Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas is taking charge of codifying President Donald Trump’s executive orders.

Pfluger, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, recently introduced a bill that would ensure only American citizens are counted in the United States census, according to bill text obtained exclusively by Blaze News. The legislation, dubbed the COUNT Act, will ensure that illegal aliens are omitted from the census in order to fairly apportion congressional seats.

‘We cannot allow Democrats to weaponize our census.’

“The Biden administration sabotaged our census system to count millions of illegal aliens as American citizens, robbing congressional seats from law-abiding Republican states, including shortchanging my home state of Texas by at least one seat,” Pfluger told Blaze News.

“This is nothing short of a constitutional crisis.”

RELATED: Exclusive: Congress pushes bipartisan bill preventing Mexico’s ‘illegal seizure’ of American assets

Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Under former President Joe Biden’s purview, the administration effectively rigged the census to include millions of illegal aliens into the census, skewing congressional representation in favor of Democrats. As a result, everyday American citizens were overshadowed and overlooked by Democrats’ desire to secure a political advantage.

The census currently does not require individuals to provide proof of citizenship, often including illegal immigrants into the official count, which later informs congressional apportionment. Despite the clear malpractice, Democrats are keen on keeping with the status quo.

In May 2024, 202 Democrats unanimously voted against the Equal Representation Act, which requires the census to include a citizenship questionnaire designed to prevent illegal aliens from being included in the total count. Senate Democrats also unanimously defeated an amendment proposed by Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee in March 2024, which would similarly require a citizenship questionnaire on future censuses.

RELATED: Exclusive: DHS reveals ‘record-shattering’ winning streak on immigration

Photo by HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images

“That’s why I’m introducing the COUNT Act to permanently codify the executive order President Trump signed into law during his first term, creating a citizenship database that ensures only American citizens determine congressional representation and funding, because we cannot allow Democrats to weaponize our census again,” Pfluger told Blaze News.

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

​August pfluger, Republican study committee, Count act, Border crisis, Census, Joe biden, Donald trump, House republicans, Senate republicans, Bill hagerty, Texas, Congressional redistricting, Illegal aliens, Senate democrats, House democrats, Politics 

The internet is sounding the alarm on a “wellness drink” that has been growing rapidly in popularity in recent years. While the marketing for the drink makes it sound like a harmless herbal supplement to take the edge off after a long day, the lesser-known ingredients in the drinks are causing unexpected, massive problems with users.

TikTok @yourbestiemisha recently described how a boy in his early teens approached him in a gas station, asking the man to purchase some “Feel Free” for him. When @yourbestiemisha refused, the teen reportedly lunged at his wallet in desperation. When he informed the gas station clerk, the clerk reported that it was a known problem and showed him the drink in the little blue bottle behind the craze.

Kratom’s opioid-like effects are pronounced enough that researchers have tried using it to treat opioid addicts — only to discover that kratom itself can create addiction.

Botanic Tonics touts its product Feel Free as a “feel-good tonic [that] features kava root and other plant ingredients known to help with relaxation, productivity and focus.” Left unmentioned is a crucial ingredient: kratom.

K-hole

According to the Mayo Clinic, the effects of kratom — derived from the leaves of a tree native to Southeast Asia — are largely unknown, and the substance is therefore labeled as “unsafe and ineffective.”

Furthermore, “kratom products have been found to have heavy metals, such as lead, and harmful germs, such as salmonella, in them. Salmonella poisoning can be fatal. The FDA has linked more than 35 deaths to salmonella-tainted kratom.”

Kratom also produces different effects depending on the dose. At low doses, it can act as a stimulant, which is what is often advertised in the health drinks. At higher doses, on the other hand, it acts as a depressant. Because kratom is not regulated in the U.S., the exact dosages on the labels may not be accurate.

RELATED: Study warns of possible link between world’s most popular painkiller and autism

Endah Widiarti/Getty Images

Kratom’s opioid-like effects are pronounced enough that researchers have tried using it to treat opioid addicts — only to discover that kratom itself can create addiction.

Easy access

Unfortunately, it was not at all difficult to find Feel Free locally in the suburbs of Dallas. Two CBD stores and two gas stations into my search, I had a bottle of Feel Free ($10.91 with tax) in my hand. The clerk at the first gas station said they used to carry it but didn’t know why they don’t have it anymore.

The CBD stores did not carry Feel Free but were vaguely aware of it. Instead, they directed me to a wide selection of kratom in other forms: Full-size drinks, tinctures, powders, and capsules were on full display — all for a premium price.

‘Liquid heroin’

On X, commentator Mike Cernovich called out the harmful effects of Feel Free and other kratom-based drinks: “Those ‘Kratom energy shots,’ often with colorful packaging marketed to children, are anything but natural. They are loaded with 7-OH, which is liquid heroin. It’s a travesty that Secretary Kennedy hasn’t had these dangerous products removed, and that the DEA hasn’t made arrests.”

The DEA’s website confirms that “kratom leaves contain two major psychoactive ingredients (mitragynine and 7-hydroxymytragynine),” which cause addiction-like symptoms in its users. The DEA says symptoms include “hallucinations, delusion, and confusion, nausea, itching, sweating, dry mouth, constipation, increased urination, and loss of appetite. Long-term use can cause anorexia, weight loss, and insomnia.”

Road to ruin

Anecdotally, Reddit users have described financial problems stemming from dependence on the substance, which retails for around $10 per 2-ounce bottle. Others complain of side effects including dry or cracked skin, dependence, weakness, panic attacks, weight loss, extreme nausea, morning illness; and hangover-like symptoms.

Many lobby groups have pushed for tighter regulation on the processing and distribution of kratom, but the government has yet to take any decisive steps toward cracking down on this harmful substance. In the meantime, those looking for a quick pick-me-up should “feel free” to pass on this potentially venomous snake oil.

​Wellness, Kratom, Feel free, Opioids, Fda, Lifestyle 

Readers of Blaze News may recall the recent tale involving a male caught on surveillance video chucking a bottle of Orange Crush at a Florida convenience store worker and knocking out the victim.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched to the Seven Star store at 6940 Old Highway 37 in Bradley regarding a physical attack against a store employee on the evening of Aug. 3.

‘You ain’t gonna do nothin’ to me, boy!’

Authorities said first responders found the adult male victim “bleeding profusely” above his right eye — an injury that required 10 stitches and apparently resulted in a concussion.

An investigation revealed that a suspect entered the store along with two other men and accused the victim of “staring at him,” officials said.

The victim told the suspect to get his items and leave, officials said. But as you might guess, the suspect apparently didn’t take too kindly to the directive.

Authorities said the victim and suspect continued to “loudly” exchange words, after which the suspect “threw a full, unopened, plastic 2-liter [bottle] of Orange Crush at the victim’s head.”

The victim fell unconscious, officials said, and the suspect and his friends left the store.

In the below video of the attack, the suspect appears to state, “You ain’t gonna do nothin’ to me, boy!” after knocking the store employee to the floor.

RELATED: Florida thug caught on video knocking out store clerk with 2-liter bottle of Orange Crush. What set him off is an eye-opener.

Detectives identified the suspect as 30-year old Terry Lamar Johnson Jr. of Mulberry, officials said, adding that an arrest warrant was obtained for Johnson with a charge of felony battery causing great bodily harm, and cops began looking for him.

The sheriff’s office previously told Blaze News that Johnson was in jail in May after a charge of possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended or revoked license. The sheriff’s office also told Blaze News that Johnson in the past had been charged with grand theft, aggravated assault, battery, resisting, and “numerous” weapons violations.

Below is Johnson’s previous mugshot:

RELATED: Violent suspect actually bites K-9’s ear amid arrest, Florida sheriff says: ‘You can’t make this stuff up’

Terry Lamar Johnson Jr. Image source: Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office

Johnson finally was captured last Thursday, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office told Blaze News that Johnson’s charge of felony battery causing great bodily harm is a third-degree charge and that he posted a $10,000 bond Saturday just after midnight. The sheriff’s office added that Johnson’s arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 22.

The penalty in Florida for a felony battery causing great bodily harm conviction is up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

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

​Felony battery causing great bodily harm, Florida, Polk county sheriff’s office, Physical attack, Staring, Knocked out, Orange crush bottle, Arrested, Crime 

Trans-identifying degenerates have carried out or attempted to carry out a number of mass shootings in recent years.

For instance, in March 2023, a trans-identifying woman stormed into a Presbyterian elementary school in Nashville and murdered three 9-year-old children — Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs — and three adults — teacher Cynthia Peak, custodian Mike Hill, and head of school Katherine Koonce.

‘She identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.’

In April 2024, a male-identifying woman planned to shoot up an elementary school and a high school in Maryland but was thankfully stopped in time by police, then later convicted.

The liberal media has consistently used used the preferred pronouns of these and other murderous trans-identifying criminals in an apparent effort to coddle the offenders and to placate LGBT activists.

A trans-identifying man formerly known as Robert Westman shot up a Catholic church full of children in Minneapolis on Wednesday, injuring 17 and killing two kids, ages 8 and 10. After the shooter was revealed to be a so-called “transgender,” the media once again feverishly rushed to accommodate and reinforce this delusion.

CNN talking head Jake Tapper noted on his show that the gunman’s mother “applied to change her child’s name in 2019. It was at one point Robert Paul Westman.”

“But since she identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification, was underage, it’s now Robin Westman,” continued Tapper, faithfully employing the killer’s preferred pronouns.

RELATED: Attacks against American Catholics and churches are out of control

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

While Newsweek initially referred to the shooter using male pronouns, it updated its article on the gunman, referring to him as a “her.” The Daily Mail went the distance, using both she and her pronouns in reference to the dead man.

‘If you’ve noticed, they are misgendering and dead-naming the murderer.’

In a section that has since been scrubbed, the Washington Post referred to the shooter as Mary Westman’s “daughter” — a term the publication Le Monde also used in reference to Mary Westman’s murderous son — and called the gunman a “she.” The Post later added that the gunman was “assigned male at birth.”

While the Independent dared to call Westman a “he,” it similarly referred to the trans-identified shooter as a plurality, using the possessive pronoun “their.”

The New Republic and the Guardian both opted to avoid male pronouns although the former noted that Westman “shot themself in the back of the church” and the latter stated that Westman “killed themself.”

When several liberal publications correctly referred to the trans-identifying female shooter behind the Covenant School massacre in 2023 as a woman, James Kirchick, a contributing writer to the New York Times, aped out, telling Bill Maher, “If you’ve noticed, they are misgendering and dead-naming the murderer. Right? They are referring to the murderer by their given name, not their chosen name … referring to her as a woman, as opposed to what her identity apparently was — was a man.”

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears weighed in, telling Maher and the liberal writer, “Hang on, you know what: This person murdered six people. I don’t really care who you say you are. You murdered six people, and three of them were children.”

“You don’t get a say,” continued Earle-Sears, noting that’s a forgone conclusion in this case because “she’s dead now, so you know.”

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

​Church shooting, Minneapolis, Annunciation, Catholic, Catholic church, Mass shooting, Tranny, Troon, Transgender, Transvestite, Robert westman, Robin westman, Media, Liberal media, Jake tapper, Politics 

“Individual and human rights, liberty, and equality predate governments because they do not originate from governments.”

This is a line out of Mark Levin’s new book, “On Power” — a deep dive into the nature of power, its historical roots, and its impact on liberty and governance in America.

It’s also a reiteration of the most critical part of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

“Those two sentences are so important,” says Levin.

He explains that this idea that “God is sovereign and God’s children on earth are His sovereign children” is what distinguishes America – a “fusion of the Judeo-Christian value system” and “the Enlightenment” — from “Marxism and all the isms.” We the people get to decide how we’re governed.

If this is who America is, then why do we have bureaucrats and unelected judges calling so many of the shots?

“The bureaucracy has nothing to do with the consent of the governed,” Levin condemns, castigating the unelected judges and bureaucrats who continue to “devour the powers of the executive.”

This clash between America’s founding principles of individual liberty and the opposing ideology of centralized control by unaccountable powers is unsustainable, he argues.

“The basis for America’s founding and the ideology of the American Marxists are utterly incompatible,” he says, pointing to the “power struggle that exists today and has for 100 years or more” between worldviews about individual liberty and centralized control.

Levin’s “On Power” calls for reclaiming the consent of the governed, urging Americans to resist encroachments on their God-given rights by unaccountable powers, echoing the revolutionary spirit of the Declaration.

If you haven’t already, get your copy today.

Want more from Mark Levin?

To enjoy more of “the Great One” — Mark Levin as you’ve never seen him before — subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Levintv, Mark levin, Blazetv, Blaze media, Declaration of independence, Bureaucracy, Unelected judges, We the people, Marxism 

John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, is reportedly under investigation for allegedly mishandling classified information. If held to his own standard, then his days as a free man might be numbered.

Nearly a year after the FBI’s 2022 raid of Trump’s Palm Beach residence, Jack Smith — the special counsel illegally appointed by Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland — charged Trump with supposedly mishandling classified information.

‘Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreements.’

Bolton was among those who rushed to attack the president, happily touring liberal newsrooms with smears and speculation. He told Biden press secretary turned MSNBC talking head Jen Psaki, for instance, that he was “pretty confident” the allegations in the Trump indictment were true.

While admittedly oblivious to the contents of the documents that Trump supposedly retained, Bolton told CNN, “They did go to absolute, the most important secrets that the United States has, directly affecting national security, directly affecting the lives and safety of our service members and our civilian population. If he has anything like what … the indictment alleges, and of course the government will have to prove it, then he has committed very serious crimes.”

“This really is a rifle shot,” Bolton said in reference to the indictment, “and I think it should be the end of Donald Trump’s political career.”

While Trump’s case was ultimately dismissed, Bolton’s troubles with the law are apparently beginning to snowball.

RELATED: Jack Smith tried to take Trump off the board. Now he’s set for a reckoning.

FBI conducts authorized search of Bolton’s house on Aug. 22. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The FBI raided Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, on the morning of Aug. 22 on FBI Director Kash Patel’s orders. Later in the day, federal agents searched Bolton’s Washington, D.C., office.

A top U.S. official told the New York Post that the raid was in connection with a resurrected probe involving Bolton’s alleged use of a private email server to send classified national security documents to family members from his work desk prior to his September 2019 dismissal by Trump.

The official told the Post, “While Bolton was a national security adviser, he was literally stealing classified information, utilizing his family as a cutout.”

‘Washed up Creepster John Bolton is a lowlife who should be in jail.’

In Trump’s first term, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into whether Bolton disclosed classified information in his book, “The Room Where It Happened,” after first proving unable to stop the publication of the book with a lawsuit.

The Trump administration failed to secure an injunction because Bolton’s book had already made its way into the hands of booksellers.

“Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreements,” wrote U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. “The government sufficiently alleges that Bolton disclosed information without confirming that the information was unclassified.”

Lamberth noted further that while “Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm,” “with hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe — many in newsrooms — the damage is done.”

RELATED: Gabbard CLEANS HOUSE after warning Brennan, Clapper ‘have a lot of their own people’ squirreled away

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump noted in June 2020, “Washed up Creepster John Bolton is a lowlife who should be in jail, money seized, for disseminating, for profit, highly Classified information.”

The case was referred to the DOJ by then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, but the resulting investigation was torpedoed by President Joe Biden’s administration for “political reasons,” according a top U.S. official.

The probe has been reopened — and it appears that the stakes are higher than previously acknowledged, as Bolton’s alleged carelessness was exploited by a foreign regime.

Individuals said to be familiar with the investigation but speaking on the condition of anonymity recently told the New York Times that the U.S. gathered data from an adversarial country’s spy service and found emails containing sensitive information that Bolton allegedly sent to individuals “close to him” on an unclassified system while still working for the Trump administration.

It is presently unclear which adversarial nation obtained the emails.

The individuals familiar with the probe indicated that the emails contained information apparently taken from classified documents Bolton had seen while serving as Trump’s national security adviser.

Bolton is evidently taking the investigation seriously, having reportedly had discussions with Abbe Lowell, the high-profile criminal defense attorney who has represented pardoned felon Hunter Biden, New York state Attorney General Letitia James, and ex-Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook.

The White House referred Blaze News to the DOJ for comment, which declined to comment when pressed by the Times. Bolton also reportedly declined to comment.

On his first day back in office, Trump revoked any security clearances Bolton might have held.

Trump noted that the publication of Bolton’s memoir “created a grave risk that classified material was publicly exposed” and “undermined the ability of future presidents to request and obtain candid advice on matters of national security from their staff.”

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

​John bolton, Classified documents, Classified, Bolton, National security, Fbi, Leak, Investigation, Abbe lowell, Crime, Criminal, Politics 

Jan Fletcher, 78, was alone during the day recently when her home surveillance camera captured a young male getting off his bike, walking up her driveway, and approaching her on the porch of her south Louisville home, WLKY-TV reported.

The male asks Fletcher, “Is somebody in there? I don’t want to wake them. Is somebody in there?”

Fletcher responds, “Yeah. Why?”

‘She didn’t deserve that.’

The station said the male was asking for directions to a well-known neighborhood park. But then he got all the way on the porch, walked behind Fletcher, and acted as though he was dusting something off her rear end.

But the situation grew scarier.

RELATED: Young girls escape molester by kicking him in the groin at Fourth of July celebration, police say

WLKY said the male repeatedly and violently groped Fletcher until she was able to stop him.

“I was so mad that it happened,” Fletcher recalled to the station during an on-camera interview. “I was thinking, ‘What could I have done different?’ But I don’t know what I could have done differently.”

Her granddaughter Jessica Powell-Page was understandably horrified and told WLKY that “she didn’t deserve that” and that the incident was “unacceptable.”

Louisville police told the station they’re investigating the incident but haven’t yet identified the male.

Despite the disturbing encounter, Fletcher noted to WLKY that she’s lived in her neighborhood for 55 years and has felt safe — and that she’s not going anywhere.

“I’ve been asked if I’m afraid to sit here on my porch, and I’m not,” she noted to the station defiantly. “I want him to know you’re not scaring me. Absolutely not. So every day that it’s nice weather, I will be on my porch.”

Louisville police told WLKY that “the elderly are often the victims of scams, harassment, and home invasion, which often start with suspicious questions at the door.” Police also offered the following tips, the station said:

Trust your instincts. If a person or situation makes you feel uneasy, trust your gut feeling. Acknowledge the potential threat and take action to stay safe.
Take note of your surroundings. Pay attention to potential hiding spots for an attacker, such as alleys, doorways, large bushes, or between parked vans. When walking past these areas, give them a wide berth.
Look for warning signs. Stay alert for suspicious behaviors, like someone following you on foot or in a vehicle. If you notice this, change directions, cross the street, or enter a business to signal that you have noticed them.

WLKY added that those with information regarding the incident can offer anonymous tips at 502-574-5673.

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

​Sexual assault, Caught on video, Grandmother, Front porch, Louisville, Kentucky, Suspect at large, Groped, Assault, Crime 

Our lives revolve around technology these days, whether we like it or not. Even if we don’t work in a tech-y field or care much at all about the latest technological developments coming out of Silicon Valley, our lives are shaped by digital advancement.

Take the way we communicate. It’s so different from when I was a kid. Video calling? That was something futuristic. Unheard of. Now my kids talk to their grandparents on FaceTime every day.

If the internet was a one-way street, the Zoomers wouldn’t be much different from us. If it was basically super-TV, their emotional calibration would be recognizable.

Email. I didn’t have one until a couple of years into high school. I remember when we had dial-up. No, I remember when we got dial-up! My parents had one email address, and they checked it every week or so.

Of course, we can’t forget texting. We carry on conversations with 10 different people all over the country. Or maybe all over the world! We also have social media. What is that? Imagine telling yourself about X and Instagram in 1992. What a world this is.

Zooming ahead

The profound impacts of technology are so great, and we are constantly in the midst of it. I’m not sure there’s enough time to stop and really realize how it’s changed both our world and us. It’s changed us all, not exactly for the better. But I think it’s changed some more than others, and I think it’s changed Generation Z (the Zoomers) the most.

It’s hard to get my head around the Zoomers. I know them, I see them, I hear them, but I can’t quite understand them. There’s something profoundly different about them, beyond the usual generational gaps: the music, the language, the clothing, the general aesthetic sensibilities. It’s something deeper in the way they think and, most importantly, feel.

All generations have a spirit that isn’t so easily understood from the outside. It’s the logic of the time in which they were brought up, the essence of the world at that moment in history. Sometimes it’s easy to pinpoint direct connections between economic realities, global conflicts, collective anxieties, broad societal changes, and how a generation is, for lack of a better word.

The Zoomers have that too, of course. It explains some of who they are, but not all. At a deeper level, the real difference between the Zoomers and the rest of us is technology — and how they and their feelings were shaped by technology.

Emotional calibration

The emotional calibration of the Zoomers is different from ours. All of us — Boomers, Millennials, Gen X’ers, and any of the Greatest Generation that are still alive — were emotionally calibrated offline. Even if we have since embraced the technological world with open arms, even if we are just as plugged in as the Zoomers are today, the way we emotionally relate to others and the world as a whole was shaped offline.

If the internet was a one-way street, the Zoomers wouldn’t be much different from us. If it was basically super-TV, their emotional calibration would be recognizable. They might have 50,000 channels to watch instead of 35; they might have digital access to every book in the world rather than going down to the library just to brow a few thousand old titles; but our difference would be merely a matter of degree.

8 billion ways to cry

But the internet is not super-TV. It isn’t a one-way street. It’s not even a two-way street; it’s an 8-billion-way street. It’s another world, and it’s the world they grew up in. The real thing that altered the emotional calibration of the Zoomers was extremely early exposure to social media, comment sections, algorithms, and pervasive anonymous interaction.

It’s profound, fascinating, and sad. I don’t think I can begin to accurately explore what all the implications are. I don’t think I can actually explain it, really. I don’t think any of us can. Only Zoomers can do it, but they would also need to be self-aware of all these facts, historically literate, emotionally robust, psychologically fearless, and with a real, strong sense of the worlds before them and what they actually were. That’s a tall order for any generation.

RELATED: Cut the Zoomers some slack

Blaze News Illustratiion

Different cement

I don’t know how to explain all the ways the Zoomer’s emotional calibration is different. But I can feel it, and you can too. And I know the reason. It’s the technology. The social aspect of the internet shaped a different of kind of emotional base for them.

Can it be reversed? I don’t think so. I think they will forever be different from us. Even when they get older and enter more mature seasons of life, they will remain different. The foundation was poured with different cement.

This is why they are, somewhere deep down, something of an enigma to the rest of us. We were raised in an embodied world. The Zoomers were raised in a disembodied one.

​Menswear, Fatherhood, Family life, Generation z, Zoomers, Social media, Tech, The root of the matter