United Nations Finally Recognizes Homeschooling — By Demanding Government Ruin It
Homeschooling embodies the basic American principles of self-governance, freedom, and the presumption that families know what is best for their children.Homeschooling embodies the basic American principles of self-governance, freedom, and the presumption that families know what is best for their children.‘Green Antoinettes’ live large, preach small
Politicians, celebrities, and billionaires who lecture ordinary people about their carbon footprints live by another set of rules. They travel by private jet, dine in excess, and retreat to mansions powered by the very energy sources they want banned. It’s a spectacle of hypocrisy so pervasive, the media barely blinks.
Even scientists who scold the public about emissions fly thousands of miles to United Nations climate conferences — racking up the same greenhouse gases they claim will destroy the planet. This is two-tiered climate morality: Those with power indulge, while everyone else is told to sacrifice. Preaching austerity from a private jet has become the “let them eat cake” of our age.
Hypocrisy that pays
The real question isn’t whether the hypocrisy exists but why it’s so tolerated. The answer, in part, is that too many people have found ways to profit from it — through subsidies, grants, and the ever-expanding green grift.
Families pay more and travel less, while the jet-setters congratulate themselves for ‘saving the planet.’
According to data from Yard, celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Leonardo DiCaprio emitted between 3,000 and 4,400 tons of carbon dioxide in 2022 from private jet travel alone — hundreds or even thousands of times the annual emissions of an average citizen.
For perspective: Bangladesh emits about 0.71 tons of carbon dioxide per person annually. Ghana emits 0.74, Ethiopia 0.13, and Kenya 0.4. A single year of indulgence by an American climate icon outweighs the lifetime footprint of entire villages in the developing world.
The climate elite
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who condemns “climate deniers” as morally deficient, has a carbon footprint equivalent to nearly 280 average Americans or more than 2,200 Indians. DiCaprio built his global brand on climate activism — then took a private jet from Europe to New York to collect an environmental award.
If the hypocrisy of celebrities is glaring, the behavior of politicians is worse.
Records show that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign spent over $221,000 on private jets in just one quarter — even as the Vermont socialist voted for laws that punish fossil fuel use and floated the idea of criminal charges for energy executives.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Fighting Oligarchy tour, meant to challenge wealth and privilege, relied on carbon-intensive travel of its own. The Bronx Democrat later scaled back her private jet use after criticism — by switching to first-class flights instead.
The priesthood of carbon
At United Nations climate conferences, the hypocrisy reaches liturgical heights. The gatherings are usually held in luxury destinations like Dubai, Glasgow, or Sharm El Sheikh. Each transcontinental flight emits roughly 2 tons of carbon dioxide per traveler — the annual output of a citizen in many poorer nations.
Yet these same scientists and bureaucrats push for energy restrictions in developing countries, demanding that millions forgo affordable electricity to meet arbitrary “net-zero” targets. Their supposed moral authority rests not on sacrifice but on self-congratulation.
RELATED: Airlines and banks admit net-zero promises were pure fantasy
A reckoning awaits
The hypocrisy would be merely irritating if the consequences weren’t so destructive. The push for “net-zero emissions” — a fantasy that defies both physics and economics — is driving up the cost of gasoline, electricity, and food while shrinking personal freedom. Families pay more and travel less, while the jet-setters congratulate themselves for “saving the planet.”
They’re not leading an energy transition. They’re entrenching a new aristocracy — one in which elites keep their privileges while the working class bears the pain in the name of the “greater good.”
The rise of Donald Trump and other skeptics has interrupted this march toward a green oligarchy, but the climate faithful persist. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s alliance with the Vatican to “terminate” global warming is only the latest display of moral vanity.
Eventually, voters will see through this 21st-century version of aristocratic corruption. The public may not wield guillotines, but the electoral version will do just fine. Off with their subsidies!
The UN once defended the oppressed. Now it defends the powerful.
I should be dead. Buried in an unmarked grave in Romania. But God had other plans.
As a young attorney living under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s brutal communist regime in the 1980s, I spent my life searching for truth in a regime of lies. I found it in the Bible — forbidden in my country. I answered the divine call to defend fellow Christians facing persecution in an ungodly land.
If the United Nations is to mean anything again, it must rediscover the courage that once gave refuge to dissidents like me.
For that “crime,” I was kidnapped, interrogated, beaten, and tortured. I spent months under house arrest and came within seconds of execution when a government assassin pointed a gun at me. I survived and fled to the United States as a political refugee.
The UN once stood for something
In his recent address to the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly, President Donald Trump said the organization “has tremendous potential — but it’s not even close to living up to that potential.” He’s right.
When the United Nations was founded in 1945, its mission was noble: to promote peace, security, and human rights worldwide. It was meant to be a platform for honest dialogue, a beacon for humanitarian action, and a voice for the voiceless.
It once lived up to that promise. During the Cold War, the U.N. amplified the voices of dissidents behind the Iron Curtain and gave cover to lawyers like me defending Christians in communist courts. Its support for human rights cases in Romania helped expose Ceaușescu’s tyranny to the world.
That international pressure saved my life and countless others.
Bureaucracy replaced moral courage
Today’s U.N. bears little resemblance to that courageous institution. It has become paralyzed by bureaucracy and corrupted by politics. Instead of defending the oppressed, it often defends the powerful — or looks away altogether.
In Nigeria, Syria, and Yemen, millions suffer while the U.N. Security Council stalls over procedural votes. Permanent members protect their allies, veto resolutions, and block humanitarian intervention. Political calculations routinely outweigh moral imperatives.
When the institution created to prevent genocide can’t even condemn it, the crisis isn’t merely diplomatic — it’s spiritual.
Reform begins with courage
President Trump has proposed bold changes to restore the U.N.’s relevance. He called for adding permanent Security Council members — emerging powers such as India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany — to reflect modern realities and make the council more decisive.
He urged the U.N. to prioritize global security and counterterrorism while aligning its agenda with the legitimate interests of free nations. First lady Melania Trump, addressing the same assembly, launched Fostering the Future Together, a coalition promoting education, innovation, and children’s welfare.
These initiatives could help revive the U.N.’s moral voice and refocus it on its founding purpose: defending the oppressed and restraining the oppressors.
RELATED: Trump strongly defends Christianity at UN: ‘The most persecuted religion on the planet today’
Faith and courage still matter
My own survival came down to faith. When Ceaușescu sent an assassin to kill me, he pulled a gun and said, “You have ignored all of our warnings. I am here to kill you.”
In that moment of terror, I prayed: “Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.” Peace replaced panic. I began sharing the gospel.
That armed killer, confronted with God’s word, lowered his weapon, turned, and walked away. Today, he is a pastor — serving the same faith he once tried to destroy.
The lesson is simple: Hearts can change. Institutions can too. But it takes conviction.
If the United Nations is to mean anything again, it must rediscover the courage that once gave refuge to dissidents like me. It must speak for the enslaved, the persecuted, and the forgotten — not for dictators and bureaucrats.
God spared my life so I could keep fighting for truth. The U.N. was part of that story once. It can be again — if it remembers why it was born.
Trump trolls UN over faulty escalator while allies point to possible sabotage
President Donald Trump taunted the United Nations about a faulty escalator and broken teleprompter, but some of his allies suspect there was intentional sabotage.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump were on an escalator at the U.N. headquarters in New York City on Tuesday when it came to an abrupt stop. Subsequently, Trump's teleprompter also malfunctioned during his address, leading him to make light of the mishaps.
'There better be accountability.'
"These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter," Trump said. "Thank you very much."
Although the president trolled the general assembly in true Trump fashion, others in his inner circle were not as lighthearted about the equipment problems.
RELATED: Trump rips into UN, globalists for failing to carry their weight: 'They weren't there'
A report from the Sunday Times said that "UN staff members have joked that they may turn off the escalators and elevators" in anticipation of Trump's appearance and "tell him they ran out of money." This excerpt has led many to speculate that U.N. staff may have intentionally sabotaged the escalator, causing a serious security risk for the president.
"If someone at the UN intentionally stopped the escalator as the President and First Lady were stepping on, they need to be fired and investigated immediately," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X.
Leavitt later announced that the United States Secret Service launched an investigation to determine whether the malfunction was intentional.
"If we find that these were U.N. staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up — literally trip up — the president and the first lady of the United States, there better be accountability for those people, and I will personally see to it," Leavitt said.
RELATED: Trump strongly defends Christianity at UN: 'The most persecuted religion on the planet today'
While some of Trump's allies are convinced that the escalator was sabotaged, U.N. officials point to a more innocuous explanation. In response to the speculation, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the escalator stopped "after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator.
"The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function," Dujarric said in a statement.
"The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing."
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Trump Is Right: The United Nations Doesn’t Help Countries, It Destroys Them
'I saved millions of lives and realized the United Nations wasn't there for us....what is the purpose of the United Nations?' - Donald TrumpTrump strongly defends Christianity at UN: 'The most persecuted religion on the planet today'
President Donald Trump distinguished the United States from other countries in the United Nations, pointing to our willingness to defend Christianity and protect our sovereignty.
During his address to the U.N., Trump highlighted the virtues of America ahead of the 250th anniversary of our country's independence on July Fourth, 2026. One of the many virtues Trump pointed to was the American principle of religious liberty, which protects Christianity, the "most persecuted religion" in the world.
'They repaid kindness with crime.'
"In honor of this momentous anniversary, I hope that all countries who find inspiration in our example will join us in renewing our commitment, values, and those values, really, that we hold so dear," Trump said.
"Together, let us defend free speech and free expression," Trump added. "Let us protect religious liberty, including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today. It's called Christianity. And let us safeguard our sovereignty and cherish qualities that have made each of our nations so special, incredible, and extraordinary."
RELATED: Trump rips into UN, globalists for failing to carry their weight: 'They weren't there'
Trump also noted the success of his immigration policy, in contrast to the mass immigration many other Western countries have embraced.
"When your prisons are filled with so-called asylum-seekers who repaid kindness — and that's what they did; they repaid kindness with crime — it's time to end the failed experiment of open borders," Trump said. "You have to end it now. ... I'm really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell."
RELATED: UN showdown will decide if the Abraham Accords are built to last
Trump also pointed fingers at the U.N., saying the organization is funding an "assault on Western countries and their borders."
“In 2024, the U.N. budgeted $372 million in cash assistance to support an estimated 624,000 migrants journeying into the United States,” Trump said.
“The U.N. also provided food, shelter, transportation, and debit cards to illegal aliens ... on their way to infiltrate our southern border.
"What took place is totally unacceptable. The U.N. is supposed to stop invasions — not create them and not finance them.”
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Trump Blasts UN For ‘Funding An Assault On Western Countries’
The U.N. should pay back to the U.S. the money it spent on ushering unwelcome migrants across our borders illegally.UN showdown will decide if the Abraham Accords are built to last
We recently marked the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords, a historic diplomatic breakthrough that upended decades of conventional thinking about the Arab-Israeli conflict. The agreement was intended to transform the Middle East, rewarding realism over extremism and demonstrating that peace pays.
In many ways, it has succeeded. But now, five years in, we face a moment of clarity. As France and Saudi Arabia lead a call to recognize the Palestinian state, the accords need recalibration.
Arab states cannot ask for access to Israel’s markets, security expertise, technology, and military protection while staying silent as the international system moves to target the Jewish state.
On Sept. 15, 2020, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain ended their boycott of Israel and established open relations. Morocco soon followed. Embassies opened. Flights took off between Tel Aviv and Dubai. And with that, the Middle East began to shift in a direction few thought possible.
Despite the trauma of the Oct. 7 massacre and the seven-front war against Israel that ensued, the accords have endured. Israeli tourists still visit Abu Dhabi and Manama. Business conferences continue. Flights remain regular. The economies of these Arab nations have benefited greatly from Israeli trade, technology, and innovation.
Security without reciprocity
According to the Abraham Accords Peace Institute, bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE alone reached $3 billion in 2023. In Morocco, Israeli firms have invested in agriculture, water management, and cybersecurity. The economic dividends of peace are real and growing. Israel has helped create new pathways to prosperity across the region.
Moreover, Israel has also systematically dismantled regional threats — namely, Iranian proxy forces in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon. It has rolled back Tehran’s nuclear capabilities through daring strikes aided by U.S. air power. It has kept Red Sea shipping lanes open by taking the fight directly to the Houthis. These actions make the region more stable for all.
Ironically — and tragically — Israel receives warnings from the very countries that have benefited from this new regional architecture. Back off against Hamas in Gaza. Don’t extend sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. Lay off Hamas leaders who are enjoying protection in Qatar. Don’t relocate displaced Gazans — or else.
The list of Arab red lines imposed on Israel keeps growing, always with the vague threat of harming the accords.
This is not the behavior of true allies. It is the posture of parties who want to enjoy the benefits of peace without shouldering the responsibilities of partnership.
The UN test
As the United Nations General Assembly convenes, the imbalance is coming to a head. A growing international pressure is mounting to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. Hamas, a group committed to Israel’s destruction, would celebrate such a move as a political victory.
The message would be unmistakable: You murder Jews, you get a state.
If the Abraham Accords mean anything beyond commercial convenience and one-way security guarantees, participating Muslim countries must not allow this to happen. The same governments that send delegations to Tel Aviv and sign investment deals in high tech must now reject any declaration of Palestinian statehood that rewards violence and bypasses good-faith negotiation.
That is a simple request. Oppose any resolution that turns mass murder into political capital. Refuse to legitimize a governing entity that hides behind Arab civilians while murdering Israeli babies. Deny cover to Hamas leaders enjoying luxury Doha hotels while Israeli hostages waste away in Gazan dungeons.
Partnership has obligations
A partnership, by definition, is not a one-way street. It should include joint efforts to dismantle the machinery of terror, not vague calls for “restraint” every time Israel is attacked. Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Houthis threaten the entire Middle East. Israel has done the hard work of confronting these threats directly.
RELATED: Why does the mainstream media keep blaming Israel for Gaza’s humanitarian crisis?
Over the last half-decade, Israel and the Abraham Accords nations have redefined what was possible in the Middle East. They created a new model for cooperation based on mutual interests rather than historical grievances. But Israel has faced repeated admonitions from its new allies about what it must not do to defend itself.
That is not sustainable. It is not even moral.
Arab states cannot ask for access to Israel’s markets, security expertise, technology, and military protection while staying silent as the international system moves to target the Jewish state.
The Abraham Accords are still the best way forward. Five years later, the time has come to define what true partnership means. That starts with refusing to reward terror and standing up, publicly and clearly, at the United Nations this week.
The genocide that isn’t: How Hamas turned lies into global outrage
Extraordinarily effective Hamas propaganda has delegitimized Israel’s right of self-defense by confirming for a world that scorns Israel that its demon is engaged in genocide. It is not, but the same cannot be said of Hamas — the aggressor that has largely avoided that opprobrium.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 5.5 million Palestinians live in the Palestinian territories, principally the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The bureau estimates that in the last 12 months, Gaza’s population declined by 15,423 to 2,114,201. Meanwhile, “Palestine’s” total population grew by 1.17% in 2024 and is projected to grow by another 1.75% in 2025. According to the bureau, the principal factors in Gaza’s population decline were emigration, war casualties, and a declining birth rate.
If leftists prevent Israel from fighting an aggressor who has pledged to destroy it, targets civilians, and takes and murders hostages, who is complicit in genocide?
Though the Gaza Ministry of Health’s war casualty reports are statistically implausible and quietly rejected by the United Nations, the world’s media uncritically repeat the lies. Most recently, the media disseminated the ministry’s claim that war deaths exceed 60,000, reducing Gaza’s population by 10%. The actual comparison was to “projected growth”; 60,000 represents a 2.6% decline.
Peddling lies
Many outlets presented the ministry’s disinformation and malinformation as their objective reporting. For example, PBS explained:
The ministry is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. … Israel’s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine.
The report added:
Israel’s offensive and its blockade have also gutted Gaza’s health system, with several hospitals having shut down and others only partially functioning as they receive waves of war-wounded.
Jaundiced by radical ideologies and anti-Semitism, and empowered by Hamas’ misdirection, at least 38 countries, the European Union’s second-ranking official, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, 14 members of Congress, and many others accuse Israel of genocide.
If Goebbels had Hamas propagandists on his side, we might all be shouting “Heil Hitler!”
In November, a U.N. special committee found Israel’s operations in Gaza “consistent” with genocide, including its alleged use of “starvation as weapon of war.” In July, the U.N. dishonestly announced that Gaza met two of the three criteria for famine. To reach that conclusion, the U.N., which has battered Israel for years, rigged the numbers.
On July 27, the World Health Organization warned that “malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip,” with 74 malnutrition-related deaths so far in 2025, most occurring in July. According to the WHO, “The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives.”
But just one week later, a U.N. agency reported that Palestinian mobs and terrorists are stealing 89% of aid shipments. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee added that “Hamas made half a billion dollars last year stealing food [and] selling it on the black market in order to finance their activities.”
Rigging stats
On August 22, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a partnership of 25 organizations including U.N. agencies, announced that “reasonable evidence” exists of famine in Gaza since August 15. An Israeli response observed that “the declaration was issued not only without evidence that would justify it under the IPC’s own criteria, but also in contradiction to more recent data that was publicly available.” Although the IPC report cited the interception of aid, it justified that as the “desperation” of residents.
Other studies (including the U.N.’s) have not found widespread famine, a deliberate starvation strategy, or systematic attacks by Israel on civilians. Severe pre-existing medical conditions cause most deaths attributed to malnutrition.
RELATED: Why does the mainstream media keep blaming Israel for Gaza’s humanitarian crisis?
Hamas propaganda deceives with pictures that are staged, taken in other countries, taken years ago, or taken of children with genetic defects. It also promotes fabricated claims of Israeli attacks on Gazans seeking aid, including the untrue tale of a Gazan boy allegedly killed by the IDF at an aid distribution site.
Except for an approximately three-month blockade, Israel has facilitated aid. It warns civilians of pending attacks, set up hundreds of food distribution centers and aid packages, and supports airdrops of up to 130 tons of food per day. Last month, Israel announced additional actions, including lengthy combat pauses to coordinate aid delivery with the U.N. and other organizations.
The U.N. charter guarantees the “inherent” right of defense. The U.N. Genocide Convention defines “genocide” as killing “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” If Israel wanted to destroy the Palestinian people, it would have done so.
Instead, the claimed dead, including Hamas’ human shields and those executed by Hamas, total under 1.1% of Gaza’s population, which continues to grow. According to West Point’s John Spencer, the leading expert on urban warfare, no military has ever done more than Israel to avoid civilian casualties. Israel’s increasingly precise targeting of combatants has achieved a lower civilian death rate than most wars over the last 100 years.
Double standards for Hamas
The Hamas charter states that Israel must be “obliterated” and that “Moslems must fight Jews and kill them.” Hamas targeted civilians on Oct. 7, 2023, and has launched thousands of rocket attacks since then.
If leftists and anti-Semites prevent Israel and Jews from fighting an aggressor who has pledged to destroy them, targets civilians, and takes and murders hostages, precisely who is complicit in genocide?
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
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