Questioning Common Sense and Character
Political Violence Growing on the Left
Sanctuary Policies in Washington, “Just Defy Common Sense” says Rep. Jim Jordan
The House Judiciary Committee is investigating Washington state sanctuary policies and the process for dealing with illegal immigrants, Washington Examiner reports. Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) along with two other committee members sent a letter to Washington Attorney General Nick Brown questioning the state’s policies.
Under the Keep Washington Working Act, law enforcement officers in Washington are prohibited for providing assistance to federal immigration officials, Lynwood Times reports. In March, State Attorney General Nick Brown filed legal charges against the Adams County Sherriff’s Office for “illegally collaborating with federal immigration officials…”
This week Adams County Sherriff, Dale Wagner, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, The Daily Signal reports.
“Even when individuals in custody have committed serious crimes beyond immigration violations, we are barred from notifying federal agencies or authorities upon their release,” Wagner said at the hearing.
“This strains our jails, wastes tax money, and puts residents at unnecessary risk,” Wagner continued. “The solution is not to pit state and federal authorities against one another, but to ensure public safety remains a top priority for everyone.”
Republican lawmakers are requesting documents and information about the lawsuit against the Adams County Sheriff. They are researching the number of ICE detainers that have been ignored by the state.
“We will look at legislation, we will look at the appropriations process, and then we’ll continue to oversight,” Jordan told Jason Rantz on KTTH. “We’ll continue to have hearings that highlight how ridiculous this is.”
Jordan also suggested that the state may lose federal funding if they continue to persist in defying federal law.
“These sanctuary city policies just defy common sense,” Jordan said. “You jeopardize the safety of the public when you let these guys out; you jeopardize the safety of law enforcement.”
Washington Legislature Warned About New Taxes
Several large corporations are letting state elected leaders know that they find proposed corporate taxes unacceptable.
A group of companies including Amazon, Costco, and Microsoft have issued a letter to the state legislature and governor’s office letting them know that they consider the budget and tax proposal unsustainable, The Post Millennial reports.
The Democrat-run state continues to face a significant budget shortfall of approximately $15 billion. The legislature is considering a range of methods to increase taxes and fill the gap. Reducing spending does not seem to be a consideration.
The letter referenced a “dangerous trend of unsustainable spending growth,” that is, “threatening our economic stability.”
Rather than increasing taxes on corporations, the Democrats in the legislature should be proposing dramatic cost cutting. If their only solution is additional taxes, the group of companies have stated that they will be moving jobs out of the state.
Another group, primarily representing small businesses, have also come together to express concern over the potential business taxes, Fox 13 reports. The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, along with the Association of Washington Business, the Washington Roundtable and Bellevue Chamber of Commerce are encouraging legislators to look for other ways to close the budget gap besides raising taxes on businesses.
Small businesses can either relocate or close. If large businesses relocate, they are not likely to ever return. Having fewer tax paying businesses will quickly compound the problem of lost revenue and once initiated, changing course will be nearly impossible.
No creative solution to the budget crisis, but he has had time to do this -
Washington Announces New Holidays
Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson (D) took time to sign a bill recognizing two Muslim holidays, Washington State Standard reports. Two Islamic holidays will now be part of the annual list of state holidays in Washington.
Ferguson signed the bill at the Islamic Center of Tacoma noting proudly that Washington is the first state in the country to recognize Eid as a state holiday.
Dangerous Lessons Learned in Seattle?
Seattle reverses course after years of anti-police policies.
The Seattle City Council recently voted to backtrack on their defund the police policies, The Post Millennial reports.
Councilmember Rob Saka introduced Resolution 32167, reversing past policies intended to defund, or abolish the police. The city council unanimously approved the resolution.
Seattle was one of the first cities to fully embrace the defund the police movement, as Heartland Daily News reported. In 2021, Seattle made drastic cuts to the law enforcement budget regardless of rising crime.
The plan endorsed by the city council and several community members was to replace police officers with social workers. The idea met with skepticism and pushback from residents already reeling from crime.
“Defunding police agencies because of perceived racial bias and replacing trained and armed officers with social workers is as dumb as it sounds,” wrote Kip Jones in a commentary for Western Journal at the time. “But leftists in Seattle are demanding that rational people sit back and watch the slow-motion car crash continue. The city’s residents might be in for a rude awakening with regard to the real-world consequences of such decisions.”
Crime surged across the nation as cities removed police officers from their jobs and other retired or resigned in disgust. Gang violence increased. Violent crime spiked. Criminals were emboldened and police officers were demoralized.
Cities like Seattle, Portland, and Minneapolis all experienced the same trend of rising crime as police were forced to work with fewer staff and restricted tactics.
After years of tragedy and consequences for innocent residents and victims, this ill-advised policy will become part of an unfortunate history. Even stronghold Democrat-run cities are recognizing the total failure of reducing police funding.
The city of Seattle, with the support for Resolution 32167, has completely reversed itself from the previously held position in support of defunding the police. Finally, relief and respect for city residents.
Republicans Propose Using USAID Money to Aid Veterans
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) are introducing a bill that will reallocate funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and put them towards improved veteran’s housing, Newsmax reports.
After DOGE exposed massive amounts of waste and fraud, approximately $60 billion has been removed from the USAID budget. That money can be used to build new nursing homes and residential facilities, or remodel old ones, to more effectively care for American veterans.
The Veterans First Act of 2025 is expected to be proposed in the Senate this week, Washington Examiner reports.
Photo by: Joel Rivera-Comancha on Unsplash
“Under Joe Biden, USAID was basically a Democrat slush fund,” Tuberville wrote on X. “Let’s instead use that money to give our veteran heroes a decent place to call home. I am proud to introduce the Veterans First Act with Senator Mike Lee.”
“Americans were rightly outraged to discover how many useless progressive jobs and causes they were paying for through USAID,” Lee wrote on X. “So, Senator Tuberville and I have legislation to take that money and use it to build housing and medical facilities for veterans instead.”
Girls Sports Still Not Safe in Washington
Washington state will continue to allow biological males to compete against females despite alternatives offered by the WIAA, The Spokesman Review reports.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) attempted to propose two policy amendments in response to parental concerns about the danger and unfairness of biological males in girls athletics.
One proposal would have required producing a birth certificate identifying the athlete as female to compete as a girl. Another would create a third league to allow transgender students to play on their own teams.
The State Attorney General’s office advised the organization that the proposals would violate federal and state civil rights laws along with the state constitution. Providing proof of biological gender would be a violation of “student privacy” the office says.
A policy to ban transgender students would impose a process that could be, “invasive and traumatic,” Emily Nelson, assistant attorney general in the Wing Luke Civil Rights Division wrote in a letter reported by The Spokesman Review.
Nelson also expressed concern that if a third league was formed a student may be forced to play on a team that, “does not match their gender identity of appearance,” or requiring them to leave a team they have played on for years.
“It could also result in transgender students electing to forgo sports altogether, to the detriment of their physical and mental health,” Nelson writes.
Protection of girls sports has become a priority for several school boards. Some, like the Kennewick School Board, have taken steps to protect girls sports despite the threat of adverse action from the state.
“State Superintendent Chris Reykdal has been steadfast in his position that restricting sports based on biological sex is against state law,” Elena Perry writes for the outlet.
Homeschool Families Must Remain Vigilant
A bill to require documentation, information and authorize oversight of homeschool families advances in Illinois.
Illinois legislators are taking aim at homeschooling in their state, NBC reports. The Homeschool Act, HB 2827, adds requirements for parents choosing to educate their children at home.
New mandates include government reporting, oversight into curriculum, and required qualifications of the teacher.
Mandates also come with penalties, The Center Square reports. Homeschool families will be required to provide information to the local public school. If they do not provide the required forms, parents can be subject to penalties.
Parents demonstrated at Daily Plaza recently claiming that parents can easily become criminals with these mandates. In response, an amendment to the bill eliminated criminal penalties but added the option to investigate homes and interrogate children as young as six years old.
Pastor Chris Butler told The Center Square that there is a “massive amount” of opposition to HB 2827. He called the homeschooling movement, “the most hopeful thing that is happening in education.”
Private schools may also experience additional intrusion from the state should HB 2827 pass. Catholic Conference of Illinois Executive Director Bob Gilligan said the bill would force private schools to provide personal information of their enrolled student families to the state.
Both homeschool families and private schools would be impacted by the bill, Illinois Policy Institute reports.
“It’s been downplayed as simply filling out a form, but the ‘Homeschool Act’ involves much more,” writes Illinois Policy Institute Senior Director of Labor Policy and Staff Attorney, Mailee Smith.
Smith says the Act creates a child registry, including the children’s gender and documentation of the family’s religious preference. Data will be gathered and maintained by government bureaucrats.
Under this bill, the state will be allowed to access curriculum, materials, and student work. Bureaucrats will be allowed to demand an “education portfolio” at any time from homeschooling families.
Many homeschool parents fear that this bill just opens the door for more mandates and requirements.
“While a child’s gender is not required in the initial provision outlining the minimum requirements in the form, the form is clearly intended to gather more than just the information explicitly mentioned in the bill,” Smith writes. “And the state board of education is given the extensive authority to ‘adopt any rules necessary’ to implement and administer the act.”
The authority to demand curriculum and educational materials without any stated reason also sets the state for government overreach. Enthusiastic bureaucrats could demand an unlimited number of records or information without any justification. An inquiry could turn into an inquisition.
The Left is Becoming More Violent: Report Says
Recently, a GOP Headquarters building was attacked in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque was vandalized and set on fire early on a recent Sunday morning, CBS reports. Thankfully, no one was killed or injured.
The building was set on fire, and external walls were spraypainted with “ICE = KKK.”
Prior to the attack on the GOP office, 48 illegal immigrants were arrested and removed from Albuquerque. Many had criminal backgrounds. Some had been previously ordered removed by a Judge.
Activists have agitated and engaged in efforts to impede the work of ICE all over the country. Many Americans are baffled at the concern these individuals have for illegal criminals as opposed to the safety of their own community.
Ideological Attacks
“I'm grateful no one was hurt and look forward to the perpetrators being held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” GOP Chairman Michael Whatley wrote on X. “Whether it's vandalizing Tesla dealerships or burning GOP HQs, the Left is completely out of control. Every Democrat who doesn't condemn violence like this is responsible for it.”
Christian and conservative organizations such as churches, pro-life centers, law enforcement buildings, and now GOP offices and Tesla dealerships are all under attack.
Photo by: Alex McCarthy at Unsplash
The Opposition Gears Up and Gets Crazy – and Violent
A new study from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) shows that those who identify as “left of center” are accepting of violence, even murder.
“The reports found widespread justification for lethal violence - including assassination - among younger, highly online, and ideologically left-aligned users,” the report reads. “The findings signal a threat to political stability and public safety.”
Political violence has become “normalized” when it targets President Donald Trump or Elon Musk. A majority of the respondents to the survey stated that they believe assassination of President Trump at 55 percent and 48 percent believed that killing Elon Musk would be justified.
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