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- American Accountability Foundation: Hegseth Should Fire These ‘Woke’ Marxist Officers
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF), a conservative watchdog group, sent a letter to Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, listing the first 20 names of leaders across the military whom it deems excessively focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), as well as similar left-wing initiatives, and, therefore, an impediment to national security. “The woke takeover of the military is a major threat to our national security,” AAF President Thomas Jones wrote in a letter to Hegseth shared first with the New York Post. “As global tensions rise, with Iran on the march, Russia at war, and China in midst of a massive military buildup, we cannot afford to have a military distracted and demoralized by leftist ideology,” he added. “Those who were responsible for these policies being instituted in the first place must be dismissed.” Among those listed are: Air Force Col. Benjamin R. Jonsson, who authored ‘Dear White Colonel’ op-ed One of the individuals who made AAF’s list is Air Force Col. Ben Jonsson, who penned an op-ed in July 2020 demanding his white colleagues “to give a damn” and “address our blind spots around race.” Against the backdrop of national upheaval over the death of George Floyd, he recommended reading Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility” and urged other colonels and members of the armed forces to make a plan. “As white colonels, you and I are the biggest barriers to change if we do not personally address racial injustice in our Air Force,” Jonsson wrote in the piece. “…Dear white colonel, you and I set the culture, drive the calendar, and create the policies at most of our installations around the Air Force.” “Dear white colonel, it is time to give a damn. Aim High.” Navy vice admiral Jeffery Hughes, who spoke at DEI summit Back in 2022, the Navy hosted a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) summit in Virginia. The Navy vice admiral on the list, Jeffery Hughes, spoke at that summit and underscored the importance of DEI to recruit “exceptional talent.” That summit stoked ire from Republicans in Congress. Sen.-elect Jim Banks (R-Ind.) had a viral exchange with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday over the cost of the summit during a committee hearing later that year. AAF also zinged Hughes for speaking at a webinar sponsored by #NatSecGirlSquad, which strives for “competent diversity in national security and defense.” The conservative firm also flagged comments he made to Navy Recruiter magazine in 2016 in which he talked about realigning the Navy’s diversity team to funnel “diversity-related resources to the most impactful parts of the recruiting process.” Air Force Maj. Gen. Elizabeth Arledge lauded RBG, railed against ‘whiteness’ Another military official who made the list is Air Force Maj. Gen. Elizabeth Arledge who had made “woke posts” on her social media, according to AAF. In one post, Arledge shared articles that featured “discussions of whiteness in org[anization] theory and the ways in which whiteness (verb) has become naturalized as the ideal in orgs.” Org theory pertains to the sociological makeup of organizations. Another post focused on intersectionality. “Women are impacted by many constructs simultaneously not just gender. Today’s reading by Evangelina Holvino. So much for me to think about both as an academic and a practitioner. #OrgTheory #AICCSED,” she posted on X. She had also reposted a tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Navy vice admiral Shoshana Chatfield complained Congress is 80% male Navy vice admiral Shoshana Chatfield delivered a speech at a Women’s Equality Day event in 2015 where she bemoaned male dominance in Congress, where she claimed at the time, 80% of lawmakers in the House of Representatives were males. “It seems a bit unequal what issues go forward,” she said. AAF also noted that in her speech she was quoted proclaiming that “our diversity is our strength.” Chatfield also attended a Commander, Naval Air Forces DEI summit in 2022. Air Force Brig. Gen. Corey Simmons oversaw DEI task force creation AAF also took aim at Air Force Brig. Gen. Corey Simmons who helped oversee the formation of a DEI task force at Vance Air Force Base. Simmons also partook in an October 2020 video on “Diversity and Culture Message” where he hailed the work being done to promote “the four principles foundational to diversity and inclusion.” The New York Post reported that prior to getting selected by President-elect Donald Trump, Hegseth, 44, had publicly clamored against wokeness in the military — going as far as to publish a book on the subject earlier this year — and proclaimed on a podcast that any “General, Admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the DEI woke sh— has got to go.” 2024 Election Pete Hegseth Military Officers National security global tensions woke takeover of the military Air Force Col. Benjamin R. Jonsson Navy vice admiral Jeffery Hughes Air Force Maj. Gen. Elizabeth Arledge Navy vice admiral Shoshana Chatfield Air Force Brig. Gen. Corey Simmons
- Transition to Trump 2.0: At Christmas, America comes to Trump, not the other way around
Donald Trump is the same he’s always been; it’s everyone else who’s changed Seeing as we’ve reached Christmas week in the wonderfully impactful year of 2024, people in-the-know are beginning to note how the world appears to have changed around president elect Donald J. Trump. You read that right -- the world has changed. Trump is the same man he’s always been. If you only went by the way Trump has been shown in the media lately, he has suddenly transformed from one of the most consistently despised men in America to one of the most admired. Make no mistake, Trump still has plenty of detractors, but those expressing admiration for the 78-year-old second time president are a lot bolder than they’ve ever been in speaking up. The new aura around Trump kind of reminds me of the ending to the original Dr. Seuss version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, where the Seuss-created Whos emerge from their homes on Christmas morning and sing as though nothing had happened to them. Yes, the Grinch had removed all their presents and taken their decorations in the hours before, but it didn’t stop Christmas from coming to Whoville. Lesson learned: Christmas was always the same – it was the Grinch who discovered something different that day. Similarly, Donald Trump never altered his behavior or his approach to the country. But in the time since November 5th, it’s everyone else who’s adopted a new way of looking at the man who was the 45th president and will once again assume the role as the 47th president next month. Thanks to Trump’s remarkable comeback victory and rebirth as a respected – and feared – world leader, the stage is set for a monstrously memorable 2025. Let’s just hope it’s for the good. In a newsletter post titled “ Trump is under attack less. His popularity is rising. What will the resistance do? ”, the irreplaceable Byron York reported at the Washington Examiner : “[W]ith Trump’s election victory, the dynamic has changed again. For many Americans, and for some world leaders, too, Trump appears already to be president. He is moving forward on a wide range of fronts. He has plans, and he has the energy to pursue them. Even with some iffy nominations, voters have a generally positive view of what he is doing as president-elect. “Meanwhile, some of Trump’s attackers have gone (relatively) silent. Their silence — at the moment, the resistance is confined to routine opposition to Trump on Capitol Hill — is allowing Trump to govern. “At some point soon, the anti-Trump world will realize this is a dangerous situation for them. The key to resistance in Trump’s first term was preventing Trump from governing. Now, a decrease in attacks has allowed the public to see Trump preparing to govern in a second term, and so far, voters are positive and hopeful about it. Which means we should expect the old-style attacks to fire up pretty soon. This time, though, Trump is better prepared for what is coming — so the battle might play out in an entirely different way.” One would certainly think so, that’s for sure. The Donald Trump of 2024 isn’t the same as the Trump of 2017 – but only because those around him treat him so differently. One need not strain one’s memory to recall how Democrats and the establishment media (same animal?) seemingly couldn’t wait to sink their claws into the political novice first-time politician-turned-president. Trump was so politically naïve he actually believed he could say something and people would give it credence. He was wrong. Back then. The confirmation hearings for his first term nominees were full of skeptical senators who felt they owed no deference to the man who the American people had chosen. He was a tool of Vladimir Putin and the Russians, right? Trump’s own congressional leaders disparaged him in public. Celebrities doubted his legitimacy. His co-chiefs of staff worked to undermine him. If Trump wanted a friend in Washington, he’d need to get a dog. But not these days. Trump himself recently commented that people like him and want to be around him – and that perhaps they thought he’d changed. But it’s those same admirers who have seen the light. Why so different? The reasons are many: First, the change from within the Republican Party . It’s hard to fathom it in 2024, but the GOP was still conflicted in 2017. The Bush wing was still influential and voicing opinions. Trump was dismissed as a pacifist, isolationist and trade protectionist. His enemies said he was doing it all for himself. Democrats sniped and there were few Republican defenders. The deep state was still in the ruling class’s control. John McCain was still alive. The smart set openly speculated about using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump as president. Today’s Republicans are different. Even his rivals for the party presidential nod are behind Trump. Yes, even Nikki Haley (at least publicly). Trump’s vice president is an unquestioned loyalist, as are his closest advisors, outsider cabinet picks and the leadership of the RNC (minus Laura Trump, who has resigned). The party still looks mostly the same, but they’re different. Trump is the leader of the band. Get in line behind him and march. Second, (some – a few) Democrats have changed . Most Democrats are the same as they’ve always been and are all-but incapable of fixing themselves. But there’ve been a few opposition party members who’ve pledged to work with Trump to try and establish common ground. Further, former Democrats Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. are in line for cabinet posts. Most of the vocal opponents to their confirmation are Democrats. Go figure. Kamala Harris hasn’t settled on a post-election message. Senile Joe Biden appears content to play out the string and make plans to utilize son Hunter’s ill-gotten gains during his retirement. The liberal party is leaderless and divided. It’ll take them a while to get it back together. Third, there’s been a change in the media . Not a big one, mind you, but the “old” media appears to realize that they can’t just continually lie and criticize Trump and the American people will follow them blindly. Some liberal commentators, such as Van Jones, admits Trump is “smarter” than all of them . It only took them three GOP nominations, two impeachments, a hailstorm of negativity and years in the wilderness to realize it. Fourth, foreign leaders have changed . Trump said recently that many foreigners are calling him to wish him congratulations on his election win. More than a hundred, I think. Trump’s election and subsequent tariff threats have got the world’s leaders dancing to his tune. Nothing like a little American financial power to make them toe the line. Is that really all senile Joe and Democrats had to do to get the world to cooperate with the United States? Trump makes it look all too easy. Lastly, Americans have been given a glimpse of life under the Democrats. And they didn’t like it . If today’s situation were a real life political version of the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, America’s “Guardian Angel” has already gifted the country a four-year long version of what things would’ve looked like if Trump was yanked from the White House by circumstances – and more than likely a crooked vote count that engineered over 80 million (still the record) votes for senile Joe Biden – and life went on as if he’d never been born. Trump didn’t need to do anything to come back, but he did plenty to make it happen. In other words, all Trump had to do to have the country come back around to his MAGA agenda and his unflinching leadership was to be himself. Everything else followed the natural order of things. And America is now better off because of it. Joe Biden economy inflation Biden cognitive decline gas prices, Nancy Pelosi Biden senile Kamala Harris candidacy Donald Trump campaign Harris Trump debates J.D. Vance Kamala vice president Speaker Mike Johnson Donald Trump assassination Donald Trump 2024 presidential election Tim Walz
- If These Drones Are Just "Hobbyist Models" — Why Is The CIA/FBI Drone Briefing Classified?
If our government really doesn’t know what these giant drones are over New Jersey and our military bases, they’re even more incompetent than we thought. Time for them to level with us about what’s really going on . Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) The federal government’s information, or lack thereof, about the drone invasion or drone plague over New Jersey and various military installations across the country gets curiouser and curiouser. It turns out that now that drone mania has hit the establishment news media, people around the country are coming forward to say they’ve been seeing them for longer than just the past month, and in places far away from New Jersey. The Daily Mail reported Ord, Nebraska Police Chief Chris Grooms revealed that Valley County, NE, and its surrounding regions, were besieged for weeks from December 2019 into January 2020 by 'upwards of 40-50' drone UFOs at a time. Across nearly three weeks of nighttime encounters, typically between 7pm and 11pm, these inexplicable SUV-sized drones operated 'with impunity,' Chief Grooms said, and sometimes seemed to be 'toying with law enforcement.' 'A lot of reports by ranchers stated that these objects were harassing their horses or cattle on a nightly basis,' he added. Some of the drones reached speeds of 120mph. The police chief said he 'finds it alarming' that the White House is insisting that the 'drone incursion over New Jersey is not a known threat' — particularly given that the size, shape and behavior of Nebraska's mystery drones matched those in New Jersey. By the way, Ord, NE is about three hours west of Offutt Air Force Base, Headquarters of the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM)* and the 595th Command and Control Group, which flies America’s “Doomsday Planes,” the airborne control aircraft that would be our mobile command centers in case of a nuclear attack. Mysterious drones were also sighted in the vicinity of Offutt AFB (see map below). *That’s the former Strategic Air Command or SAC for us old timers. It is also more or less in the middle of our Minuteman missile fields, spread across the northern Great Plains from Nebraska to Montana. So, we’re not buying the Biden administration’s play dumb act. And neither should you. In one 911 call report, obtained by DailyMail.com , a rural resident of Lincoln County, NE told police she witnessed 'seven drones flying directly over her house' and that these 'suspicious drones' were moving 'east and west' in a coordinated fashion. The witness described the seven mystery drones 'as having red, green and white flashing lights' as they buzzed her property over two nights in early January 2020. The drone swarm's lighting colors, as well as its behavior, match those that later made repeated brazen incursions over the restricted airspace above Air Force joint-base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, then home to America's stealth F-22 fighter fleet. For at least 17 nights in December 2023, swarms of these noisy, small UFOs were also seen at dusk 'moving at rapid speeds' and 'flashing red, green, and white lights.' And these cases are almost identical to what has been reported above sensitive sites in New Jersey, like the US Army's Picatinny Arsenal. Base police have reported 11 confirmed and unauthorized drone sightings over the arsenal since November 13, meaning security officers 'visibly witnessed a drone.' And then there was this intrusion at Hill AFB in Utah. And then there was this case at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. Vandenburg AFB is where our Minuteman III ICBMs are tested, it is also where our missile interceptors are tested, Space X launches rockets and various classified missions are conducted. We don’t buy Biden’s “we don’t know what they are, but they are no threat” claim. One key “tell” is the representation that the drones are “being operated lawfully” which suggests that the White House knows who is operating them but isn’t saying. Why not? The Capitol Switchboard is (202-224-3121), call your Senators and Representative TODAY to demand that they conduct open public hearings on who is operating these mysterious drones and why they pose no threat – if indeed they do not pose a threat. 2024 Election Trump cabinet Kash Patel drone sightings Biden administration national security nuclear power plant Stewart International Airport Air National Guard Base Newark Airport Rep. Jeff Van Drew Iran aircraft carrier Governor Larry Hogan Davidsonville John Kirby U.S. Coast Guard
- American Policy Center Generates Support for Anti-UN Legislation
Tom DeWeese, President of the American Policy Center (APC), just delivered petitions to the office of Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX), asking him to reintroduce his DEFUND Act into the upcoming 119th Congress. The petition also called on Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) to do the same in the U.S. Senate. The petitions were gratefully accepted by Rep. Roy’s staff. Said DeWeese, “these two Members of Congress took courageous action in the current 118th Congress by introducing the DEFUND Act. This is one of the most powerful anti-UN bills ever introduced in Congress.” DEFUND stands for Disengaging Entirely From the United Nations Debacle! The Bill calls for: Termination of U.S. membership in the UN and all affiliated bodies, conventions, and agreements. Stops all funds to any UN body. Prohibits U.S. participation in UN peacekeeping operations. Throws the UN headquarters out of the U.S. And ends U.S. membership in the World Health Organization! DeWeese went on to say, “The United Nations is the center of the globalist agenda to eliminate national independence as it seeks to control the world’s economy and political policy. If the United States would exit the United Nations, it would collapse almost instantly. Many other nations would leave it with us. And you would see the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization and the nearly 20,000 Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), that help to enforce the agenda, also collapse as the money and political power they create dries up.” As DeWeese met with Rep. Roy’s staff, he related a story concerning APC’s long dedication to getting the U.S. out of the United Nations. In the year 2000, APC worked closely with former Congressman Ron Paul when he introduced a similar anti-UN bill. At that time, APC gathered over 350,000 signed petitions for Rep. Paul’s bill. The group then sponsored a national news conference, featuring Rep. Paul and the late Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth, as the petitions were delivered to Congress. DeWeese promised Rep. Roy’s staff that APC would do this again if Rep. Roy and Senator Lee would reintroduce the DEFUND Act. DeWeese pledged that APC would work to create a steady flow of pressure to Congress to pass the DEFUND Act by gathering thousands more petitions in support of the bill; provide leadership and training of local activists to organize local “Exit UN” rallies; and even create a telephone call-in to Congress to keep their office phones ringing. Concluded DeWeese, “The fact is, due to the massive change that is taking place in our federal government right now, as President Trump prepares to take command, I believe we have never had a stronger opportunity to make Exiting the UN a reality.” Author Tom DeWeese is President of the American Policy Center and National Grassroots Coordinator for CFACT (Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow) working to help local activists organize into Freedom Pods ( www.CFACT.org ). He is also the author of three books, including Now Tell Me I Was Wrong, ERASE, and Sustainable: the WAR on Free Enterprise, Private Property, and Individuals. 2024 Election United Nations Anti-UN Rep. Chip Roy Defund the U.N. Senator Mike Lee Petitions DEFUND Act Globalist agenda World Health Organization NGOs
- Transition to Trump 2.0: Trump fights back against the ‘fake news’ media and phony pollsters
Donald Trump not content to be lied about anymore. He sues and wins. The media beware Folks familiar with media history and the controversial record of the journalism industry probably recognize the New York Times ’ famous slogan: “ All the News That's Fit to Print ”. The saying is still used by the New York paper and was originally coined by owner Adolph S. Ochs in 1897. Those who’ve followed what conservatives now label the establishment media also understand that the major reporting agencies – in print, television, internet, etc. – have fallen on hard financial times, mostly because of poor accountability standards and changing news consumer habits and tastes. Whereas most Americans used to rely almost exclusively on a few “credible” providers to find out what’s happening across the country and world, today’s citizens are much more likely to pick up tidbits from social media or “alternative” sources such as podcasts or online streaming. In other words, media is changing – rapidly. Regular daily newspaper readers or nightly news viewers have altered their practices, leaving sources like the New York Times and their “All The News That’s Fit to Print” motto searching for ways to adapt to the quickly shifting environment. Nonetheless, members of the establishment media were shocked when president elect Donald Trump earned a settlement from ABC News last week. The lawsuit was spurred on by Trump’s objecting to a falsehood that ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos repeated over and over during a segment earlier this year . It wasn’t just that Stephanopoulos’s assertions were deceitful – they were egregious lies. The hubris in the reporting industry has gotten out of control, where “fact-checking” is typically done by the same tainted mindset as those appearing on air or writing the articles. The same applies to reports on the election – and supposedly neutral polling information. Well, Trump wasn’t about to let the industry cower behind the First Amendment any longer – as though the Founders’ goal of protecting newspapers and the free flow of information extended to lies and the lazy passing along of fabrications. It doesn’t. In an article titled, “ Wrong polls, real lawsuits: Trump wages legal war on media for election fumbles ”, Stephen Dinan reported at The Washington Times : “The lawsuit argues that the poll — published three days before the election and showing Vice President Kamala Harris with a lead in Iowa when she lost the state by 13 points — defied ‘credulity’ and should have been deep-sixed. Mr. Trump’s lawyers called the poll ‘manipulated’ and ‘election-interfering fiction.’ “The lawsuit, filed under Iowa’s consumer fraud laws, targets the Register, pollster Ann Selzer and Gannett, which owns the newspaper. At the time it ran, the poll struck some observers as wildly off base due to the voters sampled. Still, a number of media outlets trumpeted it as a sign that Mr. Trump was showing weakness in Midwestern states or that he was struggling in usually strong GOP areas. “Floyd Abrams, a prominent First Amendment lawyer, called the lawsuit unprecedented. ‘The notion that a candidate who won an election would sue a newspaper that published what turned out to be an incorrect poll predicting his defeat is surely unknown in our history,’ he told The Washington Times in an email.” Of the many illusions that the political rise and subsequent success of lifelong real estate developer, tabloid celebrity and reality TV star Donald J. Trump has shattered, perhaps the biggest and potentially longest lasting is the notion that the corporate/establishment media can’t be touched because of prior Supreme Court precedent which has all-but erected an invisible barrier around reports involving public figures. Trump is the most public of public figures in just about every way and the media has found it open season to concoct, twist and fabricate stories that had little or no connection to truth and feed them to the American news consumer as though they were food rich in mental nutrients and high in veracity fiber. In case you’re wondering which lies I’m referring to, Scott McKay at The American Spectator compiled a partial list of whoppers the media has invented . Though it’s difficult to recall just how pervasive the sleaze is in the media on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, the totality of the offenses is impressive, indeed. One can’t help but think that better source checks and being more careful in reporting would alleviate a lot of the credibility problem, but clearly the media felt it could get away with murder – figuratively and almost in reality – by taking the word of anonymous sources and blowing up rumors without regard to journalistic standards of veracity. But as some observers have pointed out, the Trump lawsuits pinpointing media outlets that went with bogus reports are somewhat unprecedented. Critics have suggested that by letting Trump sue the media – and win – that the entire industry will pull back and, gulp, refrain from moving on unsubstantiated reports that could, in a perfect world, turn out to be true. Why? Why would anyone in the media think they’re losing something valuable? Trump hasn’t exactly filed suit against the entirety of the reporting industry, just the outlets that were blatantly careless in their stories. Naturally, one would think to question anonymous tips from anyone, and likewise harbor suspicion against the most obvious lies stemming from Democrats. The Steele dossier was a prime example. Didn’t the editors and producers find it odd that there wasn’t anyone willing to come forward and corroborate the fantastic claims in it? If Trump had actually have been in the infamous “pee incident” detailed in the faux compilation document, wouldn’t there be prostitutes or hotel maids who could’ve supplied the back up testimony? Similarly, don’t the higher ups in these media companies worry that the tales originate only from unquestionably partisan sources? Trump has been the target of so many sordid fantasies, it’s almost not possible to surmise that there’s more out there. I’ve proposed that Trump might be the most thoroughly vetted presidential candidate of all time. Watch your sources, journalists. As Trump has shown, you might have a lawsuit on your hands if you’re not careful. It’s not a “chilling” effect that’s the danger – it’s allowing the media to run wild. A large payout or two will do wonders for the media itself, not hold them back. Trump’s suit regarding the Iowa polling reporting is long overdue Likewise, there’s perhaps no one who’s suffered the ill effects of bad polls more than Donald Trump. The polling was awful in 2016, 2020 and 2024. So bad, in fact, that most responsible news consumers automatically figured surveys showing Trump running behind this year were certainly suspect. As detailed in Dinan’s article, the referenced Iowa poll showed Trump trailing cackling Kamala Harris by double digits a few days prior to Election Day. Politics watchers who’d kept track of the back-and-forth didn’t even put Iowa in the toss-up category. The poll results were so wrong that hardly anyone took the findings seriously. But maybe someone did. Negative poll results have a dampening effect on turnout and enthusiasm can make all the difference in a tight race, which this year’s contest was destined to be. It wasn’t. Trump won comfortably in Iowa and managed to prevail in every swing state, the definition of a landslide. This particular poll didn’t hold Trump back, but it might have. Hence Trump is justified to be angry and think this is a good subject for legal action. Let’s prevent it from happening again; let them check closer next time, and be prepared to explain their results. If the past four years has revealed anything meaningful, it’s that Americans aren’t settling for word from the media to form opinions on politics. Neither should Donald Trump. Joe Biden economy inflation Biden cognitive decline gas prices, Nancy Pelosi Biden senile Kamala Harris candidacy Donald Trump campaign Harris Trump debates J.D. Vance Kamala vice president Speaker Mike Johnson Donald Trump assassination Donald Trump 2024 presidential election Tim Walz
- Remembering a Great Man and Important Conservative Leader, Dr. Lee Edwards December 1, 1932 – December 12, 2024
And the King said unto his servants, “Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel.” 2nd Samuel 3:38 And thus I feel about the passing of my oldest living friend, Dr. Lee Edwards, who went to his heavenly reward December 12, 2024. In the summer of 1961, I went to New York City to become the Executive Secretary of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). Lee was a founding member of YAF in 1960 and a member of the Board of Directors. Thus began a lifelong, deep, and strong friendship. We had so much in common—same age, both strong, conservative, anti-Communist, Catholics—consumed with saving Western Civilization. In early 1975, I mailed promotion letters for a new magazine I wanted to launch— Conservative Digest . As the subscriptions started to pour in, I began to focus on the fact that I had no magazine. My vision was to produce a monthly publication providing leadership, news, information, action items, for the new political movement known as the New Right. Almost in a panic, I called Lee, who had been the founding editor of YAF’s magazine The New Guard and said, “Help. I need to put out a monthly magazine, and soon”. Lee liked the idea and became the first Editor of Conservative Digest , and for the next 10 years it had more subscribers and received more media attention than any other conservative publication. Earlier this year, Lee was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer but led an active life until recent weeks. At his death, he was busy writing his 26th book , Ten Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement . His list did not include himself, but on my short list of conservative unsung heroes would be Dr. Lee Edwards. I was fortunate to be with Lee numerous times in recent months. A few months ago, we sat next to each other at a dinner of national conservatives. For two hours we made plans to begin a new project of recording the history of the Conservative Movement by interviewing those who were there at the beginning in the 1960s and 1970s. After his cancer diagnosis, Morton Blackwell offered the use of his Leadership Institute’s film studio with camera and crew for Lee to be interviewed by his daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Spalding, Chairman of Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, and myself for about two hours. Lee spoke long and eloquently about the earliest days of the Conservative Movement, including comments on his late father, Willard, who was a well-known journalist for the Chicago Tribune , and the founding of ISI and Human Events in the 1950s. Lee was one of 90 young conservatives to meet at Sharon, Connecticut on September 11, 1960, the family home of Bill Buckley, Jr. YAF was born and launched that day. Lee would become the first Editor of YAF’s monthly Magazine The New Guard. He continued telling stories from his role in 1964 as director of public information for the Goldwater for President campaign through the early years of the Conservative Movement, including the 1960s and 1970s when conservatives were in the wilderness up until Ronald Reagan’s election as President in 1980. His analysis of the Conservative Movement and politics in recent years is priceless. Lee’s work continued until his death. He chronicled the movement and his vision was that our fight to win the Cold War and the horrors of communism must be told. His living legacy will be the Victims of Communism Museum and Foundation now opened in Washington, D.C. On display there are the atrocities that Joseph Stalin and every leader of the Soviet Union perpetrated on their own people. Communism has caused the death of more than 94 million people who were executed, starved to death, forced in slave labor or sent to war by its leaders. Lee and his wife Anne were perfectly yoked. I actually knew Anne a few years before Lee as she was a leader in New York City’s Young Republicans and YAF. It was her idea for Lee to start the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Lee was an indispensable leader in the founding and development of today’s Conservative Movement. As St. Paul said about himself in 2nd Timothy, 4:7, “I have fought the good fight; I’ve finished the race; I’ve kept the faith. Now waiting for me is the crown of righteousness….” I paraphrase and say this, “Lee fought the good fight; Lee finished the race; Lee kept the faith. Now waiting for Lee Edwards is the crown of righteousness.” At his death, December 12, 2024, 11 days past his 92nd birthday, in addition to being known, admired, and respected by the leaders of the Conservative Movement of the last 60+ years, Lee was known by many as “001”—meaning he had been active at the national level of the Conservative Movement longer than any living conservative. If you didn’t like Lee Edwards, you didn’t like people. I’ve not known a better role model in my 91 years. Rest in peace dear friend.
- Syrian Christians Facing Christmas Jihad
In our recent article “ Christians Under Assault In Syria ” we documented how the Islamist militia that overthrew dictator Bashar al Assad had immediately turned upon Syria’s ancient Christian communities. Since then, things have only gotten worse for Christians in Syria. Before the Syrian Civil War, approximately 1.5 million - 10% of Syrian population were Christians. The number is thought to have dropped sharply in recent years, but by how much is unclear. There could now be as few as 300,000 Christians left in Syria today. Christians predominately live in and around cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Latakia and in Hasaka governorate. Most Syrian Christians are members of either Eastern Orthodox Church’s Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East or Syriac Orthodox Church (part of Oriental Orthodox family of churches). Most of the Catholics in Syria belong to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. There are also a minority of Protestants, including Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Armenian Evangelical Churches. As Madeleine Rowley documented in an article for The Free Press, the Islamist rebels in Syria have a history of persecuting Syrian Christians. The radical theology of many Islamist rebels in Syria resulted in acts of violence against Syrian Christians, everything from desecrating churches to kidnapping and murder. So, when armed Islamist fighters standing in the streets of Mary’s village tell the Christians no harm will come to them, they have no reason to believe them. For years, the Christians in Mary’s village held sizable Christmas celebrations. But this year, she said, “When the local Christmas tree was lit, just a handful of people showed up. Some shops are open, but many people don’t leave their houses and are waiting for what will happen next. Others, though, just want to go about their daily lives.” What’s the bottom line for Syria’s Christians? Credible sources report Jolani’s HTS has confiscated over 500 properties from Christians and has violently converted the Druze population north of Aleppo to Sunni Islam, massacring those who attempted to resist. Wherever it rules, HTS imposes strict “Hisbah” patrols that beat up and imprison women who violate the dress code or are caught traveling without a supervising male. While HTS outwardly speaks of liberating Syrians, internally, it speaks of enslaving them. 2024 Election Syria Bashar al Assad Hamas Iran Israel ISIS Muhammad al-Julani Muhammad al-Jawlani Levant Front Russia Political Islam Sharia supremacy General Lloyd Austin Free Syrian Forces Islamist State
- Transition to Trump 2.0: Fate of J6 prisoners lie entirely in Donald J. Trump’s hands
Countdowns have begun… to commemorations of January 6th. Pardon one? Pardon all? Pardon none ? We’re now inside of a week until Christmas day. For you Christmas clock – or calendar – watchers you’d best quit procrastinating and make your way to the store, or the computer, to purchase what you’ve been putting off until now. But calendar spectators may also be observing the passage of the days for another, less heartwarming reason. We’re now about two and a half weeks until January 6th, which next year, falls on a Monday. Though no political leader has yet declared that January sixth now shares notoriety with December 7th or September 11th as a “date which will live in infamy”, there’s little doubt most Americans reflexively recognize it and reflect back to what happened four years ago. Not only that, but here’s predicting the near dead duck (not lame duck!) Biden administration remnants will devote much time and attention to how the anniversary should be observed, somewhere in between calling for silence for the horribly torn nation to striking a celebratory tone for successfully siccing the Justice Department on every participant to pay with their freedom, livelihood, self-respect, fortune, home, marriage, etc. -- punishment for the “crime” of disbelieving the legitimacy of the 2020 vote count and then showing up on the Capitol grounds to “let their voices be heard.” At any rate, in one of his final official acts as president, senile Joe Biden will most likely take whatever stimulants he needs to make himself coherent for an hour or two and then deliver a nationwide address – perhaps from the Oval Office – to decry and denounce, for a final time, the occurrences of January 6, 2021. As for the rest of the country, many people are engaged in a debate over whether to pull a senile Joe Biden (for his son, Hunter) and ask Trump to pardon the lot of the January 6 “prisoners” who were literally and figuratively rounded up by Merrick Garland’s goons and charged with a variety of criminal no-no’s for utilizing their First Amendment rights to speak, petition and assemble. President elect Trump has said he will pardon many if not all of the J6ers (as they’re now called) on his first day in office. Should he? In a commentary titled “J6 Pardons: Trump Must Not Go Wobbly”, the always thought-provoking David Catron wrote at The American Spectator earlier this week : “…These people are not insurrectionists — not one has been charged with that crime — nor are they criminals. None carried firearms into the Capitol and the only one who died that day was Ashli Babbitt, a veteran shot by a capitol police officer to whom she presented no serious threat. A majority of the J6 prisoners are guilty of little more than trespassing and disorderly conduct. “Moreover, it’s obvious that millions of Americans agree with this assessment. Trump has long made it clear that he intended to pardon many if not all of the J6 prisoners, and 77.3 million voters cast ballots for him last month. The Democrats, the corporate media, and some weak-kneed Republicans insist that it would be a mistake for him to pardon these people. They’re wrong. Jan. 6, 2021 was hardly America’s finest hour, of course...” Therein lies the dilemma. There is no clear answer to the pardon conundrum. Trump has said he’ll consider each case individually, but time is of the essence. Every day of delay impacts lives. It would make sense to come to a general policy before delving down to the nitty gritty. As Catron argued, all of the J6ers should receive a pardon. Kurt Schlichter and others have argued similarly. They provide various rationales for advocating to include everyone. Here are mine: First and foremost , it’s the right thing to do. And they deserve it. If it’s a fundamental, God-given right to speak out against the government, what the participants in the protest did on that day (almost) four years ago was at the top of the list in terms of allowable actions. It doesn’t get more “American” than that – to find the most visible and consequential place possible and go there to “make themselves heard”. The fact the purveyors of “dignified” government freaked out when it was all over doesn’t justify what the Biden revenge-seekers did in response. People were right to be angry at how the protest got out of hand. It didn’t look good for our side to behave the way some of those Trump backers did. Yet let the punishment fit the offense. Some measure of monetary restitution should have been made for the minimal physical damage; then forgive and move on. Most of the participants left the place how they found it. Others, goaded by police excess, went overboard. The law exists for a reason. But four years later, nothing good would come from leaving the matter unresolved, and those who’ve been serving time have paid their debt to society. Let ‘em go, and cleanse their records. An official apology would be a bonus. Second , the nation has moved past January 6, 2021. Issuing full pardons to every participant will allow for everyone in the country to have a new start, whether they desire one or not. There’s simply no need to keep bringing this up. I learned recently that the ugly knee-bashing incident involving Nancy Kerrigan and some idiot colleagues of Tonya Harding thirty years ago took place on January 6 , 1994 . What is it about that date? Aren’t anniversaries supposed to be a good thing? Putting a blanket end to the legal leftovers from J6 2021 will expunge the stain that now lingers on that date, begging for a collective emotional stain remover. Third , Ashli Babbit deserves to rest in peace. Protester Ashli Babbitt was killed for no reason by a capitol police officer for jumping through a broken window. Video and subsequent analysis showed she went through the opening so she could prevent others from doing the same. Babbit’s fellow protesters were luckier than she was. But the taint that remains will forever be there unless Trump acts to pardon the entirety of the protester group. Singling out those who may have acted violently (there are two sides to every story) dishonors the sacrifice Ashli Babbitt made. Her memory and legacy deserve to endure with an act of clemency and forgiveness, not to simply perpetuate the vindictive score-settling that’s taken place under the auspices of the Biden Justice Department. Lastly , any political repercussions Trump would possibly feel from granting every J6er a full pardon will only be temporary and won’t last long. Some people will definitely be angered by Trump being lenient with all of the J6ers, including the purportedly violent ones. Some of those definitely appeared to go overboard that day. But again, they’ve already paid for their actions. They’ve done their time. No one is going “free”. But justice hasn’t been done -- yet. At the same juncture, American voters have short memories. Senile Joe Biden’s pardon of his son for the middle-aged lad’s crimes was comparatively more egregious. Yet when it comes to harboring a grudge for something that boils down to a difference of opinion (should Trump pardon them all or not?), it’ll have no staying power. The J6 investigation was hardly on the level, too . Americans will be concentrating on Trump’s policy prescriptions and whether the country is recovering from its funk imposed by senile Joe Biden and the rest of the Democrats, not an innocuous detail like a one-time mass pardon regarding something that took place years ago. David Catron is right – Trump mustn’t go wobbly on the J6ers. Pardoning all of them is the best way to put that tragic day behind us. Maybe, then, by next year, Americans won’t even think of January 6 as a date that needs to be singled out. Joe Biden economy inflation Biden cognitive decline gas prices, Nancy Pelosi Biden senile Kamala Harris candidacy Donald Trump campaign Harris Trump debates J.D. Vance Kamala vice president Speaker Mike Johnson Donald Trump assassination Donald Trump 2024 presidential election Tim Walz
- Conservatives: Join Sen Rand Paul To Oppose Giant Year-End Spending Bill
Word has come from our sources on Capitol Hill that Speaker of the House Mike “The Disappointment” Johnson is about to cave to Democrats and put another giant year-end spending bill on the House Floor. Worse still, in order to dragoon reluctant Republican House Members into voting for it the desperately needed supplemental spending for hurricane relief in Florida and the Carolinas – home to some of the GOP staunchest fiscal conservatives – has been buried in the bill, along with billions in as yet undisclosed pork. This government by fiscal crisis has become a congressional habit no matter which party is in power. It obviates any need for transparency or accountability and allows members to avoid responsibility for adding more billions – or will it be trillions this time – to our already unconscionable national debt. Fortunately, The Hill reports Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is threatening to hold up spending package that congressional leaders claim is needed to pass by the end of the day Friday to avoid a government shutdown, that is unless leaders in Congress agree to vote on amendments to offset the cost of new spending in the proposal. Paul has significant leverage to force colleagues to vote on spending cuts because congressional leaders are late, as usual, in unveiling the continuing resolution, which is expected to fund the government until March 14. Senator Paul says he won’t yield back time on the floor unless Schumer guarantees fiscal hawks a full debate and opportunity to vote on amendments to offset the cost of new spending in the proposal. “I can’t anticipate giving any time of consent to condense time without debate and debate means amendments. We’ll probably put forward some pay-fors,” Paul told The Hill, flagging green-energy subsidies as spending that could be cut to offset the cost of disaster relief for North Carolina and other states hit hard by recent hurricanes. “There are some big existing pay-fors and I think they should be forced to decide: Do you want to help the people in Asheville or do you want to help green-energy companies, multimillion-dollar companies with subsidies for green energy? There’s about $4 billion out there in that,” he said. The Hill reported conservatives in both chambers are furious they still haven’t seen the details of the continuing resolution, which will extend government funding as well as provide new funding for disaster relief, payments to farmers and other programs that have vocal constituencies. “I don’t know what all kinds of schemes they’re hatching here,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “I did hear a word of scuttlebutt that the House Republicans aren’t real happy with what the supposed final deal was.” The Capitol Switchboard is (202-224-3121), call your Senators and Representative TODAY to demand that they vote NO on any year-end Continuing Resolution that does more than fund the government at existing levels until the new Republican trifecta is sworn in. 2024 Election Spending bill Senator Rand Paul Speaker Mike Johnson Supplemental spending for hurricane relief transparency national debt Social security benefits tax continuing resolution Chuck Schumer green energy subsidies
- Squishy GOP Senators Who Supported Biden's Pentagon Better Not Block Hegseth
In our continuing series of articles on the roiling confirmation battle set to unfold in the soon to be Republican-led Senate, we are addressing the phenomenon of GOP Senators of both the pro-and anti-Trump persuasion bafflingly voting to confirm some of the worst and most damaging of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees. In last week’s article we addressed the demonstrably terrible confirmations carried by GOP Senators acting against the interests of their party and nation in Biden’s Department of Justice, many of whom took a leading role in the active lawfare against President-elect Trump and his supporters. In this entry, we turn to the group responsible for the pollution of our military with the values of identity politics focused on race, sexual orientation and gender ideology, in short: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or DEI, and the architects of the Biden Administration’s shameful, costly and haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan. There is however, one notable change among one of these confirmations that must be addressed: the failure of GOP Senators to vote on crucial nominees, which in a Democrat presidency is a de facto vote in favor. At the top of the confirmed Pentagon nominations that have objectively decreased the global perception of America’s military effectiveness are Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin , former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles “C.Q.” Brown, Jr. , and former Undersecretary Of Defense For Policy Colin Kahl . The documentation of severe defects in judgement that have punctuated the tenure of Secretary of Defense Austin is extensive and wide ranging. But arguably the most concise comes from the desk of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in January 2024 related to Austin’s unannounced cancer diagnosis and his subsequent incapacity. Stefanik outlined the “ shocking actions and lack of transparency” from Austin: “ It is absolutely unacceptable that the Pentagon waited multiple days to notify the President of the United States, the National Security Council, and the American people that Defense Secretary Austin was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties.” “ There are currently thousands of 10th Mountain Division Soldiers deployed in the Middle East. And while those brave Servicemembers were under attack by Iranian-backed terrorists, the Secretary of Defense was in the ICU. The Deputy Secretary of Defense was on vacation, and Joe Biden and the White House were completely unaware. In the chain of command, the Secretary of Defense serves as the connection through which the President commands and controls our armed forces.” While Austin’s health struggles are regrettable, the issue certainly never came down to punishing a man for his illness, but for the haphazard manner in which the official incapacity was handled which endangered American lives and national security which led to the White House setting “new guidelines for Cabinet notifications,” per the Associated Press . Besides his health-related issues, Austin has come under extreme scrutiny for his DOD policies that place the military at odds with state laws pertaining to abortion following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson with Austin signing a memo in October 2022 that established “ travel and transportation allowances for Service members and their dependents, as appropriate and consistent with applicable federal law and operational requirements, and as necessary amend any applicable travel regulations, to facilitate official travel to access noncovered reproductive health care that is unavailable within the local area of a Service member's permanent duty station .” Effectively, he created taxpayer funded abortion-leave, with expenses paid, and even ordered that abortion-providing medical personnel be relocated, again at taxpayer expense, to states where their services are permitted. Finally, alongside every other Biden-Cabinet member, Austin has been a vocal supporter of DEI race and gender identity politics and also took the leading role in the pervasive persecution of conservatives and Trump supporters in the military under the thinly-veiled guise of fighting “Far-Right Extremism Inside the Military,” a non-issue soundly debunked by a report commissioned by the Pentagon in 2021 and later revealed by The Wall Street Journal . To the lasting shame of Senate Republicans, we must remind our readers that Austin was confirmed with near unanimity, 98-2, opposed by but two Republicans: Senators Mike Lee of Utah, and Josh Hawley of Missouri. And in a recurrent theme, five GOP Senators failed to vote on the matter Richard Burr (R-NC), Shelly Capito (R-WV), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), (R-NC) and Tim Moran (R-KS). Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles “C.Q.” Brown, Jr., was similarly confirmed by a widely bipartisan vote of 83-11 despite opposition by a cadre of Republican Senators, namely Braun (R-IN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Hawley (R-MO), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Lee (R-UT), Lummis (R-WY), Marshall (R-KS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Schmitt (R-MO), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and future Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-OH). However, he found support from unlikely sources such as Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA), Tillis (R-NC), future Senate Majority Leader-designee John Thune (R-SD) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) alongside the usual Democrat sympathizers such as Sens. Mitt Romney R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Brown proved to be a highly troubling appointment when the American Accountability Foundation (AAF) revealed in July 2023 that as an Air Force General he made several public statements in which he offered full-throated support for the military's disastrous DEI programs. AAF President Tom Jones told Fox News "The American people deserve to be defended by the most highly qualified soldiers, sailors and airmen in the world, selected by merit, not race. More importantly, our troops deserve to be led by officers who are the best at their jobs. They deserve to put their lives in the hands of officers chosen for their skill and courage, not the color of their skin." He added, "Gen. Brown's obsession with race-based hiring and promotions is extremely disturbing." In a similar vein, illustrating the stranglehold of racial and gender identity politics over the Biden Administration Pentagon we find the former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl. In a 49-45 confirmation vote Kahl was brutally criticized and castigated for his participation in the Obama Administration’s catastrophic 2015 Nuclear deal with Iran and his posts to Twitter (now X) claiming that Republicans “debase themselves at the alter of Trump” and is “the party of ethnic cleansing,” per Politico . Not a single Republican voted for Kahl, which under ordinary circumstances could be considered praiseworthy. However, the trouble in this case is that five Republicans who could have, at the very least, forced Vice President Kamala Harris to cast a tiebreaker managed to miss this vote, but given that a single Democrat also missed the vote, could have been decisive. Namely, Sens. Blunt (R-MO), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) failed to vote in this case, and as a result Colin Kahl, a hyper-partisan, anti-Trump radical was permitted to guide military policy for two years before he resigned to accept a position at S tanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation . During the 2024 confirmation process to establish President Trump’s cabinet there will be precisely ZERO VOTES that any Republican Senator can or should miss. The process of confirmation is easily one of the most crucial and constitutionally significant roles the Senate can play, and with such responsibility, there can be no excuse for being listed as “Not Voting.” The Capitol Switchboard is (202-224-3121), we urge CHQ readers and friends to call their Senators TODAY to demand they vote to promptly confirm each and every one of President Trump’s cabinet nominees. Matthew Holloway is a contributor for Conservative HQ . Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@theconservativefreelancer.com . 2024 Election Trump cabinet Kash Patel deep state FBI Director Christopher Wray Republican State Attorneys General Federal law enforcement Pete Hegseth Pam Bondi Matt Gaetz Republican senators senate confirmation Senator Susan Collins Senator Lisa Murkowski
- Transition to Trump 2.0: ‘Freedom Cities’ just one of many groundbreaking Trump-ian innovations
Look for groundbreaking on a new American “Freedom City” – if Trump has his way We’ve all heard it -- You can’t make somethin’ out of nothin’. Or so it would seem, though president elect Donald J. Trump appears destined to try if his plan to create new American cities out of currently mostly barren federal lands ever comes to fruition. You’ve probably heard Trump mention fashioning “Freedom Cities” before but might’ve figured he wasn’t serious about actually doing it especially considering such a massive undertaking as building whole new metropolises out of the wilderness or desert probably isn’t something most down-to-earth pragmatic folks envision doing on a regular basis. For those of us who’ve gone about overseeing the building of a new house realize it isn’t a task that can be done overnight. The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” has real shades of truth to it. Yet, dreaming up “big” things and bringing the ideas to life is what Trump has done since a young age as a real estate developer. Trump seemingly took the attitude that nothing was impossible. I myself have seen a number of his buildings – and he’s designed golf courses (with huge Niagara Falls-like waterfalls), too. There just aren’t many limitations when it comes to Trump. Can he do the practically impossible as president? In an article titled, “Interest in Trump’s ‘Freedom Cities’ Grows”, Nathan Worcester reported at The Epoch Times recently : “On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald J. Trump outlined many big plans, from achieving energy dominance to carrying out the largest deportation operation in American history. Now, as his administration begins to take shape, enthusiasm is building for Trump’s proposed solution to the housing crisis: chartering new ‘Freedom Cities’ using millions of acres of what is currently federal land. “’We’ll actually build new cities in our country again,’ Trump said in the 2023 ‘Agenda 47’ video announcing his plan, which hinges on a contest to create up to 10 such cities… “The Walt Disney World Resort grew up in Florida’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The 1967 act that created Disney’s special district gave the company considerable autonomy over the remote swamp land that it acquired and developed—in the words of a University of Miami Business Law Review analysis, ‘authority generally reserved for municipal and county governments.’ That’s real sovereignty for the Magic Kingdom.” Yes, it is, and the State of Florida did battle with the Disney people in the last couple years seeking to rescind some of the entity’s sovereignty due to the company’s “woke” cultural intrusions and attempts to steer public policy – basically, sticking its mouse nose where it doesn’t belong. But, at any rate, the concept of a “Freedom City” isn’t exactly brand new, as Worcester’s report points out. The Epoch Times reporter also details some of the problems involved with basically creating something out of nothing, a mission liberals would have never, ever thought up in the first place. Democrats are too preoccupied with making our current cities and towns unlivable with their immigration, economic, crime and social policies. They’re too busy ruining the country to engage over the idea of designating semi-autonomous zones full of people who love liberty and are bent on leaving others alone to create their own personal versions of the American Dream. But leave it to Donald J. Trump to champion such a futuristic yet doable hypothesis – basically, taking unused federally owned land and turning it over to the people to generate economic opportunity and alleviate crowding at the same time. In his introductory video, Trump informs us that only a very, very small portion of federal lands would be used for such a rededicated purpose, essentially a fraction of one percent of total acreage. No, Yosemite National Park and Yellowstone aren’t in danger. Still, there will be those who learn of the idea and hate it, not trusting human beings to be good stewards of God’s creation. These people see problems before anything is ever tried. Trump is a visionary; Democrats aren’t. They’re like the friend’s mother who says “No!” to any group idea because she’s afraid she can’t control the guidelines and who gets to attend the party. What could easily ruin the concept of “Freedom Cities” is an unnecessary amount of “woke” restrictions on who can – and cannot – relocate there. Everyone familiar with the way government works understands that federal lawmakers and bureaucrats impose their own views on businesses in the form of regulations, etc. – rules that have nothing to do with the function of the business yet, through mandates, greatly increase the cost of operating those entities. I recall a time from my youth when my father talked about how small mom n’ pop-type shops and restaurants had to close down completely because they couldn’t afford to fix a restroom on site to comply with the Americans for Disabilities Act. Even though only a microscopic percentage of their clientele would even need such accommodations, they would still be required by the bureaucracy to spend thousands of dollars so as to comply with the political dictates. In other words, there just can’t be a “one size fits all” notion of entry into a Freedom City. This would also brush up against the concept of property rights and usage which is a fundamental tenet of this nation yet we continue to wrestle with when “smart growth” and “sustainable development” enter the picture. Similarly, if Trump’s “Freedom Cities” are ordered under pain of arrest or heavy fine that x number of certain minority groups must populate the streets and avenues, there goes the concept of throwing open the door to any settler who may be inclined to uproot and move there. Ethnic and cultural “diversity” is a worthy goal – supposedly – but is it vital enough to have to scrub the entire idea if external factors prevent it? One would think non-discrimination would be the law, meaning only objective factors and criteria could be used to determine who gets in or must wait to satisfy the entrance prerequisites. The myriad of potential politician-inspired hurdles regarding “Freedom Cities” is endless, indeed. Whenever politicians get their grubby little hands and mouths around a good idea, things tend to go bad quickly. But again, this is Donald J. Trump we’re talking about, so perk up and pay attention. A “Freedom City” just might be on the horizon. If for nothing else, Trump’s proposal will initiate a conversation on the meaning of liberty One frequently heard Democrat criticism of Trump during the recently concluded campaign was that he “didn’t offer any new plans or ideas” and he would therefore defeat the “progress” Democrats have made over the decades on their social agenda. You know, the feminist movement, “free love”, etc. “We ain’t going back!” cackling Kamala Harris would lead her rally audiences in a repetitive chant. It got people stirred up, didn’t it? What they really meant is they weren’t going to give up abortion up until birth on demand. And sometimes after. Democrats always make it sound like the post-war productive America and 1980’s economic boom were times to be ashamed of rather than fostering nostalgia. Conservatives understood the Democrats’ claims were campaign tactics intended to scare the uninformed – the “low information” voters who often decide elections. Democrats were the ones who had no new ideas to offer the people on the economy, immigration, education, taxes, government reform, etc. Moving forward means more than furthering the cultural deterioration of this nation. Trump’s DOGE will work on bringing the government into line and his agenda items like “Freedom Cities” will encourage Americans to dream big and strive to make lives better. That’s the way Americans have always done it. Why not build some new cities? Let’s hope it happens. Joe Biden economy inflation Biden cognitive decline gas prices, Nancy Pelosi Biden senile Kamala Harris candidacy Donald Trump campaign Harris Trump debates J.D. Vance Kamala vice president Speaker Mike Johnson Donald Trump assassination Donald Trump 2024 presidential election Tim Walz
- Message To New GOP Majority: Go Big On Trump Agenda, Or Be Sent Home
Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the recent election brought with it Republican control of both Houses of Congress. However, if you pay close attention to the social media feeds of Republican Members of Congress, or read the school newspapers of Capitol Hill, like The Hill, Politico and Roll Call, you will likely see the same trend we’ve seen: Republicans complaining about how difficult it will be to pass President Donald Trump’s signature policies. Rep. Vern Buchanan, of my home state of Florida, the vice chair of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, said he’s not sold on the idea of reclassifying how tips are taxed when Trump first floated the idea, citing the growing national debt. “You’ve just got to be careful with it. We’re running these trillion-dollar deficits. Got to be careful with all of this.,” Buchanan said. “I want to be sensitive, because they work hard. And obviously a big part of their earnings is tips. All these programs sound good; everybody likes to pay less taxes. But we got to pay the bills.” Of course, the issue that Rep. Buchanan (an otherwise good man) skipped over is that the federal government doesn’t have a tax shortage problem, it has an overspending problem, and Congress is responsible for it because Congress controls the purse strings. There are similar complaints about other Trump policies that poll upwards of 70% and were key to his victory, but somehow seem like such a heavy lift to the new GOP majority. Conservatives and MAGA Movement activists shouldn’t buy these complaints or let the incoming GOP leadership get away with playing small ball when the new Congress goes to work in January 2025. As our friend Rick Manning, President of Americans for Limited Government explained in a recent column in the organization’s must-read Daily Torch , the new Republican majority may have an ephemeral grip on power: The political reality in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is that the majority margin is unstable and might not exist in October 2025 if resignations, illness or even naturally occurring deaths winnow their current 220-to-215 majority. As of now, due to presidential appointments ravaging the House majority, the count at the beginning of the upcoming Congress is expected to be as thin as one vote at 216 to 215. This begs the question whether the GOP leadership can hold some of the weaker links in that majority together on votes that should be no brainers, like ending the taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security, bolstering border security, restoring sane energy policy by ending Green New Deal tax laws implemented under the Inflation Reduction Act, ending the expansion of the Internal Revenue Service by 87,000 agents, and reducing the size of the federal workforce to name a few of the more obvious ones. Our view is that Republican leaders must go big on the Trump agenda, or they will be sent home. This means that their first order of business should be to pass a “budget reconciliation bill” that avoids a Democrat filibuster in the Senate and encompasses all of Trump’s major policy initiatives, especially those aimed at reinvigorating private sector growth. As Mr. Manning observed: From a political and economic standpoint, it is in every Republican’s interest that the economy be thriving when they come up for re-election in 2026. Creating tax uncertainty by failing to extend the first-term Trump tax cuts for the corporations who the president will be trying to incentivize to invest in growing America’s industrial and resource-development base undermines the Trump economic-growth plan. It would also be very unwise to not immediately keep President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to end the taxes on tips and overtime. The Social Security tax issue may need to be part of a separate, independent bi-partisan deal, but it would be a slap in the face to those hourly wage and tip workers to not deliver on a promise that directly and immediately impacts their take home pay. Members of the House of Representatives are up for election every two years, meaning Members, especially new ones, have barely settled into their offices before they must start campaigning for reelection. We think the best way to keep the Republican majority is to start the new year by letting GOP leaders know that their reelection depends upon delivering on the Trump agenda, and that we will brook no stalling or going squishy on cutting taxes, cutting spending, securing the border and removing the yoke of Democrat regulation from American job creators and energy producers. 2024 Election Trump cabinet MAGA Agenda Speaker Mike Johnson Senator John Thune Republican House Majority Republican Senate Majority Ways and Means Committee National Debt Government Spending Tax on tips Budget reconciliation Trump tax cuts Social security benefits tax