Rightwinggranny is adding some guest writers to the website this year. The opinions expressed by these writers are not necessarily the opinions of rightwinggranny.
About That ‘Buying Votes’ Thing
Reply
Recently at a rally, President Trump promised a $5000 check to Americans if the Republicans hold the Congress in the mid-term elections. Democrats and some Republicans were apoplectic. How dare he buy votes! What about the deficit! Well, I understand the concerns about the deficit, but how much of that deficit will we wipe out by ending fraud and gaining tariff income? Meanwhile, the Democrats are buying votes!
On Wednesday, Legal Insurrection posted an article about a program the Democrats have initiated in Texas.
The article reports:
Townhall Media caught Sky McAdams, an organizing manager for Texas Majority PAC, admitting to a scheme involving paying people to influence others to vote for Democrats.
You know they desperately want Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talerico to win.
You can’t pay someone to vote for a candidate, but apparently the PAC discovered a way around the rule.
The article includes the following video:
From the video:
MCADAMS: We are paying people $25 to attend a one-hour Zoom class to learn why voting is important and why the Republicans are causing all of these bad things. So it’s like a roundabout way of paying people for their votes, essentially, which is interesting.
PERSON RECORDING THE VIDEO: What’s the – what’s this called?
MCADAMS: It’s called the Paid Relational Program. I think rally Texas is the official name. You can’t pay someone to vote for someone. You can’t be like, “Here’s $25, go vote for me.” You can say, “Attend a one-hour class and you can receive $25.” And then the class just talks about the importance of…it’s a little gray.
PERSON RECORDING THE VIDEO: But right now we could use all the help we can get.
MCADAMS: If I was a Republican, I would be pissed. I would be like, “That’s shady as f**k.”
Relentless’s website admits that it recruits “low-propensity voters and compensates them for their time as they reach, persuade, and mobilize their friends and family to vote.”
The article concludes:
The Democrats are desperate. This scheme should not surprise anyone.
It also should not surprise anyone when absolutely nothing happens to Texas Majority PAC or Relentless.
Unfortunately, that’s where we are, folks!
Behind The Panic About Artificial Intelligence
After a while, you have to be sleeping not to recognize when a campaign is mounted to influence how you view something. Recently we have seen a campaign whose goal is to force Congress to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI). Who is behind this campaign and why do they want government regulation?
On Tuesday, Issues & Insights posted an article about the AI panic that is currently being fed by the mainstream media.
The article asks the question:
Twelve years ago, Stephen Hawking said that “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”
Heck, Frank Herbert warned in his 1965 sci-fi classic, “Dune,” that “Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.” Countless other sci-fi plots involved intelligent machines killing off or enslaving humans.
So, why is this latest warning getting so much traction? And why did Jacob Coxon, a relatively low-level former employee at Anthropic, become an instant media celebrity?
Sunday, the New York Times home page prominently featured four articles — all free to read — about AI. (See screenshot at right.)
Also over the weekend, the four biggest AI labs called for the industry to slow down development.
The article notes:
Reporters pressed Trump for his take on “concerns about AI leading to human extinction.” His response was that “We’re leading China in AI, we’re the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins.”
So, again, we ask, who is driving this narrative?
The media don’t seem to care. But there are clues. First is the fact that Democrats are playing it up for political reasons before the midterm elections. They want to win votes. Second is China, which would benefit from the U.S. putting itself into an AI straitjacket.
But there’s another clue. The urgent calls for regulations are coming from the leading AI companies.
Obviously China will benefit if America slows down AI and research into it, but there is another reason the companies involved want regulation. Regulation can create barriers for new companies in the industry. Making it harder for new companies to break into the industry will eventually create a monopoly formed by the companies already there.
Nothing reported in the media happens by accident.
Trump Report Card: Foreign Affairs
Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.
Judging the effectiveness of a president’s administration must include an evaluation of the administration’s actions in foreign policy and global security. The current conflict with Iran to prevent them from becoming a nuclear power is center stage right now. However, President Trump has taken additional actions that effect our relations with other countries.
First, most of the European countries that make up NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) have been relying on the United States for their military defense. These countries have not been spending the agreed-upon funds to support the organization (as required following WWII). President Trump has consistently pressured the countries of England, Germany, France, Spain, and others to increase defense spending. As a result, our NATO allies have increased their defense spending by $1.21 trillion. Much of this money has been spent purchasing American-made weapons and defense systems, boosting jobs and co-production opportunities in our country. The President has also shifted the primary responsibility for Europe’s defense back to Europe. No other president, since NATO was created, has held their feet to the fire in terms of their responsibility for their own defense. President Trump has also put the responsibility of supporting Ukraine on the European countries where it belongs and not totally on the United States.
Second, China has been increasingly looking for ways to align with countries in Latin and South America. For example, a Chinese corporation has been attempting to control the two ports that are at the ends of the Panama Canal. This essential waterway, which we built and controlled since 1914, was turned over to Panama in 1999 as part of President Carter’s controversial treaty. The concern that we would lose control to a foreign nation (like China) came to fruition when Panama allowed Chinese companies to control the exit and entrance ports (Cristobal and Balboa) and China began charging excess fees on American commercial and Navy ships. In January 2026, due to the pressure exerted by the Trump administration, Panama terminated their agreements with China and now allows the United States to deploy military personnel at the Canal and free transit by U.S. Navy ships. In other words, President Trump has reasserted the principles of the Monroe Doctrine that no other nation will control countries in our hemisphere. No other administration was willing to address this issue.
Third, President Trump took decisive action to arrest Nicholas Maduro, the communist dictator and drug trafficker of Venezuela. Maduro cancelled election results and increasingly aligned his government with China and Russia. On January 3, 2026 a joint military and law-enforcement raid involving more than 150 aircraft suppressed the Venezuelan air defenses, storming the military base where Maduro and his wife were staying. As a result, Maduro is now being held in an American prison pending trial for narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and weapons charges. In addition, the new acting leader of Venezuela has taken steps to re-align their country with the United States and away from China and Russia. A recently announced joint oil development program between the United States and Venezuela will increase our access to the largest oil reserves in the world and keep them away from Chinese control.
Fourth, President Trump has taken out the Iranian nuclear facilities and is pressuring their regime to agree not to pursue nuclear weapons in the future. It turns out that in spite of the puny efforts of Obama and Biden, Iran has been secretly expanding their nuclear programs with the help of China, Russia and North Korea. This should surprise no one who knows anything about Islam and its acceptable practices against infidels as allowed by the Koran. Let’s face it, as we found out on the attacks on the Trade Center on 9/11 when multiple terrorists committed suicide in order to inflict damage on infidels, the Islamist terrorists who run Iran are a death-cult for whom any and all actions against the hated infidels are acceptable. The idea that we would allow them to possess nuclear weapons is about as stupid as it gets. History shows us that extremists are willing to fight to the death for their evil intentions; for example, Adolf Hitler.
Now the price of defending freedom and our lives comes with a cost. We are now paying that cost in the form of increased fuel prices. Ask yourself whether protecting ourselves and the future generations of Americans is worth it. We shouldered the burden in WWI and WWII. It is our generation’s turn to step up to the plate. The results of this coming election will answer that question. God help us if we do not.
Looking Behind The Curtain
In approximately six weeks, Americans will go to the polls and vote in the mid-term elections. Spending in the mid-term elections is projected to exceed $1 billion. That is an indication of how important these elections are. Let’s look at some of the people who want the Democrats to win the mid-terms and what the consequences of that victory would be.
The European Union (EU) and Canada want the Democrats to win. There is currently a proposal to make Canada an ‘associate member’ of the European Union. Why would the EU do that? America and its freedom are the only thing standing between the EU and its dream of global dominance. Our current energy prices have a lot more to do with European exchange traders in London than they do with producers. If energy prices can be kept high through early November, those high prices could impact the mid-terms. America’s increased oil production and oil deal with Venezuela may help, but that won’t totally solve the issue.
If the Democrats win the mid-terms, what happens to the war in Iran? Chances are they will end the war without ending Iran’s nuclear program, and the can will be kicked down the road as it has been since 1979. I will predict that if the Democrats win the mid-terms, Iran will have a nuclear weapon within two years.
If the Democrats win the mid-terms, the tax cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill will go away. The price of energy will go even higher as government restrictions are put on drilling, electric plants, etc. There will also be an end to any plans for building more oil refineries in America (refineries that are desperately needed).
If Democrats win the mid-terms, you can also expect increased attacks on religious freedom. Right now there is a case in Maine where a mother who has custody of her daughter is being denied the right to take her daughter to church. In another state, the Little Sisters of the Poor are currently being sued because they refuse to take part in euthanasia. A daughter has been taken away from her parents in Massachusetts because they did not support her transitioning to a boy. You can expect more support for those things under a Democrat congress.
Today’s Democrat party is not the Democrat party of 1960. Unfortunately, they are not the patriots they used to be–it’s party first, personal glory second, and country third. If you chose to vote for a Democrat candidate in the mid-term elections, you will be denying your children and grandchildren the freedom and opportunities you grew up with.
Helping When Needed
On Tuesday, Breitbart posted an article about the help Israel is giving Saudi Arabia as Saudi Arabia is under attack by the Houthis.
The article reports:
Israel has begun providing intelligence to Saudi Arabia through the United States as Riyadh battles an escalating Houthi offensive that has struck deep inside the kingdom and threatened the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to multiple Israeli reports Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia initially turned to the United States for assistance, prompting Washington to approach Israel, which began transferring intelligence to Riyadh through U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Israel’s Kan News reported, citing a diplomat from a regional country.
…The cooperation comes as the Houthis have expanded their campaign against Saudi Arabia, launching missiles and drones deep into the kingdom while advancing along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and around Bab el-Mandeb.
Warning sirens sounded Tuesday in Mecca, Jeddah and Taif as the confrontation escalated, while Saudi and Yemeni forces continued striking Houthi positions in Yemen. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed Saudi warplanes carried out 52 strikes over the previous 24 hours and warned that the attacks “will not go unanswered.”
The article notes:
Pointing to Saudi Arabia’s new defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan, the official argued that “the latest escalation proves that, in practice, Erdogan’s defense pact isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
“Erdogan has handed Israel a golden opportunity to show the Saudis who they should align with,” the official continued.
The same assessment extended to the prospect of Saudi-Israeli normalization, with the official arguing that their shared interests could reopen a path toward expanding the Abraham Accords and saying Riyadh was now reassessing its course.
The emerging cooperation is particularly significant because Saudi Arabia and Israel have no formal diplomatic relations, despite years of U.S.-backed efforts to secure a normalization agreement between the two countries.
For Riyadh, the immediate concern remains military. The Houthis have seized territory along Yemen’s western coast and strengthened their position around Bab el-Mandeb while attacks on Saudi territory and energy infrastructure have increased pressure on the kingdom to push back against the group and protect the strategic Red Sea passage.
The growing pressure around Bab el-Mandeb comes as the United States expands commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz following months of Iranian attempts to obstruct the waterway. U.S. officials told Axios that roughly 40 ships are now moving through the strait each day under American guidance and protection, carrying about 14 million barrels of oil a day, while Saudi Arabia has significantly increased tanker traffic through Hormuz as fighting around the Red Sea intensifies.
Maybe it’s time for Saudi Arabia to take another look at the Mecca Pact.
Providing Aid And Comfort To The Enemy
In case no one has noticed, we are at war. We are (hopefully) preventing a terrorist regime from gaining access to atomic weapons. Because they are also developing delivery systems that would allow those atomic weapons to reach us, we are concerned and want to stop them. Unfortunately, there are some very petty people in Congress who put their own pettiness above the interests of their country.
On Tuesday, The New York Post posted an article about Representative Thomas Massie’s filing of article of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
The article reports:
Rep. Thomas Massie filed articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Tuesday for allegedly committing “high crimes and misdemeanors” by waging the Iran war without congressional approval.
…Attorney General Todd Blanche defended Hegseth while leading a press briefing in the Rose Garden.
“Secretary Hegseth is doing a phenomenal job, and the secretary of war doesn’t just go off and do things. He follows the law. And so the DOJ plays a role in that, and we play an active role in making sure the law is complied with,” Blanche told a Post reporter.
“You called it a war. I disagree with that characterization, as does most of Congress. And so there’s been votes on whether it’s a war and what to do.
“Why votes through Congress, which have determined that he’s not doing anything wrong and the president’s not doing anything wrong, should result in articles of impeachment — I guess you’ll have to talk to Massie about that.”
Massie (R-Ky.) made the surprise announcement on the House floor, accusing Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires congressional authorization to conduct military operations lasting longer than 90 days.
“Peter Brian Hegseth, in his capacity as Secretary of Defense, has executed unlawful orders in contravention of Section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973,” Massie declared.
This is simply sour grapes because President Trump got tired of Massie’s shenanigans and supported his opponent in the primary election. As much as I don’t like war, I like the idea of Iran getting a nuclear bomb even less. I also think that if Americans had access to the intelligence that the President had before the war they would wholeheartedly support the war.
From my friends at Townhall:
Not Surprising Crime Statistics
On Monday, David Strom at Hot Air posted an article about crime statistics in Denmark. The unlimited migration into European countries from countries that do not share western culture and values has been a disaster.
The article reports:
For years now, Danish crime statistics tell us what we already can intuit from the data we do have: migrants from Muslim countries commit crimes at a vastly higher rate than native-born Europeans, and the statistics indicate that the rates aren’t even close. They are especially represented in the sexual crime statistics, but in just about every category, the differences are remarkable.
But what most people who support mass migration might be surprised to learn is this: their male descendants are even more likely to commit crimes and are often more likely to be Islamist extremists than their parents. Again, the statistics show the differences aren’t even close.
The article includes the following:
This is not a good place to be. Countries need to welcome immigrants who want to assimilate into their countries–not change them or ignore their laws. If you look at pictures of Beirut, Lebanon, and Tehran, Iran, from the 1960’s, you realize how quickly a country’s culture can be taken over. Those two cities used to be places flight attendants loved to travel. Now they are places where women are not allowed to leave the house without a male relative. That is what the Islamists want for Europe and eventually America. That is the reason we need to control our immigration and only allow people into America who want to become Americans.
Changing The Rules–Introducing Science And Common Sense
On Tuesday, Legal Insurrection posted an article about the Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to rescind greenhouse-gas limits for coal- and natural-gas power plants.
The article quotes CBS News:
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to repeal rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas, an action that Administrator Lee Zeldin has said would remove billions of dollars in costs for the industry and help “unleash” American energy.
The rule change, proposed last year, could be announced as soon as Monday, according to two people familiar with the proposal, and represents a fundamental shift from efforts by Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to address climate change and clean up industrial pollution, often in low-income and majority Black or Hispanic communities.
The rule, which is expected to face immediate legal challenges, also could prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, people familiar with the proposal said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the final rule had not yet been made public.
Not all scientists agree that greenhouse gases are a bad thing. There is one school of thought that says more carbon dioxide increases crop production and provides other benefits.
The article concludes:
In a nutshell, the EPA’s repeal does not excuse power producers from controlling genuinely hazardous emissions; it refocuses federal oversight on pollutants such as mercury, toxic metals, and other compounds that directly threaten public health.
At a time when Americans depend on dependable electricity for air-conditioning, industry, and rapidly expanding AI capability, practical policies that reinforce grid reliability and affordability without needlessly endangering the environment are likely to command far more public support than ideological mandates built around immature or prohibitively costly technology.
The Democrats and their media minions may choose to overlook those successes, but households and businesses will recognize the value of a policy that protects the air they breathe, the power system they rely on, and hopefully offers a more abundant and less expensive supply of energy.
The true environmentalist balances the welfare of the environment and the people who live in it.
Why Am I Not Surprised?
The Lindsay Clancy trial is over, but the repercussions continue. The behavior of her defense attorney and some of the jurors may have legal consequences.
On Sunday, PJ Media posted an article about the doxxing of the one juror who refused to go along with a ‘not guilty’ verdict.
The article reports:
A doxxing campaign to identify, mob, and hurt the holdout Lindsay Clancy juror is in full operation.
To give you an appreciation for the dynamics, however, let’s go through The Dozens on some of the wacky ways of the Clancy case.
She was a sterling mother … right up until she killed her kids in separate, planned strangulation executions with her workout rope bands in her basement.
Court testimony determined she lied about what drugs she was taking to the multiplicity of caregivers from which she sought help.
She never told those multiplicity of mental healthcare workers that she wanted to kill her kids, for fear of having them taken away.
The jury itself admitted in an NBC Boston backyard interview with three jurors, which looked more like the meeting of a coven, that nurses on the jury offered testimony inside the jury room on toxicology issues. Had prosecutors known that, they could have moved for a mistrial.
The article notes:
Setting the table for the doxxing yet to come, Reddington (Lindsay Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington), said in public that the holdout juror “robbed” the other jurors of their chosen verdict, saying, “I hope that guy can sleep well at night.”
And now the mob has been activated.
Reddington’s wife is part of the mob, posting multiple social media messages, one of which was to direct people to the NBC Boston story in which the coven member began the process of doxxing the juror.
But she was just getting warmed up. Deb Reddington pushed the narrative that the holdout juror was a “criminal” and a “squatter.” In 2021, he was arrested on domestic violence charges, and later released. The nephew who reported the incident then put a restraining order on him. It expired. The couple is now divorced.
The article reports:
Reddington should have been held in contempt, of course, for his extrajudicial rantings. But that only makes plain the idea that the jurors should have been sequestered and a gag put on those involved in the case, so as not to stoke the mob in the first place.
The defense attorney’s wife, a realtor, has since taken down her X account.
There should be some serious legal consequences for Attorney Reddington and his wife.
Hitching Your Horse To The Wrong Wagon Has Consequences
During the ceremony at Ground Zero on September 11th, one of the people whose family was impacted by the terrorist attack asked the government to reveal and deal with the role of Saudi Arabia in the attack. Saudi Arabia is at best a part-time ally, but at times they have been a very valuable ally. The thing to remember is that the main priority of the Saudi government is to protect the House of Saud, the ruling family which has been in power since 1932. The current ruler of Saudi Arabia is Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. One of the goals of the Arab Spring (after they got done toppling the dictators in the Middle East) was to depose the royal families in the other countries. The long-term goal was to reestablish the Caliphate that had been the Ottoman Empire. The House of Saud walks a very fine line to stay in power. Compromises are common, but have limits. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was an example of those limits. Although the American media described him as a journalist, he was an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood. I don’t know exactly what he did that caused the House of Saud to murder him, but the fact that he was part of the Muslim Brotherhood needs to be taken into consideration.
Saudi Arabia has been largely responsible for the fact that oil is traded in American dollars. That fact is probably what has kept the American economy afloat despite our massive debt problem. Saudi Arabia has also often been the moderate voice in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). They have been good friends on occasion. On the other hand, so far they have refused to join the Abraham Accords. Instead, last month they became part of the Mecca Pact with Pakistan and Turkey. The pact is a defense pact that states that any attack on any of these three countries will be considered an attack on all of them. Unfortunately, in light of recent events, it looks like the accord is not worth the paper it is written on.
The Houthis have recently attacked Saudi oil facilities and seized islands in the Red Sea that are strategic to Saudi Arabia’s export of oil. Both Turkey and Pakistan condemned the attacks. No military assistance was provided by either country. Currently diplomats from Saudi Arabia are meeting with American diplomats. I suspect Saudi Arabia is looking for some military aid from America.
A part-time friend is better than no friend at all, but backing the wrong horse can be costly.
Refusing To Protect Americans And America Jobs
On Monday, CNN posted an article about a number of states who are suing the Trump administration to block a new Department of Homeland Security rule that would give immigration officials wider discretion to deny green cards.
The article reports:
The rule change, set to take effect Friday, likely would make it tougher for many immigrants to obtain green cards if they use or are deemed likely to need public benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid or housing vouchers.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is leading a coalition of cities filing a similar lawsuit, are expected to announce the legal action during a press conference at City Hall on Monday, James’ office said.
The states, whose lawsuit also includes the District of Columbia, argue they would lose billions of dollars in federal funding if immigrants, particularly mixed-status families, disenroll from programs due to fears about immigration consequences.
The lawsuit relates to pending changes to what’s known as the “public charge” rule, a provision of US immigration law that allows the government to deny a visa or green card to someone it determines is likely to become dependent on government assistance.
Historically, immigration officers counted only cash benefits, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Security Income from Social Security, in their evaluations. But the Trump administration’s pending change does not specify which safety net programs should be considered – meaning non-cash benefits like Medicaid and housing vouchers can be.
“Hardworking families should not be forced to go without the support they need because they fear asking for assistance will get them deported,” James said in a release. “This rule preys on that fear and counts on families forfeiting the food assistance, health care coverage, and other public benefits to which they are legally entitled.”
This is not the immigration system our country was built on. Non-citizens should not be entitled to benefits designed for American citizens. I personally would support a law that says that people who immigrate to America will be barred from accessing government subsidies for a period of ten years from the time they arrive. I am willing to negotiate of the time period; I am not willing to negotiate on the principle. Our ancestors either had to have sponsors living in the country who could support them if need be or have a marketable skill that would support them. That was a good principle, and we need to go back to it!
Ignoring The Root Problem
According to AI, tax revenues for 2026 are expected to be $5.6 trillion, which is a 6.9% increase from 2025. That should make it obvious that our deficit problem is not due to a lack of revenue, but an overabundance of spending. The basic root of the problem is that those in Washington had decided that the tax revenue is their money and does not belong to the taxpayers. That is one of many reasons they have been so reluctant to find corruption or hold people accountable for it.
On Monday, CNBC posted an article about the looming crisis in America that will be caused by our massive national debt.
The article reports:
- The U.S. could breach the debt ceiling at some point in 2027. Fixing it could be hard.
- If Democrats capture one or both chambers of Congress in November’s midterm election, it would open the door to a standoff as the party tries to extract policy wins from Republican President Donald Trump in exchange for averting a bumpy ride over the fiscal cliff.
- If Democrats win in November, Republican hopes to remedy the issue while they control Congress could also be in trouble, as some in the GOP are already disavowing raising the debt ceiling without accompanying deep spending cuts.
When President Reagan cut taxes, the deficit soared. Why? Because as tax revenues increased, which they did, the Democrats in Congress increased the spending. What we need is for Congress to cut their spending, end the fraud in government programs, use some of the increased revenue to pay down our debt, and refund the taxpayers some of their own money.
The article notes:
Even with the potential leverage, however, some Democrats are taking a cautionary tone on the debt ceiling. Past debt ceiling standoffs, though not ending in default, have harmed the U.S.′ credit standing. Fitch downgraded the U.S. from AAA to AA+ after the last standoff, saying “repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management.”
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said Democrats “always want to consider responsible financing.”
“But I think that we need to remember that the tax cut in 2017 and the tax cut last year, it’s contributing mightily to this problem,” Neal said.
Neal also added the caveat that “playing with this thing is dangerous.”
“We’d have to have an open conversation about it,” Neal said when asked what Democrats would want in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. “I know we don’t want debt default.”
That is spin. The tax cuts have increased revenue–not decreased it.
A Step Forward In Energy
On Saturday, The Defence Blog posted an article about a new Pentagon energy resilience initiative.
The article reports:
- The U.S. Army selected Fort Benning, Georgia, to host three Radiant Industries microreactors under the Janus energy resilience program, announced August 26, 2026.
- The three 1-megawatt units will provide backup power to Lawson Army Airfield and other critical infrastructure if the regional grid fails.
The U.S. Army has selected Fort Benning, Georgia, as one of five military bases that will host nuclear microreactors under a new Pentagon energy resilience initiative called the Janus Program, Army officials announced August 26, 2026.
Fort Benning will pair with California-based Radiant Industries to install three of the company’s one-megawatt Kaleidos microreactors, adding a combined 3 megawatts of power tied directly into the base’s electrical grid.
The reactors are meant to protect against a specific vulnerability. Fort Benning, home to the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence, relies mainly on commercial utility power, backed up by diesel generators that depend on fuel deliveries vulnerable to disruption during a crisis. Lawson Army Airfield, the base’s main launch point for deploying airborne infantry, Rangers and other maneuver units worldwide, needs uninterrupted power for runway lighting, air traffic control and secure facilities to keep flights moving on short notice. If the regional grid goes down, the microreactors are designed to keep those systems running independently.
The article concludes:
“Energy resiliency is not a luxury, it is a foundation of power projection and combat readiness,” said Maj. Gen. Colin P. Tuley, commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning. “Integrating microreactors into our critical infrastructure ensures that our flight lines, command nodes, and combat training pipelines remain fully mission-capable, regardless of external disruptions to the regional utility grid.”
This is a really good idea. Smaller, localized sources of energy are harder to sabotage, and if one gets knocked down, it does not impact as large an area. I hope these microreactors will come into increased use in the private sector in the near future.
Who Is The Democrat Party?
On Friday, The Daily Caller posted an article about a recent Quinnipiac University poll asking Democrats if they support the Democratic Socialists of America. The results are frightening.
The article reports:
The majority of Democrats support the Democratic Socialists of America, a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found.
The latest survey shows that among Democrats, 59% consider themselves DSA supporters, compared to just 30% who do not. Out of total voters polled just 26% consider themselves supportive of the DSA, compared to 66% who do not consider themselves backers of the socialist group.
This is a far cry from the 2016 Democrat primaries when the Democrat party elites worked behind the scenes to make sure Bernie Sanders was not the presidential candidate. The Democrat elites remembered the resounding defeat of George McGovern and did not want to repeat that mistake.
The article notes:
If a candidate for elected office identifies as a DSA supporter, 17% of respondents say it makes them more likely to back that candidate, the survey states. By comparison, 43% of voters say it makes them less likely to vote for that candidate while 35% of respondents say it makes no difference.
The DSA did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
…In June, the DSA released a new platform, dubbed “Workers Deserve More,” which in part proposes to “draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic.” The socialist group’s platform has drawn intense public criticism from congressional Republicans.
“The DSA Communists have now published their insane agenda to take over Congress and America,” House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote in a June 27 X post. “We will not let it happen! WE ARE READY FOR THIS FIGHT!!”
The Quinnipiac University survey was conducted from Sept. 3-6 throughout the contiguous U.S. The poll surveyed 970 self-identified registered voters with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points, including the design effect.
If the people surveyed knew their world history, their answers would have been very different.
Is It A Bribe?
On Sunday, The America Thinker posted an article about President Trump’s idea to pay each American $5,000 if the Republicans hold Congress in the mid-terms. The Democrats of course immediately went apoplectic over the idea. My first reaction, regardless of debt, deficits, etc., is who’s money is it anyway?
The article reports:
The mainstream media, and other assorted far-left hucksters, consider President Trump’s promise to send a $5,000 check to every adult in the nation if the Republicans win the midterm elections in November an outrageous attempt at bribing the American people.
However, that is not the case. Even the far-left New York Times admits that. There is no quid pro quo, he is not telling any individual that they need to do anything in specific in order to get the money. Indeed, those who didn’t vote at all — or who voted for “Democratic” candidates, even Democratic-Socialists of America candidates — would ostensibly still receive the payment, as far as is currently known.
What these self-same leftists never point out, however, is that everything Democrats — and especially the Democratic Socialists of America Democrats — promise and do is essentially a bribe. Bigger government itself is a bribe. “Elect us and we will provide government-subsidized grocery stores, free buses, free Medicare, free higher education, free health care, and free everything else to boot. Hell, we’ll even throw in “free Palestine!”
The article concludes:
At this time no one knows what any eligibility criteria might look like. But if, for example, the homeless on the mean streets of cities like L.A. and Portland can be bribed to vote for “progressive” candidates for a chance to “earn” 2 or 3 bucks, as has been documented, might not the thought of five grand be a motivating factor?
Sure, Trump can be a bit of a blowhard … but Democrats are hypocrites, liars, and frauds. And they pose a far greater danger to the country than Trump ever could.
When taxes go down, as they have under President Trump, revenue goes up. The problem in the past has been that when revenue goes up, Congress spends more. They are going to spend more anyway–let’s spend some on the people who paid the taxes in the first place!
We Are Creating The Jobs. Are We Creating The Workforce?
On Tuesday, Real Clear Energy posted an article about the changing energy sector workforce in Pennsylvania.
The article reports:
Every summer, I volunteer at a business camp for high school students in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. For nearly two decades, the parking lot outside our hotel has served as an unorthodox economic indicator.
In the early years, the lot was nearly empty when we returned each evening – you could always find an open parking spot near the door. Then the Marcellus Shale boom arrived. And by 2012, good luck finding a spot at all! White work trucks filled the lot and spilled into the neighboring shopping center. Many trucks carried license plates from Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
…The explanation was straightforward. The industry had grown faster than Pennsylvania’s workforce pipeline. Modern shale development required welders, electricians, equipment operators, technicians, engineers, and safety professionals. Pennsylvania had the resource and a proud energy heritage, but the modern shale workforce needed to expand tenfold, overnight. In too many energy-related occupations, the pool of trained workers simply was not large enough.
…For too long, we have spoken as though success has only one starting point: a four-year degree. But a paid apprenticeship can be every bit as ambitious, rigorous, and fulfilling as a bachelor’s degree. A power plant control room may also offer more stability than many entry-level cubicles, and probably requires fewer meetings that could have been emails.
The article concludes:
So, while there are still white trucks in hotel parking lots, I now see more Pennsylvania license plates than out-of-state plates during my annual week in Williamsport. But we must be thinking about preparing the next generation of Pennsylvania workers to power our future.
As we recognize Labor Day, it should be more than a retrospective celebration of those already on the job. It should also remind us of the need to prepare the next generation of workers that will uphold our high quality of life.
Pennsylvania’s energy opportunity should be powered by Pennsylvania workers. That starts by giving young people facts, hope, and an open invitation to help build the future.
Career paths do not come in one-size-fits-all. Apprenticeships can be as rewarding (financially and in other areas) as a four-year degree. Engineers and other scientists are needed, but you don’t call an electrical engineer when you need someone to work on the wiring in your house!
The Toll Of Abortion
On Friday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about abortion in America.
The article reports:
Abortion prevented a number of births equal to nearly 30 percent of live births during the Generation Z birth years. Meanwhile, Generation Z is the generation most likely to support abortion. Generation Z consists of Americans born between 1997 and 2012. Approximately 71 million members of this generation were living in the United States as of 2025–2026, making it one of the country’s two largest living generations, behind Millennials.
Between 1997 and 2012, an estimated 19–20 million pregnancies ended in legal abortion.
The annual number of abortions peaked at nearly 1.6 million around 1990 before declining for more than two decades. By 2020, however, the number had begun rising again, reaching roughly 930,000.
Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, estimates from the Guttmacher Institute and the Society of Family Planning placed the annual total above 1 million again. The organizations estimated approximately 1.03–1.14 million abortions annually in 2023 and 2024.
Did we kill the future doctor who would have cured cancer? Did we kill a future singer with a voice like an angel? Did we kill a future scientist who could get us to Mars? We don’t know.
The article concludes:
CDC data show large racial and ethnic disparities in abortion. In reporting areas that provided race and ethnicity data for 2022, non-Hispanic Black women accounted for 39.5 percent of reported abortions. For general population context, Black Americans represented approximately 13.6 percent of the U.S. population in 2022, although the two figures measure different populations.
Liberals also love championing diversity. However, because the abortion rate among non-Hispanic Black women was more than four times the rate among non-Hispanic White women throughout the Generation Z birth period, abortion eliminated a larger share of the potential Black Generation Z population and, to a lesser extent, the potential Hispanic population. So much for diversity.
Regardless of how you feel about abortion, two living beings with separate DNA’s walk into an abortion clinic and only one walks out. Legalizing abortion is a major step toward the devaluing of human life. Legalizing abortion up until delivery (as done in Massachusetts) is a total devaluation of human life. The next step is euthanasia, which is already legal in many countries and many American states. It has been said many times that the generation that made killing their children legal will be the first generation to be killed by their children legally. We have opened Pandora’s Box, and I am not sure if we will ever be able to close it.
Is It Too Late To Solve The Problem?
On Friday, Just the News posted an article about the problems in Europe due to the large numbers of Muslim immigrants who do not share the values and culture of Europe.
The article reports:
After the Islamic extremist terrorist attack on America on Sept. 11, 2001, there were fears of anti-Muslim backlash. But 25 years later, the script has been flipped.
Ten million or more Muslims have immigrated to the west.
Today, Muslim figures are mayors of New York and London. But there’s also conflict. Europe is gripped by tensions caused by the rapid demographic change.
A fatal stabbing in Southampton, south of London, last December provided one example of the cultural and political pressure point.
Bodycam video showed police buying into the killer’s false claim that he’d been racially attacked. Vickrum Digwa – a Sikh and son of an Indian citizen– pretended to be the victim, while officers handcuffed the real victim: college student Henry Nowak, as he bled to death.
There’s been a surge in protests across Europe. And two-thirds of Britons now say the total number of immigrants is too high. Both major parties – Conservatives and Labour – have faced public anger and disappointment over years of broken promises.
Iain Duncan Smith is a Conservative member of Parliament and former party leader.
“We’ve overcooked migration,” he told Full Measure during an interview at a London park. “We’ve been far too lax and too easy.
“So we have to crack down on that. And the only way to have cracked down on it was what I supported, from the word ‘go’m, was to say to those who arrive illegally, ‘You’re going on the next aircraft back to somewhere further away than you came from, OK?’
“Once they realize the risk at sea and the cost is no longer outweighed by the opportunities, they won’t come anymore. That’s the way to deal with it, but we have to be hard about it and the government’s very weak at the moment and not able to do it.”
The article mentions that over the summer the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved the strictest immigration and deportation law in EU history. Let’s see if they are able to follow through with enforcement of that law. The future of Europe depends on it.
From my friends at Power Line Blog:
Two Days To Remind Us
Friday was the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Thursday was the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. On Friday, Townhall posted an article about the truth that those two events have in common.
The article reports:
Both tragedies confront us with the same fundamental truth: Evil seeks to silence, terrorize and destroy. The Bible puts it even more personally, identifying evil with a name: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” And a free society cannot survive if we lose the moral clarity to recognize that thief and the courage to resist him.
Those of us old enough to remember September 11, 2001, remember more than where we were when the planes struck. We remember the moral clarity that followed.
We knew innocent people had been murdered. We knew firefighters running into the towers were heroes. We knew passengers aboard Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save strangers. We knew the terrorists who deliberately targeted civilians were evil.
Americans argued later—and rightly so—about wars, intelligence failures, foreign policy and the proper limits of government power. But on that morning, no serious person suggested that the victims somehow deserved what happened because of their politics, careers, religion or perceived privilege. We did not comb through their histories looking for reasons to withhold sympathy. We did not demand ideological agreement before mourning the dead.
They were Americans. They were human beings made in the image of God. They were innocent. That was enough.
Twenty-four years later, Charlie Kirk was murdered while doing something distinctly American and profoundly Christian: standing in a public forum, inviting questions and debating people who disagreed with him.
Unfortunately, today we have American politicians saying that we deserved the events of September 11.
The article notes:
We have replaced political opposition with moral dehumanization. People are no longer merely wrong; they are dangerous. They are not neighbors to be persuaded but threats to be eliminated. Once that premise is accepted, violence becomes easier to excuse. If someone’s speech is itself characterized as violence, then actual violence against him can be repackaged as self-defense.
That is how a culture prepares itself to tolerate political bloodshed.
The article states:
What we believe as a society matters.
We can teach that speech is answered with speech, that freedom begets liberty, that political opponents retain their God-given dignity and that courage means standing for truth without surrendering to hatred.
Or we can teach that empathy is tribal, violence is negotiable, and murder becomes understandable when the victim holds the wrong opinions or the murderer is sympathetic and we cannot judge.
The choice is up to us.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Continues To Do Its Job
On Friday, The New York Post posted an article about the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) recent seizure of at least 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine at the Mexican border.
The article reports:
Authorities uncovered a massive haul of methamphetamine hidden in cabbage shipments at the US-Mexico border.
On Thursday, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Houston division shared video of heads of cabbage packed up several boxes — with an agent unwrapping one to reveal a huge stash of the drug.
Additional images showed several wheelbarrows packed with meth. All in all, the DEA said, the seizure netted at least 2,000 pounds of the drug.
The agency said its McAllen office in the Rio Grande Valley made the seizure.
Long-term use of the drug can lead to dental decay, damage to organs and chronic mental health issues.
A meth epidemic has swept the US for years, largely thanks to the efforts of Mexican drug runners who began smuggling ephedrine into California, PBS reported.
But President Trump has made drug smuggling one of his administration’s top targets. Most notably, Trump has approved targeted sinkings of vessels allegedly carrying drugs into the US.
The article noted that the seizure was part of a Homeland Security Taskforce investigation, conducted jointly with federal border agencies and Texas enforcement.
Seizing drugs at the border is not going to end the drug problem in America, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. We need to remember that we can’t help a drug addict unless he is willing to be helped. However, if we dry up his supply or make it outrageously expensive, he might be willing to consider help.
Either way, I appreciate President Trump’s effort to stop the flow of drugs into America.
From my friends at Townhall:
Where Is The Money Going?
The North Carolina lottery system was enacted in 2005. When the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) was started, the money was supposed to go to education.
In September, North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek posted a performance review report of the lottery and the money going to education.
This is some of the information contained in the report:
The North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is statutorily required to conduct financial statement audits of the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL). Examination of recent financial statements found that while lottery sales have been increasing significantly, the percentage of lottery proceeds transferred to North Carolina’s Education Lottery Fund has fallen sharply.
From FY 2023 to FY 2025, the NCEL reported gross sales increased from $4.3 billion to $6.6billion. However, the percentage of sales transferred to the Education Fund fell from 23% in FY 2023 to 16% in FY 2025. The total dollars transferred to the Education Fund increased from$1.02 billion in FY 2023 to $1.09 billion in FY 2024, but then declined to $1.08 billion in FY2025.
OSA conducted a performance audit to examine the factors that led to the above figures. The primary drivers are substantive growth in digital instant games, declining sales of traditional lottery games, and expansion of higher-payout lottery products. Total prize payouts increased from approximately 66% of sales in FY 2023 to approximately 76% of sales in FY 2025, resulting in a reduced percentage of sales available for transfer to the Education Fund.
The article includes the following chart:
If the education lottery is not doing what it is supposed to do, why do we still have it?
The article notes:
North Carolina law sets a target that 38% of NCEL revenues are to be transferred to the Education Fund, while also providing that allocations should occur “to the extent practicable.”1
In practice, the 38% figure has not operated as a fixed transfer requirement. NCEL met the original 35% statutory target during its first full year of operation, but its long-term average transfer percentage has been approximately 27%.2 Changes in lottery products, consumer preferences, and lottery market economics have increased sales while reducing the percentage of sales available for transfer to the Education Fund.
As lottery product offerings have evolved, the relationship between maximizing sales and maintaining a targeted transfer percentage has become less clear.
I would like to mention that the best bumper sticker I have ever read said, “The lottery–a tax on people who are bad at math.” It sounds like the people buying lottery tickets are not the only people who are bad at math.
Trump Report Card: Energy
Author: R. Alan Harrop,Ph.D.
We are all aware by now that no successful highly technical society can exist unless there is abundant supply of relatively cheap energy. Also, as we have seen in several European countries, modern societies cannot rely on “green energy” and maintain their standard of living. President Trump is the first president in recent years who recognizes these facts; and importantly, has taken steps to ensure that America not only has sufficient energy in the present but in the future. Continuing on the energy path that the Biden administration put us on would be catastrophically destructive. Let’s examine what the Trump administration has done to keep us on the right path as far as energy is concerned.
First, President Trump’s “Drill Baby Drill” slogan, backed up by actual policy changes, has increased the number of oil and natural gas drilling permits by 55% since he took office. In 2025, oil and natural gas production reached record levels, including 714 barrels of crude oil from offshore drilling sites. President Trump realizes that modern civilization cannot exist without relying on fossil fuels. He also recognized that our country’s technology allows us to produce fossil-fuel-based energy with the lowest environmental impact in the world. For example, our coal powered plants produce only 2% of global emissions while China and India alone produce 40%. The Biden administration was shutting down cost-effective-coal-burning plants in this country for no good reason. President Trump has stopped the green-energy-taxpayer subsidies and also the Biden administration’s push to mandate electric vehicles. The decision to purchase an electric vehicle should remain a consumer free choice–not a typical Marxist government mandate.
Second, the Trump administration recently announced a trade agreement with, of all people, Venezuela, which prior to his arrest of dictator Nicholas Maduro, was aligned with China. The agreement makes the United States (through private oil companies) a permanent member of the new North American Blue Energy Corporation with access to oil reserves of 65 billion barrels in addition to the 46 billion barrels of oil reserves in our country. The U.S. companies will have a 35% equity stake. This not only ensures sufficient oil reserves for the future, but keeps it out of the hands of our adversaries. It also will allow us to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserves that were depleted by the Biden administration in order to reduce the price of gas at the pump and help their re-election efforts.
Third, the Trump administration recently revoked the so-called Endangerment Finding policy of the Biden administration that allowed unelected bureaucrats to issue regulations that not only stymied growth but increased the cost to the American consumer of various products by over $1.2 trillion. The Endangerment Finding policy was initiated by that other Marxist president, Barack Obama, in 2009 and reinforced by the Biden’s Clean Energy Power Plan 2.0. These policies allowed officials in the government to institute such things as diesel truck emissions shutdowns, electric vehicle mandates, automatic engine shut offs when stopping, and the elimination of gas stoves, etc., none of which were authorized by Congress.
What we see in Trump’s actions is not only a return to common sense policies, but a counter revolution against the Marxist big government regulations that threaten the freedoms that have been the basis of this country. Loss of freedom is not always a one-time action, but is often the result of a series of seemingly small actions. These seemingly small actions can easily have the cumulative effect of taking away our freedom. Look what is happening in New York City, which now has an avowed Marxist as mayor. President Trump has taken very effective actions to increase the supply of energy in our country. The temporary increase in gas prices must not be allowed to hide that fact. Stopping the world’s greatest sponsor of terrorism ruled by a group of fanatics is worth the sacrifice. We willingly made those sacrifices during World War II. All true patriots need to get out and vote in the coming election if we are to maintain our freedom and stop the openly advocated slide toward Marxism by most of the Democrat party candidates.