Yesterday, Tax Day, was the greatest American holiday — according to the Democratic Party. You might think of Tax Day as something annoying and awful, that day when you slip a check in the mail that represents a gigantic chunk of your yearly earnings so the federal government can then spend all that money on a bunch of useless horse crap. But that’s where you’re wrong, according to Democrats. For them, Tax Day is a magnificent delight, a day of festivities for all. We should look forward to it every year because taxes are incredible.  As Joe Biden used to say, they are a sign of “patriotism,” of “social solidarity.” Or, in reality, sticking it to the people who earn money in the United States. There’s something even better for Democrats spending all of that magical money on awful nonsense. In fact, that’s the best part: It’s not your money. It was never your money. It was always their money. They let you control some of it. But the rest of it, they take from you, and then they burn it, just to show you that your economic freedom belongs to them. The purpose of taxes, according to Democrats, is not a more prosperous society or the obliteration of poverty. The purpose of taxes is quite simple: to punish success. Of course, they always deny that they believe the more successful you are, the more you ought to be punished. One of the most seminal political debates I’ve ever covered was the 2008 Democratic debate involving then-Senator Barack Obama, whose answer to a certain question would in any normal world have disqualified him for the presidency. The question was this: Would you increase the capital gains tax rate even if it resulted in less tax revenue for the government to spend? Barack Obama said, “What I’ve said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness.” You understand? The purpose is “fairness.” That’s the purpose of taxes: fairness, not prosperity. It is not more government revenue to use for useful things. It is to punish people. It is “fairness.” No Democrat has ever been able to answer this question: What exactly represents a fair tax rate? When is it fair enough? If the normal person were to pay a 40% tax rate, and Richie Rich were to pay a 90% tax rate, would that be fair? If, in fact, everyone were to pay a 100% tax rate, would that be fair? No Democrat can ever explain what the ideal fair tax rate is, because “fair” is a fungible term. “Fair” doesn’t mean anything. “Fair” is in the eye of the beholder. The real key is that you are punishing and reveling in punishing the rich people. That’s what it’s about. That’s why the Democratic Party on Tax Day put out a tweet saying, “Tax the rich.” Not “help the poor,” “tax the rich.” That’s all they care about: taxing the rich. The way you know that it’s working is because you’re making the rich poorer. This is why Zohran Mamdani, the communist mayor of New York, was sitting on a stage yesterday with a gigantic backdrop reading “Tax the Rich,” while speaking about how well all of this is working. He stated: And so, for all of the discussion of the imagined exodus that would take place were we to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers by the appropriate amount, I say “imagined” because before I was a mayor, I was a state legislator, and I was part of an effort to increase taxes on millionaires at that time. We were told the same thing then. And what we find now is that we have more millionaires today than we did at that time, even after having passed that tax.  The reason you have more millionaires in the city is because of economic growth, period. Mamdani, on Tax Day, decided it was time to announce the new pied-à-terre tax. The pied-à-terre tax is a tax on any home that is someone’s second home, a home that they don’t live in most of the year, that is worth more than $5 million. The sick glee with which he announces taxes has nothing to do with helping people. It has everything to do with punishing people. That is the glee. This is your smiling Jacobin. If you had a guillotine nearby and he had the capacity to use it, he most certainly would. He cut an ad — which should creep the living hell out of you if you have half a brain — talking about how excited he is to tax people. Remember, most people think of Tax Day as a miserable day because you’re giving a bunch of money that you earned to a bunch of people who did not earn that money, just so they can spend it on random crap. But according to Mamdani, it’s the best day because he — as a useless person for his entire adult life who got elected mayor of New York  — finally gets to do the thing he wants to do: Bring the rich low. He said:  Today we’re taxing. I’m thrilled to announce a pied à terre tax, the first in New York’s history. This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full time in the city. Like for this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million. This pied à terre tax is specifically designed for the richest of the rich, those who store their wealth in New York City real estate, but who don’t actually live here.  But even so, they’re able to reap the huge financial rewards of owning property in, dare I say, the greatest city in the world. And most of the time these units are sitting empty since, again, they don’t actually live here. This is a fundamentally unfair system that hurts working new owners. Now it’s coming to an end. This tax will raise at least $500 million directly for the city. I have a question. What is unfair about Ken Griffin spending a bajillion dollars for an apartment and then not spending time in the apartment? Do we really think that Mamdani would be fine with Ken Griffin if he lived in that apartment? Beyond that, doxing Ken Griffin’s apartment is a terrible thing for the mayor of New York City to do. You notice they use the “Succession” music underneath, because all people who are rich are just like the people in “Succession.” Except they’re not. I know a lot of rich people. Some are like the people in “Succession,” and many are not. I also know a lot of people who are not rich, and some of them are terrible, and some of them are wonderful. The idea that virtue inherently correlates with the level of wealth is nuts, but it is what undergirds the level of hatred that Democrats have for people who earn. All of this ignores that many people who are wealthy today were not so yesterday. I once had very little money in my bank account. But that’s the beautiful thing about America, and it’s pretty incredible. Yet according to Democrats, that’s a bad thing; it would be better if nobody had their money in their bank account. Zohran Mamdani believes that people who earn more in a capitalist society are worse human beings. And it is a nearly-universal idea among top-tier Democrats.

The teenage son of former Democrat Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax called the police after his father allegedly killed his mother before committing suicide, according to disturbing dispatcher audio.  Audio obtained by TMZ revealed that 16-year-old Cameron Fairfax called police shortly after midnight on Thursday to report that he believed his father had stabbed his mother. Police later said that Fairfax shot his wife, Cerina, before committing suicide. “Caller stating that his dad might have stabbed his mom and that she’s lying on the ground bleeding, can see holes in her shirt. Unknown where his father is now,” a female dispatcher said in the audio. Shortly after, a responding officer says, “I don’t have a pulse.”  Later in the audio, an officer can be heard saying that he was downstairs with the son and that Fairfax had not been located yet. Police said that both of the couple’s children were in the Annandale, Virginia, home at the time of the killing.  “I haven’t cleared the scene yet, I have the son with me downstairs. Units on scene to clear the house, husband’s car is still in the driveway,” an officer can be heard saying.  A search was briefly initiated before Justin Fairfax’s body was found. He was described by an officer as “a black male, 5-foot-10, clean-shaven with short hair.” Shortly after that search was launched, an officer found Justin Fairfax dead in a room from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.  “We got another subject down in the bedroom upstairs, I think this is gonna be our subject. He’s got a firearm with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” an officer said.  Officials said they believed the incident was linked to a “messy” divorce the couple was going through at the time. Court documents reported on by The New York Post allege that Fairfax was drunk who would lock himself in a room with “empty wine bottles, trash and piles of dirty laundry” and would only leave to  “get food or smoke cigarettes.” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Thursday morning that the department’s top priority was the condition of the couple’s children.  “They are interacting with us, and certainly the son was the one who called 911 during a very chaotic situation,” Davis said. “I can only imagine.” The incident comes just a few months after police said that Fairfax falsely claimed that he was assaulted by his wife and officers were called to the home. That claim was not true, police said, adding that Cerina had installed cameras throughout the house. Justin Fairfax served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022 and faced sexual assault allegations in 2019 shortly after images surfaced of then-Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam wearing blackface. He later ran unsuccessfully for governor. 

Spirit Airlines could shut down and begin liquidation as soon as this week, raising questions for travelers. The airline has already filed for bankruptcy twice, and its latest effort to emerge from the process is not going well, CNBC reported. “We don’t comment on market rumors and speculation,” the budget airline told CNBC. Some travelers may be able to get refunds if their flights are canceled, depending on factors such as whether they booked with a credit card, have travel insurance, and others, according to The Points Guy. InsureMyTrip CEO Suzanne Morrow said that travelers’ options depend on “when that policy was purchased.” “For those who already hold a policy, the answer is in the fine print. Timing plays a major role here. At this stage, many insurers view Spirit’s financial situation as a known or ‘foreseeable’ event, which can limit access to key benefits like Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption,” she added. “If someone is thinking about buying coverage now, they should be aware that if Spirit ceases operations after the policy is purchased, standard cancellation or interruption benefits generally won’t apply,” Morrow continued. A federal judge shot down a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue in 2024, a move supported by the Biden-era Justice Department. There were also reports late last year of a possible merger between Frontier Airlines and Spirit, Travel Weekly reported. “Today’s decision by JetBlue is yet another victory for the Justice Department’s work on behalf of American consumers,” then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said after JetBlue scrapped the merger. “The Justice Department proved in court that a merger between JetBlue and Spirit would have caused tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer choices. We will continue to vigorously enforce the nation’s antitrust laws,” Garland added. The potential collapse of Spirit Airlines comes at a tumultuous time for air travel in the United States, as costs have risen due to higher fuel prices and other pressures on the industry. The Daily Wire reached out to the Department of Transportation for comment.

Our son Samuel is 15 years old, and he loves to run. When the school day ends, he laces up his shoes and heads out. Running has become a meaningful part of his life, strengthening his body, steadying his mind, and shaping habits of discipline and perseverance. Samuel ran track and cross country through middle school. He trained hard. He competed alongside his peers. He got better. Then he entered ninth grade, and Virginia told him to stop. Not because he isn’t fast enough. Not because he isn’t dedicated enough. Not because he did anything wrong. Samuel was told he could no longer compete in track and cross-country events sanctioned by the Virginia High School League (VHSL) because we educate him at home. Our decision to homeschool Samuel is rooted in our faith. It is a deeply personal choice — one Virginia law fully recognizes and protects. Each year, we file our notice of intent with the superintendent and provide a list of subjects he will study. Samuel completes assignments, reads widely, writes regularly, and takes nationally-normed, standardized tests, where he performs well. Stacie, Samuel’s mother, is a formerly licensed public educator who has taught hundreds of students across multiple disciplines. We would gladly meet reasonable academic reporting requirements if doing so meant Samuel could run alongside his peers at Northside High School. But none of that matters under the current rules. The VHSL’s policy, in place for nearly 40 years, requires students to be “bona fide” full-time enrollees of a member school. Homeschoolers do not qualify. Period. It does not matter how rigorous the academics are. It does not matter that we pay the same taxes that fund the very schools and athletic programs from which our son is excluded. It does not matter that more than 66,000 Virginia children are homeschooled — a number that grows every year. The door is shut. What makes that exclusion even harder to justify is the group permitted to pass through that door. Public school students can compete, of course. Private school students can participate in VHSL-sanctioned events. Even students enrolled in full-time virtual public school programs — students who never set foot in a school building — are eligible. But a homeschooled student who lives in the district, whose family pays the taxes that fund it, who meets every academic standard set by the state, and who simply wants to train and compete receives no such opportunity. There is no coherent principle behind that red line, and the VHSL’s own exceptions expose the problem. We tried to work within the system before we ever considered a courtroom. We approached the VHSL and even offered to present our case. The response, to paraphrase, was simple: the policy is what it is; the board supports it. In effect, we were told not to waste our time. That was a difficult moment for our family. We respect authority, and we teach our children to do the same. Samuel himself has said he was raised to follow the rules — but also this: when those in authority step outside constitutional bounds, the Constitution provides a path for citizens to seek a remedy. We are grateful to have found allies in this fight. The Founding Freedoms Law Center, the legal arm of The Family Foundation of Virginia, is representing our family pro bono. For years — decades, really — efforts have been made to fix this through the legislature. Session after session, lawmakers have introduced what is commonly known as the “Tebow bill,” legislation that would allow homeschooled students to participate in public school athletics, as they already can in roughly 30 other states. Repeatedly, those efforts succeeded and the legislature passed the bill. Every single time, Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed it — closing the door just as it was about to open. The legislative path has been tried. It has been blocked. But what legislation has not yet accomplished, the Constitution already secures. The government cannot deny access to a publicly funded benefit because a family lives in accordance with sincerely held religious convictions. Nor can it deny equal protection under the law based solely on how a child is educated. That is why, on March 30, 2026, we filed a federal lawsuit against the Virginia High School League and the Roanoke County School Board. Our case argues this blanket exclusion violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the religious liberty protections in Virginia’s Constitution, and the Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act. We are asking for a jury trial in federal court in Roanoke. We want to be clear about what this case is and what it is not. This is not about guaranteeing Samuel a spot on a team. It is about giving him the same opportunity as any other student: to try out where tryouts are held, to participate where they are not, to earn a place, and to compete. It is about the simple principle that a taxpayer-funded benefit should not be withheld from a child because his parents, guided by their faith, choose to educate him at home. It is not just about Samuel. When we told him we were considering this lawsuit, his response moved us. He said he wanted to do this not only for himself, but for his friends, and for the child he has not even met, a homeschooled student somewhere in Virginia who might one day have the chance to compete because this barrier was finally removed. Other states have already shown this works. Homeschoolers participate. Standards remain intact. Teams function as expected. The sky does not fall. Virginia refuses to follow where the evidence already leads. Meanwhile, Samuel’s high-school years continue to slip away. Every season he cannot compete is one he will never recover — a season of training with teammates, testing himself in real competition, and learning discipline and perseverance in ways only organized athletics can teach. He dreams of one day being fast enough to run for Virginia Tech. It’s a long shot, but it should be his shot to take. Without the opportunity to compete at the high-school level, that door is closed to him. We have also filed for a preliminary injunction, so Samuel can run while this case proceeds. Time flies, especially for a 15-year-old who runs. We did not seek this fight. We are a family from Roanoke County who wanted our son to run track. But when we encountered a rule that treats our child as less than equal for no reason other than where he sits during the school day, we knew we had to act. Not just for Samuel, but for every family in Virginia who has been told their children do not belong. Our message is simple: Let Samuel run, and let the kids play. *** Daniel and Stacie Palmer are parents living in Roanoke County, VA.

Actress Elizabeth Banks said women in real life, particularly Trump voters, should be more like the character she played in “The Hunger Games.” The 52-year-old made the comments during an appearance on Bustle’s “One Nightstand” podcast this week. “Effie for me is one of the characters that has the greatest arc that I’ve ever played because obviously she props up this fascist regime that she benefits from and it’s not until she really comes to care for and see how unfair it is when they want to pull Katniss and Peeta into the games again…” Banks said, referencing the plot of the popular films based on the dystopian book series.  “I think in ‘Catching Fire’ when she’s like, ‘I want to be part of this team,’ and you really see her struggling and then by the end she’s like a revolutionary… I wish more of us were becoming revolutionaries!” she went on. “Effie is the model, guys! I don’t understand the 53% of white ladies that didn’t vote for Kamala.” Banks played Effie in all four installments of “The Hunger Games” movie franchise between 2012 and 2015. The character is known for being flamboyant and completely devoted to the system at first, but eventually starts doubting their motives after developing relationships with contestants in the fight-to-the-death games that pit human beings against each other. Banks is a well-known Democratic supporter and liberal activist who frequently engages in political discourse, shills for abortion access, and takes particular issue with the president. At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she compared Trump to her over-the-top character in the film series. “Some of you know me from ‘The Hunger Games,’ in which I play a cruel, out-of-touch reality TV star who wears insane wigs while delivering long-winded speeches to a violent dystopia,” she said at the time. “So when I tuned in to Cleveland last week I was like hey, that’s my act.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recited a prayer at an official Pentagon worship service that turns out to be lifted nearly word-for-word from the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction, not actual Scripture, raising questions about the blurring of Hollywood fiction and sacred tradition in government institutions. From Hollywood to the Pentagon Pete Hegseth stood before attendees at the Pentagon’s monthly Christian worship service on April 15, 2026, and recited what he called “CSAR 2517,” a prayer he attributed to the lead mission planner of a recent Combat Search and Rescue operation over Iran. The prayer honored the “Sandy 1” team that rescued an F-15E Weapons Systems Officer shot down in hostile territory. Hegseth presented the recitation as rooted in Ezekiel 25:17 and common among CSAR crews, particularly A-10 pilots, who use it before high-risk missions. The livestreamed service reached viewers nationwide, many of whom immediately recognized the cadence and phrasing from an unlikely source. The Fictional Origins of a Military Ritual The prayer’s true origin lies not in the Old Testament but in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 crime film Pulp Fiction, where Samuel L. Jackson’s hitman character Jules Winnfield delivers a dramatic monologue before executing targets. Tarantino took the actual Ezekiel 25:17—a terse biblical verse stating “I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes”—and expanded it into a rhythmic, authoritative sermon that became one of cinema’s most memorable scenes. The fictional version adds phrases about shepherds, tyranny, and righteous fury, creating biblical-sounding language that millions have mistaken for actual Scripture over three decades of pop culture saturation. Adaptation for Combat Operations Hegseth’s version modified Tarantino’s dialogue to fit military operations, swapping “righteous man” for “downed aviator,” “charity and good will” for “camaraderie and duty,” and concluding with the call sign “Sandy One” rather than “the Lord.” This adaptation reveals how the monologue has migrated from Hollywood into operational military culture, where CSAR teams reportedly recite it as a pre-mission ritual to summon authority and resolve before dangerous rescues. The prayer’s power derives from its dramatic cadence and moral certainty, qualities that resonate in high-stakes combat environments regardless of scriptural authenticity. Military personnel have embedded it as tradition, dissolving awareness of its cinematic origins through repetition. Questions of Awareness and Appropriateness Whether Hegseth knew he was quoting a movie rather than Scripture remains unclear, though sources suggest the distinction may no longer matter within military circles that treat the prayer as genuine tradition. The incident raises concerns about institutional boundaries between faith and fiction, particularly when government officials lead religious services using material sourced from violent Hollywood entertainment. Critics from both secular and religious perspectives question the appropriateness of presenting fictionalized dialogue as sacred text in an official Pentagon worship setting, arguing it undermines the integrity of genuine biblical teaching. Supporters counter that the prayer’s effectiveness in boosting morale and honoring combat rescuers justifies its use, viewing objections as overreaction to harmless cultural blending. “Hegseth Borrows Violent Prayer from ‘Pulp Fiction’ to Bless Iran War at April Pentagon Worship Service”: https://t.co/MqGRK7fmgv — Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins (@daniel_dsj2110) April 16, 2026 The viral spread of the video has intensified broader frustrations with government institutions that many Americans believe operate disconnected from traditional values and accountability. For those already skeptical of Washington elites, the episode exemplifies how easily fiction can replace substance in official settings when leaders prioritize optics and emotion over authenticity. The blurring of Tarantino’s postmodern crime drama with Pentagon prayer services symbolizes a deeper cultural drift, where the lines between entertainment, faith, and governance dissolve in ways that serve institutional narratives rather than constitutional principles or genuine spiritual practice rooted in actual Scripture. Sources: How Pete Hegseth brought Pulp Fiction Bible verse to Pentagon – India Today Did Pete Hegseth quote Pulp Fiction verse at prayer meet in Pentagon? Here is the truth – Times of India

'will do a TREMENDOUS job leading the CDC'

'warriors who have earned it more than anyone'