Why must President Trump get the Supreme Court’s permission to run the executive branch of government?

Trading and dealing with people in totalitarian countries is like dealing with mobsters. It’s not that the people in those countries are necessarily bad; but their rulers are. China is not a free country. China is a totalitarian government. Workers in China are borderline (if not actual) slaves. They work not for their own benefit, but for the welfare of their rulers. They operate only with the consent of the government. If you live in a free country, it’s an absurd delusion to claim you are “trading” with slaves. You are never trading with workers or business people in a Communist or fascist country, like China; it’s all an illusion perpetrated by the totalitarian government. The only appropriate policy of a free country toward a slave country’s government is to do everything possible (economically or even militarily) to undermine or destroy that government. At a minimum, you don’t trade with them, because it’s no different than doing business with mobsters. It WILL come back to bite you. Everything Trump is doing to the Chinese government at present is morally justified and long overdue.

Before you get FREE TRADE you must first have FREE COUNTRIES. China is not free.

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason

At the height of the Cold War, Playboy magazine asked free market thinker and Russian author Ayn Rand, “Would you actively advocate that the United States invade Cuba or the Soviet Union?”

Rand replied, “Not at present. I don’t think it’s necessary. I would advocate that which the Soviet Union fears above all else: economic boycott, I would advocate a blockade of Cuba and an economic boycott of Soviet Russia; and you would see both of those regimes collapse without the loss of a single American life.”

I find it interesting that the globalist, pseudocapitalist Ayn Rand Institute denounces every aspect of Trump’s foreign and economic policy. And yet: Rand’s proposed economic boycott and blockade of Soviet Russia and Communist Cuba are more strenuous than Trump’s tariffs on China. The 21st Century Ayn Rand Institute, if consistent, would be forced to complain that Ayn Rand’s proposed economic boycott of Soviet Russia back in 1960 would be a violation of the economic individual rights of Americans to trade with the victims and slaves living under dictatorship.

More evidence that the Ayn Rand Institute and Ayn Rand have nothing whatsoever to do with each other.

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason

Secretary of State Marco Rubio took aim at foreign students who come to the United States on a student visa only to do “crazy things” on campus, asserting that the administration continues to crack down on these “lunatics.”

Rubio said a student visa is not “some sort of birthright.”

Rubio made the remarks during President Donald Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

“If you come to this country as a student, we expect you to go to class and study and get a degree. If you come here to, like, vandalize a library, take over a campus, and do all kinds of crazy things, you know, we’re going to get rid of these people,” Rubio said. “So when we identify lunatics like these, we take away their student visa.”

Rubio said late last month that the State Department had, at that point, revoked more than 300 student visas of foreign students who participate in actions such as “vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus,” among other things, like voicing support for Hamas terrorists in Gaza or antisemitic speech.

“No one’s entitled to a student visa. The press covers student visas like they’re some sort of birthright,” Rubio added. “No, a student visa is like me inviting you into my home. If you come into my home and put all kinds of crap on my couch, I’m going to kick you out of my house.”

Rubio’s remarks come amid reports that 300 foreign students in recent days alone have had their student visas revoked.

The White House defends the revocations under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act.

“It’s a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that basically states that, for whatever reason, that if we think you’re not compliant, we can make you deportable,” immigration lawyer Jamie Barron told CBS News. “It could be, for example, an argument with a roommate, a fight, a DWI, a theft charge, or maybe they did a protest, which is freedom of speech, but they consider it may be harmful for the country.”

Newsmax

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Newsmax about a protest in central Florida he crashed earlier this week to ask what the protesters were so mad about, only to find out they had no idea.

Donalds joined “Greg Kelly Reports” on Thursday and said the protesters had “no idea what they’re talking about.”

“Look, this is one of the reasons why I went to that Tesla protest, because I wanted to see firsthand what people were upset about. And when you ask them the question, they can’t answer,” Donalds told guest host Lidia Curanaj.

“It’s nothing new, especially when you’re dealing with people who are on the radical left,” he added about his experience in Kissimmee, Florida. “They can’t argue the facts. So what they try to do is bring out these crazy emotional arguments.”

Donalds also reacted to a clip of a woman trying to explain the evils of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which passed in the House earlier Thursday, calling it “crazy” that the protester couldn’t enumerate basic facts about the measure she was protesting.

“They’re quick to tell you to do your research, and then when you try to go a couple levels down to figure out their research, you realize they have no idea what the hell they’re talking about,” Donalds said. “So when I see these clips — and I’m glad these clips are surfacing and that they’re out there for the American people to see — first I laugh, then I shake my head. Then I realize we still have a job to do.

“We have to communicate exactly what we’re doing to the American people. We have to be factual and demonstrate that our policies — the America First movement — is what’s going to put America on track to be successful for everybody,” he added.

Mark Swanson, Newsmax

How the media is killing society:

1. People like good production value. They like good acting. Look at the popularity of The White Lotus. Or The Game of Thrones. To most people, the “news” seems credible, because it’s executed well. They’re liars, but they’re highly capable liars. Rachel Maddow is not a good person, but she’s good at what she does.

2. People were not trained to think critically. Government schools and most private schools condition you to be part of the pack. You are taught in groups, or classes, not individually. The goal is the average, or the norm, not achievement of your own potential. This leads, in adulthood, to a mentality of group think. In practice, this means replacing “What’s true?” with “What does everyone else seem to think?” I never knew how prevalent this was until COVID. It was shocking and staggering, even to me. 2020-2021 unmasked EVERYTHING.

3. The people in the media are the same as the people watching the “mainstream” media. They lack independence and critical thinking. Just like their audience. However, they, the members of the media, do have a leftist agenda. In fact, they are SO leftist they don’t even realize they’re leftist. To them, it’s a combination of virtue and objective truth. Their biases and outright lies seem self-evident, to them. They sneer at dissension, something they rarely encounter outside their elite blue states and cities. This results in the spectacle of sheep teaching sheep; sheep reinforcing sheep. Today’s establishment media: an elitism of ignorance and naivete masquerading as sophistication and truth. Most don’t see it. They just absorb it all, uncritically call it “news,” and go about the business of their lives.

It’s not hopeless. But the situation is daunting. More than most of us know. It’s incredibly uphill. Trump’s surprising victory in 2024 proved the media is not omnipotent. But it’s very, very present. And, because of those 3 points above, people will continue to default to whatever the media wants. Trump has an uphill battle, and his successors will have it even tougher. Ignorance has morphed into hatred, and it’s not letting go. It will not go down without a fight, and I am talking the fight of this century.

If the media stopped being leftist, it would have an impact. Indeed, we have more nonleftist media than ever before. It started with National Review and Ayn Rand’s Manhattan living room discussion groups in the 1950s and 1960s. It evolved into Rush Limbaugh, Fox News in the 1990s and 2000s. And today: alternate media (translation: nonleftist) is a force. It’s so much a force that Donald Trump got two terms (really, three terms) as President. Never underestimate the power of human potenial in the exercise of free will. We all have the capacity to think and know the truth, independently and against any odds. We all have this inner superhero, when we choose to activate it.

Good news: Critical, objective thinking is making a comeback. But we have a long tough road ahead for America, for truth and for civilization itself. I love Ayn Rand’s quote the most: Those who fight for the future live in it today. Thanks to the future we are creating today, the world has become a better place.

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!

The Trump administration unleashed another round of sanctions on Iranian entities fueling the country’s illicit nuclear weapons program, ratcheting up pressure on the hardline regime ahead of major diplomatic talks this weekend.

The Wednesday sanctions primarily target “key entities managing and overseeing Iran’s nuclear program,” including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and a subordinate group, the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA), which manufactures the machines powering Tehran’s uranium enrichment program.

The fresh sanctions are the most biting to date and strike at the heart of Tehran’s nuclear industry, effectively choking off its ability to source the materials required for uranium enrichment and the construction of research facilities. They are certain to get the Iranian leadership’s attention ahead of negotiations with the United States on Saturday.

“The Iranian regime’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons remains a grave threat to the United States and a menace to regional stability and global security,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to leverage our tools and authorities to disrupt any attempt by Iran to advance its nuclear program and its broader destabilizing agenda.”

Iran has spent years perfecting its ability to enrich uranium, the key component in an atomic bomb, through advanced centrifuges, which spin the fuel at high speeds to bring it towards weapons-grade levels. The latest sanctions aim to disrupt this activity by targeting the Iran-based Atbin Ista Technical and Engineering Company (AIT), which helps Tehran’s technology sector secure various components from foreign suppliers.

Iranian national Majid Mosallat, who serves as a managing director at AIT, was also hit with sanctions for his role in overseeing “the purchase and shipment of items to TESA on behalf of AIT,” according to information provided by the Treasury Department.

Another Iranian company, Pegah Aluminum Arak Company, was also designated for manufacturing aluminum products on TESA’s behalf. Additional sanctions target a constellation of companies that feed Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, the main government body “responsible for research and development activities in the field of nuclear technology, including Iran’s centrifuge enrichment and experimental laser enrichment of uranium programs,” according to the Treasury Department.

Around July 2023, the AEOI formed Thorium Power Company and tasked it with developing “thorium-fueled reactor technologies,” which help breed a pivotal fissile material known as uranium-233. The company is now formally under U.S. sanctions and will face great difficulties trying to source weapons technology.

Two other Iranian companies—the Pars Reactors Construction and Development Company and Azarab Industries Co.—will also face sanctions. Pars acts as an “AEOI-subordinate” engaged in a “number of nuclear reactor projects.”

Azarab, the Treasury Department said, acts as a general contractor for the AEOI, helping it construct “power plant, refinery, petrochemical, and cement projects.” It also has a contract to produce “equipment for nuclear power plants.” The sanctions, like other similar measures, will stop Azarab from sourcing the materials it needs to complete these projects.

Nick Stewart, who served as chief of staff for the State Department’s Iran Action Group during Trump’s first term, said the latest sanctions send “a powerful and unmistakable message” to Tehran ahead of diplomatic talks this weekend.

“Beyond the practical impact of today’s designations, their timing—on the eve of potential talks in Oman—sends a powerful and unmistakable message: Iran’s nuclear ambitions will not be tolerated, and those who enable them will face severe consequences,” said Stewart, who is currently the senior director of government relations at FDD Action, an advocacy arm of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.

“With Iran at its weakest point in decades, the United States must recognize the tremendous leverage it holds and press that advantage,” Stewart said. “The complete and verifiable dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program is the only viable path to protect U.S. national security and promote regional stability.”

The bevy of new punitive measures come ahead of what President Donald Trump described earlier this week as a “very big meeting” with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. Tehran’s enrichment activities went into overdrive during the Biden-Harris administration, which failed to enforce sanctions on Iran, helping it secure the cash needed to pursue nuclear technology and fund its regional terror proxies.

Trump entered office pledging to pursue diplomacy with Iran but promising to take military action if Iran balked at direct negotiations. The country’s hardline leadership still maintains that Saturday’s diplomatic détente will occur indirectly, with the two sides speaking through Oman as a mediator. The White House, meanwhile, insists the negotiations will take place directly with Tehran.

On Tuesday, shortly after Trump announced the talks, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi claimed that Washington had agreed to hold indirect negotiations.

“As long as ‘maximum pressure’ and threats exist, there is no ground for fair negotiations, and we will not hold direct negotiations,” Araqchi said. Trump, however, described the upcoming meeting differently during a Tuesday press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We have a very big meeting on Saturday, and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump said. “We are meeting, very importantly, on Saturday at almost the h freshighest level.” Should the talks fail, “Iran is going to be in great danger.”

Free Beacon, Adam Kredo

For several years now, the Democratic Party and its allies in the media have been fomenting violence. Since they control the mainstream news cycle, they’ve been able to get away with their mischief—bigly. One must be a low-grade moron, a fanatical Democratic partisan, or a seeing- and hearing-impaired hermit not to notice what’s been transpiring. From 2020’s so-called Summer of Love, through the intimidation of Supreme Court justices who supposedly voted “against women” in the Dobbs decision of 2022, to the incitement to assassinate Donald Trump in 2024, to the recent torching of Tesla automobiles and dealerships, the Democrats have been as much steeped in violence as the Nazis and Communists were during the waning days of the Weimar Republic.

Senator Chuck Schumer’s threat of “reaping the whirlwind,” hurled on the steps of the Supreme Court at the justices who sided with reversing Roe v. Wade against the wishes of the Democratic Party, was no idle gesture. Those justices were targeted in their homes and menacingly demonstrated against, while Justice Kavanaugh was the object of an assassination plot by someone angered by his stand on abortion. If anyone is disappointed by how supposedly conservative justices have begun to vote with the left, the explanation might be that these vulnerable judges are understandably afraid that Democratic mobs and assailants may come after them and their families. Given their unsettling recent experiences, these judges have every reason to fear this.

Democratic operatives and their media allies are not looking in the mouths of the unhinged gift horses they’ve created. The Democrats learned, after the 2020 riots they helped abet, how much partisan violence they can get away with stirring up. While the staff of Kamala Harris and other prominent Democrats were bailing out the arsonists who burned Minneapolis during the George Floyd riots, enabling them to return to their criminal activities, the media provided cover for the party they slobber over. News interpreters went apoplectic attacking Trump’s policy of calling out the National Guard during those riots, and they focused their feigned anger on Kyle Rittenhouse, the young man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who shot and killed assailants who were chasing him during another riot inspired by a police shooting.

This week, a bomb was thrown into the Tesla vehicle of a pregnant women in Vancouver. It seems the anti-Trump fanatics now targeting Musk are finding allies among our very woke neighbors to the North. One point about the violence spreading in Canada seems indisputable: those involved are most definitely not Conservatives. They and their compatriots engaged in similar activity here in the U.S. are quite likely enthusiasts of left-wing politics and, in many cases, are being paid for their efforts by George Soros’s NGOs or other front organizations. It is hard to imagine that those torching Tesla dealerships and leaving messages with the word “resist” are doing anything that doesn’t delight the U.S. Democratic Party leadership.

Paul Gottfried