Tag: politics

Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen Says He Will Nuke the Filibuster if Elected Senate Majority Leader

Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen announced late Thursday night that he will challenge Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader.

Van Hollen took a break from sipping margaritas with wife-beating MS-13 terrorists and announced he is challenging Schumer for a leadership role.

“In this election, Americans called on us to unrig an economy rigged against working people & fueled by political corruption,” Van Hollen said.

“To deliver, we need new leadership. This isn’t about any one person – it’s about answering that call,” he said.

“That’s why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader,” he added.

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China Calls Israel a Friend as Capital Flows Beyond Political Alliances

China has declared Israel a friend and important economic partner despite its disagreements with the Israeli government over Iran and Somaliland. Chinese Ambassador Xiao Junzheng stated, “Israel is a friend of China and an important partner.” Beijing understands that maintaining economic relationships with competing nations is far more advantageous than destroying trade every time a diplomatic disagreement arises. Meanwhile, Washington and Brussels have become obsessed with dividing the world into opposing political camps, imposing sanctions, and demanding that countries sacrifice their economic interests in the name of geopolitical loyalty.

China condemned the US-Israeli strikes against Iran and opposed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, yet it has maintained its commercial relationship with Israel. Beijing also continues purchasing Iranian oil while conducting extensive business with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These countries have conflicting political and security interests, but China has no intention of abandoning profitable relationships merely because their governments disagree. Beijing is positioning itself to benefit from capital flows throughout the Middle East rather than tying its economic future to any single political alliance.

China and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1992, and their economic relationship has expanded through technology, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Chinese companies have participated in major Israeli projects, including the Bayport Terminal in Haifa and transportation infrastructure. Israel possesses considerable expertise in cybersecurity, agriculture, medical technology, and advanced manufacturing, while China has the industrial capacity to commercialize technology on a massive scale. Ambassador Xiao acknowledged this complementary relationship. China recognizes that Israeli innovation and Chinese manufacturing can create opportunities for both economies regardless of their political differences.

The Somaliland dispute illustrates the distinction between strategic interests and economic cooperation. Israel recognized Somaliland as an independent state in December 2025, while China opposed the decision and reaffirmed its support for Somalia’s territorial integrity. Beijing maintains a military base in neighboring Djibouti, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal. China has substantial interests in protecting international shipping routes because its economy depends upon global trade. Yet this disagreement has not caused Beijing to abandon its relationship with Israel. China understands that diplomacy and commerce do not always have to move together.

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NYT Depicts Collins as Trump’s Victim—Rather Than Accomplice

After long-serving Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ 6-point defeat to progressive challenger Troy Jackson, the New York Times (11/4/26) ran a panegyric to Collins that framed her defeat exactly the way she framed it herself: an unfortunate casualty of Trump’s unpopularity, rather than a repudiation of Collins’ own record. “‘It Is Never Enough’: Susan Collins Couldn’t Outrun Trump,” the headline declared, with the subhead arguing that “the anti-Trump fever in her state doomed her this time.”

Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent for the Times, introduced the piece with an anecdote from Collins about a woman who said she “absolutely loved” Collins, but wouldn’t vote for her because “it was the only way she could send a message to Trump.”

You’d think a journalist might be skeptical of getting voter sentiment directly from a candidate, but Hulse didn’t probe more deeply. Instead, he called the anecdote “the story of the election for Ms. Collins.” He followed with a quote from Collins that similarly acknowledged no failures of her own:

I was caught up in the Trump tsunami that swept away many incumbent Republican senators who have served their states well for many years and really care about our country.

It wasn’t just Collins’ words that painted that picture; Hulse wrote in his own voice that “Ms. Collins was brought down by a combination of factors, most of which were attributable to President Trump and the war with Iran.” Hulse listed some of those: fuel prices, tariffs and

an immigration crackdown that resulted in a fatal shooting by federal agents in one Maine community. And always the perception that she wasn’t doing enough to stand up to the president, even when she was one of the few Republicans to occasionally break with him.

“Everybody ignores the fact that I voted to convict him in the second impeachment trial,” Ms. Collins said. “What bigger break could there be? It is never enough. I want results and they want angry rhetoric.”

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Lawmakers Race to Renew Warrantless Spying Before January

A group of US lawmakers is trying to convince Congress to use the lame-duck session to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The idea is to add it to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – and in this way bypass the incoming Congress, which is expected to be more privacy-friendly.

There is no time to waste: the House is scheduled to sit until December 17 and the Senate until December 18.

“My preference would be, let’s just take the win that’s on the table, get it done in the lame-duck,” House Intelligence top Democrat Jim Himes is telling the press, while adding, “If that fails, we’ll do something in the first quarter.”

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) seems to be on the same page, noting that there is not enough time to deal with FISA separately, but it could be done if it is amended onto the NDAA.

“We don’t have two weeks to work just on FISA,” he said, and added, “If it’s amended onto the NDAA then you can move forward and get it done in that time.”

Himes and others want to rush the process in the hope of avoiding a new Congress that might try to add a warrant requirement to the new bill – and that, in their view, would be a step too far.

What 702 does is let US spy agencies collect communications of foreigners abroad without a warrant – and in the process, sweep up that of Americans as well. Those can then be searched by agents, again without a warrant, in what is known as backdoor search.

As Reclaim The Net reported in March, citing a ruling of the FISA Court, the FBI alone ran those searches more than 278,000 times in a single year.

“A supervisor’s sign-off is not a warrant,” we wrote at the time.

In the same ruling, the secret court said that the FBI had violated the US Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. The ruling was issued on March 17, and although the legal deadline to declassify it was September 13, it still remains secret.

Two senators, Ron Wyden and Adam Schiff, have said that the ruling covers how analysts can read Americans’ messages without a warrant. The NSA, FBI, and CIA are all allowed to search the data collected under 702, and look for US persons’ communications.

In a letter to the leaders of Congress, 27 civil society groups, led by Demand Progress, reminded lawmakers that 702 has been “abused to spy on protesters on the left and the right; 19,000 donors to a congressional campaign; members of Congress and their staff.”

The letter, sent on November 12, asks that 702 is not attached to the NDAA or any other must-pass bill, and that the House and Senate have a proper debate on the matter.

Other lawmakers who want to see 702 reauthorized as soon as possible are Mark Warner (D-VA), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and who believes that if that doesn’t happen in the lame-duck session, “it becomes much more difficult in a new Congress.”

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is also on board, saying, “We need to get it reauthorized… As soon as possible.”

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) agrees, and believes the reauthorization should have happened “months ago.”

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and former Biden administration official Adam Klein co-authored an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on November 12, titled, “A Vital National Security Tool Shouldn’t Go Dark.”

Himes is one of those who want to rush the process in the lame-duck session because, as he put it, “it’s a political reality that the 702 that gets reauthorized with a Democratic House and Senate is going to be a very different 702 that gets reauthorized in the lame duck.”

The “urgency” is not really there, since the statute lapsed at midnight on June 12, 2026, but the spying continues thanks to the FISA Court’s annual certifications. At a July 15 Senate hearing, Sen. Mike Lee asked if the current authorization expires “until midnight on March 16 of 2027” – and the answer he received from Todd Blanche, then the attorney general nominee, was, “That is correct.”

As Reclaim The Net reported in June, the “going dark” narrative is a myth – and that is because the FISA Court’s authorization of 702 is good for a year, regardless of whether Congress acts or not.

Congress has used the NDAA to give 702 a short-term extension once before – in 2023.

The groups who signed the November 12 letter are not buying the argument that there is some urgency to pass the bill now, and that not doing it would leave the US in the dark.

The groups also point out that the claimed urgency presents “a false choice” and is “another scare tactic” – while in fact, “only 12 percent of Americans want FISA extended as-is.”

Demand Progress executive director Hajar Hammado is unimpressed with Himes’ efforts, saying, “Jim Himes has betrayed his own party and the American people.”

Due Process Institute vice president Jason Pye said voters are “sick of backroom deals.”

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law’s Hannah James is of the same opinion: “Slipping an extension into must-pass year-end legislation, instead of openly debating and voting on bipartisan reforms, would betray the democratic process and Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights.”

One of the groups who signed the letter, Color Of Change, was one of the main promoters of the 2020 “Stop Hate For Profit” Facebook ad boycott – which, as Reclaim The Net reported at the time, resulted in the tech giant bowing to the pressure and censoring more “hate speech.”

It may seem strange that a group who pushed for more online censorship is now worried about the government’s warrantless surveillance – but their stand on this issue is correct, and it doesn’t erase their previous actions.

While Himes is wrong in saying that there is a win on the table in the lame-duck, he is right that the new Congress could add a warrant requirement – but that is the best argument for waiting, rather than rushing the process.

There is certainly no excuse to attach such a controversial provision to a defense bill – the question of whether the government should be able to read Americans’ messages without a judge’s approval has nothing to do with the NDAA, and everything to do with the Constitution.

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WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Zohran Mamdani Preparing to Disband NYPD Unit That Responds to Riots and Terrorism

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is preparing to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group. This is the unit that responds to major events like riots and terrorism attacks.

What is the point of doing this? What is the reason?

It defies logic to dismantle such a group, but we have given up trying to use logic on anything that Mamdani does.

Notice below how the liberal media describes the NYPD group as controversial, not the decision to disband it.

From Politico:

Mamdani planning announcement to disband controversial NYPD unit

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to unveil a plan for disbanding the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group as early as this week, according to three people with knowledge of the long-awaited announcement.

In dissolving the counterterrorism and protest-response unit, the democratic socialist mayor would fulfill a key 2025 campaign pledge with the aim of mollifying an increasingly restive base.

Mamdani’s plan is expected to involve nixing the SRG and potentially replacing it with a new civilian unit that would take the lead on responding to protests, said one of the people who spoke to POLITICO and, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss the announcement. Under the plan — which had not been finalized as of Thursday morning — the new civilian unit would be supported by NYPD officers, who would assemble nearby and could step in to conduct arrests if needed, said the person, noting that the civilian entity’s main goal would be deescalation.

The person said City Hall has been considering placing the civilian protest unit under the umbrella of Mamdani’s signature Office of Community Safety, which he launched earlier this year.

A City Hall spokesperson did not respond to specific questions about the plan but noted more generally that Mamdani has planned to make good on his campaign pledge since becoming mayor.

So this is all about appeasing his base?

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The Status Quo Is a Comic-Book Parody

The sharpest critique of the status quo–and therefore the one most likely to spark spittle-flecked freakouts–is that stripped of self-important spin, it’s a comic-book parody of a functional state of affairs. The key to a solid parody is the most absurd exaggerations are taken with the utmost seriousness, as if the participants are completely unaware of the laughable nature of the caricatures they’re playing.

So let’s conduct a thought experiment: boil off all the grandiose self-importance (“we’re serious people discussing serious things,” blah-blah-blah) and hyper-stylized spin (“AI will make everything free, or end the world as we know it!”), and then try to parody what’s left.

You can’t. Everything in the status quo is already a self-parody and therefore impervious to being parodied. Whatever we come up with as a parody is only a pale shadow of what’s passed off as “serious people doing serious things.”

Consider The Imperial Project ™ War Room for playing their live-action game War of Choice ™. This is the pinnacle of “serious people discussing serious things”–what’s our next War of Choice ™?

It’s not ideal, but it’s the only war we got.

War generates inflation which creates an illusory “growth” that impoverishes the bottom 90% as life becomes unaffordable, a tragicomic parody of prosperity: as long as this parody of prosperity enriches Wall Street, the status quo cheers.

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Palantir CEO Suddenly Embraces His “Lifelong Democrat” Roots After Cashing In on Trump Administration Contracts Following Democrat Midterm Victories

Well, that didn’t take long.

Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp is executing a rapid political rebrand just days after Democrats seized majorities in the House and Senate.

In a Wednesday interview with Politico’s Playbook, the billionaire tech executive described himself as a “lifelong Democrat” who grew up in a far-left environment, claimed he “knows more about being a progressive than almost anybody on the planet,” and insisted that “Palantir — all of our products are essentially progressive.”

He reportedly used the word “progressive” eight times and left the door open to supporting a Democrat in 2028, provided the nominee is not a Democratic Socialists of America figure.

The timing has not gone unnoticed. Just months earlier, Karp had positioned Palantir as “the first company to be completely anti-woke,” criticized Democrats as “totally irresponsible” on immigration and Iran, and argued that his company’s AI tools would reduce the economic and political power of “humanities-trained, largely Democratic voters” while boosting vocationally trained working-class men.

In a March CNBC appearance covered by The Gateway Pundit, he described the technology as societally “dangerous” yet necessary for America to prevail.

He has also defended Trump administration priorities, including strikes on suspected drug boats, while declaring that open borders hurt average Americans.

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House to Vote on Second Epstein Files Transparency Act After Oversight Committee Report on the Federal Government’s Mishandling of Epstein Criminal Investigation

The House of Representatives is set to vote on a second Epstein files bill after lawmakers forced a vote through a discharge petition.

Politico reports that Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) signed the 218th signature on the petition to force a vote on Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)’s Epstein Files Transparency Act II.

Only four Republicans, Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace (SC), Ralph Norman (SC), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), signed the discharge petition.

Previously, Massie’s Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed and signed into law, requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files to the public.

However, some lawmakers accuse the Justice Department of redacting or withholding over 2.5 million pages of documents.

Politico reports the new bill “allows survivors of Epstein’s abuse and state attorneys general to file federal lawsuits against the Justice Department to force the release of additional materials related to Epstein, among other measures. It also gives members of Congress the ability to demand unredacted files from the department.

This comes after the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released a 137-page report on its 15-month investigation, titled “A Review of the Federal Government’s Mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Criminal Investigations.”

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The Jumping Corpse of Calaveras County: Dead for Months, He’s Winning a Race for County Supervisor

As my colleague Charlie Martin observed, rather pithily, “Hey, dead people vote; they deserve representation too.”

My response to that is: Why encourage it?

Bruce Giudici, a 68-year-old CFO from Calaveras County in California, was running hard for county supervisor, an office he had been pursuing for several years. On August 30, he was out knocking on doors when he collapsed and died a few hours later. With the election so close, there was no time to remove his name from the ballot.

On Tuesday evening, election officials released the latest tranche of counted ballots, and Giudici appeared to have an insurmountable lead. He held 57% of the vote against his opponent, with just 500 votes yet to be counted. That gives him a 497-vote lead over his opponent, Clyde Clapp.

The people of Calaveras County have apparently elected a dead guy. Mark Twain would have loved it.

His campaign website paid tribute to his character.

“Bruce was beloved by many. His passing has been met with an overwhelming outpouring of sympathy for his family, community, co-workers, and the organizations he supported through tireless dedication over the years.”

The man was certainly involved in the community.

Throughout his career, he applied his financial and organizational skills to various organizations and non-profits, including Catholic Charities, the Stockton Homeless Shelter, public education initiatives, Heald Business College, MACT Health, San Joaquin Head Start, and the Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency.

In addition to his career in finance, he was deeply committed to community service and activism. He notably founded and ran the Valley Food Coalition out of a passion for food security, and was heavily involved in organizing local events like the Stockton and Calaveras County Earth Day festivals. He was also a talented musician who played the trombone in a variety of local jazz, concert, and big bands.

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Coin Flip Decides Kentucky County’s Tied Election Between Republican and Democrat Candidates

Officials decided an ancient method was the best way to decide the outcome of an election in Robertson County, Kentucky.

When Republican Benny Ray Renner and Democrat Kristen Gifford Fryman tied with 91 votes each in the race for magistrate in the 2nd Magisterial District, it was up to officials to decide what to do next, KCRA reported Sunday.

“Out of the 182 ballots cast, there was not a single vote that separated the two candidates once all precincts had reported their numbers back,” the outlet said.

The Kentucky State Board of Elections recommended officials perform a coin flip to decide the outcome, and Fryman won.

Prior to her win, Fryman said she realized the race was extremely tight, WEKU reported Friday.

“When it was tied, I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was kind of shocked cause that’s just something I don’t think that…I was told that’s never happened in our county before,” she said.

The coin used to decide the election was a quarter the sheriff had in his pocket.

“Our county clerk, she flipped it, and Benny, my opponent, he’s the one that got the call because he was listed first on the ballot, and he called heads, and it was tails,” Fryman said.

People in ancient Rome would flip coins to determine outcomes and as a game of chance called “heads or ships,” according to First Colonial Mint:

The rules for a Roman toss of coin were different however, in as much as they would not call out, as we do today, their prediction of the winning side of the coin. One of the protagonists would be assigned “heads.” As the emperor was on the heads side of the coin, it was assumed that the emperor agreed with the person who wins. The “ship” side of the coin always lost.

Later in Middle-aged Britain, the game was known as ‘Cross or Pile’ due to the ‘heads’ side featuring a cross and the ‘tails’ side being referred to as the ‘pile’ because of its indentations from the pressing process.

Throughout history though, no matter what its name or reasoning, it has continued to be used for the same thing — to settle a dispute, make a decision, or end a rivalry.

Robertson County is Kentucky’s smallest county in population, according to the state’s website.

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