In a sign of deteriorating levels of freedom of speech and attacks on the press, a German court has slapped the editor-in-chief of Deutschland Kurier, David Bendels, with seven months probation,according to the newspaper.
The Bamberg District Court found that a satirical photo montage about Federal Minister Nancy Faeser to be an instance of “defamation against political figures,” under Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code (StGB).
The photomontage was shared in Bendel’s newspaper, and she is seen holding up a sign that reads:
“I hate freedom of expression.”
Ich bin der Meinung, dass man der Meinung sein können MUSS, dass Frau Faeser die Meinungsfreiheit hasst. Und wenn sie sowas anzeigt und man dann dafür 7 Monate Gefängnis bekommt- ist es keine Meinung mehr. Sondern offenbar eine verifizierte Tatsache. pic.twitter.com/oHXJFcaQQF
— Beatrix von Storch (@Beatrix_vStorch) April 7, 2025
The satirical creation was based on a real photo of Faeser where she was holding a “We Remember” sign to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Politicians are also chiming in with their opinion on the verdict. AfD MP Beatrix von Storch write on X: “I believe that one MUST be able to believe that Ms. Faeser hates freedom of speech. And if she reports something like that and then gets sentenced to seven months in prison, it’s no longer an opinion. It’s apparently a verified fact.”
One of Faeser’s most controversial statements during her term of interior minister was: “Those who mock the state must be dealt with by a strong state.” It appears with this verdict, she is sending exactly that message.
🇩🇪 These are harrowing words from far left German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
The SPD politician is pushing to introduce 13 new measures to clamp on “right-wing extremists,” but these “extremists” will inevitably be the rival anti-immigration @AfD party.
Faeser actually filed the criminal complaint herself, which is part of a general trend of German politicians filing criminal complaints against citizens for “insults” and “memes.”
The conviction is especially shocking in terms of how satire is produced in Germany, with satirical magazine Titanik filling every issue with harsh and offensive content mocking politicians, especially those from the right. Late-night hosts like Jan Böhmermann are equally harsh towards the right, yet suffer no such consequences. The Cologne Carnival also features incredibly offensive floats, including those targeting AfD’s Alice Weidel.
NEW – Alice Weidel, leader of the German AfD party, will be presented tomorrow on a carnival float in Düsseldorf as a “swastika witch” with a wart on her nose who seduces first-time voters. pic.twitter.com/CardGpN7ZK
The editor, Bendel, says that he and his newspaper, Deutschland Kurier, “will not accept this verdict” and will “fight it with all legal means at their disposal.”
🇩🇪BREAKING:
The German police state has formally arrived.
Incredible backlash after Germany’s far-left Interior Minister Nancy Faeser uses Stasi methods and unilaterally bans Compact Magazine and orders police to raid the private homes of the publisher and employees with over… pic.twitter.com/8Mgf08LKb0
He said they will “continue the just fight for freedom of the press and freedom of expression, which is indispensable for the continued existence of democracy in Germany, with determination, stability and the utmost consistency.
Last year, the Bamberg District Court issued three ruling against Bendels, including for the Faeser picture. In total, he received fines that he must pay over the course of 480 days for three separate cases. He is now ordered to also apologize to Faeser. He has appealed all of the verdicts.
🇩🇪 Extraordinary scenes in Germany as police raid the home of Jürgen Elsässer, the publisher of the right-wing Compact Magazine, and remove various belongings from his residence outside Berlin.
Germany’s interior minister has placed a blanket ban on the entire publication.
China’s ambitions in space pose a “powerful destabilizing force” to the U.S. economy and national security, according to Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force.
“Space has become a warfighting domain,” Saltzman told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a bipartisan congressional panel, in a hearing on April 3.
“Over the last two decades, our competitors, China in particular, have invested heavily in counter space threats, kinetic and non-kinetic weapons that can deny, degrade, or destroy our satellites,” Saltzman warned.
The hearing took place as tensions have mounted between China and the United States regarding trade policies and tariffs. Saltzman’s testimony sheds light on the challenges that the U.S. military could face over a potential conflict in the western Pacific, including Taiwan.
Saltzman explained that China has been able to advance its space capabilities quickly because it has a “Western Pacific mindset,” pooling all its resources and advancing all capabilities in that region. In contrast, the United States has more global concerns, according to the Space Force commander.
“The modern battlefield has to account for the space domain,“ he said.
”If we can’t continue to protect our use of the domain and we can’t deny an adversary, it’s going to be tough to meet military objectives in any of the other domains.”
In his written testimony, Saltzman explained that the Chinese regime’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has set out military objectives for the space domain.
“Intelligence suggests the PLA likely sees counterspace operations as a means to deter and counter U.S. military intervention in a regional conflict,” Saltzman wrote.
The general said China’s space weapons include ground-to-space missiles and ground-based lasers, the latter of which can “disrupt, degrade, or damage satellite sensors.”
“By the mid-to-late 2020s, we expect them to deploy systems high enough in power that they can physically damage satellite structures,” his testimony reads.
Currently, China’s military exercises “regularly incorporate radio frequency jammers” against space-based communications, radars, and navigation systems, according to Saltzman.
“Intelligence suggests the PLA may be developing jammers to target a greater range of frequencies, including U.S. military protected extremely-high-frequency (EHF) systems,” he said.
In 2022, China used a satellite equipped with a robotic arm to tow a defunct Chinese navigation satellite to a graveyard orbit. Saltzman said such a robot-armed satellite was an example of how satellites can have both civilian and military applications and that it is “not a science fiction” that China can use such technology to “capture enemy satellites.”
China is also practicing “dogfighting in space,” Saltzman said, saying his service has seen Chinese experimental satellites conducting “unusual, large, and rapid maneuvers” in geostationary orbit in recent years. Based on the observation, Saltzman said Beijing “is resolved to contest [U.S.] spacepower through combat operations.”
“China’s advancement in space technology, their stated desire to dominate, and Beijing’s disregard for international norms for the responsible use of space make them an incredible danger to U.S. prosperity and security,” he said.
“China’s determination to deny U.S. spacepower in the Indo–Pacific could not only degrade of [sic] our military space-based capability, but it would threaten the satellites of our allies and commercial partners as well.”
These Are The U.S. States With The Highest And Lowest Tax Burdens
A new study looked at the highest and lowest tax burdens, per state, in the U.S.
To rank states by tax burden, WalletHub analyzed all 50 based on three factors: property taxes, income taxes, and sales/excise taxes — each measured as a share of personal income — and combined them for an overall score.
Hawaii tops the nation in total tax burden, with residents surrendering nearly 14% of their income to state and local taxes, according to the new report from WalletHub. This includes 4.2% for income taxes, 2.6% for property taxes, and a hefty 7.2% for sales and excise taxes.
At the opposite end, Alaska has the lightest tax load. With no state income tax, and modest property and sales tax burdens of 3.5% and 1.5% respectively, Alaskans pay just 4.9% of their income in total.
Wyoming and New Hampshire follow closely behind, with total tax burdens of 5.79% and 5.94%, respectively. Wyoming similarly benefits from having no income tax, while New Hampshire, despite its steep property taxes — the second highest in the nation — offsets this with extremely low sales taxes and no general sales tax at all.
Other low-burden states include Tennessee, South Dakota, and Florida, all of which also forgo a state income tax. Tennessee residents pay only 6.38% of their income in total taxes, while South Dakotans and Floridians pay slightly more at 6.46% and 6.49%, respectively. Delaware also ranks low at 6.52%, due in large part to its minimal sales tax burden — the second lowest in the country.
These states reflect a broader trend: the lowest-taxed states often avoid personal income taxes altogether and keep consumption-based taxes in check, making them attractive destinations for taxpayers seeking to maximize their earnings.
When it comes to income taxes alone, New York leads with the highest burden, taking 5.8% of residents’ income.
Vermont ranks highest for property taxes, collecting 5% of personal income. In contrast, Alabama offers the lowest property tax burden, claiming only 1.4%.
For sales and excise taxes, Hawaii again leads, with residents paying 7.2% of their income annually. New Hampshire sits at the other extreme, with no general sales tax and minimal excise taxes, amounting to less than 1% of income.
The WalletHub report says red states have a lower tax burden than blue states, on average.
Analyst Chip Lupo commented: “It’s easy to be dismayed at tax time when you see just how much of your income you lose. Living in a state with a low tax burden can alleviate some of that stress. Some states charge no income tax or no sales tax, although all states have some form of property taxes and excise taxes.”
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which is regarded as the top authority on the international arms trade, released its latest report about related trends from 2020-2024 last month.
Their fact sheet did a nice job pointing out such trends as the 64% drop in Russian arms exports between 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 as well as Qatar more than doubling its arms imports to become the world’s third-largest importer, but there are still five details that evaded most observers:
1. Israel Isn’t Among The US’ Top Ten Arms Recipients
SIPRI casually mentioned that “Israel was the 11th largest recipient of US arms exports in 2020–24 with a share of 3.0 per cent” right after reporting that Saudi Arabia received 12% and Qatar 7.7%. Framed differently, the Saudis received four times as many arms as Israel did and Qatar two and a half times, which challenges popular perceptions of Israel’s role in the US’ military-industrial complex. These facts deserve further reflection, but the conclusions might upset some activists in the Alt-Media Community.
2. The US Is Replicating Russia’s “Military Diplomacy”
Russia is known for practicing a policy of “military diplomacy” whereby it arms friendly pairs of rivals (Armenia-Azerbaijan, China-India, China-Vietnam, etc.) with the intent of maintaining the balance of power between them and thus advancing political solutions to their disputes. The US is now replicating that policy in the Gulf by arming Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which still view each other suspiciously despite their nominal rapprochement, but it’s unclear whether this can help keep the peace between them.
3. Italy Relied On The Mideast To Double Its Exports
Italy surprised everyone by more than doubling its arms exports to become the world’s sixth-largest supplier upon carving out a comfortable niche for itself in the Mideast. Qatar (28%), Egypt (18%), and Kuwait (18%) collectively constitute almost 2/3 of its sales over the past half-decade and little less than a quarter (24%) of Turkiye’s arms imports came from Italy during this time too. Italy also now has more “other armoured vehicles” on order or preselected for future sales than any of its competitors too.
4. Poland’s Arms Transfers To Ukraine Were Donations
SIPRI lists Poland as the world’s 13th-larget arms exporter during this period due to it transferring over 40x more equipment than during the last one, 96% of which was to Ukraine, but they omitted to mention that these were all donations. According to its outgoing president’s official website, Poland gave more tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and aircraft to Ukraine than anyone else. Since they were all transferred pro bono, however, that should have been explicitly mentioned in SIPRI’s report.
5. The Chinese-Serbian Arms Trade Deserves Attention
One of the most intriguing trends from SIPRI’s report is that China’s second-largest arms market is Serbia at 6.8% of its exports, which comprised 57% of Serbia’s imports, nearly three times as many as from Russia (20%). This proves that Serbia’s pro-Western military pivot, which was analyzed here in January after its Chief of General Staff admitted that sanctions led to lost Russian arms contracts, is milder than thought. Evidently, Serbia envisages balancing between China and the EU, which is a unique policy.
The abovementioned five details are nowhere near as significant as the top takeaways that from SIPRI’s fact sheet, but they’re nevertheless still important enough that observers should be aware of them and then monitor how they might develop.
The US’ Russian-inspired “military diplomacy” in the Gulf and Italy’s unexpected rise as a major Mideast arms dealer are the main ones to pay attention to if observers are pressed to choose since they could have a much greater geopolitical impact than the other three.
Undoing a major avenue of Biden Administration aggression against gun dealers, the DOJ and ATF on Tuesday announced the termination of the Federal Firearms Administrative Action Policy, also known as the Zero Tolerance Policy. Evidencing the warm relationship between the Trump administration and America’s firearm community, the news was first reported by Gun Owners of America (GOA), which scooped every major media outlet. Other moves are reportedly in the works — including changes to regulation of pistol braces, and background checks on private firearms transactions.
“First introduced under the Biden administration, the policy aggressively targeted gun dealers for minor paperwork errors—creating fear and uncertainty across the firearms community,” GOA said in a press release that praised the move as a “major Second Amendment win.”
As set out by the Biden administration, the Zero Tolerance Policy set out to yank firearm-dealers’ licenses if they were found to have made any of a number of infractions, such as “willfully” selling guns to convicted felons, failing to perform a background check, or failed to help police trace weapons used in crimes. Some critics said it was a pretext for a reducing the number of firearms dealers in the country.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation lauded the policy’s eradication. “This reckless policy throttled small businesses and drove many to shut down by threatening crippling administrative costs to fight against penalties for minor errors and infractions that were previously reconciled in good faith between ATF officials and law-abiding firearm retailers,” said NSSF SVP Lawrence G. Keene. Gun control advocates condemned the move. “The reversal of this policy is a gift to the gun industry, sending a clear signal to rogue gun dealers that they can break the law without consequences,” said “Brady,” the awkwardly-short name now used by what was once called the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
GOA also announced that two other noteworthy deregulatory moves are coming soon. The first would kill the Biden-era ban on pistol braces, which turned millions of peaceable Americans into felons for owning something that was legal when they acquired it. Pistol braces were designed in 2012 to help disabled veterans shoot rifles more accurately.
The catalog of leftists saying positively ignorant and idiotic things about firearms is vast, but President Biden on pistol braces must be in the top five, as he claimed that “putting a pistol on a brace…turns [it] into a gun,” and allows it to shoot a “higher-caliber bullet”:
Putting a pistol on a brace turns it into a gun and makes your bullet a higher caliber…🤡 🤡 🤡
The lies prove that the Regime’s objective is the complete disarmament of peaceable people.
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) June 17, 2023
The brace ban was already on its last legs, having been repeatedly found by judges to be “arbitrary and capricious” and/or exceeding ATF’s authority. “[The pistol brace rule] allows the ATF to arrive at whatever conclusion it wishes without ‘adequately explain[ing] the standard on which its decision is based,” wrote the majority in an August ruling from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Another rule is in the White House’s sights: The one requiring a background check on a private gun sale, in a way that critics said could ensnare a widow selling her late husband’s shotgun to a friend. Licensed firearms dealers were already required to perform background checks, but the Biden administration expanded the interpretation of who is considered to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms.
The “Zero Tolerance” policy at @ATFHQ is officially gone. Thanks for your leadership in reforming this agency @Kash_Patel. The review of stabilizing braces and who actually is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms has begun. @NRA
On Feb. 7, Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Biondi to scour federal regulations and policies with the goal of identifying and eliminating those that infringe on the Constitutionally-protected right of armed self-defense. At the time, the White House said the Zero Tolerance Policy was one of its principal concerns:
The so-called “zero tolerance” or “enhanced regulatory enforcement policy” put in place under the previous administration led to a nearly six-fold increase in enforcement actions against Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL’s), many of whom are mom-and-pop shop small businesses who made innocent paperwork errors.
A few weeks later, Trump made a highly unorthodox personnel move, tapping ardent gun-rights advocate Kash Patel, who’d recently been confirmed as FBI director, to take charge of the ATF too. The White House is reportedly considering a reorganization that would see ATF merge with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Trump administration has been a mixed bag, but so far, it’s really delivering on the rollback of infringements on the right of armed self-defense.
At Least 12 House Republicans Consider Signing Anti-Trump Tariff Bill: Report
At least a dozen House Republicans are mulling whether to sign onto Rep. Don Back’s (R-NE) bill which would restrict the White House’s ability to unilaterally impose tariffs, Axios reports.
Bacon is crafting a companion bill to the Trade Review Act of 2025 introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), which would require the president to notify Congress of any new tariffs within 48 hours with the administration’s reasoning as well as an analysis of their economic impacts.
The bill would cause any tariffs to expire after 40 days unless Congress passes a resolution of approval. It would also give Congress the ability to pass a resolution of disapproval which would eliminate the tariffs within the 40 day period.
According to Bacon, Reps. Jeff Hurd (R-CO) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) along with two Democrats have signed onto the bill as co-sponsors.
“I have 10 others who want to do it but they want to talk to the trade representative first,” Bacon told the outlet.
That said, some House Republicans claim (anonymously) that they would support the bill, however Trump has vowed to veto it if it comes across his desk (making the entire effort performative).
According to Bacon, he’s in no rush to force the issue and bring the bill up for a vote, but he isn’t ruling out an effort to bring it to the House floor.
“I don’t think it’s likely for this next month, maybe two months. I want that bill sitting there, and as we study the stock market, inflation, unemployment, this may be a viable way,” Bacon said, adding that “there is a prospect” that he ends up instead introducing a discharge petition – a procedural maneuver that, if signed by 218 members, can bypass leadership and force a vote on any bill.
Only to face the Senate, and then get Trump’s veto.
Over the past few years, there has been a tremendous amount of buzz about an imminent “reset” of the global economy. Well, what we are currently witnessing may not look like what they were anticipating, but a “reset” of the global economy is definitely here. Trillions of dollars were invested to set up the global supply chains that we have today. I have always argued that we should have never allowed ourselves to become so dependent on goods that are made elsewhere, and making more things in this country is a goal that every administration should pursue. Unfortunately, you can’t just reverse decades of investment and construct entirely new supply chains overnight. For example, it costs approximately 10 billion dollars to build a manufacturing facility that makes computer chips, and construction time can run between 3 and 5 years. So anyone that thinks that we can just hit a “reset button” and magically make things better is simply being unrealistic.
We just witnessed the largest tariff increase in our history. Many companies that invested enormous amounts of money into global supply chains that were carefully calculated to give them a competitive advantage have just had their businesses ruined. At the end of last week, I wrote that the global economy “has already been moving in the wrong direction for quite some time, and now a massive amount of fuel is being poured on to that fire”. I do not believe that the global economy is going to be able to handle a shock of this magnitude.
The tariffs have sent shockwaves through global financial markets, raising fears of a worldwide economic downturn and sharp price hikes across sectors in the world’s biggest consumer market.
‘The Trump administration may be playing a game of chicken with trading partners, but market participants aren’t willing to wait around for the results,’ Michael Arone, investment expert at State Street Global Advisors said.
‘Investors are selling first and asking questions later.’
Hopefully you were able to get out of the stock market before the carnage started.
Many are hoping that President Trump will reverse course after witnessing what has happened on Wall Street, but we are being told that there will be no turning back…
Trump administration officials messaged that the tariffs are to be implemented, and are not up for negotiation, across the Sunday political shows.
“The tariffs are coming. He announced it and he wasn’t kidding. The tariffs are coming, of course they are,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
So get ready to see some shocking price increases.
Shoppers may find their favourite electronics, including iPhones, will soon become much pricier due to the tariffs if companies pass the price onto consumers.
Despite moves to expand its supply chain, Apple still makes the vast majority of its iPhones in China, where hardware exports will be hit with a tariff totaling 54 per cent from April 9.
The cheapest iPhone 16 model was launched in the US with a sticker price of $799, but could cost as much as $1,142, per calculations based on projections from analysts at Rosenblatt Securities, who say the cost could rise by 43 per cent.
This is going to be a devastating blow to our standard of living.
Sadly, instead of seeking to negotiate with President Trump, the Chinese have decided to retaliate by hiking tariffs on U.S. goods…
China announced Friday it will impose 34% tariffs on the U.S., just days after President Donald Trump unveiled the same amount against Beijing under his reciprocal tariff plan.
The new China tariffs against the U.S. will go into effect on April 10, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social.
So now a full-fledged trade war is raging between the largest economic power on the planet and the second largest economic power on the planet.
What do you think that is going to do to the global economy?
It doesn’t take a degree in economics to figure that one out.
The European Union will likely approve a first set of targeted countermeasures on up to $28 billion of U.S. imports in the coming days, Reuters reported Sunday.
The European Commission, which coordinates EU trade policy, will propose to members late on Monday a list of U.S. products to hit with extra duties in response to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs rather than the broader reciprocal levies.
It is set to include U.S. meat, cereals, wine, wood and clothing as well as chewing gum, dental floss, vacuum cleaners and toilet paper.
Here we go.
This is it folks.
The days ahead will be filled with pain.
At this stage, analysts at JPMorgan are telling us that there is a 60 percent chance of a recession…
Jamie Dimon finally has his hurricane. JPMorgan’s economics team has just raised their recession probability to 60% following the aggressive tariff stance announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a note entitled, “there will be blood,” chief economist Bruce Kasman and his team said this year’s 22-percentage tariff increase amounts to the largest tax hike since 1968.
Personally, I think that the analysts at JPMorgan are being wildly optimistic.
There is no way that we are getting out of this unscathed.
Earlier today, I read an excellent article about how these tariffs are going to affect the big shoe companies. They have spent billions of dollars setting up their global supply chains, and they can’t just suddenly decide to start making shoes somewhere else…
The crux of the problem is that, since the 1990s, apparel and footwear has moved abroad. As Swartz explains, performance companies in particular invested billions of dollars into the roads, ports, factories, and rail lines that make up the complex supply chain feeding Vietnamese infrastructure.
It’s in everyone’s interest to keep these factories working. Vietnam relies on the business for their economy. Corporations rely on Vietnam to produce goods. Nike, for instance, doesn’t own a single one of its factories globally.
“You can’t just call a factory in India and say can you make 20 million of shoes for me, they don’t have the capacity,” says Swartz. Idle factories don’t exist globally. An unused factory is shut down, and its staff is fired. Furthermore, specialized production methods behind modern footwear don’t exist everywhere. Sewing is simple. But injection molded foam composites, polymer production, and complex fabric weaving are other topics. A modern sneaker may have as many as 100 parts produced in different factories, and if any one component doesn’t arrive in time, everything is slowed down. Building an infrastructure of factories with interdependent specialized production methods—and with workers skilled enough to operate them—can take years.
These tariffs are going to produce winners and they are going to produce losers.
Many once thriving businesses will suddenly start going under, and we are being warned that “the next wave of corporate defaults” is right around the corner…
Donald Trump’s global trade war is already priming financial markets for the next wave of corporate defaults. A Bloomberg News measure of distressed debt worldwide swelled the most in at least 15 months this week, sending more than $43 billion of bonds and loans to levels that make it challenging to refinance.
The president had telegraphed well in advance his intention to raise tariffs ahead of the official April 2 announcement. But few had expected Washington to go after so many of its key trading partners with such high duties, especially considering the risk of upending global supply chains that entire US industries rely on.
Some Trump supporters are speculating that President Trump is disrupting the global economy and causing the financial markets to crash on purpose.
In fact, a video that discussed this theory was shared by Trump himself on Truth Social on Friday. But now we are being told that crashing the financial markets is “not part of an intentional strategy”…
A crashing stock market is not part of an intentional strategy by President Donald Trump, White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. This came after Trump shared a link to a video on his social media platform, Truth Social, which claimed the president was causing the markets to plummet on purpose as part of his broader economic plans.
The video, which initially appeared on TikTok in March, was shared by Trump on April 4, two days after his tariffs announcement.
“Trump is crashing the stock market by 20% this month, but he’s doing it on purpose. … And it could make you rich” the video said. It continued by adding that such a move by Trump would help “push cash into treasuries, which forces the Fed to slash interest rates in May. … It also weakens the dollar and drops mortgage rates. Now it’s a wild chess move, but it’s working.”
It is going to be fascinating to see how everything plays out.
By dramatically hiking tariffs, the U.S., China and the European Union are essentially taxing the living daylights out of their citizens.
They will bring in more money, our standard of living will drop quite a bit, and economic activity will slow down significantly.
If we do not reverse course, this is a story that is not going to end well.
Trump Weighs Drone Strikes On Mexican Cartel Terrorists Amid Major Hemispheric Defense Push
After two months of U.S. military surveillance flights targeting Mexican drug cartels—with the initial phase focused on gathering signals intelligence (SIGINT) over cartel-controlled territory—a new NBC News report hints at the second phase…
The report cites six current and former U.S. military, law enforcement, and intelligence officials with knowledge of the Trump administration are considering targeted drone strikes against Mexican drug cartels – now designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).
Here’s more from NBC News:
Discussions among White House, Defense Department and intelligence officials, which are still at an early stage, have included possible drone strikes against cartel figures and their logistical networks in Mexico with the cooperation of Mexico’s government, the sources said.
Still, the administration has made no final decision and reached no definitive agreement about countering the cartels. And unilateral covert action, without Mexico’s consent, has not been ruled out and could be an option of last resort, the sources said. It is unclear whether American officials have floated the possibility of drone strikes to the Mexican government.
All six sources said SIGINT operations over Mexico have dramatically risen in recent months. A development readers have understood from the start of February:
Making sense of it all: Dismantling the command-and-control structures and networks of FTO-designated drug cartels in Mexico is part of a broader mission to secure hemispheric defense. We suspect Mexican banks could be targeted next—similar to the recent anti-money laundering penalty against TD Bank—as part of efforts to clean up the financial system across North America.
This will all come to an end under Trump.
The main concern for CIA officers or special forces units—typically operating under Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)—who would likely be tasked with carrying out drone strikes and other targeted operations against cartels, is the risk of creating a power vacuum when cartel leadership is dismantled. The question becomes whether drone warfare is the most effective solution or if hybrid warfare tactics—similar to those used in Syria and other Middle Eastern conflicts—could be utilized to pressure or provoke rival cartels into turning on each other (save AGM-114 Hellfires for somewhere else).
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on April 7 that he will tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending fluoridation in municipal water nationwide.
Kennedy also said the HHS will reconvene the Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel composed of public health and prevention experts, “to study and make a new recommendation on fluoride.”
Kennedy disclosed the plans to the Associated Press on Monday during an event in Salt Lake City, where he was joined by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin as part of a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) tour.
The EPA said on April 7 that it is reviewing “new scientific information” on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The agency has the authority to set the maximum level of fluoridation in public water systems.
Kennedy is an outspoken opponent of fluoride in water, calling it an “industrial waste” and “dangerous neurotoxin” on the presidential campaign trail last year.
Last month, Utah became the first state to prevent fluoride in public drinking water when Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed the legislation. Water systems in communities across the state must stop adding the mineral by May 7.
Flanked by Utah legislators, Kennedy praised the state for emerging as “the leader in making America healthy again” on April 7.
“It makes no sense to have it in our water supply. And I’m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it. And I hope many more will come,” Kennedy said.
Utah state Rep. Stephanie Gricius, a Republican and chief sponsor of the bill, said it allows pharmacists to prescribe fluoride for those wanting the mineral’s protection for their teeth.
“I believe in individual choice when it comes to what prescriptions we put into our bodies and fluoride is federally regulated as a prescription,” Gricius told Reuters last month.
“Community water fluoridation and informed consent, which is foundational to good health care, cannot coexist.”
The American Dental Association (ADA), which supports widespread water fluoridation, wrote in a February letter to Cox that he should veto the bill because it is “in complete opposition” to the organization’s mission.
The ADA said the measure would “take away the most effective, efficient and equitable way for dental disease prevention.”
Lawmakers in Ohio, South Carolina, and Florida have also proposed restrictions on fluoridated water.
Though the CDC’s recommendations are generally followed, state and local governments determine if their communities will add fluoride to water. It cannot surpass the maximum number established by the EPA, which is currently 4 milligrams per liter.
In 2011, the EPA decreased the amount of allowable fluoride in water following a report from the National Academy of Sciences that discovered some thyroid and arthritic symptoms might occur under maximum limits at the time.
“As soon as I was nominated by President Trump as administrator of the EPA, the secretary instantly reached out to start talking about issues that he is so passionate about. And number one on that list was fluoride,” Zeldin said.
Lee Zeldin, then a New York congressman nominated for EPA chief, speaks during his Senate confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 16, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Federal officials endorsed water fluoridation in 1950 to prevent tooth decay.
Drinking water is the main source of fluoride for Americans, the Associated Press reported. According to CDC data, around two-thirds of the U.S. population consumes fluoridated drinking water.
Zeldin noted that the EPA was exploring scientific studies regarding the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water to “inform the agency’s future steps” on national standards.
“Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue. His advocacy was instrumental in our decision to review fluoride exposure risks, and we are committed to working alongside him, utilizing sound science as we advance our mission of protecting human health and the environment,” Zeldin said on April 7.
Days before the presidential election last November, Kennedy wrote in a post on X that one of Trump’s first acts in office would be to advise U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.
Last week, the CDC’s Division of Oral Health was eliminated as part of widespread HHS staff cuts.
The division had been tasked with promoting what it deemed the safety and benefits of community water fluoridation.
Medical groups and public health experts have long claimed that fluoride can strengthen teeth and reduce cavities.
Over time, studies have documented potential problems.
A federal judge in California last year ordered the EPA to review the risks of adding fluoride to drinking water.
Since that ruling, severaltowns and cities have moved to end fluoridation.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, speaks during a press conference about Utah’s new fluoride ban, food additives, and SNAP funds legislation in Salt Lake City on April 7, 2025. Melissa Majchrzak/AP Photo
On April 7, Kennedy cited a study conducted last year by the federal National Toxicology Program, which found a link between higher fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children. The agency used studies involving fluoride levels at around twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
Kennedy warned that fluoride in water can also cause hyperthyroidism and osteoarthritis, among other conditions. Adding fluoride to water “clearly is doing harm” and is undermining freedom of choice, he added.
“We shouldn’t be demanding that parents accept something for their children and in their homes, that is essentially a medication,” Kennedy said.
Democrats don’t hate Trump… they want to be him, mimicking his style but failing to connect with voters, exposing their desperation and lack of authenticity…
By now, everyone and his brother is familiar with Trump Derangement Syndrome, that particular pathology that drives liberals and even many conservatives absolutely batty. Not only does Trump drive his opponents and detractors to fits of apoplexy, but he also compels them to make foolish statements and to embrace positions they would otherwise never even consider. During Trump’s first presidency, at the height of the COVID panic, the left openly and ardently dismissed a vaccine as partisan quackery. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, then running against Trump, openly warned that “his” vaccine was not to be trusted, that they would be hesitant to take it, and that they were sure the experts would not recommend it. As soon as they hit 270 electoral votes, however, that vaccine was suddenly the greatest thing in the history of ever, and you better take it…or else! And while there are good and just reasons to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, it is almost inarguable that the American Left’s obsession with the war, with Ukraine, and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a byproduct of its belief that Donald Trump is on Putin’s side and, therefore, they must do precisely the opposite. Whatever he likes, they hate. Whatever he supports, they oppose. Whatever he says, they say the opposite. And so it has been for roughly a decade now.
Lately, however, a new Trump-related syndrome has begun to manifest among his opponents, one that is equally potent, equally idiocy-inducing, and equally self-defeating. This new syndrome has been prevalent among Democrats for the last several months at least, but only recently has it clearly distinguished itself from all the Democrats’ other pathologies. The key moment in the diagnosis of this syndrome came just the other night, when Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D, TX) spoke at a banquet in Los Angeles and referred to her state’s Governor Greg Abbott as “Governor Hot Wheels.” Abbott, of course, is wheelchair-bound after a freak accident 41 years ago left him paralyzed. Crockett insisted that she meant no offense and adamantly refused to apologize.
In the several days since the incident, critics have pilloried the Congresswoman, who had already been in the news for her brash, combative, and tacky approach to dealing with the second Trump team. Some have said that she deserves to be censured. Others have chalked her stupidity up to the above-mentioned Trump Derangement Syndrome. Still others cheer her on and hope that she remains the face of the Democratic Party for a long time to come, laughing at how terribly her antics play with ordinary voters. All of these folks have valid cases, to some degree or another, yet all seem to have missed the larger point here. Jasmine Crockett isn’t acting like this because she’s mad at Trump or because he’s driven her crazy. She’s acting this way because she admires him, at last subconsciously, and she wants to be like him, to capture some of his winning lightning in Democrats’ losing bottle.
This isn’t a case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. It’s a case of Trump Wannabe Syndrome (TWS™).
It isn’t just Crockett. Ever since Trump and Vance won last November, Democrats have been swearing, snarling, and trying to be as crude as possible. A few weeks back, in a premeditated publicity stunt, Arizona Senator (and former astronaut) Mark Kelly (D) filmed himself with his Tesla and whined about how he could no longer stand to drive the car. Once upon a time, he said, it felt like a “rocket” to him, but now he didn’t want it around because it was “built and designed by an a**hole,” meaning DOGE boss Elon Musk. “Wow,” he assumed we’d all say, “such tough talk from an otherwise staid and cautious guy. He must be really fed up!” No one actually cared, of course, but Kelly likely didn’t realize that. He’s a Democrat, after all, which is to say that he doesn’t have a whole lot of contact with actual rank-and-file voters.
Therein lies the rub for Democrats. They see Trump out there swearing and using vulgar vernacular and maybe, once in a while, even making fun of disabled people. And then they see him winning, winning big, and winning among their erstwhile constituencies. And they think to themselves, “I can do that too, you know! In fact, I can do it better than he does it!” So, they try. And they fail. And the voters cringe.
What the Democrats don’t understand is that Trump’s appeal has nothing to do with being crass. There is no doubt that he is crass sometimes, but that’s a function of his personality. It just flows from him, and while it may make the cocktail-party set wince a bit, it nevertheless fits him and seems perfectly natural.
Like all supremely successful politicians, Trump has a gift, an uncanny ability to connect with people in a way that transcends politics and ideology. Ronald Reagan had the gift. Bill Clinton had it too. Even Barack Obama, the Condescender-in-Chief, showed flashes of the gift on occasion.
It’s worth noting that the gift is not something one can fake, learn, or imitate. You either have it or you don’t.
Jasmine Crockett doesn’t have it.
Mark Kelly doesn’t have it.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t have it.
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer sure as heck don’t have it.
And the more they try to fake it, the more grotesque and cringeworthy they appear.
Love him or hate him, Donald Trump represents something extraordinary in American politics. His connection to average voters, in spite of his vast fortune and privileged life, is as remarkable as it is inexplicable. His Democratic opponents have lost their ability to connect to average folks through policy and rhetoric, and they want desperately to recapture what they once had. Rather than put in the hard work of listening to voters and resisting special interest groups, however, they seek a quick fix.
They seek what Donald Trump has. They don’t hate him. They want to be him when they grow up.
