Podcast and entertainment thread for Oct 25

 

May the rest of the month be peaceful.

The Empire Strikes Back: Trump vs Venezuela, Columbia, Antifa, and Illegals

Townhall 

When President Trump disarmed Iran's nuclear capability, the Left became apoplectic, resorting to their usual fits and starts over what is undoubtedly an American and free world triumph. Likewise, as the Trump Administration blows Venezuelan drug boats out of the water and is preparing to neuter the Venezuelan narco state, the Left can barely contain itself. Never mind that 200,000+ Americans have died from narco traffickers’ synthetic opioids, much of it emanating from Venezuela.

Columbia also has been problematic as their current leader does nothing to stop drug traffic, and likewise, Trump will take no guff from that nation.

Ignorance is Not Bliss

The Left, ever-ignorant or feigning ignorance of history, unless it supports them in some way, has conveniently overlooked that 222 years ago our third president, Thomas Jefferson, made a strike on the Barbary Pirates to stop them from their pervasive high-seas extortion, ransoms, and blackmail.

In 1961 as well, John F. Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs invasion was a covert operation …gone horribly wrong.

More recent presidents, including George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, have made calculated strikes, without Congressional approval, to protect our shores, citizens, and sovereignty. Nevertheless, unbeknownst to the Left, for many years leading up to 9-11, the U.S. only rarely took any action against invaders and terrorists.

Rarely Striking Back Against Terrorists

Including American citizens, facilities, or interests, between 1983 and 1998, the U.S. endured a staggering 2,400 attacks, and in a brilliant 2001 Foreign Policy article, author Fernando Reinares explained that the U.S. rarely struck back.

Despite the onslaught, the U.S. military responded only three times. First, in 1986, the Department of Defense went into high gear when Libya bombed a West German nightclub that enjoyed a regular clientele of Americans and pro-American individuals.

Second, the U.S. took action by sending troops to Kuwait in 1993 to quell Iraqi aggression following Iraq’s attempt to assassinate President George H.W. Bush. Third, in 1998, the U.S. responded when Osama bin Laden's compatriots bombed our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.

Many Attacks, Few Responses

Why so few responses to such provocation? Disturbingly, the U.S. had a de facto policy of responding only when the bad guys could easily be identified and had already committed grievous acts of terrorism against us, and when American citizens were specifically targeted.

As restrictive as this policy was, in 61 other instances, all three criteria were at play, but none led to U.S. retaliation. Such non-responsiveness incalculably emboldened our adversaries.

Dateline 2025: The Trump Administration has the smarts, the will, and the capability to identify threats, devise action plans, and execute them with precision.

Hesitation Kills

Hesitation is often extremely costly. Suppose Donald Trump had not taken out Iran's nuclear facilities. Do you care to dance with the devil? Who knows what Iran would be capable of and what targets they would select? Iran already has amply demonstrated the willingness to wreak havoc on the U.S. anywhere around the world.

How many Venezuelan narco-traffic boats should the U.S. tolerate? The regime of Nicholas Maduro deliberately seeks to poison Americans, and without any retaliation, has become increasingly bold.

The Trump Administration is taking action to halt the danger both at home and abroad to Americans. Donald Trump knows that incurring the wrath of the Left now, rather than waiting and enduring far more destruction, is prudent. Later, amidst any possible massive devastation, the pitiful Left, currently railing about Whitehouse renovations, would gin up even greater wrath.

Home Grown Hostility

The Trump Administration’s action via ICE and the National Guard in hostile sanctuary cities is merited. Are we supposed to endlessly endure having our nation flooded with illegals who contribute little or nothing, and whose predisposition for criminal acts has been well documented?

Are we supposed to tolerate I.C.E.-free zones? Trump is taking the battle to them now and demonstrating to other deep blue cities and to paid protesters, agitators, and domestic terrorists that this crap ends now.

Donald Trump is our president, not Kamala Harris, not Joe Biden, not Hillary Clinton, and not any of the communist or socialist Democrats who’d never take step one against our enemies, foreign or domestic. We are fortunate in ways that so many on the Left will never understand or appreciate. And, among those on the Left who do understand, they will never acknowledge, amidst their perpetual disdain for everything that our President accomplishes.

The Left is Destroying the Rule of Law

American  Thinker 

The rule of law has been in a downward spiral for several years in the United States. One of the earliest attacks on it occurred when Chuck Schumer had the gall to go after two of our Supreme Court Justices after Roe v. Wade’s reversal:

In 2020, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke to an angry throng of pro-abortion protesters assembled at the very doors of the court chambers. 

He threatened two of the justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, by name.  

Schumer yelled to the volatile crowd that the justices’ views would make them ‘reap the whirlwind,’ and the two would not know what ‘hit’ them. 

In the ensuing months, protesters mobbed some of the conservative justices’ homes — likely committing felonies.

The judiciary is meant to act as a buffer, part of the checks and balances written into our founding document, and its sole role is to interpret the law. Yet, it’s been clear that in spite of these limitations, we’ve watched the judiciary repeatedly “legislate from the bench,” defying President Trump regarding several executive orders. And, these rogue judges have continued to do so, despite a SCOTUS ruling to stop interfering in the executive.

However, this isn’t a problem exclusive to the U.S., as the Heritage Foundation argues that there are “striking parallels” to the situation in Brazil:

The weaponization of government has spread from Latin America to the United States. A recent report by the House Judiciary Committee drew striking parallels from Brazil’s censorship regime to the Biden administration’s actions urging social media platforms to censor Democratic rival Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or silence critics like Tucker Carlson. These actions undermine the rule of law and weaken America’s moral standing at home and throughout the Americas.

But the picture at home these days is even more ominous. ICE has been smeared repeatedly by the Left, particularly those who lead in state and federal government, referring to these law enforcement officers as secret police, thugs, vigilantes, dangerous and reckless: 

The carnage in Dallas, Texas — where a maniac with ‘ANTI-ICE’ ammo gunned down an ICE field office in an attack clearly targeted at ICE personnel — lays bare the deadly consequences of Democrats’ unhinged crusade against our border enforcement.

Democrats have spent years vilifying ICE as ‘fascists,’ ‘the Gestapo,’ and ‘slave patrols,’ inciting a 1,000% surge in assaults on agents and a wave of Radical Left terror. Their words aren’t just reckless — they’re a battle cry for violence.

An extensive list of those making these accusations, essentially making our ICE agents targets, refuse to acknowledge that they are inciting violence from the people.

The same source then cites a staggering 29 instances of prominent Democrats vilifying these federal officers.

The riots and disruption are also happening in Illinois, thanks to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson:

Early this morning, over a hundred rioters surrounded the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Broadview Processing Center— rioters assaulted law enforcement, threw tear gas cans, slashed tires of cars, blocked the entrance of the building, and trespassed on private property. Police under JB Pritzker’s sanctuary jurisdiction refused to answer multiple calls for assistance. So far, federal law enforcement arrested three rioters. 

Throughout the morning, vans have shown up to pick up and drop off rioters. This is an organized effort to obstruct ICE law enforcement. 

Plenty of threats to commit more violence, even to kill people, have been declared. 

We have to be more creative about stopping, arresting, and jailing these people who have no respect for the rule of law.

If we don’t, people will die.

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There It Is – White House NEC Director Kevin Hassett Notes Something VERY Important

Conservative  Treehouse 

White House Chair of the National Economic Council (NEC), Kevin Hassett, walked out to the press pool to discuss the latest excellent inflation figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics today {BLS REPORT HERE}.  However, the insufferable press pool wanted to talk about other things.

I’ll get to the BLS data below – with a gold nugget just for you, don’t share it.  But first, NEC Director Hassett also let something slip in his responsive comments that most will miss.

When asked about Trump’s decision to terminate all trade negotiations with Canada, Hasset noted the discussions were frustrating, and “The Canadians were very difficult to negotiate with.” Then comes the key point (03:28), “The fact that we are now negotiating with Mexico, separately, reveals that it’s not just one add, there’s frustration that has built up.”

What Hassett just confirmed again, as if we needed more evidence, is that the trilateral trade agreement -the USMCA- is not going to exist once Trump opens it up for renegotiation.  The USA team is already working on a separate bilateral trade agreement between the USA and Mexico, proactively.  The USMCA is dead – we just have not made it official yet.  WATCH (prompted):

On the inflation data, the September inflation rate was 0.3 percent, much lower than all economists and pundits predicted.  The tariffs are having no impact on the rise of consumer prices.  In fact, the sectors with the most imported goods are the sectors with the lowest inflation.

[SOURCE]

To pull out an example, look at the apparel sector.  Apparel is dominantly an imported product category, coming from China and Southeast Asia textile manufacturing factories.  The apparel sector is 0.7 overall, with many of the sub-sectors significantly lower – See Table-2

To drive home the point, look at detailed TABLE-2 HERE: furniture, electronics, toys, cell phones, appliances etc. the highest imported goods sectors are all running negative inflation rates; meaning, consumer prices are factually lower even with the global tariffs in place.  Imported products are NOT causing inflation; in fact, their prices are dropping.

Just like 2018 and 2019, tariffs on imported goods do not drive up consumer prices, particularly when those tariffs are connected to policy that lowers overall energy prices – transportation and shipping costs lowered.  The producing countries are offsetting the tariff rates by lowering the wholesale prices.

♦ Now, a golden nugget for consideration later.  Combine the value of what we import from Canada with the conversations that President Trump has had with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.  Elevate your thinking, and overlay the U.S. withdrawing operational support with the NATO alliance.

Now think about those icebreakers that President Trump has ordered from Finland, and the policy initiatives within the trade agreements that are going to build arctic fleets of USA ships to ensure navigation.  Russia is the closest country to the USA, and Russia has exponentially more of the same valuable raw materials that we import from Canada.

Trump is ending the USMCA.  Trump has discussed a post-Ukraine war relationship with Putin.  Canada is cozying up to China and the EU, and Trump has ordered icebreakers to operate in the region between the USA and Russia.  Who has the largest consumer market, and who has the largest capacity to deliver raw materials in a strategic relationship based on trade. Things look a little different now?

We keep watching.

SecState Marco Rubio Gives Media Remarks from Civilian Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Israel

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel just as Vice-President JD Vance departed.  After touring the Civilian Military Coordination Center (CMCC) and talking to the U.S. team that is operating the center, Secretary Rubio delivered remarks to the media and answered questions. WATCH:

NBC Is Helping Run Anti-ICE Ops For Dems

NBC News eagerly boosts Democrats who blame ICE for making arrests near schools when it was Democrat open-border policies that made those arrests necessary.

The  Federalist 

NBC “Propaganda Press” News has an exclusive, and it sent a press release about it to other press so all press can report that a handful of Democrat senators have written a letter. Sure, senators write strongly worded letters all the time — and often they result in no action — but NBC is marketing this letter as a big deal, doing its part to spread Democrat propaganda.  

The senators sent the letter — “first provided to NBC News,” according to the press release — to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, “demanding that she step in and ask the Department of Homeland Security to curb its operations around schools.”

It is a classic “do it for the children” ploy.

In a nutshell, the letter, which NBC does not provide a link to, asks the Department of Education to require ICE operations to stay 1,000 feet away from school — that is, nearly three football fields.

Never mind that ICE is in the midst of the messy work of removing the many drug dealers, murderers, and pedophiles the Biden administration allowed into the country, as The Federalist’s M.D. Kittle reported. Democrat letter writers want to slow or stop the progress President Donald Trump’s administration is making in removing these criminals from the streets — for the children.   

“Federal agents continue to use unwarranted, excessive levels of force around Chicago, demonstrating an alarming lack of care or regard for the health and wellbeing of children, particularly by conducting unfocused, inflammatory operations within close proximity of school grounds,” the senators wrote in the letter, according to NBC’s press release. “We demand you pressure your colleague, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, to reinstate restrictions on Federal immigration enforcement operations in and around places of education.”

As NBC reported, the senators asserted that “if society can agree that alcohol, tobacco and drugs should be kept at least 1,000 feet away from our schools, surely we can agree that tear gas — a chemical weapon which causes burning, pain, skin inflammation and respiratory distress — and other violent DHS tools and tactics also belong on that list.”

This is not a fair argument. While it would be illegal to provide a child with alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, it is not illegal for police to enforce the law by arresting someone for doing these things in a school zone — or for breaking other laws. This request is trying to stop law enforcement from doing its job.  

If ICE must deploy tear gas near a school, cutting recess short is an option. NBC reported that a Chicago school had to move children inside recently after tear gas allegedly drifted onto the playground. It is a temporary nuisance for students, unless teachers make it something more. Inside, children were ”fearful” after the incident, NBC’s press release said.

But there is something more frightening than tear gas drifting onto the playground: being raped, robbed, or assaulted on the walk home from school by a violent criminal who illegally entered the country. Teachers should have used this moment to talk about the consequences people face when they don’t follow the rules. Notably, Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, told NBC that law enforcement used tear gas “because of violent rioters.”

The letter also apparently details an incident when federal agents allegedly “forcefully dragged two women out of a car in front of a school on the West Side of Chicago, violently detaining them without presenting a warrant, as children and parents watched on in horror.” McLaughlin told NBC that the women “were driving recklessly, including weaving between lanes and putting other motorists at risk. Following the driver abruptly stopping in the middle of traffic near a school, law enforcement approached the vehicle. The occupants refused to exit the vehicle and follow law enforcement commands.” (Another incident worth discussing with children in relation to the consequences of not following the rules).

The letter was signed by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.; Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Andy Kim, D-N.J.; and Ed Markey, D-Mass. And other propaganda media quickly repeated the story, just as NBC wrote it, crediting NBC for the information. That is how propaganda spreads, like nitrates on the cool, autumn soil (that is, like crap on dirt, dear citified reader.)

ICE is not to blame for arresting illegal immigrants near schools or for any less-than-desirable side effects of those arrests; Democrats are. They should have stopped Biden from opening the border and allowing unvetted people to enter, but they supported that move — and they continue to incite resistance to ICE and immigration enforcement more generally. Cleaning up the results of unfettered immigration by enforcing immigration law, even near schools, is essential if this nation is going to offer a safe future — for the children.

Charlie Kirk’s Murderer’s Cowardice Rears Up Again With Bizarre Requests for Court

RedState 

Charlie Kirk's suspected murderer apparently thinks he has some right to request that for his court appearances, he is not shackled and is allowed to wear street clothes. And the court absolutely has every right to deny it on legal grounds.

Defense attorneys representing Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer of the late founder of Turning Point USA, have requested that Robinson appear "unshackled and in regular street clothes instead of jail attire" for all court appearances so as to avoid looking guilty, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The report read:

They say that's "necessary to maintain the presumption of innocence" and avoid any possible "prejudicial effect" for a future jury.

On Monday, prosecutors filed the request with the 4th District Court Judge Tony Graf, in a response that was allowed to be kept secret because it contained "secure information that might endanger personal and public safety if disclosed."

The report went on:

That includes information from the court's security director "regarding specific security measures in this case."

On Friday, a hearing will take place where both sides can argue their reasoning in private.

After the arrest, Robinson made an appearance in court virtually, wearing a suicide prevention vest. 

Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany perfectly captured how many Kirk supporters will feel when hearing Robinson's request, given the evil crime he's accused of.

"Where does he get off suggesting that he deserves this or is owed this?" the Fox News host said, noting that she refreshed her constitutional law background. "Fifth Amendment, you get the protection against self-incrimination. Double jeopardy."

"You get your due process rights from the Sixth Amendment. You get the speedy and impartial jury, right to counsel," she added. "And then the right to compel witnesses. Nowhere in here, Mr. Robinson, is there a right to wear street clothes. Yeah, you can request that. You certainly don't have a right to that."

"What I do know is the evidence against Tyler Robinson is strong," McEnany continued. "There is a text message where he methodically recounts what he had done in a very cold and sadistic fashion."

This is from the person who is suspected of firing a bullet from a rifle at Kirk and killing him in front of thousands of college kids during Kirk's appearance on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10. His alleged actions killed the 31-year-old giant in the conservative moment, leaving his wife a widow and his two kids without a father.

This is the same person who agreed to surrender to police but only if his arrest was peaceful, as my RedState colleague Mike Miller reported. 

Miller wrote:

During a press briefing with reporters, [Washington County (Utah) Sheriff Nate] Brooksby said Robinson was afraid a SWAT team would harm or even shoot him. Robinson "thought it was 'inevitable' that he would be caught and feared being shot by law enforcement," Brooksby added. 

Cowardice to the max? You bet. A level of hypocrisy seldom reached? That, too. But the off-the-charts irony is beyond comprehension by normal, moral, and rational people.

The judge should simply turn to Robinson's attorneys and, with a one-word response, say, "No."

Anti-ICE Mob Attacks Security Protecting Legacy Media, and IL Dems Coin a New Moniker, 'Chicago Dad'

RedState 

Thursday was a wilder than usual night in Alameda, CA, when a driver in a U-Haul truck attempted, at high speed, to back into a Coast Guard base. Despite shouts by security and law enforcement to halt, the driver would not stop, requiring authorities to fire multiple rounds in order to blunt the driver's momentum. This was the evening after protesters arrived early in the morning to storm the base in an attempt to disrupt vehicles and personnel from entering. 

As my colleague Nick Arama wrote,

Reportedly, the truck had been parked outside the base for a good part of the day, and the driver fled after the shooting. 

A man believed to be the driver showed up at a hospital with injuries, as did a second person, according to the Mercury News. Fortunately, no base personnel were injured in the incident.

This particular location was being used as a staging area for a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surge into San Francisco and the Bay area. As RedState reported on Thursday, after a phone conversation between President Donald Trump and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, the operation was put on pause. 

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Wild Video of Coast Guard Base Security Firing on U-Haul at Site of Protest

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You would think the anti-ICE mob would see this as a victory and quietly disperse or go to the next paid event. Instead, some in the crowd took their so-called peaceful, First-Amendment right to protest and decided to escalate into violence. A security guard who was there to protect a legacy media news crew was attacked and bloodied by one of the protesters.

WATCH:

It's a bit bizarre that in the video, the injured security guard said he did not support Trump or ICE, yet he had a hat displaying a Blue police flag in his hands. What is not bizarre is the bloodlust among these actors: some paid, some just swept up in the hatred of the herd. It is no longer about protesting ICE and Trump's immigration policies. 

These people want to gin up violence and wage a confrontation that will render blood and death, while the likes of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and wannabe 2028 Democrat presidential candidate and Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, egg them on with their unhinged and inflammatory rhetoric.

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Pelosi warned to ‘Stand Down’ Or Else After She Threatens to Arrest ICE Agents

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Meanwhile, in Illinois, they are trying to make fetch happen with yet another illegal alien multiple offender who has a sob story about needing to just take care of his family. During a weekend Home Depot raid in Niles, IL, under Operation Midway Blitz, Ruben Torres Maldonado was swept up and detained by ICE and is being held pending a hearing. 

Torres Maldonado has upped the ante over "Maryland Dad" Kilmar Abrego Garcia because of his 16-year-old daughter, who is battling a rare form of cancer. So, every anti-ICE person and politician is playing this sad trombone. 

A community on Chicago's Northwest Side accused ICE agents of unjustly arresting a father of two children earlier this month.

Ruben Torres Maldonado was arrested by immigration officials in Niles, DHS and his family said.

His daughter Ofelia Torres, 16, took to social media to spread awareness about her father's detainment.

Ofelia is undergoing treatment for a rare and life-threatening cancer that she says has spread.

"On October 18, 2025, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., he was detained by ICE at a Home Depot in Niles, Illinois," Ofelia said in a video shared to social media. "My dad, Rubin Torres, has been the main parent who watches my brother while I stayed at the hospital."

Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, Torres' attorney and other political leaders took a collective stand to call out the immigration enforcement.

Prison margaritas? Here we go again.

Torres Maldonado's hearing before an immigration judge was scheduled for Friday. As of this writing, no ruling has been issued on his fate.

Those advocating for Torres Maldonado claim he has been in the United States since 2003 and is a law-abiding citizen - who has lived in the shadows and only wants to care for his family. Department of Homeland Security's Tricia McLaughlin had a different take.

The Department of Homeland Security says Torres Maldonado’s criminal history includes habitual driving offenses, including being charged multiple times with driving without insurance, driving without a valid license and speeding.

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin released the following statement regarding Torres Maldonado’s case.

“This is nothing more than a desperate Hail Mary attempt to keep a criminal illegal alien in our country. The Trump administration is fighting for the rule of law and the American people.”

We will find out if "Chicago Dad" has a longer shelf life than "Maryland Dad." 

Blue Jays To Start World Series With 7-Run Deficit As Trump Imposes Tariff On Foreign Teams

 

·Oct 24, 2025 · BabylonBee.com

Brian Jason, Lester Balajadia / Shutterstock

TORONTO — The American League champions received discouraging news on Friday, as the Toronto Blue Jays were notified that they would start the World Series with a 7-run deficit after President Donald Trump imposed a tariff on foreign baseball teams.

The hefty penalty came on the heels of increasing tension between the United States and Canada in their ongoing trade negotiations, resulting in Trump hitting imported baseball teams with significant deficits in all games.

"We've been taken advantage of for too long, and now it's time to pay," Trump told reporters after making the official tariff announcement. "These Blue Jays, did you know they're not even American? We've got a baseball team in the American League that is based in some other country. It's very sad. We used to do all of our baseball here in America. We need to go back to the way we used to do it. Until that happens, all foreign baseball teams will pay a 7-run tariff. They'll learn not to mess with our baseball teams, believe me."

When reached for comment on the new tariff, Blue Jays manager John Schneider was not pleased. "We have no control over it," he said. "We'll just have to score some more runs to make up for it. Starting the game down 7 runs is a tough pill to swallow, but we'll put up a good fight. Trump drives a hard bargain."

At publishing time, President Trump had imposed a surprise tariff on the Los Angeles Dodgers after determining that they weren't really much of an American team either.