From my friends at The Patriot Post:
Monthly Archives: January 2026
Some Serious Irony
On Tuesday, Townhall posted an article about Senator Schumer’s response to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The Senator is complaining that Congress was not notified beforehand about the attack plan. Considering the leaking record of Congress, that is probably why the plan succeeded!
The article includes the following X Post:
I think that pretty much sums it up!
NOTE: In case you are wondering SCIF stands for sensitive compartmented information facility.
Did You Notice The Professionally Made Signs?
This is a picture taken yesterday of a New York City protest against the arrest of Nicolás Maduro this weekend. Notice the professionally made signs. (source here)
On Monday (updated Tuesday), Just the News reported:
Chinese state-run propaganda outlets are promoting U.S. protests against the Trump Administration’s arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro. The protests appear to be organized by a Chinese Communist Party-linked financial network in the United States.
After this weekend’s U.S. military-led operation capturing Venezuela’s leader and sending him to the U.S. to be prosecuted by the Justice Department, street protests opposing Maduro’s arrest were quickly organized in New York City and elsewhere by the Marxist revolutionary group known as The People’s Forum, the far-left anti-war group Code Pink, the leftist Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).
Just the News previously reported on how these and other radical activist groups have leadership links or financial ties to a funding network backed by wealthy Marxist businessman Neville Roy Singham, who himself has connections to the CCP.
This is another domino that may fall now that Maduro is gone. (source here)
1. The End of the “Free Oil” Lifeline
For over two decades, the single most important pillar of the Cuban economy has been the “Barrio Adentro” agreement, which saw Venezuela ship roughly 50,000 barrels of oil per day to Havana essentially for free. With the US military now securing Venezuelan ports and oil fields following yesterday’s operation, these shipments have hit zero overnight. Cuba, which is already cash-strapped, simply does not have the foreign currency reserves to buy this amount of oil on the open market at global prices, meaning the island’s energy supply has effectively been cut in half instantly.
2. The Loss of the “Resale” Revenue Stream
Few people realise that the Castro regime didn’t just use Venezuelan oil to keep the lights on; they used it as a major source of income by selling the surplus. Venezuela often sent more refined fuel than the island needed, allowing Havana to sell the excess on the international market to generate hard currency. The fall of Maduro wipes out this “middleman” profit entirely, removing one of the few remaining sources of US dollars the government used to import food and medicine, which will accelerate the humanitarian crisis to breaking point.
President Trump significantly wounded a communist stronghold in South America. There will be repercussions. However, if the people of Venezuela can successfully win their freedom, the western hemisphere and the world will be safer.
Arresting People Who Broke The Law
America’s justice system has softened in many areas in recent years. That has resulted in people being released from jail who have no business being out on the streets. However, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) continues to do its job to keep Americans safe.
On Monday, Breitbart reported:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested 118 illegal aliens in San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara County in California, a sanctuary state. Several of the illegal aliens are registered sex offenders, drunk drivers, or pedophiles, among other crimes.
“ICE ended 2025 with a surge operation in California targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin told Breitbart News. “One hundred and eighteen illegal aliens were arrested, including pedophiles, registered sex offenders, burglars, domestic abusers, and serial drunk drivers.”
The ICE operation took place from December 26 – 31, 2025, and saw the likes of Juan Perez Tello and Rogelio Sanchez Hidalgo arrested, among others.
Tello, a 42-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, has been convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old and is a registered sex offender.
Hidalgo, a 41-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, has been convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old, is a registered sex offender, and has been convicted of illegal re-entry.
The article concludes:
McLaughlin said illegal aliens “flock to California because they know Governor Newsom and his fellow sanctuary politicians will allow them to terrorize innocent American families.”
“In 2026, our law enforcement will continue to do what Gavin Newsom has refused to do: make California safe again,” McLaughlin said.
Our immigration procedures need to change. We need to make it easier and less expensive for people who want to come here and assimilate to immigrate. We also need to set up some sort of sponsorship program that involves individuals–not NGO’s. Americans are a generous people, and I think many of us would be willing to help resettle an immigrant into America if the immigrant planned to assimilate and be an asset to their community.
Eliminating Fraud In Government
On January 5th, Issues & Insights posted an article with a suggestion for ending government fraud.
The article notes:
Some are estimating that more than half of federal income tax revenues are devoured by fraud. This should not come as a shock. A massive government that funds everything from small businesses to health care to child care to housing is a rich target for thieves. Sharply reducing its size would limit the opportunities to steal from taxpayers.
Bandits have been defrauding of the U.S. government on such a colossal scale that even the legacy media has had to cover it, at least somewhat. The Minnesota Somalis looting the public fisc blew the lid so high that now smart folks are finding institutionalized fraud far, wide, high and low.
As noted in a March executive order, “the Government Accountability Office estimates that the federal government loses between $233 and $521 billion annually to fraud.” That higher number might be in reality a low-end estimate, because the money flows from Washington from a number of orifices outside the Treasury Department, and an accurate tracking is simply not possible.
We say this because in fiscal 2024, non-Treasury disbursing offices “were estimated to be responsible for 181 million payments totaling over $1.5 trillion,” says the White House, roughly 22% of the entirety of federal dollars disbursed. Combine this fact with the fraud that is being uncovered and it’s obvious we’ve reached crisis levels.
The article concludes:
The only logical solution is to limit the possibilities by thoroughly downsizing the beast, which has grown well beyond the point to which its size has nurtured and sustained the “professionalized the pathways of corruption” and “is doing many more things than can be done with tolerable honesty.”
We are realists and understand that shrinking Washington is about as easy as threading a needle with a rope.
But Donald Trump was elected to decrease the length, width, and depth of the federal government, and while his efforts after eight years will be modest at best, Americans do have the ballot box to elect presidential and congressional candidates who will continue what he started. Maybe the Minnesota scandal is a watershed moment that will anger voters enough for them to understand what they have to do.
Shrinking government was at the root of the founding of the Tea Party. Unfortunately, some of the people involved in that movement have either aged out and become complacent. It is time for everyone to get involved in putting pressure on the government to downsize and cut spending.
Who Are We Sharing The Road With?
On Sunday, Red State posted a story about two truckers who were in America illegally and were smuggling drugs.
The article reports:
Indian illegal alien truck drivers aren’t just killing Americans with their reckless driving; they’re running drugs nationwide, too.
Gupreet Singh of Fresno, CA, and Jasveer Singh of Santa Clara, CA were arrested in Putnam County, Indiana on Saturday on a charge of dealing narcotics after over 300 pounds of cocaine were found in the sleeper berth of the semi tractor-trailer during a routine DOT inspection. Now those both those drugs and the truckers are off the street, and both Mr. Singhs are subject to ICE deportation holds.
…That cocaine is estimated to have a street value of $7 million, and was headed from Joplin, Missouri, to Richmond, Indiana.
According to the Indiana State Police, the investigation and seizure was conducted by a full-time interdiction trooper from the Drug Enforcement Section; ISP Superintendent Anthony Scott said full-time interdiction patrols “work to keep illegal drugs off the road and out of our communities.”
Indiana is also partnering with ICE to keep illegal aliens driving commercial vehicles off the highways. During a joint operation conducted by ISP and ICE last fall in the northwestern part of the state, 223 illegal aliens were arrested, “including 146 truck drivers. Many of those arrested had criminal records such as driving under the influence, assault, child abuse, burglary and drug trafficking, according to the governor’s office.”
It’s great that we caught these two and got them off the streets, but who gave them the drugs to transport? Getting them off the street is helpful, but finding the source of the drugs would be fantastic!
Using Lawsuits To Provide Equal Benefits For Americans
On Monday, The College Fix posted an article about the program in the Commonwealth of Virginia that provides in-state tuition for illegal aliens.
The article reports:
Virginia’s outgoing Attorney General Jason Miyares quickly agreed to a consent decree to resolve a Justice Department lawsuit filed against the state in late December challenging laws allowing students in the country illegally to qualify for in-state tuition and financial aid at public colleges and universities.
“In a joint court filing, Miyares and lawyers for the Justice Department asked a federal judge to declare the Virginia Dream Act invalid and bar state authorities from enforcing it. If approved, the joint consent decree order would make Virginia the fourth state to scrap its policies that allow eligible undocumented students to pay the lower in-state tuition rate,” Inside Higher Ed reported Jan. 2.
“The joint agreement came just one day after the Trump administration sued Virginia over its in-state tuition policies—the seventh such lawsuit.”
A Dec. 30 news release from the Justice Department announcing the lawsuit had stated: “These laws unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens who are not afforded the same reduced tuition rates, scholarships, or subsidies, create incentives for illegal immigration, and reward illegal immigrants with benefits that U.S. citizens are not eligible for, all in direct conflict with federal law.”
The article concludes:
Similarly, Virginia followed suit, prompting an appeal, WRIC reported: “In a Dec. 31 joint press release, the Legal Aid Justice Center, the ACLU of Virginia and the Dream Project announced that they had filed an emergency motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit that took aim at both undocumented and refugee students in Virginia.”
“The Attorney General of Virginia has abandoned his duties to defend Virginia law and the people of the Commonwealth, so we must,” said ACLU-VA Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg in the release. “Attorney General Jason Miyares has sided with the Department of Justice — intentionally working in secrecy and over a holiday weekend — to manufacture a predetermined outcome to deprive Virginian students of not only their futures but their day in court.”
If you are going to give in-state tuition rates to people who are here illegally, why not just give everyone in-state tuition rates?
A Short History Lesson
The history of Venezuela shows that it can become a successful, free country. In 1958, dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez was overthrown. A stable two-party system was established that lasted forty years. The Fourth Republic, as this period was known, brought unprecedented prosperity thanks to oil revenues, massive public works, and social programs, making Venezuela one of the wealthiest nations in Latin America during the 1970s. In February 1992, Hugo Chávez led a failed coup against President Carlos Andrés Pérez. In 1998, Hugo Chávez was elected President with 56 percent of the vote. He nationalized industries and introduced social programs that reduced poverty and illiteracy. When he died in 2013, Nicolás Maduro became President. At that time, a severe economic crisis hit Venezuela. This was caused by falling oil prices, mismanagement, and U.S. sanctions. Hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine, and the largest refugee exodus in Latin American history followed, fundamentally altering Venezuela’s trajectory. In 2019, Juan Guaidó declared himself acting president, saying the election of Chavez was fraudulent. More than 60 countries recognized Guaidó as legitimate interim president, but Chavez stayed in power. (source here)
As you can see, the journey from one of the most prosperous countries in South America to one of the poorest was the result of many events and decisions. The people of Venezuela were seeking to find their way out of poverty and listened to the lies of someone who wanted to be a dictator.
The question now is, “Can Venezuela regain its freedom and prosperity?”
Venezuela’s history shows that they can be a successful republic or democracy. They will need honest elections and an informed electorate. The class warfare that allows socialism or communism to take over needs to end.
When Venezuela took over the oil industry, profits dropped because the people in charge did not know how to run or maintain the oil industry. If the oil industry reverts to the people who know how to run it, prosperity will slowly return. I wish Venezuela well and hope that the exiles who escaped Chavez and Nicolás Maduro will return and help rebuild the country.
This map shows where the exiles have gone:
Envy: the Basis of Socialism
Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.
Early Christianity classified envy as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. When one looks at the origins of socialism and its manifestation today, envy of successful people and the desire to bring them down is essential to leftist ideology. We must recognize this reality if we are to defeat the left’s desire to destroy our free market system which is the basis of the success of this country.
Karl Marx, the founder of socialism was a failure economically. He did not succeed at any profession or career. He was like most unsuccessful people, envious of the success of others, and actually came to blame them for his own lack of success. Sound familiar? Instead of respecting and praising the hard work and success of others, the socialists want everyone to be equal, and that is what they now call “social justice”. Instead of recognizing the reality that some people are more gifted, motivated, persistent, and hardworking, and realizing that these are often the people who advance society the most, their envy places the blame on these people for all of society’s problems. This is the reason the Left hates rich people and is always talking about “taxing the rich.” Just look at the new mayor of New York City; taxing the rich was one of his main campaign themes as was free transportation, free childcare, rent controls, and other communist themes. He sounds just like Bernie Sanders, historically the longest serving active communist in the Senate, who is always attacking billionaires while he has enriched himself as a senator.
It is an undeniable fact that no socialist/communist country has ever been successful at improving the standard of living of their people. What they have done is to make their party leaders rich by keeping their people poor and subservient to the government. Successful free market businessmen have enriched themselves by producing goods that advance the living standard of their customers by providing things they want and need. It is a successful mutual free exchange. When the government starts controlling and mandating, the system breaks down. Look what happened recently to the Ford Motor Company when they followed the Biden administration’s push to move to all electric trucks. They lost billions because the demand for these vehicles did not exist among the people at the level needed to sustain production. In socialist/communist countries, the rich people are the party leaders. Look at what has occurred with Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, who in the last two years has reportedly increased her wealth by an estimated 30 million dollars! Did she legally provide any products or services that raised the standard of living of her constituents? No, of course not. Illegally? Hopefully the Department of Justice will investigate and find out.
Dependency on the government is the linchpin of socialism. Recent data indicates that about 127 million people in the United States are getting some form of welfare benefits, many, multiple benefits. This represents about 40% of Americans. Question: What is the likelihood that these people will vote for any official who wants to reduce dependence on the government? Answer: None. This is the reason our national debt is not only out of control but will never be paid off. New York City will be a test case to see whether or not our country has gone too far in the communist direction to be brought back. They will follow California, which has a current budget deficit of 18 billion dollars which is expected to grow to 35 billion by 2035. California also recently announced a ballot measure to impose a 5% wealth tax on all individuals and businesses that have assets worth one billion dollars. Several tech companies/owners have threatened to leave the state if the measure is passed in November 2026.
Reversing these trends can only be done by allowing these cities and states to fail. We should not allow the federal government to bail them out. Also, all social welfare programs should be time limited. They are like an untreated cancer that keeps growing. The idea of indefinite government dependence must be stopped. If we fail to address this, the slide to socialism/communism will not only continue, but will accelerate. We are raising generations of people who rely on the government instead of themselves. This amounts to theft from hard working people, since they are the taxpayers.
Is Freedom Spreading In Latin America?
On Friday, Breitbart posted an article a new regional political bloc President of Argentina Javier Milei is setting up in Latin America.
The article reports:
President of Argentina Javier Milei revealed in a soon-to-be released interview he is actively working towards establishing a regional ten-country bloc in Latin America to stand up to the “cancer of socialism.”
Milei was interviewed by journalist Andrés Oppenheimer this week for Oppenheimer’s television show at CNN en Español. A brief snippet was published by the outlet ahead of the full interview’s upcoming broadcast on January 11. The Argentine President is a staunch opponent of socialism and all of its “collectivism” forms.
“We haven’t named it yet, but there is already a group of ten countries working on it, and we will continue to move forward,” Milei said. “We are trying to form a bloc, in which our proposal is to embrace the ideas of freedom and stand up to the cancer of socialism in its various forms, whether it be socialism of the 21st century, woke socialism, not to mention the more extreme versions.”
The article concludes:
“The government emphasizes that a large part of the group has already signed joint statements not only criticizing Chavismo in Venezuela, but also supporting U.S. actions in the Caribbean Sea and the elections in Honduras, which were decided in favor of Asfura, Washington’s candidate,” La Nación reported.
The newspaper noted that the Argentine government is “enthusiastic” about the evident shift in ideological trends across the region and is seeking to emphasize similarities with other potential members of the group — particularly in light of the upcoming elections in Brazil and Colombia, two nations presently led by socialist governments whom Milei has had past impasses with.
This is fantastic news.
Were They Making Wishes Or Predictions?
On January 3rd, Stephen Moore posted an article at Hot Air about the predictions by the so-called economic gurus about the economy in 2025.
The article reports:
Well, Donald Trump has done it again!
He stumped the chumps. The “chumps” in this case were the “blue-chip” academic and financial economists whose consensus forecast this time last year was of high inflation and low economic growth. Wrong on both counts.
As you’ve probably heard, the GDP growth for Q3 came in at a red-hot 4.3%, following 3.5% for the second quarter. Some 90% of professional economists got it wrong — all underestimating the strength of the Trump economy. QED: These weren’t random errors. These were “hate Trump” errors.
They also predicted inflation of above 3% for 2025. It’s going to come in at closer to 2.7%, with the last two months trending down to the Fed inflation target of 2%.
Starting in the second quarter, GDP has been nearly twice as high as predicted.
To quote the inimitable special agent Maxwell Smart, “Missed it by that much.”
This isn’t the first time the whiz kids whiffed on the Trump economy. These are the same Keynesian economists who warned at the start of Trump’s first term that we would see a stock market crash. The stock market is today at record highs on all three indices. Paul Krugman, who won a Nobel Prize in economics and wrote regularly for The New York Times for years, famously feared a second Great Depression if Trump policies took hold.
The danger in putting a businessman in the White House was that if he succeeded, he would make all of the politicians look useless. How long have Americans put up with wasteful spending and fraud from a government that was constantly demanding more of the taxpayers’ money? On a side note, who wrote the grants for the daycare centers in Minnesota, who approved them, and who signed the checks? Would that fraud have been discovered and dealt with under another administration?
The article concludes:
If these blue-chippers had any integrity, they’d admit that they don’t know what they are talking about and send back their Ivy League PhDs.
Fat chance that will ever happen. Instead these prophets of doom will continue to give the entire economics profession a black eye. No wonder it is known as “the dismal science.”
Somebody Wants To Come Back And Be In Charge
On Friday, Townhall posted an article about a recent post on X directed at Iranians from Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the former Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The article reports:
Now, Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the former Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 Iranian Revolution, took to X to post instructions for the people, and specifically addressing the people of Tehran.
“My fellow compatriots,” Pahlavi wrote, “Today, I want to share with you a clearer picture of what is necessary and essential to bring down this regime. My words are especially addressed to the people of Tehran, who with their courage have initiated this new wave of the national uprising. The Islamic Republic is striving to prevent the formation of gatherings in Tehran; because it well knows that the seizure of the streets of Tehran and other major cities will seriously accelerate its downfall.”
The post continued, “The Islamic Republic is striving to prevent the formation of gatherings in Tehran; because it well knows that the seizure of the streets of Tehran and other major cities will seriously accelerate its downfall. To achieve this, first we must all overcome our fear and realize that if we seize the streets, the regime will quickly lose its ability and will to repress.”
Note: He is posting that from a safe location. He is not actually on the ground in Iran.
The article concludes:
With the Ayatollah’s regime on edge and Iranians taking to the streets, the coming hours and days could determine the course of Iran. Does the Ayatollah and the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) still have control or have the people gained momentum in ousting the regime? Only time will tell, but it seems that — unlike 2009 and 2022 — there is a clear message, the opposition is unified, and Pahlavi is pushing for the Iranian people to take back their country.
This also has global implications. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and the spread of Islamism around the globe. The fall of the IRGC and Ayatollah could fracture that entire movement.
Please follow the link and read the entire article. There is a lot going on here that the mainstream media is ignoring.
I Told You So Just Doesn’t Cut It
This post is based on an article posted at The Federalist on December 23. Obviously, I am a bit late to the game, but it is an important article.
The article reports:
Fulton County, Georgia, recently made an admission that should have commanded national attention. During a hearing before the Georgia State Election Board, county officials acknowledged that approximately 315,000 early ballots cast in the 2020 presidential election were unlawfully certified yet were nonetheless included in Georgia’s final, official results, in a race Joe Biden was officially declared to have won by just 11,779 votes.
The admission arose from a challenge filed by David Cross, an election integrity activist, who alleged that Fulton County violated Georgia election law in its handling of early voting. Under state statute, each ballot scanner is required to produce tabulation tapes at the close of voting, and poll workers must sign those tapes to certify the reported totals. These signed tapes are not merely an administrative safeguard. They are central to determining whether the vote count itself is legitimate.
So I guess that phone call from President Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was justified! However, that is not the point.
The article concludes:
Cross, whose persistence brought these revelations to light, has asked the State Election Board to decertify Fulton County’s 2020 advanced voting results for the historical record. His request is not aimed at changing past outcomes. We cannot undo the fact that for four years Joe Biden was president. But an official acknowledgment that Fulton County’s vote certification, and by extension the Georgia outcome, was invalid would place a permanent mark on the deliberate misconduct of those responsible and the institutional failure that enabled it, while reinforcing the principle that election law is not optional.
If the State Election Board declines to act, this episode may quietly fade from memory, leaving nothing to prevent it from happening again. Democracies do not fail when rules are broken. They fail when no one is held accountable.
Let’s put the people in jail who were responsible for this fraud, and let’s have an honest election this year and in 2028!
From my friends at Power Line Blog:
Why? Why Now?
On January 3rd, The Epoch Times posted an article about the indictment of Nicolás Maduro and his wife. This story is just breaking, so there will be updates in the future.
The article reports:
Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were indicted in the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced early on Jan. 3.
“Nicolás Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States,” Bondi said on X. “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
Bondi issued the statement hours after Maduro and Flores were captured and extracted by U.S. armed forces in Caracas in the early hours of Jan. 3.
The article notes:
In 2020, Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials were charged with narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and other charges in New York City, Miami, and Washington, D.C.
“The scope and magnitude of the drug trafficking alleged was made possible only because Maduro and others corrupted the institutions of Venezuela and provided political and military protection for the rampant narco-terrorism crimes described in our charges,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in the 2020 press release. “As alleged, Maduro and the other defendants expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine in order to undermine the health and wellbeing of our nation. Maduro very deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon.”
So what is this actually about, and why now?
Venezuela has been a center for Hezbollah operations in South America for years. Iran has poured money into the country. Iran had money during the Obama administration the Biden administration–sanctions on Iranian oil were either withdrawn or not enforced. During the Obama administration roughly $150 billion of frozen Iranian assets was released. In essence, America was funding the terrorism used against our troops in the area. Under President Trump, Iran is going broke. The people are staging a revolution. They are not in a position to help Venezuela. This is the time to strike. The taking of Maduro and his wife is part of a battle against drug cartels and worldwide terrorism. Hopefully, Venezuela can now return to the thriving democracy it once was.
The Fight For Conservatism In North Carolina
On Monday, WUNC posted an article about a primary race for North Carolina House District 79. This is an example of North Carolina’s deep state objecting to someone who actually represents the voters.
The article reports:
The leader of the North Carolina House Freedom Caucus is facing a primary challenger backed by one of his fellow lawmakers.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Keith Kidwell is seeking a fifth term representing four coastal counties in the state House (Beaufort, Dare, Hyde and Pamlico). He’s now facing a Republican primary challenger, Beaufort County farmer Darren Armstrong.
Kidwell says Armstrong was recruited by Republican Rep. Jimmy Dixon of nearby Duplin County, who chairs the House agriculture committee. He shared a text in which Dixon told him about the plan. “I have identified and I am going to support Darren Armstrong to file and run in the Republican primary for N.C. House District 79,” Dixon wrote in the text message.
While the text doesn’t explain Dixon’s reasoning for backing Kidwell’s opponent, Kidwell says the dispute stems from his opposition to a proposal in the farm bill that would have protected chemical pesticide companies from lawsuits. Supporters of that measure argued the companies need protection from frivolous lawsuits, but critics like Kidwell said it would put a high burden on farmers and others who are harmed by pesticides.
“They would have been protected retroactively and in perpetuity from you suing them, and I did not feel that that’s something that should have happened,” Kidwell told WUNC. “So Jimmy got mad at me for that, and went and dug up a primary opponent for me.”
These are not all frivolous lawsuits. Keith Kidwell has been a voice for voters the entire time he has been in the North Carolina House. He was one of the voices that stopped ShrimpGate, a law that would have ended the shrimp fishing industry in North Carolina.
I have lived in North Carolina since 2013. The Republicans took over the state legislature in 2010. It has taken them a while to become as corrupt as the Democrats were, but I believe they are rapidly getting there. The voters can vote out the North Carolina swamp, but they need to be aware of who the swamp is. This upcoming election needs a very well informed electorate in North Carolina.
From my friends at Townhall:
I’m From The Government, And I’m Here To Help
This is an excerpt from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s speech after being sworn into office (source here):
Many of these people have been betrayed by the established order. But in our administration, their needs will be met. Their hopes and dreams and interests will be reflected transparently in government. They will shape our future.
And if for too long these communities have existed as distinct from one another, we will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it. Because no matter what you eat, how you pray, or where you come from — the words that most define us are the two we all share: New Yorkers.
Rugged individualism is what built America. Rugged individualism is what settled and civilized the west. Collectivism almost destroyed America’s original settlers at Jamestown and Plymouth. The original charters of both settlements required collectivism. In both cases, the colonists nearly starved to death. Collectivism does not work as long as human nature exists. In Massachusetts in 1623, a decision was made to do a second planting to avoid starvation. Part of that decision was to parcel out individual lots for the planting. Before this all crops had been communal and the produce given to each according to his needs rather than according to his effort. When the individual parcels were given out, much more corn was planted, and the free market took over. The free market prevented the starvation of the Pilgrims.
In 1905 George Santayana stated, “Those who do not learn from the experience of history are doomed to repeat it.”
Recently I posted an article about the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) passed by the New York City Council (article here). Mayor Adam’s vetoed the bill on New Year’s Eve. It will be interesting to see if the bill is reintroduced, because Mayor Mamdani will sign it. The bill interferes with property owners’ ability to sell their property.
I wish New York City well, but I am seriously concerned about the future of the city.
Looking Beyond The Hype To Find The Reason
On Wednesday, John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line Blog detailing the reason for 2023 being one of the warmest years on record. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the result of anything people did!
The article reports:
Warmists were ecstatic over the 2023 increase, which they attributed to “climate change.” (It makes no sense to say that a change was caused by change, but put that aside for the moment.) As to the subsequent decline, they were almost entirely silent.
It seemed obvious to me that the most likely explanation was the extraordinary eruption of the Hunga Tonga underwater volcano in January 2022. That eruption, unprecedented in recorded history, sent vast quantities of water vapor into the atmosphere. Water vapor is, of course, the principal greenhouse gas.
The article quotes an article posted at WattsUpWithThat on December 30:
We have been fortunate to witness the largest climate event to occur on the planet since the advent of global satellite records, and possibly the largest event since the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. It is clearly a naturally occurring, externally forced climate event. However, mainstream climate scientists are not treating it appropriately. This is because climate science does not function like other sciences and is subject to strong confirmation bias. The first step to learning from the 2023 event is accepting its exceptional nature, which many fail to do.
***
According to Occam’s razor, a climatic event of unparalleled magnitude in modern records requires an exceptional cause. The factors responsible for normal climate variability are insufficient. The only extraordinary factor preceding the 2023 event was the explosion of the Hunga Tonga underwater volcano.
***
For anyone who is not committed to the explanation of climate change due to the radiative properties of greenhouse gases, the Hunga Tonga eruption is currently the best explanation for the 2023 climate event. In July 2025, I analyzed that “if Hunga Tonga is responsible for the 2023-24 warming event, a clear prediction is that we should observe most of this warming disappear in 3-5 years.“[21] This projection does not arise from any of the other considered causes. By December 2025, four years after the eruption, this prediction had come true: the ocean temperature anomaly in November was only 0.05°C higher than in November 2021, before the eruption. 90 % of the ocean warming from the 2023 climate event has disappeared.
Sorry to disappoint, but man is simply not important enough in the grand scheme of things to change the earth’s climate. We have a responsibility to take care of the earth, but we also have a responsibility to do what we can to create civilized societies. Balance is the key.
Reparations?
On December 30 (updated December 31), The U.K. Daily Mail posted an article a bill the Mayor quietly approved two days before Christmas. It’s a pretty safe bet that a lot of the residents of the city were not paying attention. At least I think that is what he was counting on.
The article reports:
The mayor of San Francisco discreetly approved a bill to create a fund that may eventually grant each of the city’s eligible black residents $5 million in reparations.
Mayor Daniel Lurie quietly signed the incredibly divisive Reparations Bill just two days before Christmas.
The ordinance establishes a reparations fund, as recommended by the city’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee (AARAC) in its 2023 report.
…Per the 2023 report, every eligible African-American adult in San Francisco should be handed a $5 million lump sum to ‘compensate the affected population for the decades of harm that they have experienced.’ Approximately 50,000 black people live in San Francisco, and the qualifying requirements remain unclear.
While this effort has captured the most attention – and sparked the most controversy – the AARAC rattled off more than 100 suggestions, including debt relief, guaranteed annual income of $97,000, debt forgiveness and city-funded homes for black people.
In 2023, the conservative public policy think-tank the Hoover Institution said the plan would cost each non-African American household in the city about $600,000 in tax dollars.
I can pretty much guarantee that no one in San Francisco has ever been a slave and that no one in San Francisco has ever been a slave owner. So in what world does this make sense?
Alexander Fraser Tytler stated:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”
We are a republic–not a democracy, but the problem is the same.
The article at The U.K. Daily Mail concludes:
About a week before Lurie gave his go-ahead for the plan, the city’s Board of Supervisors voted in favor of it.
‘This most certainly is different than asking the city to pony up dollars to support reparations recommendations,’ Supervisor Shamann Walton, who penned the ordinance, said, per ABC 7.
‘It’s gonna take some time. We’ve got to build a pot and then, of course, come up with the right criteria in terms of how we’re going to prioritize what recommendations we address first. But this is a major first step.’
The bill’s supporters say it aims to correct disinvestment in predominantly black neighborhoods from the 1950s to the 1970s that drove the community out of the area under the guise of urban renewal.
Looting the treasury is fun!
