02 U.S. Politics

Blurb:

Voting security is always a hot topic around election time, but manipulation of our electoral system is a bigger problem that we have to worry about all the time.

On the most recent episode of The Drill Down podcast, we are not talking about stolen ballots, “ballot harvesting,” or other shenanigans that can happen during an election, but about how congressional districts are both drawn and apportioned. Two things recently in the news raise questions about how we do those things, and whether it’s still the best way.

As host Peter Schweizer asks, “What if an election can be rigged before the first ballot is even cast?”

Blurb:

A Los Angeles high school history teacher who serves as a spokesperson for a local anti-ICE activist group appeared to welcome armed resistance against immigration authorities after a federal agent and an illegal immigrant were shot hours earlier.

Ron Gochez, a teacher at Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School and a spokesperson for Union Del Barrio, spoke during a news conference Tuesday night where he criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

“Don’t forget where you’re standing — this is South Central Los Angeles,” he said. “They [ICE] are not the only ones with guns in this city. Don’t forget that. And I don’t say that because I’m calling for violence; I’m saying that because the people have every right to defend themselves against masked, unidentified gunmen.”

Blurb:

Japan’s first female prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, laid out an ambitious conservative agenda after winning her office in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday.

Her nascent administration also signaled a desire to build closer defense ties with the United States.

Much of Takaichi’s agenda lines up with her longstanding political beliefs, as an admirer of global conservative icons like Margaret Thatcher, and a protege of the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. She is also being prodded to make policy concessions by her LDP party’s last-minute alliance with the Japan Innovation Party (commonly known as Ishin, which means “renewal”).

Blurb:

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is defending his decision to subpoena the private phone records of multiple Republican lawmakers during his 2023 “investigation” into President Donald Trump, insisting the move was “entirely proper” and consistent with Justice Department policy.

In a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Tuesday, Smith’s attorneys claimed the records were “narrowly tailored” and “carefully targeted” as part of the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” probe into what prosecutors alleged was Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.

“As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021, to January 7, 2021,” Smith’s lawyers wrote.

Blurb:

Attorney General lashed out at Democrats who want to build a master “ICE tracker” website.

Bondi wrote on X:

Shutdown Democrats are already refusing to pay our law enforcement agents. Now, @RepRobertGarcia and @SenBlumenthal are trying to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.

@TheJusticeDepthas ZERO tolerance for violence against law enforcement — we will prosecute any person who physically assaults our agents.

Blurb:

Canada’s former princess, Justin Trudeau, spent his final days in office doing what a good communist opening act should: disarming his citizens so that his successor can “seal the deal” and hand Canada over to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-dominated New World Order.

FACT-O-RAMA! In January 2025, Canada added 324 more types of guns to Canada’s already exhaustive list of banned boom-boom sticks. Three months later, as Trudeau was about to step down, the filthy sitzpinkler pinko added another 179 firearms that are now verboten, for a total of more than 2,500 types of guns that Canadians are no longer allowed to own.

Blurb:

ABC News let loose with the incendiary and inciting rhetoric against President Trump during Wednesday’s edition of The View. The liberal ladies continued to lie about taxpayers footing the bill for the new White House ballroom that was under construction. According to them, Trump was playing some sort of shell game with his presidential salary and legal fees to cover the construction that made him equal to a “mob boss.” They also suggested Republicans were going to steal the midterms and the ballroom was proof Trump wasn’t going to leave office.

Blurb:

FRESNO, CA — The Fresno County Board of Supervisors has approved a steep increase in fees for concealed carry (CCW) permits, raising new concerns among Second Amendment advocates that the rising cost of lawful carry is pricing some citizens out of their right to self-defense.

On October 21, 2025, the Board voted to amend the county’s Master Schedule of Fees for the Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator’s Office. The changes include65% increase for new CCW permits — from $115 to $190 plus state fees — and a 200% increase for renewals, which will now cost $75 plus state fees. The modification or add-on fee remains at $10 per permit.

Blurb:

Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and Oscar Health are among health insurers expanding their market footprint selling individual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act despite the lack of commitment from Congress to tax credits that would make policies more affordable.

While the costs of these health plans could increase 100% or more if Congress doesn’t extend tax credits beyond this year, several major health insurers are expanding into new geographic areas and offering more health plan options for next year.

The expansions by health insurers come amid a federal government shutdown that has entered a third week. And extending the tax credits beyond this year are at the center of the standoff between Republicans who control Congress and are largely opposed to the subsidies and Democrats who support them.

Blurb:

As trade tensions between the United States and Communist China intensify, President Donald Trump’s administration has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to take a tougher stance against Beijing’s economic manipulation and preferential treatment within global financial institutions.

The move marks a new front in the U.S.–China standoff, shifting from tariffs to a broader confrontation over global trade rules and institutional influence, as both nations vie for dominance in the post-pandemic economy.

Blurb:

The federal government has now entered its longest full shutdown in American history, with no sign that Congress is moving toward a resolution.

The shutdown, now in its 22nd day, began when lawmakers failed to pass any of the 12 annual appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

While both chambers have passed three separate funding measures each, they have not reconciled a single version, leaving most federal agencies without an approved budget.

Blurb:

One of the more tiresome mantras of leftist media coverage is Trump allegedly paging through his “authoritarian playbook.” The media have their own protest playbook, as you could tell when leftists organized another mass protest titled “No Kings,” as if we’ve ever had a king.

The network newscasts slobbered all over this Saturday event, using very similar language. “Millions” took to the streets! A “massive” nationwide turnout to oppose “what they call creeping authoritarianism.” They sound like they’re reading a press release. “More than 2,700 rallies in all 50 states,” as “organizers estimate seven million people” turned out.

Blurb:

 

This has already happened at more than one school over the last several weeks.

Tulane University delays approval of TPUSA chapter revival

A Louisiana university appears to be attempting to hamper students’ efforts to revive a conservative student group on campus.

Students at Tulane University recently applied to reestablish a chapter of Turning Point USA, but were immediately met with obstacles, according to an article in The Tulane HullabalooTulane’s school newspaper.

“As of Fall 2025, Tulane University is temporarily pausing new applications for Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) while we conduct a comprehensive review of all currently active organizations, including those affiliated with national or international partners,” the school announced in a statement on its website. “This review ensures that all RSOs remain aligned with Tulane’s Non-Discrimination Policy, Title VI and Title IX protections, and our shared commitment to equitable student participation.”

Blurb:

A video surfaced showing a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo on Graham Platner’s chest, a symbol tied to Nazi SS units, sparking controversy in his Maine Democratic primary challenge against Gov. Janet Mills for the 2026 U.S. Senate seat. A former staffer says he knew its associations. Sen. Bernie Sanders defended Platner, emphasizing his progressive platform on workers’ rights and anti-war policies amid divided Democratic reactions.

The Democrats are now the unabashedly Nazi party.

Pod Save Platner: Obama Bros Described Hegseth Tattoo as ‘Dog Whistle’ Before Helping Maine’s Platner Fend Off Scrutiny for Nazi Tattoo

Platner, a candidate for Maine’s Senate seat, admitted to keeping a Nazi tattoo on his chest for nearly two decades

By: Free Beacon, October 21, 2025:

Frontrunning for the ages: Bernie-backed Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner handed the Pod Save America bros a video of himself running around in his underwear at a wedding in order to get in front of what the pod bros described as a piece of “opposition research.”

Blurb:

When it comes to politics and economics, a surprisingly large number of voters either cannot recognize charlatans or suffer from amnesia. That is, all too often, many of these people fail to understand and remember the basis for success and failure in public policy, and they get drawn to the siren call of alluring, but “risky” new candidates at election time.

How is it possible that New York City, America’s leading city of capitalism, finance, and business, could elect a mayoral candidate, Zhoran Mamdani, who, while known to identify as a democratic socialist, has an easily verifiable hard-core Marxist background. Mamdani’s academic life was immersed in Marxism, embracing the analytical framework of class struggle, oppression, labor and power structures, and historical materialism. His studies and work also included Leninist perspectives on colonialism and post-colonialism. In addition to Marx and Lenin, Mamdani embraced leftist figures such as Frantz Fanon and Antonio Gramsci, whose ideas on cultural hegemony, colonialism and underdevelopment are aligned with Marxist critiques.

Blurb:

New York City’s mayoral candidates are set to meet for their final debate Wednesday night, with Democrat Zohran Mamdani looking to stay in control of a race increasingly seen as his to win while former Gov. Andrew Cuomo amps up the pressure on Republican Curtis Sliwa to drop out.

With just days left until early voting begins, Cuomo has made a series of urgent pleas to the city’s conservative voters to ditch Sliwa and instead to support him, casting the Republican candidate as a “spoiler” whose presence in the race will deliver Mamdani a win.

The debate may be the former governor’s last and best chance at making his case to run the country’s biggest city ahead of next month’s election.

Blurb:

A federal raid in New York City’s Chinatown targeting criminal activity tied to the sale of counterfeit goods turned chaotic Friday as protesters clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, prompting city officials to say they had no role in the operation.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that ICE and federal partners conducted a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” on Canal Street focused on criminal activity related to the sale of alleged counterfeit goods.

“During this law enforcement operation, rioters who were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties, including blocking vehicles and assaulting law

Blurb:

Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner is in damage control mode — again — after admitting that a tattoo on his chest looks eerily similar to a Nazi symbol.

The Maine Democrat, already reeling from a wave of backlash over old social media posts, now says he’ll have the ink removed and insists he had “no idea” of its connection to Nazi iconography.

“It was not until I started hearing from reporters and DC insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol,” Platner said in a statement to POLITICO. “I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that — and to insinuate that I did is disgusting. I am already planning to get this removed.”

Blurb:

A federal raid in New York City’s Chinatown targeting criminal networks selling counterfeit goods erupted into chaos as protesters turned violent and clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

The rioting led city leaders to rush to distance themselves from the operation.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the raid was part of a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” focused on organized crime tied to counterfeit merchandise sales along Canal Street.

Blurb:

 

As of 10:00 a.m., Wednesday morning, Sen. Merkley was still speaking on the Senate floor.

Several Democratic Senators praised the speech, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senators Andy Kim of New Jersey, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Chris Van Hollenof Maryland.

White House Spokeswoman Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital, “Democrats will do anything except vote to open the government. A useless overnight floor speech that no one watched will do nothing to help the millions of Americans who are missing paychecks, losing out on important benefits, or being otherwise harmed by the Democrat’s decision to shut down the government over free health care for illegal aliens.”

Blurb:

As the government shutdown enters its fourth week, National Guard units across the country are canceling drill weekends, suspending routine training, and operating without pay for many personnel, according to state National Guard officials across the country. 

In several states, only units preparing for mobilization or conducting mission-critical activities are continuing training, Guard officials told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Other drills have been postponed altogether, leaving thousands of National Guard members temporarily sidelined and unpaid while force readiness deteriorates.

Blurb:

A judge has temporarily blocked the transfer of the land for use for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library after a suit claimed not enough notice was given before the meeting in which the board voted to transfer it.

A legal battle is unfolding in Miami over the future of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, after an 85-year-old retired professor filed a lawsuit that temporarily halted the transfer of a prime piece of downtown real estate intended for the project.

Blurb:

Footage has surfaced from 2019 where Zohran Mamdani claims it is an “illusion” that Muslims can become New Yorkers and assimilate into the city.

“If only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States”

An Open Letter to Jewish Voters in New York

Blurb:

Alaska’s new social studies standards don’t mention the Nome Gold Rush. They don’t mention the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. They don’t mention William Egan, the state of Alaska’s first governor, and they don’t mention Sarah Palin, who ran for Vice President of the United States. There’s a lot more that’s missing in the Alaska social studies standards, but you can tell right away that something is wrong when Alaska’s social studies standards leave Alaska’s children ignorant of the headlines of Alaska’s history and the most famous Alaskans.

Blurb:

The mother of an aide to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas who died last month after apparently setting herself on fire is pushing back against claims that her daughter had an affair with the congressman.

Regina Santos-Aviles died on Sept. 13 after reportedly dousing herself in gasoline and setting herself on fire at her Uvalde, Texas, home.

This week, the U.K.’s Daily Mail claimed that Santos-Aviles, who had one child and was separated from her husband, had been having an affair with Gonzales, who is married with six children, since 2021, when she came to work for him.

Blurb:

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive to hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025.

The U.S. could substantially slash tariffs on Indian exports as the two countries near a trade deal that could see New Delhi cutting oil purchases from Russia, Indian media outlet Mint reported Wednesday.

As part of the trade deal, Washington could slash tariffs on Indian exports to 15%-16% from the current 50%, Mint reported citing three unnamed sources aware of the matter.