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TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Morning Brief 2025-12-04

December 04, 2025
Chris Brady

TOP OF HOUR 3
GUEST: Allie Beth Stuckey
TOPIC: Is the GOP doing enough to fight the growing influence of Islam?

BOTTOM OF HOUR 3
GUEST: Christopher Rufo
TOPIC: How Minnesota taxpayers were unknowingly funding the terror group Al-Shabaab.

News...

Fake people and phony SSNs had 100% success in getting Obamacare subsidy, fraud investigation finds
A GAO sting revealed that every fictitious identity investigators used was approved for taxpayer-funded coverage — with thousands of dead or duplicated Social Security numbers still receiving benefits — even as Democrats demand the expiring subsidies be extended despite soaring premiums and rampant abuse.

Obama takes victory lap over Obamacare, which remains a total disaster
While Obama took a victory lap, the system he touted is drowning in 169% premium hikes, zero-dollar plans rife with fraud, and pandemic subsidies about to expire.

Scamming Somalis are the love children of Dems’ mass welfare and immigration policies
Minnesota’s billion-dollar fraud spree shows exactly how the state’s high-tax welfare machine and open-door immigration model created a perfect breeding ground for corruption that locals now admit mirrors the culture many refugees brought with them.

Texas Muslim city rebrands with unthreatening new name after Gov. Greg Abbott accused it of trying to bring Sharia law to Lone Star State
The cleric behind the community has a decades-old record of preaching hatred, homophobia, and Holocaust-denial to his followers.

New Jersey launches probe into organ network accused of trying to harvest from a living patient
State investigators opened a case after whistleblowers alleged the tax-exempt organ group hid an attempted recovery on a patient showing signs of life, skipped patients on waiting lists, manipulated records, and billed fraudulently, prompting congressional scrutiny and calls for criminal prosecution.

Children given smartphones by age 12 have greater risk of depression and obesity, study finds
The head researcher concluded that his child won't be getting a phone "anytime soon."

Vital SCOTUS case tests the president’s absolute authority to remove executive branch officials
The Constitution is clear that all executive authority resides in the president.

House Judiciary subpoenas Jack Smith for deposition
Jordan is leading one of several GOP probes into alleged political weaponization of the government under the Biden administration.

California spending $1.1 million on a council nobody runs and nobody attends
Newsom’s wage-setting Fast Food Council hasn’t had a chair since May, held only two incomplete meetings in 2025, and still burned through a seven-figure budget.

FDA warns Americans in 31 states about dangerous elements that may be in their shredded cheese
Brands include Always Save, Borden, Brookshire's, Econo, Food Club, Happy Farms, Laura Lynn, Publix, Simply Go, Stater Bros. Markets, and Sunnyside Farms.

Politics...

All I want for Christmas is a Republican Party that actually cares about saving the country
Democrats are openly outlining plans to remake the system, punish their opponents, and lock in permanent power, while Republicans burn precious time on empty symbolic votes instead of using their majority to secure the border, reform elections, or rein in the bureaucracy.

Frustrated GOP barrels toward key health insurance vote without a clear plan
Some Senate Republicans are expressing frustration that their conference hasn’t been able to unify behind a health care plan ahead of a vote next week on a Democrat proposal to extend health insurance premium subsidies that will expire in January.

Democrats oppose idea of a constitutional balanced budget amendment
In light of the nation’s $38 trillion national debt, U.S. House lawmakers met Wednesday to discuss ways to structure a constitutional amendment mandating that Congress pass deficit-neutral budgets.

Hakeem Jeffries Begrudgingly Gives Trump Credit For Securing Border
“The border is secure. That’s a good thing. It’s happened on his watch. He wants to claim credit for it. Of course, he’ll get credit for that.”

Hakeem Jeffries Sides With Trump Over Pardon For Texas Democrat
“I don’t know why the president decided to do this. I think the outcome was exactly the right outcome.”

Shapiro blasts Harris memoir as ‘blatant lies’ meant to sell books
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) tore into Kamala Harris after her memoir claimed he tried to dominate their VP interview, calling the stories “complete bs” and accusing her of rewriting history as Democrats position themselves for 2028.

Ilhan Omar says immigration crackdown has nothing to do with public safety
“We know it has really nothing to do about keeping a community safe. It’s actually terrorizing a community and creating fear,” Omar told host Jake Tapper.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt flew Dem Senate candidate Seth Moulton to ritzy Montana retreat as congressman oversaw critical business
Schmidt repeatedly covered luxury travel and accommodations for Moulton and his family at his secretive Yellowstone Club gatherings while Moulton sat on House committees shaping Pentagon policy on AI and tech — directly intersecting with Schmidt’s ventures.

Mike Lindell has filed to run for governor in Minnesota
The CEO and founder of MyPillow has filed to run for governor in Minnesota in what would be a challenge to "Tampon" Tim Walz, a failed VP candidate and the current governor of the state.

Economy...

Global debt spiral hits unprecedented stage as major powers buckle
Glenn Beck laid out how every major economy has reached the same late-cycle debt breakdown at the same time, warning that the pattern mirrors past empire collapses — and this time there’s no rising nation waiting in the wings.

Trump signs executive order to end Biden-era fuel standards
"These policies forced automakers to build cars using expensive tech that drove up prices and made the car WORSE," Trump went on.

Languid economic sentiment mirrors ‘92 pre-Clinton doldrums, could turn around in time for midterms
If economic sentiment catches up to improving indexes by next spring, that will put Republicans in a strong position to keep majorities in both the House and the Senate.

Washington’s taxpayer exodus accelerates as Democrats push another major tax hike
IRS migration data now places Washington among the nation’s biggest taxpayer losers while lawmakers roll out a new payroll tax, even as major employers warn the state’s escalating tax-and-spend agenda is driving jobs — and residents — to friendlier climates.

Man Behind Jaguar’s Controversial Rebrand Fired After Plummeting Sales
Gerry McGovern was with the U.K.-based car company for two decades.

Housing...

Home prices are poised to dip in 22 US cities next year, a new analysis says
It's still a tough time to get a foothold in the housing market, with homes sitting near record values and mortgage rates parked well above 6%. But the tide could turn in 2026, with property prices forecast to dip in 22 of the largest 100 U.S. cities and mortgage rates expected to ease slightly.

Flashback 2006: Dip in housing prices still isn’t enough to make homes affordable
While prices have dipped, 95% of families still can't afford homes. However, lower prices, combined with interest rates that are expected to hover around 6.5%, should make less expensive housing available.

Immigration...

Democrat Plan To Undermine ICE Has A DEI Twist
One ICE source quipped that "almost every" illegal immigrant detainee will now say they're gay or transgender "just to get released."

Pakistani immigrant arrested with car full of guns, plans to carry out mass shooting — and chilling note about ‘martyrdom’
A Pakistani immigrant and University of Delaware student was arrested with a cache of guns, ammunition, body armor, and a manifesto allegedly explaining plans to “kill all” and achieve “martyrdom” with a mass shooting on the school’s campus.

ICE arrests alleged Afghan ISIS-K supporter, third Afghan national from Biden-era program in a week
"The Biden administration created one of the worst national security crises in American history. Biden let into our country nearly 190,000 unvetted Afghan aliens, only determining who they were and their intentions when they were already on American soil," said DHS Secretary Noem.

ICE arrests Ukrainian fugitive wanted for drug trafficking who entered US under Biden-era parole program
Anhelina Polishchuk, a 40-year-old Ukrainian national, was apprehended on November 20 and identified as an armed and dangerous escape risk.

DHS slams Newsom over illegal alien accused in death of 11-year-old boy on Thanksgiving
The suspect had been deported four times before he allegedly killed a young boy.

Sean Duffy purges 3,000 trucker license training providers after illegal immigrant driver crashes
The Department of Transportation said the training-provider removals target schools and programs that failed to meet federal requirements designed to ensure new commercial drivers are properly prepared before operating semi-trucks and school buses.

Middle East...

Celebrities demand release of convicted terrorist behind wave of Second Intifada murders
Roughly 200 celebrities, including Sting, Paul Simon, Richard Branson, and Mark Ruffalo, issued an open letter for Israel to release the convicted murderer and terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who reportedly served as the leader and commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades that murdered over 1,000 Israelis during the Second Intifada.

Internal Hamas documents reveal terror group's infiltration of UN-affiliated aid groups in Gaza
Hamas placed its allies into senior NGO positions, ensuring nonprofits "can be exploited for security purposes."

Tehran Times: 'Iranian women’s advances demonstrate hijab is no barrier to progress'
The ayatollah described the status of women in Islam as exceedingly high and noble, emphasizing that: "The expressions of the Quran regarding a woman’s identity and character are among the loftiest and most progressive.”

Is the ayatollah a feminist?
Khamenei blasted Western culture online and repeated the long-debunked gender-pay-gap talking point while ignoring Iran’s own harsh restrictions on women, from hijab mandates to laws letting husbands block their wives from working.

China...

China’s Influence Operation In US Education Was Supposed To Be Shut Down, But Did Closing The Confucius Institutes Only Make It Stronger?
The Chinese government has quietly altered its methods as President Donald Trump announces plans to double the Chinese student population in the U.S.

Europe...

Europe’s Christmas markets shrink under soaring security costs after years of migrant-linked attacks
German towns are canceling or scaling back beloved holiday markets as terror plots, vehicle-ramming attacks, and massive new security bills force closures.

I Escaped Communist Romania. I Recognize The Early Signs Of Religious Persecution.
The government sought to control every thought, every word, every breath.

Entertainment...

'Frosty the Snowman' voice actor hid multiple secret families and named all his sons Ralph
Jackie Vernon’s son says the beloved voice actor had at least three secret families, several abandoned sons named Ralph, and a long struggle with pills — revelations triggered when a woman and an older teen showed up at the house before Vernon’s death.

Halle Berry explodes at Gavin Newsom for 'devaluing women' as she declares he 'should NOT be president'
"Back in my great state of California, my very own governor, Gavin Newsom, has vetoed our menopause bill, not one but two years in a row," the "Swordfish" star said.

Doctor charged in Matthew Perry death sentenced to 30 months for providing ketamine to actor
Plasencia was introduced to Perry in September 2023 by one of his patients. He was told "'high profile person' who was seeking ketamine and was willing to pay 'cash and lots of thousands' for ketamine treatment."

Tara Reid case takes shocking turn as cops say they found NO evidence her drink was spiked
Police say surveillance video shows no one touching Reid’s drink at a Chicago-area hotel bar, but the actress insists she was drugged, arguing her eight-hour hospitalization couldn’t have come from a single glass of wine.

Media...

Devine: There’s a special place in hell for women like Olivia Nuzzi — whose career as a journalist is over
Nuzzi’s graphic affair memoir has blown up her public image, dragging out years of whispered scandals, enraging readers, and convincing the industry she’s untrustworthy — leaving her isolated, ridiculed, and effectively finished in journalism at just 32.

NYT journos just can’t wrap their heads around why Americans love cowboys
In an attempt to get to the bottom of this supposed mystery, the Times assembled a crack team of experts to investigate this supposedly new phenomenon and explain why Americans love cowboys, country music, and everything down home.

Environment...

Apocalypse not: Science journal Nature retracts catastrophic climate change study
Nature withdrew a widely publicized report after economists uncovered major data flaws that had inflated claims of a 62% economic collapse by 2100, undermining media narratives built on the study’s erroneous $38 trillion projection and fueling doubts about activist-driven climate research.

These companies want to block the sun to save the planet
For as little as $1, you can dim the sun — just a tiny bit — to save the world from climate change.

LGBTQIA2S+...

UK girls’ scouting organization drops boys from membership, igniting left-wing outrage
The U.K.’s Girlguiding association — equivalent to the Girl Scouts — said it can no longer admit transgender-identifying boys after a court ruling on sex and gender, sparking activist fury and claims of “violence” even as the group said it was reluctantly following the law.

Religion...

Woke church stages Nativity scene with kidnapped baby Jesus to protest ICE
The church says the baby Jesus figure, along with Mary and Joseph, will return to the manger on Christmas Eve.

New York pastor 'gives up pretending to be a man,' comes out as trans, asexual to congregation
"Since coming out to my congregation, they have been overwhelmingly affirming!" Phaneuf said.

Sports...

TV Ratings: NFL Thanksgiving Games Shatter Viewing Records
Fox, CBS, and NBC each had their most watched Thanksgiving matchups ever.

Dec. 4, 2009 - At NYU for 'The Christmas Sweater' simulcast… Van Jones' people tried to crash event… Opera… Tall buildings… Callers… Afghanistan… Artist who illustrated 'The Christmas Sweater'…

A Sharia enclave is quietly taking root in America. It's time to wake up.

NOVA SAFO / Staff | Getty Images

Sharia-based projects like the Meadow in Texas show how political Islam grows quietly, counting on Americans to stay silent while an incompatible legal system takes root.

Apolitical system completely incompatible with the Constitution is gaining ground in the United States, and we are pretending it is not happening.

Sharia — the legal and political framework of Islam — is being woven into developments, institutions, and neighborhoods, including a massive project in Texas. And the consequences will be enormous if we continue to look the other way.

This is the contradiction at the heart of political Islam: It claims universal authority while insisting its harshest rules will never be enforced here. That promise does not stand up to scrutiny. It never has.

Before we can have an honest debate, we’d better understand what Sharia represents. Sharia is not simply a set of religious rules about prayer or diet. It is a comprehensive legal and political structure that governs marriage, finance, criminal penalties, and civic life. It is a parallel system that claims supremacy wherever it takes hold.

This is where the distinction matters. Many Muslims in America want nothing to do with Sharia governance. They came here precisely because they lived under it. But political Islam — the movement that seeks to implement Sharia as law — is not the same as personal religious belief.

It is a political ideology with global ambitions, much like communism. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently warned that Islamist movements do not seek peaceful coexistence with the West. They seek dominance. History backs him up.

How Sharia arrives

Political Islam does not begin with dramatic declarations. It starts quietly, through enclaves that operate by their own rules. That is why the development once called EPIC City — now rebranded as the Meadow — is so concerning. Early plans framed it as a Muslim-only community built around a mega-mosque and governed by Sharia-compliant financing. After state investigations were conducted, the branding changed, but the underlying intent remained the same.

Developers have openly described practices designed to keep non-Muslims out, using fees and ownership structures to create de facto religious exclusivity. This is not assimilation. It is the construction of a parallel society within a constitutional republic.

The warning from those who have lived under it

Years ago, local imams in Texas told me, without hesitation, that certain Sharia punishments “just work.” They spoke about cutting off hands for theft, stoning adulterers, and maintaining separate standards of testimony for men and women. They insisted it was logical and effective while insisting they would never attempt to implement it in Texas.

But when pressed, they could not explain why a system they consider divinely mandated would suddenly stop applying once someone crossed a border.

This is the contradiction at the heart of political Islam: It claims universal authority while insisting its harshest rules will never be enforced here. That promise does not stand up to scrutiny. It never has.

AASHISH KIPHAYET / Contributor | Getty Images

America is vulnerable

Europe is already showing us where this road leads. No-go zones, parallel courts, political intimidation, and clerics preaching supremacy have taken root across major cities.

America’s strength has always come from its melting pot, but assimilation requires boundaries. It requires insisting that the Constitution, not religious law, is the supreme authority on this soil.

Yet we are becoming complacent, even fearful, about saying so. We mistake silence for tolerance. We mistake avoidance for fairness. Meanwhile, political Islam views this hesitation as weakness.

Religious freedom is one of America’s greatest gifts. Muslims may worship freely here, as they should. But political Islam must not be permitted to plant a flag on American soil. The Constitution cannot coexist with a system that denies equal rights, restricts speech, subordinates women, and places clerical authority above civil law.

Wake up before it is too late

Projects like the Meadow are not isolated. They are test runs, footholds, proofs of concept. Political Islam operates with patience. It advances through demographic growth, legal ambiguity, and cultural hesitation — and it counts on Americans being too polite, too distracted, or too afraid to confront it.

We cannot afford that luxury. If we fail to defend the principles that make this country free, we will one day find ourselves asking how a parallel system gained power right in front of us. The answer will be simple: We looked away.

The time to draw boundaries and to speak honestly is now. The time to defend the Constitution as the supreme law of the land is now. Act while there is still time.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The Crisis of Meaning: Searching for truth and purpose

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.

The Bubba Effect erupts as America’s power brokers go rogue

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.