02a U.S. Politics – Conservative

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It’s the last thing that should’ve happened, but here we are. Minnesota is now a national spectacle after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by Border Patrol over the weekend. Then, FBI Director Kash Patel and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doled out some terrible takes on the incident, further creating chaos. It’s already bad enough that the Left thinks this was an execution, and some Department of Homeland Security folks are portraying Pretti as a domestic terrorist gearing for mass carnage. We don’t know that—some of the Border Patrol agents had bodycams. We’ll get back to you once they’re analyzed.

Blurb:

Senate Democrats are threatening to force another government shutdown to block funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the recent fatal shootings in Minnesota.

The anti-ICE unrest in the Democrat-controlled state is rapidly escalating into a high-stakes budget confrontation that could trigger a partial government shutdown.

In just days, Democrats in the upper chamber have coalesced around a strategy to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), placing immigration enforcement squarely at the center of looming government funding negotiations.

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A Black pastor warned from the pulpit that his congregation will not tolerate activists storming worship services.

This, after a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) disrupted a service at another church more than a week ago.

Anti-ICE activist William Kelly interrupted a Minnesota church service and berated police, shouting “traitors” and demanding to know “How does it feel to protect a pedophile?” During his sermon, the Rev. Patrick L. Wooden, Sr. referenced the incident and warned anyone who is considering the same thing. He called out former CNN host Don Lemon.

Blurb:

As an American carrier strike group closes in on Iran, a new report said its leader is living in hiding.

U.S. Central Command said in a post on X that the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its support ships are “currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability.”

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Alexander Vindman launched a Democratic Senate campaign in Florida on Tuesday, catapulting himself back into the limelight after emerging as a key whistleblower in President Donald Trump’s first-term impeachment.

“The last time you saw me was here, swearing an oath to tell the truth about a president who broke his,” Vindman said in a launch video, referencing clips depicting his congressional testimony during Trump’s impeachment trial. “See, my family came here as refugees to escape tyranny, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to bow down to some wannabe tyrant.”

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Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which has oversight responsibilities for the Federal Communications Commission, blasted the FCC chairman in an X post last week:

Brendan Carr is pulling every dirty trick in the book to weaponize his agency against dissenting voices and attack our First Amendment rights. He is trying to mislead the American people and pressure talk shows to go easy on the Trump Administration. We must stop it.

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Speaking to CNN host Jake Tapper, a Minneapolis bookstore owner compared deportation centers with Nazi concentration camps, and went as far as to claim, “I’m not saying they are putting people in ovens — yet.”

Jamie Schwesnedl, owner of Moon Palace Books, joined Tapper to discuss the “economic blackout” to protest ICE. The craziest part is not that he said what he said, it’s that it was so extreme that even Tapper appeared physically uncomfortable by it.

According to Schwesnedl, “we can’t do business as usual right now anyway because our city has been invaded by masked gunmen kidnapping family members and friends and neighbors of ours to send them to concentration camps. Additionally, there are a lot of businesses in our area that have staff or customers or owners who are afraid to come to work, afraid to come in and shop. People are closing down today, and we felt like it wouldn’t be kind or fair for us to stay open. So we’re closing in solidarity to help send a message.”

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The Minnesota National Guard has been caught handing out coffee and donuts to anti-ICE mobs after being deployed to the state, raising serious questions about whose side state authorities are on as federal law enforcement faces escalating violence.

Instead of maintaining order or protecting federal property from the lawless mobs that have besieged Minneapolis, Guard troops are now appearing to cater to the very protesters disrupting immigration enforcement operations.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the National Guard weeks ago as protests surged following intensified federal immigration operations in the Twin Cities.

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A day before the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., 76 House Republicans joined their Democrat colleagues in defeating a measure aimed at preventing taxpayer dollars from bankrolling facilities that perform abortions and “trans” surgeries on children.

The moment came late Thursday afternoon when the GOP-controlled House of Representatives killed an amendment put forward by Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., to a FY2026 government spending bill. The amendment sought to ax Senate-inserted earmarks that allocate millions in taxpayer money to entities that conduct harmful “trans” procedures on minors and abortions.

The final House vote was 136-291, with nine members not voting. Here’s the roll call showing how every member voted.

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The world watches closely as the brave people of Iran protest against the Islamic Republic (IR) regime. Regime security forces have killed thousands of people as part of a crackdown on the protests, with an estimate placing the death toll for January 8 and 9 at more than 36,500. President Trump urged Iranians to “keep protesting,” telling them that “help is on the way.”

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Evening news coverage of the continuing unrest in Minnesota focused nearly exclusively on the death of Alex Pretti and subsequent fallout, including personnel changes as far as who is in charge of immigration enforcement operations. But two out of the three major broadcast networks neglected to cover the destruction of the lobby of a hotel suspected of harboring government personnel.

This act of vandalism was only mentioned on the NBC Nightly News, leading into a spotlight report on Pretti. Watch:

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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) spurred outrage this week after suggesting during an interview that residents may use lethal force against masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents using the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

Arizona’s largest police organization blasted her comments on Friday, calling them “reckless, irresponsible and dangerous to the safety of all law enforcement professionals in this state.”

During an interview with 12 News anchor Brahm Resnik earlier this week, Mayes stated that the law allows individuals to defend themselves with lethal force if they reasonably believe their life is in danger, particularly when facing unidentifiable individuals in plain clothes wearing masks.

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Anti-ICE agitators who stormed a Minneapolis-area church in January terrorized worshippers, blocked parents from reaching their children and forced congregants to flee during a Sunday service, according to a newly filed federal affidavit.

The affidavit, submitted last week by a Homeland Security Investigations agent, details the Jan. 18 invasion of Cities Church in St. Paul, where a left-wing mob disrupted services while protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

According to the filing, the agitators “intimidated, harassed, oppressed, and terrorized the parishioners, including young children,” turning a worship service into what witnesses described as a frightening and chaotic scene.

Blurb:

A coordinated network of far-left activist organizations played a central role in the street confrontation and nationwide unrest that followed Saturday’s fatal shooting of anti-ICE agitator Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, according to a detailed investigation.

The investigation by Fox News Digital found that agitators were already mobilized and actively tracking federal immigration agents minutes before the shooting occurred, using encrypted messaging platforms, live street alerts, and a shared database designed to monitor alleged ICE vehicles.

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The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the DOJ a stay of a lower court’s order that restricted agents in Minnesota, finding the limits were too broad and vague.

Judge Raymond Gruender partially dissented.

The stay will remain in effect until the Eighth Circuit fully reviews the case and issues its final decision. I don’t know when that will happen, but I read that the court expedited the case.

Blurb:

One year into his second term, President Donald Trump is racking up strong support on several of the issues that matter most to voters, even as the country remains politically divided.

Election integrity stands out as a clear winner for Trump one year into his second term. Nearly three-quarters of voters back a nationwide requirement for government-issued photo ID, according to a Quantus Insights national survey of 1,000 registered voters conducted Jan. 20–22, 2026. Support spans Republicans, independents, and a substantial share of Democrats, making it one of the most broadly supported policies measured in the poll.

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In my column last week about the situation in Iran (“The Fog of Prewar in Iran”), I wrote:

Many commentators, noting Trump’s oft-proclaimed desire for “peace on earth,” believe he has paused to see if negotiations with Iran might end the slaughter. I doubt it. Trump’s desire for peace is perfectly genuine. But I note that the last time he said he wanted “peace on earth” was when he was asked whether he had any New Year’s resolutions just a couple of weeks ago. That was mere hours before he unleashed hell against the Venezuelan tyrant Nicolás Maduro, extracting him and his wife from their heavily fortified compound in Caracas and whisking them to New York in a stunning and perfectly executed special operations raid.

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While anti-ICE insurgents stormed into Cities Church in St. Paul on Sunday, there was another anti-Christian disturbance happening outside of a church in Washington, D.C., where leftist agitators screamed obscenities and threatened young Christian families as they left Sunday services.

At roughly the same time on Sunday when the hoard of disrupters — including Don Lemon — burst into a worship service in St. Paul, agitators in D.C. were screaming “F-ck off, Nazi scum” at moms and kids as they left Christ Church on Pennsylvania Avenue. Christ Church in D.C. is an offshoot of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, which is led by Pastor Doug Wilson. The D.C. congregation has routinely garnered the attention of left-wing agitators since its first worship service last year, which was attended by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

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A mob of protesters smashed and crashed their way into a Minneapolis hotel on Sunday night as the city continued to be roiled by mob violence aimed at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Some at the scene alleged that Minneapolis police were slow in responding.

The hotel’s windows were smashed and anti-ICE graffiti was painted onto windows because protesters believed federal agents were staying at the Home2 Suites by Hilton Hotel, according to the New York Post.

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According to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, it does not matter what your nationality is, as the city will be funding universal child care for foreign nationals, despite it being put on the taxpayers’ dime. He added that, despite people breaking federal immigration laws, these families should still be afforded benefits that they likely don’t even get in their native country. It’s unclear when people like him will start putting the American people first, but as of the writing of this, they are dead last. But what else is new?

According to WABC:

The initiative expands on the city’s existing free pre-K and 3-K programs and begins with a pilot offering no-cost childcare for children under age 2 in high-need neighborhoods. City officials say the program is designed to help working families across New York City, with eligibility tied to residency and a child’s age – not a parent’s citizenship.

Under current guidelines, families can apply regardless of income or immigration status, a practice city leaders say aligns with how other universal programs are structured. Supporters argue the approach prevents children from being excluded from early education and allows parents to stay in the workforce.

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A chilling new “suicide pod” has been unveiled that seeks to streamline the euthanasia process by gassing two people to death at once, all while being powered by artificial intelligence (AI) automation to eliminate human safeguards.

The disturbing new AI-powered “suicide pod” is being pushed forward by a radical euthanasia activist, accelerating what critics warn is a globalist effort to normalize mechanized death under the guise of “choice.”

The new device is known as the “Double Dutch Sarco.”

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Some Democrats realize they have a problem with transgender orthodoxy, but not New York Attorney General Letitia James—she’s doubling down.

Last week, she fired Glenna Goldis, the assistant attorney general at the Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau, apparently for the crime of expressing concern about the mutilation of children.

Goldis announced her departure in a lengthy post on X. She claimed James fired her “for speaking out against pediatric gender medicine.”

Blurb:

In case you aren’t familiar, Canada has a federal program called Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). Here’s more about it:

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is a process that allows someone who is found eligible to be able to receive assistance from a medical practitioner in ending their life. The federal Criminal Code of Canada permits this to take place only under very specific circumstances and rules. Anyone requesting this service must meet specific eligibility criteria to receive medical assistance in dying. Any medical practitioner who administers an assisted death to someone must satisfy certain safeguards first.

Only medical practitioners are permitted to conduct assessments and to provide medical assistance in dying. This can be a physician or a nurse practitioner, where provinces and territories allow.

 

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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has confirmed that he would support articles of impeachment against Democrat-aligned activist federal judges who have repeatedly overstepped their constitutional authority to undermine President Donald Trump.

Johnson signaled that the House may move forward with the effort after months of growing frustration with what conservatives describe as judicial activism.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Johnson was asked about Senate Republicans urging the House to pursue impeachment proceedings against specific judges.

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The U.S. and Taiwan recently reached a historic trade deal. Taiwanese companies will invest at least $250 billion in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest chipmaker, pledged $100 billion in U.S. investment in 2025. Taipei will provide an additional $250 billion in credit guarantees to Taiwanese companies.

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Former special counsel Jack Smith couldn’t answer how much in tax dollars went to confidential sources in his nearly two-year investigation of President Donald Trump.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pushed Smith on the topic during the committee hearing on Thursday. Jordan noted that at least $20,000 went to a single source to review video and photos of the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, as part of Smith’s investigation into the incident.

Smith answered that he couldn’t remember if there were more such expenses.

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For the past twenty years, For more than twenty years, my colleagues and I have argued for what the world actually needs, not a malevolent,failed United Nations, but a union of headed by the US wth shared values and moral clarity.

From its inception, the United Nations was structurally destined to fail. It has failed the tortured, the oppressed, and the poor on a scale that is impossible to quantify. Graft and corruption are not anomalies at the UN; they are endemic to the institution itself. As Norm Coleman once put it, the UN functions as a “jobs program for many countries,” where nations that contribute little or nothing wield outsized influence over global affairs.

The bureaucracy alone is damning: thousands of mandates and precious little to show for them.