Month: May 2025

Former President Joe Biden’s years-long cognitive decline amounts to perhaps the worst-kept secret in American political history.

Now, in the wake of Biden’s calamitous appearance Thursday on ABC’s “The View,” and with Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” set for release on May 20, CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings anticipates explosive revelations.

In fact, Jennings called the expected revelations “the equivalent of a nuclear bomb dropped on the Democratic Party.”

The conservative commentator made that remark Thursday on CNN’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip.”

“Watching him over the last few days,” Jennings said of Biden in a clip posted to the social media platform X, “reminded me that a whole bunch of people were telling us with a straight face that this man was capable of serving another four years as president.”

Indeed, earlier Thursday on “The View,” Biden delivered such an incoherent response to a question about his cognitive decline that former first lady Jill Biden stepped in to answer the question for him.

The former president also gave a nonsensical reply to a question about former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 election defeat. That answer, however, probably stemmed as much from Biden’s wokeness as from his diminished intellect.

Likewise, Biden mumbled his way through an interview with BBC’s Nick Robinson, published Wednesday.

“And that — these appearances,” Jennings continued, “coupled with what I understand is going to be the equivalent of a nuclear bomb dropped on the Democratic Party when Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book come out next week.”

The conservative commentator then paused for a brief moment before delivering his prediction.

“I don’t know that the Democrats have fully internalized what’s about to happen to them,” Jennings said.

“Between what he looks like today and what they’re about to report, get ready,” he added.

I don’t think Democrats have fully internalized what’s about to happen to them when this nuclear bomb drops next week.

Get ready. CC: @jaketapper @AlexThomp pic.twitter.com/jJAyUoFH10

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) May 9, 2025

With his use of the phrase “nuclear bomb,” Jennings certainly teased quite a potential set of revelations.

Of course, one can only guess at the nature of those revelations. To justify the tease, they would almost certainly have to involve Democrats’ and the establishment media’s attempted cover-up of Biden’s condition. After all, anyone with eyes and hears could recognize the former president’s decline long before 2024.

Indeed, Biden’s recent public appearances suggest a rehabilitation strategy in anticipation of “Original Sin.” According to Politico, the former president has hired his former deputy press secretary and Defense Department spokesman, Chris Meagher, to help with that strategy.

But enough is enough. For many years, Biden’s public appearances have amounted to a form of elder abuse. The time has come to stop the charade and let the former president fade into permanent obscurity.

The bottom line, as Jennings hinted, is that Democrats knew the extent of Biden’s decline and lied about it. Assuming the party’s reputation with the American public could possibly sink any lower, this should do it.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Scott Jennings Says the Democratic Party Is Going to Get Hit ‘with the Equivalent of a Nuclear Bomb’ Next Week appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Screenshot from Bill Maher’s “Real Time.”

This article originally appeared on vigilantfox.com and was republished with permission.

Bill Maher just dropped a brutal reality check on Democrats, saying they’re doomed if things don’t change soon.
But before that happened, a young guest pointed to a separate issue within the Democratic Party.

Maher’s Real Time opened with an interview with David Hogg, the youngest person ever elected as a DNC vice chair.

David is not someone most conservatives agree with on much, but he dropped a surprisingly good take on why Democrats are bleeding voters.

The answer? They’re no longer the party of fun.

He got a huge reaction from Bill Maher after saying Democrats need to reconnect with young men who just want to “get laid and have fun” without walking on eggshells.

He said the parties have flipped. Democrats are now the snobs who judge your every move, whereas Republicans are much less rigid.

“What I think happened last election is younger men—they would rather vote for somebody who they don’t completely agree with, they don’t feel judged by, than somebody who they do agree with, that they feel like they have to walk on eggshells around constantly because they’re going to be judged or ostracized or excommunicated.”

And because of that, young men are walking away.

“Nobody is perfect. But ultimately, what we have to do here is figure out how to bring people back in and work towards the bigger goal of advancing the future of this country and helping young people especially get by, so that they’re able to focus on their lives and getting with a young woman or something like that, instead of how are they going to pay their rent, for example, or how are they working their two jobs.

“Young people should be able to focus on what young people should be focused on, which is how to get laid and how to go and have fun.”

Maher clapped, stood up, and shook Hogg’s hand after that comment.

Then came the monologue—and this one was brutal. Maher unleashed a scathing critique of what he sees as a massive problem within the Democratic Party: young people who despise their own country.

He rattled off some jaw-dropping stats, then looked straight into the camera and said they “have no perspective.”

“Less than 1 in 4 Democrats under 30 say they’re proud to be an American. Fifty-four percent say they’re embarrassed by it. Embarrassed like America is your mom picking you up at school? You’re embarrassed to be an American?

“Well, guess what? The feeling’s mutual because you have no perspective,” Maher rebuked.

Maher didn’t stop there. He called out progressive rallies where the American flag is disrespected, and the Palestinian flag is cheered instead.

“At an AOC Bernie Sanders rally in Idaho last month, someone threw a Palestinian flag over an American flag, and the crowd erupted in approval,” Maher said with disgust.

“What should have happened after that is one of the adults on stage should have told their young, loyal followers, this is not a symbol of freedom. This is [the American flag].”

Then came a warning to Democrats about where their base is headed.

“The problem is, the energy of the party is with the young—and the young are with the terrorists. That’s not good. So talk to your children and remind them: you don’t really want to live like your heroes in Hamas,” Maher said, before dropping this reality check:

“All the sh*t you [young liberals] do all day, it was all made in America. Your smartphone, your Grubhub, your freedom to b*tch about America. That’s all American stuff. You tell your phone you want a milkshake, and a guy brings it to your house. Please, you couldn’t survive a week living in Intifadaville.”

Watch the full monologue below:



Find more stories like this at VigilantFox.com

The post Bill Maher Takes a Flamethrower to Woke Democrats and Their Anti-American Base appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flicker

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has officially introduced legislation to repeal the infamous USA PATRIOT Act, a cornerstone of post-9/11 surveillance expansion that many constitutional conservatives have long blasted as an all-out assault on civil liberties.

Dubbed the “American Privacy Restoration Act,” the bill aims to undo the sweeping surveillance powers granted to the federal government under the original 2001 legislation, which turned American citizens into perpetual suspects in their own country.

“I introduced the “American Privacy Restoration Act” to FULLY REPEAL the Patriot Act and strip rogue intelligence officers of their extraordinary mass surveillance powers. Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act in the aftermath of 9/11, intelligence agency officials have used their mass surveillance tools to settle personal scores, interfere in elections, and spy on untold numbers of innocent Americans. This abuse must come to an end!”

BREAKING: Today, I introduced the “American Privacy Restoration Act” to FULLY REPEAL the Patriot Act and strip rogue intelligence officers of their extraordinary mass surveillance powers.

Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act in the aftermath of 9/11, intelligence agency… pic.twitter.com/BeRDoQ442R

— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) May 7, 2025

According to the press release:

Today, U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13) introduced the “American Privacy Restoration Act.” The legislation, if enacted, would fully repeal the USA PATRIOT Act, commonly referred to as simply the “Patriot Act,” a sweeping post-9/11 law long criticized for enabling an unprecedented expansion of government surveillance.

“For over two decades, rogue actors within our U.S. intelligence agencies have used the Patriot Act to create the most sophisticated, unaccountable surveillance apparatus in the Western world,” said Congresswoman Luna.

“My legislation will strip the deep state of these tools and protect every American’s fourth amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. It’s past time to rein in our intelligence agencies and restore the right to privacy. Anyone trying to convince you otherwise is using ‘security’ as an excuse to erode your freedom.”

The USA PATRIOT Act, passed just over a month after the September 11 attacks, granted federal agencies broad authority to collect personal data, conduct surveillance, and detain individuals with limited judicial oversight. Since being enacted, there have been numerous whistleblower reports of rampant abuse of Patriot Act powers by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The post Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Introduces Bill to REPEAL the USA PATRIOT Act — Declares War on Surveillance State appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Dr. Terry Adirim

Another Deep State bureaucrat is shown the door—and this time, it’s the architect of the Pentagon’s infamous ‘Jab Genocide Mandate.’

A federal judge has ruled that the Central Intelligence Agency may proceed with the termination of Dr. Terry Adirim, a senior health official who spearheaded the Biden administration’s unconstitutional COVID-19 vaccine mandate on U.S. military personnel.

Dr. Adirim, a longtime Democrat loyalist and radical health bureaucrat, is perhaps best known for her controversial 2021 memo that forced service members to either submit to an experimental COVID-19 shot or be dishonorably discharged—many without benefits, and with their careers in ruins.

Appointed by Joe Biden to serve as the acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Adirim authorized the coercive use of an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) vaccine, falsely labeling it “interchangeable” with the fully FDA-approved Comirnaty shot, which was largely unavailable to troops.

The result: tens of thousands of servicemen and women punished, discharged, or sidelined—all for refusing a gene therapy product they were never legally obligated to take.

After fleeing the Department of Defense, Adirim quietly took a new position at the CIA in December as Director of its Center for Global Health Services.

Her tenure didn’t last long. President Donald Trump, following a flood of reports from whistleblowers and military families, took swift action to have her fired in April.

Our friend at The Gateway Pundit, Ivan Raiklin, is being credited for highlighting Dr. Adirim’s monstrous actions that ruined thousands of lives and disrupted the US military.

The Gateway Pundit reported that Adirim is suing to get her job back, outrageously claiming that her firing was politically motivated and influenced by “far-right activists.”

But the CIA insists her dismissal had nothing to do with external pressure and everything to do with internal complaints about her conduct—complaints reportedly filed by CIA officers themselves.

U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, a Biden appointee, rejected Adirim’s attempt to block the CIA’s decision.

During Friday’s hearing, Nachmanoff lifted a temporary hold and allowed the agency to proceed with her removal, Politico reported.

He refused to issue a restraining order, finding no merit in the claim that Adirim was being defamed or punished without due process.

According to the order:

“This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) (ECF 3), which this Court has converted to a Motion for Preliminary Injunction. To obtain injunctive relief, Plaintiff must show that she is likely to succeed on the merits, that she will suffer irreparable harm without emergency relief, that the balance of equities weighs in her favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.

For the reasons stated in open court, Plaintiff has failed to make a clear showing that she is likely to succeed on the merits of her stigma-plus due process claim.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion (ECF 3) is DENIED; and it is further ORDERED that the Administrative Stay previously entered by this Court (ECF 6) is VACATED.”

Ivan Raiklin released a statement on the ruling, stating, “Terry, YOU’RE FIRED! Not because of anything Ivan Raiklin, Laura Loomer, Donald Trump, Don Jr., Elon Musk said, but it was for cause!”

Terry, YOU’RE FIRED! Not because of anything Ivan Raiklin, Laura Loomer, Donald Trump, Don Jr., Elon Musk said, but it was for cause! pic.twitter.com/LK6MwvL4VT

— Ivan Raiklin (@IvanRaiklin) May 9, 2025

The post Federal Judge Greenlights CIA Firing of Biden-Era Doctor Who Pushed Mandatory COVID Vaccines on Military Personnel appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Guest post by Joel Gilbert

“Everyone knows those allegations are baseless, they’re discredited,” New York Attorney General Letitia James confidently answered a man who asked her about mortgage fraud charges.

If James believes her attorney’s public letter “discredited” anything, it’s wishful thinking.

In an April 24 letter to U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, high-profile Democrat defense attorney Abbe Lowell laid out his of defense of Letitia James in response to a criminal referral filed by U.S. Federal Housing Director William Pulte.

Lowell has represented Hunter Biden and Bob “Gold Bar” Menendez. The referral alleges potential mortgage fraud and campaign finance violations.

Lowell’s entire letter to Bondi smacks of a public relations stunt, rather than a legal defense, as Lowell portrays the DOJ referral as an act of political vengeance by Donald Trump.

While that argument may hold weight in the court of public opinion, it is legally irrelevant unless there is evidence of selective prosecution or denial of due process. Investigations and referrals must be evaluated based on evidence, not motive.

When Lowell does attempt to make legal arguments, they are substantially flawed.

In several areas, Lowell downplays or ignores critical facts, mischaracterizes the legal standards involved, seems to misunderstand public documents, and focuses heavily on political optics rather than addressing the alleged statutory violations.

1. Mischaracterization of the Virginia Primary Residence Issue

One of the central allegations in the criminal referral is that Letitia James falsely claimed a property in Norfolk, Virginia would be her “primary residence” in mortgage documents in 2023, as detailed by forensic accountant Sam Antar on his White Collar Fraud website.

Lowell claims that a two-week-old email from Letitia James stating the Virginia property “WILL NOT be my primary residence” overrides a signed power of attorney and loan documents submitted later declaring it as her “principal residence.”

The designation of a property as a “principal residence” on official loan documents is not trivial. It affects underwriting criteria, risk evaluation, interest rates, and insurance rates.

The power of attorney was signed, notarized, and submitted at closing – its designation carries legal weight.

That James may have made contrary statements in informal emails does not nullify what she or her representative attested to under penalty of perjury in the signed mortgage forms. Courts and investigators would prioritize final loan filings over informal statements when assessing fraud.

2. Brooklyn Four-Unit Building Claim Contradicted by Official Certificate of Occupancy

A second allegation concerns a 2011 federal HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) mortgage obtained by James on her Brooklyn brownstone. James represented in that application that the building contained only four apartment units – thus qualifying her for the loan program.

However, the official Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) lists five units, and the HAMP program was restricted to buildings with four or fewer legal units.

Lowell claims that, despite the 5-unit C of O, the building has always functioned informally as a four-unit residence and points to NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) records that classify the property as having only three stories and four units.

First, Lowell’s argument fails to recognize that the legal unit counts on the Certificate of Occupancy, which is what determines eligibility for programs like HAMP, not a claim of how the space is used informally.

Nor does Lowell address James’s misrepresentation of a financial hardship in qualifying for the HAMP loan, this despite James earning around $ 14,000 per month at the time she successfully got the government to provide her with a 2.7% loan to replace her adjustable 10% rate mortgage.

Second, Lowell fails to understand that New York City’s HPD classification was created by Letitia James herself. It is based solely on her yearly registration submission, whereby James falsely claimed her building had only 3 stories and 4 apartment units, when it legally had 4 stories and 5 apartment units.

3. Minimization of Fraud Risk in the “Husband and Wife” Mortgage Filing

Another allegation in the DOJ referral is that Letitia James, in 1983 at age 24, co-signed a mortgage loan with her father, Robert James, listing themselves as “husband and wife.”

Lowell asserts that her father filled out the forms and made a mistake. However, the “husband and wife” designation appeared in multiple documents across several years, including the original mortgage’s main page, its signature page, the assignment to a new lender months later, and the deed upon resale of the property by Letitia James in 2000.

Lowell’s explanation is simply legally inadequate. Both Robert and Letitia James signed the documents attesting to the spousal relationship. Letitia had a duty to read and correct them before signing.

Why didn’t she do so even as an attorney in 2000, rather than selling the property under the “husband and wife” designation?

Misrepresenting a relationship on mortgage documents in order to obtain favorable loan terms – particularly to appear as a married couple with joint financial responsibility – can constitute mortgage fraud under both state and federal statutes.

4. Failure to Address Campaign Finance Violations and Nonprofit Coordination

Lowell’s letter is most conspicuously silent on one of the most serious allegations: that James’s 2013 Public Advocate campaign paid a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, New York Communities for Change (NYCC), for direct campaign services, including canvassing and staffing.

IRS regulations prohibit 501(c)(4) organizations from coordinating campaign activities with candidates or their campaigns.

According to public filings and audit reports, the James campaign paid NYCC over $3,400 for campaign-related services – payments that would likely qualify as in-kind contributions if coordinated, which would be illegal under federal tax law and potentially New York State campaign finance rules.

That Lowell omits any discussion of this issue suggests a lack of credible defense or a strategy to divert focus from this potentially explosive issue.

Conclusion

Misrepresentations on mortgage applications, improper campaign payments to nonprofits, and suspicious personal loan filings are not erased by claims of political retribution.

Lowell’s letter to Pam Bondi in defense of Letitia James mounts to a public-relations defense, and lacks any legal substance. If Lowell were a public relations representative, it would be fine, but he is an attorney.

If the law is to be applied equally, Letitia James must be held to the same standard she has long espoused, on the principle that “no one is above the law.”

If Abbe Lowell represents Letitia James with his “PR defense” at trial and the jury is fair, James may end up convicted and sentenced to prison, just like Lowell’s client Bob Menendez, for years to come.

Below is Abbe Lowell’s letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi:

Joel Gilbert, is a Los Angeles-based film producer, and president of Highway 61 Entertainment. He is on Twitter: @JoelSGilbert.

The post Baseless Charges? Letitia James’s Attorney’s Letter is a PR Stunt with No Legal Substance appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has delivered a knockout punch to Google, securing a record-shattering $1.375 billion settlement for the Big Tech’s covert surveillance of everyday Americans.

This staggering sum is nearly a billion dollars more than what 40 states combined were able to wring from Google for similar offenses — a testament to Paxton’s unrelenting crusade against Big Tech tyranny.

In 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a 44-page lawsuit against Google, accusing the multibillion-dollar corporation of “systematically misleading” and “deceiving” Texans for years in order to secretly track their every move — and rake in obscene profits from it.

The lawsuit lays out a damning case against Google, alleging that the tech behemoth “covertly harvested” users’ precise geolocation data, voiceprints, and even facial geometry — all while leading users to believe they had turned off such invasive tracking.

According to the lawsuit, Google duped its users by creating a maze of confusing and misleading settings, falsely telling Texans they could protect their privacy by turning off features like “Location History.” But in reality, Google was still logging user data using obscure and hard-to-find settings like “Web & App Activity,” storing data in shadowy internal databases with Orwellian names like “Footprints.”

The lawsuit outlines that the data harvested by Google could reveal:

Home and work addresses
Political and religious affiliations
Medical conditions and support group attendance
Sexual orientation and income level
Life milestones like marriage, divorce, or childbirth

Even with location services “turned off,” Google reportedly continued to track users through Wi-Fi signals, Bluetooth, and IP addresses, deceiving consumers and violating their right to privacy.

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law. For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won,” said Attorney General Paxton.

“This $1.375 billion settlement is a major win for Texans’ privacy and tells companies that they will pay for abusing our trust. I will always protect Texans by stopping Big Tech’s attempts to make a profit by selling away our rights and freedoms.”

The post ANOTHER PAXTON WIN! Google Hit with Historic $1.375 Billion Settlement for Secretly Tracking People’s Movements, Private Searches, Voiceprints, and Facial Data appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Pakistan has initiated a series of retaliatory missile and drone strikes against India, marking the most severe military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in decades.

On April 22, a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, resulted in the deaths of 26 tourists, including 25 Hindus and one Nepalese national. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility but later denied involvement. India accused Pakistan of supporting the attackers, a claim Pakistan denies.

On April 28, Pakistan’s defense minister said that they would only use their nuclear weapons arsenal if there is a direct threat to our existence.”

On May 6, India launched “Operation Sindoor,” conducting missile strikes on nine sites in Pakistan, targeting what it described as terrorist infrastructure. Pakistan reported civilian casualties, including the deaths of at least eight people.

“I have said on numerous earlier occasions, it is Pakistani actions that have constituted provocations and escalations. In response, India has defended and reacted in a responsible and measured fashion to these provocations and escalations by the Pakistani side. Earlier this morning, we saw a repeat of this escalatory and provocative pattern,” said India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Following India’s attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif said India had made a “grave mistake for which it must now pay the price.”

WATCH:

JUST IN: Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif says India made a “grave mistake for which it must now pay the price.” pic.twitter.com/Y6MQeUQvrt

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) May 7, 2025

On May 7, Pakistan responded with “Operation Bunyan al-Marsus,” targeting multiple Indian military sites. Both nations employed drones and missile systems, marking the first instance of drone warfare between nuclear-armed countries.

India reported intercepting several Pakistani drones, while Pakistan claimed to have shot down multiple Indian drones.

On Saturday, Pakistan launched further retaliatory strikes, targeting Indian military sites, Army hospitals, and civil infrastructure.

“Pakistani army is continuously attacking the western borders; it has used drones, long-range weapons, loitering munitions and fighter jets to attack India’s military sites. India neutralised many dangers, but Pakistan tried to infiltrate via Air at more than 26 places, and they damaged our equipment and personnel at air force bases in Udhampur, Bhuj, Pathankot, Bathinda. They used high-speed missiles at 1:40 am to target Punjab’s air base. They even attacked health facilities and schools,” said Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, according to the Times of India.

“Pakistan’s aggressive stance on the Western Front continued and tired to target the Indian Army. Attacked 26 locations from Srinagar to Chhalliya. Damage reported in airbases in Udhampur, Adampur, Pathankot, and Bathinda. Pakistan targeted Army hospitals in Srinagar, Avantipur, and Udhampur,” she added.

More from the Times of India:

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh accused Pakistan of moving its troops towards forward areas, indicating an offensive intent to further escalation.

“Pakistan Army has been observed to be moving its troops towards forward areas, indicating an offensive intent to further escalation. Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness, and all hostile actions have been effectively countered and responded proportionately,” Singh said.

“Indian armed forces reiterated their commitment to non-escalation, provided the Pakistan side reciprocates,” she added.

Further, Qureshi said that the that the armed forces, in a punitive action, carried out a precision strike only at identified military targets.

“In a swift and calibrated response, Indian armed forces carried out a precision strike only at identified military targets,” she said.

“Pakistan has also attempted to execute a continued malicious misinformation campaign, with claims of destruction of the Indian S-400 system, destruction of airfields at Surat and Sirsa… India unequivocally rejects these false claims being spread by Pakistan,” she added.

OPERATION SINDOOR

Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western borders. In one such incident, today at approximately 5 AM, Multiple enemy armed drones were spotted flying over Khasa Cantt, Amritsar. The hostile drones were… pic.twitter.com/BrfEzrZBuC

— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) May 10, 2025

Pakistan continued its hostilities on 10 May 2025 by targeting places of worship like the famous Shambhu Temple and residential areas in Jammu. Multiple armed drones have been sent through the night, endangering civilians and religious sites. The Indian Armed Forces remain… pic.twitter.com/o317h7XChC

— Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) May 10, 2025

The post Pakistan Launches Retaliatory Strikes Against India Amid Escalating Conflict Between the Two Nuclear Powers appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Hong Kong police have detained relatives of former Canadian Conservative candidate Joe Tay, who was the target of Chinese electoral interference operations during Canada’s recent federal elections.

This action, reported by The Bureau, marks an escalation in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strategy to intimidate dissidents beyond its borders.

Those detained include Tay’s cousin and his wife, who were interrogated in Hong Kong in what appears to be an attempt to pressure the Canadian government under Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The arrests occurred just days after Carney’s May 6 meeting with the White House, suggesting a CCP maneuver to test Ottawa’s resolve in the face of foreign influence.

The RCMP reportedly told Joe Tay, the CCP-targeted candidate, to stop campaigning due to threats from the Chinese government. He lost. Now the Chinese regime has kidnapped his cousin and his cousin’s wife in Hong Kong. See how this works?

Tay, who faced a coordinated disinformation campaign on WeChat and threats that forced him to suspend in-person events, was charged in Hong Kong in December 2024 with “incitement to secession” and “collusion with foreign forces” for operating the HongKonger Station platform.

On April 30, Hong Kong police arrested the father and brother of pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok, accusing them of managing her finances under the draconian National Security Law.
Human Rights Watch and 87 organizations condemned the arrests, calling them an alarming precedent.

This case, along with the detention of relatives of activists like Frances Hui, highlights a Chinese Communist Party strategy to punish dissidents abroad through family intimidation — a pattern Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly condemned as a violation of international norms.

The arrest of Joe Tay’s family members in Hong Kong is not just a personal attack — it is a warning from the Chinese Communist Party to democracies that dare to challenge its influence.

As Ottawa remains silent and Prime Minister Carney faces scrutiny over his handling of foreign interference, the world is watching to see whether Canada will yield to Beijing’s coercion or stand firmly in defense of its sovereignty.

These tactics of transnational repression, documented by The Bureau and condemned by human rights observers, underline an undeniable truth: the complicit silence of Western leaders only emboldens a regime that respects neither borders nor freedoms.

Tay’s struggle is the struggle of all who resist tyranny, and his family — now hostages of an oppressive system — deserves a forceful response that honors democratic principles.

The post Beijing Escalates Transnational Repression — Relatives of Former Canadian Candidate Joe Tay Detained in Hong Kong After Carney-Trump Meeting appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit,” Vice President J.D. Vance said on Fox News, “but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it.” This echoes an earlier comment from the president himself, “They’ve gotten tit for tat, so hopefully they can stop now. And if I can do anything to help, I will be there.”

One is tempted to pull a Vladimir Putin and start explaining this conflict with reference to the invasion of India by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1027 AD, but that is irrelevant. The current conflict is more strategic than religious. Pakistan, after losing conventional wars with India, encouraged Kashmiri separatism, which resulted in a simmering sub-conventional conflict that is now in its fifth decade. The proximate cause of this recent bout is, as always, a terrorist attack in the tourist hotspot of Kashmir that killed a lot of Indian tourists; men were targeted and women spared. The Indian initial operation was named as Operation Sindoor (“vermillion”), after the red dye worn by Hindu women, a new religious symbolism that was hitherto unseen in the relatively secular, British-designed Indian armed-forces nomenclature, compared to the more overtly religious Pakistani operations in the past. 

The trajectory of the conflict is different from previous bouts. Initial reports suggest that Indians struck some cities in Pakistan, where they claimed there were terrorist training grounds. In retaliation, the Pakistanis flew their air assets close to the border; the Indians followed suit, and both sides fired stand-off Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) weapons without crossing the international boundaries. The Indians apparently flew their French-made Rafales, and some, numbers still unconfirmed, were lost to Chinese-made Pakistani jets and air defense systems. Given the loss, the chances of an off-ramp were finished, and the conflict has now escalated to its third night of cross-border fighting with increasingly sophisticated weaponry being used. It has also taken some international color. Online flame wars have started between the Turkish diaspora and the Greeks and Israelis, taking the conflict as a proxy for their own rivalries. Meanwhile, both the French and Americans are probably waiting for intel assessment from the Indians about Chinese weapons’ performance. 

It is hard to understand where this conflict is going or what are the strategic end-games of either side. The Indian claim of “establishing deterrence” doesn’t explain what the endgame of its escalation dominance might be. Pakistan isn’t Gaza, and India, while conventionally superior over its enemy in every way, doesn’t enjoy the total military dominance of the theater to coerce or compel change in Pakistani behavior. The only way to do that would be to push for a repeat of 1971 and initiate a full-spectrum invasion. Without an invasion of Pakistan, or a siege of the Pakistani economic jugular of Karachi by the Indian navy, this conflict will not reach a point where there might be enough launch pressure for talks. Nuclear war is out of the question, despite the obscenely jingoistic social media of both sides, and the political leaders know that, demonstrated by the constant statements about how “non-escalatory” and “proportionate” the strikes are. 

In 2001, immediately after the attack on the Indian parliament, the two sides mobilized around a million men to the border, the U.S. administration officials and diplomats were jolted by the blunt talk of nuclear war from the Indian side. “If we go to war, jolly good!” Gen. S. Padmanabhan, then commander of the armed services, said to a baffled American reporter. 

Commenting on Indian second-strike capabilities, the general commented, “The perpetrator of that particular outrage shall be punished so severely that their continuation thereafter in any form of fray will be doubtful. We are ready for a second strike, yes.” 

He added, “Take it from me, we have enough.”

Mercifully, this time the official statements are more measured. But that also shows the limited U.S. interest in the conflict, other than coaxing the two sides towards peace. In fact, Vance officially mentioning neutrality is in itself a change in historic U.S. posture, which, during the Cold War, traditionally favored Pakistan—a sign that in this new scenario neither side is an ally. The only material concerns for the U.S. are avoiding a nuclear war that would make the air of Asia unbreathable, studying the best of Western weapons performing against the best of Chinese-made weapons, and watching drones perform in a peer conflict. So far, it appears that Chinese platforms are getting the best of things, which might send a chill down the spine of Pentagon top brass. It might also discourage the talk of a French security umbrella over the EU, as well as French talk of European strategic autonomy. 

Other than that, the U.S. admin would be wise to remember the words of Padmanabhan from 2001: “When two wild bulls decide to fight in a jungle, they carry on regardless.”

The post Vance Is Right About the Indo-Pak Conflict appeared first on The American Conservative.

Credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr

The state of California is currently looking down the barrel of a possible budget shortfall of ten billion dollars, or possibly more than that.

This news comes just weeks after it was reported that their state-run healthcare plan, which covers illegal aliens, is over budget by billions. The state is also dealing with a massive recovery effort after wildfires ravaged a huge area in the southern part of the state earlier this year.

It’s incredible that some Democrats and people in media think Governor Gavin Newsom would be a good candidate to run for president in 2028. What has he done besides drive his state into poverty and population loss?

Breitbart News reports:

Gavin Newsom, California Face Another Budget Shortfall; $10-$20 Billion

California Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are bracing for a $10 billion budget shortfall — even before federal spending cuts undertaken by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Newsom and the Democrats took a near-$100 billion surplus in 2022– partly fueled by federal coronavirus funds under the Biden administration — to a near-$50 billion deficit in 2024.

Earlier this year, the state was forced to borrow $6.2 billion to fund Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, which Newsom and his party expanded to cover illegal aliens.

More from Politico:

Gov. Gavin Newsom is likely staring down a $10 billion budget hole that could deepen to $20 billion or more.

President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, a Medi-Cal shortfall and delayed tax filings from Los Angeles-area wildfire victims are putting the state in a worse economic situation than the California governor previously anticipated — and that’s without taking into account expected federal spending cuts…

In early January, the governor’s Department of Finance projected the state would see a small surplus this year. But Newsom and legislative leaders are now flying blind into budget crunch time, as tariffs and a lack of tax receipts — including those from some of the wealthiest Californians — are stoking financial uncertainty.

Imagine living in the state with the highest taxes in the country, and having the leaders of the state tell you that they’re coming up short in the new budget by ten billion or more. It’s outrageous.

The post REPORT: Highest Tax State of California Bracing for Budget Shortfall of Ten Billion or More appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.