Illinois Just Adopted a Half-Baked Scheme to Tax Social Media

Government officials may not fully understand what social media is, but they damned well plan to do something about the ills it may or may not inflict on our society. They’ll happily start with extracting some money from the companies behind social media, though it may take a few tries, given politicians’ complete lack of understanding of the thing they want to tax. Illinois is a good example, where legislators just passed an attempt at a social media levy that runs afoul of its authors’ ignorance.

“A nearly $56 billion state spending plan is headed to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk after the Democratic-controlled Illinois legislature approved it in the early-morning hours of another overtime spring session,” the Chicago Tribune‘s Dan Petrella noted last week. “The biggest source of new revenue is a new per-user tax on large social media companies.”

The governor’s signature is essentially guaranteed, since the budget proposal and social media tax originated in his office. Pritzker hopes to raise $200 million per year from the scheme. But the plan faces challenges, not least of which is that a similar tax passed by Chicago is tied up in court. Another and potentially more serious problem, as pointed out by Dan Levin of Straight Arrow News, is that “one of the elements that remains the most unclear is what exactly is being taxed? The language in the bill does not answer that question directly and is, frankly, confusing.”

As passed, the budget plan imposes a tax on social media companies based on “the average number of monthly users of the platform located in the State of Illinois.” Platforms with 100,000 to 500,000 “Illinois users” will have to pay $0.10 per user each month; platforms with 500,000 to 1 million “shall pay $40,000, plus $0.25 per month” per user; and platforms with over 1 million users will pay $165,000, plus $0.50 per user, each month on the number of users over 1 million. A provision adjusts the tax for inflation starting in 2028. Companies that fail or refuse to pay will be punished with a fee of “an amount equal to 100% of the unpaid fee and any penalties each month until the fee is paid.”

That’s an awful lot of numbers backed by dire threats. But it still doesn’t clarify how to tally up the bill.

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Trump Develops Plan to Get His First Term Impeachments Expunged: ‘I Did Nothing Wrong’

President Donald Trump is reportedly seeking to have the two impeachments from his first term expunged from the congressional record through a resolution.

“It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” Trump said when asked about the resolution in a phone call, The Wall Street Journal reported. “It was a rigged deal—it was a whole rigged situation.”

The Democrat-led House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump in December 2019, saying he had wrongfully tried to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, by delaying aid money, into investigating Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden for alleged corruption involving millions of dollars.

Zelenskyy said at the time he felt no pressure from Trump, and he opened no investigation into the Bidens, and the aid money was delivered on time before the end of the 2019 fiscal year.

In January 2021, the Democrat-led House impeached Trump again, claiming he incited the January 6 Capitol incursion.

At a “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on January 6, the president stated, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

The Senate voted not to convict Trump following both House impeachments.

The Wall Street Journal reported, “The effort to ‘expunge’ Trump’s impeachments fits with a wider campaign to erase black marks on his record. His lawyers are trying to overturn his criminal conviction for falsifying records to cover up hush money paid to a porn star, and they are seeking to reverse unfavorable civil rulings.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson told the news outlet that he has discussed the resolution with Trump.

“I think it makes a lot of sense the more the evidence comes out, the more we know they really were sham impeachments,” Johnson said, noting that the conversations about the resolution picked up about a month ago. “We were saying it at the time, now we know. And they make a very compelling case that it should be expunged from the record, because it was a hyperpartisan attack job.”

Just the News reported in April that Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz argued that Trump does have grounds to have the 2019 impeachment expunged based on documents recently released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

“It’s never been done. I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be done,” said Dershowitz, who represented Trump during the Senate impeachment trial in early 2020.

“But I have to tell you one thing, history will expunge it already based on your work, because what you’ve done is you’ve created so much doubt about the credibility of the main accuser that it’s hard for anybody to sit back now and say that was a just, a just impeachment, but I don’t know that there’s going to be any remedy,” he added. “Maybe we should try to create one.”

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Pete Buttigieg Throws Support Behind Democrats’ Extreme Court-Packing Gambit

It’s a day that ends in “y,” which means yet another high-ranking Democrat is backing his party’s extreme proposal to pack the Supreme Court with left-wing ideologues.

Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg threw his support behind the radical power-grab while speaking at a Rainbow PUSH Coalition event on Thursday. In his remarks to attendees, the prospective 2028 Democrat presidential contender accused SCOTUS of acting in a “rogue” fashion and “eviscerat[ing] the Voting Rights Act” by upholding the Constitution.

The comments are seemingly in response to the high court’s recent Louisiana v. Callais decision, which deemed Louisiana’s drawing of a second majority-black congressional district to be an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” The ruling more notably kneecapped states’ ability to engage in race-based redistricting — a strategy favored by Democrats to draw districts in their party’s favor.

After his unhinged screed about Callais, Buttigieg was asked by the event moderator for his thoughts on “some really progressive ideas” about how to handle “that rogue Supreme Court.” He more specifically pressed Buttigieg on the proposal to “increas[e] the number of justices” as a way of getting rulings that Democrats favor.

Without hesitation, the former Transportation secretary appeared to fully endorse the plan.

“Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that there have to be nine Supreme Court justices,” Buttigieg said to applause from the audience. “That one doesn’t even take a constitutional amendment. It just takes a readiness to set up a court that fits this country.”

The potential 2028 contender went on to echo disingenuous arguments by fellow Democrats that packing the court with four new justices would allow it to have one justice per federal circuit court, which the justices are tasked with overseeing. He further argued that implementing such a plan would create a “process that makes it less partisan.”

“We cannot have partisan warfare every time there’s an opening on the court,” Buttigieg said, while ignoring his party’s reputation for engaging in such damaging antics. “So, I think term limits would help, but I don’t think they go far enough.”

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Graham Platner cheated on fiancée and bragged Nazi tattoo was reminder ‘US was the evil bad guy,’ lover tells Post

Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner kept his hideous Nazi tattoo to remind himself “the US was the evil bad guy overseas,” according to an ex-girlfriend with whom he cheated on his fiancée in 2021.

The left-wing streamer, who spoke to The Post, is the second woman to say that Platner knew about the fascist origin of his Totenkopf skull and crossbones tattoo — despite his claims that he didn’t realize it was a Third Reich symbol until last fall.

Her assertions were backed up by texts reviewed by The Post that she’d sent to her mom in September 2025 in which she blasted him for his “Nazi tattoo,” “small d—k” and claims that he tarnished her reputation by using her to step out on his fiancée.

The woman also offered allegations Platner cheated on a second partner before his current wife — a now-ex-fiancée he was engaged to around that time. 

“As a person who is a leftist, I immediately looked at him and asked him, ‘Is that a Totenkopf?’ and he told me a whole, ‘he will hold this weight forever’ bravado sob story about how it was, but he decided to keep it as a reminder that the United States was the evil, bad guy overseas,” she recounted. 

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FBI RAIDS Democrat-Controlled California Assessor’s Office and Assessor’s Home — Hit With Three Federal Search Warrants Amid Corruption, Favoritism, and Sexual Harassment Scandals

The FBI executed three federal search warrants Tuesday morning at the Contra Costa County Assessor’s Office and the homes of longtime Assessor Gus Kramer and his right-hand man, Assistant Assessor Vince Robb.

The FBI executed three federal search warrants on Tuesday, targeting the Contra Costa County Assessor’s Office and the homes of two top county tax officials in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest public corruption investigations to hit California’s East Bay in years.

Federal agents descended on the Contra Costa County Assessor’s Office in Martinez, along with residences connected to longtime County Assessor Gus Kramer and Assistant Assessor Vince Robb, who was recently elected to replace Kramer.

Investigators have reportedly been seeking evidence related to wire fraud and other potential offenses. No criminal charges have been announced yet.

The Assessor’s Office is responsible for property valuations across approximately 380,000 parcels of land, a massive operation that directly determines tax bills for hundreds of thousands of homeowners, businesses, and property owners across the county.

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Stop Destroying Civilization!

In the #MeToo years, the Left’s signature slogan was “Believe All Women!”

That directive was used to bolster Christine Blasey Ford’s preposterous and easily refuted 2018 allegations that some 35 years earlier she had been sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, when both were teenagers.

Two years later, the Left quietly junked that “Believe Women!” credo when Tara Reade came forward and lodged a far more credible charge that 2020 Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden had sexually assaulted her when she was a Biden senatorial staffer.

Seven other women alleged that Biden acted toward them in sexually inappropriate ways. The Left more or less ignored these serial charges, and in Reade’s case, demonized her. Suddenly, the new mantra was “Believe women only if they prove useful to the Left.”

Since then, the grotesque sexual misconduct involving Democratic politicians—from New York governor Andrew Cuomo to California Congressman Eric Swalwell—has finally put #MeToo to rest. We were reminded of its demise when it was revealed that Maine senatorial candidate and socialist heartthrob Graham Platner had been discovered to possess a long social media history of crude and pornographic put-downs of women.

Indeed, an entire gaggle of former girlfriends has attested to his Nazi fascinations, his contempt for women, and his occasional physical violence against them.

So what?

Or as feminist icon and former #MeToo-er Senator Elizabeth Warren put it, speaking at a Platner campaign rally in Portland, Maine, “I’m here because Washington needs fighters, and Graham Platner is the fighter we need.”

But a fighter for what cause—and on whose behalf?

The demise of Black Lives Matter (BLM) offers another example of a recurring left-wing phenomenon: movements that begin as moral crusades and end as self-parodies. Almost every BLM cause célèbre has proved fraudulent, following a long tradition that stretches from Al Sharpton’s Tawana Brawley myth to the Duke lacrosse scandal.

The ginned-up BLM riots that followed the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, were all based on an abject lie. Brown never said, “Hands up, don’t shoot.” In fact, he attacked a police officer repeatedly and was lethally shot as he charged toward the officer.

Failing actor Jussie Smollett was never attacked by white MAGA thugs in the wee hours of a cold Chicago night. Instead, the faker Smollett hired two Nigerian-Americans, decked out in MAGA hats, to stage a mock attack. Only by staging such an attack could Smollett claim victim status, attract national sympathy as a target of white hatred, and attempt to revive his fading career.

Yet, for a while, the con worked. Soon-to-be Vice President Kamala Harris, who would go on to praise the often-violent mass George Floyd demonstrations of 2020, raged that the attack by anonymous white “racists” was an “attempted modern-day lynching.” Right—and she never apologized for spreading that lie.

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“Broken System” – Crockett Defends Convicted Murderer Karmelo Anthony… Because He ‘Only’ Stabbed Austin Metcalf ‘One Time’

Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett defended convicted murderer Karmelo Anthony in remarks to TMZ.

Thankfully, Jasmine Crockett’s career in Congress ends this year.

Crockett admitted to TMZ that she was not at the Karmelo Anthony murder trial yet she insisted there is evidence of a broken system.

Karmelo Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison after a jury convicted him of murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf.

Numerous witnesses testified that Karmelo Anthony was the aggressor and instigated the fight with Austin Metcalf.

Karmelo Anthony stabbed Austin Metcalf in the heart. The teen track star died in his twin brother’s arms.

But Crockett feels sorry for convicted murderer Karmelo Anthony.

The Texas Democrat told TMZ that her heart is “broken” for Karmelo Anthony.

Crockett explained that Karmelo Anthony only stabbed Austin Metcalf one time, so it’s not really a serious crime.

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ActBlue CEO Repeatedly Pleads the Fifth as Congress Probes Foreign Donations

ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment rights Wednesday during a congressional hearing on allegations the Democrat fundraising platform accepted foreign-linked donations.

Wallace-Jones declined to answer a series of questions from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) regarding alleged foreign donations, fraud controls, and the departure of ActBlue’s legal team.

“On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer this question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution.”

Jordan asked Wallace-Jones about reports that millions of contributions processed by ActBlue in 2024 showed signs of foreign origin.

“Your board chairman said 38 million contributions in 2024 had the signs of foreign origin,” Jordan said. “How much fraud is too much fraud?”

Wallace-Jones pleaded the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer. Jordan then asked how many foreign contributions ActBlue accepted and whether the platform received donations from Russia. Wallace-Jones again declined to respond.

The Ohio Republican also questioned Wallace-Jones about the departure of ActBlue’s in-house legal team and whether the fundraising platform had weakened its fraud-prevention standards.

“Why did your entire legal team quit?” Jordan asked.

Wallace-Jones invoked the Fifth Amendment. Jordan later asked whether ActBlue had weakened its fraud standards to benefit Democrat candidates, drawing the same response.

The hearing comes weeks after a congressional staff report accused ActBlue of accepting illegal foreign donations during the 2024 election cycle and covering up the activity. The report also claimed that every member of ActBlue’s legal and compliance team either resigned, was fired, or took extended leave. It cited subsequent media reports alleging that the departures were linked to concerns over the platform’s donation practices.

A separate congressional staff report released in 2025 alleged that two policy changes adopted by ActBlue in 2024 led to an increase in fraudulent contributions on the platform. Investigators further alleged that internal training materials instructed employees to search for reasons to approve donations rather than flag potentially suspicious transactions.

The House Administration Committee launched its probe of ActBlue in October 2023. In a letter to committee chairman Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) that year, then-CEO Regina Wallace-Jones assured Congress that “only donations with passport information are processed.”

ActBlue has helped raise more than $19 billion for Democratic candidates and causes since its founding in 2004.

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Jasmine Crockett’s Gaping Maw Is Still Belching Up Filth

After losing the Texas Democratic Senate primary to James “Beef Is Planet Murder” Talarico, I really expected Jasmine Crockett to start showing up in front of every camera she could find to scream “racism,” “sexism,” and whatever other permavictim “ism” she could think of. Democrats don’t deal with defeat very well, after all. 

Ultra-entitled Democrats like Crockett have no coping mechanisms for it whatsoever. 

Well, Crockett finally came out of her lair of resentment to offer her opinions on the (much too light) Karmelo Anthony verdict and sentence. This is from Catherine:

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), one of the most morally despicable stooges in Congress, claimed murdered teen Austin Metcalf’s family have never suffered as she suffers for being black, and that killer Karmelo Anthony was justified in randomly stabbing Metcalf to death.

The piece of human debris who, thank God, will soon be out of Congress, claimed, as the culmination of a lengthy and ignorant lecture on her show about the Anthony case, “Black women, especially black women who have black male children, live in fear and agony every single day — a fear and agony that I promise you the Metcalfs probably never spend a day living that way. And we’re going to have to have some real conversations about race in this country.” Yes, she actually claimed that, in 2026, simply having black skin brings more fear and sorrow into a person’s life than losing your son to a senseless, unjustified murder.

Crockett says “black” three times in the first ten words of one sentence, so she was really leaning into this playing of the race card. By the way, the soon-to-be ex-congresswoman doesn’t have any children, male, female, or black. A complete lack of experience about a subject has never kept Crockett from speaking with authority on it, though. 

It’s always weird and irritating when Crockett attempts to pretend to be down with the struggle in any way. She was educated at a “Country Day” school and an exclusive all-girls Catholic high school. It wasn’t exactly a mean streets upbringing. She’s also owned a law firm and been a member of Congress. Her rough edges narrative is really weak. 

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Jasmine Crockett suggests she also would have stabbed Austin Metcalf in stunning defense of Karmelo Anthony

Lame-duck Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) suggested during an unhinged episode podcast that she too would have stabbed track star Austin Metcalf — after Karmelo Anthony was convicted of first-degree murder in the racially charged case.

On Tuesday’s episode of “Clock It with Crockett,” the failed Senate candidate let loose a torrent of falsehoods to paint a picture of the brutal slaying of 17-year-old Metcalf that had virtually no basis in reality.

The cavalcade of inaccuracies started with Crockett downplaying the size of the semi-serrated, 5-inch pocket knife Anthony was convicted of plunging into Metcalf’s chest during a dispute at a track meet at Memorial High School in Frisco, Texas, last April.

“Wait a minute, it was this?” she said, holding her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart to demonstrate the size of the murder weapon.

“Was it a switch? I don’t know what he had,” Crockett said, inadvertently telegraphing her flimsy grasp of the facts of the case that has roiled her home state for more than a year.

One of her guests claimed the knife was “a multi-tool” akin to a Swiss army knife.

“Yeah, like with the little scissors and everything and whatever. So it was small,” Crockett said, furrowing her brow and squinting her eyes in disbelief.

“Well, I would argue the size of it alone, you wouldn’t even think it’s a deadly weapon.”

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