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Rasmussen Poll Finds Hispanic Voters Backing Republicans 50 to 42
A Rasmussen Reports survey of Hispanic likely voters, taken Sept. 24-30, found 50 percent backing Republicans and 42 percent backing Democrats on the generic congressional ballot. The sample was 1,794 likely voters. An InteractivePolls graphic of the same survey put the Republican edge at 13 points, against an 8-point lead in the 50-42 split. Other surveys in the same window disagree. Emerson had Democrats up 33, The Argument up 30, McLaughlin up 29, NBC/Telemundo up 24, and CBS/YouGov up 21. ActiVote had Republicans up 4. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Monday found only 26 percent of Hispanic registered voters planning to vote Republican, against 52 percent for Democrats, and put Hispanic approval of President Donald Trump at 24 percent. Ballotpedia has credited Rasmussen with the most accurate popular-vote poll of the 2016 election. Someone in this pile is wrong.
đď¸ News & Politics
Trump Signs Order Opening Tax-Exempt Dyed Diesel to Highway Use
President Trump signed an executive order Monday in Grand Island, Nebraska, expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel through the end of the year. He said the directive waives the off-road limit and lets anyone buy the dyed fuel now reserved for agriculture and some off-road vehicles. The order tells the treasury secretary, in consultation with the Pentagon chief, to defer the federal excise tax on on-road use of dyed diesel through Dec. 31 without interest or penalties, and to look at ways to drop the deferred tax. It also tells the agriculture secretary to keep farmers supplied in high-demand areas and the transportation secretary to work with states, industry, and labor on access. Trump said he hopes the waiver will not be needed long, and that a typical trucker would save more than $100 a fill-up. Diesel hit about $6.50 a gallon last month after attacks on refineries tied to the war with Iran and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Justice Department Files Denaturalization Cases Against 40 Naturalized Citizens
The Justice Department said Monday it filed denaturalization actions in multiple federal district courts against 40 naturalized citizens accused of serious offenses. The complaints were submitted between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2. Attorney General Todd Blanche called the announcement âthe largest denaturalization effort in modern historyâ and said the defendants, âfrom an individual convicted of espionage to others convicted of sexual offenses against minors,â concealed critical facts from the government. Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate called it âthe largest denaturalization effort in department historyâ and said every one of the 40 âlied their way into U.S. citizenship.â The alleged conduct includes acting as an agent for a foreign government, voluntary manslaughter, and aggravated sodomy against a man with special needs. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a court may revoke naturalization that was illegally procured or obtained by concealment or willful misrepresentation.
Trump Approves Army Firing Squad for Fort Hood Killer Nidal Hasan
President Trump has approved a Pentagon recommendation that convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan be executed by a U.S. Army firing squad. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recommended the method, and Trump signed off on it. Hasan, then an Army psychiatrist, opened fire on unarmed soldiers at the Texas base in November 2009, killing 13 and wounding 32 while shouting âAllahu Akbar.â A military jury convicted him in 2013 of premeditated murder and attempted murder and sentenced him to death. He has been held on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place. If carried out, it would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.
Wisconsin Researchers Spent Years on Tech China Can Use to Watch Its Roads
A Strategy Risks report released Tuesday says University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers spent nearly a decade on projects with Chinese partners that can tighten Beijingâs surveillance state and feed its military. The school set up a Joint Research Institute in 2017 with Southeast University, which the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and a House China committee report have tied to civil-military fusion. The work covered autonomous vehicles and systems that can watch cars and, at the top level, send commands to them. In March 2022 the institute signed a cooperation deal with Tencent Cloud. The Pentagon later listed Tencentâs parent as a Chinese military company. Five UW-Madison researchers were among 46 contributors to a Chinese industry report whose drafting units included the Traffic Management Research Institute of Chinaâs Ministry of Public Security. Some of the work drew U.S. federal grants. Separately, UW physicists joined Tianlai, a radio-astronomy array in Xinjiang, alongside CETC 54, a sanctioned contractor for Peopleâs Liberation Army communications gear. The firm said it found no evidence of espionage or theft. A lawyer for a UW professor said the institute was never operational, funded, or staffed by the university. The school did not comment.
MAGA Inc. Will Pay for Patriotic Ads After Left Gins-Up Taxpayer Backlash
President Trump said Monday that his super PAC, MAGA Inc., will cover television ads that had been airing with taxpayer money and the tagline âPaid for by the U.S. Government.â He wrote on Truth Social that critics were upset he was using âU.S.A. moneyâ for spots he called âa positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.,â and that he would pay for the âPatriotic Ads, among others,â himself and with money raised for MAGA Inc. The ads began late last month on cable and broadcast networks ahead of the midterms. Democrats and some Republicans criticized the spending. The money came from Customs & Border Protection after the Department of Homeland Security awarded LMD Agency a $20 million contract for a national media campaign starting Sept. 20. AdImpact put taxpayer spending on the ads at least $10.1 million as of Monday. A White House official said the PAC will pay going forward. Trump has said he is promoting the country, not himself, because he is not on the ballot.
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El-Sayed Pressed on Soros Ties After Attacking Big Money in Politics
Michigan Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed was pressed Monday after criticizing Republican opponent US Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) for taking corporate money. Asked about his ties to George Soros while he campaigns to get âmoney out of politicsâ, El-Sayed said there is âa big differenceâ and that he welcomes individual donors. âYou know what I donât do? I donât call corporations. I donât call AIPAC,â he said. âIndividuals who want to support a campaign, thatâs different.â The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans partly funded his graduate education. George Sorosâ nephew, Jeffrey Soros, hosted him at a Los Angeles fundraiser last month. A flyer said attendees could give up to $57,800 to the Abdul for Michigan Victory Fund. He was also asked about $30 million pledged by the Senate Majority PAC, which she said comes from corporations. Former President Barack Obama will campaign with El-Sayed in Detroit on Oct. 24, along with gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson (D). El-Sayed beat US Rep. Haley Stevens (R-MI) in the August primary and faces Rogers for an open seat.
Editorâs Note: Typical, lying, hypocritical DSAer.
Justice Department Report Finds White House Pressure Drove Garland School Board Memo
The Justice Departmentâs Weaponization Working Group released a report Monday tracing former Attorney General Merrick Garlandâs Oct. 4, 2021, memorandum to pressure from Biden White House officials and coordination with the National School Boards Association. The associationâs Sept. 29, 2021, letter asked the federal government to treat parent protests over school policies as potentially equivalent to domestic terrorism. Internal emails show more than a dozen department and FBI personnel called the plan ridiculous, political, and a poor fit for federal law, with one official saying officials might as well rename it the Anti-MAGA Task Force. Garland issued the memo anyway. It created a task force to find a federal hook for investigations, and the FBI opened 25 Guardian assessments on parents. A whistleblower said one mother was examined because she owned a gun and belonged to a right-wing mothers group. No parents are known to have been charged. The department said it will let targets review those files, add disclaimers citing constitutional concerns, and apologize where rights were violated.
Lost-It Carlson Questions Why Britain Fought Hitler in Interview
Tucker Carlson asked former British lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg why the United Kingdom fought the Second World War, then argued the decision wrecked the country. In an interview released Friday, Carlson said he had never understood the fight, cited German land lost under the Treaty of Versailles, and said the claim that Hitler ârandomly rolled into Poland is a lieâ. He added that he was âcertainly not defending Hitler,â then said Britain âdestroyed their empire and their country fighting this war that they still pretend was a good idea, but it wasnât.â Rees-Mogg called the war âthe classic good vs. evilâ and said Britons would otherwise âbe speaking German.â Carlson answered, âWho cares?â and said it would be nice to have âat least a European languageâ spoken in Britain. Rees-Mogg said Carlson was âverging on defending Hitler.â Carlson shot back that he was âjust a secret Nazi,â then said he was not. Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) rejected the remarks. Huckabee said Carlson was arguing the U.K. should have let the Nazis take over. Cruz said Britain, America, and the world were better off because the Nazis lost.
Editorâs Note: Someone should explore the possibility that Carlson has experienced some sort of brain damage.
Nickelodeon Parent Hub Steers Families to Race, Islam, and Gender Guides
Libs of TikTok flagged Nickelodeonâs parent resource hub on Monday, and the networkâs own pages match the complaint. The site, nickparents, carries a âParent Resourcesâ banner and the line âWe may not have all the answers...but we know some folks who might.â One tile is âTalk & Take Action: A Guide to Countering Racism and Anti-Blackness,â produced with The Conscious Kid. The educator version says âDismantling anti-Blackness begins with educationâ and âTeachers, weâre calling on you!â A companion page, âHow Kids Can Be Allies,â says no one is too young to be an ally and tells children to âtake on issues of racial injustice as your ownâ and to âcommit to doing the workâ as âa daily, lifelong practice.â A Nick News guide for âKids, Race and Unity,â hosted by Alicia Keys, states that children begin to show racial bias by age 3. A separate guide, written with the same partner, offers steps for âcountering Islamophobia,â including the claim that the most powerful step is to learn about the Islamic faith. The hub also points caregivers to a GLSEN guide on âcombating LGBTQ+ discrimination,â with key terms, conversation starters, a reading list, and a reflection journal. Other tiles cover gun violence and how to talk about the Capitol attack.
Collin County Neighborhood Fights Massive Mosques and a Muslim Housing Plan
Residents in McKinney are gathering signatures to recall the mayor and city council members who unanimously approved a mosque site plan after an August meeting that ran more than four hours. The McKinney Islamic Association wants a 5.6-acre project on Virginia Parkway with a mosque, classrooms, and a gym, more than 32,000 square feet and more than 200 parking spaces. Organizer Ashley Marie Louden said the council ignored constituents and that the opposition isn't mere bigotry. Board member Mehdi Elofir said the association met traffic, drainage, and environmental rules. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, about 50 protesters stood outside a Plano mosque with American flags and signs reading âDonât Mecca My Texas,â while counter-protesters held âLove Thy Neighbor.â East of town, the 1,000-home EPIC development, anchored by a mosque, remains on hold after Attorney General Ken Paxton sued over claims it would promote sharia. Collin Countyâs Muslim population rose from about 6,000 in 2000 to more than 37,000 in 2020. Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), co-founder of the Sharia-Free America Caucus, told the council that political Islam cannot be separated from the faith. Muslims at the meeting brought the Constitution and said worship is a right.
Editorâs Note: Islam, while couched as a religion, is much more. It is a poli-theocratic system that runs a parallel government to the Constitution. It is not compatible with the West.
ON THIS DAY IN 1949:
President Harry S. Truman signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Act into law, providing military aid to European allies to build up Cold War defenses. This legislation was a key operational component of the newly formed NATO treaty.
đ International
Teenager Loses Hand as French School Protests Shut Hundreds of Campuses
A 15-year-old boy lost a hand Monday in Lens as high-school blockades in France entered a third week and hundreds of schools closed. The unrest began in Paris's migrant suburbs, including Seine-Saint-Denis, where most residents are immigrants and foreign nationals, then spread nationwide. Protest footage from those districts showed Algerian, Moroccan, and Palestinian flags beside demands for more teachers. The government blamed the far left. Interior Minister Laurent NuĂąez called it urban violence. Education Minister Ădouard Geffray and Prime Minister SĂŠbastien Lecornu accused La France Insoumise of exploiting the blockades. Jean-Luc MĂŠlenchon told LFI officials and activists to put themselves in the way wherever they could. A Paris police note said the movement grew out of student unions and groups close to the far left. Saint-Denis Mayor Bally Bagayoko, an LFI official, said violence can be legitimate. Ifop found 69 percent of Muslim voters backed MĂŠlenchon in 2022. Near Auguste BĂŠhal high school, students threw stones, fireworks, and mortars at police. About 400 to 500 high schools were closed or partly closed.
Germany Arrests Former BND Chief on Treason and Espionage Charges
German federal police arrested August Hanning, 80, on Tuesday on suspicion of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage. He led the BND, Germanyâs foreign intelligence service, from December 1998 to November 2005, then worked as a consultant. Prosecutors also arrested his former chief of staff, identified only as Manfred D., who remained at the agency until this year. They say Manfred D. sold Hanning about 2,000 government documents, many classified, for payment between 2012 and March 2026. The files reportedly included material on Iranâs nuclear program, the Russian military, and secrets from allied services. Prosecutors say Hanning used the material to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service and shared political information with a representative of a spy agency. They have not named the foreign services. The case surfaced after a September search tied to the Christina Block child-abduction investigation turned up current BND documents he should not have had. They took him at his home in Nordwalde. German outlets are calling it the biggest espionage scandal of the century.
US Blockade Leaves More Than 50 Iranian Tankers Stuck Off the Coast
A United Against Nuclear Iran shipping update says a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has bottled up at least 50 laden Iranian tankers, mostly crude, with some petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas. The count is broadly unchanged from two months earlier. At least 11 loaded tankers are anchored east of Kharg Island, Iranâs main export terminal, and five more sit farther south. Empty tankers are waiting across the Indo-Pacific instead of returning to Iranian ports. At least 20 Iran-flagged ships are off Sri Lanka, and another is off Oman. Iranâs crude loadings fell to zero in September, and a US military tally says 130 vessels have been redirected. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran would have no oil on the water this week and no oil revenue, the first time since it began pumping. Goldman analysts said other Persian Gulf producers have filled the gap, lifting regional exports to 23.3 million barrels a day late last month, back to prewar levels, while Iranian barrels stay trapped.
Europe Lines Up to Buy Ukraineâs Battlefield-Tested Weapons
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on Sunday with defense executives and checkbooks, not another aid drop. German companies signed 14 agreements with Ukrainian partners worth about $7.4 billion, including IRIS-T missiles from Diehl Defense, Hensoldt radar, and jet-powered drone interceptors from Quantum Systems. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Germany is still helping Ukraine, and Ukraine is now sharing knowledge, experience, and orders. The shift follows years of weapons moving only east. In July, Brussels and Kyiv signed a defense-industrial partnership calling for joint drone and counter-drone production by the end of this year and anti-ballistic missiles by 2028. The EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance held its first board meeting last month. Hensoldt and Ukrainian missile maker Fire Point are working on Freyja, a ballistic-missile defense system built from field-tested parts. Poland signed a letter of intent in February to produce weapons jointly. Czech group CSG has moved from licensed artillery ammunition into missile and drone engines. France put $22.5 million behind Brave France, pairing companies to test missile, drone, and air-defense technology in combat. Ukrainian lawmaker Halyna Yanchenko said private firms can produce about five times what Kyiv can buy, so exports keep lines running. The friction is speed. Ukrainian developers change a drone while it is already in production. EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said design cycles need to run in weeks, not months.
British Greens Vote to Brand Zionism Racism and Back a Single Palestinian State
Members of the Green Party of England and Wales voted 1,022 to 813 at their Brighton conference on Sunday to declare the party anti-Zionist and to treat Zionism as any other form of racism. The motion defines Zionism as an ethnonationalist project that privileges one ethnic group through the subjugation of others, and it calls for a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital and a right of return for Palestinians and their descendants. Delegates rejected an amendment that would have stopped the policy from being used to pressure or discipline members over ties to Jewish institutions that describe themselves as Zionist. Leader Zack Polanski, a Jewish MP campaigning for a London by-election, did not take part in the vote. Four of the partyâs five members of Parliament opposed the motion. Israelâs foreign ministry condemned the text as beyond legitimate debate and barred Polanski from entering the country.
