Blog

Pennsylvania Town Elects First Self-Described ‘Transgender’ Mayor in the State

The next mayor of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, will be a man claiming he is a woman.

Erica Deuso, a Democrat, is a self-proclaimed so-called transgender “female,” marking the first such individual elected to a mayoral position in Pennsylvania history.

“I approach my life as being a good neighbor,” he said in comments to WPVI-TV. “I want to be somebody who can be a role model as well. I may be the first, but I’m not going to be the last.”

Downingtown, which is west of Philadelphia, elected Deuso with a decisive 65 percent of the vote.

“It didn’t matter about my history or my identity. What matters is that I’m going to be that neighbor they can count on,” Deuso added.

“I’ve gotten more questions about our good neighbor Christmas parade than I have about my gender identity.”

Deuso nevertheless made his self-proclaimed status as a woman central to his victory.

“Tonight, the numbers are clear,” Deuso said in a statement, according to a report from WHYY.

“We won. Voters chose hope, decency, and a community where every neighbor matters. I am honored to be elected as Pennsylvania’s first openly transgender mayor,” he said.

“I carry that responsibility with care and with purpose.”

Deuso’s campaign account had produced some measure of controversy after he replied to a Department of Homeland Security post by saying “I forsee violent pushback from an armed citizenry in the future.”

“The 2nd Amendment folx were very clear that weapons are meant to oppose a tyrannical government,” he continued.

When contacted by The Christian Post about the comments, Deuso denied that he was making a threat.

“That post wasn’t a call for violence. I don’t support violence in any form,” Deuso told the outlet.

“Our government has too often ignored the rights of its own people, and history shows what happens when that disrespect goes too far; Boston Harbor once had tea floating in it for a reason,” he added.

Keep reading

Forget Pelosi, Here’s Why You Should Fear Her Likely Successor

It was a good day this week when Nancy Pelosi announced her intention to retire at the end of this term. There has been speculation for years that she would retire soon, and it is finally happening. The problem? Her replacement may actually be much, much worse than her.

The man who has been looking to replace her in Congress in State Sen. Scott Weiner. His record is so radical that we’ve actually discussed him many times here at PJ Media. He checks all the boxes for the radical left: fanatically obsessed with climate change lawsuits, a champion for “trans refuge” policies that upend families and public safety, and always eager to line up with the most extreme social experiment the Sacramento swamp can devise.

Pelosi’s announcement that she won’t seek reelection has all but cleared the path for Wiener, whose campaign website is already up and running, and features a pride flag as part of his branding.

Earlier this year, Wiener authored legislation giving wildfire victims a blank check to sue oil companies for “climate change-related damages.” Instead of holding the real culprits accountable for California’s wildfire crisis — years of mismanagement, neglected forests, and feckless bureaucracy — Wiener wants to let trial lawyers loot Big Oil in the name of justice. The bill does a neat job of distracting from government failure, while inviting a legal circus that rewards people for blaming anyone but the inept officials actually responsible.

Wiener’s zeal for legislating the culture war is unmatched. In 2023, he pushed AB 957, rewriting California’s Family Code so that if a parent doesn’t “affirm” his or her child’s “gender identity,” a judge could deny the parent custody of their child during divorce proceedings.

This isn’t Wiener’s only foray into pushing the sexual boundaries that the left favors. He’s the architect of SB 145, dubbed the “pro-pedophile” bill, which essentially decriminalizes sex with certain minors under the guise of “equity” for the LGBTQ community.

Keep reading

Dutch court upholds arms exports to Israel despite acknowledging ‘grave risk’ of genocide

A Dutch appeals court on 6 November confirmed the dismissal of a case filed by pro-Palestinian organizations demanding that the Netherlands end arms exports to Israel and cease trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In its written judgment, the court said it was not within the judiciary’s authority to dictate such measures, stating that the decision lies with the government.

The plaintiffs argued that as a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, the Dutch state is obliged to take all available steps to prevent genocide, citing Israel’s ongoing mass killing of civilians in Gaza. 

The court agreed that the Netherlands holds that legal obligation and acknowledged “a grave risk” that Israel is committing genocide.

However, the judges maintained that the government already evaluates the risk of human rights abuses before approving military exports and noted that some applications have been denied.

The court also upheld an earlier ruling from December last year that sided with the Dutch state, which claimed it had taken sufficient precautions and halted certain shipments.

The pro-Palestine groups had alleged that Dutch companies supplied Israel with radar systems, F-16 components, warship equipment, police dogs, surveillance cameras, and software. 

The government countered that it has stopped most arms exports to Israel and now only authorizes deliveries of parts used in defensive systems such as the Iron Dome.

Israel has rejected all accusations of genocide, despite a UN inquiry officially announcing it in mid-September, insisting its Gaza campaign targets Hamas.

The appeals court concluded that the pro-Palestine organizations failed to demonstrate that the state systematically neglects its obligations when assessing export risks and therefore could not justify a blanket ban on arms or dual-use items.

Despite their public condemnations of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, European nations remain the largest buyers of Israeli-made weapons, purchasing over $8 billion worth last year, according to Bloomberg. 

Demand is projected to grow further as NATO members prepare to raise defense spending to five percent of GDP by 2035.

The move is heavily dependent on Israel’s deeply integrated defense industries, including Elbit Systems, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Keep reading

Trump Proposes $2,000 Check to Americans From Tariff Revenues

President Donald Trump announced on Nov. 9 plans to offer Americans outside of “high income” brackets $2,000 each out of his administration’s tariff revenues.

“We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion,” Trump wrote on social media. “Record Investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place. A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”

The proposal would likely need the support of Congress to pass. In July, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the American Worker Rebate Act, which aimed to use tariff revenue for tax rebates of at least $600 per adult and child, determined by income level.

Trump had also first floated the idea of giving Americans a $2,000 “dividend” funded by tariff revenue while speaking with One America News Network in early October, when he said the federal government could use some of the revenue to issue rebate checks.

The president’s announcement on Nov. 9 came just days after the Supreme Court heard arguments over the legality of his global tariff agenda imposed earlier this year. Justices probed Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows presidents to regulate imports in response to emergencies. Congress, through Article 1 of the Constitution, has the authority to impose tariffs.

Some justices seemed skeptical of Trump’s use of that law to impose tariffs, while others were more difficult to read, casting uncertainty over the eventual ruling and what it will mean for the president’s tariff agenda.

Keep reading

Australia Turns the Rental Market into a Digital ID Testing Ground

Governments around the world are steadily advancing their digital identity programs, presenting them as tools for convenience, security, and modernization across daily life.

Australia has now taken another step in that direction, trialing a new digital ID system in the rental sector while also preparing to introduce nationwide online age verification requirements by the end of this year.

Both systems rely on identity verification and could eventually become interconnected.

The new federal pilot will allow tenants to confirm their identity and financial information online rather than repeatedly providing hard copies of personal documents such as passports, driver’s licenses, or bank statements to multiple real estate agents.

Announced by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, the trial is intended to test whether digital ID technology can streamline rental applications while reducing the privacy and security risks that come with traditional document sharing.

Led by the Department of Finance and the Treasury, the project combines the government’s Digital ID system with the Consumer Data Right (CDR) framework.

PropertyMe, one of Australia’s largest property management software providers, will oversee the trial in partnership with ConnectID, developed by Australian Payments Plus, and Cuscal, a payments and data services company. Together, they aim to see how digital verification can simplify renting while offering stronger protection for personal data.

“Right now, renters are asked to upload anything from driver licenses and passports to bank statements and payslips, often to several platforms,” said Scott Shepherd, PropertyMe’s Chief Product Officer.

“Products and services now exist that enable us to reimagine that. Renters should be able to prove who they are and their ability to pay rent, without handing over additional information.”

REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh supported the pilot’s potential benefits, saying, “The pilot is a sensible reform that may help cut red tape for renters while strengthening data security and transparency in rental applications.”

With the upcoming rollout of age verification laws expected to require proof of identity to access certain online services, there is concern that Australia’s digital infrastructure could gradually merge into a single, far-reaching identity framework.

Such a system could allow both public and private entities to authenticate users across multiple sectors, raising questions about how much control individuals will retain over their data and who will have access to it.

Globally, similar moves are underway in countries such as the UK, Canada, the EU, Singapore, where governments are promoting digital identity systems as a way to verify citizens online.

Keep reading

Trump team is secretly handing out massive tax breaks to wealthy American corporations: report

The Trump administration has been giving additional massive tax breaks to uber-wealthy corporations through under-the-radar notices, according to a report.

Through proposed regulations, the Treasury Department has offered tax relief to private equity firms, crypto companies, foreign real estate investors, and other large corporations, the New York Times first reported.

For example, in October, the IRS issued new proposed regulations that would provide breaks to foreign investors in U.S. real estate. In August, the IRS proposed a rollback of rules to prevent multinational corporations from dodging taxes by claiming duplicate losses in multiple countries.

The notices have not made headlines, but have been flagged by accounting and consulting firms.

“Treasury has clearly been enacting unlegislated tax cuts,” Kyle Pomerleau, a senior fellow at the think-tank American Enterprise Institute, told the Times. “Congress determines tax law. Treasury undermines this constitutional principle when it asserts more authority over the structure of the tax code than Congress provides it.”

The recent IRS tax notices tack on to the tax relief laid out in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act, which included the extension of the so-called “Trump tax cuts” from 2017 that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would reduce tax revenue by $4 trillion in the next decade.

The Independent has contacted the Treasury Department for comment.

Keep reading

Senator Sanders LOSES His MIND to Government Reopening

In an incredible moment on the Senate floor, Senator Bernie Sanders erupted in outrage after Democrats caved to President Donald Trump and agreed to end the government shutdown on his terms. 

Slamming his desk and shouting, Sanders declared, “What this Senate is about to do is make things WORSE!” 

His fury was a clear sign that the far left had just suffered a major defeat—and that Trump’s strategy worked.

For weeks, Democrats refused to negotiate, hoping that shutting down the government would damage Trump politically. 

Instead, the move backfired. Americans saw through the theatrics, realizing that Democrats were holding federal workers and essential programs hostage to score points before the election. 

Trump, meanwhile, stayed firm. 

His administration outlined a plan that tied spending reforms to broader efforts to fix the country’s broken healthcare system—a proposal that ultimately forced Democrats to the table.

At the heart of the new deal is a simple yet powerful idea: redirecting federal healthcare subsidies directly to consumers rather than to insurance companies. 

Trump’s plan eliminates layers of bureaucracy, cuts waste, and ensures that taxpayer dollars reach American families directly. 

By removing intermediaries and political interests, the administration aims to lower premiums and increase transparency—a goal Democrats once claimed to support, but which their party has since been hijacked by socialists like Sanders.

Sanders’ outrage quickly spilled onto social media, where he posted: 

“I’m no great fan of the ACA. I believe we should guarantee health care as a human right through a single-payer Medicare for All system. But—at minimum—we cannot allow Republicans to destroy our already-broken system by doubling insurance premiums for 20 million Americans.”

The post revealed just how disconnected the far left has become. 

Sanders admitted the Affordable Care Act was broken, yet still blamed Republicans for trying to fix it.

The truth is simple: the ACA failed. It drove up premiums, strangled competition, and left millions paying more for less. 

Now, with premium tax credits set to expire by December 31, 2025, Democrats are panicking. 

Their healthcare “achievement” is collapsing under its own weight, and Trump’s reforms threaten to expose just how deep the failures run.

Republicans argue that Trump’s approach delivers real solutions instead of empty promises. 

Direct subsidies to consumers mean lower administrative costs and fewer handouts to big insurance companies—a win for both taxpayers and patients. 

Keep reading

Congress Shouldn’t Bury a Hemp Ban in a Bill to Feed Families and Pay Our Troops

As Congress stumbles toward reopening the government, a quiet maneuver is unfolding, one that could devastate a thriving, new American industry.

Language added to the Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Bill would change the federal definition of hemp — the definition Congress passed in 2018 — in a way that would effectively outlaw nearly every hemp product on the market.

It’s being advanced through the appropriations process, so it’s not subject to the usual public hearings or debates.

A policy that could destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs and close thousands of farms and small businesses might pass in the same vote that funds food assistance programs and pays the military.

This proposal doesn’t just threaten my company. It threatens an entire ecosystem of farmers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers that grew under rules established by Congress. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp products with less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC. Businesses like mine invested, hired and innovated within that framework.

Seven years later, hemp is a $28-billion-a-year industry that’s rapidly growing. It supports 320,000 American jobs and generates $1.5 billion in state tax revenue, according to Whitney Economics and USDA data. Major retailers such as Target, Circle K and Total Wine and More have embraced hemp-derived beverages because consumer demand is overwhelming.

This is no longer a niche market — it’s a national one, built by individuals and passionate visionaries. Hemp products ranging from CBD gummies to THC seltzers line shelves in stores across the country.

The proposed language would make those same products illegal overnight. It would wipe out all regulations at the state level, criminalize legitimate businesses, eliminate profitable hemp-farming acreage and force countless adult consumers to the black market, thanks to a heavy-handed federal decision.

Keep reading

Deal Reached To End The Government Shutdown

After more than a month of gridlock, the U.S. Senate has reached a bipartisan deal to reopen the federal government. The agreement, struck after days of tense negotiations, appears to have the backing of both Senate Democrats and Republicans, paving the way for the shutdown to finally end.

The deal was spearheaded by Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), working alongside several GOP colleagues. According to sources familiar with the talks who spoke to Politico, the agreement has “more than enough” Democratic support to advance through the Senate. Lawmakers are expected to vote Sunday night to advance the House-passed stopgap measure, which will serve as the vehicle for the broader funding package.

The new agreement would fund several key areas of government for the rest of the fiscal year, including the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction projects, and congressional operations. All remaining agencies would be funded through January 30 under a continuing resolution released Sunday evening.

As part of the compromise, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has agreed to give Democrats a vote in December on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Importantly, Democrats will be able to determine which version of that extension receives consideration. The deal also ensures that federal workers who were furloughed or laid off during the shutdown will be rehired and receive back pay once the government reopens.

The announcement follows growing pressure on lawmakers as the shutdown entered its sixth week, disrupting pay for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, halting nonessential services, and straining public patience. The political standoff, which began over disagreements surrounding Obamacare subsidies and long-term spending levels, had become a major test for both parties.

President Donald Trump, who has publicly backed Senate Republicans throughout the negotiations, reportedly supports the agreement. Conservative commentators praised the outcome, arguing that the deal heavily favors the GOP’s negotiating position.

“President Trump successfully gave Senate Republicans unbelievable leverage, forcing ‘moderate’ Democrats to cave,” political commentator Eric Daugherty wrote on X. “Funding set to be through Jan. 30th. No Obamacare subsidies. The only main GOP concession? Simply allow an ACA vote next month. No guarantee on passing or supporting it.”

Others hailed the deal as a strategic victory for Trump, pointing out that Democrats failed to secure new spending commitments or long-term extensions of ACA provisions.

Keep reading

10,000+ Palestinians Buried Beneath Gaza Rubble in ‘World’s Largest Mass Grave’

A civil society group in Gaza on Thursday appealed for international assistance to help recover the bodies of more than 10,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces who remain buried beneath the rubble of the flattened strip.

Referring to Gaza as “the world’s largest mass grave,” Aladdin Al-Aklouk, a spokesperson for the National Committee for Missing Persons in the Genocide Against Gaza, said that “these martyrs were buried under the rubble of their homes, which have turned into mass graves, without their final dignity being preserved or their bodies being retrieved.”

“We express our shock and strong condemnation of the absence of an effective role by international organizations and humanitarian bodies, especially those concerned with the issue of missing persons, in light of the ongoing escalating humanitarian disaster,” Al-Aklouk continued.

“The remnants are ticking time bombs and pose a danger to the population in the Gaza Strip. We need specialists alongside the teams working in the sector,” he added. “We call on the world to send international teams to recover the bodies of the missing. We call on the world to provide the necessary equipment to recover the bodies.”

According to the Gaza Health Ministry – whose casualty figures have been deemed accurate by Israeli military officials and a likely undercount by multiple peer-reviewed studies – at least 68,875 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7, 2023. Although a US-brokered ceasefire technically remains in effect, Gaza officials have documented over 200 Israeli violations in which more than 240 Palestinians have been killed and over 600 others injured.

More than 170,600 other Gazans have been wounded in a war which is the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice genocide case and for which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder and forced starvation.

Palestinians are struggling to dig through more than 60 million tons of debris after over 80% of all structures in Gaza were destroyed or damaged by two years of Israeli bombardment. That’s more than 200,000 buildings and other structures.

United Nations experts estimate it will take seven years for 100 trucks to remove all debris across Gaza, where more than three-quarters of roads are damaged and unexploded ordnance and Israeli booby traps beneath the debris continue to pose deadly threats to recovery workers and survivors in general.

Israel’s destruction and denial of the heavy equipment needed for such a monumental recovery operation has left Palestinians reliant upon rudimentary tools such as shovels, pickaxes, wheelbarrows, rakes, hoes, and even their bare hands. They dig amid the stench of death and decomposition that lingers in the air.

The Abu Naser family lost more than 130 members in an October 29, 2024 strike on their five-story home in Beit Lahia, where over 200 people were sheltering when it was bombed. Mohammed Nabil Abu Naser, who survived the bombing, immediately started digging through the rubble, first in search of survivors and later, for bodies.

“It was all bodies and body parts,” he explained. More than a year later, many of the victims have yet to be recovered.

“About 50 of them are still under the rubble to this day, a full year later,” Abu Naser told The Guardian on Monday.

Keep reading