Rightwinggranny is adding some guest writers to the website this year. The opinions expressed by these writers are not necessarily the opinions of rightwinggranny.
The Latest Economic Numbers
Reply
On Wednesday, CNBC posted the inflation numbers for September.
They report:
- The consumer price index showed annual inflation of 3.7% in September after rising 0.6% for the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
- The Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, posted an annual reading of 2.6% after climbing 0.3%.
- Energy prices were a major factor again as gasoline rose 9.1% and accounted for half the increase in the index.
- However, price pressures were broad-based, with gains in shelter, vehicle costs and apparel.
For the sake of comparison, a friend posted the following Inflation Chart on Facebook:
Part of the problem with inflation is that it is cumulative. Once prices go up, they somehow never go down. To give you an example, my husband and I paid about $19,000 for our first house in 1969. According to AI, $19,000 in 1969 equals $173,437.35 in 2026. According to Zillow, that house is now worth $436,300, putting it out of reach for many families.
The article at CNBC concludes:
The type of supply shocks that have driven the energy surge generally are considered temporary, and policymakers often will look through them when considering where to set rates. However, Fed officials fear that the longer the war drags on, the higher the likelihood that the spike will make its way through the broader economy and become embedded in consumer and business expectations.
Prices also have faced pressure from President Donald Trump’s tariffs as well as demand for goods associated with the artificial intelligence build-out.
In recent days, a number of key policymakers have expressed the belief that the Fed doesn’t need to rush to implement another hike. However, most say they expect another increase this year. Market pricing implies the Fed could raise rates at least twice more in 2027.
Fed officials follow the CPI and a host of other metrics but use the Commerce Department’s personal consumption expenditures price index as their primary forecast and policymaking metric. The PCE numbers for September won’t be released until later this month.
A number of economists are opposed to President Trump’s tariffs. However, they tend to overlook the fact that manufacturing is coming back to America as a result of those tariffs. I expect that the benefits of the tariffs will not be instant, but will make themselves known in the next year or two. Hopefully there are enough Americans who understand that to keep the tariffs in place.
How Much Does It Cost?
On Tuesday, Just the News posted an article about the cost of Birthright Citizenship to Americans.
The article reports:
Birthright citizenship of immigrants’ children is costing federal, state and local taxpayers $150.7 billion annually, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Half that amount covers education, with the rest spent on healthcare and nutritional assistance, according to FAIR.
Policy analysts warn that broad constitutional interpretations of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment have enabled foreign nationals to exploit legal loopholes through organized “birth tourism” and commercial surrogacy operations in states such as California, New York and Florida. Surrogacy operations are also common in Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory about 1,000 miles south of Japan.
The article notes:
Questions over surrogates giving birth to immigrants’ children are being raised as the Trump administration continues its efforts to target birthright citizenship and birth tourism. In August 2026, just five weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s initial broad executive order restricting birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara, the president signed two new executive orders. One focuses on “ending birth tourism,” while the other aims at “continuing to protect the meaning and value of American citizenship.”
FAIR filed amicus briefs at two stages of the Trump v. Barbara case, arguing for the original 19th-century understanding of the 14th Amendment. FAIR expressed disappointment with the justices’ ruling that everyone born in the U.S. is an American citizen, regardless of their parents’ background.
However, Forero (Mateo Forero, director of investigations at FAIR) noted that the administration’s revised approach on birth tourism takes a creative angle aimed directly at the legal gaps left by the Supreme Court.
The article concludes:
Because cross-border surrogacy remains largely legal and operates in a regulatory gray area, federal authorities have limited tools to police alleged abuses or the public benefit eligibility tied to dependents born with U.S. citizenship, according to Forero.
“You have the unintended consequences of having broad citizenship rules,” Forero told The Center Square. “States and Congress need to take a long, hard look at what the rules around surrogacy and cross-border surrogacy specifically need to be and what reforms are necessary.”
In addition to research and investigative work on birth tourism, FAIR actively engages in strategic litigation surrounding state immigration policies, including representing 15 New York sheriffs currently challenging New York’s sanctuary laws.
Ultimately, Forero said, he views tightening these statutory and constitutional loopholes as vital for the country. “It would be a win for the American people, which is what we should all be focused on from a policy perspective.”
We can have either a generous safety net or a porous border. We can’t have both.
Uncovering Political Abuses Of Power
On Wednesday, The New York Post posted an article about the Biden administration’s closing of bank accounts of people who disagreed with the policies of the administration.
The article reports:
Major banks closed accounts and refused credit to MAGA merchants, pro-life causes, religious groups, conservative organizations and sectors disfavored by the Biden administration, such as firearms, oil and gas, and private prisons, a bombshell report from the federal banking regulator has found.
The Debanking Review by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) investigated 100,000 complaints and scrutinized 50,000 internal bank records to reveal how customers were “debanked” based purely on their political, social, or religious beliefs.
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank, and BMO Bank were found to have discriminated against American consumers, citing “reputation risk” as a reason to deny service between 2020 and 2025.
Negative press, protests, criticism from advocacy groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, and reprisals from regulators or politicians were cited as the reputation risks most feared by the banks.
The 47-page OCC report, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans,” released Wednesday, found that the nation’s largest banks targeted Christian organizations over abortion, LGBTQ issues, and traditional family values.
This is not surprising. Considering the questions about President Biden’s mental capacity, we need to remember who was actually running the administration. It was made up of a bunch of bitter Obama leftovers with input by Jill Biden and Hunter Biden. I seriously doubt that any of the people actually running the administration had any respect for the U.S. Constitution or the principle of free speech.
Please follow the link and read the entire article. Some of the excuses the banking institutions are making are laughable. There are also instances of accounts being restored after President Trump was elected. Hmm.
Proper Vetting Is Essential To Safety
On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about an Afghan refugee who was recently sentenced to jail in Texas.
The article reports:
The Department of Homeland Security announced that a 21-year-old Afghan alien, Badshah Sahi, was sentenced to 35 years for multiple child sex charges.
Following the Biden administration’s deadly and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Sahi was released into the United States, along with roughly 190,000 Afghan nationals, without proper vetting.
Following an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Dallas, police departments in Arlington and Forney, as well as sheriff’s offices in Green and Hays Counties, authorities discovered Sahi was producing and was in possession of child sexual abuse material.
“A search of Sahi’s phone at the time of his arrest revealed numerous images and videos of a prepubescent girl and communication with other children online.”
The article concludes:
HSI Dallas acting Special Agent in Charge Antwoine Jones noted, “This dangerous child sex offender was recklessly released into the United States without proper vetting during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and went on to prey on innocent children both here in North Texas and online.”
“Thankfully, working with our law enforcement partners, we were able to remove him from the local community and ensure he spends the next 35 years behind bars, where he won’t be able to harm any more children.”
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould added, “This lengthy sentence sends a resounding message: Child predators will find no safe harbor in the Northern District of Texas.”
“We will find them and ensure they face the full weight of federal prosecution. Our commitment to protecting children is absolute, and we hope this outcome serves as a clear deterrent to anyone contemplating similar crimes.”
Pedophilia is a problem in many Middle Eastern countries. We do not need to bring it here. Why didn’t they simply deport him?
The Consequences Of Uncontrolled Immigration
On Tuesday, Breitbart posted an article about the German welfare system and who is benefiting from it.
The article reports:
Germany’s anti-mass-migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has revealed that nearly four in ten long-term welfare recipients are foreign nationals.
Figures from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, requested by the AfD in the Bundestag parliament, have shown that there are around 1.4 million people in Germany who have received the so-called “citizen’s allowance” welfare payments for at least five years, or around forty per cent of all those who receive the state support, Die Welt reported.
According to the data, 62.2 per cent of recipients of the citizen’s allowance for at least five years are German citizens, while 37.8 per cent are foreign nationals. This means that migrants are significantly over-represented, with only around one in five people in the country being foreign nationals.
The true impact of migration on the programme is likely higher, since the figures do not distinguish German citizens born abroad, who immigrated to the country and were later naturalised.
This is not workable in the long term. It’s actually the same problem we are having in America (except that in America in 2024, 59% of households headed by immigrants utilized at least one major welfare program).
The article notes:
The AfD has called for a welfare-system reform that requires recipients who have been receiving benefits for more than six months to provide at least 15 hours of community service per week, and to cut off those who fail to do so.
AfD lawmaker and party policy expert René Springer said: “It cannot be that so many people receive citizen’s income at the taxpayers’ expense, even though they could go to work.”
Beyond costing the nation a disproportionate amount of money through welfare payments, foreign nationals are also significantly overrepresented in crime, with recent data from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) showing that foreign nationals accounted for 42.9 per cent of all suspects. Again, this likely downplays the impact of migration because it excludes naturalised migrants and the children of migrants.
The AfD has had a few victories in recent elections. I expect that if they gain control of the country, Germany’s immigration problems may come to an abrupt end.
Sad News
On Friday, The Daily Caller posted an article about the death of former Chicago Bears Football Coach Mike Ditka. I will admit that I wasn’t overly fond of him in 1985 when the Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, but he was a fantastic coach. I loved the spirit of the 1985 team when they made a video of “The Superbowl Shuffle.”
The article reports:
Jarrett Payton, son of Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, announced his passing by sharing a statement on behalf of Ditka’s family.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I’m sharing the Ditka family has announced the passing of Mike Ditka this morning,” Payton wrote. “Da Coach. Hall of Famer. The heartbeat of the ’85 Bears and a Super Bowl champion. Chicago won’t be the same.”
…Ditka became synonymous with Chicago football during a career that spanned more than three decades as both a player and coach.
Ditka entered the NFL as the fifth overall pick in the 1961 draft and spent his first six seasons with the Bears, establishing himself as a pioneer at the tight end position. He helped revolutionize the position, traditionally associated with blocking, by becoming one of the league’s most dangerous receiving threats. As a rookie, he recorded 1,076 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, earning NFL Rookie of the Year honors.
He caught 316 passes for 4,503 yards and 34 touchdowns in 84 games with Chicago. The Bears traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967, where he played for two seasons before finishing his career with the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 to 1972.
The article notes:
After retiring as a player in 1972, Ditka spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Cowboys under legendary head coach Tom Landry, helping the team win Super Bowl XII. He returned to Chicago in 1982 as head coach of the Bears, where he would cement his legacy as one of the NFL’s most recognizable personalities.
Ditka’s greatest triumph came in the 1985 season, when he guided the Bears to a Super Bowl XX title with a dominant 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots. The Bears finished the season with an 18-1 record, powered by a historically dominant defense that remains among the most celebrated in NFL history. Ditka became one of the few men in NFL history to win championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
He was a wonderful role model and a gifted player and coach. He will be missed.
Avocados As Instruments Of War
On Monday, The Daily Signal posted an article about the role avocados are playing in the fight against Mexico’s cartels.
The article reports:
All the Republicans in California’s congressional delegation are advocating for tighter restrictions on the Mexican avocado trade in an effort to thwart Mexican drug cartels.
“Cartels should not be able to use their influence over Mexico’s avocado supply chain to game the American market. Period,” Rep. James Gallagher, R-Calif., told the Daily Signal. “Sudden import surges are driving down prices and putting American avocado production at risk. We need fair trade rules that protect lawful American growers.”
Gallagher’s statement to the Daily Signal comes days after he, alongside fellow California Republican Reps. Jay Obernolte, Ken Calvert, Young Kim, David Valadao, Darrell Issa, and Vince Fong, sent a letter to President Donald Trump’s administration urging the federal government to put an end to the potentially deadly trade.
“That’s why I penned a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, calling for reasonable and enforceable limits on avocado import surges as part of negotiations over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” Gallagher continued.
As it stands, Hass avocados from the Mexican states of Michoacan and Jalisco, known as drug cartel hotspots, are allowed to be sold in the United States as long as they comply with regulations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Reports estimate that around 90% of all avocados in U.S. markets come from Mexico.
In their letter, the lawmakers added that Mexican drug cartels, which have allegedly stolen avocado farms from law-abiding Mexican citizens, are now profiting from the sale of those avocados while interfering with U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections and controlling transportation routes.
To further support its argument, the letter also cited the fact that Mexico’s government has been forced to deploy its military to avocado-harvesting regions across the country.
It seems odd to be talking about avocados in relation to Mexican cartels, but this is another example of the consequences of not being self-sufficient. We are now going to have to achieve avocado independence along with energy independence.
What Constitution?
Lawyers are supposed to have at least a cursory knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, some of them don’t or know it and refuse to respect its limits. On Monday, Just the News posted an article about a blatant example of ignoring Constitution limits on searches and seizures or attorney-client privilege.
The article reports:
Unsealed court records reveal at least two Obama-appointed judges — often openly critical of President Trump — signed off on monitoring communications for top Trump aide Susie Wiles. Smith never disclosed to the judges that he was planning on spying on lawyers. The results tracked calls made to and from lawmakers, other lawyers and journalists.
The documents made public Monday by the White House Government Transparency Task Force include two applications by the former special counsel to use a pen register and a tap and trace device to monitor the incoming and outgoing calls of current White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’s phone while she led Trump’s fundraising operation at the SAVE America PAC.
Pen register and tap and trace devices are used to gather private data on telephone calls, including when and where the calls were made, from whom to whom, and the length of the calls. While they do not include the actual contents of the calls, they often provide investigators with valuable information.
Both applications came in winter and spring 2023 after Trump announced he was running for president and as Smith investigated allegations that the former president had mishandled classified documents after the conclusion of his first term. The filings are redacted, but an administration official told Just the News that Wiles was the subject of Smith’s requests.
The article quotes Harvard University law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz:
Smith has testified he believes he did nothing wrong and would investigate and prosecute Trump the same way today, insisting no politics were involved in his decision-making.
Nonetheless, Dershowitz said the record of Smith’s tactics, which included tracking the lawmakers’ and defense lawyers’ phone records and the tracking of Trump’s wife and son’s travels, was troubling.
“Here we have a clear violation of expectations of privacy. When you make a phone call and you’re a lawyer, you do not expect the fact that you made that phone call to, say, a wiretap expert or a lie detector expert, or a witness. You don’t expect that the government will get access to that, and yet the government has access to who the defense attorneys called,” Dershowitz said.
“And that would give them a tremendous advantage in any case. It could give them the names of potential witnesses, and you know ultimately that would have to come out, but it wouldn’t have to come out at the time that this investigative tactic was being used,” he added. ” So I think there’s a lot of work to be done to make sure that expectations of privacy and civil liberties beyond the Constitution are adhered to.”
Where are the orange jumpsuits?
Interesting Polling Numbers On The Iran War
Whatever Americans think of the Iran war, the fact remains that we are there and that undoing Iran’s nuclear program is a good idea. On Monday, Issues & Insights posted an article showing recent poll numbers on the war.
The article includes the following graph:
The article reports:
Men are also far more likely to back military action than women (55% vs. 34%), and married women more than single women (42% vs. 28%). (Polls consistently find married women more conservative on a wide range of issues than those who haven’t tied the knot.)
Beyond that, however, there are some unexpected pockets of support. For example, young people are far more likely to support military action than the elderly. The poll found that 53% of 25- to 44-year-olds back military action, but only 34% of those over 65 do.
Those of us over 65 remember the Vietnam war.
The article also includes a graph showing who supports the War in Iran:
The article notes:
The next question asked respondents, “How confident are you that U.S. military action will prevent Iran from developing or obtaining a nuclear weapon?” Overall, 47% express confidence in this outcome (24% are “very confident”), while only 37% aren’t confident (just 18% “not at all confident”).
As you might expect, these results track the previous question fairly closely. Confidence is highest among Republicans, conservatives, urban dwellers, young people, men, wealthier individuals, investors, college graduates, and parents. It’s lowest among Democrats, liberals, and seniors.
The third question asked, “How concerned are you that the conflict with Iran could turn into a prolonged war involving the United States?”
Unlike the previous two questions, concern about this possibility is widespread. Fully 73% say they are either very (44%) or somewhat (29%) concerned. A mere 6% are “not at all” concerned and another 12% “not very concerned.”
A country that believes in martyrdom having a nuclear weapon is simply not a good idea.
From my friends at The Patriot Post:
The Economic News You Are Not Hearing
On September 25th, The Daily Torch posted an article citing some economic news you might not have heard. Americans have short memories. Many Americans don’t seem to remember what inflation and gasoline prices were under former President Biden.
The article reports:
2025 was a good year for American households, the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows, with real household median income rising to $87,460, the highest on record, while the percent of the population below the poverty line fell to 10.2 percent, a record low after 2019’s 10.5 percent.
…The news came even as the unemployment level rose slightly from 6.9 million in December 2024 to 7.5 million in December 2025, making 2025’s gains largely the product of higher earnings.
Even with those numbers, labor markets are still fairly tight with the unemployment rate averaging 4.3 percent — the average annual unemployment rate since 1948 has been 5.67 percent — amid the continuing Baby Boomer retirement wave and shrinking migration. The combination of labor markets still tight on a postwar basis and shrinking inflation did the work of boosting incomes on a real basis.
The article concludes:
So, disinflation has resumed, but appears dependent on getting global supply chains fully open. We need to break even and start getting wealthy again. It’s critical. Trump ran on getting prices down in 2024. It’s why he won. If incomes stay ahead of inflation, then we’re getting wealthier and the politics will usually take care of itself.
Historically, when it doesn’t, that is, when inflation outpaced incomes during the incumbent’s term, you get 1976, 1980, 1992, 2008 and 2024: The incumbents lose. 4 out of 5 of those were one-term presidents. One exception was Obama in 2012 following the Libya war oil spike. He’s the only one who escaped.
So, there’s a real incentive to keep those numbers right-side up. It’s worth noting every one of those episodes in part had pressure on oil prices from wars overseas. Inflation regardless of the cause destabilizes incumbents. Security before politics. As the President stated, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. But there might be a price.
The question is whether or not the safety of Americans from nuclear attack is worth temporarily higher gas prices.
What The Candidate Actually Wants
On Sunday, Townhall posted an article about the debate between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers. The two are candidates for a Senate seat in Michigan. Their plans and platforms are in sharp contrast.
The article reports:
El-Sayed wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but during the debate, he said that he wants the U.S. to have secure borders.
A few years ago, El-Sayed called for open borders. During the debate, he called for mass amnesty for current illegal aliens living in the U.S. How can you have both?
…El-Sayed claimed that Americans could keep their doctor if the nation enacted Medicare for All, copying a promise from former President Barack Obama.
…El-Sayed wants to represent Michigan, but he’s called to move Michigan to 100 percent renewable energy, which would kill Detroit’s auto manufacturers. El-Sayed has opposed oil and gas companies that provide fuel to drive vehicles and gas to heat homes. Moreover, consumers have mostly rejected electric vehicles. There are only about 100,000 EVs registered in Michigan compared to over seven million vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.
El-Sayed’s tagline is “Money in your pocket,” but policies he supports would raise energy bills for Michiganders. El-Sayed repeatedly attacked Rogers over higher gas prices, but banning pipelines and forcing consumers to drive electric vehicles would also increase prices and hike energy prices during long winters.
Electric vehicles do not do well in cold climates!
The article notes:
…El-Sayed claimed that taxing billionaires could solve the national $40 trillion debt. It can’t.
El-Sayed’s math doesn’t check out. Between eight and 11 billionaires live in Michigan, and that money isn’t liquid. Those people own companies that employ thousands of people and pay dividends to stockholders.
Even if all of their money was seized, it would total around $60-$100 billion, which wouldn’t even make a dent in $40 trillion worth of debt and would throw many people out of work.
If the voters of Michigan elect El-Sayed, they will get exactly what they deserve. It’s not like he didn’t tell everyone what he supports.
Do Preachers Have The Right To Quote The Bible?
On Sunday, The Daily Signal posted an article about a newly enacted law in California. The law requires employers to give all employees “anti-hate speech” training. I have always had a problem with the concept of hate speech. Who determines what is hateful speech? If I am concerned about a friend’s health and tell her to lose weight, is that hate speech?
The article reports:
But as observers like the California Family Council (CFC) are pointing out, the legislation does not define “hate speech,” instead handing the job to the state’s Civil Rights Department. The bill mandates that the training must confront workplace speech that “vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred” against individuals based on what the state has already deemed a protected characteristic, which includes sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
The CFC goes on to observe that the statute, which will go into effect on January 1, 2028, never mentions churches or religious nonprofits and their First Amendment rights to hold sincerely held religious beliefs about sexuality and gender. It also “fails to separate protected expression from unlawful conduct,” noting that the Supreme Court held in 2017 that “the First Amendment has no hate speech exception.”
Greg Burt, who serves as vice president of CFC, further pointed out the problems with AB 1803’s vague language regarding key terms that it says constitute “hate.”
“What does it mean to vilify? What speech actually humiliates?” he wondered during “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” Tuesday. “[M]any times legislators consider many Christian beliefs when they’re expressed — especially regarding sexuality or gender — they accuse us of hating people. That’s [the] farthest thing from my mind. But we are simply advocating for our view that sex is determined by biology, and God created us both male and female. Well, to many people that is humiliating and that incites hatred. And so that’s the problem with this legislation.”
Burt went on to clarify that AB 1803 is being folded into a previously enacted statute that mandates sexual harassment training, which already specifies that using accurate biological pronouns constitutes “harassment.”
This is the camel’s nose under the tent. There is nothing in the First Amendment that limits speech. We need to follow our Constitution.
Tell Me Again How You Support American Workers
On Friday, MSN posted an article about some recent labor issues at President Obama’s Presidential Library.
The article reports:
Employees at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago are unionizing over their working conditions, claiming benefits have been cut and workloads are increasing just four months after the center opened in June.
Workers circulated a letter to staff Wednesday announcing their intent to unionize, complaining about “increasing” workloads and “vague responses” from administrators to a list of complaints they’d raised, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Some of the complaints suggested the $900 million presidential center — often maligned for resembling the Star Wars Death Star or a huge trash bin — could already be facing financial trouble.
The article notes that there is a high turnover rate at the Library due to a halting of raises and promotions, increased healthcare costs, and a reduction in paid time off. This is no way to run a library or a business. President Obama can blame the increase in healthcare costs on ObamaCare, which was his signature law when he was President. According to AI, since ObamaCare was enacted in 2010, healthcare premiums have nearly tripled. and deductibles have more than doubled. In 2025, some ObamaCare premiums rose by up to 59 percent.
The Democrats seem to have a problem with understanding basic business models. Their business decisions after they leave office do not always have good results. In 2016, I posted an article about former Senator George McGovern’s business experience after he left office. My article was based on an article the former Senator wrote for Forbes Magazine in 2011. The country always does better when it elects people to office who understand basic business plans and how to grow an economy.
A Failing Campaign Issue
On Friday, Just the News posted an article about the Democrat Party’s attempt to make high gasoline prices an issue in the mid-term elections. This may actually be effective in swaying some voters who have either forgotten some recent history or never knew it.
The article reports:
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman argues that Democrats in Congress cannot be trusted to enact policies that would lower gas prices, pointing to Biden-era data to support his position.
He said that voters should remember the economic conditions under former President Joe Biden as they head to the polls, arguing that Democratic energy policies have resulted in higher energy prices. Grothman criticized Democrats for opposing oil drilling in Alaska, fracking in North Dakota and the Keystone XL pipeline.
“The reason we have high gas prices is we have a shortage of supply, which always results in the higher cost,” Grothman said during an interview on the “Just the News, No Noise” TV program this week.
…Grothman added that Democratic energy policies hampered domestic production under Biden and contributed to driving up costs at the pump. “The Democrat Party is the party that didn’t want to drill in Alaska, they didn’t want to do any fracking in North Dakota, they didn’t want to build the Keystone Pipeline,” Grothman said. “And now you expect these people to lower the price of gas?”
…Grothman cautioned that high gasoline prices could persist for years without expanded domestic energy production and additional refining capacity. “You’re going to have high gas prices not for the next two months until the [Iran] war is over. You’re going to have high gas prices for the next 15 years if we don’t start building some refineries around here,” he said.
California currently has the highest gasoline prices in the nation–about $6.40 a gallon. The national average is currently $4.37 a gallon. California is a state almost totally controlled by the Democrat Party. Are those the people you are counting on to lower your gasoline prices?
Not Surprising, But Sad
On Friday, David Strom at Hot Air posted an article about the latest awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize. Not surprisingly, it didn’t go to President Trump. I would like to point out that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Obama when he had been in office for less than a year and had done nothing to earn it. It seems that the prestige of the Prize has been definitely diminished in recent years. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Navi Pillay.
The article reports:
So who is this outstanding exemplar of human rights advocacy? Why, she’s a South African judge who put together the case for prosecuting Israel at The Hague, of course. She’s the first nonwhite woman on South Africa’s High Court, and later a judge on the ICC Appeals Chamber from 2003–2008. After that, she served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. In 2021, she chaired the UNHRC’s open-ended Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory.
It all sounds so NGO-y, doesn’t it? There are all the right words, and all the proper saccharine sentimentality that works perfectly to launder the raw hatred for Jews that lies just underneath the surface.
It was all a sham, and we can know that her role at the “Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory” was a sham because, before she was appointed, she had already rendered her opinion. Before taking the chair in July 2021, Pillay signed a June 2020 manifesto calling on governments to “Sanction Apartheid Israel” and a June 2021 letter urging Biden to punish Israel. She took the supposedly impartial job a month later.
It is amazing to me how some people can look at Israel, a country about the size of New Jersey, and blame it for any unrest in the Middle East. You really have to overlook a lot of basic facts to do that.
It’s interesting to me that she is a black woman from South Africa. South Africa right now is not a poster child for equal rights or peace. The testimonies of the white farmers who simply inherited their farms and became a target for murder and property theft in South Africa are frightening. Pillay needs to clean up her own back yard before she accepts a prize for promoting peace.
From my friends at Power Line Blog:
Sharia Law In America
On Friday, Just the News posted an article about the views of young voters on Sharia Law.
The article reports:
Nearly half of likely young voters, 43%, view Islamic Sharia law positively, according to a new poll.
The demographic of likely voters between the ages of 18 and 24 hold a different view than the majority of voters polled of all ages, 57%, who hold a negative view.
The poll was conducted by Rasmussen Reports and a nonprofit organization, Our Republic, on Sept. 20. The results were released just a few weeks ahead of the November 3 election.
In response to the findings, outgoing U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said, “Sharia law is incompatible with our Constitution and has no place in America. But it’s on the rise.” That’s why he and U.S. Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, launched the Sharia Free America Caucus, he said.
Roy has introduced several bills related to Sharia law and other Islamic-related issues, which have gone nowhere in Congress, The Center Square reported Roy, an outspoken opponent of Sharia law, lost his primary in March.
These are some of the tenets of Sharia Law:
- Theft is punishable by amputation of the hands (see above and Quran 5:38).
• Criticizing or denying any part of the Quran is punishable by death.
• Criticizing Muhammad or denying that he is a prophet is punishable by death.
• Criticizing or denying Allah is punishable by death (see Allah moon god).
• A Muslim who becomes a non-Muslim is punishable by death (see Compulsion).
• A non-Muslim who leads a Muslim away from Islam is punishable by death.
• A non-Muslim man who marries a Muslim woman is punishable by death.
• Homosexuality is punishable by death but sodomizing boys is fine (see Islam & Sex).
• Girls can be sodomized until and vaginally raped after 8 years of age (see Islam & Sex).
• A woman or girl who has been raped cannot testify in court against her rapist(s).
• Testimonies of 4 male witnesses are required to prove rape of a female (Quran 24:13).
• A woman or girl who alleges rape without producing 4 male witnesses is guilty of adultery.
• A woman or girl found guilty of adultery is punishable by death (see “Islamophobia“).
• A male convicted of rape can have his conviction dismissed by marrying his victim.
• Muslim men have sexual rights to any woman/girl not wearing the Hijab (see Taharrush).
• A woman can have 1 husband, who can have up to 4 wives; Muhammad can have more.
• A man can beat his wife for insubordination (see Quran 4:34 and Religion of Peace).
• A man can unilaterally divorce his wife; a wife needs her husband’s consent to divorce.
• A divorced wife loses custody of all children over 6 years of age or when they exceed it.
• A woman’s testimony in court, allowed in property cases, carries ½ the weight of a man’s.
• A female heir inherits half of what a male heir inherits (see Mathematics in Quran).
• A woman cannot speak alone to a man who is not her husband or relative.
• Meat to eat must come from animals that have been sacrificed to Allah – i.e., be “Halal.”
• Muslims should engage in Taqiyya and lie to non-Muslims to advance Islam.
Would they support it if they understood what it was? Our education system is failing us. Where are the feminists? Does anyone believe that this is compatible with the U.S. Constitution?
The Drive To Make Sure President Trump Does Not Get Credit For Any Success
On Wednesday, Breitbart posted an article about the erroneous reporting on the impact of the Trump tariffs. As we are watching manufacturing return to America (something the Democrats claimed could never happen), some of our talking heads are screaming that the tariffs are causing inflation. Wait a minute. The annual inflation rate reached a high of 9.1% in June 2022, before gradually declining to around 3.7% by 2024. The current rate is slightly lower than 3%. Where were the tariffs in 2022?
The article reports:
The New York Fed has posted yet another paper by Mary Amiti and a team of economists on the costs of tariffs. It’s widely being read as showing that tariffs have pushed up consumer prices, with many reports claiming that goods inflation ran 2.9 percentage points higher because of tariffs.
In reality, however, the paper shows no such thing.
In the first place, the paper does not show and does not even claim that tariffs pushed up overall inflation by 2.9 percentage points. Its sample covers just 20 percent of the consumer basket. Translate the estimate into a contribution to overall consumer prices and you get roughly six-tenths of a percentage point, before accounting for anything happening elsewhere in the economy.
The article concludes:
But even when it comes to the limited findings about tariff pass-through to consumer prices, the Fed researchers render independent scrutiny impossible. Have they measured the right product categories? We cannot know because the paper does not list the 67 goods categories included in its consumer-price sample or their individual weights. It explains how the basket was constructed, but readers cannot examine which goods were included, which were omitted, and whether those choices materially affect the result. We’re just supposed to trust them because they’re Fed economists, and they would never make a mistake or willfully construct a basket of tariffed goods that advance the view that tariffs push up prices.
The Liberty Street Economics post about the paper acknowledges that its method cannot establish how much of the broader price movement was itself caused by tariffs. But it then declares that without tariffs, goods prices would have fallen slightly. But even the paper’s note on its own chart says the contribution is illustrative rather than an absolute contribution to aggregate goods inflation.
The Fed has produced a small library on tariffs and prices. This paper alone cites work from seven corners of the Federal Reserve System. You might reasonably conclude that the Fed—which let inflation under Biden rise to the highest level in 40 years—is obsessed with showing that tariffs are no good, very bad policies that hurt consumers.
But after all that research, even the roughly six-tenths contribution to overall prices only amounts to an estimate that doesn’t take into account how the market and consumers reacted to higher prices.
You can make statistics say pretty much anything you want them to if you know how to manipulate numbers! Before 1913, the American government was paid for entirely by tariffs–there was NO income tax.
Terrorism Is NOT A Foreign Problem
On Wednesday, Fox News posted an article about a thwarted terrorist attack at the Mall of America. The attacker was an American citizen born in America to naturalized Americans who came here from Somalia.
The article reports:
An 18-year-old Minnesota man who allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS and discussed carrying out a mass shooting at the Mall of America was arrested after buying an AK-47-style rifle, magazines and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee, according to newly filed federal court documents.
Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud had allegedly spent months discussing his desire to carry out an attack, telling an FBI confidential source in September, “I can’t wait until I kill kuffar man. October 24 is the day insha Allah,” according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Minnesota.
When the source later asked why he had chosen Oct. 24, Mohamud allegedly pointed to a “Hmong Arts Celebration” at the Mall of America, saying it would have “a lot of people,” the affidavit states.
The article concludes:
Mohamud allegedly discussed attacking the Mall of America with an assault rifle and told the source he could “drive straight to the crowded place and start shooting.” In September, investigators say he also sent the source a selfie-style video pledging allegiance to ISIS and its leader.
The FBI then arranged an undercover weapons transaction. On Sept. 25, the source told Mohamud a “brother” could sell him an AK-style rifle, magazines and ammunition, and Mohamud allegedly indicated he wanted the weapon to be fully automatic.
On Tuesday, Mohamud met the supposed ISIS-connected “brother” — actually an undercover FBI employee — and allegedly paid $600 for an AK-47-style rifle, four magazines and roughly 200 rounds of ammunition. The rifle had been rendered inoperable, though the ammunition was live. During the meeting, Mohamud allegedly said he planned to carry out a shooting at a “kuffar festival” at the Mall of America.
Mohamud left the vehicle with the rifle, magazines and ammunition in a duffel bag and was arrested at gunpoint by FBI agents, according to the affidavit.
According to an ABC News article posted on Wednesday:
Prosecutors said Mohamud told the source he wanted to attack the Mall of America “because its owned by jewish” people, adding, “so if I kill even 30 people noone would go there anymore.”
Antisemitism is not without consequences.
Exactly What Is The “Red-Green Alliance”?
On October 5th, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about the need for western countries to be very aware of possible terrorist attacks on the anniversary of October 7th. Thankfully, a major attack at the Mall of America was averted, and there has been little news of attacks elsewhere.
Contained in that article was a very accurate description of the Red-Green Alliance and the people involved in it and the people funding it:
The “Red‑Green Alliance” refers to a tactical partnership between far‑left movements (“red”) and Islamist movements (“green”), rooted in shared opposition to Western institutions, capitalism, the U.S., and Israel, rather than shared values.
It is not a single organization, but rather a recurring pattern historically, especially during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and in modern Western activism and politics. The western media support the RED side, and the Muslim Brotherhood represents the GREEN side.
Islamists love to celebrate anniversaries and random dates they assign to historic grievances. The Brotherhood exploits the radical elements’ general lack of intelligence and simultaneously stimulates the autonomic emotional nerve. Spend any amount of time talking to a Turk, and they can cite multiple grievances with dates. For multiple years Turkey has been in a co-dependent relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood (AQAP, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, ISIS, etc.).
Turkish President Erdogan, a NATO member, manages the Brotherhood sensibility better than most. Jordan’s King Abdullah also does it well; while Egypt’s President Fattah al-Sisi gave up trying and just banned them outright.
Qatar is the banking agency for the Muslim Brotherhood. Oman and Yemen have severe factions as noted in the FlyDubai airline incident and the Houthis respectively. In Africa, AQIM, another Brotherhood chapter, carries the banner for the greater Palestinian cause, the primary grievance for 2026.
In France the Palestinian flag is being waved in each of the migrant uprisings and riots. While in the U.K the hatred for Israel is a sentiment second only to the support for the Palestinians.
Europe has imported millions of radical extremists. The background for the RAF Fairford terrorist event did not happen overnight; the sentiment has been building. However, that said, Obama/Biden imported mass numbers of Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers, so it would be well worth paying attention as the next 48 hours of anniversary celebration may indeed result in some form of Islamic terrorist attack.
Remember that after the Communists helped the Islamists gain control of Iran, the Islamists killed the Communists who helped them. The American left needs to be aware of that!
A Late-Season Hurricane
This is the latest in the season that the East Coast has gone without a major hurricane. Our record is still intact, but the Gulf States are expecting Tropical Storm Isaias to arrive as a hurricane late this Friday. The storm is expected to be back to a Tropical Storm by Saturday morning and make its way north through Mississippi, Alabama and western Tennessee. The hurricane season for the East Coast officially ends November 30th.
On Thursday, The New York Post reported:
Tropical Storm Isaias formed early Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters said it was expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season before hitting the US Gulf Coast later in the week.
Isaias was located about 285 miles west of Progreso, Mexico, and about 580 miles southwest of the Mississippi River’s mouth, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving east-northeast at 8 mph.
It was not immediately known where the storm may make landfall on the Gulf Coast.
The article concludes:
The storm comes as the Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually quiet this year due to a strong El Niño, which disrupts storm formation over that ocean.
Storm activity in the Pacific has been above average.
This is the map from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) showing the projected path of the storm:
Adding Perspective To October 7th
On Wednesday, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article about the impact of October 7th on the idea of the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
In the article, he quotes an article posted by Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib writes at The Free Press:
As the grim third anniversary of October 7 befalls a decimated Gaza Strip, the state of the discourse among many in the so-called “pro-Palestine” movement remains as embarrassing, dismal, and disastrous as it was when Hamas initiated the attack in 2023. Over the past three years, I have seen countless posts by self-described Zionists criticizing the conduct of Israel’s government, the behavior of Israeli officials, and the excesses of the Israeli reaction to October 7. And yet, I have struggled to see even a dozen posts by “pro-Palestine” activists, advocates, or organizations explicitly condemning Hamas for triggering the most catastrophic chapter in contemporary Palestinian history.
…But I will also forever be furious at the fact that Gaza would still be standing had Hamas simply kept its terrorists at home on October 7. I will forever be rageful at the fact that Hamas not only weaponized every aspect of Gaza’s infrastructure but also held Israeli hostages in a manner that was inevitably going to invite more devastation and suffering for Palestinian civilians. I will forever be resentful of the useful idiots who ignored Hamas’s sadistic tactics, hiding behind vacuous appeals to “international law” despite there being no legal framework to justify a terrorist group entrenching itself in medical facilities, educational spaces, markets, and areas meant to shelter the displaced.
The article concludes:
The only genocide at hand in Gaza is the one Hamas plotted for Israel and the Jews, and which it launched on October 7, 2023. Gazans may or may not support Hamas now, but they celebrated it as a national victory three years ago, and not a single Gazan did anything to free or assist the 250-plus hostages Hamas hid among them. This war is their war, and just because that war went badly for them does not absolve them of responsibility for it.
This is the Nakba that Palestinians suffered because they created it – and that’s been true of every Nakba since 1948.
One of the major casualties of October 7th was the idea that there could be a two-state solution and that a Palestinian state would live peacefully beside Israel.
Please follow the link to read the entire article. It contains a lot of insight.
Something To Remember
On Tuesday, American Greatness posted an article about the odd alliance between the Islamists and Communists (the red-green alliance). We are seeing that alliance in action in America right now with the Democrat Socialists of America and some of their Islamist candidates. But the Islamists and the Democrats actually have little in common in their overall philosophies. The Democrats support gay rights, the Islamists kill homosexuals by throwing them off rooftops or hanging them from cranes. The Democrats encourage women’s rights, the Islamists deny even basic rights to women. Their common goal is to overthrow the system in place. But what happens after they overthrow the existing system?
The article reports:
If political alliances were based primarily on shared values, these two movements should be enemies, not allies.
History tells us otherwise.
Iran in 1978 offers perhaps the clearest example. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi saw an extraordinary coalition forming against his government. He described it as an alliance of “black reaction and red terror”—black representing the Shia clerical forces, red the communists and revolutionary left.
The CIA dismissed the possibility.
Then came 1979. The Shah fell, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran, and the Islamic Revolution seized power. Iran’s communist Tudeh Party embraced the revolution and supported Khomeini.
What happened next matters even more.
Once secure in power, Khomeini turned against his former allies. In 1983, the regime launched a sweeping crackdown on the Tudeh Party. Its leaders were arrested; members and sympathizers were imprisoned, executed, or driven into exile. A party that had helped welcome the revolution was ultimately destroyed by it.
The article notes:
The left believed Khomeini and the clerics were merely one component of a broad revolutionary coalition and that, after the Shah’s fall, competing factions could continue struggling over the revolution’s direction. Khomeini’s followers, meanwhile, could use the left’s organizational networks, intellectual influence, and street power.
Each side thought it was using the other.
Then the common enemy disappeared. What remained was a power struggle, won by the faction that was more ruthless, better organized, and less constrained by liberal rules.
That is the recurring logic of revolutionary coalitions. Fundamental contradictions can be postponed while a common enemy remains. Once that enemy disappears, yesterday’s allies begin reaching for their knives.
Which is why a recently recirculated video of American left-wing streamer Hasan Piker deserves attention. Piker talks about bringing a Chinese-style Cultural Revolution into the Democratic Party, subjecting establishment Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to “struggle sessions,” and even putting political opponents in prison.
Please follow the link to read the entire article. It is a picture of what could happen in America.
For great insight into life in Iran before, during, and after the revolution in 1979, I recommend the book A TIME TO BETRAY by Reza Kahlili. He supported the revolution, joined the Revolutionary Guard, and eventually went to work for the CIA.
A Step In The Right Direction
On Tuesday, The Daily Caller posted an article about a fraud prevention program put in place in the Treasury Department in 2026. The obvious question is why wasn’t this done long ago.
The article reports:
The U.S. Treasury announced the successful implementation of fraud prevention programs across the Department in 2026 protecting a significant amount of taxpayer money.
On Monday, the Treasury Department confirmed it had screened over 1.1 billion federal payments totaling $3.7 trillion dollars and identified 13,500 fraudulent payments worth $175 million that would have gone to deceased individuals, according to its Tuesday press release.
“Treasury continues to transform how the federal government protects taxpayer dollars by using better data, stronger controls, and advanced technology to stop fraud and improper payments before money goes out the door,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the release. “In the past year alone, Treasury built and deployed new safeguards.”
The article concludes:
Through the Do Not Pay program, the government analyzed and screened 2.3 billion records through the Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS), according to the department’s Monday press release.
The Treasury implemented these programs in coordination with President Donald Trump’s March 2025 Executive Order 14249, “Protecting America’s Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.”
Unfortunately, this program was implemented through an Executive Order and can be undone if the Democrats win Congress in the mid-term elections or the presidency in 2028. We not only need to elect Republicans, we need to elect Republicans who will turn Executive Orders like this into law!