Tag: politicians

Scheming politicians made utilities their energy bagmen— and we’re all paying the price

Electric utility bills have exploded in New York: As of May, the average monthly residential rate had jumped 13% over the previous year, and a whopping 54% since May 2019.

Headline-hungry politicians have found the culprit: the utility companies.

Press releases excoriate greedy executives and their heartless shareholders: Why, these rascals even installed special machines in our homes to decide how much to charge us!

It turns out, though, that Albany pols aren’t just using the utilities as a fall guy for their political theater.

They’ve also pressed them into service as state government’s bagmen, collecting for various climate programs that we’d otherwise recognize as tax hikes. 

The black cables go back to the electric company, but the trail of green leads straight to the state Capitol.

Decades ago, monthly electricity bills were based on your usage and two added factors.

The first was supply cost: Electricity is a commodity sold on a competitive wholesale market, where its price fluctuates based on supply and demand.

About half of New York’s electricity is generated with natural gas, so fluctuations in gas prices translate into electricity-price changes.

The second factor is the utility company’s charge for delivering that electricity.

These rates are tightly regulated by the state Public Service Commission, which requires gas, electric and water companies to account for literally every dollar they collect from ratepayers, and every dollar they spend.

The PSC then sets the profit they’re allowed to keep, decided by a formula.

But, as state officials discovered in the 1990s, that utility-bill system is a fabulous way to tax electricity customers without taking the blame.

Utility companies had no choice but to play along.

Keep reading

Another Mexican Politician Facing U.S. Federal Fraud Charges

A Mexican politician is out on bond as he faces federal fraud charges in Texas for allegations that he used COVID-era loans to buy cryptocurrency. The politician, his wife, and various other South Texas business owners are accused of obtaining fraudulent loans during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were intended to support failing businesses, but were instead used for personal gain.

Court records revealed that 46-year-old Bernando Gomez Jr. and his wife, 42-year-old Lesley Chavez, allegedly took out nearly $200,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans during the COVID-19 pandemic and then used them for personal expenses, including buying cryptocurrency. Gomez, who lives in Edinburg, Texas, is a sitting city councilman in the Mexican City of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, where he serves as a close advisor to local Mayor Miguel Angel Almaraz.

Court documents indicate that Gomez and Chavez own several entertainment and service businesses, including a wedding planning service, a rental company, and a print shop.

Federal prosecutors allege that in June 2020 and May 2020, they obtained a series of government loans through the Small Business Administration aimed at helping businesses survive the COVID-19 Pandemic. The government then forgave those loans after the business owners allegedly filed documents claiming that the money had been used for legitimate purposes such as paying employees and other similar expenses. After receiving those three loans, totaling $150,000, $40,800, and $20,800, they transferred the funds to different accounts, which they then used for personal expenses and, in the case of Gomez, to purchase cryptocurrency.

After their arrests, both Gomez and Chavez went before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker, who set their bonds at $100,000. Both have been released as they await trial.

Gomez is currently a member of Mexico’s National Action Party (PAN), one of the major opposition parties in Mexico that has been at odds with the current ruling party, MORENA.

Keep reading

Leftists Admit They Can’t Win Without Rewriting The Constitution

Seldom does a headline simultaneously proclaim impotency and promise utter destruction, but The New York Times managed it: “Abolish the Senate. End the Electoral College. Pack the Court.”

To be fair, this was not an opinion piece per se but a partial transcript of an episode of Ross Douthat’s Interesting Times podcast, where Douthat interviewed Osita Nwanevu, a contributing editor at The New Republic, a columnist at The Guardian, and a research fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. The occasion was Nwanevu’s first book, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding.

Nwanevu’s book is free of original argumentation. His example of why the Senate is “anti-democratic” is that California, a state that could be “one of the 40 largest countries in the world,” only has two senators, which gives a state like Wyoming “about 60, or more than 60, times the representation than people in California.”

And don’t try to say California’s 52-member delegation in the House of Representatives — the largest in the House by far — evens things out: “The Senate shapes the judiciary, it shapes the executive branch, and obviously, it’s a veto point for the passage of even ordinary legislation.” Thus, Nwanevu argues, “we have a fundamental piece of our system that flouts basic democratic principles.”

Never mind that the House originates all monied bills, or that all impeachments must originate in the House, or that House and Senate must both pass a bill before it sees the president’s desk.

His ideas for “saving democracy” are just as moldy. Create new states (his nominees, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., are the usual suspects). Stuff the Supreme Court. Have a national, popular vote for president. The same ideas the left has been repeating for years now. Nwanevu is just the latest parrot to sing the same song for the choir.

Keep reading

Rhode Island AG Aide Caught on Bodycam Threatening Cops During Arrest

Video recorded last Thursday night shows Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan being taken into custody by Newport police after an incident outside a restaurant.

Police arrested Flanagan for alleged trespassing following a call about an “unwanted party” at the Clarke Cooke House on Bannister’s Wharf, according to News Channel 9.

The footage shows officers engaging with Flanagan and another woman before escorting Flanagan into a police cruiser.

In the video, Flanagan is heard saying, “you’re going to regret this,” while resisting being placed in the vehicle.

Keep reading

‘Our Aim… Lobby for Somalia’: Ohio State Rep. Ismail Mohamed Urges Support for Somali Causes in Non-English Video

Ohio state Rep. Ismail Mohamed (D), one of the first Somali Muslims elected to the Ohio General Assembly, spoke entirely in Somali in a recently posted video in which he thanked Somali National TV and discussed efforts to honor a Somali historical figure, organize Somali American political representation, and lobby on behalf of Somalia.

Mohamed appeared in a video posted online in which he spoke exclusively in Somali, with English captions providing a translation. Mohamed, elected in 2022 as one of the first Somali Americans to serve in the Ohio General Assembly, addressed viewers in the video.

According to the English captions, Mohamed began by thanking Somali National TV and its management before describing two “historic achievements” in Ohio, particularly in Columbus. The first, he said, was naming a street after Sayid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan, whom he called “the father of Somalia whose dignity and honor is unequaled by any other Somali throughout the history” and “worthy enough to have a street named after him.” When discussing the street naming, the video showed a photo of Mohamed standing beside a street sign bearing Hassan’s name. Mohamed explained, “I’ve pioneered the idea of commemorating a monument even before I got elected.”

He went on to note the presence of “20 or more different political representatives,” including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) at the federal level, and more than ten Somali American representatives serving at city and state levels. Mohamed described a “tight-knit organization” of Somali American officials who communicate in a group chat. “Our main objective is to discuss things that concern Somalia. It’s our country and our people. Our aim as a united front is to lobby for Somalia, helping waive Somalia’s national debt and maritime crisis,” the captions read. Mohamed called on residents of Columbus to “please vote,” adding, “We need your support. We want you to knock doors.”

This is not the first video of its kind. Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh (D), now a candidate for mayor of Minneapolis whose platform is similar to that of New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, posted a campaign video directed at Somali voters in which his only English-language phrase was “rental assistance program.”

Keep reading

US Plan To Copy UK’s Disastrous Online Digital ID Verification Is Winning Friends in the Senate

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is moving forward in the US Senate with 16 new co-sponsors as of July 31, 2025, reviving a proposal that copies the same type of provision found in the UK’s controversial Online Safety Act, which has caused much backlash across the Atlantic.

In Britain, that measure forces online platforms to implement digital ID age checks before granting access to content deemed “harmful,” a policy that has caused intense resentment over privacy violations, the erosion of anonymity, and government overreach in the realm of free speech.

Now, US lawmakers are considering a similar framework, with more senators from both parties throwing their support behind the bill in recent weeks.

Marketed as a way to shield children from harmful online material, KOSA has gained prominent backing from Apple, which has publicly praised it as a step toward improving online safety. Yet beyond the reassuring branding, the legislation contains provisions that raise serious concerns for free expression and user privacy.

If enacted, the bill would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to investigate and sue platforms over content labeled as “harmful” to minors. This would push websites toward aggressive content moderation to avoid liability, creating an environment where speech is heavily filtered without the government ever issuing direct censorship orders.

The legislation also instructs the Secretary of Commerce, FTC, and FCC to explore “systems to verify age at the device or operating system level.” Such a mandate paves the way for nationwide digital identification, where every user’s online activity could be tied to a verifiable real-world identity.

Once anonymity is removed, the scope for surveillance and profiling expands dramatically, with personal data stored and potentially exploited by both corporations and government agencies.

Advocates of a free and open internet warn that laws like KOSA exploit the emotional appeal of child safety to introduce infrastructure that enables ongoing monitoring and identity tracking. Even with recent changes, such as removing state attorneys general from enforcement, these core concerns remain.

Senator Marsha Blackburn defended the bill, stating, “Big Tech platforms have shown time and time again they will always prioritize their bottom line over the safety of our children.” Yet KOSA’s structure could end up reinforcing the dominance of large tech firms, which are best positioned to implement costly verification systems and handle the resulting data.

The bill’s earlier version stalled in the House after leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson, questioned its impact on free speech. Johnson remarked that he “love[s] the principle, but the details of that are very problematic,” a sentiment still shared by many who view KOSA as a gateway to lasting restrictions on online freedoms.

If this legislation moves forward, it will not simply affect what minors can view; it will alter the fundamental architecture of the internet, embedding identity verification and top-down content control into its design.

Keep reading

Brazilian Woman Granted Refugee Status in Europe After Facing 25-Year Sentence for ‘Misgendering’ Trans Politician

In a precedent-setting move, a European country has officially granted full refugee protections to a Brazilian women’s rights activist who was facing 25 years in prison in her home country for misgendering a transgender politician. Isabella Cêpa is the first person to be recognized as a victim of state persecution for her outspoken opposition to gender identity ideology.

As previously reported by Reduxx, Cêpa first came under criminal investigation after she made a social media post about Erika Hilton – a male politician who “identifies” as a woman. Hilton was elected to São Paulo’s municipal government in November of 2020, winning his seat by a landslide that gave him the title of the most voted-for ‘woman’ in Brazil.

At the time of his victory, Hilton was celebrated in international media as being a “symbolic triumph” for transgender people. Hilton was amongst the top 10 most-voted for candidates in all of Brazil, and was touted as the “only woman” to make the list. 

It was the widespread announcement of his victory that first put him on Cêpa’s radar.

“At the time I didn’t even know who this person was. I just saw a headline on an Instagram page celebrating that ‘the most voted woman in São Paulo is a transwoman,’” Cêpa told Reduxx during a 2022 interview, recounting how her ordeal began. “Then, I shared a video with my followers saying I was disappointed to hear that the most voted-for woman in São Paulo – later found out that it was in the entire country – was a man.”

Keep reading

Cincinnati official under fire for celebrating brutal attack: ‘They begged for that beatdown!’

An Ohio city council member disturbingly claimed that the victims of the Cincinnati downtown brawl were asking to be assaulted during the ruthless mob attack.

“They asked for that beatdown,” Cincinnati Councilwoman Victoria Parks replied to video of the July 27 brawl on Facebook.

“I am grateful for the whole story,” she added.

The 67-year-old Democrat angered Cincinnati’s police union boss, who blasted Parks for the comments and called for her resignation.

“It’s unconscionable that an elected official would be celebrating violence in the very city she was voted to serve,” Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police president Ken Kober told Fox News Digital. 

Keep reading

Study Finds Congress Often Out Of Sync With America

In an era of deep political polarization, a new study indicates that many members of Congress may be out of step not just with the opposition party, but with their own voters as well.

The study by the Institute for Legislative Analysis, a conservative group led by Republican Party activists Fred McGrath and Ryan McGowan, compares the ideological leanings of every sitting member of Congress with the partisan makeup of their districts, drawing on more than 100,000 votes cast in the last session and overlapping them with the Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voter Index. The result is a striking picture of ideological misalignment across both parties, particularly among Republicans from deep-red states.

“It’s shocking to see that some Republican lawmakers are more aligned with the Democratic Party than with their own constituents,” said Fred McGrath, president of ILA and leader of this study.

More than two-thirds of lawmakers received a failing grade (“F”) for ideological alignment with their districts. Republicans were most often penalized for voting less conservatively than their deep-red districts, while Democrats struggled to meet the progressive expectations of blue districts.

“This study shows the overwhelming majority of elected officials in both parties are out of alignment with the people they represent,” said Ryan McGowan, CEO of the ILA. “Too many are either voting against the ideological tendencies of their constituents or failing to provide a clear alternative when representing swing districts.”

Keep reading

CIA Whistleblower Reveals How Intelligence Agencies Gather Blackmail on Politicians Without Them Suspecting It

The ex-CIA officer who blew the whistle on torture just shared a chilling story about how the intelligence community will go to any lengths to blackmail people in power for the secrets they want.

On Patrick Bet-David’s podcast, John Kiriakou revealed that his CIA operational trainer was rewarded with a promotion and a medal for recruiting a copy machine repairman.

At first, Kiriakou laughed, but then he realized the brilliance of the plan when he learned that the repairman secretly sent every document from a prime minister’s office straight to the CIA.

How did he do it? By planting a tiny device on the copy machine.

“He [my trainer] said, all of us want to recruit the prime minister. We’re not going to recruit the prime minister. We’re not even going to have access to the prime minister. But the prime minister’s got a copy machine in his office.

“And every once in a while, that machine is going to need to be cleaned and serviced. So you recruit the copy machine repairman. And when he goes in there to make his repair or to clean the drums or whatever, he installs a little device that we give him so that every time somebody makes a copy, it transmits a copy back to the CIA.”

What happened next?

He said, “I got a promotion. I got a medal. I got a photo op with the director. It made my career…”

Because this flow of information was pure leverage for the CIA:

“You know what they’re thinking. You know their next move. You know who their enemies are and who their allies are. Maybe it’s their position on trade negotiations. Maybe the prime minister has a health problem you need to plan for. You never know what might come through,” Kiriakou explained.

“That ONE critical nugget is all it takes.”

Keep reading