government experts who get degrees, foreign policy people dress themselves up in the suits and in the trappings of -isms and -istics, and, ‘We know all this stuff and we have domain knowledge that you don’t have.’ They’re consistently the most evil, dangerous, and really foolish sector of the entire government complex.”

— (@)

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A Chicago woman is fighting to keep her home after a government mix-up led officials to sell her house from underneath her on account of supposedly “delinquent taxes.”

Robin McElroy bought her home in the Morgan Park area of Chicago back in 2012. Since then, she said she has paid the taxes owed on the property and even kept receipts of her payments.

“I do not like wasting money. … I pay my bills,” McElroy told CBS News.

Despite those consistent payments, in 2019, McElroy began receiving notices that her property taxes were in arrears and that her property was in danger of being sold.

McElroy demanded an explanation. In April 2019, she received a letter from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office confirming that the county assessor’s office had accidentally mixed up McElroy’s property identification number — the unique 14-digit number used for tax-related purposes, according to Yahoo News — with that of her next-door neighbor.

She was then told that there were “no grounds to proceed with a sale” of her home, that the assessor’s office would make an “internal correction,” and that the issue would be resolved. “Don’t worry about it,” she recalled being told.

‘I want what’s rightfully [owed] to me.’

It turns out, McElroy still had plenty to worry about since the “internal correction” the letter promised apparently never took place. Earlier this year, she received a letter from Cook County Circuit Court informing her that her house had been “sold for delinquent taxes.”

In fact, the letter added that McElroy actually owed the new homeowner three years’ worth of rent. Bearing no ill will, McElroy expressed sincere concern for all the trouble that the other homeowner has had to endure as well.

“This lady should not have to be put in this position to go through all of this headache and heartache,” she told CBS News. “This is stressful.”

McElroy has since hired a lawyer — paid for out of pocket — to help her straighten out the problem.

CBS News has also been in contact with the assessor’s office. While a spokesperson there declined an on-camera interview, the office did confirm that the property identification numbers had been corrected, that McElroy is current on her taxes, and that officials are currently working with a legal team to resolve the problem.

McElroy remains skeptical.

“You guys can point fingers all day long. I don’t care,” she told CBS News. “I want what’s rightfully [owed] to me.”

McElroy had a deadline earlier this month to file a response in court, the outlet added. Whether she filed that response and whether the court has issued any other rulings remain unclear.

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“Morning Joe” contributor Mike Barnicle lamented that a growing number of Americans are no longer getting daily news from channels like MSNBC but are instead getting news from social media platforms.

MSNBC has seen a decline in viewership since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory against Vice President Kamala Harris. Since Election Day, the liberal network has experienced its lowest l of viewers in nearly 10 years, nearly a 40% drop since the election season.

While MSNBC has seen a great drop in viewers, such declines are not unique to the cable news outlet.

‘We meet news consumers where they are because they’re not here, and that’s the problem.’

The Pew Research Center reported that one in five Americans say they get their news from social media influencers. More news influencers identify as Republican or conservative (27%) than as Democratic or liberal (21%).

“Mike, that’s the challenge. You grew up in a newsroom. … I mean that’s a challenge for a lot of mainstream media sources is do they make themselves relevant again,” host Joe Scarborough said on Tuesday. “Here, 20% of adults who actually get influencers on social media. Maybe somebody who makes baskets and while they’re making baskets, they look up and say, ‘Vote for candidate X.'”

“I don’t know how we make ourselves relevant again because we can’t compete with 20-second snippets on an iPhone, walking up the street and getting your entire news digest of the day in less than a minute on your phone as you’re walking in a crowd with coffee in one hand and your phone in the other. I don’t know how we catch up to that,” Barnicle replied.

MSNBC analyst Eugene Robinson suggested the channel start doing its own 20-second videos in order to reach a wider audience. “We [should] meet news consumers where they are because they’re not here, and that’s the problem,” he said.

Pew Research’s study further found another reason for influencers’ success in a market where the mainstream media has a very low approval rating: 77% of news influencers have no affiliation or background with a news organization.

The rise of independent media during the election cycle — and Trump appearing on those platforms — has been credited with helping Republicans win the presidency by reaching the younger, male voters and convincing them to turn out on Election Day.

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There’s something about firing an AR-15 on full auto that puts a big smile on your face.

At least it does for my colleague, Helen Roy. It’s also addictive, apparently; no sooner has she emptied the entire magazine into the target than she asks, “Is that all?”

‘A lot of the ladies that do come on a regular basis call it “lead therapy,” because while you’re out there, you’re going to feel all this energy hitting you, and then you just want more of it.’

Behind her, David Prince laughs knowingly. A tall, grandfatherly former CPA, Mr. Prince (as everybody calls him) owns the spacious and immaculate Eagle Gun Range, where we’ve just spent the last few hours getting a crash course in how to shoot.

Beaming next to him with almost maternal pride is Helen’s instructor, Anna Thomasson. She — along with her husband, Bryan Wertz — has been kind enough to spend the afternoon giving us a highly condensed version of the extensive firearms training she offers women through her company, Dallas-based Aim True.

Matt Himes

Although Thomasson grew up around firearms, she was always more observer than participant. “My family is very traditional,” the petite Texan explains. “My dad is ‘boys shoot guns and girls stay in the kitchen.’”

That changed in 2015, when Thomasson was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her husband, Bryan Wertz, was a lifelong avid shooter; during her recovery he suggested she join him at the range as a way to spend time together while getting outside and getting some sun.

Thomasson found she enjoyed it. And not only that — learning to handle a firearm seemed to restore some of the inner strength sapped by her medical ordeal. “I got the feeling I could be confident in the world again,” she says.

She never looked back, taking course after course and honing her skills. She formed Aim True in 2017 as way to teach firearm self-defense to other women. She also organized the “ladies-only” training group Diamonds and Derringers.

Like Thomasson, Helen has always been comfortable around guns. Her father and her older brother (military veteran and active military, respectively) both enjoy shooting, as does her husband. While she’s often joined them at the range and has fired off a few shots of her own on occasion, she’s never gotten much, if any, formal training. She’s here to rectify that. Helen tells Thomasson she should consider her a beginner.

Gun-shy

We start in a tidy, well-lit classroom tucked away near Eagle Gun Range’s front desk. When I ask how they met, Wertz and Thomasson smile as they describe their courtship, more or less finishing each other’s sentences.

There’s an ease between them that automatically puts us at ease, and it sets the tone for the hours to come. As Thomasson runs the training, Wertz sits to the side, doing work on a computer, every so often interjecting to expand or emphasize a point Anna makes.

Thomasson begins by explaining what’s different about firearms training for women.

To begin with, says Thomasson, many of her students are motivated by a newfound sense of vulnerability.

“I have a lot of clients coming to me when they’ve had a divorce, or they’ve lost their spouse, or they’ve had a break-in at their home,” she says. “They’ve never wanted to hold a gun before, they’ve never had any interest in it, and now a situation has dictated that this is something [they] have to do.”

Matt Himes

According to Wertz, this reluctance tends to make women who do show up for the course very diligent students.

“We always say that a man feels like he was born to stick a gun in his pants and walk around with it,” says Wertz. A woman, on the other hand, “says I really want to know about this gun and I want to make sure that I don’t hurt someone with it, that someone doesn’t hurt me with it, that I really understand all aspects of it and how to use it and be confident.”

When that confidence finally comes, it’s often a revelation, says Thomasson. “Sometimes they have an emotional reaction to shooting the first time. And sometimes it just goes straight into, oh my gosh, I am going to be able to take care of myself and I don’t have to rely on anybody else.”

Pick a holster

When it comes to buying a gun, Thomasson likes to start with an often overlooked question: Can you find a holster for it? “My clients go to Highland Park Village, get a really pretty gun, and I say, ‘And you can leave it on your bedside table because there’s no holster to fit it,’” says Thomasson.

Unless you’re planning to use your gun exclusively out in the country, Thomasson recommends a concealed-carry holster, typically worn inside the waistband.

Choosing the right gun

“Our hands are different from men’s,” notes Thomasson. “They’re usually a little bit smaller.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean you want a smaller gun, but rather a “grip size that we can actually reach the trigger on.”

Ultimately, says Thomasson, how a gun fits your hand can come down to personal preference. She likens choosing a gun to buying shoes. “I can’t buy you a pair of shoes and say, ‘Love these shoes. You should wear them.’ But [I can] teach you the aspects of the gun and what you should be looking for.”

Sometimes bigger is easier

One common misconception Thomasson encounters is the assumption that a smaller gun will always be easier to shoot.

“This is our mindset as women. We think the bigger the gun, the harder it is to control, and the smaller the gun, the easier it is to control.”

Thomasson recalls a recent exchange with a client.

“[A woman] in her 70s called and she said, ‘I’m about five foot tall and I don’t have much strength. I have a really big gun, a 9mm, and I think I want to sell it and have you teach me how to use a smaller gun.’”

Thomasson quickly got her to reconsider. “I talked to her about the recoil … and the weight of that bigger gun taking some of that recoil away from your hands and your shoulders. Whereas a smaller gun doesn’t have the weight to [absorb] that recoil … and it ends up hitting you harder.”

For Thomasson, this is an essential part of the training she offers: “learn[ing] how to figure out what kind of gun is going to suit you best for your hand strength … [and] your situation.”

Loading the magazine

Thomasson leads us over to a table on which she’s placed a Glock semiautomatic pistol with a special slide for training as well as a pile of inert dummy rounds — in this case, spent Simunition blank cartridges. She begins by teaching Helen to load the magazine, which she recommends bracing against the tabletop.

Laughing at how surprisingly difficult she finds it, Helen says, “You know what, this is very important. How do you do gun stuff and maintain a manicure?”

Thomasson has anticipated the question. “You know there’s always a girl way and a boy way,” she says, fetching a small device from a nearby shelf and handing it to Helen. It’s called an UpLULA, and before long it significantly increases Helen’s efficiency.

Trigger warning

Matt Himes

Now that the gun is loaded, it’s time to pick it up. But first Thomasson imparts a basic principle of gun safety: “[You] don’t ever want to touch the trigger until [you’re] ready to touch the trigger.”

“This gun is developed to be comfortable in your hand when your finger is on the trigger,” explains Thomasson. “So that’s the way that your hand is going to want to pick this up.”

To avoid this, says Thomasson, we have to force ourselves to rest our finger on the frame as we grab the rest of the gun with our hand.

Thomasson points to the fleshy webbing between Helen’s index finger and thumb. “When you pick this gun up … I want you to see how high you can get this part of your hand up here,” she says, indicating the curved little overhang separating the top of the grip from the rest of the pistol.

Helen does, which gives Thomasson the chance to point out an important physiological difference between men and women. “Now if I had one of the boys pick this up, then all of the meat [between his thumb and index finger] would be squished up at the top. But females don’t have that kind of muscular development in that part of our hand.”

It’s a difference that can often be overlooked, says Thomasson. “A male instructor will tell the female you need a higher grip, you need a stronger grip. And the lady says, ‘This is all the grip I’ve got. I don’t have any more hand.’”

It’s something neither of us have ever thought about, apparently. “It’s almost as if men and women are different,” marvels Helen with mock incredulity. She examines my hand and compares it to hers.

“I do have that space,” she says, smiling brightly. “Confirmed woman!”

“Confirmed woman!”Matt Himes

When it comes to finding a properly fitting gun, Thomasson says it’s all about how your finger reaches the trigger. You want to have it close enough that you comfortably pull it back, without it being so close that your finger wraps around to the other side.

Proper stance

After teaching Helen how to complete the grip with the placement of her non-shooting hand, as well as how to use the pistol’s metal sight, Thomasson talks proper stance.

“Did you notice that you leaned back?” she asks Helen. “The minute you picked up that gun, you got away from it.”

Thomasson says this is an unconscious expression of fear — “we think the gun is going to go off and cause a big bang and we’re already scared of it.” This is precisely what her training seeks to overcome.

Lead therapy

After Thomasson advises Helen on the proper stance, it’s time to dry fire — that is, “shoot” the gun without any live ammunition. We all know it’s loaded with inert rounds, but as Helen aims, the tension in the room builds, and when the hammer makes its quiet little “click,” there’s a tangible sense of release.

Helen lets out a deep exhale and smiles. She looks a little flushed.

“What went through your mind?” asks Thomasson gently.

“Something about having bullets in the gun made me a little nervous,” says Helen. “It’s weird, there’s so much psychological stuff built up around guns. And I have shot guns before, but …”

“Because you loaded this and you made that action happen,” says Thomasson. She puts her hand on Helen’s shoulder. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good. It’s kind of powerful, though. Do women often have an emotional reaction when they shoot?”

“I would say 75% of the females that I have, the first shot they go into tears. We put the gun down and we step back and we hug and we talk about it for five or ten minutes. A lot of the ladies that do come on a regular basis call it ‘lead therapy,’ because while you’re out there, you’re going to feel all this energy hitting you, and then you just want more of it.”

Get a grip

At this point Bryan chimes in to emphasize the power of a good grip.

“So a lot of times, ladies will ask Anna, you know, should I have a gun because I’m tiny and a man will take it from me?”

He demonstrates by trying to pull the gun out of Helen’s hands. He can’t. “I’m just not going to get it from you before you could use your blaster.”

He then addresses how to hold the gun before you’re ready to point and shoot; for example, if you’re preparing to defend yourself against what could be an intruder in your house. In this case, says Wertz, its best to hold the gun pointed down toward the floor.

He demonstrates on Helen. If she holds her gun above her head, pointed toward the ceiling, it’s easy for him to keep her from bringing the gun level.

Wertz then shows what happens if he grabs Helen’s gun when it’s pointed to the floor. “If you kneel, then what am I giving you? I’m giving you the perfect first shot.”

Home on the range

David Prince is old enough to have had an entire career before this one, but he radiates boyish enthusiasm when he talks about Eagle Gun Range.

He opened it in 2012, after noticing that there hadn’t been a range built in the Dallas area for 30 years.

“My wife’s inspiration is my perspiration,” he jokes. After building a fence and a rock garden, among other projects, they decided to think bigger. “Let us build a gun range. … I can do that.”

“We wanted someplace [that was] really family-friendly,” Prince says. “Especially friendly to the mothers and the women, because stereotypically, women and guns don’t mix. … We wanted a place for them to come and feel safe.”

A big component of Eagle Gun Range’s family-friendly atmosphere is its state-of-the-art air filtration system, which removes the contaminants produced by firearm discharge. “It’s cleaner in the range than it is outside,” says Prince.

It’s clear that he’s proud of what he’s created. “Our mission statement says it all: to have a place that’s safe and fun to shoot.”

And it’s not that he’s pandering to the ladies, either.

“Indoor shooting is a great co-ed sport,” he says. “Women outshoot guys all the time. Women are great shooters. It’s a fun sport. It doesn’t take massive muscles. You can do it and compete against each other, and it’s a fun thing, especially for families. Kids get to shoot against the parents. It’s something the whole family can enjoy.”

Shots fired

Now it’s time for Helen to put her classroom training into practice.

We head to the private bay Prince has graciously arranged for us, and Thomasson introduces Helen to the first gun she’ll be shooting. It’s a Glock 9mm, the same as the practice gun she used. Only this one, of course, shoots real bullets.

Matt Himes

Helen loads the magazine, sorts out her grip, and gets into her stance. She aligns her sights at the paper target, then finds the trigger. She takes a deep breath and very slowly pulls it back.

Bang. We all exhale. Helen smiles. “There we go. That was fun.”

It was a decent shot, hitting the human silhouette just above the bull’s-eye over the chest. Helen fires off another. This one still hits the target, but a little wide. Thomasson reminds her to take it slow.

“When you pull it really fast, you kind of jerk the gun down, and then that’s when you end up with shots that are not in the target. Not that, if you were defending yourself, it still wouldn’t hurt the person. But if we want to get that perfect shot, [we need] control of the trigger.”

Thomasson then has Helen shoot the same cartridge in a smaller gun: a subcompact Glock in turquoise. This gun’s grip is significantly thinner and shorter than the previous one; Helen’s pinky just barely wraps around the bottom.

When she shoots, the kick is powerful enough that her left hand slips off a little. Helen also notices that because the gun’s size allows her finger to wrap all the way around the trigger, it has a tendency to pull to the right when shooting.

It’s all a vivid demonstration of Thomasson’s earlier point about women and gun size. “[They] say shrink it and pink it and that’s how you sell it to a woman,” says Wertz. “Well, that’s no good because then it’s just a pink gun and it’s tiny.”

As an alternative, Thomasson shows us the Walther PDP F-Series, a full-size 9mm pistol designed for shooters with smaller hands. To get the gun’s ergonomics and fit just right, Walther consulted with expert female shooters, including Olympian Gabby Franco.

‘Smith and Wesson … and me’

Noting that the training so far has used Austrian and German pistols, I ask Wertz about the American gun industry.

“When we get into rifles, bolt-action rifles, semiautomatic rifles, carbines, we win,” says Wertz, “but the Europeans kind of have a hold on the striker-fired market. The polymer lower, steel upper type gun like Glock, Sig, H&K, Walther, all really great handgun manufacturing companies.”

Wertz is quick to add that Smith & Wesson does make an excellent striker-fired pistol that many competitors use.

Of course, the iconic American brand has other claims to fame. “Smith & Wesson makes a better revolver than anybody in the world,” says Wertz. “And then if you want a 1911-style, old kind of World War II Heritage American pistol, nobody makes them better than we do.”

In this latter category, Wertz singles out Florence, Texas-based Staccato. “Anna’s got a Staccato that she carries a lot, and they make a better gun than than just about anybody else.”

‘It’s gonna get sporty’

Matt Himes

According to Prince, Helen is something of a natural. He pulls her target and examines it with admiration. “This is extremely good shooting. She’s at five yards, but she shot with several firearms, not having any practice rounds.”

Helen does equally well on the AR-15 rifle Prince offers her; in fact, she finds it to be her favorite firearm of the day. “I feel so much more confident with [the AR-15] than the smaller ones,” she says, when asked if she’d rather have it or a pistol for self-defense.

Wertz says that despite the media’s relentless propaganda about “assault rifles,” this is a common reaction from women after they shoot an AR-15. “You can see how accurate you were with very little effort and without having any training.”

Then it’s time to try the rife on full auto. Prince is thorough and professional as he coaches Helen on what to expect; at the same time, you can tell he can’t wait for her to let it rip. “It’s just natural — when you first squeeze the trigger, you’re going to let it rattle off about five rounds. You’re going to let go. We’re going to reload. Squeeze. Turn around and smile.”

Just before Helen pulls the trigger, Wertz smiles. “It’s gonna get sporty.”

Matt Himes

To watch some of Helen’s training with Aim True at Eagle Gun Range, check out the video below.

For more information about Aim True and the wide variety of firearms and emergency preparedness training it offers, see here.

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​Lifestyle, Interview, Profile, Guns, Firearms training, Eagle gun range, Anna thomasson, Bryan wertz, David prince, Aim true, Helen roy, Matt himes, 2nd amendment, Provisions 

No, the Jerusalem Cross is not a symbol of white supremacy or Nazism.

Under normal circumstances, this statement is self-evident. Everyone — literally everyone — knows the cross is first and foremost a Christian symbol. But these aren’t normal circumstances.

‘Deus Vult’ and the Jerusalem cross are uniquely Christian media with over 1,000 years of use among Christians.

In the days following Pete Hegseth’s defense secretary nomination, bad-faith critics have attacked Hegseth for two specifically Christian tattoos on his body.

The first, on his right bicep, is a tattoo of the words, “Deus Vult,” which in ecclesiastical Latin means “God wills it.” The second tattoo, located on his chest, is of the Jerusalem cross.

The Jerusalem cross is a large cross surrounded by four smaller crosses in each of the “quadrants” created by the larger cross. Some believe the five crosses represent the wounds Jesus Christ suffered on the cross while others believe the large cross represents Christ and the smaller four crosses represent the four Gospel authors. Still others believe the symbol represents the gospel message spreading to the four corners of the world.

A Jerusalem cross on the cover of a copy of the Book of Common Prayer.Image source: Chris Enloe/Blaze Media

It is important to remember that “Deus Vult” and the Jerusalem cross are uniquely Christian media with over 1,000 years of use among Christians.

And yet, Hegseth’s critics — or, more broadly, critics of President-elect Donald Trump, conservatives, and Christians — are now trying to associate “Deus Vult” and the Jerusalem cross with so-called Christian nationalism, the Christian “far right,” white supremacy, and Nazism.

The absurdity of the accusations reached a hysterical climax on social media over the weekend.

A man named Matthew Stokes went viral when he promised to pay $5 to “any standard evangelical over the age of 40” if they could prove to him that “the Jerusalem cross was a normal symbol of their faith upbringing.”

— (@)

It turns out that Stokes has a lot of money to disburse because his post went viral when thousands of people did exactly what he requested.

The end result is that Stokes proved the exact opposite outcome than the one he intended: The responses that his post generated proved the Jerusalem cross is not only a normal Christian symbol but that it’s an ecumenical one too.

Presbyterians use it. Publishers use it. Catholics use it. Lutherans use it. Communion wafers are imprinted with it. Coptic Christians use it. Episcopalians and Anglicans use it. It’s used in jewelry. The Greek Orthodox use it. Vestments use it.

The Jerusalem cross is clearly a ubiquitous symbol among Christians of all churches and denominations. Attempts to tarnish it as a symbol of racism or Nazism not only fail, but they’re actually an attack against all well-meaning Christians who display their faith allegiance through symbols like the Jerusalem cross.

The attacks, as Vice President-elect JD Vance said, are “disgusting anti-Christian bigotry.”

Christians are not Nazis. Christians are not white supremacists. Christians are not racist.

Fortunately, the “anti-Christian bigotry” that Vance identified will no longer exist within the Defense Department under Hegseth’s leadership.

“They can target me — I don’t give a damn — but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at DJT’s DoD,” Hegseth promised.

​Pete hegseth, Christianity, Jerusalem cross, Christians, Faith 

Kamala Harris’ campaign took a nosedive toward the end, and upon closer look, her wasteful spending may have played a major role — as the vice president reportedly burned through $1.5 billion within just 15 weeks.

“She was able to spend $1.5 billion in 15 weeks with no assets. Really impressive,” Stu Burguiere of “Stu Does America” comments.

“Her cash-rich campaign spared no expense as it hunted for voters — paying for an avalanche of advertising, social-media influencers, a for-hire door-knocking operation, thousands of staff, pricey rallies, a splashy Oprah town hall, celebrity concerts, and even drone shows,” Shane Goldmacher wrote in an article for the New York Times, adding, “It was a spree that averaged roughly $100 million per week.”

The Harris campaign’s biggest expense was advertising, spending most of a whopping $600 million on producing and buying media. $2.5 million was directed toward three digital agencies that specialize in working with online influencers.

Harris’ Oprah town hall cost the campaign close to $2.5 million as well, which Oprah attempted to explain away through the cost of setup.

“Oprah does have a bit of an argument here. First of all, she wasn’t just taking in a million dollars herself, it was going to this production company, and these events do cost a lot of money,” Stu says. “You could say, ‘OK, well, shouldn’t she just give that to her for free if she supported Kamala so much?’”

“You’d think so, but because of what Democrats want from campaign finance reform, there are campaign finance laws that say you can’t basically donate a bunch of free stuff and say that’s not a donation,” he continues.

However, there is one problem.

“In their own attempt at a defense here, they seemingly reveal a crime though because they say the $1,000,000 undercounts the cost of the event, the full cost, which ran closer to $2,500,000,” he explains. “So if in the bookkeeping they say it’s a million dollars but it actually costs $2,500,000, and Oprah ate the $1,500,000, that’s actually campaign finance violation. It’s a crime.”

“So in their attempt to try to win the press war, they may have actually committed a crime,” he adds.

Want more from Stu?

To enjoy more of Stu’s lethal wit, wisdom, and mockery, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Sharing, Video phone, Camera phone, Upload, Free, Video, Youtube.com, Stu does america, Stu burguiere, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze media, Blaze podcast network, Kamala harris campaign, Kamala harris campaign spending, Oprah kamala, Presidential election 2024, Election 2024, Donald trump, Donald trump victory 

Donald Trump has selected John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. Ratcliffe’s experience as a member of Congress overseeing the intelligence community and later as director of national intelligence highlighted his readiness to confront the CIA’s abuses of power during the Russia investigation. However, leading the CIA requires more than a strong director; it demands a capable team to implement meaningful reforms.

Drawing on my 19 years of service in the CIA under four presidents and eight directors, I offer insights into how the next director can navigate and reform the entrenched bureaucratic structures often called the “deep state.”

The goal should not be merely to dismantle the deep state but to establish an environment where transparency, accountability, and integrity are the new norms.

History shows that even the most skilled directors can become figureheads without solid backing. When John A. McCone succeeded Allen Dulles in the 1960s, Dulles’ personnel retained control of the agency, keeping McCone in the dark about key activities. More recently, John Brennan’s influence persisted within the CIA under Mike Pompeo’s leadership. Gina Haspel, who served as Pompeo’s deputy and later as director, continued Brennan’s legacy through his surrogates. Brennan had handpicked and groomed Haspel, who reportedly played a key role in assembling the Steele dossier.

To effect real change, the new director must secure organizational support, beginning with the deputy director. The deputy director will play a critical role in complementing Ratcliffe’s vision and overcoming bureaucratic inertia. This position must focus on managing the agency’s operations effectively rather than allowing career civil servants to dictate their will to the director. Appointing the right deputy director is essential for achieving meaningful reform.

Many people don’t realize how much of the CIA director and deputy director’s time is consumed by protocol duties. They manage communications and meetings with foreign dignitaries and advise the president and key administration officials on complex intelligence issues. As a result, career CIA staff — sometimes called the “Defenders of the Bureaucracy” — often handle much of the operational management.

This makes the role of chief operating officer, the agency’s No. 3 official, particularly vital. The COO oversees daily operations and serves as the critical link between the CIA’s leadership and its operational staff. A COO aligned with the director’s goals can dramatically improve the director’s ability to implement policy changes. The new director must ensure that the COO and deputy director manage the agency in line with the director’s reforms, rather than allowing career bureaucrats to control the COO, deputy, and director, as was the case with McCone and Pompeo.

Other key appointments include stakeholders often overlooked, such as the heads of the Office of Congressional Affairs and the Office of Public Affairs. Congressional Affairs plays a critical role in shaping perceptions and securing support in Congress. Without a trusted ally here, bureaucrats could undermine the director’s agenda through legislative channels. Similarly, the Office of Public Affairs influences public and media narratives about the CIA. Exercising control over this office can prevent leaks intended to discredit or pressure the director into serving bureaucratic interests rather than pursuing meaningful reform.

And we must not forget the Office of General Counsel. Past abuses in this office, especially in handling personnel and whistleblower issues, highlight the urgent need for legal alignment with the director’s reforms. The OGC’s litigation division has been a stalwart defender of the bureaucracy, seeking to crush whistleblowers, making it nearly impossible to foster an agency culture of accountability that aims to stop abuses of power.

The task at hand is immense. The CIA’s internal culture and the broader intelligence community’s dynamics resist change. History offers cautionary tales, such as the tenure of former Director Porter Goss, who faced intense internal opposition. His efforts to implement reforms were undermined by leaks that ultimately embarrassed his leadership and curtailed his time in office. Any incoming director must know that he could suffer the same fate as the entrenched career bureaucrats who will resist change.

As Ratcliffe or any successor assumes the director’s office, he must be prepared for a battle against the internal saboteurs and the inertia and resistance within. The support system around a new director will determine his success in leading the CIA and truly reforming it. The goal should not be merely to dismantle the deep state but to establish an environment where transparency, accountability, and integrity are the new norms, ensuring that the agency serves its true purpose of safeguarding national security without overstepping its bounds.

Ratcliffe faces a daunting journey that will test his resolve like never before. However, with the right team and strategy, he has the potential to redefine CIA leadership in the 21st century. By fostering a culture of accountability and transparency, Ratcliffe can help the CIA return to its original purpose, free from abuses of power and bureaucratic overreach.

​Cia, John ratcliffe, Intelligence community, Intelligence agencies, Reform, Donald trump, Deep state, Opinion & analysis 

Employees of an Indiana Planet Fitness gym were shocked to discover the dead body of a 39-year-old man inside of a tanning bed after he first got inside three days previously.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said officers were called to the gym at Hardegen Street on Nov. 11 just before 8:30 a.m. on a report of a body found. The Marion County Coroner’s Office said the body belonged to Derek Sink.

There was a foul smell inside the building that worsened as she approached the tanning rooms.

“We were deeply saddened by the passing of one of our members, and the franchise owner is working with the local authorities in their investigation,” read part of a statement from a spokesperson for the gym. “We are working closely with our local franchisee to ensure they are upholding those brand protocols.”

The man’s aunt told WTHR-TV that he was wearing an ankle monitor that led police to conclude that he had not left the gym when he got inside the tanning bed on Friday, Nov. 8.

A woman who had been at the gym before police arrived said there was a foul smell inside the building that worsened as she approached the tanning rooms.

Sink’s mother, Karen Wetzel, told People magazine that he had gone to the gym with his girlfriend and his daughter but that they had left him to go shopping and couldn’t find him when they returned. She also said that he had struggled with a drug addiction and that a syringe was found with his body. She believed a toxicology report might find fentanyl in his system.

“I’m just trying to keep myself together until this funeral is done, and then I’ll have my fall-apart,” the grieving mother said.

In a similar story from August, the body of a woman was found dead at her work desk at the Wells Fargo corporate office in Tempe, Arizona. The 60-year-old’s body was at the desk over the weekend and was discovered after her boss emailed her and she didn’t respond. Police said no foul play was suspected.

Officials later said she died from “sudden cardiac death in the setting of myocardial fibrosis.”

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​Man found dead planet fitness, Planet fitness dead man, Man found dead tanning bed, Death tanning bed, Politics 

A New Hampshire high school teacher was arrested after being caught in an underage sex trafficking sting operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Four other men from New Hampshire and Massachusetts were caught in the operation.

‘It is our reasonable belief the defendant was negotiating for sex with a minor while he was at work at school.’

Homeland Security agent Lori Robinson said in an affidavit that they posted a fake advertisement Thursday on an online commercial sex site, and when interested customers contacted them, they were told to meet at a hotel.

One of those who allegedly responded and went to the motel expecting sex with a 12-year-old female victim was 46-year-old Stacey Ray Lancaster. He is a teacher at Manchester’s West High School, where he oversees the ROTC program.

Lancaster allegedly texted in response to the ad, asking, “Can you send me there pictures? Also is cash ok? It be ready around 3:15.”

“It is our reasonable belief the defendant was negotiating for sex with a minor while he was at work at school,” said assistant U.S. attorney Matthew Vicinanzo at a hearing about Lancaster.

Charging documents said that Lancaster allegedly met with an undercover officer in the parking lot of the hotel and directed her to touch him in a sexual manner in order to confirm that she wasn’t a law enforcement official. He also touched her in a sexual manner.

He was charged with attempted sex trafficking of a minor.

The school said he was placed on administrative leave, and students were offered counseling over the arrest.

Lancaster reportedly has two minor children by his ex-wife, who lives in Bahrain, and also has two minor stepchildren from his current wife.

Magistrate Judge Andrea K. Johnstone cleared him to be released for home detention at his mother’s house. Johnstone ordered that he stay off of social media, surrender his passport, and avoid unsupervised contact with children as conditions to the release.

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​New hampshire sex trafficking, Teacher sex trafficking, Sex trafficking sting, Homeland security sex trafficking, Crime