Tag: politics

The “Libertarians” Who Say the Private Sector Is the Real Threat to Freedom

From its very beginnings in the seventeenth century, the classical liberals (also known as “libertarians,” or, historically, “liberals”) have been primarily focused on limiting the powers of the state. It has been state powers—not the powers of church or family or employer—that has been the great occupation of the classical liberals. After all, the movement was born in opposition to mercantilism and absolutism.

In the classical liberal view, it has always been state power that is fundamentally coercive and violent, and is the greatest threat to freedom and property rights. Moreover, because the state is monopolistic by nature, the state can exercise its powers untroubled by any legal opposition within the state’s territory. As such, the state is the organization that is positioned to most frequently and potently violate the property rights of its subjects with impunity. So, it is not surprising that historian Ralph Raico states that classical liberalism has been historically focused of preventing states from regulating the private sector, also known as “society.” In classical liberal thinking, Raico tells us, “the most desirable regime was one in which civil society—that is, the whole of the social order based on private property and voluntary exchange—by and large runs itself.”McMaken, Ryan

Keep reading

Report: Texas Democrat Fugitives Concede, Will Return to Austin

The Texas House Democrats who abandoned their state in protest of the Republican-led redistricting effort will return home after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) took “emergency action” to begin removing the absent legislators as they refused to show up for work.

Multiple sources revealed the news to ABC13 on Tuesday, though the exact date the Democrats will return to the state capitol in Austin was not confirmed. 

The state House had only 95 members present for the second day in a row on Tuesday, with Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) predicting that the session will end and a new one will start assuming there is no quorum on Friday, the outlet noted.

Keep reading

Conservative Moms Org Labeled ‘Hate Group’ in Police Training

A police training entity in Massachusetts asserted that Moms for Liberty, a nationwide conservative grassroots parental rights coalition, is a “hate group.”

The designation was made by the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee, an entity which trains over 20,000 officers across Massachusetts.

A Friday report from The Daily Wire, which first covered the story, said that Moms for Liberty was listed alongside other “Hate Groups.”

Some of those other groups included Antifa and various Neo-Nazis.

The slides claimed that Moms for Liberty is an “anti-government extremist” entity.

The training materials also said that Moms for Liberty opposes “books that reference race and gender identity.”

The group has indeed mobilized conservative parents nationwide to raise the alarm over heavily sexualized books, as well as those with leftist ideological themes.

The training accused Moms for Liberty of purportedly using “parents’ rights as a vehicle to attack public education and make schools less welcoming for minority and LGBTQ students.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Moms for Liberty an “anti-government extremist,” a reality likewise cited by the training materials.

“Moms for Liberty is here to show up at school board meetings, speak out against curriculum, failing schools, inappropriate books maybe in your public school library,” Tina Descovich, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, reacted to the designation of her group.

“Antifa is burning down whole cities and parts of cities and rioting in the streets,” she said.

“These two are not equivalent.”

Moms for Liberty secured copies of the training documents through a freedom of information request of the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee.

“We have to ask what is going on here in Massachusetts with these trainings to police officers,” Descovich said.

“We are not conducting ourselves in a way that police ever need to be concerned about the way we act,” she continued.

“As a matter of fact, our chapter chair there in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, who is the one that brought all this to my attention, said she has local members of their police force come up to her all the time.”

“Please keep going. We can’t talk about it publicly, but I have kids. I appreciate you guys speaking out. So thank you for your courage and your bravery,” the officers reportedly say.

Keep reading

Buying Our Democracy — Meet the Billionaire Leftists Behind the Lawfare Chaos

A central premise in Breaking the Law, my just-released exposé on the weaponization of the legal system against President Trump and his supporters, is that an objective of lawfare is to buy our democracy.

The funders of the lawfare superstructure are waging a political battle against MAGA and on behalf of the institutional left. The “law” itself is disregarded. It’s all about politics. And they have learned that with relatively small amounts of cash — methodically allocated — they can remake America in their preferred image.

That is to say, as a society of leftism and chaos as opposed to conservatism and law and order.

The lawfare-istas have learned that seats in local elections are often available to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, they fund lawsuits against high-profile conservatives (namely Donald Trump).

Thanks to shadowy “dark money” nonprofits, it is impossible to know exactly who is funding every element of the lawfare apparatus, but here are some details from my research.

REID HOFFMAN

The Democrat megadonor Reid Hoffman bankrolled E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit against President Trump. (I regard the case as farcical, as thoroughly documented in Breaking the Law.) Hoffman helped launch PayPal before cofounding LinkedIn in 2002 and is worth billions of dollars. He has also made big bucks from Facebook, Airbnb, and his venture capital firm, Greylock Partners.

He has funded a vast array of left-wing political activities ever since.

He hates Trump, saying he would “spend as much as I possibly can and it takes” to beat him — and he has, funding a vast array of left-wing political causes through shadowy “dark money” nonprofits.

Carroll, a columnist and comedy writer, was able to hire a crack legal team including Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund founder Roberta Kaplan. Kaplan was funded by a nonprofit primarily backed by Hoffman.

While the saga played out in one-sided NYC court rooms, Hoffman was making regular visits to Joe Biden’s White House.

Keep reading

California Moves Forward With Special Redistricting Election To Counter Texas’s Plan

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that the state will move forward with a ballot measure in November to redraw its congressional map in response to a Republican-backed redistricting plan in Texas.

Speaking alongside state Democratic leaders, Newsom said they would call for a special election in the first week of November to vote on redrawing the congressional map, a move that could potentially add five more U.S. House seats to the Democratic tally.

“We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what’s happening in Texas, and we will nullify what happens in Texas,” the Democratic governor told reporters.

“We will pick up five seats with the consent of the people, and that’s the difference between the approach we’re taking and the approach they’re taking. We’re doing it [on a] temporary basis,” he added.

Newsom also reaffirmed that the state will remain committed to its independent redistricting process. The Democrats said they expected to have a newly agreed-upon map, based on previous plans reviewed by the state’s independent redistricting commission, ready for public scrutiny next week, three months before it would go to voters.

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who attended the conference, backed Newsom’s decision and praised Texas Democratic lawmakers for their efforts to block the GOP’s redistricting plan.

“It’s not wrong in what we’re doing. This is self-defense for our democracy,” Pelosi said. “I thank again our Texans for their leadership, for their courage, and most of all, for their patriotism.”

Keep reading

DOJ Launches Grand Jury Investigation into Letitia James’ Prosecution Of Trump

The Department of Justice has launched two new investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James and her office over her allegedly malicious targeting of political enemies.

The U.S. attorney in Albany, Daniel Hanlon, issued two subpoenas to James, the first one related to her office’s civil fraud case against President Trump, the New York Times reported.

The Justice Department reportedly believes her prosecution of Trump violated his Constitutional rights.

The second subpoena is related to her office’s long-running effort to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA), according to the Times.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has signed off on the probes, and a there is a grand jury underway in New York’s state capital Albany, Fox News reported Friday.

“The DOJ Is going after James because she took then former president Donald Trump to court ‘simply because she didn’t like him and campaigned on getting him,’” Fox reported. The Justice Department reportedly believes James violated Trump’s First Amendment rights dealing with free speech.

James had accused Trump of inflating his net worth to get a good deal on loans and other financial benefits.

Trump-hating Judge Engoron ruled in her favor and ordered the Trump Organization to pay a $454 million bond, prompting George Washington University law Professor Jonathan Turley to call it “absurdly out of line with not just the purpose of the law but the facts of the case.”

A New York Appeals Court later reduced Trump’s bond to $175 million, which he paid on March 31, 2024.

Trump fumed against Engoron and James on Truth Social after he paid the bond.

“He is a whacked out nut job who just made up a number out of thin air, just like he did on the value of Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said.

“Businesses won’t enter New York because of this decision, and many are fleeing. Think of it – I had to pay an enormous sum for the right to Appeal the ridiculous decision of a CROOKED Judge and A.G. This is Election Interference, and it all comes directly from Joe Biden and the White House. An attack, along with ALL OF THE OTHERS, on his political opponent, ME!”

After the 2024 election, James refused to drop the case, reasoning that presidents are not protected by immunity in civil cases.

Keep reading

The Verdict of History: How Political Calculations Betrayed Gaza

The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem released a comprehensive report on July 27 describing the Israeli war on Gaza as genocide. However, the delay in publishing such an indictment is troubling and adds to an existing problem of politically motivated decision-making processes that have, in their own right, prolonged the ongoing Israeli war crimes.

The report accused Israel of committing genocide, a conclusion reached after a detailed analysis of the military campaign’s intent, the systematic destruction of civilian life, and the government-engineered famine. This finding is significant because it adds to the massive body of legal and testimonial evidence affirming the Palestinian position that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide.

Moreover, the fact that B’Tselem is an Israeli organization is doubly important. It represents an insider’s indictment of the horrific massacres and the government-engineered famine in the Strip, directly challenging the baseless argument that accusing Israel of genocide is an act of antisemitism.

Western media were particularly interested in this report, despite the fact that numerous first-hand Palestinian reports and investigations are often ignored or downplayed. This double standard continues to feed into a chronic media problem in its perception of Palestine and Israel.

Claims by Palestinians of Israeli war crimes have historically been ignored by mainstream media or academia. Whether the Zionist militia’s massacre of Tantura in 1948, the actual number of Palestinians and Lebanese killed in the massacres of Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon in 1982, or the events resulting in the Jenin massacre in the West Bank in 2002, the media has frequently ignored the Palestinian account. It often gains a degree of validation only if it is backed by Israeli or Western voices.

The latest B’Tselem report is no exception. But another question must be asked: why did it take nearly two years for B’Tselem to reach such an obvious conclusion? Israeli rights groups, in particular, have far greater access to the conduct of the Israeli army, the statements of politicians, and Hebrew media coverage than any other entity. Such a conclusion, therefore, should have been reached in a matter of two months, not two years.

This kind of intentional delay has so far defined the position of many international institutions, organizations, and individuals whose moral authority would have helped Palestinians establish the facts of the genocide globally much earlier.

For example, despite the ICJ’s historic ruling on January 26, 2024, that determined that there are plausible grounds for South Africa’s accusation of Israel of committing genocide, the court is still unable, or unwilling, to produce a conclusive ruling. A definitive ruling would have been a significant pressure card on Israel to end its mass killing in Gaza. 

Instead, for now, the ICJ expects Israel to investigate itself, a most unrealistic expectation at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises his extremist ministers that Israel will encourage the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

The same indictment of intentional and politicized delays can be attributed to the International Criminal Court. While it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister on November 21, 2024, no concrete action has been taken. Instead, it is the Chief Prosecutor of the court, Karim Khan, who finds himself attacked by the US government and media for having the courage to follow through on the investigation.

Keep reading

The Return of the Most EVIL Political Attack Ever: Dems in Full Freakout Mode Over ‘They/Them’ Ads

I’m great at writing bios for my PR clients: celebs, entertainers, lawyers, businessmen, athletes—you name it. 

Not to brag, but they’re some of my finest works of fiction.

Because, in my profession, we don’t begin with “the truth.” (More often than not, “the truth” only gets in the way. Lousy reality! It’s always interfering with my creative storytelling!) 

Instead, we begin with the story we want to tell. 

And then we cherrypick the truthful bits and pieces of his or her bio to tell this one specific story. So, nothing in a client’s bio is actually false — you never lie — but you use reality as a springboard for storylines that’ll ring more registers.

Pinsker Law of PR #33: Clients don’t hire propagandists to publicize what the truth is. We’re hired to publicize what they wish the truth was.

It’s not my job to report reality. I’m not a documentary filmmaker; that’s not why clients pay me. Getting mad at a propagandist for inaccurately mirroring reality is kind of like getting mad at a dentist because he’s bad at carpentry: They’re different disciplines.

PR is strategic storytelling. Nothing more, nothing less.

And it’s ALWAYS driven by the beliefs, fears, and aspirations of your target audience.

This takes us to the latest Democratic freakout. Yesterday, it was gerrymandering; today, it’s the dreaded return of the most diabolical, meanspirited political attack of our era: the GOP’s “they/them” ads.

(Gasp!)

CNN issued the ominous warning yesterday: “Republicans reprise anti-transgender ‘Kamala is for they/them’ ads for the midterms.”

Why, how dare those Republicans double-down on a successful political campaign! That’s not fair.

Keep reading

‘I’d F*** Your Old Lady In The A**’: Liberal Mayor Berates Christian At LGBT Festival

A Texas mayor was caught on video using disturbing language berating a Christian preacher at a LGBT festival, video shows.

Jim Ross, the mayor of Arlington, Texas, targeted the preacher during a 2023 LGBT event. The shocking moments were captured by Vice, though Ross’s face is blurred and the footage has just now been uncovered by The Dallas Express.

Ross claims he’s a moderate, but routinely pushes race-based and gender-based initiatives and has promoted LGBT “pride.”

“I believe y’all can have free speech. But this is some hateful s*** and I am a heterosexual guy,” Ross says in the footage, speaking to preacher Ruben Israel, who has since passed away.

“You stand out here like you are a b*da** motherf***er,” the mayor continued. “You don’t think anal sex is good, do you? Have you ever f***ed your old lady in the a**? I’d f*** your old lady in the a**.”

Ross was not done, however. He called Israel a “p**** mother***er” and told him, “Shut your a**, shut your a**, you little piece of s***. You ought to talk s***, these people around here are having a good f***ing time.”

At the time of the confrontation, Ross was serving as mayor of Arlington, and currently holds the same position.

Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French said Ross needs to resign “immediately” over the conduct.

Tarrant County Republican Precinct Chair TK Campbell, also speaking to The Dallas Express, said Ross’s unprofessional behavior mirrors that of prominent Democrats, who’ve clung to cursing as an apparent political strategy.

“The now Mayor of Arlington’s vile, profanity-laced rant at the late Ruben Israel, a Christian street preacher, is a disgrace,” Campbell said. “Perhaps the mayor was stressed out because of not being able to pay his taxes of late, but his unprofessional conduct mirrors the worst of today’s cursing Democrats. Leadership demands better.”

Campbell’s comments regarding taxes seem to reference Ross recently having his wages garnished by the IRS. According to The Dallas Express, Ross owes $940.39 in penalties and interest and has an outstanding debt of about $175,000.

During his tenure as mayor, Ross has created advisory councils based on race, religion, and identity, including black, Asian, Latino, Muslim, and LGBTQ.

In 2023, Ross defended the forums during an NAACP event. “You have to have a black advisory council because, folks, black people are not the same. Did y’all know that?” he said, according to KERA News. “Latinos are not the same. Asians are not the same.”

Keep reading

Blue-State Governors Harbor Texas Fugitives To Help Democrats Get Control Of Congress

The exodus of more than 50 Democrat members of the Texas House to block a quorum in Austin is bad enough. Even worse is how the Democrat Governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, has essentially promised them safe harbor, appearing with them at a press conference on Sunday while declaring, “we’re going to do everything we can to protect” them.

Control of the U.S. House for the second half of the Trump administration hangs in the balance, as the redistricting map to be voted on in Austin would give Republicans a good chance of winning five of the 13 Texas congressional seats they don’t currently hold. Illinois already gerrymandered its House maps to help Democrats win 14 out of its 17 seats, so it is hypocritical for them to claim unfairness in Texas.

Perhaps Illinois was chosen because its Democrat governor is reportedly helping the Texas Democrats “find lodging and meeting spaces.” During a recent press conference, Pritzker denied that he was writing them checks but said he was not against doing it.

Trump observed on Tuesday morning that “I got the highest vote in the history of Texas. And we are entitled to five more seats” in Congress from Texas. Ironically, Texas has an enormous congressional delegation of 38 seats. This is no doubt thanks in part to Democrats’ insistence on including illegal aliens in the census, used to allocate seats among the states. Multiple Democrat congressmen from Texas could lose their seats next year under the new redistricting plan.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a Sunday statement that the Democrat lawmakers’ “absences were premeditated for an illegitimate purpose.” He cited the state constitution, saying, “When the Governor calls a Special Session, our Constitution provides that the ‘Legislature shall meet.’”

He continued, stating, “Any Democrat who ‘solicits, accepts or agrees to accept’ … funds to assist in the violation of legislative duties or for purposes of skipping a vote may have violated bribery laws.” Abbott added that any person who “offers, confers, or agrees to confer” money to “fleeing Democrat House members” could also be charged with a crime.

In 2021, Democrat House members likewise fled Austin to frustrate a quorum and block passage of new voting integrity measures, including voter ID. That blockade lasted through the first and into the second special session. When three Houston Democrats returned, a quorum was established, and the bill passed. A court struck down portions of the bill, but on Monday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that its mail ballot ID number requirement easily complies with federal law.

In the Texas House, a quorum requires the presence of two-thirds, or 100, of the 150 representatives. The legislative session on Monday fell 10 votes short of a quorum, according to the Texas Tribune.

Civil arrest warrants were then ordered under Texas law because of the dereliction of duty by Democrats, but these warrants are only enforceable in Texas. The state governors could approve an extradition request, but the Democrat lawmakers all fled to states with Democrat governors.

Democrat Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer said, “We recognized when we got on the plane that we’re in this for the long haul,” according to the Associated Press. Fellow Texas House Democrat Caucus Chair Gene Wu observed that he and his colleagues “will do whatever it takes.” Notably, Abbott filed an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday to remove Wu from office. According to the Texas Tribune, the justices gave Wu until the end of the day on Friday to respond, and this “test case … could eventually allow [Abott] to remove every member who left the state.” Wu called the move “meaningless” in an interview with NPR.

Keep reading