Liberty & Prosperity Blog

Kash Patel's confirmation hearing turned into a disgrace for Senate Democrats, most of whom excessively focused on January 6, 2021 or on whether Patel could say that Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election. Vermont Democrat Peter Welch got upset when Patel said that Biden had been certified as U.S. president instead of saying that Biden had won the election. What any of this has to do with whether Patel is qualified to be the next FBI Director is unknown. At one point, Lindsey Graham said that the hearing would eventually talk about Patel's qualifications to be FBI director. Predictably, the next Democrat questioner went back to asking more gotcha questions. CNN is reporting that "Despite Patel saying he didn’t want to look backwards, Republican lawmakers encouraged him to do just that. They brought up gripes about the 2016 Trump-Russia probe, the Hunter Biden investigation and other actions they believe were motivated by anti-Trump bias." It isn't that ...

Apparently, Gov. Tim Walz's DFL is a grifting operation masquerading as a political party. This KSTP report states "The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS its Office of Inspector General has 62 active investigations into family child care and child care centers in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) across the state." It continues by saying "5 EYEWITNESS NEWS looked into some of the child care centers that receive the most of the federal funding available in the CCAP program which is regulated by DHS. One day care center in Minneapolis, Quality Learning Center Daycare, had 95 violations between 2019 and 2023, according to DHS records. Those violations range from 'failure to keep hazardous items away from children' to 'no records for 16 children.' In 2022, DHS placed the facility on a conditional license." Not having records for 16 children that you’re getting paid for is disturbing. As bad as that is...

When it comes to the border, Bill Melugin is the best reporter out there. It isn't close, in fact. For years, Bill has been both clever in getting around Alejandro Mayorkas's stunts and impressive in knowing the U.S.'s immigration laws. For instance, most people think that unlawfully being in the U.S. isn't a criminal act. People think it's just a civil infraction. According to Melugin's reporting , "crossing illegally is in fact, a crime. It is a misdemeanor under 8 USC 1325. And illegal re-entry after deportation is a felony, if prosecuted." During the 2020 Democrats' presidential debates, moderators asked the candidates if crossing the border without proper paperwork should be considered criminal or a civil infraction. Unanimously, Democrats voted in favor of civil infraction. Considering the fact that Democrats didn't say a thing about the Biden Invasion, it's safe to say that Democrats don't care about enforcing immigration laws. I...

Friday night, the Minnesota Supreme Court, which is filled with DFL operatives, painted the House DFL into a corner. Friday night, the DFL Supreme Court "ruled in favor of the DFL and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon in the ongoing power-struggle in the Minnesota House, saying Republicans did not have a quorum to conduct business with only 67 votes." In so doing, the DFL is being expopsed as the political party that hasn't shown up for work this year. This started when a retired judge secretly 'swore in' House DFL legislators the night before the legislative session was supposed to start. This is illegal because Minnesota's Constitution gives specific instructions on when the swearing in is supposed to happen. The DFL pulled this stunt to get paid their salary and their per diem. That's a PR mightmare for the DFL because the DFL has stayed away in total. The DFL insists that they're entitled to getting paid because they're working from ho...

Comparing Tom Homan with the Biden border czar isn't a fair fight. Homan is a professional who's been doing his job for decades.  Biden's border czar was a wet-behind-the-ears politician who didn't know what she was doing. In short, they're opposites. Homan was appointed border czar a week after Trump's election. Homan had a plan for mass deportations almost from the start. Kamala Harris didn't put a deportation plan. She wasn't interested in that because Joe Biden wanted open borders. President Trump wants our borders sealed tightly ASAP. Sunday, Homan visited Chicago as part of President Trump's mass deportation program. Homan said "It's what President Trump has been saying since day one. We’re going to focus on public safety threats first, and that’s what we’re doing here today." Promises made, promises kept is off to a good start. That's what Homan needs to build trust in his deportation program. The people voted for the deporta...

It's been a busy first week for President Trump. It's time to list the Trump administration's victories in the historical record. This Newsweek article offers us a solid base to start from. Newsweek reported that "Trump has signed dozens of executive orders during his first few days in the Oval Office. The orders have focused on a range of issues that he promised to tackle during his campaign, including clamping down on illegal immigration, pardoning January 6 Capitol attack participants and 'Silk Road' creator Ross Ulbricht, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, eliminating federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and changing federal government policies toward transgender people." Further, Newsweek reports that "Within hours of being inaugurated on Monday, Trump moved to invalidate dozens of Biden's executive orders with his own order for the 'rescission of harmful executive or...

The bad news is that 3 Republicans abandoned Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during last night's confirmation vote. The good news is that 50 Republicans voted to confirm Secretary Hegseth. The best news is that VP J.D. Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to put Secretary Hegseth over the top. This morning, VP Vance swore in Pete Hegseth . It's now official. Pete Hegseth is now our Secretary of Defense/ It's a fitting finish to a dirty fight. Democrats threw everything, including the kitchen sink and several other weaponized things, at Hegseth. If there's anything that's indisputable, it's that Democrats fight dirty. Nothing is off-limits. If you don't believe Secretary Hegseth, just ask Justice Kavanaugh. This morning, though, was a bright morning for the Hegseth family. Literally all 7 children in the Hegseth blended family were there to watch their dad get sworn in. Also there were 2 heroes who were instrumental in getting Pete confirmed. Senate Armed Servi...

Bill Melugin was embedded with ICE Boston troops most of Thursday. Saying that most of the footage is must-see TV is understatement. Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw wrote about the operation in this article . In the article, Shaw wrote "Information obtained by Fox News Digital shows that between midnight Jan. 21 and 9 a.m. Jan 22, a 33-hour period, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 460 illegal immigrants that include criminal histories of sexual assault, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drugs and weapons offenses, resisting arrest and domestic violence." For all of the blustery talk from Boston's mayor, little happened that matched with the bold talk. When the 33 hours ended, "Agents arrested nationals from a slew of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal and Venezuela." This morning on Fox, they showed tha...

Democrats, starting with Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Christopher Murphy, have sent the signal that the confirmation process is totally about hurting President Trump. To these Democrats, it has virtually nothing to do with securing our great nation. Needless to say, that fact has Senate Majority Leader Thune irate. In one of his first speeches as the new leader, Thune said "In a joint statement with Chairman Cotton, the Democrat vice chair of the Intelligence Committee said this, and I quote, ‘Our world is far too dangerous for any delay in having a Senate-confirmed leader in charge of the CIA. We urge expeditious consideration of this important nomination. Now, Mr. President, that, again, is from the Democrat vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, urging, and I quote again, ‘expeditious consideration of this important nomination. Now, Mr. President, this is the director of the CIA – the Central Intelligence Agency – a key national security position." Sen. Thune con...

It's getting tiresome watching people (I'm betting Democrats but who knows?) taking desperation cheap shots at Pete Hegseth, President Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense. While it might not be DC's Democrats, it's a definite possibility that, if it isn't, it's someone from inside the Military Industrial Complex. Whoever it is, NRO's Rich Lowry has some advice for whoever is pitching the latest rumors against Pete Hegseth. Lowry's advice is simple. " It’s unlikely to work ." Lowry explains "An ex-sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, has provided an affidavit maintaining that secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth’s second wife, Samantha Hegseth, was afraid of him as their marriage melted down." The thing is that Samantha Hegseth, Pete's ex-wife, is pushing back, saying "First and foremost, I have not and will not comment on my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I do not have representatives speaking on my behalf, nor have I ...

Now that President Trump has returned to running the nation, it's time to take an inventory of the deep damage Joe Biden's puppeteers did to the U.S. Ingrid Jacques' article is the right place to start. In her article, Ms. Jacques quoted from President Trump's executive actions, saying "The previous administration has embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government. The injection of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' (DEI) into our institutions has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy. Orders to open the borders have endangered the American people and dissolved Federal, State, and local resources that should be used to benefit the American people. Climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation." These weren't things that Biden campaigned on. They're thi...

According to Mark Penn, Donald Trump is moving to the middle . Appearing on Special Report with Bret Baier, Baier asked Penn "Mark Penn, final word here. As we wrap up this event at Kepawan Arena, the Senate has passed the Lakin-Riley bill, 64-35, that required a number of Democrats to vote with it. Also, Secretary of State Marco Rubio received confirmation vote 99-0, so his Senate colleagues 99-0. Mark Penn, is there a chance that Democrats are going to shift and that there'll be more and Democrats, especially in red states, that realize maybe it's time to work with the Trump administration?" Penn swiftly replied "I think that's definitely going to be the case. I think you see the politics shifting. Look, it's always Trump v. Trump. But right now, this President Trump, he is ready to take on this presidency. His administration is organized, obviously 10 times better than it was the first time. They know what they're doing, they know where the soft sp...

Shortly after sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump signed this executive order , which designates "cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists." This executive order is based on the Immigration and Nationality Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Section 1's purpose is "this order creates a process by which certain international cartels (the Cartels) and other organizations will be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, consistent with section 219 of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1189), or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, consistent with IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702) and Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 (Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism), as amended." This EO is designed to give President Trump access to additional capabilities and firepower in fighting the powerf...

Donald Trump was so focused on putting a world-class cabinet together that he didn't have time to give Joe Biden one of his catchy nicknames. After Monday's pardon party by Biden, perhaps giving him the title of the Pardoning President is fitting. On Inauguration Monday, the Washington Examiner reported "President Joe Biden pardoned his family members, including his businessman brother James and political adviser sister Valerie, in his final moments in office before Donald Trump returned to power. Biden justified his preemptive pardons, contending his 'family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics' and adding, 'Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.'" What a liar. Biden insists that Trump is "solely motivated by a desire to hurt me" which he described as "the worst kind of partisan politics." Since 2020, Preside...

By now, I hope it isn't necessary to remind people that I have immense respect for Salena Zito's reporting skills. How could I not, right? In her interview with The Free Press's Margi Conklin, Salena talked about her "decade with Donald Trump." As the subtitle says, Salena "is the journalist who knows Trump—and his voters—better than anyone." That's definitely true and it isn't particularly close. Salena knows Trump best because she's interviewed him often. She's also spent the most time hanging out with Trump's supporters where they live. That's where Trump's supporters feel most natural. Salena is a travelling reporter. She doesn't pore through polls to form her opinions. She actually interviews Trump's supporters. Her articles on Trump's supporters are often littered with quotes from the subjects of the articles. According to the article, Salena "took a lot of flack from other journalists for predicting Tr...

The DFL is about to enter their second week of playing hooky. They insist that they've been properly sworn in. Further, the DFL insists that their playing hook constitutes meeting their obligations that follow with taking the oath of office. This entire episode is riddled with oddities. First, let's examine retired Hennepin County Chief Judge Kevin Burke's role in this disputed swearing-in ceremony . In an interview with MPR, Burke explained that "I got a call from the [DFL Speaker Melissa Hortman] — would I be willing to do the swearing in? I have sworn in many public officials over the years [and] I've been on the bench since 1984. Frankly, it’s a little bit like calling up a judge and saying, ‘Would you do a wedding for me on Sunday night,’ and I went. It didn't seem odd that the only people there were DFL legislators? The explanation that he's done lots of swearing-in ceremonies doesn't come close to passing the smell test. IT's one thing to swe...

This past Friday, a loyal reader to this blog informed me that there were rumors were swirling around the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul that 2 DFL legislators were thinking about switching from the DFL to the GOP. At first, I thought that this type of talk is typical when margins are this close. This friend assured me this wasn't typical gossip mill fodder. This friend told me that these DFL representatives are tired of the DFL's win-at-all-costs stunts. I'd assume that this includes the Curtis Johnson fiasco in HD-40B. Friday night on Almanac, 2023 Speaker Melissa Hortman insisted that the Minnesota Supreme Court had ruled that evening that both caucuses had 67 members. If that's true, then the Minnesota Supreme Court is utterly corrupt. The lower court ruled that Curtis Johnson didn't live in the district he applied to represent. There's no disputing that the lower court ruling was made. That means that the findings of facts can't be disputed except ...

Just minutes ago, I checked my Twitter feed to see if anything was happening. It stunned me to see this tweet from David Axelrod . It wasn't a lengthy tweet but it was filled with a ton of BS. Axelrod wrote "Merrick Garland is a good and decent man who has served his country with humility, wisdom, integrity and fidelity to the law--which has made him a target of politicians from both parties." It's partially true. Merrick Garland might've been "a good and decent man" once upon a time but he isn't anymore. The Merrick Garland that's about to retire is corrupt to the core. Today's Merrick Garland didn't hesitate in instructing U.S. attorneys to classify parents attending school board meetings as domestic terrorists. That was a result of the coordinated letter between the White House and the National School Board Association, aka the NSBA. Today's Merrick Garland didn't hesitate in weaponizing the DOJ. Garland apparently thought of h...

Earlier this week, DFL Minority Leader Melissa Hortman instructed DFL House-Elect members to stop doing the people's work. Like a dutiful minion, Rep.-Elect Wolgamott has obeyed Ms. Hortman. Instead of showing up for work and getting sworn in, Rep.-Elect Wolgamott has sent out a daily update explaining how he's earning his salary and per diem. On Tuesday. Wolgamott posted this update . In his update, Wolgamott told his constituents "I want to send you a quick note to let you know that our House DFL and GOP leadership teams met past midnight last night, and are currently meeting, to negotiate a bipartisan power sharing agreement that reflects and protects the will of the voters." That's an outright lie. Over the weekend, Melissa Hortman announced that the DFL planned to not attend without a power-sharing agreeement in place. Speaker Demuth said that the GOP majority would be in session. There was a 67-67 tie in the House until the judge ruled that the DFL candidat...

It isn't often that a presidential has-been speaks to praise a different presidential has-been. That's what Barack Obama did in this tweet . As is his habit, President Obama started by piling the BS on high and dry, saying "Four years ago, in the middle of a pandemic, we needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right. That’s what @JoeBiden did." First, let's start with some truths to disinfect Presideent Obama's disinformation. If Joe Biden is a leader with character, then I'm the pope. Joe Biden, lest anyone forget, is a grifter who used his vice presidential position to enrich his family for multiple years. Anyone thinking that he's a leader with character is kidding themselves. Next, President Obama insisted "At a time when our economy was reeling, he drove what would become the world’s strongest recovery – with 17 million new jobs, historic wage gains, and lower health care costs. He passed landmark legislation ...

Democrats involved in the confirmation process must be feeling dispirited, demoralized and defeated. Why wouldn't they feel that way? Democrats have relied on Crazy Mazie Hirono, Adam Schiff, Tammy Duckworth and other creatures from the fever swamps to take down Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi and John Ratcliffe. While Democrats have constantly been on the attack, President-Elect Trump's nominees have picked their spots to defend themselves. Mostly, they've stood their ground. These Democrats are intellectual midgets compared with President-Elect Trump's nominees. President-Elect Trump's nominees, collectively, are telegenic, fast on their feet and this nation's best-and-brightest. At this point, I'm comfortable predicting that the Senate will confirm all of President-Elect Trump's cabinet secretary nominees. For instance, this Dailywire article speaks glowingly of Pete Hegseth. In the article, Ben Shapiro wrote "Democrats thought they were going to be abl...

After the DFL's illegitimate 'swearing in stunt', it's apparent that the DFL thinks that whatever it does is the law. Steve Simon, Minnesota's partisan DFL Secretary of State, gaveled the House into session. After that, "Chief Judge of Appeals Jennifer Frisch administered the oath of office to those members who remained in their assigned places on the House floor. Simon then—as he had promised he would do last week—administered a roll call and declared that the 67 members in the chamber did not constitute a quorum. He then proceeded to pound his gavel and declared the day’s floor session adjourned." That's when the fireworks started. Rep. Harry Niska made a motion to object to Simon’s declaration that there was no quorum . Rep. Niska said "You do not have authority over the House of Representatives. Minnesota law requires the members of the House of Representatives to meet at noon on Tuesday in the House chamber. As you can see, the DFL Caucus has...

 Pete Hegseth had a pretty good day Tuesday. Although he had to tolerate Senate Democrats' accusations that he wasn't qualified, Hegseth kept his composure while showing more than enough gravitas to justify his confirmation. Early in Tuesday's confirmation hearing, Hegseth got great news when Joni Ernst announced that she'll vote to confirm Hegseth .That means the worst Hegseth will do in the Senate Armed Services Comittee is win on a straight party line vote. That all-but-officially confirms Hegseth as the next U.S. Secretary of Defense. ABC is reporting that "Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Tuesday she is supporting Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as secretary of defense after President-elect Donald Trump's nominee faced a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. In an interview with Iowa radio station WHO, Ernst said, 'Yes, I will be supporting President Trump's pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth.'" Sen. Ernst was seen as a potenti...

There's little doubt that Democrats will attack Pete Hegseth's ability to lead the U.S. military whenever these Democrats have the opportunity. I suspect that they'll even invent some opportunities in their attempt to scuttle Hegseth's nomination. The thing these Democrats won't have as ammunition are Hegseth's sterling performance reviews from the battlefield . Imagine how upset Democrats will be when it's read into the record that "Hegseth deployed with the New Jersey National Guard to Guantánamo Bay, where he was leader of a 39-man Air Assault Infantry Rifle platoon capable of deploying anywhere within the world within 36 hours." That sounds like someone fit to command, doesn't it? Imagine the Democrats' reaction when it's read into the record that "In an officer evaluation report covering April 2005 to January 2006, Hegseth received 'outstanding performance' and was described as 'an incredibly talented, battle-prove...

It isn't surprising that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting tons of attention for all the wrong reasons. It isn't surprising because Gov. Newsom, a leading presidential candidate for the Democrats in 2028, at least in his mind, has just disqualified himself from serious consideration for the nomination. Lying to Rachel Darvish, the mother whose child had just lost her school in the L.A. wildfires, finished Gov. Newsom's opportunity for the Democrats' presidential nomination. Saying that Darvish's video has gone viral is as controversial as saying Elon Musk is rich. That's right. Neither statement is controversial. Ms. Darvish just exposed Gov. Newsom as a bald-faced liar who didn't flinch in lying to her. Gov. Newsom lied because he didn't take his job seriously. Everyone knows that California is prone to wildfires, sometimes including Santa Ana winds. A good manager would train his people so that his people would be prepared to handle whatever sit...

To: the various factions in the MNGOP From: Gary Gross, disgruntled activist Subject: Let's not blow this opportunity Thanks to President-Elect Trump's presidential campaign, Minnesota Republicans have a blueprint for victory for 2026. It's time Minnesotans set aside their pettiness and divisions and put together s prosperity agenda. Further, it's time to stop being wimps. For far too long, Paul Gazelka types admitted that they wanted to work in a bipartisan way with the DFL. They often said this before demanding things that were their priorities. For instance, Education Minnesota has demanded major funding increases while test scores dropped. Minnesota Republicans must insist that a) funding must be tied to performance and b) funding is tied to the student, not the building. It's time to force Education Minnesota to earn their pay increases. Another thing that Minnesota Republicans must fight for is lower income and property taxes for small businesses and the mid...

 One day, Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Ceasar and Alexander the Great met in Moscow's Red Square to watch the Soviets' parade of their military equipment. First up were Soviet missiles. Alexander the Great said that "I would've ruled the world with arrows like that." Next were the Soviet tanks. Immediately, Julius Ceasar said "with chariots like that, I would've ruled the world the world forever." Meanwhile, Napoleon read the latest copy of Pravda. After reading it, he said "If I had a newspaper like this, nobody would've heard about Waterloo." After visiting Pacific Palisades, Thursday afternoon, I'm confident that Gov. Gavin Newsom, (D-Calif.), wishes that YouTube had never been created. If it hadn't been created, he wouldn't have been exposed in this video: That's insulting. Gov. Newsom lied to that mother. He said he was talking at that moment to President Biden. The mother understood that Gov. Newsom was lying so she ...

Apparently, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is fighting for a spot on California's version of Mount Rushmore alongside Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris and the Menendez Brothers. Thanks to Bass's trip to Africa and her leisurely return to L.A., it's safe to say she's sure to get a mean tongue-lashing now that she's home and her city is in crisis. A portrait in leading from behind "The Democratic mayor has faced mounting criticism, including from members of her own party, for traveling abroad while L.A. residents were forced to flee by the tens of thousands as the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires ripped through Southern California. Two smaller blazes, the Woodley Fire and Lidia Fire, are collectively engulfing around 80 acres in the Greater Los Angeles area as of Wednesday evening." Will it matter? Will Bass's mishandling of the L.A. wildfires matter? Will Bass's indifference to this tragedy matter? In times past, it wouldn't have mattered. This video is proo...