House Rebels Push Reforms to Government
Spy Powers
Posted By: Mercedes44, 4/14/2026 9:20:31 PM
Ahead of a consequential vote on extending the government’s authority to conduct overseas espionage, several House conservatives are expressing their concerns. On April 20, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which enables the government to spy on foreigners, is set to expire. Many House Republicans and President Donald Trump have argued in the past that this power is easily abused, resulting in the inadvertent surveillance of American citizens.
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Mercedes44"
The FBI said Monday night that it is "closely" reviewing newly declassified memos showing the intelligence community kept secret for years evidence raising questions about the credibility and bias of the main accuser in President Donald Trump's 2019 impeachment case.
"The declassified impeachment memos show the so-called whistleblower behind the 2019 impeachment singled out Director Patel by name, relied on hearsay, submitted false claims, and had documented political bias — all of which was hidden from the American people," FBI spokesman Ben Williamson wrote on his X account.
If you were to celebrate the Tucson Pride Festival this past February, you were out of luck. Organizers of Tucson Pride had to dissolve their organization and cancel the annual festival, which for some reason wasn’t held during national Pride Month, which is in June. On a Facebook post, the organizers told their followers that, “This decision was not made lightly…We recognize the deep importance Tucson Pride has held in our community since 1977, serving as a space of visibility, advocacy, celebration, and resilience for nearly five decades.”
Ahead of a consequential vote on extending the government’s authority to conduct overseas espionage, several House conservatives are expressing their concerns.
On April 20, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which enables the government to spy on foreigners, is set to expire.
Many House Republicans and President Donald Trump have argued in the past that this power is easily abused, resulting in the inadvertent surveillance of American citizens.
Last month, when my work took me to India, I learned a surprising lesson: On green energy, the “developing world” is light-years ahead of New York.
And the current crisis at the Strait of Hormuz, where a fossil-fuel chokepoint has sent New Yorkers’ costs soaring, puts the Empire State’s energy airball in sharp focus.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has tacitly acknowledged Albany’s failure to grapple with the practical realities of its insistence on the need to wholly transition the state’s economy from fossil fuels to renewables.
Now she’s trying a new strategy: Memory-holing New York’s flagship 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Democrats Go Full Anti-Semite
0 replies
Gavin Newsom bets antisemitism is the Democratic Party’s future" from the New York Post sums up the entire theme of this article. "Gavin Newsom endorsed the lie Tuesday that Israel is an 'apartheid' state — a damning sign of where the Democratic Party is headed, and how far it’s already sunk."
If Newsom doesn't know that Christian and Muslim Israeli citizens can vote and be elected to the Knesset, and that Israel's laws protect all of its citizens equally, he is incompetent.
"All Israelis are treated equally under the law, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion or ethnicity."
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday indicated that he expected the House would determine that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., should be removed from Congress.
“I do think certainly on Cherfilus-McCormick, the Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts," he said on Tuesday. "I think the facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it’ll be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled. I mean, that certainly rises to the level that’s needed.”
As far as showdowns between popes and secular leaders go, President Donald Trump versus Pope Leo XIV hardly rates.
Leo hasn’t forced Trump to come see him and stand for three days in the snow, the way Pope Gregory VII did to Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1077.
Nor has he issued an interdict, a tactic favored by Pope Innocent III, against the United States,
On the other hand, Trump hasn’t sacked Rome and forced the pope to submit to his will, in a repeat of Emperor Charles V’s 16th century gambit against Pope Clement VII.
It’s still been a remarkably testy exchange between Leo and Trump over the Iran war.
We claim Nothing but the Liberty & Privileges of Englishmen, in the same Degree, as if we had still continued among our Brethren in Great Britain: these Rights have not been forfeited by any Act of ours, we can not be deprived of them, without our Consent, but by Violence & Injustice; We have received them from our Ancestors, and, with God’s Leave, we will transmit them, unimpaired to our Posterity. Can those, who have hitherto acted as our Friends, endeavour now, insidiously, to draw from Us Concessions destructive to what we hold far dearer than Life!
The Iranian regime on Monday denied charging a “toll” to Indian ships for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, following President Donald Trump’s threat to prevent any ship that paid ransom to Iran from using the strait. You can ask the Indian government if we have charged anything up to now,” Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Fathali insisted at a press conference from the Iranian embassy in New Delhi. In this difficult time, we have good relations. We believe Iran and India share common interests and a common fate,” he said.
Fathali said Iran is keeping in “close communication” with India, with an eye toward ensuring the safety of Indian vessels,
Just a few weeks ago, Rep. Eric Swalwell was said to be leading a crowded pack of Democrats trying to win the nomination for California’s governor. Then, in the blink of an eye, his party abandoned him.
The alleged reason is evidence of sexual misconduct. In reality, Swalwell fell victim to the Democratic Party’s unquenchable lust for power and California’s bizarre jungle primary.
On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN both ran stories about women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Within hours, Democrats were taking their endorsements back and calling on him to drop out of the race. By Sunday, he’d suspended his campaign.
Most Americans Say They Face ‘Higher
Taxes’ This Year, Call Tax Code ‘Unfair’:
I&I/TIPP Poll 18 replies
Taxes’ This Year, Call Tax Code ‘Unfair’:
I&I/TIPP Poll 18 replies
‘April is the cruellest month,” T.S. Eliot wrote in his epic poem “The Waste Land.” This year, it seems many American taxpayers might be inclined to agree with the venerable poet. More people than not say they will be paying more in taxes this year, not less, and call the federal tax code unfair, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.
In its monthly national online poll, I&I/TIPP asked 1,464 adults about their taxes. The poll, taken from March 31 to April 2, has a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points.
The first question: “Compared to last year, do you feel your federal taxes are …”,
Western media remain utterly incoherent ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington because their Israel Derangement Syndrome renders them unable to acknowledge basic facts.
For starters, the Jewish state is not at war with Lebanon, but with Hezbollah, the terror group that occupies the country’s south and until recently had the government bullied into complete submission.
It’s a war Hezbollah started — most recently, ending a cease-fire by launching missiles at Israel in revenge for Jerusalem’s assaults on Iran in conjunction with Operation Epic Fury.
Israel is in the process of evicting Hezbollah from Lebanon south of the Litani River — as per the accords that ended the 2006 war,
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Monday on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Republicans needed to rein in President Donald Trump before he does “irreparable damage to our country.”
Clinton said, “I teach a course at Columbia University with the dean of the School of International Public Affairs. We’ve been on your program. And among the things we teach is behavior of of leaders. And there’s something called domain of loss, which means when a leader feels that he’s losing, he actually becomes more reckless.
Former President Joe Biden reportedly wanted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be his vice president but "had to choose" former Vice President Kamala Harris. An Atlantic article profiled the Democratic governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate on Sunday and reported how Biden considered Whitmer to be his running mate in 2020, particularly after her pushback against President Donald Trump. (Snip) The report said a former senior staffer for Whitmer said, "The moment called for a Black running mate," and how Biden really wanted the Michigan governor instead. According to the Atlantic, a former adviser to both Biden and Harris said
Just a few weeks ago, Rep. Eric Swalwell was said to be leading a crowded pack of Democrats trying to win the nomination for California’s governor. Then, in the blink of an eye, his party abandoned him.
The alleged reason is evidence of sexual misconduct. In reality, Swalwell fell victim to the Democratic Party’s unquenchable lust for power and California’s bizarre jungle primary.
On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN both ran stories about women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Within hours, Democrats were taking their endorsements back and calling on him to drop out of the race. By Sunday, he’d suspended his campaign.
Miguel Díaz-Canel, the figurehead “President” of Cuba, claimed to NBC that any military attempt from the United States to depose him would be met by Cubans willing to die for the communist regime that has oppressed them for 67 years. Díaz-Canel issued the claim speaking with NBC News’s “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in Havana. NBC published the full, roughly 53-minute interview on Sunday days after releasing a five minute-long snippet in which the figurehead claimed he will not step down from his position at a time when U.S. officials and members of the Cuban communist regime have engaged in talks.
Staggering 8-figure sum NYC taxpayers
will pay to fund Mamdani’s first city-owned
grocery revealed 21 replies
will pay to fund Mamdani’s first city-owned
grocery revealed 21 replies
Zo’s cheap groceries will cost taxpayers a pretty penny.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first-unveiled city-owned grocery store will cost a staggering $30 million to build from the ground up at East Harlem’s longstanding La Marqueta, officials confirmed – as local grocers worried it’d gobble up their business.
The new grocery at the longstanding city-owned La Marqueta marketplace will run with a yet-to-be-picked operator reaping the benefits of a rent- and tax-free deal, City Hall officials told The Post on Monday. Mamdani envisions that the low-cost deal — which he anounced during a Sunday celebration of his first 100 days in office -–
Another Red State, Fully Californicated
19 replies
20 years ago Colorado was a Red state and thriving," the State Leadership Initiative posted late last week. "10 years ago liberals were writing pieces about how Colorado was the next Silicon Valley." And now CBS News reports that "Colorado is losing businesses and jobs at an alarming rate."This was the hope, according to Denver-based 5280 magazine in 2020: "With another tech company setting up an office in Denver, the state could become a magnet for Silicon Valley firms and other prestigious businesses during the worst economic climate in nearly a century."
Instead of Silicon Mountain, Colorado is quickly becoming "an economic backwater,"
Most Americans Say They Face ‘Higher
Taxes’ This Year, Call Tax Code ‘Unfair’:
I&I/TIPP Poll 18 replies
Taxes’ This Year, Call Tax Code ‘Unfair’:
I&I/TIPP Poll 18 replies
‘April is the cruellest month,” T.S. Eliot wrote in his epic poem “The Waste Land.” This year, it seems many American taxpayers might be inclined to agree with the venerable poet. More people than not say they will be paying more in taxes this year, not less, and call the federal tax code unfair, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.
In its monthly national online poll, I&I/TIPP asked 1,464 adults about their taxes. The poll, taken from March 31 to April 2, has a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points.
The first question: “Compared to last year, do you feel your federal taxes are …”,
France Doubles Down on Taxes
17 replies
France is reducing its enormous budget deficit in the current fiscal year. However, the price for this minimal relief is high: only massive tax hikes can still slow the debt spiral.
On both sides of the Franco-German border, the same problem persists: overburdened and reform-averse politicians struggle against a rapidly accelerating debt spiral. Their preferred tool: higher levies.
Last week, France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure reported a revision of the projected budget deficit for the current year. Initial estimates for 2026 had suggested a deficit well above five percent. Yet numerous fiscal measures brought last year’s deficit down to 5.1%. For 2026,
President Trump explained Monday that he deleted an AI-generated image that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ because of the “confusion” the social media post caused — and took a jab at conservative activist Riley Gaines.
“Normally I don’t like doing that,” Trump told CBS News, when asked why he deleted the Truth Social post, “but I didn’t want to have anybody be confused.”
“People were confused,” the president said.
Earlier Monday, Trump told reporters he thought the image of himself — clad in billowy white and red robes —
Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who was facing allegations of sexual misconduct with subordinates, announced his intention to resign on Monday.
“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas,” Gonzales, a Republican, wrote on X.
Gonzales’ announcement came an hour after Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who has also been accused of sexual misconduct, announced he would resign from Congress. Swalwell fully denies the accusations.
Iran demands compensation from Gulf states
after accusing them of role in US-Israeli strikes 13 replies
after accusing them of role in US-Israeli strikes 13 replies
Iran is demanding compensation from Gulf states it has attacked repeatedly after accusing them of complicity in the US and Israel strikes that began on February 28.
In the letter to the UN Security Council, seen by The National on Monday, Tehran claimed Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan allowed their territories to be used for attacks on Iran after the US and Israel launched strikes. Iran called that a “flagrant act of aggression” in breach of international law and the UN Charter. “By their internationally wrongful acts, they have breached their international obligations owed to the Islamic Republic of Iran under international law,
Iran’s radical Muslim President Masoud Pezeshkian has rushed to praise and defend Pope Leo XIV after the Chicago-born pontiff launched yet another attack on President Donald Trump for standing up to the bloodthirsty Iranian regime.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump delivered a blistering takedown of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, slamming the Vatican leader as weak on crime, disastrous on foreign policy, and far too cozy with the radical left.
Trump also noted that he recently hosted the Pope’s brother, Louis, at the White House, a man who actually understands the MAGA movement.
When asked by the Associated Press about Trump’s post, Pope Leo XIV refused to back down.