Posts on Saturday, February 22, 2025
Dan Caine may not have been on Washington’s radar before Friday night.
But President Donald Trump’s fascination with the retired three-star general, his surprise pick to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appears to go back to their first meeting in Iraq in 2018.
Caine, then the deputy commander of a special operations task force fighting Islamic State, told the president that the militant group could be destroyed in just a week, Trump recalled during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2019.
Since then, he has retold the story about how he met “Razin” Caine multiple times – and the praise has only grown more effusive.
President Donald J. Trump wanted Elon Musk to get more aggressive; he did just that. The Department of Government Efficiency has been going through DC like the Golden Horde, zeroing on wasteful spending that shut down USAID—probationary government workers in the hundreds of thousands are on the chopping block. Thousands of government workers have been served and will soon be served their pink slips. Now, Musk is ordering workers to explain what they do or risk termination. And yes, you bet that the DC elite freaked out, seeking lawyers to ask if these actions were legal or not (via Politico):
President Donald Trump said Saturday at CPAC that the MAGA-led Republican Party is establishing a political majority that will dominate American politics for generations.
Trump made the comments while addressing the crowd at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, for the third day of CPAC.
“With the help of so many incredible supporters here today, we’re going to forge a new and lasting political majority that will drive American politics for generations to come,” Trump said, forecasting that Republicans will “do fantastically well in the” 2026 midterm elections.
“In theory, the one that wins the presidency does not do well in the midterms, but
President Donald Trump took to the stage at CPAC on Saturday. During his remarks, he discussed what drove him back on the campaign trail to run for president again in 2024.
“Over the past few weeks, we’ve begun the largest deportation operation in American history, larger even than that of President Dwight D.Eisenhower, a very moderate man, but he was very strong on that,” Trump began.
“He didn’t like people running into our country and taking over our country.”
“I’ll tell you, I had four years. I don’t know if you had this….I couldn’t stand it,” he stated with emphasis.
President Donald Trump is expected to name FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
A Justice Department official told ABC News that Patel is expected to be sworn in as acting director early next week.The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.
The move comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ATF's general counsel, Pamela Hicks, late last week. Bondi said in an interview with Fox News on Friday that it was because the agency's lead lawyer was "targeting gun owners."
President Trump is set to make a big change!
He’s looking to appoint FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), sources say.
Patel is expected to be sworn in next week.
The move follows Attorney General Pam Bondi’s firing of ATF’s general counsel, Pamela Hicks.
Why was she fired?
She was accused of “targeting gun owners.”
Yep, that sounds on brand for the ATF.
The Swamp keeps shrinking by the day!
DOJ Files Misconduct Complaint Against
Judge Overseeing Challenge to Transgender
Military Ban replies
Judge Overseeing Challenge to Transgender
Military Ban replies
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) on Friday filed a misconduct complaint against a federal judge in Washington over potential bias during hearings on a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military.The complaint, filed by DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle, alleged that U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes engaged in “hostile and egregious misconduct” and violated the judicial code of conduct when she treated a department lawyer with disrespect during a two-day hearing in the case.
Mizelle cited two instances where Reyes questioned the attorney about his religious beliefs and used him “unwillingly as a physical prop” in a rhetorical exercise
WASHINGTON - Elon Musk, the billionaire head of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, threatened on Saturday to fire any federal worker who fails to explain what work they have accomplished during the previous week.
The threat, issued in a post on the social media site X, was made just hours after President Donald Trump posted on his own social media network Truth Social that DOGE should get more aggressive in its attempts to downsize and reshape the federal workforce.
"All federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week," Musk posted on X. "Failure to respond
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) will champion President Donald Trump’s historic first month in office and call for a global DOGE in her keynote address Saturday at CPAC, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
Stefanik, Trump’s nominee to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations, will tout Trump’s America First peace through strength foreign policy and how she will bring that to the United Nations in her keynote address on the CPAC main stage at 1:30 p.m. Eastern. “President Trump is putting America FIRST by demanding fair and reciprocal trade, unleashing American energy independence, cutting regulations, and demanding our government work for We The People as President Trump DOGEs wasteful unAmerican spending,”
Measles outbreaks rise to nearly 100 cases
between Texas and New Mexico. Here's what
to know. replies
between Texas and New Mexico. Here's what
to know. replies
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 90 cases across seven counties, the state health department posted online Friday, and 16 people are hospitalized.
In neighboring eastern New Mexico, the measles case count is up to nine, though state public health officials said Thursday there's still no evidence this outbreak is connected to the one in Texas.
Measles is a highly contagious disease. Here's what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles, as well as what's happening in Texas and New Mexico.
Where are measles spreading?
The West Texas cases are concentrated in Gaines County, which has 57 infections,
Elon Musk lays pressure on federal employees
after Trump urges DOGE honcho to ‘get
more aggressive’ replies
after Trump urges DOGE honcho to ‘get
more aggressive’ replies
President Trump praised Elon Musk for doing a “great job” heading the new Department of Government Efficiency — but said he should be even “more aggressive” as he blasts through federal agencies to eliminate waste.
“Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive,” Trump said in a Saturday post on Truth Social.
“Remember, we have a country to save, but ultimately, to make greater than ever before,” he added. (Photo) Musk replied on X shortly after, saying, “Will do, Mr. President!” DOGE, which was created under the Trump administration, has fired tens of thousands of federal government workers
Democrats are doubling down on left-wing gender ideology despite their viewpoints being increasingly unpopular with the average American. The vast majority of Americans support reversing the Biden administration’s extreme approach to transgender issues, including barring biological males from participating in women’s sports. But Democratic lawmakers, including those representing congressional districts President Donald Trump won in November, are continuing to push left-wing stances on transgender issues that are seemingly at odds with their own voters.
Pope Francis is in critical condition after suffering an asthmatic respiratory crisis that required doctors to administer oxygen, The Associated Press reported, citing the Vatican. [Snip] Vatican News reported that medical professionals say the pope is not "in danger of death," but is not completely "out of danger" and will need to be hospitalized for "at least" all of next week. ... Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel told "Fox News Live" that he is "looking very closely at the next 12 hours," as he says that time is critical.
Wisconsin Democratic governor proposes
replacing 'mother' with 'inseminated person'
in state law replies
replacing 'mother' with 'inseminated person'
in state law replies
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, is facing backlash for introducing a budget recommendation that changes the word "mother" to "inseminated person," and "paternity" to "parentage" in certain parts of state law.
The Evers administration's budget recommendation for the 2025-2027 fiscal period advises several other gendered terms be changed, as well. References to "wife" or "husband" are changed to "spouse" in the proposal. In other places, the word "father" is changed to "parent," and "mother" is swapped out for the phrase "parent who gave birth to the child."
The budget was introduced by the state Senate's Joint Committe on Finance on Tuesday. Wisconsin radio host Dan O’Donnell noted the language change
Democrats don’t just lack a message — they also lack a messenger.
While the focus is on the former, the latter is forgotten, as if somehow solving their message problem will automatically create the messenger to deliver it. In fact, the opposite is occurring; Democrats’ message problems are killing off their potential messengers. Democrats’ message problems are much discussed… for good reason. They killed not one, but two Democratic 2024 presidential campaigns.
After 36 hours of an agonizing wait, the body of Shiri Bibas was returned by Hamas to the Israeli government. A forensic examination concluded that Hamas' claim that Shiri died in an Israeli bombing attack was a lie.
“We identified Shiri Bibas two days after we identified her children. Our examination found no evidence of injuries caused by bombing,” says Dr. Chen Kugel, director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv.
Hamas delivered four bodies in locked caskets on Friday, including the bodies of 4-year-old Ariel and 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, as well as 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz. The fourth body
The mainstream media has been desperately trying to push any narrative that it can to undermine the new Trump administration, and, of course to drive a wedge between him and Elon Musk. The mainstream media has been desperately trying to push any narrative that it can to undermine the new Trump administration, and, of course to drive a wedge between him and Elon Musk.[Snip]
And then on Saturday, Trump finally criticized Musk. It’s true. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he’d like to see Musk “get more aggressive.”Elon Is Doing A Great Job, But I Would Like To See him Get More Aggressive … .
Wisconsin Democratic governor proposes
replacing 'mother' with 'inseminated person'
in state law replies
replacing 'mother' with 'inseminated person'
in state law replies
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, is facing backlash for introducing a budget recommendation that changes the word "mother" to "inseminated person," and "paternity" to "parentage" in certain parts of state law. The Evers administration's budget recommendation for the 2025-2027 fiscal period advises several other gendered terms be changed, as well. References to "wife" or "husband" are changed to "spouse" in the proposal. In other places, the word "father" is changed to "parent," and "mother" is swapped out for the phrase "parent who gave birth to the child.”
President Donald Trump said Saturday he is happy with the work Elon Musk has done with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but he has one complaint — Musk hasn’t gone far enough.
The president wrote on Truth Social that the tech billionaire is "doing a great job," but should be "more aggressive."
"ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA!," Trump wrote.
A few hours after Trump's Truth Social post, Musk responded with an enthusiastic post of his own on X. "Will do, Mr. President!" Musk wrote.
Delta Releases Credentials of Pilot and
First Officer Involved in Crash, Rejects
‘Misleading Claims’ replies
First Officer Involved in Crash, Rejects
‘Misleading Claims’ replies
Delta Air Lines has released the credentials of the pilots from the flight that crashed in Toronto, saying it needed to refute “misleading” claims about them circulating on social media.
Flames erupted as Delta Air Lines’ Endeavor Flight 4819 touched down hard on the tarmac at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Feb. 17. The aircraft skidded on the runway and turned on its side before flipping upside down, one wing sheared off.
All 76 passengers and four crew members escaped the wreckage and the 21 injured passengers transported to Toronto-area hospitals have since been released.
The mystery surrounding the latest Delta Airlines crash just keeps deepening. The crash itself was shocking to witness—and it’s nothing short of a miracle that no one died. But in today’s world, where the skies feel less friendly than ever thanks to progressive ideology that has taken over corporate America, it’s no surprise that when a crash happens, all eyes turn to DEI. And that’s not a stretch. Delta Airlines has made no secret of going all-in on their DEI agenda—a move that just so happens to coincide with a sharp decline in consumer confidence with the airline industry.
Kash Patel was sworn in Friday afternoon as Donald Trump's FBI Director, delivering this statement after taking the oath of office:
FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL: Wow! First and foremost, we were just with President Trump and I want to thank him. I know he is not here in the room right now, but what a ride we have been on, what a courageous warrior and leader he has been. And the faith and trust he put on me to lead the FBI is the greatest honor I will ever have in my life.
Inside the box, and the Beltway, the thinking all along has been that we must draw a line at Ukraine, else Putin and the barbarians will soon be on the steps of Warsaw and then Berlin and Paris.
Besides, Russian aggression and aggressors are morally bad. We owe it to posterity and civilization not to crumble before them.
Those are valid points. On the other hand:
We are where we are. Where we are, is Vladimir Putin make some understandable miscalculations.
One, he miscalculated America’s willingness to support foreign countries. After all, he had witnessed Joe Biden’s Afghanistan surrender debacle.
The Department of Education (DOE) has shifted all future spending related to the $4.4 billion in remaining COVID-19 school relief funds to a reimbursement structure after identifying massive waste, fraud, and abuse — including hundreds of thousands spent to rent out an MLB stadium and tens of thousands spent on casino hotel rooms.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stated on Wednesday that schools have already spent nearly $200 billion of the relief funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act with “little oversight or impact on students”:
As Elon Musk and his team of AI geeks uncover massive abuse, fraud, and waste in government spending, Fort Knox, with Donald Trump's approval, is now on the agenda. How long before the notion of examining state voter rolls takes hold? As a mini-exploration, I asked ChatGPT, “How was the 2020 presidential election rigged by Democrats?”
Chuck Schumer might have written the answer that I received! “While there were a number of claims and instances of voting irregularities reported during the 2020 election, extensive investigations by courts, state and local election officials, and independent organizations found no evidence of widespread fraud that would have altered the election results.”
Reading these headlines from The Wall Street Journal, "Trump’s Attack on Zelensky Signals New World Order Taking Shape," and MSNBC, "Trump and his MAGA subordinates are ushering in a new world order," you are supposed to believe Trump is destroying the world — again. The latest iteration of Trump’s transgressions is prompted by his administration’s direct negotiations with the Russians to end the war in Ukraine. Contrary to the foreign policy blob, ending the war in Ukraine would be a crucial step toward restoring global stability and would better position the United States to address the primary challenge to international order — China — which directly impacts U.S. interests.
Early Friday, the United States Senate passed a budget resolution tailored in large part to President Donald Trump's initial agenda. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) being the lone GOP holdout:
The Democrat proposals, let's be honest, were delaying tactics; they had essentially zero chance of inclusion in the GOP-controlled Senate. The budget resolution clears the path for $340 billion in spending--$175 billion is marked for border and immigration enforcement, while $150 billion would go to Pete Hegseth's Department of Defense.
Federal Judge Dale Ho threw yet another spanner into this year’s mayoral race Friday by kicking the can on whether he’ll force a trial of Mayor Eric Adams even though the feds want to drop the charges.
More, he named powerhouse attorney Paul Clement to make the case for going ahead — and gave him ’til March 4 to file his brief, with a followup hearing March 14.
The trial had been scheduled to start April 21, and so finish in time for the June 14 start of early voting in the June 24 Democratic primary — but if Clement convinces Ho the case should go ahead,
While many in corporate state media*, and even independent media, were at some point agnostic or even enthusiastic about the fruits of Operation Warp Speed, I am proud to have been on the ball from the very beginning.
*See: Sean “Sellout Supreme” Hannity, praised on the Senate floor by Dick Durbin for pimping the shots to his own audience, which presumably relies on his recommendations. Even if he knew who I was — recognizing that I am relatively small potatoes — Dick Durbin would never praise me for anything, and that's a badge of honor.Back in 2021, I am on record reporting that the COVID-19 “vaccines” destroy the recipient’s immune system.
One statistic that the gun-control crowd loves to toss around is that gun violence is highest in deep red states and lowest in deep blue states. And statistically speaking, they're correct. Per the CDC, the states with the highest per capita rates for gun murders are Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, Alabama, and Missouri. The states with the lowest rates are Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Jersey, and New York.
So what's going on here? Is this simply a systemic problem of violent, gun totin', insurrectionist inbreds barreling through the backwoods in their pickup trucks, yeehawing and looking for my-NAHR-uh-ties to shoot?
President Donald Trump on Friday evening fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, who was put in place by former President Joe Biden and pushed diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Air Force.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social:
I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.
Brown’s first term as chairman was for a four year term, through 2027.
LGBTQ+ identification in the United States has spiked to 9.3 percent — an increase driven by Generation Z adults, a poll has found.
The percentage of U.S. adults who say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual has nearly doubled from 2020 and is up from a mere 3.5 percent in 2012, according to the Gallup survey. “In the 12 years that Gallup has been tracking LGBTQ+ identification, it has nearly tripled, as those becoming adults during that period have been far more likely than their elders to say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,” Gallup “The recent increase is largely due to
Speaking at a Black History event Thursday in the White House, President Donald Trump praised the memory of Prince Estabrook, a slave and Massachusetts Minuteman who was wounded at the 1775 Battle of Lexington.
Trump noted that the African American patriot was “one of the first in the nation to spill blood in that very, very tough time,” and went on to announce that his statue will be erected in the coming National Garden of American Heroes — a project the president put forth in his first term, and has revived.
The new “statue park,” Trump explained, will “honor hundreds of our greatest Americans to ever live, including countless black American icons.”
I don’t even need to explain to you why this is wrong. There’s no way there’s been this much of a shift. The media got the memo: start attacking Trump again because everything he’s doing is being well-received by the voters. So, CNN highlighted the four lefty polls showing Trump’s declining approval to manufacture a fake narrative that the nation is turning against him. The overall aggregate still has him with a higher approval rating. Now, they’re saying the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) work is hurting Trump:
Hamas on Saturday began to release all six remaining live Israeli hostages promised under the first stage of the ongoing cease-fire deal — as one heartbroken family finally received the remains of a mother murdered in terrorist captivity.
The two newly freed hostages — Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu — were received by members of the International Committee to the Red Cross at the handover site in Rafah in southern Gaza.
The remaining four hostages — Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert and Hisham Al-Sayed — are expected to be released at a different location in the Gaza Strip later on Saturday.
Pepsi is eliminating a major diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) role as President Donald Trump’s administration targets such initiatives.
In a letter to employees, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said, “We are revising our DEI program, as 2025 marks the conclusion of our five-year strategy,” Fox Business reported Friday.
He added that “we see an even bigger opportunity to more deeply embed inclusion throughout the business as a key driver of business growth and will be introducing a new Inclusion for Growth strategy.”
Laguarta added that the brand is prepping to transition its Chief DEI Officer to a “broader role.”
Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel is on fire. After his swearing-in, he gave a not-so-subtle speech, showing that he’s ready to handle the media’s smears.
“I know the media's in here, and if you have a target, that target’s right here,” he said, pointing to himself. “It's not the men and women at the FBI.”
“You've written everything you possibly can about me that's fake, malicious, slanderous, and defamatory," he continued. "Keep it coming — bring it on. But leave the men and women, the FBI out of it. They deserve better.” He also promised that a new day at the FBI has started. “I promise you
A majority of Americans agree with President Donald Trump’s embrace of biological truth in recognizing only two biological sexes — but most Democrats do not — a Quinnipiac survey found.
The survey — gauging sentiments on many of Trump’s early moves — asked respondents, “Do you support or oppose President Trump’s executive order recognizing only two sexes, male and female, in the United States?” Most, 57 percent, support it, compared to 38 percent who oppose it. There are varying opinions on party lines, as over three-fourths of Democrats — 77 percent, oppose the executive order recognizing biological truth. Only 14 percent of Democrats support the order.
New York City filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday to recoup $80.5 million of congressionally approved migrant funding the feds quietly seized from the city’s coffers last week.
The city’s Law Department blasted President Trump for conducting an “unlawful money grab” that snatched Federal Emergency Management Agency payments without any advance notice, according to the suit filed in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York.
The payments were dispersed to help pay back local governments, including New York City, for shouldering the massive cost of the migrant crisis.
Last November, Democrat fraudsters bypassed the presidential race and focused instead on the down-ballot races. In Florida, local Democrat candidates received more votes than either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris at the top of the ballot. Something was definitely amiss. For instance, Republican Rocky Rochford was running against incumbent Democrat Kathy Castor for the U.S. House seat in Congressional Race 14 (FL-14). The district straddles Hillsborough and Pinellas counties and includes the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg. Castor was declared the winner, but Rochford is now contesting the race, claiming voter fraud, primarily by vote-by-mail ballots.
The US Supreme Court put off ruling on the case of fired Special Counsel, the improbably named Hampton Dellinger. In a ruling with dissents by four justices, the Supreme Court agreed to put off ruling on the government's appeal of the order reinstating Dellinger until the DC Circuit issues its ruling on Wednesday. "In light of the foregoing," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the majority, "the application to vacate the order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia presented to THE CHIEF JUSTICE and by him referred to the Court is held in abeyance until February 26, when the TRO is set to expire."
Before writing an incredibly superficial piece on Eastern Europe’s geopolitical affairs from the frontlines of Pennsylvania Ave., New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker might have checked in with his colleague who was actually stationed in Russia and knows what he’s talking about. Baker joined the obnoxious media chorus this week in disputing virtually every single thing President Trump said recently with regard to the war in Ukraine, ... [Snip] When people like Peter Baker claim that it’s “rewriting” history to acknowledge the truth, what they really mean is that the propaganda they prefer has been a failure.
KYIV — US special envoy to the Ukraine war retired Gen. Keith Kellogg visited wounded Ukrainian soldiers Friday to thank them for their sacrifices, which he argued has “given us time” to figure out the “right” way to end Russia’s war on their nation.
Kellogg, who previously served as a national security adviser to the vice president and chief of staff of the National Security Council in the first Trump administration, met with about 20 veterans of the nearly three-year-long war at Irpin Military Hospital just outside of Kyiv, some of whom have suffered life-altering injuries defending Ukraine from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces.