Category: The Hill
Congressional approval for alleged drug boat strikes not needed, White House says
The White House argued lethal military strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific do not rise to the level of “hostilities” that would warrant authorization from Congress under the War Powers Resolution (WPR). The administration said the WPR, which Congress passed in 1973, would only apply when putting the U.S. in harm’s…
Pelosi: Trump is ‘worst thing on the face of the earth’
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called President Trump “the worst thing on the face of the earth” during a recent interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson. “He’s just a vile creature. The worst thing on the face of the Earth,” Pelosi said in a video clip posted on X. The interview is expected to air in full…
Fired CBS News Reporter Who Tangled With Huckabee Over Gaza Interview ‘Considers Suing CBS’: Transcript Shows Her Selective Edits Made Ambassador Sound Insensitive to Hungry Children
Debora Patta, a prominent South African journalist laid off last week by CBS News, is “now looking to sue” the Tiffany Network, according to the New York Post. The ouster of Patta, who as a CBS News “senior foreign correspondent” and harshly critical of Israel, comes a few months after the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, accused her of selectively editing an interview she did with him about the war in Gaza.
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Pity equals power for the progressive class
American politics once revolved around ideas — tax reform, national defense, energy independence, health care. But one side of the aisle has abandoned the work of persuasion for the theater of grievance. The modern left no longer campaigns on what it can build but on what has supposedly been done to it.
Victimhood has become the left’s organizing principle. The emotional currency of grievance has replaced the intellectual currency of ideas. That shift isn’t just cynical; it’s corrosive. It undermines the American spirit of self-reliance, accountability, and perseverance — the virtues that built this country in the first place.
Let others compete for who has suffered most. America’s story has never been written by its victims — only by its victors.
Consider New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Last month, he delivered a tearful campaign speech recalling how his “aunt stopped taking the subway after 9/11 because she didn’t feel safe in her hijab.” The story went viral. Media outlets rushed to elevate it as another morality play about post-9/11 Islamophobia.
Within days, however, fact-checkers discovered that the “aunt” didn’t live in New York City — and wasn’t his aunt at all but his father’s cousin. The story collapsed, but the damage was done.
Even if the tale were true, Mamdani’s framing was an insult to truth. His version turned the “victim” of 9/11 into someone who merely felt uncomfortable. The real victims were the firefighters who ran into burning towers, the police who breathed toxic dust for months, the passengers of Flight 93 who fought back knowing they would die, the families who never saw their loved ones again. To recast that national tragedy as a story about personal unease is moral inversion.
Privilege posing as persecution
Mamdani is no symbol of oppression. He was born in Uganda to two global elites: filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. Educated at elite institutions, including Bowdoin College in Maine, he embodies privilege — not persecution.
He’s not alone. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has built her career on the same inversion. A graduate of Boston University, raised in a comfortable Westchester suburb, AOC is a product of the meritocracy she derides. Her father was an architect; her family owned a home. Yet her political persona depends on playing the perpetual underdog — the marginalized woman of color silenced by “the patriarchy.”
When criticized, she doesn’t answer with arguments but with emotion. Dissent becomes “hate.” Opposition becomes “bigotry.” As Newsweek once put it, “AOC’s weaponized victimhood undermines women.”
Grievance as status
This inversion — privilege masquerading as oppression — reveals something deeper about the left’s political psychology. Victimhood now confers moral authority. The more wounded you appear, the more virtuous you become. Pain is power.
But grievance politics reshapes the citizen’s role in democracy. Instead of the proud American who builds and contributes, we get the dependent petitioner, perpetually wronged and perpetually in need of government rescue. The state becomes therapist and provider, not guardian of liberty.
That’s why so many progressive campaigns sound like group therapy sessions. The message isn’t, “Here’s how we’ll improve schools or secure the border.” It’s, “Here’s who hurt us, and here’s who must atone.” The goal isn’t reform — it’s retribution.
The vanishing of virtue
When politics becomes a contest of feelings, truth and accountability vanish. Success is no longer measured by safer streets, better jobs, or stronger families, but by how “seen” or “unsafe” someone feels. Emotional satisfaction replaces objective progress.
But the American promise was never about comfort. It was about courage — the willingness to build, to sacrifice, to endure. This nation doesn’t owe its strength to grievance but to grit.
Think back to 9/11. The real victims weren’t the politically convenient ones. They were the firefighters who ran toward the towers, the police who never came home, the husbands and wives who never got to say goodbye, the children who grew up without parents. To twist their sacrifice into a sermon on discomfort dishonors them.
RELATED: The left’s new religion has no logic — and AOC is its perfect preacher
Photo by Bloomberg / Getty Images
From grievance to gratitude
The contrast couldn’t be clearer. One version of politics says, “I was wronged, therefore I deserve.” The other says, “I was blessed, therefore I will serve.” The left has built a moral economy where pain is currency. Conservatives must offer a different creed — one grounded in purpose, gratitude, and resilience.
Freedom, not fairness, defines America’s promise. Adversity refines character; it doesn’t define it. As the nation nears its 250th birthday, we should remember who we are — a people forged by hardship and lifted by hope.
Let others compete for who has suffered most. We’ll compete for who can spread the most good. America’s story has never been written by its victims — only by its victors.
Liberal media remains DEAD SILENT on Biden FBI’s Arctic Frost operation against conservatives
Recent history suggests that the liberal media will go to great lengths to amplify a story if it appears beneficial to the left even if the story lacks any basis in fact.
Among the many cases that conform to this apparent pattern were liberal outlets’ hysterical coverage of the Russian collusion hoax, Joe Biden’s supposed competence as president, Jussie Smollett’s apparent hate hoax, the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, and Covington Catholic students’ harassment by radicals during the 2019 March for Life in the national capital.
On the flip side, factual stories that pose a political threat to the liberal powers that be tend to get little to no mainstream coverage. This is especially true of the latest revelations about the Biden FBI’s Arctic Frost operation.
According to recent analysis conducted by the media watchdog outfit NewsBusters, ABC, CBS, and NBC News avoided the story in their television broadcasts in recent days.
‘Not one single broadcast network aired one solitary second.’
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) published damning documents on Oct. 6 detailing how the Biden FBI sought private cellphone records from at least nine Republican lawmakers during Operation Arctic Frost — an operation that set the stage for at least one case brought against President Donald Trump by former Attorney General Merrick Garland’s dubiously appointed special counsel, Jack Smith.
Grassley released additional documents last week showing that Smith and his team subpoenaed records for over 400 Republican individuals and entities as part of what the Iowa senator called a “fishing expedition.”
Blaze News previously noted that as of midday Thursday, liberal news outfits such as ABC News, the Atlantic, CBS News, the New York Times, and the Washington Post had yet to cover the latest tranche of documents exposing how the Biden lawfare regime hounded American conservatives across the country in their print coverage.
RELATED: Damning new docs reveal who’s on Biden admin’s ‘enemies list,’ expose extent of FBI’s Arctic Frost
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The media blackout was apparently just as bad when it came to television coverage.
ABC, CBS, and NBC News not only neglected to cover the Arctic Frost bombshells on their flagship Wednesday night, Thursday morning, and Friday morning shows but apparently dodged over the weekend as well, reported NewsBusters.
“There was no discussion, at any time and on any of the Sunday shows, about the use of the extraordinary powers of federal law enforcement against those perceived to be in support of President Donald Trump ahead of a potential 2024 presidential run,” wrote NewsBusters analyst Jorge Bonilla.
“There was no discussion about the subpoenas, obtained in secret, against 197 individuals — including multiple Members of Congress. There was no mention of the slew of subpoenas against nonpartisan organizations perceived to be in support of the former president,” continued Bonilla. “There was no mention of the secretive nature of the subpoenas issued to banks and Big Tech organizations, which came with their own gag order, which may well constitute an impeachable offense for the judges that issued such orders.”
“Had any of this happened under a Trump administration, you’d have everyone across the dial howling bloody murder,” added Bonilla.
“Not one single broadcast network aired one solitary second,” Media Research Center President David Bozell noted on Friday. “Normally they’ll mention it in the most innocuous way so they can later say, ‘We covered it,’ but this time they didn’t even bother.”
Blaze News confirmed that, except for one sympathetic NBC News article about Jack Smith on Wednesday, news outlets ABC, CBS, and NBC did not report on the Arctic Frost allegations made last week.
Rather than address the historic weaponization of the FBI against sitting senators and conservative groups, talking heads on the liberal networks instead exhausted airtime yammering about the construction of the White House ballroom, the potential expiration of SNAP benefits, Prince Andrew’s loss of title, and talk of the weather.
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Tylenol manufacturer bought despite lawsuit, months of scrutiny by Trump administration
Kenvue, which has been under increased scrutiny recently after the Trump administration alleged a link between Tylenol and autism, is being acquired by Kimberly-Clark in a multibillion-dollar deal.
According to a Monday press release, Kimberly-Clark will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Kenvue common stock in a cash and stock transaction that values Kenvue at approximately $48.7 billion.
Just last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Kenvue and its former parent company, Johnson & Johnson.
“We are excited to bring together two iconic companies to create a global health and wellness leader,” said Mike Hsu, Kimberly-Clark chairman and chief executive officer.
“We look forward to working with the Kenvue team to bring these companies together and are confident that we will drive significant value for our combined shareholders,” Hsu continued.
“Our combination with Kimberly-Clark unites two highly complementary portfolios filled with iconic, beloved brands and everyday essentials that people trust and count on throughout their lives,” said Kirk Perry, chief executive officer of Kenvue.
RELATED: Headaches continue for Tylenol brand as Texas AG files lawsuit over alleged autism link
Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Kenvue
Kenvue, however, has increasingly been viewed as a liability as allegations of a link between prenatal use of Tylenol and autism have been leveled by members of the Trump administration and other leaders.
Just last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Kenvue and its former parent company, Johnson & Johnson.
Paxton said, “Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company,” apparently referring to Kenvue.
Kimberly-Clark’s current portfolio — which includes well-known brands such as Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, and Goodnites — will combine with Kenvue, which produces brands including Aveeno, Band-Aid, Johnson’s, Listerine, Neutrogena, and, of course, Tylenol.
The Associated Press reported that Kimberly-Clark shares dropped 15% before the market open and Kenvue’s stock rose more than 20%.
Blaze News reached out to Kimberly-Clark for comment but did not receive a response.
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2 more staffers ditch Graham Platner’s troubled Senate campaign amid Nazi, communism scandals
Graham Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer and Marine veteran, announced on Aug. 19 that he was running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate in Maine. His stated objective was to challenge the “oligarchy,” meaning both the Democrat establishment and the Republican incumbent, Sen. Susan Collins.
At the outset, Platner’s campaign appeared to have incredible momentum. The leftist candidate raised several million dollars in a matter of weeks, managed to land endorsements from current lawmakers including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M), and struck a chord with locals, as reflected in early polls indicating that he had a sizeable lead over Democrat Gov. Janet Mills.
Platner’s campaign has, however, encountered a massive and potentially insurmountable obstacle: his radical past.
‘Platner is not a victim of opposition research. … Accountability does not exist in playing the victim of your own behavior.’
In the wake of damning revelations about the leftist candidate’s social media posts and his newly concealed tattoo of a skull image similar to that popularized by Adolf Hitler’s SS elite Nazi guard, at least four key staffers have jumped ship.
The latest individuals to call it quits are the campaign’s national finance director, Ronald Holmes, and its treasurer, Victoria Perrone.
Holmes, a Democrat operative who previously served as finance director on New York Democrat Rep. Josh Riley’s congressional campaign, resigned on Friday, suggesting that Platner’s campaign no longer met his “standards.”
RELATED: Here are the 4 Republicans who betrayed Trump AGAIN, joining Democrats to undermine the MAGA agenda
Graham Platner. Photo by Sophie Park/Getty Images
“I joined this campaign because I believed in building something different — a campaign of fresh energy, integrity, and reform-minded thinking in a political system that often resists exactly those things,” Holmes wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “Somewhere along the way, I began to feel that my professional standards as a campaign professional no longer fully aligned with those of the campaign.”
A campaign spokesperson told Politico, “Ron helped the campaign reach out to big-dollar donors, and we appreciated his efforts. But the reality is our campaign’s fundraising success has come largely from small-dollar donors.”
“Nearly 90% of what we’ve raised has come from small-dollar donations and online donors, which has been and [continues] to be run by our digital fundraising director,” added the spokesperson.
Timothy Facciola of the Judge Street Journal on Substack revealed on Sunday that Holmes wasn’t the only Platner staffer to pack it in last week.
Citing a Federal Election Commission form that was filed on Friday as well as an unnamed source said to be familiar with the matter, Facciola reported that Perrone, the president and founder of the consulting firm Spruce Street Compliance, resigned as treasurer on Tuesday.
Ben Martello — a political strategist who served as an adviser to former Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) — appears to have stepped into the role.
Blaze News has reached out to Perrone and the Platner campaign for comment.
Perrone, who has been closely involved with Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral campaign, was apparently hired last month to help Platner’s campaign deal with its various scandals.
According to Politico, Perrone was the individual who pressed members of Platner’s campaign team to sign non-disclosure agreements after his Reddit posts came to light — including posts in which he apparently identified as a communist, branded rural white Americans as racists, suggested service members worried about being raped should buy “Kevlar underwear,” and smeared all police officers as “bastards.”
Former state Rep. Genevieve McDonald (D) resigned as political director of Platner’s campaign last month over the posts, noting, “These statements were not known to me when I agreed to join the campaign, and they are not words or values I can stand behind in a candidate for the United States Senate.”
Within days of McDonald’s resignation, footage went viral revealing that Platner had an apparent “totenkopf” tattoo on his chest — the symbol of the SS-Totenkopfverbande, the branch that guarded the Nazi concentration camps.
Amid the fallout over the apparent Nazi tattoo, the Democrat candidate’s longtime friend Kevin Brown similarly jumped ship.
Brown, who took over as Platner’s campaign manager on Oct. 21, announced days later that he was leaving, suggesting that the move was the result of new familial demands on his time.
Brown said in a statement obtained by WGME-TV, “Graham is a dear friend. I started this campaign Tuesday but found out Friday we have a baby on the way.”
“Graham deserves someone who is 100% in on his race, and we want to lean into this new experience as a family, so it was best we step back sooner than later so Graham can get the manager he deserves,” Brown added.
Platner reportedly suggested during a town hall last week that the Democratic Party was the cause of his recent run of bad luck, stating, “I’m running as a Democrat still, despite the fact my party is destroying my life.”
“Platner is not a victim of opposition research. This is what happens when you run for federal office,” Genevieve McDonald said in a recent statement. “People scrutinize everything you’ve ever done. Every word and every action. Accountability does not exist in playing the victim of your own behavior.”
McDonald added, “We should not be having a debate about Nazi symbolism tattooed on the potentially top-ticket Democrat in Maine. The fact we are even willing to entertain it shows desperation within the party, not dedication, and how far we have fallen from rational thought.”
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Energy secretary: US weapons tests won’t involve nuclear explosions
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday that the weapons testing that President Trump ordered last week will not include nuclear explosions. “I think the tests we’re talking about right now are system tests. These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call noncritical explosions,” Wright said on Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing.” “So…
5 takeaways from Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ interview
President Trump returned to “60 Minutes” on Sunday for his first sit-down interview with the program and with CBS News since its parent company earlier this year settled a lawsuit with the president. Correspondent Norah O’Donnell sat down with Trump on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago estate, where there was a passing mention of the contentious history between…
