Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., has introduced three bills intended to enhance the well-being of American veterans through improvements in burial procedures, oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and vets’ health care. “As Veterans Day approaches, Congress must recommit to honoring our nation’s heroes not just in word, but in deed,” Biggs told The Daily Signal. “Veterans deserve more than speeches and ceremonies—they deserve action. These bills deliver meaningful reforms that ease financial burdens, expand healthcare freedom, and hold the VA accountable to the men and women it serves. We owe our veterans the dignity of a government that keeps its word, honors their sacrifices, and works as hard for them as they did for us,” Biggs added. The first piece of legislation the Arizona congressman is sponsoring is the Veterans’ Cremation Certainty Act. The bill would permit the predesignating of direct cremation through veterans’ burial benefits. That would allow payments to be made directly to burial providers at the time of a veteran’s death. The proposal would be implemented through current VA infrastructure and spending. The second bill Biggs is backing is the Claims Legitimacy and Evaluation Accountability Nationwide for VA (CLEAN VA) Act. Its purpose is buttressing oversight and anti-corruption measures within the VA to make sure veterans are being adequately cared for and that taxpayer dollars are not being wasted through fraud and abuse. The bill in particular strengthens penalties for VA employee fraud and orders a review of the VA disability-rating schedule. It also enlarges ethics training for staff. The final bill Biggs is supporting is the HSA for Heroes Act, which would permit eligible veterans to open and utilize health saving accounts for costs from caregiving and medicine. The bill would increase health savings while preserving VA benefits. The Arizona lawmaker is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and currently serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and its subcommittee on military and foreign affairs.  Biggs has served in the House of Representatives since 2017, but could depart come 2027 if his gubernatorial bid in Arizona proves successful. Biggs also has been a supporter of President Donald Trump’s war on the drug cartels, having previously sponsored a House resolution that would have declared members and affiliates of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as “alien enemies” through the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Rep. Andy Briggs, R-Ariz.The Arizona congressman was instrumental in voting to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. According to one of Biggs’s aides he has “not made any public or private commitments on Speaker Johnson.” pic.twitter.com/rObpJZzfqp— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) January 3, 2025 “Congress must stand behind President Trump as he works to fulfill the demands of the American people to secure our border and restore safety to our communities,” Biggs told The Daily Signal in reference to the measure. Prior to his federal service, he served as president of the Arizona state Senate and as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives. He is currently running to be the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona in the 2026 general election. If nominated, he would likely face off against incumbent Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is seeking reelection. The post With These 3 Bills, Arizona’s Biggs Salutes Veterans appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Too MSNBC To Check: MSNOW Launch Ad Uses Black Actors to Highlight White Hosts?

The answer lies in our “dark genome”.

TL;DR – Don’t make wild animals your pet unless you want to end up covered in bites and urine.

Despite folding under pressure to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough and his guests claimed on Monday that Democrats were still winning on the healthcare issue. The night prior, several Democrats and Independents joined Republicans in passing a package that would restore funding to many government entities, essentially showing that Democrats were in the driver’s seat all long in determining the fate of the government shutdown. Former Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) praised the minority for stymieing regular government operations by signaling to their base: “John Thune would never be offering this vote up if they hadn't stood strong and shut down the government, if the Democrats hadn't done that. They have accomplished something here. I don't think he would have allowed this vote.” If it weren’t for the Democrats, Congress wouldn’t be voting on extending federal health care subsidies (which would take more money out of your pocket) that Trump already signed out of law back in July. What an “accomplishment.”     Even though she admitted “it's not clear the House will go along with” passing an extension, McCaskill encouraged Democrats to continue pushing anyways: And remember, the government could be shut down again in January. […] There's nothing keeping the Democrats from saying again, “Hey, we're gonna hammer you one more time. We've got to have some relief on these healthcare benefits.” If they keep this discipline around costs, particularly health care, from now until next November, they won't have to worry about whether Mike Johnson will allow a vote on health care benefits. So, not only was the possibility of another shutdown promising to her, but so was the idea of Democrats’ persistence on healthcare being a relevant factor in the 2026 midterms. Scarborough argued that Republicans hurt their messaging and popularity by refusing to bow to Democrats’ demands: And by the way, for Democrats saying, “Well, what was gained by this shutdown?” Look at every single poll. Look at it — not only on Donald Trump, but look at every single poll on health care. What Republicans did by not compromising with the Democrats is they took crime off the front page of every newspaper. That was the story and they turned it into health care. And since that happened, their numbers, Republicans’ numbers, have just collapsed. Very strange. The leftist media had shifted its prolonged focus on ICE raids and National Guard deployments and towards the shutdown and the recent elections. Either way, Trump and the Republicans were made out to be the bad guys. Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews disagreed with his fellow panelists on their reasoning: “So, one of the things the Democrats made a mistake on is betting everything on healthcare in terms of the shutdown, because the shutdown was not gonna end because of that. The Republicans […] don't want it, period. And they're not gonna back it.” But he agreed that Democrats would remain the favored party on the issue: “Separate the shutdown from healthcare and you win on health care.” Facts can be interpreted ludicrously. Enough Democrats finally caved and didn’t really get what they wanted as a result. Does anyone really think those extensions will somehow pass again? Everyone lost during the shutdown—Democrats certainly didn’t “win. The transcript is below. Click "expand" read: MSNBC’s Morning Joe November 10, 2025 7:21:47 a.m. EST (…) KATTY KAY: Yeah. Look, there's some polling number just out this morning that suggest that the Democrats have managed, in a way, to frame this debate. This is interesting. Politico's got it from Stack Data polling that shows that 71 percent of Americans are now concerned about the healthcare subsidies ending. And here's the big number, 50 percent of self-identified MAGA Republicans also say they're concerned about the healthcare subsidies ending. So, it's quite possible that Democrats have already shifted the debate around this during the course of this shutdown. But, Claire, you asked Angus King a very interesting question just earlier, and that's, “What happens next?” And he said he may have double digits of Republican Senators who are happy to vote with Democrats on extending the subsidies in some form. But what happens in the House? Because it's not clear that the House would go along with that. FMR. SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D-MO): Well, it's not clear the House will go along with it. But talk about an opportunity to make it crystal clear to America who's looking out for ya. That would be an opportunity that they don't have right now. John Thune would never be offering this vote up if they hadn't stood strong and shut down the government, if the Democrats hadn't done that. They have accomplished something here. I don't think he would have allowed this vote. And it will put tremendous pressure — listen, they want to hold the House. They're gonna read that poll, Kay, they're gonna read that poll, and they're gonna see in the House those members that are in districts that are five-point Trump wins. You just saw what happened in New Jersey. You just saw what happened statewide in Georgia. They're worried, those members of Congress are worried. So it's going to put tremendous — it's gonna switch the pressure from being on the Democrats worried about people that aren't gonna be able to feed themselves at Thanksgiving to the Republicans worried about the reality they're facing with the American people and how they see this problem. And remember, the government could be shut down again in January. This only goes till — JOE SCARBOROUGH: Yeah. MCCASKILL: — the end of January. There's nothing keeping the Democrats from saying again, “Hey, we're gonna hammer you one more time. We've got to have some relief on these healthcare benefits.” If they keep this discipline around costs, particularly healthcare, from now until next November, they won't have to worry about whether Mike Johnson will allow a vote on healthcare benefits. SCARBOROUGH: And by the way, for Democrats saying, “Well, what was gained by this shutdown?” Look at every single poll. Look at it — not only on Donald Trump, but look at every single poll on healthcare. What Republicans did by not compromising with the Democrats is they took crime off the front page of every newspaper. That was the story and they turned it into healthcare. And since that happened, their numbers, Republicans’ numbers, have just collapsed. And it had a massive impact this past week. And Chris Matthews, I know a lot of people are saying, “Well, hey, what's gonna happen in the House?” I'll tell you what's gonna happen in the House. Two things are gonna happen in the House if they vote to extend these subsidies. Number one, you are going to have a certain Democrat that gets sworn in. So add one to the Democrats. You're going to have a certain Republican that represents Dalton, Georgia, my grand mom's old town, who's — MTG who is going to vote to help people in her own district afford to pay for their healthcare. That's two. And suddenly when you only need two or three more votes and you've got about 10 or 12 people, Republicans that are in districts that Joe Biden won, please. That's where the action’s gonna be. Get the popcorn popping. I can't wait to watch that debate. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well, when I watched what happened in Bucks County, Pennsylvania last week, anything is possible. It's the first time in a millennium, I think, that they voted straight Democrat there. But just to retrace the way your logic worked two or three weeks ago, when you said once the Democrats follow up, when you said they're going to put ACA on the line and Medicaid on the line and say, ‘We have to full fund them, we have to go back there,’ what happened? Events occurred. All of a sudden SNAP — we worried about food stamps. All of a sudden food stamps became a big concern. And then they — we worried about the air traffic controllers — and we still worrying about them, they're still tired. And we worried about an airplane crash. And this all happening. So, one of the things the Democrats made a mistake on is betting everything on healthcare in terms of the shutdown, because the shutdown was not gonna end because of that. The Republicans voted to the last man to kill Obamacare. John McCain is still hated because he wanted to save it. They don't want it. They don't want it, period. And they're not gonna back it. So, it's an interesting thing. Separate the shutdown from healthcare and you win on healthcare. JONATHAN LEMIRE: Yeah. There's no question here that Republicans really took a blow during these few weeks. They're the loser, no doubt, of this shutdown. We’ve seen the President’s poll numbers decline even further, GOP party at large decline even further. (…)

Despite being a group of people eager to portray the government shutdown as Republicans’ fault, the late night comedians used their Monday shows to attack Senate Democrats for finally realizing they had no leverage and ending the shutdown. On CBS, The Late Show host Stephen Colbert mourned, “So yes, the shutdown may have been long and painful for millions of Americans, but at least it achieved jack squat.”     Colbert also decried that “None of those eight Senate Democrats are up for reelection next year, and two have announced they are retiring from the Senate. What a disappointing way to end your career. Reminds me of when Journey released their last single: ‘We Stopped Believin'.” One Democrat Colbert singled out, “who crumbled like a granola bar in your backpack is New Hampshire Senator and The Joker's proud aunt, Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen was asked about her decision, and she said, ‘When I talk to my constituents in New Hampshire, you know what they say to me? … They say, 'Why can't you all just work together to address the problems that are facing this country?’ because the country is being run by insane people!” Over on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel claimed, “Democrats refused to sign on to a bill that would force millions of Americans off of their health care and make it much more expensive for those who can afford it. So, Democrats drew a line in the sand. They said we are not going over this. And today, after 41 days, they pulled out a shovel and a bucket and they ate all that sand. And got nothing for it. Isn't that great? You know what they got? They got a promise from the Republicans in the Senate to hold a vote on health care sometime in the future.” Turning his ire to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Kimmel huffed, “I mean, at his age, it's incredible at his age that Chuck Schumer is still able to bend over so far. Chuck Schumer is basically every parent who tells their kid "No more iPad. That's it." The next thing you know, he's playing Roblox at the dinner table. This was such a big cave, by the Democrats, Bruce Wayne offered to buy it.”     Also on Kimmel’s bad side was Illinois’s Dick Durbin, who “told Senate Majority Leader John Thune that he was, ‘Counting on him to keep his word on this agreement. He assured me he would.’ Which is exactly what Lucy said to Charlie Brown with the football.” On Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Jon Stewart raged, “I cannot [bleep] believe it! You had the wind at your back! Election victories all over the country… Democrats, you sold out the entire shutdown not to get what you wanted, but for a promise to not get what you wanted later. Where in The Art of War—where—hold on—where in The Art of—okay, here it is: I got it. Sun Tzu said, ‘Never press your advantage. It's unseemly! Fighting's hard. How 'bout a snack?’” Stewart also attacked the deal, “I can't [bleep] believe it. And by the way, what good does a promise of a Senate vote even do for you? Democrats, you don't control the Senate. Do you even know how this shit works?” Later, Stewart welcomed Reps. Chris Deluzio and Pat Ryan and lamented, “The theory of their case, as far as I can tell is, people like you will lose if you stand your ground on principle. That you have to be the so-called moderate centrist that is going to reach across the aisle. Not realizing they didn't reach across the aisle. They surrendered across the aisle.”     Deluzio concurred, claiming his constituents, “want us to fight for and we have been and to see what happened on the other side in the Senate is just -- it is weak.” Ryan echoed the sentiment, “People want to know, are you going to actually fight for me when it matters or are you going to cave? And that is the thing that matters, especially in this moment, but the folks that have been in the bubble in D.C. for longer than some of us have been around, they don't—” Stewart interrupted to agree, “Longer than even I’ve been around. I’ll be honest with you, I could go down there and kick their asses physically. Many of them are hollow like birds.” Finally, on NBC’s Late Night, Seth Meyers despaired, “Democrats, are you seeing this? Why are you caving to this guy? In a span of, like, five days, he got crushed at elections, got booed at a football game, fell asleep in a meeting, and you guys saw that and thought, ‘There's no way we can beat this guy. He's at the top of his game.’”     After a clip of Sen. Angus King claiming the shutdown wasn’t achieving its goals, Meyers said the quiet part out loud, “What do you mean it didn't work? Aren't his poll numbers at an all-time low? Didn't you just win a bunch of elections or did I hallucinate all of that?” If you went a month without pay or had your flight cancelled, it’s okay because according to Seth Meyers Donald Trump’s poll numbers fell. Here are transcripts for the November 10-taped shows: CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 11/10/2025 11:37 PM ET STEPHEN COLBERT: So yes, the shutdown may have been long and painful for millions of Americans, but at least it achieved jack squat. That is—and we know why Jack is squatting. But these Democratic defectors did get one concession. Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised them a vote on the ACA in December. 'Cuz that's when people get serious at work: December. You work about six days, and half of that is spent doing a mandatory office door decorating contest. "Welcome to accounting! Or should I say: The Polar Express!" “Now you got hot chocolate.” No surprise, the vast majority of Democrats don't want this. None of those eight Senate Democrats are up for reelection next year, and two have announced they are retiring from the Senate. What a disappointing way to end your career. Reminds me of when Journey released their last single: "We Stopped Believin'." Did they? I don't know. One of the Democrats who crumbled like a granola bar in your backpack is New Hampshire Senator and The Joker's proud aunt, Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen was asked about her decision, and she said, "When I talk to my constituents in New Hampshire, you know what they say to me?" "Uh, are we Vermont, or are we the other one? Are we, which one, one of us is—are they upside down us or upside down them" She continued, "They say, 'why can't you all just work together to address the problems that are facing this country?'" because the country is being run by insane people! *** ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! 11/11/2025 12:05 AM ET JIMMY KIMMEL: Here in the present, we are on day 41 of the Trump government shutdown. Democrats refused to sign on to a bill that would force millions of Americans off of their health care and make it much more expensive for those who can afford it. So, Democrats drew a line in the sand. They said we are not going over this. And today, after 41 days, they pulled out a shovel and a bucket and they ate all that sand. And got nothing for it. Isn't that great? You know what they got? They got a promise from the Republicans in the Senate to hold a vote on health care sometime in the future. And if there is one thing we know about Trump and his merry band of sycophants it's that their word is as good as gold. I mean, at his age, it's incredible at his age that Chuck Schumer is still able to bend over so far. Chuck Schumer is basically every parent who tells their kid "No more iPad. That's it." The next thing you know, he's playing Roblox at the dinner table. This was such a big cave, by the Democrats, Bruce Wayne offered to buy it. Democrat Dick Durbin told Senate Majority Leader John Thune that he was, "Counting on him to keep his word on this agreement. He assured me he would." Which is exactly what Lucy said to Charlie Brown with the football. *** Comedy Central The Daily Show 11/10/2025 11:04 PM ET JON STEWART: I cannot [bleep] believe it! You had the wind at your back! Election victories all over the country. The new Sydney Sweeney movie was box office: bupkis! Apparently, her new MAGA fan base didn't show up in droves to see a biopic about a lesbian professional boxer who overcomes domestic violence to live her truth. Who could have seen that coming? Democrats, you sold out the entire shutdown not to get what you wanted, but for a promise to not get what you wanted later. Where in The Art of War—where—hold on—where in The Art of—okay, here it is: I got it. Sun Tzu said, "Never press your advantage. It's unseemly! Fighting's hard. How 'bout a snack?” I can't [bleep] believe it. And by the way, what good does a promise of a Senate vote even do for you? Democrats, you don't control the Senate. Do you even know how this shit works? Let's just say, for schincks, that you managed to win a vote in the Senate, which you haven't done all year! You know what happens then? Hold on one second. Give me the thing, I want to show— BILL ON CAPITOL HILL: I'm just a bill. Yes, I'm only a bill and I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill. … STEWART: The theory of their case, as far as I can tell is, people like you will lose if you stand your ground on principle. That you have to be the so-called moderate centrist that is going to reach across the aisle. Not realizing they didn't reach across the aisle. They surrendered across the aisle. CHRIS DELUZIO: I don't know any constituents of ours that want us to just wilt. They want us to stand our ground for something that matters— STEWART: Right. DELUZIO: — and our health care of our region and yours. Like, peoples' health care is a real thing that is bankrupting families. They're going to roll the dice on buying, paying for a policy they may not be able to afford— STEWART: Right. DELUZIO: —or maybe showing up in the emergency room because they skipped out on health care. STEWART: Right. DELUZIO: That is something they want us to fight for and we have been and to see what happened on the other side in the Senate is just -- it is weak. PAT RYAN: I think, like, there is this old theory of left, right, progressive, centrist, moderate, it’s bullshit. STEWART: Yeah. RYAN: People want to know, are you going to actually fight for me— STEWART: Right. RYAN: —when it matters or are you going to cave? And that is the thing that matters, especially in this moment, but the folks that have been in the bubble in D.C. for longer than some of us have been around, they don't— STEWART: Longer than even I’ve been around. I’ll be honest with you, I could go down there and kick their asses physically. Many of them are hollow like birds. *** NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers 11/11/2025 12:49 AM ET SETH MEYERS: Democrats, are you seeing this? Why are you caving to this guy? In a span of, like, five days, he got crushed at elections, got booed at a football game, fell asleep in a meeting, and you guys saw that and thought, "There's no way we can beat this guy. He's at the top of his game." I mean, I'm terrified of my wife, but once she falls asleep, I'm turning off her dumb movie and turning on the Knicks games. But Democrats actually seem to think Trump had somehow won the shutdown fight. ANGUS KING: We have to go back to what the strategy was at the beginning of the shutdown. There were two goals, both of which I support. One was standing up to Donald Trump. The other was getting some resolution on the ACA premium tax credit issue. The problem was the shutdown wasn't accomplishing either goals [jump cut] so standing up to Donald Trump didn't work. MEYERS: What do you mean it didn't work? Aren't his poll numbers at an all-time low? Didn't you just win a bunch of elections or did I hallucinate all of that?

ESPN’s reign as the king of sports media may be nearing its end.BlazeTV contributor Paul Burkhardt is among those who believe this to be true, explaining that the network is “very vulnerable” as competitors like Netflix and Amazon prepare to make a “power play” that could permanently reshape the sports broadcasting landscape.“I don’t think a lot of people are realizing — and I’ve been on this and been studying this now for probably about a year and a half — I believe ESPN is very vulnerable right now,” Burkhardt tells BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock and the rest of the panel on “Fearless.”“And it’s the worst time for this to happen, because I think Netflix and Amazon are in a position to make the ultimate power play over the next, say, two to five years. They’ve already started to dabble into the games. They already have the leagues with them to some varying degree,” he continues.“I think there’s a takedown about ready to happen, and I’m in line to watch it,” he adds.Burkhardt believes that “Netflix and Amazon are ready to pounce.”“I think that ESPN could be drunk on its success. ESPN has always had an overinflated sense of itself, particularly the on-air talent, because ESPN had such a monopoly on sports coverage that anybody you put on there was going to have the feeling of having a following,” Whitlock agrees.“I don’t think Stephen A. Smith has a sincere following. I think he’s been forced down our throats on ESPN, but no one thinks Stephen A. Smith is talented. No one thinks he’s that informed or that insightful about sports,” he continues.“It’s kind of reflective of the whole mentality of Hollywood and the leftist deal. … If they decide this person’s important; if they want to put Joe Biden in as president even though he’s half dead; if they decide, ‘Hey, no one likes Hillary Clinton, but we’re going to run her for president,’” he adds.Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Law enforcement in Alexandria, Louisiana, responded to the 1800 block of Henry Street just after 7:30 a.m. Saturday for a reported home invasion, the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office said. Alexandria is about 200 miles northwest of New Orleans.Officials said a black male identified as 33-year-old Davante Deundra Thomas of Alexandria allegedly kicked down the door of the residence armed with a handgun and fired at the homeowner.'People have a right to protect themselves.'But the homeowner also had a gun — and wasted no time using it.Officials said the homeowner returned fire, striking Thomas.After deputies arrived, Thomas was found dead inside the home with the gun still in his hand, officials said.Sheriff’s detectives and the Crime Scene Unit responded and began their investigation and processed the scene for evidence, officials said.The sheriff's office said no arrests have been made.Officials said the investigation is still active and ongoing, and all those with any information about the incident should contact detectives at 318-473-6727 or the sheriff's office at 318-473-6700.Commenters reacting to the shooting were a bit mixed in their opinions. Most seemed completely behind the homeowner who returned fire — but others believed there was more to the story:"Turns out the more you F around the more you find out," one commenter said."Welp, he won't do that again!!!" another user noted."This is a good opportunity to teach your kids about what happens if you go breaking into houses," another commenter wrote."People have a right to protect themselves," another user said."Crazy thing is people don't realize how many homeowners actually have weapons in their homes just for this reason," another commenter observed."Naw, we aren't getting the entire story here," another user countered. "Don't pass judgement without all the facts.""This just doesn't sound right to me, either," another commenter stated. "Something [is] not adding up."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Our economic realities as Americans are tied directly to energy. But those of us working outside the energy industry must be forgiven for not noticing that in 2022, China began construction on an experimental thorium reactor that requires no water, generates substantially less toxic byproduct, purports and appears be vastly safer than all other reactor designs, and all but eliminates the possibility of meltdown. American citizens should be forgiven for not noticing because in 2022, as you recall, we were suffocating in the various tendrils of psychological operations and captured government.And when China operationalized the reactor and proved the design, firing it up last month, pulling a positive yield of uranium, Americans were again distracted. Our industries are still captured, corrupted, or sidelined. Our government is still dysfunctional, and it appears we are now, in some very official sense, losing the energy arms race.Clickbait headlines have suggested that China outright stole the reactor design. The truth is probably even worse.The Chinese reactor works. It delivers cheap, abundant, safe, clean energy. Congress is silent. Portions of our mainstream media only serve corporate (often energy sector-tied) interests, so they aren’t going to sound the alarm.Here’s the kicker regarding the United States’ second-place status in this energy battle: Americans funded the entirety of the original research for the thorium reactor in the 1960s at Oak Ridge Nuclear Laboratory. This raises major questions about past, present, and future for the energy and tech sectors.Of the successful test of the thorium reactor in China, the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics stated in a press release, “This marks the first time international experimental data has been obtained after thorium was introduced into a molten salt reactor, making it the only operational molten salt reactor in the world to have successfully incorporated thorium fuel.”Clickbait headlines have suggested that China outright stole the reactor design. The truth is probably even worse. If you take blood pressure medication, be forewarned: There is malfeasance here, for sure, but the technology wasn’t stolen from either American corporations or Oak Ridge Laboratory. Oak Ridge Laboratory, in concert with the U.S. government, evidently declassified much of the pertinent research, according to researcher Kirk Sorensen.RELATED: This city bought 300 Chinese electric buses — then found out China can turn them off at will CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesSorensen runs the website https://energyfromthorium.com, where portions of the material, now in the public domain, were published. Meanwhile, private American research into what turns out to be a highly feasible and safe energy source has been, at best, scattered and underfunded. What's more, the stultifying (false?) dialectic between environmentalism and first-world living standards has muddied the waters for decades.Oak Ridge Labs partnered with the Shanghai Applied Physics Institute back in 2015. American research was just simply handed to the Chinese. Meanwhile, we have considerable energy issues in America: prices jumping 10%-20% per year in many states and services often approaching third-world standards in terms of reliability and transparency. We have the highly unstable and contentious AI industry building data centers at a heady pace and signaling orders of magnitude more energy demand in short order. Lastly, we have a contingent of right-aligned Americans squaring up to take on the potential re-industrialization of the country — automobiles, pharmaceuticals, microprocessors, and steel manufacture at all levels could and probably must be re-shored if we as a nation are ever to right the ship.None of this happens without abundant, cheap energy.Since the early 2000s, concerns over dwindling cheap oil have confused the public and stymied good-faith efforts to manage the infrastructure, source, and delivery problems that our grand techno-American plans seem to require. Elon Musk's grandfather, Joshua N. Halderman, was involved with M. King Hubbert in the original Technocracy Inc. endeavor, which signaled early alarms about exponential growth meeting finite oil capacity. Elon is a big fan of solar, but one wonders if perhaps now he’d be better off investigating thorium ... if American industry and government can get out of his way, of course.

The Senate Republicans officially passed their funding bill to reopen the government Monday night, with the help of Democrat defectors. The legislation is now in the House, where members are expected to vote to finally reopen the government sometime Wednesday. Over 40 days into the record-long government shutdown, eight Senate Democrats voted to pass the same clean continuing resolution that has been on the table since day one. The funding bill was passed in a 60-40 vote, with Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King (I) of Maine, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada voting with 52 Republicans to reopen the government. House Democrats are already whipping members to vote against reopening the government.With just enough Democrats defecting to pass the GOP resolution, many of their fellow Democrats expressed disapproval for the "pathetic" deal they negotiated. The main reason Democrats shut down the government in the first place was to force Republicans' hand on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that are expiring at the end of the year. One record-breaking shutdown later, all Democrats have to show for it is a pinky promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) that there will be a floor vote on the subsidies, which was offered to Democrats on day one of the shutdown. RELATED: 'Pathetic' Senate Democrats cave, advancing key shutdown vote and prompting intraparty uproar: 'It’s a surrender' Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty ImagesRepublicans offered Democrats one minor concession Sunday night ahead of the filibuster vote: to reverse some firings made via reduction-in-force notices. Republicans agreed to reverse all RIFs issued during the shutdown and to refrain from issuing any more until the continuing resolution expires on January 30. In total, this deal affects only about 4,200 employees of the roughly 150,000 federal workers who have been laid off since President Donald Trump began his second term in January. RELATED: Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures Photo by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThe bill is now headed over to the House, where votes are expected to resume Wednesday afternoon after the House has been out of session for over 50 days. During a Monday press conference, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) publicly urged all members to return to Washington, D.C., as soon as possible to begin voting. House Democrats are already whipping members to vote against reopening the government, arguing that the continuing resolution "fails to address" their health care concerns. Despite their ongoing opposition, the funding bill needs only a simple majority and is expected to pass the House. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!