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Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Morning Brief 2022-12-16

December 16, 2022
Chris Brady

No guests slated for today's show. Subject to change.

CB, RR, JB, SK, BM

Domestic News...

Did the CIA use Cuban exiles in plot involving Oswald? Questions remain as Biden withholds JFK records
Fueling speculation and conspiracy theories anew, the CIA again vetoed the publication Thursday of thousands of documents related to the assassination, which Biden had vowed to release.

CDC Removed Defensive Gun Use Stats After Gun-Control Advocates Pressured Officials in Private Meeting
The Centers For Disease Control deleted a reference to a study it commissioned after a group of gun-control advocates complained it made passing new restrictions more difficult.

Eight Works From Famed Artists That Sold for Less Than a Hunter Biden Painting
From Rembrandt's 'Pieter Haaring' to Picasso's 'Nature Morte,' not all masterworks can match Hunter's price point.

Son of Paul Pelosi's alleged attacker David DePape breaks his silence
"He isn't a danger to society, I don't even know if he even attacked Mr. Pelosi. For all that we know he was some sort of sex slave, as Elon Musk pointed out."

Black people should get $350,000 each in reparations, California committee hears
"It's a debt that's owed, we worked for free ... we're not asking; we're telling you. The tangibles of what I'm asking for is $350,000 per black American in California — that's tangible, small business grant $250,000, and land 15-20 acres."

Walmart to pay $3.1 billion in opioid epidemic settlement
The company had the gall to fill prescriptions.

Five Antifa members are charged with domestic terrorism
Cops swoop down on Atlanta autonomous zone and find explosives, after locals were ambushed and homes set alight.

'White supremacy': Presentation at Washington governor’s summit condemns objectivity, individualism
The presentation began with a “land acknowledgement,” stating that “we are on the traditional homelands of the Puyallup Tribe.”

Hundreds Of Yeti Coolers Are Washing Up After Spilling From Cargo Ship Last Year
“The coolers will keep circling the world. You’ll be getting reports of people finding Yetis for the next 30 years.” The coolers appear to be the most treasured find from the ship, ranging in price from $250 to $750.

Christmas News...

What the ’12 Days of Christmas’ will cost you with 2022’s inflation
Ten lords-a-leaping alone are up nearly 25%.

Christmas Lights and Your Energy Bill: How to Save Money
Since 2021, the national average cost of running Christmas lights has increased by $1.93, or 13%, bringing it to $16.48 in 2022.

Half of Oklahoma men wait until Christmas Eve to buy gifts, survey finds
The survey also found that 54% of us admit that buying our partner’s Christmas gift causes anxiety. One in three admitted they have secretly re-sold a gift their partner gave them for Christmas.

These online resources will help you gift more ethically this Christmas
It can be tricky deciphering what’s greenwashing and what’s legit.

Florida man throws, hits wife with Christmas tree after being asked to help make dinner
... the argument escalated when the woman put a spoon in the sink and accidentally splashed him.

Politics...

Trump Unveils Free Speech Policy Plan to ‘Shatter Left-Wing Censorship Regime’
Plans include revising Section 230, establishing a cooling-off period requiring former employees of the FBI, CIA, and other gov't agencies to wait seven years before joining tech companies, and establishing a “digital bill of rights,” among several other actions.

Poll: Trump Sees Double-Digit Lead in Republican Primary
Trump is seeing a double-digit lead in a hypothetical Republican primary race, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll released this week found.

Trump's major announcement: NFT trading cards
"MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT! My official Donald Trump Digital Trading Card collection is here! These limited edition cards feature amazing ART of my Life & Career!"

House Democrats attack Democracy, introduce legislation to bar Trump from office
Over 40 Democrats want to remove voters' ability to vote for their preferred candidate.

Maricopa County's party-specific voter turnout heat maps raise new election integrity concerns
Kari Lake lawsuit challenging election in Maricopa County cites poll in which 58.6% of Republican voters in county "reported having issues while trying to cast a ballot on Election Day," compared to 15.5% of Democrat voters.

Pelosi Snaps at Reporter When Asked if She Will Serve Full Term in Congress
"What is this? What is this? Don't bother me with a question like that. Really. Really, OK? I said what I'm gonna do. Those kind of questions are such a waste of my time."

House passes bill calling for binding vote on statehood for Puerto Rico
The vote was 233 to 191, with 16 Republicans breaking ranks and joining Democrats in backing the measure to add the socialist state.

Economy / ESG...

Retail sales have dropped significantly
U.S. retail sales fell sharply at the start of the holiday shopping season, dropping by 0.6% during the month of November.

Dow Falls Sharply in Worst Day in Three Months
Stocks sold off sharply as investors grappled with disappointing data on retail sales, business inventories, and industrial production.

El-Erian: Saying a Recession Will Be Short and Mild Is ‘Same Trap’ as Saying Inflation Was ‘Transitory’
Those confidently asserting that a recession will be a short and mild one “are falling into the same trap as they did with transitory inflation, trying to make bad news good news.”

Home-flipping profits drop at the fastest pace in over a decade
Roughly 7.5% of third-quarter home sales were flips, still historically high, but down from 8.2% in the second quarter.

No signs of crypto spilling over into traditional assets – yet, analyst says
Following the multibillion-dollar collapse of exchange platform FTX, questions have been raised about whether cryptocurrency could impact other assets.

Bizarro inflation is making random stuff cheap and necessities unaffordable
It’s a great time to buy an air fryer, but woe to those with rent to pay.

Border...

A federal judge in Texas blocked Biden from scrapping Trump-era 'Remain in Mexico' policy
The Supreme Court ruled in June that the Biden administration can terminate the policy, which was formally lifted in August.

WAR News...

US cable warns of major barriers to tracking Ukraine aid
The State Department cable surfaces amid growing calls for strict oversight of the money and weapons flowing to Ukraine.

Report: Zelensky's wife goes on €40K holiday shopping spree in Paris
Social media has erupted after a “reliable store clerk” working on the ritzy Avenue Montaigne has reported that Olena Zelenska went on a Christmas shopping spree, spending €40,000 euros in an hour.

COVID-19...

Senate votes against reinstating troops kicked out over COVID-19 vaccine mandate
The Senate voted 54 to 40 against a measure that would require the Department of Defense to reinstate service members who had been separated from the armed forces for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine.

Lockdowns Forever: Philadelphia To Reimpose Mask Mandate in City’s Public Schools
Philadelphia public schools will require students to wear masks for 10 days after the holiday break, marking the latest Democratic-run city to push for lockdown-era mandates.

People who skipped their COVID vaccine are at higher risk of traffic accidents
The study claims unvaccinated people were 72% more likely to be involved in a severe traffic crash.

Commie Update...

The US Is Preparing For The Possibility Of War With China — In Space
The U.S. launched a Space Force unit in South Korea Tuesday, the latest development in preparations for the possibility of a future war spilling into space, where China is seen as the largest threat.

China’s War Against Taiwan Has Already Started
How Beijing tries to make a democracy submit without putting up a fight.

Babylon Bee: China Threatens To Fire Senators Who Voted For TikTok Ban
President Xi has warned any lawmakers running for reelection that he won't secretly support their campaigns unless they comply. "I believe we need to think twice about banning this wonderful app," said Senator Mitch McConnell.

Entertainment...

Review: James Cameron’s ego turns ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ into endless torture
On more than one occasion we’re told that “the way of water has no beginning and no end.” No kidding.

Review: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' Drowns in Incoherence
Cameron is clearly trying to send important messages about wildlife conservation and environmental protection, and that’s all for the good, but it’s wrapped in trite conversations and simplistic setup.

Avatar 2 is finally here – and it’s like being waterboarded with turquoise cement
James Cameron’s decade-in-the-making "The Way of Water" has no plot, no stakes, and atrocious dialogue.

Scarlett Johansson claims Hollywood 'groomed' her into becoming objectified 'bombshell' actress
"I was playing the ‘other woman’ and the object of desire," she continued. "And, you know, I suddenly found myself cornered in this place, like I couldn't get out of it."

Colbert likens WSJ poll of Trump vs. DeSantis to a poll pitting 'gonorrhea' against 'slightly more racist gonorrhea'
Colbert is allegedly a professional comedian.

Media...

WaPo: Unfilled US Jobs Belong to Foreign Workers, Not Americans
The Washington Post published a piece suggesting that more foreign workers are the answer to filling unfilled U.S. jobs.

Europe...

The EU just signed its Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, but what is it?
Inclusion, "freedom" of choice, participation, safety, security, empowerment, and promoting sustainability.

Middle East...

Biden’s Faulty Foreign Policy Is Pushing The Saudis Into The Arms Of China
Barring a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia, China’s influence will likely continue to grow while America’s fades.

UN Official Investigating Israel Once Claimed ‘Jewish Lobby’ Was Controlling US
United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese recently came under criticism for a Facebook post claiming that the United States was “subjugated” by the Jewish lobby that surfaced online.

Africa...

Biden Apologizes to African Leaders for America’s ‘Original Sin’
"We remember the stolen men and women and children were brought to our shores in chains," Biden said Wednesday after promising the continent $55 billion to fight climate change and increase trade. "My nation’s original sin was that period."

Environment...

NY Times: No One Wants to Say ‘Put Down That Burger,’ but We Really Should
Earth is in the midst of the worst mass extinction since an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago — and this time, the asteroid is us.

Planned wind farm told it will need to shut down for five months a year to protect parrots
Project approval is subject to a range of conditions, including one related to the orange-bellied parrot, which the Australian government says is critically endangered.

John Podesta Made a Fortune Consulting for Green Energy Billionaires
He Now Oversees a Federal Fund That Could Make Them Rich.

Biden’s Energy Department Funnels Millions to Beijing-Backed Green Energy Company
LanzaTech rakes in taxpayer funds despite tight relationship with China-run energy giant Sinopec.

LGBTQIA2S+...

TSA spends $18.6 million on 'non-binary screening systems' to 'advance civil rights'
The Biden administration awarded $18.6 million in funding to the TSA within the FY22 Omnibus Appropriations to implement non-binary screening systems.

Disney Not Gay Enough for GLAAD, Receives ‘Insufficient’ Mark in Annual LGBTQ Inclusivity Report Card
In the past year alone, the Walt Disney Co. fought Florida over its anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education law, created multiple transgender characters for its children’s shows, put gay characters at the center of its big-budget movies, and even launched an LGBTQ-themed apparel line.

Florida Subpoenas Organizations Pushing Transgender Care On Children In Lawsuit
The State of Florida is subpoenaing nearly two dozen medical and academic organizations that have pushed sex change operations onto children as part of an ongoing lawsuit against a new Medicaid rule.

Congressional Hearing Witness Says She Has Personally ‘Never Heard’ Of A De-transitioner Case
Many de-transitioners use their experiences to speak out against transgender treatment on minors who are at times not told about alternatives.

Transgender Organization Cancels Publication Of ‘Brain Sex’ Article
TransLucent, a transgender advocacy group, released a statement on Tuesday saying it would no longer be publishing a “groundbreaking article” that claims “being trans is a biological condition.”

Education...

Newly Conservative California School Board Bans Critical Race Theory In First Meeting
The Temecula Valley Unified School Board adopted a resolution 3-2 that bans the teaching of CRT from the classroom.

Feds Open Investigation Into ‘Deep-Seated Anti-Semitic Discrimination’ at Berkeley Law School
Berkeley student groups banned Zionist speakers from campus.

University’s Ban Of Church Elder From ‘Public Forum’ Raises Free Speech Questions
The University of Wyoming suspended a church elder’s ability to operate a table inside its student union after he displayed a sign reading “God created male and female” and named a male student who is in a sorority.

Twitter...

Six Establishment Media Journalists Elon Musk Suspended
Well, here's what they should do if they don't like it, just go and build their own Twitter.

CNN, NYT Complain About Journalists Suspended from Twitter
I don't recall the complaints about the NY Post and conservative sites being suspended and banned.

AOC sympathizes with Musk after he banned nine journalists for 'posting assassination co-ordinates' of his location
If AOC agrees with you on anything, you should reconsider your stance.

Bari Weiss: Our Reporting at Twitter
If the story of Twitter's former overlords is about their prejudices and power trips, the question now is what Elon Musk will do with the powerful tools they created.

Science...

Could the Government Really Cover Up UFOs?
A long-awaited U.S. intelligence report is likely to disappoint Americans who believe that aliens have visited Earth.

Space hurricanes swirling over the Earth surprise scientists
Cyclone-like auroras near the North Pole, dubbed space hurricanes, can transfer large amounts of energy from the sun to Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Dec 16, 2008 - People believe we’re in a depression… Stu and Dan attend "The Christmas Sweater"… Blues music… Socialism and the American dream… The meaning of "The Christmas Sweater"… Glenn's monologue about his wife… New Christmas lights are just a net you throw over plants, peak laziness…

Trump's proposal explained: Ukraine's path to peace without NATO expansion

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor | Getty Images

Strategic compromise, not absolute victory, often ensures lasting stability.

When has any country been asked to give up land it won in a war? Even if a nation is at fault, the punishment must be measured.

After World War I, Germany, the main aggressor, faced harsh penalties under the Treaty of Versailles. Germans resented the restrictions, and that resentment fueled the rise of Adolf Hitler, ultimately leading to World War II. History teaches that justice for transgressions must avoid creating conditions for future conflict.

Ukraine and Russia must choose to either continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

Russia and Ukraine now stand at a similar crossroads. They can cling to disputed land and prolong a devastating war, or they can make concessions that might secure a lasting peace. The stakes could not be higher: Tens of thousands die each month, and the choice between endless bloodshed and negotiated stability hinges on each side’s willingness to yield.

History offers a guide. In 1967, Israel faced annihilation. Surrounded by hostile armies, the nation fought back and seized large swaths of territory from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Yet Israel did not seek an empire. It held only the buffer zones needed for survival and returned most of the land. Security and peace, not conquest, drove its decisions.

Peace requires concessions

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says both Russia and Ukraine will need to “get something” from a peace deal. He’s right. Israel proved that survival outweighs pride. By giving up land in exchange for recognition and an end to hostilities, it stopped the cycle of war. Egypt and Israel have not fought in more than 50 years.

Russia and Ukraine now press opposing security demands. Moscow wants a buffer to block NATO. Kyiv, scarred by invasion, seeks NATO membership — a pledge that any attack would trigger collective defense by the United States and Europe.

President Donald Trump and his allies have floated a middle path: an Article 5-style guarantee without full NATO membership. Article 5, the core of NATO’s charter, declares that an attack on one is an attack on all. For Ukraine, such a pledge would act as a powerful deterrent. For Russia, it might be more palatable than NATO expansion to its border

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

Peace requires concessions. The human cost is staggering: U.S. estimates indicate 20,000 Russian soldiers died in a single month — nearly half the total U.S. casualties in Vietnam — and the toll on Ukrainians is also severe. To stop this bloodshed, both sides need to recognize reality on the ground, make difficult choices, and anchor negotiations in security and peace rather than pride.

Peace or bloodshed?

Both Russia and Ukraine claim deep historical grievances. Ukraine arguably has a stronger claim of injustice. But the question is not whose parchment is older or whose deed is more valid. The question is whether either side is willing to trade some land for the lives of thousands of innocent people. True security, not historical vindication, must guide the path forward.

History shows that punitive measures or rigid insistence on territorial claims can perpetuate cycles of war. Germany’s punishment after World War I contributed directly to World War II. By contrast, Israel’s willingness to cede land for security and recognition created enduring peace. Ukraine and Russia now face the same choice: Continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The loneliness epidemic: Are machines replacing human connection?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

Seniors, children, and the isolated increasingly rely on machines for conversation, risking real relationships and the emotional depth that only humans provide.

Jill Smola is 75 years old. She’s a retiree from Orlando, Florida, and she spent her life caring for the elderly. She played games, assembled puzzles, and offered company to those who otherwise would have sat alone.

Now, she sits alone herself. Her husband has died. She has a lung condition. She can’t drive. She can’t leave her home. Weeks can pass without human interaction.

Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.

But CBS News reports that she has a new companion. And she likes this companion more than her own daughter.

The companion? Artificial intelligence.

She spends five hours a day talking to her AI friend. They play games, do trivia, and just talk. She says she even prefers it to real people.

My first thought was simple: Stop this. We are losing our humanity.

But as I sat with the story, I realized something uncomfortable. Maybe we’ve already lost some of our humanity — not to AI, but to ourselves.

Outsourcing presence

How often do we know the right thing to do yet fail to act? We know we should visit the lonely. We know we should sit with someone in pain. We know what Jesus would do: Notice the forgotten, touch the untouchable, offer time and attention without outsourcing compassion.

Yet how often do we just … talk about it? On the radio, online, in lectures, in posts. We pontificate, and then we retreat.

I asked myself: What am I actually doing to close the distance between knowing and doing?

Human connection is messy. It’s inconvenient. It takes patience, humility, and endurance. AI doesn’t challenge you. It doesn’t interrupt your day. It doesn’t ask anything of you. Real people do. Real people make us confront our pride, our discomfort, our loneliness.

We’ve built an economy of convenience. We can have groceries delivered, movies streamed, answers instantly. But friendships — real relationships — are slow, inefficient, unpredictable. They happen in the blank spaces of life that we’ve been trained to ignore.

And now we’re replacing that inefficiency with machines.

AI provides comfort without challenge. It eliminates the risk of real intimacy. It’s an elegant coping mechanism for loneliness, but a poor substitute for life. If we’re not careful, the lonely won’t just be alone — they’ll be alone with an anesthetic, a shadow that never asks for anything, never interrupts, never makes them grow.

Reclaiming our humanity

We need to reclaim our humanity. Presence matters. Not theory. Not outrage. Action.

It starts small. Pull up a chair for someone who eats alone. Call a neighbor you haven’t spoken to in months. Visit a nursing home once a month — then once a week. Ask their names, hear their stories. Teach your children how to be present, to sit with someone in grief, without rushing to fix it.

Turn phones off at dinner. Make Sunday afternoons human time. Listen. Ask questions. Don’t post about it afterward. Make the act itself sacred.

Humility is central. We prefer machines because we can control them. Real people are inconvenient. They interrupt our narratives. They demand patience, forgiveness, and endurance. They make us confront ourselves.

A friend will challenge your self-image. A chatbot won’t.

Our homes are quieter. Our streets are emptier. Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.

Before we worry about how AI will reshape humanity, we must first practice humanity. It can start with 15 minutes a day of undivided attention, presence, and listening.

Change usually comes when pain finally wins. Let’s not wait for that. Let’s start now. Because real connection restores faster than any machine ever will.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Exposed: The radical Left's bloody rampage against America

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

For years, the media warned of right-wing terror. But the bullets, bombs, and body bags are piling up on the left — with support from Democrat leaders and voters.

For decades, the media and federal agencies have warned Americans that the greatest threat to our homeland is the political right — gun-owning veterans, conservative Christians, anyone who ever voted for President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden once declared that white supremacy is “the single most dangerous terrorist threat” in the nation.

Since Trump’s re-election, the rhetoric has only escalated. Outlets like the Washington Post and the Guardian warned that his second term would trigger a wave of far-right violence.

As Democrats bleed working-class voters and lose control of their base, they’re not moderating. They’re radicalizing.

They were wrong.

The real domestic threat isn’t coming from MAGA grandmas or rifle-toting red-staters. It’s coming from the radical left — the anarchists, the Marxists, the pro-Palestinian militants, and the anti-American agitators who have declared war on law enforcement, elected officials, and civil society.

Willful blindness

On July 4, a group of black-clad terrorists ambushed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Alvarado, Texas. They hurled fireworks at the building, spray-painted graffiti, and then opened fire on responding law enforcement, shooting a local officer in the neck. Journalist Andy Ngo has linked the attackers to an Antifa cell in the Dallas area.

Authorities have so far charged 14 people in the plot and recovered AR-style rifles, body armor, Kevlar vests, helmets, tactical gloves, and radios. According to the Department of Justice, this was a “planned ambush with intent to kill.”

And it wasn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a growing pattern of continuous violent left-wing incidents since December last year.

Monthly attacks

Most notably, in December 2024, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione allegedly gunned down UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Mangione reportedly left a manifesto raging against the American health care system and was glorified by some on social media as a kind of modern Robin Hood.

One Emerson College poll found that 41% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 said the murder was “acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable.”

The next month, a man carrying Molotov cocktails was arrested near the U.S. Capitol. He allegedly planned to assassinate Trump-appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

In February, the “Tesla Takedown” attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships started picking up traction.

In March, a self-described “queer scientist” was arrested after allegedly firebombing the Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Graffiti on the burned building read “ICE = KKK.”

In April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-Pa.) official residence was firebombed on Passover night. The suspect allegedly set the governor’s mansion on fire because of what Shapiro, who is Jewish, “wants to do to the Palestinian people.”

In May, two young Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Witnesses said the shooter shouted “Free Palestine” as he was being arrested. The suspect told police he acted “for Gaza” and was reportedly linked to the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

In June, an Egyptian national who had entered the U.S. illegally allegedly threw a firebomb at a peaceful pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado. Eight people were hospitalized, and an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor later died from her injuries.

That same month, a pro-Palestinian rioter in New York was arrested for allegedly setting fire to 11 police vehicles. In Los Angeles, anti-ICE rioters smashed cars, set fires, and hurled rocks at law enforcement. House Democrats refused to condemn the violence.

Barbara Davidson / Contributor | Getty Images

In Portland, Oregon, rioters tried to burn down another ICE facility and assaulted police officers before being dispersed with tear gas. Graffiti left behind read: “Kill your masters.”

On July 7, a Michigan man opened fire on a Customs and Border Protection facility in McAllen, Texas, wounding two police officers and an agent. Border agents returned fire, killing the suspect.

Days later in California, ICE officers conducting a raid on an illegal cannabis farm in Ventura County were attacked by left-wing activists. One protester appeared to fire at federal agents.

This is not a series of isolated incidents. It’s a timeline of escalation. Political assassinations, firebombings, arson, ambushes — all carried out in the name of radical leftist ideology.

Democrats are radicalizing

This isn’t just the work of fringe agitators. It’s being enabled — and in many cases encouraged — by elected Democrats.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz routinely calls ICE “Trump’s modern-day Gestapo.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attempted to block an ICE operation in her city. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu compared ICE agents to a neo-Nazi group. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson referred to them as “secret police terrorizing our communities.”

Apparently, other Democratic lawmakers, according to Axios, are privately troubled by their own base. One unnamed House Democrat admitted that supporters were urging members to escalate further: “Some of them have suggested what we really need to do is be willing to get shot.” Others were demanding blood in the streets to get the media’s attention.

A study from Rutgers University and the National Contagion Research Institute found that 55% of Americans who identify as “left of center” believe that murdering Donald Trump would be at least “somewhat justified.”

As Democrats bleed working-class voters and lose control of their base, they’re not moderating. They’re radicalizing. They don’t want the chaos to stop. They want to harness it, normalize it, and weaponize it.

The truth is, this isn’t just about ICE. It’s not even about Trump. It’s about whether a republic can survive when one major party decides that our institutions no longer apply.

Truth still matters. Law and order still matter. And if the left refuses to defend them, then we must be the ones who do.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

America's comeback: Trump is crushing crime in the Capitol

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

Trump’s DC crackdown is about more than controlling crime — it’s about restoring America’s strength and credibility on the world stage.

Donald Trump on Monday invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control and deploying the National Guard to restore law and order. This move is long overdue.

D.C.’s crime problem has been spiraling for years as local authorities and Democratic leadership have abandoned the nation’s capital to the consequences of their own failed policies. The city’s murder rate is about three times higher than that of Islamabad, Pakistan, and 18 times higher than that of communist-led Havana, Cuba.

When DC is in chaos, it sends a message to the world that America is weak.

Theft, assaults, and carjackings have transformed many of its streets into war zones. D.C. saw a 32% increase in homicides from 2022 to 2023, marking the highest number in two decades and surpassing both New York and Los Angeles. Even if crime rates dropped to 2019 levels, that wouldn’t be good enough.

Local leaders have downplayed the crisis, manipulating crime stats to preserve their image. Felony assault, for example, is no longer considered a “violent crime” in their crime stats. Same with carjacking. But the reality on the streets is different. People in D.C. are living in constant fear.

Trump isn’t waiting for the crime rate to improve on its own. He’s taking action.

Broken windows theory in action

Trump’s takeover of D.C. puts the “broken windows theory” into action — the idea that ignoring minor crimes invites bigger ones. When authorities look the other way on turnstile-jumping or graffiti, they signal that lawbreaking carries no real consequence.

Rudy Giuliani used this approach in the 1990s to clean up New York, cracking down on small offenses before they escalated. Trump is doing the same in the capital, drawing a hard line and declaring enough is enough. Letting crime fester in Washington tells the world that the seat of American power tolerates lawlessness.

What Trump is doing for D.C. isn’t just about law enforcement — it’s about national identity. When D.C. is in chaos, it sends a message to the world that America is weak. The capital city represents the soul of the country. If we can’t even keep our own capital safe, how can we expect anyone to take us seriously?

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Reversing the decline

Anyone who has visited D.C. regularly over the past several years has witnessed its rapid decline. Homeless people bathe in the fountains outside Union Station. People are tripping out in Dupont Circle. The left’s negligence is a disgrace, enabling drug use and homelessness to explode on our capital’s streets while depriving these individuals of desperately needed care and help.

Restoring law and order to D.C. is not about politics or scoring points. It’s about doing what’s right for the people. It’s about protecting communities, taking the vulnerable off the streets, and sending the message to both law-abiding and law-breaking citizens alike that the rule of law matters.

D.C. should be a lesson to the rest of America. If we want to take our cities back, we need leadership willing to take bold action. Trump is showing how to do it.

Now, it’s time for other cities to step up and follow his lead. We can restore law and order. We can make our cities something to be proud of again.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.