Read it.

In the lexicon of polite political discourse, we are told that “kleptocracy” is a phenomenon reserved for the decaying regimes of the third world—banana republics where dictators in gold-braided epaulets stuff suitcases with cash while their people starve. This is a comforting fiction. It allows the American mind to believe that corruption is something that happens over there, in places without marble capitols or Ivy League economists.

But this definition is archaic. It fails to capture the sophistication of the modern predator state. A true kleptocracy in the twenty-first century does not require a dictator with a Swiss bank account; it requires a bureaucracy with a grant-making authority. It does not steal with a gun; it steals with a regulation.

The modern Democrat Party is not merely a political coalition; it is a syndicalist engine of wealth extraction. It has evolved beyond the crude graft of Tammany Hall, where votes were bought with turkeys and beer, into a highly complex “NGO-industrial complex” that launders public treasury funds into private political power. They are not governing. They are looting. And they have built a moral fortress around their theft so that to question the robbery is to be branded a heretic.

Read it.

“Trump, and all the bottom-feeding morons…” will be targeted, prosecuted and jailed. The Supreme Court will be packed to insure the pogroms are ruled Constitutional.

Beware. Be advised. Midterms are vital.

Watch it.

Sophia Miller does a deep dive.

Why Tesla’s Fremont expansion was canceled despite aligning with California’s climate goals

How state regulations and net-zero mandates added billions in hidden costs

The ripple effect on suppliers, small businesses, and working families

Why manufacturing jobs are leaving California — and where they’re going

How climate policies can backfire when ideology replaces economic reality

Thousands of jobs vanished. Billions in tax revenue disappeared.

And the state that wanted to lead the clean energy revolution may now be falling behind it.

Get Woke—go broke.

NOTE: I have no reason to believe that this video isn’t AI-generated, and something about it makes me suspect that it is. Nevertheless, the information is spot on.

Read it.

The House Oversight Committee is investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and her rapidly rising family wealth after her latest financial disclosure listed her net worth at $30 million, the New York Post reported.

“We’re going to get answers, whether it’s through the Ethics Committee or the Oversight Committee, one of the two,” Oversight panel Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told the Post.

The report comes as federal agents investigate a growing fraud scandal in Minnesota, the cost of which federal prosecutors estimate could top $9 billion.

UPDATE: House, feds probe to unravel mystery of ‘Squad’ Rep. Ilhan Omar’s skyrocketing wealth: ‘It’s not possible’ (New York Post)

Watch it.

Rebecca Madigan does a deep dive.

Babylon Bee.

Beautiful plumage, just like the Norwegian Blue.

UPDATE: 9 Easy Ways To Avoid Getting Attacked By Law Enforcement (Babylon Bee)

Read it.

Democrats like to say, for a lack of a better term, that Republicans hate sick people. I have cystic ?brosis: a chronic, life-threatening genetic disease, and I’m sick and tired of Democrats lying and fear mongering to people who are already sick and tired.

The Affordable Care Act was fundamentally flawed from the start, and was never designed to function without massive, unsustainable subsidies. It ultimately was doomed to fail. The ACA drove up costs, narrowed provider networks, and reduced access to care.

In fact, the ACA is one of the main reasons I kept working even when my doctors told me I was too sick to do so.

I had to maintain my private insurance. Without it, I would have lost my doctors, faced longer wait times, lost the ?exibility to complete treatments outside the hospital, and been cut o? from the quality care I needed, not just to stay alive, but to remain a functioning member of society.

And somehow, Democrats are now pushing something even worse than the A?ordable Care Act: universal health care.

The American Mind.

The alternate reality Democrats have constructed is falling apart in real time. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the following when asked to comment on an ICE agent’s shooting of a woman in Minneapolis who was attempting to run over him with her car: “What we saw today was a criminal murder a woman and shoot her in the head while she was trying to escape and flee for her life.”

She then called “disgusting” the “editorializing” of those who argue that the ICE agent was in front of the car as it was accelerating, just before he fired. “Watch it for yourself, watch it for yourself,” she concluded, with supreme confidence that any viewer would see with the same skew of her own lenses.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey went even harder over the rhetorical cliff in responding to the shooting. He classified interpretations of the ICE officer’s action as self-defense as “bull***t” and demanded that ICE “get the f**k out of Minneapolis.” Mayor Mamdani in New York followed suit, calling the event a “murder” and a “horror.”

It is a stark bit of evidence of how American society has been warped by the twisted rhetoric of the radical Left regarding political conflict in our country.

Read it.

Cea Weaver makes Zohran Mamdani look like Jeb Bush.

New York City’s neo-Marxist mayor tapped Weaver, 37, as his Tenant Czarina. The alumna of Housing Justice for All became ensnared in scandal as she took over the Office to Protect Tenants.

Weaver’s social media posts and videos have surfaced to haunt her. Collectively, they are an e-book of “The Communist Manifesto” and a digital cry for help from a white woman who hates white people, especially white males.

Weaver did not daydream these comments during Political Theory 101 at Bryn Mawr, her alma mater. She was a grown woman, at least 27, when she shared these insights via social media.

Read it.

After the latest wave of exposes made Somali fraud a national story, Democrat state officials from Minnesota to Washington to Maine scrambled to conduct cover-ups and threaten anyone exposing the fraud.

The head of Seattle’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, Hamdi Mohamed, “the first Somali woman elected in the state”, convened a meeting with Gov. Bob Ferguson, representatives of Attorney General Nick Brown, Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans, as well as other elected officials, who promised to protect Somalis from investigations and enforcement.

Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson, a radical leftist, declared that she stands “in solidarity with our Somali and Muslim communities” who are facing ICE as well as alleged “doxxing, harassment, and hate” which is how investigations of Somali fraud have been described.

The Robb Report.

Billionaires are fleeing California ahead of a proposed 5 percent wealth tax, with at least six members of the ten-digit club moving their business to other states before the bill’s January 1 deadline to be considered for the levy. And more may be on the move still, if the tax actually comes to pass, Bloomberg reported.

Well, that will free up a lot of high-end housing. (Won’t help the homeless much, but proglodyte celebrities ought to benefit.)

And though the proposal hasn’t been signed into law, the idea alone was strong enough to send some UHNW individuals out of the state. Both Peter Thiel and David Sacks packed their bags right at the end of 2025, with the PayPal cofounder heading to Florida and the venture capitalist going off to Texas. Global investment firm Iconiq Capital’s founder Divesh Makan says he’s aware of four or five families that left California, explaining that the floodgates would open even further if the bill was passed, according to Bloomberg. David Lesperance, whose company helps affluent families with immigration and taxes, has helped move four billionaires out of the state, he told the publication.

The bill itself calls for a one-time tax on California residents who have over $1 billion to their name. Though it’s not a sure thing by any means, with the move still needing enough signatures to even appear on the state’s November ballot; then, of course, it would need to be voted into law. Governor Gavin Newsom is strongly opposed to the measure; other detractors say it would harm the California’s tech economy, as many start-ups may not have the funds to cover the levy. And, since the state’s economy overall relies heavily on existing taxes on the uber-rich, the bill may actually end up costing California money in the long term if these UHNW individuals happen to exit. The union that introduced the proposal aimed to generate $100 billion to fund gaps in health care, food benefits, and education statewide.

Read it.

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin quietly began unwinding portions of their financial empires in California in the days leading up to Christmas, according to corporate filings reviewed by The New York Times, as progressive lawmakers consider a proposed billionaire wealth tax. This development confirms our earlier note that California is on an accelerated path toward self-destruction.

ATQUE: Google Founders Quit California Over Billionaires Tax Proposal

They’ve never been happy since Republicans freed their slaves.

ATQUE: Democrats Once Again Threaten Civil War To Stop Republicans From Taking Away Their Slave Laborers (Babylon Bee)

Read it.

New York City parents may soon have access to free child care for their 2-year-olds, under a plan set to be unveiled Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The two Democrats are expected to detail the program at a news conference Thursday morning, along with a pledge from Hochul to pursue a wider, statewide free child care initiative.

“There’s one thing that every family in New York can agree on, the cost of childcare is simply too high,” Hochul said in a statement. “As New York’s first mom Governor, fighting for New York’s families has always been at the core of my agenda.”

Until they run out of other people’s money—as happened with the ‘Affordable Care Act’.

Newsbusters.

s The Atlantic magazine trying to send its readers a not so secret message? Although it’s profile of California Governor Gavin Newsom by Helen Lewis on Tuesday, “The Front-Runner,” was generally positive it was also chock full of Gettys as in the oil fortune family of patriarch J. Paul Getty.

In fact the name “Getty” was so important in Newsom’s personal, business, and political background that it appeared a total of 22 times in the article (including the Getty Images attributions of five of the photos used). Although a Republican presidential hopeful so attached to a family whose fortune was based on oil would be savaged for the connection, with Newsom it seems to be okay because of the magic (D) by his name.

The Telegraph (UK).

The hammer-wielding intruder accused of smashing the windows of JD Vance’s house is the transgender child of a Democratic donor.

William DeFoor, 26, was charged on Monday with obstructing official business, criminally damaging or endangering, criminal trespass and vandalism after an overnight break-in at the vice-president’s £1m home in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Police and federal officers swarmed the five-bedroom residence early on Monday morning after a suspect smashed several windows of the Vances’ property with a hammer and tried to break in, according to officials.

DeFoor, who attended a $27,000 (£20,000)-a-year Catholic school now appears to identify as a woman, going by the name Julia, according to the Daily Mail.

ATQUE: Crazy People Are Dangerous: Psycho Vandalizes J.D. Vance’s Ohio Home (The Other McCain)

Read it.

Move over Nancy Pelosi, there’s a new insider trader, err, investor in town whose portfolio has you beat.

Pelosi’s investment record during her decades in Congress has long drawn criticism, with her portfolio posting a whopping 54% return last year. The California Democrat, who plans to depart at the conclusion of her term in January 2027, recorded a more modest 18% gain in 2025—still a figure that would make some on Wall Street blush.

In 2025, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D- NY) led all Democrats with the strongest portfolio performance, according to data reviewed by The New York Post. The figures come from alternative-data platform Quiver Quantitative, which tracks congressional stock transactions amid heightened public and political fallout from lawmakers’ investment returns.

Suozzi’s portfolio rose 35%, substantially exceeding major market indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 14% gain, the S&P 500’s 17% advance and the Nasdaq Composite’s 21% increase, according to data provided exclusively to The Post by Quiver Quantitative.

“Some members seemed to spend more time managing their portfolios than they did at their day job on Capitol Hill,” Quiver Quantitative CEO Christopher Kardatzke told The Post. “We have seen members making day trades, options trades, and – for the first time ever – meme coin trades.”

Read it.

A group of New York state Senate Republicans is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to immediately commission an independent audit of state social service programs, citing “disturbing reports” and warning that weak oversight may have allowed significant misuse of taxpayer funds.

In a letter dated Jan. 2 addressed to the governor at the State Capitol, lawmakers raised alarms over alleged misuse of public funds tied to sham child care centers and other illegitimate entities exploiting taxpayer-funded assistance programs.

The senators warned that vulnerabilities in New York’s oversight systems could allow fraud, waste, and abuse to flourish unchecked.

If Minnesota is corrupt, can New York be far behind?

Read it.

I don’t care if you support Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis or the Easter Bunny, any American who doesn’t realize the tenuous future of our union, after reviewing the information within this testimony, is going to forever live in a collapsed dystopian nightmare, if they vote for any political representative who supports it.

The House Judiciary Committee has released the [VIDEO] and [TRANSCRIPT] of special prosecutor Jack Smith’s deposition. What is outlined within it is alarming in the extreme. I strongly urge anyone with any platform to review the details and quickly highlight the content therein. There is no time to waste.

Read it.

A state Assembly campaign in Queens is attracting controversy after public statements from a candidate supported by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani raised questions about her views on American national holidays and broader U.S. traditions.

Aber Kawas, a longtime activist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is running for the Assembly seat representing New York’s 34th District. She has drawn support from Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America’s Electoral Working Group in a contest to succeed Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who is not seeking reelection.

Writings attributed to Kawas from 2015, first widely circulated this month, say she does not celebrate major federal holidays such as July 4th, Labor Day, or Veterans Day because she believes they “represent the silencing & destruction of our movements.”

In a journal entry from September 2015, Kawas wrote, “Today I do not celebrate a day off, I only recommit myself to a global movement that fights against the death, displacement, and exploitation of people for capital,” according to the New York Post.

Kawas added, “For this movement, a day off is not a victory. A day off means nothing, because liberation means everything.”

I think we can safely assume that this person is not registered as a Republican.

The Foundry.

This past year, the Left crossed a Rubicon in normalizing political violence.

The year opened with many on the Left praising a man who allegedly murdered a health care CEO, and it ended with Virginia Democrats overwhelmingly voting for a man who fantasized about shooting his political opponent and wished death on his opponent’s children.

Jay Jones, now Virginia’s attorney general-elect, made the most bloodcurdling endorsement of political violence I have ever seen from an elected official, and he justified it with this sentence: “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”

Jones apologized for the remarks, but he remained in the race, and he even shared a stage with none other than former President Barack Obama. I had hoped my fellow Virginians would reject this message in November, but Jones won the election—setting a horrifying precedent for American politics.

Jones’ election victory highlights the negative partisanship in America, and it comes at the end of a truly horrifying year of left-wing violence. Here are 10 incidents of threats or violence aligning with the Left’s attacks on Trump and his party.

Read it.

Consider this post a place to discuss the Minnesota food program fraud, the Minnesota child care fraud, the Minnesota health care fraud, the involvement of Minnesota Governor and Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz, the relationship to the assassination of the Hortmans, the lack of coverage by the Minneapolis Times Tribune, the larger problem of fraud in government programs, fraud as an intrinsic component of the business model of the Democrat Party, or anything else for that matter.

Read it.

“California is on a path to self-destruction. Hollywood is already toast and now the most productive entrepreneurs will leave taking their tax revenues and job creation elsewhere,” Bill Ackman wrote on X, citing a New York Times report that said several billionaires, including Peter Thiel and Larry Page, are preparing to flee the state as a proposed one-time wealth tax ballot measure gains momentum.

Time to leave.

Read it.

Left-wing Governor Tim Walz, under intensifying federal pressure, faces a widening Somali-linked fraud scandal in Minnesota. Federal prosecutors state that the scheme currently totals at least $9 billion, with the final figure potentially much higher. Recent reporting by Ryan Thorpe and Christopher F. Rufo alleges that some welfare funds were funneled into an overseas terrorist organization. Now, a bombshell video from a citizen journalist suggests the fraud extends beyond Medicaid into the state’s daycare system.

Read it.

As the old aphorism goes: “Don’t tax you; don’t tax me. Tax that fellow behind the tree.” Nobody likes paying taxes, but most Americans accept them as a necessary evil and are willing to pay their fair share, unless politicians waste those tax dollars in extraordinarily—well—wasteful ways, or steal them outright.

I refer, of course, to California, where, as the classic Eagle’s song Hotel California goes: “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”

California, it’s no secret, is in deep financial trouble. In 2022, Gavin Newsom bragged about a $97.5 billion dollar surplus. By the 2024-25 budget, that surplus turned into an estimated $73 billion deficit. By the end of 2025, it’s likely far worse and virtually no one trusts state government’s estimates.

Read it.

More than five years ago, I wrote in these pages of a growing trend on the left toward compelled speech – the forcing of citizens to repeat approved views and values. It is an all-too-familiar pattern. Once a faction assumes power, it will often first seek to censor opposing views and then compel the endorsement of approved views.

This week, some of those efforts faced setbacks and challenges in blue states like Washington and Illinois.

In Washington state, many have developed what seems a certain appetite for compelled speech.

For example, Democrats recently pushed through legislation that would have compelled priests and other clerics to rat out congregants who confessed to certain criminal acts.

Read it.

Washington Post uncorked their alarm on the front page on Friday when the Trump administration declared it would ban federal funding from any hospital that provides gender-denying care to minors.

The Post headline was “Trans care for minors targeted.” The Times headline was “U.S. to Halt Care for Trans Youth.” The surprise here was neither of these stories used the Orwellian term “gender-affirming care” in their left-tilting dispatches. “Gender transition care” or “gender-related care” were the replacements.

The Times story – penned by Azeen Ghorayshi, Amy Harmon, and Reed Abelson – was more panicked. “The administration’s action is not just a regulatory shift but the latest signal that the federal government does not recognize even the existence of people whose gender identity does not align with their sex at birth.”

Actually, I have no problem with it. Parents who are willing to mutilate their children in the name of fashion deserve to have their genes removed from the gene pool. Tough on the kids, of course, but it’s traditional in such circumstances to murder your parents.

Read it.

Well, comparatively speaking….

Read itl

An attorney for Fulton County, Georgia admitted earlier this month that the county accepted roughly 315,000 early votes that were not lawfully certified in the 2020 presidential election.

Attorney Ann Brumbaugh made the admission while representing the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections at a Dec. 9 hearing before the Georgia State Election Board, according to Wednesday’s reporting by The Federalist.

The SEB hearing pertained to a complaint filed by election integrity activist David Cross, who accuses Fulton County of having violated Georgia law by counting early votes that were not properly signed off by election workers.

As quoted by The Federalist, Brumbaugh told the board that Fulton County does “not dispute that the tapes were not signed.”

ALSO: ‘Yes, We Stole the Election. Oopsie.’ (The Other McCain)

Read it.

Disgraced DC Police Chief Pamela Smith appeared completely unhinged during her exit speech at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters on Friday, shouting, “To all my haters, f*ck you.”

“Never would I compromise my integrity. Never would I compromise 28 years in law enforcement for a few folk who couldn’t stand to be held accountable. And if I had to do it all over again… so I’m going to the Bible when I say this: to my haters, F you,” Smith emphasized.

She continued, “The same folks who said in that report that they changed their numbers and I did not. The report is very clear. I did not direct anyone. You should investigate those folks.”

Read it.

A mortgage fraud probe of a Democratic congressman began last month after William Pulte, the Republican head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, referred allegations from a conservative news site to his agency’s inspector general for possible criminal investigation, government emails seen by Reuters show.

On Nov. 12, The Gateway Pundit published an article alleging U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell had improperly listed his Washington, D.C., home as his “principal residence” on mortgage paperwork. Swalwell, a critic of President Donald Trump who represents a ?Northern California district and is now running for governor of California, an office that requires residency in that state, has said he is a ?permanent resident of California. According to loan documents, however, Swalwell had listed his home in Washington as his “principal residence.”

An email reviewed by Reuters shows Pulte sent a link to the article to the FHFA’s acting inspector general that day, urging him to take ?all appropriate action “including — if warranted — engagement with the Department of Justice regarding potential mortgage, tax or other fraud related to the representations made in mortgage documents or other items in the below article.”

Read it.

This week, Senator Chuck Grassley released Department of Justice and FBI records that provide a new look on how FBI and DOJ leadership sabotaged the investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

These records, which include internal emails, summaries of high-level meetings and calls, and intelligence from confidential human sources, reveal the Clinton Foundation investigation was sabotaged from the start.

During the Obama Administration, both DOJ and FBI leadership were openly hostile to the investigation. US Attorneys declined to cooperate, denying requests for subpoenas or other investigative support. And during the first Trump Administration, actors within the FBI and DOJ obstructed and delayed the development of the investigation by not approving the release of FBI materials and slowing the release of witness interviews to investigators. A frustrating tale of corruption and incompetence.

Relying on these new documents, as well as other public source materials and Special Counsel John Durham’s report, here is the comprehensive timeline of the Clinton Foundation investigation, as well as other parts of the overall Clinton corruption investigation that are relevant. It is an infuriating tale of corruption and incompetence from the highest levels of government which ultimately protected the Clinton’s schemes to trade on their political influence for millions of dollars.

Bill & Hillary Clinton may not be the biggest crooks in the Democrat party today—the competition for that title is pretty fierce—but they’re certainly in the running.

The New Neo.

One wonders how much of the social welfare money handed out all over the country has been to perpetrators of fraud. We’ve always known fraud existed in such programs, but the scope of the fraud being uncovered seems mind-boggling even to many people already cynical about the subject.

ALSO: 5 Ways Trump Put Pressure on ‘Rampant Fraud’ in Minnesota This Week

Read it.

Half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen, a federal prosecutor said Thursday, describing the massive and multilayered fraud schemes as staggering.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said the scale of fraud puts services at risk for people who need them, including adults leaving addiction treatment centers who needed help finding a stable place to live and children with autism who were seeking one-on-one therapy.

While prosecutors typically see fraud manifest as providers overbilling, Thompson said during a news conference in Minneapolis that companies have been created to provide zero services while submitting claims to Medicaid and pocketing federal funds for international travel, luxury vehicles and lavish lifestyles.

Read it.

A Minnesota lawmaker alleged on Dec. 17 that a man awaiting trial on federal charges that he laundered $1.1 million in taxpayer dollars and his wife continue to collect payments from other government programs, a state lawmaker said Dec. 17.

That’s concerning, state Rep. Kristin Robbins told the fraud-fighting committee that she chairs.

“This is just one example of how potential fraudulent activity is being allowed to continue in Minnesota,” she said during a hearing at the state Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota. Later, she alleged on social media that the state government “continued to pay a fraudster who was indicted.”

Read it.

One-Party-Rule Maryland Democrats Ignore Power Bill Crisis, Push Ahead With Slavery Reparations Study
Instead of addressing the state’s mounting crises, from fiscal mess, soaring power bills, and exodus of residents to violent crime and illegal aliens, unhinged Democrats in Annapolis spent their time on Tuesday overriding Gov. Wes Moore’s veto of Senate Bill 587, creating a reparations commission to study how Maryland should address slavery and racial discrimination.

What better way to spend precious time as the year winds down? Many thought the entire reparations and wealth-redistribution grift was over. Apparently, not in Maryland.

Read it.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis erupted on Wednesday while testifying before a special Georgia Senate committee scrutinizing her prosecution of President Donald Trump.

Judge Scott McAfee agreed to toss the racketeering case in November after the prosecutor who inherited Willis’ beleaguered effort pushed him to take it off “life support.” During her testimony, Willis accused members of the Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations of “trying to intimidate [her] for five years” and said “threats” against her had made it impossible to live in her own home during that time.

Read it.

Former President Joe Biden’s planned monument to his presidency is becoming a brutal reality check on his legacy.

In September, the Biden camp announced plans to build his presidential library in Delaware – assembling a team of former aides, friends, and political allies to oversee the project, which is supposed to include a museum and archive.

The Foundry.

The Pentagon is plowing ahead in its investigation of Arizona Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly, who told service members they “can refuse illegal orders.”

“The Office of the Secretary of War, in conjunction with the Department of War’s Office of the General Counsel, is escalating the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to an official Command Investigation,” a Department of War official told reporters in a statement Monday.

“Retired Captain Kelly is currently under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct,” it adds.

Kelly retired from the Navy in 2011, having served since the 1980s. He served as a naval aviator during the Gulf War.

Read it.

The fight over California’s new congressional map designed to help Democrats flip congressional House seats will go to court Monday as a panel of federal judges considers whether the district boundaries approved by voters last month can be used in elections.

The hearing in Los Angeles sets the stage for a high-stakes legal and political fight between the Trump administration and Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who’s been eyeing a 2028 presidential run.

The lawsuit asks a three-judge panel to grant a temporary restraining order by Dec. 19 — the date candidates can take the first official steps to run in the 2026 election.

“Cacophony of grifters”: MAGA infighting erodes real-world power (Tal Axelrod/Axios)

Donald Trump is losing. (Garrett M. Graff/Doomsday Scenario)  And if we repeat it enough times it might come true.

20 states lodge lawsuit against Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee (Christine Mui/Politico)

Trump Wants to Dominate Venezuela, Not Liberate It (Quico Toro/Persuasion)  Because that’s what Democrats would do.

Advocacy Groups Say Trump’s AI Order Could Be Illega  They hope, they hope,  they hopw….

SCOTUSblog Falls Into the MAGA Orbit (Jonathan Zasloff/Legal Planet)

In Trump’s Justice Dept., Failing in Court Might Be Better Than Bucking the Boss (New York Times)  Because that’s what Democrats would do.

President Trump Is Now Triggering His Very Own MAGApocalypse (David Rothkopf/The Daily Beast)

The Bondi Memo’s Quiet Rewriting of Domestic Terrorism Rules (Thomas E. Brzozowski/Lawfare)

Trump’s Beloved Beauty Queen Prosecutor Set to Suffer Fresh Humiliation (Janna Brancolini/The Daily Beast)

Hooray for Hoosiers, cynical GOP redistricting fails (Mitch Daniels/Washington Post)  Bias? What bias?

Trump was unable to insult his way to victory in Indiana redistricting battle (Associated Press)  Bias? What bias?

Trump Is Already Discussing Preemptive Pardons For His Lawless Administration (Zeteo)

Firm fighting Trump receives bipartisan praise (Politico) “Bipartisan” meaning Democrats + RINOs.

National Trust Sues to Block Trump’s White House Ballroom Construction (Luke Broadwater/New York Times)

Colorado Officials Reject Trump’s ‘Pardon’ of a Convicted Election Denier (Jack Healy/New York Times)

Trump seems to wave the white flag on his US attorneys gambit (Erica Orden/Politico)

Trump attacks on political opponents spur a surge of threats, NBC News review finds (NBC News)

Read it.

Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz started criticizing white men on Friday in response to whether Somalis will be held accountable for a massive fraud scandal.

Somalis in Minnesota have been involved in several fraudulent schemes, including dozens of Somalis who have been charged for stealing $1 billion in taxpayer money for state and federal social services programs, including those intended to feed children from low-income households.

In response to a question on whether Somalis should hold themselves accountable, Walz stated that there are many white people who have also committed crime.

Read it.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has made reducing the homelessness crisis in California a top priority, saying the scale of the state’s efforts is “unprecedented” and calling for the continued expansion of his signature effort – Project Homekey – that has already cost $3.75 billion.

But in a state with more than 181,000 homeless individuals, or about one-third of the U.S. total, Homekey has been marred by failures and scandals, including a lack of government oversight and accountability as well as a federal investigation into allegations of fraud in Los Angeles.

Newsom, who appears to be preparing for a presidential bid in 2028, could make Homekey, which he calls a “national model,” a talking point in his campaign. The state claims the program has created almost 16,000 permanent housing units that will serve over 175,000 people. But since the state doesn’t track outcomes – whether people placed in housing saw their lives improve or if they returned to the streets – the program’s effectiveness is unclear, according to a critical 2024 state auditor’s report.

Rep. Ramirez Seeks Impeachment Hearing Into Noem

How Many Members Does Antifa Have? Where Is Its Headquarters? The FBI Has No Answers. (Matt Sledge/The Intercept)  One might just as well ask “How many members does communism have? Where is its headquarters?” You don’t need a conconspiracy, and you certainly don’t need a ‘headquarters’, when everybody involved knows what to do.

Why Alaska’s GOP senators broke party lines on Obamacare (Robert King/Politico)  Not hard to tell. Because they’re RINOs. The death of John McCain and the retirement of Mitt Romney left an ecological niche to be filled, and Nature abhors a vacuum (other than Paul Krugman).

Trump Pardons Tina Peters

The Curse of Trump 2.0 — What does it say that the President doesn’t even feel he needs … (Susan B. Glasser/New Yorker)

Top Democrat: Murder Of DC National Guard Just An ‘Unfortunate Accident’

The Trump administration’s authoritarian house of cards is starting to fall down (Chris Geidner/Law Dork)

Federal judge orders FEMA to restore billions in canceled disaster mitigation funding (Gabriela Aoun Angueira/Associated Press)

The Sleeper Issue That Could Destroy the Economy (Catherine Rampell/The Bulwark) Hint: Orange Man Bad.

Court Blocks Release of Immigrants After Chicago Crackdown  Stepping on Democrat District judges one cockroach at a time.

The minority voters who powered Trump to a second term are drifting away (Washington Post)  They hope.

The Shakedown: Trump’s DOJ Pressured Lawyers to “Find” Evidence That UCLA Had Illegally Tolerated Antisemitism (ProPublica)

Donald Trump, Security Threat (Paul Krugman)  The vacuum speaks.

We’re the baddies now. Our new Security Strategy shows it. (Lisa Needham/Public Notice)  Sure, let’s just let proglodytes run our foreign policy.

3 theories that explain Trump’s collapsing support (Christian Paz/Vox)  Supposed collapsing support.

Worst. Senate. Ever. (Jill Lawrence/The Bulwark)

Trump Rages at Cratering Polls as GOP Losses Reveal Surprise Weakness (New Republic)  Not a day goes buy that the Chattering Class doesn’t serve up this brand of wishful thinking. The Little Journo That Could: “I think he’s dead, I think he’s dead, I think he’s dead,  I think he’s dead….”

National Trust sues to stop Trump’s ballroom construction (Washington Post)

FBI: Man, woman drive to police station with Homeland Security agent trapped in vehicle (Matt Sepic/MPR News)

Trump’s approval rating on the economy hits record low 31% (Madison Mills/Axios)  Count me in as one of that 31%. Gas at Walmart was $2.09 yesterday.

Trump ran as a friend of the working class. Now he’s selling $1 million immigration ‘Gold Cards.’ (Philip Bump/MS NOW)  Philip Bump loses his shit.

Trump’s White House ballroom construction draws lawsuit from preservationists (April Rubin/Axios)

BREAKING: Judge Blocks ICE From Re-Detaining Abrego Garcia (David Kurtz/Talking Points Memo)

Trump team email to Epstein: ‘Pedophiles, I want you to know how important you are to me’ (Alexander Willis/Raw Story)

Most say Trump administration covering up Epstein information: Survey (Ashleigh Fields/The Hill) A Narrative Media survey,

The Washington Post’s Sunday Slobber Over Rosie O’Donnel

Top ADL civil rights litigator quits, accusing group of being ‘useful idiot’ for Trump

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Minnesota is now facing one of the largest documented government service fraud scandals in United States history. Under Gov. Tim Walz’s evidently unwatchful eye, federal prosecutors have estimated that approximately $1 billion in taxpayer funds have been siphoned from multiple state- and federally funded social service programs over the last five years.

As of this writing, 87 individuals have been charged in connection with the scheme, with 61 convictions already secured and more charges continuing to be filed against these fraudsters. The bulk of the fraud scheme centers around two government programs.

The first target was the Minneapolis-based not-for-profit Feeding Our Future, which distributed federal child nutrition funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning in April 2020, the organization’s founder and executive director allegedly oversaw an elaborate fraud operation that involved over 250 fake meal sites throughout Minnesota, siphoning over $250 million in taxpayer funds.

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The litany of reasons California is broken is well documented. The highest cost of living and the highest taxes. The highest percentages of homeless people and people living in poverty. Unaffordable homes and unaffordable rent. High crime and failing schools. A hostile business climate and record migration out of state as people and businesses flee.

But not often enough are we reminded of the countless small things that have gone wrong. Small things that add up to a big problem: a state legislature that is out of touch with the people it represents; a state legislature that, for all practical purposes, holds its constituents in contempt; a state legislature that is doing everything in its power to make life difficult.

Just a few days ago, the latest in this long train of abuses arrived. No more plastic bags. Although 2026 is still a few weeks away, this grocery store has already converted to paper only—heavy, fragile paper bags with handles that tear off under the slightest stress. Everything was double-bagged just to lower the probability of catastrophic failure of the handles.

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On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to end federal taxes on tips and overtime. Democrats dismissed it as an election-year ploy to win votes, but Trump delivered on that promise when he signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, which eliminated taxes on tips and overtime for service and hospitality workers.

However, blue-state Democrats like New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis are, in the words of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, “deliberately blocking their own residents” from accessing the “historic benefits” promised under the law.

“President Trump’s tax cuts bill is the most pro-worker, pro-family legislation in a generation,” Bessent said. “It puts more money directly into the pockets of hardworking Americans through No Tax on Tips for dedicated service industry staff, No Tax on Overtime for linemen and factory workers, and a new tax deduction for seniors who depend on Social Security.”

Democrats are Friends of the Working Class when it comes to passing out free stuff in exchange for votes, but not so much when it means less money for them to pass out or financial independence for ‘working families’.

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Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, was sharply rebuked Thursday for calling the ambush-style shootings that killed one National Guardsman and critically injured another in Washington, D.C., on the night before Thanksgiving an “unfortunate situation.”

Thompson was questioning Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on worldwide threats to the United States. The hearing aired live on Newsmax and on the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform.

“Madam Secretary, you and the gentleman from NCTC [Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center] referenced the unfortunate accident that occurred with the National Guardsman being killed,” Thompson said when beginning a line of questioning.

The whitest ‘black man’ you’ll ever see.