Trump's War on Canada May End Badly

by Rod Williams, Dec. 26, 2025- One can be a well-informed citizen and still miss a lot these days. With Trump the occupant of the White House, more happens, and there is hardly time to focus on one alarming thing before that thing is replaced by a new something. Trump is a master at flooding the zone. 

In addition to Trump's moving fast and breaking things, flooding the zone, and diverting attention, some things are just more interesting than others, and these things take up all the bandwidth. Also, there are limits to how much people want to pay attention to political news. Many may watch a program like Meet the Press and the local news and feel they are adequately informed. In normal times, they might have been. 

While the capture of oil tankers and the extrajudicial murder of suspected drug smugglers and the Epstein files dominate the news, some other outrages get scant attention. One such thing is the unprecedented and masterful corruption of the Trump administration. Another is the rapidly deteriorating relations with Canada and Canada's response and the market response.

Canada has been our closest ally for decades. When America has been engaged in foreign conflicts, we could always count on Canada to be a junior partner and commit troops. Our economies are deeply intertwined and we share the world's longest unprotected border, and we listen to the same music and watch the same movies and share much of the same culture.  It is almost as if the two nations were like cousins. We are seeing all of that being ripped apart. Even if Trump leaves the White House at the end of his term and even if sanity returns to trade relationships, our relationship with Canada may never be the same. 

The most remarkable development is that Canada is taking steps to protect itself in the event the US invades.  Concerns over potential annexation, fueled by Trump's comments about making Canada the 51st state and seeing Trump's belligerent behaviour elsewhere in the world has sparked discussions within Canada about potential defense strategies. It is hard to believe we have reached this point but Canadians are talking about guerrilla warfare tactics should the US invade. 

Some of Canada’s top military strategists are working on a plan to boost the country’s armed forces.  Canada is increasing its military spending and, for the first time, will meet NATO's target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense and has committed to the new target of 5 percent. Canada is also in the process of creating a civil defense force made up of as many as 300,000 volunteers. Canada has professional armed services of about 65,000 and a reserve force of about 300,000. This proposed civil defense force would be in addition to those forces. 

Another development signaling the deteriorating US-Canada relationship is that it appears Canada will not buy the US Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets it had planned to buy, and instead buy the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen. For one thing, Canada is simply angry at the US for the trade wars and talk of annexing Canada. For another, Canada does not want to be reliant on the US for spare parts and upgrades if tensions continue to rise between the two nations. There are consequences to US beligenrcny, and trade wars. The US is not the only place to buy advanced fighter jets. 

As the trade war continues, Canada is fighting back with embargoes and boycotts. You may have heard that Jim Beam whiskey has suspended production for a year. Canada has been boycotting American whiskey and Canadians did consume a lot of American whiskey. Expect more iconic American brands to disappear from shelves. 

Trump's placing tariffs on Aluminum from Canada is hurting America and creating shortages. There is growing concern about a potential shortage of high-grade aluminum from Canada for U.S. military use.  Canada supplies high-grade aluminum vital for U.S. defense needs, and the tariffs are impacting everything from aircraft to armor. Canada is finding new buyers for high-quality aluminum. If America wants to again buy high grade alumimun, the supply may not be availlable and if it is, it will demand a higher price.

The U.S. produces only a fraction of the aluminum it consumes, relying heavily on imports, primarily from Canada. While Trump's stated goal of his tariff policy is to return production to America, the US simply can't produce the aluminum we need. Factories cannot be built overnight and if they could, the US does not have the raw materials. In addition to not having the raw material and the fact that building new factories takes time, the US does not have the necessary energy to smelt aluminum. One report I saw recently said that to smelt the amount of aluminum we consume would require the energy of ten Hoover Dams. I have not verified that this is true, but aluminum production does require a lot of energy, which we do not have. While Canada is providing relief to its aluminum industry to soften the blow of the tariffs, it is successfully finding new buyers for its aluminum. The stockpile of aluminum that U. S. manufacturers hold has dropped from a three-month supply to a one-month supply. Soon we will feel the effect of Trump's policy. Even if we drop the tariffs, new aluminum will cost more.

The U. S. agriculture sector is also being hurt by Trump's tariff policy. Not only is Trump destroying the export market, making it hard to sell US exports like soybeans abroad, but Trump's policies are increasing the cost of agricultural inputs. One of those inputs with an almost inelastic demand is potash. Farmers have to have it. Organic farming is a niche boutique thing, but it can't feed the nation. Without potasium many crop yields are so low that they are not worth producing. The U.S. gets the vast majority of its potash from Canada, with Canada supplying around 80-90% of U.S. potash imports. With the tariffs in place, Canadian potash producers are cutting back on the mining and production of potash and are laying off staff. When the spring planting season rolls around, even if Trump lowers the tariff, the disruption may mean there is not enough potash available to meet our farmers' needs. The US does not have the natural deposit of potash we need. We just can't make it. While this trade war over potash is a self-inflicted wound for the US agriculture sector, it is a source of tension between our two nations. 

So many of Trump's policies make no sense. For generations, we had an almost seamless border between Canada and the United States. In the winter, a lot of Canadians would get in their car and drive south to Florida to escape the harsh Canadian winter. Obviously, Trump is an economic illiterate. Otherwise, why would he want to curtail tourists visiting America? Econoically tourism acts as an export. Foreigners get something we have that they want, and we get their money. Trump is making it harder for us to take Canadians' money.  

Canadian tourists are facing new hurdles visiting the U.S., including heightened border scrutiny, mandatory registration for stays of over 30 days, increased questioning about past cannabis use despite pot being legal in Canada, and requiring Canadians to allow US border officials access to their social media accounts, among other insults. While they can't drive there, many Canadians avoiding visiting the US are instead visiting the Caribbean or Europe. Canadian tourism is off by something like 37%, and polls show that number to drastically increase as Canadians say they will not be visiting the United States. 

Canada is standing up to the United States in other ways. Canada just opened its first consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, to boost its Arctic presence, security, and diplomacy. In light of Trumps continuted talk of annexing Greenland, this shows defiance of the United States. All of Greenland only has a population of 65,000, and I doubt there are a lot of Canadian toursit visting Greenland, so I doubt the new consulate will be a very busy one, but this shows the U.S. that Canada stands with Greenland. 

Despite some auto manufacturing moving from Canada to the U.S. to avoid Trump tariffs, the U.S.is also losing some manufacturing to Canada. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing is expanding in Canada and not in the United States. Canada has rapidly been finding new markets for its goods, expanding trade with the EU and the Pacific. While over three-quarters of Canadian exports use to head south, one might be tempted to think Canada would just accept whatever the US is dishing out, but it is not. Canada is fighting back and while the Trump tariffs have caused hardships and layoffs in Canada, it is surprising how rapidly Canada has found new places to sell its products, in many cases replacing the U.S as the primary customer.

In Trump-speak, Canada is holding some cards. We need to buy what Canada is selling as much as Canada needs to sell it. Canada is holding other cards they have not played yet. One is water. The American Southwest is in the midst of a severe long-term draught getting worse by the day.  Groundwater supplies are being depleted faster than they can be replenished. The Columbia River Treaty, between the US and Canada, governs the sharing of water between the two nations. If relationships continue to deteriorate, Canada could turn off the spigot. 

Canada also supplies a lot of electricity to cities like Buffalo and Rochester and  Seattle and Portland and to large parts of the states of  New York, Michigan, Minnesota, and much of New England. If the war on Canada continues, Canada could turn off the lights.

This story of how Canada is finding new trading partners and resisting U.S.economic aggression should have a happy ending for Canada; however, I fear what may be coming next.  Despite the U.S. wounds from the trade war with Canada being self-inflicted, I could see Trump arguing that we must have Canadian potash, aluminum, rare earth minerals, water, and electricity, and arguing it is necessary to occupy Canada to secure the things we need for our survival. Unfortunately, a lot of flag-waving Trump supporters would cheer him on. 

On a good day, I think this conflict with Canada will end with a whimper. Trump is old. He may die. If not dying soon, he may be weakened when the Dems retake the House, and his aggression may be checked. On a good day, I think that even if J.D. Vance succeeds Trump, we will see a relaxation of tensions with Canada. J. D. is not quite as crazy as Trump and will likely pull back from the brink and abandon any dream of annexing Canada. On a good day, while recognizing things will not return to the way they were before, I think relationships will normalize and equally beneficial trade will resume and Canadians will resume vacationing in Florida.

On a bad day, I see Americans coming home in flag-draped coffins killed by Canadian guerrillas resisting the American occupation. 

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Tennessee Schools See Gains in 2024-25 Letter Grades, Charter Schools Shine

Tennessee Charter School Center, Dec.23, 2025 -According to the 2024–25 State School Report Card released last Thursday, 355 schools across Tennessee earned an overall A—up from 290 last year. Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds highlighted the progress, saying, “We are inspired by the dedication of schools that excelled in School Letter Grades and are making a meaningful difference for students.” 

Public charter schools are seeing strong gains. Our analysis found 37% of Tennessee charter schools earned an A or B, with 30% improving their grade, compared to 26% of non-charter schools.

Nashville public charter schools earned A or B grades at more than twice the rate of non-charter schools, and 56% of Tennessee Charter School Commission-authorized schools earned an A. 

We encourage families to explore the state’s online School Report Card tool. It’s easy to search for your school and learn more about your child’s education, including test scores, growth data, and other important information to help support their success!

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My End-of-Year Giving Guide and List

By Rod Williams, December 2, 2025 - I am in the process of completing my end-of-year giving and for those who may be doing the same or are those who are normally not very charitable and are thinking of becoming so, I wanted to suggest you consider the organizations I list below. 

I don't make a distinction between supporting the cause of freedom and charitable giving. To my way of thinking, there is no better use of my money than in helping to conserve the American Founding.  I want to leave the world a better place than I found it and I want future generations to know the blessings of liberty, justice, a free-market economy, and a world not dominated by authoritarian and totalitarian tyrants.  I believe freedom is the greatest gift we can leave our descendants. The way I view it, making a campaign contribution to someone who will advance the cause of freedom is as worthwhile as giving to Saint Jude's or the Alzheimer's Foundation. 

I am not a wealthy man, and my contributions are modest by the standards of some, but for the last dozen years are so, I have had more disposable income than I have had in earlier periods of my life, so I have increased my giving.

Like last year, I am not feeling quite as generous as I have felt in years past. I am not sure why, exactly. With the reelection of Donald Trump and seeing how he is shredding the Constitution, and day by day imposing his authoritarianism on the nation, I think that helping thwart this march toward authoritarianism is the most important use I could make of my money, but I don't really know where it is best to spend it to that end. I refuse to support candidates or causes that advance a woke, progressive, socialist agenda.  I want to oppose Trumpism and yet not advance the left. 

Prior to the Republican Party becoming the Party of the Trump cult, I contributed to the RNC, the Senate Republican fundraising organization, the House Republican fundraising organization, and the Republican Governors Association and the State Party and the local Party. I also supported individual conservative candidates and I supported prominent conservative organizations such as the American Conservative Union, also known as CPAC, and the Heritage Foundation. I have recently seen no candidates worthy of my support and several of the Republican and conservative organizations that I used to support have abandoned the principles they long advocated and now advance the cause of authoritarian nationalist populism, so I no longer give to them. So, that money is looking for a home. 

I wish there was a prominent PAC dedicated to advancing traditional conservatism within the Republican Party and financing candidates to primary the Trump acolytes, but I don't see one, so I am holding a lot of my funding in reserve until I find the right place to put it to work. 

While organizations like CPAC and Heritage have gone Trump, there are still several think tanks and other organizations advancing conservatism and I have increased my contributions to these. I think it is important to fund the organizations that continue to promote free market ideas, constitutionalism, and liberty. Liberty is now threatened from the Trumpian right and the progressive woke left. Those promoting liberty need to be supported. 

In addition to the list below, I also help a couple of individuals financially. If you have a family member or an acquaintance in need whom you could help, that may be where your charity should begin. If people helped other people directly, there would be less demand for the welfare state. Personal giving creates a community bond, and you know if the recipient is deserving. Often, churches help fellow church members in this way. I am not a member of a faith community, but I think that supporting one's local congregation can be a good way to give.

Unfortunately, sometimes charity does more harm than it does good, both foreign and domestic charity. A good documentary that makes this point is Poverty Inc. Before giving, I ask myself if this organization just perpetuates dependency, or does it respond to a crisis, or support actions that really help people long-term. Sometimes it is hard to know.  

When I give, I want to make sure I am not being scammed and that the organization I support does more than just perpetuate itself. A lot of organizations spend more money raising money than they do funding their goal. A good source for checking an organization's efficiency is Charity Navigator and Charity Watch.

Another thing I consider when giving is that I don't want to support and encourage bad behaviors. I never give money to beggars holding signs on the side of the road. In addition to encouraging bad behavior, they may be trying to scam you. I don't want homeless people freezing on the streets, so I support organizations like The Salvation Army and The Nashville Rescue Mission, but do not support panhandling. 

I also do not contribute money to organizations that insult my values. For several years, I gave money to an organization that saves places of natural beauty in Tennessee and preserves critical habitats.  I still think they do a worthwhile job doing what they do. However, in one of their email communications about three or four years ago, they went off-topic and expressed their support for Black Lives Matter and pledged a commitment to equity and diversity, and social justice.  I support tolerance, equality, and non-discrimination, but not contemporary woke concepts of social justice and equity. I marked them off of my giving list. There was also another organization I stopped supporting for the same reason. I am not going to support any organization whose values I do not share and that insults my values.

I think in this age of misinformation and attacks on the press that it is important to support journalism, and I subscribe to many more publications than I can possibly read.  I subscribe to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal and some others. I also subscribe to The Tennessean, although it is not much of a newspaper; however, I do not want our city to not have a daily newspaper. If we don't support journalism, the truth will suffer, and corruption will flourish. While there are thousands of blogs and podcasts and pundits, a free society needs boots on the ground digging for the truth. We need more than just opinions; we need facts. I think subscribing to newspapers is a contribution to a better world and preserving freedom. I am not listing these publications as charitable giving but in a sense, it is. I am using my limited resources to advance a worthwhile goal. 

I also subscribe to National Review and a couple of other conservative journals that have not succumbed to Trumpism. In addition, I am a paid subscriber to The Bulwark and The Dispatch. I get more than enough of their free stuff on YouTube and newsletters, but I want to support them. Not all analysis can fit in a meme or be expressed in 280 characters. Good analysis and opinion journalism need to be supported. 

If you are looking for a place to give, please consider the following.

Rod's End-of-Year Giving List

The Beacon Center is my favorite non-profit and gets the largest single chunk of my charitable giving.  It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and independent organization dedicated to providing expert empirical research and timely free-market solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee.  Time and time again, Tennessee is recognized for being one of the most fiscally responsible and economically free states in the union.  Much of the credit for these honors is due to the work of the Beacon Center.  The Beacon Center has worked to ensure the Right to Work by pushing to overturn professional licensure laws that serve no purpose but to keep out the competition. They have worked to prevent local government from banning work-from-home opportunities like recording studios in homes in Music City. They have stopped local government from forcing homeowners to build public sidewalks when they remodel their homes. Beacon is responsible for enshrining the protection against being forced to join a union in the State Constitution.  Beacon gets much of the credit for the advancement of educational choice in Tennessee.  Beacon produces the annual "Pork Report," highlighting the most egregious examples of government waste in Tennessee.

Nashville Rescue Mission: "A Christ-centered community committed to helping the hungry, homeless, and hurting by providing programs and services that focus on a person’s entire life-physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and social. We are devoted to restoring the whole person through a Christian approach that helps the homeless and addicted learn how much God loves them and gain the biblical insight they need to lead a productive life in and for Christ.

We provide emergency services that meet immediate and practical need for people experiencing homelessness, hunger, disappointment, and regret. By meeting these most basic and immediate needs, not tied to any expectations, we provide “hope for today” in a nurturing environment that reflects the love of God in tangible ways.

Guests are cared for in a safe, supportive environment where they can find refuge and rest. Once their basic and immediate needs are addressed, case managers work one-on-one with each person to identify next steps, including healthcare and treatment options with a goal of helping them change unhealthy patterns of behavior.

If you or someone you know is in immediate need of food, clothing, or shelter, Nashville Rescue Mission serves three hot meals a day and is open 365 days a year. You are welcome here.

Nashville Rescue Mission’s Emergency Services Include: FOOD, SHELTER, CLOTHING, HOT SHOWERS AND PERSONAL HYGIENE, COURTYARDS/DAY ROOMS, CASE MANAGEMENT TRANSFORMATIVE PROGRAMS, EDUCATION/TRAINING."

The Mercatus Center: "A research center at George Mason University that advances knowledge about how markets solve problems and help us lead happier, healthier, and richer lives. For more than 40 years, Mercatus has supported leading talent and scholarship in the mainline economics tradition, applying rigorous research to real-world concerns. Through our continuing efforts to bridge the gap between theory and practice, we strive to realize a world where markets operate at their full potential to increase abundance, civility, and well-being. Your gift to the Mercatus Center ensures free-market ideas are championed in public policy, the academy, and the broader public discourse. 100% of your donation supports educating tomorrow's academic leaders as well as generating peer-reviewed research on today's most pressing issues."

Doctors without borders: "Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) translates to Doctors without Borders. We provide medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of health professionals, logistic and administrative staff - bound together by our charter.  Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality. We are a non-profit, self-governed, member-based organization. MSF was founded in 1971 in Paris by a group of journalists and doctors. Today, we are a worldwide movement of nearly 63,000 people."

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee opened its doors in 1978 with commitment from several community leaders. The purpose of the organization was to provide a central distribution center for companies, groups, and individuals who wished to help provide food for hungry people in Middle Tennessee. During my years of working for a non-profit agency, we were a Second Harvest outlet.  This organization provides food, mostly bread, that would otherwise be thrown away, to needy people.   

The Fund for American Studies: "(TFAS) is a 501(c)3 educational nonprofit that is changing the world by developing leaders for a free society. Our transformational programs teach the principles of limited government, free-market economics and honorable leadership to students and young professionals in America and around the world." 

By offering a portfolio of more than 20 different academic programs, fellowships and seminars, the TFAS Journey helps cultivate future leaders from high school, all the way through to their university studies and professional careers. 

Today, there are more than 42,000 TFAS alumni making the difference in their communities and throughout the world by championing the values essential to the preservation and success of a free society."

"The Salvation Army has Been Serving Nashville For Over 125 Years Through Much Needed Social Services And Programs. A 90-bed Adult Alcohol and Rehabilitation Center for men was opened in 1900 and served the community for over 100 years. In 1940, The Salvation Army built and opened the “Red Shield” Community Center – rebuilt in 1984 as the Magness-Potter Community Center which offered Army-administered youth and adult leisure activity programs. Now, the community center houses the United Way-sponsored Family Resource Center, the Red Shield Kids Club after-school and summer day camp programs, the Life Skills Learning Center, the Second Harvest Food Pantry, and the Emergency Services Program.  In 1980, the Area Command facility was moved from Demonbreun to Dickerson Pike, receiving the name the “Center of Hope”, and opened a 75-person transient shelter, an emergency shelter for men, and a day and night child care center serving homeless and other families in urgent need. Today, the Center of Hope and the Magness-Potter Community Center, along with the three worship centers, serve Nashville by being strategically placed in the neediest areas of the community. Our services are provided to all of Davidson County, as well as Cheatham, Dickson, Hickman, Williamson, and Sumner Counties. Your donation will directly impact your community.

The Salvation Army has been many things over the years as communities’ needs have changed over the years, but today, the focus of the Nashville Salvation Army is to fight poverty and prevent homelessness in our community through a myriad of comprehensive programs designed to bring a holistic approach to the individual’s or family’s need."

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is an educational, research, and human rights nonprofit organization devoted to commemorating the more than 100 million victims of communism around the world and to pursuing the freedom of those still living under totalitarian regimes.

Institute for Justice: "IJ is a nonprofit, public interest law firm. Our mission is to end widespread abuses of government power and secure the constitutional rights that allow all Americans to pursue their dreams. Donations to the Institute for Justice enable us to represent our clients at no cost to them—and to stand with them no matter how long their cases take. And when we win for our clients, we secure precedent that protects the rights of all Americans. IJ’s work is powered by nearly 10,000 supporters from across the country who believe in the Constitution and its ideals. 70% of our funding comes from individuals like you. Please join our fight for freedom and justice today." 

IJ has been involved in several high-profile fights over the years in Nashville. IJ defended a small music studio owner from efforts of the city to take her property by condemnation for no other purpose than to provide room for expansion of a bigger neighbor.  In the pre-ride-share days of Uber and Lyft, IJ defended an innovative entrepreneur who wanted to provide cheaper limo rides and had to fight city hall. IJ has defended homeowners who wanted to work from home.

"The American Enterprise Institute is a public policy think tank dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential, and building a freer and safer world. The work of our scholars and staff advances ideas rooted in our belief in democracy, free enterprise, American strength and global leadership, solidarity with those at the periphery of our society, and a pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture.

The Center Square. The disappearance and decline of journalism concern me.  Nashville went from two daily papers to one newspaper that is only a shadow of its former self.  While there are lots of people, like me, blogging and sharing opinions, without staff they can seldom break stories.  Journalism needs paid boots on the ground. News, especially local news, most often comes down to shootings, car wrecks, sports, and reposted press releases.  There are far too few outlets looking for scandals and corruption.  The watchdog of democracy has died.

The Center Square is conservative but without the rancor, sensationalism, and conspiratorial mindset of what defines many so-called conservative news sources today. 

"The Center Square was launched in May 2019 to fulfill the need for high-quality statehouse and statewide news across the United States. The focus of our work is state- and local-level government and economic reporting. A taxpayer sensibility distinguishes our work from other coverage of state and local issues. As a result of this approach, our readers are better informed about the focus of state and local government and its cost to the citizens whose tax dollars fund governmental decisions.

The Center Square is staffed by editors and reporters with extensive professional journalism experience. We engage readers with essential news, data and analysis – delivered with velocity, frequency and consistency. We distribute our journalism through three main channels at no cost to our partners or readers: a newswire service to legacy publishers and broadcasters. The Center Square is a project of the 501(c)(3) Franklin News Foundation, headquartered in Chicago."

Pre-Born! partners with life-affirming pregnancy clinics all across the nation. In the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, several states where abortion is still legal have become key destinations for vulnerable women seeking abortions. Planned Parenthood has placed mobile abortion units on the borders of states where abortion is illegal. 

Pre-Born! provides ultrasound equipment to pro-life pregnancy crisis centers.  Data shows that when an expectant mother sees an ultrasound image of her baby and hears the heartbeat, she most often decides to keep the child. 

National Review Institute. "Your support ensures that NRI will continue to preserve and promote the legacy of William F. Buckley Jr. and advance the conservative principles he championed: limited government, free markets, individual liberty, personal responsibility, a strong national defense, and the rule of law. Your philanthropic investment is a vote of confidence in our mission and our methods. "

Foundation for Economic Education. "FEE's mission is to inspire, educate, and connect future leaders with the economic, ethical, and legal principles of a free society. These principles include: individual liberty, free-market economics, entrepreneurship, private property, high moral character, and limited government. Here are some highlights from 2021: We broke a world record for the largest online economics lecture. We made 95 mainstream media appearances. Our videos received 11 MILLION views and over 1.8 MILLION shares. On TikTok, we went from reaching 65,000 people to over 2 MILLION in just seven months! We reached over 83 MILLION Gen Z online."

The Pamphleteer: The Pamphleteer is an arts, culture, and politics publication based in Nashville, TN. Corporate and progressive media dominate the landscape in the state of Tennessee. The word "independent"—typically associated with legacy brands such as the Nashville Scene—means less and less as time goes on. Many of the perspectives from local media outlets you read come from an almost identical perspective, inseparable from the tone and tenor of politics at the federal level. The Pamphleteer seeks to reinvigorate local discourse by offering fresh, regional perspectives on local topics. It is our hope that through our work, we can challenge readers to engage more earnestly in local politics and motivate leaders to reach higher and farther in their efforts to make Nashville a world-class city.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact. Our bipartisan leadership comprises some of the nation's leading budget experts, including many past heads of the House and Senate Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Government Accountability Office. 

As an independent source of objective policy analysis, we regularly engage policymakers of both parties and help them develop and analyze proposals to improve the country’s fiscal and economic condition. These efforts have reinforced the Committee’s role as an authoritative voice for fiscal responsibility and an educational resource for policymakers and the general public. We are also a trusted budget watchdog that assists journalists across the country in understanding fiscal developments in Washington.

WinTheCenter PAC: "Elections are decided in the center. That’s where most Americans are – and that’s where Democrats must compete and win. Win the Center was built from the momentum of Adam Frisch’s campaign against Lauren Boebert, where a pragmatic Democrat almost unseated an extremist in a Solid Republican district.

We know the path to victory isn’t about chasing the loudest voices – it’s about earning trust in the center, building broad coalitions, and putting our communities over Washington politics. In partnership with WelcomePAC, we’re taking these lessons national, and backing Democratic fighters who can win tough races, beat extremist opponents, and deliver for working families." 

This is new for me. I never thought I would be supporting a Democrat PAC, but given the current political landscape, I am willing to support any faction of the political spectrum that is not far-right nationalist populist or far-left woke progressive socialist. I would much prefer a commonsense Republican PAC rather than a commonsense Democratic PAC, but I can't find a Republican one.

I am going to wrap this up, but below are other organizations that I think are worthy of support, to which I have previously contributed or am considering contributing. 

• The Hoover Institute
• Institute for Humane Studies
• CATO Institute
• American Institute for Economic Research (Harwood Salon Nashville)
• National Association of Scholars
• Friends of Warner Park 
• Independent Institute 
• The Tax Foundation 
• Political Economy Research Institute at MTSU 
• American Enterprise Institute 
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
• The Manhattan Institute 

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Fentanyl is not Mustard Gas

by Rod Williams, Dec 20, 2025- Donald Trump has a way of stretching the limits of presidential authority far beyond what the founders or Congress ever intended, assuming authority he does not have. With a Congress that will not object, he gets by with it. His imposing of tariffs under the guise of responding to a national emergency due to the nation’s trade deficit, claiming authority for his actions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), is one example. We are not experiencing an emergency and the IEEPA does not give the president the authority to set tariffs even if we were. 

Trump does what he wants to do and just claims authority he does not have. Trump has done it again in declaring Fentanyl to be a weapon of mass destruction. This is nuts. Fentanyl is bad. A lot of our fellow citizens die from it. However, no one puts a gun to a person's head and makes them overdose. If there were no demand, there would be no supply. The victims of drug overdose are willing victims.  Beyond that, to classify a dangerous drug as a weapon of mass destruction means words have no meaning and we have a king who can just make up the law as he goes along. 

The following article explores this action of designating fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction. Andrew McCarthy quotes federal narcotics laws and the laws that deal with weapons of mass destruction. The law is clear. A weapon of mass destruction must be a weapon. Laws describe weapons and drugs. There is no ambiguity. I don't know that it does any good to point any of this out. Resanable people know it, and the committed Trumpinistas, don't care what the law says. They have no interest in the rule of law. To many, whatever Trump does is OK. They subscribe to a theory that the law is whatever the ruler says it is. If anyone is confused, however, and actually cares about the rule of law this article examines the issue. 

Trump Has No Authority to Categorize Fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction

By Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, Dec. 22, 2025- Common sense tells us that narcotic drugs are different from WMD. As one would expect, these differences are reflected in law.

Law school is a three-year grind. But 40 years later, while I couldn’t tell you a thing about, say, the “rule against perpetuities,” I did internalize the most valuable lesson, which came in the first three hours. It wasn’t a precedent or a statute, just a bit of folk wisdom you mightn’t think would need teaching. But it does, now more than ever.

It’s this: If you hang a sign that says “horse” on a cow, that doesn’t make it a horse.

Get it? If you do, then you’ll quickly grasp that a Latin American dope dealer is not an alien enemy combatant. The Defense Department, a creature of statute, does not become “the Department of War” by a presidential decree that sends Pete Hegseth to the front of the Pentagon with a plaque and a screwdriver. A foreign terrorist organization does not, by the abracadabra of “designation,” become an authorization for the use of military force — even if we generously assume that a drug gang is the same thing as a terrorist organization. Lindsey Halligan is not the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Riots are neither patriotic nor mostly peaceful. The congressionally established John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is not, by dint of wand-waving by a crony committee, the Trump . . . anything.

And fentanyl is not a weapon of mass destruction, even if the “horse” sign in this instance happens to be an executive order. ... a president only gets to designate with Congress’s permission... Common sense tells us that narcotic drugs are saliently different from WMD. The former are controlled substances targeted to cause specific bodily effects in specific people, a generally salutary outcome when a drug is prescribed by a licensed physician, and a detrimental one when the drug is distributed illegally. WMD, in stark contrast, are objects designed to kill indiscriminately.

As one would expect, these differences are reflected in our law. ... Title 21 of the U.S. Code sets forth the federal narcotics laws .... Now, let’s turn to WMD. The term is defined in the federal penal code .... (link)

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The United States Ranks 15th on the Human Freedom Index 2025

 

by Rod Williams, Dec. 17, 2025- The Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute have just published the annual Human Freedom Index ranking 167 nations from most free to least free.  The United States comes in at number 15. The above list shows the fifteen highest-ranking countries for human freedom. The score range is from one to ten, with a ten being the most free and a one being the least free, however no scores of one or ten are awarded. The least free nations are listed below:

Other nations of interest to me and their rankings are Germany 17, United Kingdom 19, France 33, Mexico 91, El Salvadore 83, Ukraine at 119, and China at 149.

The Human Freedom Index (HFI) presents a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. This 11th annual index uses 87 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas:

Rule of law

Security and safety

Movement

Religion

Association, assembly, and civil society

Expression and information

Relationships

Size of government

Legal system and property rights

Sound money

Freedom to trade internationally

Regulation

I am not surprised by the rankings. While many may think the US is the freest nation on earth, I have been aware that there are other nations with more freedom than the United States for some time. The US ranking has fallen in recent years. In 2007, the US was the seventh freest country in the world; in 2021, it had dropped to 18th place.

While one could quibble over the weight given to various factors in scoring the nations,  one observation I make is that having the right to bear arms does not make one more free than some nations without the right to bear arms.  Another observation is that one can have universal health care and a generous welfare state and still be free.

As one would expect, the nations of Africa and the Mid-East rank lowest. The status of women in those nations is contributing to their low scores. There is a strong relationship between freedom and median and per capita income. Jurisdictions in the top quartile of freedom enjoy a significantly higher average per capita income ($53,635) than those in other quartiles; the average per capita income in the least free quartile is $14,201. The HFI also finds a strong positive relationship between human freedom and democracy, and between human freedom and a range of human well-being indicators, including tolerance, charitable giving, life expectancy, and environmental health, among other measures.

For more on the methodology and an understanding of weights given to various factors and an examination of a nation's change in ranking over time, view the index at this link. 

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Trump's Attack on Rob Reiner is a New Low

by Rod Williams, Dec. 15, 2025 - Every time I think Donald Trump has hit a new low, he outdoes himself and hits a newer low. I am not talking about policies or his corruption or authoritarian tendencies, or his ignorance of the Constitution, or his economic illiteracy. I am talking about his crealty, his vulgarity, his uncouth behavior, and his contempt for standards of human decency. 

When he made fun of a news reporter with a disability, when he said the Haitians were eating our cats and dogs, when he called immigrants "vermin," and so much more, I thought he had hit a new low. Well, he has outdone himself again. His comments following the brutal murder of Rob Reiner was a new low.

Trump was not obligated to offer any comment at all about Reiner. Rob Reiner, while an important Hollywood actor and director, was not an important political figure or a former president or a beloved national figure or a Trump protege. It would have been perfectly acceptable for the President to have said nothing unless he was specifically asked.

If asked, the normal thing to do would be to express condolences to the family, the old "our thoughts and prayers are with the family, ect..."  If he wanted to say more, he could have said he hoped the perpetrator was brought to justice, and he could have said he deplored the violence. 

Instead of doing what any decent human being would have done in this case, Trump used Rob Reiner's brutal murder as an opportunity to trash the man. Not yet dead twenty-four hours, and Trump had to attack the man and settle a score. Donald J. Trump is not nice. He is not normal. He is a despicable human being. 

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Abrego Garcia is Released and ICE is Ordered Not to Detain Him Again

by Rod Williams, Dec. 14, 2025- The drama surrounding Kilmar Abrego Garcia is almost at an end. His criminal case for human smuggling is still pending here in Tennessee, but it seems to be a weak case. In any event, what has been determined is that he was unlawfully removed from the country and ICE is prohibited from detaining him again. Earlier this month, Judge Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia's immediate release from immigration detention, ruling he had been held "without lawful authority" because the government never had a valid final order of removal. 

Abrego Garcia is the Salvadoran citizen with an American wife and child who lived in Maryland for years after entering the U.S. illegally as a 16-year-old teenager to escape gang threats. A 2019 immigration court order forbade his deportation to El Salvador, finding he had a "well-founded fear" of persecution there. This "withholding of removal" order also allowed him to live and work in the U.S. under supervision.  

In March 2025, as part of Trump's mass deportation effort, Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador and held in the notorious CECOT mega-prison, despite his protected status. The order prohibiting his deportation to El Salvador did not protect him from Trump's mass deportation campaign. The Trump administration deported him to the kind of place the US used to condemn as a gulag torture prison. An ICE official later called it an "administrative error."

His wife sued, and a U.S. District Court judge in Maryland ordered the administration to facilitate his return. After the Trump administration initially resisted, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in, ordering the government to facilitate his return. This was one of the moments when the nation wondered if Trump would defy the Court. In the end, Trump complied. 

 In June 2025, the government returned him to the U.S. but immediately brought criminal charges against him in Tennessee for allegedly participating in a human smuggling conspiracy dating back to a 2022 traffic stop. Critics claim the charges were "vindictive" and politically motivated, an assertion a federal judge in Tennessee found a "persuasive case" for.

After his release on bond in the criminal case, Abrego Garcia was immediately taken back into immigration custody in August 2025. The government announced plans to deport him to a various African countries, including Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and Liberia, which his attorneys argued was an attempt to circumvent the court order and punish him. As it turned out, the Trump administration had not actually gotten these countries to agree to accept Garcia and when eventually asked, they refused to do so.

There is more to this story, but it demonstrates an abuse of authority and a trampling of rights and a royal screwup from the get-go. If not for public attention and Sen. Chris Van Hollen's efforts and an engaged press, Garcia would still be lingering in a notorious torture prison, never to be heard from again. 

One cannot help but wonder how many others suffer that fate.  I cannot help but wonder if even some American citizens have not been sent to such a fate. Without due process, we don't know who has been deported to prisons in third-world countries, and without due process, there is no way to prove one is an American citizen or a refugee with asylum status. Someday, when Trump is no longer in office, unlawfully imprisoned victims will be released and the extent of Trump's crimes against humanity will be revealed. 

For more on this story, see National Review's The Mind-Boggling Saga of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

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BILLIONAIRES CAN’T PAY THE NATION’S DEBT

…the “Great Baby Boomer Wealth Transfer” could, but won’t

by Ralph Bristol, Facebook, Dec. 14, 2025- Inevitably, discussions about our national debt lead to unrelated conversations about the super-wealthy and the taxes they don’t pay.  “If only we could get more of that untaxed wealth of billionaires, the national debt would not be a problem,” seems to be the thinking.  To be clear, billionaires don’t pay taxes on most of their wealth, and that may not be a good thing, but it’s unrelated to our debt problem, which will one day be a debt crisis if we don’t deal with it before it does.

If you could take ALL the wealth of the 20 wealthiest Americans WITHOUT destroying the economy from which most of the tax revenue comes, that $3 trillion would cover the nation’s DEFICIT for 1.5 years.  Problem not solved. 

Okay then, let’s take ALL the wealth of ALL 905 billionaires in the U.S.  That gets you a little further.  That $7.8 trillion would cover the deficit for about 3.5 years. Problem still not solved.

• The total personal wealth of Americans is estimated by the Federal Reserve to be $176 trillion, which means all the billionaires own only about four percent of the wealth in the U.S.  

• The top one percent, which includes a lot more than just billionaires, own about one-third of that wealth 

The top 1 percent have lots of protection in the tax code 

• The nine percent below them, own about 40 percent of the nation’s wealth.

That is the crowd that is vulnerable to any meaningful tax increase that will be part of any fool’s errand to reduce the deficit with tax increases. 

• The 40 percent below them own about one-quarter of the nation’s wealth and are struggling to keep their operational heads above water with rising healthcare and childcare bills squeezing budgets much worse than previous generations.  

• The 50 percent below them own only 2-3% of the wealth.  You can’t get blood from that turnip.  

THE GREAT BABY BOOMER WEALTH TRANSFER 

Most of the wealth owned by Americans is owned by Baby Boomers, who will soon be passing that wealth to the next two generations.  Only $11 Trillion of today’s $176 trillion in American wealth lies in tax-deferred accounts that will be taxed when it is withdrawn by the boomer’s heirs, likely over many years, adding to millennial and gen-x income a little bit at a time, not a rich field for revenuers. 

With the estate tax exemption now at $15 million per person, nearly all $88-90 trillion (today’s figures) in boomer wealth will be transferred untaxed, so any federal government bean-counters licking their chops over that wealth are going to be disappointed. 

I listened to a conversation Saturday between two smart people, taxing their imaginations, musing about how the millennial and gen x’ recipients of the boomer wealth transfer, who will then occupy a higher rung on the wealth ladder, might respond. They wondered whether it might change their attitude about government wealth redistribution. That may be interesting to wonder about, but anyone trying to guess how generations below them will think is wasting their valuable brain power. 

That’s what people do – even smart people – when they are stuck – and have no clue how to solve the problem without doing what is politically unacceptable. They change the subject. 

HERE’S THE SUBJECT

• The nation’s debt is far too high, and it must, and will, one day be curbed.

• Billionaires can’t pay off the U.S. debt. 

• The great Baby Boomer wealth transfer will not solve the U.S. debt problem. 

• Tax increases cannot solve the U.S. debt problem.  

It would take a 66% across the board increase to balance the budget with taxes.  

THE ONLY ANSWER – THAT NO-ONE WANTS

There is NO solution involving more taxes on billionaires, or even the entire population that resolves the imbalance between taxes and spending by the U.S. government. 

It’s the spending, stupid, which is not aimed at any reader in particular, but at all readers collectively. A modest tax increase, to accompany a big spending cut may make the medicine go down easier for those who will be receiving much less help from the government, but any tax increase will be expensive sugar pills. It will interfere with the solution more than help it.

Only big spending cuts on the big spending towers will redirect the U.S. budget back to a fiscally responsible, and sustainable path.  That is the single hardest thing for any government to do, and the U.S. government will not do it until its back is against the wall. 

The sooner that happens, the easier it will be for the receiver class of all the government wealth redistribution to accept and endure the necessary correction in their income portfolios.  They will have plenty of company, including among the top 10%, who will lose trillions of dollars of wealth in the stock market, as people spend less and companies earn less. 

A correction will happen.  The world cannot lend the U.S. all the money the U.S. plans to spend in the next 75 years, under today’s budget trajectory.  Seventy-five years goes by quickly.  Sometime in the next 75 years, the U.S. will deal with its debt problem.  It won’t have a choice.  

If it happens when it should, the Great Baby Boomer Wealth Transfer will not be as great as expected, but the nation’s debt will be on a sustainable track, and the generations who inherit our wealth and our national debt will be better for it.

Ralph Bristol is the former long-time morning talk radio host broadcasting on Supertalk 99.7 WTN. He was one of the less provocative and bombastic of conservative radio personalities, more thoughtful and grounded in conservative ideas. He left talk radio in 2018 and retired. He lives in Nashville. 

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Beaman Disassociates from Ogles’ Shady Campaign Report

TVA board candidate says he never agreed to serve as treasurer

Joined at the hip? Nashville car magnate and Republican megadonor Lee Beaman hit a snag in his confirmation process to the TVA board over his association with U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles. (Photos: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

by Sam Stockard, Tennessee Outlook, Dec. 12, 2025 - Nashville car magnate and political donor Lee Beaman is distancing himself from a federal investigation into the campaign finance filings of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles.

But playing dumb about being named treasurer for Ogles’ first congressional campaign in 2022 couldn’t keep his nomination for a post on the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors from being postponed this week. It is unclear when, or if, it will be revived by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. 

When Senate Democrats grilled him in a hearing last week, Beaman said he served as Ogles’ campaign treasurer for only four months. But he filed written responses afterward repeatedly saying he never agreed to be Ogles’ treasurer and had no knowledge of a questionable $320,000 loan Ogles reported on a Federal Election Commission filing. Beaman said Ogles asked him in a text message to serve as campaign treasurer in early 2022 but that he didn’t answer.

Despite not agreeing to take the job, Beaman said in his official responses to senators he thought it was an “honorary” position and that he didn’t sign any FEC reports even though his name appeared on them. 

This wasn’t Beaman’s first deal with Ogles. As ProPublica reported in March, Beaman said he planned to raise $4 million in 2017 when Ogles announced a bid for U.S. Senate that didn’t come to fruition.

An Ogles spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.

None of the senators asked Beaman whether he thought Ogles committed fraud by putting his name on FEC documents without permission.

The former owner of multiple Nashville auto dealerships and Beaman Bottling Company said he asked that he be removed as treasurer after seeing an ad listing his name.

Previously, the House Ethics Committee found Ogles likely violated federal campaign finance laws, mainly by reporting an inflated personal loan to make his bid for office look stronger in 2022. Ogles initially said he raised $450,000 for the race, yet his first FEC report showed he brought in only $250,000.

Ogles amended campaign finance reports in May 2024 and acknowledged making a $20,000 loan to his campaign and saying the additional $300,000 was in a joint account he shared with his wife.

Beaman said he had “nothing to do” with the FEC report filed in July 2022 showing the $320,000 loan and wasn’t familiar with allegations surrounding it until they were reported by local media much later.

According to committee questioning, the Ogles for Congress campaign issued a press release in July 2022 stating that Ogles “did direct donors to a few independent expenditure groups they were planning to assist in my getting elected.”

Beaman, though, said other than being a donor, during his time as campaign chairman he wasn’t overly involved in a dark money-group called Volunteers for Freedom Super PAC that backed Ogles’ candidacy three years ago. It’s illegal for campaigns and PACs whose money is not traceable to coordinate.

Beaman said he and his attorney started researching the dark-money question but didn’t know about a “donor-direction scheme” by Ogles because he didn’t know he was the campaign treasurer.

None of this scared Beaman off of political work: He and his wife, Julie, a former Williamson County Republican Party chair, recently served as co-chairs for U.S. Rep. Matt Van Epps’ campaign. 

But despite asking to be removed as treasurer, Beaman said he didn’t become aware Ogles became treasurer for a short time until after the House Ethics Committee contacted him in September 2025. Political operative Thomas Datwyler, who also has numerous questions surrounding his work, then took the job.

“I am aware of certain prohibitions. My only involvement was as a donor to the Ogles campaign and to the Volunteers for Freedom Super PAC. I did not engage in any coordinated activity between these two entities,” said Beaman, who was removed from the Belmont University Board of Trustees in 2018 following salacious accusations against him in divorce proceedings. He returned to the board in 2021.

One Democratic senator broached the allegations Beaman’s ex-wife made but declined to specify them in the hearing because they’re just too embarrassing.

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Tennessee Lawmakers Weigh in on Redistricting Decision

by Kim Jarrett, The Center Square, Dec. 12, 2025 - The Tennessee Supreme Court's decision to dismiss a challenge to the state's redistricting maps is devastating, one lawmaker said.

The court dismissed claims over the state House and Senate maps drawn by the General Assembly after the 2020 Census. 

Gibson County resident Gary Wygant failed to prove the House redistricting map violated the Tennessee Constitution because it split counties that didn't need to be split to meet federal standards, the court said. In a ruling about Davidson County's four senatorial districts, the court said resident Francie Hunt did not have standing to challenge Davidson County's four senatorial districts.

Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Sen. London Lamar called the ruling a "breath-taking step backward."

"This ruling is devastating for anyone who believes constitutional rights actually belong to the people," London said in a statement. "The court has said, in effect, there are rights promised in the Tennessee Constitution, but enforcement is optional. This is the kind of radical decision that wipes away constitutional protections for the sake of insulating political power."

Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, told TCS that Tennessee Democrats had been the majority for 150 years, and 2010 was the first year Republicans had a chance to draw the maps.

"And I would argue that we ungerrymandered a large number of districts that had been drawn over that 150-year time period," Watson said. "We are very sensitive to the issues around the Voting Rights Act and I just reject the argument that we have unfairly gerrymandered the maps."

Justice Sarah Campbell wrote the majority opinion. 

"Although Wygant established that the Legislature could have drawn a more perfect map, he failed to prove that the state’s decision to split Gibson County was not rationally or legitimately related to achieving compliance with federal redistricting requirements," Campbell said. "The record here overwhelmingly establishes that the Legislature split Gibson County in an effort to comply with the Equal Protection Clause and the VRA (Voting Rights Act)."

Hunt failed to show that "misnumbering" of Davidson County's Senate district caused her "distinct and palpable" harm, according to the majority opinion. 

"Because she lacks standing to challenge the Senate map, her claim is not justiciable and must be dismissed," the majority said.

Justice Holly Kirby disagreed with the majority's decision on Hunt's claim.

"...in denying that Ms. Hunt has standing, Tennessee becomes the first state in the nation to hold that a voter does not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of her own voting district," Kirby wrote. "The state has cited no case from anywhere in the country – federal or state – holding what the majority now holds: that a voter who has been placed into an unconstitutionally-configured voting district suffered no harm from it and has no standing to challenge it."

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Davidson County Judges Request Security After Congressman Ogles’ Social Media Remarks

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Judges of the Davidson County General Sessions Court have requested heightened security from Gov. Bill Lee after “violent” remarks from Rep. Andy Ogles.

In a joint statement and letter to the governor, the judges requested that the state ensure safety and security at the Justice A.A. Birch Courthouse in Nashville.

In the letter to Lee, the judges accused Ogles of endangering elected officials in Davidson County, citing his “irresponsible use of the phrase ‘we are at war’ accompanied by the posting of the individual photographs of General Sessions Court Judges.”

Below is the language Ogles used in the social media post (from Dec. 5, 2025) being flagged by the judges:

BREAKING Meet Muhammad A. Muhammad. He was recently caught allegedly RAPING a woman on the steps of a church on Nolensville Road in Nashville. He is a Somali migrant let in by Obama.

Not only has this man been arrested over a dozen times, but he has had every case, from drugs to indecent exposure to criminal trespass, dismissed.

Every judge and prosecutor who let him off the hook was a DEMOCRAT. As long as local liberals are running things in Middle Tennessee, we are at war. The state should impeach all of the judges. Send the guard to Nashville.

Rod's Comment: When the incident occurred and I learned that the accused had a lengthy criminal record and had been arrested on previous occasions and General Sessions judges dismissed the charges, I too was disgusted. I know that America has a high incarceration rate, but I am of the view that we should take habitual criminals off the street. If men like this perpetrator have mental issues, he should be institutionalized. I think he should not be free to walk the streets because he is incompetent to stand trial.

General Sessions judges have limited authority, however, and I do not know if their rulings were inappropriate or not. Everyone who commits crimes of trespassing or public indecency or public intoxication is not going to become a murdering rapist. If this man has mental issues, deinstitutionalization has been public policy for decades. A single General Sessions judge cannot change such a policy. I think there should be a review process to see if things should have been handled differently. I just don't know if they should have. I don't have the facts. In any event, if one is outraged that this murder occurred and wants to blame it on the previous judges who let this man back out on the streets, General Sessions judges are elected, and one can vote against them. 

I condemn Andy Ogles for endangering the lives of our General Sessions judges and using this occasion to stir anti-immigrant passions. 

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The On-line's Conspiracy Right is Getting Crazier and Crazier

Candace Owens

by Rod Williams, Dec. 8, 2025 - I have a lot of time on my hands, so I consume a lot of news and analysis. I normally watch or read mainstream or respectable stuff from a variety of viewpoints. I daily watch Meet the Press and I watch a lot of The Bulwark podcasts and The Dispatch. I sample some Fox News and occasionally will zip through a little bit of Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly just to see what they are talking about.  I watch some Heather Cox Richardson, Anne Applebaum, Ezra Kline, Matt Walsh, Josh Shipiro, any podcast with David French, and various others. I also read The Atlantic and National Review, and Wall Street Journal online. 

While I consume a lot of news and commentary from a variety of viewpoints, I seldom get down in the gutter with the far-right weirdos. For the last two days I have. What spurred me to delve into the far-right pool of crazies was the controversy surrounding Charlie Kirk's assassination and Candace Owens' claim that maybe it was an inside job. She is claiming that because she is raising questions about the Kirk assassination, the French foreign legion, with the help of Israeli intelligence, has marked her for assassination, and she is living in fear for her life.

There have been a lot of others who have weighed in on the topic of who really killed Charlie Kirk, and there are a variety of theories about who was behind the assassination. I am not going to try to document who said what and the evidence for the claims, but it is bizarre. 

One theory is that Kirk had long been a supporter of Israel but had seen the light and was going to turn against Israel, and so the Jews had him killed. Another theory is that Donald Trump had him killed, but I am not exactly sure why. And there is a theory that Turning Point USA staffers had him killed, again, not exactly sure why, but part of it was that Charlie was preparing to purge Turning Point USA of some staffers who had been stealing from the organization. 

There is another theory that Charlie Krik is not really dead, and it was someone else who was buried. Bizarre!

While none of the podcasters say explicitly that Erica Kirk had Charlie killed, they hint at it. A few of the podcasts have done stories on Erica and painted her as a bad mother, a manipulative, and a power-hungry woman. She is said to have some ethical lapses and connections with shady characters. One podcaster says she has her sights set on marrying J. D. Vance and becoming First Lady.

Watching all of these podcasts, I am not sure how much of this is genuine and how much of it is performative.  Do they really believe this stuff, or are they chasing followers, clicks, views, and subscriptions? It seems that upping the ante and criticizing a fellow podcaster increases viewership for both parties to the fight. 

Another thing I learned from watching over 20 hours of the far-right nut jobs is that they are paranoid. They think their fellow podcasters are actually "fed" out to discredit the movement. Some of them think their fellow podcasters intend to have them killed, and they go on each other's podcasts with trepidation.  It is a bizarre world.

Today, I got the Morning Jolt National Review newsletter written by Jim Geraghty in my inbox, and it addressed the very thing I had been observing and thinking. I am reposting excerpts of it below. I would like to post the whole thing, and it is behind a paywall, but I try to respect copyrighted material and so am attempting to follow fair-use guidelines. Here is an excerpt: 

The latest question from the “I’m just asking questions” crowd is, “Is Charlie Kirk really dead?” I wish I were making that up, but I am not. Unfortunately, a new survey from the Manhattan Institute indicates that the GOP is made up of two factions; the smaller but still sizable faction of new Republicans is not only not all that conservative in their policy preferences — in fact, on issue after issue, they’re pretty progressive — but significant numbers believe that 9/11 was an inside job, that stories of the Holocaust are exaggerated, and that the moon landing was faked. 

Tim Pool

Geraghty then introduces us to Tim Pool, a rightwing podcaster with 2.57 million subscribers on YouTube.  During my two days of exploring far-right podcasters, I watched some Tim Pool. Geraghty reminds us that Pool was one of six commentators who worked for Tenet Media, which was a front for Russian-government-funded propaganda operations. Tim Pool is a big guy on the far right.

Garaghty posts excerpts from a Pool podcast featuring Milo Yiannopoulos and George Santos as guests. You may remember Milo Yiannopoulos. A few years ago, he was in the news for this or that outrageous thing he said.  He is a British far-right political commentator whose speeches and writings criticise Islam, feminism, and anything considered woke except acceptance of homosexuality. He had worked for Britbart and Buzzfeed and worked as an intern for Marjorie Taylor Greene. He is still around but fell out of favor with some on the right, due to his saying that sexual relationships between teenage boys and adults could happen “perfectly consensually” and can be positive experiences for adolescents. 

Milo Yiannopoulos

Former Representative George Santos is the Congressman who lied about his job, his education and a lot else and who pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, then was sentenced to more than seven years in prison but was then pardoned by President Trump. 

Here are the excerpts from the Tim Pool episode with George Santos and Milo Yiannopoulos:

Santos: What? How is she sinister? No, Milo. Milo, please.

(CROSSTALK)

Santos: Please, please, explain to me, how is Erika Kirk sinister?

Yiannopoulos: Have you seen the difference in the size of her hands with Charlie’s in their wedding pictures, and then compared it to him in his casket?

Santos: Are you saying she’s a man?

Yiannopoulos: No. No. I’m saying that that wasn’t Charlie in there.

Santos (stunned): What are you talk — come on!

The conversation continues:

George Santos

Yiannopoulos: But his body hasn’t been buried. Did they lose it? It happens.

Pool: Do you think there’s a possibility that Charlie is alive?

Yiannopoulos: I think it’s vanishingly slight. I think it’s the probably the most —

Santos (incredulous): Oh, you even give it a slight —

Yiannopoulos: Of course it’s possible. And the behavior of some of the Turning Point people makes me wonder.

Is that not bizarre? Yet these are the people that millions of Americans are turning to for their news and insight. These are prominent new right-of-center voices. 

Geraghty then turns his attention to a new survey from the Manhattan Institute which compares the beliefs between longtime Republican voters and what they call “New Entrant Republicans,” these being “recent first-time GOP presidential voters, including those who supported Democrats in 2016 or 2020 or were too young to vote in cycles before 2020.” This group made up 29 percent of the overall sample of Republicans. Among the findings are these:

The 2020 election: Just over half of the Current GOP (51 percent) believes that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was fraudulent, while 41 percent say that view is probably or definitely false. Among New Entrant Republicans, support for this belief rises to 60 percent.

Vaccines and autism: One in three in the Current GOP (33 percent) believe that childhood vaccines cause autism. This view is more common among college graduates (42 percent) than non-graduates (29 percent), and among New Entrant Republicans (47 percent).

9/11 conspiracies: Four in ten in the Current GOP (41 percent) believe that the 9/11 attacks were likely orchestrated or permitted by U.S. government actors. Belief is highest among men (48 percent), college graduates (51 percent), Republicans under 50 (53 percent, compared with 34 percent of those over 50), and New Entrant Republicans (53 percent). Among black GOP voters the figure is 58 percent, and among Hispanic GOP voters, 56 percent.

Holocaust denial or minimization: Nearly four in ten in the Current GOP (37 percent) believe the Holocaust was greatly exaggerated or did not happen as historians describe. Younger men are especially likely to hold this view (54 percent of men under 50 vs. 39 percent of women under 50). Among men over 50, 41 percent agree, compared with 18% of women over 50.

Moon landing: A similarly sized chunk of the Current GOP (36 percent) believes that the Apollo 11 moon landing was faked by NASA. Again, younger men are more likely to hold this view (51 percent of men under 50 vs. 38 percent of women under 50). There are stark racial divides: while only 31 percent of white GOP voters believe the conspiracy, this rises to 59 percent among Hispanic Republicans and 63 percent among black Republicans.

... These “New Entrant Republicans” aren’t just not all that conservative, and they are prone to believing in conspiracy theories. On policy preferences, they’re really not all that much of Republicans at all:

Younger, more racially diverse, and more likely to have voted for Democratic candidates in the recent past, this group diverges sharply from the party’s core. They are more likely, often substantially more likely, to hold progressive views across nearly every major policy domain. They are more supportive of left-leaning economic policies, more favorable toward China, more critical of Israel, and more liberal on issues ranging from migration to DEI initiatives. A significant share also report openly racist or antisemitic views and express potential support for political violence. Yet they overwhelmingly identify as Republicans today and voted for Donald Trump in 2024.

Wow! I knew there were a lot of nut-jobs in the MAGA movement, but 36 percent of Republicans believe the moon landing was faked and 41% believe 9-11 was an inside job. I am speechless. It is alarming. 

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