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Senators Express Optimism That Trump Will Restore Pro-Life Policies at HHS

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By Family Research Council

Following four years of the Biden administration reversing the pro-life federal policies established during President Donald Trump’s first term, Republican senators are expressing confidence that the incoming Trump administration will put back in place policies that blocked federal funds from going to abortion businesses, allowed pregnancy resource centers to receive federal funds, and stopped the funding of international groups that promote abortion, among other measures.

After Trump nominated former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as his secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last November, concerns arose among numerous GOP lawmakers and pro-life advocacy groups that the former Democrat-turned-Independent presidential nominee would sideline pro-life policies based on his past pro-abortion positions. During his presidential run, Kennedy has called the abortion issue “nuanced and complex” and also said that the state should not “dictate choices that the woman is making” regarding abortion. He has also previously supported (and walked back support for) three-month pro-life protections.

However, Senate Republicans like Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) say they have received personal assurances from Kennedy that he will not pursue pro-abortion policies while in office and will, in fact, enact pro-life ones. Last month, Hawley posted a series of tweets describing his conversation with Kennedy regarding the issue. “He committed to me to reinstate President Trump’s prolife policies at HHS,” Hawley wrote. “That includes reinstating the Mexico City policy & ending taxpayer funding for abortions domestically.”

The senator further noted Kennedy’s promise to have all pro-life deputies at HHS and that he “believes there are far too many abortions in the US and that we cannot be the moral leader of the free world with abortion rates so high.” Hawley also stated that Kennedy promised to reinstate “the bar on Title X funds going to organizations that promote abortion” and to “reinstate conscience protections for healthcare providers.”

During Tuesday’s edition of “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins,” Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) confirmed that he too met with Kennedy and also received assurances from him that he would pursue pro-life policies within the federal agency.

“We had a very robust discussion,” he explained. “In fact, talking about the importance of protecting the pro-life policies in terms of regulations coming out of HHS, but importantly, restoring any policies that the Biden administration has stripped, and to … work with the secretary of State [to ensure] we are doing all we can within the executive branch to make sure these protections are in place and, frankly, expanded. And he told me that he’ll have seven [deputies in] HHS [that] would be pro-life type of leaders. And I appreciate that honesty and frankness from RFK Jr.”

The news comes amid uncertainty surrounding how pro-life Trump’s second administration will be after the president-elect oversaw watered-down pro-life language inserted into the 2024 Republican Party platform last July, which was entirely revamped and truncated from the previous GOP platform. Trump also repeatedly said on the campaign trail last year that he would leave the abortion issue to the states and that some state pro-life protections are “too tough.” The 45th president’s inconsistent rhetoric on the issue has left pro-life lawmakers and advocates wondering if he would, in fact, use his executive authority to undo the pro-abortion executive orders that President Joe Biden enacted.

Nevertheless, in an op-ed published Monday, Hawley reiterated his optimism that the president-elect will restore the pro-life policies that were reversed under Biden. The senator noted that in addition to restoring the Mexico City Policy, barring abortion businesses from receiving Title X grant money, and restoring federal funding to pregnancy resource centers, Trump’s first-term HHS also “restrict[ed] the use of human fetal tissue obtained from abortions.”

“The Biden administration gutted those rules,” Hawley concluded. “Thankfully, it’s a new day. And President Trump has the power to start protecting life again — immediately. He should use that power boldly to protect those who most need it: the innocent unborn.”

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

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.

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Critically Thinking about the Federal Department of Education

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By John Droz, Jr.

Three Powerful, Practical, Plausible Recommendations to Improve DOEd

Arguably, for the first time in modern US history, the federal government is:

  1. open to making radical changes in government agencies,
  2. has the right political perspective, and
  3. is receptive to citizen inputs.

Yes, there are always reasons to be skeptical — but the upside is so great that we should assume the best, and offer assistance. For those who are incurably cynical and say no, then you are foregoing your future rights to complain!

I’m polling my Critical Thinking Substack readers as to their best ideas regarding the Department of Health and Human Services (FDA, CDC, etc.), Department of Education (DOEd), Department of Energy (DOE), EPA, and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). [If you have any good connections with the upper echelon of any of these federal Departments, please email me.]

Let’s say that this is the scenario:

a) we are given five (5) minutes for a face-to-face meeting with the Secretary of each of these Departments, and 

b) we are asked to limit our suggestions to three (3) items. Due to these rules, we need to filter out many ideas so that we are left with just three (3) succinct, important, doable recommendations.

This is the second in my series of commentaries to each of the above-mentioned Departments. Below are my suggested three (3) recommendations for the federal Department of Education (DOEd). Critically Thinking readers can constructively weigh in with support or any improvements on what I’ve proposed, in the Comments below…

We’ll then try to get the end product to the new Department of Education Secretary, probably Linda McMahon.

Redefine its Mission. Here is the boilerplate pablum that is their current mission statement. This should be upgraded to say something like: meaningfully assisting States in producing high school graduates who are competent, productive, healthy, critical thinkers (e.g., see this fine piece). In other words, the Department should leverage the power and money of the federal government to aggressively assist States in fixing the currently deplorable K-12 education system. (Note: in 2024 the Department had $80± Billion in discretionary funding (out of a $250± Billion budget) — that is a LOT of leverage!)

In the process of reformulating DOEd’s mission get rid of bureaucratic bloat. Strip down the Department to the bare essentials. (Right now there are over 4100 employees. How about aiming for 400 — a 90% reduction? Four hundred competent, motivated, mission-focused employees can do a LOT!)

Clearly spell out what the primary objective of K-12 education should be. Assuming that the 3Rs are properly taught, the #1 objective of every state education system should be to produce Critically Thinking graduates. In other words, States should radically change their education systems from their current focus on teaching students WHAT to think, to instead teach them HOW to think. Since no State is currently doing that(!), this would revolutionize American education. (Note: presently less than ten States even mention Critical Thinking in their Mission statements!)

DOEd should put this as a condition for States to receive money from DOEd. In other words, unless a State can show that their K-12 education curricula is properly teaching students to be Critical Thinkers, they are not eligible for certain DOEd funds.

DOEd should take an unequivocal stand against age-inappropriate books being in K-12 school classes and libraries (e.g., see here and here). The fundamental problem is that the American Library Association (ALA) does not recognize the issue of age-appropriateness! DOEd has the power and authority to stand up against ALA — much more than most States do.

This idea is already societally accepted in the US. A good example is that the rating systems for movies and TV are based on age-appropriateness. The movie website says: “Established in 1968, the film rating system provides parents with the information needed to determine if a film is appropriate for their children.” Exactly the same thing applies to books being considered for K-12 schools!

To make a profound improvement in K-12 education, the Department should specify that they will not provide any certain DOEd funds to a State that does not have an enforced appropriate official written policy regarding the age-appropriateness of materials associated with their K-12 schools. [Towards that same end the Department should aggressively oppose legislation that undermines the concept of age-appropriateness — like this.]

Yes, I am fully aware that there are a multitude of other education-related issues — and several of them are significant (e.g., see here). The question is, if you only had five (5) minutes to speak to the DOEd Secretary, and were limited to your three (3) best recommendations, what would they be? These are my recommendations.

©2025   All rights reserved.

Here is other information from this scientist that you might find interesting:

I am now offering incentives for you to sign up new subscribers!

I also consider reader submissions on Critical Thinking on my topics of interest.

Check out the Archives of this Critical Thinking substack.

WiseEnergy.org: discusses the Science (or lack thereof) behind our energy options.

C19Science.info: covers the lack of genuine Science behind our COVID-19 policies.

Election-Integrity.info: multiple major reports on the election integrity issue.

Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2024 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 – but why would you?

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Rubio: China Is ‘Most Potent, Dangerous Threat America Has Ever Confronted’

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By Family Research Council

Amidst the announcement this week of a major international operation to remove China state-sponsored malware from thousands of computers worldwide, U.S. officials and lawmakers are sounding the alarm that Xi Jinping’s communist regime is waging an increasingly malicious and aggressive effort to undermine the U.S. and other free democracies across the globe.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that it had completed a “multi-month enforcement operation” in which it was able to delete “PlugX” malware from over 4,200 computers across the globe, with the help of the FBI and French law enforcement. The malware was used by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hackers to “infect, control, and steal information from victim computers.” The operation comes on the heels of significant breaches by CCP operatives of U.S. internet service providers and the U.S. Treasury Department.

Over the weekend, outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray remarked during an interview that the Chinese government is “the defining threat of our generation.” He went on to detail how China’s cyberwarfare program “is by far and away the world’s largest — bigger than that of every major nation combined and has stolen more of Americans’ personal and corporate data than that of every nation, big or small, combined.” He further stated that state-sponsored hackers have burrowed deep within “American civilian critical infrastructure” and “lie in wait on those networks to be in a position to wreak havoc and can inflict real-world harm at a time and place of their choosing.”

Nominated officials within the incoming Trump administration are also signaling that they are clear-eyed about the threat that China poses to the U.S. During a Senate hearing on Wednesday with secretary of State nominee Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the lawmaker called the communist regime “the most potent and dangerous, near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” He went on to observe that unless the U.S. takes a more offensive posture in confronting China within the next decade, “much of what matters to us on a daily basis — from our security to our health — will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not.”

Rubio’s comments echoed those of John Ratcliffe, whom President-elect Donald Trump nominated to serve as CIA director. During his confirmation hearing Wednesday, Ratcliffe, who previously served as director of national intelligence during the first Trump administration, commented, “I openly warned the American people that from my unique vantage point as an official who saw more intelligence than anyone else, I assessed that China was far and away our top national security threat,”

During Wednesday’s “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins,” Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) offered further warnings about the threat that Xi Jinping’s regime poses.

“[I]t is very serious,” he underscored. “We’ve seen the Chinese … monitoring people’s phone conversations at the highest levels of government. We’ve seen their hacking [of] public infrastructure. … And we’ve seen them spying on American territory. Right in our home state of Michigan, we had five Chinese nationals spying at Camp Grayling watching military exercises. So they are very aggressive, and they have a surveillance state that at home that oppresses 1.3 billion Chinese, and they’re wanting to export that around the world.”

Moolenaar, who serves as chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, went on to argue that the U.S. must be extremely careful with its economic partnerships with China.

“One of the goals of our committee, which is very bipartisan, is to make sure we aren’t funding our own demise,” he explained. “We’re not funding businesses that work with the People’s Liberation Army. We’re not funding technologies … that could be used against our American men and women in the armed forces. [T]his is an all-hands-on-deck effort to restrict an aggressive power. When you think of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, we never would have partnered with them on the kinds of things we partner with China on. And I think Ronald Reagan had it right: peace through strength. Let’s make sure we don’t help our adversaries succeed.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins pointed to Americans’ consumer habits as contributing to the CCP threat. “[C]onsumers in this country that are attracted to cheaper Chinese products … are actually fueling our adversary, that they’re turning those profits into what we saw here, dispatching these hackers to break into U.S. databases and other infrastructures.”

Moolenaar concurred, noting that the CCP has “laws on the book, what they consider to be national security laws that require anyone … doing business in China to be accountable to the Chinese Communist Party. And if they require information, there is no such thing as a private sector. They have a military-civil fusion that gives priority to the military or the Chinese Communist Party. So it’s a very different framework than we’re used to dealing with. So that’s what makes it so serious when we trade or when we invest in Chinese entities that can all be used against us and our allies.”

Moolenaar additionally noted that there have been some recent successes in American entities separating themselves from the CCP. “[T]here were over 30 partnerships in universities in the United States that were partnering with Chinese universities and funded often by Department of Defense dollars, and they were collaborating on research in the highest technologies of physics, even weapons, all sorts of things. So we raised this issue, and fortunately, Berkeley, Georgia Tech, and most recently the University of Michigan have discontinued those.” He also reported that Congress is working on requiring Chinese tech companies like Huawei to be removed from “our supply chains for our defense industrial base.”

Moolenaar concluded by agreeing with Wray and Rubio’s sobering assessment of the threat posed by China. “Cyber is now one of the major domains for warfare … land, water, sea, space, cyber — all of those are key. … We need to make sure that we’re aware that China is trying to hack us every day and trying to pre-position malware on our devices that would threaten our way of living.”

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

RELATED VIDEO: Treasury Department breached by Chinese hackers | NewsNation Now

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

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.

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Proposed Gaza Ceasefire Is a ‘Terrible Deal for Israel’

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By Family Research Council

1/17/2025 9:16 a.m. This story has been updated to reflect that the Israeli Cabinet has voted to approve the ceasefire deal.

A prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was reached Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced. But, after “many months of intensive diplomacy” between the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, the deal they devised would require Israel to give away the farm, leaving them no leverage to ensure that all their hostages are safely returned. “It’s a terrible deal for Israel,” complained Frank Gaffney, president of the Institute for the American Future. “I fear that it amounts to a victory for Hamas.”

The details of the deal have not been published, but according to reports, the ceasefire agreement would occur in three phases.

In the first phase, Israel would release 100 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences (a.k.a. “pedigreed jihadists,” Gaffney stated) and 1,000 other prisoners not involved with the October 7 attacks, and Hamas would release 33 hostages in return. “I’m getting some signals out of Israel that this is not the best deal for Israel,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. “I’m told the ratio is 50-to-1 for every hostage.”

These lopsided prisoner exchanges would be spaced out over a six-week ceasefire — an unexplained delay that left Perkins “a little puzzled” — during which time Israel would pull its military out of all the populated areas of Gaza and allow hundreds of aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip, bringing humanitarian aid and tens of thousands of temporary homes.

In the second phase, the two sides would declare a permanent end to the war, and Israel would withdraw the rest of its forces from Gaza. Hamas would also release more hostages in exchange for more prisoners.

In the third phase, Hamas would return the rest of the hostages, including the remains of those it killed. In return, it would get “a major reconstruction plan for Gaza,” in President Biden’s words.

To review, Israel would have to pack up and go home before getting the hostages it came for, and Hamas would not only have its pre-October 7 autonomy restored, but it would get its own personal Marshall Plan, and spring 50 terrorists per hostage.

What an odd way to punish its terrorist atrocities! What an odd way to deter future iterations.

Unfazed by these particulars, Biden declared he was “deeply satisfied” that a deal had been reached — likely so he can claim credit. “We got the world to endorse it,” he boasted. Given how the world feels about Israel, that should be a warning sign.

“I think it’s, in some ways, worse than the plan … that Joe Biden put together” last year, said Gaffney. By agreeing to this deal, Israel would be “effectively surrendering the entirety of Gaza to the people who perpetrated this horrific attack on October 7th,” and who have “been at war with Israel … from the inception of this terrorist organization and will be until it is put out of business.”

“All of the progress that Israel has made to root out Hamas, to deprive it of resources, to close its infrastructure … will essentially be undone because they will be allowed to have the run of Gaza again,” warned Gaffney.

And all of this assumes that Hamas will keep up its end of the agreement through all three phases. But that might be the least likely outcome, based on its past behavior and genocidal hatred of Israel. “Hamas broke ceasefires with Israel in 2003, 2007, 2008, and nine times in 2014,” listed National Review’s Jim Geraghty, not to mention a terrorist shooting during a ceasefire in 2024.

Over the past year, Geraghty continued, “Hamas either rejected ceasefire proposals or hostages-for-prisoners trades, walked away from the table, or refused to restart negotiations in the months of December, January, February, March, April, May, June, and July 2024. … Hamas has proven a bad-faith, bloodthirsty, irrational, and self-destructive negotiator at every step in this process.”

The deal is so bad for Israel that it could put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in trouble domestically. “The Left has, of course, wanted his head on a pike for a long time,” said Gaffney, but “there are a lot of people now on the right who feel that all of this is for naught — all of the war efforts — if this [deal] is allowed to go forward.” Throughout the war, Israel has maintained its sovereign right to self-defense, which involves the right to react to the ongoing threat posed by Hamas, a terrorist group operating from within its borders.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have come out against the deal; while aligned with Netanyahu, they control enough votes to destabilize his coalition. “This could cause his governing coalition to implode,” Perkins exclaimed.

If fact, it seems that Netanyahu himself was reluctant to agree to the deal, until he met with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming special envoy to the Middle East. The Biden administration’s State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed that input from Trump’s team was “absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line.”

“Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu] basically had his knees broken” by Witkoff, said Gaffney. “He took what Donald Trump meant as leverage on the Hamas terrorists, putting them on notice that if the hostages were not released … by the time he came to office … all hell would break loose. Now, that was intended to be pressuring Hamas. Instead, Witkoff — and the Biden team, of course — turned this into leverage on Bibi Netanyahu.”

In fact, Gaffney suspected Witkoff of showing more loyalty to Qatar than to Trump. Witkoff said “that ‘Qatar is doing God’s work in these negotiations.’ I think he might have meant Allah’s work, because what has been done, I think, is not in the service of Israel,” he alleged. “This is a man who may work for Qatar, but I don’t honestly think he’s worked effectively for Donald Trump or the interests of the United States, to say nothing of Israel.”

Trump initially celebrated the “EPIC” ceasefire agreement that “could only have happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies.”

But Gaffney cautioned that Trump might not have the full picture. “I hope that the president, Donald Trump, will think better of this as he learns more about what’s been done,” he said. “I’d be a little surprised if President Trump knew when he put [Witkoff] in this position that he had actually done a $600 million hotel deal with the nation of Qatar.”

The Israeli cabinet approved the deal “after examining all political, security, and humanitarian aspects, and understanding that the proposed deal supports the achievement of the war’s objectives, the Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs (the Political-Security Cabinet) has recommended that the government approve the proposed framework..”

Netanyahu accused Hamas of creating a “last-minute crisis” by making additional demands over the identity of the prisoners Israel will release. Netanyahu explained the deal Israel agreed to “gives Israel veto power over the release of mass murderers who are symbols of terror,” but Hamas now “demands to dictate the identity of these terrorists.”

Instead of approving the lopsided ceasefire right away, Israel launched overnight airstrikes against 50 terrorist targets in Gaza. Hamas-aligned sources claimed that the airstrikes killed at least 75 people — most of whom were probably terrorists. In a statement, the IDF confirmed the death of Muhammad Hasham Zahedi Abu Al-Rus, a terrorist who participated in the October 7, 2023 massacre at the Nova Music Festival.

The world may be ready to move on from Hamas’s atrocities, but Israel will not — cannot — rest secure until the Hamas threat within their own borders has been eliminated.

AUTHOR

Joshua Arnold

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

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.

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Amit Segel: Israel ‘WON by a knock-out’ and will now focus on Iran!

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By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

Amit Segel, intelligent and articulate political analyst for Channel 12 wrote this last night. He is optimistic, and explains why.

We bravely faced 20,000 rockets, a number that has not been fired at any country in the world for decades

We eliminated the master murderer Nasrallah

The senior echelon of Hezbollah is no more

No more threat of invasion

80% of the rockets and missiles that threatened every point in the country are gone

Only the future will tell what will happen,  but our people’s sacrifice was not in vain

In the past year, Israel has broken the paralyzing barrier of fear that prevented it from acting against Hezbollah and Iran

The IDF entered southern Lebanon from the bottom, reached Litani, hitting Beirut at will.

The whole Middle East is watching.

The “unity of the arenas” was the ‘brainchild’ of ​​Soleimani, Nasrallah and Sinwar and it has finally died with them. 

The expectation from the public in Israel is to demand that its leaders finally abandon the policy of “inclusion”.

NETANYAHU: After the “ceasefire” – We’ll focus on Iran

Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to implement a US-brokered ceasefire deal that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says will allow Israel to focus on Iran.

IRAN INTERNATIONAL — Israel’s security cabinet approved the ceasefire deal on Tuesday and the whole cabinet is due to review it later in the day. Lebanon and Hezbollah have also agreed to the proposal which is expected to be implemented on Wednesday.

“The ceasefire deal with Lebanon now means Israel will focus on Iran’s threat”, Netanyahu said in a speech following the approval of the truce deal.

Netanyahu said there were three reasons to pursue a ceasefire: to focus on Iran, to replenish depleted arms supplies and give the army a rest and finally to isolate Hamas, whose attack on Israelis on October 7, 2023, triggered a devastating war in Gaza and saw Hezbollah join conflict with Israel.

HITTING THE ‘HEAD OF OCTOPUS’

Netanyahu said that he is “determined to do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”

“That threat has always been my top priority and is even more so today, (is) when you hear Iran’s leaders state over and over again their intention to obtain nuclear weapons,” the Israeli prime minister said. “For me, removing that threat is the most important mission to ensure the existence and future of the State of Israel.”

Israel’s defense minister said earlier this month the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic are now more vulnerable than ever, following Israel’s October 26 airstrikes which targeted Iran’s key air defense systems.

The Israeli air raids last month knocked out Iran’s last three Russian-provided S-300 air defense missile systems, Fox News reported at the time citing US and Israeli officials. The surface-to-air S-300s were the last in the Islamic Republic’s arsenal after one was destroyed in an attack in April which was also likely carried out by Israel.

“We destroyed major parts of Iran’s air defense system and missile-manufacturing capabilities, and we demolished a significant component of their nuclear program,” Netanyahu said in his Tuesday speech, calling Iran the “head of the octopus”.

Iranian authorities have consistently called for Israel’s destruction and consistently refuse call it by name but refers to it as the “Zionist entity”.

EDITORS NOTE: This Newsrael News Desk column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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PODCAST: ‘I have a dream that beginning on January 20, 2025’

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By Conservative Commandos Radio Show and AUN-TV

GUESTS AND TOPICS:

JEREMY PORTNOY

Jeremy Portnoy is an Investigative journalist with OpenTheBooks.com. His work has also been seen on SB Nation, The Daily Caller, WND, Longview News-Journal, The Political Insider, KNBN-TV (Rapid City, SD), The Statesman, Herald/Review Media, And many others.

TOPIC: DoD SPENDING WASTE

DR. RICH SWIER

Dr. Rich Swier is a “conservative with a conscience.” Rich is a 23 year Army veteran who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his years of service. Additionally, he was awarded two Bronze Stars with “V” for Valor and Heroism in ground combat, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry while serving with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. Dr Rich now publishes the the “drrichswier.com report”. A daily review of news, issues and commentary! Dr Rich has a new book out, “DISSENT: The Highest Form of Patriotism.”

TOPIC: I have a dream that beginning on January 20, 2025

©2025 . All rights reserved.

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Less Work, More Welfare: How Immoral Policies Are Making Americans Poorer

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By Family Research Council

A new report shows that over the last four decades, poor Americans have become far more likely to receive their daily bread from welfare than work. This slide from self-reliance to government dependence serves as an economic barometer of American decline, fueled by perverse incentives created by morally challenged government policies.

The numbers paint a stark picture of American indolence. In 1979, Americans living in poverty earned 60% of their income from work. In 2021, the share had fallen to 25%. That analysis from the Congressional Budget Office shows the startling degree to which, in 42 years, Americans have moved steadily from a paycheck to a handout.

“Low-income Americans are receiving an ever-growing share of their financial resources from government transfers, not work,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), who requested the report, in a statement emailed to me. “To improve our nation’s welfare system, we must pursue policies that will lift more Americans out of poverty — including strengthening incentives to seek a job like tying benefits to commonsense work requirements. This will help more of our fellow Americans achieve independence and gainful employment. After all, a job is the best anti-poverty program that exists.”

Smith is to be commended for requesting this report and focusing on a policy solution. The report reveals that some of the great drivers of joblessness are political, some personal. But, as secular government analyses always do, this study ignores the moral components underlying increased welfare dependence.

The fact that more Americans have come to rely on welfare serves as an indictment of a nation that has forgotten the Apostle Paul’s admonition, “If any would not work, neither should he eat” (II Thessalonians 3:10). God gave Adam work to do in the Garden of Eden before the fall and, in the post-exilic world, He intended work to supply our daily needs (Genesis 2:15; Proverbs 6:6-11 and 12:11). Honest work, combined with frugal living, allows Christians to care for the needs of others (II Corinthians 8:13-15; I Timothy 5:3-16).

While some percentage of Americans lack the physical or mental ability to earn a living, the ever-growing number of Americans on welfare rolls far outstrips that of its incapacitated recipients. That proves Americans have lost sight of biblical importance of work: Work benefits our souls, improves the raw materials bestowed in God’s creation, enhances our God-given talents, allows us to provide for our own needs while serving others, and allows us to provide for those truly unable to participate in this ennobling cycle.

The Apostle Paul showed the excellence of work by working as a tentmaker in order to carry out his missionary work. St. Jerome — who translated the Bible into Latin, the language of the West — once asked a monk the same question idle Christians should ask themselves: “If apostles who had the right to live of the Gospel labored with their own hands that they might be chargeable to no man, and bestowed relief upon others whose carnal things they had a claim to reap as having sown unto them spiritual things; why do you not provide a supply to meet your needs?”

When followed, the biblical plan still works. Only 2.5% of Americans who work full-time fell below the poverty level, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another study found only 1.7% of Canadians who worked full-time lived in poverty. In other words, work eliminates nearly 100% of all poverty.

Perhaps more importantly, this report serves as an indictment of family breakdown. “Of the four types of households examined, unmarried households with children had the highest percentage of people with money income below the poverty threshold,” found the report. That reinforces government statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, which reported, “Of people in families, those in married-couple families had the lowest poverty rate (5.2 percent), while those in female-householder families had the highest (23.6 percent).” Both homes led by single mothers and households with cohabiting partners had four times the poverty level of married couples.

On the other hand, traditional married families earned the most money, with a median income of $119,400 in 2023, compared to $59,470 in homes led by single mothers. Even in families where only one person works, single mothers were more than three times as likely to end up in poverty than married couples. In fact, single mothers earn just over $5,000 a year more than single men without children (and thus, without incentives to earn more).

Can it be a coincidence that the number of married households in America has fallen from 71% in 1971 to 47% in 2022? When mothers and fathers cannot take their place in God’s order, and children lack the example of a working father, society sets young people up for a life of government dependence and wasted potential. And our reduced GDP is the least consequential result.

America’s retreat from work serves as an indictment of our welfare system. After the Left’s purposeful throttling of President Donald Trump’s red-hot economy in the name of COVID-19, Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending spree gave workers collecting unemployment a $300 weekly bonus. That surplus gave approximately one in four workers more money than they could earn by working. One study showed that policy alone depressed employment by approximately 14%.

The report also shows the problems presented by counterproductive economic interventionist policies that destroy jobs and opportunity. Politicians promote tax-hikes that raise prices, massive spending that fuels inflation, and subsidies for unpopular products such as electric vehicles — all of which distort the market — for short-term political gain. For example, a minimum wage when raised too high prices out the poorest and neediest from the job market. The CBO estimated a proposed minimum wage hike would give workers an average of $50 a week — and throw 1.3 million people out of the workforce, reducing GDP by $9 billion.

The report also points an accusing finger at our nation’s immigration system. The recent H1-B visa debate provided a healthy spasm against a corporatist immigration system starving American families of good opportunities. During the last four years of the Biden-Harris administration, all net job growth has gone to immigrants. Between 2019 and late 2023, 2.9 million immigrants took U.S. jobs, while 183,000 American citizens left the job force. Mass immigration — illegal and legal — reduces wages, making a welfare check seem far more inviting than 40 hours of toil.

Finally, the report presses charges against American Christians. Why are churches not providing charity on a grander scale for those in need? Why have private citizens outsourced essential functions — like fulfilling Christ’s commandment to feed the hungry and clothe the naked — to the secular state? Government benefits lead to an attitude of entitlement and enable self-destructive pathologies. Secular programs cannot cure the problems secularism created.

Churches alone stand in the position to address the underlying issues that keep sidelined Americans out of the workforce — addiction, depression, lack of motivation, family commitments, lack of child care, etc. — and to elevate even seemingly mundane work to its true spiritual significance.

AUTHOR

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council,

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.

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Johnson Races to Ready for Trump: ‘This Is an Around-the-Clock Operation Right Now’

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By Family Research Council

While miles of fences and concrete barriers line the most iconic spots of the National Mall, there are other preparations underway for Donald Trump’s inauguration – well out of the public eye. As the city transforms into the best and most patriotic version of itself, Republicans are working well into the night on the most significant plans: what the first few days of the new administration will look like.

Under the Capitol dome, which is already draped in red-white-and-blue bunting, members are hurrying from meeting to meeting to cement their plans for the flurry of business that starts after Trump’s oath of office. For House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), it’s the culmination of months of work that started as early as last summer on the campaign trail, when it became obvious that the 45th president had the momentum he needed to win. The 100-days agenda is “very aggressive,” the Louisianan explained as far back as June. “Those days cannot get here soon enough,” he told Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

Now that the time has come, the speaker is focused on one thing: undoing the damage Joe Biden did to this country’s security, economy, families, and sovereignty. “We’re going to reverse some of the crazy things that this administration did in the areas of public policy,” he previewed to Perkins on Saturday. “All of that begins this month, so we’re excited and working steadily,” Johnson explained. “This is an around-the-clock operation right now, because we have to fix everything.”

Of course, as the speaker understands better than anyone, he’ll need every Republican on the same page to get a single piece of Trump’s agenda off the ground — something that’s proven, as recently as this month, to be a monumental task. The president-elect has tried to minimize some of that tension, bringing members of the House Freedom Caucus to Mar-a-Lago over the weekend to hash out some of the differences that threatened to torpedo Johnson’s reelection as speaker.

“Unity was a huge part of the meeting,” one of the Republicans confirmed. “I think that kind of team-building [and] camaraderie is really important,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) explained to Politico, “because we have a heavy lift in front of us.” Despite the bitter debates the fiscal hawks have had with leadership of late, Donalds reiterated, “It was really much more a fun, enjoyable dinner than a deep policy session.”

Congressman Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) explained to Perkins on Tuesday’s show, “We talked for several hours, as a matter of fact, late into the evening. But it was on border security. It was on crime. It’s how, quite frankly, the Biden administration has used the weapon of the pen [with] executive orders to attack and invade our country and undermine every working American day in and day out.”

One of the recurring themes has also been reconciliation — the process that allows Republicans to move two budget-related bills through the Senate with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes it takes to end debate on a proposal. Part of it, Ogles admitted, “is nerdy procedural stuff.” But to make the drastic changes Trump and the American people demand, it’s a crucial piece of the puzzle moving into next week. Right now, there’s disagreement among the GOP over whether the party should bundle all of their major policy goals like tax cuts and border security into one “big, beautiful bill,” as Trump is urging, or two. But there’s also legitimate concern that the president-elect’s strategy might open the door to more spending waste.

Several GOP members of the Senate and House Freedom Caucus are urging the White House to split the priorities into two reconciliation bills (which is the maximum number a majority can advance each fiscal year) so that nothing sneaks into the legislation that derails them.

“You know, Donald Trump is strategic,” Ogles pointed out. “I think he wants to deliver some quick wins for the American people. The election was a mandate to secure the border, to, again, attack crime, to get these folks [who] are illegally. We know we have murderers here. We know we have terrorists here. We need to go find them. We need to deport them. We need to get them out of our country. And so with that, I think organically there’s the opportunity or perhaps even the likelihood that this could end up being two separate bills, because the larger [it is] … the more complicated it becomes, and the more difficult it will be to pass and the longer it will take to pass.” He suggested that if Trump delivers “a smaller bill, then follow[s] up with tax policy,” it will be easier to get done. “We can make sure Donald Trump has a successful 100 days and delivers a secure border for the American people.”

The speaker, who’s been careful to follow Trump’s lead, emphasized that Republicans might disagree on the process, but they do agree on the “overall objectives.” “The debate has been about the sequencing,” he explained to Perkins. “And when we say one large reconciliation bill, that is the best chance that we have to get all of these initiatives done.” As he explained, the House has less room for error than the Senate. “We have a smaller margin. For the first time in U.S. history, there are more Republicans by way of margin in the Senate than there [are] in the House. So they can lose three votes on any given measure, and I can only lose one or two.” In other words, he said, “I have 150 more personalities to deal with and get on the same page.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has a similar problem — but fewer cats to herd. What matters, the speaker insisted, is that he and Thune have a great relationship. “We’ve been talking about this very thoughtfully and deliberately. There’s a handful of [Republican] senators — I wouldn’t say all of them — [who] are very adamant that we ought to do two bills in the House. We believe one bill is the best way.”

The reason, he went on, is simple. “[W]hat they want to do is take some of the border measures and maybe defense spending and do that right out of the blocks very early in January and then leave the larger piece, which is the tax extension of the tax cuts and some of the other very complicated things that we’ve got to do, on a larger package. The problem is, if you take the border and defense spending off of the larger package, those things are very popular among Republicans. And that’s kind of the anchor to get the harder things done. So there’s a risk in splitting them up. I’ve explained that to President Trump in detail. And as of today, now, I think he very much agrees with what I’m saying. And I think he told that to the senators when he met with them this week.”

Ogles and his colleagues do understand the need to get something substantial done in the first 100 days. “And so, understanding how the sausage gets made up here by putting border security with some strategic cuts together in a package, again addressing the debt ceiling, we can move quickly — much more quickly than we can if everything is in there,” he countered. “And then, quite frankly, once you have one ‘big, beautiful bill,’ it ends up typically getting filled up with a bunch of nonsense and pork,” which the hardline conservatives won’t tolerate. But again, the Tennessee congressman underscored, “I think we’ve got to cut where we can cut. Look, we can’t cut our way out of this mess. We’re going to have to grow our way out of this mess. But every cut, every penny, every dollar matters.”

One thing that both sides can agree on is that “we’ve got to change the way this town operates,” Ogles insisted. “[O]ne of the successes we had with this when Mike Johnson was elected — and I was one of the individuals that helped whip those final votes and get him across the finish line — is that you can’t do suspension bills the last day right before you fly out. Because what ends up happening is they put some junk bill together. They sweeten it for the Democrats, and they pass it with a majority of Democrat votes. You can’t do that anymore,” he argued. “You can only do a suspension bill on a Monday or Tuesday.”

Again, he acknowledged, “It’s nerdy. Most people don’t understand why that’s important. But what it does is it stops this town from running over the American people. And so, day in and day out, what we’re trying to do is fix how this place operates.” And yes, “One big, beautiful bill might seem great, but when you understand everything that gets thrown in there, it’s really counterintuitive to the mandate that the American people delivered to Donald Trump and to Congress to fix this country.”

Whatever form the reconciliation strategy takes, Johnson reminded viewers, “We work in the greatest deliberative body in, really, the history of the world. And we get the opportunity [in] the extraordinary moment in history that we’re in, to hold that thing together. … And I can tell you, the Republicans in the House and the Senate are very excited right now.”

At the end of the day, the speaker underscored, “God is the one that raises up those in authority. Scripture is very clear about that. And so with that great responsibility, there are a lot of things that come along with that. And so, I’m encouraging my colleagues to remember that, to keep our perspective. We don’t grasp these gavels or hold on to these titles with any sense of pride or anything else. This is a this is a moment of service. And it is a sacrifice,” and no matter what happens, “we ought to regard it that way.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

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.

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Mike Pence is a gutless servant of the global Luciferian death cult who claims to be ‘pro-life’

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By Leo Hohmann

ABC News and multiple other media outlets are reporting today that former Vice President Mike Pence, who did not endorse or support President-elect Donald Trump during the 2024 election cycle, has come out in opposition to Trump’s choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Pence cited Kennedy’s past support for abortion as the reason for his opposition. This, despite RFK Jr.’s recent pledge to continue the pro-life policies of Trump’s first term, such as cutting off taxpayer funding to groups that finance abortion procedures, and ending the Biden policy of forcing pro-life healthcare providers to participate in abortions against their conscience.

According to pro-life Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, Kennedy “committed to me to reinstate President Trump’s pro-life policies at HHS. He told me he believes there are far too many abortions in the US and that we cannot be the moral leader of the free world with abortion rates so high.”

Yet, Pence said in a statement that choosing Kennedy is a departure from what he framed as the Trump-Pence administration’s general opposition to abortion access.

Pence wrote:

“I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades.”

HERE’S MY TAKE on Mr. Pence:

This is all smoke and mirrors. I don’t’ believe Pence’s rejection of RFK Jr. has anything to do with abortion or being pro life and here’s why.

This is Pence being Pence. He’s grandstanding. His rejection of Kennedy has nothing to do with abortion and everything to do with the fact that Bobby Kennedy opposes everything that Pence stands for, with regard to pandemic lockdowns, forced masking and vaxing, allowing Big Pharma to have its way with deadly experimental treatments, and Big Agriculture to continue poisoning our food and water.

In short, Mike Pence is a creature of the establishment and the military-industrial-biosecurity complex that feeds the international beast system.

Pence has never pushed against the system in his entire political career. As governor of Indiana, when he was threatened with boycotts by those bringing big sporting events to his state, he caved and allowed the transgenderization of public bathrooms.

And, in point of fact, Pence’s own record on issues of life is sketchy at best. Because being pro-life involves more than just being against abortion.

Pence supports the mRNA death shots. He supports giving unfettered legal protection to vaccine manufacturers even as more of their toxic vaccines are pumped into our children, nearly 100 injections by the time they reach the age of 18. That’s why we are seeing so much autism and heart issues in children. How is that being pro-life?

Pence is also a neocon warmonger. He has over the years wholeheartedly supported using U.S. military power to intervene in foreign wars that have taken the lives of thousands of young men and women for absolutely no valid national security reason.

Did the war in Iraq make America safer?

Did the war in Afghanistan make us any safer?

How about the war in Ukraine? Has it made us more secure? Quite the opposite.

But these wars have killed a lot of people, including women and children and elderly civilians, not to mention thousands of Americans in the cases of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mike Pence is a hypocrite. In some ways, he’s the Republican version of Jimmy Carter. He wears his Christianity on his sleeve but applies his Christian principles selectively.

Call me old school. But in my book, that’s called a coward.

The fact that the corrupt corporate media outlets still run to Mike Pence to publish his irrelevant opinions should tell us everything about the man.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

Please visit LeoHohmann.com — Investigative reporting on globalism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and where politics, culture and religion intersect.

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Muslim University Student Who Plotted Jihad Massacre is Latest Failure of Officials Who Vet Migrants

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By Jihad Watch

The officials who vet migrants are bound as a matter of policy to ignore that there is any such thing as an Islamic jihad, so vetting failures of this kind are bound to happen.

“Egyptian Student Added to CIS National Security Vetting Failures Database,” by Todd Bensman, Center for Immigration Studies, January 10, 2025:

An 18-year-old Egyptian student at Virginia’s George Mason University who now stands charged with multiple terrorism offenses related to a mass casualty plot on Israel’s consulate in New York is the latest addition to the Center for Immigration Studies National Security Vetting Failures Database. The entry brings the total number of analyzed failure cases to 50.

In March 2023, the Center published the database collection to draw “remedial attention” to ongoing government vetting failures lest they “drift from the public mind and interest of lawmakers, oversight committee members, media, and homeland security practitioners who would otherwise feel compelled to demand process reforms”, according to an explanatory Center report titled “Learning from our Mistakes”.

The FBI arrested Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan on December 17, 2024, for allegedly plotting a mass casualty attack on the Israeli consulate in New York. The case is pending in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Hassan, an Egyptian National, entered the United States in July 2022 as a juvenile and lived in Falls Church, Va., although as of January 2025 the visa granted for him to enter had not been publicly reported.

As a juvenile, he may have entered with parents or relatives on a temporary non-immigrant visa, such as a tourist visa or a J-2 student exchange visa, or even on an F-1 student visa, as there is no age limit for student visas. The U.S. State Department would, however, approve any of these visa types and conduct a personal interview of minors older than 14, like Hassan, who was 15 at the time.

However it was that Hassan entered, perhaps even if he illegally crossed a land border and claimed asylum, he was clearly already radicalized as an Islamic extremist, a circumstance that visa adjudicators or even federal law enforcement agents at the border, apparently could have discovered in his online social media accounts.

This is knowable because, within weeks or months of the juvenile Hassan’s 2022 entry, his social media accounts alerted the FBI, which sent agents to interview him “due, in part, to Hassan’s support for ISIS online”, the recent charging documents said.

Although no charges were filed in 2022, at some point soon after the FBI interviews, the U.S. government reportedly decided a mistake had been made. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put Hassan into deportation proceedings, which were pending by the time he enrolled in George Mason University (GMU) to study information technology, probably in 2023 or 2024.

Hassan was still an enrolled active student in the summer and fall of 2024 when FBI agents were again actively investigating him undercover and saw him on the GMU campus, an agent affidavit said.

Again, Hassan’s online activities on several X social media accounts had drawn FBI attention. The bureau sent in an undercover agent online upon discovering that Hassan, who portrayed himself as an admirer of Osama bin Ladin and ISIS branches in Afghanistan and West Africa, was openly fantasizing about killing infidels and wanted to martyr himself in a mass-casualty attack.

Court documents reveal examples of Hassan’s alleged posts of him musing about killing Jews and, in one case, noted that a football player’s forehead was a “sniper’s dream”.

In one X account, Hassan boastfully shared an AI analysis of his profile that stated: “Based on our AI agent’s analysis of your tweets, you are a young radical Islamist extremist who is obsessed with jihad and violence against perceived enemies. Your tweets suggest a deep-seated hatred and intolerance towards those of other faiths, particularly Jews.”

“Yep I am an extremist,” Hassan later posted….

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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Border Bonanza: Trump Slated to Enact 100 Executive Orders to Tackle Immigration Crisis

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By Family Research Council

Following his sweeping electoral victory in November, President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly preparing 100 executive orders for his first day in office, mostly centered on securing the nation’s neglected southern border.

In an interview Thursday, Trump ally and Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) discussed the president-elect’s plans. “He says he has almost 100 executive orders that will go a long ways towards securing the border again and also put the energy sector back in play again and actually build a … ‘drill, baby, drill’ process where we can become energy-independent again.” Mullin added, “All that can be done through executive order, but, as he said, it’s not permanent” without congressional support.

Newly-minted GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.) also emphasized that congressional Republicans must deliver on Trump’s agenda. “This past November, the American people gave President Trump and Republicans a mandate. Now the time has come to begin executing on it,” Thune said in a floor speech Wednesday. Noting the incoming Trump administration’s focus on border security, he continued, “One of the most important issues in this last election was the illegal immigration crisis. … For the last four years, the Biden administration’s open-border policies have wreaked havoc in both border communities and those far from the border.”

Republicans in the House are also looking to grant congressional permanence to Trump’s immigration policies. On Thursday, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) introduced a bill to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy previously employed under Trump’s first administration. The legislation would reverse the Biden administration’s “parole” program and require those seeking or claiming asylum in the U.S. to await their appointed court dates in Mexico, instead of releasing migrants into the U.S.

According to an Axios report, Trump and several of his closest policy advisors met with GOP senators late Wednesday and unveiled roughly 100 planned executive orders, mostly focused on border security and immigration. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner and Trump’s homeland security advisor and deputy chief of staff for policy, shared that likely executive actions included reinstating Title 42, which allows for the rapid expulsion of illegal immigrants under public health concerns; continuing construction of the border wall, a policy Miller is credited with devising; and utilizing part of the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow state and local law enforcement to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with detaining and deporting illegal immigrants, a key promise of Trump’s successful 2024 campaign.

Trump’s mass deportation plans have consistently garnered widespread support across the nation. Surveys from both April and September of last year found that over half of Americans endorse the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. While some Democratic officials, including mayors and governors, have vowed not to cooperate with ICE to deport illegal immigrants — or, in some cases, have suggested even outright opposing federal deportation efforts — a recent poll found that a supermajority of voters in even deep-blue Democratic stronghold such as Maryland support requiring state and local law enforcement to work with ICE in carrying out deportations. Overall, 76% of Marylanders — including 96% of Republicans, 77% of Independent voters, and even 65% of Democrats — want state and local authorities to cooperate with ICE in deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.

A number of prominent Democrats have recently shifted their positions on deportations, from full-throated support for “sanctuary cities” to promising to aid ICE. Governors J.B. Pritzker (Ill.) and Jared Polis (Colo.) and mayors like Eric Adams of New York City have abandoned opposition to ICE’s deportation program — Adams has even pledged his support — after initially indicating opposition. Even Governor Kathy Hochul (N.Y.) said that she would be the “first one to call up ICE” to manage deportations in her state.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and Washington are all currently considered “sanctuary” states. There are also 157 counties and 45 cities across other states listed as “sanctuary cities” as of this week.

AUTHOR

S.A. McCarthy

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

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.

Musk says Farage should be replaced as leader of Reform. Was it over Tommy Robinson or Farage’s views on Islam? thumbnail

Musk says Farage should be replaced as leader of Reform. Was it over Tommy Robinson or Farage’s views on Islam?

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By Jihad Watch

Elon Musk now opposes Nigel Farage, following seemingly friendly talks with the Reform UK leader at Mar-a-Lago. After those discussions, the Reform Party released this statement:

“We learned a great deal about the Trump ground game and will have ongoing discussions on other areas,” it added. “We only have one more chance left to save the west and we can do great things together. Our thanks also to President Trump for allowing us to use Mar-a-Lago for this historic meeting. The special relationship is alive and well.”

But then in a blow to Farage, Musk has now called for him to be replaced.

“Elon Musk turns on Nigel Farage and calls for new leader of Reform,”by Peter Walker, Guardian, January 5, 2024:

Elon Musk has called for Nigel Farage to be replaced as Reform UK leader hours after Farage described the billionaire businessman as “a hero”, in what is likely to be a preview of how a chaotic Donald Trump presidency could affect British politics.

Farage, who is also the de facto owner of Reform, “doesn’t have what it takes”, Musk said on X, the social media platform he owns, less than three weeks after the pair held seemingly warm talks at Trump’s Florida home. “The Reform party needs a new leader,” he wrote.

Musk, 53, who has sent a mass of largely misleading posts in recent days about a series of aspects of UK politics, appeared to endorse Rupert Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP, as a possible replacement, saying statements he had read from Lowe “make a lot of sense”.

Later, Lowe backed Farage, posting on X: “Nigel is leader of Reform. He made Brexit happen, and for that I will always be grateful….

Farage himself connected Musk’s turning on him to Tommy Robinson:

Farage, 60, indicated Musk’s statement could be connected to a disagreement about Tommy Robinson, the jailed far-right anti-Islam agitator whom Musk has characterised as a political prisoner, but whom Farage condemns.

“Well, this is a surprise!” Farage wrote on X after Musk’s tweet. “Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree. My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”

Farage has distanced himself from Robinson, saying:

“I never wanted Tommy Robinson to join UKIP ….I don’t want him to join Reform UK; and he won’t be.”

Farage also claimed that Tommy Robinson is not a political prisoner:

Mr Musk “sees Robinson as one of these people that fought against the grooming gangs…But of course the truth is Tommy Robinson’s in prison not for that, but for contempt of court….We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election. He’s not what we need.”

It does appear that Musk may have soured on Farage due to the latter’s views on Robinson, at least in part, given the strength of Musk’s support for Robinson:

But leadership material involves more than a single issue. It involves resilience and know-how on multiple issues including economics, national security, the rule of law, and protection of Western interests and freedoms. There is also another possible and related reason for Musk’s deciding that Farage was lacking, which carries deeper implications than Farage’s lack of support for Tommy Robinson:

This view isn’t unique to Farage. Far too many politicians of every political stripe feel that they must prove to their countries and to the world that they are not “Islamophobic.” Yet it isn’t possible to prove such a thing to the collective Muslim world unless you ultimately are willing to give up all speech deemed offensive to Islam, in accordance with Islamic blasphemy laws, as well as to turn against Israel in favor of the “resistance” from the River to the Sea, and allow pro-Hamas thugs to “globalize the intifada.” Islam is about Sharia expansion, conquest, and dhimmitude, and the Muslim vote is dependent on it. The more you surrender, the more you will be expected to surrender. It is only necessary that Westerners stand firmly and without apology against any doctrine equally that threatens Western values and freedoms. For all his talk about not alienating Muslims, Farage’s own immigration policies and his latest defence of Musk for the latter’s attack on the UK government’s response to Muslim rape gangs will ultimately cause Farage to alienate Muslim groups.

More will likely come to light about Musk’s statement against Farage, but in the meantime, Reform MPs are now reportedly rallying behind Farage.

AUTHOR

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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House Lawmakers Overwhelmingly Pass Legislation To Crack Down On Illegal Migrant Criminals

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By The Daily Caller

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday to require federal immigration authorities to detain illegal migrants who commit theft-related crimes in the United States.

The legislation passed decisively 264-159 with every Republican lawmaker that voted supporting the bill, which would give Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and state governments more authority to curtail illegal immigration. Nearly 160 Democratic lawmakers opposed the bill’s passage.

The bill, known as the Laken Riley Act, is sponsored by Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins and seeks to honor the memory of Laken Riley, a University of Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant while out on a run near her college campus in February 2024.

I promised Laken’s family that I would fight for this bill like she fought for her life. Let’s get this done. pic.twitter.com/nviipMmVzq

— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) January 7, 2025

“An illegal criminal came into my district and killed Laken Riley because our law enforcement did not have the tools to stop him,” Collins told the Daily Caller News Foundation Monday. “Laken fought until her last breath, and so will I until this bill crosses the finish line and lands on the President’s desk.”

Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to make the Laken Riley Act the first bill the House voted on during the 119th Congress signals addressing border security and cracking down on illegal immigration will be a top priority for House Republicans this year.

The Laken Riley Act seeks to address a policy failure regarding ICE and local law enforcement’s failure to detain illegal migrant criminals that commit low-level crimes that became glaringly obvious to lawmakers in the wake of Riley’s murder, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters during a House GOP press conference Tuesday.

“There are real consequences to policy decisions, and this one was deadly,” Johnson told reporters.”

Riley’s killer, Venezuelan national Jose Antonio Ibarra, had a criminal record in the United States prior to murdering Riley. Ibarra was arrested in October 2022 for allegedly shoplifting at a Walmart in Athens, Georgia, but was ultimately released because the shoplifting charge was a misdemeanor.

If the Laken Riley Act passes the Senate and is signed into law by President-elect Donald Trump, ICE would be required to detain illegal migrants like Ibarra who commit theft-related crimes in the United States, according to the bill text.

“Right now, ICE is unable to detain and deport these illegal criminals who commit these minor level crimes, but the Laken Riley Act will fix this and give ICE and our local law enforcement the tools to get these criminals out of our country and make our communities safer,” Collins said during floor debate on the bill.

“With Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer and the party of lawlessness out of the way, the radical left’s mission to enable criminal illegal aliens…at the expense of law-abiding Americans is no longer going to be tolerated,” Republican Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, House Majority whip, said during a House GOP leadership press conference on the Laken Riley Act Tuesday. “The tragic and preventable murder of Laken Riley serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of failed leadership.”

The House will vote today on the Laken Riley Act to ensure criminals like Laken’s murderer are detained & deported before they can commit such evil acts.

REMINDER: President Biden never apologized to Laken’s family for allowing her killer into our country, but he DID apologize… pic.twitter.com/ZOFox00aWD

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 7, 2025

Many House Democratic lawmakers, led by Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, slammed the bill for expanding the number of illegal migrants in the United States that could be required to be detained by ICE, and voiced concern that the bill’s passage would lead to illegal migrants who are wrongly accused of theft-related crimes being detained by federal immigration authorities.

“Their bill [Laken Riley Act] today is an empty and opportunistic measure,”  said during floor debate on the bill. “This is a radical departure from current law, which since 1996 has generally required mandatory detention only for persons who are criminally convicted or who admit to having committed certain serious crimes.”

The Laken Riley Act was notably backed by Riley’s family who believe the bill’s passage will prevent the deaths of additional Americans at the hands of illegal migrants.

“The Laken Riley Act has our full support because it would help save innocent lives and prevent more families from going through the kind of heartbreak we’ve experienced,” Allyson and John Phillips, Laken Riley’s mother and stepfather, told the DCNF. “Laken would have been 23 on January 10th.  There is no greater gift that could be given to her and our country than to continue her legacy by saving lives through this bill.”

“Every single member of Congress should be able to get behind this purely commonsense bill that will make our country and communities safer,” Riley’s mother and stepfather added. “We thank Congressman Mike Collins, Senator Katie Britt, and Senator Ted Budd for continuing to work to honor Laken’s legacy and get this legislation enacted into law.”

Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt introduced companion legislation in the Senate Tuesday with every Senate Republican supporting the bill’s passage and Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman signing on as a cosponsor. The Senate is slated to vote on the legislation as early as Friday, a senior GOP aide told the DCNF.

“Congress has an obligation to Laken, her family, and to families in every corner of our country to do everything in our power to help prevent this type of tragedy from occurring again,” Britt told the DCNF. “That’s why it’s imperative we pass the commonsense Laken Riley Act with all due haste.”

Collins originally introduced the Laken Riley Act in the House last Congress following Riley’s murder. The House passed Collins’ legislation in March 2024 with most House Democrats — 170 Democratic lawmakers in total — opposing the legislation.

Former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not formally move to take up the legislation, forcing Collins to reintroduce his bill in the 119th Congress, which began Friday.

AUTHOR

Adam Pack

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

John Thune Reveals Why He’s Having Senate Take Up One Bill In Particular As Its First Order Of Business

Laken Riley’s Illegal Migrant Killer Demands New Trial

Illegal Migrant Accused Of Burning Sleeping Woman Alive Pleads Not Guilty

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

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State Government Should Take Steps to Protect Citizens from Terror

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By Center For Security Policy

Louisiana, our life-long home, reels from a terrorist attack that murdered at least 15 innocent people, injured several dozen others, and postponed the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl.

Acts of terror have once again left carnage within the borders of America. Shamsud Din Jabbar ramming a truck through a crowd of New Orleans revelers follows multiple acts of terror committed in our homeland: a bombing at the Boston Marathon in April 2013; an axe-wielding terrorist in Queens, New York in October 2014; a shootout in Garland, Texas over cartoon images of Muhammad in May 2015; an attack on two military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee in July 2015; a slaughter at a Christmas party in San Bernardino, California in December 2015; and an attack on a Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida in December 2019.

When, like yesterday, a mass terrorism attack devastates a community like New Orleans, all eyes turn to the federal government to provide protection and relief. Although the U.S. government does have primary responsibility for America’s national security, state and local governments can – and should – take specific steps to protect their citizens and the nation from terror attacks. All the above attacks were ended by state or local law enforcement, including the New Orleans Police Department dispatching Shamsud Din Jabbar before he killed dozens more.

Louisiana has taken many of these steps. State and local law enforcement in Louisiana have received training to identify potential terrorist threats. The Louisiana Legislature has passed various forms of legislation to deter and prevent terrorism as well as provide justice to victims of terror.

Like almost every state, Louisiana created the crime of terrorism in the wake of 9/11. The acts of Shamsud Din Jabbar appear to meet the statutory definition of terrorism in Louisiana. Din Jabbar appears to have committed the “intentional killing of a human being” and the “intentional infliction of serious bodily injury upon a human being” while having “the intent to intimidate or coerce the civilian population.” He intentionally drove a truck into a crowd of revelers while displaying an ISIS flag. He, or his accomplices, might also have committed “aggravated arson upon … a structure” with the same intent.

Although applicable to the despicable acts of Shamsud Din Jabbar, Louisiana’s statute should be improved, including adding additional predicate crimes to protect against attacks on critical infrastructure. Other states have done so.

Terrorists often receive support from others, including from organizations or foreign governments. Comments by officials knowledgeable about the initial investigation of the New Orleans New Year’s Day attack suggest that Din Jabbar did not act alone. Although terrorists, like Din Jabbar, usually die while committing their crimes, those who provide terrorists with material support can be pursued civilly as well as criminally. Louisiana has passed statutes granting terrorism victims special causes of action, including enhanced civil damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, and asset forfeiture, against terrorists and their supporters.

Article 2315.9 of Louisiana Civil Code provides for a special civil cause of action for terrorism that includes “court costs and reasonable attorney fees.” This cause of action would be available to the victims of Din Jabbar and his accomplices.

Article 2315.9 can be strengthened by providing for exemplary damages (as apply to domestic abuse) or by providing for treble damages (as apply to racketeering and unfair trade practices). The prescriptive period could also be extended considering the recent extension of the general tort prescriptive period in Louisiana.

Louisiana also added terrorism and material support of terrorism as predicate crimes for Louisiana’s racketeering statute. That statute, which requires multiple acts, provides for treble damages and asset forfeiture.

Such causes of action facilitate civil suits against terror supporting organizations and state sponsors of terrorism. Civil discovery in those lawsuits can expose terror networks.

States can also create legal protections for citizens who report suspicions of terrorist activity. Louisiana has not yet done so, although such legislation has been attempted in the past. Both Mississippi and Tennessee have passed such “See Something, Say Something” laws.

State legislation can further empower state attorneys general to shut down non-profits that support, do business with, or associate with terrorists, foreign terrorist organizations, or state sponsors of terror. The Louisiana Legislature could entertain such legislation. Such legislation is currently being drafted for a sister state.

Recidivism rates for terrorists are high. Most do not rehabilitate. Terrorist offender registries, like sex offender registries, can be mandated by legislation to offer law enforcement more tools to prevent convicted terrorists from repeating their crimes. Louisiana passed a terrorism registry in 2019, but under the last administration the State Police failed to implement it. Texas has recently passed and implemented a terrorist offender registry.

In the wake of this latest terrorist attack on Louisiana soil, Louisiana’s state government should take action to protect its citizens, including considering the adoption of multiple policies to prevent another tragedy like the deadly Islamic terrorism attack that just befell our City of New Orleans.

Originally published by The Center Square.

AUTHORS

Christopher Holton and Stephen M. Gelé

Senior Analyst and Director of State Outreach.

EDITORS NOTE: This Center for Security Policy column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Will President Trump and Vice President Vance use powers signed into law by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson to confront the ‘enemy from within?’ thumbnail

Will President Trump and Vice President Vance use powers signed into law by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson to confront the ‘enemy from within?’

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By Dr. Richard M. Swier, LTC U.S. Army (Ret.)

It appears that President Trump and Vice President JD Vance are looking at laws passed during the 17th century by Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and others to fulfill their promises to the American people.

The first of these is the The Alien and Sedition Acts signed into law by President John Adams in 1798.

The first is The Alien and Sedition Act

The Alien and Sedition Act reads:

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States at any time during the continuance of this act, to order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States, within such time as shall be expres

ssed in such order, which order shall be served on such alien by delivering him a copy thereof, or leaving the same at his usual abode, and returned to the office of the Secretary of State, by the marshal or other person to whom the same shall be directed. And in case any alien, so ordered to depart, shall be found at large within the United States after the time limited in such order for his departure, and not having obtained a license from the President to reside therein, or having obtained such license shall not have conformed thereto, every such alien shall, on conviction thereof, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and shall never after be admitted to become a citizen of the United States. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that if any alien so ordered to depart shall prove to the satisfaction of the President, by evidence to be taken before such person or persons as the President shall direct, who are for that purpose hereby authorized to administer oaths, that no injury or danger to the United States will arise from suffering such alien to reside therein, the President may grant a license to such alien to remain within the United States for such time as he shall judge proper, and at such place as he may designate. And the President may also require of such alien to enter into a bond to the United States, in such penal sum as he may direct, with one or more sufficient sureties to the satisfaction of the per- son authorized by the President to take the same, conditioned for the good behavior of such alien during his residence in the United States, and not violating his license, which license the President may revoke, whenever he shall think proper.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, whenever he may deem it necessary (for the public safety, to order to be removed out of the territory thereof, any alien who mayor shall be in prison in pursuance of this act; and to cause to be arrested and sent out of the United States such of those aliens as shall have been ordered to depart therefrom and shall not have obtained a license as aforesaid, in all cases where, in the opinion of the President, the public safety requires a speedy removal. And if any alien so removed or sent out of the United States by the President shall voluntarily return thereto, unless by permission of the President of the United States, such alien on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned so long as, in the opinion of the President, the public safety may require.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every master or commander of any ship or vessel which shall come into any port of the United States after the first day of July next, shall immediately on his arrival make report in writing to the collector or other chief officer of the customs of such port, of all aliens, if any, on board his vessel, specifying their names, age, the place of nativity, the country from which they shall have come, the nation to which they belong and owe allegiance, their occupation and a description of their persons, as far as he shall be informed thereof, and on failure, every such master and commander shall forfeit and pay three hundred dollars, for the payment whereof on default of such master or commander, such vessel shall also be holden, and may by such collector or other officer of the customs be detained. And it shall be the duty of such collector or other officer of the customs, forthwith to transmit to the office of the Department of State true copies of all such returns.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the circuit and district courts of the United States, shall respectively have cognizance of all crimes and offences against this act. And all marshals and other officers of the United States are required to execute all precepts and orders of the President of the United States issued in pursuance or by virtue of this act.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any alien who may be ordered to be removed from the United States, by virtue of this act, to take with him such part of his goods, chattels, or other property, as he may find convenient; and all property left in the United States by any alien, who may be removed, as aforesaid, shall be, and re- main subject to his order and disposal, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That this act shall continue and be in force for and during the term of two years from the passing thereof.

Jonathan Dayton, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

TH. Jefferson, Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.

I Certify that this Act did originate in the Senate.

Attest, Sam. A. Otis, Secretary

APPROVED, June 25, 1798.

John Adams
President of the United States.

The second is An Act Respecting Alien Enemies

An Act Respecting Alien Enemies reads:

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government, and the President of the United States shall make public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being males of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States, and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies. And the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereby authorized, in any event, as aforesaid, by his proclamation thereof, or other public act, to direct the conduct to be observed, on the part of the United States, towards the aliens who shall become liable, as aforesaid; the manner and degree of the restraint to which they shall be subject, and in what cases, and upon what security their residence shall be permitted, and to provide for the removal of those, who, not being permitted to reside within the United States, shall refuse or neglect to depart therefrom; and to establish any other regulations which shall be found necessary in the premises and for the public safety: Provided, that aliens resident within the United States, who shall become liable as enemies, in the manner aforesaid, and who shall not be chargeable with actual hostility, or other crime against the public safety, shall be allowed, for the recovery, disposal, and removal of their goods and effects, and for their departure, the full time which is, or shall be stipulated by any treaty, where any shall have been between the United States, and the hostile nation or government, of which they shall be natives, citizens, denizens or subjects: and where no such treaty shall have existed, the President of the United States may ascertain and declare such reasonable time as may be consistent with the public safety, and according to the dictates of humanity and national hospitality.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That after any proclamation shall be made as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the several courts of the United States, and of each state, having criminal jurisdiction, and of the several judges and justices of the courts of the United States, and they shall be, and are hereby respectively, authorized upon complaint, against any alien or alien enemies, as aforesaid, who shall be resident and at large within such jurisdiction or district, to the danger of the public peace or safety, and contrary to the tenor or intent of such proclamation, or other regulations which the President of the United States shall and may establish in the premises, to cause such alien or aliens to be duly apprehended and convened before such court, judge or justice; and after a full examination and hearing on such complaint. and sufficient cause therefor appearing, shall and may order such alien or aliens to be removed out of the territory of the United States, or to give sureties of their good behaviour, or to be otherwise restrained, conformably to the proclamation or regulations which shall and may be established as aforesaid, and may imprison, or otherwise secure such alien or aliens, until the order which shall and may be made, as aforesaid, shall be performed.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the marshal of the district in which any alien enemy shall be apprehended, who by the President of the United States, or by order of any court, judge or justice, as aforesaid, shall be required to depart, and to be removed, as aforesaid, to provide therefor, and to execute such order, by himself or his deputy, or other discreet person or persons to be employed by him, by causing a removal of such alien out of the territory of the United States; and for such removal the marshal shall have the warrant of the President of the United States, or of the court, judge or justice ordering the same, as the case may be.

APPROVED, July 6, 1798.

John Adams
President of the United States.

Vice President JD Vance is looking at restricting sending abortion drugs via the mail using The Comstock Act of 1873.

The Comstock Act of 1873

The Comstock Act of 1873 made it illegal to send “obscene, lewd or lascivious,” “immoral,” or “indecent” publications through the mail. The law also made it a misdemeanor for anyone to sell, give away, or possess an obscene book, pamphlet, picture, drawing, or advertisement.

The breadth of the legislation included writings or instruments pertaining to contraception and abortion, even if written by a physician. Although officially titled An Act for the Suppression of Trade In, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use, the statute did not provide a definition of obscenity.

Congress adopted the Comstock Act in response to the proliferation of obscene materials in the 1870s. Anthony Comstock, head of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, had shown members of Congress illustrations that he considered obscene and urged legislators to pass the measure to prevent crime and corruption of children.

Anthony Comstock arrests individuals under the new obscenity law

After Congress passed the bill, it designated Comstock as a special agent in the United States Post Office charged with enforcing the law. With the help of his New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, Comstock was able to arrest individuals under the new act.

In the 1870s, Ezra Heywood, a feminist who studied women’s role in society, wrote Cupid’s Yokes, in which he asserted that women should have the right to control their own bodies. Comstock considered this obscene and arrested Heywood.

He also arrested De Robigne Mortimer Bennett, a libertarian, after he received a copy of Cupid’s Yokes from him through the mail. During Bennett’s federal trial, the judge denied the defense’s motion to show the jury the entire work, insisting that only the isolated passages charged as obscene were pertinent.

The judge applied the Hicklin test from the British decision in Regina v. Hicklin (1868): “I think the test is this, whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscenity is to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to immoral influences, and into whose hands a publication of this sort may fall.” The federal courts followed this standard until 1933, when Judge John M. Woolsey focused on the literary value of the entire work of James Joyce’s Ulysses, rather than a few passages, in United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses (S.D.N.Y. 1933).

Petitioners ask Congress to repeal the law but are refused

In 1878, the National Liberal League and the National Defense Association presented Congress with a petition signed by more than 50,000 people requesting repeal of the Comstock Act.

The petitioners argued that its anti-obscenity provisions had been “enforced to destroy the liberty of conscience in matters of religion, against the freedom of the press and to the great hurt of the learned professions.” The House Committee on the Revision of Laws denied the appeal because the post office had not been established
to mail obscene writings, indecent pictures, or lewd books.

Comstock Act ban on birth control information overturned

Comstock vigorously enforced the sections in the act that dealt with birth control. Numerous doctors suffered arrest and conviction for supplying written materials explaining pregnancy and how to prevent it. This concerned social reformers because it prevented women from controlling the size of their families, a particular hardship for those with small incomes.

Activist Margaret Sanger lobbied for overturning the act’s birth control provisions, which the courts did in United States v. One Package (2d Cir. 1936). This decision made it possible for doctors legally to mail birth control devices and information throughout the country.

This article was originally published in 2009. Brandon R. Burnette is an Associate Professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University as the Government Documents/Reference Librarian. He is an author of a three-part series of articles entitled “Historic Indian Publications by the US Federal Government,” DTTP: Documents to the People (2015).

©2025 All rights reserved.

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How Sex Traffickers Prey on the Vulnerabilities of Immigrant Populations

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By Dr. Richard M. Swier, LTC U.S. Army (Ret.)

Jewel (pseudonym) faced severe economic insecurity in her home country of Nigeria. When she heard of the opportunity to work in Denmark as a caregiver for senior citizens, she felt incredibly fortunate.

“I was thanking God for the opportunity to be in this country. I was looking forward to starting work,” she recalled.

When she arrived in Denmark, she was met by another Nigerian woman, who brought her to Copenhagen’s red-light district. “This is where you’ll be working,” the woman said.

Initially confused, Jewel looked around for a hospital or something reminiscent of a caregiving facility. She quickly realized that the opportunity she had been promised was a hoax.

In that moment, Jewel’s heart shattered into a million pieces. For several years to follow, Jewel was serially raped by sex buyers and experienced repeated threats to her life from her sex traffickers. 

Her sex traffickers also imposed immense fees that she was demanded to pay. It is typical in cases of international sex trafficking for traffickers to demand payment for travel and living expenses. In Jewel’s case her traffickers even went to her house in Nigeria, threatening her family members’ lives if she did not pay them.

Jewel is just one of thousands of immigrant women who have been trafficked into the sex trade. Europe provides a particularly tragic example. According to the International Organization for Migration, it is estimated that 80% of women and girls arriving to Europe from Nigeria are trafficked into the European sex trade.

Ukrainian refugees who have fled the country following Russia’s invasion are also frequently trafficked into the European sex trade.

One Ukrainian refugee who volunteered at the Ukrainian border to help other refugees described her feeling of vulnerability to BBC News. “The women and children come here from a terrible war. They don’t speak Polish or English. They don’t know what’s going on and they believe what anyone tells them.”

“The first day I volunteered, I saw three men from Italy. They were looking for vulnerable women to sell into the sex trade,” she recalled.

Further, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024, reports that international trafficking inflows are increasingly geographically complex, with victims from 162 different nationalities being trafficked to 128 different countries.

Why Are Immigrants Vulnerable to Sex Trafficking?

Across the globe, sex traffickers prey on the vulnerabilities of immigrants, especially since being able to legally immigrate for lucrative work in a foreign country is often a lengthy and laborious process that many cannot afford to undertake.

In a world plagued by war, political instability, poverty, and an array of other calamities, it is common for those from affected regions to seek refuge in foreign countries. Tragically, unscrupulous individuals often leverage the desperation and vulnerabilities of those seeking to flee such circumstances as a means of trafficking them into prostitution. These vulnerabilities can include limited economic resources, inability to speak the native language, or unfamiliarity with the laws of the country they are residing in.

Evidence of this vulnerability was provided by researchers who studied the demographics of women exploited in 280 illicit massage businesses (IMBs) in the United States. Of the 1,629 women who were identified to have been sex trafficked, only four of them were from the United States, with the vast majority being from Asian countries. Seventy-nine percent of the women were lodged overnight in the facility where their sexual exploitation occurred, revealing an epidemic of homelessness among sex trafficked individuals, especially those from foreign countries.

Further, the U.S. Department of State reported that “unaccompanied foreign national children without lawful immigration status are among one of the most vulnerable groups to sex trafficking.”

Methods of Coercion by Sex Traffickers

The promise of economic opportunity is one of the most common ways that sex traffickers entrap immigrants within the sex trade, according to the 2023 Federal Human Trafficking Report.

Sex traffickers also frequently exploit the difficult nature of regaining lost identification documents in a foreign country as a way to control victims. In a study conducted in the Netherlands about the different methods sex traffickers use to control their victims, 32% had their travel documents confiscated and many of them were financially dependent on their traffickers.

This same study also showed that sex traffickers frequently preyed on individuals who did not know the languages commonly spoken in the Netherlands: 78% of victims did not know Dutch, 45% did not speak German, and 26% did not speak English. Twenty-seven percent listed having little knowledge of their rights as a method by which their trafficker controlled them.

The Undeniable Link Between Prostitution and Sex Trafficking

Many deny the linkage between prostitution and sex trafficking, but the truth is that the two cannot be separated.

Legalizing or fully decriminalizing prostitution is often touted as a remedy for sex trafficking and an inhibitor to violence faced by people in prostitution. In reality, the opposite is true. An analysis of data from 150 countries  found that nations where prostitution is legal reported higher inflows of human trafficking than in countries where it was partially or fully prohibited.

Legalization or full decriminalization increases the demand for prostitution because sex buyers no longer fear criminal penalties. This uptick in demand creates a profitable supply shortage, which sex traffickers are motivated to fill by pushing more vulnerable people into the sex trade.

In order to stop sex trafficking, we must put responsibility on those who keep the prostitution marketplace afloat: sex buyers. Without the dollars of sex buyers to fuel the commercial sex industry, it will have no choice but to collapse. No buyers=No business. 

See how law enforcement and communities across the country are working to combat demand and encourage your own community to do the same!

AUTHOR

ACTION: Ask Your Local Elected Officials to Combat Sex Trafficking by Deterring Sex Buyers!

TAKE ACTION!

EDITORS NOTE: This National Center on Sexual Exploitation column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

1 of 3 Horrific Islamic Lessons: From The New Orleans Truck Slaughter thumbnail

1 of 3 Horrific Islamic Lessons: From The New Orleans Truck Slaughter

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By The United West/ Defend The Border

LESSON 1

Shamsud-Din Jabbar was a true follower of Mohammad, not a “radical” Muslim. 

Please, stop insulting the religion of Islam by referring to their devout followers of Mohammad as, “radicalized.”

Think about it, a Muslim is going about his life as an average Muslim, doing daily prayers, going to the mosque and even making the pilgrimage to Mecca. But, giving his life to Mohammad, as a Christian gives his life to Jesus, is not a norm in Islam, especially not with Muslims in Western countries.

Then, as that average Muslim begins to read the Quran deeply, learn from Islamic scholars, interact with fully committed Muslims worldwide, his eyes are opened and he begins to see that a true believer in Islamic doctrine, MUST give his life to Mohammad and follow his every word, every thought, every action, every deed and his total war doctrine.

Oops, now Jews and Christians have a problem, when the average Muslim understands that his Quran requires full devotion and dedication to Mohammad, that Muslim potentially becomes a deadly killing machine for all infidels who oppose Islam.

This is the 1400 year-old, belligerent military doctrine that expanded Islam all over the world. The military doctrine that HAMAS, Hezbollah, Iran, Turkey, Yemen and 50 other Muslim nations fully believe will lead Islam to world domination, once again.

(Thank Allah that Israel is fighting and winning the war that the West should be fighting)

THIS IS NOT A RADICAL VIEW OF ISLAM, IT IS DOCTRINAL ISLAMIC ORTHODOXY.

QUESTION: So, what’s going on with every news reporter and every politician and every law enforcement official denigrating Islam by saying a fully committed follower of Mohammad, who follows the path of Jihad to martyrdom is an insane, out-of-their mind, psychopathic spawn of Satan, a RADICAL?

THE ANSWER: We are in a Clash of Civilization, Islam against the West, Islam against the Judeo-Christian worldview.

We in the West cannot comprehend how a sane person can rent an electric pick-up truck and plan on slaughtering unknown men, women and children by smashing into them at high speed, run over them crushing bones, organs, brains, squashing the innocent life out of the “infidel.”

Surely this must be something RADICAL?

Yes, from a Judeo-Christian perspective, this is RADICAL and beyond, but NOT from a Mohammedan perspective, as I’ve said, this is NORMATIVE, Islamic doctrinal behavior during a jihad against the infidel.

So, it is accurate to say Shamsud-Din Jabbar is a “radical” human, violating every norm of human behavior.

But, it is NOT accurate to say that Jabbar is a “radical” Muslim.

Islamic scholars have taught through the centuries, Islam is separate and distinct from other religious systems, and is the completion of Allah’s plan and the solution to the failed religions of Judaism and Christianity.

Therefore, Shamsud-Din Jabbar is now a martyr to be honored in the Islamic world.

But wait, many Muslim Brotherhood groups in America quickly came out with statements “condemning” the truck killing of the people in New Orleans.

So what.

What do you expect them to say, the TRUTH, something like this…

“We praise Allah for Brother Jabbar’s mighty act of martyrdom on this glorious path to Al Aqsa as he struck fear into the hearts of the unbelievers!”

You see, we at The United West follow the beliefs and actions of true Mohammedans in America and other parts of the world and this is exactly what is being said about the truck killer, Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

You will not hear the truth from the many Muslim Brotherhood organizations in America because they are on a stealth mission, as we have been teaching for 17 years, to infiltrate the institutions of America, use our laws against us and bring down this miserable house (America) for the glory of Mohammad.

Here is lies an Islamic conundrum for 2025.

The Muslim Brotherhood organizations have had free reign over the past 20 years, embedding themselves in the Obama and Biden Administrations, implementing their cultural and political jihad perfectly.

Now these anti-American organizations have TWO BIG PROBLEMS

SHAMSUD-DIN JABBAR & PRESIDENT TRUMP

Jabbar’s use of violent Islamic war doctrine though not radical, is certainly not tactical, as the result will be Americans viewing every Muslim as a potential terrorist and these Muslim Brotherhood organizations simply as an extension of HAMAS.

SUMMARY

As Israel destroys the HAMAS and Hezbollah, then Yemen and Iran, with America’s help, frustrated true-believing Muslims will increase jihad activity here in America, targeting the university campuses and Democrat inner cities. Add to this volatile situation, the law enforcement thrust of Tom Homan’s deportation program and the Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s in America are going to be renting electric trucks on a regular basis.

The Muslim Brotherhood organizations, while secretly praising Jabbar’s martyrdom operation, are privately furious with Jabbar because he exposed Mohammad’s war doctrine sooner than the Brotherhood desired!

We actually warned America of these truck attacks over 10 years ago!

Over the months of 2025, The United West will provide leadership as to how patriotic Americans can legally and lawfully fight back to STOP the Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s…and there are many.

STAY TUNED FOR LESSONS 2 & 3, OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS

“How Truck slaughter is taught by Al Qaeda and Islamic State scholars.”

NB: We at The United West thank God daily that only a small percentage of 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide are Muslim true believers like, SHAMSUD-DIN JABBAR, MOHAMMD DEIF, HASSAN NASRALLAH, ISMAIL HANIYEH, GEN. QASSEM SOLEIMANI, KHAHLED MASHAL, YAHYA SINWAR, MOUSA ABU MARZOOK, AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI, PRESIDENT ERDOGAN AND MANY MILLIONS MORE!

©2025 . All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLES:

America’s Islamist problem

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Imam of New Orleans Terrorist’s Mosque: ‘Jews Seek to Control the Economy… That’s Why Hitler Killed Them.’

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Trump Tower Cybertruck Terrorist Served at SAME Military Base as New Orleans Jihadi

Contributions:  https://theunitedwest.givingfuel.com/the-united-west

My 2024 Commentaries: July thru December, by Topic thumbnail

My 2024 Commentaries: July thru December, by Topic

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By John Droz, Jr.

A helpful way for you to check out my 2024 Critical Thinking commentaries that you may have missed

Since we are at the end of 2024, let’s look back. As I continue to add readers, some of them are probably not aware of Critical Thinking commentaries I published earlier in the year or before. Yes, anyone can check out the Archives — but do they?

In any case the Archives are chronologically arranged, while this last half of 2024 list of my commentaries is by topic. Although some commentaries could be under more than one topic, I put them where they seemed to be most applicable. I had to do this manually, so there might be a typo, etc. someplace. Hopefully this list will be of value to you!

Note 1: The comments for all these article are still open, so feel free to share your insights, after any commentary listed.

Note 2: This list will be available in the Archives if you’d like to refer to it at a later date.

Note 3: To go one step further back, check out the 1st Half of 2024 Archives, by topic.

Note 4: To go two steps back, check out the 2023 Archives, by topic.

Note 5: If you’d like to have me write more about a particular topic, please say so in the comments below.

My 2024 Commentaries: July thru December

CRITICAL THINKING —

K-12 EDUCATION —

CLIMATE CHANGE —

ENERGY —

ELECTION INTEGRITY —

POLITICS —

TRUMP —

SCIENCE —

HEALTH —

BELIEFS —

RELIGION —

SOCIAL ISSUES —

MISC —

THANK YOU for your support!

Here is other information from this scientist that you might find interesting:

I am now offering incentives for you to sign up new subscribers!

I also consider reader submissions on Critical Thinking on my topics of interest.

Check out the Archives of this Critical Thinking substack.

WiseEnergy.org: discusses the Science (or lack thereof) behind our energy options.

C19Science.info: covers the lack of genuine Science behind our COVID-19 policies.

Election-Integrity.info: multiple major reports on the election integrity issue.

Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2024 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 – but why would you?

Mexico Concerned Trump May Order Military Strikes On Cartels thumbnail

Mexico Concerned Trump May Order Military Strikes On Cartels

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By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

As tensions continue to rise between the United States and Mexico over drug trafficking and cartel violence, Mexican officials have expressed deep concerns regarding the potential of a military strike ordered by former President Donald Trump against drug cartels operating within their borders.  

This apprehension reflects both the ongoing security crisis in Mexico and the complex relationship between the two neighboring countries.

BACKGROUND

Mexico has long struggled with the influence and power of drug cartels, which have become deeply entrenched in various aspects of society. These criminal organizations are responsible for significant violence, including turf wars, kidnappings, and the trafficking of illegal drugs into the United States. The situation has deteriorated in recent years, with record levels of homicides attributed to cartel-related activities.

Trump has made combating drug trafficking a cornerstone for his future administration, often using strong rhetoric that included the possibility of using military force against cartels. His approach to border security and drug enforcement was characterized by a willingness to take aggressive measures, which has left Mexican officials wary of the implications such policies could have on their sovereignty and public safety.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Since Trump began to plan his run for the presidency in 2024, his statements regarding drug cartels have reignited fears in Mexico. The prospect of a military strike is particularly alarming for Mexican leaders, who worry that such actions could escalate violence and undermine efforts to stabilize the country. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized the need for cooperation and dialogue rather than unilateral military interventions.

DIPLOMATIC CONCERNS

The potential for military action raises significant diplomatic concerns. Mexico has long valued its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and any unilateral action by the U.S. would be viewed as an infringement on these principles. This could strain relations between the two nations, which have historically relied on cooperation to address shared challenges, including drug trafficking and immigration.

Moreover, the Mexican government has been working to strengthen its law enforcement capabilities and address corruption within its own ranks. A military strike from the U.S. could undermine these efforts and damage the trust that is necessary for effective collaboration in tackling organized crime.

PUBLIC SENTIMENT

Public sentiment in Mexico regarding U.S. intervention is mixed. While many citizens are frustrated with the ongoing violence and the perceived inability of the government to control the situation, there is also a strong desire for solutions that respect the country’s sovereignty. The idea of U.S. military action is often met with skepticism and fears of further violence and instability.

EDITORS NOTE: This Newsrael News Desk column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Time to Visit the Dr. Rich Swier Report Content Channel on Rumble. Each Video is a Must Watch! thumbnail

Time to Visit the Dr. Rich Swier Report Content Channel on Rumble. Each Video is a Must Watch!

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By Dr. Richard M. Swier, LTC U.S. Army (Ret.)

The Dr. Rich Swier Report has launched a new Content Channel on Rumble. This Content Channel enhances our Dissent Television Channel with the latest news, commentary and social issues. Our Content Channel has short videos with impactful national and international news items of interest to every American citizen.

The Dr. Rich Swier Content Channel

Here are just a few videos from our Content Channel:

We are a country without a president and it’s been this way for FOUR YEARS.

MILTON FRIEDMAN: The 4 Ways to Spend Money

Kevin O’Leary is headed to Mar-a-Lago to discuss Canada’s annexation!

Pro-Hamas WOLPalestine chants in NYC subway ‘Live free, ride free! F**k the NYPD!’

This is the start of an IDF and IAF campaign against the Houthis

Illegal Aliens Stab Three, Kill One on NYC Subway, Hours After Woman is Set Alight

The Dissent Television Channel

Here is our latest interview on the Dissent Television Channel with Rabbi Cary Kozberg.

©2024 The Dr. Rich Swier Content Channel and The Dissent Television Channel. All rights reserved.

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