Thanks to MAHA, Several States Just Implemented Bans on Using SNAP Benefits for Junk Food; also, A Friend of the Blog Is Running for Statewide Office in Nevada
—Buck Throckmorton
Week after week, and on issue after issue, the Trump administration has given voters like me occasion to say, “This is what I voted for.” Here is yet another example.
January 1 marked the commencement of several state-level bans on the use of SNAP benefits (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”) to purchase junk food. This was made possible by actions of the Trump administration, through the US Department of Agriculture, and in coordination with the Make America Healthy Again initiatives of HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Specifically, the USDA granted individual states the authority to implement waivers to federal regulations, thus allowing state-level determination of food products which may be considered ineligible for federal SNAP benefits. RFK Jr. was recently quoted as saying, “We cannot continue a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick, and then pay a second time to treat the illnesses those very programs help create.”
18 states have taken advantage of this opportunity, and the first junk food prohibitions on SNAP benefits were implemented on January 1, 2026. Those states were Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia.
Millions of SNAP recipients are about to face new limitations on what they can use the federal assistance program to buy, including bans on soda, energy drinks and candy, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."The Trump Administration is leading bold reform to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," the USDA said in a statement about the upcoming changes.
Should the federal government be telling people what food products they can and cannot consume? Of course not. Individuals can spend their own money on whatever they want. But the taxpayers who are funding SNAP have every right to demand that welfare money not be used on junk food.
"Every American who wants to eat a donut ought to be able to eat it or drink a Coke," Kennedy said in early 2025. "But the federal taxpayer should not be paying to poison our children. And we're going to end that."
13 more states will be rolling out various junk food bans on SNAP benefits later this year, including Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, Florida, Arkansas, Idaho, Hawaii, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.
Companies that have come to rely on the taxpayer-subsidized SNAP revenue stream are not happy.
“Big Sugar Ramps Up Lobbying Efforts as SNAP Soda Ban Spreads” [Bloomberg Government – 7/30/2025]
Food and beverage influence groups boosted lobbying efforts as more than a dozen states seek to block federal food aid recipients from using benefits to purchase sugary products.The American Beverage Association, which lobbies for Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., and other non-alcoholic drink makers, spent $1.7 million in the first half of 2025—more than double its outlay during the same period last year.
Grocery chains also lobbied hard to keep revenue from the taxpayer subsidization of junk food rolling in. A report by the National Grocers Association argued that prohibiting SNAP users from purchasing junk food would cost grocers about $1.6 billion initially, and another $759 million going forward. Apparently, a dollar spent on milk instead of soft drinks hits the income statement differently.
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The Morning Report — 1/9/26
—J.J. Sefton
Good morning kids. In the truly immortal words of Yogi Berra "It's Deja Vu All Over Again."
A suspected member of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua attempted to run over federal immigration officers in Portland, according to the Department of Homeland Security.One Border Patrol officer pulled a gun and fired a “defensive shot” at the vehicle. The suspected gang member and his passenger, also suspected of gang ties, sped off.
“At 2:19 PST, US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland,” Homeland Security said. “The vehicle driver is believed to be a member of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents.” “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene,” the statement continued.
. . . The shooting in Portland comes a day after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis. The woman had blocked a road with her vehicle. As federal officers exited their vehicles and approached her vehicle, requesting she exit hers, the woman backed up before pulling her car forward. One officer in front of the car then fired a fatal shot at the woman.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the ICE agents’ conduct, calling the incident “an act of domestic terrorism.”
“This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement who are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats,” the agency said.
First there is a difference between this incident and the one in Minneapolis in that the perps in Portland were actual illegal alien criminals, and knowing they faced prison and/or deportation and incarceration in a Venezuelan prison, which makes American prisons luxury resorts by comparison, naturally they, or at least the driver, had no compunction about slamming on the gas pedal to get the hell away. He and his companion had been hardcore criminal gangsters for many years before they met their end yesterday. The same can hardly be said of the now refrigerated corpse long in a coroner's meat locker somewhere up in Minneapolis. What was her excuse for winning a stupid prize for playing a stupid game? Am I splitting hairs in trying to make a distinction? Maybe, and yet. Hardened desperate criminals are going to do whatever they feel they must in order to escape and evade capture. If they feel they have nothing to lose then of course all bets are off even if it means killing a cop or an innocent bystander. Addendum: It's apparent Antifans and other Democrat approved street thugs must feel they have the political and legal cover to commit acts of political terrorism. We'll know for sure if the ICE agent who iced the terrorist in Minneapolis gets the Derek Chauvin treatment, as I suspect he might.
The dead asshole in Minneapolis somehow developed a mindset wherein her thought processes had become so twisted and her morality so inverted that she thought of these criminals as Jews fleeing the SS and the gas chambers so she took up arms, or in her case an SUV, to join in her mind some sort of equivalent of a Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Be that as it may, Her attempting to ram an Ice Agent who by the way . . .
The ICE agent who was forced to shoot and kill Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Wednesday after she tried to run him over had already survived a harrowing attack last June, when an illegal immigrant dragged him 100 yards during a traffic stop after trapping his arm in the vehicle.
Yeah, big mystery why he pulled his gun and shot to kill. . .
But in any event, it cannot be mere coincidence that we have a veritable plague of miscreants using automobiles, and mostly SUVs to ram ICE agents and police as they attempt to do their duty. As the great Walter Matthau quipped in The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 regarding how the hijacker knew how to drive a subway train, "You don't pick that up just by watching Sesame Street!"
Same deal with Islamikaze bombers. And now SUV road warriors. Someone is training them.
Radical leftist groups, including one financed with $7.8 million from progressive billionaire George Soros, are behind the anti-ICE protests in Minnesota, The Post has learned.Indivisible Twin Cities, which describes itself as a grassroots group of volunteers, has led many of the protests against ICE raids in Minnesota, where Renee Nicole Good was shot dead Wednesday after allegedly trying to mow down an ICE agent with her vehicle.
Indivisible is an offshoot of the Indivisible Project in Washington DC, which bills itself as a movement to defeat the “Trump agenda,” and received $7,850,000 from Soros’ Open Society Foundations between 2018 and 2023, according to public records. The controversial group was also behind recent pro-Venezuela protests and “No Kings” demonstrations against the Trump administration throughout the country last year.
In addition to Indivisible Twin Cities — which does not identify its leaders on its web site — other protest leaders include the Council for American Islamic Relations, an anti-Israel group whose Minnesota chapter’s executive director Jaylani Hussein has rallied against ICE at protests.
“A young observer killed in the line of observing, we believe in a peaceful manner. They are lying, as you hear today. They already shared lies about what took place,” Hussein said, speaking into a megaphone at an anti-ICE demonstration Wednesday.
Good, a sometime poet, has been described by leftist sources as a “legal observer” during the residential ICE action where she died. Good, who moved from Colorado to Minnesota last year, was an anti-ICE “warrior” and a member of “ICE Watch,” a coalition of activists dedicated to disrupting ICE raids in Minneapolis, The Post recently revealed.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, the founder of the Racial Justice Network, has also been a leader of the demonstrations. The Minnesota attorney and civil rights activist is one of the people helping organize the so-called “legal observers” who show up at raids throughout the city to document the federal agents’ activities, according to social media posts.
She also posts information about vigils and demonstrations on her social media accounts. Armstrong played a prominent role during the protests after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis in May, 2020, according to reports.
When embattled Minnesota governor Tim Walz announced that he would not be seeking re-election amid a sprawling welfare fraud in the state earlier this week, Armstrong criticized his move as a “retreat.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) has called up the state’s National Guard troops to assist local law enforcement as clashes between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and violent left-wing protestors continue in Minneapolis. According to the governor’s office and a report by CNN, the National Guard will “help protect critical infrastructure and maintain public safety.”“Governor Tim Walz has authorized the Minnesota National Guard to be staged and ready to support local and state law enforcement in protecting critical infrastructure and maintaining public safety following a shooting involving federal immigration enforcement agents in south Minneapolis,” a press release issued on January 8 by Gov. Walz’s office states.The statement continues: “Executive Order 26-01 provides the ability for the Minnesota National Guard to protect critical infrastructure and to assist local law enforcement with additional tasks as requested. The state is providing additional law enforcement resources in a coordinated response to aid local law enforcement. The Minnesota State Patrol has mobilized 85 members of its Mobile Response Team to support law enforcement efforts in the Twin Cities.”
Brilliant move, Timmy. As CBD and I discussed on the latest episode of the podcast, linked here and in the sidebar as well as available on the popular outlets listed at the bottom of the post, the last time a state called out the Guard to essentially challenge the United States Army was 165 years ago in South Carolina. And how did that work out for them and for America as a whole?
All President Trump has to do is federalize the Guard, and it's game, set and match. In any case it is as plain as day for anyone with eyes to see that the Democrat/Left is indeed fomenting insurrection and attempting to touch off a Civil War or at the very least to create such a crisis, as they did with the George Floyd riots (what the hell is it with Minneapolis?!) so as to use it as a smokescreen to gain the upper hand in the coming midterms or at the very least derail the last half of President Trump's second term which so far, in both foreign and domestic policies is on track to be a raging success.
Regardless of what the Fed may or may not do, the economy is recovering and in fact set to take off just in time for next November, the capture of Maduro is wildly popular and the Iranian mullahocracy which never would have come about were it not for Jimmy Carter lanting the seed and Clinton, Kerry, Obama doing all they could to keep them in power, may finally at long last be about to crumble.
The Insurrection Act should indeed be invoked and whoever and whatever is behind the political terrorism must be smashed to bits. You best believe at the heart of it all is the Democrat National Committee.
Have a great weekend!
And lastly, a quick shout-out and a huge thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.
- ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY LINKS
- "Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene."
Suspected Gang Member ‘Weaponized’ Vehicle Against Border Patrol Agents In Portland, DHS Says - “Details were scant, but city officials announced that the police responded to a report of gunshots in southeast Portland at 2:18 p.m. Pacific Time,” per the New York Times. “Officers were told a man had been shot and was requesting help; the police found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds, according to a police press release.”
Report: U.S. Federal Agents Shoot 2 in Portland, Driver ‘Weaponized’ Vehicle
- On the heels of the entirely preventable shooting in Minneapolis of the anti-ICE activist who tried to run down an ICE agent, there was another shooting on Thursday, this time in Portland, Ore., the scene of perpetual anti-border enforcement riots and protests.
Welcome to the Winter of Love, America! Illegal TdA Gangster and Woman Shot in Portland
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Daily Tech News 9 January 2026
—Pixy Misa
Top Story- Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI for dropping the "Open" part will go to trial in March over the strident objections of major investor Microsoft and OpenAI itself. (Tech Crunch)
OpenAI was originally structured as a public benefit corporation - and indeed a public benefit corporation with that name still holds a 26% stake in the company - but it abandoned any pretense of doing anything to benefit the public with the rise of Sam Altman.
Elon Musk was a major early investor and filed suit claiming that public statements by the leadership of the company were directly contrary to its actions, and the judge has ruled that there is sufficient merit to the claim for the matter to go to trial.
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Thursday Overnight Open Thread - January 8, 2026 [Doof]
—Open Blogger
Howdy Hordelings! Welcome to the Thursday night ONT. You know what to do.
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Lonely Man Cafe
—Ace
Pairs well with this theme
Kaiwan Shaban
Deaf senior dog lived beside dangerous freeway, whose cars she could not hear, and was rescued. A nice happy ending -- the deafness was due to a viral infection and was cured.
Little girl's best friend is a rescue wombat.
Greyhound gets all the other dogs at the park to get the zoomies.
Cutest little dog <visits the classroom.
I don't know if I buy the text. Not only is there a lot of AI, but people also make up the most emotionally-charged stories to make the videos go viral. Either way it's a super-cute dog.
Helping a sea turtle return to the sea.
Dog wants more skritches.
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Trump Announces US Withdrawal from 66 International Organizations and Treaties
—Ace
Did he decide to do this as a sop to the hard-core Paulites angry about him using American force to vindicate American interests? To balance out his "neocon" capture of Maduro?
Maybe, but it's a win-win for me.
President Trump has ordered the United States to withdraw from 66 international organizations and treaties, delivering one of the most sweeping breaks yet from what his administration views as a bloated globalist bureaucracy siphoning American taxpayer dollars with little accountability or return.At the center of the move is the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the umbrella treaty that underpins nearly every major international climate agreement and hosts the annual U.N. climate summits.
The decision prompted immediate outrage from European officials, with EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra lamenting that the world's largest economy was "retreating" from what he called the backbone of global climate action, adding that Europe would press on regardless.
Trump, by contrast, has been blunt that he sees no reason for Americans to bankroll institutions premised on what he has long dismissed as exaggerated or fraudulent claims about man-made climate catastrophe, especially while U.S. energy producers are being asked to shoulder the cost.
...The withdrawal order also pulls the U.S. out of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, along with a slate of related outfits including the International Renewable Energy Agency, U.N. Oceans, and U.N. Water, all of which receive funding and legitimacy from American participation.
Trump has likewise again exited UNESCO after the Biden administration rejoined it, and reaffirmed his earlier withdrawal from the World Health Organization, while sharply cutting foreign aid more broadly.
At Hot Air, Ed Morrissey noted that the Senate had actually ratified the gay Climate Change treaty, but he also points out it's only a "framework" without any definite commitments so even without a formal withdrawal, Trump can just completely ignore it.
Marco Rubio Informs Congress That Trump Wants to Purchase Greenland
—Ace
Territorial expansion is one way to get yourself into the history books.
NYT:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told lawmakers that President Trump plans to buy Greenland rather than invade it, while Mr. Trump has asked aides to give him an updated plan for acquiring the territory, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.Mr. Rubio made his remarks in a briefing on Monday with lawmakers from the main armed services and foreign policy committees in both chambers of Congress. The same day, Mr. Trump told aides to deliver an updated plan.
The Danish PM has warned that if the US annexes Greenland -- without their permission, I think she means -- then that means the NATO treaty is formally nullified.
As many people have said: We accept your terms, now kindly fuck off and join the Greater Islamic Caliphate per your current political trajectory.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is warning that NATO itself would collapse if the United States moved to forcibly annex Greenland--an extraordinary escalation in rhetoric that underscores Europe's growing anxiety over President Trump's sharpened focus on the Arctic.Frederiksen told POLITICO that Trump should be taken "seriously when he says that he wants Greenland," a position rooted in the island's immense strategic value and its vast mineral reserves. But she went further, issuing what amounted to a dire warning for the transatlantic alliance: "If the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War."
Trump has made clear that securing Greenland is a matter of national security, given its location at the front door of the Arctic--a region where America's adversaries have been expanding their footprint. And while he hasn't ruled out military action, the White House signaled this week that force is hardly the only tool available. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told CNN there was "no need to even think or talk about" a U.S. operation against Denmark, citing the island's population of just 57,000. "Nobody is going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland. That doesn't make any sense," he said, before questioning Denmark's historic claim altogether. "What right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?"
I think the whole idea is nuttier than a Snickers bar but Trump has had nutty ideas before and some of them have worked out. (Other remain nutty.)
In related news, Marco Rubio has publicly denied rumors that he's being offered the GM job with the Miami Dolphins.
That said, I don't think that's really Marco Rubio. But I thing it makes for a fun post.
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It Is Beyond Time for the Insurrection Act
—Ace
If the left wants Civil War, we should give it to them, all they can bear and then twice more.
Doctor_Zero @Doctor_Zer04h
The Democrat Party is many things: massive money-laundering operation, domestic terrorist organization, agent of hostile foreign powers, authoritarian, subversive. It has ceased to be a functioning part of American democracy in any meaningful sense.
The Democrat Party claims it has the right to use violence to nullify laws it does not like. We, the patriotic people of the United States of America, formally reject this claim, wholly and without reservation.
The Democrats claim their political violence is the fault of the victims who refused to submit to their demands. This is the catechism of terrorism - the blood is on your hands for resisting us. We, the American people, reject this doctrine and will hold Democrats accountable.
The Democrat Party believes it should operate without oversight or responsibility, running massive fraud operations in multiple states and using its control of the media to protect the criminal operations, while Dem politicians rake in cash. We energetically reject this demand.
The Democrat Party believes elections it loses are invalid, and it has an unlimited right to stage insurrections until it is returned to power. We, the American people, wholly and completely reject this belief, and will insist Democrats serve as the loyal opposition.
Democrats believe their Party dogma is superior to duly-passed laws, and they have an unlimited right to interfere with the enforcement of laws the Party hates, exercising power beyond democracy. We, the American people, insist Democrats cease their interference with the law.
Democrat feel no duty toward lawful American citizens and believe foreign nationals are morally and practically superior. We insist the Democrat Party reaffirm and abide by its duty to the people and constitution of the United States.
Democrats feel no responsibility whatsoever to safeguard taxpayer money, protect the integrity of our elections, or build trust in our institutions. We insist they begin attending to these duties, instead of profiteering from the corrupt system they have created.
We refuse to live under the rules Democrats are trying to write, where they can overturn elections they lose and nullify laws they don't like. We will no longer be terrorized, or looted. We will no longer allow every square inch of our lives to be politicized.
If Democrats are unwilling to show proper respect to the American people and our constitutional republic, they must be replaced with a functional opposition party as quickly as possible. Until then, they are the enemies of this republic, and should be treated as such. /end
Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck50m
Very important info about the ICE shooting:
The agent that shot Renee Good yesterday, as she drove toward him, had been dragged by a car over 300ft just 6 months ago by a man who had been charged with sex crimes against a child.
This is a photo of him in the hospital.
This happened one month after Tim Walz called ICE the modern day Gestapo. The agent had over 30 stitches, luckily escaping death.
So being hit or dragged by a car wasn't some theoretical event he had the luxury of Monday morning quarterbacking. He had ONE SECOND to make a judgement call with a car accelerating at him: Shoot to save my life or potentially die being run over or caught and dragged by this car?
A very compelling argument can be made that Democrat politicians are to blame for both events here. In one, an illegal was radicalized to believe he could run from the "Gestapo" and likely believed the Walz Admin would protect him. In this one a woman radicalized by Dem politicians and media believed that she could impede law enforcement without consequence. She ended up dead as a result.
The position Democrats are putting our ICE agents in is just objectively dangerous and evil.
Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichterA DEEP DIVE -- Thoughts From a Competent Lawyer on the Minneapolis ICE Shooting:
1. The left is positively turgid about this INCIDENT. They wanted a shooting and did everything they could to set the conditions that made it inevitable, from the rhetoric of the Democrat politicians to the provocations on the street. One leftist white lady dead is a small price to pay for the martyr they wanted.
2. Note that yesterday (1/6/26), the Democrats changed from "The feds are the Gestapo" to "A zillion federal officers died defending Our Democracy, and we support these heroes- here's a plaque!" back to "The feds are the Gestapo" the very next day.
3. The law is clear -- you can use deadly force against someone threatening you with deadly force. The ICE agent had no duty to retreat. This does not matter to the left and its narrative. You will see many experts with zero actual knowledge of the law opining -- including the typically terrible cadre of leftist lawyers.
4. The video is clear that the driver was heading at and came in contact with the ICE agent. He had a right to use deadly force to defend himself. This does not matter to the left and its narrative. The left will do everything it can to keep people from looking at the actual video that shows the incident. It will push video that does not show the incident clearly, as well a perjured or irrelevant witness statements.
5. The leftist narrative will be "Trump's ICE nazis are literally murdering innocent people." This will work on Democrats and Republican sissies. Normal people will ask why she did not comply with the officers' orders and why she drove at a cop. Properly addressed, we can leverage the gross irresponsibility of the Dem pols and communist foot soldiers to defeat their bogus narrative.
6. The corrupt state of Minnesota will "investigate" even though its senior officials have already announced that this was murder, and the ICE agent will be indicted in state court. The feds will remove it to federal court, where the case will fail.
7. There will be a civil suit against the US government and the shooter. It will be heard in federal court. Qualified immunity will apply.
8. The shooter will be doxed and his family threatened by leftists, who will cheer this on.
9. There will be rioting in Minneapolis, probably low-grade, since too much will make the left lose sympathy. If it gets serious, look to Trump to send in the armed forces, perhaps under the Insurrection Act.
10. The anti-ICE direct actions will accelerate. Trump will not back down. There will be a decision point facing to the left: Continue the current level of actions, which will have zero effect, or escalate into (further) attempts to murder ICE agents. Some leftists will embrace escalated violence.
The Administration should focus rigorously on the following key points:
1. ICE was present in Minneapolis doing its job removing dangerous criminals.
2. Democrat politicians are creating a dangerous situation with their rhetoric and caused this incident.
3. Democrat activists have been putting people at risk with their dangerous action and it must stop.
4. The communist woman was ordered to stop but attempted to kill a federal agent, who lawfully defended himself with deadly force. WATCH THE VIDEO.
5. WE WILL NTO BACK DOWN FROM MAKING AMERICA SAFE FORM ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIMINALS, INCLUDING FRAUDSTERS.
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Unexpectedly, US Trade Deficit Plummets to Lowest Level Since Global Depression Year 2009, Shattering "Expert" "Expectations"
—Ace
Exports rose a solid 2.6% while imports fell 3.2%.
The trade deficit--a measurement by which the cost of a country's imports is worth more than its exports--shrank to $29.4 billion in October, the narrowest gap since June 2009 and a 39% decrease from September ($48.1 billion), the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported.Imports decreased 3.2% in the month to $331.4 billion from September, while exports jumped 2.6% to $302 billion, according to the agency.
Wall Street expected the trade gap to widen to $60.6 billion, according to FactSet.
The effective tariff rate imposed by the U.S. was 17.9% in October, the highest since 1934, according to the Budget Lab at Yale.
Forbes claims that this shows that Trump's tariffs "disrupted international trade more than expected." That's one way to put it, I guess.
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Revealed: The ICE Agent Who Shot the Paid Antifa Disruptor When She Turned Her Car on Him... Had Been Run Over By An Illegal Alien Six Months Ago, and Dragged Down the Street With His Arm Trapped in the Car
—Ace
But they're just "protesting," you know.
The ICE agent who opened fire in Minneapolis Wednesday was dragged 100 yards by an illegal migrant in Minnesota last June after his arm was trapped inside the vehicle during a traffic stop, The Post can reveal.The attack on the officer, whom The Post is not naming, happened June 17 in Bloomington, Minnesota, exactly a month after embattled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz labeled ICE agents "modern-day Gestapo" while speaking at a University of Minnesota Law School graduation in May.
ICE agents conducted a traffic stop on Roberto Carlos Munoz, a serial illegal immigrant from Guatemala with a lengthy rap sheet with charges including domestic assault and sex crimes against an underage teenager, according to records.
Munoz refused to exit his vehicle when officers approached his car, and the officer broke the back window in order to open the vehicle from the inside.
The suspect then sped away with the ICE agent's arm caught between the seat and the car frame, according to the Justice Department.
Prosecutors said he was violently dragged more than 100 yards as the suspect weaved back and forth in an attempt to shake him loose from the car.
The agent was hospitalized with "significant injuries to his arm and hand," requiring 33 stitches, but made a full recovery, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement at the time.
...
A photo shared by CBS Minnesota showed the agent laid out on a hospital bed displaying his arms, one covered in blood seeping from several deep gashes.
Munoz was arrested and charged with assaulting the officer and was convicted by a federal jury last month.
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CBS "News:" The Totally-Legitimate Non-Fraudulent Day Care "Targeted" by Nick Shirley Has Now Closed, For Unkown Reasons We Couldn't Possibly Speculate About
—Ace
The motive may never be known, they swore.
A Minneapolis day care featured in a right-wing YouTuber's video about alleged fraud in Minnesota is now closed, according to state records.Quality Learing Center [spelling corrected to the proper "Learing"] closed on Tuesday, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services' licensing records. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families said that the center requested closure of its license effective Tuesday.
"The provider is unable to reopen without reapplying for a license," the agency reported.
The center's last licensing review, in June, found several operational violations but noted no evidence of fraud.
...
CBS News conducted its own analysis of several of the day centers Shirley mentioned; all but two had active licenses, according to state records, and all active locations had been visited by state regulators within the last six months.
But we know that "regulators" were purposely not doing any regulating at all. They were not verifying enrollment records.
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families visited nine of the day cares from the video, finding children present at eight of them.
Oh, after the video they rustled up some of their cousins' kids for a bit of matinee theater?
The ninth had not yet opened for the day when inspectors visited.Quality Learning Center received $1.9 million from Minnesota's Child Care Assistance Program in fiscal year 2025, according to the department. DCYF said it was made aware on Dec. 19 that the center intended to voluntarily close, but during a visit 10 days later, it learned it had chosen to remain open.
Shirley's video reignited furor over fraud in Minnesota.
But not in the media.
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Nick Shirley's New Scoop: There Are 1000s of Fraudulent Minnesota (Somali) "Transport Companies" Taking Federal Money to Drive Around Patients, But the Patients are Phantoms
—Ace
I'm beginning to see a pattern.
YouTuber Nick Shirley says Minnesota's non-emergency medical transportation system has become a sprawling fraud operation hiding in plain sight, alleging that more than 1,000 transport companies are billing taxpayers for services that appear not to exist.In a video posted Monday, Shirley said his yearlong review of state records, site visits, and documentation -- conducted with a researcher he identified only as David -- points to a network of shell transportation outfits clustered around adult daycare centers, charter schools, and Medicaid-funded programs, particularly in the Twin Cities.
"To have that many non-emergency medical transportation companies, it's not possible that they can transport that many people," David said, describing repeated visits to a Minneapolis facility where vans "have not moved one inch in an entire year," despite ongoing billing.
...
Similar whistleblower complaints have surfaced in Maine and Ohio involving Somali-led health providers, and on Monday HHS disclosed new scrutiny tied to foreign officials.
"I can confirm public speculation that Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, Permanent Representative of Somalia to the UN and President of the Security Council, is in fact associated with Progressive Health Care Services, a home health agency in Cincinnati," Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O'Neill wrote, adding that HHS "has previously taken action against Progressive in response to a conviction for Medicaid fraud."
Shirley's new video dials things up to 11.David Hoch, co-founder of Minnesotans for Responsible Government, joined him on the ground in Minneapolis, revealing an insane truth: this fraud hits hundreds of billions nationwide. Minnesota's slice? At least $80 billion. Layers of shell companies obscure the cash trail, including 1,200 medical transport outfits in the area that do nothing while collecting taxpayer dollars.
Hoch swears by his evidence. "I have been to many of these transportation companies, and I've been time-stamping my photographs for a whole year at one facility in Minneapolis, and those vans in that parking lot had not moved one inch in an entire year. They're all still sitting there."
Hoch also revealed a widespread ballot-harvesting operation tied to Somali communities in Minnesota, claiming the scale of the activity is "way beyond anybody's imagination," adding that "the state doesn't even know" and "the feds don't even know."
Shirley asked Hoch why a judge would allegedly defer to what he described as the "head of the Somali mafia." Hoch responded that the influence stems from raw political power. He described the Somali community as a unified voting bloc that has effectively held Minnesota Democrats hostage. "What they say is if you do something to go against our community, we're gonna vote for, and they all vote together, and there's ballot harvesting, I've seen them do it, that, "We're gonna vote for your opponent, unless you do what we tell you to do.
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The Morning Rant: Our Goal In Venezuela Should Not Be The Creation Of a Jeffersonian Democracy
—CBD
The Trump administration and the United States military has begun the process of freeing Venezuela from the self-imposed grip of communist dictators. But the goal for us should not be to release Venezuelans from their bondage, but to stop the flow of drugs into America, end Venezuela's interference in our domestic affairs, and stop the illegal movement of petroleum.
That our activity is finally allowing some semblance of a resistance in Venezuela to coalesce around American military power is very nice, but it is a bonus. And our activities should be focused on what is best for America, not necessarily what is best for Venezuela.
It is the people of Venezuela who must continue the fight against their totalitarian masters, and if that means taking to the streets in mass protest, with the very real risk of a violent response from the ruling junta, then so be it. American blood and treasure has been spent too profligately in the last 20+ years for us to do more than support Venezuelan freedom fighters as a consequence of our efforts to further American interests.
She also issued sharp criticism of Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in as interim president on Monday. Rodríguez has served as vice president under Maduro since 2018."Delcy Rodriguez, as you know, is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco trafficking," Machado said.
"She's the main ally and liaison with Russia, China, Iran, certainly not an individual that could be trusted by international investors. And she's really rejected, repudiated by the Venezuelan people."
Machado's presence in Venezuela will be a perfect focus for the people's efforts to overthrow the communist structures of government and the military. She is far too public and well known a figure for the current dictator to arrest and kill her, and she can be a continual reminder of their manipulation of the 2024 presidential election.
The Trump administration's assumption that Delcy Rodríguez is the correct choice to maintain some semblance of continuity in government is an odd one, since she is simply a reflection of Maduro's fanatical anti-Americanism, and a willing participant in the evil perpetrated by the communist government. Hopefully she will be kept on a very short leash as the Venezuelan people do the work to dismantle communism. But even if Rodríguez remains in power, as long as our national security interests proceed, that is up to the people of Venezuela to remedy.
The real question is whether a communist dictatorship is structurally capable of functioning as an honest player on the world stage. The historical record suggests that the answer is a resounding "NO!" So communism in Venezuela will probably end if our goals are to be achieved. But that is a delightful bonus...not the end game.
[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]. If you folks who are on X/Twitter would follow us it would be much appreciated!
The Morning Report — 1/8/26
—J.J. Sefton
Good morning kids. The top story is of course not only the justified taking out of what can only be described as a domestic terrorist behind the wheel of an automobile as she attempted to mow down ICE agents in Minneapolis, but of the truly insane, heinous and altogether completely predictable reaction of the Anti-American Left and its heart of darkness in the Democrat Party. The Projection and incandescent chutzpocrisy to blame President Trump and ICE for doing their duty in rounding up and deporting illegal aliens while at the same time encouraging and praising violent attacks on ICE and police is off the charts infuriating.
Yesterday at 2:22PM, Ace himself said
It's time for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act.
Considering that this is a "Smart Military Blog ™" and that many of you are smart military people and/or just smart people, You know full well what he is referring to, but for the sake of clarity, this is what it states:
The Insurrection Act is a U.S. federal law passed in 1807 that originally authorized the president of the United States to deploy “such part of the land or naval force of the United States” that the president deems necessary to suppress an insurrection or to enable the local enforcement of federal or state laws. The act thereby expanded the president’s existing authority—under the Militia Acts of 1792 and 1795—to employ state militias to repel invasions or to enforce federal laws. The original text of the Insurrection Act is: individual state or territory, where it is lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection, or of causing the laws to be duly executed, it shall be lawful for him to employ, for the same purposes, such part of the land or naval force of the United States, as shall be judged necessary, having first observed all the pre-requisites of the law in that respect.
Psaki-Psircling back to the chutzpocrisy of the Left, considering what happened at the Capitol 5 years ago this past Tuesday, imagine the nightmare scenario if God-forbid Hillary Clinton had been President. There is no doubt that Ashli Babbitt and Roseanne Boyland would've been two among dozens or scores of Americans whose bodies would've been stacked like cordwood, and the Republican lawmakers and others rounded up and arrested for fomenting insurrection.
That said, President Trump would be completely justified in his invocation of that act. And now given the fact that the pederast criminal governor Walz is contemplating calling up the National Guard to essentially do what that now ventilated asshole in the car attempted to do and that is form a skirmish line to open fire on ICE agents to stop them from doing their sworn duty.
I think at some point, and very soon, President Trump is going to have to go before the American people to address this very dangerous and explosive situation before things get out of hand if indeed we've already blown past that warning sign. What happened is not the first incident of this kind as attacks on ICE and Police have been through the roof this past year.
What I would like to see is the President hold a nationally televised ceremony to to award the Ice agents who took this terrorist down some sort of medal of valor. Hopefully before the left turns the ventilated terrorist into the next George Floyd/Horst Wessel.
That and declare total war on all organized and individual acts of anti-law enforcement insurrectionists. And as Ace suggested if the insurrection act is invoked. It's high time to decapitate the head of the snake — The Democrat National Committee and anyone who publicly foments, and approves of any assault on any law enforcement officer, national or local. It's terrorism straight up. It must be crushed. Whatever dangers there may be politically in the near or long term, the danger to our civil society is real and it is mortal Doing nothing will be one of the final signposts on the road to America's extinction as it was founded.
This madness ends now, or ultimately it ends us.
The Insurrection Proclamation: Trump issued it eight months ago. Governors called it an immigration order. When you review the eight-month timeline you recognize what most ‘experts’ miss. The April 28 EO satisfied every Section 334 requirement. It designated sanctuary conduct as insurrection. It provided formal notification. It established consequences. It granted eight months to comply. Compliance never arrived. California and New York passed laws shielding criminal networks. Illinois officials threatened to prosecute ICE agents. Multiple states coordinated legal defenses against federal authority. Courts blocked every standard enforcement attempt. They certified that ordinary measures have become impracticable.
Have a great day.
And lastly, a quick shout-out and a huge thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.
- ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY LINKS
- Trump issued it eight months ago. Governors called it an immigration order. (Hat tip to bothGrumpy/Recalcitrant & Helena Handbasket - jjs)
The Insurrection Proclamation
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Daily Tech News 8 January 2026
—Pixy Misa
Top Story- Bose SoundTouch smart speakers, which cost up to $1500 each, will reach the end of support next month and be dropped from the Bose app, becoming very expensive dumb speakers. In a surprising turn of events, Bose has just announced that they won't be all that dumb either. (Ars Technica)
Cloud support well end as scheduled, but they will instead work with your own local wifi without need for a cloud app. And Bose has released technical documentation for the SoundTouch APIs, allowing hackers to create open source solutions.
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Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - January 7, 2026 [Apollo Rex]
—Open Blogger
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Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans of the post-cafe overnight variety.
Welcome to the Wednesday night ONT which means another edition of random overnight fun and games. Pull up a chair and sit a spell. Good will offerings of amusing puns are happily accepted. Pants are optional. Be nice to your fellow commenters and AoS contributors.
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Corporate Pranks Cafe
—Ace
Dog is jealous of a man's sleeping pillow.
Kind of hard to believe but I'll allow it.
Panda going HAM on a slide.
Golden is mesmerized by her first snow.
Sharing some food with beggars.
This thief is going to be disappointed when he opens up the package.
Excellent prancing.
Dog appoints himself protector over a little lamb.
If you don't nip Evil in the bud, it's your fault.
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Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Special Session to Redistrict Florida
Tim Walz Activates National Guard -- Hinting He'll Use It to Fight FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
—Ace
This is still my guy. And he doesn't play footsie with Nazis just to keep Tucker Carlson on his side.
This is a small surprise, because while DeSantis talked about doing this, he mostly talked about doing this after the Supreme Court rendered judgment on the Democrat-fabricated "rule" that legislative districts must be drawn to elect as many minorities as mathematically possible. The Supreme Court hasn't ruled on that yet, but DeSantis is going ahead with the redistricting plan.
lorida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that he will convene a special legislative session for redistricting."Today, I announced that I will be convening a Special Session of the Legislature focused on redistricting to ensure that Florida's congressional maps accurately reflect the population of our state," he posted on X.
"Every Florida resident deserves to be represented fairly and constitutionally. This Special Session will take place after the regular legislative session, which will allow the Legislature to first focus on the pressing issues facing Floridians before devoting its full attention to congressional redistricting in April."
Meanwhile, potty-mouthed pork-chop Jasmine Ratchet erupted into a, get this, profane tirade over the Supreme Court refusing to step in and save her own racially-contrived district.
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett erupted into a profanity-laced tirade this week after the Supreme Court declined to step in and block Texas's newly drawn congressional maps, a ruling that clears the way for Republicans to gain as many as five additional House seats in 2026.In a video posted to her YouTube channel, Crockett blasted the Court, President Trump, and GOP-controlled state governments, accusing them of "rigging the system" ahead of the midterms. "Obviously, Trump is still doing his bidding with these state Houses and state Senates and governors' mansions to try to rig the system," she said, before praising states she claims are resisting Republicans. "Kudos to Indiana for saying f*** you. Kudos to California for saying we're going to fight back." Crockett then aimed her anger directly at the justices, exclaiming, "And f*** you to the Supreme Court for what they did."
She then ate the microphone and took a selfie with her backfat.
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