Morning Brief 2024-01-24

TOP OF HOUR 2
GUEST: Todd Bensman
TOPIC: Are U.S. tax dollars funding illegal immigration through NGOs?

BOTTOM OF HOUR 2
GUEST: Lt. Chris Olivarez
TOPIC: Texas WILL continue trying to protect its border.

TOP OF HOUR 3
GUEST: Steve Robinson
TOPIC: How Maine has been overrun by unlicensed, Chinese-operated grow sites.

Mark 15:25-26

Mark 15:25-26

News...

Audio recording shows senior Republican figure tried to bribe Kari Lake not to run for Senate
Jeff DeWit, chair of the Arizona Republican Party, can be heard asking Lake, a close ally of Donald Trump, to name her price to stay out of politics for two years. "There are very powerful people who want to keep you out," he tells her in a conversation recorded at the start of March last year.

Blue America Is Where The American Dream Dies And Anarcho-Tyranny Thrives
The radical leftist tenure of California is a tale as old as time. Rulers seek to extract wealth from powerless, law-abiding citizens while heaping honor and privilege upon those who reflect, advance, and enshrine their power.

Washington Dems want a convicted sex offender to serve on a state advisory board
House Bill 2177 would change the name of the "Sex Offender Policy Board" in an attempt to destigmatize convicted rapists by doing away with the term "sex offender." ... "One of the things that we try very hard to do on the board is to facilitate as many diverse voices as we can at the table."

Washington State Dems move to let felons vote, serve on jury, run for office while in prison
When asked if the voting rights of the Green River Killer would be restored, Simmons replied, “Yes, they would.”

Eric Adams promises to erase medical debt for 500,000 New Yorkers as part of $2 billion plan
Tackling what the mayor's office called the top cause of personal bankruptcy, Mayor Adams announced that the city would work with a nonprofit to buy medical debt in bulk from both hospitals and debt collectors.

The depressing truth behind the polyamory trend
People in "non-monogamous" relationships are not opting in to free love. It’s being forced on them.

Gavin McInnes: The 5 types of people who abandon you when you get canceled
The non-canceled do not understand how over the top the cancelers can be. Understand, as in any divorce, you need to take a side.

Veteran NYPD detective sues review board that accused him of being ‘racist’ over incident involving black teen
Detective Salvatore Rizzo sued the review board last week after he says it wrongly accused him of displaying a racial bias during a 2020 incident involving a black teenager.

Man allegedly caught with severed hand in his pocket denies murdering prostitute found headless in a Colorado creek
His roommate told police that Martinez had offered to pay him to help him dig a large hole. “He had walked up to me and he had asked me, you know, ‘You want to absolve $1,000 off your debt? I need a ten-foot hole.’ And he looks at me, goes, ‘I’m not playing around.’”

New Hampshire...

Trump makes history after back-to-back wins in Iowa and NH primaries
Trump's New Hampshire win on Tuesday night marks the first time a non-incumbent won a contested primary race in both Iowa and New Hampshire to open a presidential election season.

Biden claims 'historic' write-in win while writing off Haley
“It is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee. And my message to the country is the stakes could not be higher. Our democracy, our personal freedoms, from the right to choose to the right to vote, our economy, which has seen the strongest recovery in the world since COVID — all are at stake,” Biden said.

NY Times: 5 Takeaways From the New Hampshire Primary
The power of the state’s fiercely independent voters wasn’t enough to break the spell Trump has cast over the Republican Party.

CNN, MSNBC, Biden campaign all celebrate non-Republican Haley voters attempting to sabotage NH GOP primary
"While I wouldn't vote for her in a general election ... I think a vote for Nikki Haley helps diminish Trump's influence in the RNC and their nomination, and is also a vote towards democracy."

Dean Phillips overperforms in New Hampshire against Biden with 21% of the vote
Democratic long-shot says Joe "cannot win" in 2024 and vows to keep his campaign going.

Biden Challenger Praises ‘Hospitable’ Trump Crowd
During an interview on CNN, Phillips shared his “conviction” that Biden would lose in a 2020 rematch against Trump and warned of a “crisis of participation” within his party.

Politics...

US voters say immigration, not inflation, is top priority: Harvard-Harris poll
In a Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released on Monday, the survey found that 35% of respondents had immigration as their top concern and 32% named the topic of inflation. Immigration has jumped seven points from last month.

Biden calls defeated Dem Terry McAuliffe the ‘real governor’ of Virginia
“Hello, Virginia! And the real governor, Terry McAuliffe,” the Biden said while gesturing to McAuliffe at a campaign speech in Manassas.

Anti-Israel agitators disrupt Biden speech, call him 'Genocide Joe'
"This is gonna go on for a while, they got this planned," Biden quipped through the noise.

Michelle Obama may already be working on a 2024 White House bid
A NY Post columnist writes that she's been told, “Obama has polled donors.” His plan? Around May, Biden announces he’s not running (even mentally). The so-called plot is that come the August convention, Michelle gets nominated.

Biden knows VP Harris ‘not up to the job,’ preferred Gretchen Whitmer as ‘20 running mate: Book
Biden chose Harris days before that year’s virtual Democratic National Convention after promising to select a woman and after pro-Harris lobbying from Barack Obama, veteran journalist Charlie Spiering writes in his new book.

Photo of Biden's Briefing Book at Q&A Shows He Knew Questions Ahead of Time
Following remarks to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Biden answered questions from the mayors in attendance. One of them, Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg, asked about his plan to tackle the dangers of lead piping. Biden’s briefing book contained both the question and bullet points for his answer.

Six questions every Democrat must answer
How exactly does Trump pose a threat to democracy? Too much has been revealed by the House investigations, the “Twitter Files,” and in the conservative media for them to make this claim credibly. From the Russian collusion to the Democrats’ current lawfare campaign against Trump, the party’s hypocrisy is on full display.

Biden should ‘stay hidden’ to win election, Van Jones says
"He doesn’t inspire confidence."

Five Questions That Need Answers From Biden Associate At Center Of Chinese Payments
Rob Walker, a business associate central to Hunter Biden’s dealings with Chinese firm CEFC, is scheduled to testify Friday before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees to advance the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden.

Hunter Biden lawyer testifies that 1st Trump impeachment created 'emergency' to file unpaid taxes
Kevin Morris told congressional investigators that it was the first impeachment of then-President Trump in February 2020 that made it an "emergency" for the president’s son to file his tax returns, according to a transcript of his testimony.

Social Media Erupts After Chuck Schumer Calls For Zyn Crackdown
"This calls for a Zynsurrection! The same Democrats that want to legalize all drugs and have ripped open our border flooding our country with fentanyl, a real weapon of mass destruction killing 300 Americans/day, wants to ban Zyn. Democrats are idiots," MTG wrote on X.

Economy / ESG...

Vermont Becomes Latest State to Propose Wealth Taxes
Seven states tried but failed in 2023 to add new taxes on assets and income. Attempts are under way in at least 10 states this year, and proponents are optimistic about their chances.

Immigration...

Texas installs more razor wire on Eagle Pass border after Supreme Court said Biden could remove it
As Senator Mike Lee explained, the Supreme Court order only said the Biden admin could take it down; it didn't address Texas putting it up.

White House makes telling admission about the razor wire Texas installed on the border: 'It got in the way'
Karine Jean-Pierre says she's "certainly glad" the Biden administration sued Texas to remove "ineffective" razor wire at the southern border because "it got in the way."

Peter Doocy Corners John Kirby On Illegal Immigration
“Why are you guys making it easier for people to enter the country illegally?” Doocy asked. “I don’t believe we are; why do you think we are?” Kirby responded, acting as if everyone watching this exchange was a complete idiot.

Mexico demands investigation into how drug cartels have US military-grade weapons, including rocket launchers and machine guns
The weapons the Mexican military has discovered are not available for retail to Americans, which raises questions about how drug cartels have them.

Blackburn says VA has backlog of 1 million veteran claims as resources go to illegal migrants
The Department of Veterans Affairs has a backlog of one million claims for health care and benefits from veterans as resources are diverted to illegal immigrants, according to Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

First Chicago, now Boston: A hundred illegal aliens are sleeping on the floors of sanctuary city's Logan Airport
Small children are running around the airport and families relying on packets of wet wipes to wash. Note, Abbott has not sent buses to Boston.

WAR News... 

Navy Seal Deaths Demonstrate Biden’s Disastrous Foreign Agenda
The escalating turmoil in the Middle East is the direct consequence of a disastrous White House foreign policy of appeasing Tehran.

Americans Overwhelmingly Support Israel Over Hamas: Poll
80% in the HarrisX Poll said they supported Israel over the terror group, while 20% said they supported Hamas. Although the percentage who supported Israel over Hamas is down 1%, many other indicators pointed to the American people's support of the Jewish state either not changing or increasing.

COVID-19...

In Early 2020, A Chinese Source Trusted By FBI Said COVID Leaked From Wuhan Lab, Sources Say
The FBI’s entire 25-person Chinese intelligence squad knew of reliable human intelligence that SARS-CoV-2 COVID leaked from a lab.

Entertainment...

The Claudine Gay story isn’t 'Roots,' it’s 'Shattered Glass'
Hollywood is reportedly scrambling to get the rights to the story of the disgraced former president of Harvard.

Critics blame sexism and the patriarchy after Margot Robbie gets snubbed by Oscar nominations for 'Barbie' movie
"I'm sorry but the straight white guy in Barbie got nominated and not the ACTUAL WOMEN WHO MADE THE MOVIE???"

Ryan Gosling slams the Academy for Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig's Oscars snub
In a powerful statement, Gosling wrote, "There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film." He went on to say that he was nevertheless extremely "honored" to receive a nomination himself.

Canada...

Court Declares Justin Trudeau’s Sweeping Actions To Suppress Trucker Protests Were Illegal
"I have concluded that the decision to issue the Proclamation does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness – justification, transparency and intelligibility – and was not justified in relation to the relevant factual and legal constraints that were required to be taken into consideration," wrote Justice Richard Mosley.

Canada cracks down on wood ovens with 'crusade' against pizzerias and bagel shops
Trudeau's Liberals implemented the ominous-sounding "compliance promotion activities" to determine whether or not the restaurants are following emissions regulations under the National Pollutant Release Inventory program.

Environment...

Biden Admin Chemical Ban Would Make America's Military Reliant on China, Manufacturers Warn
EPA proposal would force military gear "to be manufactured from foreign sourced materials," one company says.

Washington state House passes bill that effectively bans natural gas, encourages 'equitably' shifting to electricity
The bill would prohibit any company serving at least 500,000 natural gas customers from providing natural gas service to any commercial or residential building that did not receive or apply for natural gas services by June 30 of last year.

Taxpayers may get stuck with cost of removing an offshore wind farm after Biden admin waives fees
Due to the Biden administration's decision to waive financial assurance fees, should Vineyard Wind fail and not fully fund the decommissioning account in a timely manner, the public will likely have to pick up the tab.

LGBTQIA2S+...

Over A Quarter Of Gen Z Now Say They’re Queer: POLL
28% of Gen Z consider themselves LGBTQ, compared to only 16% of Millennials, 7% of Gen X, and a mere 4% of Baby Boomers.

World Health Organization Named Former Prostitute, ‘Genderf**king’ Theorist To Transgender Health Expert Board
The board consists largely of radical transgender activists.

Headline: Trans man about to have sex change operation found to be five months pregnant
The individual, who had assumed the male name Marco, was at an advanced stage of the sex-change process, having had his breasts removed.

Education...

No kindergarten unless potty-trained? Why a Utah lawmaker is pushing for the mandate.
Teachers say they are encountering more kids who aren't trained since the pandemic.

Newly Elected School Board In Pennsylvania Brings Back American Indian Mascot
The school can return to its "Warrior Head" logo.

Religion...

Christians Against Christian Nationalism has hired its first North Texas field organizer
Christian nationalist ideas are heard in the rhetoric of an increasing number of Republican politicians, including Trump and far-right leaders such as Rep. Boebert.

AI...

New MIT study suggests that AI won’t steal as many jobs as expected
Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could automate 25% of the entire labor market in the next few years. Another survey finds that ChatGPT alone could impact around 80% of jobs. But MIT researchers think otherwise.

Travel...

Alaska Airlines CEO says company found loose bolts on ‘many’ Boeing Max 9s
FAA boss says it was due to "quality control" issue.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 Lost Nose Wheel Before Takeoff, FAA Says
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the latest troubling event involving a Boeing aircraft.

Twitchy: TSA Agents Confiscate Dana Loesch's Assault Microphone Stand
We've been doing posts about radio host Dana Loesch's run-ins with the TSA since 2012. She seems to be a security threat. She's now reporting that the brave TSA agents have confiscated her microphone stand.

Disgruntled passenger is removed for farting excessively on American Airlines flight
"It was surprising that he left peacefully, but it was quite the walk of shame. I could hear him mumble 'I just don’t understand.'"

Canadian pilot blocked disabled man from boarding flight, claimed he was ‘dangerous threat’ due to wheelchair batteries
“[He] asked me … ‘can the batteries be disconnected?’ I told him no. And then … he said I am a dangerous threat, then he walked away and left us high and dry,” Harrower told CBC News.

Sports...

Chiefs-Bills AFC Matchup Was Most Watched Divisional Playoff Game Ever
The game delivered 50.4M viewers, after the NFL recorded record-high audiences all throughout the regular season.

Homeowner reveals new, bizarre details in deaths of 3 KC Chiefs fans at his home, including presence of 5th person
Police say they are not yet investigating the matter as a homicide, pending the results of the medical examiner's report. Family members of the victims are angry that police haven't arrested any suspects.

Jan 24, 2002 - Glenn is literally confused by story on transsexual parent fighting for custody... Stu doesn't watching White House special... Taxing junk foods... Personal responsibility... More On Trivia... Enron CEO resigns... School's black pledge of allegiance...

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.