From my friends at Patriot Post:
Monthly Archives: April 2026
Is This Remodeling Necessary?
On Monday, PJ Media posted an article about some planned remodeling in a Minneapolis schools.
The article reports:
A school district in the Minneapolis suburbs is remodeling two high schools to fit “student needs,” by which it means adding a prayer room and foot-washing facilities specifically for Muslims.
Alpha News senior reporter Liz Collin posted on X April 20 the following screenshots regarding plans for a specifically configured “prayer room” as part of Park Center Senior High’s remodel and “footwash[s]” as part of Osseo Senior High School’s remodel. Osseo Schools in Minnesota confirmed the updates and claimed they were “included in updated plans after hearing from user groups on student needs.”
The person who sent in the tip to Collin noted that this prayer room is not a response to Christian or Jewish complaints and requirements, nor is the footwash purely for hygienic reasons. “This is undoubtedly for Muslim students only. I cannot understand how this can be happening in this era of no religion in schools,” the tipster argued.
By the way, this does not appear to be an original inspiration of Osseo Schools. Show host Glenn Beck reported last year that some Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., schools had Muslim prayer rooms in them.
The article notes:
As an important note, the Founding Fathers never intended to exclude religion from the public square or government institutions, and indeed the phrase “separation of church and state” never occurs in our founding documents. Indeed, many of the founders, including John Adams, George Washington, and John Jay, emphasized the importance of religion in the public square. It was also normal and accepted for legislatures and public schools across America to have prayers incorporated into their regular scheduled duties and exercises. But America was founded specifically to be a Judeo-Christian nation, and it is also true that the Founders were opposed to making one religion essentially the state religion or official religion of a particular institution or government entity. Yet that is exactly what is happening at the Minneapolis high schools.
If the school is also willing to put in prayer rooms for Jews and Christians, I am okay with this. Otherwise, the school is using tax dollars to promote a specific religion, which is unconstitutional.
A Not-So-Surprising Change
Alan Dershowitz has been a voice of reason for a long time. He has been outspoken and fair in his commentary on current events. Although he has been a Democrat, he has not been blind to the events around him. Alan Dershowitz has now become a Republican.
On Tuesday, Hot Air reported:
What happened? It starts with Democrats’ sharp turn toward anti-Semitism with Israel as its political golem, but as Dershowitz argues, that serves more as a harbinger for a broader radicalization within the party. The catalyst came last week when most of the Senate Democrat caucus voted to withhold funds for Israel’s defensive systems, where the scales fell from his eyes on the power of anti-Semites within the Democrat Party:
The Democratic Party has become the most anti-Israel party in U.S. history. Last week all but seven Senate Democrats voted for an arms embargo against the Jewish state, and an avowed enemy of Israel, Abdul El-Sayed, is gaining ground in the Democratic campaign for U.S. senator from Michigan.
There is no denying that the hard left, anti-Israel wing of the Democratic Party has moved from the fringe to the mainstream. Until recently there was an age gap, with younger voters more strongly opposing Israel, but recent polls suggest that the trend now includes Democrats of all ages. Republicans have their own antisemitic fringe, but for now it remains a fringe.
Let’s hope it stays on the fringe. Antisemitism has never been good for anything.
The article quotes Alan Dershowitz:
I believe that the Democratic Party’s hostility to Israel represents a deeper and more dangerous shift away from the center and toward a radical approach that is bad for America and the free world. So I intend to work hard to prevent the Democrats from gaining control of the House and Senate, and I urge those who share my concerns about the increasing influence of radicalism in the Democratic Party to vote, campaign and contribute for continued Republican control of Congress. I will contribute money to Republican candidates, campaign for them, make speeches at Republican events, and urge pro-Israel Americans to change party affiliation or at least vote against Democrats. Until something changes, I will vote Republican for representative, senator and president.
Wow.
When Trump Derangement Syndrome Is Dangerous
On April 12th, Real Clear Politics posted an article about a recent quote from Tom Friedman. The quote is disturbing for many reasons.
The article reports:
New York Times columnist Tom Friedman told CNN’s “Smerconish” that he would love to see the Islamic Republic in Iran replaced by a Democratic regime, but letting Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu get credit for succeeding at overthrowing it like this might not be worth it.
“Nothing would improve the region more than the replacement of this regime in Iran,” Friedman said. “The problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald Trump politically strengthened by this war because they are two awful human beings.”
“They are both engaged in anti- democratic projects in their own countries. They’re both alleged crooks. They are terrible, terrible people doing terrible things to America’s standing in the world and Israel standing in the world,” Friedman said about Trump and Netanyahu. “So I really find myself torn. I want to see Iran militarily defeated, but I do not want to see these two terrible people strengthened.”
At least he said alleged crooks. He can’t support America’s war effort because he doesn’t like the people in charge. Also notice that he doesn’t amplify any of his charges with actual facts. I don’t think the war in Iran is hurting either America’s or Israel’s standing in the world. I think it may actually result in both countries being respected.
Loving your country does not mean that you have to love its elected leaders at all times. I was not a fan of either President Obama or President Biden. However, I never hoped for the military disasters we saw under both Presidents. I don’t care who is in charge, I never want to see another situation like Benghazi or the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Department Of Justice Is Doing Its Work
During the Obama and Biden administrations, the Department of Justice put a lot of its focus on domestic terrorism threats such as pro-life protesters and parents attending school board meetings. That seems to be changing. One example of that change is the arrest of Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, California, who was arrested at Los Angeles Airport on her way to Turkey.
On Sunday, The New York Post reported:
A glamorous Iranian businesswoman with a US green card was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms on behalf of Tehran.
Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was taken into custody on Saturday night and charged with brokering deals for Iranian drones, bombs, and millions of rounds of ammunition bound for Sudan, according to the office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California.
Mafi had allegedly conducted the arms deals while in close contact with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which provided instruction and funds for her to open a business in the US to operate out of, according to court records.
“She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Sunday, announcing the arrest.
…Mafi, who left Iran in 2013 and became a permanent resident of the US in 2016 under the Obama administration, allegedly used an Oman-registered company, Atlas International Business, to broker weapons deals as recently as 2025, according to court records.
Among the sales was a contract for more than $70 million for Iranian-made Mohajer-6 armed drones from Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
The drones, along with 55,000 bomb fuses, were transferred in deals with the Sudanese Ministry of Defense, which has been fighting in a bloody civil war since 2023.
The article concludes:
Mafi is ultimately accused of violating the Conspiracy to Violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which if convicted of, would lead to a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The suspect is scheduled to appear at the US District Court in downtown LA on Monday, prosecutors said.
A representative for Mafi could not be immediately reached for comment.
It is interesting to me that she was headed for Turkey.
Shenanigans In Campaign Donations
In December 2024, I wrote an article about campaign donations to Democrats coming from ActBlue. ActBlue was recording donations from people who never sent them. The actual origin of those donations was unknown. Well, at least we have reached the point where Congress is looking at the situation.
On Monday, The Gateway Pundit reported:
On Monday, The Gateway Pundit reported that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued ActBlue, the Democrat fundraising platform, for “deceiving Americans by lying about its donation processes that allow fraudulent and foreign donations.” This was following an internal investigation that “prove[d] that ActBlue continues to process gift card donations” without proving identification of the donor.
The same day, the House Judiciary Committee deposed five employees after subpoenas were issued to two employees in June 2025 by Reps. Jim Jordan, Bryan Steil, and James Comer. The recent depositions included “top staff responsible for fraud prevention” and sought to “learn more about the platform’s acceptance of illegal donations – and the subsequent cover-up,” according to a post on X by the House Judiciary GOP.
…The House Judiciary GOP account states that the five employees were asked 146 questions and that the ActBlue employees “refused to answer a single one, invoking their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination every time.”
The questions included:
-
- Is there any reason you are unable to provide truthful answers to today’s questions?
- Have ActBlue executives ever instructed you to allow more fraud on the platform or weaken ActBlue’s fraud-prevention defenses?
- Have you ever been part of a conspiracy to launder foreign money into fraudulent donations for campaigns using ActBlue?
- Did members of ActBlue’s legal and compliance teams leave ActBlue after the 2024 election because of the platform’s inability to prevent fraud during previous election cycles?
Pleading the Fifth does not mean that you are guilty, but it is definitely interesting that the people from ActBlue would not even explain why they wouldn’t answer the questions. Hopefully someone will go to jail for their criminal activity.
The Double Standard Is Still With Us
On Monday, Townhall posted an article about John Eastman being disbarred by the California Supreme Court. In 2024, a judge on California’s State Bar Court ordered John Eastman’s disbarment, but the decision was appealed. In the meantime, John Eastman was suspended from practicing law.
The article reports:
The California Supreme Court officially disbarred President Donald Trump’s former attorney, John Eastman, last week over his work assisting Trump to dispute the 2020 election results. Eastman merely provided options for Trump to consider in a legal memo — some of which would have resulted in Joe Biden winning the election — and drafted and filed a brief for him in the election challenge Texas v. Pennsylvania. In contrast, none of the attorneys involved in the 2000 election challenge representing Al Gore over “hanging chads” in Florida were disciplined.
John Eastman’s background is impressive. He is the founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public-interest law firm affiliated with the Claremont Institute. He is a former professor and former professor and former dean at Chapman University School of Law. He is also a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. At one point he was a frequent guest on the Hugh Hewitt radio show discussing the law and current issues. He is a very clear thinking lawyer. He is a man I would love to see on the Supreme Court. He should not have been disbarred, and I am sure the decision will be appealed.
The article concludes:
Other leftist attorneys around the country are also getting free passes from state bars. Marc Elias, working with Perkins Coie, paid Fusion GPS to produce the Steele dossier and concealed the payment structure in FEC filings. The FEC fined the DNC and Clinton campaign for misreporting the payments as legal services. Special Counsel John Durham prosecuted Michael Sussmann for lying to the FBI about whether he was representing the Clinton campaign. Sussmann was later acquitted. Andrew Weissmann aggressively prosecuted Arthur Andersen, destroying the company, but the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the conviction. Critics accused Weissman of Brady violations — failing to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense and eliciting false testimony from a key government witness. Other witnesses testified that they felt pressured by the prosecution.
The disbarment of Eastman has set a terrible precedent. The law has been used to punish people merely for practicing their profession. Fortunately, the adults on the U.S. Supreme Court are likely to take his appeal. Although they only accept about 80 cases a year, they favor high-profile cases. This issue personally relates to them as lawyers, and Eastman is widely considered the top constitutional scholar on the right.
We have a lot of work to do to clean up our justice system.
Posted by a friend on Facebook:
Taking Action Against Fraud
On Saturday, Alpha News posted an article about changes made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to stop the fraud within the program.
The article reports:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service has disqualified 1,562 retailers associated with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and disabled 760 illegal point-of-sale devices since Oct. 1, 2025.
This has resulted in the prevention of nearly $835 million in fraudulent SNAP transactions, Stephen Vaden, deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), said in an April 17 post on X.
“Commit fraud? We will find you and hold you accountable. Including jail time. And now, we have the whole of government, under the leadership of @VP and @AFergusonFTC, rooting out abuse of any program meant to help the most vulnerable,” Vaden wrote, referring to Vice President JD Vance and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson.
Responding to the post, Ferguson said, “More is coming!”
Fraud by SNAP retailers can involve selling items not allowed under the program, exchanging SNAP benefits for cash, and lying on their applications to get authorized to participate as a retailer under the program, according to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
Such retailers can face permanent or temporary disqualification from the program, denial of application, withdrawal of authorization, financial penalties, and criminal charges that can lead to fines and even prison time.
The article concludes:
In a Dec. 2 report last year, the Government Accountability Office noted that most SNAP benefit cards lack features to prevent theft, such as microchips, which are standard on debit cards.
“Although the full extent of theft is unknown, states reported replacing more than $320 million in stolen benefits between October 2022 and December 2024. During that period, state SNAP agencies provided funds to replace stolen benefits when recipients reported a theft that could be substantiated,” the report said.
“But some recipients may not have known they could file a claim. And the law limited recipients’ filing to two claims per year. As a result, the estimate of losses may not truly reflect the full extent of theft. And, after December 2024, states can no longer replace stolen SNAP benefits with federal funds.”
It’s a beginning. I can’t imagine how much federal spending we can cut simply by dealing with the fraud.
Yes, Iran Was Very Near To Having Ten Nuclear Bombs
On Monday, Red State posted an article about a “60 Minutes” report that confirms the risk of continuing to negotiate with Iran without eliminating its nuclear program.
The article reports:
We heard a lot from the Democrats and media when the Trump administration launched Operation Epic Fury, arguing that there was no real threat.
Now, there’s a story from “60 Minutes” that actually points to how real the threat was because of the concern about the highly enriched uranium (HEU).
60 Minutes posted on X:
It’s believed Iran currently has enough HEU to eventually make 10 atomic bombs. But international inspectors have not been allowed to verify Iran’s stockpile since last June, when the U.S. and Israel struck three nuclear sites.
The article notes:
Dr. Matthew Bunn, a Harvard Kennedy School professor and former White House nuclear advisor, said that almost 1000 pounds would be “enough material, if you enrich it just a little bit more, for 10-11 nuclear bombs.”
He also explained how “Iran has been lying about its nuclear weapons effort for over 20 years now.” He said their claim that they weren’t working on pursuing a weapon was a lie.
…Now, the “60 Minutes” story speaks about a prior operation to secure HEU in Kazakhstan. It seemed to be pushing the merits of cooperation to secure it, versus a military operation. That’s all well and good if you have a cooperative or trustworthy country, which you don’t in Iran. They had on Vice Admiral Robert Harward, who was a deputy commander of U.S. Central Command. He said that if you tried to seize it, it could take weeks and take a lot of personnel on the ground.
But it would be a lot more challenging, one would think, if you just let it go unchecked, didn’t deal with the problem, and the unhinged regime with the terrorist proxies used it.
Iran wants nuclear weapons in order to insure that the current regime stays in power. They have seen what has happened to some dictatorships who don’t have nuclear power. I seriously doubt anything acceptable will come from the current negotiations–the Iranian Republican Guard and the political types can’t even agree on their talking points.
Making Our Roads Safer
On Friday, American Greatness posted an article about Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL’s) being issued to people who are here illegally or who do not speak English well enough to read road signs or follow verbal directions.
The article reports:
Over $73 million in federal highway funds are being withheld from New York state after an audit found more than half the state’s commercial drivers licenses (CDL) were issued to foreigners illegally.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced yesterday that the state failed to revoke “illegally issued nondomiciled commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses.”
According to a December press release from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) nationwide audit of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) uncovered a shocking 53 percent failure rate in the records sampled, indicating serious problems in New York’s CDL program.
Among the failures documented were New York DMV systems defaulting to issuing eight-year licenses to foreign drivers for non-REAL ID licenses, regardless of when their legal status expired, and the state issuing commercial licenses to foreign drivers without providing any evidence that it had verified their current lawful presence in the United States.
Just the News reports that Derek Barrs, administrator of the motor carrier administration, stated, “FMCSA’s mission is safety. That means ensuring that every commercial driver on the road is properly vetted and qualified. New York’s continued refusal to fix these failures undermines that mission, and we will not allow federal dollars to support a system that falls short of the law.”
The article concludes:
Just the News reports that with the forfeiture of nearly $74 million in funding, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration is losing 4 percent of its National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Program Block Grant Funds.
Duffy, in a post on X, posed the question of whether pulling federal funding from non-compliant states worked before responding, “Just ask Gavin Newsom,” referring to how California revoked more than 17,000 licenses issued to undocumented people after the DOT pulled over $160 million in federal funding from the state.
We don’t need people who cannot read road signs driving multi-ton trucks.
What Are The Exact Numbers?
We are awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court on birthright citizenship. The decision will have a major impact no matter what the ruling is. If the Court supports it, birth tourism will continue and the number of children born here to parents who were not here legally will continue to grow. If the Court shuts down birthright citizenship, there will be some serious obstacles to ending birth tourism. We will also have to put a stop date of when children born here can no longer instantly become citizens.
On Saturday, The New York Post reported:
Nearly 10% of US births in 2023 came from illegal immigrant mothers, according to newly published research.
Pew Research Center revealed that 320,000 of the 3.6 million babies born in the US that year were anchor babies who would not qualify for birthright citizenship if President Trump’s executive order is upheld by the Supreme Court.
“Under the current erroneous birthright citizenship interpretation, these children automatically become citizens and unlock food stamps, welfare, specialized schooling for English education, and eventually college aid,” Brandy Perez Carbaugh of the Heritage Foundation told The Post.
The article concludes:
“High volumes of illegal and temporary aliens are having children in the US because they are exploiting the decades-old erroneous interpretation that such children are US citizens,” said Carbaugh.
“Emergency Medicaid loopholes allow illegal aliens to qualify for free labor, delivery, and often prenatal care in some states, so taxpayers pay for these ‘anchor babies,’” said the expert.
“This has brought alien parents both a claimed shield against deportation and financial benefits through the eligible child. Americans cover the cost as they struggle to provide for their own families,” she said.
The Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments April 1 in Trump v. Barbara, a landmark challenge to the president’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship, which has been a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment since 1868.
To quote Milton Friedman, “It’s just obvious you can’t have free immigration and a welfare state.” (source here) Birthright citizenship is an economic problem as well as a national security issue.
Watching The Economic Numbers
On Sunday, The Center Square posted an article about consumer spending.
The article reports:
This week, the focus shifts to the consumer, with March retail sales and the National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales report.
Both reports are likely to point to a modest pickup from February. For retail sales, part of the gain may reflect firmer prices and support from tax refunds. But the bigger question is whether real, inflation-adjusted spending is holding up. The consumer still looks resilient, though more selective and cautious than a year ago.
On housing, there is less need to wait for the NAR report because Zillow already provides a timelier read on contract activity. Zillow’s March market report showed 281,546 newly pending listings, the second-highest monthly total since August 2022. Newly pending sales were up 4.6% from a year earlier and nearly 30% from February, the strongest March showing since 2021. Zillow attributes that strength to pent-up demand after three years of weak sales, weather-related disruption that softened activity in January and February, and a somewhat improved affordability picture from a year ago.
That suggests the home shopping season is still underway and that households had not fully pulled back as of March. Even so, the boost may prove temporary if energy prices stay elevated, mortgage rates remain high, or the labor market softens further. Zillow has already marked down its 2026 existing-home-sales outlook because higher-than-previously-expected mortgage rates could weigh on demand.
The April backdrop has improved somewhat, but not enough to declare the all-clear. Freddie Mac’s 30-year mortgage rate eased to 6.30% in the week ending April 16, down from 6.37% a week earlier. Initial jobless claims fell to 207,000 in the week ending April 11. The four-week average remains low at 209,750, while the four-week average of insured unemployment has edged down.
I believe that the Federal Reserve needs to lower interest rates in order to recover the economy from the damage done during the four years of President Biden. I also believe that the Federal Reserve needs to be dismantled, but that is another story.
The article concludes:
The message for now: March likely captures a consumer that was still hanging in. April looks a little better at the margin, but the durability of that improvement will depend on whether energy prices continue to move lower, mortgage rates ease further, and the labor market regains firmer footing.
Hopefully, energy prices will decrease in the near future.
Saving America: Restoring Education
Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.
Having educated, patriotic citizens is essential to the survival of America as we have known it in our lifetimes. When speaking about the most crucial things needed to save our Republic, George Washington stated, “A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?” Let’s take a look and see how we are doing.
In spite of the so-called “No Child Left Behind Act” passed by Congress during the first years of this century, educational achievement has been declining–not improving. In fact, this is the first time in our country’s history where children’s academic achievement is lower than their parents! This is in spite of billions of taxpayer dollars spent on laptops, smart phones and screen learning. Today, 55% of school children spend at least four hours of classroom time on screens and 27% spend at least five hours of classroom time. I can remember about ten years ago that one of the Craven County Commissioners expressed how proud he was that every student received a laptop funded by the county taxpayers. Of course, good intentions do not guarantee good results.
Some might argue, of course, that computer generated learning is preparing children for the modern world. Test scores in reading, math, science and spelling refute that argument. What is critical is how much of the information in the mode of instruction actually is absorbed and expands a child’s thinking and reasoning ability. Why learn arithmetic and multiplication tables when calculators are readily available? Why have human teachers when AI instruction is rapid and readily available? By the way, the decrease in academic achievement is occurring not just in our country but in most other Western countries, some of whom are taking steps to return to more traditional teaching using paper, pencils and teacher instruction. AI gets smarter; we get dumber. I noticed recently that when I initiate an email, I am asked if I want an AI program to assist! Teachers now do not know if a written assignment submitted by a student was written by that student or is an AI derivative. Teachers should go back to requiring the student to hand write the assignment while they are in the classroom. One problem is that very few public schools still teach cursive writing. The professional teacher’s associations will object, but we need to return to instructional techniques that worked for centuries and get the computers and smart phones out of the classroom.
The point that George Washington was making in the quote above needs to be taken seriously. Our schools do not offer sufficient instruction in the value and success of the free enterprise system and the necessity of retaining a representative republic to safeguard our liberties. The last hundred years have clearly proven the unworkability of Marxist inspired socialism and communism. They always produce lowered standards of living, and authoritarian governments that deprive people of their freedom. Yet we have millions of people who have been through our public school systems that don’t realize that Marxist principles are anti-American and vote for people like Mamdani in New York City which will be their undoing and the destruction of our country. A recent survey showed that the majority of high school students could not differentiate a representative republic from a democracy, and that an alarming 62% Americans aged 18 to 29 had a favorable view of socialism! Not good.
I have been and remain an advocate for school choice, including private and homeschools. Anyone who resists supporting school choice in favor of the public school system as it is currently functioning is contributing to the demise of our country. Parents should be able to select the education that agrees with their principles and values. Homeschooling should be encouraged and funded just like public or private schools. We need to get patriotism and traditional learning back in our educational system.
The Obstacles To Voter Integrity
Oddly enough, one of the obstacles to voter integrity is America’s courts. I can’t imagine why a judge would not want to clean up the voter rolls, but here we are.
On Saturday, The Epoch Times reported:
A Rhode Island judge on April 17 delivered another blow to the Trump Administration’s quest for voter-registration rolls nationwide.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy denied what she called “unprecedented demands for unredacted voting rolls” from the state of Rhode Island.
In a ruling that echoed similar decisions from judges in several other states, McElroy said Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers provided neither a legal nor a factual basis for the records.
Two federal laws require each U.S. state to make a “reasonable effort” to ensure that its voter-registration lists are accurate, the judge noted. But those laws do not allow “DOJ to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” McElroy wrote.
DOJ lawyers, in a demand letter issued to Rhode Island, stated that they sought the records to ensure the state’s voter rolls met legal requirements. Yet the lawyers cited no specific evidence suggesting problems with Rhode Island’s voter records, the judge said.
In contrast, in a demand letter issued to Michigan, the DOJ “pointed to several purported anomalies” in that state, including “a high percentage of registered voters, a low confirmation notice rate, a low voter removal rate, and a high duplicate registration rate,” the judge said.
McElroy noted that judges in “nearly identical cases” ruled against the DOJ’s requests for unredacted voter-registration information. Those cases occurred in California, Oregon, Michigan, and Massachusetts.
While supporters of the federal effort to obtain voter rolls say it could help ensure integrity of U.S. elections, opponents raise concerns over voter-data privacy and ways in which the government might use the information.
If these judges really believe that the government doesn’t already have every bit of information on every American, they are seriously naive and should probably seek other employment.
The Technology Is Not Quite Ready For Prime Time
On Friday, Hot Air posted an article detailing what has happened when municipalities decided to use electric buses. The article reminds us that electric buses do not do well in cold weather and that use of electric school buses in New York State and other northern states left students cold and stranded.
The article reports:
In March, I had a field day posting some of the latest news that had come in on both the urban and school district E-bus experiments. Tragically for the tax dollars involved, and, in some cases, the health, comfort, and well-being of the kiddos on the buses, most were abysmal disappointments and many flat-out disasters.
There were mechanical issues galore, scary fires that thankfully erupted in unoccupied vehicles but consumed the fleet in some cases, and maintenance/parts problems arising from bankrupt bus manufacturers that seemed insurmountable.
Tellingly, data was also now available from some of the school districts that had first adopted the E-buses, and the promised affordability was nowhere to be found. This was causing considerable consternation.
…This is with the Naples (NY) School District running only two electric school buses, both of which had initially paid for by federal grants, etc.
36 cents per mile for diesel and $3.18 per mile for electric
The article concludes with an example of this mess from Florida:
Local 10 News has learned that because federal grant money funded a significant portion of the electric bus fleets in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, there are federal guidelines tied to how long those buses are expected to remain in service.
If the buses are taken out of service early, counties may have to repay a portion of that federal funding.
That possibility is now driving decisions in both counties in very different ways.
In Broward County,transit officials have formally asked the Federal Transit Administration for forgiveness in an effort to avoid paying that money back.
“And so one of the things that we are, the application that we submitted to the FTA is for us to be able to get forgiveness from them so that we do not have to reimburse them for the funds that they have provided to us and also to be able to dispose of them,” said Coree Cuff Lonergan, CEO and general manager of Broward County Transit.
In Miami-Dade County, leaders are taking a different approach.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the county is still trying to find a way to get the buses back on the road.
“We are still hopeful we can still put them into service. The company that is the successor company is not able to give us the level of service we need,” she said.
…I think they need to scrounge up a new mayor, but that’s just me.
How much money did this electric boondoggle cost taxpayers?
America’s Drug War Is Having An Impact
On Saturday, Breitbart posted an article about a drug seizure in southern Mexico.
The article reports:
A recent cocaine seizure in southern Mexico points to a new trend as traffickers have increased land smuggling operations in response to the aggressive interdiction actions taken by the U.S. government, which have sunk numerous vessels in international waters.
The seizure took place this week in the southern Mexican border city of Tapachula, Chiapas, when Mexican federal authorities seized 202 bricks of cocaine hidden in a late model Jeep Patriot. According to information provided to Breitbart Texas by Mexico’s government, military forces intercepted the vehicle, and during a search, they found a series of hidden compartments with multiple bricks of cocaine. Authorities then arrested the driver and turned him over to federal investigators for prosecution.
While cocaine shipments hidden in vehicle compartments are commonplace in the border crossings between Mexico and the United States, they are rare in the country’s southern border. This is due to the fact that traditionally, drug cartels would routinely receive multi-ton shipments of cocaine by sea from Central and South American traffickers.
Breitbart Texas has reported extensively on this tactic, where small speedboats would pull up to Mexico’s western coast, dropping off drug shipments that were then eventually moved by land to Mexico’s northern border.
The article notes that the increase in land shipments is a direct result of America’s policy of sinking drug boats in the waters off Mexico and South America.
From my friends at Townhall:
Negotiating With The People Who Want Peace
Just as Iran has become a county led by tyrants that do not represent the population, Lebanon in many ways has been taken over by Hezbollah. With the funding of Hezbollah by Iran at least temporarily cut off, this is the time to free Lebanon from their terrorist grip.
On Friday, Ed Morrissey posted an article at Hot Air about the negotiations for peace between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah was not included in those negotiations.
The article reports:
The Wall Street Journal raises the question of the Rabid Dog That Was Not Allowed to Bark In DC in its analysis of the ceasefire brokered by Marco Rubio between Israel and Lebanon. Reporters Omar Abdel-Baqui and Dov Lieber concede that the pact engineered by the Secretary of State comes as a “historic step” between the two countries, especially since Lebanon has never recognized Israel’s status as a state. However, they wonder just how these negotiations can take place in the absence of “one of the main belligerents”:
The article quotes The Wall Street Journal:
Without Hezbollah at the negotiating table, the cease-fire and the possibility of a successful Israel-Lebanon peace agreement would be on shaky ground.
…In 1983, the countries signed a peace agreement, which fell apart after Hezbollah and other factions opposed it. Another U.S.-backed peace effort in 1993 broke down, owing to opposition from Syria, which then dominated Lebanon, and the impossibility of security guarantees with Hezbollah. A November 2024 deal was supposed to lead to the Lebanese government’s demilitarizing Hezbollah, and Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and halting strikes on Lebanon. None of those objectives were achieved.
…Meeting a group of Lebanese lawmakers, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun endorses continued direct negotiations with Israel and says that his country is working to secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces, to bring back Lebanese citizens held by Israel and to solve border disputes.
Aoun says “direct negotiations are crucial… and the gateway to advancing the negotiations” with Israel.
The Lebanese Armed Forces “will play a fundamental role after the withdrawal of Israeli forces,” Aoun says, promising they will deploy to the Israeli border and will reassure residents of southern Lebanon, “after their return to their villages and towns, that there will be no armed forces other than the army and the legitimate security forces.”
The article at Hot Air concludes:
That’s why Hezbollah was not invited to participate in the talks. It’s also why Israel is not constrained by the ceasefire if Hezbollah violates it. Hezbollah did not get a seat at the table because Iran doesn’t get to dictate terms in Lebanon any longer. The IRGC regime may not get to dictate terms in Iran for much longer, for that matter. So why invite its terror proxies to discuss their own destruction?
I think the Lebanese are tired of living in a country held hostage by a terrorist organization.
A Status Report From A Reliable Source
On Friday, Fred Fleitz posted an article at American Greatness about the current status of the war in Iran.
The article reports:
For weeks, the mainstream media has churned out negative stories claiming the U.S. has lost its war with Iran, with oil prices spiking, the Strait of Hormuz in turmoil, and America stumbling into another Middle East quagmire. The usual chorus of cable news talking heads and late-night hosts claimed Iran’s radical Islamist regime was intact, that President Trump’s war strategy was reckless, and the whole effort was backfiring.
Wrong. President Trump is winning—and winning decisively. The latest and most effective weapon in his arsenal is the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz.
Just days after U.S. Central Command enforced the blockade, the results are unmistakable. Naval traffic in and out of Iranian ports has been halted. U.S. forces have turned back merchant vessels attempting to run the blockade. Iran, which had been raking in billions from oil exports even during earlier fighting, is now bleeding an estimated $435 million a day. With roughly 90 percent of its economy dependent on sea trade, the regime’s already crippled economy is being strangled.
I would also note that as I am writing this on Friday afternoon, the price of crude oil has dropped from 91.17 this morning to 83.58. I expect to see more price drops in the near future.
The article concludes:
The media elite will keep trying to move the goalposts. They will complain about oil prices, ignore the blockade’s success, and warn of escalation. But the American people can see the difference between media spin and strategic reality. Trump inherited a policy of appeasement by previous U.S. presidents who allowed Iran to enrich uranium and support its terrorist proxies. He replaced it with an America First strategy of strength, clarity, and leverage.
I agree with President Trump that an end to the war is in sight. The blockade is putting unprecedented pressure on the Iranian regime and China, the top buyer of Iranian oil. Iranian officials are seeking more peace talks. At the same time, Secretary of Defense Hegseth made clear in a press conference on Thursday that the U.S. is “locked and loaded” to resume combat operations against Iran, including its power and energy infrastructure, if Iran refuses to agree to a permanent cease-fire.
Contrary to the dire predictions from the mainstream media, President Trump has demonstrated that America can defend its interests and those of its allies without endless wars.
That is what an America First win looks like. The media just refuses to admit it.
Stay tuned.
Go, Grandma!
In today’s world, many elderly people live alone. Their families generally check on them on a regular basis. Sometimes those checks have interesting results.
On Thursday, Townhall reported:
When West Lake, Ohio police got a call for a welfare check on a 91-year-old grandmother, they feared the worst. Both the family and the authorities tried to call the woman but were unable to reach her. The woman was part of the city’s ‘Are You Okay?’ program, where participants agree to get a daily welfare check call, and she wasn’t answering those, either.
Police showed up at her house to find her garage partially open and her car in the garage. When they entered the home, however, they found a plot twist they did not expect.
That unnamed grandma was alive and well, but so deeply engrossed in beating her personal record on a video game that she was simply ignoring all attempts to reach her.
News 5 Cleveland shared some of the police bodycam footage of the welfare check.
This is the link to the video:
https://x.com/JakeSucky/status/2044468294267125895?s=20
The article does not mention whether or not she broke her personal record! Go, Grandma!
Creating The Infrastructure To Continue Energy Independence
On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about President Trump’s moving to ensure that America remains in a position to meet its energy needs and to export energy to other countries.
The article reports:
President Donald Trump issued several pipeline permits on April 15, including one for the construction of a new pipeline to facilitate the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products between the United States and Canada, according to documents released by the White House.
The action covers four permits in total. The permit authorizing construction was issued to the Bakken Pipeline Company LP for pipeline facilities in Burke County, North Dakota. Other permits were issued for the maintenance and operation of existing pipelines at border locations in North Dakota and Michigan. The recipients of those operational permits are “Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership” and “Enbridge Pipelines (Southern Lights) L.L.C.”—both indirect subsidiaries of Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge Inc.
According to the White House documents, the permits cover transport of crude oil and petroleum products of every description—refined and unrefined—including naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel. The permits explicitly exclude natural gas subject to the Natural Gas Act.
Wednesday’s permits reflect the administration’s sweeping effort to expand America’s domestic and cross-border energy infrastructure.
At the CERAWeek energy conference March 2025 in Houston, Energy Secretary Chris Wright had said that Trump’s pledge to lower energy costs by boosting oil and natural gas production would require a corresponding increase in infrastructure investment.
“If ‘Drill, baby, drill’ is to [lower energy costs], we’re going to have to ‘Build, baby, build,’” Wright told reporters.
The article concludes:
Canada has been eager to expand its access to U.S. markets. Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. has been in talks with customers about expanding its Mainline pipeline network—the largest pipeline system in North America—to handle growing volumes of Canadian oil output. Canada currently sends 97 percent of its oil exports and 100 percent of its natural gas exports to the United States, leaving it with limited leverage in any trade dispute.
Wednesday’s permits are the latest step in Trump’s strategy to make North America self-sufficient in energy and a dominant exporter.
These pipelines will help both the American and Canadian economy. Energy independence is a good thing for both countries.
Changing The Face Of The Middle East
The Lebanese civil war began in 1975 and ended in 1990. Up until that civil war, Lebanon was the garden spot of the Middle East and was a major tourist destination. After a clash between Jordan and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in the 1970’s, many of the PLO members moved to Lebanon. The PLO and other organizations like them did not exist peacefully in Lebanon. After the Iranian revolution in 1979, Hezbollah began aligning itself with Iran and was responsible for terrorist attacks and car bombings in Lebanon. In 1983, Hezbollah carried out a terrorist attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. Today, Hezbollah operates a terrorist stronghold in southern Lebanon which sends rockets into Israel on a regular basis. The major part of the funding of Hezbollah comes from Iran. Hezbollah does not represent the Lebanese government, but they have a lot of influence. They essentially hold parts of Lebanon hostage.
On Thursday, The New York Post reported:
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day cease-fire beginning at 5 p.m. ET, President Trump announced Thursday.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had settled on the pause “in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries.”
“On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio,” he added on Truth Social.
However, there are a few obstacles:
A Hezbollah official previously told NBC News that “if Israel is fully committed to a complete cessation of hostilities … then this matter would be subject to consideration” by the terror group. Trump insisted to reporters as he left the White House Thursday “they’re going to be having a ceasefire, and that will include Hezbollah.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the pact in a social media post, noting that the pause in fighting “is a central Lebanese demand we have pursued since the first day of the war.”
Netanyahu confirmed in a video statement that Israel had agreed to the cease-fire but isn’t withdrawing its forces from southern Lebanon yet.
“We are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone,” Netanyahu said, citing the “danger of an invasion.”
During trilateral cease-fire talks between Rubio, Lebanon’s ambassador, and Israel’s ambassador, Beruit acknowledged that Hezbollah is a mutual problem for both nations, a White House official said.
How much funding has Hezbollah lost because of the current situation in Iran?
Whatever happens with this ceasefire, I think we are watching some major power shifts in the Middle East. I am sure the Lebanese would like to see Hezbollah either destroyed or removed from their country.
This Is Unacceptable
Iran has been at war with America since 1979. President Trump finally decided to answer the call other Presidents have ignored or bribed their way out of answering. America (and Israel) are in the process of returning Iran to the Persians and strongly encouraging Iran to be a positive addition to the nations of the world. The American Democrat party is not interested in any of that–they just want to score political points.
On April 15th, The Hill reported:
House Democrats will introduce five articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, accusing him of war crimes in connection with the Iran war, abuse of power and mishandling of the Department of Defense (DOD).
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), the first Iranian American Democrat in Congress, will introduce the impeachment resolution, Axios reported after it obtained a copy of the resolution.
Notice that the charges were introduced by an Iranian America. Her biography says that she is also a climate activist. It is interesting that in the current Iran, she would not be allowed to serve in the government.
The article notes:
Ansari announced last week that she was filing articles of impeachment, which are almost certain to go nowhere in the GOP-controlled House. She accused Hegseth of being “complicit” in President Trump’s “devastating, illegal war” in Iran.
The first article accuses Hegseth of violating his oath of office in overseeing an “unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of United States service members.” The resolution goes on to accuse the secretary of war crimes by targeting civilians and breaking the rules of armed conflict, followed by the alleged mishandling of sensitive information.
…The administration pushed back on the claims made in the resolution. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to The Hill that it was “just another Democrat trying to make headlines as the Department of War decisively and overwhelmingly achieved the President’s objectives in Iran.”
“Secretary Hegseth will continue to protect the homeland and project peace through strength,” Wilson wrote. “This is just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had here at the Department of War.”
The actions of Representative Ansari during a time of war are despicable.
A Good Dog Doing His Job
On Tuesday, Breitbart posted an article about a police dog named Pub.
The article reports:
A police dog named “Pub” helped two federal agents sniff out two massive cash seizures amounting to nearly $75,000 in undeclared cash in the first quarter of 2026.
Pub, a Belgian Malinois trained to find currency and firearms, alerted Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to a hidden stash of $44,432 in February and another pile worth $30,417 in March.
The Belgian Malinois found 20 percent of the total undeclared cash discovered at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the first quarter of the year. The larger sum was bound for Qatar, while the second was due for El Salvador.
Agents reportedly said they gave the suspects with undeclared cash “multiple opportunities” to confess before searching their belongings.
“Currency enforcement operations focus on detecting unreported and bulk currency smuggling, which has been shown to be proceeds of illicit activity, such as from narcotics and human smuggling, and fraud and other financial crimes that prey on our nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” CBP said in a release.
I did not realize that dogs could be trained to sniff out currency! Notice that the money was headed to Qatar and El Salvador. It would be interesting to know the source and destination of that money.