The Widow Who Refused the Official Silence

Twenty-five years on, the commemorations of September 11 have a settled rhythm. Names are read. Bells are struck. Officials look grave. 

Then a widow stepped forward at Ground Zero and declined to play her assigned part.

Terry Strada's husband, Tom, was murdered in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He had been at work on the 104th floor when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the building. On Friday, at the ceremony marking a quarter-century since that morning, she said that Saudi Arabia still evades responsibility for the attacks, and that the United States has helped it do so.

Terry is national chair of 9/11 Families United. She did not waste the occasion on atmosphere. 

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fomented a rancid culture of anti-American terrorism around the globe, and then sent its agents to support the radical Islamist hijackers so they could attack you and all of our loved ones," Strada said.

Then she turned from the kingdom to the governments that have found it convenient to look away. 

"But for 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families." Vice President JD Vance was in the audience in Lower Manhattan, the most senior official of the Trump administration present. 

President Trump spoke separately at the Pentagon. Strada addressed both. 

"It has been one betrayal after another. President Trump can still change that. Tell the Saudis to stop lying. Tell them that if they want to be friends with the USA, they cannot continue to deny all of this," she said. "Vice President Vance, thank you for being here today. Please carry that message back. Stand with the families. Stand with the survivors. Stand with Americans."

Tom Strada was 41 and worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. Days before the attacks, he and his wife had brought their third child home from the hospital. After the plane hit, he called her and said he was heading toward the stairwell. 

That is the human fact over which the diplomacy has been conducted. Nearly 3,000 people were killed at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and aboard the hijacked aircraft. Since then Strada has become one of the most persistent advocates for something rarer than remembrance: an accounting. She is among the thousands of family members and survivors who sued Saudi Arabia, alleging that the kingdom provided material support to the al Qaeda hijackers. 

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied the allegations. Denial has been its posture for a generation and they are liars, plain and simple.

Last August a federal judge, George B. Daniels, ruled there was "reasonable evidence" that two Saudi government employees supported two future al Qaeda hijackers who entered the United States in early 2000 and took flight lessons. The judge allowed the case to proceed and rejected the kingdom's attempt to have it dismissed.

For more than a decade after the attacks, sovereign immunity made such a suit almost impossible. That changed in September 2016, when Congress passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, known as JASTA, permitting Americans to sue foreign governments accused of providing material support for terrorist attacks on American soil.

President Barack Hussein  Obama vetoed the bill. 

He argued that it threatened "to strip all foreign governments of immunity from judicial process in the United States based solely upon allegations by private litigants." 

Congress overrode the veto within days. The lawsuit against Saudi Arabia was filed in March 2017. It remains pending. 

These clowns laughed while families gave tribute to their dead loved ones

So the scene on Friday was not merely ceremonial. A woman whose husband died on the 104th floor told the officials in front of her that friendship with Riyadh has been purchased, year after year, at the expense of the dead and of the people left to bury them. Whether anyone in power intends to treat that as more than an awkward interlude at a memorial is another question. Strada, at least, declined to pretend that time had settled it.

She has bigger cajones than all the politicians who attended the memorial. Every one of them.

Thanks for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything to do so. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee at any amount if you want to support me directly. And finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

Tweet

Obama appointed judge fired over sex scandal

FOX Business contributor Katrina Campins broke down the mess of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis's personal relationship with Nathan Wade on Jesse Watters Primetime.U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon dropped a motion on Friday to get Atlanta U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross tossed from a major election integrity case. Why? Because Ross admitted she went to a partisan Democrat fundraiser for Fani Willis, which is flat out illegal and screams she is anything but impartial.

But that is just the warm up for Ross's greatest hits album of judicial disgrace. 

Turns out that Ross, who is married, has been carrying on for years banging Atlanta deputy police chief Kelley Collier right there in her chambers during work hours. Staff overheard the sexual noises. When she got caught, she lied about it and then retaliated against the people who reported her.

This is textbook workplace sexual misconduct, lying, and obstruction of justice, folks. 

And what did the federal judiciary do about it? Gave her a freaking private reprimand. Yes, a private reprimand. That is the judicial equivalent of a participation trophy for being a sleazy embarassment. Ross should resign immediately or get impeached by Congress. She should also face federal criminal charges for lying to investigators.

The Atlanta Police Department has tons of cases in front of Ross's court. 

Collier, her regular courthouse hookup, is a nearly thirty year veteran who runs the Community Services Division and, oh yeah, he is also married. 

The Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council actually said it was only by pure happenstance that Ross never got assigned any cases from that division while she was banging the deputy chief. Relying on luck to avoid a screaming conflict of interest does not make you ethical. It makes you lucky and gross. Nothing indicates she would have ended the affair if a case had landed on her desk. 

Ross is  married to DeKalb County Circuit Judge Brian Ross. I wonder how he's taking it.

This went on right under the noses of her law clerks, young lawyers who were supposed to look up to her as a role model as opposed to a "Fans Only" woman. One former clerk had to blow the whistle to disciplinary authorities. She turned her fancy judicial chambers into a cheap love shack for several years, from 2023 until 2025. 

When staff pushed back on her illegal behavior, she cursed them out. Retaliating against whistleblowers has zero place in the federal judiciary.

Ross, an Obama appointee, also showed up at the victory party for Fani Willis, the same legal train wreck who brought that ridiculous, politically motivated indictment against President Trump and nearly twenty other defendants in 2023. Courts eventually booted Willis after it came out she was sleeping with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. 

Judges are not supposed to attend these partisan Democrat love clusterfracks. Ethical canons exist for a reason.

Ross showed zero integrity when Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor confronted her. She flat out denied everything and called the allegations outrageous. She knew she was lying through her teeth. If a lawyer pulled that stunt in court, they would be disbarred and possibly prosecuted for contempt. But the Judicial Council went soft on Ross, kept the reprimand private, and refused to name her. That lack of transparency is garbage. The public has every right to know which judge is abusing her office, lying about it, retaliating, and trying to cover it up. 

She is a caught liar with no business on the federal bench. This fiasco is exactly why Congress needs to pass Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley's bill for an independent inspector general over the federal judiciary. These judges cannot police themselves, and for one in particular, don't even mention the word 'police,' it gets her all steamy hot.

Her eventual confession changes nothing. 

The council made her skip being chief judge of the Northern District and say sorry to the staff she screwed over. Big whoop. These are pathetic slaps on the wrist. As it stands, Ross keeps collecting that sweet lifetime federal paycheck and benefits. Other judges with half a spine have resigned over less. She should do the same. The Justice Department needs to prosecute her, and the House should impeach her.

Funny how Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff has been completely MIA on this. 

Ross sits on the bench in his home state. Her antics have humiliated the Northern District of Georgia, the whole state, and the federal judiciary. Ossoff, a full-blown coward, has not called for her resignation, has not demanded transparency, and has not said a single public word about why they shielded her from accountability. That silence is deliberate, and Georgians should remember it come election time. 

Ross is a complete disgrace to the judiciary. She should slink away with whatever dignity she has left and be replaced by someone who understands that judicial chambers are not a Motel 6 for afternoon delights that the whole staff has to hear. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee, where Ossoff ought to be leading the charge instead of playing hide and seek, should demand answers on why her name stayed secret. Most important, the Justice Department needs to open a criminal investigation into the false statements she made to Pryor and her obstruction of justice. The judiciary and the country deserve way better than Eleanor Ross.

Thank you for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to simply check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything to do so. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee if you want to support me directly. And finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

Tweet

AOC Drops History-Altering Bombshell: "Black Americans Created Democracy From Nothing," Podcast Host Enthusiastically Agrees Before Realizing He Still Has to Pay Taxes

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a lot of things, but she is definitely no Victor Davis Hanson when it comes to American history, or much else, for that matter.

In a revelation that has left ancient Greeks, Enlightenment philosophers, and every Founding Father collectively facepalming from beyond the grave, America's foremost revisionist historian and occasional bartender, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), dropped a bombshell on the country the other day.

She informed us all that it was black Americans who created democracy: "I think about the Civil Rights and voting rights movement, and how black Americans really created democracy in this country . . . black Americans created democracy. They built something from nothing."

I had no idea. I was under the naive impression that it was the ancient Greeks and our Founding Fathers who conjured such a thing, but clearly I was the last to know. Even the podcast host she was enlightening nodded along in vigorous agreement: “Yes, YES.” Where have I been all these years? Probably busy not rewriting history to own the libs.

There you have it, folks. The 1619 Project rides again like a participation trophy on steroids. History has been rewritten, you’ve been lied to your entire life, and James Madison was apparently mixed. Unless, of course, AOC hit her head falling out of a coconut tree and is simply, resoundingly, and spectacularly wrong.

Democracy literally comes from the ancient Greek word dēmokratia: “rule by the people,” from dēmos meaning “the people” or “citizen-body,” and kratos for “power” or “rule.” By the people, for the people. Sound familiar? It describes a system in which citizens hold the power to make decisions, either directly or through their elected representatives.

In 508-507 BC, the true “Father of Democracy,” Cleisthenes, a suspiciously non-diverse Greek aristocrat, shifted power away from hereditary elites and toward the demos. He reorganized citizens into tribes based on residence rather than bloodline, introduced equality under the law, and reformed governance through popular voting.

Long after his death, the historian Thucydides praised the system: “Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy.”

Credit for the creation of democracy goes to white, ancient Greek aristocrats wearing bedsheets. My apologies, Congresswoman. Next you'll tell us Socrates invented the filibuster.

If AOC means American democracy specifically, she’s no less mistaken. American democracy wasn’t “built from nothing” by any single group or era. It was deliberately engineered as a constitutional republic with robust democratic features during the late 18th century by a bunch of powdered-wigged guys who definitely didn't look like they just invented hip-hop. Drawing on ancient Athens and Rome, English common law, and Enlightenment thinkers including John Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone, our Founders designed a republic specifically intended to avoid the pitfalls of pure direct democracy. As Madison argued in Federalist No. 10, this often resulted in mob rule and instability—like, say, Twitter in 2021.

In its place, they built representative government, separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism, all to protect individual liberty. The Miracle at Philadelphia wasn't exactly a community organizing session.

Just as it would be inaccurate to say women alone created American democracy, it is equally inaccurate to say black Americans did because it is simply not true. Unless Washington and the Founders were applying considerably more face powder than the portraits suggest. Spoiler: They weren't.

I was reminded of all this just last night at an Independent Women’s event, where extraordinary women gathered to celebrate and defend exactly this history instead of turning it into a corporate DEI seminar. That’s the spirit we need more of: women, Americans of all backgrounds, who know what this country is built on and aren’t afraid to say so. We should be teaching this, not erasing it like a bad tweet.

To be uncharacteristically charitable to AOC, one could argue that she means that black Americans, through the crucible of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement, helped make the promise of democracy real rather than merely rhetorical. Indeed, black Americans’ contributions to expanding rights were immense and undeniable, but “expanding and perfecting democracy” is a very different claim from “creating it from nothing,” and conflating the two isn’t empowerment, it’s historical erasure with a side of coconut.

Meanwhile, that very democracy she claims was created by black Americans is being thwarted by her and her fellow Democrats in Washington, D.C., who treat the Constitution like an annoying Terms of Service agreement they keep clicking "Ignore." Barack Obama wants to strip away the voting rights of Republicans of all color, and they’ve promised that when they regain power, they will pack the Supreme Court, enable mass mail-in-ballots, throw away voter ID, and nuke the filibuster to add four more blue senate seats. Very "created democracy" behavior.These are not the actions of people who revere democratic institutions. They’re the actions of people who revere power—and really good campaign donors.

The danger of letting the Left rewrite history and promote fallacious ideas is not abstract. When young people and useful idiots are taught a distorted version of the past by a backward education system and p(regressive) leadership, they have no framework to defend what is true. That's the whole point. Gutting civics and history education was not an accident; it was a strategy, like replacing math with "equity."

Our Founders studied history with rigor, absorbed its lessons, and built something incredible and new: a durable, liberty-focused republic that has endured for nearly 250 years. Its genius lay not in perfection but in self-correction through elections, courts, and amendments, not reinvention via executive order and vibes.

Don’t fall for the lies: communism has failed everywhere it has been tried, Capitalism harnesses human self-interest to drive innovation, growth, and prosperity like no other, and our constitutional republic is a miraculous achievement, conceived by a very pale founding bunch and hardened over generations by Americans of different color and circumstance, bound under one creed.

That’s not an uncomfortable fact; that’s a beautiful one, and as we approach our 250th birthday, it is one worth defending clearly and without apology, or a trigger warning.

Thank you for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to simply check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee if you want to support me directly. Finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

Tweet

Jasmine 'I Was Like Yo' Crockett social media hypocrisy re: WHCD shooting

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, (D-TX) took to social media and delivered what can only be described as a master class in Democratic messaging schizophrenia about the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend. 

In the chaos at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., gunman Cole Tomas Allen of California blasted through a security checkpoint armed with guns and knives. One Secret Service agent took a round to the chest but walked away thanks to his bulletproof vest.

The Justice Department hit Allen with charges including attempting to assassinate the president, transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. 

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and a host of administration officials were there along with members of Congress and the media. Trump and the rest were hustled off the stage while the suspect got himself detained.Crockett, who just got bounced from her Democratic primary bid for U.S. Senate this year, cranked out multiple posts on the incident. Some of them condemned political violence. Others floated the usual conspiracy theory that assassination attempts on Trump are all staged productions.

On her official X and Threads accounts, she, along with her eyelashes said, "The political violence is unacceptable and must stop. I am grateful that everyone attending tonight’s WHCD is safe." 

But on her Jasmine For US campaign Threads account, she posted, "Has there ever been a president have this many close 'attempts' on their life?"

"Maybe it’s lax gun laws, maybe it’s lack of mental health funding, or maybe it’s fake . . . who knows," the post continued. Fox News Digital, who originally posted this story, reached out to Crockett's office for comment. A message was also left with the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, (D-NY) seeking comment accompanied by his bizarre hand gestures.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the President pointed out that the whole mess proves the need for his proposed White House ballroom. Other administration officials and his allies in Congress jumped on the ballroom bandwagon right away. 

The dinner was hosted by the White House Correspondents' Association and not the White House, and it had more than twice as many guests as the proposed ballroom could hold. 

But the worst part was that both the President and Vice President were in the same room at the same time. I believe this is a huge mistake as the WHCD exposed. And wasn't it weird that when the shots were fired during the dinner, it was JD Vance who was first whisked out of the room while it took about 8 seconds more to get the President to safety? 

Anyway, back to the ballroom controversy.

A judge had, on multiple occasions, halted construction of the $400 million White House ballroom, ruling that it lacked congressional approval, while offering an exception for actions strictly necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds.

It turns out that a basketball court, a la Obama; solar panels in 1979 by Jimmy Carter; a press briefing room that was converted a swimming pool of FDR's and also added a bowling alley by Richard Nixon; and an outdoor swimming pool added by Gerald Ford.

FDR in 1942 expanded the East Wing by adding a second story and bunker during WW2 [not WW Eleven as Ilhan Omar mentioned]. He was criticized by Congress but went ahead anyway citing wartime executive priorities.

But allowing President Donald Trump to build a large ballroom? Forget about it. He must have Congress' approval.

Final thought: have you noticed how Hakeem Jeffries, and many Democrats, are going a bit wild with their hand gestures when they speak publicly?

Thank you for following Brain Flushings. If you really want to help support my work here, please visit the sponsors on this page, or you can Buy Me A Coffee for any amount--it really helps. You can even subscribe to Brain Flushings--it's free.

Tweet

Sec. of State Rubio says he'll terminate green cards of 3 Iranian nationals connected to "Screaming Mary"

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Saturday the termination of the green cards of three Iranian nationals who are connected to an infamous propagandist, known as “Screaming Mary.”

 
Masoumeh Ebtekar was given that nickname because she was the primary English-language spokesperson for the Iranian students who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. Over 50 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. During the crisis, Ebtekar frequently justified their captivity and denounced the United States.

Her son, Seyed Eissa Hashemi, and his family entered the U.S. in 2014 with visas approved by the Barack Hussein Obama administration. Two years later, they were granted lawful permanent resident status. Rubio revoked that protection this week based on their ties to the Islamic regime.

Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and are now awaiting deportation.

“Her family should never have been allowed to benefit from the extraordinary privilege of living in our country,” Rubio said of Ebtekar on Saturday. “America can never become home for anti-American terrorists or their families — and under the Trump Administration, it never will.”

The move comes one week after Rubio terminated the legal status of the niece and grandniece of former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2020. Like Hashemi and his family, Hamideh Afshar Soleimani and her daughter were placed in ICE custody for their pending removal from the country.

Rubio also rescinded the legal status of the daughter of Ali Larijani, the late secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and her husband. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani and Seyed Kalantar Motamedi were both deported and are barred from future entry.

In a press release issued Saturday, the State Department briefly explained how Ebtekar coerced American hostages into speaking positively about their treatment when, in fact, it was quite painful. The department said they were “held in solitary confinement, blindfolded and starved, and subjected to physical and psychological terror, including beatings and mock executions.”

Ebtekar later rose in the ranks of the Iranian government, becoming the country’s environmental head twice and serving as a vice president from 2017 to 2021. She is not currently holding a top government position.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are high as a tentative two-week ceasefire remains in effect.Vice President JD Vance, who described the truce as “fragile” earlier this week, is presently leading a U.S. delegation to negotiate peace with Iranian officials in Pakistan.

The peace talks come at the six-week mark for Operation Epic Fury, which is on hold for now. The Trump administration has repeatedly touted the operation as a success, having destroyed much of Iran’s military capabilities in just over five weeks.

This is not mercy mistaken for weakness. It is the overdue application of a simple principle: the United States owes no sanctuary to those who have celebrated its humiliation or served regimes that seek its destruction. For decades, the West indulged the fantasy that opening its doors to the families of its enemies would somehow moderate them or signal moral superiority. Instead, it only advertised vulnerability.

Rubio’s decisions, and the broader actions of the Trump administration, mark a return to realism. America is not a hotel for the relatives of hostage-takers, propagandists, and architects of terror. It is a country with the right, and now apparently the will, to decide who belongs in it and who does not. The age of automatic privilege for the ideological offspring of America’s adversaries appears, at last, to be closing.

Thank you for following Brain Flushings. If you really want to help support my work here, you can Buy Me A Coffee or click on the ads alongside this page--it really helps. You can even subscribe to Brain FLushings--it's free.

Tweet

Joe Biden claims to be 'a hell of a lot smarter' than most Democrats

Former alleged President Joseph Robinette Biden, in what can only be described as vintage Sleepy Joe fashion, decided to drop this gem on the mourners at Rev. Jesse Jackson's funeral service Friday: "I'm a hell of a lot smarter than most of you."

He was speaking primarily to a crowd of Democrats and civil rights figures, and while Snopes didn't actually rate the remark "Mostly True," it sure feels on-brand for the guy who can't help but remind everyone he's the sharpest tool in the shed, even when the shed is a memorial service.

This oddball line came while Biden was reflecting on his childhood stutter, a topic he's brought up countless times. He noted how people mocked him for it, assuming it meant he wasn't bright. "If I told you I had a cleft palate or clubfoot, none of you would have laughed," Biden said. "But it’s OK to laugh at stuttering. … It’s the one place where people think you’re stupid."

Then came the zinger: "Oh, really? I’m a hell of a lot smarter than most of you," he added, before quickly pivoting back with, "But all kidding aside, it makes you feel really small."All kidding aside, folks, Joe Biden remains a walking gaffe machine.

And every event he makes about himself.

The memorial took place at the House of Hope arena in Chicago, where hundreds gathered to honor Jackson's life and his massive left-leaning legacy. Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were there, along with Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Rev. Al Sharpton, and other big Democratic names. They praised Jackson for founding the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, running for president in 1984 and 1988, boosting Black voter turnout, and reshaping the party's coalition.Biden, who often talks about overcoming his stutter, tied his remarks to resilience and the pain of being ridiculed as a kid.

Later in his speech, Biden veered into another classic tangent, declaring that "the continent of Africa is going to be the largest continent in the world" in terms of population by 2050. He recalled telling Jackson about a trip to see Nelson Mandela in South Africa: "I remember telling Jesse that I knew a guy, in South Africa," former President Biden recalled. "I was going to go see name is Nelson Mandela. And, I'm Jesse saying, how are you going? You guys actually see him, by the way? You know, the continent of Africa is going to be the largest continent in the world in terms of population of the year 2050, the largest in the entire world. Watch, man. Watch."

Joe's "Deer in the Headlights" look

The "smarter than most of you" line has already joined the ever-growing Biden gaffe hall of fame, and social media lit up with reactions. Under one repost from Libs of TikTok, a commenter nailed it: "That’s a strange line to deliver at a memorial service."

Another user summed it up perfectly: "Never ending comedy from this guy. So happy he’s back in public."

Outside Biden's head-scratchers, the service stayed focused on Jackson's enduring impact as a civil rights icon who built bridges, championed marginalized communities, and helped modernize the Democratic Party's approach to inclusion and participation.

Thanks for following Brain Flushings, guys. Please consider subscribing, and if you would like to support my work, visit the sponsors on this page, or you can Buy Me A Coffee. 

Tweet

CNN has panic attack caused by Iranian political prisoner

Kian Tajbakhsh showed up on CNN the other night to talk about the Iranian operation. No fireworks, no shouting matches like you get from the usual suspects, Scott Jennings barking, Kevin O'Leary pontificating, Ben Ferguson thundering. Tajbakhsh just laid out the plain facts, cool as you please. And why wouldn't he? The man spent time as a political prisoner in Iran; he's seen the regime up close and personal.

We chewed over how the liberal crowd is now trying to paint Operation Epic Fury as some fresh quagmire, another endless war cooked up in Washington. Nonsense. Iran has considered itself at war with the United States since the mullahs took power in 1979. Tajbakhsh was right there when their officials said it outright, we've been in a cold (and sometimes hot) war with the Islamic Republic ever since the Revolution.

But what really sent the producers scrambling was what came next on the Obama Iran nuclear deal. That’s when Abby Phillip hit the panic button and cut to commercial. You could almost hear the tires screeching.

Here's Tajbakhsh, straight and unvarnished:

TAJBAKHSH: "What happened with President Obama, I'll just say this very quickly.'"And I was in the State Department in the 2000s when we implored the Bush administration not to restrict the engagement with Iran simply to the nuclear file."

"What happened with president Obama is that, for better or worse, and I'm not going to litigate that here, he decided that given the four big problems that have always been on American objectives with Iran, that is enrichment, ballistic missiles, proxies and democracy inside Iran, that he would put all the last three aside and focus only on the nuclear deal."

"Now, I'm not going to say that was good or bad. I don't think it was a great idea, but what we have seen and this is also maybe controversial and I think a lot of my liberal friends are going to hate me for this…"

"Is that unfortunately you can draw a straight line from the 2015 nuclear deal to October 7th.”“I think that what the Trump administration is--"

PHILLIP: "We . . . we . . . we do have to go to a break here."

TAJBAKHSH: "Okay."

And poof, gone to break, smoke screen deployed, retreat in good order. Classic CNN when the narrative takes a direct hit.

Operation Epic Fury has laid bare what a disaster the Obama nuke deal really was. Naïve doesn’t begin to cover it. Handing the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism billions in cash and sanctions relief, while conveniently ignoring the missiles, the proxies, the whole apparatus of terror, that wasn't diplomacy; it was wishful thinking bordering on delusion. The mullahs were never going to play straight; anyone with a shred of realism could see that. You don't need a PhD from Harvard or Foggy Bottom experience to understand you can’t trust fanatics who chant "Death to America" as a national pastime.

Thanks for following Brain Flushings, guys. Please consider subscribing, and if you would like to support my work, visit the sponsors on this page, or you can Buy Me A Coffee. 

The Democrats, bless their virtue signaling souls, have a perfect record on foreign policy: always wrong, usually catastrophically so. They got played like a cheap fiddle here. Obama's domestic crown jewel, Obamacare, is a rolling catastrophe. Now his foreign-policy masterpiece lies in ruins—and worse, those billions may well have helped subsidize the October 7 massacre.

No wonder the network bolted for the exits. Some truths are just too inconvenient for prime time.

Tweet

Newsom disses Israel and Netanyahu, says Trump's strikes due to his 'grift'

In a vicious attack on President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the longstanding U.S.-Israel alliance, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a serious rethink of American support for Israel, smeared the Jewish state as an apartheid regime, and took vicious swipes at Trump, 

The comments came during an appearance with former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor at an event promoting Newsom's autobiography, "Young Man in a Hurry." When asked whether Democrats should reconsider U.S. military aid to Israel given Netanyahu's leadership, Newsom didn't hold back.

"Well, he's making that easy right now," Newsom began, launching into an attack on Netanyahu. "The issue of Bibi is interesting. Because he's got his own domestic issues. He's trying to stay out of jail. He's got an election coming up. He's potentially on the ropes. He's got folks, the hard line, that want to annex the West Bank."

Newsom then channeled the notoriously anti-Netanyahu New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman to push the tired leftist falsehood that Israel is heading toward "an apartheid state," adding, "For two years, they haven't even been able to solve the Hamas question in Israel."He went on to imply that Trump's actions against Iran were driven purely by Israeli influence.

"In so many ways, that influence in the context of the conversation of where Trump ultimately landed on this is pretty damn self-evident," said Newsom. "When you bring two aircraft carriers out there and you assemble the kind of military force that Trump did over the last few weeks, it didn't surprise me ultimately that they moved that direction."

When directly asked, "Do you think, looking down the road, that the United States should consider, maybe, you know, rethinking our military support for Israel?" Newsom feigned heartbreak.

"It breaks my heart because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don't think you have a choice but that consideration."

He then pivoted to what he called "the grift and the corruption" tied to regional politics, dragging in Trump family members by name, including Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner. 

"The fact that we are in this now, a regional war. All these proxies and all the grift and the corruption that also marks a huge part of this," he said. "And that's a real conversation we need to have, this Board of Peace. In the piece that the Witkoff family is getting, in the piece that Kushner is getting, in the peace that Trump Jr. is getting."

Newsom's remarks represent the predictable anti-Israel turn from a Democrat desperate to signal virtue to the progressive base, even as he wraps it in crocodile tears about a broken heart. The governor's willingness to echo smears of Israel as an apartheid state while questioning aid amid ongoing threats shows just how far the party has drifted from its once-stalwart support for America's closest Middle East ally. And throwing in baseless jabs at the Trump family for good measure? 

That's just par for the course in the current Democratic playbook.

Thanks for following Brain Flushings, guys. Please consider subscribing, and if you would like to support my work, visit the sponsors on this page, or you can Buy Me A Coffee. 

Tweet

Former DNI James Clapper has "lawyered up" and is upset as a waterboarded cat

James "not wittingly" Clapper

The Russia Collusion saga just got a fresh twist, and it’s got some big players sweating, James Clapper, for one. 

Obama's old Director of National Intelligence, got tossed a hot potato by CNN's Kaitlan Collins about the current DNI Tulsi Gabbard, calling for a criminal probe into that whole Russia Collusion clusterfrack. You know, the one we've been yelling about forever.

As we said earlier, Gabbard's not messing around. She's kicked this over to the DOJ, and they've spun up a full-on Strike Force to dig into it. That’s the kind of language that makes you sit up straight; sounds like they’re finally ready to throw some punches. 

Now, I get it, we’re all a bit cynical after years of "will anything actually come of this?" But this feels like they’re gearing up for real. Sure, statute of limitations might tie their hands on some counts, and time's a cruel beast when it comes to building a case. But that announcement? It’s got the right vibe, like they're ready to flip every stone and see who's still got dirt on their hands.

So, Collins [no relation to RINO Susan Collins] corners Clapper on CNN, asking if he’s sweating bullets over the Trump admin maybe coming for him. His response is pure gold:

"Well, certainly I do. You know, after eight and a half years of this, and I don't know of an intelligence product that was more scrutinized, more investigated than that product was by numerous people...You know, it's very disconcerting. It really is. And I take seriously when the President of the United States accuses me of being a participant in a treasonous conspiracy, which is ridiculous."

Cue an adult diaper commercial.

Clapper’s out here calling it "untrue," but you can almost hear his knees knocking. Collins pushes harder, like, "What’s your move if they come for you? Got a plan?" 

And Clapper says: "I'll lawyer up, I suppose. I already have."

C'mon man, this dude’s been lawyered up since he bounced from government in 2017. That’s not the talk of a guy chilling by the pool. That’s a guy who's been sleeping with one eye open for years. Folks on X are eating this up, saying Clapper sounds like he's about to jump out of his skin. Also, it's probably not the best move to be yapping on CNN about it. Most lawyers would be like, "Yo, zip it, even if you think you’re clean." 

Rookie mistake, Jimbo.

This whole mess is about to get wild. I’m betting we’ll see more big names scrambling for legal cover faster than you can say "subpoena." And those whistleblowers Gabbard’s talking about? If they’ve got the goods, it could be the spark this case needs to light up.

Hey amazing readers! If you enjoy my content, I hope you'll consider supporting Brain Flushings. A quick coffee donation via Buy Me a Coffee fuels late-night writing sessions and fresh ideas. Every sip—er, dollar—helps me create more of the posts you enjoy. Join the crew, toss in a coffee, and let’s keep the good vibes brewing! No pressure.

Tweet

Activist lefty judge blocks Trump's defunding of Planned Parenthood

"I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born." -- Ronald Reagan

 
Well look who’s at it again. A federal judge in Massachusetts, an Obama appointee, naturally, decided to play superhero for Planned Parenthood, slapping a restraining order on a key provision in what Trump called his “big, beautiful bill.” This provision would’ve yanked Medicaid funding from the abortion factory for a year, but U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said, “Not so fast.” She likes dead babies.

In her ruling, the far leftist didn’t mince words: “Defendants shall take all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner.” 

Translation: keep the cash flowing to Planned Parenthood like it’s just another Tuesday. Her order, which lasts two weeks, also bans the Trump administration, their agents, employees, or anyone else in cahoots with them from “enforcing, retroactively enforcing, or otherwise applying” the funding cut. 

Judicial overreach, at its worst, of course.

The Hill points out, “Talwani’s ruling still allows the administration to enforce the provision against other providers, but Planned Parenthood says it comprises almost the entirety of the impacted entities.” 

So, basically, this is a tailor-made carveout for the baby terrorist giant. 

Let’s talk numbers. Planned Parenthood’s 2024 annual report bragged about performing 392,715 abortions from October 2021 to September 2022, a 5% jump from the 374,155 the year prior. This, despite Roe v. Wade getting the boot from the Supreme Court in June 2022. The Catholic News Agency noted, “[T]he document says that locations in states ‘where abortion is protected’ saw a 700% increase in demand.” Oh, and they helped coordinate travel for over 33,000 abortions. Because nothing says “healthcare” like a cross-state abortion road trip.

Just last month, the Supreme Court reminded everyone that lower courts don’t get to play emperor over the Executive Branch. Justice Amy Coney Barrett put it bluntly: “federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch; they resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them.” 

Apparently, Judge Talwani didn’t get the memo, but more likely disregarded the ruling.

So, for now, Planned Parenthood keeps its taxpayer-funded gravy train, courtesy of a leftist judge with a pen, a vendetta, and no love for the unborn. 

This is just the beginning and we need to wait and see how it pans out for our future children.

Hey amazing readers! If you love the content you find here please consider supporting Brain Flushings. A quick coffee donation via Buy Me a Coffee fuels late-night writing sessions and fresh ideas. Every sip—er, dollar—helps me create more of the posts you enjoy. Join the crew, toss in a coffee, and let’s keep the good vibes brewing! 

Tweet

Trump takes out nuke facilities, Dems want to take out Trump: but Obama did what?

As soon as President Donald Trump does something strong that the left doesn't agree with, the Democrat idiots in office want to impeach him. Meanwhile, former President Barack Hussein Obama pretty much had carte blanche when it came for the US to use its military might and the left was totally okay with it. So something tells me Democrats are some of the worst hypocrites in the history of mankind. 

Hyperbole? I don't think so.

As president, Obama authorized a number of military actions and counterterrorism operations. I have listed an overview of key attacks and ops he ordered when he was busy dividing the nation racially.

First, Obama dramatically expanded the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists, mainly targeting al-Qaeda, the Taliban and eventually ISIS affiliates.

Secondly, he ordered literally hundreds of targeted strikes against militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, killing key al-Qaeda and Taliban people such as Baitullah Mehsud, in 2009. Conservative estimates believe 2,500 to 4,000 people were killed, including civilians.

Thirdly, in Yemen, strikes were launched targeting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which include the 2011 elimination of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and AQAP honcho.

Next, in Somalia, drones struck al-Shabaab scumcrumpets, and operations increased after the 2011 famine and piracy threats. Of course, these strikes were controversial because they involved civilian casualties.

Operation Neptune Spear, aka the Bin Laden Raid, went down on May 2, 2011 and was ordered by Obama. The U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six raided Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, resulting in bin Laden's death and a huge success in the fight against Islamic terrorism.

Then Obama, in 2011, authorized U.S. participation in NATO-led airstrikes to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone during the Libyan Civil War. Operation Odyssey Dawn targeted Muammar Gaddafi's forces in order to protect civilians. This eventually led to Gaddafi's overthrow. The U.S. conducted airstrikes along with logistical support.

Operation Observant Compass, between 2011 to 2017, sent about 100 U.S. military advisors to assist African troops in fighting the Lord's Resistance Army [LRA] in Central Africa. The main target was their leader, Joseph Kony, and while no direct combat was authorized, U.S. forces provided intelligence and support.

Between 2014 and 2017, the Obama administration conducted a military campaign against ISIS. In Operation Inherent Resolve [2014] the U.S. conducted airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, targeting ISIS strongholds, and also to protect Yazidis in Sinjar [where I throw a quarter into whenever I use bad language] and our personnel in Erbil. We also conducted a special operation in 2015 in Syria that killed ISIS leader Abu Sayyaf. By 2017, we flew thousands of airstrikes and significantly weakened ISIS's control.

Going back to 2009, Obama ordered an additional 30,000 boots on the ground to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. Our presence at that time was around 100,000. 

Now let us be clear; I supported Obama's moves against terrorism and their leaders. But there is that double standard when it comes to President Trump. 

Hey guys, if you like my blog,  feel free to toss a virtual coffee my way on Buy Me a Coffee  It’s like a high-five with caffeine, and coffee keeps me focused, albeit somewhat hyper. No pressure, it's your call.

Obama's ordered strikes had a significant number of civilian casualties and even sparked debate among human rights groups. Trump's ordered attack on nuclear sites did not result in civilian casualties and was not a declaration of war, like AOC and her idiot friends accuse Trump of unconstitutionally circumventing Congress.

Obama's actions were significantly closer to war than Trump's by a country mile, but he was the untouchable Obama.

Hypocrisy much?

Tweet

Republicans promise to stop leftist judges from stopping Trump's mandate

The Democrats are clutching their pearls and singing the sweet hymn of "separation of powers" again. This time, it’s over a D.C. circuit court judge—Obama appointee James Boasberg, naturally—whose daughter works with illegal aliens and slammed the brakes on the Trump administration’s plan to deport suspected Tren de Aragua gang members back to Venezuela. This would ensure his daughter wouldn't run out of clients in the future.

The lefties are calling it a noble stand for "due process." Republicans? They’re calling it what it is: a judge drunk on his own power, scribbling outside the lines. And they’re already plotting to make sure this judicial joyride doesn’t happen again.

This is just the latest episode in the Trump administration’s injunction-palooza—over a dozen district court judges across the country have been playing whack-a-mole with his policies. On Wednesday, a federal appellate court said, “Nah, we’re good,” refusing to pause Boasberg’s weekend special: a temporary restraining order blocking Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to ship out Venezuelan nationals.

Cue the House Judiciary Committee, which is gearing up for an “activist judges” hearing next week to figure out how deep this rabbit hole goes.

Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) appeared on Fox News Digital, sounding like the voice of reason: “I think the administration’s doing the right thing by fighting it legally.” He’s teasing a new bill to tackle this mess, too. “We’ll be looking at that next week,” he said, probably while polishing his spurs.

Then there’s Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who’s ready to unleash the full GOP legislative toolbox. “We’ll do everything that we can… to ensure that they are doing what’s right by the American people and then also following through on our constitutional obligations,” she told the outlet.

Luna dropped a truth bomb, too: “Right before President Trump took office, the Democrats actually knowingly made admissions that they were appointing obstructionist justices in order to undermine what the president’s agenda was.” Gee, who could’ve seen that coming? Even Chuck Schumer referred to them as "progressive judges."

Oh, and Luna's take on judges meddling in foreign policy? “Those judges are not elected to office to interpret or set foreign policy perspective. That is the entire job of the administration.” Mic drop.

But the Dems aren’t going down without a fight—or at least a sanctimonious lecture. Rep. Jesús García (D-IL) droned on about “due process” like it’s a sacred mantra, predicting the courts will “chime in strongly on this as they have already, in many instances.” Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) chimed in with, “I believe in the separation of powers and the federal courts are an equal branch of government.”

Thanks for the civics lesson, Greg. Meanwhile, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)—yes, that Swalwell—called Trump “insane” for daring to label Boasberg a “radical left lunatic of a judge” who deserves impeachment. “The judiciary has to be independent whether it goes for you or against you,” Fartboy huffed. “We can’t let politics invade judicial decisions, and wanting to impeach a judge is just insane.” Pot, meet kettle.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) took it a step further, arguing Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act might be a stretch because—get this—there’s no declared war. “The Alien Enemies Act is a law. It’s a law that has to be followed… they’re saying you have to actually follow the law, which is kind of a judge’s job,” he said, oozing smugness. “But it’s pursuant to a declaration of war. There has not been a declaration of war.” Slow clap for Captain Technicality.

Flip the script, and Republicans are asking the real question: “Who the hell do these robe-wearing overlords think they are?” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) didn’t mince words: “A district in the east, or whatever, to be able to do an injunction and apply it to the whole country, they shouldn’t have the ability to do that. They shouldn’t do it.”

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-OH) got poetic on the Capitol steps, pointing to the Supreme Court’s “equal justice under law” inscription. “When you have jurists that are acting in an unconstitutional manner… they need to go, period,” he said. “We’re coequal branches of government. That dude, he’s not a king.”

Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH) called the whole activist-judge power trip “really scary.” “As far as the low-lying judges, it’s a little bit scary to think that they could actually stop the progression of a federal movement where you have the executive branch which should be the final say,” he told Fox. His fix? “My party needs to be very methodical about how we fix it, and we have to codify law to make sure that we can prevent this from happening again.” He’s not holding his breath, though: “It’s probably not going to be the fastest movement.”

So here we are: Democrats clutching their “separation of powers” security blanket, Republicans ready to rewrite the rulebook, and a bunch of unelected judges playing kingmaker. Just another day in D.C.

"Hey, if you’re enjoying this blog as much as I enjoy writing it, feel free to fuel my caffeine addiction over at Buy Me a Coffee – no pressure, just good vibes!"

Tweet