Tag Archive for: waste

Trump Gets Thumbs Up to Downsize Department of Education

President Donald Trump is gearing up to follow through on another campaign promise and gut the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). But what could dismantling the DOE actually look like?

The U.S. Supreme Court lifted a district court judge’s injunction Monday that had previously barred Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon from downsizing the DOE. McMahon had announced in March that the DOE would be slashing its workforce in half, following Trump’s directive to begin dismantling the agency prior to returning education to the states. “Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” McMahon said at the time. She added, “This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.”

Trump praised the Supreme Court’s Monday decision and pledged to continue his efforts to downsize the DOE. “The United States Supreme Court has handed a Major Victory to Parents and Students across the Country, by declaring the Trump Administration may proceed on returning the functions of the Department of Education BACK TO THE STATES,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “The Federal Government has been running our Education System into the ground, but we are going to turn it all around by giving the Power back to the PEOPLE. America’s Students will be the best, brightest, and most Highly Educated anywhere in the World.”

McMahon also pledged to continue dismantling the DOE. “The U.S. Department of Education will now deliver on its mandate to restore excellence in American education. We will carry out the reduction in force to promote efficiency and accountability and to ensure resources are directed where they matter most — to students, parents, and teachers,” McMahon said in a statement. She added, “As we return education to the states, this Administration will continue to perform all statutory duties while empowering families and teachers by reducing education bureaucracy.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, said, “The latest SCOTUS decision is a green light for reducing the size and scope of unnecessary and counterproductive oversight of everything from programs to personnel.” She explained, “Great education happens most in environments with the least amount of interference from bureaucracy, and even with a comparably small investment of 10% of all education spending, the federal government’s negative impact on education at the school level is massive.” Allen added, “When they have freedom from top-down policy proclamations, states can enable more innovative solutions to support the education of America’s children while they are school age and beyond.”

Jonathan Butcher, acting director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, explained to TWS what dismantling the DOE might look like in practical terms. “First, moving programs for children with special needs to the Department of Health and Human Services. The president and secretary are already working on this, according to social media,” Butcher began. He continued, “Second, moving civil rights back to the Department of Justice, which already has an office for civil rights. Third, moving adult education and family literacy programs to the Department of Labor via an inter-agency agreement. This is already happening and was just announced today.” Butcher went on, “Fourth, moving the student loan program to either the Small Business Administration or Treasury. This is a huge program, so there are various things that will need to change (for example, there is an office that oversees the interaction between loan servicers and students).” He added, “These are all things that are either underway or are being talked about.”

Patrick Wolf, professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, told TWS, “There was fat to cut in the Department outside of the Institute of Education Sciences, particularly regarding ‘professional development’ programs for teachers and schools, many of which were either completely ineffective or infected with wokism, or both.” He continued, “There was even fat to cut within the Institute of Education Sciences, as the Comprehensive Centers and Regional Education Labs operated inefficiently, largely because bureaucrats in Washington frequently change their minds and redirect what those regional organizations do and how they do it.” He added, “The What Works Clearinghouse also was largely a waste of funds.”

However, Wolf warned that dismantling the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) could undermine national accountability standards and place a greater burden on individual states. “NCES, in contrast, is highly efficient in spite of being woefully understaffed,” he said, noting that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “cut the deepest” in that division. “The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), ‘The Nation’s Report Card,’ will continue, but with some versions of the national test cancelled entirely and others limited to certain subjects. The NAEP is the most rigorous and objective measure of student achievement across the various states,” Wolf explained. He continued, “Limitations on this vital test will mean that we will know less about how well students in various states are mastering academic content.”

AUTHOR

S.A. McCarthy

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Organize for Attack!

On Independence Day, nearly a dozen black-garbed individuals, some equipped with body armor and firearms, allegedly orchestrated a premeditated ambush on law enforcement outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. According to the federal criminal complaint, the group began firing on the center with fireworks and spray-painting anti-ICE and pro-Antifa slogans on vehicles until law enforcement moved to secure the area. Once law enforcement came out of the building, two assailants opened fire with AR-15s, firing 20-30 rounds and wounding at least one officer.

The attack was entirely foreseeable. Antifa militants motivated by virulent rhetoric have repeatedly doxxed and targeted ICE, going all the way back to Antifa member Willem Von Spronsen’s 2019 attack on a Tacoma, Washington, ICE detention facility. Spronsen was killed by responding officers and became a popular anarchist martyr.

What are these attackers seeking to achieve with their violence? Most people believe that terrorism of this sort is intended to create support from the public. But the majority of Americans, including legal immigrants, support deporting illegal aliens, especially dangerous criminals. Do Antifa militants think they can win over the public with acts of violence?

Some answers to the alleged attackers’ motivations might be found in literature captured by law enforcement. One pamphlet seized by police is entitled “Insurrectionary Anarchism: Organizing For Attack!” which was authored anonymously in 2003 (and is available online).

The pamphlet traces a history of insurrectionary anarchist thought. It begins with early anarchist thinker Mikhail Bakunin in 1871 and then goes to Luigi Galleani, an Italian-American anarchist who popularized the concept of “propaganda of the deed,” and Italian anarchist Alfredo Bonnano, whose “Why we are Insurrectionary Anarchists” is cited in its entirety.

Central to insurrectionary anarchist thinking is the notion that the violent terrorist act is simultaneously a means and an end. The attack and the propaganda are a unified whole.

The author writes, “It is through acting and learning to act, not propaganda, that we will open the path to insurrection—although obviously analysis and discussion have a role in clarifying how to act. Waiting only teaches waiting; in acting one learns to act.”

Put bluntly, the message of attempting to murder ICE agents is that ICE agents should be murdered and that others should be encouraged to do the same.

Insurrectionary anarchism contains within its logic an inherent critique of other leftist, and especially Marxist-Leninist, organizing principles. Leninists emphasize determining the “correlation of forces,” an analysis of the total historic, economic, and material differences between the warring classes before acting. Maoists seek to ensure they have the correct “mass line”—that is, remaining in step with “the people” amongst whom the Maoist guerrilla seeks to hide.

But for the insurrectionary anarchist, the events that provoke and sustain revolutions cannot truly be understood, and attempts to do so result in wasted opportunities. The author writes that

contrary to the mathematicians of the grand revolutionary parties, it is never possible to see the outcome of a specific struggle in advance. Even a limited struggle can have the most unexpected consequences. The passage from the various insurrections—limited and circumscribed—to revolution can never be guaranteed in advance by any method, nor can one know in advance that present actions will not lead to a future insurrectionary moment.

These differences in perspectives may seem like meaningless revolutionary navel-gazing to the outsider. But since the 2020 George Floyd Uprising (as they call it), there has been growing hostility between the anarchists who overwhelmingly provided the street muscle for the violent riots and the Communist Party organizers who utilized the riots to build up structures and organizations.

Anarchists argue that Marxists and progressives took advantage of their bloodshed to “organize” and fundraise, wasting the opportunity the riots were intended to create. As a group of black Insurrectionary Anarchists wrote in a 2022 manifesto entitled “Black Armed Joy,”

Despite lifting up figures such as Assata, they label any sort of Black rebellious activity as “too fast” or “not ready” or complain about the ultra-left “ruining” their plans for revolution despite the rebellious actions of Black youth in the summer of 2020. They do not want black people to study the Black Liberation Army’s tactics. They wish to erase [Black Liberation Army member and Black anarchist] Kuwasi Balagoon and his rebellious ways. They wish to erase how Assata Shakur was liberated. They wish to erase the general strike of the Slaves. They wish to ignore the Maroons. They just want us to participate in their reformist campaigns to “Defund the Police” or “Community Control of the Police.” The Black insurrectionary must reject these positions.

These accusations of betrayal reached a fever pitch in the aftermath of the Los Angeles anti-ICE riots. Unity of Fields, a pro-terrorism propaganda outlet currently promoting a crowdfunding effort for the alleged perpetrators of the Alvarado attack, labeled the allegedly Chinese-funded Maoist Party for Socialism and Liberation, which helped organize the L.A. protests, as part of a “left counterinsurgency” because it failed to fully back calls for violence against ICE in Los Angeles.

While such apparent infighting might seem like a general sign of the radical Left’s weakness, in reality such conflicts are common during waves of increasing left-wing activation. Despite their internal disagreement, the various revolutionary factions can often advance their cause(s) against shared enemies, and eventually coalesce around shared gains.

While there are historic examples of anarchist-Communist infighting that sink prospective revolution (think the Spanish Civil War), there’s also a historical record of anarchists helping breach a hole through which the forces of revolution can pour through (the Russian Revolution comes to mind). In neither case does it typically end well for the anarchist, but that’s small comfort to the rest of us.

In the meantime, it should be understood that Antifa and their fellow anarchist extremists mean exactly what they say when they say “Kill ICE.”

Originally published by The American Mind.

AUTHOR

Kyle Shideler

Director and Senior Analyst for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism

EDITORS NOTE: This Center for Securty Policy column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Republicans Advance Recission Bill—With Vice President Vance Breaking Tie Vote

Just as important as the Big, Beautiful Bill, passing the rescissions bill is essential with the national debt at unsustainable levels.

If the bill isn’t signed into law by the end of July 18, the appropriated government funding the White House is seeking to rescind has to be spent.

Backstabbing Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.), once again betray the party.

The Hill: Senate Republicans on Tuesday narrowly cleared a key procedural hurdle on the path to clawing back billions of dollars in funding previously authorized by Congress for foreign aid and public broadcasting. Vice President Vance had to break the 50-50 tie vote after three Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.) — voted against a motion to discharge the rescissions package out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, allowing the full upper chamber to advance to consideration of the package.

Washington Post: Tuesday’s vote was a first step toward passing the bill. The Senate must vote to start debate on the bill, followed by hours of debate and votes on amendments. Lawmakers are under pressure because Congress must approve the cuts by Friday at midnight under the law they are using to dodge a Democratic filibuster…. The catch: Congress must send the bill to Trump’s desk by Friday or the administration will be forced to release the funds. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning they can lose up to three Republican votes and pass the bill. The House — which approved the package last month — will need to vote on it again if the Senate changes it .

Vance casts tie-breaking votes to move forward $9.4B rescissions package — which would defund PBS and NPR — in Senate

By Victor Nava

Vice President JD Vance cast two tie-breaking votes in the Senate Tuesday to move forward a $9.4 billion rescissions package — which would rip federal funding from PBS and NPR — in the upper chamber.

The Senate deadlocked, 50-50, on two procedural votes to start debate on the multibillion-dollar spending clawback package before Vance’s votes advanced the measure requested by the White House.

Three Republicans — Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — joined all Democrats in opposition to the bill.

The package, approved by the House of Representatives last month, axes approximately $8.3 billion previously allocated to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1.1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which partially finances National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

A proposed $400 million cut to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program is expected to be scrapped via an amendment before the bill comes up for a final vote.

“There was a lot of interest from our members on doing something on PEPFAR,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters after a meeting with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought. “That’s reflected in the substitute.”

“We hope that if we can get this across the finish line in the Senate, that the House will accept that one small modification that ends up making the package about a $9 billion rescissions package,” Thune added.

Continue reading.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Iran: Political Death Sentences Surge in Brutal Crackdown on Minorities

The Iranian government is rapidly increasing its use of the death penalty as a political weapon to crush dissent, terrorize restive ethnic minorities, and tighten its grip on power following its recent conflict with Israel, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said today.

In recent weeks, courts have sentenced numerous political prisoners—many of them Kurds and Arabs, but also participants in the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests—to death on alleged national security charges, following grossly unfair trials where forced “confessions” extracted under torture replaced any real evidence, according to research undertaken by CHRI.

“These are not trials. They are state-orchestrated performances meant to deliver death and instill fear,” said Bahar Ghandehari, CHRI’s Director of Advocacy.

“We are witnessing a coordinated state campaign to terrorize Kurdish and Arab communities who have not only endured decades of systemic state persecution, but have also stood at the forefront of many peaceful anti-government protests demanding freedom, justice, and dignity,” Ghandehari said.

“They now find themselves singled out as scapegoats by a regime desperate to reassert control after the massive Woman, Life, Freedom protests of 2022 and its military confrontation with Israel in 2025,” she added.

These executions violate not only domestic constitutional protections but also numerous international legal standards to which Iran is bound. Halting this systematic wave of executions must become an urgent global demand.

CHRI urges the UN and governments to forcefully condemn these death sentences and:

  • Demand that the Iranian authorities immediately halt all pending executions and institute a moratorium on all political death sentences;
  • Call for independent investigations of any allegations of torture or trial violations;
  • Impose targeted sanctions against Iranian judges, intelligence agents, and other officials involved in these violations, including through mechanisms such as the Magnitsky Act;
  • Governments should also pursue prosecution of responsible officials in national courts under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

“Given the scale and systematic nature of these crimes, particularly when targeted against specific ethnic and political groups, such actions may fall under the definition of crimes against humanity as outlined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute,” said Saeid Dehghan, a prominent human rights lawyer and director of the Parsi Law Collective.

“There is an urgent need for immediate international action, including a resolution by the UN General Assembly and a call on the Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative committee,” Dehghan said.

Five Kurdish Protesters Condemned to Die: No Evidence, Just Torture

On July 6, 2025, the Revolutionary Court in Urmia, presided over by Judge Reza Najafzadeh, sentenced five Kurdish protestors—Ali (Soran) Ghasemi, Pejman Soltani, Kaveh Salehi, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, and Teyfour Salimi Babamiri—to multiple death sentences, for a total of 11 death sentences, in addition to lengthy prison terms and heavy fines. These individuals were arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests and tried in a case with multiple other defendants.

Additionally, a separate court in West Azerbaijan Province had earlier sentenced Pejman Soltani to death under qisas (retribution) for the alleged murder of a security officer. Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri was sentenced to 15 years for allegedly ordering the murder, and Ghasemi to over 10 years for aiding and abetting. Kaveh Salehi was acquitted in that case.

These individuals were also sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay combined monetary penalties of 358 million tomans for offenses such as alleged “collaboration with Israel,” “smuggling Starlink satellite devices,” “propaganda against the state,” and “conspiracy to disrupt national security.”

Additionally, eight other defendants in the same case—Siamak Hiyasi, Sowareh Azizzadeh, Heyman Kermanj, Hossein Hosseinzadeh, Jalil Moloudi, Ahmad Mamehzadeh, Javanmard Mamkhosravi, and Salar Daghdar—were sentenced to prison terms and fines on charges including “membership in a rebel group,” “collaboration with a hostile government,” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.” Seven of them had previously been released on bail.

According to CHRI’s findings, all of these defendants’ cases, which together totaled 14 cases, were built solely on reports by the Intelligence Ministry and forced “confessions” obtained under torture during detention, with no independent or credible evidence presented in court. All of the accused were denied access to legal counsel and family visits during the first four months of detention.

“There is no actual evidence. All charges rely on forced confessions.”

Dr. Salahuddin Ahmadi, another defendant, was acquitted but now faces a separate criminal case for allegedly “financing terrorism.” A source told CHRI, these accusations stem from his provision of medicine to injured protesters.

A source familiar with the case told CHRI:

“Aside from a few seized Starlink devices, there is no actual evidence. All charges rely on forced confessions. Some of the accused were simply satellite dish installers. One of them, a pharmacist, was charged with ‘financing terrorism’ for providing medicine to injured protesters—an accusation applied to seven others in the case for similar reasons.”

“Blindfolded and handcuffed, I was tied to a chair while agents applied electric shocks.”

In a letter from Urmia Central Prison dated April 10, 2025, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, who was also arrested for providing medical aid to injured protesters during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, detailed the torture he endured, including mock executions, waterboarding, electric shocks, and sleep deprivation, to extract forced confessions. He added that his formal complaint against the perpetrators was ignored.

“Handcuffed, shackled and blindfolded, I was continuously mocked while they pulled the triggers of their weapons, telling me, ‘We haven’t registered your name anywhere as a prisoner, so when you die under interrogations, it’ll be easy to dump your body like those of the rioters (protesters), in the sewage canals, lakes and mass graves.’

“Blindfolded and handcuffed, I was tied to a chair with a rope, while intelligence agents applied electric shocks to my earlobes, testicles, nipples, spine, sides, armpits, thighs, and temples, inflicting unbearable pain to force me to write or say what they wanted on camera.

“They would suddenly take me to an unknown room in the middle of the night and force me to stand on a stool with a noose around my neck for hours on end and threaten to secretly and anonymously execute me, attempting to intimidate me as much as possible.

“For several consecutive days and nights, Intelligence Department agents kept disturbing me, making noise, shouting insults, entering my cell, beating me, and using any means to keep me from sleeping. Their goal was to break my resistance so that I would write their dictated scenarios and repeat it on camera. All the while, my only crime was helping fellow human beings.

“During the 130 consecutive days of detention and torture, aside from bruises all over my body, I lost hearing in my left ear due to the blows to my head by the interrogators and couldn’t hear for three months. Later, the ruptured eardrum in my left ear gradually regained some hearing, but during the recovery period, it became severely infected multiple times.”

Judge in response to reports of torture: “Did you expect them to serve you kebab?’”

Beigzadeh Babamiri added that the judge was aware of the torture endured by him and his co-defendant:

“How could the Urmia Revolutionary Court and Judge Reza Najafzadeh, despite the legal briefs submitted by me and other defendants detailing the types of torture suffered by the 14 defendants in this case, respond in court by simply saying the shameful sentence: ‘Did you expect them to serve you kebab?’

“Judicial independence is nothing but a myth in this country. The torturer is fully protected while the victim is placed under threat, pressure, and additional punishments. The goal of the security forces is not to maintain public safety, but rather to serve their superiors and exercise blind ethnic and sectarian prejudice. Torture and fabricated cases are standard practices and tools of oppressive forces.”

Breakdown of the death sentences against 5 protesters: 

  1. Ali (Soran) Ghasemi has been sentenced to three death sentences by a Revolutionary Court in Urmia for the charges of “armed rebellion,” “enmity against God,” and “leading and forming a rebel group.” In a separate ruling by the criminal court, he was also sentenced to 10 years and 1 day in prison for aiding and abetting murder.” In addition, he received further prison time and a financial fine on alleged charges such as “cooperation with Israel,” “smuggling Starlink satellite equipment,” and “propaganda against the state.”
  2. Pejman Soltani has received three death sentences: two for “armed rebellion” and “enmity against God,” by a Revolutionary Court in Urmia and one from the juvenile criminal court for premeditated murder (qisas). He was also sentenced to multiple years of imprisonment and a financial fine for alleged charges such as “cooperation with Israel,” “smuggling Starlink satellite equipment,” and “propaganda against the state.”
  3. Kaveh Salehi was sentenced to two death sentences by a Revolutionary Court in Urmia on charges of “armed rebellion” and “enmity against God.” He was acquitted of murder charges in the separate case but was still sentenced to additional years in prison and fined for security-related charges similar to those faced by the others.
  4. Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri was sentenced to three death sentences for “armed rebellion,” “leading a rebel group,” and one for “spying for Israel.” He also received 15 years in prison from the criminal court for murder, and additional prison terms and fines for alleged charges such as “cooperation with Israel,” “smuggling Starlink satellite equipment,” and “propaganda against the state.”
  5. Teyfour Salimi Babamiri, who had previously been temporarily released on bail, was sentenced to one death sentence for allegedly leading the same “rebel group.” He also received further prison time and a fine for alleged charges such as “cooperation with Israel,” “smuggling Starlink satellite equipment,” and “propaganda against the state.”

In July 2024, the Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), published footage of forced “confessions” of four of the detainees, despite their consistent claims that these statements were made under physical and psychological torture.

Arab and Lur Political Prisoners Next in Line for Execution

The recent crackdown is not limited to Kurdish activists. On July 11, it was reported that three Arab political prisoners—Ali MojadamMoein Khenfari, and Mohammadreza Mojadam—were transferred from the general ward of Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz to solitary confinement on June 25, 2025. They were sentenced to death on charges that included “collaboration with anti-regime groups” and “acting against national security.” They had previously endured prolonged solitary confinement, violent interrogations, and forced “confessions.”

The three were reportedly able to make brief phone calls to their families on July 13, after 17 days of complete incommunicado detention.

On July 11, Branch 1 of the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Adibimehr, sentenced Farshad EtemadifarMasoud Jamei, and Alireza Mordasi each to two death sentences and one year in prison on charges of “corruption on earth,” “membership in rebel groups,” and “propaganda against the regime.” Jamei and Alireza Mordasi belong to Iran’s Arab ethnic minority, while Etemadifar is from the Lur ethnic group.

A source familiar with the case told CHRI:

“The judicial process for these individuals was marked by violations of fundamental fair trial principles, including lack of effective access to legal counsel, security pressures, and confessions obtained under duress.”

In the same case, two others—Saman Hormatnejad and Davood Hormatnejad—received prison sentences of 12 and 15 years, respectively. All five were arrested in 2023.

Masoud Jamei’s case is especially dire. A former employee of the National Iranian Oil Company, Jamei, 47, suffers from stomach cancer, liver disease, high blood pressure, and a severe internal infection. He was arrested in August 2023 and reportedly subjected to intense torture, and has since been denied critical medical treatment during his 13 months of detention in Sheiban Prison.

In March 2025, Jamei and his wife Zeinab Hezbahpour and their children Nahid (22), Dalal (20), and Roghieh (16) were tried in the Bavi Revolutionary Court on charges of alleged affiliation with anti-government groups. Details of their legal proceedings and charges remain unknown.

A Call for Global Red Lines

The Islamic Republic of Iran is now running one of the world’s most aggressive execution campaigns targeting peaceful protesters, political dissidents, and minority communities, under the pretense of national security. These death sentences, based on torturefabricated charges, and ethnic profiling, amount to state-sponsored murder. The international community should not remain silent as the Iranian government escalates this war on its own citizens, CHRI stressed.

“The Iranian regime is testing the world’s moral boundaries. Every death sentence issued under torture and false confession is a challenge to international law, and every silent response from the global community is a tacit green light for further executions,” said Ghandehari.

“The international community must act now—not after the gallows have done their work and these voices are permanently silenced,” she added.

This press release was updated to reflect that Massoud Jamei and Alireza Mardasi are from Iran’s Arab minority, while Farshad Etemadifar belongs to the Lur ethnic group.

©2025 , All rights reserved.


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VIDEO: Exodus Cry Films launches July 30, 2025—World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Exodus Cry Films—our new online streaming platform created to awaken hearts, expose injustice, and inspire action.

Watch the teaser to get a first look at what’s ahead.

Exodus Cry Films will be the official home for our documentaries and narrative films, serving as a central hub for millions to engage with these powerful stories—and be moved to act.

We’re kicking things off with the online premiere of Buying Her on July 30—World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

After touring the globe through in-person screenings, this will be the first time Buying Her is available to viewers worldwide.

Because we believe that awareness inspires action, all content on Exodus Cry Films will be completely free.

This platform represents nearly two decades of anti-trafficking work and over a year of development.

At launch, it will feature more than a dozen original films exposing sex trafficking and sexual exploitation—with many more in production and coming soon!

Watch Teaser

We hope you’ll join us on July 30 as we launch this new chapter, because your voice is what helps create a world where every person can be free.

With anticipation,

The Exodus Cry Team

©2025 . All rights reserved.

Dismantling Judeo-Christian Values, One Case at a Time?

Did the founders of America intend for God to be banished from the public arena?

The idea occurs so regularly in modern times that we tend to think it’s what the founders wanted. For example, recently, a law allowing the posting of the Ten Commandments in Louisiana schools has been blocked as unconstitutional (for the moment) by a court.

Yet one early American politician had the temerity to write and do the following:

  • He wrote that “the councils of the General Government in their decisions…[were drawn from] the…precepts of the gospel.”
  • He wrote that “liberty to worship our creator…[is] deemed in other countries incompatible with good government, and yet proved by our experience to be its best support.”
  • He signed an “Act Appointing a Chaplain to Each Brigade of the Army.”
  • He wrote: “Our right to life, liberty…is not left to the feeble and sophistical investigations of reason, but is impressed on the sense of every man. We do not claim these under the charters of kings or legislators, but under the King of kings.”

Of course, the “King of kings” refers to Jesus.

This is amazing. Didn’t this political leader know that the founders intended for the public square in America? Actually, these are words and actions of Thomas Jefferson, from whom comes the phrase “separation of church and state”—words not found in our Constitution.

Dr. Robert J. Pacienza, the CEO of Coral Ridge Ministries, recently observed, “This is where secularism fails. It borrows the fruit of Christianity but rejects the root. And like a branch severed from the vine, it withers….You cannot have ordered liberty without moral law, and you cannot have moral law without God.”

A great American would concur. In his First Inaugural Address in 1789, President George Washington said, “the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”

Dr. Peter Lillback, founder of Providence Forum, for which I now serve as executive director, told me what he thought Washington might have had in mind when he referred to “the eternal rules of order and right…” According to Lillback, it was the Ten Commandments. Week after week, Washington worshiped in churches with the writing on the walls of the Ten Commandments (and the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed).

David Gibbs III, the founder and head of the National Center for Life and Liberty, once told me: “The Ten Commandments serve as the foundational principles of American law, and that is why they are etched in the stone above the Supreme Court. Allowing school children to be exposed to these historical documents is imperative to preserve culture and law for future generations. Schools can teach history without violating the constitution, and nations that forsake their heritage are doomed to forget their foundational principles upon which their continued success depends.”

Someone might say, “You can’t legislate morality.” Certainly, we can’t order people to bow down and worship the one true God, whose commands comprise the Decalogue.

But all legislation reflects someone’s morality. Why is the Judeo-Christian system that helped give birth to the freedoms we enjoy somehow declared unconstitutional?

Is any reference to Christianity in official acts unconstitutional? Well, how is the Constitution itself signed? “In the year of our Lord, 1787.” That is a reference to Jesus in our nation’s governing document. Does that mean that the Constitution is “unconstitutional”?

Someone might argue that the founders didn’t mean anything by saying “the year of our Lord.” But today’s secularists are so threatened by it that they’ve changed the reference to years from AD (as in Anno Domini, Latin for “the year of our Lord”) to CE (as in Common Era).

We’ve been robbed of our heritage. Children in schools are stealing, lying, and in some cases killing others. But woe to those who would post the Ten Commandments in schools, with its prohibitions against stealing, lying, and killing.

Someone might say it’s not those parts of the Decalogue that are supposedly “unconstitutional,” it’s the God parts. But then the question is: Where is there any sense of accountability if we remove God?

Can America last as a nation, when we have been so cut off, at least by the elites, from our Judeo-Christian foundation? Is the handwriting on the wall for America? Or will we return to the type of writing on the wall, the Ten Commandments, that Washington and other founders of America used to guide their lives?

As Thomas Jefferson once asked, “[C]an the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”

©2025 All rights reserved.

Child Sex Traffickers and Non-Governmental Organizations

Let’s be clear about the term non-governmental organization. According to Wikipedia:

non-governmental organization (NGO) is a typically nonprofit organization that operates partially independent of government control, though an NGO may get a significant percentage, or even all of its funding from government sources. NGOs often focus on humanitarian or social issues but can also include clubs and associations offering services to members. Some NGOs, like the World Economic Forum, may also act as lobby groups for corporations. Unlike international organizations (IOs), which directly interact with sovereign states and governments, NGOs are independent from them.

The term as it is used today was first introduced in Article 71 of the newly formed United Nations Charter in 1945. While there is no fixed or formal definition for what NGOs are, they are generally defined as nonprofit entities that are independent of government management or direction—although they may receive government funding.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was established in 1961 by executive order of President John F. Kennedy. Its mission was defined as a global program of technical and financial development assistance to low-income countries to be administered under the direction of the Secretary of State. Between 1961 and 2025, USAID morphed into a political arm of the increasingly radical leftist Democrat party that funded anti-American policies and programs both internationally and domestically.

USAID was involved in the funding and fomenting of anti-American policies through educational indoctrination and the culturally abhorrent practice of intentionally sexualizing children to destroy families and collapse America from within. But there is more. USAID was also actively involved in child sex trafficking and exploitation through its payments to NGOs.

On April 26, 2023, Health and Human Services (HHS) whistleblower Tara Lee Rodas testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement. The hearing titled, “‘The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children’ will examine the unprecedented surge of unaccompanied alien children at the southwest border and how open-border policies enable the exploitation of children.” Excerpts from Tara Lee Rodas’ chilling testimony:

Today, children will work overnight shifts at slaughterhouses, factories, restaurants to pay their debts to smugglers and traffickers. Today, children will be sold for sex. Today, children will call a hotline to report the[y] are being abused, neglected, and trafficked. For nearly a decade, unaccompanied children have been suffering in the shadows.

I must confess; I knew nothing about their suffering until 2021 when I volunteered to help the Biden Administration with the crisis at the Southern Border. As part of Operation Artemis, I was deployed to the Pomona Fairplex Emergency Intake Site in California to help the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement [ORR] reunite children with sponsors in the US.

I thought I was going to help place children in loving homes. Instead, I discovered that children are being trafficked through a sophisticated network that begins with being recruited in home country, smuggled to the US border, and ends when ORR delivers a child to a sponsor – some sponsors are criminals and traffickers and members of Transnational Criminal Organizations. Some sponsors view children as commodities and assets to be used for earning income – this is why we are witnessing an explosion of labor trafficking.

Whether intentional or not, it can be argued that the US Government has become the middleman in a large scale, multi-billion-dollar, child trafficking operation run by bad actors seeking to profit off the lives of children. …

Realizing that we were not offering children the American dream but instead putting them into modern-day slavery with wicked overlords was a terrible revelation. These children are a captive victim population, with no access to law enforcement or knowledge of their rights. They are extorted, exploited, abused, neglected, and trafficked. This is why I blew the whistle.

Over a year later, on November 19, 2024, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) lead a stunning House Homeland Security Committee hearing, “Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing: Migrant Children Victims of the Biden-Harris Administration.” The stupefying testimony of Retired Border Patrol agent J.J. Carrel is archived in an Economic Times YouTube video titled “‘Child Traffickers use NGOs and sponsors…’: Witnesses make sensational claim at US Congress hearing.” The entire transcript is available on the Homeland Security website.

It is very difficult for the civilized mind to process the malevolence of the Biden-Harris facilitation of child sex trafficking through its policies for unaccompanied migrant children, but incredulity cannot stop the abuse. Prosecution of the perpetrators can.

During his testimony J.J. Carrell explains that the year 2021, Joe Biden’s first year in office, was Carrell’s last year in the U.S. Border Patrol, a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP):

On his [Biden’s] first day in office, I watched in disbelief as 94 executive orders cascaded down from Washington DC obliterating every immigration policy that had been provided, the most secure border in America’s history. Border patrol agents were forced to carry out unconstitutional orders that violated every law in the Immigration Nationality Act. President Biden, through Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, created policy out of thin air, ignored Federal immigration law and facilitated the largest mass Invasion into America that the world has ever seen. The United States of America will have spent hundreds of billions of dollars in four years to fund the needs of over 50 million illegal aliens that populate our nation. Between 1 and 6 and 1 in 7 residents in America is an illegal alien. America has suffered the greatest demographic shift in modern history. …

After serving in the United States Border Patrol for 24 years, spending a year researching and writing a bestselling book entitled Invaded: The Intentional Destruction of American Immigration System, and filming two documentaries, I state with complete certainty that Biden, Harris, and Mayorkas intentionally, strategically, and purposely, weaponized illegal immigration and used it as a tool to fundamentally transform America. Inside this invasion the unspoken evil of child trafficking, and more specifically child sex trafficking, has flourished. At the end of this current [Biden] Administration the number of children trafficked will have grown to over 550,000 unaccompanied alien children, children known as UACs. This horrific number of children will have been arrested, released into America, and then lost. …

Unaccompanied alien children were being handed off to total strangers. Then they disappeared into the darkness of labor and sex trafficking. …

In August of 2024 the Inspector General with oversight over DHS issued a report stating that the number of lost UCAs was not 85,000 [as previously reported] it was over 320,000. …

The evil of child sex trafficking is difficult to digest and understand. However, after conducting numerous interviews with officers, agents, and whistleblowers from every alphabet agency and department, it was made clear to us that the federal government knowingly and actively facilitated these criminal acts. After several exhaustive months of filming, interviewing, and then editing this documentary, I state without reservation that the United States federal government is the world’s largest child sex trafficking organization in modern history.

Readers will wonder about the Biden-Harris administration’s specific culpability in the unspeakable horror of its child sex trafficking industry. Chairman Higgins provides the answer:

Historically the cartels would bring their product, human beings and drugs, to the southern border. It’d be some level of interaction by CBP by federal law enforcement, state or local law enforcement, and then unaccompanied children would be processed through HHS and turned over to non-government organizations, where they would be turned over to family sponsors, either family or non-family, but sponsors that were vetted in some manner.

This is a memorandum of understanding that operated for a long time. It was quite significant between the Office of Refugee Resettlement [ORR] and the United States Department of Health and Human Services [HHS]. The beginning process by which unaccompanied children were delivered to sponsors that were vetted. Because of the volume of children that would be coming across in the last four years, and a part of that the HHS and DHS joint statement of termination of this agreement in this is from March of 2021.

My brothers and sisters this was a policy decision to step away from the strict means by which the children were monitored and controlled. And what we were what it was replaced with was this “Sponsor Care Agreement.” There’s nothing to this. It’s three and a half pages, two pages of nothing that that the criminal networks can easily take advantage of. So, we have now delivered hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied children to unvetted sponsors that have enslaved them across our country.

Readers will also wonder how the child sex trafficking industry was funded. It is a stupefying realization that American taxpayers were funding child sex trafficking through USAID payments to non-governmental organizations both here and abroad. This exchange between committee member Mr. Luttrell and J.J. Carrell explains:

[Mr. Luttrell] Mr. Carrell and anybody else who would like to answer this. Can you name some of these NGOs that have specifically taken these hundreds of millions of dollars and not used it to protect these children.

[J.J. Carrell] Catholic Charities, Lutheran Family Services, Jewish Family Services. I spoke to a gentleman that works in DHS. He actually sends the electronic fund transfers, and I asked him, “Sir, tell me who you work, who do you send, who are you responsible for? And how much is the largest check you cut?” He said, “I’m over at Jewish Family Services and I cut a check for $600 million.” And I said is that for like three years, and he told me, “J.J. get in the game, that’s two or three months, and it’s renewable.” That’s one NGO and I say well Catholic Charities is bigger than Jewish Family Services. Yes, they get the same, they get the same or more. You’re talking about billions upon billions of dollars given to NGOs to further the trafficking of all of everyone crossing the border to include children.

Incoming President Donald Trump’s response was immediate. On January 24, 2025, President Trump’s fourth day in his second term, he froze almost all foreign aid, and on January 27, 2025, USAID’s government website was shut down. On February 3, 2025, Elon Musk, in his capacity as head of President Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), explained that he and President Trump were shutting down USAID because it had become a “criminal organization” and was “beyond repair.” Reporter Sarah Fortinsky quotes Elon Musk in The Hill, February 3, 2025, “Musk: Trump ‘agreed’ USAID should be shut down“:

If you’ve got an apple that’s got a worm in it, maybe you can take the worm out, but if you’ve got actually just a ball of worms, it’s hopeless. And USAID is a ball of worms. There is no apple. And when there is no apple, you’ve just got to basically get rid of the whole thing,” Musk said.

“That is why it’s got to go,” he added. “It’s beyond repair.” … “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.”

In a live-streamed cabinet meeting on April 30, 2025, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed saying:

We have ended HHS as the role, as the vector — the principal vector in this country for child trafficking. During the Biden administration, HHS became a collaborator in child trafficking and for sex and for slavery. And, we have ended that, and we are very aggressively going out and trying to find these children — the 300,000 children that were lost by the Biden administration. …

As of July 15, 2025, the DOGE website reports that DOGE has saved American taxpayers $190 billion, approximately $1,180 per taxpayer. It has choked off the money supply to USAID and interfered with its depraved and degenerate child sex trafficking industry. The Trump administration is dedicated to ending the scourge of the Biden-Harris child sex trafficking industry. In a pre-election Truth Social post on July 21, 2023, President Donald Trump vowed to pass legislation to institute the death penalty for human traffickers who carry women and children across the border. It is time to bring the perpetrators to justice.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: EXCLUSIVE: Epstein-Funded MIT Lab Hosted Panel On Giving Pedos Child Sex Robots


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Order Linda’s book Space Is No Longer the Final Frontier––Reality Is is available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats on barnesandnoble.comamazon.com, and directly from Ingram in paperback.

The Spiritual Leader Of The Syrian Druze, Hikmat Al-Hijri, Calls On Trump, Netanyahu, Bin Salman And Abdullah II To Save The Druze Of The Al-Suwayda Governorate From The Syrian Government

Syria | Special Dispatch No. 12080

On July 13, 2025, clashes broke out in Al-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria between Druze factions and Bedouin tribes following several mutual kidnapping incidents. The new Syrian government headed by Ahmed Al-Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani) quickly seized this escalation as an opportunity to intervene militarily in the governorate, which is not under its full security control, and sent troops to “enforce security” there.

In light of damage caused to its image by the massacres perpetrated against Alawite civilians on the Syrian coast in March 2025, with the participation of government forces,[1] the government stressed that the Syrian soldiers and security officers had been instructed to protect civilians and avoid harming them in any way.[2] But in practice, there were many documented incidents of Syrian forces firing indiscriminately at civilians, looting their property, torching their homes and humiliating them.[3] Dozens of Druze have been killed so far, including women and children.[4]

These developments prompted Hikmat Al-Hijri, the prominent spiritual leader of the Druze community in Syria, who is based in Al-Suwayda and is a known opponent of the Al-Sharaa government, to issue a statement on June 16 calling on world leaders – including U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu[5] – to “save Al-Suwayda.”

It should be noted that, in a statement he issued one day earlier, Al-Hijri actually called on the Syrian government to extend its control over the Al-Suwayda Governorate, welcomed the arrival of its forces there, and exhorted all the local armed factions to cooperate with these forces.[6] However, a short time later, when the government forces’ violence against the Druze civilians continued, he released a statement claiming that his previous “humiliating” statement had been issued “under coercion from Damascus and pressure from foreign countries.” He added that Al-Suwayda was facing a war and called to confront it.[7]

It should also be noted that this is not the first time the Syrian Druze have been attacked by the forces of the new government. In late April, following extreme incitement, armed action was perpetrated against them in the Damascus area and in southern Syria.[8]

The bodies of members of the Radwan family in the city of Al-Suwayda, 13 of whom were killed in their home by Syrian security forces (Source: T.me/nahermedia/49455, July 15, 2025)

The following is a translation of Al-Hijri’s July 16, 2025 statement:

“The Spiritual Leadership of the Monotheistic Muslims,[9] the Druze

“We call upon the free world and all the forces operating within it, upon [U.S.] President Donald Trump, [Israeli] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, [Saudi] Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and His Royal Highness the [Jordanian] King Abdullah II, and upon anyone who has a voice and influence in the world, to save the Suwayda [Governorate].

“Our people are being exterminated and murdered in cold blood. The murderers do not distinguish between young and old, woman and child, doctor and sheikh. They destroy churches and houses of worship. These massacres are being perpetrated in front of the entire world, and silence continues to kill. We hold the international community fully responsible for fulfilling its humanitarian and moral duty of stopping this systematic [killing].

“The mask has fallen from the face of the oppressive and tyrannical gang that rules [Syria]. We call upon our Sunni brethren to take a clear stand on what is happening to their fellow Syrians, for we have never been enemies or rivals and we can no longer coexist with a regime that can only rule with iron and fire and [wield] power through violence and abuse.

“Our call to you is not political, but humanitarian and moral. [Act] before it is too late. Save a people that is being murdered simply for asking to live in dignity.”[10]

SOURCES:

[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11872 – Syrian Journalists Warned Before HTS’ Massacres Against The Alawites: The New Regime Is Allowing Acts Of Vengeance Against Them; International Intervention Is A Necessity, March 11, 2025.

[2] T.me/sana_gov/133658, July 15, 2025; X.com/Murhaf_abuqasra, July 14, 2025.

[3] Facebook.com/Suwayda24, July 15, 2025.

[4] Syriahr.com, July 16, 2025.

[5] After the advent of the Al-Sharaa government, Israel declared that it would protect the Syrian Druze from any abuse by his forces. On several occasions it indeed attacked Syrian forces who were acting against the Druze, including in the present round of clashes.

[6] Facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089249525829, July 15, 2025.

[7] Facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089249525829, July 15, 2025.

[8] Facebook.com/Syriatvnews, April 30, 2025; T.me/news7al/39449, May 12, 2025.

[9] “Monotheistic Muslims” is a term the Druze apply to themselves.

[10] Facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089249525829, July 16, 2025.

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Syrian Jihadi Group ‘Ansar Al-Sunnah Battalions’ Threatens To Target Druze, As Other Syrian Jihadis Call To ‘Close Druze File,’ Reject Coexistence

Online Reactions To Bedouin-Druze Clashes In Suwayda, Syria: Islamic State (ISIS) Supporters Criticize ‘Docile’ Syrian Government Response As Pro-Government Channels And Jihadi Clerics Describe Druze As ‘Enemies Of Sunnis’ And ‘Betrayers Of The Nation’

EDITORS NOTE: This MEMRI column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

‘Woke,’ ‘Weak,’ and ‘Out of Touch’: The Crisis of the Democratic Brand

The summer hasn’t done much to break the heat that Democrats are feeling from voters. The party of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is about as popular as a rush-hour traffic jam, according to the latest surveys. Unfortunately for Minority Leaders Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), time hasn’t helped the dismal approval ratings — nor, most Americans would point out, has the party’s supposed “self-reflection.”

In the eight months since Election night, Democrats have spent countless hours and dollars on meetings, strategy sessions, focus groups, and autopsy reports only to turn around and ignore the lessons they teach. “Woke,” “weak,” and “out of touch” was how one survey described the party that paid for the poll. With the GOP eating into the once-impressive margins that Democrats enjoyed with Hispanics, the working class, and white men, Schumer and company are looking at a pretty dismal approval rating — just 35% across those key demographics.

Equally as frustrating, there’s little to no hope in the base that things will change. Asked how optimistic they are about the future of the party, dejected Democrats have all but resigned to their fate in the political wilderness. Only 35% think things will turn around in the future — an almost 20-point drop from the 57% last July. Much to Jeffries’s and Schumer’s displeasure, congressional Democrats are taking a severe beating in the polls. A late June YouGov/Economist survey found a sharp drop in Americans’ approval of their House and Senate members: a -32 favorability rating, compared to -15 when Donald Trump took office in January.

And while insiders are quick to call these results “striking,” they’re just as quick to dismiss them. “Americans have a pretty sour view of everyone in Washington right now,” Democrat pollster Matt McDermott rationalized. But, he rightly pointed out, “It’s important to note that the favorability of the opposition party has never been a reliable barometer for midterm results. Voters don’t need to like the ‘out’ party to vote for change — they just need to be fed up with the incumbents,” he observed. “I see parallels in the current climate. Trump’s presidency (or second presidency, in this case) has mobilized a lot of anger and opposition.”

Republicans might be tempted to cheer the opposition’s fall from grace or draw premature conclusions about how this could impact the 2026 elections — but they shouldn’t. The reality is, Donald Trump will always be more unpopular in the Democratic base than Democrats themselves — and he, not Jeffries or Schumer — is what will motivate them to turn out in the midterms. To think that the base’s exasperation with the Left will keep them home is to underestimate their general hatred for the president. Once Trump is gone, the party will have a real crisis on its hands. Without the president to drive the protest vote, Americans will be forced to evaluate Democrats on what they actually stand for. And that’s where the party’s tenuous hold unravels.

“Part of the problem for Democrats is that there is little consensus about what exactly the party stands for in concrete policy terms,” David Walsh vents in the Boston Review. Or maybe the problem is that people do know what the Democrats stand for — radical gender ideology, open borders, DEI, abortion until birth, the “global intifada,” and general lawlessness — and reject it on its face. That, more than anything, is what’s given rise to a quiet countermovement in the Democratic Party, a growing determination to give voice to the marginalized — but more broadly appealing — centrists in the base.

Fed up with the off-putting narrative driving the Democrats’ messaging, the party’s “middle” is hosting events like WelcomeFest to bridge the gap that voters see between Jeffries’s Squad and the average American. “In the wake of their 2024 loss,” Jeremiah Johnson writes in The Dispatch, “a significant portion of Democratic leadership seems to believe that what the party really needs is to change the messaging. They need more aggressive PR, better catchphrases, more viral stunts. They need to go on more podcasts!” Sure, he agrees, a better messaging strategy might help. “But the core thing that held Democrats back in 2024 wasn’t PR strategy. It was the party’s beliefs and policies. If Democrats want to win the kind of large and durable majorities that will allow them to really govern, they’re going to have to rethink those policies.”

He’s referring, of course, to the party’s insistence on clinging to fringe views that reject everything from the sanctity of girls’ sports to parental rights in education, legal immigration, and empowering law enforcement. “Democrats,” Johnson agrees, “continue to deviate from public opinion — afraid to denounce the 20 end of an 80/20 issue in the polls for fear of offending an interest group.” And, he continues, “Democrats do themselves no favors by not loudly condemning the excesses of wokeness, which are real.”

There’s a way to thread that needle, Johnson argues. “They can get visibly tougher on illegal immigration while still advocating for more legal pathways and the fair treatment of immigrants. They can focus on the LGBT rights that matter like non-discrimination in the workplace, non-discrimination in housing, and access to health care — rather than dying on dubious and unpopular niche issues like trans athletes in women’s sports. They can loudly denounce the excesses of DEI (such as mandatory diversity statements for technical STEM research) while preserving diversity and inclusion ideas that still make sense (such as honoring civil rights heroes like Jackie Robinson),” he reiterates. “They can advocate for intelligent police reforms while still taking a hard stance against public disorder, crime, and anti-social behavior.”

And yet, every time a Democrat attempts to moderate their stance, they’re later rolled, repentant, or ostracized. California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) tested the waters on girls’ sports, suggesting it wasn’t fair for America’s daughters to lose titles and positions to men, only to retreat once the party’s woke overlords and fundraisers get their hooks in.

Or take Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.), the hoodie-wearing castoff who’s staked out a rational position on Israel, IranICE, and immigration, and who’s become, in CNN’s words, “isolated” for agreeing with most voters. While he’s tried to embrace a practical view on some of the Democrats’ biggest messaging liabilities, his effort rarely goes unpunished. Even now, the party’s growing frustration with his independent thinking is helping to fuel a bitter primary race in Pennsylvania, where Fetterman’s overall approval is still a +4 positive at 41%.  Ironically, Republicans, who’ve grown to appreciate his ability to break with the Left, give him even higher marks: 45% approval. “My values haven’t changed,” the senator wanted people to know recently. “But I think in some cases, I think our party’s values have changed.” Instead of seeing Fetterman as a senator who can help Democrats reach voters, he’s become a pariah.

Even Fetterman’s suggestion that the party at least sound more civil while pushing these outlandish agendas was ignored. “I think their primary currency was shaming and scolding and talking down to people and telling them ‘Hey, I know better than you, or you’re dopes, or you’re a bro, or you’re ignorant or, how can you be this dumb? I can’t imagine it. And then, by the way, they’re fascists. How can you vote for that?’” Fetterman asked.

“I know and I love people that voted for Trump, and they’re not fascist. They don’t support insurrection and those things. And if you go to an extreme, and you become a boutique kind of proposition, then you’re going to lose the argument. And we have done that,” he lamented about Democrats.

FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter could only shake his head at the party’s refusal to adapt to the cultural and political winds. “The problem is much deeper than a facelift on their advertising and an update to their talking points,” he told The Washington Stand. “The Democratic Party’s base wants their leaders in Congress to double down on opposing President Trump and the Republican Congress wherever they can. This places the Democratic Party in a desperate position,” he warned. “They can try to stanch the bleeding among key demographics by moderating in some places and risk their base turning on them — or they can lean into the anger of their base and watch their numbers continue to decline among men and working-class voters.”

At the end of the day, it’s their choice. “To win votes, you can’t have wildly different views from the public,” Johnson underscored. “That’s a lesson Democrats seem to have forgotten.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

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The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Some Surprisingly Frank Insights: What’s the takeaway for us?

Scottie Scheffler is widely regarded as the best golfer in the world for several years now. In addition to being a superior golfer, he has always been pleasant, respectful, hard-working, etc. When he speaks, most people listen as he is also a thoughtful individual. I’m reposting what he said in a recent interview as it is quite different from what almost all other top athletes in any sport publicly say (I’ve bolded a few unusual comments)…


PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — On the brink of a tournament that could get Scottie Scheffler to four major wins and three of the four legs of the career Grand Slam at age 29, the unquestioned best player in the world said Tuesday that he doesn’t find true fulfillment in winning.

WATCH: Scottie Scheffler: “I’d much rather be a great father than a great golfer.”

This is not a fulfilling life,” Scheffler said. “It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.”

Scheffler has won two Masters, added a third major when he won the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow this year and has 16 career wins since turning professional. He has, in the past, talked at length about not rooting his identity in golf despite acknowledging how badly he wants to win every time he tees it up.

“That’s something that I wrestle with on a daily basis,” Scheffler said at Royal Portrush, where the Open Championship begins Thursday. “It’s like showing up at the Masters every year; it’s like why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win the Open Championship so badly? I don’t know because, if I win, it’s going to be awesome for two minutes.”

Scheffler said Tuesday that sometimes he doesn’t understand the point of winning, even a major championship, because he knows that the nature of the sport will simply be to move on to next week, where he will be asked the same questions about where he goes from here.

“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?

As an example, Scheffler brought up the Byron Nelson event on the PGA Tour, which is a tournament, he said, that he has tried to work to win “his entire life,” given it’s his hometown event. Earlier this year, Scheffler shot 31 under on his way to winning the event outside of Dallas and still, he said, he was struck by how fleeting the moment felt.

“You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister’s there, it’s such an amazing moment. Then it’s like, OK, what are we going to eat for dinner? Life goes on,” Scheffler said. “It feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes. It only lasts a few minutes.”

Still, Scheffler admitted he can’t help but continue to seek out that feeling, however fleeting, even knowing that, statistically, he is more likely to lose than to win every time he plays.

“It sucks. I hate it, I really do,” Scheffler said of losing. “We work so hard for such little moments. I’m kind of sicko; I love putting in the work, I love getting to practice, I love getting to live out my dreams. But at the end of the day, sometimes I just don’t understand the point.”

The point this week, to many of the players in the field, is getting to raise the Claret Jug on Sunday. Scheffler is not immune from sharing that feeling, and he is doing everything in his power to prepare to win his fourth major championship.

In four appearances at The Open, Scheffler has two top-10 finishes and two finishes outside the top 20. It’s a testament to his consistently high play at major championships that this tournament is likely the one where his performance has not quite matched his other major starts.

If I come in second this week or if I finish dead last, no matter what happens, we’re always on to the next week,” Scheffler said. “That’s one of the beautiful things about golf, and it’s also one of the frustrating things, because you can have such great accomplishments, but the show goes on. That’s just how it is.”


The Bottom Line —

It’s healthy to periodically step back and review what path we’re on: are we focused on the memorable, or are we overly occupied by the mundane?

The takeaway is that we all should regularly do some Critical Thinking about the priorities in our life — and whether our time and efforts reflect them…

Put another way: if we died today, what would our epitaph be?

More importantly, when we cash in our chips, the Big Guy will likely say something like: “My child, I blessed you with several talents, and graced you with multiple opportunities. What did you do with them?”

What will your answer be?

©2025   All rights reserved.


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Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2025 Archives. Please send me an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time – but why would you?

HarrisX NYC Poll: Tight Race Emerges in NYC Mayoral General Election, But Cuomo Stronger Than Adams Against Mamdani

NEW YORK, NY /PRNewswire/ — A new poll from HarrisX finds the New York City mayoral race shaping up to be a tight and competitive contest, with Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani statistically tied with former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in a four-way race. While Mamdani leads Mayor Eric Adams in a head-to-head race, the poll shows Cuomo defeating the Democratic nominee by a wide 15-point margin in a one-on-one contest.

The survey of 585 registered New York City voters was conducted online between July 7–8, with key findings including:

  • In a four-way race, Mamdani (26 percent) is tied with Cuomo (23 percent) and Sliwa (22 percent), all within the margin of error. Adams is at 13 percent and 15 percent of voters are undecided.
  • In a three-way race without Adams, Cuomo (31 percent) is statistically tied with Mamdani (29 percent) and Sliwa (28 percent).
  • In a three-way race without Cuomo, Mamdani leads by 10 points, winning 35 percent to Sliwa’s 25 percent and Adams’ 19 percent.
  • In head-to-head matchups, Mamdani topples Adams 43 percent to 36 percent, but trails Cuomo 35 percent to 50 percent, a 15-point advantage for Cuomo.

The results show that Mamdani benefits most if Cuomo is not in the race, gaining a 10-point lead in that scenario. Conversely, Cuomo gains ground if Adams is not in the race and wins outright in a head-to-head matchup with Mamdani.

“These numbers show a volatile race still taking shape,” said Dritan Nesho, CEO of HarrisX. “While the progressive base is fueling Mamdani’s rise, Cuomo’s broad name recognition and moderate appeal make him a formidable general election challenger.”

For full cross tabs and for more information on this poll and others, visit: www.harrisx.com

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online from July 7–8, 2025 among 585 registered voters in New York City. Respondents are recruited through opt-in, web-panel recruitment sampling. Recruitment occurs through a broad variety of professional, validated respondent panels to expand the sampling frame as wide as possible and minimize the impact of any given panel on recruiting methods. The results reflect a representative sample of likely registered voters in New York City. Results were weighted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, income, education, borough, party, and ideology where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. The margin of error for the total sample is ±4.1 percentage points. This study was conducted independently by HarrisX prior to Andrew Cuomo’s announcement to run as an independent in the general election.

About HarrisX

HarrisX is a leading strategic research, data analytics and AI consultancy focused on emerging technologies, business and social trends, public policy and politics. HarrisX conducts multi-method research in the United States and over 50 countries around the world on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, public institutions, NGOs, global leaders and philanthropic organizations. HarrisX was the most accurate pollster of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and one of the most accurate outfits in the 2024 presidential election, correctly calling the results in five out of seven battleground states and the national vote.

SOURCE: HarrisX

©2025 . All rights reserved.

EXCLUSIVE: Congressional Republicans To Unveil Bill Stripping National Education Association’s Federal Charter

Congressional Republicans will unveil a bill Wednesday aimed at revoking the federal charter of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the United States, the Daily Caller has learned.

Republicans Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina and Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee will introduce the National Education Association Charter Repeal Act in their respective chambers, aiming to sever the union from its congressional ties, a congressional aide told the Caller. Founded in 1857, the NEA received its charter from Congress in 1906 and now represents over 3 million educators nationwide.

The NEA has a “long list of egregious violations of public trust,” including an Open Secrets report finding that 98 percent of NEA political donations went to Democratic candidates during the 2024 election cycle, Harris said in a statement obtained by the Caller.

More recently, the NEA has faced controversy for passing a resolution that “pledges to defend democracy against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using the term facism [sic] in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions,” the New York Post reported, citing documents obtained by conservative education expert Corey DeAngelis.

Tina Descovich, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, praised Harris’ move in a statement obtained by the Caller. “It’s incredibly sad that the nation‘s largest teachers’ union has put woke politics before America’s children. The NEA’s embrace of radical left policies and antisemitism, combined with their rejection of parental rights, has forced moms and dads across America to condemn this organization,” she said.

The NEA’s operations rely primarily on member dues, not support from the federal government, according to Influence Watch. However, the bill could sever the organization’s congressional ties and eliminate certain property tax exemptions, according to the statement obtained by the Caller.

Similar bills to revoke the NEA’s charter, including one proposed by Blackburn in 2022, have struggled to gain traction, stalling in committee or merely being introduced on the floor.

The Caller has reached out to the NEA for comment but has not received a response at the time of publication.

AUTHOR

Derek VanBuskirk

Reporter

RELATED ARTICLE: ROOKE: America’s Largest Teachers Union Issues Torrent Of New Wackadoodle Anti-Trump Policies

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

PODCAST: ICE removes airplane hijacker among 1,361 violent criminals in Houston, Texas

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 1,361 illegal immigrants in the Houston area in June, which included individuals previously convicted of hijacking an airplane, homicide, sexual assault and more, the agency revealed. ICE said in a press release that the illegal immigrants arrested in the Houston area in June are either currently charged with or have been convicted of a criminal offense. Of those arrested, 32 were previously convicted of child sex offenses, nine for homicide-related offenses, and 16 believed to be gang or drug cartel members. One person arrested by ICE was convicted of hijacking an airplane headed to Key West, Florida, from Cuba.

“Despite attempts by some to undermine our mission by spreading false and malicious rumors, the brave men and women of ICE continue to work tirelessly around the clock targeting dangerous criminal aliens to restore integrity to our nation’s immigration system and bolster public safety in our communities,” Martinez said.

“The number of dangerous criminal aliens that they removed from local communities across Southeast Texas last month is just another example of their selfless and unyielding efforts to return our local communities to places where we can all raise our families without having to worry about child predators, gang members, or other violent criminal aliens preying on our loved ones,” he continued.

Deportation officers from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office arrest David Antonio Lazo-Alvarenga, a 42-year-old criminal alien from El Salvador, June 12, in Houston. (ICE) Among those arrested by ICE are: – 56-year-old Adermis Wilson-Gonzalez, convicted in 2003 of hijacking an airplane. – 47-year-old Arnulfo Olivares Cervantes, convicted of trafficking cocaine, attempted murder, evading arrest, illegal entry and drug possession. According to ICE, he has entered the U.S. six times illegally. – 29-year-old Luis Pablo Vasquez-Estolano, convicted of homicide, aggravated robbery, burglary of a vehicle and drug possession. – 40-year-old Jose Meza, convicted of sexual assault of a minor and theft. – 51-year-old Javier Escobar Gonzalez, convicted of sexual indecency with a minor, criminal trespass with a deadly weapon, driving while intoxicated and unauthorized use of a firearm.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

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Iranian Regime Still Living in an Alternate Universe

The Islamist regime that governs Iran is still behaving as if it did not just lose a devastating war. Over the past two years, Israel has systematically destroyed Iran’s terrorist proxies, air defense, and missile capabilities, and then Israel and the U.S. set back its nuclear weapons program by years or decades in an intensive air bombardment. Already, the vanquished is presuming to engage with the victors on an equal footing.

The most recent example came in a speech Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave this weekend to diplomats in Tehran, in which he condescendingly allowed that Iran is ready to re-engage with the U.S. in talks over the future of its nuclear program and potential sanctions relief — but only if all of Iran’s conditions are met. He demanded “assurance … that, in case of a resumption of talks, the trend will not lead to war.”

“First of all,” Araghchi insisted, “there should be a firm guarantee that such actions [as the U.S. bombing of its nuclear facilities] will not be repeated. The attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution based on negotiations.”

On June 21, the U.S. military executed a stunning campaign that dropped high-powered bombs on Iran’s top three nuclear sites, burying the bunkers deep under rubble without Iran ever knowing what hit them. In an interview published Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted the U.S. airstrikes so damaged the sites that Iran still has not been able to assess the extent of the destruction.

The stunning operation came after months of fruitless negotiations, in which Iranian negotiators would agree to little more than the next meeting. Despite the strict deadline President Trump imposed up front, the Iranian regime never budged from the position that it would continue enriching uranium to nearly-weapons-grade levels as fast as possible.

In other words, Araghchi’s remarks were merely a crude attempt to rewrite history. There never was any hope “to achieve a solution based on negotiations.” The only solution acceptable to President Donald Trump is one in which the Iranian regime gave up its nuclear weapons program and stockpiles of enriched uranium. The only solution Iran envisioned is one in which it would become a nuclear-armed power.

Only after this impasse became abundantly apparent did President Trump resort to bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities. Far from “difficult and complicated,” this presented an easy and simple solution to the problem, at least so far as America’s priorities went.

Furthermore, with Iran’s nuclear weapons program set back by years, there was no longer any point to America continuing the negotiations, nor offering the possibility of sanctions relief. Negotiations were not an end in themselves, but merely a tool that served as a means to the end of eliminating Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Trump found another, easier means to that end, so further negotiations would be, from the American perspective, a means to nothing.

Araghchi offered to re-enter negotiations with the U.S., on the condition that America pledge not to bomb their nuclear sites again. In other words, he demands that America voluntarily forgo the most effective means to dismantle Iran’s nuclear weapons program, in exchange for another means that never offered much promise. This gets the priority of the objectives exactly backward, pretending that the negotiations were an end in themselves, and not a means to achieve something else.

The one possible advantage to a negotiated solution is that it would offer a more permanent resolution. Instead of setting Iran back by years or decades, at which point their nuclear program would again become a threat, a negotiated solution would cause Iran to desist from its efforts to build a nuclear weapon, thus eliminating the future threat.

But this would require the Iranian regime to operate in good faith in negotiating and implementing the dissolution of its nuclear weapons program, something they have not demonstrated a willingness to do.

Ever since 2003, Iran has quarreled with U.N. nuclear inspectors over the lack of transparency in its program — a quarrel that culminated in June when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors officially found Iran in non-compliance. Iran reacted defiantly by declaring its intention to expand its non-compliance by opening yet another uranium enrichment site, at which point Israel began its devastating bombardment. Even since America’s bombing run literally buried the program, Iranian officials have repeatedly declared their intention to exhume and resuscitate the country’s nuclear program.

Iranian lawmakers revealed the regime’s true intentions last month, when they enacted legislation to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, thus violating their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which prohibits Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. As the bill received final approval, lawmakers broke out into chants of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” — suggesting that any proposals to find “a solution based on negotiations” with the regime’s two great adversaries are insincere.

Fortunately, President Trump does not seem to be giving any serious consideration to Iran’s silly offer. Last week, a reporter asked, “What might make you have the desire to do another strike on Iran?” (The answer is painfully obvious — a revival of Iran’s nuclear weapons program — but perhaps the reporter is in the habit of asking questions to which she knows the answer.)

In response, Trump declined even to engage the idea of sidelining America’s most important piece of leverage, responding, “I hope we’re not going to have to do that. I can’t imagine wanting to do that. I can’t imagine them wanting to do that. They want to meet. They want to work something out.” As for America, Trump already achieved the objective of taking Iran’s nuclear threat off the table, and he wouldn’t be afraid to do it again.

AUTHOR

Joshua Arnold

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.

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RELATED VIDEO: Farahanipour Vs. Yaghoubian: Is the Iran Conflict Similar to Iraq and Afghanistan?

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Undocumented Children Found Working at Newsom-Backed Cannabis Farm

Last week’s raids of two of the several Glass House Farms-owned marijuana farms in California led to the arrest of over 300 illegal aliens, including children. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on X, “[DHS] law enforcement rescued 14 children from potential forced labor, exploitation, and trafficking. They arrested 319 illegal aliens.” Of these children, ICE reported that at least nine of them were unaccompanied.

Among the arrested unlawful immigrants was a child predator, Roman Izquierdo, “who has been convicted of kidnapping, attempted rape and attempted child molestation” and was “previously deported” by ICE in 2006, as well as illegal alien Juan Duarte-Velasquez “who has been convicted of rape and a DUI.”

The four-hour raid began on Thursday, July 10, and led to violent exchanges between protestors and federal agents. Protestors were reportedly throwing rocks at federal agents and their vehicles, forcing agents to deploy tear gas to control the crowds. The FBI is also launching an investigation — with a 50,000-dollar reward — against an unknown man who was supposedly shooting agents from the crowd. Amidst the chaos, one worker died after attempting to scale a 30-foot greenhouse.

When asked about the protestors who interfered with ICE, border czar Tom Homan said “[Protestors] have been emboldened by even members of Congress who compare ICE to Nazis, racists, and terrorists. … If people want to complain about the job ICE is doing, go complain to Congress.”

Linking a video of the raid, Newsom posted on his X account: “Kids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields.” Homan responded during a Fox News interview. “We’re looking for over 300,000 missing children. We’ve already found 10,000. … This should be a non-partisan issue,” he insisted. “…We’re rescuing thousands of children.”

“Why are there children working at a marijuana facility, Gavin?” asked the DHS.

“Yesterday, Glass House Brands received immigration and naturalization warrants. As per the law, we verified that the warrants were valid and we complied. Workers were detained and we are assisting to provide them legal representation,” Glass House Brands posted on X in response to the raids. “Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors.” But U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodey Scott posted on X that the company is now “under investigation for child labor violations.”

Graham Farrar, co-founder, president, and board director of Glass House Farms donated $10,000 to Gavin Newsom’s 2018 campaign for governor of California, according to public campaign finance records, and has also overwhelmingly supported multiple Democratic campaigns, and a few Republicans, who have shown “support for liberalizing cannabis laws.”

“This is quickly becoming one of the largest operations since President Trump took office, and we’re only getting started,” said the DHS.

AUTHOR

Caily Shriver

Caily Shriver serves as an intern at Family Research Council.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.