Radicals in Alabama appear to have found a gray-haired figure around which to rally to oppose the broader conservative effort to shield American children from mature and perverse content.

The Rutherford County Library Board removed Luanne James from her position as director of the library system after she refused to fulfill her duties and move hundreds of titles containing inappropriate content — ranging from a book targeting adolescents about sexual activity to books about “genderfluidity” and transgenderism — from the kids’ section to the adult section.

‘I stand by my decision.’

The usual suspects have characterized the bespectacled obstructionist as a free-speech champion and her termination as unlawful.

How it started

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) repeatedly expressed concern in 2023 over children’s exposure to “inappropriate, sexually suggestive materials without adequate means of parental supervision” in her state’s taxpayer-funded libraries.

Ivey noted in a Sept. 1, 2023, letter to the director of the Alabama Public Library Service that the growing parental concern underpinning her own would not be remedied by removing books containing inappropriate content, including radical “gender transition” propaganda, but rather by “ensuring that these books are placed in an appropriate location.”

In the same spirit, the Alabama Legislative Services Agency proposed rule changes to the APLS in 2024 that would make libraries’ state funding conditional on moving content “inappropriate” for kids to an adult section.

Last month, the APLS board of trustees said that the Legislative Services Agency approved the change, reported AL.com.

RELATED: Reactions to SCOTUS ruling on conversion therapy come pouring in

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Rutherford County Library board meeting documents reveal that Luanne James expressed a willingness to relocate some thematically and graphically mature titles but dug in her heels to keep numerous provocative works of LGBT agitprop in the juvenile sections of her county’s libraries.

The Murfreesboro Daily News Journal reported that among the over 130 titles that James refused to move are:

“Pride in Sports,” an LGBT activist book by a lesbian couple that apparently attempts to normalize non-straight sexual preferences and sex-rejection procedures; “Welcome to Your Period,” a book about menstruation that contains illustrations of female body parts and claims that doctors can administer drugs to “try to block or stop periods and other physical changes” for “transgender children,” which the authors claim “have existed for as long as time”; “The Every Body Book,” a book that discusses and illustrates various body parts while pushing gender ideology on kids; and “Lily and Dunkin,” a story about a romance involving an 8th-grade boy deluded into thinking he’s really a girl.

To James’ chagrin, the board decided in an 8-3 vote on March 16 to move over 100 of the inappropriate LGBT titles to the adult section.

James noted in a letter to the board two days later that “restricting access to these materials through subjective relocation or removal constitutes a violation of the community’s right to information and a direct infringement on the principles of free speech.”

“I will not comply with the Board’s decision to relocate these books,” wrote James. “Doing so would violate the First Amendment right of all citizens of Rutherford County and myself.”

How it’s going

Having proven unwilling to do her job, James was relieved of it on March 30.

The board’s 8-3 vote to kick James to the curb was met by a mix of applause by detractors and furious booing by supporters at the packed Rutherford County Courthouse. James later said, “I stand by my decision,” reported the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal.

Cody York said in a statement obtained by the Daily News Journal that James’ “refusal to implement a lawful directive of the Rutherford County Library Board constitutes insubordination.”

Nashville attorney Chuck Mangelsdorf said, “Her termination we believe is completely unlawful,” and said James is “a guardian of the First Amendment.”

PEN America said in a statement that it “stands with Rutherford County Library System Director Luanne James in her refusal to banish LGBTQ+ children’s books from access by relocating them to the adult section. Children and teens deserve access to diverse books that represent their identities and stories and books that introduce young people to new ideas and perspectives.”

Kasey Meehan, the director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, claimed that James’ “story will echo from the courthouse in Murfreesboro, Tenn., across the country as emblematic of the fight against censorship and suppression,” reported the Advocate.

Supporters have already crowdfunded over $72,000 on GoFundMe for James.

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​Propaganda, Lgbt, Trans, Transgender, Books, Library, Alabama, Rutherford, Luanna james, Pen america, Infowars, Info wars, Ivey, Politics 

Concerns about free speech in the United Kingdom are growing as new laws surrounding speech, public protest, and religious criticism threaten to change the future of civil liberties — and activist Tommy Robinson, who has been on the wrong side of these laws already — is prepared to fight back.

“Their problem always has been that I always speak facts,” Robinson tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on “The Glenn Beck Program.”

While there are strict laws against “incitement to hatred,” which Robinson has often been accused of, he points out that he’s just telling the truth.

“That’s what this law they’re now bringing in is about. They don’t want the public to be aware of facts or truth if you speak the truth about Islam. They want to limit what you can say, and that’s now what their new law intends to do,” he explains.

And Robinson doesn’t plan to stop speaking out about Islam anytime soon.

“This law won’t change anything I say. So if I’m honest, I will continue. I won’t limit my speech if I’m telling the truth. If that means I’ll end up in prosecutions, it means I will end up in prosecutions,” Robinson tells Glenn.

“Most of these laws are about instilling fear,” he continues, noting that the Labour government also intends to remove the jury service.

“What does that mean?” Glenn asks.

“You can be taken to court in the U.K., and if they drop it to a low charge, you do not get a jury,” Robinson explains.

“And that means they can only give you … 12 or 24 months,” he continues, noting that they’re now changing that.

“They’re changing it so you can get four years,” he says.

“So not only are they bringing in a law that prohibits you from telling the truth, they’re also … taking away your ability to be tried by 12 members of the public. You’ll just be tried by a judge,” he explains.

Robinson’s last prison sentence, he tells Glenn, was 18 months in jail for making a film called “Silence.”

“That film was 100% factual. No one has argued with any of the facts I’ve presented in that film, or the judge didn’t have a problem with the facts I presented in the film. Just the fact that I showed the public the film,” he says.

“If I was able to have a jury to let the jury decide, I believe I’d never have gone to jail once. But I’ve never been given the opportunity to have a jury,” he adds.

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​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Blaze media, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Tommy robinson, Blasphemy laws, Hate speech, Orwellian 

President Donald Trump politely kicked Pam Bondi to the curb on Thursday, touting her as a “Great American Patriot” and crediting her with “overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country” during her nearly 14 months on the job.

Hours after Trump publicized the ouster and named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general, Bondi took a page out of ex-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s book, expressing her gratitude to the president and framing her time at the Justice Department in positive terms.

“Leading President Trump’s historic and highly successful efforts to make America safer and more secure has been the honor of a lifetime, and easily the most consequential first year of the Department of Justice in American history,” Bondi wrote on X.

‘She must answer for her mishandling of the Epstein files.’

Bondi — criticized in recent months over her DOJ’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, her bizarre Epstein testimony, her suggestion that “hate speech” should be policed, and her perceived inefficacy and failure to prosecute the individuals who waged potentially illegal lawfare against Trump — echoed Trump’s remark about the precipitous drop in crime over the past year.

A report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association comparing crime stats in 2025 to stats from the previous year found that homicides dropped nationally by 19.3%; rapes dropped by nearly 9%; robberies dropped by 19.8%; and aggravated assault dropped by 9.7%.

RELATED: If the Justice Department won’t execute Trump’s orders, who’s in charge?

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“Since February 2025, we have secured the lowest murder rate in 125 years, secured first-ever terrorism convictions against members of Antifa, shattered domestic and transnational gangs across the country, taken custody of more than 90 key cartel figures, and won 24 favorable rulings at the Supreme Court,” wrote Bondi.

Bondi added, “I remain eternally grateful for the trust that President Trump placed in me to Make America Safe Again.”

Although Bondi noted that she is “moving to an important private sector role,” she still may have to answer for actions taken while serving as attorney general.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted last month to subpoena Bondi on the release of the Epstein files.

Democrats on the committee emphasized in a joint statement on Thursday that Bondi “will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath. She must answer for her mishandling of the Epstein files and the special treatment she has given Ghislaine Maxwell.”

The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.), tweeted, “Pam Bondi and Donald Trump may think her firing gets her out of testifying to the Oversight Committee. They are wrong — and we look forward to hearing from her under oath.”

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.) wrote, “My subpoena still stands. When the Oversight Committee moved to subpoena Bondi, I did it by name, not by or not as the sitting Attorney General of the U.S.”

Around the time the subpoena was issued, Mace stated, “AG Bondi claims the DOJ has released all of the Epstein files. The record is clear: they have not. The Epstein case is one of the greatest cover-ups in American history. His global sex trafficking network is larger than what is being revealed. Three million documents have been released, and we still don’t have the full truth. Videos are missing. Audio is missing. Logs are missing. There are millions more documents out there. We want to know why the DOJ is more focused on shielding the powerful than delivering justice.”

Citing people familiar with the discussions between Bondi and the committee, the New York Times reported that Bondi has not yet committed to appearing for her scheduled April 14 deposition.

Todd Blanche said in a statement that Bondi “led this Department with strength and conviction” and that the DOJ will “continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe.”

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​Termination, Firing, Pam bondi, Bondi, Jeffrey epstein, Epstein, Deposition, Oversight committee, Donald trump, Department of justice, Justice department, Doj, Politics 

There is something seriously wrong with American health care. Rising costs mean that Americans now pay nearly twice as much as people in similar countries, without getting better outcomes. “It’s complicated,” say those who want to keep prices high and rising. But some of it is simple, as my organization is showing with research on hospital systems like Cleveland Clinic.

Hospital executives are leading luxurious lifestyles while claiming that every dollar spent — on television commercials, Abu Dhabi real estate, or modern art — is ‘health care.’

A longtime household name, Cleveland Clinic presents itself as an altruistic institution focused on health and patients. As a tax-exempt corporation, everything Cleveland Clinic does is subsidized by taxpayers, and it receives many other direct and indirect benefits in the interest of public health. Yet it pays executives millions, has massive holdings overseas, and maintains a collection of fine art.

Why are your health care bills and insurance premiums going up? Why is government spending and borrowing more and more to subsidize care? Look no farther than the misplaced priorities of profit-maximizing “nonprofit” hospitals like Cleveland Clinic.

Recent news has exposed massive waste and fraud against taxpayers in places like Minnesota, California, and Washington state. Yet the problem is deeper and more systemic. Rooting out actual theft is essential. So is confronting waste and abuse, especially within large health care institutions.

Last month, Save Our States launched a campaign calling out a massive hospital system run by the University of Miami. While its transplant center was failing, hospital executives were focused on building a lavish new lobby and expanding into Abu Dhabi.

Our new exposé on Cleveland Clinic found surprisingly similar luxury expenses. It has an in-house art museum, for example, boasting a “world-renowned collection” of nearly 7,000 pieces of contemporary art. Like many hospitals, it spares no expense on public relations and advertising — Cleveland Clinic even ran its own Super Bowl ad.

The clinic pays millions in executive salaries. Those executives are planning a massive new sports center with the Cleveland Cavaliers, to go along with their fancy foreign facilities in places like London, Toronto, and — once again — Abu Dhabi.

How do these expenses benefit American patients? And why should taxpayers subsidize any of it?

Some medical providers do pay taxes. A doctor with an independent practice gets taxed like any other business. But sell that practice to a tax-exempt hospital, even one with billions in revenue, and suddenly it becomes tax-exempt. At the same time, hospital-owned practices often start adding “hospital facility fees” on top of regular bills.

They charge patients more for the same services, then pay less in taxes. No wonder massive hospital systems buy up smaller practices and facilities. These are policy choices, not market forces, driving consolidation in health care. The result is lower quality, higher prices, and misplaced priorities.

RELATED: America has a spending problem Congress refuses to fix

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For many Americans, the rising prices go first to their insurance, later showing up in rising premiums and lower take-home pay. And all Americans see the cost in taxes. Everyone pays somehow, in higher costs, less access to care, or both.

Meanwhile, hospital executives are leading luxurious lifestyles while claiming that every dollar spent — on television commercials, Abu Dhabi real estate, or modern art — is “health care.”

During its spending spree, Cleveland Clinic has faced allegations of deceptive billing, accusations of overcharging patients, reports of underpaying nurses, and stories of medical debt lawsuits brought against its own patients.

Our new site, ClevelandClinicBetrayedPatients.com, documents the misplaced priorities of this massive, taxpayer-supported hospital system.

Given that Cleveland Clinic is in Vice President JD Vance’s home state of Ohio, hopefully he can make it a focus of his new appointment by President Trump to lead the “war on fraud.” The vice president and congressional leaders need to scrutinize spending at all subsidized hospitals — starting with the biggest.

The question is not: “Does it do some good somewhere?” One good program does not justify waste elsewhere. The question is: “Are any taxpayer dollars subsidizing waste, abuse, or unnecessary extravagance?”

Americans need health systems that respect taxpayers and put patients first. More than anything, we need the kind of competition that creates accountability, demands transparency, fosters innovation, and produces better services at lower prices.

​Tax exempt, Cleveland clinic, American healthcare, Healthcare costs, Affordability, Save our states, War on fraud, Jd vance, Opinion & analysis 

New York City’s democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is reportedly preparing to hire a slew of additional staffers who could cost taxpayers $10 million, after previously claiming the city was facing a critical budget deficit.

The New York Post reported Wednesday that Mamdani plans to hire at least 79 more workers to support his “pet projects.”

‘Taxpayers who are already struggling should not be bankrolling useless woke jobs for socialists who can’t get real jobs in the real world.’

One of those positions includes a senior adviser for enforcement in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice. This individual would be responsible for “establishing policy vision and direction related to Enforcement” and is expected to “manage and coordinate across the assigned agencies, offices, and boards.” The job posting describes the department as advancing “policies that promote a more equitable and vibrant New York City.” The candidate could earn up to $200,000 annually.

Mamdani is also seeking to hire two temporary World Cup managers to help “lead the planning and delivery of inclusive, community-based public programming.” The salaries listed for both positions, a director of NYC World Cup Activations and a project manager for NYC World Cup programming, are over $100,000.

Additionally, the mayor’s office is seeking an adviser for legislative advocacy, with a salary of up to $155,000.

Mamdani has pledged to work toward rolling out so-called free universal child care to New York City parents. The city is currently hiring a senior project manager who could earn up to $150,000 a year to lead that initiative.

RELATED: Socialist Mamdani rolls out costly ‘free’ child care program to NYC workers — after crying financial crisis

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A senior adviser for fast and free buses, who could earn $180,000 a year, will have “latitude to exercise a wide degree of authority” for the “coordination, implementation, and successful completion of any projects related to the Fast and Free Buses.”

Last month, the Post reported that Mamdani’s Office of Mass Engagement was seeking to fill over a dozen positions the news outlet described as “catered to activists.” Those positions would reportedly cost taxpayers approximately $2 million.

The Post estimated that if Mamdani’s office filled all positions, the city’s payroll would increase by 20% compared to the former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.

RELATED: Mamdani made big promises to cut the budget — here’s the embarrassing result so far

Zohran Mamdani. Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

“At best, he’s hypocritically spending money we don’t have on his supporters,” a Democratic operative told the Post. “At worst, he is breaking the law by using taxpayer dollars for political benefit.”

“City Hall now needs to be super clear about why these hires are needed and how they’re chosen,” the individual added.

A second Democratic insider told the Post, “Someone should remind the mayor that the city’s budget is not like his daddy’s credit card.”

“Taxpayers who are already struggling should not be bankrolling useless woke jobs for socialists who can’t get real jobs in the real world,” the second operative said.

Mamdani previously claimed the city faced a $12 billion budget deficit after Adams left office. He has since stated that the deficit has been reduced to $5.4 billion. Adams has denied Mamdani’s claims, insisting that he left over $8 billion in reserves.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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