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From my friends at Lucianne.com:
I Guess Fox News Is Now Part Of The Mainstream Media
On Tuesday, Just the News posted an article about a recent hire at Fox News.
The article reports:
Fox News has hired a former aide of Andrew Cuomo who admitted to covering up deaths at nursing homes in New York state during the COVID pandemic.
Melissa DeRosa will be a contributor and co-host of a new podcast, “The Girls,” set to air beginning Oct. 1., according to a Fox News Media press release.
DeRosa worked for Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration. She admitted on a conference call with Democratic lawmakers that the Cuomo administration hid the number of deaths at nursing homes, fearing it would be politicized by Cuomo’s political opponents, including President Donald Trump, the Daily Caller reported.
This was not just some casual cover-up–this was a cover-up that had to do with the life and death of the people involved. For whatever reason, Governor Cuomo has never been held responsible for the deaths that resulted in moving people supposedly recovered from Covid into nursing homes. We also remember that Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Rachel Levine faced scrutiny when she moved her mother out of a personal care facility shortly after she implemented a policy directing Pennsylvania’s nursing homes and certain care facilities to admit recovered COVID-19 patients who were treated at nearby hospitals. It seems that the people in power were aware of the danger. There was very little information concerning the point where a person who had had Covid was no longer contagious, and extreme caution would have been appropriate.
I question the wisdom of hiring someone to co-host a podcast who has a history of hiding important information from the media.
Why No One Should Vote For Democrats In The Mid-Term Elections
Usually when a political party is out of power and running in an election to gain power, they lay out their plan to make the country and everyone in it more successful. The out-of-power party gives us a positive reason to elect them. That is not the case in this November’s election.
On Monday, Townhall posted an article detailing some of the Democrat’s plans if they retake Congress. Nothing they plan will actually benefit the American people.
The article reports:
Democrats have given a glimpse of what they plan if they win back control of either chamber of Congress.
Other than launching another impeachment attempt against President Donald Trump, it appears Democrats also plan to renew their lawfare against Trump and his family. They plan to investigate the president’s family business to find something they can use against him.
The article quotes the U.K. Independent:
If Democrats win a majority in either the House or Senate in November’s midterm elections, corporate contributors funding President Donald Trump’s ballroom and participants in Trump family business transactions could face immediate congressional scrutiny, according to several lawmakers, legal experts, and Capitol Hill aides.
Securing command of either chamber would give Democrats subpoena authority and the financial resources to expand oversight staff. This would allow inquiries to begin as early as February, likely triggering prolonged legal disputes that would bring the Trump family’s business holdings into sharp focus.
Such congressional inquiries could define the second half of Trump’s term, following two years during which his family ventured into artificial intelligence, prediction markets, drones, and cryptocurrency, while the president’s personal wealth expanded by an estimated $2.2 billion.
“I don’t think the Democrats are going to have patience. They’re going to expect documents pretty quickly. You’re not going to play the old run-out-the-clock game,” noted Ashley Callen, an attorney at Jenner & Block and former general counsel to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Speaking to reporters on September 17, US House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York stated: “We’re going to hold the crooks accountable, beginning on day one.”
Much of President Trump’s worth is in real estate, which has increased in value during the past two years. I suspect that his other investments in Truth Social and other things have also paid off. President Trump was a shrewd businessman before becoming President. Why would that change? I would also like to point out that in America people are innocent until proven guilty. We also prosecute crime. We do not go after people searching for crime. We do not need two years of witch hunts–we need two more years of moving forward. Despite the fact that the mainstream media chooses not to report it, the Trump economy is doing very well. According to AI, the predicted third quarter growth of the American economy is 4.3%, significantly exceeding earlier forecasts. Let’s keep moving in that direction.
The article at Townhall concludes:
If they (the Democrat party) regain control of either chamber of Congress, not only are they going to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump, but they are going to pick up where they left off before they lost control of the House.
Of course, this strategy has two purposes. Attack Trump and distract from the fact that they won’t actually have any real solutions to the problems Americans face.
We Are Leaving
U.S. Central Command posted the following on X today:
TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) completed the orderly departure of U.S. forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base, Sept. 30, marking the end of the Operation Inherent Resolve mission in Iraq.
The move from Iraq is part of a planned transition to a U.S.-Iraq bilateral defense relationship. Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) remains operational and is now headquartered in Jordan as U.S. forces continue the counter-ISIS mission in Syria alongside Coalition partners and the Syrian government.
CJTF-OIR has advised, assisted, and enabled partner forces in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since CENTCOM established the unit in 2014.
“Job well done to the tens of thousands of American service members, diplomats, and civilian personnel who answered the call in Iraq,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Because of your grit, sacrifice and professionalism, ISIS no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq’s national security and Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, now possess the capacity, leadership, and operational independence to unilaterally manage threats to their homeland.”
American and Coalition forces began departing federal Iraq last October as part of a transition that culminated into the removal of personnel and equipment from Erbil Air Base in September.
Located in northern Iraq, Erbil Air Base served as the main operational hub for CJTF-OIR and hosted most of the 1,500 American and Coalition forces supporting counter-ISIS operations.
“As we step back and hand full primary responsibility for Iraq’s security to the Government of Iraq and the brave people of Iraq, U.S. and Coalition forces stationed across the region will remain ready to respond to any ISIS threats that arise,” said Cooper. “Maintaining our vigilance and readiness is essential to protecting the U.S. homeland and strengthening regional security.”
On September 30, Townhall reported:
“The U.S. is also looking to the Iraqi Security Forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, to lead in D-ISIS efforts as the OIR military missions winds down. A secure Iraq opens the door to strong commercial and defense cooperation,” Hegseth wrote at the time.
While Operation Inherent Resolve started in 2014, the U.S. has been in the country since 2003, when then-President George W. Bush moved to oust Saddam Hussein from power following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Hopefully this is an indication that peace may be breaking out in the region.
When You Don’t Follow The Rules…
In November 2020, Flydubai announced that it would begin direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai. According to the Jerusalem News Syndicate (JNS), the aviation agreement between the two countries required that pilots flying to Israel must hold passports from countries that have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. It appears that the agreement was not honored on a recent flight where a hijacking was attempted.
On September 30, JNS reported:
The pilot of a passenger plane flying to Israel was stabbed several times by his co-pilot in the cockpit early Wednesday, according to officials — causing the aircraft to plunge 18,000 feet in what was feared to be a “terrorist attack in mid-air.”
The FlyDubai Boeing 737 Max 8 plane flying to Tel Aviv from the United Arab Emirates was cruising at around 34,000 feet when one of the pilots tried to take control in what Israeli sources say was an attempted hijacking, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“One pilot stabbed the other and tried to do 9/11,” an official told Channel 12 of the horror that saw Israeli fighter jets scrambled as a precaution.
…The co-pilot apparently stabbed the captain several times before crew members and passengers managed to enter the cockpit door and overpower him, according to Segal (Israeli journalist Amit Segal).
“An extremely serious disaster was averted,” Segal quoted a senior Israeli official as saying.
The co-pilot was being questioned, as indications mounted that he intended to take control of the aircraft and crash it with the passengers on board, according to the official.
The article notes:
Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev demanded that all flydubai flights to Israel be suspended following the suspected terrorist attack aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, according to Hebrew media reports.
Regev also asked the country’s Civil Aviation Authority to investigate whether the United Arab Emirates violated its aviation agreement with Israel. Under the agreement, pilots flying to Israel must hold passports from countries that have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
The co-pilot has been identified in unconfirmed reports as an Omani national. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Oman.
Thank God there were two pilots who were traveling as passengers and were able to take control and stabilize the aircraft after the attacker was subdued.
Unbelievable Abuse Of Power
On Tuesday, American Greatness posted an article about the questionable activities of former Special Council Jack Smith during his investigation of President Trump.
The article reports:
Former special counsel Jack Smith and his team acquired at least 4,782 checks from Americans who had made mainly small donations to President Trump or Trump- aligned entities between September 2019 and August 2023, according to bombshell records provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) via legally protected whistleblower disclosures.
Smith subpoenaed the checks of thousands of Trump supporters across all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, as part of its Smith’s “Arctic Frost” election case against President Trump. Checks for as little as $1.00 were obtained by the special counsel, providing anti-Trump investigators at the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with the home addresses, bank account, routing numbers and signatures of Trump supporters.
Whistleblower records show the checks were routed to former FBI Special Agent Walter Giardina, the anti-Trump agent who had allegedly begged to be on the Crossfire team and was involved in many cases against Republicans.
According to Grassley, Smith’s investigators also obtained records containing communications between 44 journalists and Trump administration officials after subpoenaing text-message records associated with dozens of White House phones during the federal election investigation into Trump.
The article concludes:
Additionally, Grassley revealed Tuesday that Smith’s classified documents case against Trump was based on a “non-criminal” referral that was initially dismissed by the FBI as a “spillage” issue with “little likelihood of being pursued as a criminal matter.”
“Jack Smith’s operation was a partisan weapon,” said Grassley. “He broke the rules, lied to the court and engaged in bad faith throughout. His operation has no credibility – only to the partisan media and Democrats who cheered him on,” Grassley said.
Please follow the link to read the entire article. It appears that he has lied to Congress as well as violated peoples’ civil rights. He should be referred for criminal charges. That is what would happen if he were a Republican.
Lowering Healthcare Costs
The hospital lobby is alive and well in America. In North Carolina they have so far successfully opposed the full repeal of Certificate of Needs (CON) Laws despite the matter being brought before the state legislature almost every year. I am sure we are going to hear from them about the latest rule change that President Trump has made to medical billing.
On Monday, The Daily Signal posted an article about a move by the Trump administration to lower healthcare costs.
The article reports:
Currently, doctors can charge Medicare recipients twice for exams during same-day services. The exam fee is called an “evaluation and management fee” and can cost more than $235.
For example, during a Medicare recipient’s standard dermatology exam, the doctor can charge the recipient twice for an exam of a mole if the removal service is performed on the same day. This is a common form of Medicare double billing among health care providers.
In a recent audit by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of the Inspector General found that 42% of Medicare beneficiaries were double-billed for intravitreal injections during eye exams, a recurring procedure. The same-day exam and procedure allowed the claims to bypass the system designed to prevent improper payments.
California and Florida are the top two states, with roughly 10 million Medicare beneficiaries combined, to benefit from this rule change. It is expected to take effect in January, just after the midterm election.
The proposed rule was announced in July and was open for public comment through mid-September. Now, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is evaluating the public comments and will soon announce the finalized rule.
The American Hospital Association is obviously opposing this move.
The article notes:
The proposed rule was announced in July and was open for public comment through mid-September. Now, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is evaluating the public comments and will soon announce the finalized rule.
The proposed rule suggested cutting the initial exam fee to 50% from 100% and keeping the final exam and procedure fee at the standard 100% charge. While the Trump administration has supported the rule change, Medicare providers and beneficiary associations have opposed the rule, claiming it would cause “fragmented care and reduced access for patients.”
It’s time to consider the consumer as well as the provider. Keep in mind that the more money that flows through government agencies, the greater chance of corruption.
If People Are Paying Attention, This Should Impact The Mid-Terms
On Thursday, One America News posted an article about the latest unemployment figures.
The article reports:
Fewer people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, as U.S. jobless claims remain at historically low levels and most Americans enjoy job security.
The Labor Department said Thursday that 197,000 people applied for unemployment checks last week, the fewest since mid-July and down from a revised 198,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell to 202,250 last week from 204,000.
Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. So far this year, claims have mostly stayed below 220,000 — historically low.
The American job market has remained sturdy despite higher energy prices that have squeezed businesses and consumers since the fighting with Iran began Feb. 28.
The article concludes:
So far this year, employers — companies, government agencies and nonprofits — have been adding an average of 80,000 jobs a month, including a surprising 162,000 in August. That is an improvement on a dismal 2025 when monthly job creation averaged 9,700 as high interest rates and President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policies discouraged hiring.
The Labor Department will release the jobs report for September next week. It’s expected to show that employers added 52,500 jobs and that the unemployment rate remained low at 4.1%, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.
Hiring remains well below the 166,000 monthly jobs created, on average, in 2023 and 2024, and the 491,000 a month recorded during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns.
Generally speaking, the economy is doing much better than the mainstream media’s reporting indicates. See article here.
A Welcome Change
On Monday, Red State posted an article about changes President Trump is making to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.
The article reports:
On Monday, it became official: the Trump administration has rolled back the draconian Biden-era Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards from 50.4 miles per gallon (mpg) to 34.9 mpg. It’s not clear why 34.9 and not just 35, which would presumably make the math a little easier, but then, government isn’t always known for doing things the easy way.
When the standard of 50.4 miles per gallon was announced in 2024, the Department of Transportation claimed that the standards would save car owners more than $600 in gasoline costs over the lifetime of their vehicle. The problem with this number is that under the 2024 rules, car would costs $1,300 more. The math simply does not add up.
The article concludes:
There is, of course, a good argument to be made that the federal government has no authority, under the Constitution, to regulate something like gas mileage standards for cars and trucks. There is no enumerated power in the Constitution that allows Congress or the Executive Branch to do this at all, and therefore, under the Tenth Amendment, it should rightly be prohibited to them. But that ship would seem to have sailed, right around 1860, in fact: so since this is the plate we’ve been handed, at least we have a larger cut of beef on it now.
These choices should rightly be made by consumers, not government. Now, at least, this move takes us a little closer to that; that is, until a Democrat administration takes control and reverses the whole thing. Remember that in November. Remember that in 2028.
Theoretically, the change in the CAFE standards should result in lower car prices for Americans.
Bringing Sanity Back To Women’s Sports
On Monday, The Daily Signal posted an article about the Department of Education rescinding the Biden-era ruling concerning Title IX and gender identity.
The article reports:
Supporters of women’s sports and sex-based protections have reason to celebrate. The Department of Education announced Sept. 28 that it is formally rescinding the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX rule and reinstating the 2020 Title IX regulations promulgated under the first Trump administration.
Ongoing litigation has prevented the Trump administration from being able to formally rescind the illegal 2024 Biden regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations, even though the Education Department has been following the 2020 Trump-era Title IX regulations since January of last year.
In April 2024, the Biden administration issued final regulations rewriting the more than 50-year-old civil rights law, Title IX, to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Essentially, it allowed boys who claim to identify as girls to participate in girls and women’s sports at schools that receive federal funding.
Women’s sports advocate and former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines said at the time, “Fifty-two years of progress and sex-based protections have been erased with the stroke of a pen.” She was right. Thankfully, many states agreed, and seven circuit courts temporarily blocked the Title IX rewrite, preventing it from taking effect in 26 states.
The article concludes:
Advocates for child protection must still work from state to state, however. As our Heritage Foundation colleague Laura Hanford explains, child-welfare workers are classifying parents as “abusive” if they treat a child according to his or her sex instead of self-proclaimed “gender.” Social science research has found that affirming a child who claims to have been born in the wrong body does not resolve mental health issues underlying a child’s sexual confusion. Adults who do not caution a child confused about his or her sex could be neglecting that child—and failing to address the true reasons for the child’s distress. Conditions such as anxiety and depression can go untreated or worsen when adults focus on advocating “gender affirmation.”
So-called gender advocates claim that children will become suicidal if adults do not affirm their children. Yet no scientific evidence supports this claim, as even the ACLU acknowledged before the Supreme Court. And contrary to activist statements, new findings from the research and advocacy organization Do No Harm show that laws banning “gender-affirming care” do not increase suicide rates.
Nevertheless, Hanford explains that some courts are removing children from their homes even when there is no evidence of actual abuse. Social workers in the foster care system, meanwhile, are affirming children’s confusion about their sex.
The Department of Education’s rule change should bolster families and state officials protecting children from making irreversible medical decisions they may come to regret. In the states, policymakers must remain vigilant.
The Need To Educate Our Students
On Sunday, The New York Post posted an article about a recent Democrat event called “Students vs. Billionaires” town hall in downtown Ithaca Sunday. Obviously, ‘students vs. billionaires’ is the kind of class warfare used by Marxists to push their agenda.
The article reports:
Cornell University’s lefty crowd gave Democratic Socialist superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a warm, hate-filled welcome by singing anti-Israel chants at a campaign event meant to gin up support for Democrats ahead of the midterms Sunday.
While warming up the standing-room-only crowd of roughly 2,000 people gathered for the congresswoman’s “Students vs. Billionaires” town hall in downtown Ithaca Sunday, Cornell University Young Democratic Socialists of America co-chairs Mina Petrova and Zoe Reisman led the crowd singing “from the river to the sea” and declaring “long live the student intifada.”
There are a few problems here. First of all, do the students understand that ‘from the river to the sea’ is a call for genocide of Jews? Secondly, do the students understand that an intifada is a holy war? Thirdly, do the Young Democratic Socialists know that after the communists helped elect the Mullahs in Iran, the Mullahs had all of the communists killed because they weren’t Muslim and they were a threat to the power of the Mullahs? Do they understand how Sharia Law treats women? Do they understand how Sharia Law treats homosexuality?
The article concludes:
The chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” however, was overwhelmingly ruled to be antisemitic by the US House of Representatives. Critics say the motto, which refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, is a call for the eradication of Israel and its people.
Ocasio-Cortez voted against the 2024 resolution declaring the phrase to be hateful.
The Bronx-Queens congresswoman, who rose to stardom by shockingly defeating Queens Democratic boss Joe Crowley during Democrats’ last midterm surge in 2018, was planning on appearing with Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier Sunday.
A spokesperson for the Governor’s office said Hochul backed out of a planned appearance with Ocasio-Cortez earlier in the day in Ithaca.
Her office said the cancellation was due to the nor’easter hitting New York City, though Hochul did not have any public events Sunday.
I think Governor Hochul was smart to stay away. Our college students need to learn history.
Remember This When You Vote
On Friday, The Federalist posted an article about comments made at the Sufaraa Center in McKinney, Texas.
The article reports:
Shaykh Uthman ibn Farooq laid out a vision for an Islamic America during a livestreamed event at the Sufaraa Center in McKinney, Texas, last week. Authentic Ilm Mission, which hosted the event, has plans for a 40,000-square-foot facility near Plano, Texas, and used the livestream featuring Farooq to fundraise for the multipurpose school and Islamic community center.
“We love this country,” Farooq said. “We want good for this country. And that’s why we want Islam for this country, ’cause we think that’s the best thing. And we’re not going to be ashamed of that.”
Islamic countries practice Sharia Law, which is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. Women have very few rights under Sharia Law. The only way to institute Sharia Law is to overthrow the current government. Also keep in mind that there is a natural alliance between the Islamists and the Democratic Socialists. Both ideologies want to overthrow the current governmental system in America. What the Democratic Socialists don’t realize is that after the communists helped the Muslims gain power in Iran in 1979, the Muslims killed all of the communists because they felt the communists would be a threat to their power.
The article notes:
He went on to argue that Muslims are fully within their constitutional rights to adhere to Sharia law. “We’re Muslims. That’s our identity, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The Constitution of this country protects that. That’s our right to believe in the Sharia. Yes, I said it. That’s our right.”
“There’s communists that believe in communism and live in America,” Farooq continued. “The current mayor of New York is a socialist. Bernie Sanders is open socialist. … Our president — I don’t know what the, what he is actually. I don’t think he knows what he is. … But he has that right according to the Constitution. … There are Satanists. There’s a church of Satan. I’ve debated them.”
Farooq works with the One Message Foundation and is a viral social media influencer. His Instagram and YouTube pages boast 430,000 and 1.4 million followers, respectively. The One Message Foundation’s homepage says it, together with other groups, converted nearly 1,500 individuals to Islam during the World Cup. Farooq’s social media videos feature his commentary speaking of polygamy as legitimate and speculating that President Donald Trump may be an evil spirit.
The event host, Authentic Ilm Mission (AIM), which is led by Dr. Karim AbuZaid and Farooq, is fundraising for an expansive Islamic facility “in one of the most densely Muslim-populated areas between Richardson and Plano,” according to the group’s website. On the former site of a Christian church, the four-acre campus and its facilities — 40,000 square feet in total — will be used to host “Islamic K-12 education,” a seminary, and training in Da’wah, that is, Islamic proselytization.
Please follow the link to read the entire article. Consider this when you vote. We are responsible for preserving our Republic.
Saving American Taxpayer Money
On Friday, The Hill posted an article about about President Trump using the “pocket rescission” process to cancel almost $1 billion in federal funding. In the grand scheme of things $1 billion isn’t a great amount, but with the deficit being what it is, every little bit counts.
Here are some numbers that illustrate the history of the federal budget. In 2007, the federal budget for the United States was approximately $2.729 trillion. That is $4.41 trillion in today’s dollars. That reflects a cumulative inflation rate of about 61.95% since 2007. The current federal budget for the fiscal year 2025 is projected to be approximately $7 trillion with a deficit of $1.8 trillion, which was 5.8% of the GDP. That is not great, but it is moving in the right direction. The Republicans took control of Congress in 2024. Today’s high budget numbers are not solely due to inflation, they are due to runaway spending. In 2019, the federal budget was $4.4 trillion, with a deficit of about $984 billion, which represented 4.6% of the GDP. In 2020, the federal budget was $6.55 trillion, with a deficit of $3.1 trillion, which represented 14.9% of the GDP. In 2021, the federal budget was $6.8 trillion, with a deficit of $2.8 trillion, representing about 12.4% of the GDP. Theoretically, the House of Representatives controls spending. The Democrats controlled the House during the significant jump in spending in 2020 and deficit jumping to $3.1 trillion. If you want to stop runaway spending, don’t elect Democrats to the House of Representatives.
The article at The Hill reports:
President Trump cancelled almost $1 billion in federal funding Friday using the controversial “pocket rescission” process, which allows him to sidestep congressional approval.
Most of the cancellations targeted Health and Human Services (HHS) programs serving undocumented immigrants and unaccompanied children in court, as well as similar initiatives under the agency’s Minority Health office and the Department of Education’s Special Programs for Migrant Students.
“These funds previously went to pro-illegal immigration programs and Non-Governmental Organizations that provided services to refugees, asylees, and other non-citizens and put unaccompanied children in harm’s way,” the White House wrote in a press release.
The release continued, “Thanks to President Trump’s successful border policies, the illegal alien invasion is over and there are fewer people crossing our border than ever before.”
The White House went on to say the decrease in border crossings meant funding toward these programs became excessive, warranting their recission.
In Washington money equals power, so several Congressmen are not happy about the cuts. However, as a taxpayer, I am grateful that someone is taking action to trim the very bloated federal budget.
Why Are Diesel Prices So High?
On Friday, David Blackmon’s Energy Additions posted an article at Substack explaining why diesel prices are so high.
Here are some of the reasons:
The Shock: Two Wars Took Diesel off the World Market
…According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), net diesel exports from Russia and the Persian Gulf in August were 1.6 million barrels a day lower than in February. In February, those two regions accounted for almost 45 percent of the diesel traded by sea.
…But Why do These Wars Affect Diesel Prices in the United States, Especially Prices in the Midwest?
A similar question is: if the United States is the world’s largest producer of oil and we are currently a petroleum exporter, why are we seeing these high prices, especially high diesel prices? The answer is that oil markets are global. The diesel market is global, and with the loss of a substantial amount of diesel from Russia and the Middle East, global diesel prices are very high.
…But Why Now? Why are These Wars Increasing Prices Now and Not a Few Months Ago?
The blunt answer is that the world is running out of excess capacity and shock absorbers in the oil system.
Diesel prices jumped when the Iran war began, from $3.90 a gallon on March 2 to $5.64 on April 6, then eased to $4.58 by July 6 (EIA). Since then, they have climbed nearly $2.
The article concludes:
If You Want Sustainably Lower Diesel Prices, We Need Peace in Ukraine and the Middle East
Diesel prices will come down for good when the diesel the wars took off the market comes back: when Russia’s refineries are repaired and its exports resume, when tankers can move freely through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, and when Gulf refineries are running again.
An export ban does not add a single barrel of diesel to the world market. It moves barrels from Rotterdam and Lima to Chicago, and it raises the world price that sets what Americans pay on the East and West Coasts.
Until peace comes, policymakers should focus on adding supply and moving it to where it is needed: keeping U.S. refineries running, and waiving the Jones Act so Gulf Coast diesel can reach the East Coast by ship. This crisis also shows the cost of letting the shock absorbers run down. The United States entered it with thin diesel stocks, a depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and about 400,000 barrels a day less refining capacity than it had at the start of 2025.
The world needs peace and America needs refining capacity. Those two things will do more to bring diesel prices under control than anything else.
Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out
On Friday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about the departure of 300 of the 400 Civil Rights Attorneys at the Justice Department. I am not going to accuse the Justice Department of becoming political, but I was somewhat amazed when under President Obama the Justice Department dropped the charges of voter intimidation against some members of the New Black Panthers.
This is a picture of a Philadelphia voting location in 2008:
The case of voter intimidation was dropped by the Obama Justice Department.
The Gateway Pundit reports:
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon just confirmed what every honest observer already knew: the old Civil Rights Division was a woke fortress inside Main Justice.
When President Trump’s team told those lawyers the American people had voted to end illegal DEI discrimination and scrub dirty voter rolls, about 300 of the division’s 400 attorneys walked out.
Dhillon did not mourn them. She called it what it was.
In an interview this week with Col. Kurt Schlichter filling in on the Hugh Hewitt Show, Dhillon said the Civil Rights Division is one of the largest shops at Main Justice in Washington.
When she arrived, it had about 400 attorneys. After her office made clear it would implement the president’s executive orders, “prioritizing getting rid of DEI and cleaning up voter rolls,” “eventually about 300 of those attorneys quit, and so they self-deported.”
Then she rebuilt.
“We then had the task of, while we had DOJ restrictions and budgetary constraints, building back the Civil Rights Division,” Dhillon said. “And I’m really happy to say that I recruited over 100 great legal professionals here to the DOJ.”
The article notes:
The numbers line up with other reporting. Bloomberg Law reported this month that more than 300 of the division’s 400-plus lawyers departed over the past 19 months as Dhillon redirected the office toward voter-roll enforcement, campus discrimination, and religious-liberty cases.
What did those lawyers refuse to do?
They refused to treat race discrimination as race discrimination when the victims were Asian students, white applicants, or anyone else locked out by DEI. They refused to help states stop illegal voting. They refused to treat dirty rolls — dead registrants, movers, duplicates, and noncitizens — as a civil-rights problem for actual American citizens.
The Gateway Pundit has documented that fight for months. TGP reported last December that a limited review of 47.5 million records turned up more than 260,000 dead people still on the rolls and thousands of noncitizens registered for federal elections.
In March, Dhillon said a review of 50 to 60 million records had found hundreds of thousands of ineligible registrations, including more than 300,000 dead voters still listed. The division has sued states that stonewalled the data and put election officials on notice that knowingly leaving noncitizens on the rolls can be a federal crime.
It’s good to have impartial justice return to the Department of Justice.
Paying People To Undermine Our Government
On Saturday, Natalie Winters on Substack posted an article about a program in Boston that is training illegal aliens to be community organizers and paying them if they complete the training. What could possibly go wrong?
The article reports:
Boston is offering immigrants—including people in the country illegally—$575 to complete a city-sponsored course in community organizing and advocacy.
The eligibility language on Boston’s own website is explicit:
“Interested applicants are encouraged to apply regardless of their immigration status.”
Run through Mayor Michelle Wu’s Office for Immigrant Advancement, Immigrants Lead Boston teaches participants how to organize their communities, engage government officials and advocate for change. Its fall 2026 course runs from September 21 through December 5.
Boston calls the $575 completion payment a scholarship to make participation more accessible.
Participants must attend the sessions and complete outside civic activities. The city also promises introductions to key officials.
The published rules establish that undocumented immigrants can apply. They do not disclose how many have received payments.
The article notes:
In 2023, the city partnered with re:power to develop a “train the trainer” curriculum for 13 graduates. Alumni received additional instruction in organizing, meeting facilitation, public speaking and conflict management so they could train other immigrant leaders in additional languages.
Re:power, formerly Wellstone Action, describes its work as training and strategic support for the progressive movement. Its broader programs include developing political power through civic engagement and training elected officials.
One of its stated political principles is unmistakable:
“We must contest for power at all levels of government.”
Boston’s alumni page gives concrete examples of the advocacy participants wanted to pursue. Viera Andrea Ilse described helping neighbors obtain driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status. Adelaida Carbajal Rosales wanted to expand her work with City Life and organizations campaigning for rent control.
Those statements describe participants’ plans, rather than verified paid assignments. The re:power partnership also concerned the earlier alumni course; Boston names a different partner for 2026.
I can’t image what Massachusetts will look like in five years. According to AI, in the 12 months ending July 1, 2025, the state lost over 33,000 residents to other states, contributing to a total loss of approximately 182,000 residents since 2020. I left in 2013. I was slightly ahead of the curve!
From my friends at The Patriot Post:
Keeping Elections Secure
On Friday, CNBC posted an article about a Supreme Court decision that will help ensure election integrity.
The article reports:
The justices granted the Justice Department’s request to block a judge’s order that had stopped state officials from using Social Security numbers and other information to conduct sweeping checks of the citizenship status of registered voters against federal records.
The court has a 6-3 conservative majority. Its three liberal justices dissented from Friday’s order.
The majority said the plaintiffs’ arguments likely fail because federal law expressly authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to request and receive information relating to citizenship and immigration status from other agencies, including the Social Security Administration.
The administration’s data-sharing arrangement is one in a series of actions boosting the federal government’s involvement in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections in which Trump’s fellow Republicans seek to maintain control of Congress. The U.S. Constitution gives individual states the primary authority to run and administer elections.
The Department of Homeland Security last year redesigned a federal database known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, used to verify a person’s citizenship and immigration status. The revamp allowed users to search many records at a time and to conduct searches using individuals’ Social Security numbers.
The argument against using the system is that it is an invasion of privacy and that there has not been rampant fraud in our elections. The article claims that charges of massive voter fraud in 2020 are unfounded. I think the Department of Justice might disagree with that statement.
The article concludes:
In a Supreme Court filing, Justice Department lawyers called the judge’s order “indefensible,” arguing that it “threatens the integrity” of the midterm elections.
Texas, which intervened in the case in support of the administration, has disputed claims that the system is unreliable.
Due to separate litigation in Florida, the Trump administration has been able to continue using its modified SAVE system in the Republican-led states of Florida, Iowa, Indiana and Ohio.
We desperately need to protect election integrity.
Changing The Banking Rules For Illegal Aliens
On Thursday, Breitbart posted an article detailing how the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal aliens taking out loans has impacted America’s banking system.
The article reports:
The number of non-citizens engaged in the U.S. banking system has fallen sharply amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal migrants.
Immigrants have been closing bank accounts and going back to keep cash in their homes, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Migrants are also taking out fewer loans, the news organization added. Consumer loans to illegal aliens fell by 70 percent since 2024. And lenders are beginning to shy away from entering into such deals to begin with.
“We’ve seen a reduction overall in people who come for financial services, education services, workforce development,” said Hispanic rights activist Erica Serna, the associate director of financial empowerment for UnidosUS. She added that the current atmosphere is “truly frightening for families.”
The current atmosphere is not frightening for families who are here legally!
The article concludes:
Consequently, loans issued to those without suitable credit scores over the last few months have cratered.
“Across all asset classes, the share of loans to people without credit scores fell more than 70% from 2024 to 2025 and another 40% in 2026,” Bloomberg reported. The site further added that lending for auto loans and credit cards for those with low or non-existent credit scores is “expected to be about $7.2 billion in 2026, down from about $37 billion in 2024.”
While these metrics are not a perfect match for the population of illegal migrants, it is a fairly good indicator, Bloomberg says.
“It is the segment with the largest concentration of undocumented borrowers,” said Vadim Verkhoglyad, head of research at dv01, who wrote in the report cited by Bloomberg. “The timing suggests lenders may be reducing exposure to these borrowers amid changes to the political and policy environment.”
Another migrant activist, immigration lawyer Jennifer Oltarsh, said her clients are more fearful than ever.
“My clients are afraid, so they’re pulling their money out of banks,” she said. “They’re holding it in their mattresses.”
Note that the article says, “loans issued to those without suitable credit scores over the last few months have cratered.” Why are banks issuing loans to people without suitable credit scores to begin with? If you come to America illegally, I really don’t think you should complain about the banking system caring whether or not you are a legal citizen.
Changing The Rules To Protect America
On Wednesday, Just the News posted an article about some changes the U.S. State Department is making to deal with birth tourism. The idea that a mother from China can come to America, have her child, take that child back to China with her, raise him there for eighteen years, and then he can come back to America as a legal voter is frightening to me.
The article reports:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday a new visa restriction policy that targets migrants who engage in or profit illegally from the birth tourism industry.
The secretary claimed foreign commercial birth tourism networks have exploited the American immigration system to sell U.S. citizenship for profit by coaching people seeking American citizenship on how to lie on their visa applications.
Rubio said he is creating a new policy under the Immigration and Nationality Act that targets “individuals who knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States.”
The policy targets owners, operators, and managers of commercial birth tourism networks, visa “fixers” who coach applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers and other individuals who support, abet, and enable birth tourism.
The article concludes:
The move comes after President Donald Trump signed an order last month that directs the State Department to issue rules and guidance to stop birth tourism, even as U.S. law already bans tourists from obtaining visas “for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States.”
The idea that anyone born in America, including people whose parents are here illegally, is automatically a citizen is ridiculous. The Fourteenth Amendment was put in the U.S. Constitution to insure that the children of former slaves would be legal American citizens. Unfortunately the Amendment has been abused in order to set up an eventual time bomb in American elections.
One Positive Consequence Of The Greenland Treaty
On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about one impact of America’s treaty with Denmark regarding Greenland.
The article reports:
Days after President Donald Trump announced a security agreement with Greenland and Denmark, Greenland Mines applied on Sept. 21 to double the size of its rare earth mine to supply magnet metals needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defense systems on the island.
The North Carolina-based company’s Sarfartoq rare earth district in southwest Greenland would expand from 74 square miles to about 175 square miles if approved.
“This application is about building Sarfartoq at district scale,” said Bo Moller Stensgaard, president of Greenland Mines in a statement.
Greenland Mines is developing a rare earth neodymium and praseodymium project that could reduce the Western Hemisphere’s dependence on China for the magnet rare earth minerals. China-based processors control at least 75 percent of the global market for all rare earth elements.
The Greenland Mines project is expected to produce about one-third of the world’s neodymium-praseodymium oxide refined outside of China, serving as a key source of the rare earth ingredients needed for energy, transportation, and defense technologies.
China’s export restrictions on rare earths have driven prices up in the past year. The Trump administration has focused on supporting and investing in domestic rare earth operations, but a supply of ore is still needed, according to Greenland Mines.
The article concludes:
Greenland Energy, a privately owned Texas company, has an agreement to drill on the Jameson oil and gas project in the Jameson Land Basin on the eastern coast of Greenland. The company, founded in 2025, began shipping drilling equipment to Greenland in late July.
Critical Metals Corp. is developing the Tanbreez Rare Earth Project in southern Greenland—one of the world’s largest deposits with a high concentration of heavy rare-earth elements.
The company’s Romanian refinery is also expected to process about 28,000 tons per year of rare earth and critical metal products, including 26,000 tons of high-purity silicon dioxide powder, or silica, used in food, pharmaceuticals, paints, plastics, rubber, ceramics, tech, and electronics.
Our dependence on China for critical supplies during the past few decades was not smart. Moving our sourcing of critical rare earth and metal products to countries that share our values is a really good idea.
It’s Time To Take A Second Look
On Wednesday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about a letter sent to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. by Americans for Health Freedom.
The article reports:
Advocating for individual rights and autonomy in medical decision-making, Americans for Health Freedom, sent an open letter on September 18, 2026, to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and President Donald Trump.
The signatories are publicly opposing the policies overseen by Secretary Kennedy and President Trump concerning the mRNA platform. This technology utilizes synthetic messenger RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles to direct human cells to generate specific proteins aimed at preventing or treating diseases, a process that many leading medical experts consider dangerous and potentially lethal when introduced to the human body.
The letter explicitly states that “while the centerpiece of the MAHA and health freedom agenda has been removal of mRNA shots, [Kennedy and Trump] have failed to take decisive action on this front despite overwhelming credible evidence to the harm of this technology. Instead, [their] policies related to mRNA technology are neutered and self-defeating, putting pregnant women and children at risk, misleading parents and eroding their rights, and failing to help those harmed by vaccines.”
The article notes:
Lt. Col. Long (retired Army flight surgeon Lt. Col. Theresa Long) is currently reviewing approximately 55,000 adverse event reports related to the shot, which include 2,544 accounts of death, raising concerns among many regarding the potential link to the mRNA shots.
“In light of these serious concerns and the collective voice of the signatories,” Hulscher (Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, an Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator at the McCullough Foundation). argued, “it is evident that the call for a reassessment of mRNA vaccine technologies and related policies is not just a matter of individual rights, but a pressing public health issue.” For him, the overwhelming evidence of adverse effects associated with mRNA vaccine underscores the urgency for authorities to prioritize transparency and safety in medical interventions.
As the dialogue continues, he said, it is crucial that policymakers heed the warnings of the medical and scientific community, ensuring that the health and well-being of all citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, remain at the forefront of decision-making processes.
It is time to take a second look at the science behind this vaccine technology. Please follow the link above to read the entire article.
Putting Americans First
We need to be hospitable to our visitors and the people who come here to work or go to school, but we don’t need to do it at the expense of our own citizens.
On Wednesday, Breitbart posted an article about a new piece of legislation that would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965.
The article reports:
Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) has introduced a new piece of legislation that would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require that recipients of Pell Grants be U.S. citizens, a move the Republican said would “put American students first.”
Unveiled on Wednesday morning, the “Pell for Americans Act” simply states that the federally funded aid grant should only go to American undergraduates — not foreigners.
Despite efforts to restrict eligibility for non-citizens in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill, several classes, including refugees, asylees, immigration parolees, Cuban-Haitian entrants, and “conditional permanent residents,” remain eligible.
Just this February, the Hill reported that the Pell program “is in financial difficulties with a projected shortfall of billions of dollars that could lead to trouble for students as soon as 2028.”
By the end of this fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects the Pell Grant program will be $5 billion in debt. Over the next ten years, that number jumps to between $104 billion and $132 billion if nothing is done about the issue.
Students are not required to pay back Pell Grants. It seems to me that requiring students to pay back at least part of those grants after graduation might solve some of the budget program. Even if a student receives a grant because they cannot afford to pay for their education, they should make enough money after graduation to pay back at least part of the grant to keep the program going.
Your Tax Dollars At Work
On Wednesday, American Greatness posted an article about the amount of fraud discovered in the Affordable Care Act.
The article reports:
The Trump administration is canceling Affordable Care Act enrollments covering more than 760,000 people as part of a sweeping effort to combat fraud and improper taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that approximately 315,000 enrollments covering more than 760,000 individuals were canceled after officials determined they were unauthorized. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates the action will return roughly $2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies.
“We’re actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them,” Vance said.
The administration also plans additional eligibility verification for hundreds of thousands of other enrollments and has imposed a six-month suspension on new agents and brokers signing people up for coverage.
Eligibility verification should be required on every federal program.
The article concludes:
CMS said it has identified unauthorized enrollments and suspicious activity involving agents and brokers. Since January, the agency has sent termination notices to more than 200 agents and brokers it deemed noncompliant.
Democrats criticized the administration’s action. Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, accused Republicans of worsening the nation’s health care problems.
The enforcement push comes as Americans continue to face high health care costs and as affordability remains a major issue heading into the fall midterm elections.
The administration says its broader anti-fraud campaign is intended to protect taxpayers and ensure federal health care benefits go only to people who qualify.
The major provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect on January 1, 2014. That was more than twelve years ago. Why is it that the Trump administration is the first administration to deal with the level of fraud that has been building over those twelve years? I am beginning to think that the taxpayers should withhold all money from Washington until Washington shows us that they can spend it responsibly!
Pay For Play Only Works If You Get What You Pay For!
The Democrats are getting ready to be in charge of Congress. They have already stated that if they get control of Congress in the mid-term elections, they will begin impeachment hearings against President Trump immediately. It really doesn’t matter if he has done anything worthy of impeachment–they just want to impeach him. The media is already getting ready to help.
On Wednesday, RealClearInvestigations posted an article about the latest false accusation leveled against President Trump.
The article reports:
In a segment titled “The Pardon Economy,” veteran CBS reporter Lesley Stahl alleges that Trump has upended the way U.S. presidents have dispensed pardons for “100 years or more” by creating a “new system” that involves lobbyists and high-priced “pardon brokers.”
Stahl’s report suggests that Trump has replaced the normal order – in which pardons typically go through an apolitical review by the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney– with a scheme that looks like “pay-to-play.” It has already led Democrats to vow they will investigate the issue if they retake the House in the November mid-term elections.
To situate Trump in this “pardon lobbyists” narrative, Stahl links the White House to two convicted con artists who claim close ties to Trump without disclosing one critical detail: There is no evidence the two have ever succeeded in getting anyone a pardon. While their efforts suggest that some in Washington may be trying to capitalize on the narrative about Trump’s alleged corruption – inspired, in part, by questionable pardons he has issued previously – “60 Minutes” offers no concrete proof connecting the administration to these money-making schemes.
Stahl’s report also ignored the long history of wrongdoers paying exorbitant fees for lobbyists to get their pardons viewed by the Oval Office – most famously Bill Clinton’s brother, Roger, and Hillary’s brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham.
Although Stahl’s report quotes Trump officials denying her claims, a DOJ official who was outraged by her “misleading” report provided RealClearInvestigations with documents showing that well-connected D.C. insiders are routinely involved in the pardon process.
The article explains that the charge involves two people who were offering to obtain pardons for people for $300,000. But the people who paid them the money never got the pardons. That doesn’t sound like President Trump is the one with some legal questions to answer.
I wonder if the people who paid for the pardons will get their money back since they didn’t get the pardons.