The only political solution is to stop fighting. In other words: Demand to be left alone; and respect the equal right of others to be left alone. Unfortunately, the world is full of losers, control freaks, parasitical money grubbers seeking the unearned and just plain psychopaths. What these toxic people have in common: they cannot or will not leave others alone.

So that leaves the rest of us who are decent, rational and independent with only option: to stop those who will not leave us alone by any means necessary. To force others to leave us alone. And if our government will not do this for us, then we will have to figure out a way to do it ourselves. Because these insane, sociopathic, money-grubbing control freaks (“Democrats”, leftists) will not leave us alone.

Leftists in power (and their RINO enablers) are not stupid. They want to destroy us. They are getting away with it because they face no serious opposition, and no accountability. Unless or until we the people stop them — arrest them, deport them, imprison them or whatever the hell it takes — they will not stop until they have won. When will we start fighting to win?

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason

Nicole graduated in 2020 from Old Dominion University in Virginia with a literary degree. At that time, she was married to her former husband, Tim Macklin.

GoFundMe has raised over a million dollars for the grieving partner, although the original intention was to raise $50,000, and no more, according to the Minneapolis Tribune.

Strangers are down on the streets mourning Good, and everyone who knew her wants to say she was just a sweet ray of sunshine.

ICE was working to remove criminals and gang members who murdered, raped, assaulted or extorted American citizens. But for those who just crossed our borders looking to create a new life, they also, just by crossing, committed a crime.

In the U.S., under federal law (8 U.S.C. § 1325), improper entry (e.g., crossing without inspection) is typically a misdemeanor for first offenses, punishable by up to 6 months in prison and fines, escalating to a felony for repeats or with aggravating factors. This aligns with international norms.

It is easy to see that Good suspended common sense, and a careful perusal of the video shows that she had a foolish, childish attitude about stopping the ICE agents, like it was fun in the afternoon to get in the way of the cops all while giggling and clearly snickering like she was chasing a bunny rabbit across the lawn. This was unwise, dangerous, and misdirected behavior.

On the next level, she was defying the laws of Minnesota and of the federal government. More than defying the laws, she raised her opinion of the law above the law itself. That is a form of the most basic kind of anarchy.

Now, the only other defiance that she showed was Biblical itself.

Perhaps she doesn’t regard the Bible, and that’s her choice. But the Bible clearly says we are to submit to the powers that be if they are righteous. That is, if they are not anti-Christ, if they are not anti-people, we are to submit to the laws of the land and to the people enforcing those laws. Now, asking illegal aliens to leave back the same way they came in is hardly anti-Christ.

So what exactly does the Bible say?

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” (Romans 13:1-7 KJV)

Good was not in the habit of regarding the Bible, as is clear from her ignoring this passage:

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” (Romans 1:26-27)

She was unafraid to use the loose morals drawn from the pop-culture notions of the day to declare herself another woman’s wife.

According to the preceding verse, no woman in the world can ever become another woman’s wife. It is the modern pipe dream of an apostate nation. It can and is often disregarded just as dogmatically as it is obeyed by the faithful.

This very general perusal of Good’s life is not meant to condemn her. That judgment is not up to me or any other American. But it is a way of saying that, not only was she in error, but the entire nation is in error. The entire movement to thwart the work of ICE is anti-Christ. It is wrong.

The entire left is riding high on this protesting. Yet it started in a place that’s so low that it negates, disqualifies, and erases any good that could come of it.

If millions rise up to protest around the nation, it does nothing to change the meaning of the following command of the scriptures.

“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment.” (Ex 23:2)

Michael Bresciani, NewAmericanProphet.org

The ability of the Democrat Machine to rewrite its code at a moment’s notice is terrifying.  What it supported yesterday, it will denounce tomorrow when politically expedient.  Right now we’re seeing a perfect example in the way prominent Democrats are reacting to federal agents enforcing immigration law.  

On January 6, congressional Democrats choreographed an almost religious ritual (including a candlelit ceremony) during which they framed the D.C. protest of election fraud five years ago as an “insurrection” that resulted in the “murder” of police officers (reminder: only Trump supporters were killed in or near the Capitol on January 6, 2021).  On January 7, those same Democrats called an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent a “murderer” for defending his life from a deranged attacker using an automobile as a lethal weapon.  On the 6th, Democrats proclaimed themselves the “guardians” of law enforcement officers everywhere and accused Trump supporters of being “terrorists.”  On the 7th, Democrats proclaimed law enforcement officers “terrorists” and defended a domestic terrorist as a “guardian” of “undocumented” (read: illegal) immigrants.

Politicians aren’t known for faithfully adhering to guiding principles, but Democrats change principles quickly enough to give an average observer political whiplash.  

On January 7, Nancy Pelosi wrote, “The killing of an unarmed woman by a masked federal agent in Minneapolis is a moral outrage and a betrayal of American values.  There has been no justification offered — only deception and deflection from those in charge.  Accountability for this killing is not optional.”  This is the same Nancy Pelosi who has spent the last five years defending U.S. Capitol Police Captain Michael Byrd after he shot and killed unarmed J6 protester Ashli Babbitt without any prior warning.  If pictures from the time are accurate, Byrd was even wearing a COVID mask when he took Air Force veteran Babbitt’s life.

The juxtaposition of the two incidents is jarring.  Pelosi has spent the last five years applauding Byrd as a hero, condemning unarmed Babbitt as an “insurrectionist,” and claiming that Trump supporters hate police.  Now she condemns a federal agent’s heroic actions as an “outrage,” defends a woman armed with a vehicle as being “unarmed,” and accuses federal law enforcement of “betrayal,” “deception,” and “deflection.”  In both cases the federal agent wore a mask, but Pelosi makes the ICE agent’s use of a mask sound nefarious.

Russia collusion hoaxer Adam Schiff similarly suffers from Pelosi’s cognitive dissonance.  He never misses an opportunity to accuse President Trump of having “attacked” the Capitol on January 6, 2021.  He always calls the Americans who protested electoral fraud that day “insurrectionists” and “murderers.”  Yet when news of a woman using her vehicle to threaten the life of a federal agent came out of Minnesota, Schiff immediately pushed the lie that she was just an everyday mom and protester who was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”  A lot of Americans who calmly walked through the Capitol on January 6, 2021, surely felt the same way — that they had been “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”  But Schiff never gave them the benefit of the doubt.  He spent the last five years ludicrously calling grandparents and veterans “terrorists” who deserved to suffer years in prison for trying to “overthrow” the government.

Then there is former Capitol Police officer Michael Fanone, who repeatedly testified through tears that he barely survived the “attack” on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.  Fanone became the Democrats’ favorite puppet.  He would put on his uniform for important interviews and tell the world that President Trump’s MAGA voters tried to kill him and his law enforcement friends.  Surely someone who has spent so much time on television defending the sacred honor of police officers from the wretched forces of out-of-control Americans would come to the defense of ICE agents under mob attack in Minneapolis, right?  Wrong.  

In defending mob attacks on law enforcement officers, Fanone argues, “This is not the first time we have seen ICE and CBP abuse their power.  It’s probably the millionth f**king time we’ve seen this happen….It’s time for the American people to organize and to utilize their Second Amendment right to protect themselves from what is clearly becoming an unaccountable and lawless agency that’s killing Americans.”  So the guy who made a career out of crying about unarmed MAGA grandparents threatening his life by strolling through the Capitol now wants mobs of Americans to arm up and militarily confront federal agents?  I guess he doesn’t actually care about blue lives after all.

Rank hypocrisy never seems to flummox Democrats.  The January 6, 2021, Capitol protest against election fraud lasted about three hours.  Most participants peacefully demonstrated their opposition to the 2020 election’s certification.  Most of those who walked into the Capitol were so orderly that they remained behind the velvet ropes set up for tourists.  Despite media and congressional lies, no law enforcement officers were killed.  Instead, four unarmed Trump supporters lost their lives — including one female veteran shot and another female beaten and trampled.  

Afterwards, Congress dedicated two years to a clown tribunal that attempted to falsely portray the events of January 6, 2021, as a deadly “insurrection” and attempt to “overthrow the federal government.”  To this day, corporate news media portray the event as something on par with the attack on Pearl Harbor or even the Civil War.  Democrat lawmakers and media personalities make these claims with straight faces, even though none of the J6 Capitol protesters were even armed.  They now conduct a somber daylong “religious” gathering on January 6 to “reflect” upon the “tragedy” of the three-hour “insurrection.” 

Yet this year, everyone who was busy crying fake tears and putting on a theatrical performance of ritualistic mourning on January 6 suddenly started screaming obscenities at federal agents and demonizing heroic law enforcement officers as “murderers” on January 7.  It’s just crazy, irrational behavior.  But “crazy and irrational” is very on-brand for Democrats this century.

This is the same political party that burned down cities across the country during the summer of 2020 and caused more property damage than any man-made disaster in American history.  Democrats euphemistically call that the “summer of love.”  This is the same political party that encourages supporters to “take to the streets” and “get in the faces” of political foes and then feigns surprise when assassins target President Trump and Charlie Kirk.  This is the same political party that encourages states to ignore federal immigration laws and then accuses federal law enforcement officers of “terrorism.”  Democrat officials have done everything they can to foment rebellion and destroy the Union.

The Democrat Party clearly wants another “George Floyd” spark to set off riots across the nation.  Minnesota’s governor says his state is “at war” with the federal government, and Minneapolis’s mayor seems desperate for riots in the streets.  Leftists are already publicly threatening the lives of ICE agents.  One shamelessly told a news outlet, “The time for peace is over!” and, “It’s time for the bullet box!”  In New York City, leftists are walking the streets while chanting, “Kristi Noem will hang,” and, “Save a life, kill ICE.”  Just as in 2020, Democrats appear eager to pour gasoline on American cities, strike the match of civil unrest, and watch everything burn.

When it happens, the same Democrat lawmakers and corporate news mouthpieces that have spent five years demonizing election integrity protesters who gathered together for three hours on January 6, 2021, will suddenly applaud leftist arsonists, looters, and murderers as “civil rights heroes” and “American patriots.”  Democrats will defend violence and mayhem and memorialize criminals as “victims.”  They will hold candlelight vigils for domestic terrorists and condemn police officers as “villains.”  And nobody in the news media will call out their despicable hypocrisy.  Because this is what Democrats do.

J. B. Shurk, American Thinker

In a wide-ranging interview with the NYT, US president claims he is probably the least antisemitic person in the world and says he does not know who Nick Fuentes is

US President Donald Trump said there is no room in his MAGA movement or the Republican Party for antisemites.

In a wide-ranging two-hour interview with The New York Times, whose full transcript was published on Sunday, Trump was asked about leading conservative figures who have espoused antisemitic views and their place in the Republican Party and Make America Great Again movement.

“I think we don’t need them. I think we don’t like them,” Trump responded.

Asked if he condemns those in the conservative movement who have been espousing antisemitic views, Trump said, “certainly.”

“If you talk about the antisemitic views, there’s been nobody better for us. As an example, I just got the Israel award, which is the biggest award they give. It was just given to me. First time it was ever given to anybody outside of Israel,” he said.

“There has been no better president in the history of the world as we know it that has been stronger or better and less antisemitic, certainly, than Donald Trump,” Trump continued, referring to himself in the third person.

“I have been the best president of the United States in the history of this country toward Israel. And that’s, by the way, acknowledged by everybody, including the fact that we have peace in the Middle East, and that’s going to hold.”

Asked if he would condemn the far-right shock-jock and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, Trump said he does not know who he is. One of the interviewers reminded him that he dined with Fuentes along with Kanye West in 2022.

“I had dinner with him, one time, where he came as a guest of Kanye West. I didn’t know who he was bringing. He said, ‘Do you mind if I bring a friend?’ I said, ‘I don’t care.’ And it was Nick Fuentes? I don’t know Nick Fuentes.”

West, a world-famous rapper, began issuing antisemitic tirades on social media and in other forums in 2022, vowing to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE” and making a stream of other anti-Jewish remarks. The invective has badly damaged his career, including Adidas cutting off its partnership with Ye in 2022.

His antisemitic vitriol has since surfaced intermittently. In February, he aired a Super Bowl ad for a website selling a swastika T-shirt, and then, in May, released a song called “Heil Hitler,” featuring a recording of the Nazi leader, that garnered millions of views on social media.

In November, he met with a prominent rabbi to apologize for his antisemitic behavior, attributing it to his bipolar disorder.

The Times reporters also pressed Trump on Paul Ingrassia, who he appointed deputy general counsel of the General Services Administration, even after a series of his offensive text messages, including one expressing sympathy for Nazism, were made public.

“I don’t know that. It’s possible. I have thousands of people working here,” Trump said.

“I have a daughter who’s married to a Jewish person. My daughter happens to be Jewish, beautiful, three grandchildren are Jewish. I’m very proud of them. I’m very proud of that whole family. I am the least antisemitic person probably there is anywhere in the world,” he added, referring to his daughter Ivanka who is married to Jared Kushner.

A poll in May found that half of US Jews believe Trump to be antisemitic.

Since his return to office, Trump’s administration has taken a number of high-profile actions with the stated goal of fighting antisemitism, including pulling billions of dollars in funding from universities and seeking to deport foreign student anti-Israel activists.

The poll found that only a fraction of respondents thought those actions reduce antisemitism, while a much larger share said the actions increase antisemitism.

Jacob Magid, Times of Israel

Places run by these kinds of Muslims are dark, backward places. Don’t let it happen here.

Palmer’s, a bar on Minneapolis’ West Bank, has been a fixture of the community it has served for 119 years. Locals even called it “the heart of the city” because it brought people together. It has now been permanently closed. It is to become a mosque.

Islamist ideology bans alcohol, music, and dancing. Pork and dogs are considered dirty and are frowned upon at best.

It is no wonder that most countries that are in the thrall of Islamism, and are populated by these kinds of Muslims are dark places that have not evolved much from the 7th or 8th centuries.

Traditionally, we in the West have proposed a toast to those we love, to honor someone, to recognize or enshrine a memory, or to acknowledge the passing of a loved one — or of time.

Usually with a beverage containing alcohol. We may drink to someone’s memory, or to a principle with which we agree.

Music is the soundtrack of civilization.

We dance to express joy or to bond with another.

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Pork is tasty and perhaps a healthier choice than red meat.

Dogs have evolved along with human beings, and, for some, truly are their best friends.

If we accede to the dictates of Islamist ideology, if native American citizens assimilate to the values of this brand of Muslim rather than vice versa, if we stop toasting, singing, and dancing, we will lose much of the joy in our lives, much of what makes us human. And we will have turned our back on our own values.

When the music’s over, we won’t have to turn off the lights, because it will already be dark.

So let’s drink a cup of cheer again

And share a dance one last time

Let’s make a toast to freedom again

For these are the days of Auld Lang Syne.

So, “Dry January” be damned, I’m going to drink a toast to President Trump — and Making America American Again.

And then I’m going to put on some Toby Keith and pet my golden retriever.

If we accede to the dictates of Islamist ideology, if native American citizens assimilate to the values of this brand of Muslim rather than vice versa, if we stop toasting, singing, and dancing, we will lose much of the joy in our lives, much of what makes us human. And we will have turned our back on our own values.

When the music’s over, we won’t have to turn off the lights, because it will already be dark.

So let’s drink a cup of cheer again

And share a dance one last time

Let’s make a toast to freedom again

For these are the days of Auld Lang Syne.

So, “Dry January” be damned, I’m going to drink a toast to President Trump — and Making America American Again.

And then I’m going to put on some Toby Keith and pet my golden retriever.

Eric Utter, American Thinker

Uninvestable.” That’s how Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods on Friday described Venezuela under the current socialist regime. It’s also what Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his comrade Cea Weaver plan to make New York City’s housing market.

As rent restrictions drive thousands of apartment buildings across the city into disrepair and threaten a cascade of foreclosures, Mr. Mamdani has tapped Ms. Weaver to implement his goal of “decommodifying” housing. Their plan: Drive out private investors by making it impossible to turn a profit and keep properties in serviceable condition. Then the government will seize the buildings and hand them over to tenant collectives and nonprofits to manage under communal ownership.

The 37-year-old Ms. Weaver has spent her life since college graduation as a “tenant organizer.” She recently led the groups Housing Justice for All and New York State Tenant Bloc. Their stated goals: “To take back power from the real estate industry over our homes,” “expand rent control to every renter,” and build “social housing” that is “protected from market forces.”

This past fall, she taught an undergraduate course in community organizing at New York University—where the cost of attendance runs $96,988 because government subsidies protect it from market forces. The college ranks as one of the city’s biggest land owners, and it charges students $2,000 a month each to share a dorm room.

As in socialist systems, the higher-ups and insiders at colleges make out by exploiting the masses. Then, if their graduates go to work for nonprofits, much of their debt can be waived under the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Ms. Weaver’s crowning achievement is a 2019 state law that restricts New York City landlords’ ability to pay for renovations by raising rent and does away with the ability to deregulate rent-stabilized units

Allysia Finley, Wall Street Journal

Gold and silver prices are strongly up and both hit new record highs in early U.S. trading Monday. Risk aversion is significantly elevated in the marketplace to start the trading week, amid tumult in the Federal Reserve and civil unrest in Iran that are driving safe-haven demand to the precious metals markets. February gold was last up $98.30 at $4,599.30. March silver prices were up $4.849 at $84.205.

Jim Wykoff

BRUSSELS, Jan 11 (Reuters) – It is now up to Russia to show it is interested in peace, after Kyiv and its allies agreed on a peace plan and security guarantees that would take effect following a ceasefire, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said.

Speaking to reporters, she said the peace plan was the 20-point proposal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump at the end of last year.

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She added that, alongside the plan, there were substantial, robust, and well-defined security guarantees for Kyiv from the United States and Europe.

“Now, Russia has to show that they are interested in peace,” von der Leyen said.

She said the security guarantees would rely first on Ukraine’s armed forces, which she said were well-trained and battle-experienced. It would be the task of the Europeans to make sure the Ukrainian army is also well equipped, she said.

The second line of defence would be the so-called Coalition of the Willing — 35 states including most EU countries as well as Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.

“Here it is very good that the Americans are involved, specifically in the verification and the monitoring, but also with a backstop,” von der Leyen said.

She said that the EU was working on plans to ensure Ukraine’s economic prosperity after a ceasefire, with ideas to be spelled out in a forthcoming “prosperity paper”. The document would set out measures for the short-term and over the next decade to boost Ukraine’s economy and support its recovery.

HAVANA (AP) — As U.S. seizures of Venezuela-linked oil tankers surge, concerns grow in Cuba about whether the island’s government and economy will survive.

Experts warn that a sudden halt in Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba could lead to widespread social unrest and mass migration following the stunning U.S. military raid that resulted in the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro.

“I’d be lying if I told you that I don’t want to leave the country,” said 16-year-old Cuban student Amanda Gómez. “We’re all thinking about leaving, from the youngest to the oldest.”

Long before the Jan. 3 attack, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

The lack of Venezuelan oil could push Cuba over the brink, experts say.

“This will take an already dire situation to new extremes,” said Michael Galant, senior research and outreach associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. “This is what a collapsing economy looks like.”

The lack of Venezuelan oil could push Cuba over the brink, experts say.

“This will take an already dire situation to new extremes,” said Michael Galant, senior research and outreach associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. “This is what a collapsing economy looks like.”

Galant said he believes that’s the goal of the Trump administration: “to cause such an indiscriminate suffering in the civilian population as to instigate some sort of uprising, regime change.”

Someone is going to have to take the big pill’

From 2020 to 2024, Cuba saw its population drop by 1.4 million, which experts largely attribute to migration spurred by the worsening crisis.

Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos, a Cuban economist and demographics expert, noted that while Cubans with means have already left, migration will continue.

“Fuel is a factor that affects everything,” he said. “People are going to feel that they are in worse conditions, and people who hadn’t considered leaving will feel the need to do so.”

At the Spanish embassy in Havana on Friday, Ernesto Macías, a 53-year-old doctor, stood in line behind dozens of people to request a family member visa for his daughter, having already obtained his Spanish citizenship.

“I wouldn’t want Cuba to be invaded or anything like that. I hope it doesn’t happen, but I’m sure people will continue to emigrate because there is no other way,” he said.

Cuba’s gross domestic product has fallen 15% in the last six years, and President Miguel Díaz-Canel noted in December that there was a 4% decrease in 2025 alone.

Although the Cuban economy never fully recovered after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, it experienced relative prosperity between 2000 and 2019, fueled by a boom in tourism and exports of services, nickel, rum and tobacco.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and coupled with a radical increase in U.S. sanctions under Trump’s second administration to pressure for political change – stifling every imaginable sector – Cuba’s crisis erupted with force.

Through it all, Cuba remained dependent on Venezuela for oil, receiving an estimated 35,000 barrels a day from the South American country before the U.S. attacked, along with some 5,500 barrels daily from Mexico and roughly 7,500 from Russia, according to Jorge Piñón, of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, who tracks shipments using oil tracking services and satellite technology.

Even with all those shipments, blackouts persisted, experts noted.

“An indefinite shutdown of the electrical system, which is no longer so impossible to imagine, can be envisioned under a total suspension of oil shipments from Venezuela, which seems to be the current strategy of the American government,” said Jorge Duany, with the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.

“It would lead us to imagine the possibility of mass protests,” he said.

Andy S. Gómez, retired dean of the School of International Studies and senior fellow in Cuban Studies at University of Miami, said that even if protests do occur, he doesn’t envision the downfall of Cuba while Raúl Castro is still alive and running the military.

“Are they concerned? You bet,” Gómez said. “They’re not well armed; their equipment is outdated.”

But Gómez noted that civilians aren’t armed, and that it’s unlikely one of the three factions of Cuba’s army would break with the ruling elite.

“At the end of the day, someone is going to have to take the big pill, and it’s either going to be Díaz-Canel or (Prime Minister) Manuel Marrero Cruz for not being able to solve the problems,” Gómez said.

Food, electricity and a home

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker as part of a wider push by Trump’s administration to control the distribution of Venezuela’s oil products globally.

It’s not clear if any of the seized tankers were bound for Cuba, but experts believe any obstruction in the supply line would be a shock given the fragility of the island’s economy.

As the uncertainty continues, Gómez said Cuba only has one card to play with the U.S.: mass migration.

“I don’t think that Cubans are going to provoke the United States at this time,” he said, adding that Cuban authorities “can absolutely control that.”

“Cuban military forces are on high alert,” he said.

Gómez added that even if the worsening crisis does lead to unrest and the ouster of a top government official, that person would likely be replaced by a well-known figure.

“It would just be a continuation of the government,” he said, adding that he doesn’t believe it would bother a majority on the island. “The Cuban people only care about one thing right now, unfortunately….they want to put food on the table, have electricity, have a place to live, have a job and then what do we do about the government.”

___

With evidence emerging of more than $9 billion worth of taxpayer fraud in Minnesota, the media are finally starting to cover the problem of criminals stealing from the taxpayer. But fraud is by no means limited to Minnesota—it is a nationwide problem that leaders at both the federal and state levels need to tackle before it gets even worse.

Even the New York Times was forced to take notice, publishing an explosive article showing evidence of more than $1 billion of taxpayer money stolen by about 80 different Somali immigrants to Minnesota. Just days after the Minnesota story broke, a Somali immigrant in Maine was accused by a whistleblower of defrauding both Medicaid and the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program. The alleged fraudster in the case, while ostensibly working in Maine, ran for office in Somalia and boasted of raising money for the Somali military. According to the whistleblower, his non-profit organization had, for years, sought reimbursement from the federal government for non-existent “services” under Medicaid.

Now, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts announced charges against two Boston men for trafficking more than $7 million worth of food stamps, and a local news station in Oregon uncovered more than $91,000 in food stamp fraud in Oregon just in the month of November alone.

This dizzying list of fraud cases just keeps getting longer.

For years, conservatives have been sounding the alarm about the problem of fraud, but too often those warnings fell on deaf ears. Finally, it seems like the sheer scale of the fraud has shocked the media and their viewers alike: The fraudsters in these cases have stolen more than 10 times as many tax dollars than the entire Somali community in Minnesota pays in taxes each year.

Much of the reporting has focused on the missteps of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who backed down on any attempts to stop the fraud out of fear of being labeled a racist. This scandal is career-ending for Governor Walz, but the story is much bigger than him or Minnesota.

The fraud in these sensational news stories is just the tip of the iceberg.

The non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) has documented nearly $3 trillion in known waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government over the last 22 years. This number is just the waste, fraud, and abuse that we know about—and it does not even include all federal programs. According to GAO, more than 10 cents out of every food stamp dollar is wasted or stolen.

The good news is that President Trump is fighting back against the fraudsters. Not only is the Department of Justice arresting them and putting them in jail, but President Trump signed new policies into law that will make it a lot more difficult to steal from the taxpayer. Instead of checking eligibility annually, states will be required to double-check the eligibility of Medicaid recipients every six months.

President Trump’s new law will also kick millions of illegal immigrants off welfare, reserving welfare resources to help Americans who need it the most. The new law will even penalize states who fail to protect taxpayer dollars, requiring the worst offenders to pay back a percentage of their own erroneous payments.

But there is a lot more to do. Many states, including Minnesota, Maine, and Massachusetts, are using budget gimmicks to hide the real rate of fraud from the federal government. The most salient is called Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, which is when states don’t bother to check if someone is eligible for one welfare program if they’re already receiving another kind of welfare. This just multiplies fraud where it occurs and gives the false impression to the federal government—and to voters—that fraud is less common than it really is. Every state in America needs to stop using this blatant loophole, do their jobs, and check to ensure that people receiving our tax dollars are actually eligible.

This holiday season’s string of fraud cases is infuriating to hardworking Americans who pay their taxes and follow the rules. But after decades of waste and fraud of our tax dollars, they ought to be the trigger that finally leads to the real reforms we need.

Adam Gibbs is the Communications Director for the Foundation for Government Accountability.