Thursday, August 20, 2026

Democrat Sends ‘Condolences’ To Hasan Piker After Florida Primary Defeat


WASHINGTON, D.C. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz celebrated defeating Democratic Socialists of America-backed challenger Oliver Larkin by doing something rarely seen in modern Democratic politics: winning an election and then immediately sending his condolences to Hasan Piker.

Moskowitz offered his “condolences” to the far-left, anti-America, anti-Zionist streamer who had enthusiastically backed Moskowitz’s execrable opponent, apparently demonstrating that there are still Democrats who would prefer socialism remain a theoretical concept that works beautifully in countries that somehow still have capitalism to pay for it.

Larkin lost to the more moderate Moskowitz in Florida’s 25th Congressional District, proving that at least some Democratic voters remain reluctant to hand the controls of the American economy to people whose primary qualification is having memorized the word “oppressor.”

The heavily redrawn swing district is expected to be one of roughly two dozen House races that could determine whether Republicans retain their razor-thin majority in the midterm elections.

Naturally, Moskowitz knew exactly whom to thank for his victory.

"My condolences to @hasanthehun," Moskowitz wrote on X with the kind of graduate-level snark normally reserved for academic journals and congressional group chats.

Piker, apparently unable to witness a congressional election without immediately locating Israel somewhere inside it, responded:

"its pretty wild that his first thought was a prominent critic of israel, before even thanking his constituents lmao. really worried about his genocidal emotional support apartheid state."

Piker refused to capitalize Israel, apparently saving his capital letters for more important subjects, such as Islam.

Moskowitz eventually got around to thanking his constituents the following day, along with his wife, children and late father.

"I want to thank the voters of District 25 for continuing to have the faith in me to deliver results for Florida," he wrote. "I want to thank my wife and kids who I have spent a lot of time away from. My dad died of cancer 4 years ago. He would have enjoyed all of this. I miss him. Onward!"

So, to recap: Moskowitz won an election, thanked his voters and family, remembered his deceased father, and then apparently committed the unforgivable political sin of noticing Hasan Piker.

Moskowitz later argued that Democrats should stop treating Piker like the embarrassing relative who arrives at Thanksgiving, insults the host, declares the family business exploitative, and then gets quietly ushered into the garage whenever respectable guests show up.

"Democrats shouldn’t play hide the Piker now," Moskowitz said after his victory, according to Politico Playbook. "For all those people who thought it was a great idea to campaign with him, as Jay-Z once said, ‘Bring ’em out, bring ’em out.’ They shouldn’t be hiding him now."

Piker was not exactly thrilled by the invitation to step into the electoral spotlight.


"I’m genuinely concerned for his mental well-being."

In reality, Piker is not concerned about anyone's mental well-being. He's only concerned with hating on the American people.

"I think he should stop posting on the internet and focus on defeating the Republican in his newly redistricted congressional seat," Piker added.

Apparently, according to Piker, Moskowitz's mental health became endangered somewhere between winning an election and mentioning the guy who campaigned against him.

Moskowitz then called DSA members "anti-American at their core."

This presumably did wonders for the atmosphere at Piker's online headquarters, where the American flag presumably remains classified as hostile propaganda.

Piker has become something of a political flashpoint for Democrats, who are now wrestling with a fascinating strategic dilemma: Should they appeal to ordinary Americans, or should they continue taking electoral advice from a millionaire internet celebrity whose political worldview sometimes sounds like it was assembled from the comment section of a college freshman's TikTok video?

Piker has campaigned with several far-left candidates, including Francesca Hong, who lost her gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin, and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has argued that Democrats should include people like Piker because the streamer reaches a large audience. Democratic strategist James Carville, meanwhile, has expressed considerably less enthusiasm about turning the Democratic Party into a group project with Piker.

This leaves Democrats facing the sort of strategic question that political consultants usually charge six figures to avoid answering: Is Hasan Piker an electoral asset, or is he what happens when a campaign accidentally gives the microphone to the internet?

Commentator Kaivan Shroff noted that Piker probably would have been celebrating loudly had Larkin won.

"One of the asymmetries in Democratic politics right now is that when a DSA candidate wins, it is immediately treated as evidence of some enormous ideological realignment in the party," Shroff said. "When a more moderate Democrat wins, there is usually much less hype and almost no corresponding narrative.

"We saw that with David Crowley beating Francesca Hong in Wisconsin, and now Moskowitz has beaten a DSA-backed challenger in Florida," Shroff continued. "Imagine the coverage if the result had gone the other way, and imagine the victory lap Hasan Piker and the online left would be taking right now.

"I actually think there is value in Moskowitz picking this fight," he added. "Piker backed his opponent and made himself part of the race. By going after him publicly, Moskowitz is forcing people to tell the other side of this story, and, frankly, here we are talking about it because he did."

Indeed, Piker's involvement in Democratic politics has produced an electoral strategy that appears to have been designed by someone who believes America is simultaneously an oppressive empire and the most important audience on Earth.

After El-Sayed won his Michigan primary, Piker rejected calls for the candidate to repair relationships with skeptical Democrats ahead of the general election against Republican Mike Rogers.

"Like everyone being like, Abdul has a f--- ton of work to do mending bridges. Here's the f---ing take nuke for you, OK? You are all unbelievably Islamophobic pieces of s---, OK?" Piker said.

Which is certainly one approach to coalition building.

Nothing says “let's expand the Democratic coalition” quite like immediately informing large portions of the existing coalition that they are human garbage.

And now Piker has another Democratic primary loss to contemplate, along with the horrifying possibility that a Democratic congressman might actually want voters to know who his political allies are.


Moskowitz has apparently decided that if Hasan Piker wants to help Democrats win elections, Democrats should at least have the courtesy to introduce him to the voters.

"Everyone, this is Hasan. He thinks America is terrible, Israel is worse, capitalism is evil, and somehow we're supposed to believe he's helping us win Florida."

The condolences, it seems, were entirely appropriate.

In the strange new world of Democratic politics, apparently the most controversial thing a congressman can do is win an election, thank his constituents, remember his father, and then point out who was rooting for the other guy.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Tyler Robinson was a Stevie Wonder marksman in practice shots, thus bystanders at risk says prosecutors


Fox News correspondent Matt Finn reported on the preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson in Provo, Utah, where prosecutors prepared to unleash what they described as overwhelming evidence in the assassination of Charlie Kirk

The evidence reportedly included video testimony from Robinson's former roommate and text message confessions, because apparently this case decided to skip the subtlety phase entirely. 

Retired FBI supervisory agent James Gagliano also weighed in as the Kirk family demanded transparency, with cameras now permitted inside the courtroom. And prosecutors offered another fascinating detail about Robinson's alleged marksmanship. According to Utah prosecutors, Robinson "seldom hit the bullseye and sometimes missed the target completely" while practicing with the suspected murder weapon.Which, prosecutors argued, was rather important when your alleged plan involved climbing onto a rooftop and firing at a man surrounded by thousands of people.

The state attempted to establish that Robinson knowingly created a substantial risk of killing someone other than Kirk when he allegedly fired from a rooftop toward the crowd. Kirk was taking questions from the audience at a small stage in the campus courtyard when he was struck in the neck. 

Robinson's defense previously argued that the fatal shot came from above the crowd and did not travel through it. The defense noted that only one shot was fired, it struck the intended victim, and no bystanders were hit. 

The prosecution's response, essentially, was that "Nobody else got shot" is not exactly the strongest argument when you are allegedly firing a rifle toward thousands of people. 

An image of shooting targets was displayed during the preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)

Prosecutors had to prove an aggravating factor at trial if they wanted to seek capital punishment. They alleged that Robinson's shooting created a great risk of death to someone other than Kirk and that Robinson knew about that danger.

The defense wanted that aggravating factor removed before trial, which would eliminate the possibility of a death sentence if Robinson was convicted. 

The allegations were contained in a reply made public Tuesday in response to an earlier filing by the defense. The filings followed a week-long preliminary hearing in early July designed to determine whether sufficient probable cause existed to send the case to trial.

Judge Tony Graf Jr. said he would issue a final decision on Sept. 1. 

Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Kirk was speaking at his "American Comeback Tour" when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

Prosecutors told Graf that Robinson's case should not only be sent to trial, but that the defense team "violated their ethical duty of candor to the Court" by allegedly ignoring basic case law governing how evidence is evaluated during a preliminary hearing. 

When drawing inferences, prosecutors wrote, the magistrate "must" draw all reasonable ones in the state's favor. In other words, if a man allegedly fired a rifle from a rooftop toward a crowd of thousands, the court was apparently allowed to consider the radical possibility that someone in the crowd might get shot. 
Robinson's cartridge had "Catch" engraved on it. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)

Robinson had not yet entered a plea. 

He was accused of driving from his home in southern Utah to Orem and fatally shooting Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in September 2025. Prosecutors alleged that he subsequently confessed to several people before surrendering to authorities in his hometown. The case then moved forward with prosecutors arguing that firing at a target from a rooftop into a crowd created, rather inconveniently, the possibility that people other than the target could be killed.

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Nancy "Hands-a-Flying" Pelosi kept Swalwell on Intel Committee after FBI warnings


There are bad ideas, there are terrible ideas, and then there is allowing a congressman who admitted having an intimate relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative to remain on the House Intelligence Committee.

Apparently, Washington Democrats were determined to explore that third category.

When allegations involving Rep. Eric Swalwell and Fang Fang, a woman suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence, surfaced in 2020, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed on the FBI’s findings. We now know the bureau had evidence that Fang may have compromised Swalwell through sex, foreign interns and allegedly illicit campaign donations.

And yet somehow the Democratic leadership concluded that the appropriate response was not, “Perhaps we should move this guy away from the classified information.”

Instead, Swalwell stayed.

Because apparently “House Intelligence Committee” was being interpreted as more of a suggestion than a job description.

The FBI briefings were serious enough to alarm then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who called for Swalwell to be removed from the committee. McCarthy was concerned that a congressman with access to highly sensitive intelligence might not be the ideal person to have around highly sensitive intelligence.

Crazy, right?

Sex, Interns and Campaign Cash

The newly released FBI files provide considerably more detail about the relationship between Swalwell and Fang.

According to the files, Swalwell admitted having sex with Fang, acknowledged that his staff had placed Fang’s interns in congressional offices, and admitted that his campaign finance operation was not sophisticated enough to detect the alleged straw donations she funneled through U.S. citizens.

So, to recap, the FBI was dealing with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who allegedly cultivated American politicians through networking, campaign donations, internships and romantic relationships.

And one of those politicians was sitting on the House Intelligence Committee.

This sounds less like counterintelligence and more like the plot of a spy movie written by people who thought the protagonist should be named “Congressman Completely Unconcerned.”

The FBI also knew Fang had ties to China’s Ministry of State Security, Beijing’s intelligence service. Investigators identified her parents as MSS agents.

Fang’s activities had previously been reported by Axios, which described her efforts to cultivate politicians in California through fundraising, networking, charm and romantic or sexual relationships.

Swalwell was reportedly one of her most significant targets.

Swalwell has consistently maintained that he did nothing wrong, fully cooperated with the FBI investigation, and stopped communicating with Fang after receiving a defensive briefing about her activities.

Swalwell’s Lawyer Says This Is All Political

After the files were released, Swalwell’s attorney, Sara Azari, argued that there was nothing new to see.

“There is nothing new here. The government’s own memorandum confirms what Congressman Swalwell has said for more than a decade: he did nothing wrong, and there was no basis to charge him with any offense,” said Sara Azari, legal counsel for Swalwell, on Monday after the files were released. “What is new and deeply concerning is the apparent use of federal law enforcement information to punish or embarrass an outspoken critic of the current administration. An investigation that produced no charges and no finding of wrongdoing should not be resurrected years later as a vehicle for political retaliation.”

That is certainly one way to describe the situation.

Another would be: “The FBI investigated a congressman who admitted sleeping with a woman the bureau believed was connected to Chinese intelligence, and now everyone is upset that people are talking about it.”

Both descriptions are technically available.

After the original allegations surfaced, McCarthy said they “disqualified” Swalwell from serving on the Intelligence Committee.

“Swalwell is a national security liability,” the Republican leader said.

McCarthy then requested a full FBI briefing. After receiving it, he became even more convinced Swalwell should be removed.

“One thing I know for sure — I had questions about whether he should. That’s the one question that was answered, he should not be on Intel,” McCarthy told reporters.

That seems fairly definitive.

Pelosi: Nothing to See Here

Pelosi later confirmed that Democratic leadership had first been briefed about Swalwell’s relationship with Fang in the spring of 2015, shortly after Democrats nominated him to the Intelligence Committee.

Pelosi said congressional Democrats cut off communication with Fang once they learned about the situation.

“When that was made known to the members of Congress, it was over. That was the end of any communication with those people,” Pelosi said.

The Speaker also said Republicans had been briefed at the same time.

“We knew when they knew,” explained Pelosi.

And then came the part that has aged particularly well.

Summing up her assessment of Swalwell, Pelosi told reporters that she did not “have any concerns about Mr. Swalwell.”

Naturally.

Nothing inspires confidence in congressional counterintelligence quite like a suspected Chinese spy sleeping with a member of the Intelligence Committee while party leadership says there are “no concerns.”

McCarthy tried to remove Swalwell from the committee in early 2021 after Pelosi reappointed him.

The House voted largely along party lines to reject the measure, with 200 members voting for removal and 218 voting against it.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff also defended Swalwell, calling him a “trusted member of our committee” who had “acted fully in accordance with his responsibilities” after the 2015 briefing.

Apparently those responsibilities included continuing to sit on the committee.

McCarthy: Democrats “Jeopardized” Congress

When Republicans regained control of the House in 2023, McCarthy blocked Swalwell from serving on the Intelligence Committee.

“If you got the briefing I got from the FBI, you wouldn’t have Swalwell on any committee,” McCarthy said.

“One thing I know for sure – I had questions about whether he should. That’s the one question that was answered, he should not be on Intel.”

McCarthy said Democratic leadership had “jeopardized” Congress by allowing Swalwell to remain on a committee handling sensitive intelligence for years.

“The only way that they even knew it came forward is when they went to nominate him to the Intel Committee. And then the FBI came and told the leadership then, he’s got a problem,” McCarthy explained. “And they kept him on. That jeopardized all of us.”

That is the sort of sentence that tends to make people wonder why national security was apparently being handled with the same urgency as deciding where to hold the congressional Christmas party.

Then Came the New Details

The newly released files reveal even more about what the FBI knew.

According to the documents, the FBI initially considered investigating Swalwell for a bribery scheme involving campaign donations and internships. Investigators ultimately narrowed the criminal case to Fang and allegations that she made illegal donations through U.S.-citizen conduits.

Swalwell admitted that he had sex with Fang, that his staff placed her interns in congressional offices, and that his campaign finance system was not strong enough to detect the alleged straw donations.

The Justice Department ultimately declined to prosecute Fang after she fled the country as investigators began interviewing associates and raiding her home.

The FBI had also been trying to recruit Fang as a confidential informant.

Her code name?

Rusty Thumbs.”

Yes, “Rusty Thumbs.”

Apparently the FBI's counterintelligence operation had a naming committee that was having a particularly creative afternoon.

The bureau was considering hiring Fang through a cutout company and was still evaluating her suitability as a confidential human source when investigators discovered her alleged criminal activity.

The FBI also knew early in the recruitment process that Fang had suspected ties to the MSS. One memo identified her parents as “known MSS intelligence officers.”

Agents also suspected Fang herself had ties to Chinese intelligence and knew she was raising money for California Democrats and allegedly willing to use sex to advance her political influence.

The investigation was opened on March 17, 2014, under the remarkably appropriate codename “Freshman Fifteen.”

The probe examined allegations that Swalwell awarded congressional internships in exchange for campaign contributions, with Fang allegedly serving as the facilitator.

According to an FBI summary of Swalwell’s 2015 interview, Swalwell admitted that he had “physical relations with Fang” on multiple occasions.

During another interview in 2016, Swalwell described an incident in which Fang showed up at his home. Swalwell said they “hooked up,” according to the FBI summary.

And all of this was known before Democrats repeatedly decided that Swalwell belonged on the House Intelligence Committee.

At some point, the question stops being whether Eric Swalwell had a questionable relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative.

The more interesting question is why the people who had been briefed about it decided that the appropriate response was to give him access to some of the most sensitive intelligence in the United States government.

Then again, Washington has always had an interesting definition of “intelligence.” Sometimes it apparently means classified information.

Sometimes it means figuring out that the guy sleeping with a suspected Chinese spy probably shouldn't be sitting on the Intelligence Committee.


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Illegal alien stabs mother to death leaves her body in a park



Here we go again. An illegal alien from El Salvador allegedly stabbed a Virginia mother to death and then dumped her body near a jogging trail in Great Falls, Virginia.

Fairfax County PD said Wednesday that Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, 19, was arrested in connection with the murder of Carmen Lizet Puch.

Cedillos-Campos illegally crossed the southern border into El Paso, Texas, in April 2024 and was quickly released into the United States. At that time, he said he wasn't afraid of being returned to El Salvador and he was released into Biden's open borders country.

A jogger discovered Ms. Puch’s corpse just before 7 a.m. on Monday. The body lay near her 2011 Honda Civic, that was parked in the lot at Difficult Run Park along Georgetown Pike near Old Dominion Drive, according to 7News.

“In Great Falls, it’s probably one of the safest places ever in the world,” Clare, who was out hiking with a friend Tuesday, said. “To have something happen like that feels personal, scary.”

Authorities said more details would be provided today, Wednesday, this afternoon.

“There is no immediate indication that this was a random act,” Capt. Jason Chandler said during a news conference on Monday. They evidently knew each other.

Puch was the mother of a young daughter and worked with Cedillos-Campos at Bitez restaurant in Herndon, according to NBC Washington

Cedillos-Campos allegedly stabbed Puch while she was inside her vehicle.

Abdul Anwari, the owner of Bitez, said he and his employees were shocked after learning of Puch’s murder. [Who wouldn't be?]

“I don’t know if you can process something like this. It’s not something you expect. It’s not something that anyone would ever want to happen,” Anwari told News4. “But you know, we’re still taking it [a] minute at a time.”

Anwari said a fundraiser has been set up to support Puch’s surviving daughter.

“We have a GoFundMe account set up, but we’re actually doing, we are personally donating to the family as well,” Anwari said. “But anyone in the community that can help, obviously, this is going to go directly to the family, and as far as I’m concerned, it should go to the daughter and make sure that she’s OK.”

Puch’s family members, who live in New Jersey, immediately drove to Virginia after learning of her killing to take care of her daughter, according to NBC Washington.

Joe Biden was not available for comment.


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Hamas refuses peace deal: will not disarm in Gaza


On Sunday in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a 15-point Gaza roadmap backed by President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. He informed his cabinet that Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas is “genuinely disarmed.”

“It needs to be genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament,” Netanyahu said, resisting a plan that would tie phased IDF withdrawal to incremental steps toward Hamas demilitarization. 

The decision met with swift criticism from Western media and certain intermediaries linked to the Trump administration. These voices have presented Israel’s insistence on disarmament as the chief barrier to a Gaza ceasefire. Israeli officials reply that the disagreement concerns sequence alone. Withdraw first, they caution, and Hamas retains its arsenal undiminished.

Palestinian polling lends weight to that caution. A PCPSR survey conducted between 22 and 25 October 2025 found that 53 percent of Palestinians believe Hamas was right to launch the 7 October attack. Fully 86 percent deny that Hamas committed atrocities against Israeli civilians, and nearly 70 percent oppose the disarming of Hamas even if it would end the war for good. 

Among Gazans themselves, 55 percent reject disarmament, 68 percent refuse an Arab security force to supervise demilitarization, and two-thirds reject a demilitarized Palestinian state even if it terminated the “occupation.”

Israel has set two conditions for ending the war and withdrawing: the return of every hostage and the verified disarmament of Hamas. The reasoning, as Israeli officials explain it, is elementary. One cannot disarm an organization whose own population declines to surrender its weapons. If Israel leaves before those weapons are eliminated, Hamas emerges from the conflict with its army intact, free to rearm, regroup, and attempt another 7 October. 

Hamas has deliberately embedded its military infrastructure within civilian sites, among them mosques, schools, and hospitals, its command centre operating beneath Gaza’s largest hospital. Disarmament without IDF enforcement simply means those weapons remain concealed.

The next generation of terrorists

In a hypothetical presidential contest, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal would defeat PA President Abbas by 63 percent to 27 percent. In legislative polling, Hamas leads Fatah by 44 percent to 30 percent. The notion that Hamas fails to reflect Palestinian political will is contradicted by the preferences Palestinians themselves express.

The prospect of external rearming only sharpens the urgency of sequence. In August 2026, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly reaffirmed Tehran’s determination to keep Hamas armed, telling the group’s new political leader, “We are with you, and we support you in every action you take.” 

Israel has privately informed the Trump administration that there is “no alternative” to the IDF for enforcing disarmament. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter has confirmed that there can be no peace in Gaza unless Hamas returns all hostages and disarms.

“The population of the Gaza Strip is supportive of Hamas. They embrace that genocidal ideology,” Pesach Wolicki of Eyes on Israel observed in October 2025.

The genuine obstacle is not Israel’s refusal to append a signature to a document. It is that nearly 70 percent of Palestinians reject the disarmament required for any withdrawal to prove durable, while Iran undertakes to keep Hamas armed and no international force possesses a credible plan to compel compliance. 

Under such conditions, withdrawal before disarmament is not a ceasefire. It is a countdown to the next round.

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Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Mayor DePeña Discovers the Two Official Languages of American Politics: “No Comment” and “God Bless You”



Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña is apparently having a difficult week.

First, the mayor was arrested over allegations that he misused more than $1.5 million in COVID-19 small-business relief loans. Then, when reporters tried to ask him about it, they apparently encountered a serious language barrier. Yes, he was elected mayor of a Massachusetts town and doesn't speak English.

Not between English and Spanish, mind you. Between English and “no comment.”

DePeña’s lawyer helpfully explained the situation.

"He doesn’t speak English. No comment," the attorney said.

Meanwhile, DePeña smiled at reporters and repeatedly offered the one English phrase he apparently had available for emergency situations: "God bless you," aka Dios te bendiga.

This is certainly one way to handle allegations that you used federal pandemic relief money for your mayoral campaign and personal debts. Why answer difficult questions when you can simply smile, wave, and outsource your constitutional right to remain silent to your attorney?

The video quickly went viral, leaving social media users wondering how someone who has served as mayor of an American city since 2021 somehow managed to conduct the job without speaking English.

Conservative influencer Libs of TikTok summed up the public reaction rather efficiently.

"OMG," the account wrote on X. "How is this real."

Conservative radio host Mike Gallagher was similarly impressed.

"‘He doesn’t speak English, no comment’ says the assistant of the mayor of an American city," Gallagher posted on X. "Our melting pot has completely melted."

Journalist Miranda Devine offered a modest suggestion that apparently needs to be controversial in 2026.

"English fluency should be a basic prerequisite for holding public office," Devine posted on X.

Then came another detail that really put the icing on this particular cake.

Shortly after the press encounter, video surfaced appearing to show DePeña's vehicle crashing into a parked car while attempting to leave.

So, to recap: allegedly questionable use of $1.5 million in federal COVID loans, a lawyer announcing that the mayor doesn't speak English, a mayor repeatedly saying "God bless you," and then an apparent parking lot incident.

At this point, the only thing missing is a federal investigator asking whether the parked car was also somehow eligible for an EIDL loan.

DePeña, 61, was born in the Dominican Republic and was elected mayor of Lawrence in 2021 before winning reelection in 2025. He previously served on the Lawrence City Council. DePeña has also acknowledged that he was once an "undocumented immigrant," saying he came to the United States "without papers," before eventually becoming a U.S. citizen.

Federal prosecutors allege DePeña applied for the pandemic loans on behalf of Tenares Tire Services Inc., his Lawrence tire shop, and then used some of the money for purposes unrelated to helping the struggling business.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley wasn't laughing.

"Mayor DePeña was elected to be a leader for the City of Lawrence," Foley said. "He was looked up to and trusted by his constituents, but he betrayed that trust through his alleged corruption and lies. Today’s arrest is just another example of our determination to root out fraud by anyone, even public officials, and hold elected officials accountable."

And if convicted, DePeña faces up to 30 years in prison.

Or, as they might say in Lawrence, la cárcel.

At least that phrase apparently doesn't require a translator.


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Dem Gov Katie Hobbs under criminal investigation by Dem AG's office

Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, like Gov. Katie Hobbs, opened a probe in June 2024 into Hobbs’ administration after the Arizona Republic reported on Sunshine Residential Homes, a Department of Child Safety contractor providing group homes and foster care services.

Sunshine had donated roughly $400,000 to Hobbs’ inauguration fund and the Arizona Democratic Party around the same time it was seeking a substantial rate increase from DCS. Under the Hobbs administration, Sunshine eventually got that increase, receiving treatment critics have described as preferential or unusually generous compared with other providers.

Naturally, this raised a few questions. Nothing too serious, just the usual questions about pay-to-play, conflicts of interest, procurement rules and whether government contracts might occasionally find their way toward politically connected donors.

Hobbs has denied any wrongdoing or personal involvement in the contracting decision. Her office says there is no evidence she participated in it and insists the department acted in the best interests of foster children.

Which is certainly reassuring. After all, when a company gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians and then receives a major increase in taxpayer-funded payments, the first thing everyone wants to hear is that nobody involved remembers having anything to do with it.

As of mid-August 2026, the investigation is still underway. Mayes’ office has requested a formal interview with Hobbs, a request first publicly reported around April 2026, but the interview has not yet occurred. Hobbs says her office is communicating with investigators and that she looks forward to the investigation concluding.

Mayes has described the probe as being “near the end” and has indicated that results are expected before the November 2026 election.

So apparently Arizona voters may get to discover what happened just in time to decide whether they would like four more years of the person allegedly not involved in anything that happened.

For the record, no charges or indictment have been filed against Hobbs.

Separate Republican-led reviews in the Arizona House, including an effort involving outside counsel, have also examined the allegations. But the criminal investigation belongs to the attorney general’s office.

And then there is the internet’s favorite part of the story: claims that the Arizona Senate somehow “indicted” Hobbs over RICO allegations or other conspiracy theories.

It did not.

The legislature does not have the authority to indict people. Apparently, even political satire has to observe certain constitutional limitations.

For now, the Sunshine Residential Homes controversy remains a major political headache for Hobbs as she campaigns for reelection. The investigation could eventually clear her, produce charges, or simply continue long enough for everyone involved to become extremely familiar with the phrase “ongoing investigation.”

The status described here reflects public reporting as of mid-August 2026 and could change.


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Eric Swalwell and the Chinese Honeypot That Keeps Giving


This is getting almost too good to be true.

We already knew former Rep. Eric "Boom-Boom" Swalwell (D-CA) had a rather unusual relationship with a Chinese intelligence-linked honeypot named Christine Fang, aka Fang Fang. Now, thanks to documents released by the FBI, we apparently get to see what was happening behind the curtain, and it should scare normal Americans.

And suddenly, the California political scene looks even more entertaining.

According to newly released FBI memos, investigators believed 'the Fangster' may have compromised a Democratic congressman through sex, foreign interns and potentially illegal campaign donations. The FBI was even trying to recruit her as an informant because of her connections to Chinese intelligence.

The whole thing sounds less like congressional politics and more like the rejected plot of a low-budget spy movie.

Swalwell admitted to having a physical relationship with Fang., who he says he met in 2012, and diddled up until 2015.

The FBI eventually dropped Swalwell from the investigation and focused exclusively on Fang's alleged activities. So, at least according to the bureau, the congressman somehow managed to survive an investigation involving a Chinese intelligence-linked woman, while the woman herself remained the person of interest.

The FBI documents, obtained after President Donald Trump declassified them, describe a probe into Swalwell and Fang that was opened on March 17, 2014, under the wonderfully ominous name “Freshman Fifteen.”

The investigation centered on allegations that Swalwell provided congressional internships in exchange for campaign contributions. Investigators identified Fang as the alleged facilitator of the arrangement and accused her of using intermediaries to disguise the source of prohibited foreign donations.

“The FBI developed evidence that a Chinese woman with direct ties to that country’s intelligence service had potentially compromised a Democratic congressman from California with sex, foreign interns and illicit donations while she was being recruited to become a bureau informant a decade ago, according to bombshell memos that expose another threat to America’s political system from Beijing.”

That is quite a sentence.

Apparently, the FBI was not merely investigating a congressional intern who happened to have a funny accent. Investigators believed they were looking at a Chinese national with connections to Beijing's intelligence apparatus who had cultivated relationships with American politicians.

The documents say the FBI opened its investigation after allegations emerged that congressional internships were being exchanged for campaign contributions. Fang was allegedly the person making the arrangements.

“Investigation has revealed Fang ‘Christine’ Fang, a Chinese foreign national residing in the United States, is the facilitator of a scheme to trade access to Swalwell and internships in his congressional office in return for campaign contributions […]” the memo reads.

The FBI also alleged that Fang “used conduits to conceal herself as a prohibited Foreign National source,” for illegal campaign contributions “at least twice in 2013 and at least two more times in 2014.”

And then there is Jack Smith.

During the early stages of the investigation, the FBI regularly briefed the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, which was then headed by Smith. Smith would later become famous for leading the Biden administration's investigations and prosecutions of Trump.

Washington really does have a remarkable talent for producing recurring characters.

Eventually, after interviewing Swalwell multiple times, the FBI determined that it had not found evidence that the congressman himself had violated federal statutes. On February 8, 2017, the bureau reclassified the investigation, dropped Swalwell as a subject and concentrated on Fang's alleged campaign finance violations.

So Swalwell survived.

Politically speaking, this was apparently the congressional equivalent of walking away from an exploding building without even getting dust on the suit.

But the FBI's interest in Fang went considerably further than her relationship with Swalwell.

Before investigating her alleged illegal activities, bureau agents spent months trying to recruit her as an informant. They used an undercover employee and even created a fictitious company in an effort to persuade Fang to cooperate.

The objective was to obtain information about Chinese influence operations targeting American public officials, several of whom Fang was reportedly close to.

The operation was given the appropriately subtle name “Rusty Thumbs.”

According to the memos, an undercover FBI employee met with Fang several times, learned about her background and offered her a consulting position with the fictional company. The proposed job would have involved using her Chinese connections to assist the business.

Fang apparently wasn't eager to provide a detailed biography of her life in China. The memos say she was vague about her past, declined to explain her parents' positions with the Chinese government and would not disclose where she attended undergraduate school.

She was apparently much more comfortable discussing her political activities in America.

Those activities reportedly included helping connect donors to Swalwell's congressional campaign.

Eventually, Fang agreed to work with the fictional company. On June 14, 2013, she signed a contractor agreement for the consulting position.

The FBI has the contract in its files.

So there you have it. A Democratic congressman, a Chinese national with alleged intelligence connections, congressional internships, campaign contributions, a physical relationship, an undercover FBI operation, a fake company and something called “Rusty Thumbs.”

At this point, all that seems to be missing is Tom Clancy receiving a royalty check.

The important distinction, of course, is that the FBI ultimately concluded it had not established federal criminal violations by Swalwell himself. But the newly released documents nonetheless provide a remarkable look at how seriously the bureau viewed Fang's activities and the possibility that Beijing was using relationships with American politicians to gain influence.

And somehow Eric Swalwell still gets to participate in American politics.

Apparently, surviving a Chinese honeypot scandal is now considered a qualification for higher office in California.


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Sunday, August 16, 2026

Jason Arday: the Cambridge D.E.I. professor and his sad demise


On August 5th Jason Arday, Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge, resigned after being outed for plagiarism allegations, personal qualifications and alleged achievements.

The D.E.I. hire was appointed in 2023 as Cambridge's youngest Black professor, but investigations by the school cast doubts about his claimed accomplishments which became public. 

For example, Arday claimed to have run 30 marathons in 35 days. I've run a dozen in my life and let me just say, this is almost impossible. And in one version, he claimed to have suffered an epileptic seizure and fractured his leg on the 21st marathon but finished the rest. He also claimed to have run 300 miles in 3 days, and 600 miles in 6 days, occasionally describing it as Edinburgh to London. 

He also claimed to have raised over £5 million (or specifically £5.5 million and counting) for 70–80+ charities over roughly 18–20 years, most notably Shooting Star Children’s Hospices and Shelter, largely through the ultra-running challenges. (He later said this was as part of a larger syndicate/collective of about 100 people whose names he could not disclose due to NDAs.) Earlier versions of his story included lower but still substantial figures, such as nearly £250,000 by his late 20s or over £100,000 since age 17.

The real mindblower was regarding his personal background and overcoming adversity. Supposedly, he was diagnosed with autism along with other developmental delays, at age 3, and was non-verbal until age 11, just prior to his 12th birthday, when he "miraculously" spoke. He claimed to have been illiterate until age 18. Other related details in his self-accounts of his history include learning disabilities, epilepsy, a benign brain tumor, and other health challenges.

But wait . . . there's more.

Arday also claimed to have played academy-level/semi-professional football, did relief work with WaterAid, [installing water points in South America and West Africa. He was also an Olympic torch bearer for the London 2012 Olympics as a highlight of his fundraising work, and was shortlisted many times for The Mirror's Pride of Britain Fundraiser of the Year Award which earned him various honors tied to these efforts.

His PhD thesis was clearly plagiarized and he even incorporated the same grammatical errors the students from whom he copied and pasted, or whatever, made.

Sadly, Jason Arday was found dead on Friday, 14 August 2026. Multiple reports from outlets including the Associated Press, BBC, CBC, and others stated he was found unresponsive at a home in Battersea, south London. His family, via his publisher Simon & Schuster, expressed shock at the loss. The death was listed as non suspicious and I suspect he was responsible himself.

I blame Cambridge for not vetting him beyond his claims and race. He checked all the victim boxes and Cambridge had to be licking their chops when he applied there for employment.

I suspect Arday just couldn't stand the public humiliation and having to face the reality of who he actually was. 

D.E.I. is also dying and in this case, that's a good thing.  


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Likud launches billboard ahead of elections with the four Horses Asses of the Apolcalypse

Likud billboard with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem. August 16, 2026. 



Likud has apparently decided that the best way to kick off election season is to remind Israelis that, when it comes to political enemies, there is always room for a few more.

The party unveiled a billboard featuring Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem. Israeli social media accounts shared images of the billboard Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu helpfully reposted the image with the caption: “Don’t let them win.”

The billboard itself reportedly reads: “They want Netanyahu to lose, don’t let them win.”

The Jerusalem Post, however, believes the billboard is not actually in Jerusalem, as social media posts claimed, but in Tel Aviv overlooking the Ayalon Highway. Apparently even billboards are getting caught up in the Israeli election geography dispute.

Naturally, Israeli politicians were not going to let Likud have all the fun.

Yashar, the party led by former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, produced its own version. Its billboard read: “They want the IDF to collapse, don’t let Netanyahu win.”

“Netanyahu, we fixed for you,” the X/Twitter caption read. “Only Eisenkot will establish a fully Zionist government.”

Then MK Naama Lazimi entered the fray with perhaps the most politically loaded Photoshop job of the day.

She replaced Likud’s four villains with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Netanyahu’s current strategic adviser Yonatan Urich, former media adviser Eli Feldstein, and former political adviser Srulik Einhorn, all of whom are believed to be connected to the Qatargate affair.

Qatargate concerns an investigation into Netanyahu aides who allegedly received payments from Qatar while involved in hostage negotiations with Hamas. Nothing says Israeli political unity quite like accusing your opponent of being compromised by the country associated with Hamas.

Lazimi changed the billboard's message to: “They want Netanyahu to win, don’t let them lose.”

“Netanyahu, I updated this to the Qatargate version,” she wrote. “The invoice will be submitted on October 7.”

At this point, Israeli election campaigning has apparently evolved into a national Photoshop competition with the added benefit of an occasional national security implication.

And the polls suggest voters have plenty of choices. Eisenkot’s Yashar currently leads with 24 Knesset seats, followed by Netanyahu’s Likud with 22 and Naftali Bennett’s B'Yachad with 15.

The election has not even arrived yet, and the candidates are already putting each other on billboards with Ayatollahs, terrorists, foreign leaders and alleged scandal participants.

Israelis may want to buckle up. Election season is apparently going to be a long one.

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Illegal alien woman demands citizenship, goes ballistic in Espanol: calls for end of ICE doing their job


In a bold stand for the sacred right to ignore the law for decades while expecting freebies, furious Americans took to social media to blast an illegal alien who has been present in the United States for 37 years after she demanded amnesty in a Spanish rant alongside top Democratic Party leaders.

"I ask that you be champions of a change in the immigration laws," said Margarita Cielo Balbuena, in Spanish, flanked by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ), through an interpreter earlier this week. 

"We need a path to citizenship for those of us that have been present for at least seven years in this country," she continued. "We need a stop to these raids that immigration is using to terrorize Dover [New Jersey]." 

Basically, Balbuena wants ICE to stop doing their damn job.

"It is not just that someone like me, who has been in this country since 1989, [and still doesn't speak English] who pays taxes, who is a homeowner, who is a business owner who gives work to others, someone who has children and grandchildren who are born in this country — that I have to suffer the psychological and physical abuse and that I also have to suffer the humiliation that is the violent arrest and detention in a detention center," said Cielo Balbuena.


By violent arrest, Balbuena is referring to being arrested without incident. No wounds, no blood, but somehow it's violent.

The foreign-born woman was detained in ICE's Elizabeth Detention Center for two months, and claimed that she was treated inhumanely, according to the New Jersey Globe. Apparently, being held for repeatedly violating U.S. immigration law after nearly four decades of freeloading off the system counts as "abuse" in the progressive dictionary.

Jeffries faces growing pressure as democratic socialist-backed candidates gain influence in New York, raising new questions about the party's ideological direction. But online opponents of illegal immigration were not sympathetic to Cielo Balbuena's call. 

Shockingly, some people still believe that entering and remaining in a country illegally for 37 years does not entitle you to a participation trophy and a passport. 

Among her most prominent and harshest critics was former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commander-at-large Gregory Bovino."You have lived in the United States since 1989. That is 37 years. You still need a translator," he said. "At a Democratic event you stood up and demanded a path to citizenship for anyone who has been here just 7 years," Bovino continued. "Notice the arrogance. Notice the entitlement." 

He went on to claim that Democrats' open borders policies allowed so many foreigners into the country so quickly that "assimilation is no longer required." 

"There can be no amnesty and there can be no exceptions. All illegals must go," the John Birch Society said on X in response to the video. 

"No English. No citizenship," said popular online personality Brigitte Gabriel. "No. Someone who wanted to be a citizen would care enough to learn the language. In any country," said another post that garnered over 1,000 likes.

"Immediate deportation," said actor Matthew Marsden. "A just country that cares about its citizens should defend it. That includes getting rid of people like this."

Rep. Jeffries spoke at the event, and demanded the closure of Delaney Hall, another ICE detention facility in New Jersey that was subject to intense protests and sometimes violent riots for months earlier this year. 

"Delaney Hall needs to be shut down," Jeffries said. "That will remain a high priority for us until it takes place. The behavior that ICE is engaging in is inconsistent with our values and what America should represent." [The values Jeffries refers to is the end to law and order, open borders, and defunding the police.]


The White House fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying: "These types of smears by sanctuary politicians are contributing to our ICE law enforcement officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats. Our ICE officers are heroes who put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from American communities. Democrats must stop demonizing our officers for simply enforcing our nation’s laws," White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said. 

At press time, Democrats were still searching for a way to explain how demanding citizenship after 37 years of lawbreaking while needing a translator somehow advances the cause of justice, fairness, and not turning America into a free-for-all.

Ya es hora de deportar a todos los extranjeros ilegales.

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Democrat Sends ‘Condolences’ To Hasan Piker After Florida Primary Defeat

WASHINGTON, D.C. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz celebrated defeating Democratic Socialists of America -backed challenger Oliver Larkin by ...