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Inside Iowa legislator’s eye-catching plan to revive Iowa State, UNI baseball programs

America's pastime may return to two Iowa universities following a bill introduced in the state's House of Representatives this week.
State Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, made waves with introduction of House File 153, which would require Iowa State and Northern Iowa to reestablish their defunct baseball programs for participation at the NCAA Division I level.

In an email exchange with the Quad-City Times, Wheeler, a former college baseball player and head coach at Unity Christian High School in Orange City, explained the motivation behind his proposal.
“I believe there is real value in our state having more than just one Division I baseball program,” Wheeler said. “Baseball can bring a significant number of student-athletes to a college, most of which will have to pay room and board, tuition, etc. at the institutions as there are only so many scholarships available.”


Both universities cut their baseball programs in the 2000s, citing budget cuts as the core issue in the ending of the 100-year-old programs. The financial situation of both athletic departments dominated early discussion of Wheeler's proposal as the economic landscape of college sports remains ever-changing.

Officials at both universities declined to comment on the pending legislation.

The proposal​

The Cyclones played their final season in 2001 after 110 seasons and three postseason berths including a trip to the 1970 College World Series. Former Iowa State Athletics Director Bruce Van de Velde cited a $1.4 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2001 in his decision to end the baseball and men's swimming teams in April 2001.

The Panthers played their final season in 2009 after 103 seasons including a postseason run in 2001. UNI’s final head coach, Rick Heller, now serves as the head baseball coach at Iowa. Former UNI Athletics Director Troy Dannen also cited a university-wide budgetary squeeze as the Great Recession rocked the country.

Wheeler, who played college baseball at Northwestern College in Orange City, also said he sees bringing the two programs back as a recruitment tool for the state.
“My personal story is proof that college baseball can be a recruiting tool for the state,” Wheeler said. “I came from a different state to finish my degree and to play baseball. There are several others I know of who came to one of the colleges here to play and stayed.”


Originally from Washington, Wheeler initially attended Grays Harbor College in his home state before concluding his collegiate career as a Raider.
“This would give Iowa high school and community college baseball players two more Division I opportunities in the state,” Wheeler said. “Right now, if you are of that level of talent, and Iowa doesn’t offer you, you have to leave our state to go play. With over 300 high school programs and several community college programs, you can guarantee we lose Iowa kids to other states who may not come back to our state to live, work and raise a family.

“There is a lot of baseball talent in Iowa, and we want to keep those top-tier athletes in our state.”

Starting in the 2025-26 season, the NCAA will impose a roster limit of 34 players on college baseball programs.

Universities' response​

In an email exchange with a UNI spokesperson, the university declined to comment as it “does not comment on bills introduced or pending legislation until they are passed and signed.”


Iowa State's athletic department said it is aware of Wheeler's proposition, but declined to comment.

Financial obstacles​

Critics of Wheeler’s proposal point out the financial strain adding baseball programs would put on both Iowa State and UNI. Both institutions find themselves navigating the new frontier of student-athlete compensation as a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) arms race continues to grow the divide between the haves and the have-nots while a recent antitrust settlement opened the door for revenue sharing between athletic departments and student-athletes.


Both athletic departments also find themselves in the middle of various facilities projects and fundraising campaigns. Iowa State continues work on its CYTown project, which intends to create a year-round destination between Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum. In Cedar Falls, UNI plans to move into the second phase of its UNI-Dome renovations in April while fundraising efforts for two new practice facilities for wrestling and men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball continue.

Wheeler said he sees numerous ways to see his plan come to fruition despite financial concerns at both institutions.
“The No. 1 argument the baseball community makes is that you’ll have a high number of athletes who enroll at the university to try out for the team,” Wheeler said.

“For reference, when I was at Northwestern College, an NAIA program, we had 64 kids out my senior year, and obviously we only carried about 30 to the actual varsity season," he said. "But those other 34 were paying tuition, room and board, etc., which was a win for the school. Revenue options also include ticketing, TV, merchandise, etc.”

College baseball programs currently receive a total of 11.7 scholarships for disbursement as each program sees fit.

Wheeler also noted the role of location in a baseball program's success.
“The financial question around baseball really depends on which conference you are in and what region of the country,” Wheeler said. “The south tends to do well with their programs financially, as schools like LSU and Miami clearly make high amounts of money. It’s definitely harder in the north as the weather can make it tough to draw big crowds regularly.


"However, college baseball is popping up more and more on TV and seems to be growing in popularity and engagement with more exposure.”
According to a 2022 analysis from Athletic Director U, the Big 12 ranked second in average annual baseball operating expenses at $964,986 in average spending. The Missouri Valley Conference ranked 16th with $241,850 in average spending.

The Southeastern Conference led the nation with $1,225,221 in average spending including seven of the top 10 highest individual spenders.
The analysis also revealed baseball, on average, accounted for 5.5% of university operating expenses among Power 5 programs, 5.9% at Group of Five programs and 6.5% at FCS programs based on a five-year sample.

In fiscal year 2024, Iowa State athletics reported total operating revenue as $122,118,464 and total operating expenses of $122,046,246 to the NCAA — a surplus of $72,218.
In its Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) report for fiscal year 2023, UNI reported a grand total revenue of $18,823,378 with grand total expenses of $17,334,994 — a surplus of $1,488,384

Wheeler did not indicate if his proposal would include specifically earmarked state assistance to support the programs' reinstatement.



The Constitution is collapsing. A lack of character is to blame.

To say that what is happening now is a constitutional crisis is to put it too mildly.
Let’s call it what it is: a constitutional collapse.

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Congress’s abdication of its constitutional powers and responsibilities to an executive branch run amok — or, you might say, run-a-Musk — would surely have horrified the Founders.

“In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates,” James Madison wrote.
But during Donald Trump’s first weeks in office, he has begun to unilaterally dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was created by Congress. He set a target on other parts of government with a legislative mandate, including the Education Department. He put a block on trillions in funding that lawmakers appropriated to a host of federal programs, until a court order stopped him. He fired 17 inspectors general without giving the 30-day notice to Capitol Hill required by law.


The framers clearly never envisioned a Congress that would be so supine in the face of such a barrage. Or a Senate majority that would, rather than advise, merely consent to such preposterously unqualified Cabinet choices as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Department of Health and Human Services, Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth to run the Pentagon.
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Or that the people’s representatives — even if they belong to the president’s party — would stand by as Elon Musk and his Band of Bros, without seeking the “legislative authority” that Madison thought was necessary, upended the civil service protection that lawmakers put in place for government workers more than a century ago. And while they were at it, rummaged through federal systems that contain the private information of tens of millions of Americans.
Even Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China is a power grab, given that the Constitution vests Congress with the authority to “lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.”


Trump has done so by declaring a state of emergency — “the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl” — and citing a sweeping law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That act has never before been used as a means of imposing tariffs. Presidents in the past have employed it to enact economic sanctions, as President Joe Biden did on Russia after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The third branch of government has been stepping in here and there. Judges have blocked, at least for now, Trump’s effort to rewrite the constitutional understanding that babies born on U.S. soil to undocumented parents are citizens, and his freeze on disbursing trillions in federal grants. But getting many of these questions into court is part of Trump’s strategy; his allies think they can win at least some of these cases before right-leaning judges, permanently weakening Congress’s ability to stand in the way of the executive.
Not so long ago, there were still figures in Congress who might have tried to stop all of this. After Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) cast the deciding vote to block Trump’s 2017 effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he explained: “We are an important check on the powers of the executive. Our consent is necessary for the president to appoint jurists and powerful government officials and in many respects to conduct foreign policy. Whether or not we are of the same party, we are not the president’s subordinates. We are his equal.”


And McCain was not alone. In the 1980s, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) and other Republicans stood up to Ronald Reagan when the president tried to claw back congressionally approved spending through processes known as recissions and deferrals. Though Senate Republican leader Robert J. Dole (Kansas) and former Foreign Relations Committee chairman Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) supported George H.W. Bush’s decision to go to war in the Persian Gulf in 1991, they demanded a special session of Congress to, as Lugar put it, “get an affirmative vote to authorize our staying power over there.”
Those statesmen of an earlier era, all Republicans, recognized the reason that the Constitution’s authors focused its first article on defining and elevating the role of Congress. The framers considered the legislative branch the most important one, because it was the closest to the people. So, it was entrusted with the power to make laws, which were — as Article II made clear — to be carried out with care by the executive branch.
Trump is getting not even a whisper of pushback from Republicans on Capitol Hill. “We don’t see this as a threat to Article I at all. We see this as an active, engaged, committed executive branch authority doing what the executive branch should do,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) claimed. No doubt, however, Republicans would be howling about executive overreach if a Democratic president were doing the same.


In a Congress where majorities in both houses quake before Trump as he tramples Article I, there is something vital to democracy that is missing. And alas, it cannot be found in any legal document.
“We’re getting a pretty intense lesson in how much our constitutional order depended on people’s character,” McCain’s former chief of staff Mark Salter told me. “Donald Trump is a character test that Republicans, almost to a person, have failed.”

Gutting USAID threatens billions of dollars for U.S. farms, businesses

The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, which officials have said is intended to rein in wasteful spending, has left American workers in limbo and threatens billions of dollars the agency spends on American businesses and organizations, global development experts and industry representatives told The Washington Post.


USAID oversees projects like food aid, disaster relief and health programs in over 100 countries with a staff of more than 10,000 and a budget of around $40 billion. Billions of those dollars flowed back into the American economy until President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign-aid spending last month.
Now U.S. businesses that sold goods and services to USAID are in limbo. That includes American farms, which supply about about 41 percent of the food aid that the agency, working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sends around the world each year, according to a 2021 report by the Congressional Research Service. In 2020, the U.S. bought $2.1 billion in food aid from American farmers.


Purchases and shipments of U.S. food aid worth over $340 million — including rice, wheat and soybeans — have been paused during Trump’s foreign-aid freeze, according to officials and an email obtained by The Post. That has left hundreds of tons of American-grown wheat stranded in Houston alone, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the highest ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said Tuesday.
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Besides farmers, researchers whose work is funded by USAID have been furloughed. Smaller companies in sectors like global healthcare could go out of business, upending the jobs of office staff and security guards. Experts and representatives from the industries affected said the disruption will worsen if the pause in spending continues and USAID continues to lose staff that once administered these programs.
“You’re talking about a direct impact on American products and American jobs,” said George Ingram, a senior fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution.

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Warning of ‘civics literacy’ crisis, adviser urges Iowa to ‘remake’ universities

Deplorable:

Warning Iowa is suffering from a “crisis in civics literacy,” a representative from the National Association of Scholars on Wednesday urged lawmakers to reform public university general education requirements, establish autonomous civics schools on its university campuses, and ensure education accrediting bodies can’t block Iowa’s reform laws.



All three of those recommendations are covered among 14 study bills introduced two weeks ago in the Iowa House’s new higher education subcommittee.


“We offer these suggestions to the judgment of Iowa citizens and elected officials who will know best what policy solutions the state of Iowa should provide for the civic literacy crisis,” David Randall, director of research for the National Association of Scholars, told members of the higher ed committee on Wednesday.




“We are confident that Iowa can meet this challenge and remake their educational institutions so that they are school houses upon a hill, models for admiration and imitation throughout America.”


In his presentation, Randall said Iowa’s public universities have no general education requirement for American history and government — something Republican lawmakers have sought to rectify with House Study Bill 56, which mandates students at a public university or community college complete an American history and civil government course to graduate.


“And what universities label as civic education frequently is ‘civic engagement’ — in other words ‘action civics,’ which is vocational education in progressive activism,” he said. “The systematic radicalization of Iowa's public universities makes impossible a genuinely civic education.”


Among the University of Iowa’s gen ed requirements is one on “historical perspectives” and another on “values and culture.” Fulfilling the historical perspectives requirement are courses like American History to 1877 and American History 1877-Present.





Qualifying as “values and culture” courses are things like “Understanding American Cultures” and “Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies.”


The university this fall said it’s renaming its “diversity and inclusion” requirement to “understanding cultural perspectives” and renaming its “values and culture” requirement to be “values and society.”


But Randall called out that diversity requirement during his presentation.


“Diversity and inclusion is a euphemism for courses largely dedicated to inculcating the same discriminatory concepts that the Iowa Legislature already has sought to remove from the administrative structure of the state's public universities,” he said. “Iowa's public universities cannot provide real civic education so long as they require their students spend their tuition dollars on politicized courses.”


Pointing to UI professor emeritus and Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne Robinson, Randall said, “Iowa does not educate its students to understand or to follow in the footsteps of Marilynne Robinson.”


“Iowa civic education ought to make it possible for students to become new Robinsons, who can write eloquently and knowledgeably of their country and their state,” Randall said. “If you look at the general education requirements of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa you will see that Iowa's public universities are derelict in their duty.


“Iowa's universities do not care if they never educate another Marilynne Robinson.”


‘Illiberal, unpatriotic sentiments’​


Randall is the second presenter to the higher ed committee this session from the National Association of Scholars — a conservative nonprofit aiming to reform higher education by upholding “reasoned scholarship” standards that include core subjects like Western civilization and American history.


Two weeks ago the committee heard from Neetu Arnold, a research fellow with the association, who also urged lawmakers to make big-picture changes across Iowa’s higher education landscape.


“The kind of changes that would signal a return to merit, excellence and intelligence in our higher education system,” Arnold said.


In Randall’s presentation Wednesday, he cited as evidence of the civics literacy crisis a 2024 survey by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni that revealed “widespread ignorance of basic facts” among the 3,000 American undergraduate students polled.


“Fewer than one-third of students knew when the Constitution was written; fewer than one-third of students knew that the legislative branch has the power to declare war; only one quarter of students knew that the 13th Amendment freed slaves,” he said.


Listing among the consequences is “an abandonment of a willingness to defend our country in case of peril.”


“A majority of the students surveyed said they would flee the country if the United States were invaded,” Randall said. “The terrible politicization of America's universities must contribute to these illiberal, unpatriotic sentiments.”




“Let me start with a quote from Ronald Reagan, ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction’,” Holt said. “We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can hear it … is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with the well-fought lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same.


“And if you and I don’t do this, then you and I will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.”

2nd watch: Kylie guarded the effing hell out…

Of JuJu in the early 3rd quarter and EVERYONE they put her on (Kylie) or rotated her to she was awesome. But everyone was in JuJus face all 2nd half. She was stumbling, losing her balance and just flat had no room. I’ve watched her several times this year and I’ve never seen her struggle to keep her feet like she did in this game.

Actually I was so jacked up during this game starting it, stopping it, pausing it, leaving the room, etc. I didn’t get a good look at what actually happened.

HS didn’t play from the 3:30 mark in the 3rd quarter on and had actually been causing them problems.

AOG and Taylor played their best games defensively and Lucy was unstoppable. She was shooting over everyone.

Taylor S had a couple great interior passes.

This game was well officiated, but USC could have been called more.

SA I’m seeing now also played JuJu well.

The thing about JuJu is this. She is a very strong, fluid, down hill player. She will be a great combo 2/3 in the WNBA, but she is not a “great” athlete. Those that suggest she is or a “better” athlete than CC are making assumptions 🤷‍♂️ if you are up in her space on the catch, she struggles to get space. If she “has” space your in trouble. You are NOT going to knock her off a drive. But if she has to create space on the perimeter you can see she lacks true explosiveness. She’s also not a “great” shooter. She’s a good shooter, but where she is lethal is getting downhill. If you give her space because you’re afraid of her playing downhill, yes she can shoot over you. But she still “leans” into the shot like most women from 22 ft.

It’s absolutely crazy how strong CC must be to shoot the way she does. She is also more explosive than she gets credit for. Her lateral quickness is average but her speed with the ball and ability to get separation is otherworldly.

Iowa City Council to review development proposals for downtown lot

The Iowa City Council will consider three development proposals, each of which would include commercial, residential and office space, for the vacant downtown lot at 21 S. Linn Street.



The city bought the property in the summer of 2023 for $4.5 million, so it would have control of a key site and be able to align its development with the needs of downtown.


Previously, a developer had planned to build student housing at the site, but that fell through. Before that, the property housed a U.S. Bank drive-through.




“We decided to go out and purchase this property ... with the intention to guide the project to a stronger use than what we felt the market was going to produce on its own,” City Manager Geoff Fruin said at a city council meeting this week.


Last year, the city conducted public input sessions and surveyed the community to gather public opinion on what should be done with the lot. The results of more than 6,000 responses from about 1,800 respondents showed residents most wanted to see the property used for green space, affordable housing, market-like retail spaces, or mixed-use development.


Based on those responses, the city issued a request for proposals for the property. In the request, the city asked that if office space was proposed, developers consider the possibility of the city owning or leasing upper floor office space. However, the proposal also stated that city office space is not a “preference or requirement” of the project.


Grand Rail Development proposes mid-rise of retail space, housing​


Grand Rail Development, in partnership with OPN Architects and Urban Acres Real Estate, proposed a mid-rise six-story building.


The first floor would provide 6,300 square feet of entertainment space, though the development team also is open to dividing the space among potential restaurant or retail options.


Two upper floors would offer 20 residential units — 16 at market rent and four reserved for affordable housing. The Housing Fellowship — a nonprofit housing management organization that provides affordable rentals in Johnson County — has submitted a letter indicating it is interested in owning and managing the units.


The remaining three floors would be reserved for market rate office space. OPN Architects and ACT have expressed interest in the space. The development team also is willing to work with the city on acquiring office space for its operations.


The development team has proposed a $3 million land purchase price and its proposal does not include a request for tax increment financing incentives. City staff estimated the project could have a total valuation of $21.5 million.


Iceberg Development would build 13-story building with senior housing​


Iceberg Development’s proposal is a 13-story building anchored by low-income senior housing units.


The proposal suggests a first floor that includes three “micro-retail” spaces — at 600-700 square feet each — and 3,800 square feet for a restaurant, retail or entertainment space.


Five of the upper floors would be for commercial office space, with room for the city or others. ACT has expressed interest in the space.


The remaining eight floors would include 76 units, a mix of one- and two-bedrooms. The units would be intended for senior housing for residents who make 40 perfect to 80 percent of the area median income. Half the units would be set aside for those making less than 60 percent of the area median income.





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The developers said they would intend to use low-income housing tax credits to leverage the housing units. That would guarantee a minimum 30-year, low-income affordability period.


However, construction could be delayed as the development team would not be able to apply for the Iowa Finance Authority’s competitive tax credit program until the 2026 round of funding, since the 2025 deadline has passed. There also is no guarantee the credit would be awarded.


The developer proposes purchasing the land for $2 million, and the project likely would use some tax increment financing incentives for 8-12 years. City staff estimate the finished development would be worth approximately $24 million.


Salida Partners proposes 10-story building with a museum​

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The Salida Partners proposal calls for a 10-story building.


The first floor would have kitchen space and a flexible community room as well as an entertainment venue to be managed by the Englert Theatre. There also would be an entrance to an upper level “Stories Project” Museum, a concept for an interactive museum that celebrates storytelling.


Floors 2-5 would have space for the museum, a small art gallery and commercial office space.


The remaining upper level floors would be residential. There would be 16 market-rate senior housing units, six units for affordable housing (possibly to be managed by the Housing Fellowship), 10 market-rate units and 14 short term stay units that could be used by the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program.


Plans also outline the possibility of a rooftop patio area.


The land would be purchased for just $1 and likely would need tax increment financing help for 15-20 years.


City staff gave the project a total valuation of $37 million. City staff, however, said they are concerned about the financial feasibility of the project due to the non-market rate components. Staff advised the council not to consider it further.


However, the city council decided to move forward with hearing from the development team members to give them a chance to further explain their vision.


Englert Theatre and Stories Museum​


The Englert Theatre has expressed interest in part of a potential development at the property to create a 200-300 capacity entertainment venue with restaurant service to replace The Mill, a former restaurant and bar in Iowa City.


The “Stories Project” Museum estimates it would need 30,000 square feet of space and that is also would need to raise $9 million to start the museum. The museum also would have an additional estimated annual operating cost of $2 million for the first five years.


The city anticipates there may be requests for financial help from both the Englert Theatre project and “Stories Project” Museum that could come in the form of below market rents or build out help.


Development team presentations, next steps​


All three development teams will engage in presentations to the city council. There also will be an opportunity for public input before the council selects a preferred option. The presentations will take place at an upcoming city council work session, at a date that will be finalized once development team availability is confirmed.


After that, city staff will work with a third-party consultant to facilitate a potential land purchase and development agreement. There is no definitive timeline as to when a final proposal will be selected.


“All the teams are indicating some level of flexibility, and it is an opportunity for you to see these and react in ways that can more clearly express where your strongest priorities are,” said Fruin. “... We would work with that team to try to make sure that we can meet those top priorities for you while still producing a viable project for the team as well.”

Ilhan Omar Deportation Calls Grow From Republicans

Conservatives are calling for Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar to be deported over comments she allegedly made about Somalia.

Omar, a Somali American and Muslim, sparked a backlash after a clip of the lawmaker's recent remarks to Somali American constituents went viral on X, formerly Twitter.

In the remarks, Omar addressed the deal struck by Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland with landlocked Ethiopia to give it access to the sea.

According to the translation of her remarks first shared on X by Ambassador Rhoda J. Elmi, Somaliland's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar purportedly said that she was "Somalian first, Muslim second" and "here to protect the interests of Somalia from inside the U.S. system."

She is also alleged to have said that "as Somalis, one day we will go after our missing territories."

Omar later defended her remarks, saying the translation on the viral clip was "not only slanted, but completely off," but she "wouldn't expect more from these propagandists."

According to another translation, Omar said that Somalis "are sisters and brothers, supporting each other, people who know they are Somalis and Muslims, coming to each other's aid."

Per that translation, she also said: "While I am in Congress, no one will take Somalia's sea. The United States will not back others to rob us. So, do not lose sleep over that."


Conservatives, many of whom have long been critical of Omar, a progressive Democrat, accused her of putting Somalia's interests above those of the U.S.

"Terrorist sympathizer Ilhan Omar in her own words: Somalian first. Muslim second. She never mentions America," Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican, wrote on X on Monday.


"She flaunts using her position as congresswoman to protect Somalia's border while our border is invaded by MILLIONS of illegals who are a danger to America."

And in response to a post from Omar where she noted that "Somali people are called Somalis, not 'Somalians,'" Greene added: "Patriots, you must show up big in 2024. We have a country to save and people to deport."


Newsweek reached out to Omar and Greene's offices for comment via email.

Others called for Omar to be expelled from Congress and deported.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota representative, has said Omar should resign.

Omar's "appalling, Somalia-first comments are a slap in the face to the Minnesotans she was elected to serve and a direct violation of her oath of office," Emmer wrote on X. "She should resign in disgrace."


Conservative political commentator Matt Walsh wrote: "Every Republican member of congress should be calling for Ilhan Omar to be expelled from congress and deported back to where she came from."

An account called "End Wokeness" with more than 2 million followers claimed Omar "didn't just break her oath of office," but also her "oath of American citizenship."

"She should be expelled and deported," the account posted.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/i...S&cvid=2a25d8d4a5d04b81b82e47786b0c2f3e&ei=65

Question for the conservatives

So I know a good number of you are Trump fans and pretty much believe everything he tells you. When he said that the stock market was going to crash if Biden was elected, how many followers took money out of the market after the election, and if you are one, aren't you the least bit angry given all the money you've had sidelined because of this lie while the market has surged?

Presidents deserve a lot less credit and blame than most realize so when Trump continuously took credit for the market, and told everyone the market would crash should Biden get elected, wise people on both sides knew it was just another scare tactic which he's really good at using to his benefit.

He went on and on how good it's been for the average Joe's 401k and IRA. So now that the markets are at record highs under Biden he's telling his populist followers that all it's done is make the rich richer. In some cases he's right. The wealthiest among us tend to be more educated and have smart people around them who know the difference between politics and market fundamentals. His less wealthy followers on the other hand got screwed by him. They're still waiting for the crash that hasn't come. He doesn't care. He never has. He never will. Trump is for Trump. Always has been. Always will be.

Trump wasted over 2 billion gallons of California's water

He's so gd incompetent.

"The US Army Corps of Engineers opened two dams on Friday in Central California and let roughly 2.2 billion gallons of water flow out of reservoirs, after President Donald Trump ordered the release with the misguided intent to send water to fire-ravaged Southern California.

Trump celebrated the move in posts to Truth Social post on Friday and Sunday, declaring, “the water is flowing in California,” and adding the water was “heading to farmers throughout the State, and to Los Angeles.”


There are two major problems, water experts said: The newly released water will not flow to Los Angeles, and it is being wasted by being released during the wet winter season.

Mike Johnson Just Confirmed How Unserious He Is

It didn’t take long for the new House speaker, Mike Johnson, to demonstrate to the world that he will not be a serious partner for American allies or for those who still believe that governing is not a petty little game.
On Monday, only five days after being elevated to one of the most important leadership roles in the country, he upended a major foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, meekly obeying those Republican House members who see their main role as disengaging from the world and taking self-destructive potshots at Democrats. Nothing in Mr. Johnson’s record suggested he might try to shore up America’s leadership in the world, but his actions show that his new position has not added any gravitas to his thinking; he’s just pandering to his cronies in the far right wing.
Specifically, he stripped money for Ukraine and Taiwan from the $105 billion package requested by President Biden, leaving only the $14.3 billion the administration wants to send to Israel. But then he imposed a condition on the Israel money: Mr. Biden must agree to cut the same amount out of the money the Internal Revenue Service uses to chase down high-income tax cheats. So essentially the U.S. can protect Israel as long as it also protects rich white-collar criminals.
The I.R.S., of course, has nothing to do with the war between Israel and Hamas, but it has everything to do with the Republican desire to score political points whenever possible. Ever since Mr. Biden won $80 billion for stronger I.R.S. enforcement in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Republicans have made that money a target, exploiting the agency’s Sheriff-of-Nottingham public image by trying to delude ordinary taxpayers into believing the extra funds meant the agency was coming after them.
But the aim of the extra enforcement was always the wealthy, whose complex tax fraud schemes cost the Treasury billions every year. Reducing the I.R.S. budget would actually widen the deficit, the opposite of what Republicans claim they care about. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that if the I.R.S. enforcement budget is cut by $25 billion, as some Senate Republicans have proposed, it would cost $49 billion in revenue from auditing the rich, and widen the 10-year deficit by nearly $24 billion.
Another study published earlier this year by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that every additional dollar spent on auditing high-income taxpayers yielded $12 in new revenue for the Treasury. By that calculation, Mr. Johnson’s stunt could cost the country $171.6 billion. Earlier this year, Republicans forced Mr. Biden to cut $20 billion from the I.R.S. as part of the price for avoiding a debt default; having shown that the White House would agree to chip away at a top priority to prevent a crisis, they are returning to the same playbook.

But in the end, the I.R.S. cut isn’t really going to happen, as House Republicans know, because Mr. Johnson’s bill will die in the Senate, where many leading Republicans already oppose it. Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, has made it clear the final bill will have to include money for Ukraine, and hawks like Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have said the Ukraine money was related to Israel’s war against Hamas.
“Hamas was just hosted by the Russians in Moscow,” Mr. Graham said, adding, about Ukraine, “I think breaking them out sends the wrong signal.”
Other Republicans like Senator Mitt Romney of Utah and Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina agreed with the White House that cutting the I.R.S. budget made little sense in the context of national security.
But making sense isn’t really Mr. Johnson’s game. He’s got a few calculations going on that show the kind of cynical strategic planning that current passes for politics in the House. By throwing in the I.R.S. cut, he gets to show the same extremists who deposed his predecessor that he can play rough with the White House. The move will presumably get some House Democrats to vote against the bill, and then Republicans can run misleading attack ads saying those Democrats oppose aid to Israel, as many members are already anticipating.
“The new Republican speaker has chosen to put a poison pill” in the aid bill, Representative Ritchie Torres, Democrat of New York, told Axios. “The politicizing of Israel in a time of war is nothing short of disgraceful.”
And then, assuming the bill does pass the House, Mr. Johnson will then get a seat at the table to negotiate with the Senate and the White House on the final legislation. If the House can’t pass anything, it will have less leverage in determining the final amount of aid.
If Mr. Johnson has substantive objections to helping Ukraine and Israel that justify the legislative impediments he is constructing, he should state what they are. There is room for a debate over conditions that could be imposed on military aid for Israel, including a detailed plan to protect civilians in the Gaza campaign, or, as my colleague Thomas Friedman has suggested, an agreement not to construct one new settlement in the West Bank outside existing settlement blocs and to rebuild the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution at the expense of Hamas.
But that would require a serious discussion with serious people. And Mr. Johnson has now shown that he has no place in that room.

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