I’m writing this installment of the 5QT on a Thursday afternoon, one day before we’re supposed to see a showdown in the U.S. Senate over a 99-page continuing resolution covering federal spending between now and September. Nobody on the Right likes continuing resolutions. Since they became the means of funding the federal government, our national debt has skyrocketed, and a budget that used to be somewhat near balance — in the late 1990, we actually managed to run a surplus — has turned into a nation-destroying $2 trillion deficit. So, no, a continuing resolution is a terrible idea. Except it’s what we have. And though the one up for passage doesn’t present a balanced budget, there’s a strategy afoot — which is to get the country to September with a slightly-rearranged and ever-so-slightly smaller federal fisc, and between now and September we could see a rescission bill that would include cuts to reflect the savings that Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency and Russ Vought’s Office of Management and Budget have been finding among the various governmental agencies. And then, by September, the budget for the next fiscal year could be approved through regular order. It sounds more or less conventional. It’s been quite a while since Congress has passed any rescission bills of note, but they’re not unprecedented. And getting back to budgeting in regular order, while it’s a national imperative, seems like a rather boring and mundane thing to do. Except this plan has set Washington, and particularly Democrat Washington, on fire. 1. They Can’t Win This I wouldn’t bet against this changing at the last minute, but as of Thursday afternoon, it looks an awful lot like the Democrats are going to filibuster the budget continuing resolution in the Senate and, in so doing, cause a government shutdown at midnight on Friday. Senate Democrats are dancing with the devil in the sinister form of a Schumer shutdown. Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) announced Wednesday afternoon following a lunch with his Democrat caucus that he would reject a House-passed government plan to keep the government funded past the Friday deadline through the end of the fiscal year, September 30. “Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input — any input — from congressional Democrats,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR.” Legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes to invoke cloture – a necessary step in ending debate and advancing a bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune is calling Schumer’s bluff. He moved forward Wednesday evening to schedule a vote to invoke cloture Friday. Thune has 53 Republicans to Schumer’s 47 Democrats, although Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has stated he will oppose the CR. Therefore, eight Democrats will be needed to invoke cloture and fast track the bill. The relatively-clean continuing resolution (CR) totals only 99 pages, and includes minimal modifications to current spending levels — including $485 million for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested by President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, to facilitate continued deportations. Outside of those minor modifications, Democrats overwhelmingly supported these spending levels in December, although freezing current spending levels throughout an entire fiscal year would be a monumental achievement for Republican spending hawks. If you remember your Br’er Rabbit, you know the story of the briar patch… And that’s what the government shutdown is for the Trump administration and the GOP at the moment. As Punchbowl News notes, there are two likely possibilities here, and both of them are disastrous for the Dems… There are two basic ways this week can go. 1) What we wrote Wednesday morning is emerging as the most appealing scenario to Democrats. They would provide the votes needed for cloture in exchange for Senate Republican leaders granting them an amendment vote on the Democrats’ CR proposal, which would extend government funding until April 11. That would permit Democrats to go on record opposing a shutdown while allowing Republicans to pass the House’s CR on their own. This play really wouldn’t achieve anything substantive for Schumer. It’s theater. The Democrats’ 28-day CR won’t have the votes needed to pass, even at a simple majority threshold. It’s really a face-saving measure for Democrats who want to show their base that they’re fighting back against President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE. Several progressive groups released statements Wednesday night praising Schumer and Senate Democrats for their hardline stance on the House CR. We’ll see how these groups react after this showdown runs its course. Democrats have also been making the case that a shutdown in this particular moment could be one of the worst in history. The issue was a major focus of Democrats’ lunch meeting on Wednesday, which can be interpreted as a sign of where things are headed. More on that in a bit. … 2) Maybe Schumer and Senate Democrats will hold the line and block the House-drafted CR. This would push the federal government into a shutdown. Two Democratic senators who were thought to be in play for cloture — Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and John Hickenlooper of Colorado — said Wednesday night that they’d be a no on the Republican CR. Hickenlooper went as far as to say he’ll be a no on cloture too. So the field of potential Democratic “yes” votes for cloture is dwindling. Now remember: OMB has massive leeway in a government shutdown. They decide when exactly a shutdown begins. The full effects wouldn’t be felt until Monday at the earliest. Yet “lapses in appropriations” can cause lots of pain. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be furloughed. White House sources tell us that the Trump administration would make it very painful for Democrats as they decide what agencies and services remain open. Democrats are very aware of this, too. At some point, Congress would have to reopen the government. Maybe a shutdown would force Republicans to the table. Or alternatively, Democrats may simply have to cave at some point. Some Democrats believe their options to get out of a shutdown would be worse than the House-passed CR. Russ Vought is, at this point, the king of the Washington briar patch. A government shutdown that is forced by the Democrats takes Congress out of the governing mix until something does pass and in turn puts the power of the purse squarely in Vought’s hands. You’ve noticed all of these meddling Obama and Biden and Clinton judges trying to force the rehiring of federal workers and the reinstallation of left-wing government programs? Well, guess what? None of those orders mean anything if there’s a government shutdown. Vought and his people will simply declare the whole lot “non-essential” and shut them all down. And the average American wouldn’t feel a thing. It’s either that or let the CR go through and then suffer the pain of a rescission bill, which institutes the DOGE and OMB cuts, making for a new reality that will either be reflected in a real budget passed in September or the next continuing resolution that funds the government. This is what a checkmate looks like. It’s mind-blowing that Republicans on Capitol Hill have managed to pull it off, but as of right now, one party is perfectly happy in the briar patch, and the other is just getting stuck. 2. Rahm Emanuel and Gay Mayor Pete? Yes, Please More good news this week: Failed former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, who left office several years ago nearly universally hated by the people of that town, is babbling about running for president… Rahm Wants to Run. Yes, that Rahm. And, yes, for that office — the presidency. “I’ve only been back two months, I have no idea what I’m doing,” Rahm I. Emanuel, operative-turned-politician-turned-diplomat told me before adding his stock line since returning from serving as ambassador to Japan. “I’m not done with public service and I’m hoping public service is not done with me.” Ignore that evasion. Rahm Emanuel is voting with his feet. Since coming home in January from his stint in Tokyo — a job he repurposed to be American envoy to all of Asia — Emanuel has been as visible as any other Democrat. Never mind that he currently holds no office and hasn’t been on a ballot for a decade. Name the political podcast and Emanuel has likely been on it or will be shortly. He immediately snagged a CNN contract and regular Washington Post column, no small accomplishment for a former official at a moment of retrenchment for news organizations. The denials are ridiculous, of course. Write-ups like the one Johnathan Martin offered up at Politico don’t happen unless they’re goosed by the candidate. Speaking of goosings, there is also this… Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday he will not run for Michigan’s governorship or the state’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2026, setting up a potential presidential bid in 2028. “I care deeply about who Michigan will elect as Governor and send to the U.S. Senate next year, but I have decided against competing in either race. I remain enthusiastic about helping candidates who share our values — and who understand that in this moment, leadership means not only opposing today’s cruel chaos, but also presenting a vision of a better alternative,” Buttigieg said in an X post. Buttigieg called fellow Michigan Democrats on Thursday morning to tell them of his decision, which was first reported by Politico. A source familiar with Buttigieg’s thinking said his decision sets him up in the strongest possible position to run for president in 2028. The source said running for governor or Senate in 2026 would have taken that option off the table. (RELATED: The ‘Peter Principle’ Targets Michigan) There could be less charismatic options for the Democrats in 2028 — corpulent trans-monger J.B. Pritzker and philandering social-media magpie Chris Murphy will give almost anybody a run for their money when it comes to noxious politics and both names have been floated of late — but if you’re looking for somebody you’d love to run against in the next presidential cycle, Buttigieg and Emanuel are dreams come true. I keep talking about how Democrats are a dead political party. Sending one of these guys up against JD Vance would confirm that, believe me. Let’s make it happen. 3. Oh, to be D.J. Daniel for a Day This was heartwarming, wasn’t it? THERE HE IS! Honorary Secret Service agent and renowned honorary law enforcement officer DJ Daniel with First Lady Melania Trump. pic.twitter.com/k9HiPmc2Uf — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 11, 2025 No, we wouldn’t wish upon anyone what D.J. Daniel, the brain cancer survivor whom President Trump made an honorary Secret Service agent two weeks ago, has had to go through. But let’s face it: a whole lot of people wouldn’t mind taking his place for that photograph. Just saying. Anyway… 4. A Ceasefire, Maybe Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced earlier this week that there was agreement on the Ukrainian side for a 30-day cease-fire in the Russo–Ukrainian war. And now the Russians are making similar noises. BREAKING: Russia agrees to temporary ceasefire in Ukraine and is pushing for a long-term peace settlementpic.twitter.com/xTqKqQAYqq — KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 13, 2025 To be fair, Russia’s terms are mostly ridiculous. They want to ban Ukraine from joining NATO, which isn’t ridiculous, and they want no NATO troops stationed in Ukraine as peacekeepers, which is something that could be agreed to. But then Putin is demanding that Ukraine be “denazified” (exactly how that would be done is unknown) and “demilitarized” (hell, no). And he’s also demanding that the four provinces of the Donbas, plus Crimea, be ceded to Russia. (RELATED: Running Out of Cards in Kursk) That last part isn’t perhaps as impossible as it might sound. The peace deal could, or should, include a plebiscite in those areas. Generally, the population there is mostly Russian by ethnicity and language, and historically Russian to boot. If the people in those places voted to join Russia, that would seem to resolve the situation. The guess here is that Trump and Rubio and Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, can get a better deal than Putin is offering. But at least we’re now talking terms for peace. It’s utterly amazing this war has gone on for three years when these are the issues to be resolved. And yes, we know why there was no effort to resolve them. You’re welcome to litigate that in the comments if you must, and if you’re of the “tinfoil-hat” variety, you probably aren’t wrong. After all, the globalist WEF crowd who run Europe, and their Biden-handler pals in America, were perfectly fine to facilitate the sale of Russian oil and gas to Europe to fuel the Russian war chest all this time; given that fact, all of their arguments about how a cease-fire or peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine would be a capitulation to Putin are ridiculous. (RELATED: A Better Alternative To the Davos Elites) 5. And Finally, a Dog Update It’s been a pretty long time since I wrote a particular column that generated a good deal of sympathy away from politics, and I’m happy to report that column turned out to have been utterly premature. I’m speaking of Mr. Bingle, who is the canine court jester of Castle McKay. In that column, he’d just been diagnosed with throat cancer, specifically a giant lump on his epiglottis that essentially makes it a rock in his throat. The vet figured he was a goner and essentially told me so. Looking at the pictures he showed me, I wasn’t in a position to disagree. So I wrote something of a pre-eulogy of a very good boy. That was in late January 2023. It’s coming up on 26 months later and Bingle is … fine. He’s as energetic and vibrant as ever. He’s coming up on 10 and a half years old, which is a good deal of longevity for a boxer and especially one whose prospects were evaluated as poor by his veterinarian, but he’ll run and play and harass humans and other fauna with the best of them. The thing in his throat does affect him some. He coughs a lot, and once in a while, that can get a bit scary. But so far those episodes always resolve themselves pretty quickly. What isn’t going to resolve itself is the snoring. This dog snores louder than any living being on earth, and it’s the throat that causes it. If you’re a regular viewer or listener to The Spectacle, you can sometimes hear it in the background in those episodes when I don’t shut him out of my office. Bingle likes hearing me talk, and he’ll plop down in the doggie bed in the corner of the office and treat our podcasts as a lullaby. Before I know it, he’s sawing logs so loudly that the producers can’t suppress the sound in post-production. I don’t sleep as well as I’d like to, thanks to the noise. But I call it a small price to pay for having the blessing of that good old dog around for all of this borrowed time. And I’m very pleased to make an apology to our readers for jumping the gun on that eulogy. What I will say is that it’s been a very educational experience in recognizing that each day with that old dog is a blessing; I’m working on translating the lesson into the rest of my outlook on life, and I’ve got to tell you — it feels good. READ MORE from Scott McKay: Entitlement Fraud Is Now a Stated Aim of the Democrat Party We Always Knew It Was Going to Get Weird — As Elon Musk Can Tell You Five Quick Things: Our National Crazy Eurotrash Girlfriend The post Five Quick Things: Welcome to the Briar Patch, Chuck Schumer appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The stock market of late has been on a veritable roller coaster, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to ruffle feathers, Iran marches ever harrowingly closer to a nuclear weapon, and Russia and Ukraine get tantalizingly close to a ceasefire. But the national political conversation this week has curiously tended to focus not on any of that but instead on the uncertain fate of a lone noncitizen and former Columbia University graduate student, Mahmoud Khalil. (RELATED: The Arrest of Columbia University’s Mahmoud Khalil: Unmasking Campus Radicalism) Talk about a misplacement of priorities. Most American media consumers care a great deal about their pocketbooks and retirement accounts. They likely also care about stability on the world stage — a subdued China, a relatively calm Middle East, and a long-overdue peace deal to end the bloodshed in Eastern Europe. By contrast, here is one thing media consumers probably don’t care a lot about: whether a Syrian national and Algerian citizen who was the face of last year’s violent pro-Hamas Columbia University campus riots gets deported. You would never know that, of course, from the media’s incessant focus on the Khalil saga. Is it any wonder that only 31 percent of Americans told Gallup last fall they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media? In any event, Khalil is, by any metric, a wildly unsympathetic figure. The New York Times described him as the “public face of protest against Israel” at Columbia. He was the spokesman of a pro-Hamas student group called Columbia University Apartheid Divest. CUAD has referred to the Oct. 7 slaughter of Israelis as a “moral, military, and political victory” and asserted that it is fighting for nothing less than the “total eradication of Western civilization.” Khalil personally distributed propaganda pamphlets titled “Our Narrative — Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” borrowing Hamas’s code name for Oct. 7. Even more relevant, Khalil is not a U.S. citizen. He is a green card holder — a legal alien. And like any alien, legal or illegal, he can only remain on our soil when the sovereign — in the U.S., that’s “We the People” — consents to it. And when we remove our consent, then the alien must go. The power to exclude is the singular defining feature of what it means to be a sovereign. Emer de Vattel’s highly influential 1758 treatise, “The Law of Nations,” described this power as plenary: “The sovereign may forbid the entrance of his territory either to foreigners in general, or in particular cases, or to certain persons, or for certain particular purposes, according as he may think it advantageous to the state.” And as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia noted in his 2001 dissent in Zadvydas v. Davis, quoting Justice Robert Jackson’s earlier assertion in Shaughnessy v. United States ex rel. Mezei (1953): “Due process does not invest any alien with a right to enter the United States, nor confer on those admitted the right to remain against the national will.” It’s quite simple, really: Any alien, from someone here on a tourist visa to a green card holder, is here solely because We the People — the citizens of this nation — consented to it. When the alien violates the terms of their admission, they can be — indeed, must be — removed. That alien, moreover, can be removed summarily if so desired; there is no specific level of “due process” to which an alien is entitled. That brings us back to Khalil — a foreign national who violated the terms of his sojourn by supporting at least one (perhaps multiple) U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organizations and by making common cause with an organization clamoring more generally for “the total eradication of Western civilization.” The day the United States loses the ability to deport noncitizens who espouse such toxic beliefs is the day the United States ceases to be a sovereign nation-state. And therein lies the entire point. The Khalil saga is where we see the intersection of the three menacing anti-Western ideologies I identify in my new book out this Tuesday, Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West. First, there is the woke angle: Khalil and his ilk believe in the neo-Marxist “oppressor”/“oppressed” dichotomy, and his view of Israel as an “oppressor“ underlies his repugnant activism. Second, there is the Islamist angle: Khalil supports Sunni Islamist outfits such as Hamas. Third, there is the global neoliberal angle: Those protesting Khalil’s detention see little to no distinction between citizen and noncitizen — like John Lennon’s dystopian song “Imagine,” they envision a borderless world. The drama over Khalil’s arrest and detention is thus not really about Khalil. It is about the fate of the United States — and the destiny of the very West of which the U.S. is the foundational cog. (RELATED: The Issue Is Not the Issue at Trump Tower Protest) On Monday, the official X account for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats posted, alongside a corresponding photo, “Free Mahmoud Khalil.” But if those Senate Democrats and Khalil’s myriad other apologists are being honest, they seek not merely to “free” Khalil from President Donald Trump’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency. Rather, they seek to “free” him — and all of us — from the shackles of Western civilization itself. READ MORE from Josh Hammer: The Democratic Fork in the Road and the Woke Repudiation Imperative The Andrew Tate Moral Rot and the Future of the American Right Vance in Munich and Foreign Policy Realism for the Modern World To find out more about Josh Hammer and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM The post Mahmoud Khalil and the Red-Green Assault on American Sovereignty appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

During his speech at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance summarized a European totalitarian impulse that has been festering for years but has only recently become prominent in American political discourse. The United Kingdom now arrests citizens for speech and even silent prayer. The German political establishment hopes to ban the sovereigntist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, which just won a record number of parliamentary seats (a result that sitting Chancellor Olaf Scholz bizarrely asserted he “cannot and will NEVER accept”). Romania’s election cancellation and subsequent arrest of presidential candidate Călin Georgescu have been so outlandish that even corporate media support has been tepid. Election winners in the Netherlands and Austria were muscled out in favor of more establishment-friendly ruling coalitions. EU leaders displayed a tacit acceptance of last year’s assassination attempt against Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and then slapped his government with financial threats after he survived. Hungary, experiencing the culmination of those financial threats, is also facing renewed calls to suspend its voting rights for refusing to toe the line on Ukraine war policy. (RELATED: Are the Protests in Slovakia Due to NGO and USAID Interference?) It is a veritable race to the bottom on a continent that brands itself a humanitarian superpower. Amid some fierce competition, Poland warrants special recognition for its government’s totalitarian excesses. This also matters more than ever: The country has become a key player in European political, economic, and military affairs, and its upcoming presidential election will be one of the most consequential of 2025. (RELATED: The Lies Are No Longer Uttered with Impunity: Vance’s Speech and Poland’s Crucial Election) A recent spat between Elon Musk and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski, a prominent neoconservative apparatchik, drew in other key figures, including Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. That episode is notable in its own right, but American observers should take heed of another development in Warsaw: the Tusk regime’s pattern of arresting political opponents representing Law and Justice (PiS), the leading opposition party and head of the previous conservative ruling coalition. Earlier this month, parliamentarian Dariusz Matecki was dramatically pulled over and arrested in his car on a busy Warsaw street. It is the latest flashpoint in a pattern of political persecution under the zealous Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar: 1. Dariusz Matecki, MP (March 2025) Police pulled Matecki from his car two days after he theatrically handcuffed himself during a speech in the Sejm (Parliament) in which he announced he would waive his parliamentary immunity. The government accuses him of earning income from a fictitious role in the previous government, and he faces up to 10 years in prison. Matecki maintains his innocence and asserts that his refusal of parliamentary immunity reflects that he is not above the law. His attorney and PiS spokesmen have condemned the dramatic roadway arrest, as well as subsequent searches of his wife’s apartment. 2. Marcin Romanowski, former deputy minister of justice (December 2024) Hungary granted asylum to the former deputy minister in December. Police had raided a Dominican monastery where Romanowski had been sheltering, but they failed to arrive in time. “Representatives of opposition parties cannot be guaranteed a fair trial in the current circumstances,” Romanowski said in his asylum application. The current Ministry of Justice accuses him of misallocating funds during his time as deputy minister. (A parliamentary committee has also called for a court to issue an arrest warrant for former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro.) Romanowski has stated he hopes to defend himself before an independent judiciary. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski issued public threats to the Hungarian government and insisted that all diplomatic meetings with the Hungarian ambassador in Warsaw be canceled. 3. Michał Olszewski, SCJ, Catholic priest (March 2024) Fr. Olszewski’s charitable foundation was awarded a grant from the Ministry of Justice to build a center for victims of violence in Warsaw in 2022. The ministry’s new caretakers assert that some of the grant money was spent on matters unrelated to the project. Balaclava-wearing members of the Internal Security Agency raided the priest’s residence and conducted a theatrical arrest last March. Fr. Olszewski was then forced to wait in handcuffs in a convenience store while officers purchased hot dogs. The priest alleges he was denied food and restroom access for extended periods, among other conditions resembling torture. A legal organization representing the priest described “cruel and inhumane treatment of a detainee.” Polish bishops, contending with their declining societal influence and an array of anti-clerical measures from the current government, have been lukewarm in support of Fr. Olszewski. He was released on bail in October, after spending nearly seven months in prison. “Your prayers brought me out,” the priest told supporters. His trial is pending. 4. Mariusz Kamiński, former minister of the interior, and Maciej Wąsik, former deputy minister of the interior (January 2024) The Tusk government’s first dramatic arrest occurred when police raided the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, where two former officials of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration were present after a public game of cat and mouse. A Warsaw court ordered their arrest and a two-year prison sentence for abuses of power, despite previous presidential pardons. Kamiński announced he was a political prisoner and began a hunger strike. President Andrzej Duda called them Poland’s first political prisoners since 1989 and reissued the pardons, though the Ministry of Justice has continued investigations into the pair. These are the most prominent of the dozens of legal cases brought against public figures and conservative organizations sympathetic to the previous government. As the recent theatrics with Matecki demonstrate, Warsaw is not keeping a low profile following Vance’s speech and other unwanted international attention. Nor should this developing world behavior come as a surprise. “Violations of the Constitution and the rule of law will be quickly accounted for and judged,” read one of the 2023 campaign promises of Tusk’s Civic Coalition. It promised a state tribunal would prosecute former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and current President Andrzej Duda, while an “independent, depoliticized prosecution” would try PiS party leader and former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński. Duda’s term ends this spring, when Poland will conduct a (likely) two-round contest to elect a new president. Though the Tusk government has routinely disregarded Duda’s constitutional powers and the authority of unyielding judges, a victory for the pro-government Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski would entail a rubber stamp for Tusk and potential kangaroo courts for a slew of prominent opposition figures. To the extent that democratic principles still matter in Poland, the presidential contest will have enormous ramifications. READ MORE from Michael O’Shea: The Lies Are No Longer Uttered with Impunity: Vance’s Speech and Poland’s Crucial Election Are the Protests in Slovakia Due to NGO and USAID Interference? Gains for Irish Conservatives May Be Too Little, Too Late Michael O’Shea is an American-Polish writer and translator. He is a Danube Institute Visiting International Fellow. The post Poland Continues to Arrest Political Opponents appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Hop in the time machine and hit the “Way Back” button for 1948. Upon arriving, you will find that a hot topic of the day was the founding of what would be called the State of Israel. And into the middle of that issue was, among a collection of world leaders, America’s own President Harry S. Truman. Truman was a lifelong Democrat whose political career had been based in his native Missouri. He had been a county official, then won election to the United States Senate. In 1944, running for what would be his highly unusual fourth term, President Franklin Roosevelt selected Truman as his vice presidential running mate. Elected, Truman was sworn in as vice president on Jan. 20, 1945. And then. On April 12, 1945, FDR died suddenly of a stroke, and Truman was sworn in as the nation’s new president. While the world took note, the chaos of World War II did not stop. One of the large issues the new President Truman had to face was what to do with Middle East policy and the question of the creation and official recognition of the Jewish state of Israel. In his memoirs, Truman wrote that he was in staunch support of the creation of Israel. He added this of the opposition to the creation and recognition of Israel coming from the professional bureaucrats (aka left leaning bureaucrats) inside the State Department: “I am sorry to say that there were some among them who were also inclined to be anti-Semitic.” What could not be known at the time was that this antisemitic streak that Truman had to deal with would stretch well down the road into the 21st century Democrat Party. In 2008, a full 60 years later, NPR reported this of the Democratic National Convention that was preparing to nominate Senator Barack Obama for president: What’s usually a formality turned a bit dramatic today at the opening of the second day of the Democratic National Convention. A motion for a voice vote to amend the party platform to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel — and to reinsert the word “God” into the document — was met with many delegates shouting “no” and with loud boos when the motion was deemed to have passed. A plethora of stories spread across the media, the theme of antisemitism in the Democratic Party and on the rise in the American Left. Now, here we are a full 17 years later, and the antisemitism seen by President Truman in 1948, which then flavored the 2008 Democratic Convention, is well out there right now. In the news this week was this story, reported here by Breitbart. The headline: “‘Free Mahmoud!’: Protesters Occupy Trump Tower NYC over Arrest of Anti-Israel Activist.” (RELATED: The Issue Is Not the Issue at Trump Tower Protest) The story reported: Dozens of protesters flooded Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday to demand the administration release anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil who was arrested last weekend and is targeted for deportation. At least one of the groups sponsoring the protest is called Jewish Voice for Peace, a group notorious for having a history of sympathizing with terrorists. Got it. Let’s be plain. The antisemitism President Truman picked up on all the way back there in 1948 when he saw it evidenced by liberal State Department bureaucrats has now long since overtaken the modern American Left. Whether at the 2008 Democratic Convention that nominated Barack Obama or this week’s turmoil with lefties taking over the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, the same decidedly antisemitic virus is on display. Egged on, in this case, by a leftist group saying they are really Jewish. That there is irony in President Trump’s saying that New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democrat Leader, is no longer really Jewish but rather a Palestinian cannot be ignored. The reason Trump could say something so startling is exactly because the power of the antisemitic Left inside the Democrat Party is a force Schumer has to deal with. And history shows this antisemitism has been, albeit slowly, on the march inside the Democrat Party since all the way back there in the Truman era in 1948. The question now is who inside the Democrats will stand up and resist. And one could easily add, if not Senator Schumer, who? READ MORE from Jeffrey Lord: The Attack on Elon Musk’s X Al Green Sabotages Democrats Trump v. Zelenskyy: Reagan v. Gorbachev Again? The post The Democrats’ Antisemitism Problem appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

This Ranch Roasted Potatoes recipe is quick, easy, and boasts huge flavors without any artificial ingredients. Homemade ranch powder lends a deliciously seasoned crust to the potatoes. Amazingly delicious! In This Article Why This Recipe Stands OutKey Recipe IngredientsSubstitutions And VariationsInstructions: Key StepsHow To Prep AheadWhat To Serve With Ranch Roasted PotatoesCommonly Asked QuestionsRanch Roasted Potatoes RecipeMore to Cook And Eat View more This post may contain affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Why This Recipe Stands Out We all love a good potato side dish, and this recipe for Ranch Roasted Potatoes is a total crowd-pleaser. Here’s why we love it: The Perfect Side: These potatoes make the perfect side for a variety of dishes, from Perfectly Cooked Steaks to burgers and sandwiches like these BLT Burgers. Homemade Ranch Seasoning: The ranch seasoning mix is made from scratch, giving it an authentic and fresh flavor. Plus, it’s so easy to make! Easy to Make: The recipe is incredibly easy, with just a few simple steps to follow. Even beginners can easily nail it! Healthy, Fresh Ingredients: For these potatoes, we simple, fresh ingredients without any preservatives or additives. You can make it with some simple, everyday pantry staples. Fork Tender: The potatoes are just-browned on the edges, fork-tender, and absolutely delicious, like these Parmesan Roasted Potatoes. Key Recipe Ingredients Small Red Potatoes – We use these for their thin, tender skins and waxy flesh, which helps them hold their shape during roasting. Homemade Ranch Seasonings – This mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, dried chives, and dried parsley adds a robust, herby flavor to the potatoes that you just can’t get from store-bought seasoning. Extra Virgin Olive Oil – We use this to help the seasonings adhere to the potatoes and to promote browning and crispiness during roasting. Substitutions And Variations Here are a few of our favorite variations and substitutions: Potatoes: While we love using small red potatoes for this recipe, feel free to use your favorite type of potato. Yukon gold or fingerling potatoes would work great here. Homemade Ranch Seasoning: If you don’t have all of the individual spices on hand, feel free to substitute with store-bought ranch seasoning. Alternatively, you can make a big batch of the homemade version to have on hand for other recipes, like this Bacon Hash Brown Casserole. Fresh Herbs: Instead of dried herbs, you can go with some fresh ones for a fresher flavor. Try sprinkling some fresh chopped herbs on top before serving. Instructions: Key Steps Start out with fresh baby red potatoes. Wash, dry, and admire them a little. Cut potatoes into bite size pieces, as uniform as you can, but don’t go crazy. You just want them to cook evenly. Toss the potatoes with some extra virgin olive oil and plenty of your homemade ranch seasoning. Spread the seasoned potatoes evenly onto lightly greased baking sheet. Definitely go single-layer so that every piece gets nicely browned. Avoid overcrowding. Bake 20-30 minutes. Watch towards the end to ensure they’re not burning up. The goal is just-browned on the edges, fork tender, and succulent. For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below. How To Prep Ahead Take a look at our best prep-ahead strategies for this recipe: Entirely Make Ahead: You can also fully prepare the ranch roasted potatoes ahead of time. Follow the recipe as directed, let the potatoes cool, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve, reheat the potatoes in the oven, and they’re good to go. Potato Prep: The potatoes can be cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces ahead of time. Simply store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before using them in this recipe. Ranch Seasoning Mix: You can make the homemade ranch seasoning in advance. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months. This way, when you’re ready to make the ranch roasted potatoes, the seasoning is already good to go. What To Serve With Ranch Roasted Potatoes Main Dishes These Ranch Roasted Potatoes are the perfect side for just about every meal. We love serving ours with some Juicy, Tender Meatloaf for a match made in heaven. They also work well with Grilled Lemon Chicken, Tender Braised Beef Brisket, or some Grilled Pork Tenderloin. Other Sides These potatoes also work well when served alongside other sides. Serve it at your next gathering with our Easy Roasted Vegetables, Kale Brussel Sprouts Salad, or our reader-favorite Air Fryer Broccoli. We also love them with these 15-Minute Honey Glazed Carrots during the holiday season! Commonly Asked Questions What type of potatoes should I use for this recipe? We recommend using small red potatoes for this recipe. They have a creamy texture and a thin skin that becomes beautifully crispy when roasted. You can also use other waxy potatoes, like new potatoes or fingerling potatoes. Can I use store-bought ranch seasoning? Yes, you can use store-bought ranch seasoning if you don’t have the homemade version. However, we highly recommend making your own as it will be free from preservatives, and you can adjust the flavors to your liking. How do I get extra crispy potatoes? For crispier potatoes, make sure to spread them out in a single layer without overcrowding. You can also flip them halfway through baking and roast them for a few extra minutes. Do I need to peel the potatoes? No, for this recipe, you don’t need to peel the potatoes. Simply give them a good scrub to clean off any dirt, then cut them into 1-inch pieces. The skin adds a nice texture, and it’s where most of the nutrients are. How long can I keep the ranch roasted potatoes? These ranch roasted potatoes are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven when they are still hot and crispy. However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container for 3 days. Print Ranch Roasted Potatoes This Ranch Roasted Potatoes recipe is quick, easy, and boasts huge flavors without any artificial ingredients. Homemade ranch seasoning lends a deliciously seasoned crust to the potatoes. Course SideCuisine AmericanDiet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, VegetarianMethod Bake Prep Time 10 minutes minutesCook Time 30 minutes minutesTotal Time 40 minutes minutes Servings 4 Calories 285kcal Author Amy Dong Ingredients1 ½ lbs small red potatoes cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces4 TB extra virgin olive oil4 TB homemade ranch seasoningkosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to tasteOptional: Dried parsley or chives for garnish InstructionsPreheat oven to 400F, with rack on middle position. Lightly grease large baking sheet with rims.In a large bowl, toss potatoes with oil and ranch seasoning until well coated.Spread potatoes evenly on greased pan in a single layer; don't overcrowd. Bake 25-30 min or until potatoes are just browed and tender. While potatoes are still hot, season with additional kosher salt and black pepper to taste. If desired, garnish with dried herbs and serve immediately. Notes Feel free to make extra homemade ranch seasoning mix to keep in the pantry for future use. It will stay fresh for a couple of months in an airtight container.  For a crispier texture, make sure to cut your potatoes into evenly sized pieces. This will help them cook more evenly and also give you that perfect crunch. Avoid overcrowding the pan. This will trap steam and prevent your potatoes from getting crispy. This recipe is part of our Potato Recipes Collection. These potatoes are incredibly versatile. Serve them alongside your favorite main dish, such as our Grilled Lemon Chicken, Tender Braised Beef Brisket, or some Grilled Pork Tenderloin.   If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating. We hearing from you!  Join our Free Recipe Club and get our newest, best recipes each week! NutritionCalories: 285kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 1156mg | Potassium: 774mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 12IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg More to Cook And Eat Roasted Red Potatoes – These Roasted Red Potatoes are garlicky, buttery, delicious, and perfectly tender on the inside, slightly crisp on the outside. Garlic Herb Roasted Potatoes – These Garlic Herb Roasted Potatoes are super quick, easy, crispy on the outside, and tender. It’s the perfect side with any meal. Smashed Potatoes – These Smashed Potatoes use only a handful of simple ingredients for the best potato side dish. Learn the secrets to making them extra crispy in less than 30 minutes. Garlic Roasted Potatoes with Lemon – Garlic Roasted Potatoes with Lemon are a deliciously simple side dish for any gathering or family meal. They’re easy, tasty, and healthy to boot! 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The United States Postal Service (USPS) signed an agreement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reform the agency and reduce spending. U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress in a letter Thursday that he reached a deal with DOGE to cut costs. The USPS aims to cut 10,000 jobs using a voluntary retirement program. The independent government agency employs approximately 635,000 people. The United States Postal Service is cutting its workforce by 10,000. This is at the direction of Elon Musk's DOGE. pic.twitter.com/5IHhgtAty9 — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 13, 2025 The Hill reports: DeJoy said the organization has spent the last four years transforming from a “battered government bureaucracy” that experienced financial losses into a higher quality service, but it is still not achieving its goals. “Last night I signed an agreement with the General Services Administration and DOGE representatives to assist us in identifying and achieving further efficiencies,” DeJoy said. “This is an effort aligned with our efforts, as while we have accomplished a great deal, there is much more to be done. We are happy to have others assist us in our worthwhile cause.” The Postal Service is an independent agency that has remained untouched by DOGE’s presence in other departments, until now. The postmaster general said the service plans to reduce its workforce by 10,000 workers within the next month through a voluntary early retirement program. BREAKING: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress today that he signed an agreement to work with DOGE to cut jobs and spending. The USPS is planning to eliminate 10,000 jobs in the next 30 days through a "voluntary early retirement" program. pic.twitter.com/YeJ5xDSdCO — More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) March 13, 2025 A closer look: * Images from More Perfect Union X Post * U.S. Postal Service will cut workforce by 10,000 after signing deal with Elon Musk's DOGE https://t.co/qAsW92KiNP — CNBC Politics (@CNBCPolitics) March 13, 2025 Per Reuters: DeJoy cited a number of issues including management of retirement assets and its workers’ compensation program by other government agencies, unfunded mandates and burdensome regulatory requirements. DeJoy has led a dramatic effort to restructure the post office over the last five years — including cutting forecasted losses from $160 billion to $80 billion over a decade– that has used similar tactics to the DOGE team including shrinking the workforce and canceling or renegotiating contracts. He said the Postal Regulatory Commission “is an unnecessary agency that has inflicted over $50 billion in damage to the Postal Service by administering defective pricing models and decades-old bureaucratic processes.” Representative Gerald Connolly, top Democrat on the committee overseeing USPS, said DeJoy was allowing DOGE to “infiltrate” the agency, suggesting DOGE would “undermine it, privatize it, and then profit off Americans’ loss.”