A male entered a 7-Eleven in Oklahoma City just before midnight Thursday and tried to buy burritos, beef sticks, and ice cream with a counterfeit $100 bill, according to a KOKH-TV news video.

But the female clerk wasn’t buying the con.

‘You have the right to defend yourself.’

What’s more, the clerk said she was calling police, KWTV-DT reported — and she refused the male’s demand that she give him back the counterfeit bill, Gary Knight of the Oklahoma City Police Department added to the station.

Then the thug reportedly got violent.

“He came around the counter, got behind the counter where she was, and grabbed her by the throat and began choking her violently,” Knight added to KWTV.

The clerk — 25-year-old Stephanie Dilyard — told KOKH-TV that “he threatened me, said he was gonna slice my head off, and then that’s when I tried to call the police. I realized he started throwing things at me, came behind the counter. I tried to run off, but he grabbed his hands around my neck, and pushed me out of the counter space.”

Knight added to KWTV that “at some point during this altercation, she pulled out a pistol and shot him.” Police said the suspect — who also was carrying a knife — was shot in the stomach and that the entire attack was caught on video, the station noted.

The suspect — identified as 59-year-old Kenneth Thompson — fled the store and called 911, KOKH reported.

“Reporting he had been shot,” Knight told KWTV. “Although he was not forthcoming with what happened when officers first met with him.”

Thompson was arrested at the hospital and charged with assault and battery, threatening acts of violence, attempting to pass a fake bill, and a felony warrant for violating parole, KOKH said.

KWTV noted that he’ll be transferred to the Oklahoma County Detention Center once he’s released from the hospital.

As for Dilyard, police told KWTV that she suffered minor injuries and was not arrested; police confirmed to KOKH, in fact, that she’s protected under Oklahoma’s self-defense law.

Yet after all that, 7-Eleven fired Dilyard on Monday for using her gun, KOKH said.

RELATED: Family of armed robber outraged that store clerk shot and killed their brother in self-defense: ‘Yes, he’s robbing them — oh well!’

“They said that they were going to separate from employment because of a violation of policy,” she added to the station, noting that she had been working alone from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. for more than two years.

KOKH said attempts to reach 7-Eleven for a statement on Dilyard’s firing and any changes to employee policy were unsuccessful. KWTV said a 7-Eleven clerk stated to the station that employees are not allowed to carry firearms at work. KWTV added that 7-Eleven hasn’t responded to its question about whether security will be provided following this attack.

Dilyard told KOKH that she’ll always choose to preserve her life over preserving her job.

“This was a situation where I felt like I was put in a corner between choosing between my job and my life, and I’m always going to choose my life because there’s people that depend on me,” she told the station. “Just, I’m going home, you know. That’s my goal. I need to be here for my kids.”

Dilyard added to KOKH that she hopes her ordeal will be a wake-up call to prevent other clerks, especially women, from being harmed: “If I’d known that, you know, there’s a potential where somebody could be for real in taking my life away that I will do whatever it takes … I hope that … women see that, and you know, they’ll do the same thing. You have the right to defend yourself.”

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​Crime, 2nd amend., Guns, Gun rights, 7-eleven, Self-defense, Physical attack, Oklahoma city, Arrest, Fired, Shooting 

Political solutions feel increasingly out of reach in the United States. Congress cannot pass a budget and has offloaded most of its legislative duties to lobbyists and the permanent bureaucracy. The judiciary spends more time blocking lawful presidential action than interpreting law. Executive agencies drag their feet under activist judges and rebellious career staff. Inflation continues to punish households, the health care system teeters, and American workers watch themselves replaced by imported labor.

In moments like these, people look for someone who can simply make the system function again. That is how you get a Caesar.

Caesar does not appear because the existing powers pushed too far, but because they refused to act decisively when action was needed.

Though “dictator” carries a purely negative meaning today, the term originally described a legitimate emergency office in the Roman Republic. Rome elected two consuls who shared executive authority, but when a true crisis struck — invasion, rebellion, famine — Roman law allowed the temporary selection of a dictator who ruled alone for six months. The point was efficiency during existential danger.

Rome famously revered figures like Cincinnatus, elected dictator twice, who relinquished power immediately when the crisis ended. His restraint, not his authority, made him a civic hero. Tradition demanded this behavior; violating it meant disgrace and, often enough, assassination. George Washington consciously modeled his own two-term limit on this Roman example.

The end of the Roman Republic is often associated with Julius Caesar being named dictator for life. The underlying crisis, however, predated him. Rome’s elites consolidated land, squeezed citizens out of ownership, imported a large slave class that drove down wages, and ignored the growing unrest. The Senate refused to act and violence broke out. Does any of this sound familiar?

Caesar marched on Rome, won a civil war, and took power. He reformed the calendar, overhauled the justice system, cut welfare, and enacted land reforms. He was popular with the public but enraged the ruling class by destroying their privileges. His assassination ended his rule, but not the transformation he initiated. The republic was finished.

Spengler’s forecast

In “The Decline of the West,” Oswald Spengler argued that civilizations follow a life-cycle: birth, growth, decline, and death. In the late stage, societies fall under the control of bureaucratic oligarchies powered by money. Rules remain on paper, but decisions always serve wealthy interests. Economic mobility collapses. The public is effectively locked out.

These eras are marked by deep cultural divides. A decadent, urban elite begins to live in ways utterly foreign to the people they rule. Wealth concentrates in cities. Cosmopolitan values take hold. Citizens no longer recognize their own country.

When legislative bodies fail, bureaucracies grow unchallengeable, and moneyed elites block ordinary people from their own society, Spengler argued that a Caesar figure reliably emerges — a leader who sweeps aside gridlock and imposes order. Not necessarily a tyrant in the cartoonish sense, but a figure who commands enough power to break the stalemate.

The danger is obvious: Once such a leader accumulates that power, nothing guarantees he gives it back. Caesar may save the nation, transform it, or accelerate its decline. What is certain is that once he arrives, the political order changes rapidly.

RELATED: Evil unchecked always spreads — and Democrats are proof

Blaze Media Illustration

America’s crossroads

It is hard not to look at today’s United States and see a similar pattern emerging. Donald Trump is not Caesar, but he has been forced to govern through executive orders because Congress refuses to act and the bureaucracy works to undermine him. Activists hold No Kings rallies while Steve Bannon urges Trump to return in 2028. Passionate positions create momentum, and what begins as rhetoric can become a real possibility.

Once an idea becomes a constant point of reference — even in opposition — it gains a form of inevitability. That is the nature of political hyperstition.

If Americans want to avoid a real Caesar, the only solution is to fix the problems that make one appealing. Caesar does not appear because the existing powers pushed too far, but because they refused to act decisively when action was needed.

The borders must close. Replacement labor through expanded visa programs must end. Inflation must be crushed. Foreign adventurism must stop. Policy must shift away from elite wealth extraction and toward enabling young Americans to buy homes and start families. The cultural divide must narrow, and shared values must be restored.

None of this is easy. All of it is essential. If these challenges remain unanswered, no one should be surprised when Caesar finally arrives.

​Opinion & analysis, Julius caesar, Caesarism, Red caesar, Dictator, Decadence, Republic, Decay, America, Corruption, Equality, Equality vs. equity, Oligarchy, Tyranny, Wealth, Poverty, Oswald spengler, Decline of the west 

Amid the several race-based redistricting fights across the country ahead of the midterms, including states like Texas and California, one Southern state joined the ranks Monday in a move that has left nobody satisfied.

A federal judge ordered a small redistricting effort after finding back in August that the current Alabama state Senate district map violated the Voting Rights Act.

The new plan does enough to remedy the disparities while not upsetting other districts.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, a first-term Trump appointee, ordered that a new map that rearranged District 25 and District 26, two Montgomery-area districts, be implemented in time for the 2026 midterms.

Democrat state Senator Kirk Hatcher currently represents Senate District 26, and Republican state Senator Will Barfoot represents Senate District 25.

RELATED: North Carolina Republicans will ‘follow Trump’s call’ to redistrict the state

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R).Photo by Stew Milne/Getty Images

The primary issue with the old district map was that it was found to “pack” black voters into one district, weakening their voting power in other districts.

Manasco wrote that the new plan “unpacks District 26 by moving some Black voters from District 26 into the adjacent District 25.”

The decision has been met with a widespread lack of enthusiasm in the Republican trifecta state, with many uncertain that a satisfactory outcome could be achieved.

Manasco wrote that the new plan does enough to remedy the disparities while not upsetting other districts.

Court-appointed special master Richard Allen warned in a court filing that the plan only “weakly remedies” the Voting Rights Act violation.

“As the law currently stands, states like Alabama are put to the virtually impossible task of protecting some voters based on race without discriminating against any other voters based on race. I remain hopeful that we will somehow find the ‘magic map’ that will both satisfy the federal court and also be fair to all Alabamians,” Republican Governor Kay Ivey wrote in September, according to the AP.

Based on this reasoning, Ivey declined to call a special session for the legislature to redraw the district maps in September.

The new map does not upset the partisan distribution of power in the state, where Republicans hold a majority, 27 to 8.

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​Politics, Alabama, Montgomery, Kay ivey, Governor kay ivey, U.s. district judge anna manasco, Trump, Kirk hatcher, Will barfoot, Redistricting, Redistricting fight, Voting rights act 

The United States Army and Navy are going all out for the 126th Army-Navy Game.

Over the past decade, the teams have worn special uniforms for the NCAA football rivalry series, but for this year’s historic occasion, both teams have stepped their game up.

‘We will carry the Army’s Warrior Ethos with us onto the gridiron.’

Last week, the Army unveiled their jerseys for the Dec. 13th game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The focus of the design surrounds “250 Years of Service & Sacrifice.”

Specifically, the Army fell back on its ethos: “I will always place the mission first, I will never accept defeat, I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.”

Furthermore, the team put added emphasis on the U.S. Constitution and the Revolutionary War with “1775” written on the back of their helmets.

“Washington transformed the Continental Army into a disciplined fighting force. Washington and his soldiers boldly regained the initiative by crossing the Delaware River on Christmas in 1776 and seized Trenton and Princeton,” the Army wrote in a press release.

Washington’s men were “drilled and disciplined Soldiers able to hold their own against the British, and even to defeat them to secure American independence.”

RELATED: Stories Behind the Stars: On a mission to honor every American who died in WWII

Image via United States Army

The uniform uses Constitution-style text on the name plate to honor America’s founding documents and to showcase “the importance of having an Army that swears loyalty to a set of ideas rather than a monarch.”

It also features the Great Chain, honoring the strategic value of West Point during the American Revolution, as well as purple streaking through the jersey numbers and the helmet, symbolizing the sacrifices made by soldiers and Gold Star families.

The Army cemented its commitment to the defense of liberty in the design, reinforcing its motto, “This we’ll defend,” while promising victory.

“We will carry the Army’s Warrior Ethos with us onto the gridiron in Baltimore as we defeat our rivals and seize the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy,” the team said.

— (@)

Navy football also revealed its own iconic uniforms, choosing to focus on the historic copper and the Navy’s longest-serving ship.

The USS Constitution gets special recognition from the Navy this year and was heavily used for the uniform’s design and inspiration. This includes ship knots around the jersey’s sleeves, the American flag, and the nautical Navy and heritage red colors, symbolizing its battle-worn hull.

The USS Constitution is the only remaining frigate from the original six frigates fleet and the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat, according to the Navy.

The ship is nicknamed “Old Ironsides” because cannonballs appeared to bounce off its hull during the War of 1812. It remains undefeated in battle and has never lowed its flag.

RELATED: How a Navy SEAL preached the gospel to millions

Image via United States Navy

As for the copper, the Navy showcases the vital role the metal has played in preserving the original U.S. frigates. Not only does the copper protect the wooden hulls, but it was the material used for the 1797 and 1798 one-cent pieces placed beneath each mast of the USS Constitution for good luck.

The entire helmet is coated in oxidized copper for the 2025 game, along with a detailed sketch of the historic ship. A wooden plank runs down the center of the helmet too, bound by six ropes to honor the original six frigates.

The ropes on the helmet have 126 knots, a reference to the 126th Army-Navy game.

— (@)

Online, the Army’s reveal of its uniforms garnered much praise, even from its rivals.

“I’m a Navy veteran but I love the jersey numbers,” one X user wrote.

“I hate army but these are clean,” another said.

Over on the Navy’s X page, comments were cordial with fans saying designers “knocked it out of the park” and provided “incredible storytelling in this design.”

According to the game’s official website, the 2024 Army-Navy Game drew an average of 9.4 million viewers on CBS, eclipsing the record of 8.45 million set in 1992.

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When BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales points out the Islamification of the U.S., she gets accused of working for Israel.

“I talk about it and people are like, ‘Oh, how’s that $7,000 you got from the Jews to talk about this?’ Like it doesn’t take a rocket scientist,” she says, before pointing out some very easy-to-understand facts — starting with Dearborn, Michigan.

According to the 2023 census, Dearborn’s population is 55% Muslim.

“They of course blast the call of prayer over giant loudspeakers five times a day as early as 5:00 a.m.,” Gonzales says, playing a clip from a TikTok account called “magamama5,” in which a woman records video as the call to prayer goes off.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud even spoke out against assimilation in a recent podcast appearance, saying, “I actually disavow the use of the term the melting pot. I actually don’t like it. Why? Because in a melting pot, when you’re talking about like a soup, everything looks the same, right?”

“The lettuce is lettuce, the tomato is tomato, the cucumber is cucumber, and they all complement each other,” he added.

“They all complement each other except when the cucumber wants to murder the tomato for not being Muslim,” Gonzales mocks.

But Dearborn is far from the only place being taken over.

As of 2020, New York housed 343 mosques, California 304, Texas 224, Florida 157, and New Jersey 141.

“I mean, you talk about Texas. … Texas is being completely inundated. Forty-eight mosques have opened in the state in the last two years,” Gonzales explains, noting that Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has given around $13 million of grant money to mosques.

And in another clip from New York City, a Muslim speaking at a rally yelled, “This is the correct religion. This is the religion that all of humanity needs to be a part of: Islam. And we will not stop until it enters every home.”

“Guys, when someone tells you who they really are, believe them,” Gonzales says.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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

​Video phone, Free, Sharing, Camera phone, Upload, Video, Youtube.com, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Dearborn michigan, Muslim population, Mosques, Islamic takeover, Abdullah hammoud, Assimilation, Epic city, Texas, New york city, Sharia law, Islamic state 

A handful of Republican lawmakers joined forces with their colleagues across the aisle on Tuesday to shield Democratic House Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands from consequence over her involvement with infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Critics have suggested that Republicans spared Plaskett as part of a “back end deal” to save Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), yet another humiliation.

‘The Plaskett censure failed because house leadership exchanged that censure failure for the withdrawal of a vote to censure and refer Cory Mills.’

Among the over 20,000 pages of damning Epstein emails released by the House Oversight Committee last week were numerous text messages between the dead sex offender and Plaskett.

While the documents show Jeffrey Epstein was evidently on speaking terms with numerous Democrats after his 2008 felony conviction for procuring a child for prostitution, his text messages with Plaskett proved particularly controversial as they appeared to show that he influenced the delegate’s behavior while she was conducting official business in Congress.

Epstein and Plaskett were exchanging messages during disgraced former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee in February 2019. At one point, Epstein — who was evidently watching the hearing remotely — alerted Plaskett to Cohen’s mention of former Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff and suggested she was the “keeper of the secrets.”

“RONA??” responded Plaskett. “Quick I’m up next is that an acronym.”

“Thats [sic] his assistant,” said the sex offender.

RELATED: Epstein emails SHAME Obama/Clinton ally: Larry Summers quits public life amid calls for Harvard to cut ties

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC). Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Plaskett’s office characterized the exchange as a politician simply fielding inputs from the public in hopes of getting “at the truth.” South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman (R) and others alternatively recognized Plaskett’s apparent efforts to coordinate her line of questioning with Epstein as a form of inappropriate collusion with a convicted sex offender.

Norman introduced a House resolution on Tuesday not only to censure and condemn Plaskett but to remove the Democrat from the House Intelligence Committee “for conduct that reflects discreditably on the House of Representatives for colluding with convicted felony sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a congressional hearing.”

Censures have become fairly routine in recent years, and it’s hardly unprecedented to remove a lawmaker from a committee.

For instance, in 2021, 11 nominal Republicans joined with House Democrats to strip Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) of her committee assignments over comments found to be too incendiary. The same year, Democrats joined then-Republican Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming in approving a resolution to censure Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar (R) and strip him of his committee assignments over a provocative social media post.

Republicans showed a united front in 2023 when they voted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) off the Foreign Affairs Committee over her criticism of Israel and perceived lack of objectivity.

In addition to noting that Plaskett’s relationship with Epstein stands at odds with her carefully constructed public image as a “defender of justice and accountability,” Norman’s resolution states that:

Plaskett’s willingness to receive instructions on official congressional proceedings from Epstein, a convicted felony sex offender with deeply concerning international associations, is especially alarming and inappropriate given her own past service in the U.S. Department of Justice and her current role on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and raises serious questions about Delegate Plaskett’s judgment, integrity, and fitness to serve.

Plaskett said in her defense on the House floor, “I know how to question individuals. I know how to seek information. I have sought information from confidential informants, from murderers, from other individuals because I want the truth.”

The House voted 214-209 against censuring Plaskett on Tuesday night.

‘The American people DO know what happened here!’

Joining the 211 Democrats who voted against Norman’s resolution were three Republicans: Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas, and Dave Joyce of Ohio.

Another three Republican congressmen voted “present”: Andrew Garbarino of New York, Daniel Meuser of Pennsylvania, and Jay Obernolte of California.

“The House failed to pass my censure of Dem. Stacey Plaskett, a sitting member of Congress who took direction from Epstein in the middle of a 2019 Oversight Committee hearing,” Norman said in an X post after the vote. “This is the problem in Washington!! The establishment protects ITSELF, and the American people get pushed ASIDE.”

Norman added, “What happened to accountability?”

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) similarly expressed revulsion over the failure by some of her peers to hold Plaskett accountable, writing, “Members of the House Intelligence Committee are supposed to be held to the highest standards of integrity, independence, and protection of our nation’s classified information — not communicating with known sexual predators during a committee hearing.”

“It’s disgusting our conference couldn’t come together to remove Jeffrey Epstein’s puppet off of the Intelligence Committee,” continued Boebert. “I’m calling on the Department of Justice to investigate into Delegate Plaskett’s relationship with Jeffery [sic] Epstein.”

Some Republicans have suggested that elements of their party spoiled the vote as part of a deal with Democrats.

RELATED: Rep. Cory Mills’ legal woes may not be over now that restraining order is granted

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

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) noted on the House floor, “I was wondering if the speaker of the House of Representatives can explain why leadership on both sides, both Democrat and Republican, are cutting back-end deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives for both Democrat and Republican members of Congress.”

Luna clarified her meaning on X, writing, “The Plaskett censure failed because house leadership exchanged that censure failure for the withdrawal of a vote to censure and refer Cory Mills to house ethics for investigation. The swamp protects itself.”

Boebert responded, “The American people DO know what happened here!”

In retaliation for the effort to censure Plaskett, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) revived her resolution to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and remove him from the Armed Service Committee on Tuesday. Axios indicated that the revival of the censure resolution made it a “privileged motion” enabling Clarke to bypass the Republican leadership and force a vote.

A spokesperson for Mills did not respond to Axios’ request for comment.

With Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and possibly other Republicans also willing to vote for the measure, it’s unclear whether the vote would have gone in Mills’ favor — but Democrats spared him from finding out, moving to withdraw the censure vote after Republicans helped kill the Plaskett censure effort.

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​Stacey plaskett, Rinos, Swamp, Jeffrey epstein, Cover up, Cory mills, Dc, Congress, Johnson, Norman, Ralph normal, Censure, House oversight, Politics