This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Environmental agendas? Traditionally Democrat. Immigrant advocates? Usually Democrats. Promoting labor causes? Also Democrats.
Until now, when the party's absolute hatred for all things President Donald Trump, and his Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk, has prompted members to abandon their long-held ideals.
Now, according to constitutional expert Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University, "Democrats have shown that very self-destructive quality of rage in adopting anti-immigrant, anti-free speech, anti-labor, and even anti-environmental positions to get at Donald Trump or his supporters."
He was referencing the exploding political violence of the left, especially that which has targeted Musk and his companies – even innocent owners of Tesla vehicles.
"What is most striking, however, is how Democrats have torched their core beliefs to pursue a scorched Earth campaign against Musk," he said.
The Democrats now are at risk, he said, of becoming "the very thing that they despise in others."
In fact, they are "jettisoning their most cherished values to strike out at those they hate."
He said the real issue is that those "rage addicts" "like it; they need it."
Even their advocacy for funding from billionaires, like George Soros, becomes a failing when another billionaire, Elon Musk, does it, because he's been supporting Republicans.
Such "scorched earth" actions now have infested the actions of Democrat lawmakers in New York, who are trying to "weaponize" state laws against Musk, he said.
He cited plans by state Sen. Pat Fahy, an Albany Democrat, who wants to ban Musk's Tesla corporation from direct sales in the state.
That's despite Fahy's long advocacy for electric cars.
"The move will make it more difficult not just for Musk but other EV dealers to survive, but climate change policies be damned. Fahy and her colleagues want to get at Musk in any way they can," Turley explained.
Turley documented:
He noted in California, labor advocates opposed more work at SpaceX that would benefit workers, because of Musk's connections.
And he cited the Democrats' "greatest hypocrisy" in their willingness to abandon environmental priorities "for political revenge."
The Fahy issue is that Tesla was allowed to sell cars directly to consumers at some locations because it was viewed as good for the state and the environment.
"The question is, what do Democrats like Fahy now stand for when everything they are is now defined by those they hate?"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Being used to 'surveil American citizens and harass Chinese citizens who have fled the Communist regime'
China's Communist regime has established secret police stations inside the United States and they are being used to "surveil American citizens and harass Chinese citizens who have fled the Communist regime."
And a couple of American lawmakers are working on a new plan that would put them out of business.
It is in a report at the Federalist that the threat to America is profiled.
And also the work of U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on the Expel Illegal Chinese Police Act introduced just weeks ago, along with the companion House effort by Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa.
"No foreign government has the right to operate secret police stations on American soil. The Chinese Communist Party's actions undermine international norms and human rights by circumventing legal extradition processes and engaging in intimidation tactics. This legislation sends a clear message: the United States will never tolerate illegal operations that violate our sovereignty and intimidate individuals living within our borders," Cotton explained.
Hinson added, "The Chinese Communist Party should have never been able to operate police stations in the U.S. to surveil American citizens and harass Chinese citizens who have fled the Communist regime. … Senator Tom Cotton and I are working to end these illegal intimidation tactics that undermine U.S. sovereignty and finally hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for such egregious violations."
The bill would authorize actions that would target those running the police stations with "financial sanctions, visa restrictions, and asset freezes."
The report explains the Chinese regime's strategies already have created issues.
One Chinese citizen, Quanzhong An, already has been handed 20 months in prison for "acting on behalf of the Chinese government to intimidate individuals living in the U.S., the report said.
"This case highlights the urgent need for strong measures to protect individual freedoms and uphold national sovereignty against the covert policing tactics employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)," the report explained.
In the past, the Federalist confirmed, Chinese Communists even have sent "undercover police" to foreign nations "to forcibly repatriate individuals labeled as 'criminals' by any means necessary."
Part of the pressure schemes included subjecting the individuals' relatives, still back in China, "to harassment, jail, torture and other mistreatment."
"In countries like Vietnam and Australia, Chinese agents have simply abducted their prey," the report said.
The police stations, estimated to number 100 around the world, including in the U.S., ostensibly are for various "services" for Chinese individuals.
"Their actual purpose is far more insidious: to monitor, intimidate, and silence overseas Chinese individuals, while aiding China's efforts to capture alleged fugitives globally," the report said.
There already have been prosecutions in the U.S. of individuals for helping the illegal policing activities, and their suspects' defense was that they "believed they were assisting a company or an individual in collecting debts, unaware that the Chinese government was involved."
And the Department of Justice has indicted 40 Chinese officers and members of the Cyberspace Administration of China for their actions.
"These cases demonstrate the lengths the PRC government will go to silence and harass U.S. persons who exercise their fundamental rights to speak out against PRC oppression. … These actions violate our laws and are an affront to our democratic values and basic human rights," the DOJ confirmed.
The report pointedly notes during Joe Biden's tenure in the White House, he "never demanded that China stop its illegal policing on U.S. soil."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Death toll estimated to be in the thousands
A catastrophic 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, on Friday, leaving behind a landscape of rubble from collapsed buildings and a death toll feared to be in the thousands.
The quake, also was felt in Thailand and China, was measured by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Officials in nearby Naypyidaw hospital declared their area to be a "mass casualty area."
"I haven't seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted now," a physician on duty explained the AFP.
Ian Main, a professor in seismology at the University of Edinburgh, told the Daily Mail, "The damage is likely to be very severe near the epicenter- based on the estimated intensity of ground shaking above, and maps of population density and vulnerability of buildings.
"The USGS 'PAGER' forecast loss is, sadly, most likely to be in the range 10,000-100,000 fatalities," he said.
A 30-story building under construction in Bangkok collapsed.
Reports of fatalities were trickling in and hundreds of people were missing.
"I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me,'" Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.
"I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before."
The quake struck about 1:30 p.m. local time.
Kelly Rhodes, a tourist on Bangkok, told MailOnline of being evacuated 24 flights of steps down.
Water splashed out and cascaded down the sides of highrises with rooftop pools.
"All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic," Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, told the Daily Mail. "I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall."
Rows of people were lined up at emergency rooms.
The Red Cross issued a warning about the threat that remained to large dams in the area, offering the potential for major flooding.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Just as the issue of taking hard-earned money from taxpayers to give to the leftist ideologues at PBS and NPR has come up before the Department of Government Efficiency, and Congress, one member, Rep. Brandon Gill, has posted online a video of some of the most hateful comments they have broadcast over the years.
Including a hope that a man will "get AIDS from a transfusion" and the wild claim that Christians in America blow up people "every single day."
The video comes from NewsBusters of the Media Research Center.
Twitchy noted, "Taxpayers funded Nina Totenberg's salary so she could wish Jesse Helms would contract AIDS and the panel could laugh about it."
Other comments, about a Supreme Court justice, "I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early, like many black men do, of heart disease."
On an explanation about how Islam teaches that to kill other people is a good thing? "But Christians do that every single day, in this country."
A Fidel Castro's "charisma remains as strong as ever."
"America is exceptionally religious, has always been … founded by a theocratic cult of religious nuts."
And a comparison that President Trump's first term was like Kristallnacht, that infamous Nazi event of book-burning and destruction.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who runs the administration's Department of Government Efficiency which is cutting fraud, waste and corruption in federal spending programs, already have taken on a long list of federal departments.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, for example, was revealed to have delivered millions and millions of taxpayer dollars for highly questionable projects, and largely has been closed down with a few remaining functions taken over by the State Department.
Taxpayers are being saved, actually, billions of dollars through DOGE.
And some members of Congress have come alongside the president's work, including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who during a congressional hearing brought the receipts for why she believes biased and partisan government operations like National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting System should be defunded.
She pointed out the obvious bias they exhibit, specifically for having claimed Musk gave a Nazi salute, following an arm motion that repeatedly had been exhibited by Democrats:
The news that these entities produced is either resented or increasingly tuned out and turned off by most of the hardworking Americans who are forced to pay for it. They no longer view NPR and PBS is trusted news sources. As a matter of fact, with these people, they're a threat. In fact, when Elon Musk put his hand over his heart and extended it and told the American people, his heart goes out to them, PBS News posted the clip, called it a fascist Nazi salute and described how it was similar to the same he used by Nazis and their victory rallies. Not once did PBS or NPR report on the numerous accounts of Democrats making the same gesture — AOC, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, somebody that lost a presidential race, Hillary Clinton, Governor Tim Waltz. Why wasn't this treated exactly the same way? Is there not a standard in journalism today? Apparently not.
She also highlighted the so-called "children's content" that is present, and viewed as offensive.
For example, she said, PBS' use of a drag queen for children's programming was a problem: "If I walked in my living room and seen this child predator, this monster targeting my children, I would become unglued."
A report at RedState explained that chiefs of the publicly funded organizations were feeling "the heat" and she came "loaded for bear."
"As if this week wasn't bad enough for the Democrat Party and their mainstream media allies, the DOGE subcommittee is currently holding a hearing on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), where the CEOs of both purported "news" and information outlets are in attendance as witnesses," the report said.
Those officials are PBS' Paula Kerger and NPR's Katherine Maher.
Greene called the people at those agencies a "threat" that "hard-working Americans" are forced to fund.
The report explained, "while the hearing undoubtedly was designed to show the American people more evidence against PBS and NPR as various Republican-sponsored bills on the matter make their way through the House and Senate, satisfaction will only be gained if their defunding finally becomes a reality after many years of talking about it."
Later in the hearing, U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, asked Maher several pointed questions about opinions that have been given a venue via NPR, including support for "the whole community of genderqueer dinosaur enthusiasts."
President Trump already has supported cutting of tax money flowing to both groups.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed in a number of cases that the First Amendment protects even material that people find offensive.
Now a lower court judge in Colorado has expanded that ruling, further ordering that that requires a school district to provide offensive material to children.
Demanding that the Elizabeth School District use her judgment regarding materials board members and others determined should not be placed within ready access of children, Charlotte Sweeney, appointed by Joe Biden, "has sided with far-left activists over concerned parents, forcing the Elizabeth School District to return 19 books – including those pushing graphic sexual content and radical ideologies – to school library shelves," according to the Gateway Pundit.
The report described Sweeney as trampling on parental rights by forcing "explicit books" back into the library for any child to access.
Some of the publications include "The Hate U Give," "The Bluest Eye," "The Kite Runner," "#Pride: Championing LGBTQ Rights," "Melissa," "Thirteen Reasons Why" and more.
The board had removed the books from libraries because of concerns over "graphic violence, racism, and discrimination, depictions of self-harm or mental illness, and sexual content," the report said.
The NAACP joined the Authors Guild and some activist students and parents who claimed censorship and sued.
Sweeney found withholding offensive, possibly even dangerous or harmful, ideas from children violated the First Amendment.
She claimed, "Plaintiffs have shown that the district removed the 19 books based on the authors' and books' content and viewpoints on issues such as race, sexual orientation, gender identity, LGBTQ content, and to promote the board's self-proclaimed 'conservative values.'"
Sweeney claimed that the district's defense of a desire to protect children from inappropriate material was "pretextual."
Her decision was to deliver to those promoting the offending material, including the authors who stand to profit financially from her decision, a preliminary injunction ordering the school to provide the offending materials once again to children.
Sweeney claimed, "There simply is no reason to believe that the books were removed because of vulgarity, age-inappropriateness, or for legitimate pedagogical concerns."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
'The Constitution simply does not allow the military to punish those with sincerely held religious beliefs'
A legal team representing an Idaho Army National Guard officer who is suing over his removal over his Christian beliefs is seeking a default judgment against Gov. Brad Little and two Guard generals for failing to respond to the lawsuit.
Maj. David Worley's lawsuit, in which he is represented by Liberty Counsel, charges he was removed from his command for expressing his personal views on biblical sexuality in a forum that was outside the military.
Little has filed a motion to dismiss, but he and the two generals, Adjutant General of the Idaho National Guard Major General Timothy J. Donnellan and the Assistant Adjutant General Brigadier General James C. Packwood, have declined to respond to or oppose Worley's specific discrimination complaint under the federal court's timeline rules, according to the legal team.
Liberty Counsel is requesting the court find the three defendants in default and grant the injunction to cease all ongoing efforts to discipline and remove Worley from the military.
"By suspending and removing Major David Worley from command over his Christian beliefs, the Idaho Army National Guard informally adopted an unconstitutional 'No Christians in Command' policy. Major Worley was unquestionably the target of an unconstitutional investigation and removal. The Constitution simply does not allow the military to punish those with sincerely held religious beliefs or to specifically target religion for disparate and discriminatory treatment. This discrimination against Major Worley must stop and his record must be cleared and his career restored," explained Liberty Counsel chief Mat Staver.
The background is that there was complaint from an LGBT-linked individual when Worley, outside of his military duties, ran for mayor of his town years ago.
Liberty Counsel explained, "While a 2023 investigation into Worley revealed no wrongdoing, officials nevertheless recommended a policy to screen potential candidates for command for any 'concerning ideologies' as a way of 'rooting out' any 'extremism' in the ranks. Accordingly, General Packwood concluded Worley's religious beliefs were 'toxic' and removed him from command solely due to those protected religious views. With Gov. Little as the commander-in-chief of the Idaho Army National Guard, as well as General Donnellan failing to rectify these actions, the decision to remove Worley from command on this basis essentially shows that these officials put an unconstitutional 'No Christians in Command' policy into effect.
"Worley's lawsuit states that these discriminatory actions are penalizing the 'mere exercise and expression' of religious views and violate the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Idaho Free Exercise of Religious Protection Act."
Given the absence of a response, Liberty Counsel moved in the court seeking a default judgment.
For failing to respond to these allegations, Liberty Counsel noted in its motion that "silence is a concession" and that Worley is entitled to a preliminary injunction.
In Little's motion to dismiss, he has claimed immunity under the 11th Amendment, which protects states from certain lawsuits.
"However, the U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that lawsuits can move forward against government officials for violations of federal law," Liberty Counsel said.
It was during Worley's run for mayor of Pocatello when he expressed his religious convictions and moral objections to certain political movements, such as "Drag Queen Story Hours," pornographic material for minors in public libraries, and the medical mutilation of gender-confused children.
The comments were off-duty and in his private capacity, and before he was given command of the Idaho Army National Guard's Recruiting and Retention unit. The complaint came from an enlisted man, "who claims to be homosexual and is ideologically opposed to Worley's religious beliefs," Liberty Counsel said.
The complaint included that the enlisted man felt "threatened" because of Worley's biblical beliefs.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A state lawmaker in Maine who expressed her opinion regarding a male student portraying himself as a girl and winning a girls' pole vault state championship, and was censured by leftists in the legislature for doing that, already has sued for that infringement of her constitutional rights.
It is state Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, who posted on Facebook about the issue of transgenderism in public schools and, as a result, was censured by the state House, on a 75-70 vote that deprived her of her right to speak in the legislature, even vote.
Her posting simply included photos of the male athlete from both a boys competition a couple years ago and the girls competition this year.
Her legal action is against Maine Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat, for the First Amendment speech violations as well as equal protection violations and the guarantee clause of Article IV of the Constitution, which protects the basic rights of political participation within state governments.
"I have the constitutional right to speak out, and my constituents have the right to full representation in the Maine House," Libby said in a statement shared with The Daily Signal. "Biological males have no place in girls sports. Our girls have every right, under federal law, to fair competition in sports. We will not let them be erased by the Democrat majority advancing a woke progressive agenda."
Now a report in the Federalist has revealed the judge likely to hear the case is a radical leftist activist.
All of the judges in Maine excused themselves from the case as apparently one of the male athlete's parents is a court employee, leaving Judge Melissa R. DuBose of Rhode Island the next in line to hear the case.
She is described in the report as "a far-left activist on LGBT and race issues and has spoken publicly about her ardent support — something well outside the norm for federal judges."
Libby, a Republican, has refused Democrat demands that she apologize for her opinions, even as the state policy that lets males say they are female and compete against girls is under federal investigation for apparent violations of civil rights law.
Libby said when the case was filed, "Instead of having an open and honest debate about the devastating impacts of Maine girls being forced to compete against biological males, Speaker Fecteau , and his Democratic colleagues resorted to canceling and silencing me, Speaker Fecteau and the Democrat majority are risking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for our schools by stubbornly refusing to address this injustice. I have the constitutional right to speak out and my constituents have the right to full representation in the Maine House. Biological males have no place in girls' sports. Our girls have every right, under federal law, to fair competition in sports. We will not let them be erased by the Democrat majority advancing a woke progressive agenda."
Judicial Crisis Network president Carrie Severino told The Federalist that DuBose "is a true radical."
"There's questions asked about whether she is capable of being impartial, and then, even if she ends up continuing to hear the case — I think it's important context as we're watching this case go through the court to realize this is — this is likely a judge that's going to already have a thumb on the scale on one side of this issue."
Democrats boasted when DuBose was nominated by Joe Biden that DuBose apparently was the "first openly LGBT judge" in the Rhode Island district.
It is her activism that is raising questions.
She signed a 2021 letter that appeared aimed at bringing a wholesale discrimination narrative into the judiciary, the report said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump announced when he took office that the official policy of the U.S. government would be to recognize two sexes, male and female, a move that disrupted the pro-transgender ideology in many venues, including in American government programs and offices.
And he may even have had an influence overseas.
A report from the Christian Institute cites a Yougov polling that shows advocacy for "trans" rights across Great Britain has decreased "across the board."
The survey interviewed some 2,000 adults on issues ranging from medical "treatments" to men demanding to participate in women's sports, and the presence of males in intimate areas for women, such as locker rooms.
It revealed a majority say that certain "trans" rights actually are "a genuine risk of harm" to women.
And across the board, in all age groups, opposition to allowing people to legally "change" their sex has increased.
Actually, following the science, no one can "change" their sex since being male or female is embedded in the human body down to the DNA level, but activists in the campaign dress, act and portray themselves as the sex they are not.
The report added, "Opposition among the young has actively grown," and is up 16 points to 36%.
"The survey found that almost two in five Britons personally know someone who identifies as transgender, with noticeable differences across generations: 'While 53% of 18-24 year olds say they know someone transgender, this falls with each successive age group, reaching 26% of those aged 65 and above,'" the report said.
While activists have demanded, over and over, making it easier to obtain a "gender recognition certificate," actually few members of the surveyed public support that concept.
Not even one in five said that should be easier, while 63% said it should not.
"Similarly, 70% of Britons agree that the approval of doctors should be a compulsory part of gaining a GRC, and 66% say the requirement to live as the affirmed gender for a minimum of two years before being approved should be kept," the report said.
One of the more contentious issues, "transitioning" children, found the public's view one-sided.
"When it comes to treatments for under-16s, 75% say puberty blockers should not be allowed, with 78% saying the same of hormone treatments," the report said.
Doing a "gender reassignment surgery" on a child, which actually is a body mutilation, was opposed by 87%.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The room includes a teleprompter positioned directly in front of Joe and a smaller desk for when he would play his role as president
A top adviser to President Donald Trump, Alina Habba, has made a video using the "fake" Oval Office where Joe Biden allegedly filmed some of his speeches.
The room includes a teleprompter positioned directly in front of where Biden would sit, and a smaller desk for him to use.
"The whole setup looks like a Hollywood studio," social media charged.
"You guys, I just finished a show. Look at the room that they put me in," she said. "We're in Biden's fake Oval Office, everybody."