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TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Morning Brief 2022-06-07

June 07, 2022
Chris Brady

Top of Hour 2
GUEST: Alex Berenson
TOPIC: Discussing his lawsuit against Twitter for banning him for 'COVID misinformation.'

Top of Hour 3
GUEST: Brad Meltzer
TOPIC: Discussing his two newest books: 'I am Dolly Parton' & 'I am I.M. Pei'

CB, JB, SK, RR

Domestic News...

Biden's America: Germany airlifts baby formula to Texas
A plane carrying more than 110,000 pounds of specialty baby formula from Germany is expected to land in Fort Worth later this week.

From firebombing protesters to lying FBI agents, a two-tier justice system sharpens in focus
While holding firm in its promise to prosecute J6 offenders to the max, Biden's Justice Department made a curious move last week. It withdrew its own plea deal with two lawyers accused of using Molotov cocktails during George Floyd riots in NYC and allowed the defendants to plea to different charges that carried less prison time.

Proud Boys charged with ‘seditious conspiracy’ related to Capitol riot
Prosecutors said they had encouraged people to attend the "Stop the Steal" rally, obtained concealed tactical vests, protective equipment, and radio equipment, dressed “incognito”, lead the crowd onto Capitol grounds, stormed past barricades and “assaulting law enforcement officers.”

Adams calls NYC’s criminal justice system ‘laughingstock of our entire country’
Adams lashed out at prosecutors and judges Monday for cutting loose suspected shooters to unleash more gunfire on the Big Apple’s streets — saying the “bad guys no longer take them seriously.”

NY Gov restricts gun ownership to 21 and up, bars citizens from buying body armor, bulletproof vests
Unelected New York Governor Kathy Hochul also signed a law establishing a "task force on social media and violent extremism" which requires those suspected of "bias-related violence and intimidation" to be reported to authorities.

Pols ignore mass shootings we can do something about: gang violence
It doesn’t make any sense to strike a pose against gun violence in general without taking on this scourge in particular — unless striking the pose is the point.

New York Officials Fear Supreme Court Ruling Will Mean More Gun Crime
Across the city and state, authorities are bracing for a ruling, expected from the United States Supreme Court this month, which could strike down a century-old New York State law that places strict limits on the carrying of handguns.

Video shows man violently toss woman onto Bronx subway tracks
Newly released video captured the horrifying moment a man violently tossed a 52-year-old woman onto the subway tracks in the Bronx on Sunday.

Far-left Philly DA blames NRA for shooting
But the mayor says there is 'no price to pay for carrying illegal guns'

9 Big Things We Learned From The Michael Sussmann Prosecution
While we have learned much from the Sussmann prosecution, we still don’t know whether Durham intends to hold the Crossfire Hurricane team responsible.

Soros spent $40 million to elect 75 ‘social justice’ prosecutors: Report
Soros and his groups have helped to elect prosecutors in whose cities jailings have plummeted and crime has surged.

Babylon Bee: Emperor Palpatine Builds A Bigger, Even More Powerful Death Star Equipped With A 9mm
The Death Star's blast is now said to be so powerful it can blow the core out of a planet.

Politics...

Biden wants to get out more, seething that his standing is now worse than Trump’s
Frustrations are mounting and the window for a political revival is closing.

Radar Online: White House Refuses To Comment On Hunter Biden's Naked, Illegal Gun-Toting Pictures
According to Radar, the gun was illegally obtained as Hunter lied on an application about his past drug use. Making a false statement on a federal criminal background check, known as ATF Form 4473, is a violation of federal law under Section 922(a)(6) of the U.S. criminal code.

Definitely didn't slip his mind: Biden issues D-Day remembrance tweet hours after his bedtime
Biden issues D-Day remembrance tweet after skipping it his first year in office... late in the evening, as the day already passed in France.

Joe Biden on track to take more vacation days than most recent presidents
Biden is on track to take more vacation days than his recent predecessors and, if he continues at this pace, will spend more than 550 days on vacation.

Unrelated Movie Review: Weekend at Bernie's II
This time out, the inept trio pack themselves off to St. Thomas, in search of the $2 million Bernie embezzled.

Poll: Most Americans say Trump only somewhat to blame or not really to blame for Jan. 6
Only 45 percent of Americans say Trump was “solely” or “mainly” responsible for the rioting on Jan. 6, the new polls says, according to NBC News, adding that 55 percent say Trump was only somewhat responsible or not really responsible for the Capitol riots.

CNN Pollster Says Republicans Are In The 'Best Position' For Midterms In Over 80 Years
Enten collected public support for both parties at this point in the midterm cycle from 1938 to today and found Republicans are up by 2-points on the generic ballot. “It beats 2010 when Republicans were up a point...”

NY Times: Democrats Can Win This Fall if They Make One Key Promise
Polls show that roughly two in three Americans oppose overturning Roe and almost 60 percent support passing a bill to set Roe’s protections in a federal law. What’s more, polls showed a rising number of voters listing abortion as their top midterm issue.

California voters poised to decide primary races for governor, senator and 52 House seats
The most populous state in the nation has some competitive races to follow as well as some high-profile incumbents up for reelection.

Matthew McConaughey meets lawmakers as Capitol Hill talks guns
McConaughey expressed support for raising the minimum age to 21 nationwide to purchase so-called assault weapons, in particular AR-15s, and implementing a national red flag system. He also backs background checks and a national waiting period.

AOC calls out Dems who won’t say ‘Latinx’
Polling data indicates most Hispanics don’t use the term or virulently object to it.

Economy...

Gas Prices Have More Than Doubled Since Biden Took Office
According to AAA, the nationwide average for a gallon of regular fuel reached a new record of $4.87 on Monday, a 101 percent increase from the $2.42 when Biden was inaugurated in January 2021.

More states hit $5 a gallon gas prices
In total, more than one out of every five gas stations nationwide are now charging more than $5 a gallon for regular.

A record-high Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in 2023 may affect program’s depletion dates
The last time the federal agency announced a bigger annual bump was in 1981 when there was an 11.2% increase.

Housing wealth gains a record $1.2 trillion, but there are signs the market is cooling
In total, the nation’s so-called tappable equity stood at $11 trillion, or two times the previous peak in 2006.

Kim Dotcom Predicts ‘Great Economic Reset’, Is Crypto a Solution?
The internet entrepreneur and political activist took to Twitter with his predictions of economic collapse.

Punctuality Is Having a Moment
“Fashionably late” falls out of fashion after more than two years of remote work, when, for many people, there was no good reason to be tardy.

Border...

Up to 6K join new caravan through Mexico, call for Title 42 repeal
The caravan began its journey from Tapachula, less than 10 miles from Mexico’s border with Guatemala, a departure timed to coincide with the start of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.

WAR News...

Top EU diplomat blasts Putin for airstrike on massive grain terminal in Ukraine
"Another Russian missile strike contributing to the global food crisis. Russian forces have destroyed the second biggest grain terminal in Ukraine, in Mykolaiv," EU Rep Josep Borrell said on Monday.

Guerrilla attacks deep inside Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory signal a rising resistance to Russian occupation
The Kremlin-backed mayor of the Ukrainian town of Enerhodar was standing on his mother’s porch when a powerful blast struck, leaving him critically wounded.

MONKEYVID-2219...

Australia leads the way on New World Order
“It has been revealed Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has a data agency to monitor Victorians’ everyday activities, including social media sentiment and credit card transactions. It was set up as part of the government’s Covid response in August 2020.

Here We Go Again: Biden’s CDC Recommends Masks For Monkeypox
The CDC upgraded the monkeypox alert to level 2 on Monday, advising travelers to practice enhanced precautions, including wearing a mask.

82 million COVID-19 vaccine doses discarded in US: Report
Nearly 11% of distributed doses in the United States have reportedly gone to waste from December 2020 through mid-May.

Entertainment...

Paramount sued over ‘Top Gun’ copyright
The family of the author whose article inspired the original 1986 “Top Gun” is suing Paramount, stating that the studio failed to reacquire the rights to Ehud Yonay’s 1983 article, “Top Guns.”

Suit claiming Kevin Spacey sexually abused teen can move forward, judge rules
When Rapp was 14, Spacey allegedly “grazed” his buttocks and laid his body partially across him before the teen was able to “wriggle out” of Spacey’s grip.

Media...

NY Times: Violent Crime Is Up as Cities Lose Police Officers. What Now?
What happened in Uvalde is especially bad for the reputation of the police because it dispels the machismo and heroism that are so often trotted out when law enforcement does something wrong, including killing someone who is unarmed.

Democracy Dies At The Hands Of Taylor Lorenz And Every Other Bad Hire At The Washington Post
The Washington Post is doubling down on its lie-ridden articles and supporting problematic staff like disgraced doxxer Taylor Lorenz.

Washington Post suspends reporter without pay for retweeting joke
David Weigel had shared a tweet that said, "Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it's polar or sexual," after which, fellow reporter Felicia Sonmez said it was "fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed."

Europe...

Boris Johnson Survives ‘No Confidence’ Vote
Johnson carried the vote 211-148 — a majority of 63 — despite needing only a simple majority to retain his office.

Middle East...

Israel’s Government Teeters Again, Losing Vote on Law that Supports West Bank Settlers
The vote’s failure — from defections within the governing bloc and a power move by usually pro-settler opposition lawmakers — could topple the government and throw a lifeline to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

South America...

Colombia’s presidential race will decide if the country goes the way of Venezuela
“My political awakening came in the late 1960s when I saw my father cry over the death of Argentine revolutionary leader Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara,” recalls Gustavo Petro, former urban guerrilla and hard-left candidate who could become Colombia’s next president.

Environment...

Biden to invoke Defense Production Act for clean energy
The upcoming announcement said Biden would "take steps to provide U.S. solar deployers the short-term stability they need to build clean energy projects."

Biden Waives Solar Tariffs In Massive Win For Chinese Industry
The move came in response to complaints from the green energy industry and Democratic lawmakers that an active Commerce Department probe into Chinese companies’ tariff violations was slowing the admin’s clean energy goals.

I Rented an Electric Car for a Four-Day Road Trip. I Spent More Time Charging It Than I Did Sleeping.
Our writer drove from New Orleans to Chicago and back to test the feasibility of taking a road trip in an EV. She wouldn’t soon do it again.

LGBTQIA2S+...

The 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All-Time
Today, transphobia is rampant among the queer community, and there are still plenty of issues (biphobia, acephobia), histories, and experiences that the best-educated queer person needs to be willing to open themselves up to and learn more about.

Texas lawmaker to bring bill to BAN minors from drag shows
"The events of this past weekend were horrifying and show a disturbing trend in which perverted adults are obsessed with sexualizing young children."

I’m in a relationship with my 1998 Chevy Monte Carlo - and our sex life is so special
Nathaniel suffers from objectophilia, whereby individuals develop strong sexual or romantic feelings for a specific inanimate object. Some academics have theorized that the condition could be linked with autism.

Education...

WSJ: Biden’s decision on student loan forgiveness is likely to come in July or August
There’s no precedent for such a move.

Facebook Factcheckers Are Wrong: An Illinois School Is Changing Grading Based On Race
There is a very clear reason school administrators are implementing these changes, and it has everything to do with race.

Health...

Volcano burn survivor removes face mask for first time
Stephanie Browitt was one of 47 tourists exploring the volcano on Dec. 9, 2019, when it erupted, spewing gases, rock and ash. Twenty-two of the tourists were killed, including Browitt’s father and younger sister.

Technology...

Musk accuses Twitter of ‘resisting and thwarting’ his right to information on fake accounts
“Mr. Musk reserves all rights resulting therefrom, including his right not to consummate the transaction and his right to terminate the merger agreement”

Why Elon Musk and Bill Gates, two of the world’s richest men, can’t help but feud over Twitter
“Bill is an opinionated guy and so is Elon. So [the spat] doesn’t surprise me. But I don’t think Bill particularly likes it.”

Apple announces editable text messages
Apple also announced that it is bringing multiple notable updates to its Messages app. These include an edit button and the ability to unsend a message and mark threads as "unread."

Science...

Glenn's Tarot Card Reading For June 7, 2022
Aquarius - Life can be all rainbows and sunshine for you. You have so many things that you are optimistic about and ought to be for good reason. There's nothing you cannot accomplish.

NASA reveals new, next-gen spacesuits
“When we get to the Moon, we will have our first person of color and our first woman that will be wearers and users of these suits in space,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

UFO spotted during the Queen's Jubilee celebration?
“Just watched the BigJetTV angle again, this goes WAY too fast to be a drone or balloon in the wind. I'm inclined to say this is a genuine [Unidentified Aerial Phenomena]."

UFO at the Miami Air and Sea Show?
In the clip, a jet plane is seen flying over a large crowd of people at the beach. Then something small seemingly emerges from the water, and shoots straight up at a great speed.

Sports...

First 'trans' cheerleader in NFL to make debut with Carolina Panthers
While NFL cheerleading squads had allowed men to join the roster starting in the late 90's, Lindsay will be the first man who claims he's a woman to join.

Walmart heir expected to purchase Denver Broncos for record-setting $4.5 billion
If the final purchase price ends up being $4.5 billion, that would smash the American record for most money ever paid for a sports team. The record is currently held by the Nets, who sold for $2.35 billion in August 2019.

Pickleball is the Hamptons’ hottest amenity
It is a cross between, tennis, ping-pong and badminton, and its the trendy 'sport' to play.

Animals...

Video: Cow Causes Chaos On Oklahoma Interstate, Cowboys Save The Day
A local TV helicopter captured footage of cowboys taking down the cow on the streets of OKC.

2007: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, cu labores definitionem mel, ex nisl conclusionemque sed

2012: Ea sed ocurreret disputando, amet salutatus pri ex, dico facer nec ea. Ad nonumy insolens eos, sed cu facete ornatus urbanitas, ut euripidis dissentiunt eum.

2020: Nam diam saperet accumsan ea, id tacimates dignissim cum, id mea audiam ceteros.

Why do Americans feel so empty?

Mario Tama / Staff | Getty Images

Anxiety, anger, and chronic dissatisfaction signal a country searching for meaning. Without truth and purpose, politics becomes a dangerous substitute for identity.

We have built a world overflowing with noise, convenience, and endless choice, yet something essential has slipped out of reach. You can sense it in the restless mood of the country, the anxiety among young people who cannot explain why they feel empty, in the angry confusion that dominates our politics.

We have more wealth than any nation in history, but the heart of the culture feels strangely malnourished. Before we can debate debt or elections, we must confront the reality that we created a world of things, but not a world of purpose.

You cannot survive a crisis you refuse to name, and you cannot rebuild a world whose foundations you no longer understand.

What we are living through is not just economic or political dysfunction. It is the vacuum that appears when a civilization mistakes abundance for meaning.

Modern life is stuffed with everything except what the human soul actually needs. We built systems to make life faster, easier, and more efficient — and then wondered why those systems cannot teach our children who they are, why they matter, or what is worth living for.

We tell the next generation to chase success, influence, and wealth, turning childhood into branding. We ask kids what they want to do, not who they want to be. We build a world wired for dopamine rather than dignity, and then we wonder why so many people feel unmoored.

When everything is curated, optimized, and delivered at the push of a button, the question “what is my life for?” gets lost in the static.

The crisis beneath the headlines

It is not just the young who feel this crisis. Every part of our society is straining under the weight of meaninglessness.

Look at the debt cycle — the mathematical fate no civilization has ever escaped once it crosses a threshold that we seem to have already blown by. While ordinary families feel the pressure, our leaders respond with distraction, with denial, or by rewriting the very history that could have warned us.

You cannot survive a crisis you refuse to name, and you cannot rebuild a world whose foundations you no longer understand.

We have entered a cultural moment where the noise is so loud that it drowns out the simplest truths. We are living in a country that no longer knows how to hear itself think.

So people go searching. Some drift toward the false promise of socialism, some toward the empty thrill of rebellion. Some simply check out. When a culture forgets what gives life meaning, it becomes vulnerable to every ideology that offers a quick answer.

The quiet return of meaning

And yet, quietly, something else is happening. Beneath the frustration and cynicism, many Americans are recognizing that meaning does not come from what we own, but from what we honor. It does not rise from success, but from virtue. It does not emerge from noise, but from the small, sacred things that modern life has pushed to the margins — the home, the table, the duty you fulfill, the person you help when no one is watching.

The danger is assuming that this rediscovery happens on its own. It does not.

Reorientation requires intention. It requires rebuilding the habits and virtues that once held us together. It requires telling the truth about our history instead of rewriting it to fit today’s narratives. And it requires acknowledging what has been erased: that meaning is inseparable from God’s presence in a nation’s life.

Harold M. Lambert / Contributor | Getty Images

Where renewal begins

We have built a world without stillness, and then we wondered why no one can hear the questions that matter. Those questions remain, whether we acknowledge them or not. They do not disappear just because we drown them in entertainment or noise. They wait for us, and the longer we ignore them, the more disoriented we become.

Meaning is still available. It is found in rebuilding the smallest, most human spaces — the places that cannot be digitized, globalized, or automated. The home. The family. The community.

These are the daily virtues that do not trend on social media, but that hold a civilization upright. If we want to repair this country, we begin there, exactly where every durable civilization has always begun: one virtue at a time, one tradition at a time, one generation at a time.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

A break in trust: A NEW Watergate is brewing in plain sight

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

When institutions betray the public’s trust, the country splits, and the spiral is hard to stop.

Something drastic is happening in American life. Headlines that should leave us stunned barely register anymore. Stories that once would have united the country instead dissolve into silence or shrugs.

It is not apathy exactly. It is something deeper — a growing belief that the people in charge either cannot or will not fix what is broken.

When people feel ignored or betrayed, they will align with anyone who appears willing to fight on their behalf.

I call this response the Bubba effect. It describes what happens when institutions lose so much public trust that “Bubba,” the average American minding his own business, finally throws his hands up and says, “Fine. I will handle it myself.” Not because he wants to, but because the system that was supposed to protect him now feels indifferent, corrupt, or openly hostile.

The Bubba effect is not a political movement. It is a survival instinct.

What triggers the Bubba effect

We are watching the triggers unfold in real time. When members of Congress publicly encourage active duty troops to disregard orders from the commander in chief, that is not a political squabble. When a federal judge quietly rewrites the rules so one branch of government can secretly surveil another, that is not normal. That is how republics fall. Yet these stories glided across the news cycle without urgency, without consequence, without explanation.

When the American people see the leadership class shrug, they conclude — correctly — that no one is steering the ship.

This is how the Bubba effect spreads. It is not just individuals resisting authority. It is sheriffs refusing to enforce new policies, school boards ignoring state mandates, entire communities saying, “We do not believe you anymore.” It becomes institutional, cultural, national.

A country cracking from the inside

This effect can be seen in Dearborn, Michigan. In the rise of fringe voices like Nick Fuentes. In the Epstein scandal, where powerful people could not seem to locate a single accountable adult. These stories are different in content but identical in message: The system protects itself, not you.

When people feel ignored or betrayed, they will align with anyone who appears willing to fight on their behalf. That does not mean they suddenly agree with everything that person says. It means they feel abandoned by the institutions that were supposed to be trustworthy.

The Bubba effect is what fills that vacuum.

The dangers of a faithless system

A republic cannot survive without credibility. Congress cannot oversee intelligence agencies if it refuses to discipline its own members. The military cannot remain apolitical if its chain of command becomes optional. The judiciary cannot defend the Constitution while inventing loopholes that erase the separation of powers.

History shows that once a nation militarizes politics, normalizes constitutional shortcuts, or allows government agencies to operate without scrutiny, it does not return to equilibrium peacefully. Something will give.

The question is what — and when.

The responsibility now belongs to us

In a healthy country, this is where the media steps in. This is where universities, pastors, journalists, and cultural leaders pause the outrage machine and explain what is at stake. But today, too many see themselves not as guardians of the republic, but of ideology. Their first loyalty is to narrative, not truth.

The founders never trusted the press more than the public. They trusted citizens who understood their rights, lived their responsibilities, and demanded accountability. That is the antidote to the Bubba effect — not rage, but citizenship.

How to respond without breaking ourselves

Do not riot. Do not withdraw. Do not cheer on destruction just because you dislike the target. That is how nations lose themselves. Instead, demand transparency. Call your representatives. Insist on consequences. Refuse to normalize constitutional violations simply because “everyone does it.” If you expect nothing, you will get nothing.

Do not hand your voice to the loudest warrior simply because he is swinging a bat at the establishment. You do not beat corruption by joining a different version of it. You beat it by modeling the country you want to preserve: principled, accountable, rooted in truth.

Adam Gray / Stringer | Getty Images

Every republic reaches a moment when historians will later say, “That was the warning.” We are living in ours. But warnings are gifts if they are recognized. Institutions bend. People fail. The Constitution can recover — if enough Americans still know and cherish it.

It does not take a majority. Twenty percent of the country — awake, educated, and courageous — can reset the system. It has happened before. It can happen again.

Wake up. Stand up. Demand integrity — from leaders, from institutions, and from yourself. Because the Bubba effect will not end until Americans reclaim the duty that has always belonged to them: preserving the republic for the next generation.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Grim warning: Bad-faith Israel critics duck REAL questions

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Bad-faith attacks on Israel and AIPAC warp every debate. Real answers emerge only when people set aside scripts and ask what serves America’s long-term interests.

The search for truth has always required something very much in short supply these days: honesty. Not performative questions, not scripted outrage, not whatever happens to be trending on TikTok, but real curiosity.

Some issues, often focused on foreign aid, AIPAC, or Israel, have become hotbeds of debate and disagreement. Before we jump into those debates, however, we must return to a simpler, more important issue: honest questioning. Without it, nothing in these debates matters.

Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

The phrase “just asking questions” has re-entered the zeitgeist, and that’s fine. We should always question power. But too many of those questions feel preloaded with someone else’s answer. If the goal is truth, then the questions should come from a sincere desire to understand, not from a hunt for a villain.

Honest desire for truth is the only foundation that can support a real conversation about these issues.

Truth-seeking is real work

Right now, plenty of people are not seeking the truth at all. They are repeating something they heard from a politician on cable news or from a stranger on TikTok who has never opened a history book. That is not a search for answers. That is simply outsourcing your own thought.

If you want the truth, you need to work for it. You cannot treat the world like a Marvel movie where the good guy appears in a cape and the villain hisses on command. Real life does not give you a neat script with the moral wrapped up in two hours.

But that is how people are approaching politics now. They want the oppressed and the oppressor, the heroic underdog and the cartoon villain. They embrace this fantastical framing because it is easier than wrestling with reality.

This framing took root in the 1960s when the left rebuilt its worldview around colonizers and the colonized. Overnight, Zionism was recast as imperialism. Suddenly, every conflict had to fit the same script. Today’s young activists are just recycling the same narrative with updated graphics. Everything becomes a morality play. No nuance, no context, just the comforting clarity of heroes and villains.

Bad-faith questions

This same mindset is fueling the sudden obsession with Israel, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in particular. You hear it from members of Congress and activists alike: AIPAC pulls the strings, AIPAC controls the government, AIPAC should register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The questions are dramatic, but are they being asked in good faith?

FARA is clear. The standard is whether an individual or group acts under the direction or control of a foreign government. AIPAC simply does not qualify.

Here is a detail conveniently left out of these arguments: Dozens of domestic organizations — Armenian, Cuban, Irish, Turkish — lobby Congress on behalf of other countries. None of them registers under FARA because — like AIPAC — they are independent, domestic organizations.

If someone has a sincere problem with the structure of foreign lobbying, fair enough. Let us have that conversation. But singling out AIPAC alone is not a search for truth. It is bias dressed up as bravery.

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

If someone wants to question foreign aid to Israel, fine. Let’s have that debate. But let’s ask the right questions. The issue is not the size of the package but whether the aid advances our interests. What does the United States gain? Does the investment strengthen our position in the region? How does it compare to what we give other nations? And do we examine those countries with the same intensity?

The real target

These questions reflect good-faith scrutiny. But narrowing the entire argument to one country or one dollar amount misses the larger problem. If someone objects to the way America handles foreign aid, the target is not Israel. The target is the system itself — an entrenched bureaucracy, poor transparency, and decades-old commitments that have never been re-examined. Those problems run through programs around the world.

If you want answers, you need to broaden the lens. You have to be willing to put aside the movie script and confront reality. You have to hold yourself to a simple rule: Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

That is the only way this country ever gets clarity on foreign aid, influence, alliances, and our place in the world. Questioning is not just allowed. It is essential. But only if it is honest.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The melting pot fails when we stop agreeing to melt

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Texas now hosts Quran-first academies, Sharia-compliant housing schemes, and rapidly multiplying mosques — all part of a movement building a self-contained society apart from the country around it.

It is time to talk honestly about what is happening inside America’s rapidly growing Muslim communities. In city after city, large pockets of newcomers are choosing to build insulated enclaves rather than enter the broader American culture.

That trend is accelerating, and the longer we ignore it, the harder it becomes to address.

As Texas goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the free world.

America has always welcomed people of every faith and people from every corner of the world, but the deal has never changed: You come here and you join the American family. You are free to honor your traditions, keep your faith, but you must embrace the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. You melt into the shared culture that allows all of us to live side by side.

Across the country, this bargain is being rejected by Islamist communities that insist on building a parallel society with its own rules, its own boundaries, and its own vision for how life should be lived.

Texas illustrates the trend. The state now has roughly 330 mosques. At least 48 of them were built in just the last 24 months. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex alone has around 200 Islamic centers. Houston has another hundred or so. Many of these communities have no interest in blending into American life.

This is not the same as past waves of immigration. Irish, Italian, Korean, Mexican, and every other group arrived with pride in their heritage. Still, they also raised American flags and wanted their children to be part of the country’s future. They became doctors, small-business owners, teachers, and soldiers. They wanted to be Americans.

What we are watching now is not the melting pot. It is isolation by design.

Parallel societies do not end well

More than 300 fundamentalist Islamic schools now operate full-time across the country. Many use Quran-first curricula that require students to spend hours memorizing religious texts before they ever reach math or science. In Dallas, Brighter Horizons Academy enrolls more than 1,700 students and draws federal support while operating on a social model that keeps children culturally isolated.

Then there is the Epic City project in Collin and Hunt counties — 402 acres originally designated only for Muslim buyers, with Sharia-compliant financing and a mega-mosque at the center. After public outcry and state investigations, the developers renamed it “The Meadows,” but a new sign does not erase the original intent. It is not a neighborhood. It is a parallel society.

Americans should not hesitate to say that parallel societies are dangerous. Europe tried this experiment, and the results could not be clearer. In Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, entire neighborhoods now operate under their own cultural rules, some openly hostile to Western norms. When citizens speak up, they are branded bigots for asserting a basic right: the ability to live safely in their own communities.

A crisis of confidence

While this separation widens, another crisis is unfolding at home. A recent Gallup survey shows that about 40% of American women ages 18 to 39 would leave the country permanently if given the chance. Nearly half of a rising generation — daughters, sisters, soon-to-be mothers — no longer believe this nation is worth building a future in.

And who shapes the worldview of young boys? Their mothers. If a mother no longer believes America is home, why would her child grow up ready to defend it?

As Texas goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the free world. If we lose confidence in our own national identity at the same time that we allow separatist enclaves to spread unchecked, the outcome is predictable. Europe is already showing us what comes next: cultural fracture, political radicalization, and the slow death of national unity.

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

Stand up and tell the truth

America welcomes Muslims. America defends their right to worship freely. A Muslim who loves the Constitution, respects the rule of law, and wants to raise a family in peace is more than welcome in America.

But an Islamist movement that rejects assimilation, builds enclaves governed by its own religious framework, and treats American law as optional is not simply another participant in our melting pot. It is a direct challenge to it. If we refuse to call this problem out out of fear of being called names, we will bear the consequences.

Europe is already feeling those consequences — rising conflict and a political class too paralyzed to admit the obvious. When people feel their culture, safety, and freedoms slipping away, they will follow anyone who promises to defend them. History has shown that over and over again.

Stand up. Speak plainly. Be unafraid. You can practice any faith in this country, but the supremacy of the Constitution and the Judeo-Christian moral framework that shaped it is non-negotiable. It is what guarantees your freedom in the first place.

If you come here and honor that foundation, welcome. If you come here to undermine it, you do not belong here.

Wake up to what is unfolding before the consequences arrive. Because when a nation refuses to say what is true, the truth eventually forces its way in — and by then, it is always too late.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.