Communist regimes wage war on religion to assert total control, yet the stories of faith, persecution, and resistance remain powerful truths the world must remember.

In the left’s perverse ideology, the status of “victimhood” is to be prized (especially if it does not actually have to be endured), for it serves as a powerful cudgel over their alleged “oppressors.” That this constitutes but another flimsy pretext for leftists to grasp power is revealed by the fact that actual victims of political persecution are ignored and erased from the public square and the historical record. Why? Because these actual victims have experienced religious persecution by communists.

Be it in the former Soviet Union where the Bolsheviks summarily executed Russian Orthodox priests and expropriated religious property; or in today’s People’s Republic of China (PRC) where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues its genocide of the Uighurs and persecution of the Catholic Church; or in Nicaraguan where the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) persists in its “war” on the Catholic Church, the communist imperative to eradicate religion is alive and unwell, and—despite notable, courageous exceptions, such as Bianca Jagger, who forcefully condemned the religious persecutions waged by regime of communist dictator Daniel Ortega and “co-president” (and wife) Rosario Murillo—rarely recorded and reported.

It was not always this way.

It is beyond question that communists hate God. Indeed, they openly avow their atheism and violently oppress religion to eradicate it. Consequently, for decades, the vast majority of American liberals were steadfast opponents of communism and, in fact, provided the first line of defense against communist infiltration of labor unions and other American private and public institutions.

No longer.

A 2022 Victims of Communism Foundation poll told a disturbing tale: 30% of Generation Z has a favorable view of Marxism, and just 63% of Gen Z and Millennials believe the Declaration of Independence better guarantees freedom and equality than the Communist Manifesto. Truly, yesterday’s liberal is not today’s progressive, who is largely sympatico with the aim, if not the means, of communism’s attempts to subjugate religion to the state.

The modern left has its origins in the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s intellectual cesspool. Suffice it to say for our purpose here, the left is following his directive to establish a “civil religion,” the state dogma one must believe over and above any religious tenets. If one fails to do so, the individual will be “forced to be free”—a euphemism for punishment and/or execution.

Ergo, the virulently atheistic communists’ ideological imperative to wage war on God to crush religion beneath their totalitarian boot heel. Nor, for that matter, will the result be any better in non-communist nations when religious freedom is subordinated to the state by virulent secularists erecting their own civil religion and demanding public obeisance to it, lest one face state-sanctioned consequences. (Sadly, even in the minds of many leftists who claim to be devout believers, when push comes to shove, they will subordinate their religious beliefs to accommodate their leftist ideology.)

Still, why must communists and virulent secularists “coexist” with religion? We go back to the beginning—the left’s simplistic “life hack” that gives their lives meaning and (mis-)direction, i.e., the victim vs. oppressor paradigm, and its imperative to “liberate” from the chains of the existing, intrinsically inequitable, and, yes, evil society so that humanity will be perfected and a terrestrial Eden achieved.

The font of this irredeemably “corrupted” civilization that has precluded human happiness is?

God.

Or more accurately, the poisonous superstition called God and the cults this myth has spawned to oppress and corrupt humanity. Hence, in a postmodern recreation of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden, believing only in themselves and their ideology—in sum, believing themselves gods—communists and their fellow traveling atheists and secular humanists must free humanity—whether they like it or not—from religion… from God.

The communists’ logic is elementary and insidious: where there is no God, one can and must render only unto Caesar, unto the state, unto the communists.

But there is a God. And His work on earth is in good and faithful hands. To wit:

Back on March 6, 2024, writing at First Things amidst the glooming ignorance of communist persecutions, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco made a heartening announcement:

“I’ve asked the Benedict XVI Institute to launch a new multiyear project telling the story of these heroic martyrs of communism—in liturgy and hymns, but also in paintings, poetry, plays, videos, and essays, partnering with the Victims of Communism museum in Washington, D.C., among others.”

Recognizing the danger communism posed to all religious believers, Archbishop Cordileone posed the crux of the matter: “Why do so few Americans pay attention to the horrors of Marxist-leaning regimes? For me, an even more troubling question is, why do Catholics know so little about the martyrs and victims of the brutalities of communism?”

The archbishop cited an obvious culprit but expressed that this did not excuse or prevent our power to rectify the situation:

“We have become overly dependent on secular media and artists to tell our story… As the secular culture becomes more hostile, or simply indifferent, to religion, it is time to rediscover the arts as a center for evangelization. We must once again sing our own songs and tell our own stories so that we can share the truth, goodness, and beauty of faith with the world.”

It is, then, as it always has been and remains: God’s work on earth must truly be our own. And we must perform our tasks, regardless of their arduousness and the hour, for, as Archbishop Cordileone cautions:

“The arc of communism may be long and it may disguise itself under different names, but it begins with the false promise that government without God can usher in utopia and ends with persecution of the Church for daring to speak out against oppression on behalf of the forgotten…

“Shut down the Church, because otherwise the forgotten and the persecuted will have a voice.”

In America, come this joyous Easter Sunday, the church doors will be open, as will the doors of any religion that so desires. For those who enter to worship, let us reverently give voice to the forgotten, the tormented, and the murdered “modern martyrs of communism.” Through the grace of our merciful God, may you ever be remembered.

T.G. McCotter, American Greatness

The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to weigh in on one of the most significant legal power plays in recent memory: whether individual federal trial judges can continue issuing nationwide injunctions that derail national policy. The high court’s move could mark a turning point in the Trump administration’s effort to rein in what it sees as activist judges stifling the will of the elected government.

John Yoo, a law professor at UC Berkeley and former Justice Department official, broke down the issue during an appearance on Fox News, where he explained the gravity of the situation and why the Supreme Court is now stepping in.

“This is about who controls all those… and there’s about 675 federal trial judges spread out all over the country,” Yoo said. “And some of them have been bringing the federal government, bringing President Trump’s agenda to a screeching halt, even though they don’t have anybody, say, who works for the government or any of the illegal aliens or any of the spending in their own courtrooms.”

In recent years, liberal activists have filed lawsuits in strategically chosen jurisdictions where they know they’ll find a sympathetic judge. The result? Leftist district judges, with no direct connection to the underlying policy or parties involved, have been able to issue injunctions blocking Trump administration directives nationwide—from immigration enforcement to federal spending priorities.

Recommended: Tom Homan Schools Joe Scarborough on Border Security, and it Was Epic!

“What’s going on here, I think it’s important to understand, is that the Supreme Court is already signaling that they’re very sympathetic to the Trump administration,” Yoo said. “The Supreme Court scheduled oral argument for May 15th.”

That date raised eyebrows among legal observers, as the Court typically stops hearing arguments by April and shifts to issuing decisions in pending cases. The fact that the justices have called for arguments in May suggests the urgency and significance of the issue.

“It never hears cases in May,” Yoo explained. “Usually, they’d be done their business and they’d be sending out opinions by now. They’ve called basically a special session in order to hear President Trump’s claims that there should not be unlimited nationwide injunctions, but that they should be under the control of the Supreme Court.”

The specific case revolves around Trump’s executive order targeting birthright citizenship, but Yoo emphasized that the justices may not even reach that policy question. The real issue is the unchecked legal activism that’s allowed district court judges to assume authority over foreign policy, immigration, and federal hiring and spending.

“Whether you agree or disagree with President Trump’s order on birthright citizenship,” Yoo said, “they may not even get to the question, because the key thing here is for the Supreme Court to put an end to the 675 trial judges who all think they can run foreign policy, spending and hiring throughout the federal government.”

That date raised eyebrows among legal observers, as the Court typically stops hearing arguments by April and shifts to issuing decisions in pending cases. The fact that the justices have called for arguments in May suggests the urgency and significance of the issue.

“It never hears cases in May,” Yoo explained. “Usually, they’d be done their business and they’d be sending out opinions by now. They’ve called basically a special session in order to hear President Trump’s claims that there should not be unlimited nationwide injunctions, but that they should be under the control of the Supreme Court.”

The specific case revolves around Trump’s executive order targeting birthright citizenship, but Yoo emphasized that the justices may not even reach that policy question. The real issue is the unchecked legal activism that’s allowed district court judges to assume authority over foreign policy, immigration, and federal hiring and spending.

“Whether you agree or disagree with President Trump’s order on birthright citizenship,” Yoo said, “they may not even get to the question, because the key thing here is for the Supreme Court to put an end to the 675 trial judges who all think they can run foreign policy, spending and hiring throughout the federal government.”

If the court sides with the Trump administration, it could dramatically reshape how federal power is contested in the courtroom and restore constitutional limits on unelected judges meddling in national affairs.

Join the fight for constitutional integrity! As the Supreme Court prepares to tackle the crucial issue of judicial authority, your support is vital. By becoming a member of PJ Media VIP, you help uphold our mission to ensure that elected officials—not unelected judges—control national policy. Together, we can restore balance to our legal system and protect the democratic process. Join us today!

“He’s a great columnist. I think he’s terrific.”  – Mark Levin

Matt Margolis is a conservative commentator and columnist. His work has been cited on Fox News and national conservative talk radio, including The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Mark Levin Show, and The Dan Bongino Show. Matt is the author of several books and has appeared on Newsmax, OANN, Real America’s Voice News, and even CNN.

It has been said, if you do not accept Jesus as God, you must think Him either a lunatic or a liar. In his book Mere Christianity, the great C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) wrote, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.”

At the final meal Jesus ate with His disciples immediately before His death, He made His deity and sovereignty over events extremely clear: “I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He” (Jn. 13:19).

He knew the end from the beginning; how long He would live; what He would accomplish; and how, when, where, and why He would die. He was neither a lunatic nor a liar. He was the God-Man who orchestrated everything.

The final meal was a Passover Seder held in an upper room in Jerusalem that Jesus selected in a miraculous way (Mk. 14:13–16). More transpired there than most people realize: Jesus made statements only God can make. Then, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He agonized over what He was about to face, as only a human being can do.

Communion and Covenant

At the Seder the night He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me” (Mt. 26:23). “‘It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.’ And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot” (Jn. 13:26).

Yet, Jesus chose Judas: “I know whom I have chosen,” He said (v. 18). Earlier, He told them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” (6:70).

That night, He also instituted the Lord’s Supper, or communion: “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body’” (Mt. 26:26). Under the Levitical system, a portion of the sacrifices was eaten. Jesus was making the connection that He was the sacrifice.

Then He instituted the New Covenant God had promised the Jewish people centuries earlier through the prophet Jeremiah. The disciples knew all covenants were instituted by blood. “He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant [cf. Jer. 31:31], which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Mt. 26:27–28; cf. Isa. 53:10–11).

Words of Comfort

After Judas left, Jesus spoke to the remaining 11 disciples, imparting many of His most comforting words—all of which point to His deity; and the disciples, who were Jewish, believed Him (Jn. 14—17). Otherwise, they would have thought Him insane and never would have remained steadfast in their faith until death.

Heaven. “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (14:2).

Salvation. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (v. 6).

His Deity. “He who has seen Me has seen the Father. . . . Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me” (vv. 9, 11).

Prayer. “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (v. 13).

The Holy Spirit. “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (vv. 16–17). “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (v. 26). “He will convict the world of sin. . . . He will guide you into all truth” (16:8, 13).

His Resurrection. “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also” (14:19).

His Return. “If I go . . . I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (v. 3).

Inner Peace. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (v. 27).

Persecution. “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. . . . But I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (15:18–20).

“The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me” (16:2–3).

Trouble. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (v. 33).

His Glory. Then Jesus prayed to the Father: “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (17:4–5). Either Jesus existed in glory with God “before the world was,” or He was delusional.

In Gethsemane

After the Passover, Jesus and the 11 apostles departed. They crossed “the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered” (18:1).

There, Jesus prayed to the Father, dreading the physical and spiritual anguish that awaited Him. In His humanity, He fell on His face and prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Mt. 26:39).

In His deity, He knew He was about to experience something even worse than crucifixion: complete separation from the Father, as the Father poured out on Jesus all His wrath and punishment for sin for all humankind. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21; cf. Isa. 53:5–6).

Jesus’ time in prayer must have been excruciating. Finally, He told the disciples, “The hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand” (Mt. 26:45–46). Despite the agony, Jesus stayed the course, as He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).

Like a composer conducting a symphony he wrote himself, Jesus orchestrated the events leading to His crucifixion, fulfilling the prophecies in His Word. Everything unfolded exactly as He had predicted.

We so often focus on the truth that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). The flip side is that Jesus so loved the world He willingly came. His sacrificial death was the tremendous price He paid to redeem lost humanity from the penalty of sin. And His resurrection is the tremendous guarantee we have that those of us who believe in Him will have eternal life.

As C. S. Lewis said, “You must make your choice.” Lewis made his: “Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.”

Tom Simcox is the Church Ministries training coordinator and a Bible teacher for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.

Some politicos predict a forthcoming “civil war” within the Democratic Party between AOC types and more “moderate” types. Faulty premise: There are no moderates in the Democratic Party. There is no moderation in that movement. The Democrats on the Supreme Court (and federal courts) ALWAYS rule hard left. Every single Democrat in Congress ALWAYS votes the hard Communist way.

Republicans (excluding Trump) wobble and retreat; Democrats never do. Rank and file Democratic voters, even if they don’t agree with every single Communist position, will continue to say, “Whatever stops Trump — I am there.” If Trump died tomorrow, they would say the exact same thing about J.D. Vance. “Whatever stops Republicans — I am there.”

To patriotic lovers of individual liberty, always be aware: Your love of liberty must be stronger than the leftist hatred of America and its remaining freedoms. Because the hatred of leftists is bottomless and limitless.

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!

U.S. Customs and Border Control has reported the number of border crossings between the U.S. and Mexico in March were the “lowest in history.”

The report highlighted, “U.S. Border Patrol’s apprehensions along the southwest border for the entire month of March 2025 were lower than the first two days of March 2024.”

The contrast in apprehensions from illegal border crossing attempts under the Trump administration compared to the previous year is startling. “March is the second consecutive month in which U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) averaged the lowest daily nationwide apprehensions in history at approximately 264 per day in March. This is 20% lower than the 330 daily nationwide average apprehensions in February and 94% lower than 4,488 per day average from March 2024.”

The headline of a Wall Street Journal report on Saturday makes the point, “Border Crossings Grind to Halt as Trump’s Tough Policies Take Hold.”

The Journal reported one man it interviewed had hoped to be approved for legal immigration but he felt that opportunity is at least for now, not an option. “The door is closed,” he said. The Venezuelan added, “There’s no more hope for entering legally as long as Donald Trump is there, and anyone telling you otherwise is lying.”

The Journal reported that many would-be immigrants who thought they might have been able to gain entry to the U.S. are now stuck in Mexico. Many are turning around to return to their home country.

.S. State Department carries information on its website about how people are able to legally cross U.S. borders and properly gain legal status to be in America, including “special immigrant categories.” 

Jim Mishler ✉

Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.

As the Trump administration attempts to choke off exports of strategically important computer chips to China, experts say the effort might well backfire, fueling innovation at Chinese firms that could help them seize the world semiconductor market.

“What’s actually happening is that the US government right now is handing China a big win as it tries to get their own chip business going,” said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J.Gold associates.

“Once they’re competitive,” he told AFP, “they’ll start selling around the world and people will buy their chips.”

When that happens, he added, it will be difficult for US chip makers to reclaim lost market share.

Silicon Valley semiconductor star Nvidia and its US rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) expect big financial hits from new US licensing requirements for semiconductors exported to China, they notified regulators this week.

Nvidia expects the new rules to cost it $5.5 billion, while AMD forecast it could sap as much as $800 million from the company’s bottom line, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Administration officials told Nvidia it must obtain licenses to export its H20 chips to China because of concerns they may be used in supercomputers there, the company said.

The United States had already restricted exports to China, the world’s biggest buyer of chips, of Nvidia’s most sophisticated graphics processing units (GPUs), designed to power top-end artificial intelligence models.

Nvidia essentially developed the H20 chip for the Chinese market, aiming to maximize performance while meeting previous US export rules, but the new licensing requirements pose a roadblock, according to Gold.

For AMD, the new US export control measure applies to its MI308 GPUs, which are designed for high-performance applications like gaming and artificial intelligence, it said in a filing.

When that happens, he added, it will be difficult for US chip makers to reclaim lost market share.

Silicon Valley semiconductor star Nvidia and its US rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) expect big financial hits from new US licensing requirements for semiconductors exported to China, they notified regulators this week.

Nvidia expects the new rules to cost it $5.5 billion, while AMD forecast it could sap as much as $800 million from the company’s bottom line, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Administration officials told Nvidia it must obtain licenses to export its H20 chips to China because of concerns they may be used in supercomputers there, the company said.

The United States had already restricted exports to China, the world’s biggest buyer of chips, of Nvidia’s most sophisticated graphics processing units (GPUs), designed to power top-end artificial intelligence models.

Nvidia essentially developed the H20 chip for the Chinese market, aiming to maximize performance while meeting previous US export rules, but the new licensing requirements pose a roadblock, according to Gold.

For AMD, the new US export control measure applies to its MI308 GPUs, which are designed for high-performance applications like gaming and artificial intelligence, it said in a filing.

Newsmax Money/AFP

Noel S. Williams

DOGE is remarkably transparent, including inviting suggestions from the public on how to save.  Here are several:

Student Financial Aid. Cut off federal financial aid to students with a gender studies major. Federal aid should be directed towards STEM students, those in vocational studies (nursing, etc.) and trades (electricians, plumbers, etc.).  No aid should be proffered for some of the soft, snowflake-type studies like sociology and whatnot.  Not that we want to completely cease civics curricula, but that’s partly what ChatGPT is for, or better yet, Musk’s A.I. instantiation known as Grok.

In addition to saving money, that would probably be less biased.  It would also lessen the impact of loony leftist lecturers who intellectually abuse their immature wards.  Why should federal financial aid support injudicious and imprudent students with little experience, who, upon graduation, don’t do much for society other than foment social-activist strife?

Foreign Aid.  Excepting acts of nature like typhoons and earthquakes, provide no recurring foreign aid to countries that harbor a trade surplus with us, put up barriers, and manipulate their currency.

Legal Aliens.  At least they’re better than illegal aliens, but what’s the deal with permanent legal residents (AKA Green Card holders)?  Really, no one should be here permanently unless he becomes a citizen.  Green Card applicants must demonstrate their ability to support themselves, and not rely on public assistance.  One can extrapolate from this that citizenship is a concrete requirement for any public assistance.

If a legal alien has worked here long enough to become eligible for Social Security, he has also been here long enough to learn proper English (now our official language) and unrevised history.  That is, even an ignoramus will have been here long enough to pass the citizenship test — no excuses (but we might be lenient for those who at least tried).

If, after all that time partaking of America’s bounty, they haven’t committed their sole allegiance to the United States (and renounced that of their place of birth), then no slurping at the public trough.  Hasta la vista.

Tree Equity.  DOGE is effectively eviscerating wasteful (in more ways than one) DIE programs, but let’s not forget about other forms of contrived equity — tree and road.

Departments within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service that implement so-called tree equity (and anyone else involved) must be uprooted.  We love trees, and forest-bathing can soothe the soul, but bureaucrats imposing their biased notions of tree equity on the environment is unnatural.  If, for example, someone in the asphalt jungle is sweating too much, then show some initiative — instead of desecrating infrastructure with graffiti, plant some foliage.

Many cities offer tree-planting programs, including Seattle, Wash., where residents participate in nurturing leafy communities.  The Forest Service should expunge tree equity from their collective consciousness; they should remain focused on forest management and fire control.

Road Equity.  Under that weird Pete Buttigieg guy, the Department of Transportation issued the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), which emphasizes a Safe System approach.  The DOT’s strategy “seeks a better understanding of the intersection of equity and roadway safety, and a comprehensive approach to incorporating equity into all of the Department’s efforts to achieve zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries.”  That’s a dead-end street.  Less convoluted equity; more safety, please.

Congressional Travel and Per Diem.  Who is paying for the socialist comrades (Bernie and AOC) to foment class warfare across the nation?

AOC is a very ineffective congresswoman; her district resembles “Third World” disarray.  Yet she has the unconscionable gall to travel the country while denouncing the “oligarchy” that heretofore helped Dems and leftist causes.  The committees she pretends to serve on are unrelated to her socialist wanderlust.  In the grand savings scheme, it may be a pittance, but the message will reverberate loud and clear: Forbid travel and per diem expenses to public servants that are unrelated to their public portfolios or outside their constituency.

Federal Judges.  On a related matter, how about punishing federal judges whose decisions are overturned due to their activism?  SCOTUS reverses plenty of lower-court decisions.  Since the overturned judges may have no shame, shouldn’t there be a “price” to pay in instances where their decision was blatantly political rather than judicial?  Judicial reversal rates should be a factor in determining their pay scale pending their impeachment.

United Nations.  The head of DOGE thinks the U.S. should withdraw from the U.N.  That would potentially save us billions of dollars.  Of course, we’ll still remain the world’s leader, engaged wherever our national interests demand attention, but if anything, the U.N. not only is ineffective, but often undermines our interests.

In addition to “tariffs,” one of President Trump’s frequent utterances is “they’re ripping us off.”  That’s exactly what the U.N. is doing to America in some of the world’s most valuable real estate regions, including its proximity to Trump World Tower.  After evicting the ungrateful U.N. ambassadors, and forbidding tyrants and terrorists from visiting, we could repurpose the U.N. headquarters for something that’s actually useful.

Per President Trump, America won’t be the world’s piggy bank anymore.  Neither should it be the piggy bank for internal anti-American causes veiled in innocuous-sounding terms like “equity” that really impose leftist inequities on those who took initiative, often against the odds, and dared to succeed.

American Thinker

Here’s a beautiful song/video celebrating our resurrection in Christ, as well as being a moving tribute to martyrs.

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (I Corinthians 15:20)

Yesterday, Karoline Leavitt brought in a mother whose daughter was brutally murdered at the hands of a migrant who crossed the border under the Biden administration It was a dare to the press corps to see if they would cover the case of the grieving mother.

Here was her appearance:

It worked. The press was forced to cover her story:

So great, right? Well, not so fast. Here is how David Sanger at the New York Times covered the story — mostly as a publicity stunt or a way to deflect from the Trump admin potentially being held in contempt:

Just hours after a federal judge threatened a contempt-of-court investigation over the Trump administration’s deportation flights, the White House sought to freeze the legal debate by reminding Americans of a heartbreaking case of a mother killed by an unauthorized immigrant

Sanger goes on with what looks more like an op-ed than a news story:

White House officials called a special briefing on Wednesday in the press room to bring Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, who was killed while jogging on a trail in Maryland in 2023, to the podium. She recounted in detail how her daughter, a 37-year-old mother of five, was seized, raped and bashed in the head with rocks and ultimately strangled. Members of her family also appeared at the Republican National Convention last July.

An immigrant from El Salvador, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, was convicted in the case this week.

The story was a tragic one, and it has fueled Mr. Trump’s arguments about dangers posed by migrants and a debate about capital punishment. Nonetheless, the invitation of Ms. Morin seemed a somewhat transparent effort to suspend the arguments about whether the administration could lawfully send migrants to El Salvador with no due process, and whether it can defy the orders of district judges who order the flights halted.

And then we get the typical blather, “Statistics show…”:

Statistics show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes on American soil than American citizens, and Mr. Trump’s claims of a wave of violent crime committed by immigrants have not been supported by police or court data. But it is a popular talking point among Mr. Trump’s base of supporters, and he often brought out family members of victims during his presidential campaign.

If even one woman, one child, one girl is brutally murdered or assaulted by migrants who crossed the border illegally (aka, already broke the law, which makes them criminals already), under the watch of the United States government who did NOTHING to protect them, or even warn them, with the media pretending there is no problem, you bet the public has a right to be upset.

On the Left, they need constant fuel to drive their ideology, their religion. Kilmar Abrego Garcia gives them that. He can be accused of beating his wife, even, and it won’t matter to them, just as whatever George Floyd was guilty of didn’t matter. Just as transgender sex offenders don’t matter. Identity is all.

But it does go against the general public’s opinions, as this poll proves:

Chris Cillizza understands and is begging the Democrats not to make this their biggest story:

Sorry, Chris. This story is here to stay. It fills up the Left with everything they need to keep fighting for what they believe in. They believe in open borders AND universal healthcare. They believe in no biological difference between men and women. They believe in abortion as easy and common as getting your ears pierced. They believe in sending every last dollar to Ukraine. It is what it is.

SASHA STONE

Baltimore’s public school district is going on a hiring spree while student enrollment plummets and test scores remain in the basement.

Baltimore City Public Schools inflated its number of employees by nearly 19% over the six years between 2018 and last year, according to Maryland State Department of Education data analyzed by Fox 45’s Project Baltimore, an investigative initiative on the city’s floundering schools.

The school district hired 1,714 more staffers while the number of students plummeted by 4,781 or 6%, the data show.

It wasn’t mostly teachers the district hired, either.

Over those six years, the district hired 992 more teachers, about a 15% increase, but it also hired 721 non-teaching staff such as administrators, a 28% increase, the analysis found.

Last school year, the Baltimore City school district had 10,874 employees for 75,811 students, about 6.9 students per staffer.

“This pattern reveals that the government school system has become more of a jobs program for adults than an education initiative for kids,” school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis told The Daily Wire.

DeAngelis noted that 40% of Baltimore high schools had zero students score proficient on the 2023 state math exam.

Meanwhile, Baltimore’s public school superintendent makes $479,672 a year, more than the president of the United States, DeAngelis pointed out.

“These failure factories don’t give a damn about the kids,” DeAngelis said. “These overpaid administrators are leeches that extract funding away from the classroom and the kids they’re supposed to serve. Baltimore needs real accountability from the bottom-up with school choice. Families must be able to vote with their feet to schools that work best for their kids. Only then will the school system cater to the needs of children and their families as opposed to the other way around.”

School choice critics often complain that failing inner city public schools are under-funded and simply need more resources to help low-income children thrive academically.

However, Baltimore spends far more per pupil than other large city school districts whose students perform better.

Baltimore City spends $18,272 tax dollars per student, according to last year’s census, Fox 45 reported.

Meanwhile, Albuquerque, New Mexico’s, school district spends $12,964 per pupil and the Austin, Texas, district spends $12,492. Both outperform Baltimore students in every category, such as 4th and 8th grade math and reading, on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, called the “Nation’s Report Card.”

“City Schools has made targeted investments in hiring qualified staff — from classroom teachers and counselors to literacy coaches and early childhood educators,” the district said in a statement. “We know that students thrive when they are supported by caring adults, and when schools are fully staffed and resourced. There is more work to do, but make no mistake — progress is happening, and our students deserve recognition for it.”

Mairead Elordi