Jerome R. Corsi's Blog, page 4
November 27, 2025
Trump announces tragic death of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom on Thanksgiving Day
President Trump announced on on Thanksgiving that Sarah Beckstrom passed away after the terrorist attack on Wednesday.
President Trump made the announcement moments ago.
As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier, Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard member who was critically wounded in an ambush-style shooting near the White House on Wednesday.
Sarah had volunteered to work that day so others could enjoy Thanksgiving with their families.
Beckstrom suffered a “mortal wound,” and passed away on Thanksgiving Day.
“She volunteered to be there on Thanksgiving — working today — she volunteers, as did many of those guardsmen and women so other people could be home with their families,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said during an appearance on Fox News on Thursday.
Sarah was killed by an Afghan national who was brought into the US in 2021 by Joe Biden.
Our prayers are with Sarah, her family, and all of the brave men and women who protect this great nation.
BREAKING UPDATE: President Trump has announced that National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, one of the Guardsmen brutally attacked yesterday in Washington, D.C., has tragically passed away.
R.I.P. Sarah pic.twitter.com/qYvy4iMnOx
— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) November 28, 2025
Joe Biden brought thousands of unvetted Afghans into the US during his botched surrender in Afghanistan.
/1BREAKING
The Biden-Harris admin claimed that they were importing Afghans as refugees who helped the U.S. gov’t, when in reality, officials admit in newly obtained docs from litigation that they did not know their identities. Some have allegedly committed heinous crimes: pic.twitter.com/NZdCSYZ6GC
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) August 26, 2024
[Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on The Gateway Pundit.com]
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Trump pulls plug on Afghan immigration following National Guard shooting
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Shocking detail revealed about 2 National Guardsmen shot in D.C.
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Trump targets Minnesota fraud by Somali immigrants
President Trump is ending the gravy train of fraud in Minnesota, much of it perpetrated by Somalis relocated here and some of the money funding terrorism back in Africa. Trump vows to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis, which has lasted many years longer than intended.
Trump’s acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Joseph H. Thompson, recently indicted six from Somalia and two others for wire fraud. They allegedly defrauded Minnesota’s Medicaid-funded housing stabilization program.
This comes after 56 people, mostly from Somalia, pleaded guilty in connection with a federal investigation into a Minnesota nonprofit organization called Feeding Our Future. Even the Washington Post Editorial Board expressed its outrage at the vast extent of fraud in this state run by Gov. Tim Walz, who was the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee last November.
Trump observes that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of dollars are missing. Send them back where they came from.”
A total of 78 defendants associated with Feeding Our Future have been charged with crimes. In just two years, the organization increased its take of government funding from $3 million in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021. Meanwhile, Medicaid payments on autism claims increased by $200 million in Minnesota between 2020 and 2024, and federal charges have been filed based on alleged kickbacks to the Somali community.
Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S., who were settled here under the TPS program and among whom many have become American citizens. Earlier Trump terminated the TPS program for 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians.
It was over 30 years ago that an ill-advised President George H.W. Bush brought Somalis into our country under this temporary program, beginning in 1991. No “temporary” program should last more than three decades as this one has.
Acting U.S. Attorney John Thompson is an experienced career prosecutor, and he sounds just like the Trump appointees as he uproots fraud by immigrants that is bleeding our scarce government resources. He estimates that the defrauding of government programs in Minnesota exceeds $1 billion.
“It’s an extraordinary problem, the fraud that’s pervasive in this state,” Thompson told a news station in an interview in July. A Somali American former investigator confirmed this problem in an article published in the Minnesota Reformer.
“Minnesota’s public programs don’t adequately guard against organization fraud,” the Somali American said. He added that many Somalis are “skilled professionals whose experience and education credentials are not recognized in the U.S.”
“Somalis inherently trust one another. This creates a vast opening for fraudsters,” he continued.
Decades ago Phyllis Schlafly criticized the lack of assimilation by refugees and other immigrants in our country. The fraudulent conduct worsens because tribal behavior dominates in these non-assimilated communities, rather than a competitive market that helps keep participants honest.
Many millions of these dollars stolen from the government in Minnesota are funneled to Al-Shabaab back in Somalia. Al-Shabaab seeks to impose strict Shariah law in Somalia, and is affiliated with the notorious al-Qaida.
The City Journal quotes a former official who worked on the Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force to say, “Every scrap of economic activity, in the Twin Cities [Minneapolis-St. Paul], in America, throughout Western Europe, anywhere Somalis are concentrated, every cent that is sent back to Somalia benefits Al-Shabaab in some way.”
“The largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer,” observed another expert on terrorism quoted by the City Journal.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who is a Republican congressman from Minnesota, demanded on Monday that there be an investigation into this. “Minnesota has become the land of 10,000 frauds under Tim Walz,” declared Rep. Emmer in a play on its “10,000 lakes” nickname.
News that stolen taxpayer dollars are funding Al-Shabaab terrorists “is not only a grave national security concern, it’s a slap in the face to the hardworking, law-abiding people of Minnesota,” Rep. Emmer said.
Located in East Africa on the equator, Somalian temperatures commonly exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and its capital, Mogadishu, has been called the world’s most dangerous city. It was senseless for Somalis ever to be relocated to the cold climate and different culture of Minnesota in the first place.
But so many Somalis have resettled now in Minnesota that they have oversized political clout in elections there. “If you don’t win the Somali community, you can’t win Minneapolis,” observed former Minnesota state Sen. David Gaither. “And if you don’t win Minneapolis, you can’t win the state,” he added.
Amid all this fraud, Tim Walz seeks reelection to a third term as governor of Minnesota. Republicans are campaigning against him on this issue of rampant fraud under Walz’s watch.
What is going on with the economy?
The fate of the Trump administration – and perhaps Republicans in Congress – is tethered to how Americans feel about the economy. And right now, it’s hard to find anyone who can say with confidence what the hell is going on.
Thursday offered a fresh reminder of the chaos. As The Wall Street Journal noted, “Stocks surrendered gains and closed sharply lower after a whirlwind day of trading that began after Nvidia posted strong results. The Nasdaq composite led indexes lower after being up on the day more than 2%. It closed 2.2% lower. Nvidia gave up an even bigger gain and finished the day down 3.2%.”
Why the reversal? Because investors suspect there is, in fact, an artificial intelligence bubble.
It’s not an unreasonable fear. History shows that every transformative technology – from automobiles to the internet – inspires waves of speculation. The presence of a bubble doesn’t mean the technology isn’t revolutionary; it simply means that early hype tends to sweep up both the winners and the doomed. For every Henry Ford, there were dozens of forgotten carmakers. The same was true of the dot-com era: Pets.com vanished, but the internet went on to reorganize modern life.
Artificial intelligence is inspiring the same mix of excitement and dread. Some companies may never produce the margins to justify today’s investment frenzy. OpenAI, though not publicly traded, sits at the center of countless partnerships with massive firms like Oracle and Nvidia. If it stumbles, the shock could reverberate across the market.
The numbers fueling today’s optimism are staggering. As The New York Times reported, “It would not be a stretch to describe this period of hyperactive growth in the tech industry as a historic moment. Nvidia, which makes computer chips that are essential to building artificial intelligence, said on Wednesday that its quarterly profit had jumped to nearly $32 billion, up 65 percent from a year earlier and 245 percent from the year before that. Just three weeks ago, Nvidia became the first publicly traded company to be worth $5 trillion.” That’s more than Germany’s entire economy.
But even this explosion of wealth comes with a caveat. Much of the demand for Nvidia’s chips doesn’t mean consumers want AI right now – it means companies are racing to build massive AI systems in the hope that demand will materialize later. To some insiders, it looks less like a revolution and more like a house of cards.
This is the central question: At what point will AI’s promised productivity gains begin to match the scale of the investment poured into it? Until there’s clarity, markets will continue to swing wildly – and so will public confidence.
Workers, meanwhile, face their own concerns. Even if AI succeeds, technological progress has always brought job dislocation. Old roles disappear, new industries emerge, and the economy ultimately becomes more productive. People enjoy better goods at lower costs and work fewer hours than their grandparents did. But the transition is rarely painless.
Both truths can coexist: The United States may be on the cusp of a remarkable economic transformation, and the anxiety surrounding it may be entirely justified.
For now, Americans are left watching markets fluctuate, industries reorganize, and fortunes rise and fall – all while wondering what exactly the future will bring.
And no government policy can fully soothe that uncertainty.
So, Barack and Bubba were hangin’ out …
“So, Bill, check this out. You know Hillary was in deep voodoo – over the unsecured server in her basement, right? I mean, we’re talking slam dunk violation of the Espionage Act – maybe even jail time – because, you know, she sent and received classified documents. Who DOES that?! I know. I know. You probably told her not to do it – and she did it anyway. I mean, I worked with her as my secretary of state, so you don’t need to tell me what the woman is like.
“Now, I don’t need to tell you. She was in SERIOUS trouble. Some backbiters were going to the press saying she ought to drop out. She’s being asked about the server and the emails all the time. Did you send and receive classified docs? She lied and said, ‘No.’ Did you send and receive docs stamped as classified? She lied and said, ‘No.’ They subpoena her emails. Her negatives go up – not that this means Trump could win. I mean, come on! He wouldn’t even make his tax returns public. I had to. You had to. The only person who gets away with not doing it is Nancy Pelosi. That’s ’cause she’s racking up better stock market returns than Warren Buffett.
“So, what does Hillary do? Well, she and the DNC pay for this cockamamie ‘Steele dossier’ – what the devil is a ‘dossier’ anyway? Hillary and the DNC put the payment down as a ‘legal expense’ – you know, like Trump did with that Stormy Daniels thing – only the FEC gives Hillary a slap on the wrist, and she doesn’t get prosecuted like Trump.
“And then – this is the best part – Hillary with a straight face starts yelling and screaming about how Trump ‘colluded’ with Russia! I didn’t think it would work. Neither did my intel guys because they knew it was horse *bleep*. But, hey, the media ate it up. I mean, they hate Trump more than we do. The New York Times got a Pulitzer!!!
“But, then Trump f–-ing WINS the election! Are … you … KIDDING … me?! Who saw THAT coming? How did THAT happen? So, we’re like, now what?
“Well, a few days before I leave office – right before I’m out the door to look at houses in Martha’s Vineyard – we green light ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ (I think Brennan came up with that name, big ‘Rolling Stones’ fan) to ‘investigate’ the Trump ‘collusion’ HILLARY made up. We’re thinking, that’ll at least guarantee the SOB will be a one-termer, right? And the orange mofo spends almost all his term fighting this B.S. I don’t know how he slept. It doesn’t get better than this!
“Now, get this – and here’s the kicker – for the next four years, Hillary tells anyone who’ll listen that Trump’s an ‘illegitimate’ president, that Trump ‘stole’ the election, that SHE got robbed because of the Trump-Russia conspiracy SHE concocted, blah, blah, blah. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up! And this just part kills me: NOBODY in the press accuses Hillary of being an ‘election denier,’ like we did to Trump after 2020. Even Jimmy Carter said the Russians put Trump in office. A president denying an election? But nobody called ol’ Jimmy an ‘election denier.’
“My favorite is this. After the 2016 election, Jeh Johnson, my Homeland Security guy, tells Congress, under oath, the Russians tried – but failed – to change a single vote tally. Not one! But YouGov comes out with a poll. Turns out, two-thirds of Democrats believe the Russians changed vote tallies to elect Trump. And this was after Johnson said they didn’t! Either nobody listened to Johnson, or they hate Trump so much they don’t believe his victory was legit. Either way, Trump limps along with half the country thinking Putin picked him. Sweet!
“And then, when he’s out of office, he has the stones to say he’s going to run AGAIN. Really? After two impeachments and losing to Biden, who barely left his basement? So, I tell Biden – who doesn’t know his butt from third base – to get Bragg, Tish James, Fani and Jack Smith to prosecute Trump. That way the dude has to run in 2024 as a ‘convicted felon.’ And he STILL wins! But, hey, don’t blame me. I WARNED them about Kamala.
“Anyway, Michelle and the girls are doing great …”
State’s housing woes spiral out of control under blue governor
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom ran for governor in 2018 on meeting the Golden State’s dire need for more affordable housing — but after nearly seven full years of his leadership, the state is still in a housing crisis.
Newsom pledged to create 3.5 million new housing units by 2025, but has drastically underperformed this goal, with production continuing to stall even after his administration lowered their target. Although Newsom has made clear his desire to ease the housing crunch, Californians continue to face low rates for housing permits, skyrocketing costs and one of the lowest home ownership rates in the nation.
The effort for 3.5 million units was short-lived. Newsom called the aspiration “a stretch goal” in 2022 when he announced a new target of building 2.5 million new housing units by 2030.
In Newsom’s original 3.5 million-unit timeline, California saw 737,295 new privately owned housing units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, equaling roughly a fifth of his initial goal. The production in the first eight months of 2025 alone is nearly 16,000 less units than that same time period in 2022.
Throughout Newsom’s governorship, 2022 saw the highest number of new housing permits a year with 120,780 units built, per the Census Bureau. California would have to more than double its current housing production to meet its reduced 2.5 million target, equaling roughly 310,000 units a year.
A new retirement study found that California is undergoing the “highest negative net migration rate” across all generations.
Republican California State Sen. Tony Strickland, who represents much of Orange County and has served in the state legislature under five governors, pointed to the permitting process as a significant roadblock for builders. He told the Daily Caller News Foundation it took developers in Huntington Beach ten years to go through the California Coastal Commission (CCC) and the permitting process to build a residential and commercial development project.
“When it takes you ten years to build a development, that’s going to be passed on to the consumer,” Strickland told the DCNF.
As a lack of affordable housing in the state grows, so does Californians’ ability to own a home, according to a recent report from the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office. Homes in the Golden State have become twice as expensive as the typical U.S. home with mortgage rates and home prices driving the growth in monthly payments since 2020.
More than four in ten Californians are concerned about not being able to pay their rent or mortgage, per a recent statewide Public Policy Institute survey.
The Democratic governor has signed two housing bills into law this year; AB 130 cuts red tape and exempts housing projects from strict California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) oversight to streamline unit production, and SB 79which focuses on building high-density housing near public transit systems.
Strickland nodded to AB 130’s effort to roll back the CEQA, but claimed the bill only answers only one part of the housing solution while it worsens another.
A vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax, which imposes a fee on developers building in areas with fewer transit options, is also tucked into AB 130. There are no guardrails to prevent this tax from being passed from developers to homebuyers and renters, resulting in higher mortgages and increased rent.
“When you’re talking about people who want to buy a home, we shouldn’t call it a home crisis, we have an affordability crisis,” Strickland said. “The [VMT] hidden tax will go into your mortgage, will go into your home buying.”
“This is a new housing tax Los Angeles families simply cannot afford, adding $197,000 to the cost of a new home and driving monthly rents up by $1350,” the Los Angeles Business Federation said of the VMT tax. “This misguided VMT housing tax will disproportionately hurt low-income families and households of color, while stalling housing construction and deepening California’s housing crisis.”
Strickland also told the DCNF Newsom’s policies encouraging high-density housing near transportation systems, like SB 79, are “all geared to urbanization” and many Californians do not want to lose their suburban areas.
“A lot of Californians want to live in rural areas or they want to live in suburban areas,” he said. “If [Newsom] really wants to solve this housing crisis, he needs to do all he can in terms of lowering the price on construction cost, he needs to do whatever he can in terms of labor and he also needs to fast track a lot of the overregulation.”
The Democratic governor has one full year left before his term expires, and while increased housing production has yet to be seen, Californians may need to expect new fees handed off by developers as well.
“[Newsom] comes out with a lot of fanfare,” Strickland said. “But I’ve always said, don’t look at his rhetoric, look at his record.”
“The Governor has created a generational and foundational model to meet the goal of creating the housing that California needs – and has set the state up for success,” a spokesperson from Newsom’s office told the DCNF. “The Governor has adopted new accountability strategies, streamlined building and permitting, and made historic investments to help communities build more housing and make homes more affordable. We’ve made progress, but more work needs to be done.”
Newsom had created the Housing and Homelessness Accountability Unit in 2021. In a September 2024 press release, the governor’s office announced that the unit had “unlocked” over 7,500 housing units in the state over the past two years.
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Coca-Cola gets sued by Johnny Cash’s estate for using unauthorized fake of his voice
Coca-Cola hired a fake Johnny Cash singer, an impersonator, to mimic the famous singer’s voice in a commercial, and now is getting sued for that.
Newsweek reports the Johnny Cash estate has gone to federal court over the drink company’s use of “an unauthorized imitation” of the late singer’s voice.
The complaint in federal court for the Middle District of Tennessee charges Coca-Cola is in violation of the state’s Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, as well as federal false-endorsement laws and state consumer-protection statutes, the report confirmed.
Newsweek noted, “The lawsuit matters because it tests the boundaries of Tennessee’s new ELVIS Act—one of the first laws in the nation to explicitly protect both real and simulated voices—and could reshape how advertisers, technology companies, and entertainment estates handle voice rights.”
The case charges the corporation with using a Cash soundalike without permission or authorization and could set a new precedent for industry practices using vocal imitators and the ownership in a fast-changing world of artificial intelligence.
The late Cash was described in the report as “one of America’s most loved and severed singer-songwriters, whose deep bass-baritone voice and blend of country, rock, folk, and gospel made him one of the most influential and bestselling artists of the 20th Century.”
His interests now are protected by the John R. Cash Revocable Trust.
It was the corporation’s “Go the Distance” commercial that triggered the fight.
The filing charges Coca-Cola hired Shawn Barker, a “Johnny Cash tribute singer,” to imitate the famed singer’s voice.
The company then created a performance that allegedly was “readily identifiable and attributable” to Cash even though the estate granted no permissions.
“Stealing the voice of an artist is theft. It is theft of his integrity, identity, and humanity,” Cash estate lawyer Tim Warnock explained.
The filing included comments from consumers explaining they thought the ad featured an “unreleased Johnny Cash recording.”
The report explained the significance:
“According to an analysis by Latham & Watkins, the law broadens protections by explicitly covering ‘a sound in a medium that is readily identifiable and attributable to a particular individual, regardless of whether the sound contains the actual voice or a simulation.’ It also introduces new forms of liability for those who ‘publish, perform, distribute, [or] transmit’ an unauthorized voice, including simulations.”
The case seeks $75,000 damages and an order halting the further use of the imitation.
24-year-old Johnny Cash performing “I Walk The Line” in 1956. The rest is history. pic.twitter.com/JF4XoVF7Pe
— Rock History (@historyrock_) November 17, 2025
71 year old Johnny Cash in his last performance (July 5, 2003)
He passed away 2 months later. pic.twitter.com/ejQbwPYiit
— Rock History (@historyrock_) November 26, 2025
The estate of Johnny Cash is suing Coca-Cola for replicating Cash’s voice in a new ad campaign without the estate’s permission.
Estate alleges that Coca-Cola signed an endorsement deal with Taylor Swift, so it knows that it needs a license to exploit musician personas in ads. pic.twitter.com/mhnIdyI7T5
— Rob Freund (@RobertFreundLaw) November 26, 2025
Judge delivers defeat to Hannah Dugan’s attempts to derail pending criminal trial
Judge Hannah DuganA Wisconsin judge who is accused – and soon on criminal trial – for allegedly helping a criminal illegal alien try to escape from federal officers has been handed a series of defeats in a motions hearing.
A federal judge handling the immigration-related case for suspended Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan said Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI chief Kash Patel are not going to be on the defense’s list of mandatory witnesses.
Further, he said she could not argue that her behavior, allegedly criminal according to an indictment, had to be allowed because they were part of her judicial duties.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, a Bill Clinton appointee, largely ruled against the defense on several of the foremost bids to help her case, reports said. She is scheduled in weeks for trial, and could end up with several years in prison.
Law & Order reported, “The court’s order does not contain unalloyed wins or losses for either the government or the defense, but the Trump administration will likely be more pleased with the overall results than Dugan.”
The judge barred the defense from making arguments over punishment, jury nullification or discover.
Also, how Dugan was arrested.
Dugan had claimed comments from Patel and Bondi were relevant to show bias.
“[W]hile bias is broadly admissible on issues of credibility, neither the Attorney General nor the FBI Director will testify in this case. [D]efendant should not be permitted to inject national political figures into this trial. Any slight probative value of this evidence is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, and wasting time. Defendant’s motion is denied,” the judge said.
Dugan also allegedly tried to bring judicial immunity, which already has been denied, into the case again.
“As the government notes, defendant’s motion in limine would in effect confer partial judicial immunity and put much of the government’s proof off limits. I agree that the correct approach is to permit the jury to consider all of defendant’s conduct on April 18, 2025, in deciding whether she concealed an alien under § 1071 or corruptly endeavored to obstruct a proceeding under § 1505.”
The judge did grant Dugan requests for witness sequestration and other technical points.
On one key ruling, the defense claimed, unsuccessfully, that Dugan “had a legal right to engage in those acts.”
She’s accused of impeding Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an immigration bust by helping a Mexican national named Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who is facing misdemeanor battery charges, leave through a jury door after a hearing in his criminal case, the report said.
She had earlier directed federal agents away from the hallway outside her courtroom.
BREAKING: A Milwaukee judge is being dragged toward a six-year prison sentence for allegedly helping one undocumented man evade ICE.
Judge Hannah Dugan just arrived at the federal courthouse for her final pretrial hearing, ahead of a December trial where she faces six years in… pic.twitter.com/MQtufgvXbx
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) November 26, 2025
The Big 3: Social Security, Medicare – and energy security
The article was originally published at The Empowerment Alliance and is re-published here with permission.
When defining the one economic aspect of society that most affects every American, the cost of energy always lands in the top position.
Think about it: Is there anyone whose daily existence is not directly impacted by energy availability and costs?
A friend who is an Ohio farmer posed that question to me, and I responded, somewhat facetiously, “Not for anyone outside the Amish.”
“They are not immune,” he quickly corrected me. “They buy my hay to feed their horses, and the cost of my hay goes up with high fuel prices.”
But despite its pervasive impact on all of our lives, our public policy approach to energy has been absurdly haphazard, its importance routinely undervalued.
While many government leaders have shamefully politicized our approach to energy, the Biden administration in particular abandoned all common sense, going so far as to endanger U.S. security by ignoring the needs of families and businesses in order to artificially prop up “alternatives” through subsidies and mandates.
Fortunately, the Trump administration has reversed course. But even now, no comprehensive blueprint for our energy future has been clearly articulated. “Drill, baby, drill” is a good starting point, but it does not address delivery systems, refining needs, electric grid challenges and many other long-neglected issues.
Worst of all, it ignores the most important step to secure America’s energy future – codifying into law the guarantees Americans deserve. No matter how much the Trump administration achieves through executive orders, fast-tracking permits or canceling billions in subsidies for pie-in-the-sky wind and solar projects, it all could be undone by the next administration.
That’s why it’s imperative that Congress enact the Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act (ARC-ES) introduced last month by Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH). To assure abundance and affordability, ARC-ES mandates an evidence-based, all-of-the-above approach to energy. It requires that sources used for electricity are dispatchable 24 hours a day, seven days a week (and therefore are not dependent on wind or sunshine) and has the ability to ramp up or down electricity generation within an hour in order to stabilize the grid.
ARC-ES is not a Republican or Democrat issue. The need for affordable, reliable energy crosses party lines. It equally impacts “blue” and “red” states. Energy issues do not discriminate – the absence of affordable energy will make lives harder, or its abundance will make lives richer, for people of all races and genders.
Energy security deserves its place as another third rail of American politics, a pledge that no politician dares to break. Through the years, virtually all Americans have come to consider Social Security and Medicare as sacred promises to our citizens. While some might suggest tinkering with them from time to time to address solvency and fairness, politicians from the left and right have united around them, acknowledging the crucial role they play in our society.
Likewise, energy security must be a solemn social promise for now and for generations to come. Americans deserve the ironclad guarantee that they will have access to energy that is affordable for their budgets, available when they need it, and clean enough to meet commonsense emission standards.
ARC-ES guarantees that among our “all-of-the-above” energy sources will be nuclear and pipeline quality natural gas, without which the goals of affordability, reliability and abundance cannot be achieved, especially with electricity-hungry data centers rapidly expanding nationwide.
Energy costs and availability impact every aspect of our economic lives. The cost of the electricity that powers our homes and businesses and the price of fuel for our vehicles are the first and most important factors determining our quality of life.
The cost of energy is a trickle-down certainty. From delivery costs to move products from place to place, to electric bills for heating things that must stay warm or cooling things that must stay cold, the price businesses pay for energy – costs that are passed on to consumers – has a greater impact than any other single factor.
For families, the more obvious costs of energy – home heating and cooling bills, or filling up at the gas pump – and the hidden costs of energy – how much we’re paying for goods and services because of the energy expenses associated with them – directly influences other spending decisions.
How many groceries can we afford? Can we meet our out-of-pocket medical expenses? Can we go back-to-school shopping? Can we take a family vacation? Do we have the funds for basic car repairs? Can we afford the internet, or upgrade our smart phones? Does a husband or wife need to take on a second job to make ends meet?
Put simply, cheap energy – which is made cheaper when it is abundant – is the answer to virtually every economic challenge facing nearly all Americans.
Whether it’s the transportation expenses for businesses, or the heating and cooling bills for American households, or, yes, the cost to the Amish for the hay to feed their horses, energy security impacts everyone. Just as Social Security and Medicare substantially ease Americans’ worries about their future, it’s time to remove cost-of-energy uncertainties for our citizens by making ARC-ES the law of the land.
The government officials who lead the way in guaranteeing affordable, reliable and abundant energy will ensure decades of prosperity for our nation and its citizens. Putting energy security at the top of their agenda will enhance the lives of all Americans.
There could be no greater gift for our nation’s 250th birthday than passage of ARC-ES, positioning America as the beacon of freedom for the next 250 years.
Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation. Abernathy’s “TEA Takes” column will be published every Wednesday and delivered to your inbox!
This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.Behind the curtain, Russia is crumbling
Moscow, RussiaRussia’s economic prosperity over the last three decades has been a smokescreen for moral bankruptcy and global incompetence. Sen. John McCain recognized this truth back in 2014 when he declared that Russia is “a gas station masquerading as a country.” That insight rings even truer today.
We saw another glimpse of Russia’s hollow performance recently when it unveiled an AI-powered humanoid robot meant to showcase technological advancement. Moments after the grand reveal, the robot tripped and fell face-first. In a scene that perfectly captures the Russian system, someone rushed to cover the failure with a black curtain – as if embarrassment could somehow be erased by denial. This is quintessential Russia: a glossy shell built on corruption, propaganda, and fear.
For years, Moscow has portrayed itself as a global superpower. Yet the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has totally exposed the farce. The “second greatest army in the world” was supposed to conquer Kyiv in three days. Instead, its full-scale fantasy has become a four-year quagmire. What was meant to be a show of dominance turned into a slow-motion collapse.
Steven Moore, a U.S. political operative turned humanitarian who currently lives in Ukraine, believes that Ukraine is not merely holding its ground – it is winning. The evidence is everywhere: Russian military morale is depleted, logistics are in chaos, and its “special operation” has devoured more than a million soldiers. Russia knows it cannot win. Yet instead of retreating, Russia is lashing out, targeting civilians, hospitals, and power plants.
This isn’t a Hollywood movie or a distant geopolitical chess match. It’s the systematic murder of sovereign Ukrainians in real time. We are watching cities being bombed and Ukrainian children being abducted. The question we must face is hauntingly simple: What will it take for the civilized world to stop casually observing evil?
Russia’s system thrives on illusion and manipulation of perception. They love military parades and propaganda victories, masking decay beneath the surface. But behind every Russian missile strike is a crumbling economy, a hollowed-out population, and a government terrified of its own people. No amount of censorship or curtain-pulling can hide the truth forever.
I’ve been to Ukraine nearly a dozen times since the full-scale invasion began. Every visit reminds me that the heart of this war is not about territory or politics; it’s about truth versus lies, dignity versus domination, and freedom versus fear.
In August, I met pastors providing emotional and spiritual support while living with the uncertainty of whether they would live to see the next day. I met doctors who continue to show up to work, after surviving a Shahed drone attack that killed fellow colleagues. I spent time with volunteers driving unarmored vans into war zones to deliver aid. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They don’t have the luxury of complaining about the price of eggs and gas. They fight because they are being attacked – they are defending their children, their faith, and their future.
Their courage exposes Russia’s deception. Ukraine’s endurance has stripped away the myth of Russian might. The hollow Russian Empire cannot conquer what Ukraine has in abundance – moral clarity and unity of purpose.
This war is revealing more than Russia’s weakness; in some ways, it’s exposing the West’s. Despite being some of the wealthiest and most powerful nations in human history, the West is often paralyzed by comfort and convenience. Our moral hesitation to stop Russian aggression is contrasted sharply by Ukraine’s resolve.
Supporting Ukraine is not just about sending weapons or writing checks. It’s about taking a decisive stand for human liberty itself. Standing with Ukraine is a declaration that truth still matters and that freedom is worth sacrifice. History will not remember our hashtags or our pithy headlines. Our children and grandchildren will remember whether we acted. The generations to come will remember whether we used our influence to comfort the oppressed or to protect our comfort.
As a follower of Jesus, I deeply believe freedom is sacred because every person bears the image of God. That belief is not confined to faith; it is the foundation of human rights, democracy, and dignity. Whether you call it conscience, faith, or simply humanity, the moral law written on our hearts demands that we respond to the pain of others.
The people of Ukraine have shown the world what courage looks like. Now it’s our turn to show solidarity. Speak. Give. Pray. Advocate. Justice and liberty are worth defending, and we know that appeasement never stops aggression.
The curtain has already been pulled back. We have seen Russia for what it is – a wobbly attempt to appear cutting edge, powerful, and capable. Ultimately, because power built on lies collapses, it will fall flat on its face.
This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.School deploys new dog whistle to keep race-based hiring
A Vermont school district has found a new code word to sneak its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitment into its hiring process and continue racially discriminating while skirting federal directives, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.
Burlington School District (BSD) states in its 2022-2027 strategic plan its intent to increase the “percentage of faculty (teachers and principals) of the global majority each year and ensure that every school has multiple staff of the global majority,” conservative watchdog Defending Education (DE) discovered and shared exclusively with DCNF. The phrase is used to refer to nonwhite races.
One of the priority areas listed in the plan is explicitly titled “Educators Who Look Like Our Students” and states a goal of ensuring “students and families will have a community of teachers, school leaders and district staff that are representatives of the global majority,” DE found. The plan mentions the phrase “global majority” 13 times in its 20 pages.
Approximately 90% of Vermont’s population is white, according to the state’s demographics.
BSD did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
One of BSD’s objectives is to increase out-of-state recruitment by establishing “diversified recruitment and hiring strategies which will be attractive to out-of-state global majority candidates and reflect the values of our learning community.” Other metrics listed include plans to “”increase [the] percentage of staff of the global majority who say they feel they belong in their school and in our district,” and “increase [the] percentage of students of the global majority who say they see educators who look like them.”
The district even doubled down on its commitment in a February presentation where it said it would be “updating marketing materials to attract candidates of the global majority” and will “actively source and identify candidates of the global majority,” according to DE. The presentation also stated the district’s intention to “establish Affinity Groups to strengthen belonging.”
With the Trump administration promising to crack down on DEI and racial discrimination, schools are getting more creative with the terminology they use. In March, BSD dropped the term “affinity group,” which has come under scrutiny by Republicans, replacing it with “groups of cultural relevance.”
BSD also hosts “unconscious bias training” for employees, materials from the district show, and retains an Office of Equity. The office organizes a “Summer Racial Justice Academy” meant to “address systemic racism,” “dismantle all systems of oppression” and “provide a healing space for students of the global majority.”
“Youth are financially compensated to serve as consultants to the school district, organize for change, and to share their stories,” the page says.
Despite the Supreme Court banning the use of racial preferences in admissions and hiring decisions, many schools are openly defying the law and finding ways to target certain races to achieve their desired racial makeup. The Trump administration has been unwavering in its commitment to merit-based admissions, opening dozens of investigations into schools and pulling billions in federal funding from schools deemed noncompliant.
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