Decorated Navy SEAL dies in parachute training accident; family devastated



A Navy SEAL died Sunday after a military freefall parachute training accident in Arizona, Military.com reported.

"Navy SEAL Mike Ernst was a courageous warrior, loving husband, devoted father, and steadfast teammate to his fellow SEALs," Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a retired Navy rear admiral tweeted Friday.

"Mike tragically died in a military parachute training accident while serving his country," Jackson added.

Jackson included a touching photo of the father-of-two with his wife, children, and dog, encouraging people to consider donating to the sailor's family.

\u201cHe leaves behind his wife, daughter aged 5, son aged 2, and countless devastated family members and friends.\u201d
— Ronny Jackson (@Ronny Jackson) 1677194441

Chief Special Warfare Operator Michael T. Ernst died following a "military freefall training accident," on Sunday, February 19, Lt. Cmdr. Kara Handley, a Navy spokeswoman, told Military.com. Handley also told the outlet Ernst died in Marana, Arizona, and that his death is under investigation.

Ernst was pronounced dead at Banner University Medical Center near Tuscon after the training, Naval Special Warfare Command told NBC News in a statement.

Details are scant, and Naval Warfare Command has declined to comment further, telling outlets "It would be inappropriate to comment further on the ongoing investigation until complete."

Ernst, who was based in Hampton Roads, Virginia, was a Chief Special Warfare Operator, WTKR reported. He had been in the Navy since 2009, and was assigned to the East Coast special warfare unit for the bulk of his service, Military Times reported.

Ernst earned a Silver Star for actions in combat, according to USA Today. The Massachusetts native had two children, ages two and five. He graduated as a SEAL in 2012.

Ernst was "an exceptional teammate ... who applied his talents and skills towards some of our nation's hardest challenges, while selflessly mentoring his teammates," Rear Admiral Keith Davids, head of Naval Special Warfare Command told Military Times.

"Mike and his family will always be part of the NSW family, and he will never be forgotten," Davids also said in his statement.

Military Freefall School covers "all aspects of military freefall parachuting," according to the United States Army's description of its joint forces training school. Such training involves courses that teach HALO (high altitude-low opening) and HAHO (high altitude-high opening) techniques and also includes platform, hands-on and actual parachute operations.

"The Navy SEAL Foundation team was very saddened to learn of the loss of a warrior and teammate," Navy SEAL Foundation said in a tribute to Ernst. They describe his wife, his two children, and NSW community as "devastated by this loss."

The NSF is accepting donations to directly support Ernst's family.

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Democrat Katie Porter accused of ridiculing those concerned about sexual harassment in her office, mocking COVID victims



Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California has been accused by a former staffer of denigrating people for "reporting sexual harassment" and of other demeaning remarks.

These claims come just days after text messages leaked indicating Porter may have fired a staffer over her COVID-19 diagnosis.

What are the details?

The Huffington Post noted in 2018 that Porter, endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Vice President Kamala Harris, was previously in an abusive relationship and subjected to sexual harassment at home.

Despite Porter's possible personal insights into the gravity of the issue, one of her former staffers, Sasha Georgiades, indicated that the Democratic congresswoman berated at least one other staffer who had reported sexual harassment in her office, reported Fox News Digital.

A U.S. Navy veteran and former Wounded Warrior fellow for Porter, Georgiades suggested the congresswoman "ridiculed people for reporting sexual harassment."

Georgiades said one staffer, who has yet to "file anything with [the] ethics committee," spoke about the matter of sexual harassment in the congresswoman's office with Porter personally.

Porter "basically told the individual to grow up," said Georgiades, prompting the staffer to leave her post shortly thereafter.

Extra to allegedly dissuading people from highlighting potential abuse in her office, Georgiades said Porter "made fun of individuals whose parents passed away from COVID."

While COVID suffered by others may be a laughing matter for the Democrat representative, the laughing evidently stops at her front door. TheBlaze previously reported that Georgiades was apparently fired over her COVID-19 diagnosis that led to Porter's infection.

A leaked text message exchange appears to show Porter ousting the Navy veteran — who for two years served her office — over her alleged "failure to follow office policies."

The Twitter account Dear White Staffers, allegedly operated by black and indigenous congressional staffers, shared the messages:

\u201cVIBE CHECK: Rep. Katie Porter fires staffer after both test positive for COVID. Full texts from the Congresswoman firing the staffer via text. Shared with permission from staffer.\u201d
— Dear White Staffers (@Dear White Staffers) 1672334282

Georgiades suggested to Reason that at the time, she had figured herself sore from exercise, given that she hits the gym just about daily. Accordingly, she had not taken a COVID-19 despite feeling slightly unwell. This, she indicated, amount to a violation of the office's protocol on testing.

Upon Porter notifying Georgiades via text of her dismissal, the Navy veteran wrote, "I hate to have disappointed you in the manner, as I know it isn't an excuse I had found out my friend from the navy had been murdered and my head was not in the best place. Not an excuse but the reasoning for the lack of forethought. I appreciate everything this office has done for me."

Porter apparently wrote back, "Well you gave me Covid. In 25 months, it took you not following the rules to get me sick."

It would appear, based on anonymous complaints shared by Dear White Staffers, that Georgiades was not alone in suffering Porter's personality.

One complaint from a purported anonymous staffer claimed that "sexual harassment is not taken seriously and is swept under the rug" in Porter's office.

\u201cMORE: Former Rep. Katie Porter staffers speaking out and confirming or corroborating previous posts. \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffe\u201d
— Dear White Staffers (@Dear White Staffers) 1672334282

Another complaint suggested, "Katie Porter is abusive. Unable to cope with basic demands of being a member so she takes it out [on] staff. Says rude/racist things (anti-black esp) and tries to mask it as edgy humor."

Porter "was always screaming at her staffers over the phone during her fundraising call time. ... I love her, but I've never hated my life more than when I worked for her. I've worked for many reps, and her campaign has more turnover, more burnt out 22-25 year olds that I've ever seen. Including myself," said yet another anonymous complaint.

It is not only past and present staffers who appear to be concerned about the Democratic congresswoman's conduct and speech.

Porter complained during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Dec. 14 that terms like "pedophile" and "groomer" are rooted in bigotry that discriminates against LGBT "sexual orientation" and "gender identity," reported TheBlaze.

\u201cRep. Katie Porter (D-CA) says that the terms "groomer and pedophile allege that a person is criminal somehow merely because of their sexual orientation and gender identity" and laments that Twitter allowed groomer "to reach 72 million users."\u201d
— Greg Price (@Greg Price) 1671042003

Porter said, "The 'groomer' narrative is an age-old lie to position LGBTQ+ people as a threat to kids, and what it does is deny them access to public spaces, it stokes fear, and can even stoke violence."

She then suggested that those on Twitter accusing people of being groomers and pedophiles are thereby alleging they are criminals or "engaged in criminal acts merely because of their identity — their sexual orientation, their gender identity [—] is clearly prohibited under Twitter's content."

While liberal media outlets, including CNN, attempted to defend what Porter "actually said," Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas suggested Porter was "pushing for pedophilia normalization."

\u201cKatie Porter just said that pedophilia isn\u2019t a crime, she said it\u2019s an \u201cidentity.\u201d THIS IS THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL! The sad thing is that this woman isn't the only VILE person pushing for pedophilia normalization. This is what progressives believe!\u201d
— Ronny Jackson (@Ronny Jackson) 1671127664

'I'm going to do it again': Biden allegedly told Al Sharpton he's running again in 2024



In a private conversation last month, President Joe Biden confided in MSNBC's Rev. Al Sharpton, informing him of his intention to run for reelection in 2024. "I'm going to do it again ... I'm going," Biden allegedly said on September 2 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

This confidential admission, which Sharpton reportedly broadcast to his National Action Network staff immediately after the meeting, comes amid much uncertainty whether the president should or would seek to hold on to power.

Sharpton suggested that the recent meeting paralleled another, in January 2019, during which Biden allegedly solicited his advice on whether to pursue the highest office in the land.

Biden's intentions

Biden recently cast doubt on whether he would seek reelection in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," which aired on September 18. The 79-year-old said that his "intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again."

However, he added, "it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen. ... Within the timeframe that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, [I will] make a judgment on what to do."

Biden recently suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris, whose 2020 presidential campaign was a failure, "won't be the last woman to be vice president or president," intimating that perhaps she might soon have an opportunity to take the top spot.

Democrats' disagreements

Democrats are not united behind the prospect of another four years of Biden.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laughed at the question of whether Biden should run, saying, "I'm not having that conversation."

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) flat-out opposed the idea, stating that he thought "the country would be well served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats to step up."

Rep. Angie Craig concurred, suggesting that while it was entirely up to Biden on whether to run, in terms of having his support, "I would say we need new leaders in Washington up and down the ballot in the Democratic Party."

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), now running against J.D. Vance for a Senate seat, said last month, "My hunch is that we need leadership across the board ... I think it's time for a generational move."

While some Democrats have expressed a desire for a change, others have attempted to remain diplomatic.

At a September 22 news conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who may similarly be on her way out, eulogized Biden's first term, stating he "did a great service to our country: he defeated Donald Trump. Let's not forget that." She added that she wouldn't go "into politics about whether the President should run or not."

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told CNN that Biden "beat Donald Trump before; he'll beat Donald Trump again ... I think Joe Biden is the best Democrat to beat Donald Trump in 2024."

Recent YouGov and ABC News/Washington Post polls have Biden and Trump nearly tied, whereas a late September McLaughlin & Associates poll had Trump up by nine points.

When asked by Time magazine whether she'd want Biden to campaign with her, Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) answered, "I'd like to take a wait-and-see approach. I don't know what is on the horizon."

Jim Roosevelt, a top DNC member, told CNN, "If he feels he can do it ... people would want him to do it."

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll suggested otherwise. Only 35% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents want to see the party nominate Biden in 2024. Over half of Democrats (56%) want someone else.

Voters' apprehensions

A September 22 Marquette University National Survey indicated that nearly three-quarters (72%) of Americans don't want the president to run again. Alternatively put, only 28% of respondents want Biden to run again. That's three points lower than the current national support for former President Donald Trump to run again.

Although up considerably higher than in previous months, a September Gallup poll placed Biden's approval at 42%. The average for U.S. presidents is 53%.

On Monday, a Monmouth University poll gave Biden a failing score on all of America's issue priorities, with the exception of the COVID pandemic, regarded as the nation's second-lowest priority, where he secured a 50% approval rating.

30% of likely voters approve of his handling of inflation; 32%, crime; 31%, immigration; 31%, abortion; and 41%, his handling of student loan debt.

49% of the public believe Biden is performing worse than they had imagined he would as president.

Biden, the second U.S. president to claim to be a Catholic, now majoritively lacks the support of Catholic voters. An EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research poll indicated on September 29 that 58.4% of likely Catholic voters think Biden should not pursue a second term. Only 22.2% think he should run again.

Cognitive dimensions

Biden, the oldest president ever to hold the office, is a month shy of becoming an octogenarian. There is mounting concern over whether he will be able to continue to serve as president in light of what some have suggested may be signs of mental deterioration.

In August, an Issues & Insights/TIPP poll revealed that 59% of respondents were "concerned" about Biden's mental health. 36% stated they were "very concerned." Although this concern skewed along political lines, 39% of Democrat respondents nevertheless expressed concern.

When asked whether age may present a challenge to Biden in 2024, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "That is not a question that we should be even asking." The 48-year-old added, "I can't even keep up with him."

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a former White House doctor, observed that Biden is now slow, frail, forgetful, confused, and short-tempered. "All these things are physical and mental manifestations of cognitive decline and it's related to age," said Jackson.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Jackson suggested that Biden should resign.

\u201cBiden doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with Ukraine. He doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with ANYTHING! He\u2019s not cognitively capable of leading. He needs to RESIGN before our country suffers any more.\u201d
— Ronny Jackson (@Ronny Jackson) 1647043191

Jackson told Fox News Digital, "The whole country is seeing his mental cognitive issues on display for over a year now, and there's really no question ... that he's not cognitively the same as he used to be and, in my mind, not fit to be our president right now."

Biden's routine gaffes have stoked much of this worry.

Last week, the president asked for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), who died this summer in a car crash. Biden had previously issued an official statement in which he offered her family his condolences.

\u201c"Jackie, where's Jackie?," Joe Biden says about Rep. Jackie Walorski who died in a car accident a few months ago.\u201d
— Greg Price (@Greg Price) 1664376865

In a recent "60 Minutes" interview, Biden was asked about his mental focus. His answer became the subject of much ridicule.

\u201cREPORTER: How is your mental focus?\n\nJOE BIDEN: *nervous wheeze* \n\u201cOh focused. Ha ha ha I\u2019d say it\u2019s, it is I haven\u2019t \u2026 here, look. I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself, in my head, the number of years. I no more think of myself being old as I am than fly.\u201d\n\n???\u201d
— Benny Johnson (@Benny Johnson) 1663591441

In July, Biden said that it was important to "bear witness, to keep alive the truth and the honor of the Holocaust," having originally been scripted to say "horror of the Holocaust."

Among the president's other so-called gaffes, Biden also:

  • suggested that the 2018 Parkland, Florida, mass shooting had taken place in 1918;
  • spoke to the "selfishness" (contra "selflessness") of American troops;
  • claimed to have cancer in a speech about climate change;
  • demanded regime change in Russia, which the White house soon had to walk back; and
  • mistook Ukraine for Iran during his State of the Union address.

White House physician who served under Obama calls for Biden's immediate resignation



A former White House Physician, who served in both the Obama and Trump administrations, said that President Joe Biden is not mentally fit to serve as president and ought to immediately resign.

On Friday, the physician in question, Ronny Jackson, said, “Biden doesn’t know what’s going on with Ukraine. He Doesn’t know what’s going on with ANYTHING! He’s not cognitively capable of leading. He needs to RESIGN before our country suffers anymore.”

Biden doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with Ukraine. He doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with ANYTHING! He\u2019s not cognitively capable of leading. He needs to RESIGN before our country suffers any more.
— Ronny Jackson (@Ronny Jackson) 1647043191

The doctor’s comments are in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine which continues to disrupt the geopolitical balance of power.

Jackson, a Republican, currently represents Texas’s 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives and has raised questions about Biden’s cognitive ability in the past.

In late February, Rep. Jackson called for Biden to take a cognitive test and said that he is “not fit to be our president right now.”

Fox News reported that Jackson said, “The whole country is seeing his mental cognitive issues on display for over a year now, and there’s really no question in most people’s minds that there’s something going on with him, that he’s not cognitively the same as he used to be and, in my mind, not fit to be our president right now.”

The congressman continued, “Every time he gets up and talks to the American people, it’s not just the American people that are watching him speak, it’s the whole world, and that’s part of what the problem is here. He looks tired, he looks weak, he looks confused, he’s incoherent, and it sends a message of weakness all over the world, and they’re seizing up on that.”

Last July, he predicted that Biden would eventually resign from the presidency due to his declining cognitive abilities.

He said, “There’s something seriously going on with this man right now, and, you know, I think that he’s either going to resign, they’re going to convince him to resign from office at some point in the near future for medical issues or they’re going to have to use the 25th Amendment to get rid of this man right now.”

Last January, Jackson slammed Biden for ignoring a question about his mental health and suggested that him doing so was an indication that something was “wrong” with the president.

Biden ignoring this question led Jackson to demand he sit for a cognitive examination.

Jackson said, “I am demanding he have a cognitive test NOW. There’s too much on the line, we need to know!”

BIDEN JUST IGNORED A QUESTION ABOUT HIS COGNITIVE DECLINE! Something is WRONG with him. This man IS NOT qualified to be President!! I am demanding he have a cognitive test NOW. There\u2019s too much on the line, we need to know!
— Ronny Jackson (@Ronny Jackson) 1642631784

Former White House doctor says Biden does not have 'mental capacity' to be president

Ronny Jackson, a former White House doctor and current candidate for Congress stated that Joe Biden is unfit for the office of President of the United States of America.