Podcasts about democrats

1. Democratic Candidates Struggle on Foreign Policy At the Munich Security Conference, AOC, Gretchen Whitmer, and Gavin Newsom are portrayed as unprepared on major foreign‑policy questions. AOC gives vague and confused answers regarding whether the U.S. should defend Taiwan against China. Whitmer appears unsure when asked what “victory” in Ukraine looks like, deflecting the question to an ambassador. Commentary suggests this reflects a broader weakness in foreign‑policy understanding among potential 2028 Democratic contenders. 2. Criticism of Far‑Left Ideology The intellectual foundation of the far left is hollow compared to past decades. They claim AOC’s comments reflect ideological simplicity, reliance on identity politics, and lack of deep geopolitical knowledge. Suggestion that cultural Marxism and DEI-style frameworks have replaced rigorous foreign‑policy thought. 3. AOC’s Israel Comments AOC is criticized for saying U.S. aid to Israel should be conditioned and alleging Israel committed “genocide” in Gaza. The hosts argue her position is ideologically driven and historically insensitive, especially when stated in Germany. They also claim Hamas statements contradict the genocide narrative. 4. Predictions About 2028 Politics: AOC will likely run for president. Chuck Schumer may encourage her to do so to avoid competing with her for Senate. If AOC runs, Mondaire Jones / Mondami (context suggests a progressive challenger) could run for Schumer’s Senate seat. 5. Obama’s Recent Commentary Barack Obama is criticized for: Calling certain ICE actions “rogue behavior.” Comparing Republican messaging to demagoguery while presenting Democrats as unifying. Hosts claim Obama is historically partisan and argue many current Democratic positions stem from his ideological influence. 6. Claims That Democrats Are Anti‑Law‑Enforcement Gavin Newsom is accused of comparing American law enforcement to “secret police.” The hosts argue Democrats are reviving rhetoric similar to segregation‑era resistance to federal authority. 7. U.S. Foreign Policy Under Obama and Biden Allegations that Obama and Biden’s foreign policy empowered Iran and weakened global deterrence. Claim that U.S. ambiguity over Taiwan is mishandled by the left. 8. Potomac River Sewage Issue Over 1 billion gallons of wastewater spilled into the Potomac. Washington, DC officials say repairs will take up to nine months, criticized as incompetence in government management. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdictwithtedcruz X: https://x.com/tedcruz X: https://x.com/benfergusonshowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" talks to Michael Knowles about Ronald Reagan and the real reason why conservatives are finding his legacy to be more complicated ; Reagan's leadership in the Cold War, economic revival, and restoring American optimism; his controversial immigration amnesty and lessons for today's border debate; Reagan's shift from Democrat to Republican and his ability to build broad political coalitions; comparisons between Reagan and Trump on communication, leadership style, and national morale; Reagan's rhetorical skill, Hollywood background, and enduring influence on conservatism; and debates around his later years in office, and much more. Check out the NEW RUBIN REPORT MERCH here: https://daverubin.store/ ----------  Today's Sponsors: Shopify - Turn your big business idea into money with Shopify on your side. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world from household names to brands just getting started. Go to Shopify and sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at Go to: http://shopify.com/rubin Venice.Ai - Use Ai that doesn't spy on you or censor the AI. Ai is valuable and you shouldn't need to give up your privacy to use it. Go to https://venice.ai/dave and use code DAVE to get 20% off a pro plan and enjoy private, uncensored AI.

Monday, February 16th, 2026Today, the feds got caught lying again about an assault on ICE officers and are forced to dismiss the charges; Homeland Security is demanding social media sites hand over data on anti-ICE users; Ring cameras cut their ties to Flock surveillance after political backlash; Russ Vought is using USAID funds to pay for his security detail; the puppy killer side piece Corey Lewandowski demanded a government issued firearm; a judge ends the deportation case for the father of three marines; another judge rebukes the feds for denying counsel for detainees; in a victory for Democrats the Virginia Supreme Court rules the 10 to 1 redistricting can move forward; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.Thank You, Helix27% Off Sitewide Helix Flash sale, when you go to HelixSleep.com/dailybeansThank You, HoneyLoveSave 20% Off Honeylove by going to honeylove.com/DAILYBEANS #honeylovepod  #sponsoredGuest: Heather Cox RichardsonLetters from an American | Heather Cox RichardsonHeather Cox Richardson - YouTubeinstagram.com/heathercoxrichardson@hcrichardson.bsky.social - Bluesky@HC_Richardson - Twitter​​Democracy Awakening Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson Heather Cox Richardson and Allison Gill Discuss Republican Spying and Weaponized JusticeThe LatestAllison Gill and Katie Phang Discuss the Republican Surveillance StateBeans Talk | DHS is Watching YouStoriesDOJ drops charges against 2 men accused of assaulting ICE officers in Minneapolis | CBS NewsHomeland Security Demands Social Media Sites Reveal Names Behind Anti-ICE Posts | The New York TimesNoem adviser Lewandowski sought to carry a firearm at DHS, alarming officials | MS NOWExclusive: White House uses USAID funds for budget director Vought's security, documents show | ReutersTrump insider Tom Barrack kept in regular contact with Jeffrey Epstein for years, files show | CBS NewsIn victory for Democrats, Virginia Supreme Court says redistricting vote can go forward | Democracy DocketGood TroubleWednesday, February 24 at 6 PM in Funkstown, MD.  State of Maryland and Washington County residents have an opportunity to voice our outrage at ICE's expansion in our great community.Kate For The People→How to Film ICE | WIRED→Standwithminnesota.com→Tell Congress Ice out Now | Indivisible→Defund ICE (UPDATED 1/21) - HOUSE VOTE THURSDAY→Congress: Divest From ICE and CBP | ACLU→ICE List  →iceout.org→Demand the Resignation of Stephen Miller | 5 Calls→2026 Trans Girl Scouts To Order Cookies From! | Erin in the MorningGood NewsBeans Talk audio -beans-talk.simplecast.comRoyal Mini DonkeysSee Dana on Tour - Dana Goldberg@dgcomedy - IG→Go To Good News & Good Trouble - The Daily Beans to Share YoursSubscribe to the MSW YouTube Channel - MSW Media - YouTubeOur Donation LinksPathways to Citizenship link to MATCH Allison's Donationhttps://crm.bloomerang.co/HostedDonation?ApiKey=pub_86ff5236-dd26-11ec-b5ee-066e3d38bc77&WidgetId=6388736Allison is donating $20K to It Gets Better and inviting you to help match her donations. Your support makes this work possible, Daily Beans fam. Donate to It Gets Better / The Daily Beans FundraiserJoin Dana and The Daily Beans with a MATCHED Donation http://onecau.se/_ekes71More Donation LinksNational Security Counselors - Donate

OA1236 - Elections grab bag! Election news has been accumulating, so Jenessa helps us get caught up on what's going on. Who's winning elections? What's going on with redistricting? Heard something confusing about the mail? Trump back on his bullshit again? Good news, mixed news, debunking alleged bad news, bad news with plans for how to turn things around; we've got it all. Updates since we recorded: The SAVE America Act passed the House. Also the affidavit for the warrant in Georgia was unsealed. We'll talk about it soon, but the short version is these people really still believe in election conspiracy theories. It's gross. We'll survive. John Hanna & Julie Carr Smyth (Feb. 1, 2026). Texas stunner: Democrat Taylor Rehmet flips Republican state Senate district Trump won by 17 points, Associated Press. Amy Howe (Feb. 4, 2026). Supreme Court allows California to use congressional map benefitting Democrats, SCOTUSBlog. Tangipa v. Newsom (docket and SCOTUSBlog coverage), SCOTUSBlog. Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens (docket and SCOTUSBlog coverage), SCOTUSBlog. H.R.7296 - SAVE America Act, Congress.gov. H.R.7300 - Make Elections Great Again Act. Congress.gov. Domestic Mail Manual 608.11 Domestic Mail Manual amendment explanation (Nov. 24, 2025). Postmarks and Postal Possession, Federal Register. 39 CFR Part 111 Dan Mooney, What Is RTO? Why Do We Have It?, National Association of Postal Supervisors (Aug. 19, 2025)  Regional Transportation Optimization (RTO) initiative. (Feb. 2, 2025). Service Standards for Market-Dominant Mail Products, Federal Register. 39 CFR Part 121 Track Your Ballot or Ballot Application, Vote.org. 2 U.S.C. § 7 - Time of election (Dec. 24, 2025). Table 11: Receipt and Postmark Deadlines for Absentee/Mail Ballots, National Conference of State Legislatures. Evan Lee (Jan. 15, 2026) Court holds that all candidates can challenge rules governing vote counting in elections, SCOTUSBlog. Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections, 607 U.S. __ (2026). Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections (docket and SCOTUSBlog coverage), SCOTUSBlog. Amy Howe (Nov. 10, 2025). Justices agree to decide major election law case, SCOTUSBlog. Watson v. Republican National Committee (Election Law) (docket and SCOTUSBlog coverage), SCOTUSBlog. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

Dean Karayanis, New York Sun columnist, host of the History Author Show, and former member of Rush Limbaugh's highly overrated staff, sits in for Derek. Mondays are becoming a regular thing! Topics include highlighting the success of Angel Studios, which is out with the enjoyable “Solo Mio” starring Kevin James and will have “Young Washington” this summer. Plus, a discussion of how to look and presidents, some anecdotes, and warnings about “celebrity historians” who shade the facts. Marco Rubio tells NATO allies what they fear to hear. “Irish Twitter” gets angry at Dean for pointing out the aid and comfort so many in their country gave Nazi Germany and Hamas as they rushed to tout Seamus Culleton as an innocent Irish victim of “fascist” America, only to learn he fled his country on drug charges and abandoned his two beautiful little girls before marrying a U.S. citizen last year in hopes of avoiding deportation for overstaying his visa by 16 years. “In the future, everybody will be Hitler for 15 minutes,” with apologies to Andy Warhol, as the Democrats slowly move on from Trump being Hitler to the next Republican, as they have done since FDR likened his GOP opponent to the Fuhrer while World War II was still raging. The show closes with a word from the first president ever captured in audio, Benjamín Harrison, and another clip from the archives: President William McKinley.

Yes, I'm a Democrat for now, but in most ways, I'm still politically homeless. And that's always obvious whenever I say or post something critical of both sides. Whenever I do that, undoubtedly, the vast, vast majority of people on each side refuse to accept the criticism of their side. We gotta be better than that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Secretary Marco Rubio delivers a powerful speech at the Munich Security Conference, laying out a bold vision for the future of the West. We break down what he said — and how prominent Democrats responded. Meanwhile, the long-awaited Charlotte diocesan video finally drops. And finally, as Lent approaches, how should Catholics prepare? All this and more on the LOOPcast!00:00 Welcome to the LOOPcast04:30 Munich Security Conference39:55 Good News 49:00 Church Corner54:56 Charlotte Video56:51 Twilight Zone1:10:20 Closing PrayerEMAIL US: loopcast@catholicvote.org SUPPORT LOOPCAST: www.loopcast.orgSubscribe to the LOOP today!https://catholicvote.org/getloop   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-loopcast/id1643967065 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/08jykZi86H7jKNFLbSesjk?si=ztBTHenFR-6VuegOlklE_w&nd=1&dlsi=bddf79da68c34744 FOLLOW LOOPCast: https://x.com/the_LOOPcast  https://www.instagram.com/the_loopcast/ https://www.tiktok.com/@the_loopcast https://www.facebook.com/LOOPcastPodcast Tom: https://x.com/TPogasic Erika: https://x.com/ErikaAhern2  Josh: https://x.com/joshuamercer MAY THE MOST HOLY, MOST SACRED, MOST ADORABLE, MOST INCOMPREHENSIBLE AND UNUTTERABLE NAME OF GOD BE ALWAYS PRAISED, BLESSED, LOVED, ADORED AND GLORIFIED, IN HEAVEN, ON EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH, BY ALL THE CREATURES OF GOD, AND BY THE SACRED HEART OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, IN THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. AMEN.All opinions expressed on LOOPcast by the participants are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CatholicVote.

Congressman Tom Emmer joins Sid live in-studio to touch upon Sid's frustration about not being invited yet to next week's State of the Union speech in Washington, D.C. before he speaks on the backlash over comments that the Super Bowl halftime show should be in English or at least provide translations, arguing the NFL's choices were driven by money and deals, including with Amazon, and expressing a preference for more familiar music. Emmer describes being in New York for a wedding and doing media rounds on Presidents' Day, praises several New York Republicans as hardworking, and harshly criticizes Democratic members such as Nadler, Raskin, and Swalwell. Sid and Tom talk about State of the Union decorum, including Democrats' shirts and paddles, the possibility of enforcing rules more strictly. The conversation then shifts to a looming DHS funding standoff and potential impacts on TSA workers, while Emmer argues Democrats are disconnected from voters on border security, cites large numbers of people pulled from Minneapolis and thousands of migrant children allegedly lost by the Biden administration, and says Democrats broke promises on a bipartisan bill that already included reforms and body-camera funding, leaving them with no message beyond opposition to Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Montana congressional candidate Ryan Busse joins Anthony Davis to discuss the corruption and cruelty of Republican leadership that he believes will hand Democrats a win at the midterms, as people fight for their rights, safety and climate justice - only on The Weekend Show. Factor: Head to https://FactorMeals.com/weekend50off and use code weekend50off to get 50% off your first Factor box PLUS free breakfast for 1 year. Leesa: Go to https://Leesa.com for 30% OFF PLUS get an extra $50 OFF with promo code: WEEKEND Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at: https://shopify.com/WEEKEND Independent media has never been more important. Please support this channel by subscribing here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkbwLFZhawBqK2b9gW08z3g?sub_confirmation=1 Join this channel with a membership for exclusive early access and bonus content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkbwLFZhawBqK2b9gW08z3g/join Five Minute News is an Evergreen Podcast, covering politics, inequality, health and climate - delivering independent, unbiased and essential news for the US and across the world. Visit us online at http://www.fiveminute.news Follow us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/fiveminutenews.bsky.social Follow us on Instagram http://instagram.com/fiveminnews Support us on Patreon http://www.patreon.com/fiveminutenews You can subscribe to Five Minute News with your preferred podcast app, ask your smart speaker, or enable Five Minute News as your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing skill. CONTENT DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed on this channel are those of the guests and authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Anthony Davis or Five Minute News LLC. Any content provided by our hosts, guests or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything, in line with the First Amendment right to free and protected speech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when entire nations run out of children—and why are the smartest countries having the fewest?

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

Over the past 48 hours, a visible wave of Nicki Minaj fans, many of them Black women, have publicly shared proof of switching political parties after watching how Democrats and legacy media responded to Nicki's support for Donald Trump. In this video our experts analyze and educate you on what happened and why with fact based, data based, verified and researched expertise reporting. For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial (656) 218-0931 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter, or go to https://askchapter.org/nez▶ Reach out to me: https://bio.site/professornez▶Support the Channel and Buy us a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/professornez

American figure skater Ilia Malinin was the favorite to win gold, but missed the podium after falling twice in the men's free skate. After the competition, he opened up about the Olympic pressure, but said he was proud to finish. Kelly O'Grady reports on how athletes prepare for the pressure of the Olympics. When asked about President Trump's call to nationalize elections, Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota says "we have a state-based elections system. It is going to remain that way." On "CBS Mornings" he also blames the partial government shutdown on Democrats. They are demanding major changes for ICE agents in exchange for the votes to approve the spending bill. Behavioral researcher Shadé Zahrai, who has coached Fortune 500 leaders, says the missing link to building confidence is self acceptance. She speaks with "CBS Mornings" about steps to self acceptance and how self worth plays a role. Pim Neill is only 6 years old, but in a single season, the kindergartener has sold more than 100,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Neill said in a social media video that she wanted to sell at least 10,000 boxes. The video went viral and support has only grown from there. Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, spontaneously offered her wedding dress to a stranger. It kickstarted a chain of events over the next 10 years, with 13 brides now having worn the same dress. David Begnaud reports. Team USA's Elana Meyers Taylor is the most decorated female bobsledder in history. Ahead of her fifth Winter Games, she spoke to CBS News about balancing her busy life as an Olympic athlete and mother of two. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remember that old saying "Stick a fork in him, he's done"? Some people are beginning to say that about Donald Trump, which may well work in Canada's favour. A little early or no? Chantal Hebert and Bruce Anderson on that, and also more on the possible Alberta referendum and Washington's supposed involvement. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Virginia Democrats are pushing a sweeping redistricting overhaul that could reshape the state's congressional map from 6–5 to 10–1 in their favor. Todd Huff breaks down the political mechanics, the 2020 constitutional amendment that created a bipartisan redistricting commission, and the sudden attempt to reverse it. Is this about fairness—or raw political power?Todd also revisits Indiana's redistricting debate and challenges critics to apply the same standards consistently. If you were outraged before, are you outraged now? This episode explores constitutional authority, political strategy, and the real meaning of gerrymandering in modern America.

A Democrat has dropped out of the race for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat. A bill would change foster care training requirements. And state lawmakers are considering a few proposals that would further restrict abortion.

You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for February 13, 2026. 0:30 If you’re in ICE detention and don’t like the conditions, there’s an option millions of legal immigrants already understand: you’re free to go home. We dismantle claims that immigration detention is “cruel” or comparable to concentration camps, a comparison that is historically ignorant and morally offensive. We explain why deportation is not punishment under Supreme Court precedent, why detention is often a choice when voluntary departure is refused, and how the Department of Homeland Security is now offering illegal immigrants financial assistance and airfare to return home. From border enforcement to national sovereignty, this conversation cuts through the grievance politics to argue a simple principle: a nation without borders is not a nation—and America’s first responsibility is to its citizens. 9:30 Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. The Federal Government is shutting down again, at least partially.The Senate failed to pass the funding for the Department of Homeland Security this week after Democrats objected to continuing to fund ICE and immigration enforcement efforts. Inflation continued to drop this past month.That's according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Department of Transportation is ordering airlines to hire pilots based solely on merit. 12:30 Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20. 13:00 Rosie O’Donnell says she “fled” a scary America under Donald Trump—but we aren’t buying it. We dig into the celebrity meltdown narrative, arguing that O’Donnell didn’t escape authoritarianism—she escaped cultural relevance. We take aim at the idea that Trump voters are something to fear, mock the performative outrage of Hollywood elites, and point out the obvious: real exiles don’t keep U.S. passports, Hollywood access, dollar-denominated wealth, and residual checks. 16:00 We got a question in for our American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burelson: What did you parents do that would get them canceled today? We dive into old-school parenting habits that once felt normal—but might trigger outrage now. From wooden spoons peeking out of purses and chain-smoking grandparents in the car, to paddling at school, drinking from the garden hose, roaming until the streetlights came on, and walking home alone with a key around your neck, the stories paint a picture of a very different America. The Mamas debate discipline, personal responsibility, and whether today’s hyper-sensitive culture has lost something important along the way. Equal parts funny and thought-provoking, this segment taps into parenting debates, generational differences, and the question many families are asking: did tough love work better than we’re willing to admit? If you'd like to ask our American Mamas a question, go to our website, AmericanGroundRadio.com/mamas and click on the Ask the Mamas button. 23:00 Photo ID for voting is suddenly back on the table—and this time, it might actually happen. Webreak down President Donald Trump’s threat to issue an executive order mandating voter ID in federal elections, as Congress inches closer to passing the SAVE Act. The big surprise? Senator Susan Collins is now a yes vote, signaling a major shift even in blue-state politics. We dig into why requiring state-issued photo ID to vote is being framed as “controversial,” despite IDs being required for everything from banking to voting on the U.S. Senate floor itself. And we address the claims that voter ID is racist, question lax ID policies in states like California, and argue this is only the first step toward restoring election integrity—state audits come next.With the 2026 midterms approaching, the message is clear: voter ID isn’t radical—it’s long overdue. 26:00 America’s birth-rate crisis meets peak absurdity in this jaw-dropping Valentine’s Day segment. As lawmakers and economists warn that falling population growth threatens the future of the republic, we react to a surreal new trend out of New York City: a bar hosting Valentine’s Eve “dates” for people in romantic relationships with AI-generated partners. Yes—tables for one human and one phone, courtesy of Eva AI. The conversation turns darkly comedic and brutally honest as we unpack survey data showing more than one in four adults say they’ve had a romantic relationship with artificial intelligence. This isn’t quirky tech optimism—it’s cultural rot. From porn-driven isolation to the death of courtship, the segment takes aim at a dating culture that rewards avoidance, validation, and zero personal growth. You can’t build families with a chatbot. You can’t raise future Americans with an algorithm. And you can’t save a country if men won’t shower, take a risk, and ask a real woman out. This is a blunt warning about masculinity, marriage, AI relationships, and why artificial partners are a dead end—for people and for the nation. 32:00 Get Performlyte from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20. 32:30 After Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl spotlight, a very different side of Puerto Rican culture is making national headlines. We react to a major legal shift in Puerto Rico, where the island’s Republican governor—an ally of Donald Trump—has signed a bill amending the criminal code to recognize an unborn child at any stage of gestation as a human being under criminal law. The change reshapes how homicide is defined, allowing the killing of a fetus during a violent crime against a pregnant woman to be prosecuted as the unlawful killing of a human being. 35:30 Plus, it's Fake News Friday! We're putting you to the test with our weekly game of headlines—are they real news, fake news, or really fake news? claims about voter ID and ICE popularity to Olympic scandals, celebrity outrage, and truly ridiculous media narratives, can you spot the fake news? Play along, keep score, and share your results with us on Facebook page: facebook.com/AmericanGroundRadio. 39:30 Don Lemon plead not guilty after being charged with conspiracy under the FACE Act for his alleged role in a coordinated disruption of a church in Minnesota. We dismantle Lemon’s claim that he was “just doing journalism,” arguing that planning, participating, and referring to activists as “we” crosses the line from reporting into outright political activism—raising serious questions about press ethics, religious freedom, and First Amendment rights during the Donald Trump era. Articles Partial government shutdown imminent as Congress leaves town January inflation cools to 2.4%, lowest since May Journalist Don Lemon pleads not guilty to civil rights charges in Minnesota church protest Follow us: americangroundradio.com Facebook: facebook.com / AmericanGroundRadio Instagram: instagram.com/americangroundradioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we take a walk down memory lane and remember some classic cartoons, we talk why Gen X kids are such cool grown-ups, the movie HEAT actually happened in Italy recently, AI is now lying and cheating scientists say, a Young Sheldon created nuclear fusion at home, Weird News and so much more.

Chuck Todd takes a hard look at the state of American governance and institutional trust — or the lack of it. He starts by reflecting on the historical significance of three consecutive one-term presidents, ranking his top five most underrated commanders-in-chief and arguing that both Biden and Trump are unlikely to be viewed as consequential a century from now. From there, Todd pivots to a searing indictment of the current moment: from the Epstein reckoning exposing the government's inability to tell the truth, to DHS being treated as a political plaything by Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, to the DOD endangering lives in the El Paso FAA incident with zero accountability, to Moderna alleging that HHS refused to even review an mRNA flu vaccine under RFK Jr.'s watch. He connects the dots across a pattern of institutional dishonesty — a Justice Department focused on narrative management, masked ICE agents no one can justify, a fired antitrust chief clearing the way for powerful interests, and a "hostage system" style of governing that holds federal paychecks as leverage — making the case that when the government lies this often, it forfeits the benefit of the doubt on everything, and that the Epstein scandal isn't just a story about one man, but a mirror reflecting a system designed to protect the powerful. Then, Gene Sperling — the only person to serve as Director of the National Economic Council under two presidents (Clinton and Obama), a senior advisor to President Biden who oversaw the American Rescue Plan, and a consultant and co-writer on NBC's The West Wing — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a wide-ranging conversation. Sperling shares the wild story of how he ended up in Santa Monica, his brush with Aaron Sorkin's legal troubles, and his insider take on how real Washington compares to its fictional portrayals. The conversation then turns to Sperling's deep expertise on the economy, from his defense of the Biden administration's "soft landing" amid global post-Covid inflation to the political lessons of how rising prices have sunk presidencies on both sides of the aisle — including Biden's own re-election bid. The back half of the episode looks squarely at the future. Sperling, who says he's unlikely to serve in another Democratic administration, offers a forceful argument about what comes next: the rising threat of unchecked corporate and tech power, the urgent need for AI policy that puts working people first, and the lessons of globalization that policymakers can't afford to repeat. Drawing on themes from his book Economic Dignity, he makes the case that Americans are hungry for leaders who pair optimism with a real confrontation of economic injustice — and warns that a handful of AI and crypto companies, flush with lobbying dollars, could end up shaping the structure of the economy if left unchallenged. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the publishing of the Communist Manifesto and argues that while its critiques of the excesses of capitalism were correct… it’s revolutionary prescriptions led to the worst authoritarian states in modern history. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life! Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 03:30 We’ve had 3 straight one term presidents, deem them all failures 04:45 Inability to win reelection will always be seen as an asterisk 05:45 Top 5 most underrated presidents 06:00 James Polk was the only voluntary one term president 06:45 James Garfield was a fierce advocate for civil rights 07:30 George H.W. Bush was accomplished, but not a good politician 08:30 John Quincy Adams laid out modern American infrastructure 09:00 Jimmy Carter did many things that have aged well 10:15 In 100 years, Biden & Trump likely won’t be viewed as consequential 11:45 Biden & Trump can’t be evaluated fairly for many years 12:30 What does a real reckoning look like in the Trump era? 13:45 The institution least capable of reckoning with Epstein is the government 14:15 The private sector is forcing accountability, the government isn’t 15:15 Trust is the currency of government, and Trump’s doesn’t have it 16:15 The Justice Department is only worried about narrative management 17:30 The system looks like a club, designed to protect the powerful 18:45 Epstein is a test of whether the government can tell the truth 20:00 DHS shutting down, politicians using paychecks as leverage 20:30 We a governing via a “hostage system” 21:45 There isn’t a single good argument for masking ICE agents 22:15 The Democrats’ demands are not extreme, they’re common sense 23:15 Noem & Lewandowski treating DHS like their personal plaything 24:00 Pattern of government saying one thing, facts saying another 25:15 Whatever Noem says first, you can’t believe it. She gaslights the public 26:00 The government has lied too many times, gets no benefit of the doubt 26:45 El Paso FAA incident is case study for public distrusting institutions 27:45 DoD was lying to the FAA, FAA pulled the emergency brakes 29:00 DoD put lives in danger with no accountability 29:30 Moderna says HHS refused to review MRNA flu vaccine 30:15 The U.S. is not a stable country to develop & release products 31:00 Kennedy only offers crackpot theories & totally unfit for office 32:00 We can’t trust the government to tell us the truth about anything 32:30 DOJ fired antitrust chief, powerful interests get what they want 34:00 Epstein isn’t just a scandal, it’s a mirror 43:30 Gene Sperling joins the Chuck Toddcast 45:30 The wild story of how Gene ended up in Santa Monica 46:45 Aaron Sorkin couldn’t meet with Gene due to legal trouble 49:45 Real politics/news look nothing like “West Wing” or “The Newsroom” 51:00 The one truism about the West Wing is good people trying to do good 52:45 Politics is NOT like House of Cards 54:15 West Wing still remains viable, any chance of a reboot? 55:30 What’s the state of the economy? What do you look for? 56:15 Biden economy was strong growth, but high inflation 57:00 Biden achieved the “soft landing” they were trying for 58:15 Inflation was global and mostly due to Covid supply chain shocks 59:45 The American Rescue Plan had many positive effects 1:00:45 Every head of state poured money into economies during Covid 1:01:45 Covid was going to result in either inflation or recession 1:03:30 Obama couldn’t pass enough stimulus during Great Recession 1:04:30 A little extra stimulus can help offset future unknowns 1:05:15 Millennials’ future was permanently damaged by Great Recession 1:06:30 A generation had never seen high inflation until Covid 1:07:30 Anger over inflation sunk Biden’s re-election 1:08:30 Inflation is bipartisan, took down 3 different presidents 1:09:30 Inflation affects everyone, jobs & unemployment don’t 1:10:45 Every head of state suffered politically post pandemic 1:12:45 Will Biden baggage sink Pete Buttigieg, or is that overstated? 1:14:30 Biden’s conflict was empathy for suffering vs touting achievements 1:16:45 Biden had the tiniest of margins to pass major legislation 1:18:00 Gene is unlikely to work in a future Democratic administration 1:18:45 Pitchforks are being sharpened for corporations and big tech 1:19:30 Will worker rage fuel the next election? 1:20:30 Presidents that do well offer optimism, but confront economic injustice 1:22:00 People don’t want to feel like they are being extracted for profits 1:24:00 AI growth can’t come at the expense of working people 1:25:30 AI policy should be shaped around improving conditions for people 1:26:45 What lessons from globalization can be used to alleviate AI disruption? 1:28:30 Clinton believed in robust response to globalization 1:29:30 Clinton couldn’t implement strong safety net after losing congress 1:31:15 You have to have policies where people don’t feel left behind 1:33:00 We need to create and fund jobs that create dignity 1:33:45 We need to create an economic dignity floor for all Americans 1:35:45 When is a company too big to regulate? 1:38:00 If companies are disproportionately determining policies, they’re too big 1:38:45 Crypto & AI are getting what they want from huge lobbying money 1:39:30 A handful of AI companies could determine structure of the economy 1:41:45 The Trump White House has invited corporate influence 1:49:45 What if Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie ran on “accountability” ticket 1:51:00 A bipartisan ticket of “pox on both their houses” could be powerful 1:51:45 ToddCast Time Machine February 21st, 1848 1:52:00 Marx & Engels publish the communist manifesto 1:52:45 Monarchies were colliding with modern economic forces 1:54:15 Marx argued that capitalism is destabilizing if left unchecked 1:55:15 If the manifesto was called something else, how would we view it? 1:55:45 Marx doesn’t argue reform, says that capitalism will destroy itself 1:56:30 Communist states didn’t emerge until decades after manifesto 1:57:15 Manifesto gave dictators arguments to grab power 1:58:00 Marx talked in economics, dictators exploited his language 1:59:30 Communism took hold in places where industrialization fell behind 2:00:15 Manifesto gets invoked badly by both sides in American politics 2:01:00 Marx’s diagnosis was spot on, his solutions were questionable 2:02:30 Lack of regulation for AI will push people to radicalism 2:03:00 Ask Chuck 2:03:15 Does something seem off with the administration’s economic numbers? 2:07:30 Do we need a punchier title than “Gate” for political scandals? 2:10:00 Do we need to withhold congressional salaries during shutdowns? 2:14:00 Missing intellectuals like Rahm Emmanuel leading the country 2:16:00 What is the criteria for impeachment of cabinet members? 2:18:45 Favorite football/baseball players as a kid?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd takes a hard look at the state of American governance and institutional trust — or the lack of it. He starts by reflecting on the historical significance of three consecutive one-term presidents, ranking his top five most underrated commanders-in-chief and arguing that both Biden and Trump are unlikely to be viewed as consequential a century from now. From there, Todd pivots to a searing indictment of the current moment: from the Epstein reckoning exposing the government's inability to tell the truth, to DHS being treated as a political plaything by Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, to the DOD endangering lives in the El Paso FAA incident with zero accountability, to Moderna alleging that HHS refused to even review an mRNA flu vaccine under RFK Jr.'s watch. He connects the dots across a pattern of institutional dishonesty — a Justice Department focused on narrative management, masked ICE agents no one can justify, a fired antitrust chief clearing the way for powerful interests, and a "hostage system" style of governing that holds federal paychecks as leverage — making the case that when the government lies this often, it forfeits the benefit of the doubt on everything, and that the Epstein scandal isn't just a story about one man, but a mirror reflecting a system designed to protect the powerful. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the publishing of the Communist Manifesto and argues that while its critiques of the excesses of capitalism were correct… it’s revolutionary prescriptions led to the worst authoritarian states in modern history. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life! Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 02:30 We’ve had 3 straight one term presidents, deem them all failures 03:45 Inability to win reelection will always be seen as an asterisk 04:45 Top 5 most underrated presidents 05:00 James Polk was the only voluntary one term president 05:45 James Garfield was a fierce advocate for civil rights 06:30 George H.W. Bush was accomplished, but not a good politician 07:30 John Quincy Adams laid out modern American infrastructure 08:00 Jimmy Carter did many things that have aged well 09:15 In 100 years, Biden & Trump likely won’t be viewed as consequential 10:45 Biden & Trump can’t be evaluated fairly for many years 11:30 What does a real reckoning look like in the Trump era? 12:45 The institution least capable of reckoning with Epstein is the government 13:15 The private sector is forcing accountability, the government isn’t 14:15 Trust is the currency of government, and Trump’s doesn’t have it 15:15 The Justice Department is only worried about narrative management 16:30 The system looks like a club, designed to protect the powerful 17:45 Epstein is a test of whether the government can tell the truth 19:00 DHS shutting down, politicians using paychecks as leverage 19:30 We a governing via a “hostage system” 20:45 There isn’t a single good argument for masking ICE agents 21:15 The Democrats’ demands are not extreme, they’re common sense 22:15 Noem & Lewandowski treating DHS like their personal plaything 23:00 Pattern of government saying one thing, facts saying another 24:15 Whatever Noem says first, you can’t believe it. She gaslights the public 25:00 The government has lied too many times, gets no benefit of the doubt 25:45 El Paso FAA incident is case study for public distrusting institutions 26:45 DoD was lying to the FAA, FAA pulled the emergency brakes 28:00 DoD put lives in danger with no accountability 28:30 Moderna says HHS refused to review MRNA flu vaccine 29:15 The U.S. is not a stable country to develop & release products 30:00 Kennedy only offers crackpot theories & totally unfit for office 31:00 We can’t trust the government to tell us the truth about anything 31:30 DOJ fired antitrust chief, powerful interests get what they want 33:00 Epstein isn’t just a scandal, it’s a mirror 42:15 What if Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie ran on “accountability” ticket 43:30 A bipartisan ticket of “pox on both their houses” could be powerful 44:15 ToddCast Time Machine February 21st, 1848 44:30 Marx & Engels publish the communist manifesto 45:15 Monarchies were colliding with modern economic forces 46:45 Marx argued that capitalism is destabilizing if left unchecked 47:45 If the manifesto was called something else, how would we view it? 48:15 Marx doesn’t argue reform, says that capitalism will destroy itself 49:00 Communist states didn’t emerge until decades after manifesto 49:45 Manifesto gave dictators arguments to grab power 50:30 Marx talked in economics, dictators exploited his language 52:00 Communism took hold in places where industrialization fell behind 52:45 Manifesto gets invoked badly by both sides in American politics 53:30 Marx’s diagnosis was spot on, his solutions were questionable 55:00 Lack of regulation for AI will push people to radicalism 55:30 Ask Chuck 55:45 Does something seem off with the administration’s economic numbers? 1:00:00 Do we need a punchier title than “Gate” for political scandals? 1:02:30 Do we need to withhold congressional salaries during shutdowns? 1:06:30 Missing intellectuals like Rahm Emmanuel leading the country 1:08:30 What is the criteria for impeachment of cabinet members? 1:11:15 Favorite football/baseball players as a kid?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Could Manchester be a model for the UK to kickstart growth Sex drive and the great debate over whether testosterone can help Children weaponised in toxic trans debate, Cass says Germanys spectacular multimillion euro heist nobody noticed Obama addresses racist video shared by Trump depicting him as an ape Democrats seek to reassure Europe about post Trump America Nigella Lawson The new Bake Off judge who breaks the mould Neath man said girlfriend died in crash, but forensics revealed the truth North London measles outbreak hits several schools with tens of children infected Fresh fears for South Wests rail link in Dawlish after storms

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Germanys spectacular multimillion euro heist nobody noticed Could Manchester be a model for the UK to kickstart growth Nigella Lawson The new Bake Off judge who breaks the mould Sex drive and the great debate over whether testosterone can help Democrats seek to reassure Europe about post Trump America Children weaponised in toxic trans debate, Cass says Neath man said girlfriend died in crash, but forensics revealed the truth Fresh fears for South Wests rail link in Dawlish after storms North London measles outbreak hits several schools with tens of children infected Obama addresses racist video shared by Trump depicting him as an ape

Highlights from this week's Cuomo Mornings on SiriusXM feature a wide-ranging and candid conversation between Chris Cuomo and his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Andrew weighs in on the Epstein fallout, why he believes the issue has metastasized beyond MAGA politics, and how Democrats could use it in upcoming investigations. The brothers debate immigration enforcement, ICE tactics, the coming midterms, and whether Trump's constant escalation is creating drama fatigue among voters. Andrew argues the election will become a referendum on Trump's style of governance — not Democratic vision. The show also includes listener calls on snowstorm mismanagement, law enforcement tactics, media bias, and the broader question of what accountability really looks like in today's politics — along with classic Cuomo sibling rivalry and stories from growing up. Join The Chris Cuomo Project on YouTube for ad-free episodes, early releases, exclusive access to Chris, and more: https://www.youtube.com/@chriscuomo/join Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday: https://linktr.ee/cuomoproject Same night out — way better morning with Cheers. For a limited time our listeners are getting 20% off their entire order by using code CUOMO at https://CheersHealth.com. #Cheers #ad Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos—get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/CUOMO. Application times and rates may vary. NOBL gives you real travel peace of mind — security, design, and convenience all in one. Head to https://NOBLTravel.com for 46% off your entire order! #NOBL #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On CNN's State of the Union, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joins Jake to discuss Democrats' demands to rein in immigration enforcement in exchange for ending a partial government shutdown. Next, White House Border Czar Tom Homan joins Jake to discuss the end of Trump's Minneapolis crackdown, as well as whether the Department of Homeland Security has a credibility issue. Then, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear joins Jake to discuss Trump's efforts to interfere with the midterm elections. After, Jake presses Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin over the Trump administration's failed attempt to indict six Democratic lawmakers. Finally, Jake gives the last word to three Epstein survivors who were in the room for Attorney General Pam Bondi's controversial hearing on Capitol Hill this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Several of President Trump's cabinet members are under fire for a variety of controversies dogging the administration; former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland weighs in on the role of middle powers in the new global order being shaped by Trump; how a Canadian pro hockey legend plays into Trump's latest quest to cancel an important infrastructure project in the U.S. To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sen. Alex Padilla discusses the race to the bottom among Trump's cabinet officials and Republicans targeting of the 2026 midterms; former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland describes the new world order being shaped by Trump; how a new class of retiring GOP lawmakers is creating a so-called ‘Retirement Caucus' filled with ‘YOLO Republicans' To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump's continuous self-promotion is pushing a cult of personality in America; why Trump's FDA refuses to review clinical data behind a promising new flu vaccine; abortion bans prove deadly for pregnant patients with chronic conditions To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Face the Nation, the Department of Homeland Security is in a shutdown as negotiations over immigration enforcement rules are at a standstill. Two months into the new year, and the government is shut down yet again, this time, only partially, as disputes over President Trump's deportation policy leave lawmakers unable to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Caught in the limbo: TSA agents, the Coast Guard, FEMA employees and thousands of others, some working without pay. We ask Trump's border czar Tom Homan and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries where negotiations stand. Meanwhile, the fallout from the release of Epstein files grows as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces a grilling on Capitol Hill for her department's handling of the investigation. We talk to the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, California Congressman Robert Garcia, about what more he wants to see from the Justice Department as lawmakers get a firsthand look at the unredacted files for the first time. And finally, as world leaders gather at an annual security conference in Munich, we hear about that, and about America's standing in the world, from Republican Senator Thom Tillis. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) sat down with POLITICO's Dasha Burns on "The Conversation" for a wide-ranging discussion covering his stance on immigration and ICE, voter ID, Israel and where he sees himself within the Democratic Party.

Episode 277-Three-Round Burst of GOFU’s Also Available OnSearchable Podcast Transcript Gun Lawyer — Episode Transcript Page – 1 – of 11 Gun Lawyer — Episode 277 Transcript SUMMARY KEYWORDS GOFUs, New Jersey gun laws, vampire rule, sensitive places, unlawful possession, pretrial detention, federal injunction, carry permit, gun transport, Second Amendment, gun rights, legal advice, gun ownership, gun regulations, gun safety, gun culture. SPEAKERS Speaker 2, Evan Nappen, Teddy Nappen Evan Nappen 00:17 I’m Evan Nappen. Teddy Nappen 00:19 And I’m Teddy Nappen. Evan Nappen 00:21 And welcome to Gun Lawyer. So, you know our show here, one of the things that is very, very famous about our show are GOFUs. And GOFUs, as my listeners know, are Gun Owner Fuck Ups. The idea with GOFUs is these are real cases, actual things that happened. They are expensive lessons that people learn, and that you, the listener, get to learn for free. And of course, we always do the GOFU at the end of the show, whatever this week’s GOFU may be. But suddenly I’ve been pounded with GOFUs, and they’re very important. And I said, you know what? We’re going to do a three round burst here of some really important GOFUs, including what I want to begin with by telling you about this actual case. It illustrates just how insane New Jersey is and what every law-abiding gun owner could, in fact, face. Evan Nappen 01:32 Of course, I’m not using any names, but this is an actual situation that occurred. And some things, looking at the situation that the, and not just necessarily a mistake that the gun owner did, but something that hit me as extremely important for every New Jersey gun owner to make sure they do. There’s a very simple thing that is very important that could be critical between whether or not they hold you in jail or release you. We’re going to get to that from this story so you’ll learn this secret, so that you don’t end up in this GOFU situation. Spending days or weeks incarcerated for nothing, because that’s what the Gulag does, as you know. This is a case that wraps it all up into that. Evan Nappen 02:39 So, here’s this guy who comes into New Jersey, and he’s at a mall. Now, as you may know, the mall is not, in and of itself, a sensitive place, right? Those of us who have familiarized ourself, which hopefully all of you have, with these “sensitive places”. A mall is not, per se, a sensitive place. Now, there can be rules regarding malls where they say, hey, no guns in the mall. We don’t want guns, you know. And any Page – 2 – of 11 private property, whether open to the public or not, can have a prohibition privately saying we don’t want any guns here. In the same way they could say, we don’t want any dogs. We don’t want any bare feet. You know, things like that. The property owner has certain control. But if there is such a sign, if there is such a statement by a property owner, then if you come on to that property and they don’t want you on that property for a reason such as that. They can’t say, hey, we don’t allow minorities on our property. You know, they can’t. You can’t have racial discrimination in a place open to the public. But you can have other restrictions. Evan Nappen 04:07 Now, I happen to personally think that firearms should be viewed as a civil right and in the same category as discrimination, because it is a civil right. But that’s not currently how the law is. So, if a private entity prohibits gun, says no guns, then if you still go on that property and you’re specifically told to leave and don’t, then you’re what’s known as a defiant trespasser. So, what we’re talking about is trespassing, but trespassing is not a sensitive place violation. Sensitive place violations are specific gun law violations that create a certain place that becomes a prohibited area under the law to carry a gun, even if you have a permit to carry. So, this person is in the mall and apparently gets approached by mall security, who has allegedly dogs that can sniff gunpowder. Believe it or not, they’re out there. Apparently, he’s approached and they say, we think you have a gun. Please leave. And he does. No problem. He was asked to leave, and he leaves. Evan Nappen 05:30 After leaving, while in his car, driving, he gets stopped by police. More than even one because, oh, there’s a gun, right? Because, obviously, security called it in, I guess, at some point, and he was stopped. He is stopped for violating, in their minds, the sensitive place prohibition under Section 24 under Chapter 58 of the sensitive places. And what is that? What is that sensitive place that they believe he’s in violation of? Oh, New Jersey’s version of the vampire rule. The vampire rule is that you need permission before you go onto any private property. That is the issue that’s before the United States Supreme Court. The Hawaii, you know, the Woolford case in front of SCOTUS. We’re waiting for a decision. Evan Nappen 06:43 Now, Hawaii had the law just like New Jersey. The only difference is New Jersey’s vampire rule case saying that you can’t go on to private property, whether open to the public or not open to the public, you cannot go on any private property in New Jersey unless you first have permission to carry your gun there. In other words, they needed to have a sign, you know, that says we love guns. You know, basically, guns welcome. You know, guns permitted. Essentially, a sign. Or you got specific permission from the property owner before you enter the property. Hence the vampire rule. You know, as long as you don’t invite the vampire in to your place. That’s where that comes from. Evan Nappen 07:34 Well, New Jersey’s vampire rule, to impose this, you need permission first, before you can go on private property, even private property open to the public, has been found and was found unconstitutional in the Koons versus Platkin case. In Koons. And in that case, as you may recall, Judge Bump found it was unconstitutional and put an injunction on that section, saying it is unenforceable. It’s Page – 3 – of 11 unconstitutional. That any private property that is open to the public, you’re allowed to bring your gun on unless it’s otherwise a sensitive place. So, you know, if you want to go into a 7-11 with your carry gun, you can. It’s open to the public, even though it’s privately owned by 7-11. Now, if you want to go to a private residence, a private place that’s not open to the public, then you do need advanced permission for that. If you go into even your friend’s house, your friend needs to be able to say, yeah, you have permission to have your gun at my house. But not open to the public. Evan Nappen 09:00 So, the mall is open to the public. The mall is not a per se sensitive place. Yet, in this case, the basis for stopping and arresting this man or woman, I won’t even tell you what the sex is, the basis for the arrest is an alleged violation of the sensitive place section for which there is a federal injunction against enforcement. Then because somehow there’s this belief that if you are in violation of sensitive place, you’re also unlawfully carrying even though you have a carry permit, which makes absolutely no sense. There’s no logic to that. He’s charged with unlawful possession of a handgun without a carry permit, even though he has a carry permit. And, of course, with those gun charges, off to the Gulag you go. So, you are arrested, and you are put in jail. Evan Nappen 10:16 Now, the Gulag kicks in, where there’s 48 hours in which the prosecutor gets to decide whether to seek pretrial detention. It is solely within the discretion of the prosecutor. And if the prosecutor decides to seek pretrial detention, you’re going to be held for another five days before there’s a hearing when we can actually argue to get you out. And with the new law that was just signed by Murphy, they can get an additional five days to make sure that the gun is operable, to get an operability report, which is irrelevant to the charges anyway. So, by this arrest, you actually have the opportunity to be incarcerated basically for two weeks, guilty of nothing. Evan Nappen 11:08 What happened? Well, luckily, I got a call very quickly. When this person was in jail, loved ones got a hold of me. And this is on a Saturday, my friends, on a Saturday. Yeah. They do these on Saturday. They just hired me in time that I was able to get onto the court hearing 15 minutes before that first 48 hour time period, for that very first hearing where there’s no argument. The prosecutor either is going to say we’re seeking pretrial detention or not, but at least I could get on. And, lo and behold, I get on, and the prosecutor, big shock, is seeking pretrial detention, which means he’s going to be held or she is going to be held another five days or so, to have that hearing. It may be longer if they’re going to go for the operability nonsense, too. Teddy Nappen 12:11 Doesn’t Bergen County always seek pretrial detention? Evan Nappen 12:16 Well, it’s not just Bergen. And let me say this isn’t necessarily even Bergen, by the way, Teddy. But most counties have a policy of just automatically seeking pretrial detention on most gun cases. So, that’s not a big surprise. But what happens is, in this 48 hour period here, we still have the court appearance. But there’s nothing an attorney officially can do, because the prosecutor is given the sole Page – 4 – of 11 discretion. The prosecutor says, well, it’s gun charges with the Graves Act. Because, of course, the seriousness of the charge is second degree. You’re looking up to 10 years in State Prison. You’ve got a minimum mandatory three and a half years with no chance of parole. So, because of the seriousness of that offense and the Graves Act and it’s guns, we’re going to seek pretrial detention. Evan Nappen 13:13 And the court says, you know, Mr. Nappen, do you have anything that you want to add? And I say, and here’s exactly what I did them. I said, look, I understand how much discretion the prosecutor has here. Normally, we just have to wait until the hearing in order to argue. But I have to say, and I make it clear here. I say, look, my client not only had a permit to carry and why the state can’t access it, you know, they took his wallet and he can’t get to his wallet. And for whatever reason, there’s some glitch in them trying to get it out of the State Police. I don’t know why, but the very basis for his arrest was for a law for which there is an injunction, a federal injunction, that’s been upheld even by the Appeals Court. So, you have law enforcement violating a federal court injunction and charging and utilizing a statute that is enjoined from being enforced. Evan Nappen 14:19 So, in complete violation of that injunction, I make it clear that that is what is going on here with someone who has a permit, who has the lowest scores on the PSA of a one, one, that’s the lowest you can get. The PSAs are your flight risk and danger risk that they calculate into whether you’re to be released. Now they’re looking to hold them for another five to 10 days to even try to get them argued out. And at that point, the court officer actually says, well, counselor, there’s no argument here at this level. You’ll have to argue, you know, at the hearing when it gets scheduled. And I said, look, I’m not arguing anything. I said, do you know what I’m doing? I’m putting the State on notice as to the civil rights violation taking place on my client. At which time, the prosecutor says, look, we haven’t even had a chance to talk, and I said, no, we haven’t. I just got hired and got on here 15 minutes ago. Well, let’s talk. I said, okay. Evan Nappen 15:24 We had a private conference, and when we came back, I’m happy to say that the prosecutor withdrew their motion for pretrial detention. My client got out of jail that day, and now we will fight these charges. I’m extremely confident in how that fight is going to go as well. So, folks, what are the takeaways? Look at the risk you’re running. Look at the utter and complete failure of the Attorney General of New Jersey to inform law enforcement as to the changes in the law by these court actions. Why are the police charging an offense which has been enjoined? Police should know better, but I’ll tell you what else. The Attorney General should be instructing, the way they’ve done so many other times on so many other things, to all law enforcement, explaining how that sensitive place has been enjoined. And how on public property, it is not a sensitive place where you need prior permission under the vampire rule. This hasn’t been done. So, you have what is essentially a false arrest taking place. Evan Nappen 17:06 You have a system designed to incarcerate gun owners. It is outrageous, and you need to know that this what you’re up against. So, what do you need to do to protect yourself? Where’s the GOFU aspect? Well, let me tell you something that would be really important. Here’s what everybody should Page – 5 – of 11 do. Make sure your carry permit, make sure your gun licenses, are also, copies are given to your loved ones. People you can count on. Because if you get incarcerated and your wife or your parents or your brother is calling me and if they can get me copies of your carry permit or gun license that you otherwise can’t access, I can get that to the prosecutor. There doesn’t have to be a dependency for somehow getting it out of the State Police in time. Or finding it in some wallet that’s been confiscated and held in evidence in some other place, in some other room, somewhere else. That can be of great assistance, immediate assistance, in addressing your arrest and avoiding further gulaging of you. So, make sure. The takeaway is to make sure that folks that care about you, that would be the people you would go to if you had a problem, that they can provide and have access to copies of your gun licenses. That would be incredibly important. The other thing is make sure you have an attorney that you can get a hold of right away. An attorney that can come to your aid, argue, to get you out on a Saturday where time is of the essence. Those are the takeaways that are critical from this experience. Evan Nappen 19:08 Let me tell you, the GOFU has taken on a life of its own, and I’m glad about it. I have here a listener who sent a GOFU that they wanted to make our other listeners aware of, and I appreciate that. They asked that I not use a name, but here’s the GOFU letter. It says, I have a GOFU for you. It’s important for people to know to do this, so please share it on your show. This past fall, I planned a trip to Western New York to visit my family. I have a New Jersey PTC, also a PA PTC. I really like to have my gun along on trips with the highway driving. So, I asked a few guys at the shooting range what I should do with the gun when I got to New York state line. They told me to stop at a rest stop before I enter the state, put the unloaded gun in a car safe, and I should be good. That’s what I did. When I reached my destination, I told my family I had brought it, since they like guns, and they absolutely freaked out. They told me, the police would arrest me. It was illegal to bring a gun into a destination in New York. I better bring it in the house and keep it hidden. And hide it really well on the drive back. They really got me worried. So worried, in fact, I couldn’t get to sleep. So, I checked New York gun laws, and sure enough, she was correct. I was scared and felt terrible. I was incriminating my family members. Needless to say, the gun and the safe box and its cable were very hidden on the way back. I was careful not to break any speed limits. You can sum it up this way, but my takeaway is you have to do your own research before you take your gun out of state. Otherwise, you might end up in jail, and I’m very thankful that I didn’t. Evan Nappen 20:50 This is very true. State lines mean something. Now, here’s where the GOFU was. The GOFU was not following Title, 18, 926A thoroughly. That’s the federal preemption that lets you transport interstate. You have to be going from one place where you lawfully can possess and carry to another place. Your end destination has to be a place where you can lawfully possess and carry. Since New York does not recognize New Jersey’s permit or Pennsylvania’s permit, and unless you have a New York non-resident permit, that will not cover you. So, bringing your cased and unloaded gun into New York, now you’re possessing a handgun in New York, and you don’t have the protection of federal preemption. That’s the problem. Page – 6 – of 11 Evan Nappen 21:42 And it is a GOFU. This person is absolutely right. Make sure you know the laws. Make sure you clear it with counsel, so that you do not end up a GOFU. Because if that person had been stopped in New York with that handgun while in New York, they would face dire consequences. So, know the gun laws. Know the state laws. Do your research. Best bet? Well, you can always ask me, that’s one thing you want to do. Get my book, New Jersey Gun Law. I’ll shamelessly plug my book right now, because right in my book is a chapter on how to properly interstate transport, right in there on transportation of guns. What you need to know. Go to EvanNappen.com and get your copy of my book, New Jersey Gun Law. It’s the bible of New Jersey gun law. That’s the kind of stuff you need. That’s the kind of information you must have. That’s what you need to do. You cannot take these things lightly, because the consequences can be dire, and we see it. So, I appreciate this GOFU. I appreciate it being pointed out. These are real people experiencing the horrors of gun laws that are designed to ruin people’s lives and to turn law-abiding citizens into criminals. To oppress our Second Amendment rights. That’s all these laws do. You’ve got to protect yourself, folks. Learn from these tips and learn from these cases so you don’t become the next GOFU. Evan Nappen 23:16 Hey, let me tell you about our friends at WeShoot. WeShoot is an range indoor range in Lakewood, New Jersey. The range where Teddy and I both shoot. We love WeShoot. Great training. Great range facilities. Great pro shop, and a great bunch of folks. This week they’re running some great specials. They have the Chiappa Rhino 60DS, which is a futuristic revolver with its low bore access design. It’s kind of cool. It delivers, you know, reduced recoil because of that and fast follow up shots. They’ve got a Mossberg Gold Reserve Sporting shotgun. It’s an over and under, built for clay and field. It has engraving, premium walnut, and it’s competition ready. It’s a beautiful gun. Check out the Mossberg Gold Reserve Sporting. They also have a Springfield Prodigy Comp gun, comp gun. A modern double-stack 1911-style performer. It has an integrated compensator, and it’s optics ready. It has serious speed for duty or competition. Check out that Springfield. And you can also check out Sarah Sablom. She is on the hunt for a perfect carry gun. You can check out one of these WeShoot girls there. Go to weshootusa.com for their great website with amazing photography. They’re running great deals. They look forward to helping you and making you part of the WeShoot family. Go to weshootusa.com. Evan Nappen 25:05 Let me also mention our friends at The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, who just recently, through my friend and colleague, Dan Schmutter, argued in the Coons case at the Appellate level. And we’re looking good. I’m cautiously optimistic. And that’s your Association at work in the courts, fighting the Carry Killer bill. They’re also fighting the assault firearm ban and the large capacity magazine ban. You need to be a member. Go to anjrpc.org. Make sure you belong to your state Association. They are the gun rights defenders for New Jersey. You’ll get a great emails of what’s going on. You’ll get the alerts. You’ll know that you’re part of the solution and helping to fight the gun rights oppressors in New Jersey. Go to anjrpc.org and join today. Teddy, what do you have for us today in Press Checks? Page – 7 – of 11 Teddy Nappen 26:08 Well, as you know, Press Checks are always free, and this is something I want people to understand. We cannot take our foot off the gas when it comes to fighting the good fight for our rights. Because, look, we have had a lot of great victories when it comes to Second Amendment, to the conservative movement, and to getting the word out there, thanks to Alternative tech. But the Left are slowly trying to crawl back their power. What do I mean by that? Well, our friends at Bearing Arms did an article. Cam Edwards says, NBC decided to give a platform to the anti-gun activists. (https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2026/02/10/nbcs-today-show-gives-anti-2a-activist-platform-for-propaganda-n1231508) Oh, gee, what a shocker! Teddy Nappen 26:59 It was Nicole Hockley out of the Sandy Hook Promise. You know, another one of Bloomberg’s groups who called in to demonetize online influencers in the 2A space. You know, someone like you and I, Dad. You know, people like a Brandon Herrera or Grantham, Mr. Gunzing. You know, any individual who is a pro-gun influencer they want to demonetize. That’s their call to action. I love the framework that she abuses in this. Sandy Hook and the group called Untargeting Kids, a call for platform transparency, putting parents back in charge of firearm safety. You know, whenever I hear the Democrats try to say, we need to stand on parents rights, it’s always comes down to oh, when it comes to firearm safety. But, you know, when it is hardcore pornography being offered to children, oh, that’s fine. Or, you know, a drag queen story hour. Oh, that’s fine. But oh no, when it comes to firearms, we need to give it back to the parents. So, they were trying to, yeah, they were trying to run this experiment, testing YouTube accounts mimicking a nine to 14 year old. Evan Nappen 28:21 Wait. Are you telling me that the Left are hypocrites? Teddy Nappen 28:26 Oh, well, as the saying goes. Evan Nappen 28:28 I don’t know about that. Teddy Nappen 28:30 As the saying goes, they only have double standards, or they would not have any standards at all. Evan Nappen 28:37 Exactly. Teddy Nappen 28:39 That’s how it always is with them. Whenever you see the term parental rights, you can see in the very corner, TM. It’s their version. Not when it comes to gender ideology, not when it comes to abortion, not when it comes to any other thing, but parents rights, TM. That’s their abuse of the language. Did you ever hear the word Democracy, TM. Or Second Amendment, TM. That is their version. Not what we know to be fact and truth. It’s their version. But anyways. So, they ran this experiment, which, you Page – 8 – of 11 know, these experiments can easily be debunked just by the abuse of algorithms. But whatever. We will say, for the sake of argument, we will say this data is true. So, they ran this experiment, and then 14 year old received 1300 firearm-related video recommendations after watching video games and movies that included firearm content. So, you know, a kid watches a bunch of Let’s Plays on Call of Duty, and then all a sudden, he gets a breakdown of an unboxing of a ACOG scope or something stupid. It’s one of those where they’re trying to make this argument, this very weak argument, on saying, oh, these videos are being monetized to target advertising, targeting our children. So, if a kid is interested in firearms, what is the problem with that? Why? He gets bombarded with tons of movies on all forms of graphic violence that goes into that. Then all of a sudden, it comes up with ad on any other influencer regarding firearm breakdown, because that’s the goal. They want you to get engagement. That’s it. And then I love this one. 54% of boys from 10 to 17 report sexually charged firearm content. Now, they do not define what sexually charged firearm content is. Evan Nappen 30:40 What is sexually charged firearm content? What is that? Teddy Nappen 30:43 It’s called we made it up! Because they love to just define terms. Evan Nappen 30:52 They just threw sex with guns, and don’t define it. Teddy Nappen 30:55 Correct. It’s just, and by the way, they don’t list any of the materials that was reviewed by the bots. Evan Nappen 31:02 Wait, it sounds like ammosexuality. Teddy Nappen 31:05 I know. Yeah, it is the hopalosexual all over again. Evan Nappen 31:10 What is that? That’s really interesting. Teddy Nappen 31:12 Yeah, and they don’t list any of the video game content that was reviewed. It doesn’t list any of the movies reviewed or the TV shows. Oh, because they don’t want to show the sexually graphic material that is pushed by the Left. You know, that’s why, you know, ask them. Evan Nappen 31:28 They should list it. They should list all that so that we could carefully review it, Teddy. Teddy Nappen 31:32 Well, unfortunately. Page – 9 – of 11 Evan Nappen 31:34 All these sexual . . . Teddy Nappen 31:37 I know, right? I love, and then she goes on where they’re forming the sense of self-identity that the get, that getting, they’re getting content that is talking about firearms makes you powerful. Firearms makes you sexually attractive. Firearms are the way to solve your conflict. Firearms are used to solve very certain conflicts. You know, when defending yourself against a rapist or a pedophile. You know, in certain situations, it’s a very good solution. It’s not a magic wand, but it solves certain issues. But there’s more. They like to always equate, like, oh, why do you need a gun? Because your penis is small? Like, it’s one of the small ones. Like, it’s that. They always do that. We’re like, what does that have to do with the aspect of your rights to defend yourself? Like that is the goal that they always try to play. And then she goes off on this whole thing of, we need to demonetize this. We need to review this content and look at the algorithms of YouTube transparency on firearms. And there must be. We need to sense. It goes. This long-winded conversation is just, we need to have time to deletion for videos for unsafe handling of firearms. What’s unsafe? Oh, there’s a firearm in the video. It’s just that. It’s just we need it. That censorship is not our goal, though. Yes, it is. Evan Nappen 33:06 I’ll tell you what. Here’s where I’ll take them up on it. Before any movie or TV show where a gun is improperly handled, you know, shows produced by all these major media producers, just have a warning. Just the way they warn about profanity, and they warn about smoking. Put a warning that says “unsafe firearm use is in this movie”. Unsafe firearm use. Do you know how many times we’ll see that? Because the Left media is the largest actual demonstrator of unsafe and unlawful use of firearms. It’s not conservatives. It’s the opposite. And so, let’s see those warnings. That way people suddenly say, wow, look how many times firearms are abused, used improperly and used illegally in the movies? I mean, if you can warn about smoking, you should be able to warn about that. Just put it. Don’t, don’t, don’t suppress it. Don’t try to have prior restraint or ban it, the showing of any of these movies. Just put the warning up front, and let people see just what’s being promoted by Hollyweird. Teddy Nappen 34:33 Well, and also, Hollyweird promotes all the sexual deviancies, where they push it on children. Where you have, you know, children have access to now hardcore pornography all across the internet, thanks to YouTube. Thanks to social media. Like, the level of it’s so disingenuous. Making this argument that we need to protect our children. Except when it comes to the LGBTQAI+ in schools, when it comes to all the other things that they want to sexually groom children. But, oh, firearm content, that’s the issue. When you get down to it, this is what they want. They want the 2019, they want the Biden Administration censorship. Where, right here, out of the House Judiciary Committee where the chairman approves and shows, oh, Google was pressured by the Biden administration to censor Americans. (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/zuckerberg-says-the-white-house-pressured-facebook-to-censor-some-covid-19-content-during-the-pandemic) Page – 10 – of 11 Evan Nappen 35:30 That’s right. This is a really good point. They went after our First Amendment rights, just like the Second Amendment, and we lived through a period of Government censorship attempts that, when you look back, it was, it’s absolutely disgusting, what they pulled and what they were able to accomplish, even in achieving it, Teddy. It’s just insane. You would never think that could happen in America, because originally, the Left was for free speech. The Free Speech Movement was the Left, and now that’s no longer the case. They want the opposite. They don’t want free speech. Oh, hell no. But it used to be part of what true liberals, not today’s progressive, totalitarian liberals want, so-called. No, the classic liberal was absolute free speech, true, and they’ve abandoned that. They’ve abandoned it. Teddy Nappen 36:41 Well, it comes back to the idea of what the Left always does. They have no moral framework. The idea of, oh, what feels good? What is the cultural shift? What is the shifting ideology currently? Where you now have these massive purity tests on the Left, and that’s why they’re in a shooting war against each other as to who controls the party. But to even highlight this fact, Mark Zuckerberg said and admitted to the White House, yeah, I was pressured by the White House to censor people during Covid, over Covid 19 content. Doctors admitting all the false information that was out there. Bring that up. Completely censored off of Facebook, off of YouTube, all these platforms. X. You remember, you remember the Twitter files. Musk is releasing them weekly, showing the insidious combination of Government and censorship on the public square. This is what the Left wants. They are so upset that they have lost their ministry of truth. You remember that push? Evan Nappen 37:51 And they want to, right, and they want to use the same techniques to oppress the Second Amendment. It’s all part of the game plan. Teddy Nappen 38:02 Yeah. Evan Nappen 38:03 Well, Teddy, I appreciate you pointing this out, and I’m sure our listeners do as well. Let me tell you, we had a three round burst for GOFUs, and we only got two of the rounds out. Let me end here with the GOFU number three. And again, we saw this in action. These are actual cases, actual realities. I had a fellow client give me a call and say, hey, they were in court and they didn’t have counsel. Their guns were taken in an allegation of a so-called domestic violence, in which everything got dismissed. But there was an outstanding criminal charge that’s unfounded and going to the court. The so-called victim does not want to proceed. Does not want to proceed. So, what does the prosecutor do? The prosecutor tells this person, look, we’re going to downgrade this to a noise ordinance. Okay? So, it’s no longer in the category of domestic violence. If it stayed in that DV category, it makes you the equivalent of a convicted felon under federal law, and you’re banned from guns. The prosecutor said this way, with it as a noise ordinance, you’re fine. You’ll be perfectly fine. This will not affect your gun rights. Page – 11 – of 11 Evan Nappen 39:52 Now, this is a person who doesn’t have a lawyer. Who’s listening to the prosecutor, who is telling them they can plead this down to an ordinance. When the State’s key witness does not want to proceed and knows that the allegations that were made were not true and knows that it needs to be dropped. So, normally, the thing is, dismiss it straight out, because the complainant, the complaining witness, is not going to be real good for your case here. Okay? We all kind of see that, and it needs to go. But instead, the prosecutor is trying to convince this person to take this ordinance and pay a fine, get an ordinance hit, and saying that it won’t affect their gun rights. Evan Nappen 41:02 Here’s the deal, folks. It does affect your gun rights. You see, when a prosecutor says it doesn’t affect gun rights, that prosecutor is not representing you. They’re representing the State. They’re representing the Government. And if you don’t have counsel to explain to you the actual ramifications and you try to believe this, you know, however well intentioned it may have been, they failed to mention here that, yeah, it’s not a per se disqualifier, meaning, like being a convicted felon or having a conviction for domestic violence, sure, where you’re just out of the box. You’re done. But the reality in New Jersey is that if you plead to even this dopey ordinance for noise, you now have a conviction for an ordinance that started out as a domestic violence charge. Then when you try to apply to get a new pistol purchase permit or renew your carry permit or do a change of address on your Firearm’s ID Card, they go, oh, public health, safety, and welfare. That’s what they’re going to use to deny your application. Public health, safety, and welfare. Based on character, temperament. You know, I call that disqualifier the all-inclusive miscellaneous weasel clause, because that’s where the abuse of discretion comes in. And if you were to fall for this, oh, plead to the ordinance, it won’t affect your gun rights. Wait and see. Because now that comes up on your record and it links to the original charges, those police reports and all. And you ended up taking a plea, which has this appearance that you were guilty of something, and that’s why you pled. It sure as hell can affect your gun rights. So, friends, the takeaway is this. The GOFU is when you’re dealing on any criminal charge, make sure you have counsel that understands the gun laws and don’t try to rely on what a prosecutor may be telling you about how your rights will or won’t be affected. Evan Nappen 43:20 This is Evan Nappen and Teddy Nappen reminding you that gun laws don’t protect honest citizens from criminals. They protect criminals from honest citizens. Speaker 2 43:30 Gun Lawyer is a CounterThink Media production. The music used in this broadcast was managed by Cosmo Music, New York, New York. Reach us by emailing Evan@gun.lawyer. The information and opinions in this broadcast do not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state. Downloadable PDF TranscriptGun Lawyer S5 E277_Transcript About The HostEvan Nappen, Esq.Known as “America's Gun Lawyer,” Evan Nappen is above all a tireless defender of justice. Author of eight bestselling books and countless articles on firearms, knives, and weapons history and the law, a certified Firearms Instructor, and avid weapons collector and historian with a vast collection that spans almost five decades — it's no wonder he's become the trusted, go-to expert for local, industry and national media outlets. Regularly called on by radio, television and online news media for his commentary and expertise on breaking news Evan has appeared countless shows including Fox News – Judge Jeanine, CNN – Lou Dobbs, Court TV, Real Talk on WOR, It's Your Call with Lyn Doyle, Tom Gresham's Gun Talk, and Cam & Company/NRA News. As a creative arts consultant, he also lends his weapons law and historical expertise to an elite, discerning cadre of movie and television producers and directors, and novelists. He also provides expert testimony and consultations for defense attorneys across America. Email Evan Your Comments and Questions  talkback@gun.lawyer Join Evan's InnerCircleHere's your chance to join an elite group of the Savviest gun and knife owners in America.  Membership is totally FREE and Strictly CONFIDENTIAL.  Just enter your email to start receiving insider news, tips, and other valuable membership benefits.   Email (required) *First Name *Select list(s) to subscribe toInnerCircle Membership Yes, I would like to receive emails from Gun Lawyer Podcast. (You can unsubscribe anytime)Constant Contact Use. Please leave this field blank.var ajaxurl = "https://gun.lawyer/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php";

On this episode of The Siren Podcast, Jo is joined by former Washington Governor Jay Inslee to discuss his recent piece titled, “Don't Let ICE Freeze Voting,” where he urges Congress to ban ICE agents from the polls and protect democracy. Donald Trump has doubled down on saying that Republicans should “nationalize” elections and take control of voting centers. At the same time, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has been making the rounds saying ICE agents will surround polling stations this November. It is certainly not difficult to imagine a scenario in which the president directs ICE to do just that, as Trump has spent his entire second term relitigating the outcome of the 2020 election, directing the FBI to raid the Fulton County elections center, and has never actually conceded the 2020 election after launching a two month-long attempt at couping the United States. Governor Inslee offers strategies and methods at containing Trump and ICE on this episode, including inserting “absolute binding limitation” within appropriations bills, a power that Democrats actually have, while providing some much needed hope: “We have agency here. We are not powerless. We have shown the ability to beat him in court and on the streets in peaceful resistance. Let me point out that we had 60 judges that stood up when Donald Trump lost the election in 2020 and he was unable to succeed in his coup attempt. And we've now had multiple wins where we have had judicial decrees against him that by and large actually have been enforced.” Make sure to tune into this important information-filled episode, right here on The Siren Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's play “Spot the Desperation”. It's an easy game. Just listen to Democrats discuss any topic, and see if you can…spot the desperation.Trump is a racist, again. This time because of a video that depicted Democrats as animals. Democrats jumped at the chance to paint Trump as a racist, when the Obamas were depicted as apes. Trump didn't play the video, but it play AFTER a video that Trump's team did play. The hoopla over the incident lasted exactly 1 minute and 13 seconds, before it lost steam.Hakeem Jeffries wanted to make sure to register his dismay at President Trump doing nothing, and dropped an f-bomb in one of his comments. Dollar Store Obama is worse than Joe Biden when it comes to acting tough.After the “Trump is racist” tactic failed, Democrats moved on to criticize Trump RX. Lifelong grifters like Elizabeth Warren who championed for lower prescription drug prices poopooed on Trump RX calling it a “Trump vanity project”. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The decimation of the Left is so dramatic, I'm amazed they can keep hanging on.I have never seen a bigger reveal of lying skanks in my lifetime than I have over the past year…The @guardian are now dissembling because in their attempted hit on @TulsiGabbard, they relied on the word of the CIA operative "lawyer" Andrew Bakaj, who worked for Hillary and Schumer on the Hill and represented the Vindmans in the fake Ukraine impeachment. Bakaj has now walked back the whole story. The British intelligence-ran Guardian are now having to "correct" i.e. retract.https://x.com/Rasmussen_Poll/status/1954306715111010684Obama ordered the Dec 8, 2016 PDB (Presidential Daily Brief) not to be released. He ordered a fabricated intel report created on Dec 9, 2016. On Dec 16, 2016 he's already out publicly promoting (below) the fake version that is still being written for release on Jan 6, 2017The question being asked about Obama is did he really fund half of a secret Dominion/CCP Huawei data center in Belgrade Serbia using our CIA Black Budget funds? Someone is likely sure to be asking him this under oath very soonOverblown rhetoric can be entertaining, but when it becomes your primary message, your credibility becomes the punchline.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

February, 15 2026, 9AM; Former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff joins “The Weekend” to discuss growing concerns about the impact of AI in the workplace and the weaponization of the Justice Department under Donald Trump. Emhoff calls this week's congressional testimony by Attorney General Pam Bondi “shameful.”For more, follow us on social media:Bluesky: @theweekendmsnow.bsky.socialInstagram: @theweekendmsnowTikTok: @theweekendmsnow To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

February 15, 2026; 7am: On Saturday night, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a 6-page letter to Congress writing that the DOJ acted in accordance with the Epstein files Transparency Act and had finished releasing all the files. The letter also states that the only records withheld in full were those for which such withholding is permitted under the text of the bill. Now, lawmakers are calling out the DOJ for trying to “muddy the waters” in names released. MS Now Political Contributor Jason Johnson and former Federal Prosecutor Ankush Khardori join “The Weekend” to discuss.For more, follow us on social media:Bluesky: @theweekendmsnow.bsky.socialInstagram: @theweekendmsnowTikTok: @theweekendmsnow To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

February 15, 2026; 8am: The Trump Administration announced its plans reduce the number of immigration agents in Minnesota after weeks of protests, arrests, and use of force. This withdrawal comes with lingering skepticism among Minnesotans who remain dubious about the administration's announcement. Minneapolis City Council President Elliot Payne and Former Federal Public Defender Liz Oyer join “The Weekend” to discuss the lasting impacts of Operation Metro Surge.For more, follow us on social media:Bluesky: @theweekendmsnow.bsky.socialInstagram: @theweekendmsnowTikTok: @theweekendmsnow To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kristi Noem makes alarming statements about DHS controlling elections and ensuring the "right people" vote and the "right leaders" are elected during a press conference in Arizona promoting the SAVE Act voter ID requirements. The Department of Homeland Security Secretary faces backlash from both Democrats and Republicans questioning whether government officials should determine who votes and who leads.Marjorie Taylor Greene appears on a podcast with Owen Shroyer revealing Trump fought harder than anyone to prevent the Epstein files from being released. Greene explains that Trump calling the Epstein transparency efforts a hoax was his biggest political miscalculation. She details how Trump only signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act because it became a massive political problem, and describes Attorney General Pam Bondi as enabling the cover up since last March. Greene notes Trump's name appears over 1 million times in the 3 million pages released so far.White House Communications Director Steven Chung calls Representatives Roana and Thomas Massie "retards" for authoring the Epstein Files Transparency Act, claiming they ruined innocent lives. Massie responds by posting he is not suicidal, detailing his healthy lifestyle, good car brakes, and swimming ability. Marjorie Taylor Greene backs up Massie's statement, defending her colleague against potential threats.Pathologist Dr. Michael Boden who observed Jeffrey Epstein's autopsy challenges the official suicide ruling, stating the injuries are more consistent with homicidal strangulation than hanging. Boden notes three neck fractures are extremely rare in suicide cases and that critical evidence was mishandled at the crime scene. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK- Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO- Additional Content Available Here: https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform:Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

In the world of political commentary, especially for those of us who lean center-left, the modern Republican party often feels like an impenetrable monolith of rhetoric and “four-dimensional chess”. But every so often, a conversation comes along that forces you to tilt your head and look at the landscape from a different angle.I recently sat down for the fifth time with Michael Maxsenti, a man who has spent fifteen years in the political reform sector. Michael isn't your typical partisan hack; he's a veteran of the Common Sense and Forward parties who has reached a sobering conclusion: the only way to fix the system is to get inside the gates. Now, he's running for Congress as a Republican in a D+4 district, and his rationale is as provocative as it is unsettling for those of us comfortable in our ideological bubbles.The Myth of the Two-Party WarThe most striking part of our conversation was Michael's dismissal of the traditional Republican-versus-Democrat narrative. To him, the “duopoly” we see on the news is a convenient distraction designed to keep us from noticing the real struggle.“The real duopoly is the people, the populist, the people—eighty plus percent of Americans—against those global corporatist, those political economic elites who see themselves above our humanity.”This isn't just populist fire-breathing; it's a critique of a “closed-loop system” where corporate interests like Vanguard and BlackRock pull the strings regardless of who holds the gavel. Michael argues that both parties have “sold us out” over the last forty years, hollowing out the middle class and offshoring jobs for the sake of corporate margins.The “Art of the Deal” DefenseAs someone who grew up valuing integrity and “character matters” as a political slogan, I find it difficult to reconcile the current leadership of the GOP with those traditional values. I challenged Michael on the chaos and the apparent lack of precision in the current administration's implementation of policy—from tariffs on bananas to the “flamethrower” style of governance.His response was a common pattern I've seen in congressional Republicans in pragmatic reframing. He urged the audience to look past the abrasive style and view it as a series of tactical maneuvers.“What appears to be things that are opposite, opposed to... you've got to think of it in those broader terms of tacking into the winds, of navigating around those valleys and cliffs and stuff to get to your goal.”To Maxsenti, the tariffs aren't just economic tools; they are a strategic necessity to “rebuild our country” in an era where AI is stripping away swaths of traditional employment. It's a vision of “America First” that he traces back to the founding principles of Abraham Lincoln—the very principles he claims are buried in the modern party's DNA.Making America Healthy Again: A Radical Common Ground?Perhaps the most surprising area of alignment for a center-left audience is Maxsenti's focus on the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. He pointed out a sobering reality: Americans pay more than double what other developed nations pay for healthcare, yet we have lost six years of longevity compared to Europe over the last two decades.I critiqued the current system as a “fee-for-service” model that motivates providers to treat you only after you get sick. His solution? A radical overhaul of food standards and a focus on “healing” that transcends mere pharmaceutical intervention.“It's about healing, but on the medical level alone... taking away government dollars that is allowing people to, forcing people into poor choices. It's about freedom and it's about giving people healthier options.”While he supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s focus on chronic disease, Maxsenti wants to go further by codifying changes in pesticide laws and farming practices to ensure that the next administration can't simply “flip it back” because they've been bought off by lobbyists.Can an Independent Mind Survive the Machine?The central question for voters in his district—and for nerds like us watching from afar—is whether a man who claims to “only take a knee to God and our Constitution” can actually remain independent once he's inside the Congressional machine.Michael is running against Dave Min, whom he describes as a “prototypical career politician” who “rubber stamps every one of the democratic machine”. In a district where 30% of the voters are independents who left both parties out of dissatisfaction, Maxsenti is betting that his deep roots—as a business leader, coach of eighteen sports teams, and non-profit board member—will carry more weight than a party label.“We need people to go to congress who have proven credibility and skills to bring people together and create solutions to problems, who are not there to make a win; they're there to make a solution.”He admits that the execution of certain policies, like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and ICE operations, has been “unfortunate” or “tragic” in its delivery. Yet, he remains committed to the core objective: a total system audit and a return to national sovereignty.Final ReflectionsWhether you find Michael's shift to the GOP a pragmatic necessity or a bridge too far, his perspective highlights the deep fractures in our political soul. He isn't offering the usual partisan comfort food. Instead, he's presenting a choice: continue the “downhill slide” of the last few decades, or take a gamble on an “insider-outsider” who believes the system can be reclaimed from the globalist elites.“At my age I'm obviously not going there to do anything other than help change the rules... so that we can have the long term results that the people can see and feel in their lives.”It's a sobering analysis for anyone who cares about the future of this republic. As we navigate the coming months, the question won't just be which party wins, but whether the people we send to Washington have the courage to stop “taking a knee” to anyone but the people they serve.If you enjoyed this deep dive and want to support the work we do here, please consider becoming a YouTube channel member. Your support helps cover the operating costs for the Nerds for Humanity livestream and keeps these independent conversations going. Plus, as a thank you, you'll get a shout-out on every livestream!Bye nerds. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nerdsforhumanity.substack.com

Guest Larry Behrens, Power the Future, joins to discuss latest announcement from EPA and Trump administration on de-regulations, policy reforms, and energy in the private sector. Discussion of energy demands, energy reserves, and inflation.  Economy starts off strong in the new year with record low inflation and wage growth. Are we seeing the beginning of the "Golden age"?  Government goes back into a partial shutdown over Homeland Security funding. How do we get out of it, and what will funding of ICE look like moving forward?

Guest Elizabeth Patton, Regional Director for Americans for Prosperity, joins to discus grassroots campaign plans for upcoming midterm elections. Discussion of voter activism, policy battles, political complacency, and more.  The Senate battles their way to voting on the SAVE Act. Are all the Republicans on board? Discussion of future Democrat leadership, AOC bombing on the global stage, and Fetterman working with Republicans. 

1. Virginia Politics & Redistricting Democrats in Virginia are moving quickly to enact policy changes after recent elections. The new Virginia congressional map heavily favors Democrats (projected 10D–1R), despite the state split being closer to 53% Democrat / 47% Republican. Comparisons to redistricting in Texas, California, and New England, arguing that both parties gerrymander but Virginia’s map is described as especially extreme. 2. Immigration Enforcement Virginia’s governor (referred to as Abigail Spanberger) cut cooperation with ICE. This policy could result in criminal undocumented immigrants being released into communities. 3. Discussion of Supreme Court Oral Arguments on Tariffs Detailed recounting of a Supreme Court case involving presidential authority to impose tariffs. Highlights: Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett expressed skepticism toward the administration’s position. Kavanaugh, Thomas, and Alito appeared more open to upholding the tariff authority. Predicts that Chief Justice Roberts may write a majority opinion to uphold tariff powers on institutional grounds. 4. The “Save America Act” House of Representatives passed the act with only one Democrat voting in favor. The act requires: Proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. Photo ID to vote. Presented as “common-sense” election integrity legislation. Describes a procedural strategy within existing Senate rules, not abolishing the filibuster. Would force Democrats to perform a talking filibuster (continuous floor speeches). Requires Republicans to maintain 50 senators physically present, possibly for days or weeks. Democrats aim to: Eliminate photo ID laws. Grant statehood to D.C. and Puerto Rico. Offer citizenship and voting rights to undocumented immigrants. Pack the Supreme Court. Voter ID and citizenship proof are extremely popular nationwide with broad bipartisan support. Republicans should force Democrats to publicly defend opposition during a talking filibuster. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdictwithtedcruz X: https://x.com/tedcruz X: https://x.com/benfergusonshowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Friday's Mark Levin Show, President Trump has likely made up his mind to act on Iran, with only military tactics possibly remaining as the question. Iran will never change their ways; there mindset is not about deals. Whether it's ​the ​Marxist or ​the ​Islamist ​ideology, ​whether ​it's ​our ​belief ​system, - it's all ​about ​power, ​the ​proper ​use ​of ​it ​and ​the ​improper ​use ​of ​it. Islamism seeks total control over mind, body, society, and government through Sharia, unlike the Judeo-Christian focus on individual liberty. Islam has not undergone an enlightenment against theocracy, and dominant Muslim groups in the West support Islamism, which rejects interpretive diversity and often prioritizes political agendas, including antisemitism and anti-Israel motives. Islamists aim to conquer rather than coexist, as shown by sectarian violence, terrorism (Hamas, Al Qaeda, etc.), and Iran's deceptive pursuit of nuclear weapons despite negotiations. Later, the Democrat Party truly hates America and they're at war with America. That's why the Islamists and the Marxists are now part of their coalition, just as decades ago the segregationists and the slavers were part of their coalition. It's all about power for this party. Democrats hate native-born Americans and seek to replace them with illegal immigrants. This is because many immigrants do not speak English, lack understanding of American civil liberties, the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution, making them easily manipulated through propaganda. Politicians promise them benefits while attacking productive native citizens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

United States is an unprecedented form of self-sabotage or national suicide, where the greatest nation deliberately opened its borders, imported people from regions who refuse to assimilate, contribute, or integrate, and instead seek to destroy and conquer from within. This is not a hostile invasion, but a celebrated parade enabled by the Democrat Party, liberal groups in Europe and elsewhere, and secularists, and who believe in unrestricted openness. Later, the media report on every instance when ICE detains someone who, it later turns out, should not have been detained. There will always be some level of misidentification when dealing with such large numbers of people and chaotic situations. There were no endless news reports on what has happened to people when the border was wide open, and the brutality and inhumanity resulting from that policy. The murdered, raped, and otherwise brutalized American citizens are mostly ignored. The media are so completely in the tank for the Democrats and the left, they're open and blatant about it and don't give a damn. Also, this debt crisis in America predates President Trump – it stems from a massive welfare state which expanded to include illegal aliens, unchecked waste, fraud, and abuse costing hundreds of billions annually, and out-of-control Marxist-socialist policies. Congress is unable to fix this problem because Democrats want to spend even more. Unchecked fiscal irresponsibility risks economic collapse, worthless currency, stagflation, societal dislocation, and violent riots if the system fails. We need to ensure that our republic survives! Lastly, the Democrats in the House voted against funding key components of the Department of Homeland Security, including FEMA, TSA, the Secret Service, and others, while ICE funding continues through 2027. Democrats are pushing demands that would severely hamper ICE's ability to identify, apprehend, detain, and deport illegal aliens, while granting increased protections to them. Democrats will orchestrate a propaganda campaign, with media assistance, to blame Republicans for resulting inconveniences to air travelers and disaster victims when they shut down the government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democrats reintroduce their Transgender Bill of Rights as a “moral commitment” to trans people. Miss America goes woke and updates its definition of a female to include castrated males. Democrat Sheriff Garry McFadden of Charlotte, North Carolina, was unable to name any of the three branches of government, including the one he works for. Former New York Assemblyman Charles Barron (D) says he's proud that they drove white people out of their communities. Headline USA editor Ken Silva joins the show to discuss the FBI releasing new documents on Thomas Crooks, the alleged attempted assassin of President Donald Trump. Journalist Steve Cortes explains how the Chinese are taking over our colleges and universities. Matthew Marsden joins the show. ► Subscribe to my second YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SaraGonzalesTX?sub_confirmation=1 ► Read Ken Silva's latest reporting on the Thomas Crooks document release: https://headlineusa.com/scoop-thomas-crooks-was-hospitalized-2-months-before-butler-trump-shooting/ ► Watch Steve Cortes' documentary, “The Foreign Student Crisis Destroying American College Admissions”: https://youtu.be/2ykPKDdZaL4?si=7GefxTqDQzbpsi7c Sponsors: ► Toups & Co. Organics Go to https://www.ToupsAndCo.com/GONZALES and use code GONZALES for 25% off your first order. ► BlazeTV Join BlazeTV today at https://www.blazetv.com/sara and get $20 off right now. Timestamps: 00:00 – Transgender Bill of Rights 09:44 – Miss America Goes Woke 15:19 – Dumbass Liberal Sheriff 18:02 – Former State Assemblyman Proud to Remove White People 21:22 – Thomas Crooks Update 34:41 – Chinese Takeover of Our Colleges Connect with Sara on Social Media: https://twitter.com/saragonzalestx https://www.instagram.com/saragonzalestx http://facebook.com/SaraGonzalesTX ► Subscribe on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sara-gonzales-unfiltered/id1408958605 ► Shop American Beauty by Sara: http://americanbeautybysara.com Sara Gonzales is the host of Sara Gonzales Unfiltered, a daily news program on Blaze TV. Joined by frequent contributors & guests such as Chad Prather, Eric July, John Doyle, Jaco Booyens, Sara breaks down the latest news in politics and culture. She previously hosted "The News and Why It Matters," featuring notable guests such as Glenn Beck, Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin, Michael Knowles, Candace Owens, Michael Malice, and more. As a conservative commentator, Sara frequently calls out the Democrats for their hypocrisy, the mainstream media for their misinformation, feminists for their toxicity, and also focuses on pro-life issues, culture, gender issues, health care, the Second Amendment, and passing conservative values to the next generation. Sara also appears as a recurring guest on the Megyn Kelly Show, The Sean Spicer Show, Tim Pool, and with Jesse Kelly on The First TV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Saturday edition of The Gist, we present "One From The Future." Mike joins Ruy Teixeira on the Liberal Patriot podcast to discuss a brewing theory regarding the mechanics of political change. They debate the utility of the "Scalpel" (technocratic, targeted cuts) versus the "Chainsaw" (the Elon Musk/DOGE approach of massive disruption). Plus, a look at why Democrats are better at mobilizing than organizing, the trap of "The Omnicause," and the re-branding of objectivity in modern journalism. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠ad-sales@libsyn.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Ralph welcomes, Robert Weissman co-president of Public Citizen, to discuss his Senate testimony about the many ways the Trump Administration's assault on fraud is itself fraudulent. Plus, Ralph informs us of a report from Aljazeera about the MK-84 weapon the IDF is using in Gaza that is designed to generate so much heat it literally vaporizes people.Robert Weissman is a staunch public interest advocate and activist, as well as an expert on a wide variety of issues ranging from corporate accountability and government transparency, to trade and globalization, to economic and regulatory policy. As the president of Public Citizen, he has spearheaded the effort to loosen the chokehold corporations and the wealthy have over our democracy.Every American should be worried about fraud. So it's fine for the committee to be talking about fraud, but it should be based on actual facts and what's actually happening, which is not what's going on with this focus on Minnesota… And without a doubt, if the concern is about fraud in the public or the private economy right now, the number one problem with fraud is the Trump administration.Robert WeissmanThanks to the Supreme Court decision on Presidential immunity, Trump believes (correctly) that he will not be held criminally accountable for anything that he does while he's President. And that is true so long as that Supreme Court decision stands. And I think it's fair to say that basically everyone who's working for him right now—who I think are committing all kinds of crimes, including through the sale of pardons and through the outrageous use of ICE in Minnesota and around the country—I think they expect they're going to get pardoned before he goes. So I think they think they too will be (and they're probably not wrong in expecting it) that they too will be immune from criminal prosecution (at least federal criminal prosecution) for any crimes they commit while they're in the administration.Robert WeissmanIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 2/13/26* Our top stories this week concern the Jeffrey Epstein case. According to POLITICO, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who, along with Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has led the charge to release the Epstein files, “took to the House floor Tuesday and read aloud the names of six ‘wealthy, powerful men' whose names were originally redacted,” in the files. These names include billionaire Victoria's Secret owner Leslie Wexner, Emirati shipping magnate Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and Italian politician Nicola Caputo, among other more mysterious figures like Salvatore Nuara and Leonic Leonov. Khanna used congressional representatives' unique power under the speech and debate clause to make these names public, after combing through the files personally along with Rep. Massie. Khanna added “if we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those 3 million files.”* Speaking of hiding names in the files, Axios reports that Representative Jamie Raskin stated that “when he searched President Trump's name in the unredacted Epstein files… it came up ‘more than a million times.'” The implication of this statement is clear: Trump's cronies in the Justice Department are covering up the extent of Trump's relationship and involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. Another member of the administration, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, admitted under Senate questioning that he had lunch with Epstein on his island, along with his family, claiming he “could not recall” why they did. The administration is allowing members of Congress to view the unredacted files within certain hours via a database they describe as confusing, unreliable, and clunky.* Another surprising revelation from the files is that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries apparently solicited campaign donations from Epstein back in 2013. According to MSN, Epstein received a campaign solicitation via email from a fundraising firm touting Jeffries as “one of the rising stars in the New York Congressional delegation,” and offering Epstein “an opportunity to get to know Hakeem better.” Jeffries denies having any knowledge of this firm's outreach to Epstein and decried House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer's implication that he had any relationship with the late sexual predator and financier, calling Comer a “stone cold liar” and a “malignant clown.”* In non-Epstein related news from Capitol Hill, last week lawmakers held a hearing to probe the operations of autonomous taxi service Waymo. While Republicans chose to focus on Waymo's supposed ties to Chinese companies, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts grilled the chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, on the company's reliance on workers abroad for key safety decisions. Peña admitted that while some operators are located in the US, others – who step in when robotaxis encounter “unusual situations” – work remotely from the Philippines. Markey called this “completely unacceptable,” emphasizing that these workers may need to react “in a split second” during dangerous scenarios. Waymo is just the latest company marketing its services as high tech and autonomous, but later revealed to be reliant on cheap foreign labor. This from Business Insider.* ICE lawlessness continues to roil Congress. Many Democrats are now sounding the alarm that Trump's immigration police – masked, armed, accountable directly to him and backed to the hilt by the administration – could be used as a tool to suppress voter turnout by conducting raids at or near polling locations, thereby scaring citizens into staying home. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said “Trump is trying to create a pretext to rig the election.” Murphy, along with some Senate Democratic allies, pushed leadership to demand that ICE be banned from polling sites as a condition of government shutdown negotiations, but leadership balked, per POLITICO. While such a scenario can sound far-fetched, Trump has “falsely and repeatedly claimed for more than a decade that millions of illegal immigrants vote in the U.S., arguing that was one factor in his 2020 loss,” and, just before the 2020 election, he pledged to send “sheriffs” and “law enforcement” to polling places.* Drop Site News' Jacqueline Sweet reports 70 organizations, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Unitarian, as well as civil rights, academic, legal, peace, and human rights groups, submitted a formal request to the National Security Division of the Justice Department seeking a “Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) investigation into Canary Mission.” Canary Mission is a shadowy, infamous group that tracks pro-Palestine activity on college campuses. In 2018, they appeared at the George Washington University wearing spooky masks in an attempt to intimidate the student government into voting down a BDS resolution. They failed. This latest letter comes on the heels of a Drop Site story from January that “showed among other things that Canary is operated in Israel by a large Israeli team.” As the letter notes, the Foreign Agent Registration Act “exists precisely to address this type of potential activity carried out in the United States for the benefit of a foreign country.”* In more news regarding pro-Palestine activism, last week, six defendants linked to Palestine Action, a direct action protest group in the United Kingdom, were acquitted of aggravated burglary in connection with an alleged break in at Elbit Systems, a defense firm with close ties to the Israeli military, in August 2024. The persecution of Palestine Action has gone far beyond normal law enforcement. Some activists have been in pre-trial detention for over 500 days, more than double the maximum limit set by the Crown Prosecution Service. The case of the Palestine Action protestors has drawn outcry from international human rights groups, including the United Nations and Human Rights Watch. As HRW notes, in July of last year, the British government declared Palestine Action a terrorist organization and have now detained over 2,700 protestors over infractions as minor as holding a sign reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” As of now, over 20 activists are still in detention awaiting trial, many beyond the legal limits, and the six acquitted activists may face retrial. But for now, the group has scored a major victory in the face of overwhelming odds.* Turning back to domestic news, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appears to have pulled off a fait accompli in her reelection campaign. Last year, former Representative Elise Stefanik dropped her bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and sitting Rep. Mike Lawler declined to run. Now, Hochul's main primary opponent – Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado – has dropped his bid after Hochul secured the endorsements of New York City Mayor and political superstar Zohran Mamdani as well as the entirety of the New York Democratic congressional delegation. This from the New York Times. This is a stunning political feat for a Governor who won the narrowest gubernatorial election in the state since 1994 when she was last up in 2022. It now seems that Hochul will square off against Bruce Blakeman, the Trump-endorsed Republican executive of Nassau County in November.* Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the dynamic of the Mayoral race was upended this week by the last-minute decision of Councilmember Nithya Raman to throw her hat into the ring against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. Raman, an urban planner by trade, chairs the Council's Housing and Homelessness Committee and has “built her political identity around tenant protections, homelessness policy and efforts to accelerate housing production,” per the Los Angeles Daily News. Raman was the first of several Councilmembers elected with DSA support and she has maintained a strong relationship with the local branch despite tensions with the national organization, primarily over Israel/Palestine issues. Bass, who won a narrow election against billionaire developer Rick Caruso in 2022, has faced harsh criticism over her handling of the devastating fires in 2025 and her inability to make significant progress on the city's homelessness crisis. However, Bass maintains the support of much of the city's Democratic establishment, including the unions and much of the City Council and Raman's late entry will make it difficult for her to consolidate majority support across the sprawling western metropolis.* Finally, in a David-and-Goliath tale, we turn to TJ Sabula, the UAW Local 600 Ford factory line worker who called Trump a “pedophile protector.” Infamously, the president retorted by giving Sabula the finger and mouthing, “F--- you.” Ironically, Trump also trotted out his iconic catchphrase “You're fired.” Well, Sabula was not fired – and in fact “has no discipline on his record,” – because he was protected by his union, per the Detroit News. In a recent address, UAW Vice President Laura Dickerson said “TJ, we got your back,” adding “In that moment, we saw what the president really thinks about working people…As UAW members, we speak truth to power. We don't just protect rights, we exercise them.” UAW President Shawn Fain, who has emerged as a firebrand leader of the revitalized labor movement, commented “That's a union brother who spoke up…He put his constitutional rights to work. He put his union rights to work.”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

In part two of Red Eye Radio with Gary McNamara and Eric Harley, Marconi award winning radio host Dan Mandis fills in for the guys and we begin this hour with more about the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs, Kathy Ruemmler, announcing that she will resign following revelations of her links to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler's resignation comes after the DOJ's latest release of investigative files about Epstein showed that she had received gifts from Epstein, offered him advice on managing his reputation, and likened him to an older brother. Also Attorney General Pam Bondi testified today at a heated House Judiciary Committee amid ongoing controversies related to the Jeffrey Epstein files release, investigation into President Trump's political foes and the handling of the fatal shootings of two US citizens in Minnesota by immigration enforcement officers. Bondi called Rep. Jamie Raskin — a former constitutional law professor and the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee — a “washed-up loser lawyer,” as the clash between her and committee Democrats escalated over her approach to their questions. For more talk on the issues that matter to you, listen on radio stations across America Monday-Friday 12am-5am CT (1am-6am ET and 10pm-3am PT), download the RED EYE RADIO SHOW app, asking your smart speaker, or listening at RedEyeRadioShow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump orders a drawdown of ICE in Minnesota, but Democrats go radical anyway; we examine the increasing impact of Bernie Sanders on the Democratic Party; and Trump makes more moves to open the economy. Ep. 2368 - - - Click here to join the member-exclusive portion of my show: https://dwplus.watch/BenShapiroMemberExclusive - - - Facts Don't Care About Your Feelings - - - Today's Sponsors: ExpressVPN - Go to https://expressvpn.com/ben and find out how you can get 4 months of ExpressVPN free! PureTalk - Make the switch in as little as 10 minutes and start saving today! Visit https://PureTalk.com/SHAPIRO - - - DailyWire+: Become a Daily Wire Member and watch all of our content ad-free: https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe

The U.S. government this weekend is expected to find itself in yet another shutdown. This time, it is only one agency shutting down: the Department of Homeland Security.Michael Gold, a congressional reporter for The New York Times, explains why Democrats are once again picking a fight over funding with President Trump.Guest: Michael Gold, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times, based in Washington.Background reading: Senate Democrats refused to move ahead with a spending bill needed to keep the Department of Homeland Security running.Video: How Democrats are trying to rein in ICE.Photo: Elizabeth Frantz for The New York TimesFor more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Live from Melbourne, Jon, Lovett, Tommy, and Dan react to Democrats' decision to stand firm on ICE funding and force a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, Pam Bondi's epic meltdown in front of the House Judiciary Committee, Megyn Kelly's unhinged response to the Bad Bunny halftime show, and what really happened with the the laser weapon that shut down El Paso airspace. Then, the Australian crowd and American hosts attempt to answer questions from each other's citizenship test.