What does it actually take for a business to be ready for AI agents? In this episode of The AI Guys, Lee and Rich break down why so many companies are excited about AI, yet still struggle to turn that excitement into real business value. They explain why deploying agents is not just about buying tools, but about preparing the business itself to support them.
The conversation covers the five biggest barriers companies face when trying to launch agentic workflows, including messy data, weak knowledge bases, undocumented processes, outdated human-first outputs, poor team alignment, and security concerns. Lee and Rich dig into why AI fails when businesses try to automate chaos, why workflows need to be rebuilt for machine execution, and why leaders need to rethink how teams produce work in an AI-first world. They also explore the mindset shift required to move humans from being the primary doers to becoming reviewers, operators, and decision-makers in the loop.
If your company is serious about becoming AI-native, this episode gives you a practical framework for where to start and what to fix first. Subscribe for more conversations that make artificial intelligence easier to understand and easier to apply in the real world. Subscribe for more practical AI conversations, and check out the links below for more from The AI Guys.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-13 16:51:212026-05-13 16:51:21The 5 Biggest Barriers to Launching AI Agents in Business
President Donald Trump’s approval rating continues to climb among Republican voters in Wisconsin, even as support for the Republican Party overall has slightly declined, according to a new League of American Workers poll. The survey also suggests that Trump‑endorsed candidates are well-positioned to secure their party’s nominations in key Wisconsin races.
According to the poll, Trump’s job approval rating among Badger State Republican voters has risen 5 percentage points since March, while approval of the Republican Party has fallen 1 point. Favorability toward the U.S. war in Iran has also increased by at least 8 points.
In Wisconsin’s marquee races this November—including the gubernatorial contest and the 7th Congressional District—the poll shows that candidates backed by Trump hold a significant advantage.
Michael Alfonso, who is running to succeed Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s 7th District as Tiffany seeks the governorship, is viewed favorably by 39% of voters, while 45% said they have no opinion.
The survey of 504 registered voters, which has a 4‑percentage‑point margin of error, found that when respondents are informed of Trump’s endorsement of Alfonso, 62% say they are “more likely” to support him. Just 7% said they are “less likely,” while 29% said the endorsement makes “no difference.”
Voters also responded positively when told about Alfonso’s familial ties. According to the poll, 58% of district voters say they are “more likely” to vote for Alfonso when informed that his in-laws are Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and “Fox & Friends Weekend” host Rachel Campos-Duffy.
League of American Workers founder Steve Cortes told The Daily Signal that Trump’s endorsement and Alfonso’s family connections are decisive assets in the race.
“By far the biggest two assets are the Trump endorsements and his in‑laws,” Cortes said. “These attributes should be emphasized at every opportunity.”
The poll also shows strong support for Tiffany, who received Trump’s endorsement earlier this year in his bid for governor. Tiffany holds a favorable rating with 52% of voters, while 14% remain undecided.
“Tom Tiffany is VERY well regarded in his district,” Cortes said. “Additionally, he is very well known, as a repeated winner there. Obviously Tom must focus on his own race, but an endorsement would be very helpful—and any willingness to campaign with Michael even better.”
More broadly, the poll found that Republican voters’ views of Democrats continue to deteriorate. Democrat favorability has fallen by 9 percentage points in Wisconsin, according to the survey.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has spread its woke activist agenda in education to at least 169 school districts in 42 states, according to a new report, and the impact of teachers unions helps explain this expansive influence.
Learning for Justice, the SPLC’s education arm, promotes “social justice” activism, pushes racially divisive messaging, and advocates transgender ideology. The program, launched as “Teaching Tolerance” in the 1990s, dropped the emphasis on “tolerance” amid the Great Awokening in February 2021. Around that same time, the program removed its own impact statement from the website, which had previously bragged that “more than 500,000 educators” read its magazine, screened its films, visited its website, and used its curricula.
The parental rights group Defending Education exposed Learning for Justice’s broad influence in an exhaustive report Tuesday.
“Unbeknownst to parents, the Southern Poverty Law Center has been poisoning pupils’ minds around the country for years with its toxic curriculum,” Nicole Neily, the group’s president, told The Daily Signal. “SPLC lesson plans on issues such as queer theory, white privilege, and anti-racism have supplanted traditional coursework in history, social studies, and other core classes—teaching children to view themselves and others through the lens of identity politics, and that America is forever stained by its original sin.”
How did the SPLC spread its tentacles this far? America’s two largest teachers unions—the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers—help explain it, as does the American School Counselor Association.
“By promoting and integrating Learning for Justice content and standards into mental health programming and curricula, the teachers unions and ASCA are giving the far-left organization credibility,” Rhyen Staley, director of research at Defending Education, told The Daily Signal. “This is deeply troubling for a variety of reasons, especially since the SPLC has put parents on its ‘hate map’ for simply raising concerns with their local school districts.”
The SPLC gained its reputation by suing Ku Klux Klan groups into bankruptcy, but weaponized that history to smear conservatives and raise money. In 2023, it added Moms for Liberty, Defending Education, and other parental rights groups to the “hate map,” placing them alongside Klan chapters and calling them part of “the infrastructure upholding white supremacy.”
Last month, a federal grand jury indicted the SPLC on wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy charges for sending $3 million to KKK members. While the SPLC claimed it was paying “informants” to prevent violent attacks, the Justice Department says it was using donor cash to prop up the very “hate” it claims it exists to “dismantle.” The SPLC has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The SPLC enjoys undue influence in the media, in corporate America, and with a vast network of donors, so it stands to reason that Learning for Justice might achieve a broad impact. Even so, the boost from teachers unions and the American School Counselor Association can’t have hurt.
The Teachers Unions
The Defending Education report cites the National Education Association’s January 2021 “Racial Justice in Education” resource guide, which touts Teaching Tolerance as a “partner” and notes that the NEA partnered with Teaching Tolerance to “create a three-part webinar series” to help “address the climate issues.” The National Education Association claims 3 million members.
The association’s President Becky Pringle condemned the SPLC indictment.
“Civil rights organizations work to ensure we can live free from discrimination,” she wrote on Bluesky. “By indicting a group that fights bias and tracks extremists, Trump’s Department of Justice is abusing its power, making us less safe. They will stop at nothing to crush free speech and further hate.”
The National Education Association did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.
The American Federation of Teachers has promoted the SPLC program as far back as 2016, listing “Teaching Tolerance” as a resource on “school discipline.”
In a social media post, the federation’s President Randi Weingarten also condemned the indictment.
“It’s absurd but predictable [the SPLC] is being wrongfully targeted, an org that has documented hate & extremist groups for 50+ years,” she posted on Bluesky. She called the indictment “part of a coordinated attack on civil rights and an escalation of the campaign against those with whom this admin disagrees.”
These unions, which have a well-documented leftist slant, enjoyed tremendous influence in the Biden administration.
The American Federation of Teachers did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.
The School Counselors
The Defending Education report also noted that the American School Counselor Association, which claimed in 2023 to have over 43,000 members across the country, incorporated the “Social Justice Standards” into its key documents.
Neither the NEA nor the AFT nor the ASCA nor the SPLC responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.
The American School Counselor Association did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.
A Rising Movement
Moms and dads across the country are taking a stand against the SPLC.
Republicans in Maryland have openly condemned the state’s “implicit bias training” that incorporated Learning for Justice materials. Courage is a Habit has exposed ASCA’s reliance on the SPLC. Lake Havasu Unified School District in Arizona has rooted out an education resource that directed students to avoid the websites of SPLC-smeared “hate groups.”
Last week, Moms for Liberty leader Rosalind Hanson spoke out at Montgomery County Public Schools, condemning MCPS’ use of the Social Justice Standards.
This Defending Education report will hopefully inspire more moms and dads to ask school boards to stop relying on the SPLC. They may find my book, “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center,” a resource in this effort.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-13 16:51:192026-05-13 16:51:19How Did This Leftist Group Smuggle Its Divisive Ideas Into 169 School Districts, Without Parents Knowing?
The intifada is coming to an American neighborhood near you. Or at least it has if you live in New York and you have a sympathetic leftist mayor.
On Monday night, a mob of not-too-peaceful protesters gathered at a synagogue in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. They yelled angrily and, in some cases, harassed the Jews who happened to be there over what they say is the synagogue’s support of settlements in the West Bank.
Things turned violent as at least one young woman was assaulted on camera and protesters clashed with the New York Police Department, which appeared to be overwhelmed by the masked and keffiyeh-clad activists.
From Fox news:
Three people were reportedly arrested at the protest, though color me skeptical that they will face any kind of consequence for their actions. Though, as Katie Pavlic at NewsNation noted, how is it that terrorist-supporting people like this were allowed into our country at all?
While this whole thing is not surprising, it’s still disturbing to see what’s happening in the streets of New York. This is only the latest mob to threaten a synagogue in the city. In fact, this same synagogue was inundated the week before with aggressive, masked agitators who battled with police and shouted anti-Israel slogans.
For students of history, it’s hard not to think of previous, ugly incidents of people in hoods and masks trying to intimidate an ethnic or religious group. As Manhattan Institute scholar Rafael Mangual posted on X, this protest gave off real “KKK vibes.”
Hey, where’s the Southern Poverty Law Center? Weren’t they all about stopping hate rallies or something? Oh, I guess not. The haters have the wrong skin color it seems.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani didn’t comment a week ago, and he hasn’t commented now. This is what Mamdani chose to post about as things were going down in Brooklyn.
Yes, in Mamdani’s New York, streets are for kids. They’re also masked men waving the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah and threatening houses of worship, apparently.
While the mayor’s office was silent about the incident, a handful of New York City Republican politicians chimed in.
“The ‘right of the people to peaceably assemble’ requires the assemblage to be peaceful,” she wrote on X. “But as we have witnessed far too often, the masked ‘anti-Zionists’ who descend upon our communities and call for the destruction of the Jewish state are far from peaceful.”
Looks like she was spot on.
New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino wrote on social media that what’s happening across the city “is a disgrace.”
She said that this kind of incident was the real legacy of Mamdani’s election.
“A phalanx of 500 police officers should not be needed to protect a synagogue from a violent mob of masked jihadis carrying the flags of designated terror organizations,” Paladino wrote. “Make no mistake — this is exactly what Mamdani was elected to facilitate.”
My take is that Paladino is onto something.
Mamdani has made it clear he’s a committed socialist who is unlikely to deviate from the Left’s policy priorities. But a significant part of the coalition that brought him to office is also maniacally focused on creating an American intifada.
While Mamdani hasn’t outright announced that he’s joined forces with these folks, he’s been blowing the dog whistle as hard as he can to make sure that wink, wink we all know.
Not only did Mamdani fail to even acknowledge the mob incident in Brooklyn on Tuesday, but he’s also left a long trail of tells that he’s entirely in sympathy with their cause.
He’s brought the terrorist-sympathizing Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil into Gracie Mansion to dine. He’s refused to denounce violent, Islamist-inspired protests in all but the vaguest generalities, and his wife has a significant social media trail of posts sympathizing with Palestinian “resistance fighters.”
Now, Islamist mobs operate with impunity in the city, and the camera hog Mamdani has suddenly gone MIA.
The message is clear. They’re in charge and those who disagree aren’t welcome. The mobs will continue, indefinitely, until their “Zionist” enemies are gone. Then they’ll find a new target.
For those targeted, you can expect little help from the powers that be in New York.
The NYPD is being neutered, the mayor is too busy taxing the rich right out of town, and his army of government apparatchiks likely sympathizes with (or in some cases, even marched alongside) the mob.
AUTHOR
EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. Copyright: All rights reserved.
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In this episode of Tech Time with Thomas, Thomas and Lee walk through a smart, practical AI workflow that turns a simple Google Sheet into a lightweight lead management system. From automated outreach to internal sales notifications, this build shows how to move leads from first contact to human follow-up without adding unnecessary complexity.
You will see how the team uses webhooks, n8n, Google Sheets, and AI-generated messaging to update lead records, capture conversation scores and summaries, build direct copilot links, identify hot leads, and assign them to reps using a round robin system. The episode also covers sending internal rep notifications, switching conversations to manual mode to prevent unwanted replies, and keeping rep lead counts updated automatically.
If you are looking for a real-world example of AI automation that is simple, useful, and easy to expand, this episode is a great one to study. Drop your feedback and ideas for future builds in the comments, and make sure to check out the recourses below:
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-12 16:51:202026-05-12 16:51:20Tech Time with Thomas | Building an AI Outbound Sales Agent, Part 2
President Trump has been waiting for Iran to transmit its latest negotiating proposal, and on Sunday, it finally landed on his desk. Trump was not happy.
Why are these blood-soaked savages given a seat at the negotiating table at all? Their barbarism, butchery, and unrelenting carnage disqualifies them from civilized discourse altogether. You do not negotiate with monsters who revel in slaughter — you isolate, crush, and defeat them.
President Donald Trump on Sunday sharply dismissed Iran’s multipage proposal, signaling potential and continued deadlock in negotiations to end the war.
“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called “Representatives.” I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump said in a post shared on Truth Social.
According to reports, Iran’s response — delivered through Pakistani mediators — failed to address Washington’s core demand for advance commitments on the future of its nuclear program and uranium reserves.
Associated Press: Iran sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal via Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, but President Donald Trump quickly rejected it as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” with no details. Iran seeks to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, and to ensure the security of shipping, state TV said. Washington’s latest proposal addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Iran’s nuclear program. Trump earlier on social media accused Tehran of “playing games” with the United States for nearly 50 years, adding: “They will be laughing no longer!” Trump is giving diplomacy “every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities,” the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told ABC earlier.
Netanyahu: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that toppling Iran’s regime is possible — though not guaranteed — and could reshape the Middle East.
“If this regime is indeed weakened or possibly toppled, I think it’s the end of Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
“It’s the end of Hamas, probably the end of the Houthis, because the whole scaffolding of the terrorist proxy network that Iran built collapses.”
Turning to the likelihood of regime collapse, Netanyahu cautioned that the outcome remains uncertain.
“I think you can’t predict when that will happen. Is it possible? Yes. Is it guaranteed? No,” he said.
The prime minister also said he would be surprised by how many Arab states are interested in strengthening ties with Israel since the outbreak of the war.
“I now see the possibility of the expansion and deepening of the agreements we do have into alliances with Arab states of the kind that we never even dreamed of,” he added
Andrew Fox, a British veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a former member of the Special Forces, a warrior with a doctorate, went to Amsterdam to speak about the use — the misuse, the abuse — of international law as a weapon against Israel. And he has now posted at his Substack what he spoke about, and what, from some hostile members of his audience, he learned. “‘Rape is just part of war’: what happened when I spoke in Amsterdam,” Andrew Fox, May 9, 2026:
Today is going to be a bit of a different article. I want to tell you what happened to me this week in the Netherlands.
I was invited to speak at a conference organised by Thinc, a Dutch think tank, on the weaponisation of international law against Israel. My first talk to the main audience was about the psychological function of that weaponisation. The point I made was simple: accusations against Israel are no longer treated as accusations; they are presented as verdicts. The allegation becomes the punishment.
Israel is accused of genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, starvation, war crimes, and so on. In normal legal reasoning, such claims are tested against evidence, definitions, context, intent, precedent, and the conduct of the enemy. However, in anti-Israel discourse, the accusation itself is treated as a judgment. The charge is enough. The slogan is enough. The process becomes the stick with which the Jewish state is beaten.
My second speech was at the Free University in Amsterdam alongside the superb Anne Herzberg and Danny Orbach. I am told the event had been difficult to organise. The university had hosted pro-Palestinian events, but this was apparently the first event that could be considered to have given a more balanced perspective, and the organisers had to jump through a number of hoops to make it happen.
When we arrived, security escorted us to the lecture room. This was something of a clue that things were not normal. Outside the room, we were met by what I suppose you could call an arrivals committee: four activists in keffiyehs, silently holding Palestinian flags.
That gave us a fairly good sense of how the morning would go.
Once we entered the room, they followed us in and sat together at the back, still wearing their keffiyehs and carrying their flags. There was no attempt to engage. No appearance of curiosity. No indication that they had come to listen. They had come to perform.
My talk began with the basic strategic point that viewing Gaza in isolation is a mistake. 7 October did not merely start a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. It sparked a regional war. Israel has been fighting across seven fronts: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, the West Bank, and Iran itself….
From there, I turned specifically to Gaza. Israel’s reason for going to war in Gaza was the 7 October massacre. That fact has been almost entirely erased from the discussion. The war is now spoken of as though Israel simply woke up one morning and decided to destroy Gaza for no reason. Hamas has managed, with extraordinary success, to erase itself from the conversation. I spoke about the massacres of 7 October. I spoke about the sexual violence. I spoke about what Hamas did to Israeli civilians. This, I believe, is the only correct framing for why Israel chose the strategy and thus the tactics it did in Gaza….
Then came the questions.
The first to stand was a man in a white T-shirt who appeared to be affiliated with the university. He moved towards me in a confrontational manner. White spittle gathered at the corner of his mouth as he began hectoring me.
His argument, if it can be called that, was that the rape on October 7 was merely a feature of the longer, broader conflict between Israel and Palestine since 1948, he alleged, on both sides. He then accused Israelis of rape and said that I was only talking about the sexual violence committed by Hamas because I wanted to dehumanise Palestinians….
Hamas members smashed into Israel on October 7, 2023, and proceeded to engage in mass rape, torture, mutilation, and murder of 1,200 Israelis. There are videos of those rapes that the rapists themselves took; there are Israeli eyewitnesses who peeked out from their fortified rooms and witnessed the rapes; there are the tapes of the rapists and murderers making excited phone calls to their families and friends back in Gaza, telling of their brave deeds.
There are no records of Israeli soldiers raping Palestinians, or any other Arab women. In fact, the Israelis were a few years ago charged with being “racists” precisely because they did not rape Arab women.
The critical point is that the sexual violence on 7 October was no ordinary “feature” of war. It was an orgy of sadism. It went far beyond anything that had occurred in this conflict before. So I responded by describing what I had seen. I made the point that I was not dehumanising Hamas. Hamas dehumanised itself on 7 October, and when Yoav Gallant described fighting Hamas as fighting human animals, he was absolutely correct….
That “orgy of sadism” Andrew Fox described included tying up entire families together and then setting them on fire; smashing babies against walls, raping girls and then stabbing them in their vaginas; slicing the breasts off women; cutting the genitalia off of men and gouging out their eyes while they were live; and much, much more in that gruesome line. Did the keffiyehed part of his audience listen to his testimony, or did they shut their ears because they didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want reality to break in?
That is the world we are dealing with, and after what I saw in Amsterdam this week, I am more convinced than ever that the fight is not only about Israel, Gaza, or international law. It is about reality itself.
That’s what the nonpareil Andrew Fox learned on his trip to Amsterdam. And in telling us about what he learned, where one side accepts reality and the other side, the one with people wearing the keffiyehs, makes up its own, alternate reality that supports its crazed and vicious narrative, we too have now learned what he learned, in a lecture hall beside a canal in watery Amsterdam.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-12 16:51:182026-05-12 16:51:18The Fight Is Not About Gaza. It Is About Reality Itself.
The mayor of Arcadia admitted to acting as an illegal foreign agent of China, resigning from her position in a shocking federal plea deal unsealed on Monday.
Eileen Wang agreed with prosecutors that she worked with the People’s Republic of China to boost propaganda with a fake news website on US soil between 2020 and 2022. She was elected to Arcadia City Council in November 2022 — the city is located in the San Gabriel Valley within LA County.
Wang, 58, worked with her then fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, on a web site called “U.S. News Center,” which claimed to be news source for Chinese Americans, according to court documents.
But in reality the pair were carrying out Beijing’s orders through the site.
Wang and Sun “executed directives” from the Chinese government, posting propaganda designed to boost China, all while reporting back to their masters with screenshots showing how many people viewed the stories, according to the plea agreement.
In one case, Wang’s spymaster ordered her to post pre-written news articles, including a PRC official-written essay in the Los Angeles Times, the plea deal states.
“There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor is to defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability,” wrote Wang’s master, according to the plea agreement.
Wang complied and her handler wrote back, “So fast, thank you everyone.”
In another case, Wang’s PRC boss commended her on page views received by a certain piece of propaganda. Wang wrote back, “Thank you leader.”
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Wang pled guilty to the federal charge at her arraignment in downtown Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
LA’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, said this is not the first time China has been caught trying to exert its influence in the United States.
Collage of three portraits of Eileen Ku. 3 Wang appeared to use various filters on her social media pages. “Ms. Wang is just the latest to act as an agent for the PRC and it should terrify Americans that she was able to rise to the highest levels of local office in her city,” Essayli said.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Wang admitted that that she acted under the control of Chinese officials to promote propaganda in the U.S.
Prosecutors in 2024 charged Sun with conspiracy and acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
Wang said her relationship with Sun ended that year. Her ex-lover also served as campaign manager for her City Council run. The mayor of Arcadia is drawn from the Council on a rotating basis.
Wang tried to distance herself from Sun in 2025, saying she “not responsible for the action of others,” and would not resign from the post she then held on the City Council.
Sun in February was sentenced to four years in federal prison for acting as a covert agent of the PRC.
“For years, Sun received and executed taskings from Chinese government officials, distorted our public discourse by disseminating Chinese propaganda, and surveilled groups in the United States that China viewed as threatening,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.
Prosecutors say Sun and his PRC bosses sought to turn Wang into a political star in the hopes that she would achieve high office and further China’s goals in California.
Wang in 2024 told the Los Angeles Times that she had relocated to Southern California from China three decades earlier.
She said mother was a doctor of Chinese medicine and acupuncture and her father was a physician in Sichuan province before he got a job working at the University of Southern California.
The PRC has attempted for years to influence U.S. policy and governance through propaganda and espionage, prompting counterintelligence officials in 2022 to warn about China’s increasing use of overt and covert means to influence policymaking.
The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee in 2022 closed a two-year investigation into allegations that disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell had ties to an alleged Chinese spy named Christine Fang who volunteered on his congressional campaign.
The committee warned Swalwell “of the possibility that foreign governments may attempt to secure improper influence through gifts and other interactions,” in a letter sent at the probe’s closure.
Federal agents last month raided Lancaster City Hall and the homes of a pair of politicians from the high-desert town in an investigation reportedly exclusively by The California Post of links between the two men and China-based electric-car manufacturer BYD, which is running America’s first trial of electric buses in the city.
“The concern was that the buses could be used for spying,” said a person with knowledge of the probe.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-12 15:51:282026-05-12 15:51:28Democrat California Mayor Pleads Guilty To Spying For Communist China, Running Fake News Website with Lover in Shocking Plea Deal
President Donald Trump is hosting members of major law enforcement organizations at his “Rose Garden Club” this evening in honor of Police Week and those fallen in the line of duty, the Daily Caller learned.
Trump is expected to give remarks and be joined by several notable members of his administration, including: Vice President JD Vance, Border Czar Tom Homan, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), the National Sheriffs’ Association, the D.C. Police Union and the National Border Patrol Council are among the organizations that are expected to attend the dinner. The NAPO represents at least 1,000 police units and associations and has sworn in 241,000 law enforcement officers.
“The men and women of law enforcement are American heroes who risk their own lives to keep our communities safe. They have never had a stronger champion than President Trump and his Administration,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, told the Caller about the dinner. “The White House is looking forward to honoring these heroes and celebrating all they do for our country as we kick off Police Week.”
National Police Week 2026 occurs from May 10-16 and includes many big events in Washington, D.C. The week aims to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty, and typically draws thousands to the nation’s capital for the event.
On May 13th, officers will participate in a candlelight vigil on Wednesday.
The National Fraternal Order of Police, which will be attending Trump’s dinner, organizes the Peace Officers Memorial Day Service during Police Week, according to the event website.
Police officers stand in the rain along with thousands of law enforcement officers and their family and supporters for the National Police Week 37th annual candlelight vigil on the National Mall on May 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Police, political leaders and family members of those officers who died in the line of duty gathered on the National Mall to remember and honor them. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Other dinner attendees include the National Fraternal Order of Police, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Major County Sheriffs, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, International Association of Chiefs of Police and the New York Police Department Sergeants Benevolent Association.
Additional administration officials attending the dinner are Secret Service Director Sean Curran, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator (DEA) Terry Cole, Director of the U.S. Marshals Service Gady Serralta, DC U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) Rob Cekada.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-12 15:51:272026-05-12 15:51:27EXCLUSIVE: Trump Hosts Law Enforcement Leaders At White House For Police Week Dinner
I’m speaking on the 71st day of the Iran war, but of course, it hasn’t been 71 days. The last real date of bombing, intense bombing—not a tit-for-tat here and there, but the actual day of kinetic activity—was April 8, the actual last day.
So, we’ve had about 31 days of negotiation. The actual war was only 40 days long so far. So, all the anti-war opposition was about something that happened over a month ago.
So, what’s going on in these negotiations? They’ve been in Pakistan, they’ve been through social media connections, there have been special envoys and neutral …
What is going on? And there are two different strategies over this 31-day period. We know what the Iranian strategy is. It feels that although it’s been debanked and it has no foreign currency outlets, and it can’t sell oil, and it’s economically squeezed with a blockade, and it’s losing 500 million a day in input, that hurts the citizens more than it does the regime, and they can keep going and keep going because they feel the United States is going to buckle.
And they hold out one thing we don’t talk about, and that is they do have missiles and drones that are in subterranean caverns they can bring out and use, not against Israel. They think that Israel has been disowned by the American people, so if they hit Israel, it won’t pressure [President] Donald Trump.
It might pressure Israel to strike back, but they’re not as worried about that. They want to hit the Gulf Council states—Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar. They want to hit them and destroy their ability to refine oil, to pump oil, or their water supplies, to put them out. And they hold that threat over the United States, and that causes tension.
On the one side, Israel said, let’s get going and finish the war. The UAE says, let’s get going, finish the war. Donald Trump says, I’m negotiating. The UAE says, well, don’t negotiate your way home and leave us hanging.
So, there are all these tensions that Iran has created. And on top of that, there are four competing entities that we have to talk to.
We have to talk to, apparently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, these thugs that have hijacked the government; the regular army that has, essentially, the real power in the country; these figurehead elected officials in parliament that talk a tough game, but they have no power; and then we don’t know the status of the theocracy, the Khamenei family.
We know the supreme leader’s dead, but we don’t know the status of his son, and we don’t know the status of other ayatollahs.
So, that’s their strategy: that if you try to press action, they will send maybe 500, 600 missiles and drones and hit the Gulf. And we don’t know if they have that ability.
Our strategy is we have to squeeze them very quickly economically and not allow them to hit the Gulf. And the way that we have leverage over Iran is we can destroy them as a modern nation if we choose to hit dual targets. And we’ve done that in the past in every single war that I know of: World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf War, especially under George H.W. Bush. They hit everything in Iraq. And Bill Clinton in 1999, as I said, took out the whole power grid of Belgrade and every Yugoslav bridge on the Danube.
Barack Obama said, let’s be careful about that in Libya. And then he hit cargo ships, he hit port facilities, hit communication centers. He hit a lot of civilian targets. We haven’t done that. And we can do that, and we’re not doing it because we feel that there’s an Iranian resistance on the eve of assuming power and removing the regime, and they’ll need that infrastructure.
The other restraints on Donald Trump are, of course, the economy and the midterms, and they’re intertwined. I kept saying to you that we have seven months, eight months. We have less than six months now from the midterm date of Nov. 3, 2026.
And the $64,000 question, of course, is, what will be the status of the economy then? And this is a little tricky because all of the economic gurus, and even The Wall Street Journal in particular, had said that we were going to be in a near recession because of the price of energy.
I never quite understood that because they had told us for years that energy had played a smaller and smaller role in our more and more diversified economy.
But nonetheless, it hasn’t yet. If you look at the indicators, the stock market is now at a record high right in the middle of these negotiations.
The gross domestic product is constant at 2%—not great, but it’s still … And it’s going to grow. The level of foreign investment is already starting to show itself. There was a record small number of people filing for unemployment. The jobs report was well—the new jobs report was well over 110,000.
People had said it was only going to be 50. The price of oil, we were told, was going to go to 150. As I’m speaking today, it’s $95. You’ve got to remember that when Donald Trump entered office on Jan. 21, 2025, the price was $80. So, despite the attempt of the Iranians to stop traffic coming into the Strait of Hormuz, it’s only $15 more today than it was.
And that’s not going to calibrate that there’s going to be more and more oil on the market—not just Russian oil that’s being released, but Venezuelan oil—and we’re going to increase pumping.
So, this muddies the waters, and now Donald Trump is starting to think, well, as time goes by and I have less and less time to jump-start the economy before the midterm elections, in which they’ll blame me for inflation, for example, I’ve got to get this war concluded, but I can’t conclude it with a bomb. Otherwise, they’re saying that I’m just like an Obama.
So, he has to determine, can I force them to give up their enrichment? Can I open the [Strait of Hormuz] for everybody and destroy their PT boats and their ability to do anything with their rockets to hit ships? And can I do that in time for the economy to absorb that kinetic action and win the midterms?
And the answer is no one knows, because if the economy is this strong with all of these worries, and if Donald Trump were to hit very quickly some infrastructure in Iran and maybe seal the uranium in these mountains with heavy bombing or disable the ability to unload or load oil on Kharg Island, he might be able to do one of two things: force them into submission, or prompt a resistance movement to take power, or do so much damage that many people have said, Well, they can’t make war now for 20 years.
If they have uranium, it’s deep down inside a mountain, as far as we know, and they don’t have any leadership. They have no navy, they have no air force, and they probably can’t make any drones. And we can still, if we feel like it, blockade them, since there will be no agreement.
And that means that he might have longer than he thinks he does. And instead of having less than six months, he might say, the economy’s pretty strong right now in the middle of the whole mess, and it might get even stronger as more oil gets on the market, and the chances that I can force them to cede to my demands, or I can inflict a level of punishment on them that they won’t … It won’t matter.
They won’t be able to do what they want to do, and that will even help me in the midterms.
So, we’re in an era, a time, a nexus of indecision and known unknowns. But the idea that both these countries are up against time constraints has been somewhat modified because the Iranians feel that they can keep alive, and they don’t care what the status of the people are.
They can put them down, and they have missiles and drones to threaten and maybe get a longer negotiation.
And we were told that, and we all thought that the midterms were the ultimate brake on Donald Trump’s range of options. And maybe it’s not yet, because the economy has been rebounding in ways that no one had forecast.
We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.
Victor Davis Hanson is a senior contributor for The Daily Signal, hosting a podcast and producing video commentaries four times per week, and writing a weekly column. Follow on X VDHanson.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-12 15:51:262026-05-12 15:51:26What Are the Current U.S. and Iranian Strategies in the War?
Violent crimes are continuing to fall steeply after more than one year of President Donald Trump’s policies. According to a report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, representing police agencies in the nation’s 67 largest cities and metropolitan areas, violent crime between January 1 and March 31 of 2026 was significantly lower than in the same period in 2025. Homicides declined by nearly 20% and robberies declined by more than 20%, while rapes fell by 7.2% and aggravated assaults fell by nearly 5%.
The largest declines were recorded in Baltimore County, Maryland, where homicides fell by more than 83%; Suffolk County, New York, where homicides fell by about 73%; Omaha, Nebraska, where homicides fell by just over 71%; and Buffalo, New York, where homicides fell by 70%. Other areas which saw significant drops in homicides include Aurora, Colorado; Newark, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Raleigh, North Carolina; Portland; and Philadelphia.
Despite the steep declines, 16 jurisdictions did see slightly more homicides in 2026 than in 2025: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Dallas; Dekalb County, Georgia; Denver; Detroit; Fairfax County, Virginia; Fresno, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Las Vegas; Mesa, Arizona; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; San Francisco; and Wichita, Kansas.
Mainstream media reports have largely credited the falling crime rates to a post-COVD-19 drop-off, but the White House has attributed the increase in public safety to Trump administration policies, including deportations. In response to a decrease in violent crimes recorded last year, the White House touted “mass deportations.” “The results are especially pronounced in Democrat-run jurisdictions where the Trump Administration conducted mass deportation and enhanced law enforcement operations,” the statement read. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) likewise credited border security and deportations of criminal illegal immigrants for the dramatic decline in crime rates, noting that 70% of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests have targeted violent offenders.
“There can be no question that the record number of deportations, of which 70% are criminals, has had a noticeable effect on public safety,” Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Washington Stand. She observed that the Trump administration has “prioritized” the arrest of violent offenders, including gang members, human traffickers, drug dealers, murderers, rapists, and others who are responsible for violent crimes. “Whether this will be measurable in crime rates is hard to say, because many other factors affect those rates, including policing strategies, prosecution policies, budgets, and even the weather,” Vaughan noted. “We do know from experience that certain criminals, such as gang members, are responsible for a disproportionate share of crime, so removing them instead of allowing them to remain and keep offending is a good use of resources,” she continued. “This is why we have seen an explosion in local law enforcement agencies signing up to work with ICE.”
Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, said in comments to TWS, “Because the Trump administration has been focusing on deporting the ‘worst of the worst’ deportable aliens, Americans are indeed safer. Additional, preventable crimes have been prevented.” She continued, “An additional factor is likely the deceiving statistics in jurisdictions where charges are downgraded, dismissed, or simply not pursued because the prosecutors and judges have a ‘social justice’ agenda.”
In the midst of carrying out the president’s promised deportation agenda, ICE has routinely shared updates on the “worst of the worst” illegal immigrants arrested. As recently as last week, ICE confirmed that it had arrested Mexican national Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Ramirez, who was convicted of “continuous sexual abuse with a child under 14-years-old” in California; Mexican national Enrique Garcia-Pineda, who was convicted of lewd conduct with a minor under the age of 16 in Idaho; Mexican national Miguel Simon-Marcial, who was convicted of assaulting a pregnant woman in Texas; Cuban national Pedro Fernandez, who was convicted of trafficking cocaine; and others.
Under former President Joe Biden, illegal immigration into the U.S. increased dramatically, and the immigration of violent offenders along with it. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics, fiscal years 2017 through 2019 saw a yearly average of 6,499 CBP encounters with illegal immigrants who had criminal records. That number fell to fewer than 2,500 in 2020, during COVID-19, but rapidly rose to nearly 11,000 in 2021, Biden’s first year in office, peaking at more than 17,000 in fiscal year 2024. During Biden’s tenure in the White House, CBP encountered an annual average of nearly 14,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions.
Trump’s first year back in office, fiscal year 2025, saw that number nearly halved, down to 8,814. As of February, fiscal year 2026 has seen CBP encounter only 2,664 illegal immigrants with criminal records. Criminal convictions recorded include murder, homicide, and manslaughter; assault, battery, and domestic violence; burglary, robbery, larceny, theft, and fraud; sexual offences; and others. Not including illegal entry and re-entry to the U.S., the most commonly-encountered criminal convictions are driving under the influence and drug trafficking.
The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.
SARASOTA, FL — Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner announced that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has recognized the office with two national Clearinghouse Award wins and one honorable mention, underscoring the office’s continued leadership in innovative and professional election administration.
The recognitions from the EAC are for:
Award winner – Election Administration Innovations for The Logic & Accuracy Show: Turning Compliance into Choreography
Award winner – Communications for 150 Feet of Clarity: Proactive Outreach for a Positive Voting Experience
Honorable mention – Communications for Clarity Meets Accessibility: A Unified Signage System for Voters
Turner commended the team’s dedication and high standards of service.
“I am immensely proud of the team we have assembled in the Sarasota County elections office,” Turner said. “We continually seek new ways to improve the voter experience and strengthen the integrity of our election processes. These honors from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission reinforce our ongoing commitment to innovation, efficiency and exceptional service to the voters of Sarasota County.”
The EAC is an independent, bipartisan federal agency focused on election administration. Submissions were judged on innovation, sustainability, outreach, cost-effectiveness, replicability and the generation of positive results. Now in its 10th year, the Clearinghouse Awards celebrate best practices and innovative approaches implemented during the 2025 election cycle.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-12 15:51:242026-05-12 15:51:24FLORIDA: Sarasota County Elections Office Recognized with Three National Awards
During Police Week, GOP leadership will honor law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Sunday night, Majority Whip Tom Emmer illuminated his office with blue lights shining out of his office windows on the ground floor of the U.S. Capitol. The visual tribute will last all week.
“I am proud to continue the tradition of lighting up our Capitol office blue to express House Republicans’ gratitude to the brave men and women of law enforcement,” Emmer told The Daily Signal.
Emmer has carried out this tradition for four years now, since becoming majority whip in January 2023. In past years, Majority Leader Steve Scalise has also changed the lights in his office to blue, honoring police officers.
“Our conference will always back the blue, despite the Left’s attempts to defund and demoralize police forces across America,” Emmer continued. “During National Police Week—and every week—we recognize our officers’ hard work, bravery, and sacrifice,” Emmer concluded.
This year’s police week comes as Democrats are continuing their call to “defund the police,” even after years of it being a proven failed policy. Congress just managed to reopen part of the Department of Homeland Security, after nearly 80 days, though it still has more work to do to convince Democrats to fund immigration services and Secret Service officers.
“Each of the 111 fatalities we publish in this report represents a selfless sacrifice made on behalf of the community and the nation in which they serve,” said National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund CEO Bill Alexander.
As of now, there are roughly 700,000 law enforcement officers sworn into service nationwide.
The nation’s capital will honor law enforcement officers throughout the week. On Wednesday, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial will hold its 38th annual candlelight vigil on the National Mall. On Thursday, the group will hold a police vehicle parade featuring classic restored cars and motorcycles at the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool.
On Friday, the group will hold the 45th annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., from noon to 3 p.m. The week will end with fundraiser games at Nationals Park, where the Washington Nationals will play the Baltimore Orioles on Friday and Saturday nights.
Emmer will also host his annual “Pizza for Police” lunch at the Capitol this week.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-12 03:51:242026-05-12 03:51:24Emmer Lights the Capitol, Vows GOP Will ‘Always Back the Blue’
President Trump said Monday that he supports suspending the federal gas tax “for a period of time” to help lower prices at the pump, which have spiked dramatically since the start of the war with Iran.
“I think it’s a great idea,” the president told CBS News during a phone interview. “We’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in.” The average national price for a gallon of gas was $4.52 on Monday, according to AAA. That represents a roughly 50% increase from where prices stood shortly before the war started in late February.
Trump’s comments come a day after Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC News that the administration was considering suspending the federal gas tax. “All measures that can be taken to lower the price at the pump and lower the prices for Americans, this administration is in support of,” Wright said. “We’re open to all ideas.”
However, the Trump administration doesn’t have the authority to suspend the gas tax unilaterally. Congress would have to pass a bill for the policy to go into effect. Some Republicans have come forward in support of legislation to pause the gas tax in the wake of Trump’s comments, but it remains to be seen whether the idea has enough bipartisan backing to become law.
If a bill does end up passing, it will only affect the federal gas tax, which is currently about 18 cents per gallon for regular gas and 24 cents per gallon for diesel. State gas taxes, which are nearly 33 cents per gallon on average, would still be in place unless state-level lawmakers take action. Since the start of the war, a handful of states — including Georgia, Indiana and Utah — have taken steps to suspend their gas taxes temporarily. The idea has also been a big subject for debate in the California governor’s race.
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Conservative business leader pledges to fight for lower costs, secure borders and the Trump agenda in newly redrawn FL-25
/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Dan Franzese today announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Florida’s newly redrawn 25th Congressional District (FL-25). Franzese — who was the Republican nominee in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District (FL-22) in 2024 — enters the race promising to put America First, make life affordable, and hold career politicians accountable for the backroom deals destroying Florida’s way of life.
“Florida families have been betrayed by career politicians far too many times,” said Franzese. “As a political outsider from the business world, President Trump has been draining the swamp, delivering secure borders, and an America First agenda. In Congress, I’ll use that same experience to back him up, make life more affordable again, and hold career politicians accountable. The people of FL-25 deserve a fighter who shows up, tells the truth, and delivers — not another ladder climber cutting deals behind closed doors.”
Dan Will Fight To:
Put America First: Support President Trump’s agenda, secure our elections, and stop criminal illegal aliens.
Make Life Affordable Again: Cut taxes, lower energy costs, and reduce inflation.
Hold Career Politicians Accountable: Stop waste, fraud, and sketchy backroom deals that destroy our Florida way of life.
The new FL-25 overlaps the old FL-22, where Franzese was previously the Republican nominee and received an endorsement from President Donald Trump in 2024. From a blue-collar upbringing to a Wharton MBA, Franzese has established a record as a tireless conservative leader and trusted voice for the America First movement in South Florida. He has spent years building deep relationships in the community, working alongside local leaders, small business owners, faith communities, and grassroots conservatives. Those roots position him to compete and win in the new FL-25, which spans portions of Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Miami-Dade County, following the legislature’s redistricting last month.
Recent reporting in Florida Politics has confirmed that the FL-25 race is wide open, with no candidate consolidating early support and the majority of primary voters undecided.
The campaign is also releasing an internal polling memo showing that Franzese enters the race with strong favorability among voters that know him and a clear lane to introduce his America First vision to voters across the district.
About Dan Franzese
Dan Franzese is a conservative business leader, husband, father, and longtime South Florida resident. He has been an active voice in Palm Beach County’s conservative community and is running for Congress to put America first, make life affordable again, and hold career politicians accountable on behalf of the families of FL-25. More information is available at www.DanForUSA.com.
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Marcel Villa does not come from academia; he holds no formal degree certifying him as a journalist or photographer. Perhaps that is precisely why he is, today, one of the most intriguing communicators on the island — someone who does not take for granted the postmodernist dogmas prevalent in state-run higher education or in courses designed for the independent press. And that stance has come at a cost.
He recalls his teenage years as those of an undisciplined youth, “without much sense of future direction.” At age 21, he sat for the entrance exams and enrolled in law school through a special program for working students. He admits he chose the major “more out of family influence than any true vocation.”
In 2018, while in his third year of studies, his older brother — who has lived in Spain for the past 20 years — gifted him a camera. Almost simultaneously, he discovered the small world of the non-state press in a Havana that was experiencing the ultimately fruitless apertura (opening) initiated by Barack Obama.
The profession he chose is not an easy one. Practicing independent journalism in Cuba remains a pursuit subject to a level of persecution rarely seen elsewhere in the hemisphere. The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression reported that in the month of March alone, there was a surge in internet outages, arbitrary detentions, incarcerations, attacks, threats, and both psychological and physical assaults.
On the island — currently a focal point of international attention due to the potential for political change under pressure from the Trump administration — Villa uses video interviews, travel chronicles, and photojournalism to document a fractured nation that continues to survive despite socialism.
Here is Part 1 of my interview with Marcel.
How did you get your start in the world of the independent press?
It was in 2018, when I submitted a feature story to Play-Off Magazine — an independent Cuban sports publication. The piece was about a Dominican priest living in Havana who was using soccer as a tool for social change.
At the time — alongside my studies — I was working as a pizza maker at a cafeteria in Alamar; I would spend 12 or 13 hours there, working non-stop, for $10 a day. It was exhausting. I was just at the café when I received the news that Play-Off Magazine had accepted my feature story and that I would be able to contribute to them on a regular basis. Immediately afterward, I feigned a stomachache, hung up my apron, and walked out — never to return. That day, Play-Off became my job.
I wasn’t a photographer yet, nor did I aspire to be one; I was barely just learning how to use a camera.
My intention was to become a journalist, so I focused on writing the text, treating photography more as a supplement. Lacking formal professional training, I had gaps in my theoretical knowledge and errors in my writing — flaws I gradually corrected as I studied journalism manuals and my editors provided feedback. In that sense, Play-Off served as a school for me.
And when — and why — did you shift your focus to photography?
In 2019, I watched the film “The Pirates of Somalia,” and it sparked the idea for me to travel to the Isle of Pines. I thought: This will be my Somalia. Once there, I sought out stories that I could later turn into feature articles, chronicles, or even — I considered — an investigative piece. I laugh about it now, looking back, because the whole trip was incredibly ill-prepared. I hadn’t even arranged a place to stay.
I arrived on the island and knocked on the door of the very first house I saw that was renting out a room. I spent a week in the city of Nueva Gerona, burning through my savings; as a consequence of my journalistic wanderings around the city, I ended up being interrogated by State Security (SE — the political police) just hours before my scheduled departure.
The day after I returned to Havana, State Security contacted me again — but this time, they tried to recruit me as an informant within Play-Off. I refused, and for months afterward, I lived in fear that they would retaliate against me.
During that period, the era of openness in Cuba — sparked by the “thaw” under the Obama administration — was drawing to a close, and with it, the boom in independent media. Some magazines went on hiatus; many others simply didn’t survive. My trip to the Isle of Pines had been a complete fiasco. I was never able to land any actual journalistic assignments during my time there. Photography — both as an art form and a craft — was captivating me more and more.
All of this, combined with the apprehension left over from my run-in with State Security, led me to dedicate myself to photography full-time. Although I became a professional photographer and focused on more commercial genres, I continued to collaborate occasionally with Play-Off.
I dropped out of law school, knowing it was a profession I would never actually practice, and devoted myself full-time to studying and honing my skills with my camera. I completed a basic course at an excellent private institution called the Havana School of Creative Photography; everything else I learned on my own — through books, articles, and videos.
From that time until 2023, I shot Quinceañera celebrations, music videos, still photography, theater productions, fashion shoots, special events, nightlife scenes, and more. To make a living as a photographer in Cuba, you have to be extremely versatile, as the market is quite limited.
But then you returned to independent media — and not merely as a contributor, but by founding a publication of your own.
Yes. In 2022, together with three friends, I founded POB Magazine, an independent photography journal. We kept it running for a year using our own resources. Its editorial line was largely inspired by Play-Off; we used photography — along with the testimonies of photographers — as a window onto the reality of life in Cuba.
A series of cyberattacks on our website — occurring just days before our one-year anniversary — forced us to cease publication. We decided to put the project on hold until we could secure the necessary funding. While it was active, the magazine was very well received within the Cuban photography community; being its co-founder and director gave me significant visibility within the independent media landscape.
In that same year — the year POB Magazine went on hiatus — I returned full-time to the world of journalism, this time working as both a photographer and a video producer. I gradually began to move away from the more commercial genres of photography and video, shifting my focus instead toward photojournalism and documentary photography.
Since then, I have collaborated with most of the independent Cuban magazines and newspapers currently in existence — almost always anonymously. I also contribute regularly to El País, and on a couple of occasions, I have worked with El Confidencial — both based in Spain.
Yoe Suárez is The Washington Stand’s international affairs correspondent. He is an exiled journalist, writer, and producer who investigated in Havana about torture, political police, gangs, government black lists, and cybersurveillance. A graduate of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, he was a CBN correspondent, and has written for outlets like The Hill and Newsweek. He has appeared on Vox, Univision, and Deutsche Welle as an analyst on Cuba, security, and U.S. foreign policy.
The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-12 03:51:212026-05-12 03:51:21Marcel Villa: The Hazardous and Rewarding Work of Practicing Independent Journalism in Cuba (Part 1)
The Democrat Party is the party of Islam and terrorists. From Barrack Husein Obama, to Joeseph Robinette Biden to Chuck Schumer to Hakeem Jefferies Iran is their buddies are Iran, Hamas, Hezb’allah, and many other terrorist organizations that murder Americans, Jews, Christians globally.
The United States has designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism and accuses it of funding and arming numerous militant groups through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force. Iran’s primary proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon, receives significant financial and military support, alongside Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
In the Middle East, Iran-aligned militia groups (IAMGs) in Iraq and Syria include Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Kata’ib Hizballah, Harakat al-Nujaba, and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq. Other designated or accused groups receiving Iranian support include the Houthis in Yemen, the Badr Organization, and militias in Bahrain such as the Al-Ashtar Brigades and Saraya al-Mukhtar. Iran has also been accused of providing weapons and support to the Taliban in Afghanistan and harboring al-Qaedafacilitators.
Terrorist Designations of Iran-Aligned Militia Groups
The United States remains committed to countering Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, and disrupting Iran-aligned militia groups (IAMGs) from conducting attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities.
Today, the Department of State announces the designations of IAMGs Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
Harakat al-Nujaba (HAN)
The Department of State designated HAN and its Secretary General Akram al-Kabi as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) in 2019. Established in 2013, HAN has openly pledged its loyalties to Iran and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the group is a leading member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), a front group of Iraqi militias that are part of the broader Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance. HAN officials have publicly threatened to attack U.S. military bases and personnel in the region.
Iran supports HAN both militarily and logistically, and the group had close ties withIran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force’s (IRGC-QF) former commander Qasem Soleimani and former Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS)
The Department of State designated KSS and its Secretary General Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji as SDGTs in 2023. KSS is a member of the IRI and the group’s terrorist activity has threatened both U.S. and Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS personnel in Iraq and Syria.
Iran has supported KSS with training, funding, and sophisticated weapons.
Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA)
The Department of State designated HAAA and its Secretary General Haydar Muzhir Ma’lak al-Sa’idi as SDGTs in 2024. HAAA was involved in the IRI’s January 2024 drone attack on Tower 22 in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members, and the group has publicly threatened to continue attacking U.S. interests in the region.
Kata’ib al-Imam Ali (KIA)
The Department of State designated KIA as an SDGT in 2025. KIA is affiliated with the IRI, and has, in coordination with other IAMGs, planned attacks targeting U.S. military and diplomatic facilities as well as commercial projects. KIA has also facilitated kinetic operations against U.S. forces in Iraq and its members have trained in Iran and with Hizballah in Lebanon.
KIA Secretary General Shibl al-Zaydi, designated in 2018 as an SDGT, served as a financial coordinator between the IRGC-QF and armed groups in Iraq, and assisted in facilitating Iraqi investments on behalf of Soleimani.
IAMGs Previously Designated as FTOs
Kata’ib Hizballah (KH)
The Department of State designated KH as an FTO and an SDGT in 2009. The Department designated KH Secretary General Ahmad al-Hamidawi as an SDGT in 2020. Formed in 2006 as an anti-Western Shia group, KH has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against U.S. and Coalition Forces in Iraq. KH has also conducted attacks against Israeli, Iraqi, and Defeat-ISIS Coalition targets in Iraq and threatened the lives of Iraqi politicians and civilians. KH has ideological ties to and receives financial and military support from Iran.
Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH)
The Department of State designated AAH as an FTO and SDGT in 2020, along with its leader Qays al-Khazali as an SDGT. Formed in 2006, AAH is extensively funded and trained by Iran. AAH has claimed responsibility for thousands of attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces, including an attack on the Karbala Provincial Headquarters that resulted in the capture and murder of five American soldiers.
AAH seeks to promote Iran’s political and religious influence in Iraq, maintain Shia control over Iraq, and expel any remaining Western military forces from the country.
Terrorist designations expose and isolate entities and individuals, denying them access to the U.S. financial system and resources they need to carry out attacks.
All property and property interests of designated individuals or groups that are in the United States or that are in possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting business with sanctioned persons.
Persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with those designated today may expose themselves to sanctions risk. Notably, engaging in certain transactions with them entails risk of secondary sanctions pursuant to counterterrorism authorities.
Today’s actions are taken pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register.
Petitioners requesting removal of those designated from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List should refer to the Department of State’s Delisting Guidance page.
The Bottom Line
The Democrat Party, like Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, has embraced Islam.
Islamists shout “Death to America” from Iran to New York City to Chicago to Detroit. Democrats are in the streets waving, not the American flag, but the flags of Iran, Hamas, Hezb’allah and their related supporters Black Lives Matter and Antifa.
Democrats hate America. Democrats love everything but America.
Democrat embrace those who call out “Death to America.”
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2026-05-11 15:51:172026-05-11 15:51:17DEMOCRATS: The Party for Iran, of Islam and pro-Domestic Terrorism
THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a “60 Minutes” interview airing Sunday that President Donald Trump wanted to remove Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.
The United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28 after talks regarding the Islamic regime’s nuclear program broke down. Netanyahu told CBS News reporter Major Garrett that, while the campaign had achieved “a great deal,” he believed there was still “work to be done.”
“There’s still nuclear material—enriched uranium—that has to be taken out of Iran. There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” Netanyahu said. “There’s still proxies that Iran supports, there’s ballistic missiles that they still want to produce. Now, we have degraded a lot of it, but all that is still there and there’s work to be done.”
“How do you envision the highly enriched uranium will be removed from Iran?” Garrett asked.
“You go in and you take it out,” Netanyahu replied.
WATCH:
Iranian state media claimed the rescued crew of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle was part of an operation targeting Iranian nuclear materiel kept at Isfahan, where Iran has a research center. Iranian outlets also claimed the U.S. lost multiple aircraft, but United States Central Command confirmed only one A-10 Thunderbolt close-air-support plane was lost and its pilot was safely recovered.
“With what, special forces from Israel, special forces [from the] United States?” Garrett asked.
“Well, I’m not gonna talk about military means, but the president— what President Trump said to me, ‘I want to go in there and I think it can be done physically,’” Netanyahu responded. “That’s not the problem. If you have an agreement and you go in and you take it out, why not? That’s the best way.”
“What if there isn’t an agreement? Can it be taken out by force?” Garrett asked.
“Well, [if] you’re gonna ask me these questions, I’m gonna dodge them because I’m not gonna talk about our military possibilities, plans, or anything of that kind,” the prime minister replied.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed during a Sunday interview on “Meet the Press” that Iran had material for ten nuclear devices and over 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to 60%. Wright also asserted that ending the Iranian nuclear program would lower energy costs in the long term. Trump Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff made similar allegations in a March 2 interview with Sean Hannity, but the administration has not offered evidence to corroborate the assertions from Witkoff or Wright.
Trump and other administration officials asserted the Iranian nuclear program was “obliterated” after the June 2025 strike against multiple Iranian nuclear sites, but maintained Iran posed a threat to the U.S. without providing specific details. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said the U.S. launched strikes because an Iranian response to Israel’s planned attack could have potentially targeted American forces.
The New York Times reported April 7 that, despite skepticism from administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Trump was convinced to launch strikes against Iran during a Feb. 11 visit to the White House by Netanyahu.
Former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent resigned March 17 over the conflict, claiming the war began “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” He also argued in an X post that Iran posed no “imminent threat” to the United States.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
It seems that millennia of Jewish law which forbids incineration of Jewish bodies is not fashionable in certain elite Sarasota legal circles; it is, in fact, “absurd,” according to top attorneys and partners at Williams Parker Attorneys at Law, Mark A. Schwartz and Bonnie Lee Ann Polk, both of whom were amongst SRQ Magazine’s 2025 Elite Top Attorneys list.
In their recent filing before Sarasota Probate Judge Charles E. Williams, Schwartz and Polk denigrated the bedrock Jewish law that prohibits cremation, labelling it as some sort of absurd prohibition against the [Holocaust Survivor] Decedent being cremated. Schwartz and Polk representing Corporate Personal Representative of the Estate of Marie Lubowski Winkelman falsely represented in their filing, attached, that the cremation of Marie Winkelman was “in accordance with her own wishes as determined in the guardianship court, and [in] compliance with the Decedent’s wishes as determined in the guardianship court,” when the attorneys knew that Judge Charles E. Williams, former Chief Judge, had promptly signed the Order for cremation sought by Robert Scheb for Sabal Trust/Hancock Whitney Bank. In truth, the guardianship court (1) never held any hearing, (2) never received any sworn testimonies in support of Marie’s cremation (which occurred 10 years later), (3) never sought advisement from Jewish authorities on Jewish , (4) never permitted Dr. Beverly Newman to present sworn eyewitness evidence of Marie’s wishes for her body upon her death, and (5) never received any sworn evidence, in accordance with law, that Marie Winkelman wished to be cremated.
Marie Winkelman, whose family was incinerated in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, was always traumatized at the thought of cremation, having witnessed the inferno on the Warsaw Ghetto that left her family, neighbors, schoolmates, and entire Jewish community without graves, proper Jewish funerals and burials,
The only material matter of Marie Winkelman’s earthly existence left by the Sarasota court is Marie’s money, which millions have been largely consumed by attorney fees beginning in 2013 that forced Marie into a corporate guardianship under the control of persons totally unfamiliar to her. Facing a blighted future of uncertainty, Marie sought comfort and guidance from her Holocaust Survivor advocate, Dr. Beverly Newman, who pleaded for Marie’s dignity through the present and for Marie’s rites and rights as a Jew.
SARASOTA ATTORNEYS DECLARE PROHIBITION AGAINST CREMATION OF JEWISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR “ABSURD”
Since when can a probate judge order the total elimination of a Holocaust Survivor known as “erasive antisemitism,” that negates the identity and religious rights of a Jew?
Since when does the Jewish community stand silent in the face of desecration of Jewish bodies, such that nothing identifiable is left of Marie Winkelman and Marie’s ashes – like her family’s — are somewhere, anywhere, everywhere?
Since when does a Jew not deserve Chevra Kadisha guarding of the body, washing, and preparation for proper Jewish burial, Jewish prayers, a white shroud, a pine casket, a proper Jewish funeral and burial, minyan, shiva, Kaddish prayers, gravesite in a Jewish cemetery, a eulogy, gravestone, an obituary – none of which Marie Winkelman received for her miraculous bravery in the Holocaust, decades of being married to fellow Holocaust Survivors and widowed twice, beautiful artworks, unmatched generosity and kindnesses for others, and loving autobiographical legacy for the world to know her own tragedies and treks upward?
Since when can “Elite Top Attorneys” denigrate bedrock Jewish law as “some sort of absurd prohibition” against incinerating a Jew and a Jew’s rights and rites to be treated with dignity?
Beverly Newman’s Motion includes a long, meandering narrative that falsely and illogically attempts to boot-strap the horrors of the Holocaust into some sort of absurd prohibition against the [Holocaust Survivor] Decedent being cremated upon her death in accordance with her own wishes [with no hearing, no testimonies, and no sworn evidence of Marie Winkelman’s wishes] as determined in the guardianship court, and that compliance with the Decedent’s wishes as determined in the guardianship court somehow constitutes antisemitism and by extension grounds to remove the Personal Representative
Signed
By:/s/ Mark A. Schwartz Mark A. Schwartz, Esquire Florida Bar No. 0064367 Bonnie Lee A. Polk, Esquire Florida Bar No. 0030678 50 Central Avenue, Eighth Floor Sarasota, Florida 34236 Tel: (941) 366-4800 Fax: (941) 366-5109 Attorneys for Hancock Whitney Bank as Personal Representative of the Estate of Marie L. Winkelman
Williams Parker attends AJC 2024 lunch and learn on Jewish affairs
We were honored to attend the AJC
American Jewish Committee 2024 Lunch & Learn, where International Expert Belle Yoeli shared invaluable insights on the State of Jewish Affairs: Around the World with AJC!
Our attendees, Emma Onesti, Claudia Gesiotto, Mark Schwartz, and Gail Farb, were proud to represent Williams Parker. We are grateful to have sponsored this event and support the important work of AJC.
Mark Schwartz
Sarasota’s “Elite Top Attorneys” have fed local, national, and global “erasive antisemitism” by deprecating as “absurd” millennia of bedrock Jewish law to bury every Jew with dignity and purity for her afterlife, when her bones will be rejoined together with her sinews and flesh and skin and the breath of life.
Ezekiel 37
The Valley of Dry Bones
The Valley of Dry Bones: Ezekiel’s …
37 The hand of the L-rd was on me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the L-rd and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign L-rd, you alone know.”
4 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the L-rd! 5 This is what the Sovereign L-rd says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the L-rd.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign L-rd says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then He said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign L-rd says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the L-rd, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the L-rd have spoken, and I have done it, declares the L-rd.’”
But Marie Winkelman has no bones, sinews, flesh, or skin and no grave.
I’m a fan of Sharyl Attkisson — since seeing her thoughtful reports on TV, back around the Civil War time. She now has a Substack and is doing what a good journalist should be doing: objectively reporting on societal issues. (I’ve added her Substack to the select few that I recommend.)
Last month, she wrote an interesting piece, “11 Urgent Issues Politicians Pretend Don’t Exist”. You can read them at your leisure, but #2 (which should have been #1) was on K-12 education. She wrote:
Status of Public Education America’s K-12 system remains anchored in mid-20th-century models, yielding poor outcomes despite technological and societal advancements. Yet comprehensive overhauls are rarely prioritized. Over the past decade, U.S. performance has frequently proved to be abysmal, with high percentages of low performers in critical subjects. The answer doesn’t lie in tried and tired solutions such as dumping more money into the school system or teacher salaries.
The outdated structure—grouping students by age rather than ability or interest—fails to adapt to modern needs. Traditional emphases on memorizing formulas are obsolete in an era of ubiquitous calculators and AI tools. Instead, education could focus more on critical thinking, problem-solving, and adaptable skills like data literacy and collaboration.
Reinventing the entire model could involve grouping students by aptitude. For example, an 8-year-old advanced in math might learn alongside 12-year-olds. Or maybe kids could be grouped by learning style. Those who learn best with hands-on experiences would be taught differently from students who are self-starters and excel when pacing on their own.
In addition, technology offers a game-changer: The best teachers in each subject could teach all students through nationwide, interactive lessons, giving every child access to top-tier instruction. There’s no excuse for kids to have to learn from substandard instructors with today’s technological possibilities.
All of this could improve results and save extraordinarily in costs.
a) Gregory Scott: In my school in Indianapolis in the 60s and 70s, students were actually grouped by ability by subject. It was a very integrated school and had many accomplishments, including winning a city-wide math competition, being good in science to the point my senior physics instructor told others I was the best student he ever had.
b)Crash Pile: Excellent list. On the public education topic, perhaps the little bit of memorizing is not obsolete, but is insufficient.
c)Michael Lynch: #2 Status of Public Education. You danced around the problem. The core problem, in a nutshell, is a lack of participation and discipline by the so-called “adult parents” at home. There is little discipline in the home, and this translates directly to chaos in the classroom. The system matters little when chaos exists in the classroom. This same issue touches every other sector.
d) Guy Higgins: The K-12 structural problem you describe is real. Age-based cohorts, rigid pacing, and bureaucratic school systems often work poorly for both advanced and struggling students. But K-12 education reform is mostly a state and local issue, not a federal one. Expanding parental choice and allowing schools to experiment with grouping by ability or subject mastery would probably produce more innovation than a national redesign. Increased Federal attention has not resulted in any improvement.
e) kittynana: OR we could overhaul the education system right here in America and produce students with critical thinking skills and hire THEM for the jobs.
Sharyl: THANK YOU for this!
Yes, the SAVE Act is extremely important {other readers brought that up}, but if the K-12 situation is not quickly fixed, nothing else will matter.
I’m a scientist (physicist) and national K-12 education expert. There are multiple issues with K-12, starting with the fact that we have no national mission statement as to the objective of our K-12 schools. Instead, we have FIFTY (50!) different mission statements. How absurd!
Secondly, our focus is totally wrong. Today, US K-12 schools are almost universally oriented to teach students WHAT to think. The Left knows this and has completely taken over the WHAT in every subject (Science, history, math, etc.). The content of almost every subject is now infused with progressive/ socialist/ Marxist propaganda. Stunningly, no major US Conservative organization (Heritage, AEI, etc.) has opposed this corruption of the curricula. NONE. The Left has taken full advantage of that vacuum.
The solution to this is simple: change the focus to teaching students HOW to think. That means formally teaching children how to be Critical Thinkers. No State is currently done this…. FYI, to make this easy, my team of experts has created K-12 Standards for teaching Critical Thinking. No one else has EVER done this! It’s free to appropriate parties.
This and a lot more are explained in my Critical Thinking substack.
I support the suggested idea of grouping students by ability. That is the way my high school was set up, and it seemed to work well.
What Sharyl didn’t suggest was to also segregate boys and girls in high school. That was also the way my high school was set up (all boys), and in my personal experience, it worked out excellently.
Sharyl’s comments are far better than what is typically seen in mainstream media. For example, the fact that she emphasized Critical Thinking is extremely important.
Here is other information from this scientist that you might find interesting:
I urge all readers to subscribe to AlterAI — IMO the absolute best AI option for subjective questions.
I will consider posting reader submissions on Critical Thinking about my topics of interest.
My commentaries are my opinion about the material discussed therein, based on the information I have. If any readers have different information, please share it. If it is credible, I will be glad to reconsider my position.
Check out the Archives of this Critical Thinking substack.
C19Science.info is my one-page website that covers the lack of genuine Science behind our COVID-19 policies.
Election-Integrity.info is my one-page website that lists multiple major reports on the election integrity issue.
WiseEnergy.org is my multi-page website that discusses the Science (or lack thereof) behind our energy options.
Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from climate to COVID, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2026 Archives. Please send me an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time!)
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