Conservatives Aren’t ‘Christian Nationalists,’ They’re Just Homesick For America
Homesickness is what Americans have been feeling. It’s far from the corporate media’s misuse of the term 'Christian nationalism.'Homesickness is what Americans have been feeling. It’s far from the corporate media’s misuse of the term 'Christian nationalism.'At The Kennedy Center, Twyla Tharp Puts Art Above Politics
Twyla Tharp puts art above politics and keeps faith with her fans and her audience. We need more artists and performers to do the same.A bomb threat exposes the dark reach of authoritarian regimes
Growing up under the Islamic Republic of Iran, I know firsthand how authoritarian regimes target those who are fortunate enough to flee their tyranny, and that is precisely what happened at the Kennedy Center last week.
For decades, authoritarian regimes have deployed tactics of intimidation to silence voices of resistance and reshape societies in their own image. The recent bomb threat at the Kennedy Center is not simply an isolated attack on a Shen Yun performance; it is a deliberate assault on the very fabric of American identity and a clear message to those, like myself, who have taken refuge here.
I witnessed firsthand how state-sponsored violence is wielded to suppress freedom and control populations.
Our nation’s cultural institutions are not just buildings — they are symbols of resilience, creativity, and freedom. When threats like these emerge on our soil, they are designed to disrupt an event and instill fear among those who embody the spirit of dissent and free expression.
When the Chinese Communist Party or any other despotic regime or their proxies dare to employ bomb threats on American soil — even if aimed at cultural events that attract those who have escaped their tyranny — it is an attack on America itself. This tactic of psychological warfare is far too familiar for those who have experienced the consequences of authoritarian rule firsthand.
Living in Iran and later serving in the U.S. military, I witnessed firsthand how state-sponsored violence is wielded as a tool to suppress freedom and control populations. In regimes like Iran and China, fear is systematically used to stifle dissent and maintain power. The bomb threat is a stark reminder that such tactics are not relics of distant lands — they can and do manifest on U.S. soil. This notion should alarm every American who values liberty.
Why target cultural institutions?
The Kennedy Center is more than just a performance venue. It stands as a bastion of American culture, a place where art and expression converge to celebrate the ideals that make this nation unique. Attacks on such institutions send a chilling message: The guardians of our cultural heritage and free expression are not safe from the reach of authoritarian intimidation. Whether intended to silence a performance or to intimidate those who dare to defy despotic regimes, these actions threaten to erode the pillars upon which our society is built.
This incident is emblematic of a broader strategy — a campaign designed to create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among freethinkers and cultural dissidents. When acts of intimidation are normalized, the very notion of dissent becomes dangerous. If we allow such tactics to go unchecked, we risk not only the safety of individuals but also the erosion of a collective national identity that has long been a beacon of hope and freedom.
An antidote to intimidation
The Kennedy Center bomb threat should serve as a rallying cry for every citizen who cherishes freedom. When free expression is threatened, the assault is not confined to a select few — it strikes at the heart of our national identity.
We must not allow foreign authoritarian forces to use terror as a tool to undermine our national values. Instead, we need to unite in the face of intimidation and reaffirm our commitment to free expression, open debate, and protecting our cultural institutions.
Sean Spicer tells Glenn Beck how Biden unwittingly helped Trump fire 'anyone he wants'
President Donald Trump cleaned house last week at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation's capital. Trump fired all 18 board members who were appointed by Democratic presidents, then appointed MAGA allies, who ultimately made him their chairman.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on Tuesday that the turfing of Biden loyalists at the Kennedy Center and other appointees throughout the government was made possible by a strategic blunder on the part of the previous administration.
Spicer indicated that after he exited the role of White House press secretary in July 2017, Trump appointed him to the U.S. Naval Academy board of visitors for a three-year term, which would expire on Dec. 30, 2021.
Although Spicer had time left in his term, he received an email on Sept. 8, 2021, from the Biden White House demanding that he resign by 6 p.m. that day. The letter indicated that should he fail to comply, his "position with the Board will be terminated."
Spicer indicated that he didn't resign and was fired.
Recalling his reaction, Spicer told Beck, "I was like, 'You couldn't just wait 60 days just to have it for free?'"
"So it turns out he fired everybody," said Spicer. "Myself, from the Naval Academy board. Russ Vought from the Naval Academy board. And then a guy named [Ret. Gen. H.R.] McMaster from the West Point board."
Spicer told Beck he was approached shortly thereafter by White House adviser Stephen Miller and his legal outfit, America First Legal, who proposed suing Biden to force him to "argue that he has the absolute authority to fire anybody."
The complaint they ultimately filed stated that Biden "has no authority to terminate Mr. Spicer's and Mr. Vought's appointments to the Board" and lacked the "constitutional authority under Article II to terminate Mr. Spicer's and Mr. Vought's appointments to the Board because it is a purely advisory nonpartisan entity that does not wield any executive power."
U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled in 2022 that neither Spicer nor Vought were insulated from removal, suggesting that doing so "would raise serious constitutional issues, as Board members are executive officials whose 'only role ... is to advise the President on the performance of a quintessentially executive function.'"
'Joe Biden was so petty.'
Spicer and Vought appealed Friedrich's decision but dropped their appeal after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in a separate case regarding another Trump appointee's removal from the board of a federal agency that as a general rule, the president "may freely remove his subordinates."
Spicer told Beck that in the wake of his apparent legal defeat, "the media started calling, Glenn, and said, 'You lost the case.' And I said at the time, 'Did I?'"
Poetic justice would have it that Biden's supposed victories in court paved the way for Trump to remove Katherine Petrelius — the woman who emailed Spicer in September 2021, telling him to resign — and other Democratic appointees from the Kennedy Center board earlier this month.
A spokesman for the center told the Washington Post that the organization didn't fight Trump's takeover on account of the precedent set in Spicer's case.
"Never in the history of the United States has any president ever removed somebody from a service academy board prior to their term being done for anything less than malfeasance. And even that, we can't find an example. Never!" Spicer told Beck. "Joe Biden was so petty."
Upon learning that Biden's pettiness "has given President Trump the authority to fire anyone he wants," Spicer said he was "ecstatic."
"I think it's absolutely fantastic," said Beck. "I thank you for what you did. And, you know, the only thing that would make it better is if you or I were on the board of the Kennedy Center and we could announce that Lee Greenwood's residency was taking place at the Kennedy Center."
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Entertainers exit stage left as Trump works to make Kennedy Center great again
A handful of entertainers at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., have decided to hit the exits now that President Donald Trump has taken the center over.
The Kennedy Center dates back to 1958, when President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, signed a bill making it America's "National Cultural Center." Because of its legislative origins and public funding, the Kennedy Center effectively remains under the control of the president, who has the power to appoint members to its board of trustees.
Now that Trump is back in the Oval Office, he has attempted to rid the center of some of the woke capture. "Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP," he wrote on Truth Social last week.
Trump also promised to usher in a new "Golden Age in Arts and Culture" at the Kennedy Center, which Trump characterized as "an American jewel."
"THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"
To that end, Trump fired all 18 board members nominated by Democrat presidents. The ousted members include former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and former Biden adviser Mike Donilon, both of whom were appointed just before President Joe Biden left office, NPR reported.
In their place, Trump has appointed several MAGA allies, including his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance. By Wednesday, the board had unanimously voted Trump to be chairman.
In response, the center issued a statement, noting that while these shake-ups were unusual, they were by no means illegal. "There is nothing in the center's statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center's board," the statement said.
'America voted against paying attention to your public tantrums a few months ago.'
In revamping the performing arts center, Trump has merely exercised his prerogatives as president and begun fulfilling a major campaign promise to rid the swamp of leftist ideology. However, several entertainers obviously disagreed with the drag-free direction the center is heading and decided to show themselves out.
Shonda Rhimes, the 55-year-old TV executive best known for "Grey's Anatomy," was the among the first to announce her resignation. On Wednesday, Rhimes posted to Instagram a screenshot of an article about her resignation as well as a brief quote from the center's namesake, President John F. Kennedy: "If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."
Ben Folds — best known as the lead singer of Ben Folds Five, whose song about the pain of abortion, "Brick," was a smash hit in the mid-1990s — tendered his resignation from the center's National Symphony Orchestra as well. "Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today, I am resigning as artistic director to the NSO," he posted to Instagram.
Soprano opera singer Renee Fleming, who won more than a dozen Grammys and was featured on the soundtracks of major films like "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "The Shape of Water," also stepped away from her role as artistic adviser at large.
"I’ve treasured the bi-partisan support for this institution as a beacon of America at our best," she said in a statement. "I hope the Kennedy Center continues to flourish and serve the passionate and diverse audience in our nation’s capital and across the country."
After she was given the hook, former President Deborah Rutter likewise issued a lengthy statement full of histrionics about the inimitable importance of arts and culture. "Much like our democracy itself, artistic expression must be nurtured, fostered, prioritized, and protected," she wrote. "It is not a passive endeavor; indeed, there is no clearer sign of American democracy at work than our artists, the work they produce, and audiences' unalienable right to actively participate."
Richard Grenell, ambassador to Germany during Trump's first term, has since been appointed interim executive director. "RIC, WELCOME TO SHOW BUSINESS!" Trump posted to Truth Social Monday night.
For his part, Blaze Media Align managing editor Matt Himes seems excited about the departure of so many anti-Trump, "self-important celebrities" who have "spent the last decade ruining" everything from music and literature to comedy and commercials.
"Go ahead and quit, but America voted against paying attention to your public tantrums a few months ago," he told Blaze News in a statement. "You guys are like phones going off in a theater once the lights go down. Time to put yourselves in airplane mode so the rest of us can enjoy the show in peace."
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