The New Neo.

Although California is doing its usual counting of votes in geologic timeframes, it looks as though Republicans Steve Hilton (governor’s race) and Spencer Pratt (LA mayor’s race) will be on the ballot against Democrats Becarra and Bass, respectively.

In the blue state of California, one can assume that the Democrats will win (by hook or crook, as it were). But hey, you never know.

The Other McCain.

Perhaps, once Jews have been treated like Republicans long enough, they’ll wake up and make the switch. Perhaps.

Bernie Sanders.

That is why I will soon be introducing the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund Act. This legislation would give the public a direct ownership stake in the largest A.I. companies in our country. How? It would create a sovereign wealth fund through a one-time 50 percent tax — not on the profits of OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI and other companies, but paid with something far more valuable than that: the stock.

In other words, he wants to confiscate half of the ownership of “the largest” (how do you calculate that?) A.I. companies and put that into a gigantic slush fund controlled by Democrats and their minions in the Deep State.

Whenever anyone says The Public, they mean The Government, and the government owns too much already. If the decision to control A.I. is between Jeff Bezos and Bernie Sanders—I’ll pick the founder of Amazon over the millionaire socialist career politician every time.

Read it.

The Los Angeles Police Department has significantly reduced the availability and usefulness of public crime data during its transition to a new records system. Specifically, it removed block-level crime location information from its open crime data feed, making it effectively impossible for the public to determine where crimes occurred.

For more than a decade, SpotCrime has helped Los Angeles residents stay informed by turning public crime data into alerts, maps, and neighborhood awareness tools, Millions of alerts have been delivered to families, commuters, business owners, journalists, researchers, and community members trying to make informed decisions about safety.

Now, that flow of information is being restricted.

Read it.

In November 2024, 47% of Virginia voters cast ballots for Republican congressional candidates. Under the map Virginia Democrats tried to push through, those voters would have ended up with exactly one Republican district out of 11. Going from a 6-5 to a 10-1 split was what Democrats called “restoring fairness.”

To get it done, Democrats bypassed a bipartisan redistricting commission that Virginia voters had specifically created in 2020 to end partisan map-drawing. They drafted the new map behind closed doors. They passed a constitutional amendment on Oct. 31, 2025, even though early voting for the general election had been underway since Sept. 19 – violating the state constitution’s requirement that an intervening election occur between the two legislative votes. They missed the requirement that amendments be posted publicly 90 days before a vote. And they put a ballot question before voters asking whether they wanted to “restore fairness” – language a circuit court judge called “flagrantly misleading.”

Every step of this process required ignoring a rule or deceiving a voter.

Read it.

New York Democrats unveiled a proposed constitutional amendment Monday that could clear the way for a significant redraw of the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2028 elections, intensifying a growing national battle over redistricting and control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Foundry.

People talk about the California disaster, but I don’t think we fully appreciate the severity and the manifestations of it. And the best barometer to discover that is how many people are leaving. It’s estimated that somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 Californians left in ’25, ’26.

Now, the problem with that is they’re not leaving a barren state. They’re not leaving a cold Alaska. They’re leaving the most beautiful state in the country that for years under a bipartisan system of Pat Brown, Ronald Reagan, George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, and to some extent Arnold Schwarzenegger, it had wonderful governance.

So why are they leaving? Why have 11 to 12 million people, a quarter of the present population, left California?

Read it.

Today is primary day in California—with high-profile races for governor and Los Angeles mayor—so voters should prioritize candidates with strong records of fiscal discipline.

The Golden State has a history of fiscal irresponsibility that has strained budgets, and Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, is the clearest example. The program has expanded drastically over time, and changing federal policies signal the gig is up for California when it comes to reliance on federal dollars.

Medi-Cal currently covers approximately 14.5 million Californians—over one-third of the state’s population—and accounts for $222 billion in total annual spending. This makes the program the largest single item in the 2026-2027 governor’s budget by far.

This bloated budget reflects significant structural problems.

Read it.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wildfire relief fund, created to help victims of the January 2025 Los Angeles-area fires rebuild their lives, spent millions of dollars on unrelated public safety operations, including crowd-control efforts during anti-deportation demonstrations later that year, according to newly released California Department of Finance records cited by the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.

State financial documents show that $12.8 million from the Los Angeles Wildfire Response and Recovery Fund was used to cover costs associated with deploying California Highway Patrol officers to monitor and police protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in downtown Los Angeles during the summer of 2025.

I guess California has a more liberal (yuk, yuk) deminition of ‘wild life’ than most.

Read it.

How do you pass a bill into law that either you cannot pass or that the governor vetoed? Easy. Turn it into a part of the budget that must be passed (at some point).

In 2025 alone, several examples of this chicanery took place.

Then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin was blamed for several “skinny budget” periods during his term because he would veto budget items like the one creating a rental assistance pilot program, stating that the underlying legislation proposed during the 2025 session had failed to pass and that the General Assembly instead inserted the full proposal into the budget bill.

Similarly, a new first-time homebuyer assistance program was funded through the budget even though the underlying legislation had not passed. In his veto message, Youngkin said the proposal should be considered through separate legislation and noted that the legislative effort had failed.

Before the 2025 session ended, county-government advocates openly urged budget conferees to include language from SB 1307—which would levy a 1% local sales tax—in the budget because doing so would provide another route for implementation even if the bill itself were vetoed. A Virginia Association of Counties document explicitly noted that language from the bill had already been placed in the Senate budget proposal.

Guess what’s returned?

Read it.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Craig Karsnitz has ruled that companies in Delaware will be able to vote in elections just like people.

This is especially wacky for Delaware.

As per the US Census Bureau, the estimated human population of Delaware is just over 1 million.

But there are over 2 million corporations headquartered in the state, which means there are far more companies in Delaware than there are people.

According to Bloomberg Law, the ruling came up because the town of Fenwick Island was already letting corporations vote in its municipal elections (they own most of the property, after all).

The ACLU thought letting companies vote as if they were human beings might drown out the real people who actually live in the city of Fenwick Island, so they sued.

You can’t make this shit up.

The Washington Poop, paper of record for the Deep State.

Democratic state leaders around the country have an unusual strategy to stymie President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion settlement fund for people who claim they were wrongly investigated by the government.

Their plan: Tax the payouts at 100 percent.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has endorsed the idea, saying, “It’s an action we look forward to taking.” State legislators in New York and Wisconsin are crafting bills on the topic. And Democratic candidates are rallying behind the tactic in blue states.

Simple remedy: Don’t live in a Blue state. (Ask me a hard one.)

Read it.

Needless to say, this version of “Christian” is not one that any of the Apostles would recognize.

For at least a decade the progressive movement has been obsessed with infiltrating every aspect of American life and culture, even going so far as co-opting Christian churches in an attempt to claim them as “safe spaces” for woke ideology. This might sound odd to those who grew up in the devoutly atheist era of liberalism, but those days are long gone and seem quaint in comparison to today’s cavalcade of circus freaks.

Well, despite their crushing defeat in 2024 the parade of unhinged woke Democrats has not abated. In fact, it seems to be getting worse. Numerous democratic socialists are running for office in blue states and cities and some are unseating more centrist Democrat incumbents. The party is being overrun with far-left fanatics, a predictable outcome when one accepts the fact that leftists never admit they are wrong and always double down.

A prime example, maybe the most egregious example, is James Talarico – A Democrat candidates for US Senate in Texas. Talarico is a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who has served in the Texas House of Representatives since 2018. Talarico has ties to an NGO called Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), which coaches potential civic leaders in far-left ideology.

Babylon Bee.

Democrats have forcefully condemned Republicans for going so low as to play videos of Senate candidate James Talarico saying things.

Read it.

Mehek Cooke, senior national security and legal analyst for the Daily Signal, said that recent anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in New Jersey are part of a broader pattern of organized agitation aimed at undermining law enforcement and President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

Appearing Thursday on NewsNation’s “Katie Pavlich Tonight,” Cooke responded to video of protesters outside an immigrant detention facility who blocked a trucker’s exit route. She said the confrontation revealed the growing divide between political activists and hardworking Americans.

“I think it’s frightening and it’s a pattern,” Cooke said, pointing first to the Black Lives Matter riots where cities completely shut down because of rioters before mentioning sanctuary city policies. She said current anti-ICE protests are “a direct violation of our law.”

Cooke argued there is a clear distinction between peaceful protest and conduct that obstructs law enforcement and prevents ordinary Americans from doing their jobs.

“There’s one thing about peaceful protest, but these individuals are obstructing justice,” Cooke said of the viral video of the truck driver admonishing protesters. “Look at that man. He’s a working man. Aren’t Democrats supposed to stand for working people?”

Cooke argued the truck driver in the video became a symbol of broader public frustration.

Read it.

Exxon Mobil shareholders on Wednesday approved the company’s plan to redomicile in Texas, marking a win for the top U.S. oil producer after two leading proxy advisory firms advised investors to strike down the proposal.

The oil producer is incorporated in New Jersey, but the company has been headquartered in Texas since 1989. It said moving its legal home to the state was logical and made more sense for the business.

Other companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, and Coinbase, have recently shifted operations to the Lone Star State. A Texas law passed last year enhanced legal protections for businesses in several ways, including reducing the threat of shareholder litigation by allowing companies to set stock ownership thresholds for lawsuits.

Read it.

You may think you need water and hoses to fight fires.

But in California, they do things (D)ifferently.

CNBC. a Voice of the Crust.

New York City’s new tax on second homes will more than double property taxes owed by many wealthy luxury apartment owners, according to tax experts.

State lawmakers on Wednesday passed the tax on nonprimary residences in order to help close the city’s budget gap. The so-called pied-a-terre tax will be imposed on second homes valued at $1 million or more. It’s expected to raise $500 million in revenue.

Details on the tax obtained by CNBC show that the property tax would take effect in two different phases. In the first two years – the tax years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 – condos and co-ops valued at more than $1 million by the city’s Department of Finance will be subject to the tax. Properties worth between $1 million and $3 million will face a 4% annual tax; properties valued at $3 million to $5 million will face a 5.25% tax; and those above $5 million will face a 6.5% tax.

Time to leave.

Read it.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday that aims to shield California elections from federal interference, saying he expected President Donald Trump’s administration to try to meddle in the midterms this year.

“They can steal this election! Only we can steal this election!”

Read it.

California Assembly Bill 2624, dubbed by critics the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” passed the California Assembly on Tuesday, raising concerns among opponents that undercover journalism and fraud investigations could be restricted—including investigations conducted by independent journalist Nick Shirley.

Shirley, who uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars of day care fraud in Minnesota and hospice fraud in California, took to X to share his thoughts on the vote.

The Foundry.

The Democratic Party did not merely drift left over the decades, as some still politely maintain. It was captured, body and soul, by its radical socialist wing—hijacked, thrown into the trunk, and driven straight off the cliff into the ideological abyss.

The old moderates are extinct, reduced to fossils of a bygone order that once valued pragmatism and compromise. The Blue Dogs have been buried in the backyard, their instincts for fiscal restraint and cultural common sense now dismissed as embarrassing relics.

What was once safely relegated to the “extreme Left”—the province of campus radicals, fringe activists, and academic theorists—has become the party’s beating core, its driving force, its new normal. And they no longer even pretend otherwise.

Read it.

Virginians were promised affordability. Instead, they’re getting an energy agenda that risks making electricity more expensive and less reliable.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has consistently sided with the climate-policy wing of her party even when its proposals threaten higher energy costs for consumers.

One such proposal is rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). In 2023, Virginia withdrew from RGGI, the regional cap-and-trade scheme that imposes a carbon tax in 11 states. As one of her first acts as governor, Spanberger signed legislation to rejoin RGGI, forcing the commonwealth back into the costly compact.

But Pennsylvania provides an interesting case study for Virginians to consider. After six years of legal battles and lost investment, the Keystone State abandoned RGGI—and the commonwealth had a lot of good reasons to do so.

Read it.

ATQUE: Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Hegseth visit grave of fallen soldier after his widow asked the internet if someone could stop by

UPDATE: DNC Pulls Memorial Day Post After Rebuke From Party Combat Veterans

Read it.

Residents in a north Seattle neighborhood have begun building homemade barricades across residential streets after repeated shootings and ongoing crime concerns left many fearing for their safety.

Neighbors living near Aurora Avenue say gun violence, prostitution activity, and late-night disturbances have intensified in recent months, according to reporting from the New York Post.

After another shooting early Saturday, residents blocked roads using piles of dirt, concrete, gravel, and metal barriers in an attempt to reduce vehicle traffic entering nearby residential blocks.

Videos shared online showed streets partially closed with large makeshift barricades lined with reflective tape and warning markers.

Seattle police said officers responding to reports of gunfire around 4 a.m. Saturday near Aurora Avenue North and North 98th Street recovered roughly 40 shell casings from the roadway.

Bullets struck at least one vehicle and nearby buildings. Residents said stray gunfire has repeatedly damaged cars and homes.

Read it.

The Congressional Black Caucus, aligned with the NAACP, is urging black college athletes to avoid Southeastern Conference schools in Southern states as a form of economic pressure against Republican-drawn redistricting maps that eliminate majority-black congressional districts. The campaign is called “Out of Bounds,” and is essentially asking young black athletes to forfeit their best shot at a professional sports career so Democratic lawmakers can make a political statement about redistricting.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

When Maureen Galindo finished first in a crowded Democratic primary for a newly redrawn South Texas congressional district in March, the result surprised even seasoned observers of San Antonio politics.

With voters set to decide the Democratic nomination Tuesday, as Galindo faces off with sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia, local officials and political observers are grappling with how a little-known candidate with a history of inflammatory remarks about Israel and Jews has come within striking distance of a seat in Congress.

The local housing activist went into the race with little political profile, having received less than 3% of the vote in a San Antonio City Council race last year. Local officials familiar with the contest chalked up Galindo’s success to a litany of factors, including low voter awareness of the candidates and a newly drawn Republican-leaning district that attracted few high-profile Democratic contenders.

What they did not credit for her success was her antisemitic rhetoric. While the race heading into Tuesday night’s runoff has been defined by scrutiny and criticism of Galindo’s views toward Zionists, local political analysts and activists told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that her controversial positions were not widely known ahead of her March win and, if anything, are hurting her chances against Garcia.

Times of India.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has recently criticised New York City’s public school spending and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s economic policies. The tech billionaire argued that increased funding alone does not solve the underlying issues. During an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bezos compared the city’s education system with Amazon’s operations, saying inefficiencies in public administration would not be tolerated in business.

Your tax dollars at work … and play.

“If we ran Amazon the way New York City runs their school system, your packages would take six weeks to arrive. We’d have to charge you a $100 delivery fee. And then when the package did finally arrive, it’d have the wrong item in it anyway,” Bezos told CNBC.

Sounds like Democrats me….

The comments were directed at New York City’s education spending, which Bezos said amounts to around $44,000 per student annually despite declining enrollment and low academic outcomes. He argued that increased spending is being absorbed by administrative structures rather than reaching teachers.

“None of this money is getting to the teachers, I promise you. If you’re charging $44,000 per student, how much of that money do you think is trickling down to teachers? Not much,” Bezos added.

Plundering and blundering….

The Foundry.

The Congressional Black Caucus, which frequently complains that Congress is silencing black voices, has denied the application of four congressional black voices.

The four black members of Congress include Reps. Burgess Owens, R-Utah; Wesley Hunt, R-Texas; Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; and John James, R-Mich.

“Unfortunately, for the Left, their priorities are power and profit” Owens told the Daily Signal.

Owens and Donalds pushed to rename the Capitol’s press gallery after civil rights icon Frederick Douglass, a Republican, but caucus members refused to co-sponsor the resolution.

The CBC has never ever allowed a black Republican Congressman in. In their view, the only black Congressman is a Democrat Congressman.

Read it.

Like Jeff Bezos? Or George Soros?

There’s a reason why the PDF that was shared says in red letters “Sourcing not provided for many claims in this section.” Start with the evidence that newspaper endorsements for president in 2024 were 54 for Kamala Harris and six for Trump, and that’s factoring in that the left-tilting Los Angeles Times and Washington Post were prevented by their owners from endorsing Harris as they had wanted.

Read it.

The former leader of a Minnesota nonprofit who was convicted for her role at the center of a staggering $250 million fraud case that helped ignite a federal immigration crackdown should spend 50 years in prison, prosecutors argued in a court filing.

Aimee Bock, who ran the organization Feeding our Future, which claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic, is set to be sentenced Thursday in federal court in Minneapolis.

“Feeding Our Future operated like a cash pipeline, open to anyone willing to submit fraudulent claims and pay kickbacks,” prosecutors said in the Monday filing. “The ripple effects of her actions are profound, immeasurable, and will have lasting consequences for both Minnesota and the nation.”

Read it.

I’m sorry I have to clarify that, yes, this is the Democrat candidate for Texas’ 35th Congressional District.

ATQUE: Dem Candidate Calls for ‘Prison’ and ‘Castration’ for Zionists

Perhaps it’s time for conservatives to call for prison and hysterectomies for AWFULs.

Read it.

Adam Carolla’s house burned down during the Palisades fire. He, like everyone else there, can’t get a permit to rebuild. And he accurately predicted that.

Will the a** wipes intended recipients get the message? Would it be a winning message if Adam Carolla were running for office?

Blunt messaging seems to work for L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt (whose house burned down too) and it has worked for President Trump.

…

Democrats have been using foul rhetoric for so long that no one notices. When a Republican descends to anywhere near that level it stands out, leaving no pearl unclutched.

The New Neo.

After spending a decade calling Trump a coarse and vulgar misogynist, bigot, and Nazi, it’s somewhat ironic that Democrats are about to nominate a truly coarse and vulgar misogynist, bigot, and Nazi – in Maine. Also a self-described Communist, although that hardly rates much controversy these days.

I wonder what the Democrat voters of Maine will decide to do.

They’ll vote for him, of course, Whatever else one might say about Democrats, they never forget which side they’re on.

(Unlike certainl RINOs I could name….)

Read it.

Nancy Pelosi may have served decades in Congress, but her political legacy could also include her recently endorsed candidate to replace her in the House.

The former House Speaker has backed Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor, for her seat based on a mix of political, ideological, and strategic reasons.

Pelosi said she sees Chan as aligned with San Francisco Democrat values.

Pelosi said Chan “understands San Francisco — our values, our diversity, our communities.”

Chan has strong labor union support. Pelosi has long been closely tied to organized labor, and Chan has built a coalition with unions and working-class constituencies in San Francisco.

Chan is generally viewed as a progressive Democrat aligned with the labor-left wing of San Francisco politics.

The Antiplanner.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority wants to use tax-increment financing to help pay for its rail dreams. Central Valley city officials are outraged; tax-increment financing is a form of theft, and the cities don’t want anyone else to steal from them the money they want to steal from someone else.

Read it.

Virginia’s shift toward higher taxes and new regulations is triggering an interstate economic “brawl,” as West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey moves to lure businesses and workers across the border.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has promoted an “affordability agenda,” but a wave of proposed tax increases and regulatory changes from legislative Democrats has opened an opportunity for neighboring states to compete for businesses and residents.

Even though some of these proposals never made it to Spanberger’s desk or claimed her signature, the political climate has prompted West Virginia officials to actively target Virginia’s workforce and employers, pitching lower taxes and fewer regulations as a competitive alternative.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Morrisey said he plans to take that pitch directly into Virginia communities, including Loudoun County, to draw businesses and workers into West Virginia.

The Antiplanner.

Fifteen years ago, the Onion reported that the Obama administration was replacing its high-speed rail plans with plans for high-speed buses operating on existing freeways at speeds of up to 165 mph. Instead of spending $17 billion on high-speed rail projects, the administration proposed to spend $46,000 on an equivalent high-speed bus network.

Now humor has become reality with the twist that California is considering building both high-speed rail and high-speed bus lanes. Under the proposal, the uncompleted high-speed rail line would be supplemented by 140-mph high-speed buses running on new lanes built in the median strips of existing freeways.

Read it.

Major corporations are continuing a historic exodus from Delaware, abandoning the state long considered America’s corporate capital in favor of business-friendly states such as Texas and Nevada.

The latest high-profile corporate departures from Delaware include Formula One owner Liberty Media and cloud security firm Datadog — with a combined market cap of more than $80 billion.

The past two years alone major corporations with a market capitalization totaling more than $3.2 trillion have left Delaware — as the state loses its status as America’s corporate capital in favor of business-friendly states such as Texas and Nevada.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Maureen Galindo, the housing activist and conspiracy theorist whose rants about “billionaire Zionists” have defined her pursuit of a U.S. House seat in Texas, is within spitting distance of winning a Democratic runoff in a competitive San Antonio-area district.

But if Galindo becomes the nominee, she’ll be without the support of the state’s most prominent Democrat: U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico.

“This antisemitic rhetoric has no place in our politics. We need leadership in both parties willing to stand up and call out hate wherever it rears its ugly head,” the Texas state representative, whose own surging campaign has garnered national attention, said in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency when asked about Galindo.

Read it.

Of course—that’s why she’s a Democrat.

Don’t see by what logic she would represent the people of Iowa, which is chock full o’ white people. (Well, if  a white Jew can represent black people in Memphis, I suppose anything is possible….)

Read it.

Appearing on MSNBC to talk to Lawfare ally Nicole Wallace, wife of New York Times narrative engineer Michael Schmidt – the guy who received leaks from FBI Director James Comey via Daniel Richman, former CIA Director John Brennan notes there are “legions” of operatives still embedded within the DOJ, FBI and CIA who are working against President Donald Trump.

This is not a surprise as we have noted the Trump administration continues to take apart the tentacles of Lawfare and Intelligence operatives in Main Justice, various U.S. Attorney offices, FBI Headquarters, FBI field offices and various Intelligence Community silos.

Marco Rubio has been working to clean up the National Security Council as well as the State Department operations, including USAID. Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe have been working on the NSA and CIA collaboratively, and Todd Blanche has been working through the Dept of Justice. FBI Director Kash Patel has removed about ten percent of the problem in his agency.

Read it.

A watchdog group is appealing after the New York Supreme Court declined to launch an ethics investigation into Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., after Sherrill falsely accused her political opponent of mass killing and launched a campaign to oppose immigration enforcement.

“The New York Attorney Grievance Committee declined to investigate Mikie Sherrill, stating reasons that cut against the most basic of legal principles governing license discipline cases,” James Fitzpatrick, director of the Center to Advance Security in America, told The Daily Signal.

He noted that the grievance committee “has not given the same treatment to Republicans.” The committee investigated former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2021 for alleged false statements after the 2020 presidential election. A New York appeals court disbarred Giuliani in 2024.

“This is seemingly a double standard at issue here: in order to move forward with a complaint against Mikie Sherrill the committee is requiring a conviction, but in the case of Mayor Giuliani, this convenient prerequisite was nowhere to be found,” Fitzpatrick added.

I’m curious as to why the Governor of New Jersey is any business of the New York Supreme Court.  Perhaps it’s a bar-membership issue.

John Hinderaker at Power Line.

Peggy Flanagan is the far-left Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. She has been present throughout Tim Walz’s disastrous tenure in office, but has left little mark. If she is known for anything, it is 1) being part Native American, and 2) holding down the farthest left position on the political spectrum. Flanagan is now running for Minnesota’s vacant seat in the U.S. Senate and, despite her radicalism (or on account of it) she has been endorsed by pretty much all the prominent Democrats, from Bernie Sanders to Ilhan Omar to current Senator Tina Smith.

The Foundry.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government sharply criticized a GOP?led hearing Wednesday that examined concerns about Sharia law and Islamic terrorism in the United States, calling it a “conspiracy theory” rooted in “unconstitutional bigotry.”

“There is no evidence of any plot to impose Sharia law,” Ranking Member Mary Gay Scanlon, D?Pa., said during the hearing, accusing Republican politicians of “shamefully scapegoating Muslims for political gains.”

“They made up a conspiracy theory about their Muslim neighbors to intimidate voters. Saying lies over and over again doesn’t make them true, and it doesn’t make unconstitutional bigotry legal,” she added.

The Foundry.

Trial lawyers are putting a heavy focus on a Democrat House majority by not only donating to organizations backing House candidates, but also dumping money into drawing favorable congressional maps.

A report from the watchdog group Alliance for Consumers, set to be released Thursday, shows that since 2025, trial lawyer-aligned political action committees have given $100,000 to the House Majority PAC, which focuses on getting Democrats elected to the U.S. House. The PACs also gave $50,000 to the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, run by former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder.

The redistricting committee has been influential in the last year, donating $150,000 toward the election of Democrat candidates for the Virginia state legislature, and another $150,000 toward the election of Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger.

Immediately following the donations in October, the Virginia Democrats called a special session to attempt to amend the state constitution to allow for new gerrymandered districts, which would flip the state’s 6-5 Democrat congressional map to a 10-1 Democrat advantage. The new map passed in a referendum, but last week the Virginia Supreme Court found the procedure unconstitutional.

The American Mind.

The New York Times columnists Ross Douthat and Ezra Klein disagree more often than they agree, which made it significant that just before the first anniversary of the 2024 election each arrived at, basically, the same explanation for Donald Trump’s victory. “It is completely obvious that the [Democratic] party lost in 2024 because it overcommitted to a range of unpopular left-wing positions,” Douthat wrote. Whatever else the 2024 election may have been, it “was also an ideological referendum, and progressivism lost.”

Klein’s explanation was even more detailed, making it a tougher read for his followers, who are more sympathetic to the Democratic cause than are Douthat’s. “From 2012 to 2024, Democrats moved sharply left on virtually every issue,” Klein observed, with electoral results that were precisely the opposite of those expected and intended.