Tag: politics

House Votes Against Censuring Democrat Stacey Plaskett Over Epstein Collusion – Here are the Republicans Who Joined the Dems

The House of Representatives on Tuesday evening voted against censuring Democrat Stacey Plaskett over her collusion with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing.

Earlier Tuesday, the House voted to advance the measure to censure Plaskett and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee.

Later that evening, the House voted 214 -209 against censuring Plaskett.

Every Democrat voted against the censure.

Three Republicans voted present, and three other GOP lawmakers joined the Democrats.

Here are the three GOP lawmakers who joined the Democrats via Fox News’ Bill Melugin:

Don Bacon (NE)
Lance Gooden (TX)
Dave Joyce (OH)

GOP Present Votes:

Andrew Garbarino (NY)
Jay Obernolte (CA)
Dan Meuser (PA)

Stacey Plaskett was texting Jeffrey Epstein and taking advice from him during a 2019 Congressional hearing with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

Rep Ralph Norman (R-SC) on Tuesday introduced a resolution to censure Democrat Stacey Plaskett and strip her from the House Intelligence Committee.

“I’ve introduced a resolution to censure Stacey Plaskett and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee,” Norman said.

“Her coordination with Jeffrey Epstein during official congressional business is disgraceful, unethical, and an affront to this institution,” he said.

“That’s corruption of judgment at the highest level,” he added.

The effort to censure Plaskett passed the first hurdle but failed later Tuesday evening after six Republicans joined the Democrats.

Keep reading

Same Game, Different Name: ‘Radioactive’ Arabella Advisors Announces Rebrand to ‘Sunflower Services’ as Prominent Donors Flee

Arabella Advisors, the shadowy for-profit consulting firm that managed a multibillion-dollar network of liberal dark money groups, is now Sunflower Services. The company announced Monday it has rebranded and sold off its fiscal sponsorship business to a new firm amid a series of high-profile investigations into its finances and billionaire Bill Gates’s decision to end a longstanding partnership with the organization.

Now, a public benefit corporation called Sunflower Services will manage fiscal sponsorships for the dark money network. It’s a new name, but the same players are involved. Allan Williams, who served as senior vice president for partner solutions at Arabella, will serve as CEO of the new entity. New Venture Fund, Windward Fund, and Hopewell Fund are the “founding owners” of Sunflower Services, the new firm said in a press release.

It’s unclear if the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the primary political arm of the Arabella network that raised $275 million in 2024, will work with Sunflower Services. The Sixteen Thirty Fund did not return a request for comment.

Arabella CEO Himesh Bhise posted on LinkedIn that the firm sold only its fiscal sponsorship business to Sunflower Services. Arabella also provided more traditional and uncontroversial nonprofit HR and accounting services, and will continue to do so under its new name, Vital Impact. Bhise will serve as Vital Impact’s CEO.

The move from Arabella indicates the firm felt the need to quarantine its fiscal sponsorship business amid the threats of investigations from President Donald Trump, who issued a memorandum in September directing several federal agencies to investigate nonprofit organizations allegedly involved in political violence and the “organized structures, networks, entities, organizations” and funding sources behind them.

Trump’s memo had a “chilling effect” on major liberal foundations across the country, the Free Press reported.

Arabella also received scrutiny from the left. In 2023, D.C. attorney general Brian Schwalb (D.) launched an investigation and issued subpoenas to Arabella Advisors following a series of Washington Free Beacon reports on the firm’s practices. Schwalb closed his investigation in 2024, saying it found no evidence of a legal violation.

Still, the scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle appears to have damaged its relationships with some of its major donors. In June, the Gates Foundation, the influential philanthropy of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said it would cease using Arabella Advisors as a middleman to handle many of its grants. The foundation called it a “business decision that reflects our regular strategic assessments of partnerships and operating models.”

The Gates move, which the New York Times called a “significant blow” to Arabella’s operations, spooked other nonprofits that work with Arabella over concerns of friction with the Gates Foundation, which had donated $450 million to Arabella’s dark money network. Other Arabella clients have pulled back from a partnership with the organization out of fear that the Trump administration will go after them for working closely with the progressive group, the Times reported.

Keep reading

US Debt Rose By $620 Billion During The Government Shutdown

“This package demonstrates that we can govern without surrendering to big spending or letting Democrats dictate priorities,” wrote the House Freedom Caucus in some talking points released to the media.

“We successfully stiff-armed a massive omnibus spending bill; locked in disciplined, flat spending levels; preserved President Trump’s policy priorities… and kept our leverage for the next round in January.”

People can say whatever they want, but I’m pretty sure our politicians closed the US government for a record 42 days and changed absolutely nothing. That’s quite an accomplishment. Sublime ineptitude. Congressional approval ratings supposedly declined 11pts to 15% during the period. Remarkable.

If a trader knew that 85% of his decisions were losers, he’d become the richest man on earth by simply doing the exact opposite of his instinct. I’m guessing Pelosi made good money trading the chop, but the broad equity market ended the shutdown period roughly a percent higher than where it started.

Extrapolating the recent pace of deficit spending, the Federal government accumulated another $600bln of debt during the shutdown, adding more leverage to the system, sustaining the economy, supporting asset values.

Keep reading

Staten Island Renews Push to Secede From New York City Due to Zohran Mamdani Mayoral Win

Staten Island is renewing its push to secede from the city of New York and be its own city following the mayoral victory of Democratic Socialist (communist) Zohran Mamdani.

Unlike Manhattan and to a lesser extent Brooklyn, Staten Island is home to a much more traditional, slightly more conservative, blue-collar, working community. Most of the people who live there have no interest in the fantasy of free stuff that Mamdani is promising.

Of course, this is unlikely to happen. New York City won’t want to let go of Staten Island because they want all of the tax revenue they can squeeze out of the people who live there.

The Post Millennial reported:

Staten Island sees renewed NYC secession push after Mamdani victory

Following the election of socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s next mayor, Staten Island lawmakers are reviving efforts to secede and form an independent city.

State Senator Andrew Lanza told the New York Post he plans to “put the foot to the pedal” on the initiative in January, arguing that Mamdani “could not be further out of sync with the values of communities on Staten Island, and I’d argue that this time around Democrats won’t want to stop [the borough’s secession] because it would make it even less likely [NYC] ever elects a Republican mayor again.”

Lanza has repeatedly pushed for secession legislation since 2008 with little progress, but he said the city’s increasingly far-left politics could motivate new support, even among some Democrats. He said he believes the “timing is right” and that independence for Richmond County next year would align symbolically with the United States marking its 250th anniversary.

On Friday, State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo held a rally in Richmond where he read an independence declaration for Staten Island. He delivered the remarks at the location where British soldiers were first read the Declaration of Independence on Staten Island.

Who can blame these people for wanting independence from NYC?

Keep reading

JFK’s Screwball Grandson and Democrat Candidate for Congress in New York, Jack Schlossberg, Performs Nazi Salute in Now-Deleted Video

Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of former President John F. ​​Kennedy and a Democrat candidate for Congress in New York’s 12th Congressional District, has become the subject of controversy following the emergence of a now-deleted video in which he performs a Nazi salute.

The footage, originally posted to Schlossberg’s Instagram in January and hastily deleted after going viral, shows the 32-year-old Kennedy scion gleefully mimicking Adolf Hitler’s infamous gesture while mugging for the camera.

“Yo, yo, check this out,” Schlossberg said repeatedly into the camera as he raised his arm in the salute several times.

This incident has surfaced as the unhinged Trump-hating Democrat officially announced his candidacy for the seat being vacated by Representative Jerrold Nadler.

The New York 12th District includes the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, and Midtown Manhattan. The district’s per capita income is the highest among all districts in the US.

He wrote on Instagram:

“250 years after America was founded, and our country is at a turning point.

It’s a crisis at every level.

A cost of living crisis sponsored by the Big Beautiful Bill. Historic cuts to social programs working families rely on. Health care, education, child care.

It’s a corruption crisis. The President has made almost a billion dollars this year. He’s picking winners and losers from inside the Oval Office. It’s cronyism, not capitalism.

It’s a constitutional crisis with one dangerous man in control of all three branches of government. He’s stripping citizens of their civil rights and silencing his critics.

The worst part is: it doesn’t have to be this way. And it wasn’t, always.

We deserve better, and we can do better, and it starts with the Democratic Party winning back control of the House of Representatives.

With control of Congress, there’s nothing we can’t do. Without it, we’re helpless to a third term.

My name is Jack Schlossberg, and I’m running for Congress to represent my home, New York’s 12th congressional district, where I was born and raised, where I took the bus to school every single day from one side of the district to the other.

This is the best part of the greatest city on Earth. We have the best hospitals and schools, restaurants and museums. This is the financial and media capital of the world.

This district should have a representative who can harness the creativity, energy and drive of this district and translate that into political power in Washington.

I’m not running because I have all the answers to our problems. I’m running because the people of New York 12 do. I want to listen to your struggles, hear your stories, amplify your voice, go to Washington and execute on your behalf.

There is nowhere I’d rather be than in the arena fighting for my hometown. Over the next eight months, during the course of this campaign, I hope to meet as many of you as I can. If you see me on the street, please say hello. If I knock on your door, I hope we can have a conversation. Because politics should be personal.

Thanks more to come soon, and I’ll see you on the trail New York 12.”

JFK’s only grandson was also in another controversy for being critical of his cousin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. ​Kennedy Jr., calling him a “dangerous person” and a “rabid dog.”

Keep reading

Newsom Again Avoids Accountability amid Palisades Fire Fallout: ‘We’re on the Tip of the Spear of Climate Change’

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is continuing a familiar pattern of shifting attention away from the Pacific Palisades fire, this time focusing on climate change and insurance access instead of addressing his administration’s role in the disaster.

At an event this week, Newsom described California as both “blessed and cursed” in terms of climate risk, claiming the state is “on the tip of the spear of climate change.” He cited “simultaneous droughts and simultaneous floods,” and emphasized that “the hots are getting a lot hotter” and “the dry is drier.” 

In referencing the Palisades fire, Newsom stated: “You saw one of the most devastating wildfires in American history in the middle of winter in Los Angeles in January, 100-mile-an-hour winds attached to fire, and as we rebuild, the number one concern people have: how do I get my home insured?”

Newsom’s remarks arrive as victims and lawmakers continue to question his leadership and accountability in the wake of a fire that destroyed nearly 7,000 structures and killed 12 people in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu areas alone. Newsom has faced scrutiny from federal officials, legal challenges from displaced residents, and intense criticism from those who accuse his administration of negligence, obstruction, and policy exploitation in the aftermath of the blaze.

In the days immediately following the fire, Gov. Newsom deflected responsibility during a visit to the evacuation zone, placing blame on residents who had not yet fled. “The fact that people were still not evacuated, still did not heed the warning, were just coming down the canyon,” he remarked, “is a reminder of how serious this moment is, and how important it is you listen to these evacuation orders.”

Yet reports later revealed that residents had been trapped by gridlock and poor planning. Roads were choked with traffic, and police presence was limited because many officers had been reassigned to protect President Joe Biden during his visit to Los Angeles. Some residents were forced to abandon their vehicles and flee on foot. Fire crews eventually had to clear abandoned cars with bulldozers before engines could reach the flames. Officials also confirmed that fire engines had not been pre-deployed, citing budget restrictions and local leadership decisions.

The governor’s office responded to a lawsuit filed by dozens of residents, arguing that the state was not obligated to monitor the burn scar left by the January 1 Lachman Fire. Although that fire was believed to have been extinguished, it reignited on January 7 under high winds, triggering what became known as the Palisades Fire. 

Through a spokesperson, Newsom dismissed the plaintiffs as “opportunistic” and maintained that “The state didn’t start this fire.” The administration instead pointed to alleged arsonist Jonathan Rinderknecht, whose arrest, according to Newsom, would bring “closure.”

Keep reading

Michelle Obama Gets Brutally Mocked for Wacky Remark: ‘White People, When We Straighten Our Curly Hair to Follow Your Beauty Standards, We’re Trapped…That’s Why So Many of Us Can’t Swim…It’s Exhausting’

Michelle Obama sent the Internet into hysterics on Friday night with an incredibly bizarre racial rant during an interview.

As AOL reported, Barack’s wife sat down with actress Tracee Ellis Ross last week for a softball discussion about her new book “The Look.” They talked about Michelle’s fashion choices and the scrutiny she has received over the years for them.

At one point during the interview, Michelle went on a bizarre rant about how black people have to keep their ‘naturally curly’ hair straight for white people.

She then bemoaned how trying to follow white women’s beauty standards makes it so difficult for black people to swim and go to the gym before asking for a law to get white folks out of their hair.

Yes, she really said all of this.

OBAMA: Let me explain something to white people. Our hair comes out of our head naturally in a curly pattern.

When we straighten it to follow your beauty standards, we are trapped by the straightness. That’s why so many of us can’t swim; that’s why we run away from the water.

People won’t go to the gym because we’re trying to keep our hair straight for y’all.

“It’s exhausting, it is expensive, and takes up so much time…Why do we need an act of law to tell White folks to get out of our hair?

Obama got savaged on X after making her remark, with some pointing out that she had her hair straightened.

Keep reading

Michelle Obama’s Snarky Lecture To America; ‘Don’t Waste My Time’—Grow Up’

Michelle Obama delivered a dismissive take on potential presidential ambitions during a recent appearance, suggesting Americans aren’t mature enough for a female leader—blaming voter immaturity for Kamala Harris’s 2025 defeat rather than campaign shortcomings. 

Her snarky elitist perspective ignores policy realities, framing rejection as a sign of national adolescence.

In the clip from her discussion with Tracee Ellis Ross, Obama dismissed the idea of running, stating, “Don’t even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. So don’t waste my time. We got a lot of growing up to do.” 

She rejected the notion that the First Lady role limits women in politics, saying, “I don’t agree with that… Do you think that impacts the room we have made for a woman to be president?” 

Obama then further intimated that America’s “immaturity” on gender is the barrier, rather than policy failures on the left.

Keep reading

Michelle Obama: One of America’s most pathetic people

I’m probably in a minority of one, but I’ve concluded that Michelle Obama is a pitiable woman because she is incapable of happiness. Mind you, she’s not a harmless woman, because she uses her bully pulpit to spread her misery by making other people, especially women and minorities, equally dissatisfied, paranoid, and hate-filled, but there’s still something pathetic about a woman who has everything yet still sees herself as the victim.

Michelle’s latest rant was about hair. Now, I must admit to a little fellow feeling when it comes to frustration about hair. My mother had bone-straight hair, and my father had lovely ringlets. Combine the two, and you get me, with patches of hair texture across my head: I have random clumps of ringlets, curls, waves, bone straight hair, and frizz.

In my youth, I paid either to straighten or curl it to achieve a mono-texture, but eventually I stopped. Unlike Michelle, spending endless money and having an entourage of stylists isn’t in my budget or my modest lifestyle. But honestly, if I could have someone style my hair daily…I probably would, given the frustration I’ve experienced over the decades.

But for Michelle—because she’s a leftist and the personal is always political—the fact that the current style is for lustrous straight hair isn’t a personal frustration, it’s a racist outrage. And the fact that one of America’s richest women must pay if she wants—not if she’s forced to by the government, but if she wants—to have straight hair is an insult that every white woman (each of whom, apparently, is blessed with straight, shiny hair) has taken aim at Michelle’s essential blackness.

Keep reading

Eric Swalwell Considering a Run for California Governor

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is reportedly considering a run for California governor — a possible foil to frontrunner Katie Porter.

Two anonymous sources close to the congressman told MSNBC that he has been considering a play for the Golden State governor’s mansion with a possible announcement as early as next week.

“Swalwell declined to comment when reached by MSNBC, but a source close to the congressman, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the private discussions, said Swalwell allies had asked him to run ‘to fill a “fighter/protector” role’ in the mold of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom,” reported MSNBC.

Should Swalwell throw his hat in the ring for governor, he will be up against former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and businessman Stephen Cloobeck. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) has already announced he would not be running for governor.

“Earlier on Thursday, a Trump administration official referred the congressman to the Department of Justice for a potential federal criminal investigation over allegations of mortgage and tax fraud,” added MSNBC

Swalwell said in response, “As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me.”

A 2020 report in Axios noted that Swalwell had ties to an alleged Chinese spy, Christine Fang (a.k.a. “Fang Fang”), who had reportedly been cultivating relationships with California politicians on behalf of the Chinese government for years. Fang helped fundraise for Swalwell’s 2014 congressional election bid and helped place an intern in his office. Swalwell cut ties with her in 2015 upon advice from U.S. intelligence.

In 2021, Breitbart News reported that “the U.S. Intelligence Community currently has in its possession a classified report that includes intricate and intimate details of the nature of the relationship” between Swalwell and Fang.

In 2023, the House Ethics Committee concluded the investigation into his relationship with Fang with no further censuring.

Swalwell has denied having any inappropriate relationship with Fang, maintaining that he was a target of the Chinese government.

Keep reading