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Friday, October 31, 2025

Leader Thune Gives Blistering Rebuke to Dems on Government Shutdown

Matt Margolis of PJ Media: Senate Majority Leader John Thune has a reputation for being rather restrained and soft-spoken, but on Wednesday, he unleashed a blistering floor speech, lashing out at the Democrats and their shutdown shenanigans. Thune was visibly and audibly frustrated as he laid bare what many Republicans feel as the Schumer Shutdown drags into its fifth week. The normally cool-tempered Thune was visibly and audibly furious as he stared down Senate Democrats across the aisle. His voice rose as he accused them of deliberately prolonging the shutdown for political gain while pretending to care about the Americans who are now suffering the consequences (PJ Media). Thune: Let me just point out—if I might—that we are 29 days into a Democrat shutdown and the senator from New Mexico was absolutely right. SNAP recipients shouldn’t go without food. People should be getting paid in this country, and we’ve tried to do that 13 times and you voted “no” 13 times (w/video: Thune).

On the Shutdown: Are Senate Democrats Looking for an Offramp?

The Hill: Senate Republicans and Democrats are trying to hammer out a proposal to end the 30-day government shutdown as soon as next week, as some centrist Democrats argue behind the scenes that their party has successfully highlighted rising health care costs and it’s time to end the stalemate. Shutdown fatigue on Capitol Hill is growing as the government stoppage approaches the one-month mark, and the pain is increasing…. “My assessment is that we’ve won anything that we can possibly win and the costs of continuing the shutdown are going to be felt by people who are going to food banks and federal employees,” said one Democratic senator, who requested anonymity to argue that any political benefit of extending the shutdown is about to be outweighed by the harms inflicted on ordinary Americans. A huge factor in this thinking is that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are due to expire Saturday, putting 42 million Americans at risk of not having enough to eat (The Hill).

As Election Day Approaches: New Jersey Governor’s Race Tightens

The race is between Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill and businessman Jack Ciattarelli. Beege Welborn at Hot Air: This race is turning into a barnburner, and the good guy is closing fast and furious. What was supposed to be a cakewalk for shoo-in Democrat candidate for New Jersey governor, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, against businessman, former state representative, and previous candidate Jack Ciattarelli has morphed into a battle that the Democrats never saw coming and certainly didn’t have a candidate prepared or capable enough for a real political knife fight…. The race is now a statistical tie: The race is now a statistical tie: Mikie Sherrill: 49%, Jack Ciattarelli: 48%…. The favorability ratings have Democrats freaking out, especially as Sherrill’s whole schtick has been ‘Trump bad, Trump likes Ciattarelli, Ciattarelli bad because TRUMP.’ Look at how Trump is polling: Emerson; Favorability: Ciattarelli 48%, Sherrill 47%; Approval: Trump 45%, Murphy 34%…. get out and VOTE, New Jersey. You can do this (Hot Air).

Another Mamdani for Minneapolis?

We’ll find out soon. Minneapolis voters are choosing between their current Mayor Jacob Frey and the Somali Islamist State Sen. Omar Fateh. In the closing days of the campaign, Fateh was waving a foreign flag and speaking a foreign language (Townhall). KSTP: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, is one of 15 candidates on the ballot. His best-funded and highest-profile challenger is state Sen. Omar Fateh, who describes himself as a democratic socialist. Minneapolis implemented ranked choice voting in 2009, allowing voters to choose up to three candidates in order of preference on their ballot. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidates with the weakest performance are dropped — including the candidate with the lowest number of first-choice rankings and those with no mathematical path to win. The votes from those eliminated candidates are reallocated to voters’ next-highest choices. That process continues until a candidate receives 50% of the vote (KSTP).

Vast Fraud Among Somali Immigrant Community Greater Minneapolis

Watch to see if Omar Fateh and/or his friend Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) lift a finger or raise their voice even once to speak to what is a well-established fact on the ground. New York Post: As far back as 2008, the State Department temporarily suspended one of the family reunification programs used by Somali immigrants when DNA testing of applicants found that 80% of all its claimed family relationships were fake. Immigration fraud in this community has been the norm. And when it comes to “bizarre schemes,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) serves as Exhibit A. Omar is accused of, and has never credibly denied, marrying her brother to get him legal papers. In 2016, following up on a tip posted on a local Somali discussion board, I found that Omar — then a first-time candidate for the Minnesota state legislature — had “religiously married,” but not legally married, Ahmed Hirsi, the father of her children. However, records showed that in 2009, she had legally married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi — a man identified as her brother by Somalis on the discussion board. Trump With Japan Prime Minister Takaichi: A New Chapter for Strategic Alliance (New York Post). Patch: A Minneapolis woman recruited families in the Somali community to join a fake autism therapy program that prosecutors say defrauded taxpayers out of $14 million (Patch).

City of El Fasher in Sudan Falls to Rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

The battle is between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Egypt and—notably—the Muslim Brotherhood are backing the SAF. The UAE is backing the RSF. Both sides look guilty of atrocities. Financial Times: The fall of the besieged Sudanese city of El Fasher has turned into a bloodbath that rights activists and experts have foretold for months, according to local and international organisations monitoring the war. Since Sunday — when militia fighters of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over-ran the military garrison in the city, the last stronghold of the Sudan Armed Forces in the west of the country — evidence has emerged of many atrocities against civilians trapped or trying to flee…. The RSF’s capture of El Fasher has potentially far-reaching consequences for Sudan and its two-year civil war. The conflict has displaced more than 14mn people, according to the UN, provoked famine and claimed more than 150,000 lives (FT). Spiked: With the fall of El Fasher, the tally of those displaced in Sudan is now approaching 13million. It has been described as the world’s ‘largest humanitarian crisis’ by UNICEF with 25million people – half of Sudan’s population – experiencing malnutrition or famine. As many as 400,000 people have been killed since the start of the civil war (Spiked).

Mass Atrocities in Sudan: ‘It was a like a killing field’

PBS: Witnesses told the AP that RSF fighters — on foot, riding on camels, or in vehicles — went from house to house, beating and shooting at people, including women and children. Many died of gunshot wounds in the streets, some while trying to flee to safety, the witnesses said. “It was a like a killing field,” Tajal-Rahman, a man in his late 50s, said over the phone from the outskirts of Tawila. “Bodies everywhere and people bleeding and no one to help them.” Both Amena and Tajal-Rahman said that RSF fighters tortured and beat the detainees and shot at least four people on Monday who later died of wounds. They also sexually assaulted women and girls, they said (PBS).

What Is the Future of Radio in the Automobile?

It’s very clearly at risk—unless Congress shows a willingness to act. Nic Anderson of Salem Media: For generations, the car radio has been the great equalizer – free, local, and open to all. It delivers news, weather alerts, and community updates instantly, no subscription or data plan required. But as vehicles become software platforms, automakers are rewriting the rules. They’re no longer just selling cars — they’re building digital ecosystems. By removing AM/FM radio and blocking third-party apps like CarPlay and Android Auto, they funnel drivers into closed environments where they alone decide what content is available. This isn’t about innovation. It’s about revenue and control. And when that control extends to the dashboard — where 84% of Americans still listen to broadcast radio each week — the stakes go far beyond consumer choice…. The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 3413 / S. 1669) would require automakers to include AM radio in all new vehicles at no extra cost. With support from more than 315 House members and 61 Senators, it’s one of the most bipartisan efforts in Washington today (Townhall).

An Admission From Syracuse University: Post October 7 Campus Demonstrations ‘Were encouraged from Iran’

The candor and clarity is helpful—and it fits what has been the intuition and gut sense from those who were watching closely. That is: Malicious actors like Iran had to be behind what we witnessed. Alana Goodman for Free Beacon: Several leaders of prominent universities on Monday said they believe the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic demonstrations that broke out on campuses across the United States during the Jewish state’s war against Hamas were not organic, instead telling a panel audience they believe “organized networks,” and even foreign governments, may have driven the unrest…. During the event, though, Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud brought up Iran in particular. “I really believe [the demonstrations] were encouraged from Iran,” Syverud said. “It did not have the involvement of very many—if any—of our own students.” Vanderbilt University chancellor Daniel Diermeier agreed, saying the anti-Israel movement on his campus seemed to have been coordinated by outside forces and followed a “playbook” that “was imported” from other universities (Free Beacon).

10.

America’s Most Important Ally? ‘Hands down, it is Israel’

That’s the clearheaded argument from Hugh Hewitt: Which country is America’s most important ally? Hands down, it is Israel. Israel is the only other genuine democracy on the planet that is a nuclear superpower with the will and ability to project hard power across vast distances and which provides the United States with a reliable ally in what has been the most turbulent area of the world since the end of World War II…. We don’t have to “hope” for anything when it comes to Israel. Israel is spending 8.8% of its GDP on the IDF in these years of war and is closer to 5% than 4% even in the most peaceful of years. Israel’s high-tech defense sector also powers much of the innovation the free world requires to remain free. Even its critics recognize Israel as an “intelligence superpower,” and its democracy as genuine as any Western nation. When it comes to assessing America’s allies, Israel is “first among equals” (Fox News).

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