July 28, 2025
OK, yesterday Trump went "bat Poop Crazy" according to Ali Velshi. He wanted a thank from the starving children in Gaza, he cheated at golf, he lied about tariff agreements, he went on and on about windmills, and my personal favorite that he ended the genocide in Rwanda. OK, it ended in 1994. Trump was very busy paling around with Epstein and ogling pre-teen and teenage girls at his beauty pageants. We are going to drive into Rwanda a little more in-depth because I wanted to learn more about it, but what Trump said was just par for the course!
https://youtu.be/dl-alb_uAuk?si=sAQP-vNS15uI1lF-
BAT POOP TRUMP! 'I Apologize for Journalism!' MSNBC's host EXPLODES embarrassing President mess
ews Jul 27, 2025 FOX CNN MSNBC CBS ABC - AMERICAN POLITICAL NEWS HIGH;IGHTS
#NEWS #TRUMP #politics 'I Apologize for Journalism!' MSNBC's Ali Velshi Hits the ROOF Over Reporter Asking Trump About Golf at Presser Trump Ursula Von Der Leyen PURE MESSY BRIEFING EPSTEIN PROBS GET TO HIM
Rwanda genocide of 1994
Written and fact-checked by
Last Updated: Jun 16, 2025 • Article History
Quick Facts
Date:
April 1994 - July 1994
Location:
Rwanda genocide of 1994, planned campaign of mass murder in Rwanda that occurred over the course of some 100 days in April–July 1994. The genocide was conceived by extremist elements of Rwanda’s majority Hutu population who planned to kill the minority Tutsi population and anyone who opposed those genocidal intentions. It is estimated that some 200,000 Hutu, spurred on by propaganda from various media outlets, participated in the genocide. More than 800,000 civilians—primarily Tutsi, but also moderate Hutu—were killed during the campaign. As many as 2,000,000 Rwandans fled the country during or immediately after the genocide.
Background
The major ethnic groups in Rwanda are the Hutu and the Tutsi, respectively accounting for more than four-fifths and about one-seventh of the total population. A third group, the Twa, constitutes less than 1 percent of the population. All three groups speak Rwanda (more properly, Kinyarwanda), suggesting that these groups have lived together for centuries.
The area that is now Rwanda is believed to have been initially settled by the Twa, who were closely followed by the Hutu, probably sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries, and then by the Tutsi, likely beginning in the 14th century. A long process of Tutsi migrations from the north culminated in the 16th century with the emergence of a small nuclear kingdom in the central region, ruled by the Tutsi minority, that persisted until the arrival of Europeans in the 19th century.
Social differences between the Hutu and the Tutsi traditionally were profound, as shown by the system of patron-client ties (buhake, or “cattle contract”) through which the Tutsi, with a strong pastoralist tradition, gained social, economic, and political ascendancy over the Hutu, who were primarily agriculturalists. Still, identification as either Tutsi or Hutu was fluid. While physical appearance could correspond somewhat to ethnic identification (the Tutsi were generally presumed to be light-skinned and tall, the Hutu dark-skinned and short), the difference between the two groups was not always immediately apparent, because of intermarriage and the use of a common language by both groups.
During the colonial era, Germany and later Belgium assumed that ethnicity could be clearly distinguished by physical characteristics and then used the ethnic differences found in their own countries as models to create a system whereby the categories of Hutu and Tutsi were no longer fluid. The German colonial government, begun in 1898 and continuing until 1916, pursued a policy of indirect rule that strengthened the hegemony of the Tutsi ruling class and the absolutism of its monarchy. That approach continued under Belgium, which took control of the colony after World War I and administered it indirectly, under the tutelage of the League of Nations.
Some Hutu began to demand equality and found sympathy from Roman Catholic clergy and some Belgian administrative personnel, which led to the Hutu revolution. The revolution began with an uprising on November 1, 1959, when a rumor of the death of a Hutu leader at the hands of Tutsi perpetrators led groups of Hutu to launch attacks on the Tutsi. Months of violence followed, and many Tutsi were killed or fled the country. A Hutu coup on January 28, 1961, which was carried out with the tacit approval of the Belgian colonial authorities, officially deposed the Tutsi king (he was already out of the country, having fled the violence in 1960) and abolished the Tutsi monarchy. Rwanda became a republic, and an all-Hutu provisional national government came into being. Independence was proclaimed the next year.
The transition from Tutsi to Hutu rule was not peaceful. From 1959 to 1961 some 20,000 Tutsi were killed, and many more fled the country. By early 1964 at least 150,000 Tutsi were in neighboring countries. Additional rounds of ethnic tension and violence flared periodically and led to mass killings of Tutsi in Rwanda, such as in 1963, 1967, and 1973.
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Tension between Hutu and Tutsi flared again in 1990, when Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels invaded from Uganda. A cease-fire was negotiated in early 1991, and negotiations between the RPF and the government of longtime president Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, began in 1992. An agreement between the RPF and the government, signed in August 1993 at Arusha, Tanzania, called for the creation of a broad-based transition government that would include the RPF. Hutu extremists were strongly opposed to that plan. Dissemination of their anti-Tutsi agenda, which had already been widely propagated via newspapers and radio stations for a few years, increased and would later serve to fuel ethnic violence.
Genocide
On the evening of April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Habyarimana and Burundian Pres. Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down over Kigali, Rwanda’s capital; the ensuing crash killed everyone on board. Although the identity of the person or group who fired upon the plane has never been conclusively determined, Hutu extremists were originally thought to be responsible. Later there were allegations that RPF leaders were responsible. The organized killing of Tutsi and moderate Hutu began that night, led by Hutu extremists. Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a moderate Hutu, was assassinated the next day, as were 10 Belgian soldiers (part of a United Nations peacekeeping force already in the country) who were guarding her. Her murder was part of a campaign to eliminate moderate Hutu or Tutsi politicians, with the goal of creating a political vacuum and thus allowing for the formation of an interim government of Hutu extremists assembled by Col. Théoneste Bagosora, who later would be identified as having played a significant role in organizing the genocide. The speaker of the National Development Council (Rwanda’s legislative body at the time), Theodore Sindikubwabo, became interim president on April 8, and the interim government was inaugurated on April 9.
Rwanda genocide of 1994Human remains and personal items of victims lying intermingled at a church where the victims had sought refuge during the Rwanda genocide of 1994. The site now serves as the Ntarama Genocide Memorial, Ntarama, Rwanda.
Rwanda genocide of 1994Skeletal remains of victims on display at a church where the victims had sought refuge during the Rwanda genocide of 1994. The site now serves as the Ntarama Memorial, Ntarama, Rwanda.
The next few months saw a wave of anarchy and mass killings, in which the army and Hutu militia groups known as the Interahamwe (“Those Who Attack Together”) and Impuzamugambi (“Those Who Have the Same Goal”) played a central role. Radio broadcasts further fueled the genocide by encouraging Hutu civilians to kill their Tutsi neighbors, who were referred to as “cockroaches” who needed to be exterminated. It is estimated that some 200,000 Hutu participated in the genocide, although some were unwilling and consequently were forced to do so by the army and Hutu militia groups. The methods for killing were typically quite brutal, with crude instruments often employed to pummel or hack away at victims. Machetes were commonly used. Rape was also used as a weapon and included the deliberate use of perpetrators infected with HIV/AIDS to carry out sexual assaults; as a result, many Tutsi women were intentionally infected with HIV/AIDS.
The United Nations (UN), which already had peacekeeping troops in the country for a monitoring mission (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda; UNAMIR), made unsuccessful attempts to mediate a cease-fire. On April 21, as the crisis deepened, the UN voted to reduce UNAMIR’s presence in the country from 2,500 troops to 270. That seemingly incomprehensible troop reduction at a time when assistance was sorely needed was rooted in such factors as the mission’s mandate, which required an effective cease-fire to be in place, and the inability of the UN to find more troops to bolster the mission, which it felt had already been stretched too thin to have a significant impact on the situation. On May 17, however, the UN reversed its decision and voted to establish a force of 5,500, composed of soldiers mainly from African countries, but those additional troops could not be immediately deployed. On June 22 the UN backed the deployment of a French-led military force, known as Operation Turquoise, into Rwanda to establish a safe zone; the operation was opposed by the RPF, which claimed that France had always supported the government and policies of President Habyarimana.
The RPF had rejected the legitimacy of the Hutu extremist interim government inaugurated in April and resumed fighting then; by April 12, RPF troops had invaded the outskirts of Kigali. The RPF were successful in securing most of the country by early July, taking Kigali on July 4. Extremist Hutu leaders, including those of the interim government, fled the country. A transitional government of national unity was established on July 19, with Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, as president and RPF leader Paul Kagame, a Tutsi, as vice president. The genocide had come to an end.
The duration of the 1994 genocide is usually described as 100 days, beginning on April 6 and ending in mid-July. (July 18 is one date often cited as the end of the genocide. July 19 is another. Both dates were slightly more than 100 days from the start of the genocide.) During the genocide more than 800,000 civilians, primarily Tutsi, were killed. Some estimates, including that of the Rwandan government, are higher. As many as 2,000,000 Rwandans, both Hutu and Tutsi, fled, most of them into eastern Zaire (after 1997 called the Democratic Republic of the Congo); the great majority returned to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997.
Aftermath
Once the genocide was over, the country faced years of reconciliation and recovery. Trying those who were thought responsible for genocidal acts was a primary focus, as was promoting national unity and rebuilding the country’s economy.
Prosecuting the perpetrators
Rwanda genocide fugitive posterPoster of fugitives wanted for the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s.
Those accused of participating in the genocide were primarily tried in one of three types of court systems: the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Rwandan national courts, or local gacaca courts. Some suspects who had fled Rwanda were tried in the countries in which they were found.
ICTR
In November 1994 the UN responded to charges of genocide in Rwanda by creating the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; formally known as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994).
The ICTR was international in composition and was located in Arusha, Tanzania. The tribunal was not empowered to impose capital punishment; it could impose only terms of imprisonment. The governing statute of the ICTR defined war crimes broadly. Murder, torture, deportation, and enslavement were subject to prosecution, but the ICTR also stated that genocide included “subjecting a group of people to a subsistence diet, systematic expulsion from homes and the reduction of essential medical services below minimum requirement.” In addition, it ruled that “rape and sexual violence constitute genocide…as long as they were committed with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a particular group, targeted as such”—as was the case in the Rwandan conflict, where the Hutu-dominated interim government organized the mass rape of Tutsi women by HIV-infected men. The tribunal thus was among the first international bodies to formally recognize sexual violence as a war crime. (See also rape: Rape as a weapon of war.)
The statute of the ICTR limited the jurisdiction of the tribunal to Rwandan leaders, while lower-level defendants were to be tried in domestic courts. The ICTR statute did not consider the official position of an individual, including his position as head of state, to be a sufficient basis for avoiding or evading criminal culpability. Military and civilian leaders who had known or should have known that their subordinates were committing war crimes were subject to prosecution under the doctrine of command or superior responsibility. Individuals who had committed war crimes pursuant to government or military orders were not thereby relieved of criminal liability, though the existence of the orders could be used as a mitigating factor.
After extensive administrative and logistic delays, the ICTR completed its first cases in 1998. In May former Rwandan prime minister Jean Kambanda pleaded guilty to six charges of genocide and was sentenced to life imprisonment on September 4. In October 2000 Kambanda tried to revoke his guilty plea, but his motion was rejected by the ICTR.
A roadblock occurred in 1999, when Rwanda severed its relationship with the ICTR after the tribunal ordered the release, on procedural grounds, of Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, a prominent genocide suspect. He had been charged with orchestrating a media campaign that urged the Hutu to kill their Tutsi neighbors. The order to release him was suspended, though, and in February 2000 the Rwandan government announced that it would resume cooperation with the UN court. Barayagwiza stood trial later that year and was found guilty in 2003.
In April 2002 four senior military officers—including former colonel Bagosora, who was considered the main architect of the genocide—were brought to trial at the ICTR. The ICTR alleged that Bagosora had begun planning the genocide as early as 1992, and it charged that all four had trained the militias that killed Tutsi and moderate Hutu. The four were also considered responsible for the murders of 10 UN peacekeepers from Belgium and the murder of Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana in 1994. The other three defendants were former military commanders Anatole Nsengiyumva and Aloys Ntabakuze and the former chief of military operations, Gratien Kabiligi. On December 18, 2008, Bagosora was sentenced to life imprisonment for having masterminded the killings, and Nsengiyumva and Ntabakuze also received life sentences. Those were the first convictions for the organization of the genocide that were issued by the ICTR. Kabiligi was cleared of all charges. In December 2011 the ICTR Appeals Chamber reduced Bagosora’s life sentence to 35 years, and Nsengiyumva’s sentence was reduced to 15 years. Based on the time Nsengiyumva had already served, he was released immediately. The Appeals Chamber reduced Ntabakuze’s life sentence to 35 years in May 2012.
Several key perpetrators were sentenced to life imprisonment or other lengthy sentences in the following years, including former Kigali prefect Tharcisse Renzaho, who received a life sentence in 2009. The next year, convictions included those of Ildéphonse Hategekimana, the former commander of a military camp, who received a life sentence, and Ephrem Setako, a military officer and the former director of the legal affairs division of the Ministry of Defense, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 2011, notable convictions and sentences were those of the chief of staff of Rwanda Armed Forces at the time of the genocide, Augustin Bizimungu, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the former minister of women’s development, who was sentenced to life in prison; in December 2015, however, the Appeals Chamber reduced her life sentence to 47 years. Nyiramasuhuko was the first woman to be convicted of genocide by an international court. High-profile convictions and sentences in 2012 included those of Callixte Nzabonimana, the former minister of youth and associate movements, who received a life sentence, and Ildéphonse Nizeyimana, a former officer at a military academy, who also was sentenced to life imprisonment, though in 2014 the Appeals Chamber reduced his sentence to 35 years. One of the murders that Nizeyimana was convicted of being responsible for was that of Rosalie Gicanda, a Tutsi and the former queen of Rwanda.
The ICTR completed its last trial on December 20, 2012, and closed on December 31, 2015. By that time, it had indicted 93 suspects, 62 of whom were found guilty. The ICTR’s remaining business, such as appeals and outstanding warrants, was transferred to the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals. At the time the ICTR closed, there were three high-profile fugitives remaining: Augustin Bizimana, Rwanda’s defense minister at the time of the genocide; Félicien Kabuga, a wealthy media businessman accused of being one of the masterminds behind the genocide and having financed genocidal activities; and Protais Mpiranya, head of the Presidential Guard at the time of the genocide. Bizimana was confirmed dead in 2020; he is believed to have died in 2000. Kabuga was apprehended in 2020, but in 2023 the 88-year-old was declared mentally unfit for trial. In 2022 Mpiranya was confirmed dead; he had apparently fallen ill and died in 2006.
National courts
National courts were charged with trying lower-level genocide suspects. Unlike the ICTR, Rwandan courts were initially able to sentence those found guilty to capital punishment. The first death sentences were carried out on April 24, 1998, when 22 people convicted of genocide were publicly executed by police firing squads, despite serious procedural inadequacies in the hearings: war crimes trials often suffered from procedural deficiencies indicative of ethnic biases.
In 2007 Rwanda’s parliament abolished the death penalty (effective from the end of July), an important step in the country’s efforts to extradite genocide suspects from European countries that had hitherto refused such requests because they objected to capital punishment. Former justice minister Agnes Ntamabyariro, the only high-level official to be tried in Rwanda’s courts, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009.
Gacaca courts
A gacaca courtA genocide suspect standing trial before a gacaca court in Zivu, Rwanda, March 10, 2005.
The number of suspects to be tried in connection with the genocide was immense, and cases moved slowly through the ICTR and national courts. In 2001, in an attempt to clear the backlog of some 115,000 genocide cases awaiting trial, the Rwandan government announced plans to establish gacaca (grass) courts according to the traditional justice system. In precolonial days gacaca courts were used to resolve conflicts between families. The courts were held outside, and the heads of households served as judges. The government’s decision to employ that method of justice would create thousands of local courts to handle some genocide suspects accused of minor crimes, such as arson, as well as capital crimes, though suspects accused of more serious crimes would continue to be tried in higher courts. In addition to clearing the backlog of cases, it was hoped that the gacaca courts would bring to light some of the unknown details of the genocide, provide a sense of closure, and foster reconciliation between Rwandans.
The courts were convened in January 2002 and began operating in several phases over the next several years, with the first trials beginning in March 2005. The success of the courts, often a matter of opinion, varied from trial to trial. Although some courts were found to be fair and objective, others were accused of having followed a political agenda and of having delivered harsh sentences that were not commensurate with the evidence provided.
The gacaca courts were intended to operate for a limited amount of time, but closure of the courts was repeatedly postponed. By the time the gacaca courts officially closed on June 18, 2012, they had prosecuted more than 1.9 million cases.
National recovery
As the ICTR, national courts, and gacaca courts attempted to bring the most serious genocide suspects to justice, the government, to alleviate prison congestion, periodically granted mass amnesty to prisoners accused of lesser crimes. For example, in March 2004, 30,000 accused prisoners were granted amnesty and freed after they confessed to, and asked forgiveness for, having committed acts of genocide, and in February 2007 some 8,000 prisoners accused of war crimes—many of them sick or elderly—were released. Amnesty was not wholly supported by survivors, who believed that those who confessed were not genuinely sorry for what they had done but, rather, were using the amnesty to escape justice. Many survivors were forced to live and work beside those whose violent acts they had witnessed during the genocide.
Meanwhile, Rwanda’s military forces became embroiled in neighboring Zaire’s civil war. The troops had entered Zaire in late 1996 to expel Hutu extremists who had fled there after the genocide and were using that country as a base for launching attacks on Rwanda. After many attempts at resolution, a peace agreement was reached in 2002 that provided for the withdrawal of Rwandan troops in exchange for the disarmament and repatriation of Hutu extremist rebels there.
Rwanda genocide of 1994Genocide memorial garden at the Kigali Memorial Centre, Kigali, Rwanda.
Although Hutu insurgencies continued to occupy Rwanda’s government, reconciliation efforts were ongoing. The government announced plans to change several national symbols, including the flag and national anthem, that were widely associated with extremist Hutu nationalism. A new constitution, aimed at preventing further ethnic strife in the country, was promulgated in 2003. Later that year the first multiparty democratic elections in Rwanda since independence were held; Kagame, who had ascended to the presidency after Bizimungu resigned in 2000, was victorious in securing another term. In 2006 the Rwandan government implemented a significant administrative reorganization, replacing the previous 12 prefectures with 5 larger, multiethnic provinces intended to promote power sharing and reduce ethnic conflict. Also, several genocide memorials were created throughout the country.
Rwanda’s economy, adversely affected by the conflict of the early 1990s, continued to recover gradually; by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, substantial progress had been made. Recovery efforts were aided in 2006, when significant debt relief was granted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and in 2007, when Rwanda joined the East African Community, a regional trade and development bloc.
Investigations into the events of 1994
In the early 21st century the events of 1994 still weighed heavily on Rwanda. In 2004 Kagame came under fire after a newspaper leaked the findings of a report, commissioned by French judge Jean-Louis Bruguière, that included allegations that Kagame and other RPF leaders had ordered the rocket attack that caused the 1994 plane crash that killed Habyarimana and triggered the genocide (echoing the claims of some Rwandan dissidents); Kagame vehemently denied the allegations. Rwanda severed relations with France in 2006 when Bruguière—claiming jurisdiction because the flight crew members who perished in the crash were French—signed international arrest warrants for several of Kagame’s close associates for their alleged roles in the crash and requested that Kagame stand trial at the ICTR. (Relations between the two countries were restored in November 2009.) As before, Kagame denied having had anything to do with the crash and countered by alleging that the French government had armed and advised the rebels responsible for the genocide. Later that year Rwanda established a commission to investigate France’s role in the genocide; the findings, released in 2008, implicated more than 30 French military and political officials. In October 2007 the Rwandan government launched a formal investigation into the 1994 plane crash. The results, released in January 2010, indicated that Hutu extremist soldiers were responsible for shooting down the plane carrying Habyarimana, with the intent of derailing his peace negotiations with Tutsi rebels, and for using the incident as an excuse to initiate the genocide against the Tutsi and moderate Hutu.
Meanwhile, Bruguière had retired in 2007, and the French investigation continued under the direction of Judges Marc Trévidic and Nathalie Poux. They visited the crash site and its environs and compiled expert testimony in such areas as ballistics, acoustics, aviation, and explosives. They also lifted the international arrest warrants for Kagame’s associates. Based on the gathered evidence, in 2012 the judges found that the missile that hit the plane had come from the area of the Kanombe military base, which at the time had been held by the Rwandan military, including Habyarimana’s own Presidential Guard. That led the judges to conclude that the RPF rebels probably could not have been the perpetrators, because it was very unlikely that they could have breached the area and launched the missile from there. Attempts to close the investigation in the following years were postponed when witnesses emerged on occasion with claims that they had evidence of the RPF and Kagame’s involvement in the plane crash. In 2018, however, the French case was officially closed, with no charges having been filed. Judges Poux and Jean-Marc Herbaut (who had succeeded Trévidic) cited insufficient evidence and noted the contradictory or unverifiable witness accounts, as well as witnesses disappearing before they could testify. The families of Habyarimana and others who had perished in the crash appealed to have the case reopened in 2020 and again in 2022, but they were unsuccessful.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna.
News for You!
July 28, 2025
According to Ali Velshi, Trump went Bat Shit Cray in Scotland, and he was, is completely loony tunes between wind mills and starving children in Gaa should thank him and cheating at golf and he ended the genocide in Rwanda. Just to be clear, that ended in 1994. Trump was paling around with Epstein and ogling teenage girls at his beauty pageants in Russia..Par for the course. We are going to look at this great videos, but I do want to spend sometime on Rwanda.
July 24, 2025
The big news with Southpark season opener:
Adam Mockler did a great job withis clip, but many other sites inluded like Tim Miller and the Bulwark
https://youtu.be/uuTYEjmFmvs?si=bjLbFNuwGd7KVidBhttps://youtu.be/uuTYEjmFmvs?si=bjLbFNuwGd7KVidB
Keith Edwards is one of my new favorites. Check it out
--https://youtu.be/sDLqfon8phM?si=0WB4fKYxtCk9migM
Descriptio
Links
Keith's Debate Club
This isn't news, but let you congressman know how you feel. I unfortunately have a cowardly man representing me. Here is my most recent correspondence with him:
Re: What One Big Beautiful Bill Means for Border Security
barbara pretzer <pretzba@gmail.com>
10:19 AM (42 minutes ago)
to Ralph
I supported the Biden policies and agenda. Biden had a Congress that worked across the aisle. They protected their constituents in blue states and red states. They cared about people's well-being and health. Their focus was not on billionaires. They believed in reducing the deficit and protecting our planet for future generations.
Unfortunately, I do not believe you or your republican colleagues care about anything except getting reelected. I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening. You should never be reelected. Neither should Lindsay Graham or Tim Scott. I am already participating in events to stop all Republicans from continuing to destroy our Constitution in the name of a wannabe dictator.
If you would like to express your views, join my podcast on YouTube at @barbarapretzer2240. View my website, PretzelTellsNuggets.com. or catch me tomorrow at Saturday Family First on David Lyle Blvd. between Main and White. Bring a can of food for the children that are starving because you denied them SNAP benefits.
Barbara Pretzer
(828) 406-6882
Barbara A. Pretzer
(828) 406-6882
On Fri, Jul 25, 2025, 9:21 AM Rep. Ralph Norman <RepRalph.Norman@mail.house.gov> wrote:
Update from U.S. Congressman Ralph Norman
Update from Rep. Ralph Norman
July 25, 2025
Dear Ms. Pretzer,
For years, the Biden Administration’s failed open-border policies have fueled a full-blown crisis at our southern border, one that’s impacting communities far beyond border towns. Drug cartels, human traffickers, and record-high illegal crossings have overwhelmed law enforcement, strained local resources, and put American lives at risk. The collapse in border enforcement has allowed deadly substances like fentanyl to flood into our neighborhoods, fueling a public health and safety emergency across the country.
Since President Trump took office in January, we’ve seen a monumental shift in border enforcement policy, and the numbers reflect that change. In the first six months of 2025, Customs and Border Protection recorded a 93% drop in illegal crossings compared to the same period in 2024. Even more striking, in June alone, Border Patrol did not release a single individual who crossed the border illegally into the United States.
Equally important, these actions send a clear message of deterrence. When our laws are enforced and consequences are certain, fewer individuals attempt to cross illegally. But executive action alone is not enough. Sustaining this progress requires strong legislative support.
That's why I strongly supported the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was recently signed into law. This measure provides the most comprehensive border security funding package in years and gives law enforcement the tools they need to enforce our immigration laws.
Key provisions of the bill include:
$46.5 billion to resume and complete construction of the border wall;
Funding to hire thousands of new Border Patrol and ICE agents;
Increased detention capacity and faster case processing;
Investments in modern surveillance and detection technology;
Policy changes to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer-funded benefits; and
Support from the Department of Defense to assist with border operations.
Now that you know the facts, do you support Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill?
Submit survey to sign up for updates on my work in Congress.*
Sincerely,
Ralph Norman
Member of Congress
Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-5)
569 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5501
Please watch our weekly podcasts concerning the starvation that is happening in Gaza. It is important that our voices are heard in outrage about the genocide that is occurring in Gaza. It is continuing. Please help by watching.
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Epstein continues to dominate the news, but there have been some other interesting stories
Daily KOS Cartoon: Moments of Clarity by Jen Sorensen Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 8:30:03a EDT
July 19, 2025
https://youtu.be/rMrXpWhN7ro?si=vpEunxq3h1nFoG-a The Weekend Show discusses the John Lewis protest. I hope you attended. It was very good.
In a new Economist/YouGov poll, Donald Trump’s disapproval has hit a record high of 55%. As former GOP communications director and co-founder & CEO of The Seneca Project warns, just a few-point slip among Republican approval for Trump could be enough to lose key swing seats in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, 61% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s signature piece of legislation, his so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
https://youtu.be/mJZvxqrHmpo?si=ImuzTycjmPcbiDoB about Stephen Colbert
https://youtu.be/MHuGkSbPg4k?si=ly3rUcT7JW4Nfm_g Watch "Navy Commander SOUNDS ALARM on Trump BLOW to Public Media" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/UfP9bfUqnHU?si=YZe8J14uy9dwZb5P Bryan Tyler Cohen
I am trying to boycott Meidas Touch especially when it's Ben Meiselas. His videos are redundant using the same phrases over and over again, he repeats content constantly, and consistently advertises products. You can tell it is all about the money!
July 16, 2025
https://youtu.be/mJqE3B9jcM8?si=i8i4ur9B2gQ-k-Kz Jon Stewart
https://youtu.be/Xy0qVlWYK9M?si=1KX9opCsFY5EEsUl The Bulwark
https://youtu.be/4_k1Fnvqm7w?si=6R15QY69omqaLYSR Adam Mockler on Joe Rogan
https://youtu.be/KiB3_vXfP4c?si=sMGnJn7pL1l_oOqk Jimmy Fallon
July 14, 2025
https://youtu.be/rLodj9H2bnE?si=KZm0S-_P_G3k9TVH5 Rachel Maddow
https://youtu.be/zqSBtfxmRlw?si=sqou8XLYL-FXxAe7 Lawrence O'Donnel
https://youtu.be/EqbauDOqlV8?si=mmiADxeaheo9LU7x Jack Cocheilla
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July 12, 2025
After filing five new lawsuits in five weeks, I was hoping AU’s attorneys could catch their breath this week. The Trump administration had other plans.
Since he first ran for president back in 2016, Donald Trump has been looking for a way to “get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment” – the federal law that protects the integrity of our elections and nonprofit organizations (including houses of worship) by ensuring they don’t endorse or oppose partisan political candidates for office.
The vast majority of Americans – including faith leaders, evangelical Protestants, and Republicans – support this law because they don’t want houses of worship embroiled in corrosive partisan politics. But Trump and his Christian Nationalist allies see an untapped resource of supporters. Gutting the Johnson Amendment is just another page in their playbook of exploiting religion to boost their own political power.
After years of threats, the Trump administration made its most substantive attack yet against the Johnson Amendment this week. In response to a federal lawsuit filed last year by a few religious organizations seeking to abolish the law, the IRS proposed a radical reinterpretation of the Johnson Amendment: exempting houses of worship and religious organizations from the law, while continuing to apply it against secular nonprofits. So pastors would be able to endorse partisan candidates from the pulpit, but nonreligious nonprofits (like Americans United) still would be barred from electioneering.
The Trump administration’s proposal is a flagrant, self-serving attack on church-state separation that threatens our democracy by favoring houses of worship over other nonprofits and inserting them into partisan politics. That’s why AU’s legal team sprang into action: On Thursday, we filed a motion seeking to intervene in the lawsuit – legal speak for becoming another party in the case in addition to the existing plaintiffs and defendants. That allows us to urge the court to reject this proposal because it would grant favor and privilege to religious organizations and treat them differently than secular nonprofits – an unconstitutional violation of church-state separation.
Thanks to your support, AU has more lawyers and policy experts on staff than ever before. That allows us to act quickly and decisively when church-state separation is threatened. So our team was able to jump into the fray to defend the Johnson Amendment even as we prepare for court hearings and briefs in our existing cases – like those challenging laws in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas that require the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, or Oklahoma’s new social studies standards that are infused with Christianity and inaccurate history.
AU was made for moments like this. We’ve been uniting Americans in support of church-state separation for 78 years – just a few years longer than the Johnson Amendment has been a federal law. We’re not going anywhere and in fact, are planting seeds for a better tomorrow even as we bring our full force and talent to defending church-state separation
Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO
July 5, 2025
https://youtu.be/b0q-UoMwc3A?si=VQLsAgwRU2eSvO7j Watch "Lawrence: What you're feeling is the banality of cruelty from Trump and the Republican Party" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/8iklVzBPfPY?si=3nDO4cwHV3UKhalY Trump has DISASTER SATURDAY as HELL BREAKS LOOSE
https://youtu.be/gafZbyKvN4c?si=COM98JwjU5A-yUk6 BREAKING: Texas Officials Blast Trump for Fatal Error
July 2, 2025
https://youtu.be/-U750-oy5uU?si=mztlRMA7WunET_Hr Morning Joe
https://youtu.be/b0q-UoMwc3A?si=VQLsAgwRU2eSvO7j Watch "Lawrence: What you're feeling is the banality of cruelty from Trump and the Republican Party" on YouTube
Last Week
https://youtu.be/8cHi6Ft9DNk?si=MMNtADHjv7-vgwDk
https://youtu.be/qrgEZuKQ3c8?si=DcMRG3jiSqe3TmEQ
https://youtu.be/C2Rsp8MG5mw?si=dNfZny7Z4AogDOUB
https://youtu.be/Fx5l7sVRLlw?si=-_JF5x9R9iyXEwDA
https://youtu.be/5LGt81OyZlw?si=iNihdyic-cXZ7AWz
It is totally bonkers! You have Trump dropping the "F" bomb to reporters!
Elon is taking a back burner, but DOGE keeps firing people!
RFK Jr. is destroying our health, and he doesn't even know what he is publishing using AI. He has a brain worm and likes dropping bear carcasses in Central Park. His children received vaccinations! We had our 1st measle case in North Carolina!
JD Vance just sucks the orangutan's nuts! Supposedly he is very smart, but it doesn't show. He lets people insult his wife and children for their Indian heritage.
Kristy Noem just enjoys dressing up. If people want to have plastic surgery, good for them, but if you do it just to get Trump to hire you, I have a problem with that. Plus she killed her dog. Maybe you should train it. Maybe you should actually understand what Habeas corpus is before your go before the House. She got schooled!
Speaking of schooled, Linda McMahan is Secretary of Education with the sole tasks of eliminating the Department. Perhaps she should learn what AI is.not A1. Perhaps she should actually learn what the Board of Education does. It ensures the states adhere to the laws, it provides financial assistance for students from loans for college to social services for at risk youth.
Let's talk immigration. Tom Holman is a cruel man and initiated the family separation policy, which is a "stain on the United States" that did not deter migrants or address resourcing issues with the immigration processing system. Just remember the Russian czar was killed in the revolution.
Then there is Kash Patel, former fierce critic of the FBI, is now leading the agency and making drastic changes. He once said he would close FBI headquarters on Day 1 and turn it into a museum of the deep state. He didn't do that; he just fired any agents that were involved in arresting the January 6th rioters!
Speaking of Kash, let's discuss his boss, Pam Bondi. She personally and through her senior management, has sought to compel Department of Justice lawyers to violate their ethical obligations under the guise of 'zealous advocacy' as announced in her memorandum to all. Pam doesn't care about the law if it interferes with Trump's ambitions.
Let's keep going up the chain. Marco Rubio used to have cahoonas. Over the years, Rubio has praised USAID efforts in combating tuberculosis globally, asked for hurricane relief in the Caribbean and supported maternal and child health programs. Suddenly he no longer supports the goals of the organization. .Sad but true that Rubio has completely flipped on his beliefs.
Some other characters in the Trump administration Scott Bessent, another billionaire. Bessent's tenure has been defined by his compliance in dismantling government agencies and his unwillingness to recognize the impact of Trump's tariffs on Americans are. Scott Bessent may be the first gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration, but that's probably not what he'll go down in history for as the stock market continues to tumult.
His pal is Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick. Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick believes that withholding Social Security checks could help flush out fraudulent claimants. He stated that his 94-year-old mother-in-law wouldn't complain if her Social Security check didn't arrive. Let me know if you could survive without your check? I can't.
Just a couple more. Kari Lake is heading Voice of America. Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs committee, Kari Lake, the two-time Arizona political candidate tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the country's international media agency, had a blistering exchange with an Arizona Democrat over her history of spreading election falsehoods. Lake announced last week that USAGM eliminated 1,400 positions — an 85 percent cut of the personnel from March, when Trump signed an executive order gutting the agency.
Another crazy woman is Majorie Taylor Greene. Yesterday after spending the day beating her gavel and repeating that she was the chair of the committee, she went on to say that the Jews killed JFK when he did not want them to be a nuclear power. Now the Jews were coming for her!
Karoline Leavitt is Trump's mouthpiece. Karoline Leavitt doesn’t just state things; she exudes a sense of absolute certainty, condescension, and glee in her delivery, even when she’s demonstrably wrong. It’s not just about pushing an agenda, she enjoys the conflict, thrives on the fight, and appears psychologically insulated from even considering the possibility that she might be incorrect.
Last and truly least is Pete Hegseth. During Pete Hegseth’s contentious confirmation hearing to become Donald Trump’s defense secretary, Democrats argued that the Fox News morning host lacked the management experience to lead a department with an $850 billion budget. Now past his 100-day mark, Trump is coming to share that view. According to three sources close to the White House, Trump has told people he is frustrated with the chaos swirling around Hegseth and the Pentagon.
In recent weeks, Hegseth dismissed three of his closest advisers, whom he later accused of leaking to the media—all three have denied it—and his chief of staff stepped down. “He fired all the people he trusted,” a prominent Republican who recently spoke with Hegseth told me. Hegseth was also at the center of Signalgate, having shared military attack plans in chats with White House officials and another group that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. (While Hegseth’s brother and lawyer have roles in government, they are outside of the circle that would typically be informed on such issues.) A senior White House official told me Trump recently ordered Hegseth to get his act together. Trump was also displeased with his big, birthday parade. It was not enough like a "true" North Korean display of might. Guess his drinking and make up are OK.
The worst member of Trump’s Cabinet: A bracketology
The competition is fierce, but bracketology reveals an answer.
April 2, 2018More than 7 years ago
Summary
President Trump speaks during a March 8 Cabinet meeting at the White House. (AP)
Perspective by Daniel W. Drezner
Close observers in Washington, along with anyone who reads a newspaper, might have noticed a wee bit of churn in President Trump’s Cabinet. With David Shulkin’s resignation firing from the Department of Veterans Affairs, “Trump has had more Cabinet turnover [in 14 months] than 16 of his predecessors had in their first two years,” according to NPR’s Tamara Keith. In the past month alone, Trump has gotten rid of Shulkin, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, National Economic Council head Gary Cohn and national security adviser H.R. McMaster.
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There’s a lot of chatter about how all this disruption lets Trump be Trump, but this overlooks the fact that his Cabinet still exists. Some of Trump’s Cabinet officers have managed to do their jobs well. Others have managed sufficient levels of competence or luck to avoid scandals.
The worst member of Trump’s Cabinet: A bracketology - The Washington Post
The Good Guys
The following Senators and Members of the House are people to watch and listen to. They are not afraid to ask hard questions during hearings, challenge the status quo. They have compassion and will fight. They even go on Fox and Joe Rogan
Corey Booker
Bernie Sanders
Chris Murphy
Elizabeth Warren
Amy Klobuchar
Adam Schiff
Jasmine Crockett
Ro Khanna
The following are other people to watch:
Andy Beshear
Wes Moore
Gavin Newsom
JB Pritzker
Josh Shapiro
Tim Walz
Dem lawmakers in blue states have a new plan to fight back against Trump
Story by Ailia Zehra 1w •
New! Summarize with Copilot
Let Copilot break it down—see the key takeaways in seconds.
Democratic lawmakers in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and Wisconsin are unveiling a novel, aggressive response to President Donald Trump’s moves to freeze or withhold federal funding: state-level bills that would allow them to withhold their own payments to Washington, NBC reported Sunday.
The first-of-their-kind proposals would permit states to suspend payments — including payroll tax withholdings and state grants to the federal government — if Trump’s administration is found to be unlawfully delaying or withholding funds owed by the federal government.
These proposals remain far from becoming law, and legal scholars warn they’ll encounter significant challenges.
Dem lawmakers in blue states have a new plan to fight back against Trump
The comedians, actors, and musicians also help me stay sane in these very troubling. Through humor, I laugh at things. Through music, I find peace. Several actors just tell it straight!
Then you have World Leaders. What are they saying and doing?
EXPLAINER
‘Hey Daddy’: How different world leaders massage Trump’s ego
Does Trump’s personal relationship with world leaders have any bearing on his policies towards their countries?
Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte cosy up to US President Donald Trump at the North Atlantic Council plenary meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in The Hague on June 25, 2025 [File: Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters]
Read the article at ‘Hey Daddy’: How different world leaders massage Trump’s ego | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera
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