Afghan national imported by Biden-Harris administration accused of plotting Election Day terrorist attack for ISIS



An Afghan national imported by the Biden-Harris administration has been arrested for allegedly plotting to massacre American citizens on Election Day.

While Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi's alleged ISIS plot was foiled, the Trump campaign and other critics noted that there may yet be many more potential terrorists among the tens of thousands of Afghans brought into the U.S. by the Biden-Harris administration as well as among the tens of millions of illegal aliens who have stolen into the U.S. over the past three years.

"As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant's plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

The Department of Justice alleged that as part of his terrorist plot, Tawhedi prepared to liquidate his family's assets, move his family members back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, acquire AK-47 rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and then slaughter as many Americans as possible.

'How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don't know!'

It appears that the kind of attack the jihadist had in mind was akin to the March 22 ISIS-K terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow, Russia, which left over 130 people dead and hundreds more badly injured.

According to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Tawhedi, 27, entered the U.S. on Sept. 9, 2021 — nearly 20 years to the day after the 9/11 attacks — on a special immigrant visa following the Biden-Harris administration's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Tawhedi was among the thousands of Afghans ultimately brought to the U.S. by the Democratic administration following the collapse of Kabul despite warnings about the likelihood of extremists slipping through the cracks.

Those Americans who raised concerns about the possibility that extremists might be among the inbound Afghan population were denounced as racists, xenophobes, and even un-Christian by Democrats, their allies in the media, and nominal Republicans like Adam Kinzinger.

On Aug. 24, 2021, President Donald Trump stated:

Biden surrendered Afghanistan to terrorist and left thousands of Americans for dead by pulling out the Military before the citizens. Now we are learning that out of the 26,000 people who have been evacuated, only 4,000 are Americans. You can be sure the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn't allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights. Instead, we can only imagine how many thousands of terrorists have been airlifted out of Afghanistan and into neighborhoods around the world... What a terrible failure. NO VETTING. How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don’t know!

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) noted in a video statement on Aug. 23, 2021, that "according to Pew, 40% of the people [in Afghanistan] believe that blowing yourself up, committing a suicide bombing is an acceptable way to solve a problem. ... Let's ensure that we're properly vetting them so that we don't get a bunch of people who believe that they should blow themselves up at a mall because somebody looked at their wife the wrong way."

'The same unvetted Afghans who were leading our soldiers into ambushes for years are being brought here in the thousands every year.'

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) noted on Aug. 17, 2021, "US national security has been deeply degraded since Jan 20. Allowing entry of thousands from a known terrorist hotbed who have not been screened on top of the border crisis will further degrade national security and undermine public safety."

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted, "We should rescue Afghans who’ve assisted the US military, but they should go to a neutral & safe third country. They should NOT come to US w/o a FULL security vetting."

"The same unvetted Afghans who were leading our soldiers into ambushes for years are being brought here in the thousands every year," Blaze News columnist Daniel Horowitz noted on Aug. 20, 2021. "Those Republicans joining Democrats in demanding that we bring in tens of thousands of unvetted Afghans, as if the American people owe them more blood, treasure, and sacrifice, are violating the social compact of governance."

Despite such criticism, the Democratic administration doubled down and pushed to accelerate the so-called resettlement process.

While on parole status pending adjudication of his immigration proceedings, Tawhedi — a walking vindication of critics' concerns — took residence in an apartment complex in Oklahoma City, where he apparently immersed himself in jihadist literature and ISIS online communities.

Search history data indicates that Tawhedi routinely accessed ISIS propaganda, including a guide defining the behaviors that qualify a person as a Muslim or alternatively as an "infidel," and attempted to access Washington, D.C., webcams on or around public monuments. He allegedly also participated in pro-ISIS Telegram groups.

Footage taken on July 20 and later obtained by the FBI allegedly shows Tawhedi reading to his daughter and nephew about the supposed benefits of martyrdom, including a harem of 72 virgins and a crown of jewels.

'A bunch of Americans were nearly mass murdered while voting by an Afghani visa charity case just so a bunch of alcoholic neocons could pat themselves on the back for being "compassionate."'

Extra his apparent efforts to promote terrorism to his kin and his keen interest in terrorist literature, the complaint indicates that Tawhedi also contributed funds to a so-called charity that funnels money to ISIS.

Law enforcement executed a court-authorized search warrant for a phone belonging to the suspect and reportedly observed communications between Tawhedi and an ISIS recruiter who goes by the name Abdul Malik.

On Sept. 21, Tawhedi allegedly wrote to Malik over Telegram, "We found a person who deals with weapons. He found it for us. They are smuggled. We bought two, they are Kalashnikovs. We are two people, we bought two. Each one costs $1,200.00. Everything will perhaps be $3,000.00 in total. We have ordered 500 bullets. What do you think, brother? Is it enough or should we increase it?"

The following day, Tawhedi indicated that he sold his father-in-law's house for $185,000 and was set to receive the money on Oct. 15 — funds he could use for the terrorism plot as well as for the repatriation of his family back to Kabul on on Oct. 17. Malik allegedly instructed him to donate the remainder to the Mujahideen and jihadist public treasury.

"After that we will begin our duty, God willing, with the help of God, we will get ready for the election day," Tawhedi allegedly wrote.

According to the complaint, an FBI asset started the ball rolling on a possible gun deal in early September, around the time Tawhedi was selling off his family's personal property on Facebook. When inquiring about whether a laptop was still for sale, the FBI asset suggested to the suspected would-be terrorist that it would come in handy for his new gun businesses.

The FBI asset reportedly met with Tawhedi on Sept. 6 to complete the deal for a laptop, personal computer, and iPhone and again played up his burgeoning gun business. Before the asset left, Tawhedi's juvenile co-conspirator allegedly inquired about guns, setting the stage for a text correspondence.

After texting back and forth, Tawhedi and his juvenile co-conspirator reportedly met with the FBI asset at a rural location in Oklahoma on Sept. 14, where a second FBI asset and undercover agent also showed up, posing as the fake gun dealer's business partners. Tawhedi allegedly placed his order and agreed to a price of $1,000 per rifle.

The suspected would-be terrorist met up with the FBI asset on Oct. 7 apparently to purchase the rifles. When he did so, Tawhedi and his co-conspirator were arrested.

Following his arrest, Tawhedi allegedly admitted to purchasing the weapons for the purpose of targeting large gatherings of people on Election Day and dying in the process of doing so.

Tawhedi has been charged with conspiring with and attempting to provide material support to ISIS and with receiving a firearm to commit terrorism. If convicted, he could land a collective maximum prison sentence of 35 years.

The Trump campaign responded to the arrest, writing, "How many other terrorists has Kamala imported into the country?"

Sean Davis, the Federalist co-founder who was among the early critics of the Biden-Harris administration's mass importation of Afghans, wrote, "I want an apology from every fat, throne-sniffing, chicken-hawking, moral-blackmailing, family trust fund-depleting neocon moron who smeared me as a racist when I wrote this piece in 2021 after the fall of Afghanistan."

"A bunch of Americans were nearly mass murdered while voting by an Afghani visa charity case just so a bunch of alcoholic neocons could pat themselves on the back for being 'compassionate' for refusing to vet hordes of third-world Afghanis being shipped into our country," added Davis.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) wrote, "Biden/Harris roll out the red carpet for Afghan terrorist who plots to kill us on Election Day."

Reflecting back on whether she would have done anything differently than Biden has these past four years, Kamala Harris announced on "The View" Tuesday that "there is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of — and I've been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact."

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John Kirby mistakenly exposes the White House's disdain for veterans' concerns over botched Afghanistan withdrawal



American military veterans continue to seek accountability and answers regarding the Biden-Harris administration's disastrous and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.

While some veterans may have previously suspected the Democratic administration was doing its best to ignore their concerns, John Kirby, the White House National Security Council communications adviser, appears to have accidentally confirmed on Wednesday that that's the case.

Kirby reportedly sent a message intended for White House staffers to a Fox News Digital reporter, stating there was "no use in responding" to veterans' concerns about the Afghan withdrawal and its portrayal by the White House.

Background

The House Foreign Affairs Committee released a report Monday titled "Willful Blindness: An Assessment of the Biden-Harris Administration's Withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Chaos that Followed."

Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a statement:

Our investigation reveals the Biden-Harris administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders, and our brave Afghan allies. At each step of the way, however, the administration picked optics over security.

According to McCaul, the report makes clear that the Biden-Harris administration's botch job "placed U.S. servicemembers and U.S. State Department personnel in mortal danger" and led to the American and Afghan deaths and injuries at Abbey Gate.

During Monday's White House press briefing, Kirby responded to the report, saying it "comes, of course, two years after their first report, and this one says little or nothing new."

'Absolutely despicable.'

Kirby further characterized the report as "one-sided," then defended the Biden-Harris administration's actions, going so far as to suggest "there was no handover of U.S. equipment to the Taliban."

Kirby also alleged "there was no deception, lying, or lack of transparency by this administration either during or after the withdrawal."

Lack of transparency

The White House's apparent unwillingness to accept responsibility or to at the very least take the report seriously enraged Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills and other veterans.

Mills, for instance, emphasized on X, "It’s time the Biden-Harris administration takes responsibility for abandoning thousands of Americans and allies, for handing over billions in U.S. military weapons and cash to the Taliban, for leaving women and children to suffer under Taliban rule, and for the 13 brave heroes who sacrificed two lives, the one they were living and the life they could have lived."

Fox News Digital indicated that it contacted the White House, referencing several veterans' critiques of Kirby's remarks — including the suggestions that he was merely providing "cover" for or "deflecting" from the administration's ruinous withdrawal.

The email chain was reportedly forwarded to White House staffers on the National Security Council. Then, thinking he was only responding to White House staffers on the chain, Kirby replied, "Obviously no use in responding. A 'handful' of vets indeed and all of one stripe."

Having later realized what he had done, Kirby wrote back to the reporter, stating, "Clearly, I didn't realize you were on the chain."

Republican backlash

"This is how the Biden-Harris administration talks about the well-founded concerns of our nation’s veterans?" Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) asked on X. "Just days after the anniversary of the deadly Afghanistan withdrawal. On the anniversary of 9/11. Our Gold Star families deserve better."

Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller wrote, "Shame!"

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) stressed, "Nobody at the White House should ever speak this way about our veterans seeking accountability for the Gold Star families the Biden-Harris Administration created with their reckless decisions. Absolutely despicable."

Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson (R) suggested Kirby "is a DISGRACE!!" and should immediately resign.

California Rep. Darrell Issa (R) wrote, "This White House has nothing but contempt for veterans who call them out."

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman McCaul said in a statement obtained by the New York Post that Kirby's comments were "appalling, but sadly not surprising."

"The Biden-Harris administration has consistently disregarded our veterans, servicemembers, and Gold Star families over their botched withdrawal from Afghanistan," added McCaul.

The Post indicated that the White House had not responded to its request for comment.

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Esquire suffers meltdown over Trump paying his respects to troops killed in Biden-Harris Afghan withdrawal



President Donald Trump traveled Monday to Arlington National Cemetery to join several Gold Star families in paying respects to the fallen, specifically the 13 service members killed exactly three years ago in the Biden-Harris administration's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The once and possibly future commander in chief's effort to keep alive the memories of American service members killed under his successor's watch provoked a complete meltdown at Esquire magazine.

The Hearst publication's lead political blogger, Charles P. Pierce, asked in a feverish piece Monday, "How the hell was this allowed to happen[?]"

'Donald Trump carried the weight for a few hours with me.'

The cemetery, where just last year the Biden-Harris administration trampled graves and toppled the Jewish American-designed Reconciliation Memorial, is open to members of the public, so it's unclear who exactly Pierce figured would prevent Trump's entry.

Nevertheless, Pierce took offense on behalf of the nation, Gold Star families, and those who alternatively watched without objection as Trump joined two service members wounded in the Abbey Gate bombing in laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, writing:

Arlington is profaned by his presence on just an average day. But to allow itself to be used for the purpose propping up one of the Republican Party's most noxious half-truths — as promulgated by its most noxious elements personified by its most noxious candidate — is an insult to the over 400 Medal of Honor awardees buried there.

Pierce added, "It will be argued that the former president* was invited to the Monday ceremony by some family members of the slain soldiers, and that's good as far as it goes, which isn't very far because, as sure as Mar-a-Lago's in hock, they will get nothing in return from this appearance."

The leftist blogger's insinuation that the Gold Star families invited Trump in hopes of something monetary "in return" suggests he wasn't listening when Gold Star family members articulated precisely what they actually wanted: a little time and recognition for their fallen loved ones.

Last month, family members of several of the service members killed in the Afghanistan withdrawal took the stage at the Republican National Convention.

Holding back tears, Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, said, "Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice. Donald Trump sent six hours in Bedminster with us. He allowed us to grieve. He allowed us to remember our heroes."

"Donald Trump knew all of our children's names. He knew their stories," continued Shamblin. "And he spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood — like he knew our kids. ... Donald Trump carried the weight for a few hours with me and for the first time since Nicole's death, I felt I wasn't alone in my grief."

Alicia Lopez, the mother of Cpl. Hunter Lopez, told the crowd, "In the nearly three years since Hunter's been gone, there has been silence. Silence from that empty space at the dinner table where Hunter would have joined his brothers and sister and us for family gatherings. And there has been a deafening silence from the Biden and Harris administration."

"Despite our pleas for answers and accountability, they have pushed us away and tried to silence us," said Lopez.

Neither Kamala Harris — who once boasted about signing off on the Afghanistan exit strategy — nor President Joe Biden, now slouching into the second week of yet another vacation, were present in Arlington on Monday, although they both issued commemorative statements from afar.

Pierce spared them any critique over their absences, instead calling Trump's presence "obscene."

"If the families found a kind of peace in his presence on Monday, I respect that and I hope it brings them solace. But as a citizen of the United States, and therefore someone with a stake in places like Arlington, I choose to look upon his presence there as obscene," wrote the blogger.

When attempting to make his point, Pierce once again insinuated that Trump called troops "suckers and losers" — a Democratic smear that is wholly unsubstantiated.

Snopes indicated that there is no audio or video evidence that Trump ever said fallen soldiers were "suckers" and "losers." There is also no "documentation, such as transcripts or presidential notes" to support the anonymous allegations that Trump critic Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic advanced in a September 2020 article.

The blogger also managed to squeeze in an attack on the late Rush Limbaugh, suggesting that Trump had somehow "devalued" the Congressional Medal of Honor by conferring to him the Presidential Medal of Freedom — an entirely different award established by President Harry Truman to honor civilian service.

Although his decades of public service on the radio would undoubtedly qualify him for the award, Limbaugh also raised tens of millions of dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through his show's annual radiothon and millions more for various other charities prior to his death.

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Taliban celebrates 3rd anniversary of botched Biden-Harris withdrawal, parading around in American vehicles



The Taliban took to the streets of Kabul Wednesday to celebrate the third anniversary of the Biden-Harris administration's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Adding insult to injury, the Islamic extremists paraded around the former U.S. Bagram Air Base with the expensive U.S. weaponry and vehicles that were abandoned along with American citizens during the rushed exit — an exit Kamala Harris once boasted cosigning and President Joe Biden deemed an "extraordinary success."

Joined by Iranian and communist Chinese diplomats, Taliban officials who have yet to be recognized internationally gave speeches about the significance of their Aug. 15, 2021, reconquest of Kabul, bragging both about advancing Islamic law and about developing "peace and security" by means of a burgeoning military system, reported the Associated Press.

"The Islamic Emirate eliminated internal differences and expanded the scope of unity and cooperation in the country," said Mohammed Abdul Kabir, a senior Taliban military official now serving as the acting third deputy prime minister for political affairs. "No one will be allowed to interfere in internal affairs, and Afghan soil will not be used against any country."

Whereas the Islamic extremists suggested Afghanistan has thrived in recent years, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan noted Wednesday that religious minorities, women, journalists, former government security officials, and other groups have been subjected over these past three years to "serious and targeted human rights violations by the Taliban. These include arbitrary arrests and detentions, unlawful killings, acts tantamount to enforced disappearance, rape and other crimes of sexual violence, and torture and ill-treatment."

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) noted that footage of a Taliban military parade involving American equipment serves as a "stark reminder that the Biden-Harris Administration chose to arm the Taliban and leave behind American soldiers."

"We will never forget the devastating consequences of the White House's reckless withdrawal from Afghanistan," added Johnson.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote, "Infuriating. This was Kamala Harris's gift to the Taliban."

The Pentagon confirmed that over $7 billion worth of military equipment was effectively left behind for the Taliban.

'Kamala Harris was the last person in the room with Joe Biden when he made the disastrous decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.'

Blaze News previously reported that one intelligence assessment estimated that 2,000 armored vehicles and 40 aircraft including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones were left behind for the Taliban.

Last year, the House Budget Committee noted that an additional 181,640 air-to-ground munitions and 50,150 practice munitions were left behind along with 9,200 guidance, control, assemblies, fuses, or launchers; "'nearly all' night vision, surveillance, 'biometric and positioning equipment' totaling nearly 42,000 pieces of specialized equipment"; and "'nearly all' of the communications equipment, including base-station, mobile, man-portable and hand-held commercial and military radio systems, and associated transmitters and encryption devices."

These figures don't include all of the American weapons the Taliban inevitably lifted from those Afghan forces that were ultimately left at the mercy of the extremists.

The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction revealed that from 2017 to 2019, the U.S. gave Afghan forces over 7,000 machine guns, 4,702 Humvees, 20,040 hand grenades, 2,520 bombs, and 1,394 grenade launchers. Ahead of the withdrawal, the U.S. also supplied Afghan forces with 211 aircraft.

Far more was lost than weapons during the Biden-Harris withdrawal.

Amid the confusion, an Islamic terrorist — who reportedly had been released amid the chaos just days earlier from the Parwan prison at Bagram Air Base — detonated a suicide bomb on Aug. 26, 2021, at Abbey Gate, the last route open for Afghans into the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The ISIS-Khorasan suicide bombing killed 11 Marines, a solider, and a sailor: Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui; Marine Lance Cpl. David Lee Espinoza; Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee; Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover; Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss; Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez; Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum; Marine Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola; Marine Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo; Marine Cpl. Humberto Sanchez; Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz; Navy Hospitalman Maxton Soviak; and Marine Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page.

The attack also left 45 other service members wounded and killed at least 170 Afghan civilians.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said in a Thursday statement, "Today marks three years since the Biden-Harris Administration's colossal failure in the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Americans must never forget the 13 service members who lost their lives and the Gold Star families they left behind in this completely preventable tragedy. We honor their lives and their sacrifices, and we must continue to demand answers, transparency, and accountability."

Stefanik noted further that "Kamala Harris was the last person in the room with Joe Biden when he made the disastrous decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. Kamala Harris owns this catastrophic withdrawal and proves just how incompetent, incapable, and dangerous she would be as our nation's commander in chief."

Harris confirmed to CNN in April 2021 that she was the last person in the room after Biden decided on his particular withdrawal scheme and noted she felt comfortable with the decision.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) tweeted Thursday, "Three years ago today, Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban. Kamala Harris needs to answer questions about her role in the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan."

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Biden drops bid for 2nd term — what happens next?



As expected, President Joe Biden announced Sunday afternoon that while he would not resign from office, he would drop his bid for another term in the White House.

"I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," his announcement read in part.

Should the delegates choose someone other than Harris, they will have a major messaging problem on their hands. ... If the party delegates decide to pass on Harris, Democrat leaders will have a tough time explaining the decision to override the will of their own voters.

The initial statement made no mention of endorsing a candidate, but a subsequent social media post from Biden revealed he has thrown his support behind his second in command, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden's "full support and endorsement" of Harris puts her in the driver's seat for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2024 election, and many Democrats are likely to support the only female and just the second black official ever to become president or vice president.

Still, her nomination is not necessarily a lock. For one thing, polling indicates that she would fare worse than Biden in a head-to-head matchup with former President Donald Trump. In a statement about Biden's withdrawal, Trump said he believes Harris "will be even easier to beat."

Other names mentioned as possible replacements for Biden include Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, both of whom have previously stated they are not interested in running for president or vice president this election season.

Should the delegates choose someone other than Harris, they will have a major messaging problem on their hands. In the past several months, more than 14 million Americans cast a primary vote for the Biden-Harris team. If the party delegates decide to pass on Harris, Democrat leaders will have a tough time explaining the decision to override the will of their own voters.

To date, more than 4,000 Democratic delegates are already pledged to Biden. With Biden out of the race, the delegates are free to support another candidate of their choice.

The Democratic Party had already promised to hold a "virtual roll call" in early August ahead of the Democratic National Convention. Should no one win a majority of those delegate votes, the 700 so-called superdelegates may then join the fray.

Democrats will have to coalesce around a candidate soon. Their convention, the event during which candidates are formally certified, begins Aug.19.

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Democrats Wanted An Early Debate So They’d Have Plenty Of Time To Dump Biden

Democratic National Committee rules and state laws create a simple path to oust Biden before, during, and after the convention.

The insane story of how antidepressants stole one woman's childhood



Brooke Siem was 15 years old when her dad died. In the wake of this tragedy, her newly-widowed mother was worried about Brooke’s stoicism. So, she took her daughter to the doctor. That doctor referred her to another doctor, who diagnosed her with an anxiety and depressive disorder and put her on a cocktail of antidepressants.

That’s how Brooke lost 15 years of her life.

She stayed on the meds until she was 30 because that’s what the doctor said she needed to do.

“If the doctor tells you you need insulin because you have diabetes, you don't question it. The doctor told me I was depressed; so, he told me to take an antidepressant. I didn’t question that. Why would I, right?” she tells Allie Beth Stuckey.

But at 30 years old, Brooke found herself more depressed than she’d ever been, struggling with suicidal ideation and lack of emotion — despite the drugs. She realized this meant they were not working.

So, she decided to quit cold turkey at the instruction of her doctor, which she does not recommend. It’s important to properly wean off these drugs at the guidance of an experienced medical professional.

Brooke’s doctor told her she might feel like she had the flu for a few days, but it was no big deal. Instead, Brooke was launched headfirst into a “full-on psychological assault.”

Brooke detailed the severity of her withdrawal on last week’s episode of Relatable, “How Antidepressants Stole Her Childhood.”

Along with violent intrusive thoughts and mood swings, Brooke experienced a variety of physical symptoms:

“All my senses changed; so, I literally started seeing color more vibrantly, and things went from a little softer on the edges to super sharp. I developed really severe noise sensitivity. My skin got something called nodular vasculitis, which is basically an autoimmune response in the blood vessels, and it is because of extreme physical stress on the body.”

However, amidst all this darkness, she also described how she began to experience little moments of joy — a feeling completely foreign to her for the past 15 years.

“I was also having these moments of, like I said, color; it was like I could finally see color for the first time, and I could laugh at something and feel true joy.”

Brooke is now on a mission to share what happened to her, shed light on the reality of antidepressant withdrawal, and advocate for safe de-prescribing from psychiatric drugs. She detailed her story in her memoir, “May Cause Side Effects.”

To hear Brooke's story, watch the episode below.


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‘We were IGNORED’: Weeping US Marine recalls Taliban suicide bomber



Remember when the Biden administration left a wake of chaos and horror in Afghanistan in 2021? It’s disturbing that there have been so many disasters throughout Biden’s term that the Afghanistan withdrawal has been buried under the president’s many botched efforts.

But not everyone has had the luxury of letting the incident slip into the back of their minds. On "The News & Why It Matters," Sara Gonzales showed a Marine who testified about his traumatic and heartbreaking experience in Afghanistan.

After repeatedly asking his superiors if his team could terminate a suicide bomber and receiving no answer, U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews recounted, “Plain and simple, we were ignored. Our expertise was disregarded. No one was held accountable for our safety.”

Sergeant Vargas-Andrews continued, “Then a flash and a massive wave of pressure. I’m thrown 12 feet onto the ground, but instantly knew what had happened. I opened my eyes to Marines dead or unconscious lying around me.”

“Hearing this makes me infuriated,” Gonzales said. “That we have Americans out there putting their lives on the line for the Biden administration to put completely incompetent people, apparently, in places of power. This is the end result from that.”

To add insult to injury, the mission was entirely botched. The identity politics that Biden used as a primary metric of appointing people to power got Americans nowhere but dead and wounded in this instance.

“Thank God that they are [gay, black, transgender, etc.] because … when it really matters, we’ve got Americans dying … [and] getting wounded in Afghanistan because we have completely incompetent people from the top down,” Gonzales said.

Jaco Booyens, host of "The Bottom Line," chimed in. “We should play this on loop. May people never forget that one of the first acts of Joe Biden was having American soldiers die,” Booyens said.

“And for what?” Gonzales asked.

Stu Burgiere, BlazeTV host of "Stu Does America," added, “That’s the worst part … Joe Biden came in and just said, ‘You know, screw all your efforts … we’re going to let this thing blow up in everybody’s face.’”

Watch the full discussion below:


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American military and diplomats flee Ukraine, fearing an imminent Russian invasion



The United States has partially moved its forces out of Ukraine and ordered the evacuation of most embassy staff, according to CNN.

The American government is worried about the safety of American citizens remaining in Ukraine as the likelihood of a Russian invasion of its neighbor continues to grow.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered members of the Florida National Guard to leave Ukraine and stationed them “elsewhere in Europe.”

In an official statement, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said, “They are departing Ukraine and will reposition elsewhere in Europe. The Secretary made this decision out of an abundance of caution — with the safety and security of our personnel foremost in mind — and informed by the State Department’s guidance on U.S. personnel in Ukraine.”

He noted that the Pentagon still supports Ukraine’s military despite pulling American troops out of the country.

Kirby said, “This reporting does not signify a change in our determination to support Ukraine’s Armed Forces, but will provide flexibility in assuring allies and deterring aggression.”

On Saturday, the State Department issued a travel advisory saying that it had “ordered the departure of most U.S. direct-hire employees from Embassy Kyiv due to the continued threat of Russian military action.”

The State Department indicated that the embassy’s consular services will be suspended during this time of heightened tension, and it emphasized that a small diplomatic presence would be maintained, but not in Kyiv. This diplomatic staff will “handle emergencies,” per CNN, and is stationed in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv – about 50 miles away from Ukraine’s shared border with Poland.

CNN reports that on Saturday morning, a Senior State Department official said that it is “past time for U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine” and that “there are limits to what the U.S. can do to assist them in a war zone.”

During an afternoon phone call, on Saturday, President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that if Russia invades Ukraine there will be “swift and severe” costs to Russia and “widespread human suffering.”

The New York Times reported that, according to senior officials in the Biden administration, after the two presidents’ phone call it remained unclear whether Russia would invade.

One senior national security official said that there was “no fundamental change in the dynamic that has unfolded now for several weeks.”

On Friday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the United States government believes a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent.

Sullivan said, “We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border. As we’ve said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin any time should Vladimir Putin decide to order it.”

Alongside the United States, many other countries are reducing their diplomatic presence in Ukraine and are actively encouraging their citizens abroad to return home.

Defense Secretary Says Evacuating Americans ‘Harassed’ And ‘Beaten’ By Taliban After Biden Downplays Chaos

Just minutes after Biden's presser, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reportedly indicated to lawmakers on a call that Americans are being beaten by terrorists.