In the annals of literary and philosophical provocation, few figures loom as large as Ayn Rand.  Born in 1905 in Russia, Rand witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution’s assault on individual liberty firsthand, an experience that forged her into a fierce advocate for capitalism and personal freedom.  Her philosophy, Objectivism, champions reason, self-interest, and the unrestrained pursuit of one’s own happiness as moral imperatives.  Nowhere is this worldview more vividly dramatized than in her 1957 magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged.  The novel imagines a world where society’s most productive minds — entrepreneurs, inventors, and industrialists — go on strike, refusing to prop up a collectivist system that punishes their ingenuity with regulations, taxes, and guilt.  Led by the enigmatic John Galt, these creators retreat to a hidden valley, leaving a crumbling civilization to face the consequences of its own parasitism.  Rand’s strike is a bold ideological statement: The world runs on the shoulders of its innovators, and when they shrug, everything falls apart.

Fast-forward to the 21st century, and a quieter, less theatrical strike seems to be unfolding in the United States.  Businesses, from manufacturing giants to tech startups, have been offshoring production at a staggering pace, fleeing to countries like China, Vietnam, and Mexico.  On the surface, this exodus appears driven by cold economic logic: lower labor costs, lighter regulations, and tax incentives abroad make the bottom line sing.  Yet beneath the spreadsheets lies a resonance with Rand’s vision — a metaphorical strike by creators fed up with a system that increasingly stifles them.  Though not an ideological crusade in the Randian sense, this offshoring wave reflects a broader frustration with an American landscape that has drifted from its capitalist roots, piling burdens on those who dare to build.  Tariffs, intended to lure these companies back, instead add insult to injury, failing to address the root causes of their departure.

Ayn Rand and the Strike of the Titans

Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is more than a novel — it’s a manifesto.  Its sprawling narrative pits the heroic likes of Dagny Taggart, a railroad tycoon, and Hank Rearden, a steel magnate, against a dystopian government that smothers their achievements with bureaucracy and redistribution.  The book’s climax sees these titans of industry vanish, one by one, as John Galt convinces them to stop feeding a world that despises their greatness.  “We are on strike against self-immolation,” Galt declares in his famous radio address, encapsulating Objectivism’s rejection of altruism as a moral shackle.  For Rand, the strike is a triumph of principle over pragmatism, a refusal to compromise with a society that demands creators sacrifice their vision for the sake of the mediocre.

Rand’s philosophy struck a chord in mid-20th-century America, where capitalism still wore its swagger proudly.  Today, her ideas feel both prescient and distant.  The U.S. remains capitalist in name, yet its entrepreneurs face a gauntlet of obstacles eerily reminiscent of her fictional dystopia: steep corporate taxes, labyrinthine regulations, minimum wage mandates, environmental compliance costs, union pressures, and patent warfare.  These aren’t abstract grievances; they’re the daily grind of doing business in a country that seems to have forgotten how to celebrate its builders.

The Offshoring Exodus: A Strike in Disguise

Enter the offshoring phenomenon.  Since the 1980s, American companies have shifted production overseas at an accelerating clip.  China, once a communist backwater, has emerged as the world’s factory floor, producing everything from iPhones to plastic brushes.  The numbers tell the story: U.S. manufacturing employment peaked at 19.5 million in 1979 and has since dwindled to around 13 million, while China’s industrial output soared.  Economists point to the obvious drivers — labor in China costs a fraction of U.S. wages, regulations are more lax, and tax breaks abound.  It’s a pragmatic choice, not a philosophical one.  A CEO doesn’t cite Rand when moving a factory to Shenzhen; he cites shareholder value.

Yet economics doesn’t exist in a vacuum — it’s shaped by ideology. The U.S. system, with its tangle of rules and redistributive policies, reflects a creeping collectivism that Rand would have decried.  Minimum wage is a state-imposed constraint distorting the natural market dynamics of labor supply and demand.  The Environmental Protection Agency’s edicts often prioritize ecological purity over industrial vitality.  Unions, while fighting for labor, can paralyze production with strikes and demands.  Politicians beg for campaign cash while drafting laws that choke the very businesses they court.  And competitors wield patents like weapons, turning innovation into litigation.  Frivolous court hearings drain companies’ resources into lawyers’ pockets.  DIE and similar requirements make it impossible to staff positions based on merit or to easily get rid of underperforming employees.  For entrepreneurs, this is a relentless message that their drive is suspect, their success a resource to be tapped.

Offshoring, then, becomes a de facto strike.  It’s not the ideological purity of John Galt’s retreat — companies aren’t abandoning production altogether — but it’s a withdrawal nonetheless.  They’re saying, in effect, “If you won’t let us thrive here, we’ll go where we can.”  China’s allure is as a government that rolls out the red carpet for industry, offering stability and incentives the U.S. no longer matches.  The irony is biting: A nominally communist state has outdone the self-proclaimed champion of capitalism at its own game.

Tariffs: An Insult, Not an Incentive

In response, the U.S. has turned to tariffs, most notably under President Trump.  The logic is simple: Tax imports to make domestic production competitive again, forcing businesses to “come home.”  But this misses the mark.  Tariffs raise costs for companies already stretched thin, punishing them for adapting to a hostile environment rather than fixing it.  If offshoring is a strike, tariffs are a scolding from the boss, demanding loyalty without offering better conditions.  Data show the limits: Although some firms have shifted from China to places like Vietnam, very few have returned to the U.S.  Manufacturing’s share of GDP continues its decades-long slide, suggesting that the “strikers” aren’t ready to clock back in.

Bringing the Creators Home

Rand’s strikers returned only when the world begged them, having learned its lesson.  Reality demands a less dramatic fix.  If the U.S. wants to onshore its businesses, it must create a climate where they want to stay — out of not coercion, but desire.  Lower taxes, streamlined regulations, and labor flexibility could tilt the scales.  Incentives like tax credits for domestic investment or R&D could sweeten the deal.  The EPA could balance environmental goals with industrial needs, not just wield a veto.  Politicians could stop treating businesses as ATMs and start seeing them as partners.  This is not an exhaustive list of commonsense measures, nor are these radical ideas; they’re echoes of the America that once drew the world’s dreamers.

The parallel with Atlas Shrugged isn’t perfect.  Rand’s strike was both a moral and an ideological stand; offshoring is a survival tactic.  Yet the result aligns: Creators, whether driven by principle or profit, are walking away.  Tariffs won’t guilt them back; they’ll just dig in elsewhere.  To end this strike, the U.S. must rediscover what made it a beacon for builders in the first place.  Until then, the Atlas of industry will keep shrugging, and the world will keep turning — somewhere else.

Allen Gindler, American Thinker

It is evident to all Americans who have been paying attention that the left is doubling down on stupid. 

They are throwing all the power they think they have behind an MS-13 gangbanger whom they have decided is some kind of a touchstone, their next George Floyd, their ticket to victory in the midterms, after which they plan to impeach Trump again. 

Oh, but now they have Kamelo Anthony, the kid who seems, on the available evidence, to have cold-bloodedly murdered a young man at a school track meet and is now wallowing in the riches bestowed upon him via Give-Send-Go, more than $500,000, enough to rent a new house, buy a Cadillac, a thug spokesman with a criminal record, and a security detail. 

The best thing that ever happened to this rapacious family is that their kid allegedly murdered another kid in cold blood.

How morally vacuous are they? 

They are already selling t-shirts with his face on them. 

He is being heralded as some perverse version of a hero. 

All the available facts indicate that he provoked the incident out of the blue, very likely on purpose, conveniently having a knife on hand as he lay in wait. 

A gang initiation? Who knows? Seems possible given his instant fame as the Rosa Parks or George Floyd of 2025. 

He is more like the O.J. Simpson of 2025.  If and when there is a trial, we can expect riots during which Soros-funded groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter will get their orders from headquarters and their generous salaries for showing up to protest.  

Violence will ensue. We can count on it. It is how the left rolls. Rent-a-riots are their thing. To destroy everything that was good about America is their thing.

Another hill our left is choosing to die on is transgenderism.  They love it, they promote it.  They think that supporting the right of men to play in women’s sports, flaunting their genitals in girls’ locker rooms, makes them oh, so special, oh, so virtuous. 

What it does is prove that they are moronic in the extreme.  Did none of them ever take Biology 101?

Yes, they did, but for them, wokery trumps science.  They do not seem to realize that they are mere tools of the globalist Marxists who so skillfully manipulate them. They think Trump supporters are a cult, but it is the leftist Democrats who are the cult, mind-numbed. Their program to bring a lowlife likely MS-13 gangster, a suspected human trafficker, and an accused wife-beater back to the U.S. is shockingly stupid. 

Talk about not reading the room!  How dumb are these people?  People want to be safe from creeps like Kilmar Abrego Garcia. 

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders and AOC are out and about giving anti-oligarchy speeches when it is they who are the oligarchs.  

Bernie reportedly spent $225,000 on private jets to lecture kids who had spent $1,000 to attend the Coachella music event.  Many of them bought their tickets on a payment plan!  How pathetic is that?

So, Robin Williams, may he rest in peace, was on to something when he said that “what is right is what is left if you do everything else wrong.”  

That is why Trump won…three times. 

The left has been doing everything wrong for decades, ever since the racist Woodrow Wilson was president. 

Up until now, no Republican, except Ronald Reagan, has tried to disempower them, but a hundred and fifteen years of malevolence is very difficult to counter. 

President Trump is the first man to try since, which is why the demonic deep state has tried every underhanded way possible to take him out, to destroy him. 

The left, as currently constituted, is well and truly evil, but its adherents truly believe they are superior beings meant to control how the rest of us live or don’t live. 

Their kind is not new on this Earth; they are as old as humanity itself.  Evil exists; it always has.  Human existence will always be a struggle between what is good and what is wrong, what is evil. 

Watch MSNBC or CNN for five minutes and you will see what the left is all about – subterfuge, hypocrisy, and deceit. 

It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak. –Eric Hoffer 

The left is inherently weak, which is why the right will prevail.

Patricia McCarthy, American Thinker

Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel, promised the country on Good Friday that the commitment of the people of the United States and President Donald Trump to it is “unwavering.”

“On behalf of President Trump and the American people, I say to Israel: Our commitment to you is unwavering, and we pray for the immediate return of all the hostages. Israel will never be alone,” Huckabee said in a post Friday on X.

He added in his post that he had visited the Western Wall “in Israel’s eternal capital Jerusalem,” where he placed a handwritten prayer from Trump between its stones.

The Western Wall is located in east Jerusalem, a sector of the holy city that has been annexed and occupied by Israel. It is the last remnant of the Second Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 C.E. and is the holiest site where Jews are permitted to pray.

Huckabee is making his first official visit to Israel after becoming the U.S. ambassador. The Senate confirmed him on April 9, two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited with Trump at the White House.

The ambassador, who has long backed Israel’s calls to annex the West Bank, officially presented his diplomatic credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday.

Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and longtime supporter of Israel, said Friday that all efforts are being made to secure the release of hostages that continue to be held by Hamas.

According to reports, the terrorists have not yet returned 59 hostages, 24 of who are still believed to be alive.

Sandy Fitzgerald ✉

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

When I was a little girl, I hoped Jesus wouldn’t return for a while.

At least not until after I could drive. And graduate. And get married. And have babies. Life was too good to want anything cut short. I wanted salvation from hell — but not really from sin, and especially not from the world it so corrupted. 

I assume this is the case for anyone with untested, childlike faith. It’s only natural. The bad news that we’re all sinners who deserve death in hell, and the good news that Jesus died to pay the debt for all who repent and believe in Him, are simple enough truths for kids to grasp. Indeed, Jesus commanded his adult followers to let the little children come to Him.

But it isn’t just spiritual death that results from sin. It’s death, period. And until you come face to face with this kind of death and the other gruesome effects of sin, such as pain, decay, violence, and spiritual warfare, it’s hard to truly understand what you’ve been saved from and saved for.

That’s what’s on my mind this Good Friday. 

We’ve all seen things we aren’t supposed to. Children left suddenly without their parents. Parents burying their children. Car accidents. Medical accidents. Workplace accidents. Lost battles with cancer. The effects of suicide. Mass shootings and terrorism. Accidental overdose. Senseless violence. Miscarriage. These things startle us not just because they’re scary or evil or unexpected, but because we were never meant to experience them in the first place. They feel contrary to God’s design — because they are.

In the beginning, everything was “good” because a good God made it that way. Man was fashioned to live in harmony with God and woman and creature. There was no sickness, no death, and no pain, only beauty, life, and light. 

But sin quickly entered and, with it, death and decay. In Paul’s telling, “[J]ust as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

As a child, life felt a lot more like Eden. As an adult, it can seem more like hell. But on Good Friday, we’re reminded that the holy Son of God experienced the effects of sin on this Earth too. Not only that, but He willingly took my sin — and, if you repent and believe in Him, your sin — upon Himself. Forsaken by His own Father, He bore God’s full wrath for sin on the cross. Here’s Paul again: “God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The Apostle John breaks it down even more:

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

That’s why a day all about death can be “good”; it’s the only death that could reconcile man to God once and for all. But the best part about Good Friday is that it’s followed by Resurrection Sunday. Death didn’t get the final word in the life of Jesus, and it doesn’t get the final word for all who believe in Him for salvation.

So today, as you gaze upon the cross of Christ and ponder His shed blood, take heart that the death we were never designed to experience has been ultimately defeated. “It is finished.” We know how the story ends. The tomb will be empty soon.

Kylee Griswold is the managing editor of The Federalist and a contributor to IW Features. She previously worked as the copy editor for the Washington Examiner magazine and as an editor and producer at National Geographic. She holds a B.S. in communication arts/speech and an A.S. in criminal justice and writes on topics including feminism and gender issues, religion, and the media. Follow her on Twitter @kyleezempel.

The Trump administration plans to use ongoing tariff negotiations to pressure U.S. trading partners to limit their dealings with China, according to people with knowledge of the conversations.

The idea is to extract commitments from U.S. trading partners to isolate China’s economy in exchange for reductions in trade and tariff barriers imposed by the White House. U.S. officials plan to use negotiations with more than 70 nations to ask them to disallow China from shipping goods through their countries, prevent Chinese firms from locating in their territories to avoid U.S. tariffs, and not absorb China’s cheap industrial goods into their economies. 

These measures are meant to put a dent in China’s already rickety economy and force Beijing to the negotiating table with less leverage ahead of potential talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The exact demands could vary widely by nation, given their degree of involvement with the Chinese economy.

China’s strategy of growing its economic power and influence depends on a river of money with its headwaters in the United States. And its ability to make deals in countries not hostile to the United States is only possible because the US tolerates its moves and is committed to using only modest soft power to oppose the moves. 

Donald Trump is not in a mood to tolerate expanding Chinese influence. Look at the Panama Canal port deals. Trump’s goal is not so much to own the canal as to deny China influence in the region. China, not Panama, is the target. 

In fact, most of Trump’s seemingly bizarre foreign policy moves–Canada as the 51st state and annexing Greenland are about trying to change the political geography to keep China from gaining influence in the Arctic. 

The flow of information out of China on economic performance since the tariffs hit is sparse, but I have been checking in on the social media chatter coming out of China, and the news is bleak. Consumer spending is down, export products are being sold at firesale prices, and business owners are locking doors and leaving employees unpaid. This is all chatter right now, but also likely true. 

Trade wars suck for everybody involved, and when the cost of Chinese-made products go up there will be some pain here in the United States, whatever Trump and his people say. 

But none of this pain will be an existential threat to Trump, the country, or the Republican Party. There will be a price to pay, but it will be modest in the longer term. 

Not so for China. Their regime is under threat because their hand is much, much weaker. Weaker than Trump’s and weaker than people think. 

Of course, if China were a normal country, what Trump is doing would be a horrible policy. Generally speaking, destroying a trading partner’s economy is both morally questionable and terrible for business. Normally you would cut a deal. 

But China and the United States are heading for a war, and a big one at that. Xi Jinping has made that abundantly clear, and he has counted on making the US economy dependent on China to keep us cowed. 

Trump is turning that logic on its head. 

Gavin Bade and Brian Schwartz

Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five: Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, “If the British march By land or sea from the town to-night, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,— One if by land, and two if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country-folk to be up and to arm.”

Then he said “Good night!” and with muffled oar Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore, Just as the moon rose over the bay, Where swinging wide at her moorings lay The Somerset, British man-of-war: A phantom ship, with each mast and spar Across the moon, like a prison-bar, And a huge black hulk, that was magnified By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street Wanders and watches with eager ears, Till in the silence around him he hears The muster of men at the barrack door, The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet, And the measured tread of the grenadiers Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed to the tower of the church, Up the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread, To the belfry-chamber overhead, And startled the pigeons from their perch On the sombre rafters, that round him made Masses and moving shapes of shade,— By the trembling ladder, steep and tall, To the highest window in the wall, Where he paused to listen and look down A moment on the roofs of the town, And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead, In their night-encampment on the hill, Wrapped in silence so deep and still That he could hear, like a sentinel’s tread, The watchful night-wind, as it went Creeping along from tent to tent, And seeming to whisper, “All is well!” A moment only he feels the spell Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread Of the lonely belfry and the dead; For suddenly all his thoughts are bent On a shadowy something far away, Where the river widens to meet the bay,— A line of black, that bends and floats On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride, Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride, On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere. Now he patted his horse’s side, Now gazed on the landscape far and near, Then impetuous stamped the earth, And turned and tightened his saddle-girth; But mostly he watched with eager search The belfry-tower of the old North Church, As it rose above the graves on the hill, Lonely and spectral and sombre and still. And lo! as he looks, on the belfry’s height, A glimmer, and then a gleam of light! He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns, But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight A second lamp in the belfry burns!

A hurry of hoofs in a village-street, A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a spark Struck out by a steed that flies fearless and fleet: That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light, The fate of a nation was riding that night; And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight, Kindled the land into flame with its heat.

He has left the village and mounted the steep, And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep, Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides; And under the alders, that skirt its edge, Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge, Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock When he crossed the bridge into Medford town. He heard the crowing of the cock, And the barking of the farmer’s dog, And felt the damp of the river-fog, That rises when the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock, When he galloped into Lexington. He saw the gilded weathercock Swim in the moonlight as he passed, And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare, Gaze at him with a spectral glare, As if they already stood aghast At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock, When he came to the bridge in Concord town. He heard the bleating of the flock, And the twitter of birds among the trees, And felt the breath of the morning breeze Blowing over the meadows brown. And one was safe and asleep in his bed Who at the bridge would be first to fall, Who that day would be lying dead, Pierced by a British musket-ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read, How the British Regulars fired and fled,— How the farmers gave them ball for ball, From behind each fence and farmyard-wall, Chasing the red-coats down the lane, Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road, And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere; And so through the night went his cry of alarm To every Middlesex village and farm,— A cry of defiance, and not of fear, A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, And a word that shall echo forevermore! For, borne on the night-wind of the Past, Through all our history, to the last, In the hour of darkness and peril and need, The people will waken and listen to hear The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed, And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

This poem is in the public domain.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Starting in 2016, how many of us heard the phrase “bash the fash” or “punch a Nazi” somewhere? I know I heard it or saw it all over the place. Those who espoused such things argued that this kind of thing was acceptable because the threat was so dire. They had every right to resort to violence in the face of what they argued was violence.

Of course, no one actually did anything to hurt them, but it didn’t matter because they’d already rationalized it in their minds.

Most of those who said it were big on talk, short on action. That’s probably for the best, really, because most of those couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

But now, with Trump’s return to the White House, I expected to hear a repeat of those mantras.

I really haven’t, all things considered.

Instead, the violence is real, not rhetoric.

And while the firebombings and attempted assassination make the bigger news, even more pedestrian assaults happen, and we’ve got a glimpse inside the mind of one of those attackers.

WSU student Jay Sani said he was attacked by instructor Patrick Mahoney and Gerald Hoff after Mahoney forcibly took his red Trump hat which read “Trump 2024 Take America Back.” The altercation reportedly occurred outside The Coug, a well-known campus bar, and was captured on surveillance cameras.

According to Sani, Mahoney ripped the hat off his head and taunted him by saying “Go get it, b***h,” before repeatedly punching him in the back. Hoff then kicked Sani several times, while Mahoney grabbed him by the chest and slammed him to the ground. Sani said he was left with multiple bruises.

Pullman police located and interviewed Mahoney and Hoff within hours. Both men admitted to the attack.

Mahoney told police that he had seen Sani on campus before and knew he was a “right-wing dude.” He admitted that he grabbed his hat, threw it, and said “Go get it.”

Hoff admitted, “We did grab him and threw him to the ground.”

Despite their admissions, Mahoney claimed he did not hit Sani and said he didn’t believe he had done anything illegal. Police, however, emphasized that the incident involved unwanted physical contact. Mahoney also blamed Sani, telling officers he “got what’s coming to him.”

Sani only came forward now because it looks like Mahoney might be reinstated, even after assaulting a student.

What’s interesting to me, though not surprising, is the argument that Sani “got what’s coming to him” simply because he wore a Trump hat.

Note that nothing we see here that these two said to the police really contradicts anything of relevance. They say they didn’t punch Sani, which isn’t surprising since it’s clear they figure that’s what assault is, but they admit to throwing him on the ground. They admit to taking his hat and throwing it, telling him to go and get it like he’s a dog.

They admitted to everything needed to justify charges, and they did it because they felt completely justified. They even told the police Sani “got what’s coming to him” simply because he was a Trump supporter.

In the mind of the leftist, everything they want to do is righteous, and anyone who opposes it is evil. They believe anything necessary to achieve their goal is good and just, including blatant assault over simply supporting the “wrong” guy for president.

Sani didn’t do anything. There’s no evidence he said anything. Even if it did talk smack, that’s grounds for talking smack in return, not snatching his property and assaulting him.

Now, let’s think about things like the vandalism of Teslas, the attacks against Tesla dealerships, the Trump assassination attempts and plots, the attack on the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion, and whatever other insanity is yet to come.

These people all believe what they’re doing is righteous, that they’re the ones in the right, and everyone who opposes them is aligned with the forces of evil. The guy who attacked the governor’s mansion, for example, claimed that he was justified because of what Gov. Josh Shapiro—a Democrat, it should be noted—wanted to do to the Palestinian people.

They have decided that elections only have consequences when they win, and they will be the consequences when they lose. They’re ready to destroy each and every one of us if given half the chance.

Hell, look at Taylor Lorenz fangirling over Luigi Mangione. Yes, I get that there are a lot of people who have absolutely no sympathy for Magione’s alleged victim, but she crossed an insane line, not by just shrugging off a bad person dying, but by celebrating his murderer as if he’s the messiah or something.

As I noted over at Townhall, people like Taylor Lorenz are why I carry a gun. People like Mahoney and Hoff are, too.

Sooner or later, one of these leftist nutjobs is going to go beyond a simple assault and try something else.

They deserve the Kyle Rittenhouse Special, and they deserve it good and hard.

Tom Knighton, Tilting at Windmills

After Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned about the growth outlook during his address and held off on lowering interest rates, President Donald Trump responded saying Powell’s interest rate reductions will be “too late” and his “termination cannot come fast enough.”

“The ECB [European Central Bank] is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!'” Trump wrote Thursday morning on Truth Social. “Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now.

“Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

That remains more than a year from now, as Powell’s second four-year term as chair of the Federal Reserve ends in May 2026.

Trump’s remarks on Powell being “too late” come after he said Wednesday the Federal Reserve can stay patient and wait to see how tariffs and other economic policies of the Trump administration play out before making any changes to interest rates.

“As that great Chicagoan Ferris Bueller once noted, ‘Life moves pretty fast,'” Powell said in a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago. “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity” on the impact of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation, and tariffs, Powell said.

The sharp volatility in financial markets since Trump announced sweeping tariffs April 2, only to put most of them on hold a week later, has led to speculation about whether the Fed would soon cut its key interest rate or take other steps to calm investors. Yet the Fed is unlikely to intervene unless there is a breakdown in the market for Treasury securities or other malfunctions, economists say.

Stocks fell further after Powell’s remarks. The broad S&P 500 index dropped more than 2% in afternoon trading.

In his prepared remarks, Powell reiterated the Trump administration’s tariffs are “significantly larger than anticipated.”

“The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth,” he said.

Powell also said that the Fed could face threats to both of the mandates it has been given by Congress: To achieve maximum employment and maintain stable prices. Should both inflation and unemployment rise, that would be a “challenging scenario,” he said, because the Fed would essentially have to choose whether to keep interest rates high to fight inflation, or cut them to spur growth and hiring.

“Our tool only does one of those two things at the same time,” he said in a question-and-answer session.

Powell and many Fed officials have signaled previously that they are more concerned about tariffs pushing inflation higher than their potential hit to growth. That would mean that even if the economy weakened, the Fed might keep rates elevated to combat inflation.

Powell said the inflation from tariffs will likely be temporary, but “could also be more persistent,” echoing a concern expressed by a majority of the Fed’s 19-member interest rate-setting committee in the minutes of their meeting last month.

Yet some splits among the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee have emerged. Fed governor Christopher Waller said Monday he expects the impact of even a large increase in tariffs to be temporary, even if they are left in place for several years. At the same time, he also expects such large duties would weigh on the economy and even threaten a recession.

Should the economy slow sharply, even if inflation remained elevated, Waller said he would support cutting interest rates “sooner, and to a greater extent than I had previously thought.”

But other Fed officials, including Neel Kashkari, president of the Fed’s Minneapolis branch, have said they are more focused on fighting the effects of higher tariffs on inflation, suggesting they are less likely to support rate cuts anytime soon.

For now, most recent reports suggest the economy is in solid shape. Hiring has been solid and inflation cooled in March. Yet measures of consumer and business confidence have plunged, raising concerns among economists that spending and business investment could weaken.

Newsmax

America’s red and blue states aren’t just colors—they’re the battleground for our future, and every election proves it. We’re working to flip blue states red, hold our ground, and beat Democrats before they take more. We can’t sit idle until six months before the 2026 midterms to begin—start today, no excuses. Foreign-born Americans can swing close elections if we target their values with precision. Some blue states are ready to switch, others are locked tight, but we never quit. We’ve got a game plan—public relations, voter registration, ballot box tactics, vote counting, voter ID—plus a Republican Congress to (at least in theory) cement wins before Democrats try to tear them down. Red states need guarding—here’s how we pull it off.

First, the lineup. Reddest states—Wyoming, Florida, Oklahoma—gave Trump 40-point margins or better in 2024, per election data (UC Santa Barbara). Wyoming’s voter rolls are 70% GOP; Florida’s 30 electoral votes went red by 13 points, a lock since 2016. Oklahoma hasn’t flinched blue in decades. Bluest states—California, Vermont, Massachusetts—handed Democrats 20-point wins or more. California’s a Democrat fortress, with Los Angeles and San Francisco running things. Vermont’s all-in on progressive policies, and Massachusetts hasn’t gone red since Reagan in 1984. These are the anchors—knowing them shows where we can move the needle and where we’re stuck.

Some blue states are ours for the taking. Wisconsin’s a tight race: Biden won by 0.6% in 2020, Trump by 1% in 2024—a 20,000-vote margin either way. Nevada’s winnable; it flipped blue by 2% in 2020, but 2024’s Senate race went GOP, and Vegas workers hate taxes. Virginia’s on the edge—Youngkin took the governor’s mansion in 2021, and 2024’s vote was a 3% Democrat squeaker. Wisconsin’s farmers are done with federal rules; Nevada’s got small-business owners mad about costs. Virginia’s suburbs want schools focused on basics, not politics. These states aren’t blue forever—there’s a crack, and we can pry it open with work.

Then you’ve got blue states that won’t budge—California, New York, Massachusetts. They’re lost causes for flipping red. California’s been Democrat since 1988, with a 29-point Biden win in 2020. New York’s got New York City, millions of blue voters drowning out rural areas. Massachusetts is wired for liberals—Boston calls the shots, and they eat big government for lunch. Democrat machines, urban strongholds, and cultures married to progressive ideas keep them locked. But we don’t walk away. These states still matter—red senators, representatives, and local officials can break through. California’s Orange County sent GOP House members in 2024. New York’s Long Island flipped congressional seats red. Massachusetts has picked Republican governors. Every race—city councils, sheriffs, school boards—chips at their grip, so we fight for every vote, every office.

This is how we flip blue states red, starting now—hammer jobs, taxes, crime. Run TV ads in Wisconsin’s small towns, post X clips of Democrat failures, pack Nevada bars with GOP speakers. Virginia’s moderates want cheaper groceries—hit that note. Voter registration: sign up conservatives fast. Rural Wisconsin’s got 60% of the state’s voters; Nevada’s got ranchers outside Vegas. Set up at fairs, gun shops, church suppers. Ballot box: get GOP voters to vote early—Georgia’s 2024 early turnout was 70% red after tightening rules. Secure drop boxes; they worked in North Carolina. Vote counting: demand poll watchers, push audits like Texas. Voter ID: it’s a no-brainer—70% of Americans back it, and Georgia’s law cut fraud claims. Make it universal.

We know voter fraud’s real—2024 audits in swing states like Georgia flagged thousands of mismatched signatures, and X posts exposed mail-in ballot dumps in Nevada drop boxes. But we’re not just whining about it; we’re built to win anyway. Our strategies—PR, registration, early voting, audits, voter ID—outmaneuver the cheats, turning blue states red by sheer numbers and smarter plays, no excuses. 

Red states aren’t untouchable. Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, and now Pennsylvania are at risk. Georgia went blue in 2020 by 0.2%; Arizona followed. North Carolina’s cities—Raleigh, Charlotte—are growing bluer. Pennsylvania flipped red in 2024 by 2%, but Philly’s machine and suburban drift keep it shaky. Urban sprawl and new voters threaten them all. Georgia’s got 3 million rural voters—get them to the polls. Arizona’s retirees hate tax hikes—reach them. North Carolina’s military bases lean right—sign them up. Pennsylvania’s steel towns turned out for Trump; keep them fired up. If we slack, these states slide, and we’re not losing what we’ve won.

Now, let’s talk about a hidden weapon—rural foreign-born voters nobody’s chasing. Vietnamese in Texas, 200,000 strong, went red in 2024, hating communist echoes in Democrat policies. Wisconsin’s got 20,000 Hmong—pro-gun, pro-family, ignored by blue campaigns. Georgia’s Korean communities, 60,000 voters, lean GOP when you talk taxes. These aren’t urban crowds; they’re guys running farms, shops, and packing pews in small towns. Democrats assume they’re all blue, but they’re not—reach them with ads on AM radio, fliers at markets, talks at VFW halls. In 2024, a large portion of Wisconsin’s foreign-born rural vote broke red, estimated to be 50,000 votes. Flip 20 counties like that in Virginia, and it’s ours. Get organizers to their doors—now, not next year.

Foreign-born Americans can swing close elections, and they’re not all Democrats. Cuban-Americans and Venezuelans lean red, burned by socialism back home. 2020 exit polls showed 52% of Florida Hispanics for Trump; Venezuelans hit red in 2024. Mexicans, Haitians —overwhelmingly voted for Biden in 2020. Talk jobs, small business, less government to red-leaning groups. Wisconsin’s Hmong are pro-family, pro-gun; Nevada’s Filipinos like low taxes. Virginia’s 13% foreign-born include 20,000 Colombians who hate leftist policies. Don’t ignore them—talk their language, and they’ll vote red.

Six months out is too late—ads take months to hit, voters need to sign up today. Registration drives take months; voter ID laws hit court walls—start those fights today. Wisconsin’s 2024 race was won by groundwork laid in 2022. Democrats are already moving; we’d be fools to lag behind.

Grassroots is the engine—Scott Presler’s Pennsylvania work is proof. He hit gun shows, fairs, churches, shrinking the Democrat advantage by 300,000 voters since 2020. Bucks County flipped red in 2024 because of it. We need more like him in blue states teetering red—Wisconsin, Nevada, Virginia—pounding pavement, signing voters, turning close races our way. Scale that up—Virginia’s got hundreds of gun shows a year; man them. Nevada’s rodeos draw crowds; register them. Georgia’s churches pack Sundays—get clipboards ready. Hit low-turnout spots—rural Arizona, North Carolina’s farms. It’s not flashy; it’s work—knocking doors, signing names, building lists.

A Republican Congress has to move fast. Pass the SAVE Act—voter ID for every federal election—but it’s jammed in the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster. Pressure swing-state Democrats like Tester or Brown; their voters hate fraud. Push a filibuster carve-out for election bills—51 votes gets it done. Try slipping it into budget reconciliation or go nuclear and kill the filibuster, though that’s risky. Flood social media sites and rallies with grassroots heat to make senators budge. Fund 10,000 poll watchers; Georgia’s 2024 audits caught issues. Protect state laws—North Carolina’s voting rules are tight; don’t let blue lawsuits kill them. If Democrats take Congress in 2026, they’ll ditch voter ID, push same-day registration, and gut audits. Lock it down now—pass laws needing 60 votes to change election rules, keep states in charge. It’s not just holding the line; it’s making sure we keep winning.

The path’s clear: flip Wisconsin, Nevada, Virginia—they’re in reach. California, New York, Massachusetts won’t flip, but grab their red senators, reps, mayors—every seat’s a fight. Hold Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania—don’t let them go. Run PR, registration, ballots, counting, ID, Congress full throttle—start today. Foreign-born voters like Cubans can tip races—reach them. We’re not hoping for red gains; we’re making them before the 2026 midterms hit.

M. Ray Evans, a U.S. Navy veteran who served his time, lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with his wife, Grace. Recently retired after decades as a senior executive in international real estate development, working across more than ten countries, mostly in East Asia, where he built a solid track record over the years. A conservative and patriot by conviction.

CBS host Gayle King responded to the backlash over the Blue Origin space flight on Tuesday and suggested the all-female crew was being held to a different standard than men who’ve been to space.

The journalist and talk show host was part of a historic flight on Monday that also carried Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sánchez; pop star Katy Perry; film producer Kerianne Flynn; NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe; and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen.

The rocket landed safely after roughly a 10-minute flight. The high-profile trip drew some criticism from those who questioned if the brief flight was a worthwhile use of resources.

King responded to the backlash in comments to Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, where she compared the Blue Origin flight to the historic space flight taken by American astronaut Alan Shepard in 1961.

“Have you been?” King scolded critics.

“Please don’t call it a ‘ride,’” she added, claiming people don’t use this term when talking about men going into space.

“We duplicated the same trajectory that Alan Shepard did back in the day, pretty much. No one called that a ‘ride,’” King said. “It was called a flight, it was called a journey.”

“There was nothing frivolous about what we did,” she added. [from Fox News on 4-16-25[

She said that women aren’t being held to the same standard as men. Seriously? The Blue Origin flight was 10 minutes long. A 10 minute space flight was headline news in 1961. In 2025, it’s no big deal. It seems to me that these women ARE held to the same standard as men. A 10 minute space flight with all men in 2025, in fact, would not have been news at all.

The absence of logic and reason in the leftist mentality grows more stunning by the day. These people like Gayle King are lower than idiots.

Follow Dr. Hurd on Facebook. Search under “Michael Hurd” (Charleston SC). Get up-to-the-minute postings, recommended articles and links, and engage in back-and-forth discussion with Dr. Hurd on topics of interest. Also follow Dr. Hurd on X at @MichaelJHurd1, drmichaelhurd on Instagram, @DrHurd on TruthSocial. Dr. Hurd is also now a Newsmax Insider