Rightwinggranny is adding some guest writers to the website this year. The opinions expressed by these writers are not necessarily the opinions of rightwinggranny.
History Is Repeating Itself
Reply
One of the hallmarks of the Biden administration was the constant stream of people who planned to enter America illegally making their way to America through Latin America. For whatever reason, we currently have some of those caravans heading toward us.
On October 30th, Red State reported:
On Thursday, the State Department announced that the Trump administration would be imposing visa restrictions on more than 15 individuals who are accused of “organizing, facilitating, or promoting” several illegal alien “caravans” believed to be traveling through Central America and Mexico headed for the U.S. southern border.
Investigations have uncovered people believed to have recruited, directed, and coordinated several large groups of illegal aliens to make the long, dangerous, and often deadly trip. No names or nationalities were disclosed. Nor were the locations of those targeted or with which caravans they were associated.
The article concludes:
One caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on September 20, and left more than 600 people in Tapachula near the Guatemala-Mexico border on September 27. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated they were monitoring the caravan’s movements. A second caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on October 13 with around 200 people. By the time it reached Tapachula and was getting ready to leave, it had grown to 600 people.
During an interview with Fox News in September, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated, “The caravan has zero chance of coming into our country. We have the most secure border in the nation, and we’re going to keep it that way.” He added that DHS was working with the Mexican government to track the group as they make their way north, saying, “We actually have been watching this caravan for quite some time. They’re also participating in helping to start to break this caravan up.”
But illegal aliens clearly don’t know how the American government works, and don’t realize that Donald Trump will still be president after the midterm elections. So it will not be business as usual as it was under Joe Biden. Where did they get the idea that they would just waltz into the U.S.?
It’s a long way to walk only to find out that Donald Trump is still President of the United States, and you are still not getting into the country.
When the border was secured, some good things happened. Crime rates dropped to record lows, and housing in many places became more affordable (supply and demand). The majority of Americans want the border to stay secure.
Complaining About A Problem You Created!
On Friday, AMAC posted an article about former President Obama’s complaints about the cost of health insurance premiums. Obamacare is responsible for those increases!
The article reports:
Perhaps the 44th president needs to be reminded that his signature legislative achievement (the one that literally bears his name) was sold to the American public as a cure-all to lower health insurance premiums. Or, perhaps he simply can’t cope with the fact that Obamacare is just as much of an ugly, dismal failure as his grotesque presidential library – a monstrosity that has turned the American healthcare system into a nightmare for virtually everyone.
Either way, voters should feel insulted at how stupid Obama apparently thinks they are. How many times do Democrats expect the public to buy the same lie?
The article includes the following:
The article concludes:
Obamacare was never supposed to “fix” the healthcare system or the health insurance industry. It was supposed to break both beyond repair so that Democrats could sell full-scale socialized medicine as the “solution.” Obama lit a fire that the Democrat Party is now promising to put out with more of the same fuel that started it in the first place.
What Democrats realized is that the American healthcare system pre-Obamacare wasn’t perfect, but it was working too well to create the conditions for a full-scale overhaul. So, Obama and his cronies devised a scheme to give a few people cheap healthcare while driving prices for everyone else into the stratosphere. Eventually, they reasoned, everyone would be clamoring for the subsidized plans until the country had a de facto single-payer system.
That plan came into full focus when Republicans repealed the “temporary” COVID-era expanded Obamacare subsidies last year. Democrats have made restoring those subsidies – estimated to cost $383 billion over ten years – their top priority if they retake Congress in the midterms.
So, the next time Obama bemoans the crushing cost of health insurance, voters should remember who sent those costs soaring in the first place. More importantly, they should realize that doubling down on a disastrous policy won’t solve anything.
Self-awareness is not a major trait of the Democrat Party.
Some Of Iran’s Missile Attacks On Their Neighbors Have Misfired
On Saturday, The Center Square posted an article about two deals in a week made by QatarEnergy with Australia-based Woodside Energy.
The article reports:
State-owned QatarEnergy, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas exporter, announced Thursday its second multi-decade deal within a week with a competitor on the U.S. Gulf Coast, as the company’s own Ras Laffan export plant on the Persian Gulf remains offline following Iranian missile strikes.
The Qatari energy giant signed an agreement Thursday to buy up to 3 million metric tons of LNG annually for 20 years from Australia-based Woodside Energy, whose Louisiana LNG export plant is now under construction in Calcasieu Parish near Lake Charles. The plant’s first production is targeted for 2029, with deliveries to QatarEnergy expected to begin in 2030.
The article notes:
“We are pleased to further enhance our global supply and trading portfolio with another long-term purchase of LNG from the U.S.,” Al-Kaabi said in a statement Thursday. “These additional volumes make QatarEnergy the largest buyer of LNG from the U.S. and place us in a stronger position to meet the global growing needs for LNG.”
Two damaged production units at QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan LNG export facility, with a combined annual capacity of 12.8 million metric tons, require repairs expected to take three to five years. QatarEnergy estimated the damage would cost about $20 billion in annual lost revenue. The company’s remaining plants have an annual export capacity of 64.2 million metric tons. The Strait of Hormuz is mostly closed to vessel traffic, however, and QatarEnergy is unable to ship LNG to its customers in Asia and Europe.
I am not a big fan of Qatar–I believe they play both sides of the war on terror. However, there will be new alliances formed as a result of Iran’s missile attacks on other Gulf nations. I believe that Iran has unintentionally isolated itself from the countries around it and created the circumstances that will eventually result in a change of leadership.
Posted by a friend at The Patriot Post:
A Common Sense Voter Guide
If you have already voted, you can ignore this post. If you are planning on voting tomorrow, I hope it will be helpful. This is the comparison of the platforms; however, it does not necessarily reflect the way members of the party vote. Please check the voting records of any incumbents you plan on voting for. Also note that abortion is not healthcare; it is ending an innocent life.
This chart appears at Biblical Voter:
The major voting bloc in the Democrat Party right now is the Democratic Socialist of America. In June 2026, The City Journal posted an article about the platform of the Democrat Socialist Party in America.
The article reports:
“Workers Deserve More!” emerged from another DSA committee that spent two months grappling with and debating its language. When the NPC took up the document, its presenter urged the DSA to pass it unamended after it cleared the committee unanimously.
Instead, DSA leadership added four amendments: one on “real democracy”—calling for the replacement of “the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress”—another on police and prison abolition, a provision explicitly naming Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, and a ranked-choice voting section. The NPC passed two of these four amendments unanimously, while the “real democracy” provision prevailed by a razor-thin margin.
“Workers Deserve More!” has revolutionary aspirations. It aims to “win the battle for democracy, draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic.” The document makes clear that achieving this vision would require “building a new society from the ground up,” accompanied by sweeping structural changes.
When our Congressmen are sworn in, they take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Upholding the U.S. Constitution does not include replacing the President and Supreme Court. There are ways to amend the Constitution, Congress does not get to do that all on its own. Voting for A Democrat Socialist (or actually at this point, any Democrat) is a vote for the destruction of America as our Founding Fathers designed it. Think carefully before you vote.
We have had two years of economic growth. Inflation is slowing (although not as quickly as we would like), and our Gross National Product is growing. Stay the course. The Republicans are moving in the right direction.
What Is Being Said To Muslims In America
Coexist is a really nice concept. However, it only works when the people involved are willing to coexist–it doesn’t work when one person’s concept of coexistence means overpowering the other person and taking away their freedom. We need to understand that many of the Muslim leaders in America have no concept of coexisting–they plan on taking over.
On November 2nd, Breitbart reported:
Islam’s advocates are using their mosque networks to maximize voter turnout in favor of Democratic candidates in Michigan, Texas, and other states.
There are two ways Islamists take over a country. The first way is through civilization jihad–that means encourage Islamists to immigrate into a country, vote Islamists into office until they are the majority, and then begin to implement Sharia Law. The second way is called kinetic jihad–that simply means to conquer a country by force.
The article at Breitbart continues:
“You need to vote for candidates that represent your interests and our interests … especially in the battle states of Texas and Michigan,” said Yasir Qadhi, an apparent top U.S. leader of the dominant Muslim Brotherhood faction among U.S. mosques.
Qadhi (pictured), who is based in Texas, said via X on October 29:
It is our ethnic duty, it is our civic duty, it is our religious duty to go and support those candidates and choose those that represent the best of our interests … We are undergoing perhaps the most important election season, perhaps of our entire lifetimes, and it is imperative that we, as Muslims of this country, as American Muslims, we avail ourselves to the same rights, the same privileges, the same sense of civic engagement and civic duty as everybody else.
He added: “And so, today, tomorrow, pray jumma [midday prayer, usually at a mosque] and go to vote for the ummah,” which is the Arabic term for the worldwide political society of Islam.
The goal here is not to coexist–the goal is to take over. Consider that when you vote and when you allow Sharia Law to creep into your community by demanding special rights for Muslims (broadcast prayer call, dog-free zones, no pork in school cafeterias, etc.).
Economic Growth Under President Trump
On Thursday, CNBC posted an article about America’s economic growth during the third quarter of 2026.
The article reports:
- The U.S. economy grew at a 3.4% pace in the third quarter, faster than expected.
- Inflation continued to run above the Fed’s 2% target in September, with a headline rate of 3.6% and core at 3.1%, according to the central bank’s preferred gauge.
- Consumer spending was slightly below forecasts, though still up 0.5%. Personal income increased just 0.2%.
Note that consumer spending and personal income both increased. Our current rate of inflation has a lot to do with the Iran war and will drop as soon as that war is over. Just as a point of reference, the last time inflation was 2% was late 2021.
The article notes:
Excluding food and energy, the core PCE posted respective readings of 0.3% and 3.1%, in line with the consensus. While the Fed follows both measures closely, officials generally see the core reading as more indicative of longer-term inflation trends.
While inflation continued to run ahead of the Fed’s 2% target, the Commerce Department also reported that gross domestic product was strong in the third quarter.
GDP increased at a seasonally adjusted annualized pace of 3.4%, better than the 3.1% estimate and well ahead of the 2.2% in the second quarter.
Also, in September consumer spending proved resilient, climbing 0.5%, a bit below the forecast for a 0.6% gain, while personal income rose 0.2%, compared with the estimate for 0.3%.
The reports come the day after the Fed voted to hold its benchmark interest rate in a range between 3.75%-4%. Despite elevated inflation readings, central bank officials insist they can afford to evaluate incoming data before deciding on their next move.
The article concludes:
Real sales to private domestic purchasers, a proxy that Fed officials use for underlying demand, rose 4.9%, compared with a 4.6% increase in the second quarter.
There was some good inflation news for the period: On a quarterly basis, PCE prices rose 2.1% on the headline number and 2.5% for core, down respectively from 5% and 3.3% in the second quarter.
September’s price increases were driven largely by a surge in energy costs that economists fear could be spreading to other parts of the economy. Gasoline and other energy goods saw a 9.2% rise for the month while energy goods and services broadly jumped 5.4%.
At the same time, services prices excluding energy and housing rose 0.4%, and housing costs increased 0.3%.
Do The Democrats Want Higher Or Lower Gasoline Prices?
On Saturday, Stephen Moore posted an article at Hot Air about gasoline prices. In the article, he asks the question, “Do Democrats want higher or lower gasoline prices?”
The article reports:
Democrats can’t seem to decide whether they want higher or lower gas prices. On the one hand, they’re promising that if they win a majority in Congress, they will work to bring down prices at the pump. On the other hand, they can’t bring down prices in their own blue states.
We at Unleash Prosperity recently analyzed gas and diesel prices in the 50 states. Here’s what we found: The more Democratic a state, the higher the price of gas. For each additional percentage point of the state’s vote that went to former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, gas prices are about 2 cents higher.
On average, deep-blue states pay about 25 cents a gallon more for gas than deep-red states. Yes, we know correlation is not causation (umbrellas don’t cause rain), but it does suggest that relying on Democrats to lower gas prices is probably a fool’s errand.
Take California, where gas now costs more than $6 a gallon. That’s because of climate change policies and taxes that reach up to 75 cents a gallon. All told, Californians pay about $1.25 a gallon more than the average state. Yet California Gov. Gavin Newsom is considered a frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
Eight of the 10 states with the highest gas prices are run by Democrats. And eight of the 10 states with the lowest gas prices are run by Republicans.
Before the Democrats start blaming President Trump for high gasoline prices, they need to look at their actions that contributed to the problem–stopping the Keystone XL Pipeline, setting a goal to stop all new production of fossil fuels, and opposing nuclear energy. They also created regulations that made it very difficult to build much-needed oil refineries in America.
The article concludes:
When President Donald Trump announced a “drill, baby, drill” energy dominance strategy, Democrats in Congress nearly had a cardiac arrest. Trump’s energy policy has led to an all-time high U.S. output of oil and natural gas. How high would gas prices be today if we weren’t now the world’s leader in oil and gas? Anyone remember that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in favor of natural gas until someone had to remind her that natural gas is a fossil fuel?
America still gets the majority of its energy from the fossil fuels that the left hates: oil, gas and coal. To power the energy needed for the next tech revolution, we will need to double or triple our energy production, and it’s a fantasy to think we can do that with windmills.
As for gas prices, you can’t in one breath talk about “net zero” carbon emissions and a war on our oil and gas producers and in the other breath promise lower gas prices at the pump.
You don’t send an arsonist to put out a fire.
Gasoline prices will go down at the end of the Iran war. I personally believe that will happen within the next six months. If Democrats take Congress, there is no guarantee that gasoline prices will ever go down!
Things To Consider As A Michigan Voter
Abdul El-Sayed is running for Senate in Michigan. To say that he has some questionable connections is an understatement. Voters in Michigan need to understand the problems with putting someone who is connected to a movement that wants to end the U.S. Constitution and replace it with Sharia Law in the Senate.
On Friday, The Federalist posted a article listing five reasons why voters should care about Abdul El-Sayed’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The article reports:
1. The Muslim Brotherhood has a takeover of the world as a publicly stated goal. The man who founded the group in 1928, Hassan al-Banna, stated that “it is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.” The group’s motto is “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Quran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”
2. The Muslim Brotherhood is implementing Marxist Antonio Gramsci’s long march through the institutions, but the Islamic edition. The memorandum mentioned above describes a five-phase process for conquest in Islam through “settlement,” “establishment,” “stability,” enablement,” and “rooting.” In other words, the approach is not open war or (necessarily) terror-driven collapse but incremental conquest.
3. The Muslim Brotherhood shields itself from scrutiny by deploying accusations of “Islamophobia,” bigotry, and racism. The Brotherhood and related organizations cast criticism and negative attention as stemming from anti-Muslim sentiment rather than their own actions.
4. Multiple 9/11 terrorists were members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The al-Qaida “operational planner” and terrorist mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, joining the organization in Kuwait when he was a teenager. Mohamed Atta, the terrorist who guided American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center’s North Tower, was also reported to have been in the group, as noted by Schweizer in his book The Invisible Coup.
5. The Muslim Brotherhood has dangerous and unprecedented political opportunity because Democrats and Democratic Socialists of America are embracing Islamist groups and activists like never before. From New York to Paris to Michigan, leftists and Muslims are locking arms and forging a political alliance aimed at defenestrating conservatives and gaining a stranglehold on political power.
“The Red-Green Alliance is the most dangerous partnership in American politics, and the radical left is proud to be part of it,” Mike Davis, founder of The Article III Project, warned recently. “Communists want your country. Islamists want your faith. They hate America, and they’ve figured out they’re stronger when they march together.”
Consider these things carefully before you vote. Your children and grandchildren will thank you.
Whenever The Government Gets Involved The Price Goes Up
On Saturday, Pirate’s Cove posted an article about rising health insurance costs. The article quotes a recent article from The New York Times:
Obamacare Dealt Yet Another Blow as Premiums Rise Again
Millions of Americans who depend on Obamacare for their health insurance face another double-digit price increase next year, adding to the financial toll that has already driven millions of others to drop coverage since last year.
The price increases largely reflect higher medical costs across the country. But they also are a signal of the latest blow to Obamacare under the Trump administration, which has overseen the expiration of tax credits that helped Americans pay for coverage and has erected new barriers to enrollment in an effort to root out what it describes as widespread fraud.
The average price of health insurance in the Obamacare marketplaces will rise by 13 percent next year, according to an analysis on Friday by KFF, the health research group.
The Trump administration on Friday published new prices for 2027 in 30 states with markets managed by the federal government. Using that data and state figures, KFF calculated the increase nationwide.
The article notes:
I’m old enough to remember when Obama said “In an Obama administration, we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.” And then Dems passed it, but, set it up for implementation after the 2012 election to avoid exposing the true costs to voter.
The article concludes with a response to The New York Times claim that the increases in premiums have been driven by rising hospital prices, high payments under a consumer protection law that changed how some doctors are compensated, and the growing use of artificial intelligence in doctors’ offices:
While I’m sure they play some part, involving the government heavily in paying for healthcare will always mean the costs skyrocket. Just like ACA opponents stated.
Many of the opponents of Obamacare believe that it was designed to fail–collapse under its own weight–in order to usher in socialized medicine. I believe that. It will be interesting to see if the Congress that is elected in the mid-terms will be able to stop the progress toward socialized medicine in America. I wonder if American voters understand what the consequences will be if the Democrats take Congress in the mid-terms.
From my friends at Power Line Blog:
The Dangers Of Letting Noncitizens Vote In Local Elections
On Thursday, Just The News posted an article about voter fraud in Maryland.
The article reports:
The conservative nonprofit American Center for Law & Justice revealed this week that at least one quarter of non-American citizens in a Washington, D.C. suburb voted illegally in at least one federal election in violation of United States law.
The center said Wednesday it has referred the matter to the Justice Department after a Freedom of Information Act request found that at least 25% of the people on Cheverly, Maryland’s “non-citizen” voter roll voted in at least one federal election.
The town amended its charter in 2020 to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, but a review of 98 individuals on the “Non-citizen” Voter Registry found a quarter voted in federal and statewide elections between 2020 and 2024. The town held no local elections on the same day as federal elections those years.
The identities were verified by cross-checking the names and addresses against publicly available voter data.
The troubling thing here is that local elections were held on different days than federal elections, so logically there should have been no mixing of ballots or voter rolls.
The article notes:
“The astonishing number of individuals on the ‘Non-citizen’ Voter Registry showing up in public federal voter records is direct evidence of voter fraud, gross incompetence on behalf of the election officials maintaining the voter lists, or both,” ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow wrote in a news release.
“Every time a noncitizen or other ineligible voter casts a ballot, it effectively cancels out the vote of a lawful voter. The lawlessness cannot go unchecked,” the release added.
Voter integrity is essential to the survival of our Republic.
Where Has The Money Actually Gone?
On Thursday, American Greatness posted an article about the William Law Foundation, a nonprofit that claimed to have over 40 locations but actually operates only one facility.
The article reports:
An investigation by The Center Square revealed that the William Law Foundation secured the massive award through the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) General Child Care and Development Program grants.
The allocation was intended to fund care for more than 1,000 children across 10 counties but the nonprofit has only its Bakersfield facility which provides care for no more than six children.
Executive Director William Edwards told the Center Square earlier this month, “It’s been a slow start,” more than three years after his nonprofit was awarded $18,216,131 in taxpayer funds.
According to The Center Square, state records confirm the organization received roughly $2.2 million in upfront startup cash, during which time financial records show substantial executive compensation was paid out before any children were actively being served.
Tax returns from 2024 show Edwards was the only employee of the the William Law Foundation and that he paid himself at least $540,000 with $180,000 in deferred compensation.
Tthe nonprofit’s only revenue stream that year was $1,051,434 in government grants.
Edwards blamed the nonprofit’s slow growth on lack of training and his difficulty in navigating cumbersome California regulations. He has acknowledged the $2.2 million in startup costs were “for the process of developing sites throughout the state.”
This does not sound like a workable business plan!
The article concludes:
The CDSS has not yet explained how the organization qualified for the largest proposed award of that grant cycle despite having zero prior experience running childcare programs.
The controversy has come forward amid the federal crackdown on California “ghost daycares,” including separate federal fraud charges involving millions in stolen childcare subsidies.
I truly believe we could balance the federal budget if we got rid of the fraud.
How Is The American Economy Doing?
I’m hearing the word affordability mentioned in a lot of Democrat campaign ads, but somehow the ads don’t mention the roots of the affordability problem. Inflation has decreased under President Trump, but somehow once the prices go up, they rarely go down.
On October 26th, Smart Asset posted the following chart:
So how is the economy actually doing under president Trump?
On October 26th, The Conservative Treehouse posted the following chart:
If you choose to vote Democrat in the mid-term elections, you can expect higher inflation and slower economic growth. You can also expect the amount of goods you can buy with your paycheck to decrease.
The Conservative Treehouse reports:
Exports decreased 5.7%. However, within the data you will note a third quarter massive surge in imports of 26.4% (goods), which led to a deduction impact of 3.32% in the overall GDP statistic [Table 1.5.2] As noted in the BEA review, “the largest contributor to imports was capital goods, except automotive.”
A 26% increase in capital goods is massive. I would anticipate that in addition to large industrial equipment, what we are witnessing in that import number is the AI-Data Center factor, this is the massive ‘compute’ need. The likely highest import value is on the data chips.
Think about it. If there was no increase in imported goods and services to deduct from the growth rate, the U.S. economic growth rate would have been +6.7%. Keep in mind the USA is already the largest economy in the world at $32.5 trillion. So, a growth rate of 3.4% is a massive whole dollar increase in the U.S. economy. The pie is much larger!
Overall investment into the economy grew at a whopping 19.4% versus the prior quarter. The value of industrial equipment grew 20.9% over the prior quarter. We are investing in industrial production and setting the equipment in place for a manufacturing boom for the next several years.
In the background we still need to import industrial equipment and computer chips until we get the manufacturing systems in place (industrial equipment) to begin producing the outputs domestically. But industrial investment at this scale is exceptional for the long-term growth of the economy.
We need to stay the course. We are moving in the right direction. A Democrat Congress will not take us in this direction.
Taking Necessary Action
On Thursday, Hot Air posted an article about the recent firing of a three-star general by Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War. Some of the media is trying to paint this firing as an example of an unqualified Secretary of War, but the facts indicate that this was exactly the right thing to do.
The article quotes a very biased article that appeared in The Atlantic:
Earlier this week, the Pentagon’s chief planner, Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, was ousted from the Joint Staff. No explanation was given. This comes at an inopportune moment, given that President Trump may be planning to relaunch the war on Iran. Sylvia, the former commander of the 101st Airborne Division, becomes the latest in a long line of senior officers who have been shown the door since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon almost two years ago.
No replacement for Sylvia was named, and it is unclear who will take over his responsibilities. In the past, the deputy or vice director of the relevant directorate of the Joint Staff would fill the role on a temporary basis until the president nominated a candidate for Senate confirmation. Sylvia is the second person to be pushed out of the job of director of the Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy at the Joint Staff, known inside the military as the J5, in the past year. His predecessor, Army Lieutenant General Joseph McGee, was forced to retire. “Now is not the time when you’d want to lose the J5,” a former Joint Chiefs of Staff official said. “This person would serve as a critical link between the operational force, the department policy, and the White House.”
The article also quotes a CBS News article:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon’s top military planner, several sources confirmed to CBS News late Wednesday.
A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters, said Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia was accused of misconduct for allegedly leaking classified information related to the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Sylvia failed three polygraph tests about sharing classified information with the press, the official said, adding that the case has been referred to the Department of Justice.
Two other Pentagon sources confirmed to CBS News that the firing was related to the polygraph tests, but said those accusations are not true.
Hegseth has made rooting out leakers at the Pentagon a priority, with sources telling CBS News last month that high-ranking military officials were subject to polygraph tests. Three staffers from his office were escorted out last year amid a leak investigation, but the Pentagon never released the results of any investigation.
We used to hang traitors–not just fire them. I can’t say that I am not happy to see this general fired.
Holding Steady On Interest Rates
On Wednesday, CNBC posted an article about the Federal Reserve’s decision not to raise interest rates at this time.
The article reports:
The Federal Reserve held steady on rates at the conclusion of its October meeting, maintaining its target range of 3.75% to 4%.
Two members of the Federal Open Market Committee dissented from the decision: Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack were in favor of raising rates by a quarter percentage point.
Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh announced that the central bank will reduce the number of rate-setting meetings starting in 2027, noting that while eight meetings per year is “the right number” for the FOMC, one of them will focus exclusively on broad monetary policy strategy starting in 2027. The remainder will be policy-setting meetings.
In 2028, the Fed will plan to host two meetings focused on strategy discussions and the remaining six will be centered on policy setting, Warsh said.
Unfortunately, like a lot of other things, the Federal Reserve has been politicized in recent years. Although inflation is not where the Federal Reserve would like it to be, the current rate of inflation has a lot to do with the price of gasoline and the war in Iran, which should end shortly one way or another. Raising rates right now would slow down economic growth, something that is not needed at this time.
The economic numbers for the past two years show a slow recovery from the economic mess that was the Biden administration. Unfortunately, prices never seem to go down after inflation slows, but the Trump administration has significantly slowed the rate of inflation. Many economic experts expect the next year to have strong economic growth. Raising interest rates now might negatively impact that growth. I firmly believe that there are still people in our government who would sacrifice the good of the country rather than see a successful Trump Presidency.
From my friends at Townhall:
Elections Have Consequences
It didn’t take long for recently-elected Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to start acting like a tyrant. Any candidate who ran against his regime in the recent election is on notice that they will be targeted by the new administration.
On Wednesday, The Conservative Treehouse reported:
Brazil has fallen. The 50/50 presidential election was decided by a relatively small number of votes. However, once the communist regime of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was declared the winner, 8-minutes later a notoriously corrupt Brazilian Supreme Court Justice, Alexandre de Moraes ordered Flavio Bolsonaro to turn in his passport.
The clenched fist of brutal authoritarian control is now in place. Bolsonaro is not the only target for President da Silva and Judge de Moraes as the pair are also going after any candidate who ran against the regime in the general election.
Reports of regular Brazilian people’s reaction to the election are very sad. Most of the Bolsonaro supporters are now trying to stay off the radar of the openly weaponized govt regime.
…U.S. media are reporting that Flavio Bolsonaro and his family have left Brazil, escaping through Argentina to Ecuador and then potentially to the United States – though nothing is yet openly confirmed as diplomatic risks seem to be part of the public discussion. At 9:31am ET Bolsonaro arrived in Miami.
The article concludes:
(Via AP) — Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family landed in Miami on Wednesday after fleeing Brazil.
The stunning move came after 48 hours in which Bolsonaro refused to concede to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and then threatened to attempt to annul the election result.
Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro, also fled to Florida after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula before returning to Brazil three months later. On Monday, the U.S. said that it would grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family. Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, visited the White House in May.
Bolsonaro first fled from Brazil to Argentina and then Ecuador alongside his wife and two daughters, Argentina’s migration authority said Wednesday — a day after the 45-year-old senator and his family were granted United States visas by the Trump administration.
Brazil is now one of the only major Latin American country that did not turn right in recent elections. Some news sources are comparing Brazil’s election to the 2020 election for President in America. There is no way this was an honest election. The question is whether or not the Brazilian people can find a way to freedom.
The Gulf Between The Rich And The Poor
I read something this morning about the great gulf between the rich and the poor. I would like to point out a few things about that gulf and about some of the attempts to erase it.
The Bible tells us that the poor will always be with us. It also tells us to be compassionate to the poor. We need to define what that compassion looks like and make sure our compassion is actually helping the poor.
In America in 2026, the federal poverty line in the contiguous United States is set at $15,960 for a single individual and $33,000 for a family of four. This is the guideline that determines eligibility for federal assistance programs. Federal assistance programs can range from help with housing, groceries, education, child care, etc. But do these federal assistance programs help eliminate poverty or do they encourage poverty?
There is something called human nature that often tends to take the path of least resistance. It is the reason socialism and communism do not work. If a person knows that they can live comfortably with very little effort, their ambition might suffer. If a person understands that they cannot have the luxuries they want without working for them, their attitude toward work might change. Have our social programs, which have allowed those taking money from the government to have things that go beyond necessities, placed a ceiling on the goals of the recipients? Am I going to be poor for generations because I know I will have everything I need without working? Am I going to teach that value to my children?
Poverty does not have to be forever. Think of the stories we have all heard about legal immigrants who came to America with little or no money and became wealthy. One of my ancestors was a tailor who fled persecution in Europe, came to America, began working as a tailor, and did very well. Another was an Irishman escaping the potato famine who managed to put all of his children through college. The cure for poverty might be in bringing welfare back to our local communities and making it much less comfortable.
If we are complaining about the gap between the rich and the poor, we need to look at the role our government policies are playing in maintaining that gap. The opportunity to learn the skills that lead to success is available in America. We need to encourage people to learn the skills they need to escape poverty and to encourage those in poverty to join the workforce if they have not.
Poverty in America is NOT the fault of people who are considered rich. To say that is class warfare and is a tenet of communism.
Changing The Rules To Help Americans Buy Homes
There are a number of reasons housing costs have risen so dramatically in recent years. There is the basic rule of supply and demand–when you allow millions of people to enter the country illegally, the cost of everyone’s housing increases. Also, when large corporations buy up blocks of houses, the cost of renting or buying increases. President Trump has decided to address these issues. The first issue was addressed when the border was closed and the illegals were deported. The second issue is currently being addressed.
On Tuesday, Just the News reported:
President Trump has filled the first half of his second term instituting legacy-establishing policies and agendas, but a new measure restricting real estate investors may be his biggest legacy yet, according to Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
On Thursday, the Treasury Department proposed a rule implementing elements of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Starting January 7, 2027, investors controlling at least 350 single-family homes generally can’t buy more unless an exception applies.
“This is going to be one of President Trump’s biggest legacies in terms of making sure that the American people are reflected in their own communities. And I think you’re going to see it happen here in the next 6, 12, 18 months,” Pulte predicted in an interview on the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show.
Pulte, who also chairs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, continued, “But you’re also going to see it for, you know, 5, 10, 15 years from now. He’s forever changed the makeup of the nature of American neighborhoods by not allowing corporations to dominate our subdivisions.”
The exceptions to the new rule include newly built homes bought within 18 months of completion and renovate-to-rent deals where investors fix code violations. Violations could cost from $1 million to as much as three times the home’s purchase price. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has touted the rule as a booster to homeownership for working families.
The article concludes:
The postwar era built the modern American dream. Homeownership jumped to 55% in 1950 and 61.9% by 1960, powered by Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs mortgages, and Levitt & Sons borrowed auto assembly-line methods to build up to 30 houses a day. By 1960, a quarter of the nation’s housing stock hadn’t existed a decade earlier.
That boom excluded many: The FHA and VA kept redlining, denying mortgages to black and other minority buyers, and no federal law banned housing discrimination until the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Mortgage rates hit the mid-teens in the early 1980s, and recessions plus high rates pushed homeownership down to 63.8% in 1986. Rates then fell steadily, and ownership peaked at 69% in 2004. Prices peaked in early 2005, and rising foreclosures set off a crisis that rippled through Wall Street, banking, and homebuilding. Homebuilding fell dramatically after 2008, a slowdown many link to today’s shortage.
I lived in a Levitt house as a young child when my father returned from World War II. My parents being able to buy that house as their first house made possible some very nice houses later on.
The List Of Accomplishments
On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit posted a list of 70 major accomplishments of President Trump. The list is too long to post here, but I will post some of it. Please follow the link to read the rest of the list.
Here is a partial list:
Border Security and Immigration
- Declared a national border emergency on Day One and ended catch-and-release policies, achieving zero Border Patrol releases for 15–17+ consecutive months.White HouseWhite House
- Drove southwest border encounters/apprehensions down dramatically (reported ~95% or more from Biden-era peaks; FY2026 totals at historic lows).CbpCbp
- Recorded negative net migration in 2025 for the first time in at least 50 years.White House
- Removed/deported or induced self-departure of millions of illegal migrants (administration figures of 2.3–3M+ reduction in illegal population; MPI analyses show elevated deportation pace).White HouseMigrationpolicy
- Reduced asylum grant rates to historic lows (~7% from >50%).White House
- Signed the Laken Riley Act and other border/enforcement measures.Voz
- Resumed and expanded border barrier construction (hundreds of miles reported completed or advanced).Cbp
- Reinstated Remain in Mexico and related policies; repurposed CBP One app for self-deportation incentives.
- Targeted cartels (designations as terrorist organizations for groups including Tren de Aragua, MS-13); major drug seizures and fentanyl trafficking reductions reported (~50–60% drops in some metrics).White House
- Revoked hundreds of thousands of visas; terminated or restricted TPS for multiple countries; cut benefits access for illegal aliens.
- Deployed National Guard/military support to the border; established national defense areas.
- Collapsed Darién Gap crossings dramatically (~99% reported declines in some periods).
- Expanded ICE capacity, hiring, and interior enforcement (including “Worst of the Worst” focus and sanctuary city actions).
- Secured Safe Third Country agreements and partner cooperation (e.g., El Salvador).
- Reduced unaccompanied minors and related trafficking metrics to record lows in some reports.
Economy, Taxes, Trade, and Investment
- Signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, July 4, 2025), permanently extending 2017 TCJA individual tax rates/brackets and standard deduction increases.WashingtonexaminerEn-wikipedia-org.translate
- Implemented temporary no-tax-on-tips, no-tax-on-overtime, and related deductions (through 2028 in key provisions), plus senior deductions and auto loan interest relief.Law.cornell
- Raised SALT deduction cap (to $40,000 for many filers, phased).
- Created “Trump Accounts” (tax-advantaged accounts for children with government seed contributions).Law.cornell
- Included major defense (~$150B) and border/ICE funding increases in OBBBA; Medicaid work requirements and SNAP reforms/state cost-sharing.En-wikipedia-org.translate
- Announced/secured multi-trillion dollars in domestic and foreign investment commitments (White House figures exceeding $11T, including large UAE, Apple, Amazon, and manufacturing pledges).White House
- Reported private-sector job gains (hundreds of thousands to over 1M in some periods), manufacturing expansion, and blue-collar wage growth.Home.treasury
- Imposed or adjusted tariffs (steel, aluminum, autos, copper, and reciprocal measures) aimed at reshoring; multiple bilateral trade deals announced.Voz
- Stock market records (dozens of S&P 500 highs reported in 2025).White House
- Passed rescissions packages cutting wasteful spending; efficiency savings claimed in the hundreds of billions.
- Supported farmers with aid packages and trade adjustments (e.g., soybean deals).
- GENIUS Act signed for stablecoin regulatory framework; crypto-related policy shifts (ending certain prior crackdowns).
- Reported trade deficit reductions in some months and tariff revenue collections.
- Mortgage and housing-related measures (bond purchases, investor restrictions in some proposals).
- Small business optimism and confidence metrics improved in administration reports.
Please follow the link to read the rest of the list. It is impressive.
One Impact Of The Trump Administration
It is becoming obvious that when you deport criminals, crime goes down. What is interesting is the extent that crime has gone down during President Trump’s second term.
On Monday, The Daily Signal reported:
- Data from the Census Bureau’s National Crime Victimization Survey shows violent crime victimization fell 25% and property crime victimization fell 19% during President Donald Trump’s first year in office.
- The survey estimated Americans age 12 and older experienced about 7.5 million violent victimizations in 2025. That’s down from 8.2 million in the final year of the Joe Biden administration and the biggest drop in the survey’s history.
- “This report is proof that President Trump’s ‘Make America Safe Again’ agenda is working,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward says.
The article concludes:
Among the most common crimes, property crime victimization fell 19%, from about 18.4 million incidents in 2024 to 14.9 million in 2025, the data says.
Burglary and trespassing victimization fell 25%, from 1.87 million incidents to 1.41 million, while motor vehicle theft victimization dropped 30%, from 1.19 million incidents to 841,000.
The Justice Department argues that crime is falling because more effective policing encourages victims to report offenses. It also credits the increased immigration enforcement at the southern border, citing the removal of more than 400,000 illegal aliens previously charged or convicted of crimes.
The Justice Department further points to stepped-up drug enforcement, citing a reported 25% increase in fentanyl seizures, as another factor contributing to the declines in victimization.
Further, the department notes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported a 57% increase in criminal charges associated with its gun-trafficking enforcement efforts, while the FBI disrupted 1,800 gangs and criminal enterprises.
According to AI, 60 percent of felony arrests are repeat offenders. If you deport the felons, you cut down on the crimes.
If you want America’s streets to be safer, vote Republican. The statistics prove that the Republicans tend to enforce the law, punish the criminals, and protect Americans.
The Results Of An Election That Was Possibly Rigged
On Monday, Townhall posted an article about the recent election in Brazil.
The article reports:
Following his electoral “loss” in the Brazilian presidential election, conservative Flavio Bolsonaro has announced that authorities have seized his passport.
The order to surrender the passport was reportedly issued by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. This decision followed a motion from Federal Deputy Duda Salabert, a prominent leftist. Salabert is further demanding Bolsonaro’s arrest.
The Brazilian election has been heavily scrutinized following the South American state’s Supreme Court decision to extend voting hours in a fashion that allowed heavily incumbent President Lula da Silva-favored areas to remain open, but required Bolsonaro areas to remain closed. The result was so suspect that the New York Times reported that the result could be annulled and another run-off election may be required.
There is more than one way to steal an election. Choosing which polls remained open and which remained closed may have changed the outcome of the election. Under current Brazilian President Lula da Silva, the country seems to be run as a police state. If you are on the right side of the President, you are fine. If you are on the wrong side of the President, you can be charged with any crime and arrested. President da Silva is evidently planning to send Bolsonaro to prison. President da Silva is also planning to regulate social media. It doesn’t sound as if Brazil is going to be a free country.
UPDATE: I am hearing reports that Bolsonaro has arrived in America through Argentina. Obviously, Argentinian President Javier Milei would not be aligned with Lula de Silva, so it is very possible that he would aid Bolsonaro. I am hoping that Bolsonaro and his family are safely in America.
The Problem With Artificial Intelligence
On Sunday, The New York Post posted an article about the homework policy of a University of California Berkley professor.
The article reports:
A UC Berkeley professor has stopped grading students’ homework for correctness after noticing artificial intelligence tools were helping them rack up top marks.
Richard Borcherds, a renowned mathematician who received the prestigious Fields Medal in 1998, said widespread student use of AI has undermined the value of traditional homework grading.
“Student use of AI for homework is now widespread,” Borcherds told The California Post. “Grading for correctness just adds a huge incentive for them to use AI for homework instead of doing it themselves, and penalizes students for honesty.”
…Borcherds now awards credit based primarily on whether students complete their assignments rather than whether their answers are correct, acknowledging that he does not know of a better solution.
The professor said it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish work produced by artificial intelligence from work written by students themselves.
“There is no easy way to tell the difference between human and AI generated work,” he told The California Post. “Occasionally one could tell it is AI because AI made a few characteristic errors, but AI has now improved so much that it rarely makes obvious mistakes.”
…Borcherds’ concerns about the future of mathematics were also highlighted in an interview with the Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s student newspaper.
“If AI continues to improve at present rate, then, in a few years, there’ll be nothing human mathematicians can do that AI can’t do better,” Borcherds told the paper.
The professor needs to look at the tactic employed by another college professor to find the students who used IA (article here). That professor set up software that would insert the word “Madagascar” somewhere in the text that was copied. I am sure there would be an unusual set of numbers that could be inserted the same way to expose the use of AI.
All of us are going to be impacted in some way by AI. The goal is to use it for good and to make things simpler for all of us. I am not sure we are going to be able to meet that goal.
You Can’t Ask A Candidate Questions About His Health?
The Senatorial race in North Carolina is getting interesting. The polling shows that Roy Cooper will win the seat, despite a very questionable record as Governor and some interesting ties to Duke Energy. But there is an aspect of his campaign that is troubling.
On October 13th, The North State Journal posted an article by A.P. Dillon about an email asking some very basic questions that was sent to Governor Cooper’s campaign .
The article reports:
In recent years, health related issues have arisen for national figures like former President Joe Biden, as well as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the abrupt passing of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
With that as a backdrop, North State Journal asked former Gov. Roy Cooper’s Senate campaign if he was committed to fulfilling his six-year term if elected in November and if there were any health problems that might impede him. Cooper is 69 years old.
North State Journal (NSJ) has previously emailed questions to the campaign eight times this year, and all but two went unanswered. The ninth time, NSJ received a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action from the Elias Law Group. The newspaper received that reply within about five and half hours of sending our questions.
The Elias Law Group is run by Marc Elias, the former campaign lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid. Elias has been involved in multiple lawsuits against the state of North Carolina over voting measures and redistricting.
The letter, from Elias Law Group partner Ben Stafford, stated, “Governor Cooper intends to complete his entire term, and any suggestion that he is ‘experiencing a neurological issue,’ or that any health condition would prevent him from completing his term, is categorically false and defamatory.”
Asking a question is not defamatory. The public has a right to know if there are health issues with former Governor Cooper. The fact that the Elias Law Group was brought in tells us all we need to know about Roy Cooper’s friends and connections.