On paper, the regime in Iran should represent everything that Western progressives reject. Women experience brutal oppression and are treated like chattel belonging to male family members. The economy centers on the nation's military-industrial complex, with the IRGC controlling 40% or more of the nation's economic output.

Don’t forget how the mullahs treat the LGBTQ community, religious minorities, indigenous peoples, and so on.

And yet, the mainstream media waited nearly two weeks to report on the uprising in Iran. Progressive publications like The Nation, the New Republic, and Slate never mentioned it. The Golden Globes vented about Trump and ICE—but remained silent on Iran.

Why the silence? As Yascha Mounk wrote on Monday, the Left’s hatred of the Western democracy makes Iran’s theocratic tyrants their natural allies. Their silence is their expression of grief that true liberty may prevail in Tehran and vindicate Western values.

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On paper, the regime in Iran should represent everything that Western progressives reject. Women experience brutal oppression and are treated like chattel belonging to male family members. The economy centers on the nation's military-industrial complex, with the IRGC controlling 40% or more of the nation's economic output.

Don’t forget how the mullahs treat the LGBTQ community, religious minorities, indigenous peoples, and so on.

And yet, the mainstream media waited nearly two weeks to report on the uprising in Iran. Progressive publications like The Nation, the New Republic, and Slate never mentioned it. The Golden Globes vented about Trump and ICE—but remained silent on Iran.

Why the silence? As Yascha Mounk wrote on Monday, the Left’s hatred of the Western democracy makes Iran’s theocratic tyrants their natural allies. Their silence is their expression of grief that true liberty may prevail in Tehran and vindicate Western values.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City, he took his oath on the Koran, rather than a Bible.

In America, free exercise of religion is a constitutional right. Mamdani was absolutely entitled to swear his oath on his faith’s sacred text.

But texts matter, and so do the principles they enshrine.

In the Bible, political authority is limited and not divine. Church and state distinct, and individual conscience is separate from government power.

Under the Quran, religious and political authority are one and the same, and the state is understood to be an instrument for enforcing divine law.

Judeo-Christian thought made limited government possible by insisting that the state isn’t sacred. Under Islam, conscience is subordinate to religious authority.

That distinction matters.

Americans should be paying attention.

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Three things were said in the aftermath of the remarkable “Operation Absolute Resolve,” in Venezuela that sum up well what some have called the “Donroe Doctrine.”

During the press conference that followed the impressive military action, Secretary of State Rubio said: “President Trump doesn’t play games.” This president must be taken seriously. And Rubio’s absolutely right, he doesn’t.

Just a bit after Rubio is done, President Trump declared simply but directly: “Life is a deal.” The president doesn’t ask for unreasonable things—and our enemies and adversaries do well to deal with him.

And then, on Air Force One on Sunday, a reporter asked the president what would happen next in Venezuela? President Trump replied: “It depends.”

The administration is watching closing how—in this case—Venezuela responds.

There in those three short statements is, in a nutshell, what we have tagged the “Donroe Doctrine.”

It seems pretty simple to me.

The U.S. is no longer playing games.

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Nearly six years ago, Minneapolis burned for days after the death of George Floyd. That riot, fueled by rage-filled rhetoric, touched off riots in other American cities. Lives were lost, businesses destroyed and Minneapolis has never really recovered.

Did anyone learn a lesson about leadership and measured responses? Not in Minneapolis.

Mayor Jacob Frey watched his city burn that summer. And this week: After an immigration officer shot and killed a driver that attempted to run him down, Frey had an opportunity to call for calm and ask Minnesotans to wait for a proper investigation.

Instead, he screamed expletives into a microphone, claimed ICE is “killing people,” and that they should “get the [blank] out of Minneapolis.”

Embattled Governor Tim Walz was little better than Frey this week, calling DHS a “propaganda machine.”

They learned nothing from 2020. Frey and Walz want to pander to outrage rather than govern rationally.

This is not leadership.

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Donald Trump has driven Democrats into madness … again.

In a stunning and bold move, Trump ordered the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who had kept his grip on power after losing an election in 2024. Maduro had indictments for drug trafficking, as well as connections to Hezbollah. His removal makes the United States safer, and makes tyrants in Iran, Russia, and China weaker.

In response, Democrats have rushed to defend Maduro and cast Trump as the villain. Democrats have attempted this every time Trump has succeeded in improving American security, most notably in closing the southern border and enforcing immigration law.

This time, however, Axios reports that even some Democrats in Congress are pushing back on Trump derangement. Recalling that Democrats have spent years condemning Maduro and the stolen election, one observed: “I think it looks weak. If you don’t acknowledge when there is a win for our country, then you lose all credibility.”

Donald Trump keeps racking up the wins. And Democrats keep doubling down on derangement.

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Zohran Mamdani was inaugurated mayor of New York City on January 1st—and he’s already moving aggressively to put a hard left stamp on his new administration.

Just twenty-five years after Islamic terrorists brought down the World Trade Center, Mamdani appointed a former lawyer for an al Qaeda operative as the city’s top attorney. He overturned an executive order prohibiting boycotts of Israeli businesses and organizations. And he scrapped another executive order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, as well as one designed to keep houses of worship from being overrun by protestors.

New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel. During his campaign, Mamdani pledged to protect the city’s Jewish community. But now he’s sending very different and disturbing signals.

Jewish Americans are wary of Mayor Mamdani. They’re right to be.

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In 1981, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick said the election of Ronald Reagan meant the United States was taking the “kick me” sign off its back. So, too, is that true with President Donald Trump. The deposing and arrest of the Fidel Castro of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is the latest example. Because of Trump, Maduro is not running drugs, nor a gauntlet of death for innocents, nor a criminal cartel… but he may be running a criminal defense team in New York.

The liberation of Venezuela will come with collateral positives:

• Iran’s mullahs know clearly that they are not dealing with a tentative American president who will continue to allow their death march targeting our country;
• we’ll see a dramatic drop in cocaine and criminality exported to the U.S.;
• Russia, China, and Hezbollah will be on their heels in our region, not their toes;
• Cuba will be strangled of vast economic support

And, finally: protestors will know they finally have America on their side.

Americans are safer. Freedom is expanding. Peace through strength is back.

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