The Middle Class Can’t Keep Up With Persistent Inflation Forever

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It seems unlikely that one issue — indeed, one chart — could define the politics of the last several years and even the last decade. Yet the pattern seems clear.

A recent Wall Street Journal article explained how the middle class feels increasingly squeezed by post-pandemic price hikes. Quotes from families seeking the light at the end of the tunnel show how American households feel stuck in an ever-growing vise by prices rising faster than their incomes can keep up.

A fascinating graphic in the article, taken from University of Michigan consumer survey data polling the middle class, shows how families’ perception of their personal financial situation has deteriorated:

Photo credit: Wall Street Journal

The trendlines in the graphic show the strength of the economy in President Trump’s first term, when majorities said they felt better off personally, and only about 15-20 percent of households felt worse off in the years before the pandemic. They explain why Trump won his victory over Kamala Harris last fall; roughly two times as many people felt worse off than better off after four years of “Bidenflation.” And they also provide a clear reason for Republicans’ electoral losses this November, because the middle class’s mood has changed little since the 2024 election.

So how can conservatives respond? Trying to claim inflation doesn’t exist won’t cut it because people see price increases with their own eyes. I see it every week when I go to the grocery store: A pack of raisins previously priced at $2.99 now goes for $3.29 (a 10 percent bump); the toilet paper that was $5.99 now retails for $7.29 (a 22 percent jump); the package of bratwursts that used to cost $3.50 now goes for $5.00 (a 43 percent increase). I consider myself luckier than most, having paid off my mortgage years ago, but the weekly shop still feels painful. (Read more from “The Middle Class Can’t Keep Up With Persistent Inflation Forever” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Portland’s Woke ‘Tree’ Lighting Ceremony Sparks Outrage: ‘They Can’t Even Say Christmas Tree’

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Portland has sparked outrage after stripping its Christmas tree of its name, referring to it only as “the tree” during its lighting ceremony.

As thousands gathered in Pioneer Courthouse Square for the Oregon city’s 41st annual tree-lighting on Friday night, leaders and speakers avoided mentioning “Christmas” at any point — including in the ceremony itself and the event’s ads.

The festive occasion was kicked off with a woman from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs thanking everyone in the crowd for coming out on Native American Heritage Day.

She introduced two younger members of the tribe, who referred to the celebration only as “the tree lighting,” before handing the microphone to another featured speaker.

Draped in a Palestinian flag, the woman used her stage time to lead the crowd in a “Free Palestine” chant.

“This is the perfect time to bring this up. There are a lot of genocides going on,” she said only moments into the tree-lighting ceremony. (Read more from “Portland’s Woke ‘Tree’ Lighting Ceremony Sparks Outrage: ‘They Can’t Even Say Christmas Tree’” HERE)

Northeast Set to Be Blasted by ‘Most Extreme Cold on Earth’ Before Christmas

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The northeastern US is set to be blasted with some of the most extreme cold on Earth before Christmas, according to a shocking new forecast.

“My thinking is that the cold the first week of December is the appetizer and the main course will be in mid-December,” MIT climatologist Judah Cohen told USA Today.

Photo credit: NOAA

“The most expansive region of most likely extreme cold on Earth stretches from the Canadian Plains to the U.S. East Coast in the 3rd week of December,” Cohen said, citing findings from his weather modeling computer.

That deadly cold air will come from the movement of the polar vortex dipping low and bringing cold arctic air over the States.

Exactly how frigid the temperatures is not yet clear, but Cohen expects them to dip below what is being felt this week. (Read more from “Northeast Set to Be Blasted by ‘Most Extreme Cold on Earth’ Before Christmas” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Global Military Industrial Complex Has Never Had It So Good

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The global war business scored record revenues in 2024 amid multiple protracted proxy conflicts across the world, according to a new industry analysis released on Monday.

The top 100 arms manufacturers in the world raked in $679 billion in revenue in 2024, up 5.9% from the year prior, according to a new Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) study. The figure marks the highest ever revenue for manufacturers recorded by SIPRI as the group credits major conflicts for supplying the large appetite for arms around the world.

“The rise in the total arms revenues of the Top 100 in 2024 was mostly due to overall increases in the arms revenues of companies based in Europe and the United States,” SIPRI said in their report. “There were year-on-year increases in all the geographical areas covered by the ranking apart from Asia and Oceania, which saw a slight decrease, largely as a result of a notable drop in the total arms revenues of Chinese companies.”

Notably, Chinese arms manufacturers saw a large drop in reported revenues, declining 10% from 2023 to 2024, according to SIPRI. Just off China’s shores, Japan’s arms industry saw the largest single year-over-year increase in revenue of all regions measured, jumping 40% from 2023 to 2024.

American companies dominate the top of the list, which measures individual companies’ revenue, with Lockheed Martin taking the top spot with $64,650,000,000 of arms revenue in 2024, according to the report. (Read more from “Global Military Industrial Complex Has Never Had It So Good” HERE)

Trump Suggests Rep. Ilhan Omar Be Thrown ‘Out Of’ U.S. Over Claims She Married Her Brother

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President Donald Trump suggested that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) should be removed from the United States, referencing allegations that she “supposedly” entered the country by marrying her brother.

“Somalia, where you have a Congressman goes around telling everybody about our Constitution, yet she supposedly came into our country by marrying her brother,” Trump said while speaking to reporters on Air Force One. “Well, if that’s true, she shouldn’t be a Congressman, and we should throw her the hell out of our country.”

While talking to reporters, Trump also stated that the U.S. doesn’t need people coming into the country, “telling us what to do.”

Trump’s comments come as Omar and other Democrats have defended Minnesota’s Somali community, despite reports that there is evidence of “widespread fraud of taxpayers’ healthcare programs” taking place. Trump has previously announced that he would be terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) amnesty for Somalians, over reports that billions of dollars are missing. (Read more from “Trump Suggests Rep. Ilhan Omar Be Thrown ‘Out Of’ U.S. Over Claims She Married Her Brother” HERE)

Trump Declares Venezuelan Airspace “Closed in Its Entirety,” Prepares for Land Strikes

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Donald Trump has escalated U.S. pressure on Venezuela, declaring Saturday that all airspace over and surrounding the country should be “considered closed in its entirety.” The announcement, made in a post on Truth Social, warned airlines, pilots, and criminal traffickers to avoid the region.

“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” Trump wrote.

U.S. carriers have not flown to or from Venezuela since 2019, when commercial flights were suspended amid safety and political concerns. However, some international and transit flights continued to cross high-altitude routes over Venezuelan airspace.

The new directive comes alongside recent guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which on Nov. 21 issued a notice urging airlines to avoid flying over Venezuela because of increased military activity and security risks in the region.

Trump’s airspace closure is part of a broader escalation: in remarks just days earlier, he said that land strikes on Venezuela would begin “very soon.” The administration frames the move as an effort “to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers.”

Since early September, the U.S. has carried out a series of naval strikes on vessels alleged to be involved in narcotics smuggling in Caribbean waters; U.S. officials claim the strikes have killed dozens of suspected traffickers.

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro swiftly condemned Trump’s announcement, calling it “a colonialist threat” and a “hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act” that violates international law and Venezuelan sovereignty.

Venezuela also cited the closure to suspend deportation and migrant-return flights previously coordinated with the U.S. government.

With U.S. military presence mounting in nearby Caribbean waters, and the administration signaling possible land operations, tensions between Washington and Caracas remain extremely high. Analysts warn that further steps — including possible air or ground strikes — may dramatically escalate the conflict.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Damning Report Labels FBI ‘Rudderless Ship’ Under Kash Patel — With He and Dan Bongino More Concerned With Building ‘Personal Résumés’

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FBI Director Kash Patel is facing withering criticism from an alliance of active-duty and retired agents and analysts, days after the White House denied media reports that the president is about to fire him.

A troubling new report card on the first six months of Patel’s leadership concludes he is “in over his head” and his deputy, Dan Bongino, is “something of a clown,” according to the alliance, which in two previous reports warned about crippling DEI and politicization of the FBI during the Biden administration.

The Patel-led FBI is described in the 115-page report as a “rudderless ship” and “all f–ked up.”

Patel is described by multiple internal sources as inexperienced, with one source saying he “has neither the breadth of experience nor the bearing an FBI director needs to be successful.”

Another source, a self-professed Trump supporter, said Patel is “not very good,” “may be insecure,” and “lacks the requisite experience” or the “measured self-confidence” to be FBI director. (Read more from “Damning Report Labels FBI ‘Rudderless Ship’ Under Kash Patel — With He and Dan Bongino More Concerned With Building ‘Personal Résumés’” HERE)

‘Get Off YOUR Ass’: MTG, Mike Cernovich Get Heated Over Her Resignation From Congress

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Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene got into a heated exchange with conservative commentator Mike Cernovich on X this past week following Greene’s resignation announcement.

The exchange began when Greene posted about the percentage of American-based accounts on X. “Many accounts are paid and many are foreign and they post and comment all day with targeted talking points in order to sway your opinion…Real life is tangible, involves relationships with people, productive work, and all the fun amazing adventures the beautiful world has to offer.” Cernovich responded to the post by saying “You need to serve out your full term.”

Greene responded the following morning, saying “[s]hit posting on the internet all day isn’t fighting. Get off YOUR ass and run for Congress.” Her response was viewed by over six million people. The heated exchange continued with Cernovich reiterating his opinion that Greene must serve her full term, and Greene pushing back.

(Read more from “‘Get Off YOUR Ass’: MTG, Mike Cernovich Get Heated Over Her Resignation From Congress” HERE)

Trump Stands by Calling Tim Walz ‘Retarded’: ‘There’s Something Wrong with Him’

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President Donald Trump on Sunday stood by his comments Thursday in which he called Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), the 2024 Democrat vice presidential nominee, “retarded.”

Aboard Air Force One, en route from Palm Beach to Washington, DC, a reporter asked Trump if he stood by slamming Walz as “retarded” in a Thanksgiving Truth Social post.

“Yeah, I think there’s something wrong with him,” Trump said. “Do you have a problem with it?”

“I think there’s something wrong with him … Anybody that would allow those people into a state and pay billions of dollars out to Somalia. We gave billions of dollars to Somalia — it’s not even a country because it doesn’t function like a country. It’s got a name, but it doesn’t function like a country. Yeah, there’s something wrong with Walz,” he added.

Trump said in his post on Thanksgiving that the country’s “refugee burden is the leading cause of social dysfunction in America, something that did not exist after World War II,” before he bashed Walz.

(Read more from “Trump Stands by Calling Tim Walz ‘Retarded’: ‘There’s Something Wrong with Him’” HERE)

Special Election May Reveal Early Warning Signs for the 2026 Midterms

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. . .Democrat Aftyn Behn is trying to tip the scales in favor of her party in a district which President Trump carried by about 20 points and former Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., won by a similar percentage last fall.

Behn faces GOPer Matt Van Epps. It’s a Republican district. But political observers are watching the race to gauge potential weakness by President Trump, a softness in the Trump coalition, issues with the Republican brand or early indications of a possible blue wave in the 2026 midterms.

Depending on who you ask, the race for Tennessee’s 7th congressional district – between Republican nominee Matt Van Epps, former state Department of General Services, and Aftyn Behn, a Democratic state representative – may be headed for a photo finish. . .

About all Behn left out in her animus toward Music City was dissing The Grand Ole Opry, hot chicken and Goo Goo Clusters. But if voters go goo goo over Behn Tuesday, Republicans face a cluster of another sort. A Behn victory may signal major problems for Republicans and President Trump heading into the midterms.

Behn is characterized as the “AOC of Tennessee,” a reference to progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Republicans have been sure to boomerang that against Behn, suggesting she’s not in tune with the district, leans too far to the left and is closer to the liberal values of New York or Los Angeles than Nashville. Republicans believe Behn is just a bad fit for Nashville. Kind of like having Bad Bunny perform at the Ryman Auditorium.

“It shouldn’t even be close. But it is,” mused Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., on Fox. (Read more from “Special Election May Reveal Early Warning Signs for the 2026 Midterms” HERE)