What Trump’s presidency means for America



Monday marked a new chapter in our nation’s history. This moment is not just about a new administration — it is about a new commitment to the founding principles that built this great republic. It is about restoring power to where it rightly belongs: with the American people.

For too long, our government has drifted from its purpose. Too often, it has overreached, overtaxed, overspent, and overwhelmed the very citizens it was created to serve. Today, that era of excess ends.

Our country’s future is in our hands. It is not the government, but us — the workers, the dreamers, the parents, and the patriots — who are the engine of this great nation.

The time has come to reaffirm the truth that our rights come not from government but from God. Government does not create. It cannot invent or inspire. Its proper role is not to command but to protect — to preserve the freedoms that allow you to build your dreams, raise your families, and live your lives without interference.

A government that works for the people

For decades, a bloated federal bureaucracy has grown unchecked, sapping the vitality of our economy and the strength of our communities. Departments that were meant to help have become barriers to progress. Agencies designed to protect have too often punished the very people they exist to serve.

Trump has pledged to put an end to the administrative state. He will begin by closing the Department of Education, returning the power of teaching our children to parents, local communities, and state governments where it belongs. Washington, D.C., has no business deciding what our children learn or how they are taught.

But he won’t stop there. Any department or agency that is ineffective, inefficient, or that usurps the rights of the states or the people should face the same scrutiny. The balance of power has shifted too far from the people to unelected officials who believe they answer to no one.

The national debt is a silent thief, robbing future generations of prosperity. Overspending has put us on a perilous path, and no responsible leader can allow it to continue.

Trump has promised to balance the federal budget by making government smaller, smarter, and more focused. Fraud, waste, and abuse will be rooted out. When the size of the government is reduced, the economy will unleash the potential of the private sector to drive innovation, create jobs, and build wealth.

Justice and the rule of law

No American who abides by our laws should ever live in fear of their government. Yet today, far too many do. Whether through political persecution, administrative overreach, or an unbalanced justice system, many have been silenced or crushed by the weight of a government that was supposed to serve them.

Trump should ensure justice is blind, fair, and free from political influence. Those who broke our laws — on whatever side of the aisle — must be held accountable. Political persecution will end on Trump’s watch. It has no place in a free society.

Securing our borders, protecting our communities

A nation without borders is no nation at all. For too long, America’s borders have been porous, leaving us vulnerable to the trafficking of drugs, children, and human lives. This is not compassion; it is chaos, and it should end now.

Trump will secure our borders, enforce our laws, and deport those who have entered illegally. To the cartels that profit from this evil, consider this your notice: Comply with our laws or we will destroy your operations with the full might of the United States.

Americans have the right to feel safe in their homes, their neighborhoods, and their communities. Law enforcement should have the tools and support they need to do their jobs.

A nation at peace

Trump will end the endless wars abroad that have drained our resources and diverted our focus from our people. He will bring our troops home from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. He will stand firm against tyranny but will not waste American lives and treasure on wars that do not serve our national interest.

We will confront evil where it exists, but we will do so with clarity, strength, and purpose. We will no longer coexist with those who traffic in human misery or seek to destroy the innocent. America will lead the world by example, not by endless entanglements.

And to all those despots, terrorists, and simple opportunists: The blue American passport means something. It means the holder is an American citizen. Citizens should know that this government works for them. If they enter a foreign country, they should know they must abide by that nation's laws.

But to those countries, individuals, and groups that do not care about international law, understand that if you kidnap, hurt, or kill an American citizen, count your life in days and hours, because that blue passport means American protection and power.

An era of renewal

This is a moment of healing. The wounds of division have scarred our nation, but they have not broken us. To those who have felt forgotten, to those who have felt silenced, and to those who have lost faith in the promise of America, let’s begin to restore our country.

We are not defined by the bitterness of the past but by the possibilities of the future. Together, we will renew the spirit of our nation. Together, we will rekindle the flame of freedom that has always guided us.

Let’s remember who we are. We are the heirs of pioneers, builders, and dreamers. We are a nation of liberty and opportunity, of faith and courage.

Our country’s future is in our hands. It is not the government, but us — the workers, the dreamers, the parents, and the patriots — who are the engine of this great nation.

Let us heal the wounds of division with the balm of unity. Let us speak to one another with respect, debate with civility, and strive together for the common good.

The challenges before us are great, but so is our resolve. The promise of America is alive, and her best days are yet to come. Together, we will build a nation stronger, freer, and more prosperous than ever before.

Let us rise above our differences and unite in common purpose. Let us be a government that works for the people, not against them. Let us be a nation that inspires the world, not through dominance but through our example.

The work ahead will not be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Together, we will reclaim the promise of America, not just for ourselves but for our children and their children.

May Trump’s return to the White House mark the beginning of a new golden age for our nation.

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Virginia Democrat seeks to restrict reasons Americans can give for homeschooling their children



Virginia state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, a former Fairfax County Public Schools teacher and school board representative, introduced a bill earlier this month that critics claim would undermine the rights of parents and transmogrify the religious exemption for homeschooling families in the state.

State law presently requires that parents seeking to homeschool their children must notify the division superintendent ahead of the school year, provide a description of their planned curriculum, and demonstrate satisfaction of one of several criteria, such as the completion of a high school diploma.

Pekarsky's SB 1031 would amend the law such that a simple notice of intent would no longer be enough. The Democratic bill states that parens hoping to homeschool their child would now have to notify the division superintendent "of the intention to receive an exemption from school attendance by reason of bona fide religious training or belief."

The legislation clarifies that "'bona fide religious training or belief' does not include essentially political, sociological or philosophical views or a merely personal moral code."

Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, the Fairfax chapter leader of the Independent Women's Network, noted in the Federalist that the legislation would not only limit the reasons parents can give for homeschooling their children but empower state officials to make judgments about the authenticity of Virginians' beliefs.

"Is it appropriate for the state government to be assessing citizens' religions as 'bona fide' or otherwise?" wrote Lundquist-Arora.

The Home School Legal Defense Association indicated in a recent message to members that the roots of Pekarsky's bill "are in a worldview that distrusts parents, fears the freedoms parents currently enjoy, and thinks that the government can do a better job."

'I find this legislation particularly abhorrent.'

The parental rights group Virginia Education Opportunity Alliance suggested that the bill "threatens the religious exemption for homeschooling families in Virginia, potentially undermining the right to educate children based on faith-based convictions."

The Home Educators Association of Virginia implored Virginians to contact Pekarsky's office as well as the members on the state Senate Public Education subcommittee, state Sens. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D), Mamie Locke (D), Mark Peake (R), and Christie New Craig (R), and implore the lawmakers to kill the bill.

Lundquist-Arora noted that the present breakdown of the students homeschooled in the state reveals precisely why the Democratic legislation qualifies as an attack on the freedom of families who have opted out of the scandal-plagued mainstream systems for reasons other than religion.

Virginia Department of Education data shows that among the 56,008 students currently in home instruction, only 6,755 students are enjoying home instruction because of religious exemptions.

"As a mother who homeschooled my three children for the 2020-21 academic year when Pekarsky and the other 11 Democratic-endorsed members of the Fairfax County School Board closed the district’s schools, I find this legislation particularly abhorrent," said Lundquist-Arora.

The Washington Post indicated in a late 2023 report that homeschooling was America's fastest-growing form of education. The Post indicated the number of homeschooled students jumped 51% over the previous six years, while private school enrollment increased by 7% and public school enrollment dropped by 4%.

Last year, Forbes noted that whereas in 2019, there were roughly 2.5 million students homeschooled in the nation, that number has shot up to 4 million or higher.

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Tulsi Gabbard flip-flops on Section 702 — Trump's DNI pick now supports much-abused surveillance authority



Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard has changed her position on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the warrantless surveillance authority that was used to spy on the 2016 Trump campaign and was exploited by the FBI hundreds of thousands of times to spy on American citizens.

Gabbard told Punchbowl News last week that she will support the controversial act if confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump's director of national intelligence.

Section 702 allows the government to spy on foreign nationals outside the U.S. with the compelled aid of electronic communication service providers. While supposedly outward-facing, if an American contacts or is contacted by a foreign national over email, social media, or the phone, the American's communications could potentially be tapped, searched, and stored without a warrant.

Blaze News previously reported that the FBI has admitted that there were at least 278,000 "unintentional" backdoor search queries of the 702 database for the private communications of Americans between 2020 and 2021 alone. Among those citizens swept up into the warrantless 702 searches were Jan. 6 protesters, congressional campaign donors, and BLM protesters.

'Politicians talk a good game about civil liberties.'

In her final days as congresswoman for Hawaii, Gabbard joined Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in advancing a bill that would have repealed the Patriot Act and killed nearly all provisions of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.

Gabbard said in a video at the time:

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution very specifically prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant based on probable cause. But over the last two decades, in part because of information revealed by Edward Snowden, we now know that there have been ongoing breaches of our civil liberties through programs that were instituted through the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act, which basically allowed agencies within our government to conduct mass illegal surveillance on Americans without a warrant or probable cause.

Years later, Gabbard, still apparently a critic of Section 702, noted in a speech at CPAC, "Too many politicians talk a good game about civil liberties, but when it comes time to cast that vote on things like getting rid of secret FISA courts and protecting our Fourth Amendment rights to privacy, they vote on the side of the power elite and against liberty."

In an apparent effort to win over elements of the power elite in the U.S. Senate, Gabbard has adopted a new view on the spying authority.

Gabbard confirmed her flip-flop in a statement to CNN on Friday, noting, "Section 702, unlike other FISA authorities, is crucial for gathering foreign intelligence on non-U.S. persons abroad. This unique capability cannot be replicated and must be safeguarded to protect our nation while ensuring the civil liberties of Americans."

"My prior concerns about FISA were based on insufficient protections for civil liberties, particularly regarding the FBI's misuse of warrantless search powers on American citizens," continued Gabbard, who Trump previously indicated would champion Americans' constitutional rights in the role. "Significant FISA reforms have been enacted since my time in Congress to address these issues. If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans' Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like Section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people."

'IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS.'

This consequential about-face may improve Gabbard's chances of confirmation in the U.S. Senate. Her embrace of Section 702 has already won over Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford (R), a longtime supporter of the controversial spying power, who told NBC News' "Meet the Press" Sunday that Gabbard's flip-flop "was a very important piece."

"She voted against that in the House when she was a member of the House of Representatives and had said she wanted changes," said Lankford. "She's now coming and saying, 'Those changes have been done,' because even since she was in Congress, there have been quite a few changes that we've made in Congress to make sure we're protecting the civil rights of Americans."

Lankford previously suggested in a Wall Street Journal podcast on Wednesday that Gabbard should abandon her opposition to the 702 program.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, similarly appears pleased by Gabbard's change of heart, telling Punchbowl News on Thursday, "Tulsi Gabbard has assured me in our conversations that she supports Section 702 as recently amended and that she will follow the law and support its reauthorization as DNI."

Trump implored Republicans to "KILL FISA" as it was nearing its expiration date last year, noting, "IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN."

To the great satisfaction of the Biden White House, the Republican-controlled House voted 273-147 in favor of reauthorizing the surveillance bill on April 12, 2024.

Despite the rejection of multiple proposed amendments that might have protected American citizens' privacy from the spying authority Gabbard now supports, Republican Sens. Lankford, John Barrasso (Wyo.), John Boozman (Ark.), Katie Britt (Ala.), Ted Budd (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), John Cornyn (Texas), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Deb Fischer (Neb.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), John Kennedy (La.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Pete Ricketts (Neb.), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), John Thune (S.D.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), and Todd Young (Ind.) and former Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) joined forces with Democrats to ensure its reauthorization.

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When Romanians went to work on Christmas Day



Most Americans get Christmas Day off, but it wasn’t like that for embattled Romanians back in 1989. Under Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romania was one of the most oppressive states in the world, practically on the level of Enver Hoxha’s Albania. Ceaușescu bulldozed churches and banned the celebration of Christmas.

In the city of Timisoara, Ceaușescu's Securitate attacked pastor Laszlo Tokes for criticizing the regime, and on December 17, 1989, the people organized an anti-government demonstration. Ceaușescu ordered his forces to fire on the crowds, killing nearly 100 protesters. Mass protests broke out across the country, and this time, the military sided with the people.

Totalitarians believe they can get away with murder, but sometimes the people prove victorious.

Ceaușescu fled in a helicopter, but the pilot forced a landing and soldiers took him into custody. Nicolae and wife Elena were swiftly tried for crimes against humanity and sentenced to death.

On Christmas Day, an elite unit led the pair toward an outdoor toilet block in a courtyard. Nicolae sang the “Internationale” while Elena shrieked filth at a soldier, who hauled off and smashed her face. The troops then stood the pair against a wall, set their Kalashnikovs on full automatic, and opened fire. Unlike the bloody scene in Timisoara, the rifle reports came as tidings of comfort and joy.

For the first time in decades, Romanians openly celebrated Christmas, and the next year, the nation held free elections. Too bad that the vile Ceaușescu was the only Stalinist dictator who got what he deserved.

Josef Stalin, murderer of more than 20 million, died of a heart attack on March 5, 1953. According to “The Black Book of Communism,” Mao Zedong’s genocidal campaigns claimed more than 60 million victims. China’s “Great Helmsman” died peacefully on September 9, 1976, at the age of 82.

Albania’s Enver Hoxha died of complications from diabetes on April 11, 1985, at the age of 76. Erich Honecker, communist dictator of the German Democratic Republic and builder of the Berlin Wall, died of cancer in Chile on May 29, 1994, at the age of 81.

Khmer Rouge dictator Pol Pot, whose campaign of genocide took down nearly 2 million innocents, about 21% of the population, died in his sleep on April 15, 1998. Sado-Stalinist Fidel Castro, darling of American leftists, passed away peacefully on November 25, 2016, at the age of 90.

Totalitarians believe they can get away with murder, but sometimes the people prove victorious. As Americans celebrate in freedom, they might recall Romania’s Kalashnikov Christmas, and in the new year take a lesson from Milan Kundera in “The Unbearable Lightness of Being.” In all nations, at all times, the struggle against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting.

'60 Minutes' helps Mexico blame US for gun violence but unwittingly make case against gun laws



After proving unable to meaningfully help Kamala Harris avoid another failed presidential bid with its apparently deceptive edit of her October interview, CBS News' "60 Minutes" moved on to narrative curation for another apparent lost cause: the Mexican government.

In an episode that aired Sunday, "60 Minutes" advanced the Mexican government's preferred line regarding its failure to clamp down on gang violence, smearing Americans as "the bad actors in this dynamic" — an allegation that the foreign nation has raised against U.S. gunmakers in a case that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in February.

In the process of pinning Mexico's ills on America's Second Amendment, CBS News unwittingly helped make the argument that gun-control laws are ineffective in stopping violent crime.

While Article 10 of the Mexican Constitution entitles Mexican citizens to own guns, citizens must jump through numerous hoops to legally acquire a firearm, and there is only one gun store in the country where they can buy one in person.

According to a 2023 Americas Society/Council of the Americas report, Mexican lawmakers greatly limited this constitutional right following civil unrest in the late 1960s, depriving citizens of the right to open or concealed carry in most cases; banning various gun types and calibers for personal use; and making gun ownership conditional on both a one-year permit from the secretariat of national defense and membership in a shooting club. To acquire a gun permit, applicants must be 18 or older with past military experience and evidence of the mental capacity to operate a weapon. Mexicans reportedly cannot legally own more than 10 firearms or purchase ammunition for calibers of weapons they do not own.

'I'm not going to advocate for restricting my rights because another country wants to shift blame.'

Despite these laws, Mexican criminals packing heat have driven a six-year trend of over 30,000 murders annually, and there are an estimated 16.8 million guns in civilian possession.

A viral segment from the Sunday episode of "60 Minutes" details the lengthy process involved in legally acquiring a firearm in Mexico.

"There's only one gun store in Mexico in the middle of a heavily guarded military base in Mexico City," says the narrator. "Before customers can enter, they have to show proof they've passed psychological tests, drug screenings, and extensive background checks. The store sells about a thousand guns a month, mostly shotguns, small-caliber rifles, and handguns."

"What civilians can't buy here are the weapons the cartel favors. Those are not legally sold anywhere in Mexico," added the narrator.

While the apparent point of the episode was to blame Mexico's gun violence on weapons imported from the U.S., critics noted that CBS News helped demonstrate that gun-control laws aren't great at reducing violent crime.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) tweeted, "Mexico must be the safest, least-violent country in the world. Oh wait ..."

One user on X, citing the cities with the highest homicide rates in the world, responded, "This gun control policy is so successful only 9 of the top 10 most murderous cities are in Mexico."

Sean Davis, CEO of the Federalist, wrote, "Mexico is definitely known for having no murder problems, so obviously that policy is working great."

"You can tell this method is working by looking at Mexico's extremely low crime rate," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary, Jeremy Redfern.

Blaze News' Julio Rosas noted that the point of the "60 Minutes" piece was "to blame the U.S. and our Second Amendment for Mexico's violence. As much as I love Mexico, I'm not going to advocate for restricting my rights because another country wants to shift blame."

The program leaned on claims from former Mexican President López Obrador and others to suggest that restricting American gun sales would be something of a panacea.

Jonathan Lowy, an American lawyer representing Mexico in its lawsuits against U.S. gunmakers, told "60 Minutes" that "you need to stop it at its source. Because all those problems are driven by the supply of U.S. guns to the cartels."

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Walmart, Canada, and the great DEI retreat: Are we finally waking up?



Is freedom retreating, or is freedom advancing? Just a few weeks ago, I would have said that it is retreating. But something is changing, and America — though bruised and battered — is leading the way back.

When everything went wrong for us during the past four years — when we felt like freedom was on the brink — what did we do? We didn’t scream at the waves like a group of liberal women in New York City did. We didn’t take to Instagram and post videos of ourselves bawling and distraught. We went to work. We went to God. And we remembered who we are.

They’re losing. The resistance is running out of steam. Common sense is creeping back in.

Bible sales in America are up 21% over the last year. In times of uncertainty, we’ve always turned back to faith, to principles that give us balance and resolve. For those on the left, their “god” is the government, DEI initiatives, and utopian ideals. But when those false gods fail — as they always do — they’re left with nothing but despair.

The pushback against tyranny

But something remarkable is happening: Freedom is pushing back. Not just here, but around the globe.

Take Canada, for example, a country that seemed hopelessly lost to the suffocating grip of DEI and government overreach. Just last year, one in every 20 deaths in Canada was due to assisted suicide. A government that once promised freedom, opportunity, and optimism is now expediting death.

Remember when Canadian officials froze the bank accounts of citizens supporting the trucker protests? The government turned on its own people, and trust was shattered.

But now, even in Canada, people are saying enough is enough. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, once untouchable, is teetering on the brink. His allies are abandoning him. His control is slipping. The tide is turning.

America leading the charge

In America, we’ve been dangerously close to losing our understanding of freedom. We blurred the lines between equality and equity. Equality means judging people by their character, their merit, their skills. Equity demands that we look at race, history, and grievances instead.

Walmart, once a proud torchbearer of DEI initiatives, is now quietly rolling those initiatives back. Why? Not out of fear of Trump, as some claim, but because the public has spoken. Americans are remembering what fairness and opportunity look like. Businesses are realizing that serving customers — not political agendas — should be their priority.

The media, once the powerful arm of the progressive agenda, is losing its grip. Like the armless, legless knight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” they’re still yelling, still swinging, but the fight’s over. They just don’t know it yet.

Now comes the hard work

The 2024 election was indeed a victory, but it was also a reprieve. God, in His mercy, gave us time — time to reclaim the freedom that was being extinguished over the past four years. The question is: What are we going to do with this second chance?

We need to organize. We need to vote. We need to hold leaders accountable, not just with our voices, but with our actions, our wallets, and our resolve. The left’s relentless pursuit to erode freedom isn’t going to stop. They won’t give up easily.

But they’re losing. The resistance is running out of steam. Restaurants that once celebrated refusing service to Trump officials are now firing employees who pull the same stunts. Common sense is creeping back in.

We stand at a crossroads. Freedom isn’t an automatic guarantee. It must be fought for, defended, and cherished. As a wise man once said, “Always give the American people the benefit of the doubt. They’ll get it wrong, but eventually, they’ll figure it out and get it right.” That’s correct. We are figuring it out. Slowly, painfully, but surely.

It’s time to choose. Will we seize this moment or let it slip away?

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FACT CHECK: Viral Video of Arnold Schwarzenegger Looking ‘Aged’ Is From A Movie Shoot

A post on X shows former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appearing in a rapidly-aged state, raising questions about his health. 🔥🚨DEVELOPING: Arnold Schwarzenegger fans are saying that the actor has ‘aged 200 years in 2 months’ after being spotted in New York surrounded by five bodyguards. pic.twitter.com/E1FyUxu5w5 — Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives […]

Mel Gibson to sex traffickers: Come after my kids and 'I'd have to kill someone'



Mel Gibson at a Tuesday night event at President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago said he'd "have to kill someone" if any of his nine children got sex-trafficked.

The Hollywood actor-director spoke at the America’s Future Champions for America Celebration Gala, which the likes of Kid Rock and Tucker Carlson also attended.

'We’ll see how much this administration can claw back from the Philistines.'

Video of the "Lethal Weapon" franchise star speaking to the crowd shows him taking note of the “thinly veiled Marxism” America is enduring under President Joe Biden — as well as what he called a “four-year grace period” the country will enjoy under Trump's incoming administration.

"But we have to work hard," Gibson said before adding that "the president’s got a big job on his hands to turn this place around; a lot of damage was done. And they continue to start fires, just like around my house."

He also thanked retired Gen. Michael Flynn, who served in Trump’s first administration, for his work against sex trafficking, saying he's “exposing all these wolves in sheep’s clothing that prey upon our young.”

Then Gibson warned what he'd do if anything happened to his children.

“I mean, I got nine kids. ... If one of them got stolen or trafficked or something, I’d have to kill someone,” he stated matter-of-factly, after which the crowd erupted in applause. Gibson is one of several executive producers for 2023's "Sound of Freedom" movie about the battle against child sex trafficking.

In closing, Gibson — with a noticeable enthusiastic grit to his voice — stated that he hopes "in the next four years we can get back some of that precious commodity that this country has, that commodity called freedom, all right? We’ll see how much this administration can claw back from the Philistines.”

You can view Gibson's remarks here.

Gibson's faith — and endurance

Gibson — who directed and financed 2004's box-office behemoth "The Passion of the Christ" — has been open about his Catholicism.

In July he showed support for conservative Catholic Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, whom the Vatican excommunicated. Gibson praised Viganò for calling out "core problems" within the Catholic Church and, in Gibson's view, "the illegitimacy of [Pope] Francis." Gibson is a sedevacantist, or someone who believes the Holy See is vacant and the last legitimate pope was Pope Pius XII, who died in 1958. Sedevacantists reject the authority of the Second Vatican Council.

A fellow actor in 2021 urged Hollywood to "Cancel Mel Gibson" for being a "raging anti-Semite" — and promptly received a cyber spanking for dusting off "old news" and pushing "censorship."

It's pretty common knowledge that nearly 20 years ago, Gibson went on a drunken, anti-Semitic rant in the back of police car and then endured a huge tailspin. He and his longtime wife divorced, a subsequent relationship came unglued amid battery accusations, there was a child custody battle — and of course, Hollywood shunned him.

Gibson, of course, apologized for his words and worked on putting his life back together ever since. Of particular note is that he reportedly educated himself about the Holocaust and quietly conducted related endeavors, such as his philanthropic work to help Holocaust survivors in eight countries through the Survivor Mitzvah Project.

'Unless you are completely without sin'

In the spirit of digging up old news, way back in 2011, actor Robert Downey Jr. chided a star-studded audience on Gibson's behalf during a speech for an award that Downey specifically had Gibson present to him.

"I humbly ask that you join me, unless you are completely without sin — in which case you picked the wrong f***ing industry — in forgiving my friend his trespasses, offering him the same clean slate that you have me, and allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame," Downey said in regard to Gibson.

Before those pointed words, Downey revealed to listeners how Gibson had helped him — before Gibson's own downfall:

When I couldn't get sober, he told me not to give up hope, and he urged me to find my faith. It didn't have to be his or anyone else's as long as it was rooted in forgiveness. And I couldn't get hired, so he cast me in a lead of a movie that was actually developed for him. And he kept a roof over my head, and he kept food on the table. And most importantly he said that if I accepted responsibility for my wrongdoings, and if I embraced that part of my soul that was ugly — "hugging the cactus," he calls it — he said that if I hugged the cactus long enough I'd become a man of some humility, and that my life would take on a new meaning, and I did, and it worked. All he asked in return was that someday I'd help the next guy in some small way. It's reasonable to assume that at the time he didn't imagine that the next guy would be him or that someday was tonight!

Downey added that Gibson had "hugged the cactus long enough!" Check out the clip here.

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Biden admin has been using banking institutions to spy on Americans without warrants: House report



Congressional investigators released an interim report Friday detailing some of the creative ways that the Biden administration has apparently sidestepped the legal process in order to spy on and track American citizens, particularly those who have expressed opinions and political views unfavorable to the powers that be.

The report was released just days after Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, told Joe Rogan that scores of tech founders were de-banked under the Biden administration through a politically motivated effort he referred to as "Operation Choke Point 2.0," an apparent update on a scandalous Obama Department of Justice initiative.

Americans' financial data reveals a great deal about their political viewpoints, interests, vulnerabilities, and locations. The new report from the House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, titled "Financial Surveillance in the United States: How the Federal Government Weaponized the Bank Secrecy Act to Spy on Americans" noted that "because of this data's usefulness, federal law enforcement agencies increasingly coordinate with financial institutions to secure even greater access to Americans' private financial information, often without legal process."

Congressional investigators began looking into the process after a whistleblower alleged that Bank of America voluntarily and without legal process provided the FBI with a list of names of Americans who used a BoA credit or debit card in Washington, D.C., around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, protests. A former senior FBI official, Joseph Bonavolonta, later confirmed the testimony of the whistleblower, retired FBI supervisory intelligence analyst George Hill.

While law enforcement is normally barred from inquiring into financial institutions' customer information, at least without going through proper legal processes, federal agents apparently found a workaround: Highlight as "suspicious" client characteristics common to intended targets — such as criticism of gun-grab policies, vaccine mandates, COVID-19 lockdowns, and the Deep State — and encourage financial institutions to file Suspicious Activity Reports. The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network compiles these reports into a searchable database.

'This could lead to widespread abuse of power and debanking.'

The Weaponization Committee indicated Friday that last year, the FinCEN database was accessed by over 14,000 government employees for more than 3 million warrantless searches.

According to FinCEN's latest annual report, nearly 15.42% of active FBI investigations in fiscal year 2023 were directly linked to SARs and Currency Transaction Reports. At least 4.6 million SARs and 20.8 million CTRs were filed last year.

The new report from the House Judiciary Committee, which relies on over 48,000 pages of newly reviewed documents and three new transcribed interviews, underscored that federal agencies have increasingly worked "hand-in-glove with financial institutions, obtaining virtually unchecked access to private financial data and testing out new methods and new technology to continue the financial surveillance of American citizens."

The report claims that:

  • the FBI manipulated the Suspicious Activity Report filing process "to treat financial institutions as de facto arms of law enforcement, issuing 'requests,' without legal process, that amount to demands for information related to certain persons or activities it considers 'suspicious'";
  • FinCEN coordinated with the FBI to lean on financial institutions to comb through their data and file SARs on hundreds of Americans "without any clear criminal nexus"; and
  • while on paper an advisory body to the Treasury Department on matters pertaining to the Bank Secrecy Act, the BSA Advisory Group has become "a tool for federal law enforcement and financial institutions to monitor the private, financial data of American citizens" — a tool set to become more invasive and more powerful in the hands of federal law enforcement operatives.

The report concludes, "All Americans should be disturbed by how their financial data is collected, made accessible to, and searched by federal and state officials, including law enforcement and regulatory agencies."

Congressional investigators emphasized that with e-commerce ascendant and the use of cash growing increasingly less common, "the future leaves very little financial activity beyond the purview of modern financial institutions or the government's prying eyes."

The Weaponization Committee added on X that "without safeguards, this could lead to widespread abuse of power and debanking."

The report was not, however, all doom and gloom. Lawmakers highlighted potential legislative reforms that could be undertaken to curb the potential for continued and worse abuse, including

  • raising the threshold for currency transaction reports from the $10,000 mark to $60,000, as a means to reverse the CTR's transformation from a program about criminal activity into a government surveillance program;
  • amending the BSA to require that banks notify a customer that an SAR was filed, provide a justification, and offer the flagged client the opportunity to respond to the corresponding allegations;
  • restore Fourth Amendment protections to American's financial records, requiring law enforcement obtain a warrant to gain access to Americans' private financial information;

"Federal law enforcement has shown that it will leverage any opportunity to operate outside the bounds of the statutes that govern access to Americans’ financial data," said the report. "Absent adequate congressional oversight and legislative reforms, it is likely that countless more Americans will be subject to financial surveillance and potentially federal investigation, all without ever knowing about it."

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Corporate Music Is Killing Classic Country And Its American Values

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-04-at-2.02.04 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-04-at-2.02.04%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]Large corporations have strayed from the American values of classic country music, but some young artists are keeping the tradition alive.