Townhall Review | Commentaries

As we watch the ongoing campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran, President Trump now faces a decision on when to end the battle. A premature end will almost certainly lead to another war. This regime refused to stop its nuclear program, its missile program its exported terrorism after President Trump ordered Qassem Soleimani killed in January 2020, and again after Operation Midnight Hammer in June of last year, when he obliterated the nuclear weapons program of the Islamic Republic. Instead, the fanatics atop this barbarous regime began to rebuild their killing capabilities and displayed their true nature with the stunning massacre of more than 35,000 of their own citizens in January. The Islamic Republic regime is incapable of changing. The regime must be changed. Persevere President Trump. Americans have been dying at the hands of this wicked regime since it came to power in 1979. More have died this week. Do not let this regime survive to kill again.

For 47 years, the radical Islamist terrorists running Iran have conducted multiple acts of war against the United States. The regime abducted our diplomats in 1979 and kept them hostage for 444 days. Their proxy terror network Hezbollah killed more than 240 Marines in Beirut, and kidnapped Americans throughout the 1980s. Iran and its Shi’ite militias targeted and killed hundreds of Americans in Iraq while wounding thousands more. This weekend, Donald Trump finally addressed this long war by responding to it with overwhelming force. Some Americans wonder how this fits with Trump’s “America First” strategy—claiming Trump has gone to war to protect Israel. Make no mistake: This fits America First. It puts American interests ahead of European appeasers that spent decades restraining the US from a proper response to Iran’s acts of war. It will fully re-establish America as the first among nations—the superpower that, once again, does not fear to protect its interests.

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani recently attended prayers at an Islamic Center with documented ties to the Alavi Foundation, which the Justice Department has identified as an Iranian front organization. While the mayor was there, an imam prayed for the Mahdi—a Messianic figure in Islamic eschatology—to kill all “infidels.” The Constitution protects the free exercise of religion. But that does not require political leaders to legitimize rhetoric that casts fellow Americans as enemies of God—that ought to be killed. At other recent events in Times Square, Islamic speakers have declared it: “We are a threat”—referring to themselves. This isn’t pluralism. It’s provocation. America welcomes those who come here legally to embrace our way of life. But hostility to our faith, our freedom, and our fellow citizens can’t be normalized.

There is contemplation of war with Iran.  The truth is, Iran has been at war with us for decades. In 1979, Iran seized our embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage, holding them for over a year. Then—in 1983—Iran’s terrorist arm, Hezbollah, killed 17 American in Beirut. Later that year they killed another 241 in another bombing there. In Spain in 1984, Hezbollah killed 18 Americans at a restaurant, and bombed the US Embassy in Beirut yet again, killing 11 more. In ’92, they bombed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 innocents.  And another 85 they killed in Argentina two years later.  There’s TWA Flight 847 and Bobby Stetham’s public execution, and the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers killing 19 Americans. On and on. Now they seek nuclear weaponry and kill their own dissidents by the tens of thousands. As Lincoln put it: We didn’t want war, but the war came.  Let’s not be wobbly over it.

Donald Trump's State of the Union address checked all of the usual boxes. As theater however, Trump reminded Democrats of his mastery. Trump knew Democrats wanted to make the event into a circus and became the ringmaster. He anticipated their heckling and out shouted it from the dais. He offered America a parade of heroes while Democrats sulked in their seats. Not once but twice, Trump asked Democrats to stand with Americans and then ridiculed them for failing to rise to the occasion. First, Trump declared that the first duty of government was to American citizens rather than illegal aliens and challenge the room to stand in agreement. Almost every Democrat remains seated and Trump scolded. You should be ashamed. More shockingly, Democrats refuse to stand when Trump called for justice for Iryna Zarutska, the young Ukrainian woman murdered in Charlotte by a lifetime violent offender. Trump appeared shocked and rebuked them. How do you not stand? Trump exposed the Democrats for what they are. Radicals who care less about Americans than they do for power.

Americans just got a revealing glimpse of what Democrats have in mind if they reclaim power. On a recent podcast, Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice warned Big Tech, law firms, media outlets, companies, and universities that Democrats won’t “forgive and forget” those who cooperate with President Donald Trump. The left “won’t play by the old rules,” she announced. How ironic. The same crowd that constantly calls Trump an authoritarian is now openly threatening political retribution. Rice’s threats aren’t hypothetical. During the Biden administration, federal officials strongarmed tech companies to suppress disfavored speech. JP Morgan has just admitted to debanking Trump and some supporters — hardly a coincidence in today’s regulatory climate. Meanwhile, Rice’s former boss Barack Obama speaks loftily about unity and “coming together.” Nice words — but Americans have seen too much to believe them.

A major battle with Iran appears imminent. Ought it to be called a war, a battle or a strike? That depends on what the United States and Israel decide to do and what President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu call it. It also depends on whether Ayatollah Khamenei orders the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s proxy forces in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, as well as terror cells around the world, to mount counterattacks that kill Americans, Israelis or people in our Gulf allies. The ayatollah can trigger massive escalation with any counterattack that results in American and/or Israeli casualties. And so there’s genuine risk to our troops and to our allies in Israel and the Gulf States. That is why when President Trump orders the American military to attack, it should be with overwhelming and sustained force. Fanatics don’t reason, and the United States cannot afford to allow the world to see it deterred by the words and shaking fists of a second- or third-rate military equipped with bluster and ballistic missiles. And led by fanatics.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal workforce is smaller than it’s been in half a century. That’s good news. Taxpayers will shoulder fewer obligations for the generous salaries, health benefits and pensions federal workers receive. But there’s a deeper point. America was never meant to be governed from Washington. The Constitution established a federal government of limited, enumerated powers — leaving most authority to the states and the people. As Washington has inserted itself into nearly every corner of American life, the federal payroll has grown. Government works best when it’s close to the people — in states, cities, and communities — not in bloated bureaucracies in a distant capital. The federal government should perform its proper functions well. And freedom-loving Americans should insist that power remain closest to them, where it can be watched, checked, and held accountable.

Next week, President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address.  The rest of the legislative agenda will be set for the year, and, of course, we’ll be off to the mid-term elections in November.  A great many Democrats plan to boycott the State of the Union.  One, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, told New York Times, “These aren’t normal times, and we have to stop doing normal things.” In that sentence, Senator Murphy spoke volumes.  What’s abnormal to the Democrats is the rule of law being enforced, conservative economic policy, the liberation of leadership from Marxist-Narco-terrorist leaders and, potentially with Iran, removing Islamist radicals and revolutionaries.  As we head into the mid-term elections, let’s remember what the Democrats think is normal: the opposite of all that—living with and ignoring an illegal invasion of America, coddling Marxist drug dealing thuggery, and appeasing the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world, all the while jacking our taxes up even higher. These are the stakes this year.  Don’t take them passively.

Now that Minnesota prisons have begun to notify ICE when illegal immigrants with federal warrants are being released, the ICE surge there is winding down. During the operation, agents found more than three thousand missing unaccompanied alien children. Over half a million children were smuggled into the United States during Joe Biden’s term. Federal authorities lost track of roughly 300,000 of them. Some were forced into labor to repay smugglers, with children as young as 13 found in dangerous meat-packing plants. Others were found exploited by traffickers. The Biden administration failed to investigate thousands of human trafficking reports. The ICE enforcement surges aren’t just about deportations. They’re about rescuing vulnerable children and restoring the rule of law after years of reckless border policies. Accountability matters for America’s sake, and for these exploited children. 

As we watch President Trump and all that’s happening with Iran and Khomeini, I think the situation can be summed up succinctly: One door is marked "Truman/Reagan" and the other door is marked "Carter/Obama/Biden." On three different occasions, Trump has walked through the first door: He ordered the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iran’s Quds Force in January of 2020 in Iraq. Trump followed that up with his second-term order to conduct Operation Midnight Resolve against Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities in June last year. And then we saw Operation Absolute Resolve to snatch Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro in January. Now President Trump has to decide which door to walk through yet again. President Trump’s choice will define his place in history. America’s national security and the hope of the Iranian people and the future of the Middle East depends upon this decision. Pray he chooses wisely.

When Tom Homan announced an end to Operation Metro Surge last week, he declared it a success. Federal law enforcement detained thousands of illegal aliens, located many lost children, and most importantly, forced Minnesota to end its obstruction of immigration enforcement as a “sanctuary” jurisdiction. The media painted the drawdown in the Twin Cities as a retreat. Homan appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation with a response: Other “sanctuary” jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement will see similar surges in their cities and states. “I'm hoping other sanctuary cities look at what happened in Minnesota, and how we got to the place we're at, which I think is a good place,” Homan said. If not, Homan warned, he will “flood the zone” in those jurisdictions to complete the mission of full enforcement. And he warned Minnesota officials that he will keep a security force in place there to ensure that “local police coordination stays in place.” This is what America voted for.

Blue state fraud continues — and as tax season approaches, Americans may wonder just how much of their money funds outright corruption. In California, a firm that was paid more than one hundred million dollars to build housing for the homeless failed to deliver. Instead, its CEO embezzled more than two million dollars, spent on a luxury lifestyle and contributions to Democratic politicians, including Gavin Newsom.  Oregon paid over two million dollars in Medicaid funds to what was billed as an addiction recovery provider. It was actually a drug den, linked to Tren de Aragua. Its operators were tied to a sixty million dollar fraud ring that laundered money by sending it to Rwanda. Not long ago, the Biden administration demanded law abiding Americans account for six hundred dollar Venmo transactions. That’s some nerve, while this kind of lawlessness flourishes.

Many of you may have seen it: A jury in New York awarded a young woman $2 million over a transgender procedure as a minor. It’s the first time a so-called detransitioner has won a case before a jury. She was 16 years old … and she had a double mastectomy, having been pressured by medical authorities. The New York Times ran a big story headline: “Woman Wins a Lawsuit Over Gender Surgery as a Minor” And then, one day later, here’s another headline: “Doctor’s group endorses restrictions on gender related surgery for minors.” That would be the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Then, just a day after that: a statement came from the American Medical Association saying that the best standard of care for minors is to delay these treatments. You know the pro LGBTQ movement is trying to say there’s nothing big here, but this is a wave. We’re seeing social ridiculousness now being called to account. May it continue.

In the aftermath of the big layoffs at The Washington Post, there has been an explosion of commentary—again—about the decline of newspapers. But if our concern is about journalism and not simply protecting old newspapers, there’s little to worry about. Readers will always read. News junkies will always find and especially read news. Reading is simply faster than broadcast, so news delivered by text is always going to have a market. “Journalism is a craft, not a profession,” the late Michael Kelly would routinely state when he was a weekly guest on my radio program. And the craft survives and thrives in the United States unlike anywhere else in the world because of our First Amendment. The never-ending “creative destruction” of capitalism—thanks for the phrase goes to Joseph Schumpeter—is the constant companion of every business, including journalism. Text-only platforms remain abundant. News delivery platforms are plentiful. And there are zero gatekeepers. In America, at least, the Golden Age of Journalism has begun.

Roger Goodell and the NFL want to expand the appeal of the league to international audiences. So: Offering a Spanish-language halftime might have made sense—had that been the extent of the messaging. Instead, Goodell allowed Bad Bunny and his allies to lecture Americans about immigration enforcement. Not for the first time, the NFL treated its own domestic fan base as toxic and backward to pander to progressives. When else have we seen this level of disdain for the culture of a company’s customers? Bud Light scolded their patrons as they pressed transgender Dylan Mulvaney.  Gillette treated men as predators and bullies. And: Target pressed transgender swimwear for children. These brands assumed their loyal consumers would stick around to be insulted. In all instances, the brands lost significant ground. More than six million people tuned out to watch Turning Point USA’s All American Halftime Show. Perhaps Goodell should think about how many more may vote with their feet next season.

A genocide against Christians in Nigeria is taking place. This week one attack there killed at least 170 people.  Most of the slaughter is from the Islamist organization Boko Haram.  For those that don’t know, Boko Haram means “Western civilization is sacrilege.” Last month, the leadership of Iran mowed down at least 30,000 Iranian civilians in two days.  But: from our colleagues to the Golden Globes and Grammys all this has been met with silence, even as they preen over their commitments to human rights elsewhere. The whole point of the notion of human rights is there should not be one rule of torture for people of one faith or ethnicity and another rule for another—we used to call these concepts universal. The selectivity we see from our elites is exactly why there are post-World War II laws and declarations on human rights and genocide. The silent are in league with those that caused us to create universal norms in the first place. Sadly, Hollywood used to understand that silence equals death. It no longer does.

Americans have been appalled — and rightly so — by the scope and scale of the fraud uncovered in Minnesota. Now, it looks like there’s a lot more to come: this time, from California. Eighteen percent of America’s home health care billing comes from Los Angeles County, which claims almost 2,000 hospice agencies. That’s more than 36 six states combined — and 30 times more than the whole state of Florida or New York. One investigator examined the cluster of 287 hospice providers in a two-mile radius. Some addresses led to strip malls, a wrecking yard and a vacant lot. One doctor billed taxpayers $120,000,000 in a year, claiming to treat 1,900 patients. Brazen corruption flourishes in one-party states that glorify big government without oversight or transparency. Taxpayers deserve better. Let’s hope they get it –soon..

Don Lemon—the former CNN host—has been arrested over the recent invasion of Cities Church in St Paul Minnesota. There are massive religious liberty and constitutional issues at stake. What we witnessed was a political mob invading an evangelical church at worship. It was grotesquely and morally wrong. It was also illegal. There is no constitutional right to go into a place of worship and interrupt it for political protest. Period. And what about Don Lemon? He was central to the story from the beginning. His own comments indicate that he was egging the entire process on. He went with the invading group into the church and became part of the interruption. My main concern is with the integrity of Christian worship. For the court, Constitutional issues will be paramount. What’s at stake here is the freedom of a gospel congregation to worship according to its own convictions and to declare the gospel without fear of interference. I think we all understand – those are huge non-negotiable issues.

George Orwell’s dystopian warning about language manipulation is increasingly writ large in the mainstream media. The New York Times published essays from a man they identified as a ‘Gaza doctor’ who sharply criticized Israel for fighting the war Hamas started. Turns out this “doctor” is a well-known Hamas colonel. And at CNN, the staff rebelled at the continued inclusion of analyst Scott Jennings, one of their few conservative contributors. Why? Jennings uses the term “illegal alien” to describe …  well … illegalaliens, rather than “undocumented immigrants”—the latest approved euphemism of the Left. The term ‘illegal alien’ is not derogatory. It’s a term found in federal law and acts of Congress. The ‘journalists’ of CNN find it offensive because it is both accurate and truthful. Accuracy matters. Truth matters. The mainstream media is only interested in dishonest propaganda masquerading as journalism.

In January last year, President Trump signed an executive order restricting irreversible sex change procedures for minors. But a recent legal judgment may do almost as much to bring this barbaric practice to a halt.  A twenty-two- year-old woman has just won $2 million dollars after suing physicians who pushed a double mastectomy on her when she was sixteen. A psychologist and a surgeon persuaded her reluctant mother to consent, warning that refusal could place her at risk of suicide.  Her attorneys argued that the doctors failed to ensure that her other psychological conditions were properly diagnosed and treated before operating. A jury agreed. This is the first successful detransitioner lawsuit, but it won’t be the last. Nearly thirty others are in process, and there will be more if ridiculously short statutes of limitations are reformed. It’s a reckoning that’s long overdue.

In a representative democracy like the United States, the right to vote – is precious. It’s how “we the people” decide who will represent us and which laws will govern us. That’s why it’s restricted to citizens. They’re presumed to have the long-term interests of our country at heart. The SAVE Act – short for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility—requires proof of US citizenship for voter registration in federal elections. It’s already passed the House of Representatives. Senate Minority Leader John Thune seems reluctant to call it for a vote in the Senate. Given Democratic opposition, the bill’s likely to fail despite broad public support. But Americans deserve to know which politicians want to protect the integrity of our elections. Because without confidence in the security of the vote, America risks becoming a representative democracy in name—but not in fact.

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once postulated that certain irresponsible “eloquence may set fire to reason.”  This is why Chuck Schumer was roundly denounced for publicly threatening Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch that they wouldn’t know what hit them and would release a whirlwind if they ruled in a way the left didn’t want.  Still, assassination attempts did follow. Now: The District Attorney of Philadelphia told an anti-ICE rally—and I quote: “If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities. We will find you. We will achieve justice.”  This comes after two anti-ICE rioters were already killed, and after violent attacks against ICE agents have soared. The Philadelphia D.A. is openly engaging in homicidal fantasy, and encouragement. Tim Walz has speculated this could be a “Ft. Sumter moment.” Again, his words referring to events that ignited the Civil War. These Democratic leaders are setting fire to reason. They are not merely being irresponsible; they will cause more bloodshed.  They must stop..

SignalGate exploded last week when independent journalist Cam Higby released an undercover investigation that should shock every American. Organized, encrypted networks of anti-ICE activists in Minneapolis using Signal chat groups to coordinate real-time interference with federal immigration enforcement—during one of the most volatile periods in the city’s recent history, following fatal ICE shootings. These groups grew to nearly 1,000 members. Higby’s screenshots, videos, and audio capture activists tailing, surrounding, and blocking vehicles they believed to be ICE—including a near-violent swarm on Higby himself after misidentifying his car. There was panic in the chats in the aftermath: members deleting accounts, scrubbing devices, talks of fleeing the state or country. Minnesota State Rep. Alex Falconer admitted running some of those groups—along with local groups officials and outside funders. It was premeditated obstruction of federal officers and Attorney General Pam Bondi must act decisively. Zero tolerance - the only response.

Spontaneous nationwide protests have erupted across the repressive Islamist theocracy of Iran. Ordinary Iranians are demanding not only economic relief, but an end to the Islamic Republic itself. This is the largest popular uprising Iran has seen in nearly two decades. And the regime is responding with brutal force. Security services are trying to crush dissent through terror.  And the human toll is staggering. In just weeks, the regime’s crackdown has caused more civilian deaths than two years of fighting in Gaza. Yet legacy media has remained largely silent, with a few notable exceptions. Iran is home to a rich culture and a proud history. America and President Trump are watching closely. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft is in the region. God willing, this time the Iranian people—perhaps with our help—will throw off their oppressors and reclaim a free and hopeful future.  

 Can America avoid another war in the streets, this time over federal enforcement of immigration law? Both Donald Trump and Governor Tim Walz have that opportunity. After a second shooting involving an activist during Homeland Security’s Operation Metro Surge last week, tensions escalated and violent protests increased. This time, the president emphasized his determination to enforce federal law but put border czar Tom Homan in direct charge on Monday.  Walz appears to have recognized this as an opening to dial down the tensions and the rhetoric. Trump announced that Walz called him shortly after Homan’s appointment and held “a very good call” to pledge his efforts to find ways to coordinate to resolve the conflict.  This offers a good opportunity for peace. However, none of this would have happened had it not been for Minnesota’s “sanctuary” status. Had Walz followed most of the rest of the country and cooperated with federal law enforcement, these operations would not be necessary, and the peace would never have been threatened. I’m Ed Morrissey. 

There’s an old adage about speculation and opinionizing over what a political leader may or may not do: it goes “Those who know don’t say, and those who say don’t know.”  This would be a good rule for those who catastrophize the consequences of President Donald Trump’s proposed actions … before they take place. In recent days, fearmongering and panic were everywhere over the President’s plans for Greenland, some went so far as to say it would be the destruction of NATO, others called for the 25th Amendment. But, within about six hours of being in Davos, we received news that the framework for non-military deal was put together. All of a sudden, it all seemed very reasonable. As children, we read of the story of Chicken Little to learn not to exaggerate our paranoias; doing so leading to disastrous results. President Trump has embarrassed his critics with success—time and time again. Perhaps it’s time to give him a little wider berth on the international stage.  So far, he’s done quite well.

The first year of the second term of President Trump concluded on Tuesday this week—and only the most extreme of partisans will deny that 45-47 hung a lot of wins on the wall: A closed border, "eight-and-a-quarter" peace negotiations, the "one big beautiful bill," Operation Midnight Hammer in Iran, Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela, Rising domestic oil and gas production, and: The wonderful combination of falling inflation and rising wages. Most important to the world of his achievements in his first year back: President Trump is not only the commander in chief of the mightiest military in history, he’s demonstrated that knows how to use it. Trump has restored America’s deterrence—a power that that had been forfeited by Biden and our collapse in Afghanistan. Iran, Islamist terrorists across Africa, from Somalia to Nigeria and Nicholas Maduro have all suffered devastating blows that punished them for behavior outside the guardrails that President Trump set. American  leadership is back.

There’s very little left that’s sacred in American political life. Until recently, houses of worship were one of the few exceptions. No longer. In Minnesota, far-left agitators stormed a church service. Their stated goal was to find the pastor, whom they claimed worked for ICE. The First Amendment protects free speech, as it should. Americans have the right to petition their government for redress of grievances. That includes the right to protest government actions that offend their conscience. But protest must be peaceful. Once it turns violent, it becomes criminal conduct. And when a mob breaks into a church during services to pursue a pastor, threatening peaceful worshippers, it’s something even uglier. It’s domestic terror. What happened at the Minnesota church crossed a bright line in American life. The mob should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“Well, we have to ask,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro recalls being pressed. No, they really didn't. In his new memoir, Shapiro tells the true story of his interaction with Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. The vetting process, headed by former Attorney General Eric Holder, obsessed over Shapiro’s views on Israel. In fact, the vetting team demanded to know if Shapiro had ever been an agent for the Israeli government—on no evidentiary basis except that Shapiro is Jewish. This is an ancient libel against Jews—driving the Spanish Inquisition, the pogroms in eastern Europe, the Dreyfus Affair in France and, of course Germany under the Nazis. It’s the anti-Semitic assumption that a Jew living as a Jew is suspect of disloyalty on that basis alone. And now it’s come to America embraced by the Democrat Party itself—part of its presidential campaign in 2024. Kamala Harris needs to answer for this repulsive development—and so does her party.

This past Sunday, the unthinkable happened. A leftist mob aided and abetted by former CNN host, Don Lemon, burst into an evangelical congregation at worship on the Lord's Day. It happened as Citi's Church in St. Paul, Minnesota was worshiping this past Sunday. Angry protestors invaded the church, stopped its worship, intimidated its members, and demanded that the church denounce one of its elders who is currently serving as acting field director for US immigrations and customs enforcement, better known as ICE. Is this where we are headed? Invading a church engaged in worship on the Lord's Day is the breaking of a bright moral line. Children and young people in this Southern Baptist congregation were traumatized. This is flatly wrong and clearly scandalous. Federal authorities need to act and responsible citizens need to remind our fellow citizens that ICE is an official federal law enforcement agency and is to be fully respected. This church invasion was a first. It likely won't be the last.

Chalk up a significant win for religious freedom—this time from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court ruled that religious organizations have the right to hire people who share their faith, even for non-ministerial roles like administrative assistants or technicians. In other words, faith-based organizations don’t lose their religious identity the moment someone steps out of the pulpit and into an office. The decision applies only to religious organizations themselves, not to secular businesses or hospitals they may operate. But it still matters a great deal. At stake is a basic principle: religious groups exist to advance a mission grounded in shared beliefs. Every employee contributes to that mission in some way. Forcing a religious organization to hire people who reject its core convictions undermines its very purpose. Kudos to the Ninth Circuit for recognizing this simple truth.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments on cases that could determine whether states have the authority to preserve women’s sports for biological females. The cases, from Idaho and West Virginia, challenge laws that restrict girls’ and women’s athletic teams to participants of the same biological sex. Transgender students argue these laws violate Title IX and the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. But beneath the legal claims lies a more fundamental question: who gets to define what it means to be a woman under the law? The Court must decide whether government is required to treat self-declared gender identity as determinative—or whether it can rely on the objective reality of biological sex. Upholding these laws protects fairness and safety in women’s sports. More importantly, it prevents sex (and womanhood itself!) from becoming an arbitrary legal construct. That matters.

The difference between the illusion of power and its reality is the difference between the Ayatollah Khamenei and President Donald Trump. Trump is on the cusp of joining the very small number of American presidents who reorder the world. Khamenei is on the cusp of history’s abyss reserved for murderous fanatics. The belief in the unlimited power of a totalitarian government to maintain itself and protect its rulers is a dangerous conceit, as Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro have both discovered. It may be that Ayatollah Khamenei is in the process of discovering the same hard reality: Nogovernment, no matter how ruthless, can endure for centuries or even decades in the face of a resentful population. Not even the rulers of Rome at the height of the Caesars were guaranteed an endless run of power. If either the U.S. or the Israeli’s provide the final push, the great people of Persia will re-emerge and regain their place among the great civilizations on the planet. We wish them well.

On paper, the regime in Iran should represent everything that Western progressives reject. Women experience brutal oppression and are treated like chattel belonging to male family members. The economy centers on the nation's military-industrial complex, with the IRGC controlling 40% or more of the nation's economic output. Don’t forget how the mullahs treat the LGBTQ community, religious minorities, indigenous peoples, and so on. And yet, the mainstream media waited nearly two weeks to report on the uprising in Iran. Progressive publications like The Nation, the New Republic, and Slate never mentioned it. The Golden Globes vented about Trump and ICE—but remained silent on Iran. Why the silence? As Yascha Mounk wrote on Monday, the Left’s hatred of the Western democracy makes Iran’s theocratic tyrants their natural allies. Their silence is their expression of grief that true liberty may prevail in Tehran and vindicate Western values.

On paper, the regime in Iran should represent everything that Western progressives reject. Women experience brutal oppression and are treated like chattel belonging to male family members. The economy centers on the nation's military-industrial complex, with the IRGC controlling 40% or more of the nation's economic output. Don’t forget how the mullahs treat the LGBTQ community, religious minorities, indigenous peoples, and so on. And yet, the mainstream media waited nearly two weeks to report on the uprising in Iran. Progressive publications like The Nation, the New Republic, and Slate never mentioned it. The Golden Globes vented about Trump and ICE—but remained silent on Iran. Why the silence? As Yascha Mounk wrote on Monday, the Left’s hatred of the Western democracy makes Iran’s theocratic tyrants their natural allies. Their silence is their expression of grief that true liberty may prevail in Tehran and vindicate Western values.

When Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City, he took his oath on the Koran, rather than a Bible. In America, free exercise of religion is a constitutional right. Mamdani was absolutely entitled to swear his oath on his faith’s sacred text. But texts matter, and so do the principles they enshrine. In the Bible, political authority is limited and not divine. Church and state distinct, and individual conscience is separate from government power. Under the Quran, religious and political authority are one and the same, and the state is understood to be an instrument for enforcing divine law. Judeo-Christian thought made limited government possible by insisting that the state isn’t sacred. Under Islam, conscience is subordinate to religious authority. That distinction matters. Americans should be paying attention.

Three things were said in the aftermath of the remarkable “Operation Absolute Resolve,” in Venezuela that sum up well what some have called the “Donroe Doctrine.” During the press conference that followed the impressive military action, Secretary of State Rubio said: “President Trump doesn’t play games.” This president must be taken seriously. And Rubio’s absolutely right, he doesn’t. Just a bit after Rubio is done, President Trump declared simply but directly: “Life is a deal.” The president doesn’t ask for unreasonable things—and our enemies and adversaries do well to deal with him. And then, on Air Force One on Sunday, a reporter asked the president what would happen next in Venezuela? President Trump replied: “It depends.” The administration is watching closing how—in this case—Venezuela responds. There in those three short statements is, in a nutshell, what we have tagged the “Donroe Doctrine.” It seems pretty simple to me. The U.S. is no longer playing games.

Nearly six years ago, Minneapolis burned for days after the death of George Floyd. That riot, fueled by rage-filled rhetoric, touched off riots in other American cities. Lives were lost, businesses destroyed and Minneapolis has never really recovered. Did anyone learn a lesson about leadership and measured responses? Not in Minneapolis. Mayor Jacob Frey watched his city burn that summer. And this week: After an immigration officer shot and killed a driver that attempted to run him down, Frey had an opportunity to call for calm and ask Minnesotans to wait for a proper investigation. Instead, he screamed expletives into a microphone, claimed ICE is “killing people,” and that they should “get the [blank] out of Minneapolis.” Embattled Governor Tim Walz was little better than Frey this week, calling DHS a “propaganda machine.” They learned nothing from 2020. Frey and Walz want to pander to outrage rather than govern rationally. This is not leadership.

Donald Trump has driven Democrats into madness … again. In a stunning and bold move, Trump ordered the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who had kept his grip on power after losing an election in 2024. Maduro had indictments for drug trafficking, as well as connections to Hezbollah. His removal makes the United States safer, and makes tyrants in Iran, Russia, and China weaker. In response, Democrats have rushed to defend Maduro and cast Trump as the villain. Democrats have attempted this every time Trump has succeeded in improving American security, most notably in closing the southern border and enforcing immigration law.  This time, however, Axios reports that even some Democrats in Congress are pushing back on Trump derangement. Recalling that Democrats have spent years condemning Maduro and the stolen election, one observed: “I think it looks weak. If you don’t acknowledge when there is a win for our country, then you lose all credibility.” Donald Trump keeps racking up the wins. And Democrats keep doubling down on derangement. 

Zohran Mamdani was inaugurated mayor of New York City on January 1st—and he’s already moving aggressively to put a hard left stamp on his new administration. Just twenty-five years after Islamic terrorists brought down the World Trade Center, Mamdani appointed a former lawyer for an al Qaeda operative as the city’s top attorney. He overturned an executive order prohibiting boycotts of Israeli businesses and organizations. And he scrapped another executive order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, as well as one designed to keep houses of worship from being overrun by protestors. New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel. During his campaign, Mamdani pledged to protect the city’s Jewish community. But now he’s sending very different and disturbing signals. Jewish Americans are wary of Mayor Mamdani. They’re right to be.

In 1981, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick said the election of Ronald Reagan meant the United States was taking the “kick me” sign off its back.  So, too, is that true with President Donald Trump.  The deposing and arrest of the Fidel Castro of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is the latest example. Because of Trump, Maduro is not running drugs, nor a gauntlet of death for innocents, nor a criminal cartel… but he may be running a criminal defense team in New York. The liberation of Venezuela will come with collateral positives: Iran’s mullahs know clearly that they are not dealing with a tentative American president who will continue to allow their death march targeting our country; we’ll see a dramatic drop in cocaine and criminality exported to the U.S.; Russia, China, and Hezbollah will be on their heels in our region, not their toes; Cuba will be strangled of vast economic support And, finally: protestors will know they finally have America on their side. Americans are safer. Freedom is expanding. Peace through strength is back.

In 1981, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick said the election of Ronald Reagan meant the United States was taking the “kick me” sign off its back.  So, too, is that true with President Donald Trump.  The deposing and arrest of the Fidel Castro of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is the latest example. Because of Trump, Maduro is not running drugs, nor a gauntlet of death for innocents, nor a criminal cartel… but he may be running a criminal defense team in New York. The liberation of Venezuela will come with collateral positives: Iran’s mullahs know clearly that they are not dealing with a tentative American president who will continue to allow their death march targeting our country; we’ll see a dramatic drop in cocaine and criminality exported to the U.S.; Russia, China, and Hezbollah will be on their heels in our region, not their toes; Cuba will be strangled of vast economic support And, finally: protestors will know they finally have America on their side. Americans are safer. Freedom is expanding. Peace through strength is back.

In a stunning act of moral obtuseness, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently created a reparations fund for the city’s black community. Just for starters, racial reparations are illegal — barred by California’s Proposition 209 and the U.S. Constitution. Both forbid governmental discrimination based on race.  But reparations are also morally wrong. It’s unjust to take from people who never owned slaves in order to give to those who were never enslaved — especially in a state that never had slavery. Supporters claim reparations will heal historic wounds. They actually deepen them. Once government divides Americans by race and stokes grievance politics, there’s no limiting principle. You can’t legitimize racial sorting for some groups and not expect it to fuel resentment in others.  The answer isn’t race-baiting policies like reparations. We’re all Americans. It’s time our leaders acted like it.

Too often, it may seem that our jury system doesn’t hold powerful people to account. This time, it did. A federal jury has convicted Milawaukee judge Hannah Dugan of a felony: obstructing federal agents who were attempting to arrest an illegal immigrant defendant in her courtroom.  Dugan’s case drew national attention last spring. ICE agents were waiting outside her courtroom to arrest an illegal immigrant, who was also a defendant in her courtroom on battery charges. Dugan sent the agents to speak with the chief judge, then ushered the defendant out through a discreet back door. Judge Dugan was free to disagree with federal immigrant law or its enforcement. She wasn’t free to ignore it because it didn’t conform to her policy preferences. Judges don’t get to decide which laws apply to them. When they break the law, consequences follow.

As we move toward the end of the year—and look at January and 2026 in front us, it’s it is worth remembering that January is named after the Roman figure “Janus,” whose head looked forward and backward. Looking backward, it was a year with some awful moments. We lost one of the youngest and brightest of our age in Charlie Kirk as well as one of the oldest and brightest of the age that educated all of us, Norman Podhoretz.  The conservative constellation weeps over 2025.  But as we look forward, we have much to celebrate and build on: Namely: Our 250th anniversary as a country which still very much is, as Lincoln said, “the last best hope of earth.”  And, second, a presidency that has sidelined transnational progressivism in favor of Western superiority.  Finally, the hope we all have for the uplift of our fellow citizens and the destruction of the enemies of civilization in a world torn between civilizational abuse and civilizational liberation. From the Salem Media family to all of you: Happy New Year!

As we move toward the end of the year—and look at January and 2026 in front us, it’s it is worth remembering that January is named after the Roman figure “Janus,” whose head looked forward and backward. Looking backward, it was a year with some awful moments. We lost one of the youngest and brightest of our age in Charlie Kirk as well as one of the oldest and brightest of the age that educated all of us, Norman Podhoretz.  The conservative constellation weeps over 2025.  But as we look forward, we have much to celebrate and build on: Namely: Our 250th anniversary as a country which still very much is, as Lincoln said, “the last best hope of earth.”  And, second, a presidency that has sidelined transnational progressivism in favor of Western superiority.  Finally, the hope we all have for the uplift of our fellow citizens and the destruction of the enemies of civilization in a world torn between civilizational abuse and civilizational liberation. From the Salem Media family to all of you: Happy New Year!

America has many allies in what promises to be a decades-long Cold War 2.0 between the U.S. and its allies and the alliance of tyrants, led by China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Putin, Iran’s Khamenei and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. This quartet of dictators has some fourth-string powers allied with it in our hemisphere, like Venezuela’s Maduro and Cuba’s Miguel Díaz-Canel. President Donald Trump is in the process of securing the Western Hemisphere against this alliance. He stated what I’d call the “Trump Doctrine.” In all caps: "YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE U.S.A." In less than 25 words, President Trump put the whole globe on notice. The key word he included in his post: "THREATEN." As 2025 comes to a close, the GOP is united on national defense. That’s a gift for everyone, whether they know it or not.

Global antisemitism has surged since the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023. Now a civil-rights watchdog is exposing just how pervasive the problem has become on American college campuses. StopAntisemitism’s 2025 campus report card examined conditions at ninety U.S. universities — and the findings are alarming. Thirty-nine percent of Jewish students say they’ve felt forced to hide their identity. Sixty-five percent feel unwelcome in parts of their own campuses. And fifty-eight percent report that their universities failed to protect them. Young people — members of a peaceful religious minority — are being targeted and marginalized at institutions that claim to prize inclusion. Even worse, administrators charged with maintaining safe, civilized learning environments are too often looking the other way. Less than a century ago, the world vowed: “Never again.” Those words ring hollow when hatred is tolerated — or excused — in plain sight.

Most of you know about Handel’s Messiah, perhaps the most popular and enduring work of George Frideric Handel. But few remember Charles Jennens, who wrote and conceived of the idea of the Oratorio, The Messiah. The Oratorio is still performed thousands of times worldwide at Christmas. Jennens wrote The Libretto. That's the text of Messiah, tying together the Bible central story, God's salvation of His people through the work of the Messiah. He used the very words of the Bible for his text. His purpose was to remind the audience of the truth and power of the story of salvation, and thus his attention on the Birth of Christ. Handel put the words to majestic music in just 21 days. For unto us, a child is born. That is the prophet's declaration. That's God's great gift to us at Christmas. Merry Christmas.