President Trump announced that U.S. forces had carried out “a large scale strike against Venezuela” and were flying President Nicolás Maduro and his wife out of the country. The Trump administration had been building pressure on Mr. Maduro for months.om West Palm Beach, Fla.

Here’s the latest.

President Trump said on Saturday that the United States had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and was flying him out of Venezuela, in what would be a stunning culmination to a monthslong campaign by Mr. Trump’s administration to oust the authoritarian leader.

Mr. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, his social media platform, and said that the United States had carried out “a large scale strike against Venezuela” in an operation that was conducted “in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement.” He also said that Mr. Maduro’s wife had also been captured.

In a brief phone interview with The New York Times after the announcement, Mr. Trump celebrated the success of the mission to capture the Venezuelan president. “A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people,” he said. “It was a brilliant operation, actually.”

When asked if he had sought congressional authority for the operation or what is next for Venezuela, Mr. Trump said he would address those matters during a news conference at 11 a.m. at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla.

Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, speaking on a state-run television station after Mr. Trump’s announcement, said that Mr. Maduro’s location was unknown and asked Mr. Trump for proof of life.

Earlier on Saturday, the government of Venezuela accused the United States of carrying out military attacks in the capital, Caracas, and other parts of the country after large explosions were reported at a military base in the city.

The Venezuelan government declared a state of emergency in response to the attacks and said they had occurred in Caracas and in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, according to a statement from the Venezuelan communications ministry.

Venezuela “rejects, repudiates and denounces” U.S. military aggression, the statement said. It also called on “on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”

For months, Mr. Trump issued threats, warnings and accusations of drug smuggling against Mr. Maduro, whom the State Department has branded the head of a “narco-terrorist” state.

U.S. officials have called Mr. Maduro, a self-described socialist who has led Venezuela since 2013, an illegitimate leader and have accused him of controlling criminal groups tied to drug trafficking, charges he denies.

Since late August, the Pentagon has amassed troops, aircraft and warships in the Caribbean. The U.S. military has attacked many small vessels that U.S. officials maintained were smuggling drugs, killing at least 115 people. And the C.I.A. conducted a drone strike on a port facility in Venezuela last month, according to people briefed on the operation.

A broad range of experts on the use of lethal force have said that the strikes on small vessels amount to illegal extrajudicial killings, but the Trump administration has asserted they are consistent with the laws of war because the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels.

In recent weeks, the United States has also carried out a campaign against tankers carrying Venezuelan crude, throwing the country’s oil industry into disarray and jeopardizing the government’s main source of revenue.

The United States seized one sanctioned tanker carrying oil as it sailed from Venezuela toward Asia. It intercepted another oil vessel that was not under U.S. sanctions. And the U.S. Coast Guard tried to board a third tanker as it was on the way to Venezuela to pick up cargo.

Here is what else to know:

• Maduro’s security: Before the U.S. operation on Saturday, the Venezuelan president had tightened his inner circle and taken to changing beds in an attempt to protect himself from a potential targeted strike or a special-forces raid.
• U.S. buildup: Last month, C-17 cargo planes — largely used for transporting military troops and equipment — conducted at least 16 flights to Puerto Rico from American military bases, according to flight tracking data. The U.S. Southern Command has said that some 15,000 troops are already deployed in the Caribbean, one of the largest naval deployments to the region in decades.
• Cartel accusations: In March 2020, Mr. Maduro was indicted in the United States on charges that he oversaw a violent drug organization known as Cartel de los Soles. U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Mr. Maduro is actually at odds with one group, Tren de Aragua, and analysts say the Cartel de Los Soles does not exist as a concrete organization. The term has been used to refer to the involvement of many high-ranking military officers in the drug trade, though there is no evidence that Mr. Maduro directs the effort.

Madmani will probably find a position for him.

Anatoly Kurmanaev, NY Times

JULIA MUELLER

GOP lawmakers are fleeing for the exit in droves, with many pointing to a Congress they argue has grown too dysfunctional and a demanding schedule that leaves little time for their families.

More than 50 lawmakers in both parties have announced decisions to leave their seats, scrambling the calculus on both sides of the aisle ahead of next year’s high-stakes midterms.

The wave of exits could be particularly ominous for Republicans in charge of the House and Senate. The number exiting is nearly on par with 2018, a dismal midterm year for the GOP.

Some lawmakers frustrated with inaction on Capitol Hill plan to run for governor and other statewide offices, while others are stepping back from public office altogether.

Those leaving include high-profile conservative and progressive firebrands such as Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), and battle-tested moderates such as Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine), who have repeatedly run for reelection and won in competitive districts.

Bacon told The Hill that a major reason he’s leaving is because he wants to “do something different,” including spending more time with his grandchildren and having a healthier lifestyle.

But while he said those were the major reasons, Congress’s problems also played a role.

“I just was ready for something new. I know my wife was. So, that’s the major reason. I think the more minor reasons are … I’ll say that the dysfunction isn’t attractive,” Bacon said.

I think, two, it’s hard — you got to be a really master tactician to run against the left and at the same time disagree with the president on a lot of things. And I’ve done it. I’ve done it since 2020, and I don’t know, to me, I’m just, I just knew it was time for a change,” he said.

Golden wrote in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News that he’s grown “tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community—behavior that, too often, our political leaders exhibit themselves.”

Another high-profile House member leaving in January is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who was once a top ally of Trump’s.

“No matter which way the political pendulum swings, Republican or Democrat, nothing ever gets better for the common American man or woman,” she said in a statement announcing her decision.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who’s pursuing a gubernatorial bid in South Carolina, told The Hill he feels he can get more done on a statewide level than in Congress.

“I can accomplish far more on a national level being governor,” Norman said. “You know, you got what, 50 governors? You got 435 members of Congress, 100 Senators, 535. So my voice will be heard far greater as a CEO of South Carolina.”

Democrats argue a big problem with the House is the unwillingness of most Republicans to take on Trump.

“So long as the biggest fear of many Republicans is the danger of a mean Trump tweet, the House will remain broken,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), who is retiring in light of GOP-friendly redistricting in Texas, told The Hill via email. 

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) told The Hill she’s retiring because she thinks she’s contributed as much as she could during her time in Congress. 

“I had tried to advance the issues that were of concern to me. … And I just thought that it’s now someone else’s turn to take up that mantle and hopefully carry out some of the values that I thought were important in terms of our domestic policy and our international policy,” she said.

But she added that, “I don’t disagree that Congress right now is at its weakest point, that it is becoming a tool of the administration and not in a good way at all.”

Some lawmakers feel they “hit a kind of wall” on Capitol Hill, said Michael Romano, a Shenandoah University political science professor who has studied congressional retirements. 

Independent journalist Nick Shirley released a viral video on December 26, 2025, documenting visits to several state-funded daycare centers in Minneapolis.

These centers, many catering to the Somali immigrant community, were found empty during operational hours, with no children present and signs of disuse, despite receiving substantial public funding through Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).

Shirley’s investigation has uncovered over $110 million in suspicious payments in a single day, building on prior scandals like the Feeding Our Future fraud.

The revelations have fueled criticism of Democratic Governor Tim Walz, with Republicans like Rep. Tom Emmer demanding answers and linking the issue to immigration policies. Figures such as Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump have amplified the story, calling Minnesota a “hub of fraudulent money laundering.”

According to state records unearthed by Shirley and his team, this single center pocketed nearly $4 million in taxpayer dollars through Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) in recent years, with $1.9 million disbursed in 2025 alone.

When Shirley attempted to enroll a fictional child, staff rebuffed him, claiming the center was “full”—a laughable excuse given the vacant premises.

Shirley’s investigation, aided by a local whistleblower named David who had observed these sites for years without seeing a single child, uncovered a web of similar “daycares.”

Multiple locations shared addresses with other dubious operations, like non-emergency medical transport services and home healthcare providers, all funneling public money with little to no oversight.

CASE UPDATE: MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME

The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs. Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide.

To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID. The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network.

The case led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions. Defendants included Abdiwahab Ahmed Mohamud, Ahmed Ali, Hussein Farah, Abdullahe Nur Jesow, Asha Farhan Hassan, Ousman Camara, and Abdirashid Bixi Dool, each charged for roles ranging from wire fraud to money laundering and conspiracy.

These criminals didn’t just engaged in historic fraud, but tried to subvert justice as well. Abdimajid Mohamed Nur and others were charged for attempting to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash. Those responsible pleaded guilty and were sentenced, including a 10-year prison term and nearly $48 million in restitution in related cases.

Trending: Police Bodycam Footage Shows Officer Threatening to Arrest Cinnabon Employee Who Was Harassed and ‘Threatened’ by Somalis (VIDEO)

The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing.

Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible.

The case led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions. Defendants included Abdiwahab Ahmed Mohamud, Ahmed Ali, Hussein Farah, Abdullahe Nur Jesow, Asha Farhan Hassan, Ousman Camara, and Abdirashid Bixi Dool, each charged for roles ranging from wire fraud to money laundering and conspiracy.

These criminals didn’t just engaged in historic fraud, but tried to subvert justice as well. Abdimajid Mohamed Nur and others were charged for attempting to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash. Those responsible pleaded guilty and were sentenced, including a 10-year prison term and nearly $48 million in restitution in related cases.

Trending: Police Bodycam Footage Shows Officer Threatening to Arrest Cinnabon Employee Who Was Harassed and ‘Threatened’ by Somalis (VIDEO)

The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing.

Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible.

CASE UPDATE: MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs. Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide. To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID. The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network. The case led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions. Defendants included Abdiwahab Ahmed Mohamud, Ahmed Ali, Hussein Farah, Abdullahe Nur Jesow, Asha Farhan Hassan, Ousman Camara, and Abdirashid Bixi Dool, each charged for roles ranging from wire fraud to money laundering and conspiracy. These criminals didn’t just engaged in historic fraud, but tried to subvert justice as well. Abdimajid Mohamed Nur and others were charged for attempting to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash. Those responsible pleaded guilty and were sentenced, including a 10-year prison term and nearly $48 million in restitution in related cases. The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing. Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible.

Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit

The Washington state attorney general released a statement on X Tuesday evening warning independent journalists to stop investigating fraudulent Somali daycare centers or they could be charged with a hate crime.

“My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking,” State AG Nick Brown stated. “We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims being pushed online and the harassment reported by daycare providers. Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home. This is unsafe and potentially dangerous behavior.”

Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil rights, issued a warning of her own in reaction to the Washington state AG’s post.

“ANY state official who chills or threatens to chill a journalist’s 1A rights will have some ‘splainin to do,” she wrote on X, Wednesday morning. “[The DOJ Civil Rights Division] takes potential violations of 18 USC § 242 seriously!” Dhillon added.

This statute, known as the Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, makes it a crime for any person acting under the pretense of law to willfully deprive another individual of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

The clash of the AGs came after Youtuber Nick Shirley exposed about a dozen Somali-owned, state-funded childcare facilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that appeared to be completely deserted.

Shirley produced a 42-minute video, which has been viewed over 131 million times on X since it was posted on December 26, alleging that Minnesota governor Tim Walz (D.) “knew about the fraud but never reported it.”

Inspired by Shirley’s bombshell report, citizen journalists in multiple states with large Somali populations have launched their own investigations in recent days.

In the Kent, Washington area Tuesday, YouTuber Chris Sims, a self-described “gonzo journalist,” visited seven suspicious Somali childcare sites and reported that they were “very unhappy” to see him.

Sims posted a video of him approaching a private home listed as a childcare facility that appeared to be not as advertised.

“There was no sign of kids or being a Daycare facility,” Sims wrote. “I was told by a few they weren’t Daycares despite receiving tax payer dollars. One yelled ‘Call the police’ behind the door.”

On Monday, independent journalists Jonathan Choe and Cam Higby visited an alleged Somali daycare facility in Seattle that receives hundreds of thousands in taxpayers funds and the person who answered the door said there was no daycare there in the past or present.

Higby said “Dhagash Childcare” has received over $210,000 just this year alone.

Another listed childcare facility, a house in a residential neighborhood in Kent, Washington, has received over $863,000 since 2023, according to Higby.

“Residents say there IS NO DAYCARE HERE,” the journalist said.

Another reporter reporting on potential fraud in the Rainier Vista neighborhood of Seattle on December 29th, faced hostile reactions from the Somali residents, who called the police on him.

In his statement, the Washington State AG encouraged members of the Somali community “experiencing threats or harassment” to call the police or his office’s Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline or report it to the state’s hate crime website.

Addressing the independent journalists, Brown added: “If you think fraud is happening, there are appropriate measures to report and investigate. Go to DCYF’s website to learn more. And where fraud is substantiated and verified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies, people should be held accountable.”

The Post Millennial’s Andy Ngo responded to Brown’s threat on X, saying: “It is the duty of journalists to visit taxpayer-funded nonprofits and businesses to investigate where you have failed. The journalists have documented their visits on camera and there is no harassing or threatening behavior. You are trying to threaten journalists by telling people to call police with false allegations of a hate crime.”

Debra Heine, American Greatness

Andy Cohen unleashed a wild rant about outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams that left Anderson Cooper visibly cringing live on CNN.

Cohen and Cooper, who have been co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve special for the past nine years, were putting away drinks for hours and bantering live during the network’s coverage of the celebrations in New York City.

Soon after the ball dropped in Times Square, Cohen, with a drink in his hand, said: ‘Watching the final moments of Mayor Adams’s chaotic…’

Before he could finish his thought, Cooper interrupted and said: ‘Oh no. I’m out.’

Cohen continued, ‘I just want to say…’ before Cooper interrupted him again. ‘Don’t,’ he said while attempting to walk out of frame.

But the camera panned out to keep the co-host in frame. ‘He got his pardons,’ Cohen continued with a slight slur, before Cooper said ‘I’m out’ once again.

‘I’m just saying, great, you got your pardons. Go off into the sunset,’ Cohen said. ‘We’ll fiddle with what we have, with what you’ve left us with.’

‘He can’t help himself,’ Cooper then said.

“When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.”
― Thomas Sowell

“I have never understood why it is “greed” to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.”
― Thomas Sowell, Barbarians Inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays

“It’s amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of hypocrites. ”
― Thomas Sowell

“People who pride themselves on their “complexity” and deride others for being “simplistic” should realize that the truth is often not very complicated. What gets complex is evading the truth.”
― Thomas Sowell, Barbarians Inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays

“The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.”
― Thomas Sowell, Is Reality Optional? And Other Essays

“Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.”
― Thomas Sowell

No Great Nation Has Ever Abandoned Gold and Remained Great.—Ronald Reagan

Democratic proposals to repair America’s broken healthcare system have reliably shown a slide towards healthcare-for-all. But for the first time since the modern healthcare system began, Republicans have what they say is an answer.

“Democrats made health insurance illegal in the United States. You can’t buy health insurance. All you can buy is a health care plan. We need to allow people who just want ‘I got hit by a bus, or I got cancer’ insurance to buy that, and they can say, ‘I can take care of everything by myself.’ We need to solve that health insurance problem. Democrats have caused all of these problems, but it is now our job to fix them all, and we’re laser focused on doing it well,” Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., told Just The News exclusively.

Republicans lay out their plans: direct deposits One recent proposal from Senate Republicans Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mike Crapo of Idaho involves a plan to redirect expiring enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) credits into direct HSA deposits ($1,000 for ages 18-49, $1,500 for 50-64) for low- to middle-income individuals buying bronze or catastrophic plans. Their proposal would require Medicaid citizenship verification and bar funds for abortions or gender-affirming care. This aims to shift aid from insurers to individuals, potentially reducing premiums by promoting cheaper high-deductible plans.

The Republican brainstorming to patch ACA has been all-hands-on-deck. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., spoke to Just The News and brought his own ideas to the table including the crucial competition factor: “The way to fix this is to put competition back into the system. And get rid of the pharmacy benefit rent managers, get rid of all of these middle people that have driven up the cost of health care.”

“We have so few insurance carriers. We need to make clear is that an individual state has the right to license individual health insurance products to be sold in that individual state. And then, if they want to have some type of joint service agreement between [bordering states] like Alabama, Georgia, Florida, makes plenty of sense to me. But we have to get smaller companies into the business to put pressure on the big companies.”

“We do not need to be doubling down on a broken system”: Onder Rep. Bob Onder, R-Mo., also championed Republican solutions to Obamacare. He recalled many of the early issues of Obamacare and told Just The News, “The very year the Obamacare exchanges were implemented in 2014, insurance prices went up 47% one year, and since then, they’ve gone up 98%, so we do not need to be doubling down on a broken system.”

Emphasizing a free-market approach to healthcare, he added, “We need to be introducing market-oriented, consumer-choice driven reforms…things like expanding health savings accounts, association health plans where groups of employers or other groups can get together and form their own plans, short term health plans where people can buy the insurance that they want and need, not a one-size-fits-all, extremely expensive plan that some bureaucrat wrote for them.”

Another plan via House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., focuses on expanding association health plans for group purchasing of cheaper coverage, restoring cost-sharing reductions to lower out-of-pocket costs, and increasing pharmacy benefit manager transparency to reduce drug prices. It codifies HSA rules and bundles prior bipartisan measures but avoids extending enhanced subsidies to curb spending.

Fine also spoke about issues surrounding transparency in healthcare. He noted, “When you divorce people from the cost of things they buy, they don’t pay attention. Life insurance has gone way down in price over time because you buy it yourself. Health insurance has gone way up over time because you have no idea.”

Fine highlighted his solution to this, which is: “Most people get their insurance through their employers. When they find out what their employers are paying for their insurance, they go crazy. The reason you get your insurance through your employer is its tax advantage. If we let people buying their own insurance get the same tax advantage, we can then tell employers don’t do it anymore. Just pay people more and let them buy it themselves, and then people will start to shop around. When you take that incentive away from people, costs go out of control. And that is what has happened here.”

Yet another fix emphasizes funneling federal health funds directly to individuals via expanded HSAs or similar accounts for catastrophic/high-deductible coverage, criticizing insurer subsidies and aligning with broader patient-directed aid. This plan reflects many of the proposals stated by President Trump and a number of Republicans who have made similar proposals, most similarly by Rep. Eric Burlison, (R-Mo.), who introduced the idea of MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) accounts.

Government shutdown exposes subsidy mess The recent federal government shutdown, which lasted 43 days from October 1 to November 12 and became the longest in history, stemmed primarily from a partisan dispute over extending enhanced Obamacare premium tax credit subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025. Senate Democrats blocked Republican appropriations bills until a separate vote on the subsidies was promised.

The enhanced subsidies, affecting around 24 million enrollees and projected to cost hundreds of billions if extended, were a key Democratic demand to prevent sharp premium increases for low- and moderate-income Americans, though the final continuing resolution funded the government without including the extension.

The White House pointed out that under former President Joe Biden, millions of illegal immigrants were granted entry into the country who benefited from the subsidies, which Republicans vehemently opposed.

Timeline of efforts to bring socialized healthcare to America In 1945, Democratic President Harry Truman proposed a national health insurance plan for all Americans, facing opposition including $1.5 million in lobbying by the American Medical Association in 1948. That’s $27 million in 2025 dollars.

The Democratic-sponsored Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill, introduced in 1943 and reintroduced annually for the next 14 years, sought compulsory national health insurance via payroll taxes but failed amid accusations of socialism.

Then in 1965, Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted Medicare and Medicaid after decades of effort, providing coverage for the elderly and poor that grew to enroll nearly 75 million in Medicaid by the 2010s as partial steps toward universal systems. Those programs were centerpieces of LBJ’s “Great Society” plan.

In 1993, Democratic President Bill Clinton’s Health Security Act aimed for universal coverage through regulated private insurance but collapsed due to industry and partisan opposition. From 2003, Democratic Representative John Conyers introduced Medicare for All bills annually, starting with 38 co-sponsors and reaching 124 in 2017.

By 2025 in the 119th Congress, Representative Pramila Jayapal’s version had 110 co-sponsors, while Senator Bernie Sanders’ had 17, showing sustained Democratic support for a single-payer system.

The biggest advancement toward Democrats’ vision of healthcare came with the Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010 under President Obama, which expanded coverage to over 20 million Americans through marketplaces and Medicaid expansion, reducing the uninsured rate from around 14% in 2013 to about 8% in recent years.

It turns out that ACA cost Americans more It was described by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2013 as a step toward eventually moving past insurance-based healthcare to a single-payer system.

However, individual market premiums rose sharply, post-implementation, with average increases exceeding 100% in many analyses from 2013 to 2019, far surpassing pre-ACA trends. Many enrollees also encountered reduced scope of coverage, with rising deductibles—averaging over $7,000 on popular bronze plans—and narrower networks limiting provider choices and comprehensive benefits.

Amanda Head, Just the News

Ode to Passed FReeper DainBramaged, and the Hunt of a Lifetime He Gave Me!

Six years ago, FReeper “dainbramaged” (a guy I eventually knew In Real Life named “Rich”, last name withheld for his family’s anonymity) and I were FReepmailing about firearms. He mentioned he had a Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 that his Great Grandfather had bought new in 1898, and that he had no heirs who would care to have it, having only had one uninterested daughter in his life. So we kinda agreed that if and when he ever considered disposing of it, that he would call me, as I live just 40 miles away.

Two years passed, and Rich called: “I have four kinds of cancer, and I’ll be out in about 3 months.” Tragic. He had had a fascinating and good life, a loving wife and daughter, a great place in the woods, a 1973 Ford F250 HiBoy in pristine condition … and a gun collection.

“How’d you like to come buy me out?” he said. “What all do you have?” I replied. He listed out about 22 firearms, including the 125-year-old Model 1894. “That’s a few more than I can handle, but can I bring a relative and friend?”

So a few weeks later, my BIL, best friend and I went to Rich’s. He had them all carefully laid out on the dining room table. My retired Lt. Col. (artillery) brother-in-law saw the Springfield 1911, sat down in front of it and put his arms around it. That was going to be his, a 1942 WWII US Army model. I had dibs on the Model 94 and a Ruger Blackhawk flattop in .357.

We had a nice lunch with Rich and his wife, and got down to business. We divvied up the guns among us three depending on our interest, taking 20 out of 22 guns. I ended up with several nice pieces.

We had a gentlemanly negotiation in which Rich offered them to us for too little money, we upped our offers, and settled on prices about 1/3rd of market. With several thousand dollars in a nice tall stack, Rich tapped them into place and said, “When we’re all done here, I’m taking this down to the Senior Center and donating it.”

And so, we have in our friend circle a drinking toast:

“Be Rich!”

Which means exactly: “Be generous beyond any reasonable expectation.”

We went back to visit Rich two more times before he passed, and played poker and drank whiskey with an even larger group of guys who had heard the story. I was out of country for the funeral, but my best friend went.

So, as noted above, the .357 is my anti-Griz gun.

The Model 94 was a bit tricky. It had a headspace problem, and I tried for a couple of years to get that fixed, but nobody with skills and parts could get it done. Eventually, I tried different ammo which largely eliminated the problem, and worked closely with an Oklahoman gunsmith I encountered in Tel Aviv to understand that the problem was never going to be dangerous.

So this fall, I hunted Mule Deer in SE Washington State with Rich’s Great Grandfather’s 125 year old Model 94 with open sights. That territory is wide open, with long shots being the norm. This fall, about 12 bucks were taken (3 points on one side minimum), and the shortest shot was 300 yards, longest was 600 yards.

700 yards up on that rugged mountain several years ago, I encountered a guy named “Frank” who was 97 at the time. He had shot a nice buck the year before at age 96 at 413 yards, verified by rangefinder. His family had helped him out with the meat.

Frank is a WWII Navy Submariner. He’s tough as nails. I’ve seen him every year until this year up at the same place, 700 yards up a steep hill, posted up for Mule Deer.

I asked him how he stays in such good shape: “Before I get up out of bed each morning, I stretch and flex all my muscles, move all my joints as far as they can go, then I get up and use my 5 pound weights. I had to back off of the 10 pounders last year. Then I go for a walk.”

On the eighth day of hunting season this year, Frank hurt his hip 700 yards up there. “Yeah, I had to crawl out with my rifle and pack back to the Jeep and waited a few hours for the family to come back down and take me back to camp.”

Frank turned 101 years old this past November.

So, we have a toast in my friend group: “Be Frank!” Which is to prepare to live to a ripe old age while staying in excellent physical shape.

So on to my hunting story. I had had 7 days of poor luck, with dozens of does, several legitimate shots on 2×2 bucks that didn’t meet the 3 point criteria. But I’m regularly stalking big groups of deer as close as 25 yards, so I’m feeling pretty good about the possibility of getting a short shot with open sights.

On Day 7, I ran into a young guy who spent more money on his spotting scope than I had in my rifle, scope, and everything else I had on me. The dude was totally kitted out. I have no idea how many thousands of dollars his scope cost. His rifle was a wonder of modern technology, with silencer (?) / muzzle break, a spectacular carbon fiber tripod brace for his scope and rifle, etc.

He and I discussed the herds we had seen, and following each other’s footprints around the area a couple of miles out past the last road. We got friendly fast, and he told me of a couple of bucks out in a certain cliff area that was way too hard for me to hike at age 63. But we agreed that he’d go hike the cliffs, and if he knocked a buck down to where I was, he’d be happy if I shot it.

So for the next couple of days, I set up to intercept any buck he moved my way. Day 1, lots and lots of does, and 2 different 2x2s at 50 yards. No shot.

Day 2, I’m up in this crenelated basalt wall perch with grass sticking out the top, a perfect hide. There are about 20 does and fawns splayed out below me. No bucks … until one rounds the corner about 350 yards out, way too long a shot for open sights. So I track him in with the binoculars until he’s at about 200 yards, and I can’t count how many points, but it’s a forest of tines up there, so I’m sure he’s legal.

Then he wanders left into some thick undergrowth, and I lose him. I keep looking out further to the left to see if he’s after the does on the far side of the thicket. Nothing. Dang. Lost him.

So I go back and scan the right side of the thicket, and he’s come back out, is at 100 yards, and heading towards me! I set Rich’s Great Grandfather’s 125 year old Winchester Model 1894 in a slot of the basalt while the buck comes straight at me. No shot.

He stops at 75 yards, turns left 90 degrees and gives me the perfect side to side shot. Drilled him through both lungs.

I’m so freaking excited! But he’s kinda loping around the field like he might make a run for it. I’d hate to lose him in the thicket, the wide open country, or have him suffer any. So as he’s lurching away at 80 yards, I take a head shot. Miss. At 100 yards, head shot, miss. At 125 yards and lurching about, head shot, connected through the brain and out the right eye socket. He drops in place.

That’s a dead deer, so I’m comfortable walking right up. Yup. He’s a goner. 7:15 a.m. Rack is huge on a medium sized animal, 4 points x 5 points. Well over 200 pounds.

Luckily, I’m hard up against a mountain to the South, and I know I have lots of time before the sun hits the carcass. I don’t have my butchering gear and bags with me, and I could use some help. So I hike out 2 miles, go to Frank’s camp for assistance, and nobody but the lady of the camp is there. So I head back in with my meat pack and knives, and get busy butchering.

As I’m going through the motions, I notice the small entry wound, and no exit wound. Weird. So I’m skinning my way down the far side, and my knife hits the mushroomed .30-30 bullet just under the skin. So I’ve got in hand the bullet that took the deer!

When I’m almost done at 11 a.m., two guys from Frank’s camp show up to help. One carries out the head, the other carries out one hind quarter, and I carried out 65 pounds of meat in my pack, all of us in one trip!

Back at Frank’s camp, I have a great picture of me, Frank, the head of the buck, and the rifle in its rack.

Got the meat down on salted ice water immediately. Gave away all my excess food and beer to Frank’s camp mates. Beat feet back to civilization with a whole lot of excellent venison for the year.

All of which is to say,

********

THANK YOU MY DEARLY DEPARTED FRIEND DAINBRAMAGED, RICH.

********

I will never have a more meaningful hunt.

And to all my fellow FReepers:

BE RICH!

BE FRANK!

Uncle Miltie

This Marxist-born racial attack bears no relationship to how American whites have fought for centuries to overcome racism and achieve equality.

Steve McCann | December 30, 2025, AMERICAN THINKER

In a speech at the December 2025 Turning Point USA summit in Phoenix, Arizona, Vice President J.D. Vance declared, “In the United States, you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore.”

There was an overwhelming and immediate meltdown on the left, replete with the usual vile epithets and accusations of “white supremacy,” as headlines on the internet blared, “JD Vance Goes Full White Nationalist at TPUSA Event,” and NPR declared, “Vance Refuses to Set Red Line Over Bigotry at Turning Point USA’s Convention.”

Further, I am proud to be a member of the race that created Western Civilization. A civilization that ended 12,000 years of global slavery, initiated and promoted universal human rights, originated women’s equality, created parliamentary democracy, dramatically raised the standard of living for all races around the globe, and recognized that as certain rights came from God and not man, they cannot be abrogated.

After having attended the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, and listened to the immortal words of Martin Luther King, I have judged others not “…by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Thus, I am not about to roll over and allow autocratic demagogues and their dimwitted acolytes, such as yourself, to use fictitious “systemic racism” and “white nationalism” to denigrate and intimidate the vast bulk of the population in order to achieve the ultimate goal of transforming this magnificent nation into a one-party socialist oligarchy.

It is long past time for America’s white population to stop cowering in the shadows and living in fear of being falsely and absurdly labeled. That begins by understanding the genesis of this anti-white movement and its ultimate objective.

Up until fifty-five years ago, America’s Marxists had been unable to make any serious inroads toward transforming the United States into a one-party “socialist paradise” by using the standard class-warfare tactics that had succeeded in other nations. Those tactics worked in these nations because there was an element of truth to the underlying allegations of rampant inequality stemming from rigid class structures and monolithic governments.

These tactics did not work in America, as this is the first nation in the annals of mankind to eliminate rigid class structure, recognize the rights of the individual, dramatically disperse governmental power, and champion capitalism. Further, it is also the first nation to create a written permanent Constitution with provisions to correct societal inequalities, a document used to establish women’s suffrage in 1920 and eliminate the last vestiges of institutional racism in the 1960s. It is the only nation in history that was willing to suffer the overwhelming death and destruction of a civil war to permanently end slavery. And it is the only country in the annals of mankind created as a multi-ethnic nation.

Thanks to the success of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, America’s Marxists were forced to—and did—change tactics. They began promoting the false premise that the Civil Rights Movement underscored the reality that the United States was and will continue to be a malevolent nation due to “systemic racism” and “white privilege.”

According to their agitprop, the European branch of the Caucasian race (or more contemptuously “whites”) has, since the dawn of recorded history, been the principal promoters and beneficiaries of slavery and repression throughout the world. Thus, the members of this villainous race who settled in this country over the past 400 years are responsible for imposing never-ending racism and inequity on the American continent.

Therefore, the current white American population must openly confess its collective guilt and seek forgiveness. Additionally, and in light of this demonic legacy, every American of any race should be mortified to be a citizen of such a vile and irredeemable country.

Not coincidentally, this same cabal has declared that there is a path toward national redemption and a mechanism to forever erase the stain of “white supremacy” and “systemic racism.” That is for the American Marxists (almost entirely populated by self-aggrandizing members of the white populace) to assume the reins of power in perpetuity and transform the nation into a one-party secular socialist paradise. Their permanent ascendancy to the top of the governing pyramid would be the only means for unenlightened members of the white population who are not part of the ruling left to be granted absolution.

If so-called “white supremacy” has run rampant throughout the nation since its founding, what explains the historical determination of America’s overwhelmingly dominant white Christian population to right wrongs and live by the tenets of the Declaration of Independence with its Judeo-Christian underpinning, a mindset that stretches back to the nation’s founding and the abolition movements of the 19th century?

This determination culminated in a devastating and brutal Civil War. A war in which nearly 400,000 white Union soldiers (the equivalent of over 6 million today) died to end slavery. Further, over the decades, it was the dominant white Christian citizenry that was the catalyst in bringing about change and ensuring the rights of all Americans.

These tactics did not work in America, as this is the first nation in the annals of mankind to eliminate rigid class structure, recognize the rights of the individual, dramatically disperse governmental power, and champion capitalism. Further, it is also the first nation to create a written permanent Constitution with provisions to correct societal inequalities, a document used to establish women’s suffrage in 1920 and eliminate the last vestiges of institutional racism in the 1960s. It is the only nation in history that was willing to suffer the overwhelming death and destruction of a civil war to permanently end slavery. And it is the only country in the annals of mankind created as a multi-ethnic nation.

Thanks to the success of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, America’s Marxists were forced to—and did—change tactics. They began promoting the false premise that the Civil Rights Movement underscored the reality that the United States was and will continue to be a malevolent nation due to “systemic racism” and “white privilege.”

According to their agitprop, the European branch of the Caucasian race (or more contemptuously “whites”) has, since the dawn of recorded history, been the principal promoters and beneficiaries of slavery and repression throughout the world. Thus, the members of this villainous race who settled in this country over the past 400 years are responsible for imposing never-ending racism and inequity on the American continent.

Therefore, the current white American population must openly confess its collective guilt and seek forgiveness. Additionally, and in light of this demonic legacy, every American of any race should be mortified to be a citizen of such a vile and irredeemable country.

Not coincidentally, this same cabal has declared that there is a path toward national redemption and a mechanism to forever erase the stain of “white supremacy” and “systemic racism.” That is for the American Marxists (almost entirely populated by self-aggrandizing members of the white populace) to assume the reins of power in perpetuity and transform the nation into a one-party secular socialist paradise. Their permanent ascendancy to the top of the governing pyramid would be the only means for unenlightened members of the white population who are not part of the ruling left to be granted absolution.

If so-called “white supremacy” has run rampant throughout the nation since its founding, what explains the historical determination of America’s overwhelmingly dominant white Christian population to right wrongs and live by the tenets of the Declaration of Independence with its Judeo-Christian underpinning, a mindset that stretches back to the nation’s founding and the abolition movements of the 19th century?

This determination culminated in a devastating and brutal Civil War. A war in which nearly 400,000 white Union soldiers (the equivalent of over 6 million today) died to end slavery. Further, over the decades, it was the dominant white Christian citizenry that was the catalyst in bringing about change and ensuring the rights of all Americans.

In 1960, nearly 89% of the American population identified as White. Without the involvement of the white citizenry, the Civil Rights Movement would not have been successful. Eliminating all remaining vestiges of institutionalized racism would not have been achieved without the acquiescence of the bulk of the white population.

This is not a racist nation. Despite the American Marxists and their never-ending vitriol and despite their being able to exploit some credulous citizens, the vast majority of Americans instinctively know that.

As recently as 2008, and before the ascension of the race-baiting Barack Obama and his Marxist fellow-travelers, only 18% of Americans were greatly concerned or worried about the state of race relations in the country, as nearly 70% thought that relations between whites and blacks were very or somewhat good.

JD Vance is right: Stop apologizing for being white. All Americans should be proud of being a member of whatever race or ethnic group they may belong to and of being a citizen of the United States. They should not be gulled into feeling guilty about what their ancestors did or didn’t do, especially given that virtually every person on the planet today has ancestors who were slaves and who were also involved in the conquest of other peoples, tribes, or nations.

The time has come for America’s white population to uncompromisingly tell those among their number who are maliciously fomenting guilt and promoting reverse discrimination to shove it.