Democrats face their ‘David Duke moment’ in New York City



Zohran Mamdani is now the Democrats’ nominee for mayor of New York City. He is also an openly anti-Semitic socialist.

His nomination puts the Democratic Party in a position not unlike the one Republicans faced in 1991, when David Duke — a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan — became the GOP nominee in Louisiana’s gubernatorial runoff.

Now it’s the Democrats’ turn. They must reject Zohran Mamdani and the hateful, dangerous movement he represents, just as the Republicans did with David Duke.

This is the Democrats’ David Duke moment. And they’re failing the test.

Principle over party

In Louisiana’s 1991 “jungle primary,” the two top vote-getters were:

  • Edwin Edwards, a former Democratic governor who had been charged with bribery and later convicted of extortion and money laundering; and
  • David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, who ran as a Republican.

Duke received only 32% of the vote, but that was enough to advance to the runoff. Although he had run for office several times in the 1980s as a Democrat, Duke ran as a Republican in 1991 — and won the Republican candidacy.

Faced with an impossible choice of backing an unrepentant white supremacist on their party’s ticket, Republicans rallied around Edwards, launching a campaign under the nose-holding slogan: “Vote for the crook — it’s important.”

And it worked. The crook Edwards defeated Duke, 61% to 39%.

That crossover vote was no small feat. This was the early 1990s — a time when Southern Democrats were in full collapse. Just three years earlier, George H.W. Bush beat Michael Dukakis by 10 points in Louisiana. Even the governor at the time, Buddy Roemer, had switched parties and run as a Republican because the Democratic brand was so out of favor.

In fact, bipartisan revulsion at Roemer’s political opportunism contributed to Duke finishing second in the primary. But in the end, Republicans knew what needed to be done. They didn’t like voting for Edwards, but a white supremacist was a nonstarter.

Failing the test

Thirty-four years later, a Jew-hating red is the Democrats’ candidate for mayor of New York City, one of the most prominent political offices in America. This is the Democrats’ David Duke moment.

But instead of rejecting Mamdani — who, like Duke, should have been a washout from the start — prominent Democrats are embracing him.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), for example, told Fox News that Mamdani is the “future” of the Democratic Party.

Mamdani isn’t some garden-variety progressive. He occupies a darker corner of the political spectrum — somewhere between Vladimir Lenin and Hamas. His candidacy should be as repugnant as a KKK grand wizard.

In 2021, he summed up his anti-Israel worldview in one sentence: “There are also other issues that we firmly believe in, whether it’s [boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel] or whether it is the end goal of seizing the means of production.”

Mamdani doesn’t just support the BDS movement against Israel. He’s defended calls to “globalize the intifada” — a phrase that means exporting terrorism against Jews to every corner of the world, including the United States.

Mamdani has refused to condemn the global terror campaign against Jews, explaining that globalizing the intifada simply reflects a “desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.”

Then, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and slaughtered nearly 1,200 innocents on October 7, 2023, Mamdani condemned Israel, not Hamas.

Imagine a candidate who refused to condemn lynchings. He’d be ostracized on the spot — and rightfully so. But Mamdani cannot bring himself to denounce the murder of Jewish women and children — and Democrat leaders can’t bring themselves to denounce him either.

A terror-sympathizing socialist

Domestically, Mamdani is also extraordinarily sympathetic toward Islamic terrorists, having publicly criticized the U.S. government for putting al-Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki under surveillance.

RELATED: Socialist Mamdani promises to 'Trump-proof' New York City, expel ICE

Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Although Mamdani won the Democratic primary, he is actually an official member of the Democratic Socialists of America. That group’s radical platform includes:

  • Defunding the police;
  • Releasing prisoners;
  • Abolishing prisons;
  • Nationalizing industry and abolishing capitalism;
  • Eliminating carbon-based fuels;
  • Providing public housing for all; and
  • Closing all U.S. military bases.

As reported by the Free Press, Mamdani’s social media history is full of disqualifying statements for any serious candidate. A few examples:

  • “Taxation isn’t theft. Capitalism is.”
  • “Queer liberation means defund the police.”
  • “We don’t just need more accountability. We need fewer police.”

Bigger than politics

For conservatives, it’s tempting to sit back and enjoy the spectacle of Democrats self-destructing. But this is bigger than party politics.

Both major parties have a responsibility to reject mainstreaming communism and Islamism in the United States.

In 1991, Republicans chose principle over party. They helped defeat a candidate who represented the worst of their history.

Now it’s the Democrats’ turn. They must reject Zohran Mamdani and the hateful, dangerous movement he represents, just as the Republicans did with David Duke.

Because, as the bumper sticker said in 1991, “It’s important.”

UC San Diego Thought It Found a Loophole To Offer Race-Based Scholarships. Now It’s Being Sued Under the KKK Act.

In 1983, the University of California, San Diego, created the Black Alumni Scholarship Fund (BASF). Operated and funded by the university, the scholarship subsidized the tuition of black students—who at that time made up just 2 percent of UCSD—and provided them with mentorship and study abroad opportunities.

The post UC San Diego Thought It Found a Loophole To Offer Race-Based Scholarships. Now It’s Being Sued Under the KKK Act. appeared first on .

A president’s job is to stop the burning if governors won’t



In response to widespread rioting and domestic disorder in Los Angeles, President Trump ordered the deployment of National Guard units. More than 700 U.S. Marines from the Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms were also mobilized on Monday to protect federal property around the city.

As expected, critics pounced. They claim Trump’s orders violate American tradition — calling them anti-constitutional, anti-federal, and an authoritarian misuse of executive power. They say Trump is turning the military into a domestic police force.

In moments like this, the republic must defend itself.

But that argument isn’t just wrong — it’s nonsense on stilts.

The U.S. Army Historical Center has published three comprehensive volumes documenting the repeated and lawful use of federal military forces in domestic affairs since the founding of the republic. From the Whiskey Rebellion to civil rights enforcement, history shows that federal troops have long been a constitutional backstop when local authorities fail to maintain order.

Certainly, the use of military forces within U.S. borders must be limited and considered carefully. But the Constitution explicitly grants this authority. Article IV, Section 4 states: “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.”

That clause isn’t a suggestion — it’s a command. A republican government exists to safeguard life, liberty, and property. The First Amendment protects the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government, but it does not shield acts of arson, looting, or assault. When rioters threaten the public, federal intervention becomes not just permissible but, in this instance, necessary.

Article II empowers the president, as commander in chief of the Army, Navy, and National Guard (when called into federal service), to act decisively against both foreign and domestic threats. That includes quelling insurrections when state leaders fail to uphold public order.

The National Guard is not the “militia” the founders discussed. That distinction was settled with the passage of the Dick Act in 1903, which clarified the Guard’s federal identity in relation to state control. Since then, the Guard has operated under dual federal and state authority — with federal control taking precedence when activated. Once federalized, the National Guard becomes an extension of the U.S. military.

Congress codified this authority in 1807 with the Insurrection Act. It authorizes the president to use military force when ordinary judicial proceedings fail. This provision enabled presidents throughout history to deploy troops against domestic unrest. During the 1950s and ’60s, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy used it to enforce desegregation orders in the South.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush relied on the same statute to deploy Army and Marine forces alongside the California National Guard during the L.A. riots following the Rodney King trial verdict. That was done without sparking cries of dictatorship.

RELATED: Why Trump had to do what Gavin Newsom refused to do

Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Those accusing Trump of violating norms by acting over a governor’s objection should revisit 1957. After Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus (D) defied federal orders to desegregate Little Rock Central High School, President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent in the 101st Airborne Division. Democratic Sen. Richard Russell of Georgia decried the move, comparing the troops to Hitler’s storm troopers — a reminder that hysterical analogies are nothing new.

Americans have sought to limit military involvement in domestic life. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was designed to do just that — restrict the use of federal troops in civil law enforcement without explicit authorization. But even that law has historical nuance.

The concept of “posse comitatus” comes from English common law. It refers to the authority of sheriffs to summon local citizens to restore order. In early American history, federal troops often supported U.S. Marshals. They enforced the Fugitive Slave Act, stanched the bleeding in Kansas, and helped capture John Brown at Harpers Ferry.

After the Civil War, the Army played a key role in enforcing Reconstruction and suppressing the Ku Klux Klan under the Force Acts. Southern Democrats opposed this use of federal power. But by the 1870s, even Northern lawmakers grew uneasy when soldiers were ordered to suppress railroad strikes under direction of state and local officials.

The Army eventually welcomed Posse Comitatus. Being placed under local political control compromised military professionalism and exposed troops to partisan misuse. Officers feared that domestic policing would corrupt the armed forces.

I’ve long argued for restraint in using military power within U.S. borders. That principle still matters. But lawlessness, when left unchecked, can and will destroy republican government. And when local leaders fail to act — or worse, encourage disorder — the federal government must step in.

President Trump has both the constitutional and statutory authority to deploy troops in response to the violence unfolding in Los Angeles. Whether he should do so depends on prudence and necessity. But the idea that such action is unprecedented or somehow illegal has no basis in law or history.

If mayors and governors abdicate their duty, Washington must not. The defense of law-abiding citizens cannot hinge on the whims of ideologues or the cowardice of local officials. And in moments like this, the republic must defend itself.

Blaze News original: Let us not forget the COVID masking madness those in power put us through



Blaze News recently took detailed looks at a pair of contentious reactions to the spread of the coronavirus several years ago — the left's reprehensible behavior toward fellow Americans who refused COVID jabs and then how COVID lockdown lunacy, tyranny, and hypocrisy harmed all of us.

In this installment, we're breaking down the fallout from masking madness.

'As a concerned carry-permitted gun owner, if you refuse to wear a mask and try to come within 6 feet of me or my family, I will exercise the same constitutional rights to shoot you.'

It's not terribly hard to recall how insane things were at the outset of the COVID pandemic with regard to masking. There were mask shortages and conflicting guidance on their use. Then-U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams posted on social media in early 2020, "Seriously people - STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can't get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!"

Dr. Anthony Fauci reportedly flipped-flopped on his masking views. Then last year he admitted that there was no scientific evidence behind the six-foot social distancing protocol — or the guidelines for masking children, according to bombshell congressional testimony.

In the meantime, masking mandates were in full swing. It was rare to see folks in public without them. Along with that came scary, ridiculous, and hypocritical behavior.

In the below collection of vignettes, we revisit a bizarre tale of a high school that actually used individual tents for band students so they could play their instruments amid the COVID spread ... elected officials who fiercely enforced masking protocols and ignored them for themselves ... a prominent doctor who said "let 'em die" in regard to those who didn't wear masks ... blatant threats ... admissions of "political theater" in regard to masking ... and tyrannical statements.

This is how they treated us. Never forget.

High school mercilessly mocked for placing band students in tents so they can practice amid pandemic


Washington state's Wenatchee High School in February 2021 came up with a novel way to allow band members to practice their instruments while remaining socially distant in the battle against COVID-19 — placing the students inside individual tents, KCPQ-TV reported.

Of course, students can't wear masks while playing trombones and clarinets. Ergo, the tents were their masks. You can view a video report here showing an extended interview with the school's principal — and the band students in their tents performing.

A number of observers on social media were both disturbed and amused:

  • "Well this confirms it," a Twitter user declared. "Our decision to move to a Red state is definitely correct."
  • "Can someone in the Wenatchee area donate a couple of their old camping tents to the high school for the poor tuba players?" another user asked.
  • "That adults, government, teachers or parents, would abuse young people like this is unimaginable," another commenter wrote.
  • "They're just f***ing with us at this point," another user said.

Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he held his breath when photo was snapped of him not wearing mask while standing next to Magic Johnson at NFL playoff game


Then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said he held his breath when a photo was taken of him not wearing a mask while standing next to NBA legend Magic Johnson at the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in January 2022.

Stadium rules stated that "masks are required for all attendees except when actively eating or drinking" in accordance with an order from the Los Angeles County Department of Pubic Health.

“I’ll take personal responsibility,” Garcetti said, according to Deadline. "And if it makes you and everyone else happy — or even the photographs with people where literally I’m holding my breath for two seconds — I won’t even do that.”

One individual on X cast some doubt in regard to the issue, stating that "Eric Garcetti hopes you’re dumb enough to believe that he held his breath every single time he took his mask off at the Rams game."

Photos show far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom dining unmasked with large party at ritzy restaurant — and state Medical Association officials were among the guests


The optics were sorely lacking after photos showed far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) dining unmasked in a fancy French restaurant with a large group of unmasked guests in November 2020. Certainly a faux pas considering the controversial COVID-19 dining restrictions he instituted.

But Politico soon reported that California Medical Association officials — of all people — were among the guests seated with Newsom at the "opulent birthday dinner at the French Laundry restaurant this month." Sacré bleu!

CMA spokesperson Anthony York told Politico in a statement that "the dinner was held in accordance with state and county guidelines." Lobbying firm Axiom Advisors said it was an outdoor dinner, the outlet reported, adding that Napa County restaurants were permitted to offer indoor service at the time of the Nov. 6 event.

Still, Newsom acknowledged the dinner was a "bad mistake." According to Fox News, he added that "I should have stood up and ... drove back to my house. The spirit of what I'm preaching all the time was contradicted. I need to preach and practice, not just preach."

Despite his admissions, that wouldn't be the first time Newsom was accused of COVID masking hypocrisy. He was photographed without a mask at the NFC Championship Game in early 2022 despite SoFi Stadium rules stating that "masks are required for all attendees except when actively eating or drinking" in accordance with an order from the Los Angeles County Department of Pubic Health. In July 2021, he pulled his children from a summer camp that had no mask requirement — but only after maskless photos emerged on social media.

Hot mic appears to catch Pennsylvania's Democrat governor, state rep laughing about 'political theater' of wearing masks


A video that circulated online in September 2020 appeared to show Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf and Democrat state Rep. Wendy Ullman chuckling over the "political theater" of wearing masks.

The two were preparing to take part in a news conference in Doylestown — a Philadelphia suburb — when Wolf told Ullman, "So Wendy, I'm gonna take — I'm gonna take my mask off when I speak."

Ullman, who was standing near the microphone with her mask still on, then walked toward Wolf and responded off camera, "I will as well, just, I'm waiting so that we can do a little political theater."

Wolf replied, "OK," and the two officials shared a laugh before Ullman walked back toward the podium and added, "So that it's on camera."

Blaze News reached out to both officials for comment about the exchange, but neither immediately replied by the time of publication.

Others had a few things to say, though. One Twitter user replied to a post made by Ullman, saying, "I enjoyed your political theater, meanwhile families and businesses suffer." Another wrote: "Pelosi, Feinstein, now this. Rules for thee, but not for me." The mayor of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, blasted Wolf's and Ullman's actions, saying, "The destruction of the livelihoods of millions of Pennsylvanians is no laughing matter and we don't find this entertaining."

Earlier in September 2020, a federal judge ruled that the state's burdensome lockdowns were unconstitutional. Not long before, Wolf issued an order that made wearing masks mandatory and implemented a policy that limited indoor gatherings to 25 people and outdoor gatherings to 250 people.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot caught breaking own COVID mask mandates


Then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) found herself in hot water in October 2021 after posting a photo of herself violating her own city and state mask requirements.

The left-winger came under fire after posting a photo of herself violating the city's mask mandate during the Chicago Sky's WNBA championship victory. As the Sky took the league title over the Phoenix Mercury, Lightfoot was packed into the city's Wintrust Arena with other fans for the game, Fox News reported. The photo in question shows her celebrating the team without wearing a mask — while surrounded by scores of masked fans. Her move violated both her city mask mandates and the state's mask requirement.

According to Wintrust Arena, fans were required to wear masks at all times, except when eating or drinking, Fox News said. Lightfoot was neither eating nor drinking. The mayor's office did not respond to the cable news network's request for comment.

It wasn't a first for her. Lightfoot repeatedly warned against gathering in large crowds and even blasted a "Reopen Illinois" rally for daring to violate Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order. But in November 2020, she defied the state's commands and joined hundreds of people in the streets of Chicago to celebrate Joe Biden's presidential election while not wearing a mask.

Prominent doctor reacts to news video showing maskless Floridians in grocery store by declaring, 'Let 'em die. I'm so tired of these people. No vaccines for y'all.'


On Feb. 3, 2021, NBC News correspondent Sam Brock shared a video on X showing maskless shoppers and employees inside the Oakes Farms Seed to Table Market in Naples, Florida. The caption of Brock's video post reads, "Store sign outside cites 'medical exemptions,' we can't ask questions."

The video caught the attention of Cleavon Gilman, an emergency room physician who got a phone call months earlier from then-President Joe Biden thanking him for his work fighting against the pandemic.

Gilman went on a now-deleted rant directed toward those seen without masks in the NBC News video: "Let 'em die. I'm so tired of these people. No vaccines for y'all."

Gilman also stated — presumably in the wake of his first shot over the bow — that "Republicans trying to take my words out of context as if I deny medical care to people that don't wear masks & 'let 'em die.' My point is that we can't waste our energy on these COVID deniers.. they are not gonna protect themselves, so let 'em die. They'll find out the hard way."

Gilman also wrote that he treats "every patient that comes through the door" the same and that "many" are "gasping for breath and devastated when they find out COVID is not a hoax."

The previous November, Gilman posted on X, "Just as active alcoholics with terminal liver disease are REFUSED liver transplants... People who don't follow preventative public health measures against COVID19 should be the LAST to get hospital beds." That post also appears to have been deleted.

Nancy Pelosi torched for swanky maskless Napa Valley fundraiser: 'It's utter hypocrisy'


Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) was seen schmoozing with Democratic deep-pocket donors, none of whom appeared to be wearing masks, at a Napa Valley fundraiser in August 2021.

New York Times journalist Kenneth Vogel posted an invitation for the fundraiser, which shows that tickets started at $100 and were as much as $29,000 per chair. The money raised went to vulnerable frontline Democrats in danger of losing seats in the 2022 midterm elections.

Prominent individuals lampooned Pelosi for the maskless event:

  • Then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.): "Speaker Pelosi wants to lock you down again while she wines and dines with her political donors. It's utter hypocrisy."
  • Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald: "All the servants fully masked. The almost-entirely old, white, rich crowd of DCCC donors free to go maskless as they're served."
  • Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.): "Speaker Pelosi does not care about #COVID. Democrats don't care about covid. They only care about controlling you. Magical covid science: The virus stops spreading the minute you sit down to eat or when you speak in a microphone or if you are one of the elites. Liars."
  • Progressive political commentator Jimmy Dore: "Isn't this what they used to call a 'Super-Spreader Event'? They don't seem worried at all. What do the rich elite know that we don't?"
  • Attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon: "SUPERSPREADER EVENT!"
  • BlazeTV "Relatable" podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey: "They're not scared of COVID, in case you hadn't noticed."
  • Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell: "The white people are all free to breathe without a mask. The people of color must wear masks — and serve. Stop voting for Democrats…they are laughing at how easy you are to manipulate."

Arnold Schwarzenegger says 'you're a schmuck for not wearing a mask' and defends health experts: 'Screw your freedom!'


Arnold Schwarzenegger in August 2021 blasted Americans who refused to wear masks after another spike in the coronavirus infections. Schwarzenegger made the comments during an interview with CNN's Bianna Golodryga.

He said people should trust experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci because they studied the issue for so long — and Schwarzenegger criticized those concerned that their "freedom is being disturbed." With that, he exclaimed, "Screw your freedom!"

He also said, "Yeah, you have the freedom to wear no mask. But you know something, you're a schmuck for not wearing a mask because you're supposed to protect the fellow members around you."

Republican Maryland governor says 'there's no constitutional right to walk around without a mask'


Then-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said in a November 2020 coronavirus media briefing that that "there's no constitutional right to walk around without a mask."

"It's sort of like saying I have a constitutional right to drive drunk, I have a constitutional right to not wear a seatbelt or to yell fire in a crowded movie theater or to not follow the speed limit," Hogan added.

"We're talking about a quarter of a million people dying already. You know, more than, you know, the Korean War, the Gulf War, and the Vietnam War added together. Which part don't you understand?" he asked.

Elementary school teacher placed on leave after comparing anti-maskers to the KKK


A Nebraska elementary school teacher was placed on administrative leave in August 2021 after she shared a social media post comparing anti-maskers to the Ku Klux Klan.

The Elkhorn Public School District announced on Aug. 24 that an unnamed elementary teacher was placed on leave for an unspecified amount of time after posting an illustration comparing people who were against masks with members of the KKK. The image showed the phrase "Isn't it strange they can breathe in this" next to a klansman hood and the words "but not this" next a COVID mask, WOWT-TV reported.

The anonymous teacher told the station, "My personal views on politics, masking, those are outside of the classroom. I love my job. My opinions are not part of my job. I do my job, I teach math, I teach literature, I teach critical thinking skills. We don't talk about politics."

High school staff member who called student 'piece of s**t' over mask dispute resigns, principal says


John Mensik, principal of Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream, Illinois, told Fox News in September 2021 that a staff member who was seen in a viral video calling a student a "piece of s**t" for allegedly wearing a mask improperly had resigned.

Fox News said the clip was posted on social media along with a caption that read, "My friend had his mask under his nose, and this Karen went crazy, got up in his face and cuzed [sic] at him."

Fox News said the staffer told the student, "I knew you were going to take off your mask the moment I turned the corner." He then threatened the student with in-school suspension before telling the student that it was "because you're a piece of s**t."

Fox News added that in response to the video circulating online, Mensik sent parents a notice saying the incident was being investigated and would be handled "in an appropriate manner."

Gym holds maskless Christmas party in private home; city officials launch investigation


Officials in Durham, North Carolina, launched an investigation after learning that a fitness studio held a 2020 Christmas party in a private residence during which at least two dozen people gathered without masks, which violated state and local COVID-19 restrictions, WRAL-TV reported.

Triangle Krav Maga posted photos of the party on Facebook, the station said, adding that it featured movies, pizza, "quality booze," a white elephant exchange and other games, and a sleepover for kids.

"Sure beats sitting at home in a mask, doesn't it?" a Facebook post noted about the event, which WRAL said was deleted after the station began asking questions about the party.

Durham officials received at least two complaints about the party, city spokeswoman Amy Blalock told the station.

Triangle Krav Maga owners Molotov Mitchell and his wife, Dr. Greer Gunther, didn't return multiple requests for comment, the station reported.

WRAL said Gunther at the time was in the second year of a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Duke University School of Medicine and that Duke officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The News & Observer reported that some social media posts noted that a Duke University psychiatrist was at the party and encouraged people to contact the university.

Good news for anyone hoping to look like a lunatic: 'Pac-Man' face mask invention allows wearers to eat without actually removing mask


Israeli inventors created a "Pac-Man" mask, KXAS-TV reported in May 2020, which allowed wearers to eat without taking the mask off. Wearers could squeeze a lever that opened a slot in the mask and allowed wearers to eat like the Pac-Man from the iconic video game.

You can view a video report here that shows the mask in action.

Celebrities allowed to go maskless at the 2021 Oscars while the cameras are on — but need to wear them during commercials


In April 2021, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Oscar ceremony attendees would not have to wear masks during the telecast — but would have to wear them during commercial breaks, Variety reported.

"Yep, according to the logic of selective state-imposed mask mandates for showbiz types, science apparently makes it clear that while the coronavirus cannot be transmitted while cameras are rolling, the same crowd is at risk when the telecast pauses to run advertisements," Blaze News' Chris Field wrote in regard to the odd rule.

School board member resigns after threatening to shoot maskless people who come near her or her family


A member of a Pennsylvania school board resigned in May 2020 after threatening to shoot maskless people who came near her or her family.

Jennifer Rager-Kay — then with the Selinsgrove school district's board — in a Facebook post threatened to shoot those in her or her family's path who weren't wearing masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, PennLive reported. Rager-Kay reportedly made the remarks in response to seeing a photo of anti-lockdown protesters in Harrisburg, the state capital, who weren't wearing face masks but were openly carrying guns

"As a concerned carry-permitted gun owner, if you refuse to wear a mask and try to come within 6 feet of me or my family, I will exercise the same constitutional rights to shoot you," she wrote.

Rager-Kay announced her resignation just days after admitting that she had "received threats against my personal and professional well-being," the Sunbury Daily Item reported.

In a statement, she said, "I would like to publicly apologize to anyone offended by my most recent post regarding the hypocrisy of those who refuse to wear face masks yet walk around openly carrying guns. I am in a profession where the threat of someone approaching me not wearing a mask while in the midst of a pandemic is equivalent to the threat against my life. Just as it would be if they approached me with their gun drawn and pointed at me."

She continued, "As a wife, mother, and physician, it is my job and responsibility to 'do no harm,' and the constant barrage of protests and defiance to public health reached a boiling point for me, thus the reason for my overly dramatic and exaggerated post. My words demonstrated how constitutional rights can be misinterpreted and were meant to serve as an example of extremism."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Why opposing immigration is not about 'whiteness'



If the Ku Klux Klan’s continued existence in the United States is unsettling, its emergence in Ireland is almost surreal. Yet here we are in a time when reality is much stranger than fiction.

Frank L. Silva, a former KKK member, has been actively collaborating with anti-establishment groups in Ireland, sparking media outrage and widespread head-scratching. Silva’s history shows how the Klan has evolved from its post-Civil War roots to modern offshoots. The dark irony here is impossible to overlook.

Irish immigrants were depicted in political cartoons as brutish, animalistic figures, often described as 'negroes turned inside out.'

You see, the Klan’s ties to Irish identity and the very concept of “whiteness” go way back.

The fighting Irish

The 19th century saw waves of Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine only to find themselves vilified upon arrival in America. The Ku Klux Klan, with its roots deeply entwined with anti-Catholic sentiment, exploited this wave of Irish immigration to fuel fear and division. Irish Catholics were portrayed as a threat to Protestant values and, by extension, to the American people.

If there’s one thing the Irish love — beside drinking, dancing, cursing, joking, and singing — it’s a good fight. Recognizing the threat, they met it head-on, fists raised.

One striking example of Irish defiance was the Notre Dame student uprising of 1924. When a Klan rally was held near their campus, Irish Catholic students stood their ground, showing strength in the face of real danger.

"But weren’t the Irish 'white'?" some of today's crusading anti-racists may ask. "Wasn’t the Klan all about preserving and promoting “white supremacy”?

This is where a little history lesson is in order.

White privilege?

In 19th-century America, Irish immigrants were not considered “white” in the same sense as Anglo-Saxon Protestants. They were perceived as racially inferior due to a mix of religious, cultural, and economic biases.

Arriving destitute and in droves, Irish immigrants were seen as competition for low-wage jobs in rapidly urbanizing cities. Their willingness to work for less fueled native workers' resentment and economic anxiety — sound familiar?

Religious tension deepened these divisions. In a country founded on Protestant ideals, Irish Catholics were viewed as agents of the Vatican, a foreign power. This suspicion, stoked by groups such as the Know-Nothing Party, painted Irish Catholics as potential saboteurs of American democracy — loyal not to the United States but to Rome. The notion that the Irish could undermine governance gained traction in certain circles, giving weight to the Klan’s anti-Irish campaigns.

The animosity, while harsh, had roots in primal instincts — tribalism. A group of newcomers with strange accents and unfamiliar customs seemed wholly different. From an evolutionary standpoint, the suspicion made complete sense. Welcoming a complete stranger into your home with open arms is, at best, unwise. At worst, it can be disastrous.

However, the backlash against the Irish was extreme and largely detached from reality. Cultural narratives and pseudoscientific theories added fuel to the fire. Irish immigrants were depicted in political cartoons as brutish, animalistic figures, often described as “negroes turned inside out.”

This comparison underscored their perceived moral and intellectual inferiority, supporting the belief that they threatened societal stability. Books like "Comparative Physiognomy" perpetuated these stereotypes, further entrenching the racialization of the Irish and positioning them below the dominant white Protestant identity.

Franklin’s foresight

Earlier this year, the brilliant Steve Sailer revisited Benjamin Franklin’s essay “Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind,” a polemic opposing the influx of German immigrants into Pennsylvania. Franklin worried that these newcomers would resist assimilation into English-speaking society, potentially reshaping the colony with their own customs and language rather than blending in and strengthening a unified culture. Less melting pot, more splintered silos.

Franklin’s fear was entirely reasonable. Shared skin color was no assurance of shared values or a cohesive society. The threat, as he saw it, was not merely foreign influence but the fracturing of what he considered the cultural fabric of early America.

This notion holds a striking parallel to modern debates. The idea that “white privilege” is a uniform experience ignores the varied and often tumultuous paths of European-descended populations. The Irish’s suffering during the Great Famine, the persecution of Eastern European Jews, or the challenges faced by Southern and Eastern European immigrants all challenge the monolithic narrative of privilege.

The only thread connecting these people was their shared hope for a better life. That’s it. They faced prejudice, economic struggle, and cultural exclusion. “Whiteness” has never been, and will never be, a simple, unified identity. True racism lies in denying this reality.

Franklin’s fears resonate in today’s world. The genuine celebration of diversity — a blend of backgrounds and traditions — has been warped by ideologies that prioritize superficial traits over shared cultural values.

Not that long ago, before the hyper-progressive mind virus took hold, we sought to respect differences while finding stable common ground.

Now, it’s about men in skirts, pronouns, and 700 different genders.

Degeneracy has taken the place of diversity.

EU-inspired erosion

The assumption that shared skin color equates to cultural uniformity is as flawed now as it was in Franklin’s era. This brings us to the larger consequence of global immigration and cultural dilution.

Once unique, robust cultures such as those in Germany and Ireland are now grappling with the consequences of globalization’s unchecked march. Mass immigration, driven by open-border policies and economic interests, has accelerated cultural erosion at an alarming rate.

The very essence of these nations’ identities is being submerged under the weight of Brussels-bred conformity. Franklin’s warning about cultural displacement, voiced over two centuries ago, feels prophetic today. The results of unfettered globalization can be seen in the loss of distinct identities and the rise of tensions that hark back to the very divisions that defined the Irish struggle in America.

The question is, how much will be lost before nations recognize the cost?

The re-election of Donald Trump offers the United States a glimmer of hope. But in Europe, hope is in short supply. In fact, one could argue it vanished years ago.

Don't miss Levin's new book, 'The Democrat Party Hates America'



What has Mark Levin been up to for the last 16 months?

Beside bringing Americans thoughtful takes on the doom and gloom news cycle, he’s been putting pen to paper for his new book, "The Democrat Party Hates America."

In the book, Levin reveals the sinister history of the Democrat Party — from the Confederate rebels to the Ku Klux Klan to modern-day American Marxism — and why we must all band together to bring it down.

“If we are going to save this country, and I truly mean it, the Democrat Party must not just be defeated, it must be obliterated,” Levin says.

Levin believes the Democrat Party hates America because “it’s never embraced Americanism.”

“Is it the pro-constitution part today? No. Bill of Rights? No. Private property rights? No. Individualism? No, they’re for groupism. Capitalism? No, they hate capitalism,” Levin continues.

Whatever the right believes, Democrats believe the opposite, Levin argues.

“They believe in critical race theory, promoting racism, enshrining racism.”

He adds that while the Democrat Party claims to be in favor of women's rights, it has strayed far from actually helping women.

“Now they hate women with transgenderism destroying women’s sports under Title IX, which was intended to support it,” he says.

However, it’s not just women that the left is after. Levin dedicates some of his new book to explaining how the left doesn’t care for any Americans.

“Joe Biden talks up foreigners even before they come into this country while he trashes at least half of the American citizens on a regular basis.”

“This book, ‘The Democrat Party Hates America,’” Levin explains, “is not intended to be provocative, but in the Democrat Party-centric parts of our society, it undoubtedly will be.”

But he didn’t write it for Democrats.

“It is not written for Democrat Party officials, politicians, media, sycophants, activists, and surrogates — it’s written for you: those patriotic Americans who fear for our country and its future.”


Want more from Mark Levin?

To enjoy more of "the Great One" — Mark Levin as you've never seen him before —subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Biden’s Complete Reversal On LGBT Issues Proves He’s In It For The Money

Throughout his career, Biden has been happy to mold his politics around whatever will earn him the most money and power.

Black Republican Uses AR-15 To Confront ‘Angry Democrats In Klan Hoods’ In Campaign Ad

'Democrats like to say that no one needs an AR-15 for self defense'